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On July 28, 2014, I was filming police activity in a public space when I was ordered to leave the area. Where I was filming from was over 135 feet away and well out of the direction the police/sheriff were conducting their business. I decided to comply and leave the area anyway. The problem with following their order was that in order to comply, I would have to leave the way that I came, which actually put me closer to their activity than I felt comfortable being.

While leaving, I continued recording. The police and sheriff employees on scene seemed to take exception to this and started yelling at me to leave. I pointed out that I was, in fact, leaving. Continuing my forward progress but documenting the incident was the only way I could get this activity on video. I am not sure how fast I was expected to walk, but it evidently was not fast enough for Mr. Hall, from King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO.)For some reason he felt it necessary to draw his Taser, use physical force, and arrest me for "obstructing."

Approximately 5 months have passed since this day and I was getting tired of not hearing anything about official charges, a court date, or the condition of the video card that was removed from my camera by Mr. Hall. Some friends from Photography Is Not A Crime (PINAC) and I decided to make calls and send emails to KCSO and obtain Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. After making these calls, we learned that no charges were ever officially filed with the courts until after we started contacting them. In fact, because I asked for their use of force/use of Taser policies, I learned that NOW they had decided to add a charge of "resisting" to my obstructing charge. It is also through these requests that I was able to obtain this video. My actual memory card is still in custody of KCSO.

Why would KCSO wait 5 months to officially file this case with the courts? Why, when Mr. Hall clearly stated I was arrested for obstructing, would they add resisting? Why would they only add resisting after I demanded their use of force/use of Taser policies?

Some truly hate what I do. Some don't see the need to film police. Others understand perfectly why it is so important. Like it or not, filming police is totally legal and supported by the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Law enforcement sometimes HATE cameras they are not in direct control of. Is it necessary to draw a Taser and be ready to shock a person who makes you angry but is breaking no laws? Is it necessary to use force on a person who is not resisting in any way? Why wait almost half a year to file a supposedly simple case? Why only decide to file charges AFTER being called out? Is it normal practice to add charges simply because you have been questioned?

NOTE: After about the one minute mark, my camera has been knocked out of my hand and is dangling on it's own, while tethered to my wrist. What remains on the video is just dialogue during my arrest.

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Angry [police] union leaders have ordered drastic measures for their members since the Dec. 20 assassination of two NYPD cops in a patrol car, including that two units respond to every call.

It has helped contribute to a nose dive in low-level policing, with overall arrests down 66 percent for the week starting Dec. 22 compared with the same period in 2013, stats show.

Citations for traffic violations fell by 94 percent, from 10,069 to 587, during that time frame.

Summonses for low-level offenses like public drinking and urination also plunged 94 percent — from 4,831 to 300.

Even parking violations are way down, dropping by 92 percent, from 14,699 to 1,241.

Drug arrests by cops assigned to the NYPD’s Organized Crime Control Bureau — which are part of the overall number — dropped by 84 percent, from 382 to 63….

The Post obtained the numbers hours after revealing that cops were turning a blind eye to some minor crimes and making arrests only “when they have to” since the execution-style shootings of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

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Consider all the families that haven’t been separated. There would have been around 400 drug arrests during this period last year. With only about 60 arrests since the de facto strike, that’s thousands of family members who wouldn’t be separated as their fathers, mothers, or kids are thrown in jail or felonized and forced into unemployment.

If the NYPD were to continue this non-policing month after month, it would mean millions of jobs saved, millions of families not destroyed, and billions of dollars saved by Americans.

If New York City is any indication, we would be better off without this institution.

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Police in Tooele County, Utah shot and killed a US military veteran and Purple Heart recipient early Sunday morning. US Army Sgt. Nicholas McGehee, 28, was fatally wounded on his front lawn after allegedly pointing a handgun at police who responded to a 911 call placed by the veteran's wife.

According to Utah's Deseret News, the police report on the incident says McGehee and his wife were arguing when officers arrived responding to her call, which was reportedly made because McGehee had injured his foot on broken glass.

Tooele County Sheriff Frank Park said in a statement that McGehee came out of his house carrying a shotgun, then returned indoors and emerged again carrying a handgun, which he pointed at the officers — a deputy and a highway patrol officer. The deputy fired three shots, although it's unclear how many times McGehee was struck.

"The deputy gave him verbal commands to put the gun down, and he didn't," Park said. "[McGehee] raised the gun, aiming at the deputy, and the deputy shot him."

The police report has come under scrutiny because the deputy who fired the fatal shots was wearing a body camera, but it was turned off. The deputy — whose name has not been made public — has reportedly been placed on administrative leave. The sheriff said the camera was off because medical calls are not recorded under the department's protocol, and the situation allegedly escalated too quickly for the officer to switch it on.

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NYPD Officer Pedro Serrano began taping his superior officer Deputy Inspector Christopher McCormack after he was given a poor performance review. Serrano alleges it was the result of him not meeting his summonses quotas and he wanted evidence to show he was being unfairly treated.

Stop “the right people, the right time, the right location,” Deputy Inspector Christopher McCormack is heard saying on the recording.
[...]
“So what am I supposed to do: Stop every black and Hispanic?” Serrano was heard saying on the tape, which was recorded last month at the 40th Precinct in the Bronx.
[...]
“I have no problem telling you this,” the inspector said on the tape. “Male blacks. And I told you at roll call, and I have no problem [to] tell you this, male blacks 14 to 21.”

The tape and testimony are a part of a class-action lawsuit against the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy. The NYPD's defense was able to get Serrano to admit that McCormack didn't say "allblacks and latinos." So there's a victory for people who still want to believe that the policy wasn't out and out racist.

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Once Kwiatkowski pulled Mack out of the home, assisted by ten police officers who had responded to the call, Horne said the arresting officer began choking the suspect.

“Gregory Kwiatkowski turned Neal Mack around and started choking him. So then I’m like, ‘Greg! You’re choking him,’ because I thought whatever happened in the house he was still upset about so when he didn’t stop choking him I just grabbed his arm from around Neal Mack’s neck,” said Horne.

According to Horne, Kwiatkowski responded to her by punching her in the face.

“He comes up and punches me in the face and I had to have my bridge replaced,” said Horne, who said she then tried to defend herself only to have other officers pull her away from Kwiatkowski, injuring her shoulder in the process.

Following the incident, Horne was fired and charged with obstruction for “jumping on officer Kwiatkowski’s back and/or striking him with her hands.”

However, in a sworn statement regarding the incident Kwiatkowski said, “she never got on top of me.”

Despite that, Horne lost every appeal and with her 19 year career over, losing her pension in the process.

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NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The city's police department has opted to pay $75,000 to a man who sued them after the department wrongly arrrested and imprisoned him for nearly a year.

Jose Granados-Joya alleged in a lawsuit that officers arrested twice as many people as they should have after a fight in February 2011, and gave false testimony to a grand jury later that year, keeping him in prison for eleven months.

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An NYPD officer turned himself in after recognizing himself in a surveillance video, released by the NYPD after he allegedly attacked a female subway conductor.

The unnamed officer “allegedly bear-hugged the female Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker, and then choked her, after she tried to grab his cellphone,” reported CBS New York.

Though the officer turned himself in after recognizing himself in the footage from December 23rd, he has a different story: according to him, “the woman cursed at him after he asked her a question, and grabbed his phone to prevent him from taking her picture.”

The woman was taken to the hospital for minor injuries and was released.

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A Broward Sheriff's Office detention deputy was wearing his uniform when he stole from a Walmart in Coral Springs on two separate occasions, according to an arrest affidavit obtained Wednesday by Local 10 News.

BSO spokeswoman Dani Moschella said Theodore Parrish turned himself in Tuesday afternoon.

According to the report, Parrish stole miscellaneous merchandise worth $176.14 on five days in November and December.

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Vallandigham died in 1871 in Lebanon, Ohio, at the age of 50, after accidentally shooting himself in the abdomen with a pistol. He was representing a defendant in a murder case for killing a man in a barroom brawl at the Golden Lamb Inn. Vallandigham attempted to prove the victim, Tom Myers, had in fact accidentally shot himself while drawing his pistol from a pocket while rising from a kneeling position. As Vallandigham conferred with fellow defense attorneys in his hotel room at the Golden Lamb, he showed them how he would demonstrate this to the jury. Selecting a pistol he believed to be unloaded, he put it in his pocket and enacted the events as they might have happened, snagging the loaded gun on his clothing and unintentionally causing it to discharge into his belly. Although he was fatally wounded, Vallandigham's demonstration proved his point, and the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was acquitted and released from custody (to be shot to death four years later in his saloon). Surgeons probed for the pistol ball, thought to have lodged in the vicinity of his bladder, but were unable to locate it, and Vallandigham died the next day of peritonitis. His last words expressed his faith in "that good old Presbyterian doctrine of predestination".[64]

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Here are the facts. There were 126 on-duty deaths reported among all officers in 2014. There are approximately 1 million sworn officers between federal, state, county and local government entities (and another couple of million employees who are not sworn; that is, they are not officers and do not have arrest powers, such as dispatchers and clerks.)

This is a rate of fatality of 12.6 per 100,000. Sounds bad, right?

Wrong.

If you're a logger, you have a fatality rate ten times that of a cop.

A fisherman? Almost ten times -- 117 per 100,000.

A pilot? 53.4 per 100,000. Yes, really -- it's about four times as dangerous to fly a plane or chopper than be a cop.

The guy who puts your roof on? 40.5 per 100,000 -- about three times as dangerous.

How about iron workers -- you know, the guys who put up the buildings you work in? Yeah, those dudes. Three times the risk of a cop in dying, most from falls, being crushed by heavy materials or welding accidents.

Your garbage man has a risk of death twice that of a cop. Why? He gets hit by cars or crushed by heavy equipment (yes, it would suck to get caught in that trash compactor in the garbage truck!)

How about the lineman that repairs your power lines? Slightly less than double the risk of a cop, and of course the means by which they die are falls and electrocution, mostly.

Truck drivers? Close to double the risk, most from traffic accidents.

Farmers? Same risk, roughly; getting caught in a combine is a ****ty way to die.

Or you could just be a construction laborer. Your risk in that profession is materially higher than that of a cop (17.3 .vs. 12.6) as well but nobody cheers for you. Never mind that without said laborers you wouldn't have a house or an office to work in.

So let's cut the crap, eh? Being a cop isn't particularly dangerous as occupations go.

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Investigators said 30-year-old Robert Earl Lawrence became disorderly as he attempted to turn over a stray animal about 12:30 p.m. to the Dothan City Animal Shelter when an employee told him he could not leave without showing identification.

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Employees called police, who attempted to arrest Lawrence after they said he refused to calm down.

Police said Lawrence struggled with the arresting officer, who then shot him in the abdomen.

Lawrence died about 9:50 p.m., authorities said.

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An attorney for the family of a man who was shot and killed by a Missoula police officer said Saturday he has significant issues with the official version of events leading to the death of Kaileb Williams.

“I’m just going to call it like I see it. It’s execution style,” Terance Perry said of Wednesday morning's shooting.

Perry is one of the attorneys from the Missoula law firm Datsopoulos, MacDonald & Lind who is representing Williams’ mother and fiancee.

In an interview, Perry said the family has a markedly different story of what happened in the hour before Williams was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.

They deny that the fiancee was ever held hostage or threatened by Williams. They wonder why the man's mother was initially told he committed suicide. And they cannot understand why police did not remove him from the car by tasing, physical force or negotiation.

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A Boston police officer has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly assaulting an Uber driver.
The driver for the ride sharing company told police he drove a passenger to the area of E. 2nd Street in South Boston early Sunday morning. That passenger was off-duty officer Michael Doherty, 40, of South Boston.
According to the driver, when he reached the destination, Doherty accused the driver of trying to drop him off at the wrong location. Doherty then allegedly yelled and hit the driver.
When the driver got out of the car, Doherty got into the front seat and drove off, the driver told police.
Police say a passing motorist helped the driver follow Doherty until he stopped the car and fled.
Doherty, who has been on the force for 16 years, was arrested at his home Sunday and charged with Assault & Battery and Using a Motor Vehicle without Authority.
A spokesperson for Uber told WBZ-TV that Doherty has been permanently blocked as a rider.

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An off-duty Kentucky police officer out to dinner with his wife in Cincinnati accidentally shot himself in the stomach inside a parking garage elevator, authorities said Sunday.

Officer Darryl Jouett of the Erlanger, Kentucky, Police Department was headed back to his car on Saturday night when he tried to adjust his department-issued weapon in his holster, and it discharged, Cincinnati police said.

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A simple traffic stop involving a bicycle in Lehigh Acres led to a Lee County deputy firing off a shot to protect one of his own.

It happened near Gilbert Avenue just west of Gunnery Road.

Deputies tell us they attempted to stop a suspect on a bicycle outside of the Dollar General store on Gunnery Road for riding without a light. That's when the suspect ran away from deputies.

A helicopter and K9 unit were called in to help search for the suspect. While tracking the suspect in a wooded area, a K9 unit was attacked by an unleashed Pit bull. That's when a deputy in pursuit shot the Pit bull.

We spoke to the Pit bull's owner, Michael Rivera. Rivers says the entire incident happened on his property -- which he says has an invisible fence system.

The Pit bull is receiving treatment from animal control. River tells us his dog isn't doing well. The K9 is expected to be okay.

The suspect is still on the run. No description has been given to us at this time.

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Christopher Allen Carson, 30, pleaded guilty to a felony count of criminal solicitation, a count of contributing to delinquency of a minor and one count of exposing his penis to a child. Carson also pleaded guilty to two counts of loaning pornographic videos to a child.

Judge Herman A. Whisenant Jr. accepted Carson’s pleas as part of a bargain on the day Carson was to face a jury trial. Carson was originally charged with forcible sodomy, aggressive sexual battery and indecent liberties with a child.

Whisenant recommended a sentence of nine years in prison, all but 30 days of which to be suspended, and two years of probation. As part of the plea agreement, Carson does not have to register as a sex offender. Also as part of the agreement, two additional active charges of forcible sodomy and indecent liberties with a child will be dropped.

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Karen Robinson was told by police around 2 a.m. on Christmas that her son Raymond had been shot and killed — but just hours later, he called her to wish her a merry Christmas.

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We first told you about the story and the dash cam video back in December. The video shows Officer Nathanial Robinson, of the Victoria Police Department, arresting Pete Vasquez on Dec. 11 for displaying an expired inspection sticker. But in the process, Robinson suddenly throws Vasquez onto the hood of his police car, then tackles the elderly man to the ground and shoots him with a Taser gun twice.

Vasquez was taken to the hospital, where he was released after a medical evaluation.

Victoria Police Chief Jeff Craig placed Robinson on administrative leave and ordered two separate investigations: a criminal investigation conducted by the Texas Rangers and an internal administrative investigation conducted by the Victoria Police Department's Internal Affairs Division.

On Monday, Craig announced the outcome of the internal investigation, saying Robinson had violated the department's conduct policy, use of force policy and arrest without a warrant policy.

Craig said Robinson was terminated.

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Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said on Sunday that he asked the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office to assume control of the investigation into the fatal police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice because he didn't trust the state to do it.

Jackson said he based his decision on the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation's review of a November 2012 case in which Cleveland police shot to death two unarmed suspects after chasing the couple into East Cleveland

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Attorney General Mike DeWine publicly announced shortly after the shooting that the case revealed a "systemic failure" in Cleveland's police department. The shooting subsequently resulted in criminal charges against police and a seven-figure settlement to the families of the two people who were killed...

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No. All charges dropped. Officers disciplined...
I think I said it before, but it bears repeating. This is sad to me. Not the way the citizen/ police relationship should be. I can't remember the last time I was relieved to see a cop. Usually, they just spark paranoia..
We're told we should trust them. That is not something I believe anymore. They wanted tickets. Revenue. Prosecution. At ANY cost to me.
They are taught to trust NONE of us.
As said. Sad. ?

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District Attorney Kari Brandenburg plans to file murder charges on Monday against the two Albuquerque police officers who shot James Boyd in the Sandia Foothills last March, according to multiple sources with firsthand knowledge of her decision.

It will mark the first time an APD officer has faced criminal charges for shooting someone in the line of duty in New Mexico’s largest city. APD has one of the highest rates of police shootings in the country, and Boyd’s death was the result of the most controversial in a series of 27 fatal shootings here since 2010.

Boyd, 36, had been camping in a restricted area of open space at Albuquerque’s eastern edge. During a four-hour standoff with police who had responded to a call about Boyd from an area resident, he brandished two small knives multiple times.

One officer’s helmet-mounted camera captured the final moments of the encounter, when Boyd appeared to be complying with commands to leave the area. As he bent down to gather his belongings, an officer threw a flash-bang grenade at his feet. Another officer sicced a police dog on Boyd, who pulled the knives out of his pockets again. As he was turning away from the officers, two of them fired three rounds apiece from assault-style rifles, striking Boyd in the back.

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As Matt Taibbi pointed out in Rolling Stone, the “slowdown strike” has unwittingly placed the police in an awkward position: with arrest rates plummeting and no significant harm done to public safety, the department may soon find itself having disproven the value of Broken Windows policing polices that #BlackLivesMatter protesters have been calling for an end to all along. Eric Garner, killed by police officer Danny Pantaleo this summer, was accosted and eventually choked to death for selling a 25 cent loose cigarette, the type of minor offense at the heart of Broken Windows. As comedian Chris Rock quipped on Twitter, “Maybe the NYPD can use their newfound love of back-turning the next time they see a dark skinned man walking the street doing nothing wrong.”

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Although a Prince George’s County jury awarded her an $11.5 million judgment after deciding a police officer wrongfully shot her husband in 2008, she hasn’t received a dime.

“I want justice, but what can I do?” Espina asked.

Judges presiding over Maryland’s highest court will consider that question Monday. Specifically, the court will examine whether Prince George’s properly applied a state law allowing the county to pay only about $400,000 of the $11.5 million jury award Espina won in 2011 after suing the officer and the government. No payouts have been made while the case is under appeal.

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An undercover narcotics officer nearly died on Friday after he was shot by an Albuquerque police officer during a drug bust over $60 of methamphetamine.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, Police Chief Gorden Eden announced on Saturday that the undercover officer was in critical condition. However, Eden did not name any of the officers who were involved in the shooting.

A criminal complaint identified detectives Holly Garcia and Jacob Grant as two undercover officers who were assigned to the case.

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Andrew Flinchbaugh was charged with obstructing administration of law and taken into police custody Thursday in the videotaped incident, reported the Asbury Park Press.

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The 23-year-old Flinchbaugh was covering the crash for The Lacey Reporter news website when a detective from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office ordered him to turn over his camera because the video or photos he had gathered could be potential evidence.

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The lieutenant explained that Flinchbaugh may have recorded evidence from the crash before police arrived, and the photographer said he would share copies of all the potential evidence he gathered – but he would not surrender the camera.

The photographer said he expected the police lieutenant to return his ID and allow him to leave at that point, so he put away his phone and stopped recording video.

He began recording again when Margentino approached and told him all the officers agreed the camera would be collected as evidence and returned in a few hours.

“Well then, you’re going to have a lawsuit on your hands,” Flinchbaugh says. “You’re not seizing my camera, it’s just that simple.”

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Police officers by nature and by rigorous training must make snap decisions in the heat of a tense moment. Unfortunately, police officers are also human and error is not immune to their judgement. A car careening towards you is reason enough for a human being to initiate the fight or flight response. This CHP officer saw his life immediately in danger and was ready to take action. Thankfully his quick thinking and sound mind evaluated the King as not a threat and didn't unload his firearm to effectively stop the Mazda Miata from hitting him.

According to King the car in front of him had signaled him to pass. But in order to do so, King would have to drive over a solid double yellow line, which is specified as a no passing lane. unfortunately for King, a CHP officer saw the whole thing and pulled him over ( just in time as the video shows.)

Drivers in such tight situations should be cautious of other drivers in the area and obey the law at all times. That means slowing down to allow those driving slowly in front of you safe distance. If the other drivers pulls to the side or hops off at a passing lane, drivers can then overtake. Until then, drivers on winding roads should be advised to be good ambassadors and obey the law.

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A police officer was called to investigate the possibility that some dogs were not being fed. When he arrived at the house to investigate, the homeowners were not there. He continued to investigate, and found that the dogs did have food and water. He stated that he heard barking and one of the dogs "came at him" so he headed back to his car. (I'd like to note that at around 1:15 in this video, the officer that arrived at the scene with the sheriff begins telling the homeowners the story that the officer who shot the dog told him: "He got a complaint saying they wasn't being fed. He pulled up. He saw the dogs was being fed. And then he heard barking, so he got back in his car." At this point, the sheriff interrupts him and says "No, there was a dog come at him, and he runs back to his car.") He got back into his police cruiser for a few moments, then got out again and shot and killed the dog. No one witnessed this event except the officer that shot the dog.
The homeowners arrived a few minutes after this happened.
The sheriff arrived on the scene later. He assured the homeowners that the police department was going to investigate and "do what's right." One of the homeowners asked if she could have the name and badge number of the officer that shot her dog, as well as the police department that he works for. The sheriff refused, saying he's "not there to argue."
He then went on to threaten to press charges against the homeowners for having a vicious animal if they continued to argue with him (by "argue" I'm assuming he means "ask for more information about the police officer that killed their pet.")
Here are some painfully frustrating quotes from the sheriff:
"I'm not gonna argue about this. The more we argue about this the madder you get, the madder you get, the madder I'm gonna get, and we're not gonna tolerate all this tonight. I'm tired. I hate that the dog got hit, I hate it. I really do. I mean, I don't wanna be out here."
. .
"I'll tell you what we're gonna do. We're gonna write you a citation for having this menacing dog out here. I'm tired of arguing with you. Just leave it alone, alright? If you keep on [arguing], we're gonna charge somebody. I'm not gonna put up with this. I'm not!"
. .
"It's up to her. If she wants to continue arguing here, we'll charge her."
. .
"I don't wanna be here arguing with you guys."
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Edited to add:
I know it might seem bad to say, but I can understand using your weapon in self-defense in a case where it is absolutely necessary to ensure your survival, and there are no other options available to you. I believe this to be true for law enforcement officers and civilians alike.
But this officer got back into his car after he had determined that the animals were not being neglected. He then sat inside the safety of his vehicle. The entire situation could have been avoided had he driven away at this point, which he should have done, because his business there was finished - he was sent to investigate allegations of animal neglect, and he ascertained that no animals were being neglected. Instead of leaving, though, he got back out of his car and killed the dog.
Even if this had been a clear cut case of "the dog was actively mauling me and I had no choice other than to defend myself with deadly force" (which it wasn't), the way the sheriff treated the couple who just came home to find their dog shot to death and bleeding all over their front lawn was appalling.
Complaining that "you're tired" and threatening to press charges with no proof of any wrong-doing just because you "don't feel like arguing". . disgusting.
This happened in a rural southern county that is rife with political corruption.

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