Funk, a Vietnam War veteran, was suing the city of Neenah, its police, and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department for $50 million over a 2012 raid at the motorcycle shop.

Police raided the shop as part of a heroin and methamphetamine investigation, and Erato was charged with 26 felonies — all of which were later dropped — and pleaded no contests to a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana.

Funk was ordered to the ground during the raid and told police that he was lawfully carrying a concealed weapon, but the lawsuit claims officers pointed guns at his head and terrified him as they took him into custody.

Erato said he doesn’t believe Funk would have fought with or threatened police after escaping the gunman who had been holding him hostage.

A former Habersham County deputy sheriff is set to face trial on charges over her role in setting up a "no-knock" drug raid that severely injured a toddler when a flash grenade detonated in his playpen.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Ex-deputy to face trial after botched ?Baby Bou Bou? police raid | www.ajc.com ) that Nikki Autry is expected to face trial Monday. Autry pleaded not guilty to providing false information to get a warrant, which led to a botched raid that critically injured a toddler.

Authorities have said 19-month-old Bounkham Phonesavanh (BOON'-kahm fohn-SAH'-vahn) was critically injured when the device landed in his playpen during the May 2014 raid on the northeast Georgia home. The grenade blew Phonesavanh's chest and face open, burning him.

Attorney Jeff Brickman says Autry never intentionally misled the judge who signed the no-knock warrant.

When police called Holmes to tell her they had killed her son, they released the official lie that stated Johnson pointed a gun at officers and they were forced to return fire. Holmes never believed this lie and had her own medical examination conducted which showed that her son was, indeed, shot in the back.

Police remain steadfast in their claims that Johnson had a gun, and they have released pictures of said gun. However, according to Dorothy Holmes, Ronnieman’s prints were never found on that gun.

On Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn McCarthy, used a PowerPoint presentation in an hour-long presentation to the media to attempt to justify the killing of Johnson. Despite her long-winded apologies, there is still zero evidence that Johnson was in possession of a gun.

When the cops raided Ginnifer Hency’s home in Smiths Creek, Michigan, last July, “they took everything,” she told state legislators on Tuesday, including TV sets, ladders, her children’s cellphones and iPads, even her vibrator. They found six ounces of marijuana and arrested Hency for possession with intent to deliver, “even though I was fully compliant with the Michigan medical marijuana laws,” which means “I am allowed to possess and deliver.” Hency, a mother of four with multiple sclerosis, uses marijuana for pain relief based on her neurologist’s recommendation. She also serves as a state-registered caregiver for five other patients.

Hency’s compliance with state law explains why a St. Clair County judge last week dismissed the charges against her. But when she asked about getting back her property last Friday, she reported, “The prosecutor came out to me and said, ‘Well, I can still beat you in civil court. I can still take your stuff.’” When she heard that, Hency said, “I was at a loss. I literally just sat there dumbfounded.”

Hency told her story at a meeting of the Michigan House Judiciary Committee, which was considering several bills that would make this sort of legalized larceny more difficult. She was joined by Annette Shattuck, another medical marijuana patient who was raided by the St. Clair County Drug Task Force around the same time.

“After they breached the door at gunpoint with masks, they proceeded to take every belonging in my house,” Shattuck said. The cops’ haul included bicycles, her husband’s tools, a lawn mower, a weed whacker, her children’s Christmas presents, cash (totaling $85) taken from her daughter’s birthday cards, the kids’ car seats and soccer equipment, and vital documents such as driver’s licenses, insurance cards, and birth certificates. “How do you explain to your kids when they come home and everything is gone?” Shattuck asked. She added that her 9-year-old daughter is now afraid of the police and “cried for weeks” because the cops threatened to shoot the family dog during the raid. Although “my husband and I have not been convicted of any crime,” Shattuck said, they cannot get their property back, and their bank accounts remain frozen.

Last February The Detroit Free Press highlighted various other examples of the cruel, greedy pettiness fostered by civil forfeiture laws, which allow police to take assets allegedly linked to crime without so much as filing charges, let alone obtaining a conviction. “Police seized more than $24 million in assets from Michiganders in 2013,” the paper noted. “In many cases the citizens were never charged with a crime but lost their property anyway.” Now a bipartisan group of state legislators is trying to reform the laws that have turned Michigan cops into robbers.

The bills, which are backed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township), would require law enforcement agencies to keep track of all forfeitures and report them to the state police, prohibit the forfeiture of vehicles used to purchase small amounts of marijuana, and raise the standard of proof for forfeitures in cases involving drugs or public nuisances. “We must bring culpability and transparency to the system and rein in the ability of police to indiscriminately seize the property of innocent citizens,” Kesto says.

Back in July, North Randall police officer Kevin Lumpkin was arrested by the FBI for selling firearms to two felons.

After two days of deliberating, Lumpkin was convicted on Friday. He had been on house arrest before the trial.

In August 2012, while searching a residence, a local police department found single firearms and boxes of firearms. Authorities determined the weapons had been purchased by Lumpkin, 29, and at the time he bought them, he was a North Randall police officer.

A pistol that was recovered during a traffic stop was also traced back to Lumpkin, according to the FBI. That pistol was found in the car of a suspect with an outstanding warrant, who was arrested.

Lumpkin is set to be sentenced on February 29 for two counts of unlawful sale of firearms to a felon. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for each charge.

Two city police officers, acquitted during an October jury trial of perjury, misconduct and falsifying reports, did not fare as well when judged by their department, which said the pair — and their supervisor — had to go.

Officer Brian Dodge resigned before he could be fired, while Officer Billy Koepke and Sgt. Michael Florenco, the supervisor, are challenging their dismissals, officials said.

Koepke and Dodge were originally arrested in 2011, accused of scheming to shake down drug addicts and dealers and steal their money. The men, now in their mid-30s, were suspended from their $75,878 a year jobs when they were charged.

Those charges stemmed from a 2010 incident and were dropped in August, but the officers were tried on misconduct and perjury charges that were backed in part by surveillance video that contradicted what they put in their report.

The two were accused of providing false information against Junior Jerome and Dieudson Nore, nabbed for possession of and intent to distribute cocaine. The charges against Jerome and Nore were dismissed when video uncovered by defense attorneys didn't match the officers' report.

This video is from the police cam carried by National Park Service ranger Steve Glaser. This fiasco is an example of how a benign situation can escalate into something ugly. Surfers be aware that sharks are not the only hazard on the seashore.

Don and his wife Inga were on their way to a graduation party when they stopped at Coast Guard Beach and asked for permission to look at the waves. He can't normally park at this parking lot, as it is reserved only for Eastham residents. But the guards let him drive up for 10 mins. Apparently, they stayed for 20. When a ranger came to ask Inga to leave, she said she doesn't drive, and that her husband was on the beach. The video begins when Don comes back to the parking lot.

As the officer was pushing Don to the ground, his hand went into Don's mouth. Don bit down on it. He was arrested for assaulting a police officer.

On Monday, two children were released from the Hardeman County jail after being locked in a cage over the weekend for their choice of attire.

In a shocking and secretive ruling last week, two seniors at Bolivar Central High School were sentenced to two days behind bars for merely violating the school’s dress code.

In early November, a school resource officer, in an effort to protect the world from the horrors of sagging pants, charged two students with indecent exposure.

Officer Willie Hoyle said he had warned the students several times that the pants they were wearing were inappropriate for school, according to court documents.

Hoyle claimed that his actions were noble as the older seniors were setting a poor example for the younger children and their future attire choices.

“Because the environment is already bad, and it ain’t gonna get any better if the older kids don’t try to show the younger kids anything,” he told WREG.

The school does have a policy which states, “pants must be worn and fitted to the waistline” and “low slung, baggy seat, baggy legged or bell-bottom pants are not permitted.” However, both the Bolivar Sheriff’s Office and the Hardeman County School Board are remaining silent on how a school policy violation ended in jail time for two children.

“You do got to be presentable at school. But, doing 48 hours! Ain’t nobody doing that,” said one man interviewed by WREG.

In an unprecedented protest against the routine offenses against due process and bodily integrity carried out in the name of the “war on drugs,” the union representing Pittsburgh police officers has condemned workplace drug and alcohol testing as a violation of the Constitution. Their zeal for the right to privacy only applies to themselves, however, not to the public they supposedly serve.

NBC affiliate WPXI reports that the Pittsburgh Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police “has filed a civil rights grievance against the city, claiming officers have been order to undergo drug and alcohol testing that is in violation of their contract.” Union attorney Bryan Campbell describes the policy as “an illegal search and seizure.”

To which those not protected by Blue Privilege might respond: Welcome to our world, FOP.

Under the contract between the City of Pittsburgh and its paramilitary affiliate, police officers can be subjected to drug or alcohol tests only in three circumstances: When an officer displays signs of impairment on the job, fires a weapon, or is involved in a vehicle crash. The union’s complaint arises from a recent pursuit that ended in a car crash. Two officers who participated in the chase but were not directly involved in the crash were required to undergo testing.

Another blatantly obvious reason for police opposing public scutiny of their urine is that it could reveal the usage of such things as anabolic steroids. Police officers are no stranger to ‘Vitamin S’ as many of them have not only been caught using the rage-inducing hormones, but selling them as well.

...

A Chicago police commander who had been praised for his crime fighting in some of the city's roughest neighborhoods will go on trial on Tuesday on charges that he put a gun in a suspect's mouth.

Glenn Evans, who was relieved of his duties pending the outcome of his case, was charged last year with aggravated battery and official misconduct in the capture of a suspect on Jan. 30, 2013.

Evans' trial comes a day after the U.S. Department of Justice said that it was conducting a civil rights investigation of the third-largest U.S. city's police department, including its use of force.

The city has seen nearly two weeks of protests following the release of a video of the shooting death of a 17-year-old black teen by a white police officer in 2014. The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was charged with murder in the shooting of Laquan McDonald on the same day the video was released.

On Monday, prosecutors said they would not seek criminal charges in another 2014 police shooting which caused the death of Ronald Johnson III. Prosecutors said Johnson had a gun and was fleeing arrest.

The amount of force that can be used by police officers has become a focus of national debate due to a series of high-profile killings of black men at the hands of mostly white police officers in U.S. cities.

Evans, who is black, has been the subject of several police misconduct lawsuits, according to local media reports. His case will be tried by Cook County Criminal Court Judge Diane Cannon, without a jury.


Read more at Reutershttp://www.reuters.com/article/us-chicago-police-trial-idUSKBN0TR1BT20151208#5HlEjW2M2ZvBAuUu.99

Only two weeks ago, after months of public pressure, the Chicago PD released the dashcam of Laquan McDonald being murdered by officer Jason Van Dyke. Then, only yesterday, Chicago police quietly slipped out another video of officer George Hernandez murdering Ronald Johnson, by shooting him in the back as he ran away.

The latest video to be released is from an incident in the Far South Side police lockup and shows officers repeatedly tasering University of Chicago graduate Philip Coleman and then dragging his limp body from the cell.

Coleman was not a criminal, but he was experiencing an apparent mental crisis when he began to attack his mother in December of 2012. When police arrested him, Coleman was brought to a hospital where he was given a drug to make him calm down.

According to officials, Coleman’s death was the result of his reaction to that antipsychotic drug, which certainly can kill people. However, an autopsy showed that Coleman experienced ‘severe trauma’ while in custody. His body was covered in bruises and cuts, from the top of his head to his lower legs and there is video showing him being repeatedly tasered.

As the video begins, it shows that the drug was actually working when police came into Coleman’s cell and began their assault. He was merely laying on the bed when the first taser hit. Moments later, his lifeless body is being dragged down the hallway like an animal.

...

Emanuel then reiterated that there was no possible way that he died as a result of his brutal beating and being repeatedly tasered, but made sure to make himself look good for his critics. “While the Medical Examiner ruled that Mr. Coleman died accidentally as a result of treatment he received in the hospital, it does not excuse the way he was treated when he was in custody. Something is wrong here — either the actions of the officers who dragged Mr. Coleman, or the policies of the department.”

Indeed, Mr. Emanuel knew about the tragic death of Colemen when it initially happened on Dec. 12, 2012, as he had already been mayor for over 6 months. How is it that all of the sudden, Rahm Emanuel is experiencing a crisis of consciousness now, and cares about the victims of his attack dogs?

It is important to remember that this Chicago mayor allowed the video of the Laquan McDonald killing to remain in the hands of the police for over a year, while quietly offering $5 million to the victim’s family.

A white police officer who kicked a black suspect in the head and broke his jaw was acquitted of assault Tuesday by a Delaware jury.

Jurors deliberated for about 16 hours over three days before acquitting Dover police Cpl. Thomas Webster IV of felony assault. The jury also declined to convict Webster on the lesser charge of misdemeanor assault.

...

Webster, 42, testified that he didn't intend to kick Lateef Dickerson in the head in the August 2013 encounter and was instead was aiming for his upper body. Webster also said he feared for his safety and the safety of others because officers were told Dickerson was armed with a gun, and Dickerson was slow to comply with repeated commands to get on the ground.

Dashboard camera video from another officer's vehicle shows Dickerson had placed his hands on the ground but wasn't fully prone when Webster kicked him.

Prosecutors argued that Dickerson was not a threat when Webster kicked him, and that the officer acted recklessly and used excessive force.

"I hope in some small way, at least, this is a general deterrent," said deputy attorney general Mark Denney Jr. "We hope that police officers see that if there's a situation where the state feels that they've broken the law, they're going to be held to account."
Liguori has said Webster's indictment resulted from "state machinations" and an "abuse of power."

Prosecutors under former Attorney General Beau Biden took the case to a grand jury last year but failed to get an indictment. Liguori argued in court papers that Democratic Attorney General Matt Denn's decision to take the case to a second grand jury in May with no new evidence was a politically motivated response to nationwide scrutiny of police encounters with black citizens.

...

A white police officer who kicked a black suspect in the head and broke his jaw was acquitted of assault Tuesday by a Delaware jury.

Jurors deliberated for about 16 hours over three days before acquitting Dover police Cpl. Thomas Webster IV of felony assault. The jury also declined to convict Webster on the lesser charge of misdemeanor assault.

...

Webster, 42, testified that he didn't intend to kick Lateef Dickerson in the head in the August 2013 encounter and was instead was aiming for his upper body. Webster also said he feared for his safety and the safety of others because officers were told Dickerson was armed with a gun, and Dickerson was slow to comply with repeated commands to get on the ground.

Dashboard camera video from another officer's vehicle shows Dickerson had placed his hands on the ground but wasn't fully prone when Webster kicked him.

Prosecutors argued that Dickerson was not a threat when Webster kicked him, and that the officer acted recklessly and used excessive force.

"I hope in some small way, at least, this is a general deterrent," said deputy attorney general Mark Denney Jr. "We hope that police officers see that if there's a situation where the state feels that they've broken the law, they're going to be held to account."
Liguori has said Webster's indictment resulted from "state machinations" and an "abuse of power."

Prosecutors under former Attorney General Beau Biden took the case to a grand jury last year but failed to get an indictment. Liguori argued in court papers that Democratic Attorney General Matt Denn's decision to take the case to a second grand jury in May with no new evidence was a politically motivated response to nationwide scrutiny of police encounters with black citizens.

...

An Inglewood police officer shot down two innocent and unarmed men, without warning or questions and without identifying himself, the men say in Federal Court.

Thirty-five-year-old Robert Pickett, of Los Angeles, and Darryl Lewis, 39, of Gardena, say they spent the day grilling burgers with friends and were picking up some dumbbells and checking on one of Pickett's cousins after midnight on May 24, 2011, when Officer Mike Bolliger pulled up and came out shooting.

Pickett says Bollinger "parked his car at the corner, got out armed with his shotgun cocked, loaded and ready to fire" and shot them.

"No questions asked, no weapons seen, no words offered or exchanged. Defendant Bollinger blasted three shotgun rounds at the hapless and unarmed plaintiffs, striking them and wounding them as they sought to take cover from assault, leaving them in critical condition, bleeding face-down on the ground," Pickett says in the Dec. 3 complaint.

The men say Bollinger was responding with no partner or backup to a report of a home invasion robbery by two black men who might be armed with handguns, at the apartment complex where Pickett's cousin lived. The "sketchy information" about the robbers said only that they were black men, according to the complaint. Lewis stood by the security gate at the front of the apartment complex, smoking a cigarette, while Pickett punched in the pass code and said he was going to see his cousin.

Then, "Without warning, without investigation, without knowledge of who was in the area, of who the suspects were or what they looked like, and in violation of all training and standard police protocol, [Bollinger] approached the apartment gate and immediately shot Mr. Lewis and Mr. Pickett," the complaint states.

Pickett, a handyman who has a son and was engaged to be married at the time, suffered seven gunshot wounds, including one to his head.

Lewis, a husband and father of four, was shot once in the back and three times in the legs.

After other officers arrived and handcuffed them, the men say, "It became apparent that the wrong men had been shot as a result of Bolliger's rash, reckless and life-endangering conduct."

Though they lay bleeding and handcuffed, "in critical condition," the men say, the officers "set out to cover up the shooting of these two innocent, unarmed men."

To top it off, they say, "While driving with reckless abandon to the scene, they ran over a pedestrian, in a cross walk, killing her."

Pickett and Lewis sued four other officers, in addition to Bolliger and the city.

The cover-up was a bogus story that Lewis and/or Pickett had pointed guns at Bolliger, according to the complaint. "The problem for defendant Bolliger and the rest of defendant police officers was that neither plaintiff was armed; neither possessed a weapon of any kind. Likewise, neither plaintiff was in possession of any of the stolen items supposedly taken by the suspect in the robbery," the complaint states.

Nor did the people who reported the home invasion identify them as the robbers, the men say. They claim that the first photos taken of the scene where they were shot "do not show any weapon nor any of the stolen items. Some of the responding officers to the scene failed to see any weapons purportedly belonging to either plaintiff. Somehow, however, two handguns appeared and stolen items appeared as well. It was determined by subsequent forensic analysis before plaintiffs' criminal trial, that neither plaintiff was in any way connected physically with the weapons or the items."

The men say it took nearly an hour for them to receive medical attention, and that when paramedics did arrive, "Bolliger refused to let them tend to the critically wounded plaintiffs."

Pickett says Bolliger told him that "he did not give a f*** that he had shot him in the head."

Bollinger and the other officers staged a crime scene to conform to their story, arrested them on false charges, including murder of the pedestrian killed by the police car, attempted murder of Bollinger, and carrying loaded firearms, according to the complaint.

The officers also "conducted tainted six-pack lineups in an effort to get the purported robbery victims to identify (them)," falsified reports and gave false testimony against them, the men say.

Pickett and Lewis say they spent a year in jail awaiting trial and throughout a jury trial that started in December 2013 and eventually exonerated them.

They seek punitive damages for civil rights violations, unreasonable and excessive force, false arrest, malicious prosecution, and failure to intervene, train, supervise and discipline.

Also named as defendants are Inglewood police Officers Navid Khansari, Joe Lisardi, Michael Han and Jack Aranda

Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts did not respond to an email request for comment and was not available by telephone Monday night.

Pickett and Lewis' attorney, Raymond Boucher, could not be reached by telephone Monday.