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On Tuesday, Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves and his heroic team of militarized storm troopers descended on the home of a single mom and her four kids. Upon removing the mother and her four children from the house, police entered into a 20-hour-long standoff — with the empty house.

According to Sheriff Groves, police were looking for Doug Alexius, a suspect wanted on a misdemeanor count of assaulting a law enforcement officer and another drug-related charge. Upon entering the home, the team used a ‘hi-tech’ and expensive infrared camera that showed them Alexius was hiding in the attic. Incorrectly believing Alexius was in the attic, they backed out and a 20-hour long standoff ensued.

“Time is on our side,” the sheriff said during their heated standoff with an empty house. “We have the luxury of being able to rotate officers out. At some point, he’s going to have to come out of there.”

After not breaking things or killing anyone for 19 hours, the officers became restless, said to hell with the Sheriff’s strategy of waiting for him to come out, and proceeded to storm the home.

A SWAT truck with a battering ram attached was used to poke holes and tear apart the house in an attempt to drive the nonexistent suspect out. As deputies became unable to find him, they began taking their frustration out on couches, beds, lamps, clothing, toys, and even the family’s Christmas tree was ripped through a window and smashed to bits.

The entire time, Nita Lane, the homeowner, was trying to tell the cops that Alexius was not there and does not live there.

The sheriff, quite expectedly, remains unapologetic. Despite being told by the victim that Alexius was not in her house, Groves maintains that his officers acted in the best possible manner.

“It appeared using that tool [infra-red camera] there was somebody in the attic. As it turns out, now we know that was incorrect. But nonetheless that was the information we were operating under at the time,” said Groves.

“Some may suggest you just rush in, and we could have cleared that house in a matter of minutes. But if there was a suspect in there and would have shot one of our officers or something else happened, and he was able to breach the perimeter and jeopardize the safety of the residents nearby, that’s not a risk I’m willing to take,” Groves continued entirely missing his own point.

Groves did eventually “rush in and clear the house.” Just because it took him 20-hours to decide to do it, doesn’t change that fact at all.

Friends and neighbors like Vonda Macklin came to the aid of the family and were outside the next day picking up their belongings that were strewn across the yard.

“It’s like the destroying of your dream you know,” said Macklin. “Probably the hardest part is just seeing they ripped their Christmas tree apart, and out their window it goes.”

Instead of apologizing or offering to help clean up the mess he and his crony soldiers made, Groves refers the victim to some vague FBI program that allegedly cleans up after cops wrongly destroy a family’s home.

The Free Thought Project spoke with the victim’s neighbor, Vonda, who said the SWAT team, “left holes in ceiling, all the windows were smashed out, holes in were left in the side of the house” and they literally “ripped her Christmas tree apart,” using a set of claws on the front of a vehicle.

Christmas and the foreseeable future for this single mother and her four children, aged 3-15, are ruined – thanks to Galena’s finest.

Vonda tells the Free Thought Project that “Lane is the type of lady that won’t take anything from anyone.” However, we still want to help her.

The Free Thought Project has started a Go Fund Me Campaign to raise funds for Ms. Lane and her children.

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A Baltimore Police officer has been banned from the city courthouses after an incident last month in which he was caught filming a witness and a television reporter in a courthouse hallway, the city sheriff's office confirmed.

The incident is the latest trouble for Officer Fabien Laronde, who has been the subject of numerous complaints and lawsuits. A group of defense attorneys met Wednesday to begin an organized push to access his internal affairs file, which was turned over to one public defender but remains under seal.

"This officer is notorious," said assistant public defender Deborah Levi, who has the officer's file. "I have had hundreds of clients complaint to me that he stole money when he arrested them, that he plants evidence and was disrespectful and dehumanizing."

...

Laronde got in his latest trouble with the sheriff's office during a Nov. 30 hearing over his internal affairs file.

Levi, representing a man charged in a drug case, had called a witness from one of Laronde's internal affairs complaints to testify about the officer's credibility.

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Laronde has been sued several times for on-duty incidents. In 2012, the city paid $155,000 to settle a case involving Laronde and two other officers in which a man said the officers illegally searched his car and strip searched him for drugs.

Also that year, a civil jury awarded a man $40,000 for an incident in which Laronde and another officer were accused of accosting a civil records clerk in the courthouse, accusing him of being a gang member and taking his picture. A supervisor in the records office intervened.

In July 2013, the city paid $1,500 to a man who alleged that Laronde stole $770 from him during a 2011 arrest, records show.

In October, Laronde was suspended with pay after an incident in a convenience store, though police declined to explain what type of incident occurred.

Internal affairs files are generally sealed and inaccessible to the public in Maryland, but attorneys have been able to obtain such files under seal for review and can petition a judge that certain information is relevant to the credibility of the officers.

"One judge has delivered [Laronde's] internal affairs file to me, while most of the other judges deny any access at all, while some are granting partial access," Levi said.

Levi said attorneys are "organizing our approach" to making the contents of Laronde's internal affairs file open to other attorneys. "They're withholding information that we are entitled to on this particular officer," she said.

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Officer Nick Caniglia of the Omaha Police Department is in hot water after viral video surfaced Thursday showing him punching a student in the face repeatedly.

The video, which was posted to Twitter at approximately 4 PM Thursday afternoon, shows 15 seconds of a fight between students at Millard South High School in Omaha, Nebraska, and OPD officer Caniglia forcing himself between a group of students to stop the fight. Then, without provocation, Caniglia starts punching a student in the face multiple times. According to the student who posted the video, the student getting punched wasn’t swinging during the fight.

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In 2011, Marc Patrick O’Leary was arrested on charges that he’d viciously raped at least three women in the state of Colorado. In his home, police found underwear belonging to the victims, gloves and sneakers matching prints left behind in the victims’ homes, and a pink camera he’d stolen from one of the women. On the camera, among other things, were photographs of him raping a then-18-year-old girl, who had recently been prosecuted for filing a false police report about the rape.

The story isn’t new. In 2014, after O’Leary’s arrest, the 18-year-old victim—a young woman interchangeably referred to as “DM” and by her middle name, Marie—won a well-publicized $150,000 settlement from the county. But Marie’s account of her ordeal is new, and her story, summarized by Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller for the Marshall Project, is horrifying. How could a young woman get raped, try to report her crime, and end up pleading guilty to filing a false report? Apparently, all too easily.

Because O’Leary—who is currently serving 327 years in prison for the attacks—followed the same MO for each of his victims: He’d break into his victim’s home, tie her up, rape her, and leave with her clothes and bedsheets. He’d take photographs of him assaulting the women and would threaten to release them on the internet if they reported the attack to police.

While there would eventually be at least four victims in all (one of whom managed to escape), Marie was his first, and she filed a report with the police that very same day.

Then, three days after she reported the assault, the investigating officers—Sgt. Jeffrey Mason and Sgt. Jerry Rittgarn—called Marie back to the station. They explained to Marie that they thought she was lying and wanted her to confess. After a long discussion, she wrote: “When I went to sleep I dreamed that someone broke in and raped me.”
Finally she wrote a second statement, apologizing for making the story up. A few days later, she tried to recant that statement, saying she’d been coerced.
Marie ultimately left the police station without withdrawing her statement.

And then things got worse: She was charged with filing a false report. And to make matters even worse, Marie—who had grown up in foster care and was living on her own for the first time—did not have a lawyer. So she took a plea deal with probation that, among other things, required her to attend a mental health counselor for lying.

In the meantime, O’Leary continued to rape: First a 65-year-old fraternity house mother, then a 59-year-old widow. Then a 26-year-old student. He’d also tried to attack a 46-year-old artist, who escaped by jumping out a seven-foot window.

After a long and thorough investigation, detailed exhaustively in the Marshall Project report, police zeroed in on O’Leary. They’d had no idea Marie was a victim until they found the photos on his camera. One was a close-up of her driver’s license.

The two officers who charged her with lying were never disciplined, though Mason expressed regret for the way he handled the case, telling reporters, “It wasn’t her job to try to convince me. In hindsight, it was my job to get to the bottom of it — and I didn’t.” The police station says it follows new guidelines, among them: Investigators need “definitive proof” of lying to accuse the victim of filing a false report, and higher-ups have to approve false report charges.

But their actions hurt more than just Marie. O’Leary would later tell police, “If Washington had just paid attention a little bit more, I probably would have been a person of interest earlier on.”

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The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's recent transition to a new handgun for deputies has coincided with a sharp increase in accidental shootings, "putting officers and the public at risk," according to a newly released report.

Despite efforts to address the problem, the risk associated with the new Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm "remains substantial," according to the report by Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman.

"There is a continued risk that either LASD employees or civilians may be seriously wounded or killed by an unintended discharge," Huntsman wrote.

He said further study and steps to mitigate the problem are needed "before a tragedy occurs."

A handful of deputies have been injured in accidental shootings in recent years, according to the report. No suspects or bystanders have been hurt in the incidents.

The report, an advance copy of which was obtained by CNN, found that a sheriff's department training program for deputies converting to the new gun is inadequate.

"We conclude that the current training program is insufficient to overcome old habits learned on other handguns," the 52-page report states. "As a result, many deputies appear to be to undertrained for the weapon they are using."

Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers, a top aide to Sheriff Jim McDonnell, said in an interview Wednesday that department officials had noted the trend with accidental discharges associated with the gun prior to the IG's report and independently took steps to address the problem.

"We welcome the IG's input as to some things we can do better," Rogers said, "but we saw this coming before any outside pressure caused us to respond."

Rogers noted that accidents were down so far this year, which he attributed to the department's efforts to mitigate the problem.

The department went to the new gun, in part, because it is easier to handle and easier to shoot accurately, particularly for people with small hands. The gun comes with a smaller grip and requires significantly less pressure to pull the trigger than the Beretta 9mm that had been standard issue in the sheriff's department for years.

The LASD began issuing the Smith & Wesson to all new recruits going through the academy beginning in 2013. Veteran deputies were allowed to transition to the gun if they took an eight-hour training course. The department has since issued about 6,100 of the handguns to its deputies.

The IG found that "as soon as widespread use of the new gun by field deputies commenced, there was a marked increase in tactical unintended discharges -- that is, deputies firing weapons without intending to do so during police operations."

In 2014, "after substantial adoption of the new weapon in patrol settings," the report noted, accidental discharges in the field shot up by more than 500% -- from three in 2012 to 19.

Sixteen of the accidents involved deputies armed with handguns, the report found. Fifteen of those were carrying the Smith & Wesson.

So far in 2015, LASD deputies have been involved in 18 such shootings; 14 involved the Smith & Wesson, according to the report.

That figure is down from the dramatic increase in 2014, but still represents a 61% rise from the year before the gun was introduced, Huntsman's report states.

The IG's review found several factors that "apparently contributed" to accidents with the gun since its introduction:

--The weapon lacks an external safety;

--It's more sensitive than the Beretta;

--And a light mounted to the gun and activated by deputies squeezing a pressure switch on the handle has led to confusion in some incidents, with "a significant number of deputies reporting that they unintentionally pulled the trigger of their weapon when they intended only to turn on the light."

Adding to the problem was some deputies violating a basic firearms safety rule by placing their finger on the trigger prior to making the conscious decision to fire, the report states.

The IG recommended the sheriff beef up the department's training program for deputies converting to the gun beyond the eight hours currently given, noting that "few agencies consider that amount sufficient."

The IG also recommended an "in-depth" analysis to determine whether the pressure grip light switch was warranted.

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A northwest suburb of Chicago has agreed to pay $875,000 to a woman who accused a police officer of using excessive force after a DUI arrest.

Court documents show two separate settlements have been reached with Cassandra Feuerstein, according to the Chicago Tribune. Feuerstein filed a lawsuit against the Skokie Police Department after she said former Officer Michael Hart seriously injured her during a drunk driving arrest in
March 2013.

Feuerstein, now 48, was arrested for DUI after officers found her pulled over at the side of the road and asleep behind the wheel.

Surveillance video released in 2013 attracted much attention, as it appeared to show the officer throwing Feuerstein back into her cell, launching her face-first into a cement bench.

Feuerstein claimed several bones were shattered in her face, and that she suffered nerve damage from the injury. She said she needed reconstructive surgery and a titanium plate in her cheek.

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A written apology by Hart was read aloud before Judge Matthew Coghlan imposed the sentence.

"I did not intend to or want to harm you in any way," Hart said. "I acted in frustration and not out of anger or meanness.

"I'm sorry for the injuries I caused you," he said. "I hope you can accept my heartfelt apology."

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A former Memphis police officer was found guilty of multiple rape and incest charges Thursday evening.

Cornelius Monger, 36, was found guilty by a jury of statutory rape by an authority figure, sexual battery by an authority figure, and incest. He will be sentenced on Jan. 15 by criminal court Judge Glenn Wright, Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said in a press release.

The victim and witnesses testified during the trial that the abuse began when the victim was 15 and continued for years.

Monger's father, Henry Monger, is currently serving a 15-year sentence for raping the same victim and her siblings. Henry Monger, 64, pleaded guilty in April to two counts of rape of a child and one other rape charge. One of the victims said he began abusing her when she was 10-years-old, according to investigators.

Henry's wife Barbara is set for trial in February. She has been charged with allegedly telling the victims not to cooperate with officers investigating Henry's actions.

Cornelius Monger served at the Old Allen Station from 2006 to 2013, Weirich said. He was fired due to the allegations.

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A New York police officer faces four years in jail for the felony charge of falsifying a statement after arresting an innocent man and accusing him of attacking officers.

Officer Jonathan Munoz, 32, accused Jason Disisto, 21, of punching him with a closed fist during an altercation in Manhattan's Washington Heights in 2014.

However, surveillance footage shows Disisto was merely trying to film Officer Munoz as he searched his friend's pockets without warning.

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San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis released footage on Tuesday of a local police officer fatally shooting a mentally-ill homeless man almost instantly upon spotting him, while defending her decision not to press charges in connection with the incident, KGTV-TV reported.

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Indicted on five counts, including felony murder and reckless homicide, Pike County Deputy Joel Jenkins was officially reinstated on Tuesday after the sheriff recently fired him for shooting his neighbor to death while drunk. Although the police union fought to reinstate the negligent deputy, the sheriff refuses to place him back on duty or issue him another paycheck.

At 11:40 p.m. on December 3, Deputy Jenkins called the non-emergency line at the sheriff’s office to report his neighbor, Jason Brady, 40, had been accidentally shot. Officers arrived to find Brady deceased with a bullet wound to the head. Clearly inebriated, Jenkins admitted to killing his neighbor while showing off a gun that he possibly received from Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk.

Charged with involuntary manslaughter, Jenkins was arrested the next day and fired later that weekend. On December 10, a special grand jury indicted Jenkins for reckless homicide, involuntary manslaughter, and tampering with evidence in the case of his neighbor’s death. According to neighbors, Brady used to feed and walk Jenkins’ police dog.

Jenkins was also charged with felony murder and reckless homicide for the March 28 death of Robert Rooker, 26. Officers began pursuing Rooker for driving 52-mph in a 45-mph zone. After crashing his vehicle, Rooker died after Jenkins reportedly shot him to death. Placed on paid administrative leave for his involvement in Rooker’s death, Jenkins was drunk and off-duty when he admittedly killed Brady a few months later.

Even though Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader fired Jenkins earlier this month, the police union representing the disgraced deputy fought to have Jenkins reinstated during a pre-disciplinary hearing on Tuesday. According to Catherine Brockman, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labor Council Inc., Sheriff Reader violated the union contract when he fired Jenkins without due process.

Although Reader declared he has no intention of ever paying Jenkins again, Pike County Labor Consultant Bob Cross stated, “We may owe the gentleman a few days pay.”

Determined to fire Jenkins again, Reader believes the union is merely attempting to preserve some pay for the fallen deputy. But Reader announced, “He will never work in this department again.”

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https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1450960602


On the night of December 4, Carol LaDue and her husband Richard were travelling along County Route 37 near Massena, when they saw an injured woman lying in the road.

The woman was 33-year-old Ashley McDonald, who’d just been hit by a car and was dying.

As the couple got out of their vehicle to render aid to McDonald, they were savagely attacked by McDonald’s husband, Bryan, a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Out of nowhere, the off-duty public servant rushes in on the Good Samaritans and begins brutally beating this elderly couple. The LaDues were nearly killed by this out of control maniac.

“I think he would have beat her to death, I really do, because there was no stopping the man. He was just out of control and very, very aggressive,” said Richard.

Richard suffered a broken nose and multiple lacerations, while his wife suffered a concussion, sprained hand, bruises and a massive head wound.

For the first time since this attack, the couple, who are in their 60’s, are speaking out in an interview with WNYF.

“He was really out of control. The next thing you know, I put my hands up, he popped me in the head and knocked me unconscious,” said Carol.

“His wife was laying in the road, and all we were doing was trying to help the guy and to have that kind of reaction, like he didn’t want anyone near the body,” said Richard.

The couple and authorities are now left with more questions than answers.

That night, Bryan McDonald was arrested and charged with two counts of felony assault. He was almost immediately released under probation supervision and faced no other charges, in spite of the fact that authorities still have no idea why his wife was lying in the road that night.

Investigators only know that Ashley McDonald was lying in the road when she was struck and killed by a vehicle operated by 32-year-old Megan Phelix. Why she was in the road, remains a mystery.

“My big question is why was she in the road? Did she fall there? Did she walk out there and fall down? Did he hit her? Who knows? We don’t really know,” said Carol.

According to the LaDues, McDonald was not grieving or showing any signs of sadness or worry when they arrived. He was merely standing there silently before attacking them.

“I’m not sure it was all grief because it was just very unnatural because normally you would be over the body and crying or screaming or something and he was quiet when I got there, and he became angry as soon as I took a couple of steps forward and that’s when he came at me,” said Carol.

One can only imagine how Ashley McDonald ended up in the road that fateful night. However, one thing is clear, Bryan McDonald is more than willing to attack and savagely beat innocent and vulnerable individuals, who mean only to do good. And, this threat to society is out on the loose.

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In 2004 the Republic of Georgia fired 30,000 police officers due to corruption and built glass police stations to encourage an image of transparency.

Since then crime in Georgia has dropped and the public confidence in the police has risen drastically.

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Exonerated in the murders of two teenagers after almost 20 years in prison, Daniel Villegas claims El Paso police suppressed evidence of his innocence, coerced a false confession and “completely corrupted the investigative process.”

Villegas, 38, sued El Paso, former Chief of Police John Scagno, investigators Alfonso Marquez, Scott Graves, Earl Arbogast, Joe Laredo and four other officers who worked on the case, on Thursday in Federal Court.

He claims the officers used threats of inmate rape, death by electric chair and actual physical assaults to coerce a false statement from him and other teenagers who corroborated their bogus account of the 1993 crime.

Villegas was released from a Texas prison on bond last year after a judge threw out a confession and the state’s highest criminal court overturned his capital murder conviction and ordered a new trial.

Villegas was 16 years old in 1993 when Armando Lazo,17, and Robert England,18, were murdered walking home from a party around midnight on Good Friday. The drive-by killings shook the border town already besieged by gang violence, and filled the community with even more fear.

The case has drawn national attention and was featured on a recent episode of the NBC news show “Dateline.”

Although the jury hung at his first trial, a second jury convicted Villegas of the slayings in 1995 and sentenced him to life in prison.

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Douglas County sheriff’s deputies got the call around 8:20 p.m. Monday. The security guard for a mobile home park in Douglasville, Ga., said he had just been held at gunpoint for 45 minutes as he made his evening rounds.

That was around the same time that Bobby Daniels, 48, got the frantic calls from loved ones — his 25-year-old son Bias was having an emotional breakdown, he had a gun and had just been holding a hostage.

Bobby Daniels beat the deputies there, and according to family members talked his despondent son into putting the weapon down on the hood of a car. Moments later, the father of five was shot twice — not by his son, but by a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy.

Daniels’ death is one of more than 960 fatal police shootings by on-duty police officers in 2015, according to a Washington Post database, and the 246th black person to be fatally shot by the police this year.

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A cop faces criminal charges after state police say the officer lied about being attacked on the job.

It was back in September when West Penn Township Police Officer Melissa Ruch claimed she was assaulted during a traffic stop, but now state police say she made it all up and she is now facing criminal charges.

Melissa Ruch is facing misdemeanor charges for lying to police. She's also suspended without pay from her job as a cop with the West Penn Township Police Department.

Ruch claimed she was attacked in September during a traffic stop on Route 309 south of Tamaqua. She ended up 20 feet down an embankment.

No one ever found the person who assaulted her. State police say that's because it never happened. Now she is facing charges for making up the whole thing.

West Penn Township Supervisor James Akins spoke with Ruch on Wednesday.

"I will say she is frustrated. She seems surprised with the timeliness of everything and she was taking it to the next level," said Akins.

State police determined Ruch was lying when they spoke with witnesses who never saw the dark-colored Nissan Maxima Ruch said she pulled over. Testing also determined that Ruch's Taser was never fired at a person like she claimed. Ruch also said her dashcam video wasn't working that day.

Since then, West Penn Township got new cameras for police cruisers.

"We've taken steps to ensure that that does not happen again."

A few days after the alleged attack, Ruch was honored on Patriot Day by Schuylkill County and state officials for her bravery during the attack. But at the event, she dodged our cameras and didn't want to talk.

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The Department of Justice announced this week that it's suspending a controversial program that allows local police departments to keep a large portion of assets seized from citizens under federal law and funnel it into their own coffers.

The "equitable-sharing" program gives police the option of prosecuting asset forfeiture cases under federal instead of state law. Federal forfeiture policies are more permissive than many state policies, allowing police to keep up to 80 percent of assets they seize -- even if the people they took from are never charged with a crime.

The DOJ is suspending payments under this program due to budget cuts included in the recent spending bill.

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Asset forfeiture has become an increasingly contentious practice in recent years. It lets police seize and keep cash and property from people who are never convicted — and in many cases, never charged — with wrongdoing. Recent reports have found that the use of the practice has exploded in recent years, prompting concern that, in some cases, police are motivated more by profits and less by justice.

Criminal justice reformers are cheering the change. "This is a significant deal," said Lee McGrath, legislative counsel at the Institute for Justice, in an interview. "Local law enforcement responds to incentives. And it's clear that one of the biggest incentives is the relative payout from federal versus state forfeiture. And this announcement by the DOJ changes the playing field for which law state and local [law enforcement] is going to prefer."

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In the early afternoon of July 16, 2012, a frightened mother called the North Port Police Department to report that her 18-year-old son could be suicidal.

“My daughter ... found a noose hanging in the garage,” the working mother told the police dispatcher. “I’m afraid he might try to hurt himself.”

North Port responded by sending police K-9 handler Keith Bush, the current leader of a unit that has won regional and national awards at police dog contests, but that has also come under scrutiny at home for unleashing its dogs on juveniles, unarmed suspects and at least one suicidal citizen who was not charged with a crime.

On this day, before he or any other officer reached Jared Lemay’s home, Bush sent a message to fellow K-9 handler Michael Dietz: “COME GET UR BITE.”

Minutes later, records show, Bush messaged Dietz again: “IM GONNA TAKE UR BITE IF U DONT HURRY UP.”

Lemay, who was found unarmed and hiding in a trash can in his garage, was bitten in the face and back by Dietz’s dog, a Belgian Malinois named Cammo.

In police photographs, Lemay’s face is criss-crossed with streaks of blood. Deep puncture wounds mar his cheeks.

After Lemay was taken to the North Port emergency room, another North Port police officer messaged Dietz commending him on K-9 Cammo’s first bite.

“CONGRATS,” Officer William Carter wrote.

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Charles Mesloh, one of the nation’s leading researchers on police K-9 uses of force, called Bush’s messages to Dietz “horrifying” and said they should invite a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of the North Port Police Department.

Andrea Flynn Mogensen, chair of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida’s legal panel, said the messages show what appears to be a premeditated attack on Lemay by police and an excessive use of force.

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A must watch video! Watch Fort Myers Police Department with Lee County Sheriff Department make a traffic stop. That turns into a bodily rectum search, as four to five officers hold him down. As a officer cuts his boxers off and put on glover to enter his rectum. Listen for his cry for mercy while his arms is bend up as a officer goes inside his rectum. NOW SHEIRFF MIKE SCOTT AND CHIEF DENNIS ED MAY HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO FOR THE ACTIONS THATS BEEN CARRIED OUT IN OUR COMMUNITY! THIS IS UNEXPLAINABLE!

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Florida statute 901.211

“No person arrested for a traffic, regulatory, or misdemeanor offense, except in a case which is violent in nature, which involves a weapon, or which involves a controlled substance, shall be strip searched unless:

(a) There is probable cause to believe that the individual is concealing a weapon, a controlled substance, or stolen property; or

(3) Each strip search shall be performed by a person of the same gender as the arrested person and on premises where the search cannot be observed by persons not physically conducting or observing the search pursuant to this section. Any observer shall be of the same gender as the arrested person.

(4) Any body cavity search must be performed under sanitary conditions.

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A San Juan police officer has been suspended after he was caught on video using "excessive force" against a man in handcuffs.

San Juan police confirmed that the video obtained exclusively by CBS 4 News is from a body camera worn by one of its officers. The video is currently being used as evidence in an ongoing internal investigation.

"It's going to be a lengthy investigation, but we want to make sure that the public is aware of the fact that that's the whole reason body-worn cameras were installed here in San Juan. To look at these incidents from a different perspective - an independent perspective," said San Juan police Chief Juan Gonzalez.

This is the first time the department has had to utilize the body cameras to address possible misconduct on behalf of one of their officers.

"The original call was that they were checking up on a runaway. Obviously, it turned into a violent situation and officers responded to back up that officer," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said that the suspect was taken into custody on Monday night for resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer.

The officer, who has been identified as J.P Galindo, however, doesn't show up to the scene until after the suspect had already been subdued, handcuffed and walking with other officers to be taken to the police department.

"As chief of police, I expect that the officers report the actions of other officers and that's what was done. That's why (Galindo) was immediately suspended."

Galindo, a six year veteran with the department, was suspended with pay for using excessive force Tuesday morning, pending the outcome of the internal investigation.

"I got zero tolerance for that type of behavior and I think it's important for us to take appropriate action. We've been consulting with other state agencies and the district attorney's office as well to see how we proceed with this case," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez told CBS 4 News that this is not the first complaint made against Galindo.

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A sheriff’s office and a District judge are demonstrating just how low the state can go in stealing cash and property from innocent people. For these enforcers of the drug war, even the minor burden of proof needed through Civil Asset Forfeiture is too much trouble.

The Frontier, an investigative group in Tulsa, found that District Judge James Caputo and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office skirted the law to direct even more of the citizens’ assets into department coffers.

“Though judicial assignments are supposed to be random, the same criminal judge has been assigned to hear more than half of the civil cases in which the sheriff’s office sought to seize cash and guns from citizens through an unclaimed property law, an investigation by The Frontier and NewsOn6 has found.

Tulsa District Court policies regarding judicial assignments and transfers were not followed in several of the cases, which involve cash, guns and other property seized by the sheriff’s office from hundreds of citizens.

Courthouse records show the sheriff’s office tried to ensure that most of the cases would be heard by District Judge James Caputo, a former deputy whose daughter works at the sheriff’s office. Though judges are supposed to be randomly assigned per courthouse policy, Caputo’s name was printed on the petitions filed by the Sheriff’s Office.”

Using a provision of Oklahoma law Title 22, the sheriff’s office sought to take possession of “unclaimed property or money in Sheriff’s possession.” It can then keep the cash and sell the property, using the loot “for the purchase of equipment, materials or supplies that may be used in crime prevention, training or programming.”

However, the seized property is most often obtained through searches and arrests, and should be treated as civil asset forfeiture, according to an attorney representing 14 people with claims against the sheriff’s office. But Judge Caputo is mum on this topic.

“When asked whether the cases should have been filed as individual forfeiture cases, Caputo abruptly ended the interview.

“’You know what? We’re done,’ he said.”

Even property obtained from burglaries is fair game. Several victims of burglaries have written to request the return of their property, but are unsuccessful because the sheriff’s office did not match a name to the item.

This failure to add owner names to the records of seized cash and property, which allows it to be classified as “unclaimed property,” is no accident.

“A July 2013 court filing for the disposal of property ‘whether stolen, embezzled or otherwise obtained’ is missing an exhibit list that is supposed to contain the items being considered for seizure, along with the name and address of the each last known owner.
When asked where the exhibit list was for the case, a court clerk searched the file and computer system and said: “Sometimes they come in from the sheriff’s office without one.

…Several other files contain exhibit lists that only contain case numbers and property room numbers — no name and address for the last known owner of the property in question.”

The sheriff’s office has not supplied information on how much income is generated from the “unclaimed property” scam. Under this law, citizens have only 10 days to claim their property or cash. Even when the owners show up in court to claim their cash and property, the court often says they have no proof and sends them walking.

Judge Caputo has overseen five cases on behalf of the sheriff’s office, and is intending to hear his sixth, where the sheriffs seek to keep $170,000 in cash and hundreds of guns owned by more than 900 people.

Caputo admits that someone from the sheriff’s office came to him for help clearing out the property room. Caputo says that he got permission from former, now-deceased, presiding judge Carlos Chappelle to handle the cases, although he has no documentation of such.

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The eleven-year-old girl shrieked in horror as the shower curtain was ripped away, leaving her exposed to the view of a large male stranger. Her sense of violation was compounded by the threat of immediate, violent death: The marauder was wearing body armor and aiming an assault rifle at the naked, terrified child. Downstairs, the offender's comrades were ransacking the house and barking profane orders at the traumatized child's family. Sterling Harrison, her 19-year-old brother, was sitting in front of a game console when three of the invaders burst into his upstairs room, bound him, and shoved him down the stairway. Her terrified siblings - one thirteen years of age, the other seven - were corralled and imprisoned at gunpoint in the living room along with the rest of the family.

The invaders were police, of course. Nobody in the home was suspected of committing a criminal offense. No evidence of criminal misconduct was found. The SWAT raid was carried out after 10:00 PM, in violation of municipal ordinances. The rationale for this act of state terrorism was the drug-related arrest, nearly two weeks earlier, of Mordsen Box, the 11-year-old girl's estranged father, who hadn't resided at the address for several months.

This after-dark military raid took place at a residence located less than three miles from the White House. Thirteen days before the raid, Mr. Box was arrested by Metro D.C. Police after five ounces of marijuana were found following a pretext traffic stop. Officer Taylor Volpe, who conducted the stop, claimed - falsely, according to the family's lawsuit against the MPD - that the rear license plate of Box's car was partially obstructed by a plastic cover. Once the stop was underway, Volpe - in keeping with his indoctrination as an opportunistic road pirate - asked if there was "anything illegal" in the vehicle. Like countless others in similar situations, Box made the tragic mistake of answering a question the officer had no right to ask.

He stated that he wasn't "aware" of anything illegal in his car, and that Volpe could carry out the search "if you have to.""OK, so I can look?" Volpe reiterated, inducing the intimidated driver to make his consent explicit. Within seconds the officer had found the marijuana, which was confiscated along with $180 in cash that was found in Box's wallet. His expired driver's license listed 1054 Quebec Place NW as his home address.

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A Bartow Police Department officer is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Tuesday arrested officer Randy Velez, age 27.

Velez’s wife reported to the Bartow Police Department that her husband told her he had sex with a 15-year-old girl.

At the request of the Bartow Police Department, PCSO detectives conducted an investigation.

During the investigation and post-Miranda interview, investigators say Velez confessed to having sex with the girl.

He was charged with one count of Lewd Battery and one count of Lewd Molestation.

Velez was booked into the Polk County Jail on Wednesday morning.

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The US Supreme Court gave law enforcement ability to stop and interrogate motorists without individualized suspicion through drunk driving roadblocks set up according to a few simple requirements. Kentucky's high court last week chastised the state police for setting up a driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) roadblock without bothering to meet the requirements, or "recommendations," laid out in the 2003 Kentucky v. Buchanon case. On Thursday, the high court made those recommendations mandatory.

The justices made the decision in the context of a DUI checkpoint set up on Kentucky Highway 68 in Gravel Switch on February 2, 2008. Although no officer witnessed Billy Cox driving impaired that evening, the motorist was ordered to perform field sobriety tests. After Cox failed, he was booked for DUI. He subsequently appealed his conviction on the grounds that the roadblock failed to meet the bare minimum standards set by high court precedent.

No signs were placed indicating that a DUI checkpoint was in progress, and the media were not given any notice that checkpoints might happen. The troopers who blocked traffic failed to wear "safety vests." These failures raised concerns among the high court justices.

"If law enforcement is permitted to continue conducting indiscriminate seizures of individuals at a roadblock without any basis in suspicion, we must ensure that officers do not abuse this privilege," Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr wrote for the court. "It is implicit in our analysis that without proper planning and notice, roadblocks are susceptible to the type of discretion and intrusion the Fourth Amendment exists to forbid. It is unclear to us here whether those discretion-limiting procedures were adequately performed."

Police officers are supposed to set up roadblocks with approval and guidance from their supervisors. Here, troopers called their sergeant who gave approval over the phone as the roadblock was being set up. Trooper Nathan Rhodes, the officer in charge of the roadblock, arrived twenty minutes after the roadblock began. Even though the justices considered this level of oversight "cursory," it was enough. The same cannot be said for the requirement of advance notice. The majority did not believe merely having troopers in uniform with marked cruisers sufficiently informed the public about what was taking place.

"In circumstances where the practices and procedures employed by law enforcement are constitutionally ambiguous, it is our duty to protect individuals against the risk of potentially unreasonable seizure without any suspicion of wrongdoing," the chief justice wrote. "Though we do not require rigid compliance with the Buchanon guidelines, we cannot continue to soften the edges of what is constitutionally reasonable."

The failure to display advance warning signs and wear safety vests was enough to render the roadblock unconstitutional. A copy of the decision is available in a 250k PDF file at the source link below.

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On January 30, 2015, a health food store in Henderson called the police after a disgruntled customer, attempting to return some protein powder, allegedly threatened to rob them. The store described the suspect to police as a black male wearing a black and tan t-shirt who left in an SUV.

As police responded to the call, they quickly stopped the first person they saw, who happened to be Arturo Arenas-Alvarez. Arenas-Alvarez had just pulled up in the shopping center to do some shopping when police drew their weapons and demanded he put his hands in the air and step toward them.

Arenas-Alvarez did not appear to understand why multiple armed men were pointing their guns at him, so one officer asked him in Spanish to approach the vehicle.

Before Arenas-Alvarez makes it all the way to the vehicle, officers realized they had the wrong guy.

“That’s not him, dude. That’s not a black man in a black shirt,” one officer said to another.

However, they continued the detainment.

Officers begin to assure Arenas-Alvarez that he will be fine. “They thought that you were involved in a robbery. You don’t look like the person, so it’s OK now, OK?” one officer said. However, nothing could have been further from the truth.

As officers were telling Arenas-Alvarez that he’ll be okay, Sgt. James Mitchell can be heard on the radio telling the officers, “Stand by a couple of minutes. K9-1 is about two minutes out.”

During the display of gross incompetence of mistaking Arenas-Alvarez for a black man in a black shirt, Arenas-Alvarez’s 17-month-old daughter, Ayleen was strapped into her car seat in the SUV.

Before Arenas-Alvarez could communicate to the officers that his infant daughter was in the car, the “two minutes” had passed and Sgt. Mitchell arrived with his Belgian Malinois. Almost as soon as he exited the vehicle, Mithcell released the K-9 into the SUV of an entirely innocent man and his daughter.

“My baby,” Arturo Arenas-Alvarez can be heard pleading with officers in broken English. “I’ve got my baby.”

An officer then yelled out, “There’s an infant in that car! There’s an infant in that car!”

But it was too late. By the time the cops realized that their immediate escalation to violence was unnecessary – the damage had been done.

Ayleen’s blood curdling and heart-wrenching screams of agony can be heard on the dashcam. The 4-year-old dog, Doerak, was ripping into the baby’s flesh. By the time the dog let go of the infant, her right arm had been mauled. She was left with nine puncture wounds and abrasions.

After the incident was over, Mitchell can be heard blaming his fellow officers for releasing the dog.

“God damn, guys, you gotta f**king tell me!” he yelled. But Mitchell didn’t give the other officers any time to tell him before letting loose the dog.

“The last forearm, the guy didn’t have anything left but bone,” Mitchell can be heard telling other officers in an apparent attempt to downplay the severity of what he just did.

On the dashcam one officer can be heard saying that their response to this incident of mistaking a man and his daughter for a completely different looking man was “solid” and it could’ve been much worse.

“All that happened was totally solid. Just a sh*tty set of circumstances that all rolled into — what could’ve been much worse. So just get that whole timeline out there,” the officer said.

After the incident, Mitchell and Doerak were taken off the street as a routine practice, similar to that of officer-involved shootings. However, since then, Doerak and Mitchell have been released back to regular duty.

For the purposeful mauling of their infant daughter, the city of Henderson agreed to pay the family a whopping $13,000 to settle their claim. But the family is unable to get the $8,537.69 (amount after legal fees) without a court order.

Below is the horrifying video of the incident which illustrates the sheer violent and unaccountable nature of police in the US.

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Grand juries are built to be a tool of prosecutors. They don’t hear from both sides in a case, like a trial jury would. They hear only from the prosecutor, who decides what evidence and testimony is presented.

That’s why the old saying goes that a grand jury will “indict a ham sandwich” if a prosecutor tells them to — because the prosecutor calls the shots. That saying, however, assumes the prosecutor wants to prosecute and, ultimately, secure a conviction.

The Rice case strongly suggests that the opposite is also true — grand juries will let the sandwich walk, if that’s what the prosecutor wants. In this case, McGinty used the grand jury as more of a sounding board for an exoneration of the potential defendants, rather than as a review of possible charges against them.

[White people see black boys as older, bigger and guiltier]

His 70-page report reads like defense counsel brief, not a neutral assessment of potential charges. (It even has headings like “Officers Loehmann and Garmback’s subsequent statements are consistent with the evidence in this case” and “The incident conforms to the Cleveland Police Department’s active shooter policy.”)

This approach — using the grand jury to review arguments on behalf of potential police defendants, not to prosecute them — fits the model of several recent inquiries of police shootings.

...

Just last week, Texas prosecutors announced that a grand jury declined to charge any Waller County jail officials in the death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old woman who was arrested after a routine traffic stop caught on video and was later found dead in her cell. Jail staff said they discovered her hanging by a belt, an apparent suicide. Her family maintains that the circumstances are suspicious.

Prosecutors convened the grand jury to consider potential charges against the jail staff but then said they already concluded that her death was a suicide.

Which makes no sense.

If Bland killed herself, there is no crime to charge. The grand jury should have no charges to bring, and nothing to review.

If prosecutors believed she was killed, then they should have presented those charges to the grand jury. But the Texas prosecutors gave away their game by saying, essentially, that they asked jurors to consider potential charges for a crime they say didn’t happen. If that sounds hard to follow, it is, because the prosecutors are obfuscating on purpose.

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These cases have exposed the failures of this model, however, for both citizens and officers alike. In instances of clearly justified police shootings, there’s no good reason that officers should face an automatic grand jury review of potential charges. As Americans, we ask police to risk their lives and sometimes take the lives of others — there’s no policy rationale for making their jobs more litigious simply because a prosecutor wants a uniform rule or political cover. We don’t need a grand jury, for example, to review the effective work of the officers who killed the San Bernardino shooters.

At the same time, prosecutors have an obligation to vigorously pursue potential crimes, no matter who commits them. It breeds mistrust and cynicism if the public believes prosecutors apply a different process and set of standards depending on the identity of a suspect.

Our founders put grand juries in the Constitution so that citizens could check overzealous prosecutors. As the Supreme Court noted in 1992, the purpose of a grand jury is to confirm that there is some “basis for bringing a criminal charge.”

In that 8-to-1 decision, the court explained, “It has always been thought sufficient to hear only the prosecutor’s side” before jurors give a green light for a prosecutor’s proposed charges. It is a historical oddity that today some prosecutors are using grand juries to present the defense’s side and avoid any charges at all.

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These are the shocking injuries suffered by an innocent black teenager when a cop bludgeoned him with a flashlight.

The teen was injured after a chase by Grand Rapids, Michigan, police officer Sean McCamman, and his parents have now launched a lawsuit against the force.

The officer then hit the boy with the bulb end of the flashlight, and pictures show blood pouring from his head and stitches on his scalp after the incident in June 2014.

...

The boy, referred to as DB, was standing in a group of five and the officer chased him after vague reports of a black male carrying a gun, according to the lawsuit.

The officer caught him trying to scale a fence, threw him on the ground face-first and then started to bludgeon him with the flashlight.

He was charged with resisting and obstructing a police officer and carrying a concealed weapon after prosecutors argued that a gun found nearby belonged to him.

DB, who was just 15 at the time, was later cleared of all the charges, after the judge ruled the officer did not have reasonable grounds to suspect him of a charge, in March.
The teenager was cleared of the gun charges two months later.

His lawyers - Heath and Joshua Blanchard of Miel & Carr - are now claiming that the officer used 'unreasonable and excessive force'.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1451569703

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Former Deputy LAPD Chief of Police Stephen Downing explains why a law meant to target drug kingpins was harming everyday people since only 13 percent of seizure victims were ever charged with a crime - December 30, 2015

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Since 2010, police in the state of Georgia have shot and killed 184 individuals, with every instance officially deemed a justified use of force. A contrary new investigation reveals that nearly half of those 184 suspects were either unarmed or were shot in the back by police. Can every single of these incidents truly be considered reasonable uses of force?

A truly impressive, in-depth investigative report from the Atlantic-Journal Constitution and Georgia’s Channel 2 Action News teams reveals the deeply troubling nature of police shootings in Georgia, and indeed, might be viewed as a microcosm of the issue of police abuse nationwide, showing the underlying propensity shared among law enforcement to use lethal force with little or no hesitation. Moreover, it shows that even under questionable circumstances, officers walk away free of any responsibility.

Speaking to the Atlantic-Journal Constitution, a lawyer who has handled a number of cases dealing with officer-involved shootings says it is simply not true “that officers are just looking for a reason to shoot someone.” While that argument may be true, it’s also reductionist; it ignores undeniably clear trends propelled along by, among other factors, racism and abuse of the mentally ill.

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A north shore police officer was arrested Monday (Dec. 28) for allegedly stealing $1,600 from Hispanic men during several traffic stops. Laquinton Banks, 25, who had worked for the town of Independence Police Department for five months, was booked with committing hate crimes for targeting the Hispanic motorists, State Police said.

The investigation began Dec. 23 after the police department received a complaint that Banks had used his position to steal money from motorists, State Police said. The department placed Banks on leave and contacted State Police to investigate the allegations.

Troopers confirmed that Banks stole a total of $1,600 from non-English speaking men during four separate traffic stops, State Police said.

In addition to the hate crime charges, Banks was booked with felony theft and malfeasance in office at the Tangipahoa Parish Jail.

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Records show that Lemay’s injuries were the topic of conversation in subsequent communications between Officer Bush and Officer Brandon McHale.

“YOUR BITE OR (Dietz’s)?” McHale inquired.

“I LET (Dietz) HAVE IT,” Bush said.

“NICE, HOW BAD?” McHale asked.

“BAD,” Bush replied. “FACE AND BACK.”

“SKIN GRAFT BAD?” McHale asked.

“NO,” Bush said.

“COULDA BEEN WORSE THEN, HE SHOULD HAVE COMPLIED,” McHale said, ending the exchange.

The Herald-Tribune obtained a memorandum of the counseling that Bush received in relation to the incident. It states that the officer’s messages to Dietz when responding to the call concerning Lemay were unprofessional and violated departmental policy.

“E-mails and Messages sent via the (mobile digital terminal) are public record, and employees will be held accountable for the content of the messages,” the memorandum states. “This memorandum of counseling shall be characterized as a corrective rather than punitive action. Further violations will result in progressive discipline.”

However, no internal affairs investigation was ever conducted regarding the communications or the attack on Lemay.

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A Bronx man who spent three nightmarish years as a teen in Rikers Island awaiting trial killed himself just days before he was due back in court to face new charges his lawyer blasted as “baseless.”

Kalief Browder, who hanged himself with an air-conditioning cord on Saturday, suffered flashbacks from his Rikers experiences when busted in April for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to his brother. “It definitely brought back some bad memories,” Kamal Browder told the Daily News.

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The mother of a police officer is recovering from her injuries after being shot by her own child and in-law with whom she lives.

North Las Vegas police announced last week that no charges will be filed against the officer and her husband who fired more than two dozen rounds at their mother as she returned home around 11:30 pm.

The officer claimed that the 27 rounds were fired “accidentally” and so the department said there is no need for charges.

Of course, shooting at an intruder in your home is a justified measure. However, what does it say about the trigger-happy nature of this officer who would unleash 27 rounds at her own mom, who had to have been screaming for her life upon hearing the first round being fired?

Those who are familiar with firearms know that it takes, at a minimum, several seconds to unload the magazine of a standard pistol. This scene must have looked like a war zone during the shooting.

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Instead of simply doing their jobs, officers exposed the blatant double standard between themselves and ordinary citizens by refusing to arrest a deputy who admitted to driving drunk on body cam video after vomiting on himself. Although the cops had probable cause to arrest the inebriated deputy, one of the officers shut off her body camera while apparently discussing how to cover up the embarrassing incident with the police chief.

...Later on in the video, Corn informed Porter, “I just came to make sure you made it home, but seeing you in the vehicle I had to check on you. I’m wishing I hadn’t, but now I’m stuck.”

“No, you’re not stuck, Jen,” Porter retorted.

“I am, because somebody saw you drive out of there,” Corn replied.

“No, we’re good,” asserted Porter.

“You’re drunk,” Corn observed.

“Yeah,” stated Porter.

“And you just drove here from…from the theater,” Corn noted.

“Yes…two miles,” admitted Porter.

“Yup, I know,” acknowledged Corn. “And I’m really hoping that there’s nothing in the law that will stick here.”

According to Corn and Krebs, Porter had vomited on himself and clearly appeared drunk. After repeatedly attempting to walk away, Porter was forced to remain near his vehicle while waiting for Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Dickson and Poulsbo Chief Al Townsend to arrive. Instead of administering field sobriety tests or conducting further questioning about his admitted DUI, the officers stood with Porter in awkward silence for nearly 20 minutes while waiting for their bosses.

During this time, Porter did several things that would have gotten a normal citizen, tasered, handcuffed, beaten, or killed. Getting out of the car when told not to, repeatedly putting hands in pockets, and refusing to obey the officers’ commands have proven to be death sentences for otherwise completely innocent people.

Immediately after Chief Townsend’s arrival, Corn informed her boss that she was shutting off her body camera before discussing the details of Porter’s DUI and subsequent detention. Instead of ordering Corn to leave the video running, Townsend allowed his subordinate to shut off her camera in order to secretly devise how to let Porter off the hook without arresting him.

Instead of chastising Porter for driving drunk and endangering lives, Corn apologetically whimpered at Porter, “I…I’m just gonna be straight to up for you…with you, because I respect you. Um, right now, we have the reasonable suspicion to detain you. Ok? But we don’t, at this time, have probable cause for your arrest. Ok?”

After obtaining the body cam video and police report from the city through a public records request, the Kitsap Sun also discovered that Corn never asked Porter to perform any sobriety tests, take a field Breathalyzer, search his car, or inform him of his Miranda rights before conducting further questioning after his initial confession. Although Corn claimed they did not have enough probable cause to arrest Porter, Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim McDonough disagreed with her assessment.

...

Eleven days prior to the incident, Porter rear-ended a car waiting to make a left turn at an intersection at 8 a.m. on October 5. He returned to work on November 11, after learning that no criminal charges would be filed against him.

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The prosecutor in Netflix's true-crime docuseries Making a Murderer is getting trashed on Yelp as viewers learn about his role in Steven Avery's subsequently overturned sexual assault conviction.

The show, which began streaming on Dec. 18, has quickly become a hot topic online, leading to bad reviews for Ken Kratz's law firm's Yelp page.

The former district attorney, who resigned in 2014 when it was revealed that he had sent lewd text messages to the girlfriend of a man he was prosecuting for domestic abuse, prosecuted Avery, the main subject of the series, for sexual assault in 1985.

In 2003, after Avery served 18 years in prison, DNA evidence linked the crime to another suspect and Avery was released. Avery's lawyers alleged law enforcement planted evidence that led to his conviction. Two years after his conviction was overturned, however, Avery was arrested and subsequently convicted for another murder.

Today Kratz is a criminal defense lawyer in Wisconsin with his own shingle, Kratz Law Firm, which currently has a rating of only one-and-a-half stars on Yelp as people have flooded the business with scathing reviews now that he's returned to the spotlight with Making a Murderer.

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...Wang runs from behind Rice and pepper sprays him in the face, and then strikes Rice’s hand repeatedly at full force with his baton. Rice stands there without flinching, calmly taking the beating from this maniacal cop.

This lack of reaction infuriates Wang even further, as he pepper sprays Rice again and again. Then he strikes Rice’s other hand at full force with the baton, causing him to drop his bag. Wang continues striking Rice with the baton until Rice collapses in the sand. Wang gives him a final blow to the back and then stomps on the limp man’s body.

Rice suffered broken bones in his right hand from this beating. He rightly claims that Wang used excessive force, and the defendants “took steps to write reports that altered the events as they actually took place so as to justify Wang use force [sic] against the plaintiff to effectuate his arrest.” Wang deceptively attempted to charge Rice with resisting arrest too.

“Prosecutors initially declined to press charges against Wang, but chief prosecutor Keith Keneshiro disagreed and ordered his staff to re-examine the case, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.”

Rice pleaded no contest to obstructing a government operation—a misdemeanor—and prosecutors declined to charge him with resisting arrest. He seeks punitive damages for negligence, civil rights violations, conspiracy, assault and battery, false imprisonment and emotional distress.

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The death of a 74-year-old man who suffered neck injuries during a struggle with security guards last fall at MedStar Washington Hospital Center has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Monday.

James E. McBride, who had been a patient, was restrained by guards who were trying to bring him back to the hospital after he left without signing out on Sept. 29. He died two days later.

The D.C. medical examiner’s office said Monday that McBride’s cause of death was “blunt force injuries” of the neck. It also said the injuries involved “cervical spinal cord transection” and “vertebral artery compression.” They did not offer a further explanation.


D.C. police officials said they continue to investigate the death but they declined to comment further. Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in the District, said Monday that there is an ongoing investigation into the case. He said no charges have been filed.

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FIVE MONTHS AFTER Limerick man Jason Corbett died, his American wife and her father have been charged over his death.

Last night, Davidson County Assistant District Attorney Greg Brown confirmed both Molly Martens Corbett and Thomas Michael Martens were to face charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter following a grand jury indictment.

The pair are not in police custody. However, it is believed that they are in the family home in Tennessee and will hand themselves into authorities within the coming days.

Corbett, 39, sustained fatal head injuries during an alleged assault in his North Carolina home on 2 August 2015. Shortly after the incident, police said they were not looking for any suspects outside the home, naming Molly and Tom as ‘persons of interest’.

In a call to emergency services, Tom – a retired FBI agent – said he hit his son-in-law with a baseball bat during a dispute. When paramedics arrived, Jason was unresponsive. He died later from his injuries.

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Molly’s uncle Mike Earnest insisted the father and daughter were acting in self defence.

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A Yuba-Sutter drug task force agent is suspected of illegally transporting 200 pounds of marijuana while on vacation in Pennsylvania.

Officials said Yuba County sheriff's Deputy Christopher "Mark" Heath, 37, was arrested Monday by the York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit in York, Pa., on suspicion of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance and delivery of a controlled substance.

He was booked into jail in York County and released Tuesday night after posting a $1 million bail. York County sheriff's Lt. Gregory Ickler said Heath contacted a bail bondsman Tuesday and likely paid a bond of between 5 and 10 percent. There was no inquiry into where the funds came from, he said.

Heath is a Yuba County sheriff's deputy who has been assigned to NET-5, the bi-county drug and gang task force, for three years. He wrote search warrants, investigated drug crimes and served as a witness in marijuana-trafficking cases.

He was placed on administrative leave and will receive his salary pending the results of an administrative investigation, which is usually completed before a criminal case, according to Undersheriff Jerry Read. Last year, Heath's total pay and benefits were $122,179, according to Transparent California.

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