---

---

Cop Charged With Violating Man's Civil Rights (Unreasonable Force) - YouTube

---

Under the new bill, a citizen could rarely be sure whether recording any given conversation without permission is legal. The bill would make it a felony to surreptitiously record any “private conversation,” which it defines as any “oral communication between 2 or more persons,” where at least one person involved had a “reasonable expectation” of privacy.

When does the person you’re talking to have a reasonable expectation of privacy? The bill doesn’t say. And that’s not something an ordinary person can be expected to figure out.

A law must be clear enough for citizens to know in advance whether a particular action is a crime. This bill doesn’t meet that standard, which should be reason enough for a court to strike it down if it becomes law.

But lack of clarity isn’t the only problem with this bill.

Although it appears to be designed to accommodate the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the old law, the bill actually is designed to continue to prevent people from recording interactions with police.

The bill says it would only be a crime to record someone where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, which should mean that recording public encounters with police would not be a crime, and the old law’s fatal constitutional flaw would no longer exist.

But the bill doesn’t really fix the problem. Again, citizens can’t be expected to know for sure precisely which situations give rise to an “expectation of privacy” and which don’t. The Illinois Supreme Court said that police don’t have an expectation of privacy in “public” encounters with citizens, but it did not explain what counts as a “public” encounter. So if this bill becomes law, people who want to be sure to avoid jail time will refrain from recording police at all, and the law will therefore still effectively prevent people from recording police.

---

---

The video shows one officer delivering six punches while he's on top of the man and the second officer coming in with two kicks to the man's legs.

While celebrating their arrest, the officers continue to curse at the man. The larger officer kneeled on the man's back as he was face-down in the snow. The officer was enraged that the suspect moaned, "Jesus."

"You're calling Jesus? Don't you dare! Don't you (expletive) dare!" the officer can be heard saying.

The woman recording the arrest from inside her home believed she was watching police beat a man who was already in handcuffs and offering no resistance.

---

---

New York State Police have done a poor job keeping track of more than $2 billion in seized assets and didn't get enough in return when selling them off, a state audit has found.

The audit by the state Comptroller's Office found that nearly $993 million in seized property was misclassified as "pending disposition," when, in fact, the cases associated with them had been closed. In some instances state police troops didn't even report seized property to headquarters, including $39,967 in cash and three vehicles in one case.

"Without proper tracking and accounting of seized asset cases, the (state police) cannot readily or accurately determine the number and value of seized assets in its own and other agencies' custody, the amount of proceeds due through court or administrative dispositions, and the amount of proceeds received," the comptroller's audit said. "As a result, there is limited assurance that the (state police) receives its correct share of proceeds from forfeited assets."

The audit examined items seized by police in the department's 11 troops between April 2011 and September 2013. It did not specify which troops, or barracks, were involved, nor what most of the seized items were.

---

---

Taylor said that after the first shot or two failed to stop Wrana, he felt he had the authority to use lethal force — opening fire with his handgun — but chose not to in part because of Wrana's advanced age.

The Tribune had interviewed Taylor for a front-page story last month, but this marked his first public comments on the shooting itself.

Taylor testified he felt in fear for his life as soon as the team of five officers opened the door to Wrana's apartment at a retirement center and saw him holding the knife and threatening to kill police.

"I was afraid for me and I was afraid for my fellow officers," Taylor said. "I felt I needed to do something to stop that threat."

---

---

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1421424920

A Florida National Guardswoman was alarmed to discover her brother’s mugshot riddled with bullets at a shooting range where police officers had been taking target practice.

Sgt. Valerie Deant, who plays clarinet with the Florida Army National Guard’s 13th Army Band, said her brother was among several photos — all of black suspects — used during shooting drills by North Miami Beach police officers, reported WTVJ-TV.

She immediately became upset and called her brother, who had been arrested in 2000, when he was 15 years old, in connection with a drag race that killed two people.

...

J. Scott Dennis, chief of North Miami Beach police, admitted officers should have used better judgment in selecting the targets but denies any racist intent, pointing out that the department’s sniper team includes minority officers.

---

---

The reform is the first of its kind in the nation, and it works like this: every time police fire a Taser, they'll have to file a "use of force report."

"It's a very thorough report," said David McGuire with the ACLU of Connecticut. "It goes through the person's race, their age, their height, their weight; how the Taser was used; what mode it was used in; how many times it was fired; whether the person had an injury; whether medical assistance was provided."

Police also need to attach electronic data that's uploaded directly from the Taser.

McGuire said that for some Connecticut police departments, the new mandate won't change much. He pointed to East Haven, which -- due to a 2012 consent decree from the Department of Justice -- has restructured its policing policies.

McGuire said that department now provides a model for how other departments should log Taser use.

---

---

A Brooklyn man who claimed the police manufactured gun-possession charges against him had his case dismissed on Thursday, amid two investigations into the practices of a group of police officers in the 67th Precinct in East Flatbush.

The man, Jeffrey Herring, had maintained his innocence ever since his arrest on June 4, 2013, asserting that officers had planted the gun on him and fabricated the circumstances of his arrest.

The officers claimed that they got a tip from a confidential informer that Mr. Herring had a gun. Prosecutors had been instructed to bring the informer to court on Thursday; the defense had challenged whether that informer even existed.

At the hearing, prosecutors offered no evidence or mention of that informer.

“Based upon information provided to us by defense counsel” and on the office’s own investigation, said Paul Burns, an assistant district attorney, “we do not believe at this time that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the charges against Mr. Herring.”

---

---

Deputy claims I had a non functional tail light. He also claims I was not wearing my seat belt. After the officer pulled me over he claimed to have smelled an odor of "dope" coming from my car and he proceeded to search it. At no point during the encounter do I say anything other then "Im not answering any questions" and "I do not concent to search and seizure".

During my investigation to see what evidence the officer had for pulling me over, I sent a letter to the sheriffs office requesting the dash cam footage of the event as well as the officers report. The request was accepted however they claim that "due to malfunction, the dash cam from the Deputies car is unavailable." I have since filed for the maintenance/check log report of the vehicle in question.

I am making public, all the records and video of the event. I have submitted my plea's of not guilty and await my pre-trial conference with the DA.

Below you will find links to the police report and letter regarding the dash cam.

Any an all comments are welcome and I will be updating this story as it progresses.

http://imgur.com/a/3X1Lw#0
http://imgur.com/a/3X1Lw#1
http://imgur.com/a/3X1Lw#2
http://imgur.com/a/3X1Lw#3
http://imgur.com/a/3X1Lw#4

345.45  Burden of proof. The standard of proof for conviction of any person charged with violation of any traffic regulation shall be evidence that is clear, satisfactory and convincing.

Wisconsin Statute 946.72 (http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statu...[2] ) - Tampering with public records and notices. (1) Whoever with intent to injure or defraud destroys, damages, removes or conceals any public record is guilty of a Class H felony.

Criminal Law. Crimes, Legal Information & Lawyers | CriminalDefenseLawyer.com...[1]

What is Tampering with Evidence?

A person commits the crime of tampering with evidence when he or she knowingly:

alters, conceals, falsifies, or destroys
any record, document, or tangible object
with the intent to interfere with an investigation, possible investigation, or other proceeding by the federal government.

(18 U.S.C. § 1519.)

This crime includes making false entries in records or doctoring documents, such as by “cooking the books” of a business to hide illegal activity or avoid taxes or other required payments.

Tampering with evidence also includes destroying or altering documents or things “in contemplation of” an investigation or other proceeding that may occur in the future.

---

---

The police chief in Sentinel was shot Thursday while responding to a bomb threat, authorities reported. The police chief, who was wearing a borrowed bulletproof vest, was hit in the arm by gunfire in the western Oklahoma town.

...

Agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said the man who shot the chief was released after hours of questioning when they determined they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him.

“Facts surrounding the case lead agents to believe the man was unaware it was officers who made entry,” OSBI wrote in a news release.

---

---

At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly equipped their officers with radar devices that allow them to effectively peer through the walls of houses to see whether anyone is inside, a practice raising new concerns about the extent of government surveillance.

Those agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service, began deploying the radar systems more than two years ago with little notice to the courts and no public disclosure of when or how they would be used. The technology raises legal and privacy issues because the U.S. Supreme Court has said officers generally cannot use high-tech sensors to tell them about the inside of a person's house without first obtaining a search warrant.

The radars work like finely tuned motion detectors, using radio waves to zero in on movements as slight as human breathing from a distance of more than 50 feet. They can detect whether anyone is inside of a house, where they are and whether they are moving.

Current and former federal officials say the information is critical for keeping officers safe if they need to storm buildings or rescue hostages. But privacy advocates and judges have nonetheless expressed concern about the circumstances in which law enforcement agencies may be using the radars — and the fact that they have so far done so without public scrutiny.

---

---

This week, former Trumball police officer William Ruscoe began a drastically reduced 30-month prison sentence for handcuffing and raping a teenage girl in his home.

The 45-year-old Ruscoe, who resigned from the police department following his arrest and later pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault, blamed his crime on financial problems that made it hard to support his wife and two children and a lack of support from the state’s criminal justice system- he claimed a man who threatened him with a gun was released on probation, according to Connecticut Postings.

During a sentencing hearing Ruscoe pleaded with the court to give him a downward departure in sentencing from the 6-year prison term he agreed to in his plea bargain.

“Please show them (his children) the justice system their daddy worked to uphold for nearly 20 years is also fair and compassionate,” Ruscoe urged the judge.

State’s Attorney John Smriga added that he felt the agreed upon plea deal of a 6-year sentence was appropriate for the crime committed by Ruscoe.


Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/off...7LX9tiqpgSR.99

---

---

Former Miami Police Officer Christopher Vital might have been 2014's craziest local cop of the year, but he won't face any charges. Instead, he'll be forced to hang up his badge for good.
In September, Vital was driving his BMW late at night with a lady friend when he roared past an accident scene on the MacArthur Causeway. Miami Beach cops gave chase, and Vital's speed reached the triple digits.

He eventually stopped but didn't give up.

Officers noticed his speech seemed slurred and his eyes bloodshot. A 25-year-old woman sat in the passenger seat. Marijuana and cocaine were found in the car, while another substance suspected to be heroin was also located.

The Miami Beach cops cuffed Vital and placed him in the back of a cruiser, where he began violently slamming his head against the partition.

"I'm going to blame you for the injuries on my head," he shouted. "I'm going to say you did this to me, and I'm going to hunt you down, you and your family, and I'm gonna have your job."

Vital then kicked out the cruiser's rear window. "It doesn't matter what you do to me -- as soon as I get out, I'm going to shoot myself," he later shouted.

After all of that, Vital will not face any criminal charges.

---

---

A Dane County sheriff’s deputy miraculously escaped charges of child pornography, despite being caught with child pornography, because of a cut and paste error on a warrant.

In a tragic example of the broken “justice” system, former Dane County sheriff’s deputy Jeffrey C. Hilgers, 43, had seven counts of possession of child pornography dismissed Wednesday. The judge ruled that there was a fatal cut-and-paste error on a search warrant, thereby making the discovery of the illegal images on the deputy’s computers, inadmissible.

According to the report, investigators inadvertently used a paragraph, which stated they were searching for child pornography, instead of one specifying the search was for evidence in an illicit relationship between Hilgers and a woman serving a jail sentence at home on electronic monitoring.

The error was insurmountable, Dane County Circuit Judge John Markson said, so he had to suppress the search warrant along with a subsequent search warrant that was issued after child pornography was initially discovered, which led to the discovery of even more child pornography.

---

---

---

---

e Resident on Campus Security (ROCS) program — which allows police officers to live rent- and utility-free in trailers on Broward County Public Schools campuses — is coming under fire after an internal audit determined that the program is “not adequately supervised,” “operating with an expired lease agreement,” and that almost 91 percent of the emergency calls from ROCS campuses are answered by local police departments instead of ROCS officers.

The ROCS program was founded in the 1980s to address theft, vandalism, and trespassing on school campuses, but according to the school board’s chief auditor, Patrick Reilly, even if it were adequately overseen, it would still be unnecessary.

“The existing technology of alarm systems and fire alarm systems, along with the implementation of single point of entry, surveillance cameras, [Broward District Schools Police Department] staff on call and an Alarm Monitoring Unit that monitors security alarms at all school sites 24 hours a day, 7 days per week,” makes the ROCS officers an expensive luxury.


According to WPLG, the program is “in shambles.”

The audit revealed that no data was compiled or maintained about the program since 2013, and that it has been operating with expired lease agreements since 2010. Moreover, ROCS management personnel had no means of determining whether the officers it oversaw complied with the terms of their agreement with their host school.

At one of the trailers, believed to be on the grounds of a Coral Springs elementary school, the officer moved out without notice — and rented it out to people without performing a background check...

---

---

City records for the past four years show the Police Department paid more than $3.3 million in settlements.

"Everyone should be outraged. That's a lot of money," said Lawanna Gelzer, with the National Action Network.

The settlements were related to 47 separate lawsuits filed against Orlando police during those years.

"Right away you think that's a high number. It sounds like a high number and I believe it is a high number," said law enforcement expert Chuck Drago.

The $3.3 million is enough money to hire 71 new police officers, according to records. Drago said although the amount seems high, it's important not to generalize.

"You have to look at each individual case and figure it out," said Drago.

The records show 14 lawsuits were for false arrest and nine were filed for use of excessive force.

---

---

A local man has filed the fifth civil lawsuit against former K-9 Police Officer Matthew Worden.

The latest suit, filed by Hartford attorney A. Paul Spinella, representing 39-year-old David McAlmond of Spruceland Road, claims Worden in March 2012 used a police-style baton found in McAlmond's car and "forcibly slammed the baton upwards between [McAlmond's] legs, violently striking [McAlmond's] groin area." The lawsuit also claims Worden issued a command to his K-9 which subsequently "aggressively attack[ed] [McAlmond], knocking him to the ground."

---

---

“I don’t think they needed to shoot me six times. I think there are non-lethal weapons. They could have pounced on me. They could have attacked me, tackled me.”

But Bramuchi explains that the officers knew exactly what they were doing.

That’s because late last year, Bramuchi reported that a veteran officer, Lt. Dan Dreslinski, had been having sex with her repeatedly while on the tax-payer’s dime.

Dreslinski decided to resign in order to avoid being fired for his actions while on duty.


“I think this is all part of the conspiracy,” Bramuchi explained. “I think it’s all part of the thing with Lt. Dreslinski.”

“I want people to know that the police shouldn’t be trusted and you have to be very, very, very careful,” Bramuchi cautioned others who wish to report police misconduct, implying that they too might find themselves shot in a scenario where police claim the “right” to gun down citizens in their own homes, even when they have committed no crimes.


...


Bramuchi explained to local CBS Atlanta News that she was on medication and sleeping pills. A friend of her’s was worried that she was suicidal, which she claims was incorrect. But because of the medication, she did not hear police at the door.

A police report in fact confirmed that officers did not make contact with he, so they violently forced their way in.

Bramuchi was roused from her sleep and grabbed an unloaded gun, to go investigate what was the matter.

That’s when Bramuchi says, “they shot me six times."

---

---

The incident, which occurred on Oct. 1, began when the inmate put his feet down while sitting in his wheelchair, preventing Ferrio from pushing him forward, according to the newspaper.

Ferrio reportedly put his arm around the inmate's neck and pulled him from his wheelchair before dumping him onto the floor, according to the release. When the inmate fell, his dentures were shattered and Ferrio reportedly hit him with his fists and knees while restraining him.

An investigation by the sheriff's office found the inmate hadn't provoked the attack or presented a threat to staff members. During the investigation, Ferrio admitted he shouldn't have used such force but, according to the release, "got caught up in the moment."

---

---

It started with an attempted traffic stop for a seat belt violation.

Less than a minute later, an innocent bystander was dead and another grim chapter was begun in the ongoing debate over the police chase.

A review of a silent dashcam video and investigative reports stemming from the July 3 crash shows a dispute over whether or not a state trooper ever triggered his lights and siren when he chased a car through Flint, according to reports obtained by The Flint Journal through the Freedom of Information Act.

The trooper claims he did, witnesses claim he did not.

---

---

A 22-year-old black man was mistakenly handcuffed and arrested after he was struck by a fleeing car during a police chase in St. Ann, Mo., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Friday.

St. Ann Police Chief Aaron Jimenez told the Post-Dispatch that he was sorry for the mistake; however, he maintained that his officers wouldn't be disciplined because it was an honest one.

Joseph Swink's car was reportedly struck by a car that St. Ann police officers were chasing on Thursday and spun out before crashing. Officers mistook Swink for the man they'd been pursuing and tackled him to the ground before handcuffing and arresting him, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Swink told the newspaper that he wanted the offending officers to lose their jobs for their mistake.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Two former Miramar police officers who framed a mentally challenged 15-year-old boy for the rape and murder of a woman must pay him $7 million for the nearly 26 years he spent in prison, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Anthony Caravella, now 46, of Pembroke Pines, was freed from prison in September 2009 after DNA testing exonerated him of the rape and murder of Ada Cox Jankowski, 58. His conviction was re-examined after a series of Sun Sentinel stories on the 1983 case.

Caravella, who works doing clean-up at his uncle's construction sites, said he was happy and relieved —though he could still face a long, difficult path to try to collect the money.

---

---

BELLINGHAM - The town's insurance paid out more than $50,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought against the police department last April.

Holly Graham, 29, of Bellingham, filed the suit on April 24, accusing officers David Ayotte and John Melanson of violating her civil rights by illegally entering her apartment, falsely arresting her and using excessive force. A video of her arrest posted on YouTube sparked the complaint.

Graham’s attorney, Howard Friedman of Boston, made the details of the settlement available to the Daily News in an email this week. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf referred the case to mediation on Aug. 14. And after a Sept. 15 mediation session, the parties settled out of court.

MIIA, the town's insurance provider, covered the $55,000 settlement.

Per the agreement, Ayotte, Bellingham Police Chief Gerard Daigle and Melanson were required to travel to the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston on Nov. 17 to watch a video that Graham had recorded for them.

Friedman Wednesday called the clause “unusual,” saying Graham made the video for the officers because they were not present in court during mediation.

In the recording for the officers, Friedman said, “Ms. Graham described how she felt when she was arrested. She said she hoped officers Ayotte and Melanson felt uncomfortable. She told them the public saw on the video the way they behaved.”

---

---

A former Ann Arbor police officer who resigned over the summer amid allegations that he offered young women leniency in exchange for sex is now being charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor.

Jason Jackson Kitts, 38 of Westland, was arraigned on three counts of misconduct in office and one misdemeanor count of unauthorized access of the Law Enforcement Information Network, according to a release from the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office.

"The investigation was the result of citizen complaints," said Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Steve Hiller.

The Ann Arbor News obtained those citizen complaints last month via a Freedom of Information Act request.

On June 12, 2014, a citizen filed a complaint via email about a traffic stop that occurred on Plymouth Road June 2. In the complaint, the woman said Kitts made "(i)nappropriate remarks made during a traffic stop (that) were interpreted to be sexual in nature," though the complaint did not elaborate further.

In another complaint, Kitts allegedly pulled over a young woman on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor June 16 and hinted that he'd get the ticket dismissed if she had sex with him, according to the complaint.

A second woman was issued a speeding ticket by Kitts and filed a complaint about the way he behaved in the hallway of downtown Ann Arbor's 15th District Court when she came to take care of it.

Kitts allegedly told the woman that he could get the ticket dismissed, but wanted to know "what was in it for him," according to the report.

In her complaint, the woman said Kitts told her, "I want to see how well you can convince me that I should do this."

Michigan State Police investigated the complaints with the full cooperation of the Ann Arbor Police Department, the release says.

---

---

On November 2, 2014, I was walking home from buying some items at the local grocery store. I was approached by Officer Chad Boyett a block and a half away from my home, which I own. Officer Boyett passed me and did a U-turn at the intersection in front of me and then pulled up beside me. I continued walking as he asked me where my auto was. I told him it didn’t matter because I was walking and that I didn’t have time for this, so I was going home.

He got out of his auto and ran around to me, approximately 3 feet from his auto, forcefully gripped my arm and drug me to the front of his auto. He kept asking where my auto was and stated he knew I had been driving without a license. I informed him he can’t do this and to call the Chief of Police, Bobby Evans. He said he didn’t have to call him and that he was writing me citations for driving without a license and expired registration.

...

The judge only told me I was being charged with driving without a license and expired registration and that my bond was $500 on each charge. After a bondsman got me out and took me back to Hamlin, I discussed things with my husband and walked to the police department for court, which I was told I had up to 10 days to see the judge. I told the judge I was walking and not guilty and agreed that he and the Chief of Police could review the audio and video and agreed that if I wasn’t driving the charges would be dropped and if I was I would pay the fines.

I filed a formal complaint on Nov. 4th and gave them ample time before requesting the status of my complaint. I requested to discuss it with the Chief of Police and denied by stating they sent me a letter and refuse to discuss it until I receive the letter. The letter only discussed the humiliation and excessive force stating they stand by the officer and that he did nothing wrong. I called a meeting with Chief Evans where he stated he knew I was NOT driving and I submitted my request for audio and video. The officer NEVER turned on his lights, so I knew there was no video.

The Judge informed me a few days later at my request for status again that he refused to view the “video” now. I don’t understand that, but I was given a day to appear at a “court” between me and the city attorney, ex crooked mayor, alone. When I entered he asked if I knew what the fines were for my charges. I stated I didn’t care because I’m not paying them. I placed in front of him the paper charging me with driving without a license and placed my license on it then I placed the other paper charging me with expired registration with the title, bill of sale dated Dec. 3, 2014 for the auto he stated I was in and proof of inspection which would have dismissed the charges but I said one thing he didn’t like……I have an attorney…..so nothing was dismissed. My attorney is a civil rights lawyer from Houston and is currently investigating my case. I do worry they can get to him. HELP ME GET JUSTICE

---

---

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal jury has convicted a veteran San Francisco police officer of violating a tenant's civil rights by illegally entering her hotel room.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports jurors on Thursday found Officer Ashad Razzak guilty of violating the tenant's rights, conspiracy, submitting a false report and signing a false pay slip for an informant.

A police report signed by Razzak said he led a team of officers to a room at the Henry Hotel to search for heroin with the occupant's consent, eliminating the need for a search warrant.

But a video showed the officers entering without knocking after one of them opened the door with a key. The resident testified she was coerced into signing a consent form after the search in December 2010.

Sentencing is scheduled April 28.

---

---

A Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy is under investigation after a man caught the officer parking her patrol car in a disabled parking space as she made a snack run into a North Highlands convenience store.

The deputy, who was not immediately identified, has worked with the Sheriff’s Department for 27 years, 15 as a sworn officer. Violating the department’s codes of conduct – and the law – could get her fired, Undersheriff James Lewis said Wednesday.

Lewis said he was “completely disappointed” when he saw the video, taken with a cellphone by a concerned citizen who watched as the deputy pulled into a disabled parking space, got out of her cruiser and walked into the store to buy snacks. She didn’t look like she was on a call, the man told Fox40. So, he started recording.

The video, which Fox40 brought to the attention of the Sheriff’s Department this week, focuses on a patrol car parked in a disabled space outside the Circle K on Hemlock Street near Auburn Boulevard. The officer can be seen smiling as she gets back behind the wheel, a plastic bag slung over her arm and a drink container in her hand.

“You always park in handicap when you’re not on a call?” the man asked.

“We’re allowed to get breaks,” the deputy said.

...

---

---

---

---

---