The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department acknowledged Thursday that its deputies mistakenly shot and killed a aspiring TV producer they thought was a stabbing suspect.

In fact, John Winkler, 30, had gone to a neighbor's apartment Monday night on Palm Avenue in West Hollywood where a man was holding people hostage and tried to help.

Winkler was shot when he rushed out of the apartment with another victim who had been trapped inside the apartment with a third victim and the suspect, sheriff's officials said in a statement.

“The apartment door suddenly opened and a male victim came rushing out,” the statement said. “He was covered in blood and bleeding profusely from the neck. Simultaneously, victim Winkler ran out of the door, lunging at the back of the fleeing victim. Both ran directly at the deputies.”

Three deputies fired at Winkler. He was shot once and died.

SEVERAL PARTY GOERS WERE YELLING AND SCREAMING AT THE DEPUTIES. SEVERAL TIMES, ALL DEPUTIES GAVE VERBAL COMMANDS FOR THE CROWD TO DISPERSE.

CO.DEFENDANT STACEY POMALES, REFUSED TO LISTEN TO COMMANDS TO BACK AWAY FROM DEPUTIES. CO-DEFENDANT STACEY POMALES CONTINUED TO STAND AND YELL AT
WRITER, DEMANDING TO KNOW WHY THE DEFENDANT WAS BEING ARRESTED.

CO DEFENDANT POMALES WALKED AROUND DEPUTY’S PATROL VEHICLE WHERE DEFENDANT POMALES WAS. SHE HAD TO BE TOLD TO BACK AWAY FROM WRITER’S PATROL VEHICLE. WRITER DID TELL TO THE CO-DEFENDANT, THE DEFENDANT IS AN ADULT AND SHE NEEDED TO BACK AWAY FROM THE SCENE OR SHE WOULD BE ARRESTED ALSO, AT WHICH TIME, SHE FAILED TO COMPLY.

THE CO-DEFENDANT LEANED AGAINST DEPUTY NEWBANKS’ PATROL VEHICLE AND CONTINUED TO DISOBEY COMMANDS TO BACK AWAY FROM THE PATROL VEHICLE.

WRITER TOLD HER AGAIN AND WHEN SHE DID NOT COMPLY, WRITER TOLD
HER TO TURN AROUND AND PLACED HER HANDS BEHIND HER BACK BECAUSE SHE WAS ALSO UNDER ARREST, WHEN WRITER GRABBED THE CO-DEFENDANT’S LEFT HAND, SHE TOOK A STEP BACK AND ATTEMPTED TO PULL OUT OF WRITER’S GRIP SAYING “NO.”

THE CO-DEFENDANT WAS SECURED INTO HANDCUFFS AND PLACED IN THE BACK OF
DEPUTY NEWBANKS’ VEHICLE. IT SHOULD BE NOTED, IT APPEARED THE CO-DEFENDANT WAS VIDEO RECORDING THIS ENTIRE INCIDENT;THEREFORE, HER CELL PHONE WAS COLLECTED AS EVIDENCE. DEPUTY NEWBANKS PLACED THE CELL PHONE INTO LATENT LOCKER

The U.S. Justice Department charged Thursday that an investigation of the Albuquerque police force found that the department "engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force."

The allegations were contained in a letter from Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, to Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and Police Chief Gorden Eden.

The letter said actions by police violated the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which covers such areas as unreasonable searches and seizures.

The Justice Department letter said its investigation determined that "structural and systemic deficiencies" in the Albuquerque Police Department, such as insufficient oversight and inadequate training, "contribute to the use of unreasonable force."

Street protests and demands for reform in the New Mexico city of more than 555,000 people erupted last month after heavily armed police shot and killed James Boyd, a homeless man who had a history of violent outbursts and mental instability.

Boyd was the 37th person shot by Albuquerque police, and the 23rd fatality, since January 2010.

Florida police who unlawfully recorded conversations between an attorney and her client were properly denied immunity, the 11th Circuit ruled.

The Tuesday decision stems from a 2009 investigation into a possible misdemeanor violation of a domestic violence injunction.

It is undisputed that, during the course of this investigation, Detective Thomas Marmo conducted a noncustodial interview with the suspect Joel Studivant at the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.

Anne Marie Gennusa, Studivant's attorney, was present during the interview.
During the interview, Studivant agreed to prepare a sworn written statement. Marmo left the room and closed the door after Studivant began writing. Neither Studivant nor Gennusa knew that Marmo and Sgt. Brian Canova had continued to monitor their conversation via a closed-circuit camera.

The camera was not obviously recognizable, no signs warned visitors of the possibility of electronic surveillance, and neither Studivant nor Gennusa had been told that they were being recorded or monitored.

During their time alone, the attorney and her client discussed matters related to the investigation.

Marmo then returned to the interview room and told Studivant he was under arrest. At this point, Studivant changed his mind about handing in his written statement.

A few minutes later, as I was on the phone with 911, the driver of the van, a big burly guy in plainclothes, came running over to me with his US Border patrol badge exposed, screaming “Didn’t you see the light? Did you not see the light?”

When the (real) cops came, the driver further accused me of going through a red light and causing the accident. All the passengers in the Border Patrol van repeated the same line: that I went through a red light.

I remained silent the whole time; I was dazed and confused after being knocked around, and I had just been pounded by a few airbags that went off in my car.

Quite frankly, I couldn’t understand what had happened because it all happened so fast! The video was embedded in a 32 GB SD card in my Dashcam, and I had no way of reviewing the video until I got home. Furthermore, until I reviewed the video to see what had happened, I did not necessarily want to tell anyone at the scene that I had a video of the accident.

After I got home, I uploaded the video, and lo and behold: The light was green! After reviewing the video a few times, I realized exactly what had happened. The US border van had white and blue lights flashing on top of the van, causing the 2 cars in the left and center lanes to stop and let the van make a left turn (which was an illegal left, as you can see in the video). I was in the right lane, so I did not see the flashing lights, because from the driver’s seat, the Border Patrol van was blocked by the other 2 cars.

Furthermore, red flashing lights might have caught my attention, but faint white and blue lights in bright sunlight did not give me any indication of an emergency vehicle approaching. Not that the van had any excuse for ramming into me. I spoke to an accident attorney today, and he told me that, even in the event of an emergency, an emergency vehicle must take care and caution while driving, especially when they are doing something improper such as cutting into ongoing traffic. And anyway, what could have been the border patrol emergency? Were Canadians invading JFK?

Furthermore, I really resented the fact that on an NYC street, the US Border patrol made such a show of force and acted like they had any juridsdiction. It was very unsettling to be surrounded by a dozen people in badges badgering and harassing me that the accident was my fault, especially when I was completely dazed by what had happened.

My Dashcam actually has an extremely wide field of vision, and while watching the video, you, the viewer, are paying close attention. But at the time it happened to me, it was in a second or less, and I really did not and could not recall exactly what had happened. It was all a giant blur.

If not for my Dashcam, I would have been made to feel guilty for causing this accident, and my insurance would have found me at fault. With this video, it is clear as day (it was a clear day, no pun intended) that I was just driving along with the flow of traffic, and the van made an absolutely illegal turn!

A Miami man spent ten days in jail for recording police arresting his friend, accused of falsifying his name when all he did was refuse to provide his name on the basis that he wasn't doing anything illegal.

...

They later determined he had been obstructing justice, the usual makeshift charge when cops retaliate against citizens for recording them, and falsifying his name. The obstruction charge was changed to resisting arrest.

“I never gave him my name,” Estrada said in a telephone interview with Photography is Not a Crime Wednesday.

After they arrested him, they discovered he had a warrant out of Broward County for an unpaid traffic ticket, which resulted in him remaining in jail for ten days.

Perhaps Estrada can report Valdez to internal affairs now that the unit’s lieutenant has been arrested on felony charges that he assisted drug traffickers, including plotting murders.