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Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey should have prosecuted a sheriff’s deputy for attacking a shackled inmate in a courtroom, a judge ruled Friday evening.

Still, Denver District Court Chief Judge Michael Martinez stopped short of calling for a special prosecutor or ordering Morrissey’s office to press an assault charge against the deputy. Legally speaking, he ruled, it’s too late.

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In response to Padilla’s recent petition, Martinez scrambled this week to schedule the review hearing for Friday — the third anniversary of the attack and the day the statute of limitations for a felony charge would have expired.

Judge Martinez – as well as the activists and community watchdogs who filled his courtroom — had expected Morrissey to appear in person to explain why he hadn’t pressed charges against Lovingier. A gauntlet of TV journalists waited outside the courtroom for Morrissey to show up.

But he didn’t. His office explained that, shortly before it learned Thursday that the emergency hearing would be held Friday, Morrissey had flown to Montana to attend a wedding.

“He didn’t know about it,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Jackson told the judge.
In his boss’s absence, Jackson explained the decision not to prosecute Lovingier. For one thing, he said, Waller has a long criminal history and habit of trying to intimidate sheriff’s deputies – including, as Lovingier has told it, “growling” like a bear at deputies before being escorted that day into court.

Jackson said he believed Lovingier’s account that Waller had lost his balance while speaking with the judge and that Lovingier helped “ease Waller to the ground.” Hitting the courtroom wall, Jackson said, “was sort of a confluence of momentum that occurred.”

Jackson said he took the word of three other sheriff’s deputies who witnessed the incident and said Lovingier did nothing wrong.

When questioned by Judge Martinez about the extent of his investigation, Jackson acknowledged that he never questioned Waller or Judge Burd, who viewed Lovingier’s handling of the case as excessive.

Jackson said the forehead laceration Waller suffered in the attack didn’t qualify as a serious bodily injury – an essential factor for a felony assault charge. Had Waller been a woman, Jackson said, the injury might have been prosecution worthy.

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Morrissey hasn’t prosecuted any law enforcement officers for on-duty excessive force incidents – including killing – in his 10 years in office. In recent months, community activists organized an unsuccessful effort to recall him and many looked to this hearing as a chance for him to finally be held accountable.

“Like the judge said, it’s a hollow victory,” said State Rep. Beth McCann, a former prosecutor who’s running to replace Morrissey.

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Cooks was charged with resisting arrest for refusing to show ID (which is not a crime). Those charges were dropped.

Still, the city is saying the officers did nothing wrong.

“The Barstow Police Department continues to be proactive in training its officers to assess and handle interactions with emotionally charged individuals while conducting an investigation, for the protection of everyone involved,” the official statement on this incident says.

“This incident was in no way racially motivated, as implied by the ACLU,” it continued. “Barstow is a racially diverse community, as is our Police Department, and we affirm our Police Department’s commitment to protect and serve all of our residents.”

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An Oklahoma man said he was beaten black and blue by a Purcell police officer.

Chris Barger said he was dropping off a friend at an apartment complex when a police officer pulled over and shone a spotlight through his window.

Police said Barger got out with his hand in his pocket, and that's when the scuffle began.

It’s not an easy night for Barger to talk about.

“I just started screaming for someone to help me, and he began hitting me even harder and faster,” Barger said.

Barger suffered a broken nose and severe bruising after the incident Monday night.

It began when he was sitting in his car at 7th and Taylor.

“He begins to shine his light in my car window repeatedly and, after a while, I decided maybe I should get out of the vehicle and ask the officer what the problem is,” Barger said.

A police report showed the officer pointed his gun at Barger, and Barger put his hands up. Then, Barger said, the officer put his gun back and put him in a headlock.

Barger tried to pull away.

“By the time he threw me on the ground and hit me a couple times with his elbow, at that point, I was like this isn’t a police officer, this is just some guy here to kill me,” Barger said.

Another officer got there and arrested Barger for assault and battery on an officer.

The police report showed Barger knocked off the officer’s glasses.

“I was flinching every time one walked by me ever since in the police station,” Barger said.

Barger spent the night in jail for the first time in his life, where he said the other inmates showed him compassion.

“They brought me chairs and helped me sit down. They were better than the police were to me," Barger said. "It’s not the way it’s supposed to be. The police are supposed to be the good guys."

Wednesday, the police chief said he had not talked to the officer involved but, from what he understands, the officer didn't do anything wrong.

He did say an internal investigation is not out of the question.

Barger is due in court Friday and does not have a criminal record.

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Montgomery County dispatchers got three phone calls Wednesday morning, all from the scene.

The first was a woman calling around 3:00 a.m. worried about a man trying to break in.

Caller: Someone is trying to break into my house
Dispatcher: Can you see someone or hear someone, what’s going on?
Caller: Someone is banging on the door.

The dispatcher follows protocol and asks the caller questions for several minutes.
Then appears to end the call saying…

Dispatcher: Keep an eye out for the officer and call us back if you hear anything else.

About an hour goes by and help has not arrived. The woman decided to take matters into her own hands, fatally shooting the intruder.

22-year-old DeBrandon Dickerson, of Detroit, was trying to get inside an upstairs window at the house on Richmond Avenue, when the woman shot him and called 911 for the second time that morning.

Caller: Someone broke into my home, I shot one.
Dispatcher: Someone broke into your house and you shot them?
Caller: Yes.

This time, the dispatcher remained on the line until help arrived.

A third call came in from a family member of Dickerson who found him with the gunshot wound to the chest.

2 NEWS learned it took Dayton Police more than an hour to respond to the initial call from that area. Captain Matt Haines with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says each call is classified based on priority level. Priority one being the highest and priority nine being the lowest. Each level standing for a number of things.

Haines says the first call from the woman calling about the intruder was a priority three (suspicious persons call), which by policy means a two person crew will come when available.

The second call was classified as a priority one (shooting), which Haines says Dayton Police responded to within minutes.

2 NEW’S reporter Maytal Levi asked Captain Haines if the first dispatcher was supposed to remain on the line until help arrived. He said there is no policy in place that says that.

“I don’t believe it is fair to say that our employee “hung up” on the caller. However, our investigation will attempt to determine whether or not the initial phone call was handled properly by the call taker, if the incident was appropriately handled by our dispatcher responsible for Dayton Fifth District,” said Captain Matt Haines, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Dayton Police at the time of th shooting there were seven officers and one sergeant on duty, all were working other calls.

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The force told the Star in 2013 that Ebdon was disciplined for discreditable conduct, but wouldn’t disclose his penalty.

A recent court case has now filled in the blanks, with a Superior Court judge taking the rare step of saying that Ebdon “committed several criminal offences in the course of his duties.”

Durham police spokesman Dave Selby told the Star last week that Ebdon would not be available for an interview. He is not facing any criminal charges.

“Const. Ebdon continues to work for us,” said Selby. “Although I can’t discuss any internal personnel files, I can say any court ruling or comment by a justice that we become aware of is taken seriously and reviewed.”

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Toronto police committed “egregious wrongful conduct” after they planted loose heroin on the centre console of a drug suspect’s car to create a pretext for searching the vehicle, a judge has found.

In January 2014, Toronto police arrested Nguyen Son Tran in the city’s Chinatown after finding 11 grams of plastic-wrapped heroin tucked behind the steering column of his car. But Ontario Superior Court Judge Edward Morgan ruled last week that officers never had the right to search the car in the first place and the officers knew that, so they scattered a small amount of loose powder in a visible location next to the driver’s seat.

“I conclude from all of this that the loose heroin was placed on the console of the Toyota by the police after their search, and was not left there by the defendant prior to the search,” Morgan said as he stayed the charges against Tran.

Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said Thursday an internal investigation is underway by the Professional Standards Unit.

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When a paramedic from Northeast Fire Protection District went to the Pine Lawn jail last September to check out an inmate with abdominal pain and bleeding, he told police officers and jailers the inmate needed to go the emergency room, according to his report.

The paramedic wrote that a police officer had started paperwork for the release and the inmate had changed into his street clothes to get ready to board the ambulance. But then a police supervisor canceled the release. The inmate, Bernard Scott, 44, who was being held in lieu of $360 bail for traffic cases, was ordered to change back into his jumpsuit and led back to a holding cell.

Before leaving the station, the paramedic tried one more time.

“PD again advised by EMS that pt should be transferred to ED for further medical attention,” his report said. But the answer was still no.

Just 14 minutes later, the jail had to call another ambulance. Now Scott was unconscious, his muscles stiff. He was aggressive, difficult to pin down and his posture indicated possible brain damage, an EMT’s report said.

Police officers disclosed five minutes after the second ambulance arrived that they had found Scott hanging by his neck from a shoelace tied to his cell door.

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Scott survived. In an interview on Thursday, Scott said he was in a coma for more than 11 days and hospitalized almost three weeks. He said he doesn’t remember trying to hang himself and doesn’t think he would do that.

“Why would I hang myself?” he asked. “I was in on traffic tickets.”

The incident in scandal-plagued Pine Lawn led to an internal review that went nowhere. Police officers and jail workers submitted statements that contradicted each other and the paramedic’s report. An examination of available public records by a Post-Dispatch reporter found no documented effort to sort out discrepancies.

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Despite a new Connecticut law that holds police officers liable for arresting citizens for recording them in public, New Haven police officers did just that last month when they arrested a young man for recording them in public, charging him with interfering.

But the video shows they were the ones interfering with Mykel Armour’s right to record.

However, New Haven police officer K. Malloy (first name likely Kyle) tried to justify the harassment by claiming they had received “a call for loitering.”

But the video also shows there were numerous other citizens in the area – who were not recording – and were not ordered to hand over their identification for suspicion of loitering.

Besides, they did not even charge him with loitering, but with interfering, which is one of those contempt of cop charges police use when they do not want to be recorded.

The truth is, they just wanted to send him a message to think twice about recording cops in public – something they have done regularly over the years, which is why the department was pressured into introducing a general order reminding officers that they are not allowed to arrest citizens for recording in 2011.

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"Not this, we're going to send to our guy in the Anti-Terrorism Unit."

To U.S. Border Patrol Agent Florez, "We're guessing he's somebody that likes to try to get law enforcement in trouble by uh,", "I mean, obviously all these cameras are what they are.", "Yeah, he's got a lot of money in cameras."

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"I don't think this person should ever have a badge or a gun again," Blake, 35, said a day after surveillance video of the arrest outside a Manhattan hotel - and details about previous complaints over the officer's use of force - became public.

"I don't think it's too much to ask," he said.

Blake, who had been ranked as high as No. 4 in the world before retiring after the 2013 U.S. Open, was misidentified by a cooperating witness as being part of a scheme to sell fraudulently purchased merchandise when he was tackled, police have said.

The arresting officer, James Frascatore, who has been with the NYPD for four years, has been named in several civil rights lawsuits alleging excessive force. He has also been the subject of four civilian complaints - an above-average number for NYPD officers, according to complaint data.

"I think that that kind of police officer tarnishes the badge, which I have the utmost respect for and I believe that the majority of police officers do great work and they're heroes," Blake told the AP. "So this person doesn't ever belong in the same sentence with the heroes that are doing the right kind of police work and keeping the public safe."

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A retired Chicago police officer is charged with threatening to harm a coroner and other officials who are investigating the fatal shooting of a northern Illinois officer unless they categorized that death a suicide, authorities said Sunday.

Joseph A. Battaglia, 54, was arrested at his suburban Chicago home on Saturday on two counts of felony disorderly conduct and remains behind bars at the Lake County Jail on $100,000 bond, Lake County Sheriff's Office said. The Oak Lawn man is due in court again Tuesday.

The Sept. 1 shooting death of Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz prompted a massive manhunt for potential suspects. But the county coroner, Dr. Thomas Rudd, said last week that he couldn't rule the death a homicide, an accident or suicide.

Gliniewicz, a 30-year police veteran who was nearing retirement, radioed he was chasing three suspects before the shooting, but no suspects have been arrested.

Battaglia allegedly threatened Rudd and his staff and task-force investigators in a telephone call Friday. In a statement announcing the allegations Sunday, the sheriff's department didn't offer other details, including Battaglia's possible motive.

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A Pennsylvania man has filed a civil rights lawsuit against three Town of Warwick police officers, saying he was unlawfully arrested and prosecuted for having a painkiller prescription filled at a pharmacy.

Joseph Quattrochi’s lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, also names the Town of Warwick and the Town of Warwick Police Department as defendants.

The three officers – Michael Moon, Jason Brasier and Felix Oresto – are being sued individually and in their official capacities.

The allegations stem from a July 3, 2014 incident when Quattrochi, a Tamiment, Pa., resident, came to pick up the painkiller, oxycodone, from the Apple Valley Pharmacy in Warwick. The prescription, written by Dr. Carl Anderson, had been dropped off a couple of days earlier.

According to the lawsuit, a pharmacy employee had contacted Warwick police and reported that the prescription was illegible and not properly filed.

After Quattrochi left the pharmacy with the medication, he was stopped by the three officers and arrested for forgery and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Quattrochi told the officers that the prescription was not a forgery and was given by his doctor, the lawsuit says, but he was taken to town court, arraigned and denied bail.

According to the lawsuit, Quattrochi spent six days in jail and was released July 9 without bail. All charges against him were dismissed Sept. 5.

The lawsuit says the three officers had a duty to contact Dr. Anderson or take other steps to determine if the prescription was genuine.

By arresting and prosecuting Quattrochi, the lawsuit says, they deprived him of “his constitutional right to be free from false arrest under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.”

Warwick police did not return phone calls for comment.

James Gerstner, deputy supervisor for Warwick, said the town has received the lawsuit and had forwarded paperwork to its attorney and its insurer.

Quattrochi is seeking unspecified monetary damages and attorney fees.

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Drug Enforcement Administration agents have been accessing personal medical files without a warrant, generating a backlash from doctors and privacy advocates who say the practice is intrusive and unconstitutional — and have taken the agency to court.

“It’s just not right,” Texas attorney Terri Moore said.

The controversial record searches are part of the government’s effort to crack down on illegal “pill mills” and prescription drug abuse. But they’ve set up a clash over privacy rights, and a legal battle is now playing out in the 5th and 9th Circuit appeals courts. Lower courts have issued conflicting rulings to date, with one backing the DEA and another demanding the agency get warrants if it wants to look at patient records.

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Further, critics say the agency has “tricked” doctors into handing over documents by showing up with state medical board officials for searches and not identifying themselves, in turn giving the impression they’re with the board.

Mari Robinson, executive director of the Texas Medical Board, did not deny in a 2014 congressional hearing that the DEA did this on numerous occasions. She said the board often conducts joint investigations with the DEA, and “what they [DEA] do is up to them.”

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A Brooklyn construction worker claims that an NYPD cop stole $1,300 from him in Coney Island last year after he intervened in an illegal stop and frisk, according to a Brooklyn federal court suit.

Lamard Joye was preparing to meet his wife to celebrate her birthday when he saw several officers surrounding Terrell Haskins in September of last year, papers state.

The cops confronted Haskins claiming that he fit the description of a suspect who was wearing a hoodie and had exited a nearby building. But Haskins countered that he wasn’t wearing one and hadn’t been at the address. He was eventually pepper sprayed after objecting to the stop.

After Joye approached the scene advised Haskins to “give them your arms,” Officer William Montemarano “pushed Lamard against a fence, went into Lamard’s pocket and removed Lamard’s cell phone and approximately $1,300 in cash,” the suit states.

When Joye demanded his cash back, Montemarano pepper sprayed him, according to court papers.

Joye’s sister, former West Virginia University basketball player Lateefah Joye, approached Montemarano and demanded his badge number before the cop blasted her with pepper spray, the suit states.

The siblings were never arrested or charged and Haskins had disorderly conduct charges dropped, according to the suit,

“Lamard’s money was never returned,” the case states.

The three plaintiffs are suing the city, Montemarano and several other unnamed officers for a slew of civil rights violations.

“The suit will be reviewed,” a city Law Department spokesman said.

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Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey has declined to press criminal charges against a Denver police officer who shot and killed a Native American man in July. The man, Paul Castaway, holding a knife to his own throat and threatening to kill himself, was walking toward officers when Officer Michael Traudt fired three shots into Castaway's midsection. Along with a nine-page report explaining his decision, Morrissey on Monday released surveillance footage of the shooting.

The shooting spurred protests in Denver this summer, as Castaways' family disputed the initial police account that claimed Castaway, 35, came "dangerously close" to officers with a knife. At the time, they said officers didn't have to shoot him, and he was clearly mentally ill and in need of help. Prior to releasing the video publicly, Morrissey had shown it to members of Castaway's family, who said it showed him holding the knife to his throat—not pointing it in the direction of the police.

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Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua White, 31, was arrested on Friday night following an incident of alleged child abuse. After an initial investigation, White was charged and taken to the county jail where he was placed on bond, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

White is placed on administrative leave and relieved of all law enforcement duties. The suspension from duty will remain in effect until a complete and thorough administrative review on the incident is concluded, the press release stated. An internal investigation will also ensue after criminal charges are concluded.

According to White’s arrest report, the incident was believed to take place around or on Thursday in which a witness claimed White had grabbed a four-year-old child by the neck and began "banging the child’s head on a hard surface multiple times with enough force to allow for bruising on the victim’s forehead," the report stated.

When questioned by an SRSO investigators at his residence, White reportedly said he would talk with the deputy about the incident, however before questioning began White invoked his right to counsel, according to the report.

Based on statements from the victim and the witness, including the findings of a forensic exam conducted on the child, the investigating deputy and department supervisors determined abuse had taken place.

White is facing once count of a third degree felony charge of child abuse without great bodily harm. His bond was set at $5,000 per statute, according to the sheriff’s office.

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On August 28, 2015, I was taken into custody by the Beaverton Police. My Probation Officer filed a warrant for my arrest because I failed to "Abide by his directive" which was: Don't film the police. He and I weren't seeing "eye 2 eye" on that particular directive and he suggested that we take this in front of a judge so the judge can decide if it was a lawful order. On 9/9/15, I appeared in court to facee the judge who then signed off on the directive, making it official. So I can no longer film or photograph the police until May of 2016.

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The War on Cops is a grossly inaccurate response to recent police killings which are on track for another year that will rival the safest on record. Gunfire deaths by police officers are down 27 percent this year, according to the Officer Down memorial page, and police killings in general are at a 20-year low, given current numbers for 2015. Police deaths in Barack Obama’s presidency are lower than the past four administrations, going all the way back to Ronald Reagan’s presidency.

Not a single iota of evidence supports a War on Police, but it has become a battle cry among some in the academy.

Over 80 percent of police departments in the United States are facing issues with low recruitment numbers. As an Iraq War veteran I sought to solidify my chance of employment working in law enforcement by attending a local police academy. I enjoyed serving my country as military police and will do such now as a sworn police officer back home.

What are they telling us in a post-Michael Brown academy? The culture of police brutality is infrequently addressed, but what is continually mentioned is the notion that there is a War on Police. By whom? Depends on whom you ask.

Some instructors blame the Obama administration, which has provided extra funding to police departments to hire Iraq War veterans such as myself. Others, citing news organizations and politicians, try to pin it on the Black Lives Matter movement.

How are they attempting to substantiate this? By highlighting a few high-profile police killings in the past few months, especially the tragic, execution-style death of a Texas sheriff at a gas station. Many activists tried to tie the accused murderer, Shannon Miles, to the Black Lives Matter movement in the immediate aftermath as a motive. He had no ties to the movement.

Miles, however, had been previously declared mentally incompetent.

“The Obama administration and Eric Holder are undermining the police. We have officers dying left and right and he’s dicking off in Alaska,” says one of my instructors, referring to the president’s trip to Alaska last week.

Our instructor is likely trying to warn us to take heed of the dangers of the job, and not expect to be thanked by politicians for doing it. But he has made the government and the people we’re meant to serve out to be boogeymen in the process.

Bad guys have been shooting cops for years, but this is neither a new nor growing phenomenon. A whole generation has grown up knowing the phrase “fuck the police” as a song lyric, a response to the mass incarceration culture spawned from a War on Drugs that numbers show disproportionately and unfairly targets black Americans.

I understand as a law enforcement professional—and as someone capable of fairly reading mountains of data—that the Drug War has been unfairly used as a tool of oppression against the black community. It is why the American public overall has shown they have less confidence in police in recent times.

But there is no War on Police. This Us vs. Them mentality still prevails even in fresh academy cadets. Perhaps some of these people will become future jackbooted, truncheon-wielding oppressors. Or perhaps they will encounter the reality that betrays the fear they are taught.

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SLIDELL, La. (Victoria Price, CBS12/WKRC) -- The Slidell Police Department was criticized for 'shaming' a homeless man who was arrested and found with $800 in his pockets on Facebook

Police posted a photograph on Facebook of the homeless man, identified as 59-year-old Franklin Jones, who in the photograph, appears to be handcuffed in front of a police car on May 21st.

Slidell Police said: "This guy thought it would be ok to urinate on the side of the road at Gause and I-10. Nope! Not ok! He'll be spending the night at the Slidell City Jail."

Hundreds of angry comments then appeared on the photo post.

The next day, the agency posted a picture of a pile of money that read: "Homeless Man Found With Over $800 Cash."

Police then fired back at the original photo post.

Slidell police then went into a long explanation of "Jones has been begging for money for a year and has refused offers of employment but chooses not to work because he makes a better living by begging people for money."

Critics have responded in support of the post, while others blasted police for publicly shaming the man.

Police say Jones was arrested because he reportedly had "too much alcohol, stole a shopping cart, urinated on the side of the road in front of multiple people including a mother and her children."

The Slidell Police Facebook posts have since been made unavailable for viewing.

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When there's a mental health issue, that's when pointing a camera at them is very dangerous.

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We're trying to do the right thing.

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You have no shred of decency...

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"Where's your humanity?"

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On the basis of alleged evidence that was never properly booked by the Sheriff’s Office or proven to exist, McNelis was arrested and charged with drug trafficking. Two days later, as he prepared for an emergency shelter care hearing for his high school-age daughter Andromeda, McNelis was confronted by a deputy (identified as “Officer Rodarte” in court documents), who demanded that he surrender custody of the girl. If he proceeded with the hearing, McNelis was told, he would be arrested for “child endangerment” and “felony injury to a child.”

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In his affidavit requesting a search warrant, Deputy Craig claimed to have received an anonymous tip that there were “a half-dozen” marijuana plants growing outside McNelis’s home. In December 29, 2009, Craig reportedly conducted a “trash pull” outside the residence that yielded no evidence of a crime. A second “pull” allegedly carried out after midnight on the morning of January 6 supposedly turned up an unspecified amount of material he identified as “marijuana trimmings” on the basis of a field test.

“How much stuff was there?” Craig was subsequently asked by internal affairs investigator John Lewis.

“I really don’t know,” Craig replied.
“Did you take any pictures of any of this stuff?” Lewis inquired.
“No, I did not,” Craig admitted.
“You didn’t send it to the ISP [Idaho State Police] forensic lab, correct?” persisted Lewis.
“That’s correct,” Craig responded, explaining that “I felt that there was no need to. It was a small quantity, field test was positive.” For the same reason, Craig continued, he didn’t bother to tell his patrol supervisor about his discovery at the time.
Not only did Craig not bother to document his alleged discovery, he didn’t confirm that the trash through which he had rummaged had actually belonged to McNelis. Among the items he claimed to have found was an unremarkable “white envelope” addressed to Brian McNelis.
“I don’t know if it was junk mail or a bill,” Craig explained to the internal affairs officer. “I didn’t look at it.”

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Roughly a year after the raid on McNelis’s home, Judge Timothy Hansen of Idaho’s Fourth Circuit Court ruled that the search warrant was invalid, which led to dismissal of the charges against McNelis. In a Memorandum and Order issued on April 15, 2011, Judge Hansen found that Deputy Craig had “knowingly, intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth” incorporated false statements into his affidavit. Judge Hansen reiterated that finding on August 8 in response to a plaintive motion to reconsider filed by the Ada County Prosecutor’s office.

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Not surprisingly, Lewis found that Craig had committed “errors” and omissions, but declined to rule that the detective had submitted a false report. Shortly thereafter, Craig’s boss, former Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney, notified the deputy that he would be suspended “without pay for one day or the equivalent of eight (8) hours” on the following September 30 as punishment for “administrative violations.”

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Ada County spent more than a half-million dollars in their futile effort to defeat McNelis’s pro se civil rights lawsuit. Without the benefit of legal training or tax subsidies, McNelis spent a considerable seeking redress for “irreparable damages” to family relationships (beginning with losing custody of Andromeda), his business, and his personal reputation.

Untutored in law but armed with an agile mind and an invincible determination to pursue justice, McNelis stood alone against the Ada County government – represented in court by a panel of five well-paid government attorneys – and won. The jury that ruled in McNelis’s favor – acknowledging the injuries that had been inflicted on him and his family through the dishonesty and corruption of Deputy Craig and the agency that employed him – awarded the victim damages in the amount of a single dollar.

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Sgt. Anthony Dandurand and Travis Thomas took James Reiner to jail and sent Dana Reiner, who was in labor, to Franciscan St. Anthony Health hospital in an ambulance after a traffic stop in January 2012 on Ind. 2, just east of Clay Street near Lowell, U.S. District Court records show. James Reiner was booked into jail on probable cause felony resisting law enforcement. But no formal charge was ever filed.

The couple didn’t immediately pull over for Dandurand, who claimed in a police report he chased them for 5 miles but later admitted in court filings that he activated his emergency lights and in-car video camera about 1.1 miles from where James Reiner stopped his 1994 Lincoln Town Car.

Dana Reiner gave birth to daughter Abigail within minutes of arriving at the hospital in Crown Point, though her doctor paused the delivery twice to turn Abigail and unwrap her umbilical cord from around her neck. Dana Reiner said the doctor told her that her baby would have died had she given birth on the side of the road.

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"The court does not think a reasonable officer, after realizing (as Officers Dandurand and Thomas did soon after handcuffing James) that plaintiffs were en route to the hospital to have their baby, would have continued to detain them, much less have kept James under arrest and taken him to jail for the night. To the contrary: such conduct, at that point, violates the clearly established guarantees of the Fourth Amendment," Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry wrote.

Cherry dismissed the lawsuit in May after the Reiners, who lived in DeMotte when Abigail was born, and the defendants reached a settlement. The Reiners and their attorney, J. Michael Loomis, said they could not comment on the terms of the agreement.

James and Dana Reiner said they wanted to make clear they support police. They have family members and friends who work in law enforcement, and police play an important role in society, they said.

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However, the magistrate judge did allow several of the Reiners’ federal and state law claims, including illegal seizure of person, excessive force, false arrest, assault, battery and false imprisonment, to remain to the extent they alleged wrongdoing after the officers knew Dana Reiner was in labor.

The continued detainment of the couple became unlawful after the officers learned Dana Reiner was in labor, Cherry wrote, and any further use of force was objectively unreasonable.

James Reiner can be heard shouting his wife was in labor shortly within minutes of where the video from Dandurand’s car begins.

“You pull over. I don’t care. You pull over,” an officer responded.

About 20 seconds later, Dana Reiner shouted, “I’m in labor. My water broke.”

An officer immediately told her he was calling an ambulance.

About 30 seconds passed before Dana Reiner said, “I don’t need an ambulance. I just need my husband.”

The officer replied, “You need an ambulance. He’s going to jail.”

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After an ambulance arrives more than 20 minutes after the video starts, the officers can be heard discussing a previous crash in which a man was seriously injured and an ambulance took more than 20 minutes to arrive.

James Reiner said what disturbs him the most is the behavior of all the officers at the scene.

“They ask, ‘Do you want me to pull the tape? I know how to pull the tape.’ So they’re talking about destroying evidence. The problem is that there is no oversight. There’s zero,” he said. “There’s nobody randomly pulling tapes to make sure that they’re being professional. And that’s done in every profession.”

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...The video, posted below, includes footage from both Playford and Nance’s cameras as well as audio clips from Nance’s recorder from the night he was shoved and arrested.

It begins with Playford interviewing Nance about the incident until sirens can be heard in the background, which was when Nance lifts his own camera to begin recording Playford.

“Something going on?” Playford asks as a police car pulls up behind him, his camera pointing at Nance.

“Yeah, you’re the star of the show,” Nance responds, capturing the surreal scene on his own camera.

Playford turns around and acknowledges the cop, but then turns to face Nance again to continue his interview.

But the cop walks up with his gun drawn, ordering Playford to remove his hand from the bag. A potentially deadly situation considering this is the same agency that recently killed a man for holding a pen.

As more cops and deputies move in to handcuff and frisk him, Playford accuses them of violating his Constitutional rights.

The original cop responds by saying, “Well you know the number for our internal affairs. You can call them and complain again,” indicating he is familiar with Playford.

The cop then pauses for a moment and says, “It’s not a big…” and trails off, as if thinking better of finishing that sentence while being recorded.

And he’s right. It’s not a big deal in the eyes of internal affairs. Cops in this country know their internal affairs departments are almost as toothless as citizen review boards. Even the U.S. Department of Justice doesn’t seem to faze them much, as we’ve seen with departments in cities like Portland, Seattle, Baltimore, Albuquerque and Miami.

At one point there are as many as eight law enforcement officers from both agencies involved in detaining and frisking Playford.

Playford, who has a long history of altercations over the right to record with both agencies, believes the sheriff’s department called police – rather than dispatch its own deputies – because they knew he did not have a rifle in the case.

But they just wanted to make life difficult for him as they have done so many times in the past, he said in a telephone interview with Photography is Not a Crime.

The San Diego deputy ended up handcuffing Playford and frisking him before opening the rifle case and discovering a tripod.

One of the officers at the scene was San Diego Police Lieutenant Kevin Mayer, a former public information officer who knows Playford.

“He should have diffused the situation,” Playford said.

As someone who’s no stranger to these types of situations (in his own words, “If you only knew how many guns I’ve had pointed at me for standing on street corners, it’d blow your mind”), Playford had some stern words for the officers in the end.

But who can blame him at that point?

“San Diego as a whole has a complete breakdown in its criminal justice system,” he said. “It goes as high as the U.S. Attorney for the Southwest United States and trickles down to the FBI in this city, all the way down to both the San Diego police and sheriff’s departments.”

The San Diego cop claimed he was trespassing, but California law is clear, which means the entire pretext for the detainment was false:

(c) This section shall not apply to any of the following persons:

(1) Any person engaged in lawful labor union activities that are permitted to be carried out on the property by state or federal law.

(2) Any person on the premises who is engaging in activities protected by the California Constitution or the United States Constitution.

Playford, who works for a company called American News and Information Services, which sells video footage to local television news stations, has a pending lawsuit against the San Diego Sheriff’s Department over its insistence that he needs department-issued press credentials in order to do his job. Below is a video message from Ed Peruta, president of the company, discussing the recent incident.

The city of San Diego’s Police Department was dropped from that lawsuit.

Nance also works for the same company, responding to scenes when Playford is unable to do so. In 2013, they were both held at gunpoint for recording outside a power plant. That video is also below.

Over the summer, Playford had an altercation with a San Diego paramedic, in which he has filed a letter of intent to sue.

Contact the San Diego Police Department at 619-531-2000 or 858-484-3154. Or leave a comment on their Facebook page.

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A Bronx mother was forced to abandon her learning-disabled son when an NYPD officer arrested her last year near Bryant Park for selling $1 chocolate bars as part of a school fundraiser, a new lawsuit charges.

Bernadette Roberts is suing the police officer and the NYPD, accusing the officer of breaking department rules by letting her 15-year-old son wander Midtown alone for hours in frigid weather after her arrest for selling the candy — a common method parents use to raise school funds.

Roberts, 49, said her son — whose name is being withheld because of his age — was using the bathroom at a nearby Duane Reade pharmacy when officer Stephanie Hlapatsos arrested her for selling candy without a license and hauled her away before he returned.

Roberts’ son suffers from an anxiety disorder, attention-deficit disorder and learning disabilities. His mental and emotional capacities in many areas are of a child half his age, the lawsuit says.

Not knowing what happened to his mom, the teen walked city streets in search of her until police at the Midtown South Precinct stationhouse allowed his mom to phone him.

When Roberts finally reached her son by cellphone, he was sobbing.

“He was hysterical, crying, “Where are you? What happened? I can’t find you. I’m looking all over the place for you,” Roberts told city lawyers during a preliminary hearing in 2014 after she filed a notice of her intent to sue the NYPD.

Roberts and her son filed the actual lawsuit last week in Manhattan Supreme Court.

...

Roberts and her son, a special-needs student at a Bronx school, were at Bryant Park on Feb. 1, 2014, to sell World’s Finest Chocolate bars to raise money for him to be an exchange student in Korea through the nonprofit Youth for Understanding.

The teen left his mother at one point to use a bathroom at a nearby Duane Reade on 42nd Street. The lawsuit says that Roberts gave her son explicit instructions on how to return to the same spot, including pointing out landmarks to help orient him.

While the teen was gone, Hlapatsos, dressed in plain clothes, approached Roberts and inquired about buying one of the sweets. When Roberts told her the price, she was arrested, according to court records.

Roberts asked Hlapatsos to let her wait for her son to return, but the officer dismissed her request, according to the lawsuit.

“Officer Hlapatsos responded that if [her son] too had been selling candy on the street, he had probably also been arrested,” the lawsuit said.

Roberts was taken to a barricaded section in the middle of the street where other officers were. After about eight minutes, she was driven to Midtown South Precinct stationhouse, according to court records. She was gone before her son returned.

After a few hours in a holding cell, Roberts was allowed to call her son, who came to the stationhouse. She said the experience left them both shaken.

“I have never been booked, fingerprinted, handcuffed or anything like that ever in my entire 47 at the time going on 48 years,” Roberts said at her preliminary hearing.

“So it was quite traumatic for myself and for my son.”

The charge against Roberts was eventually dismissed, according to her lawyers, Jeffrey Vanacore and Paul Cohen. The lawyers declined to comment on the case.

The NYPD declined to comment on pending litigation. The city Law Department said it will review the allegations but declined to comment on the case.

Roberts, who lives in Morris Park, did not respond to a request for comment.

Hlapatsos has been previously accused of making a bad bust.

In 2014, the city paid $13,000 to settle another lawsuit against the officer.

In that lawsuit, Marie-Rose Goba, a street vendor selling mangos, sued the city after Hlapatsos arrested her for not being licensed. The vendor was licensed, according to court records.

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In September, 2014, 49-year-old Mickey Donohue allegedly led Deputy Paul Pfeifer on a high speed chase in a stolen car. He had just been released from a 14-year stint in prison, when the chase ensued.

The dashcam video shows Pfeifer arriving on scene and immediately hitting the suspect repeatedly with his department-issued flashlight. Backup arrives, but the hitting continues.

This is just once of three time the 14-year veteran deputy has been sued for allegedly using excessive force -- in all three cases, he is accused of using his flashlight as a baton.


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First lawsuit: September 27, 2007 -- 25-year-old Solomia Treschuk, was a senior at Sacramento State University. She was attending her fiance's birthday barbecue, when Pfeifer responded to a noise complaint. When no one answered the door, deputies climbed over the fence to detain the barbecue attendees. Court documents state Pfeifer said he hit Treschcuk with his flashlight on the legs four times as she resisted arrest. Treschuk said she was hogtied, beat all over her body. This case was settled in 2009 after the County of Sacramento paid Treschuk $20,000 in damages.

Second lawsuit: September 8, 2014 -- Donohue case (mentioned above). The investigation is still pending.

Third lawsuit: December, 2014 -- Pfeifer was caught on cell phone video repeatedly hitting 51-year-old John Reyes with his flashlight after Pfeifer said he resisted arrest. Reyes suffered a broken nose and several bruises and lacerations to his face and skull. The investigation is still pending.

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Pfeifer was placed on paid leave since the Reyes incident. He has since been promoted to detective.

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Some members of a St. Paul church are concerned about what they describe as the forceful arrest of a 15-year-old, who said he was standing up for his mother when he said an officer talked to her disrespectfully.

A crowd gathered around the officer and shouting ensued during the arrest at a church picnic in a Frogtown park Sunday. The officer said the teen was kicking and pulling away when he was trying to handcuff him, according to a police spokesman. Police cited him for disorderly conduct and arrested his mother on suspicion of obstructing legal process.

A fellow church member, Alex Weston, used a cellphone to record video of some of the incident. He said he wants to draw attention to a case he regards as police misconduct and to seek answers.

St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith "has seen the video, he's aware of the situation, he's aware of the community concern around it," said police spokesman Steve Linders. The department is "reviewing what happened leading up to what was caught on video, what happened during the part that is on video and what happened afterward."

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The incident began when police responded about 12:20 p.m. Sunday to a report of a 14-year-old being assaulted by four other juveniles with sticks, Linders said. An officer cited an 11-year-old for assault and was going to release him to his mother, when his older brother began yelling and swearing at the officer, Linders said.

The officer regarded the boy's actions as disorderly conduct and was arresting him for that offense, Linders said.

Tyree Tucker, the 15-year-old who was cited and released, had some visible scrapes on his face and elbows on Monday.

Tucker's 11-year-old brother, Tyrell Tucker, said they had been attending the picnic for their church, St. Paul Fellowship. Another child, whom Tyrell thought was from the neighborhood and not part of the gathering, tried to hit him with a stick and threatened to kill him, Tyrell said. Tyrell said he grabbed a thin stick and whacked the boy with it to protect himself.

Police arrived and were going to take Tyrell away. Instead, the officer took him back to release him and told his mother, Edna Waddle, she needed to sign something, Waddle said.

"He said, 'Just get your (expletive) kid and get out of here,' " Waddle said, adding that she was flabbergasted. "He was like, 'What kind of (expletive) mother are you? You've got your fat (expletive) up at the (expletive) picnic table eating at the buffet when your son just assaulted somebody.' "

Tyree Tucker said he responded along the lines of, "Don't say that to my mother. You're an officer. We're going to get your badge number and have a complaint pulled on you." Tyrell said his brother also called the officer, "You dumb bastard."

The officer told Tyree Tucker he was under arrest, and the boy said he responded, "I'm not because I didn't do anything. ... You can't put your hands on me," and moved away from the officer.

Tyree Tucker, who is under 5 feet 3 inches tall and slender, said the officer slammed him against a tree and onto the ground.

The officer had his arm around Tyree Tucker's throat and was telling him to put his arms behind his back, his brother said. Tyree said his brother had already done so with one hand, but could not with the other because the officer was twisting it.

Tyree Tucker and his family say he never touched the officer. In the video, Johnston can be heard shouting repeatedly, "Put your hands behind your back!"

...

Waddle, of St. Paul, was released from jail Monday pending further investigation; she has not been charged. In the video, she appears to grab at her son's arm twice while the officer is trying to arrest him.

Waddle said she is planning to contact a lawyer and file a complaint over what happened Sunday.

Tyree Tucker is biracial and identifies as African-American, and the officer involved is white, said Waddle, who is white. The officer did not say anything to them of a racial nature, but she suspects race may have been at play in what happened.

Weston had continued recording on Sunday, as more officers arrived. The video shows people in the crowd shouted at police, including using profanity. One woman was saying, "How dare you hurt him like that! ... He's a child."

Linders said the police department is looking into all aspects of what happened Sunday. The department reviews every case in which officers use force and this one will be reviewed, too, he said.

Weston said he is considering filing a complaint with the police department about what happened.

"I think this incident touches on broader issues," he said. "If it happened in a vacuum, it wouldn't be as significant, but people I talked to in the neighborhood were concerned about an ongoing pattern of over-policing. I hope this can be a starting point for the community to have a dialogue with police."

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A COURT has found a police officer was acting outside his duties when he pushed a man up against a car and choked him on the Gold Coast.

Luke Cole, 34, was charged with serious assault after Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley claimed Mr Cole pushed him over a roadside guard rail at Robina following a heated scuffle in November last year.

But this afternoon in the Southport Magistrates Court, the charge against Mr Cole was dismissed.

Magistrate Kerry Magee told the court she considered aspects of Snr Sgt Hurley’s story lacked credibility or were implausible.

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The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police Department in Boston is currently under fire, after video of an officer hitting an unarmed black woman with a baton on a bus went viral Friday. When witnesses — the majority of whom were black — attempted to de-escalate the situation, the unnamed officer pulled his gun on them.

In a video uploaded to Facebook by the group Mass Action Against Police Brutality, the officer repeatedly strikes the unidentified woman, yelling “Back up, back up, shut the fuck up!” The woman scuffles with the officer as bystanders yell for him to stop and for the woman to calm down. As people on the bus approach the officer, imploring him to stop, he pulls out his gun and points it towards them. Witnesses yell at him to drop the gun, as the woman tries to push the officer’s baton away and he stands with his finger on the trigger.

When backup arrives to help subdue the woman, who lashes out against the first officer, a gun is drawn on her again. When the woman is finally cuffed, one of the officers pulls her hair.

MBTA Police Lieutenant Richard Sullivan later said the woman was first approached for a theft, and that the officer used force because the woman was aggressive.

“If you saw the video in the beginning, the officer asks that woman to step off the bus so he can conduct an investigation. She refused to do so, and became actively non-compliant and assaultive,” he said. Sullivan wouldn’t comment on the officer’s decision to pull out his gun.

An investigation is pending, and the officer has been placed on administrative duty.

“This is the state of police brutality and violence,” the Mass Action Facebook group wrote, when it posted the video Friday. “For Black people it’s always guilt until proven innocent.”

This is not the first time MBTA Transit Police have drawn criticism this year. Eight months after an officer was heralded for saving a man from falling onto the train tracks in a subway station, a video circulated of the officer punching the man in the face. A photo of the man shows a bruised face and a closed black eye. When the original story about the officer’s heroic deed was first reported, transit authorities edited the video to exclude the use of force.

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Three prison officials were arrested this week after they were implicated in a scheme to use prison labor for their own personal gain. The prison employees, Robert Hill, Stephen Binkley and Roy Napper have been accused of establishing a shell corporation that sold items made by inmates under their direction.

The business “Stand Firm Designs” was reportedly marketed as a “Christian-based organization,” according to ABC News. The men are charged with official misconduct and inmate labor violation and are already free on a $1,000 bond.

The plot was exposed by former inmates Larry Stephney and Charles Brew who were forced to work on projects for the prison without any compensation. The former inmates said that they were forced to make a variety of random objects, including bird houses, dog beds, games and sports memorabilia.

While this type of situation is typical for inmates in American prisons, it is usually the prison corporation or state agency in charge that benefits from the free labor. However, in this case, the prison employees cut out the middle man and ran their own personal sweatshop for the inmates.

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A deputy in a helicopter giving chase opened fire, hitting the SUV several times.

The wounded driver jumped from the moving car and ran a short distance before collapsing and dying by the side of the road, the statement said.

Police say they are awaiting autopsy results to reveal whether the man died from gunshot wounds or from leaping from the vehicle.

Police spokeswoman Jodi Miller said officers decided to open fire because the driver was threatening public safety.

The driverless SUV crashed head-on into a Dodge Durango injuring three people, one of whom remains in hospital, police added.

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According to the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office, Gregory Herrell’s family called police asking deputies to conduct a welfare check on Herrell. Reportedly addicted to painkillers, Herrell appeared at his mother’s house on Friday morning looking for money when he ended up arguing with his mom and daughter. Twenty minutes after receiving the call, two deputies arrived at his mother’s residence at 10:50 a.m.

As one deputy went around the back of the house, the other deputy knocked on the front door and began speaking with Herrell’s mother. While his mom tried to explain to the deputy that Herrell had a shotgun but that it was unloaded, the second deputy shot Herrell in front of his mother and daughter.

“My sister was there in the living room with my father when he got shot. And the officer shot him because one knocked on the front door and the other officer walked around the back door and shot him when he was sitting on the couch, and my grandmother was telling them that the gun wasn’t loaded,” Herrell’s son, Garrett Herrell, told WSMV-TV.

At the request of the District Attorney’s office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has taken over the investigation into the police shooting. The TBI violent crimes response team has been called in, and the Bureau has begun questioning witnesses.

“During an interaction with that individual, one of the deputies discharged a weapon,” stated TBI spokesperson Susan Niland. “We don’t know at this point what precipitated that. That is going to be part of our investigation.”

Although deputies claim that Herrell was reaching for his unloaded shotgun, witnesses and the TBI do not support the allegation.

“When the officer seen it, I guess it was taped up, I mean, an old 40-year-old shotgun, and you know, they say he went for it, but his sister and mother said he didn’t, so I’m not sure. But they shot three times with an AR-15 and he’s dead at the hospital right now,” said family friend Jason Wall.

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Racine Police Department
Many people have questions about Mr. James Wells' traffic stop. From the office of the Chief, please see the below response.
From the Office of the Chief Public Commentary Ref. Oscar J. Wells Traffic Stop
This open letter to the public was prepared in response to a recent online post by Oscar James Wells regarding alleged misconduct (in the form of biased policing) against a member of the Racine Police Department. Following a thorough internal review of the facts and circumstances involved in this case (conducted by the Office of Professional Standards at the request of Mr. Wells), the findings of this internal matter are being released to the public in the interest of promoting organizational transparency. Equally important, in releasing the details of this internal review to the public, media outlets and Internet sources that have given any measure of credibility to the misinformation posted by Mr. Wells, shall have the opportunity to correct the record. It is important that all previously circulated misinformation be corrected, which will pave the way for the restoration of the character and professionalism of the officer wrongly accused in this case. It is also important to restore any lost public trust this inflammatory posting may have caused.
On Wednesday June 24, 2015 at 8:32am, Mr. Wells was the subject of a lawfully initiated traffic stop conducted in the City of Racine. Pursuant to this stop, Wells was issued a traffic citation for an equipment violation (failure to attach front license plate). A small portion of the final minutes of the traffic stop was recorded by Mr. Wells (via cell phone) and subsequently posted online. Within this video clip, Wells states he was asked if he had auto insurance, but he was not allowed to look for the insurance documentation. The allegation that Wells was not allowed to look for verification documents was quickly disproved by video evidence made available via RPD in-squad video recording data (see attached link).
After a thorough review of the facts and circumstances involved in this case, and after in-depth analysis the squad car video captured during this traffic stop, the allegations made by Mr. Wells were found to be completely baseless.
As confirmed via squad car video, the demeanor of the officer involved in this traffic stop was professional and courteous throughout this encounter. After introducing herself and announcing the probable cause for this stop, the officer requested that Mr. Wells produce his drivers license and proof of insurance. Wells experienced difficultly locating either of the requested documents. During this stop, the officer allowed Mr. Wells to search for the requested items in the glove compartment, visor area and center console. As Mr. Wells directed his attention to the rear seat area of the vehicle, Wells was directed to stop the search, as this information could be verified through alternative methods.
It should be noted that, in addition to the initial time Mr. Wells was allowed to search for the requested documents, he was afforded an extended period of search time (approximately 12 minutes) during the time the officer returned to her vehicle to verify Wells' drivers license status and to draft the referenced citation.
During the internal review into this matter (initiated at the request of Mr. Wells), it was determined that Wells had no valid insurance policy in place at the time of the traffic stop. The internal review further revealed that, in August of 2014, Wells was involved in a traffic matter in Milwaukee County, at which time he received a citation for operating a motor vehicle without insurance. Mr. Wells subsequently secured auto insurance; however, this policy had expired and was not in effect at the time of the most recent traffic stop.
It is now clear that Mr. Wells was not in position to provide proof of insurance, as policy was not current.
In response Wells' assertion that he was stopped on the basis of his race, an internal audit was conducted on all traffic stops conducted on the date Wells was stopped. The internal audit related no racial disparity in those stopped for traffic violations, as individuals of a balanced range of ethnic backgrounds were stopped and cited.
With respect to the traffic stop involving Mr. Wells, his conduct during this stop (in refusal to provide his fingerprint for identification purposes as requested), could have resulted in an additional charge for obstructing. The officer however elected to use discretion in not advancing this charge, which could have resulted in an in-custody arrest.
In initially electing to cite Mr. Wells for his failure to show proof of insurance, the officer in effect afforded Mr. Wells the benefit of the doubt, making the assumption that he in fact had a valid insurance policy in place. We now know this was not the case. Had Mr. Wells accepted the initial citation, he would have been exposed to a maximum fine of $10. It was not until Mr. Wells became argumentative, protesting the insurance-related citation that the decision was made to issue the alternate citation.
After a thorough review of the facts in this case, the video evidence clearly disproves the false allegations that remain online as of this time. However, the adverse impact of having the character and personal integrity of individual police officers attacked online is not as easily remedied.
This unfounded attack against any single member of our profession is in effect, an attack against the entire profession. Inaccurate and inflammatory online posts of this nature collectively contribute to the anti-police climate that leads to poor community relationships in some communities, and worse yet, the execution of police officers. While we enjoy great police community relations locally, the same cannot be said for many departments across the nation. The false narrative advanced by the inaccurate video posted by Mr. Wells does a disservice to the service and sacrifice of the men and women who risk their lives daily to enhance public safety.
In speaking with Mr. Wells directly regarding this matter, and advising him of the adverse impact of his actions, he stated that, in posting this video, it was not his intent that this matter be portrayed in the manner that has played out online. Mr. Wells however maintained his position that his was stopped as a result of bias, and a public apology was not warranted on his part.
The overall objective of this communication is to set the record straight, and to restore any lost or damaged credibility suffered by the officer involved in this traffic stop. In light of the facts as determined after a thorough review, all inaccurate online posts relating to this matter should be corrected or removed outright.
Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to the many citizens who continue to support the department and our community policing philosophy and vision.

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NY State Police Investigator Ronald R. Pierone Jr. and Lt. B. T Colwell Stole MY Drone under the color of law. I committed no crime and broke no law. He refused to return it. Just listen to what he says. After 2 hours they made me wait and still would not return my property. I will be filing a complaint and charges of theft per lawyers advice. Call or txt and let him know he can't get away with this criminal act! 518-858-9641 if the cell is off the Office number is 518-473-2967 and email is ronald.pierone@troopers.ny.gov

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A 22-year-old Texas man and his brother face charges for an incident involving a motorized skateboard/scooter in a Houston mall over the weekend. They and their supporters, on the other hand, criticize a deputy’s use of force and the arrest in general.

Video of the encounter already in progress shows Jesse Valdez on his stomach in Willowbrook Mall, his arms being cuffed by a Precinct 4 Constable deputy behind his back.

“What is the reason, sir?” Valdez and his brother, Michael Roulhac who was filming on his cellphone, asked several times. “What am I getting arrested for?”

The deputy in the video said he was being arrested for “ignoring a police officer’s commands.”

Roulhac and Valdez insist in the video that he did nothing wrong.

“He was just riding his Segway-like vehicle and you decided to come up and take him off,” Roulhac said in the video, adding “it seems like you’re in the wrong officer.”

More officers arrived on the scene and asked Roulhac to back up. Roulhac, holding up the device Valdez was riding, asked if there were a law against it and was informed by another deputy that it was against mall policy. Roulhac went on to say that it seemed like the deputy was making up the policy on the fly.

One look at the mall’s policy posted on its website though reveals that ”operating unauthorized recreational and/or personal transportation devices in the shopping center” is considered a prohibited activity. Roulhac later posted on Facebook this same policy but wrote that they were never asked to leave and thus never refused to do so, which would have warranted an arrest.

Later in the video, Roulhac asked why a deputy had a Taser to Valdez’ back as commotion in the mall started to escalate.

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According to KHOU-TV, Valdez was charged with resisting arrest and Roulhac could be charged with interfering with an investigation and inciting a riot.

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The statement continued that the deputy tried to detain the suspect for disorderly conduct and accused him of resisting. Because force was used Constable Mark Herman told KTRK that a force board would review the incident.

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After plugging in the words "fuck" and "fucking" to Google, I got 825 million hits. That's four times the combined hits from "apple pie" (38 million), "New York Yankees" (65 million), "U.S. Constitution" (34 million) and "Bill of Rights" (173 million). If such a word is so widely used, and apparently without societal convulsions or dissolution of public morals, why punish people who use it?

What led me to this pseudo-scientific exercise was a story in today's news about a young man from Connecticut, William Barboza, who, upset that he received a speeding ticket on an upstate highway near Liberty, New York, and seeking to vent his annoyance, returned the ticket to the town court's clerk -- with proper payment of the fine -- but with a handwritten five-word vulgarity, which included the word "fuck," as well as the word "tyranny" scribbled over the town name of Liberty.

Apparently, when she opened the envelope and saw what Mr. Barboza had written, the court clerk became alarmed and told the town judge, who presumably became equally alarmed. He contacted Mr. Barboza, directing him to appear in court on the ticket. When Mr. Barboza drove all the way from Connecticut to appear in court, oblivious of the reason for his required appearance, the judge summarily had him arrested, handcuffed, and jailed on a charge of aggravated harassment, which, according to New York's Penal Law § 240.30, is violated when a person, "with intent to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm another person, communicates by mail in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm."

As reported in the story, the Town of Liberty is notorious for locking people up who use in public any crude, vulgar, offensive, and profane language, so Mr. Barboza's case does not seem that exceptional, at least for Liberty. What is unusual is that he sought to vindicate his own liberty. He sued the town, the judge, the police officers, and the prosecutors for violating his First Amendment right to freedom of speech, even speech that is dirty and offensive. And last week, Federal District Judge Cathy Seibel agreed, refusing to dismiss the case, which the town officials sought, and ordered the case to be tried by a jury.

To many observers, offensive speech of the sort used by Mr. Barboza should not receive any constitutional protection. Needless to say, telling a police officer to "fuck off" is not the wisest thing to say, and many persons have been arrested for disorderly conduct for saying it to police. Indeed, I make sure to advise my students in Constitutional Law never to say it, no matter what the provocation. But still, as we learn from the constitutional free speech cases, offensive language of the sort used by Mr. Barboza, and by thousands of other persons similarly eager to vent their displeasure at police or others, is that such language is constitutionally protected. In the landmark 1971 case, Cohen v. California, the defendant expressed his opposition to the Vietnam War by inscribing on the back of his jacket, for a large public audience to see, the words "Fuck the Draft." He was convicted for offensive conduct that disturbed the peace, but the Supreme Court reversed. Justice Harlan's opinion may be the Court's most eloquent homage to the First Amendment protection of speech. Consider these famous lines: "That the air may at times seem filled with verbal cacophony is not a sign of weakness but of strength;" [it is not the government's place] "to punish an unseemly expletive in order to maintain what it regards as a suitable level of discourse;" [the government may not] "cleanse public debate to the point where it is grammatically palatable to the most squeamish among us;" "One man's vulgarity is another's lyric."

As a coda to Mr. Barboza's lawsuit, the New York Court of Appeals last year struck down the aggravated harassment law, finding that the operative terms "annoy" and alarm" are too vague and overbroad to pass constitutional scrutiny. And while much "verbal cacophony" appears increasingly to gorge public and cyber places, the value of unfettered speech, even dirty speech, still outweighs the danger of government silencing speech it deems offensive, even in, of all places, Liberty.

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I got pulled over on the way in to the local park meeting a friend to play basketball. The officer is notorious in my area for this kind of thing. I'm most likely the first person to ever record him. What isn't in the video is him approaching my passenger window and also not telling me why I got pulled over. He eventually told me it was because of my window tint but did not even test for it. He found nothing in my car after telling me he "smelled enough marijuana in the car to consider it probable cause." He called in back up and the other officer had the nerve to ask me "so what's you're problem with the police?" I wouldn't mind having some legal feedback, if I can Id like to take legal actions against this rogue, unruly officer.

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A federal lawsuit can ánowá move forward against two little rock police officers -- who took part in an officer-involving shooting -- nearly five years ago.

that ruling -- coming from the 8th circuit court of appeals today.

67-year-old eugene ellison was shot and killed inside his apartment on december 9th 2010.

officer donna lesher and detective tabitha mccrillis were working off-duty security at the "big country chateau" -- when they noticed his open door. a confrontation ensued, ending with lesher shooting and killing ellison.

his sons filed a federal lawsuit alleging constitutional violations. prosecutors ruled the shooting justified and the police department did not discipline either officer.

according to the court's decision today - lesher can face trial on a count of excessive use of lethal force. and both officers can face trial on unlawful entry under the fourth amendment for their entering ellison's apartment without a warrant.

the court's decision...came 7 months after an appeal from the city, because federal judge brian miller had denied their request for summary judgment.

the lower court ruled it was clearly established officers could not entera home without a warrant or consent...

while exceptions exist..a resident being mouthy...as one officer described ellison...was not an exception.

on the question of use of force, the court ruled mccrillis did qualify for immunity because she did not shoot and her non-lethal use of force caused minor injuries.

conflicting testimony by officers and questions of whether ellison was actually swinging a cane , led the court to rule lesher could face trial on the issue of lethal force.

"i think this case will resonate very strongly with jurors it begs the question where are you safe. where can you retreat and relax and be yourself without fear of intrustion from the state or over-zelous, poorly trained officers

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Cops were on patrol in an apartment building and noticed an open door so they stopped to see if anyone "needed immediate aid." They could see an elderly man inside who explained he didn't need their help in a way that offended the cops. Officer McCrillis decided he was being mouthy and stepped inside to prevent the resident from shutting the door.

The old man approached the cops telling them to get out. They pushed him. He pushed back and a struggle ensued where "McCrillis and [officer] Lesher repeatedly struck Ellison and knocked off his glasses," while he repeatedly told them to get out and leave him alone.

After the beating was over and backup had arrived, they ordered him to lie down and he refused. That's when officer McCrillis told her partner the old man was going for his cane and shot him twice without warning.

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Brendan Cronin, an officer for the New York Police Department, is claiming that he was in an alcohol-induced blackout when he walked up to a car in Pelham, New York and fired 13 shots into it. He hit Joe Felice, an innocent stranger, six times. This was in April of 2014. Seventeen months later, Officer Cronin remains on paid leave. Paid!

The victim and his family are now worried that the officer, who is expected to plead guilty on September 22, will somehow find a way to get off without any jail time—as NYPD officers normally do when they kill folk in New York. That coupled with obvious Daddy-Issues is just one big cluster fuck.

...

He claims that after a long day of mandatory gun training, his superiors and partners all went and got drunk together. Let's not even bother unpacking the seven layers of wrong in that defense, but it's a mess.

Only in America could an officer walk up to car, unload his weapon, walk away, have the whole thing on film, and receive a paid 17-month vacation.

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7. Policeman

The power of life and death on your hip, a badge of authority on your chest, a uniform of distinction, and a really loud siren! Everyone’s familiar with the stereotype of a bad cop — those officers who readily abuse their power, resent the people they are meant to protect, and use cold-hearted superiority to justify their viciousness. It's an unfortunate reality that some of the biggest criminals lurk among those who've sworn to uphold the law.

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It’s becoming more and more common to see police officers being arrested for their criminal actions. However, one sheriff’s office seems to employ the ‘creme of the crop’ when it comes to inept, incompetent, and unqualified officers – the Bexar Sheriff’s Office.

Despite Sheriff Susan Pamerleau’s contention that she runs her office with ‘professionalism and excellence’, 12 of her deputies have been arrested since January of this year.

Instead of taking a tougher stance against her criminal cops, she simply brushed off the crimes of her deputies, saying the crimes committed by her deputies “are all crimes that plague the community” – You know, ‘everyday’ crimes that ‘normal people commit.

Here are the deputies that have been arrested this year, since January:

Detention Deputy David Ramos — arrested May 31 — Criminal Mischief misdemeanor
Detention Deputy Adrian Ambriz — arrested Aug. 4 — Tampering with Evidence
Detention Deputy Juan Medrano — arrested Aug. 6 — DWI
Detention Deputy Mark Hernandez — arrested Aug. 17 — DWI
Detention Deputy Billy Torres — arrested Jan. 9 — Burglary of a Building
Detention Deputy Erich Arredondo — arrested March 6 — Possession of marijuana
Detention Deputy Robert Serros — arrested May 23 — Assault with Bodily Injury-Family
Detention Deputy Mario Rios — arrested June 7 — DWI
Detention Deputy Joseph Barbier — arrested June 22 — Assault with Bodily Injury-Family
Detention Deputy Ronald Bailey — arrested June 25 — Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon indictment
Detention Deputy Termaine Elliott — arrested July 31 — Bribery, and Possession of a Controlled Substance in a Correctional Facility
Detention Deputy Omar Echeverria — arrested Sept. 10 — DWI

Sheriff Pamerleau may need to re-read the oath that is taken when deputies are ‘sworn in’, specifically the part where it says “and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and Laws of the United States and of this State“.

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Cops in the Texas city shot motorcyclists, arrested all the witnesses, and have since prohibited them from speaking out under penalty of contempt.

...But police bullets did hit some of the bikers, the Associated Press reports after reviewing 8,800 pages of evidence apparently leaked to the news organization. “The gunfire included rounds fired by police that hit bikers, though it isn't clear whether those rifle shots caused any of the fatalities,” Emily Schmall reports. “Investigators have offered scant details about what sparked the fight or how the gunfire played out, and no one has been charged.” 18 bikers were wounded but survived the melee.

Waco Is Suppressing Evidence That Could Clear Innocent Bikers

Lawyers in the case have seen “dashboard video of people fleeing the scene while shots ring out, audio of police threatening to shoot people if they rise from the ground and photos of bodies lying in pools of blood in the restaurant parking lot,” AP adds. But neither police nor defense attorneys are talking about the evidence due to a broad gag order that a coalition of media organizations is challenging as unconstitutional. It was imposed by a judge who is a former law partner of the local district attorney.

The foreman of the grand jury that will decide who to indict is a Waco detective.

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In addition to the most pressing question––how many of the bikers were killed by government-issued lead––it would be useful to know what role, if any, local authorities or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a bureaucracy with a stunning recent history of misconduct, played in provoking the fight. It would also be salubrious to hear the stories of the bikers themselves. At present, scores of people who did nothing wrong, but live under threat of prosecution for murder, are unable to share their experiences with the greater public.

The authorities have gagged them at their moment of greatest need.

If it turns out that some of the bikers in Waco died from police bullets, authorities will have shot people dead, arrested all the witnesses, and prohibited them from speaking out under penalty of contempt. It’s long past time for state overseers to step in.

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...They found Dominic Fuller, an ex-con and a known gang member, arguing with his girlfriend in a stolen car. When they tried to question him, investigators say he took off running and tried to break into several homes to hide.

A woman told deputies that Fuller said he had a gun. He eventually holed up at Hope Equine Rescue a few blocks from where he started.

The founder, who was on a plane on her way to a conference, found out about the chaos when her phone blew up.

"I was in panic mode," Dani Horton, founder of Hope Equine Rescue, told FOX 13 in a phone interview. "That's something you don't expect to happen, ever."

SWAT members and other officers surrounded the house. One deputy thought he saw Fuller holding a gun when he came to the door. The object was black with silver trim.

The deputy fired off five rounds, killing Fuller.

"He made a split-second decision based on a choice, a bad choice the suspect made," said Polk Sheriff Grady Judd. "We don't choose to shoot people. People choose for us to shoot them."

The deputy who shot Fuller has been put on paid leave unit several different investigations are complete.

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