The claim is that i violated SMC 11.50.560

11.50.560 - Forbidden devices.

A.
No person shall erect or maintain at or near a street or alley any structure, sign, light or device that is:

1.
Visible from a street or alley and simulating any directional, warning, or regulatory sign or likely to be mistaken for such a sign or bearing any such words as "danger," "stop," "slow," "turn," "impound," or similar words, figures, or directions likely to be construed as giving warning to or regulating traffic;

2.
Visible from a street or alley and displaying any red, green, or yellow light or intermittent or blinking light or rotating light identical or similar in size, shape and color to that used on any emergency or road equipment or any light otherwise likely to be mistaken for a traffic-control device;

3.
Visible from a street or alley and displaying any lights tending to blind persons operating vehicles upon the street or alley or any glaring light, or any light likely to be mistaken for a vehicle upon the street or alley or otherwise to be so mistaken as to constitute a hazard; or

4.
Visible from a street or alley, and flooding, or intended to flood, or directed across, the roadway of the street or alley with a directed beam, or with diffused light, whether or not the floodlight is shielded against directing its flood beam toward approaching traffic on the street or alley.

B.
Any structure or device erected or maintained contrary to the provisions of this section is a public nuisance and the Director of Engineering shall notify the owner thereof that it constitutes a public nuisance and must be removed, and if the owner fails to do so, the Director of Engineering may abate the nuisance. Any and all actions undertaken by the Director of Engineering or his duly authorized agent to abate such a nuisance shall not attach any liability to the City, its agents, or employees. (RCW 47.36.180)
(Ord. 108200, § 2(11.50.560), 1979.)

An Iowa police officer was sentenced on Monday to 63 months in prison for kicking an unarmed man in the head at a 2013 traffic stop.

Officer Colin Boone was convicted in March for kicking a restrained man, Orville Hill, who had just survived an automobile crash and was suffering from a seizure when Boone attacked him.

Hill testified in court that Boone, who was 400 pounds at the time, caused serious damage, exacerbating his seizures. Michael Smart, Boone’s defense attorney, originally requested five years of probation, but US District Judge Robert Pratt opted for a harsher sentence in lieu of Hill’s testimony.

Former Jefferson County Sheriff Blair Olsen was sentenced Monday for misusing public funds.

Olsen, who was convicted on three felony counts in May due to his wife using a county cell phone, was sentenced to 30 days each for two of those counts and 15 days in jail for the third count. That adds up to a total of 75 days that Olsen must serve concurrently.

That means, after the first 15 days, Olsen will have the option of completing his sentence with community service. If he performs 120 hours of community service within 60 days, he will only spend those initial 15 days in jail.

He must also pay a $2,500 fine and $1,023 in restitution.

There is no word on where Olsen will serve his jail time, but we do know it will be local.

At the sentencing, Olsen publicly apologized to the people of Jefferson County.

Judge Greg Moeller also issued a withheld judgment, which means after three years of probation -- if Olsen behaves -- he will get his civil rights back.

He had already forfeited his office due to his conviction.

Department's narcotics unit executed several search warrants at the store Snacks on MLK Jr. Way in Newtown last year. The raids ended with one arrest and the seizure of more than 400 packets of the designer drug known as Spice, more than $17,000 in cash, and one handgun. The bust was all made possible by a tip from the property owner.

"I alerted them of what was going on because I didn't want my building to be classified as a nuisance to this community," said Lance Shabazz.

Shabazz is a long-time Newtown resident who owns Shabazz Plaza, the building Snacks was located in. Shabazz says he began noticing the strange activity shortly after leasing out the unit.

"People were standing around the store like it was a food line, so I called the police," said Shabazz.

He says he informed Sarasota PD that his tenant was selling K-2 Spice, a drug which is illegal in Sarasota. Despite the four search warrants turning up hundreds of packages of a designer drugs, Shabazz wasn't applauded for his tip. Instead, he got a Nuisance Abatement Violation and a bill.

"When we went to court they had a bill that started out at $3,800 for investigation fees and attorney fees," said Shabazz.

After several appeals, the Nuisance and Abatement violation was decreased to $1,500. Shabazz says the fact that he has to pay any dollar amount to the police for their investigation is wrong.

"[They] don't feel embarrassed for charging me for them doing their job," added Shabazz.
A Nuisance Abatement Board member told ABC7 that the $3,800 billed to Shabazz was the city's actual cost, and they just want to be reimbursed.

Still, some believe this type of billing will hurt community policing efforts and deter others from coming forward in the future.

"It's embarrassing to the city and the community to charge me with a Nuisance Abatement after I blew the whistle on the fellow selling Spice," added Shabazz.

...

The trouble within the family began when Mr. Koehler made accusations that someone stole his $ 100,000 from a vault in his son’s house, according to a police report. His son also lives on Lotus Dr., reports said. On the day of the dispute, the son’s girlfriend and her daughter arrived at the house, and Mr. Koehler is accused of firing his gun at them. Police then were called.

Officer Konopka arrived at the scene, knowing that shots had been fired, the chief said. Instead of exiting his squad car and confronting Mr. Koehler to drop the weapon, Officer Konopka reportedly pulled up in the driveway, didn’t get out of his squad car and engaged Mr. Koehler in conversation.

The chief said Officer Konopka knows Mr. Koehler personally and was talking to him from inside his police cruiser while Mr. Koehler was armed with a loaded .22 pistol as he sat on his scooter in the driveway. At one point, Mr. Koehler’s son noticed the police car in the driveway and began to exit the door, thinking it was safe.

That, according to police reports, is when Mr. Koehler leaned across the front of the police car and fired. He stated in reports that he wanted to simply scare his son and didn’t directly aim at him. But Officer Konopka maintains Mr. Koehler fired skyward.

Since it could not be determined where he was aiming, the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office filed the unlawful intent charges instead of attempted murder.

Mr. Koehler eventually was arrested that day. Chief Ansel said he returned to the scene the day after to collect evidence and found three shell casings near the scene of the shooting. Once he discovered how the investigation was handled, he decided to place Officer Konopka on administrative suspension.

Officer Konopka is no stranger to controversy. In 2013 the Erie Township Board questioned his performance as a chief and outlined 13 various concerns regarding his administrative and leadership duties, including the theft of money from the police evidence room and a missing assault rifle and a police radio. He denied publicly at the time that those items were missing.

Nonetheless, the board eventually removed him as chief, then rehired him as a police officer. Now that job is in jeopardy. Officer Konopka did appear at the court hearing this week but declined to discuss his suspension. He did say he was in the process of seeking an attorney.

There have been three investigations of fatal officer-involved shootings in mid-Michigan since December and the investigating agency didn't interview any of the officers, who instead opted to submit written reports.

Along with whether to be interviewed, officers involved in a fatal shooting can decide when to be interviewed, which is often two or more days — two sleep cycles — after the incident.

Exactly how much time elapses before that first interview is determined by the officer and the union that represents him or her, said First Lt. Joseph Thomas of the Michigan State Police.

The differences between a fatal officer-involved shooting and a typical homicide investigation — specifically with when the interview might take place — are there because when an officer kills, it's not automatically clear that a crime has been committed, said David Carter, a professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University.

...

The State Police conducted the investigation of the fatal officer-involved shooting of a teen by an Eaton County Sheriff's sergeant in February...he announced he would not seek charges against the sergeant.

During that investigation, the sergeant declined to be interviewed by State Police investigators, Lloyd said. Investigators did have his report on the incident, which he filed in the course of his job. He was able to review his body camera footage before filing his report.

...

The officers can consult with an attorney and review their report before the interview because they have the same rights as any other citizen who is the subject of a criminal investigation, Thomas said.

The delay in the interview can vary depending on the department and the union, he said, but Thomas said he doesn't believe it hurts the investigation.

...

After the criminal investigation of an officer-involved shooting, the department can conduct an internal investigation into whether the officer followed departmental procedures. The officer can be compelled to make a statement at that time, although it can't be used against him or her in court.

The result of an internal investigation can lead to discipline or termination if it is found that the officer didn't follow certain procedures. The internal investigations for the recent officer-involved shootings haven't been completed yet.

A 37-year-old New Jersey cop accused of exposing his genitalia to the young male motorists he pulled over has accepted a plea deal in which the officer loses his job in exchange for pleading guilty to tampering with his patrol car's dashcam "to conceal unprofessional and inappropriate conduct."

A police lieutenant in Tennessee was not arrested after shooting at a group of 20 children playing volleyball hear his home.

The children were not on his property, but the mere sound of them playing at a nearby church was enough to enrage Michael Wilson, 58, to the point of opening fire on them with a BB gun.

A 911 caller reported that a man with a gun was firing at the children…

“We were just playing volleyball and all of the sudden I just heard a ‘gun-click’ sound and I was just freaking out because it was so fast and then all of sudden, something hits my leg,” one of the children, Addison Caldwell said.

“My daughter came running in here saying ‘mom something got me in the back of the leg’ and yelling there’s a man shooting us and of course I’m like ‘oh my gosh what’s going on?’,” Caldwell’s mother, Angela Gulley, recalled.

A total of three children were shot by the BBs, but when officers arrived they didn’t open fire on him like John Crawford or Tamir Rice, who never fired a shot from their BB guns.

Instead, the intoxicated lieutenant was placed on paid administrative leave while the department investigates the shooting.

He was charged, and must appear in court on June 3rd, but he was not arrested in spite of the fact that he opened fire on children.

Deputy Scott Pliler shot Dewayne Ward Jr. three times while serving an eviction and temporary restraining order and a no-bail warrant for his arrest on Feb. 3, Pliler said at a coroner’s inquest this morning in Martinez.

Ward’s mother, Yolanda Alexander Dozier, initially called authorities to remove her son from her apartment, according to sheriff’s deputy Sgt. Joseph Buford.

Dozier obtained the restraining and move-out orders at the end of January after she and Ward had an argument on New Year’s Eve, when he punched her in the head and locked her out of her apartment, according to court documents.

...

Eventually, the deputies were able to get into the apartment, and once they did, Ward ran into the bedroom, where he barricaded himself against the door, according to Pliler.

Pliler said he tried to kick the door down twice, but could only get it to move slightly before Ward pushed it shut again. Pliler then sprayed pepper spray into a gap in the door, but he said it didn’t appear to have any effect on Ward.

Once the officers were able to get the door open, Pliler said he heard someone shoot a Taser stun gun at Ward, which also didn’t appear to have any effect.

With the door now open, Pliler said he entered the room and saw Ward on the ground with a butcher knife in his hand and gave his dog the command to bite Ward.

The dog bit Ward in the right forearm, but Pliler said the dog also didn’t seem to have an impact on Ward, who then stood up and started swinging a knife at Pliler while dragging the dog behind him.

Pliler said he shouted twice for Ward to drop the knife or he would shoot Ward.

Once Ward was within arm’s length of Pliler, Pliler shot Ward three times, he said.

“The last time he swung the knife at me, my hands were extended to hold my firearm, I had to pull my firearm into my chest to avoid being stabbed in the arm with the knife,” Pliler said. “When he brought the knife back again, I extended my arms out while trying to slide out of the door, and I fired three bullets as he continued towards me.”

Dr. Arnold Josselson, a forensic pathologist for the Contra Costa County coroner’s office, testified that Ward was shot twice in the back, at a downward angle, and once in the left breast, at a slight downward angle.

...

She said the team that served the orders also had a deputy with a police shield and a deputy with a gun that shoots beanbag, or non-lethal rounds. No one at the inquest Tuesday testified to using those tools, although Buford said he wanted to ensure every option was available to them.

...

The jury decides whether the death is a suicide, an accident, a result of natural causes or was “at the hands of another, other than by accident.” They do not determine whether an officer-involved shooting was justified.

Dozier, who was there with attorney Ben Nisenbaum, said they would likely file a civil suit against the county. Nisenbaum is an associate with the law offices of John Burris, a prominent civil rights attorney.

“It’s all about the conduct leading up to the shooting and how they could disregard his disability,” Nisenbaum said. “Officers, when they’re dealing with a person who has a disability, they’re required to accommodate that disability when it’s reasonable to do so.”

In this case, Nisembaum said there is “very clear training” for officers who are dealing with people who are schizophrenic or are having delusions.

“You give them time,” Nisembaum said. “You de-escalate, you don’t escalate and you don’t threaten them because you know the person doesn’t react reasonably.”

A Brooklyn landlord who was arrested and shackled to a hospital bed for 17 days is taking her case against the city to a jury.





A trial is slated to begin Monday in the case of Karen Brim, who claims NYPD officers roughed her up in the stairwell of her Flatbush building as they pursued four teens who had been hanging out on the roof.

They chased the youths into Brim’s building, entering via the roof, as Brim was mopping a hallway, leading to the violent April 2012 encounter.

Brim, 44, says she tried to tell the officers the teens were visitors, not trespassers, but they threw her to the ground, leaving her leg broken in two places, according to court papers.

Brim was the attacker, claimed cops, who hit her with assault and other charges for swinging a broom at an officer and hitting him in the head. Those charges have since been dropped.

She ended up in Kings County Hospital, where she needed multiple surgeries, plates and screws to repair her leg.

It took more than two weeks for Brim to be arraigned on the assault charges, during which she says was handcuffed by her wrist and ankle to her hospital bed. Brim sued the city in 2013, claiming false arrest and unreasonable force, for unspecified damages.

A police dog died as a result of being left in a hot patrol car, according to GSPD spokesman Sgt. Jason Woodruff.

The three-year-old dog was left inside an officer's car on Thursday, June 18 during a hurricane preparation conference in Gulf Shores.

"Mason's handler Corporal Josh Coleman forgot that Mason was still in the back seat of his patrol car. On discovering Mason's absence Cpl. Coleman located him in the vehicle," the statement read.

No criminal charges will be filed but the city and the department have taken action against Coleman.