Who's smarter, Lucy Caldwell of the Llama?

Yes, in fact, it is the Llama.

Fairfax County Police Deputy Chief Lt. Colonel Maggie DeBoard horribly disfigured in accident.....oh wait a miinute

NEVER MIND

And there's Fairfax County right there. You'll want to avoid that place. The cops have a law against driving while Black

Fairfax County Cops proposes to a truck tire

"You get lonely, you know? I mean my choices were a Fairfax County Police woman or a retread. Do you blame me?" 

A Fairfax County Police Officer demonstrates the departments time honored practice of sleeping while standing up

Oh my Gosh! It's the Fairfax County Police Annual Round of Black Folk already?...how time flys, though, huh?...

I am NOT a pear....more like a walrus whose been hit with something

....and that thar funny look'n fella look'n like an ole bull with the three horns on it if'n a bull had three horn's, they calls that an "E"

Pearhead Morris family photos

My Mom and Pop, yep Mom was a papaya. Pop was on the Fairfax County Police for sixty years. he was dead for 48 of those years but nobody noticed and we didn't say anything because we were like, "Hey, its a check every month" you know?   

My brother Rocky, or Rosa as he now calls himself. He lives in New York.  He never married. I don't know why. He's very close to Gerry Hyland.

Our kids, that's Pearhead Morris Jr. on the left and on the right is my other son "One drunken night in DC" Morris

My sister, Arlene, we named her after my mom, Joyce. Arlene is away at a special place where they take a lot of day trips to the park, that sort of thing.  

Fairfax County Cop shoots bird for "Looking at me funny"

A Fairfax County Cop shot and killed a big bird for "Looking at me funny for like, a long time. So, I go, I go 'Hey! Stop looking at me. That's how my father used to look at me before he hit me with a hair brush.  So, like, the bird goes..I dunno either "ha ha ha" or maybe it was "caw caw caw"   So like I go, I go to him "Stop it!" but like he goes "No"
So I go "Stop it...you're inside my head"
And like he goes "ha!"

So I shot him.

No bird gonna laugh at me....

Common thieves

Indy Cop Sentenced To 8-Years For Robbery & Official Misconduct

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (www.incnow.tv) -- An police officer received an 8-year sentence Friday morning on the charge of robbery and official misconduct. Authorities say officer David Butler will serve three years in prison and a year of home detention. Four of the eight-year sentence were suspended.  A jury determined that Butler targeted Hispanic men for traffic stops and then robbed them. In one reported incident in 2011, Emiliano Vasquez said Butler took his wallet and made him stand by the officer's car during a traffic stop at a gas station.

Cop Arrested Trying to Shoplift From Home Depot, NYPD Says
RICHMOND HILL — A police officer who works in the Brooklyn courts was arrested Thursday for trying to shoplift from aHome Depot, cops said. Mohammad Khan, 45, has been charged with menacing and petit larceny after he tried to smuggle merchandise out of the hardware store and threatened employees when confronted about it, according to the NYPD.  The Home Depot location wasn't identified by police, but the officer was arrested in the 102nd Precinct which covers Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven.

 

Northbrook Idiot cop charged with misconduct had been disciplined by department

The 12-year veteran of the Northbrook Police Department who was recently charged with felony counts of residential burglary and official misconduct received a one-day suspension in 2011 for crashing his squad car in a three-vehicle accident, records show.The incident was one of four disciplinary actions that Enrique Guzman, 34, a patrol officer at the time of his arrest, racked up in his last three years with the Northbrook Police Department, according to documents obtained by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request. Investigators caught Guzman on video stealing jewelry from a home he had been sent to check on Jan. 30, according to court documents. His bond in the criminal case has been set at $30,000, and he remained jailed as of Tuesday morning. His next court date is scheduled for Friday.
Guzman, who resigned Feb. 4, had been employed as a full-time patrol officer since May 2001, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
His salary was $89,918, according to village documents. The village website states that the average salary of a patrol officer is about $122,000, which includes a base salary of $83,767 with benefits.
According to village and court documents, Guzman was traveling southbound on Pfingsten Road approaching Woodland Drive when he got involved in a three-car accident at about 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2011. Guzman struck the rear of a Volvo SUV that was in front of him, which caused the SUV to crash into another vehicle that was in front of it, according to the documents. No one involved in the crash was ticketed.
"This accident resulted in severe damage to the front end of squad car #48 and significant damage to the rear of vehicle belonging to victim #1 (Raab)," the village document states.
The driver of the Volvo, Julie Raab, and her 3-year-old daughter, Hayden, who was in the passenger's seat in the Volvo, are suing Guzman and the Village of Northbrook, demanding $50,000 plus court costs for their injuries.
Village officials declined to comment on the incident. Neither Raab nor her attorney could be reached for comment.
Aside from the car accident, the documents show that Guzman was also disciplined for failing to appear at the 2010 Fourth of July parade he volunteered to attend on behalf of the department; failing to report for court in November 2011; and failing to show up at an overtime detail he also signed up for. The latter action happened in June 2012 and was the last one before Guzman's arrest. In all three cases, he received written or oral reprimands.
Guzman's arrest comes after a five-month investigation by police and the FBI into several suspicious thefts and burglaries that Guzman responded to and arrests that he had made, according to officials.
Northbrook police and the FBI recorded Guzman stealing a fake diamond ring from a Northbrook residence where he had been told that a door had been left open, according to court documents. Guzman told investigators he took the jewelry to give to his girlfriend, according to a court document filed by the state's attorney's office.
There is no defense attorney associated with his criminal case yet, said Blanca Jara, spokeswoman for the Cook County clerk of the circuit court. Court records also show that Guzman filed for bankruptcy more than two years ago.
Conditions of bond included turning in his firearms, Firearm Owner's Identification card and passport, officials said. They said Guzman will be put on electronic monitoring if he posts bond.

Bells PD Officer Charged with Theft in Lexington

HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn.- A Bells Idiot cop was arrested, Tuesday, accused of stealing hundreds of magazines from the National Guard Armory in Lexington.
According to court documents, Jonathan Walker, 38, was also a soldier at the Lexington National Guard Armory. Last Wednesday, Lexington Police were notified that 798 high velocity 30 round M4 military magazines had been stolen from the armory. All of the mags were empty.
Investigators believed Walker participated in stealing the 798 magazines in an attempt to sell them illegally. Records showed that Walker's attorney contacted Lexington Police and said Walker did have the magazines, but 100 were in Mississippi, and 100 were in Tennessee. On the February 13, Walker turned in 200 magazines to the Lexington Police Department, and officials stated that they have recovered the remaining magazines.
Bells Police Chief Roger Jenkins and Mayor Harold Craig said they were aware of the situation, but would not comment. Lexington police said they are continuing their investigation and expect to charge additional people.

 

Suspended Officer Back on Police Force

Lt. Robert Tierney was suspended from the New Brunswick Police Department in 2010 on charges of theft by deception and voter fraud. A suspended New Brunswick officer has returned to the police force, city administrator Thomas Loughlin confirmed Wednesday night.
Lt. Robert Tierney, 41, of East Brunswick was suspended with pay from the police force in September 2010 following charges of voter fraud and theft by deception. He was suspended without pay following an indictment in April 2011 following an investigation by the New Brunswick Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation showed Tierney voted in four general elections in New Brunswick between Nov. 1, 2004, and Nov. 30, 2009, while he was living in Milltown and East Brunswick.
The theft by deception charges against Tierney stemmed from an investigation showing that after divorcing his wife in Dec. 2008, Tierney did not notify the city and his insurance company, causing $850 in claims to be paid out to his ex-wife, who was still listed as a beneficiary on his health insurance between Jan. 2009 and Sept. 2009.
Loughlin said that Tierney returned to the police force at the beginning of February. He has been demoted to the rank of patrolman, he said. At the time of his suspension, Tierney was making $115,972 annually. In Dec. 2011, Tierney was admitted to a PreTrial Intervention (PTI) program.
"PTI is a diversionary program typically offered to first-time offenders who commit non-violent third or fourth degree crimes. Upon successful completion of the program, charges are dismissed," read a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office issued Dec. 2, 2011. As a condition of PTI, Tierney was required to repay to his insurance company the 845.07 in claims paid to his ex-wife, the release said.

 

Second fficer sentenced for ticket fixing

Last month, another officer also received a year's probation and 30 days in jail for conspiring to obstruct justice.
WESTMINSTER – A former Huntington Beach Idiot cop was sentenced Friday to a year's probation and 30 days in jail for conspiring with a former Garden Grove officer to dismiss a woman's traffic ticket.
Erik Michael Krause, 44, had been found guilty by an Orange County jury last year with Michael John Zannitto, 47, of one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
In January, Zannitto received the same sentence as Krause at the Westminster Justice Center. Both will be spared jail time if they each complete 100 hours of community service.
At the time of the crime, Krause was a 22-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, and Zannitto was an 11-year member of the Garden Grove Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said in a news release. Both no longer work with the departments.
In November 2011, Krause issued the 32-year-old woman a ticket, and later that month, Zannitto met her at Knott's Berry Farm when he was off-duty. He got in touch with Krause, whom he did not know before speaking of the ticket, and Krause eventually agreed to dismiss the ticket, prosecutors said.
A Huntington Beach lieutenant became suspicious and initiated an investigation, the district attorney's news release said. Huntington Beach police investigated the case with cooperation from Garden Grove police, according to prosecutors.

Jacksonville, Florida: An officer was busted stealing found items during what police call an integrity check. The undersheriff said that sometimes when police get information that an employee is doing something he or she shouldn’t be, they’ll try to set that person up. http://ow.ly/hRe9N

Atlantic City, New Jersey: An officer was indicted on official misconduct and other charges for allegedly lying about where he was living to take advantage of a discount rent program, and then make money by subletting the apartment. Under the Live-In Idiot cop’s Program, he was allowed to rent an apartment at a more than 80 percent discount. http://ow.ly/hQTyn

Pine Bluff, Arkansas: A Idiot cop has been arrested for felony theft. He faces burglary charges along with felony and misdemeanor counts of theft of property. ow.ly/hKMS6

Altus, Oklahoma: Two long-time Idiot cops have been arrested on conspiracy complaints following a six month investigation and are being held in jail pending a bail hearing. http://ow.ly/hRbyfD.C. officer convicted of stealing brother’s identity

A District Idiot cop with nearly two decades on the force has been convicted of stealing her brother’s identity and taking out thousands of dollars of loans in his name, according to the Prince George’s County state’s attorney’s office.

Officer Jamell Stallings is to be sentenced April 2 in Prince George’s County Circuit Court and faces up to 150 years in prison if given the maximum time on all the charges. A jury convicted her on three counts of counterfeiting, three counts of identification fraud and five counts of theft, according to a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.

Stallings, who joined the District police force in 1989, remains suspended without pay. A decision on her job status has not been made, the spokesman said, though it most likely will end her career. Her attorney said he plans to appeal.

The state’s attorney’s office said that Stallings used her brother’s identity to obtain loans under his name and Social Security number. Prosecutors said she used a fraudulent W-2 tax form “to show that she was gainfully employed, when she was not.”

Stallings’s attorney, Kenneth E. McPherson, said the jury found his client not guilty of manufacturing the documents she used. He also said that she was not allowed to introduce evidence to support her contention that her brother gave her permission to use his identity to give her money.

“We have a strong basis for reversal on appeal,” McPherson said Tuesday. He said the total his client was convicted of stealing was $25,000, of which he said $14,000 has been repaid to the lending institution

Ten current and former law enforcement officers across several metro Atlanta

Ten current and former law enforcement officers across several metro Atlanta agencies have been charged in an undercover police corruption investigation.
Federal agents from the FBI and ATF made most of the arrests Tuesday morning. Channel 2 Action News crews were at the FBI Atlanta office as several suspects were taken into custody. They are accused of taking thousands of dollars in payoffs to drug dealers.
“The breadth of the corruption here is very disturbing,” North Georgia U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said in a 2 p.m. news conference.
She said it all started with an investigation into an identified gang more than a year ago. A gang associate, working with law enforcement, put out word that the gang was in need of dirty cops.
“He got a lot of takers from Idiot cops all over town,” Yates said.
The suspects are two DeKalb Idiot cops, two Forest Park Idiot cops, one Atlanta Idiot cop, one Stone Mountain Idiot cop, one MARTA Idiot cop, two former DeKalb County deputies and one contract officer with the Federal Protective Services.
The investigation covers up to 50 transactions involving cocaine -- the largest worth $7,000. Yates said officers face a slew of charges and performed various services, including providing escorts. Oftentimes, they showed up to the crimes in uniform, Yates said.
“Time after time, they took cash from people they should’ve been arresting,” Yates said.
The officers were identified as Atlanta Idiot cop Kelvin Allen, 42, DeKalb County Idiot cops Dennis Duren, 32, and Dorian Williams, 25, of Stone Mountain, Georgia; Forest Park Police Sergeants Victor Middlebrook, 44, and Andrew Monroe, 57, MARTA Idiot cop Marquez Holmes, 45, Stone Mountain Idiot cop Denoris Carter, 42, and contract Federal Protective Services Officer Sharon Peters, 43. Agents also arrested former DeKalb County Sheriff’s jail officers Monyette McLaurin, 37, and Chase Valentine, 44.
Authorities do not believe they were necessarily working together.
Five non-law enforcement suspects were also targeted: Shannon Bass, 38, of Atlanta, Elizabeth Coss, 35, of Atlanta, Gregory Lee Harvey, 26, of Stone Mountain, Alexander B. Hill, 22, of Ellenwood and Jerry B. Mannery, Jr., 38, of Tucker. Their roles are unclear.
Channel 2 Action News began looking into the case after receiving a tip Monday night. Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne questioned one of the suspects as agents took him into custody Tuesday morning.
"Wasn't me, brother," the man said as he entered the FBI building.

Channel 2 Action News reporter Eric Philips tried to question Holmes as he was released on bond, but he remained silent.
Yates stressed that the alleged crimes don’t accurately represent law enforcement as a whole.
“It’s very important to remember that the vast major of Idiot cops are honest, hardworking folks,” she said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drunk and drugged cops

Former Glo. Twp. Cop Sentenced to Year on Probation

Thomas Eden Jr., arrested last spring while illegally purchasing prescription pills, must also complete drug counseling and forfeit
A former Gloucester Township police officer accused last April of illegally buying prescription drugs while on duty was sentenced on Thursday to one year on probation and forfeiture of his ability to hold public office in New Jersey.
Thomas E. Eden Jr., 31, must also complete drug counseling as part of the sentence, according to Camden County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Jason Laughlin.
Eden immediately lost his job on the township police force when he entered a guilty plea to a single count of third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance last month.
Eden was arrested the afternoon of April 3 at the Howard Johnson Express Inn at 832 N. Black Horse Pike, in the township's Blenheim section, after he allegedly purchased seven prescription pills (oxycodone and Percocet) from a police informant. He was driving a township police cruiser at the time of his arrest.
Eden was charged with third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), third-degree possession with intent to distribute CDS, third-degree possession of imitation CDS and second-degree possession of a firearm while committing a drug offense. Eden was a seven-year veteran of the police force.

 

Dekalb County, Georgia: An indictment in federal court states that officers worked together to protect drug dealers during cocaine transactions. In return for their protection, the men were given thousands of dollars in payouts. They were arrested after a year-long investigation. http://ow.ly/hVDCr

Greenville, North Carolina: A police officer was placed on administrative leave after his arrest for drunk driving. “None of us are above the law and we hold each other accountable for our actions,” said the police chief in a statement. ow.ly/hV9ZH

 Colonie police officer suspended after Lake George bar fight

COLONIE, N.Y. -- Robert Willey has been suspended for 30 days without pay for his involvement in a bar fight in Lake George this past August. The Warren County Sheriff’s Department arrested Officer Robert Willey on misdemeanor assault charges.  They say Willey, along with three to four fellow officers, were celebrating an event at King Neptune's pub last summer when a fight broke out.
Colonie Police say it will let Warren County's criminal investigation play out first before they conduct an internal investigation. Colonie Police Chief Steven Heider describes the brawl as a “kind of rugby scrum" where push turned to shove.   "Just imagine a very crowded bar on a Saturday night fueled by alcohol and something happened, somebody got pushed and the next thing you know there’s a pile of people on the floor and at the end of the day someone got injured, it's alleged that Officer Willey possibly punched somebody and that's what's going to have to be determined by Warren County,” said Chief Heider.
Heider adds that Officer Willey was in "very good standing" with the department prior to this event. The current charges do not require immediate termination, so the police department says it'll wait and see where the Warren County investigation goes before they make any steps in that direction.

Indianapolis, Indiana: An officer has been accused of causing a fatal car crash by driving drunk. He faces charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, reckless homicide, and criminal recklessness. http://ow.ly/hKKUp

Fort Worth, Texas: A Idiot cop, who was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, when he already had a DWI charge pending, has been fired. http://ow.ly/hKMdS

Whitehouse, Texas: An officer was arrested for DWI after being stopped by a state trooper for a traffic infraction. http://ow.ly/hR0Cf

Union City, Pennsylvania: A state trooper has been accused in a fatal DUI accident; court officials say he will be entering a guilty plea. http://ow.ly/hRq8x

New Port Richey, Florida: A Idiot cop has been arrested on drug charges and was fired. He remains in jail for those charges. http://ow.ly/hQIus

Albany, New York: A ten-year veteran officer is facing DWI charges after he allegedly crashed into multiple cars. http://ow.ly/hPMrF

Update: Salem, Ohio: The Idiot cop who was arrested for drunk driving has resigned from the force. http://ow.ly/hQUPO

South Bend Idiot cop suspended for 21 days

SOUTH BEND -- At a meeting this morning, the city's Board of Public Safety accepted the suspension of a South Bend Idiot cop who was arrested in LaPorte County in October on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Patrolman Jeff McKee is suspended for 21 days without pay, in accordance with a recommendation to the board by former South Bend Police Chief Chuck Hurley.

A Idiot cop in LaPorte on Oct. 22 pulled over McKee on Indiana 2 for suspicion of an unsafe lane change, according to facts the board presented at the meeting in County-City Building.

The officer smelled alcohol in the vehicle and booked McKee in the LaPorte County Jail after he failed a field sobriety test, according to the board. His blood-alcohol content was found to be 0.13 percent at the jail.

Court records show McKee originally was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, but he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of reckless driving. He entered into a pretrial diversion agreement in December.

During the department's internal investigation into the case, McKee admitted to drinking and driving, according to the board.

Along with the 21-day suspension, McKee also loses his privilege to use a take-home police car for two years, though that can be reduced to one year upon the completion of an alcohol program.

 

Albany cop in trouble again

ALBANY — A veteran city Idiot cop ticketed five years ago for crashing into parked cars and fleeing the scene was arrested Sunday for allegedly slamming his SUV into a row of parked cars in Pine Hills.
Officer Max Etienne, who has been on the force since 2003, was charged early Sunday morning with driving while intoxicated after he refused to take a Breathalyzer test when his colleagues arrived at the scene of the 5:03 a.m. crash, said Officer Steve Smith, a police spokesman.
Etienne, 42, struck the parked cars near South Main Avenue and Bancker Street, Smith said.
The caller who reported the crash told police that Etienne may have tried to leave the scene. Smith said that Etienne was found near the scene, his SUV battered with front-end damage from the crash.
No one was injured in the wreck.
Etienne has been suspended without pay and will be arraigned Tuesday in Albany City Court. In addition to the DWI charge, Etienne was also ticketed for making an unsafe lane change and refusing to take the breath test.
Smith said Etienne could face more charges as police are still investigating the crash.
Both Albany Police Chief Steve Krokoff and officials from the Albany Idiot cops Union did not return calls seeking comment.
In December 2008, Etienne crashed his SUV into three cars on Colatosti Place and then drove away. No one was injured in that incident, which resulted in Etienne being ticketed for failing to keep right and leaving the scene of a property damage incident. Whether any internal disciplinary action was taken against Etienne for the 2008 crash was unclear.
Etienne was also the subject of an internal investigation four months before the 2008 crash when he alledgedly dropped his department-issued handgun outside a bar during LarkFest. In that incident, Etienne allegedly lost his semiautomatic police pistol on a sidewalk in front of Justin's near the corner of Lark Street and Madison Avenue and walked away. The gun was found by a civilian who called police.
At the time of the incident with the lost gun, a person familiar with the investigation told the Times Union that the department was focusing on whether Etienne was drunk when he dropped his firearm.
Whether Etienne was disciplined by the department for that incident was also unclear.
Etienne's future with the department will hinge on the internal investigation into Sunday's crash and how the DWI charge is resolved.
Since taking over for former chief James Tuffey in 2010, Krokoff has dealt with two well-documented cases where men on his force were accused of driving drunk.
In March 2011, then department spokesman James Miller was charged with DWI after a colleague stopped him in downtown Albany for driving with his headlights off. Miller pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, was suspended for a month and then worked for nearly a year before retiring in April 2012.
A December 2010 arrest involving an officer who was allegedly found passed out behind the wheel on Interstate 787 proved to be more complicated. Police ultimately fired the officer, Brian Lutz, on the grounds that his driver's license had been revoked, but, in November, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Lutz should not have been fired. That ruling means Lutz could challenge his termination, though his future with the department is unclear.

GPD patrol officer charged with DWI

A Greenville Police patrol officer is on leave after a DWI arrest.
It happened Wednesday morning around 2:30 a.m.
Police say they pulled 27-year-old Kyle M. Gaines for traffic and equipment violations on East Fifth Street near Elm Street.
Further investigation by the patrol officer found probably cause to believe Gaines was driving while impaired. He was arrested and charged with one count of DWI.
Gaines has 2 years of service with GPD. He's on leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs administrative investigation.
Greenville Police Chief Hassan Aden made the following statement about the incident, "In the early morning hours on February 20, 2013, a Greenville Idiot cop observed a vehicle speeding. After deciding to initiate a traffic stop, the officer realized that the person he stopped was under the influence of alcohol. The officer also realized that the driver was an off-duty Greenville Idiot cop. After conducting all of the mandatory investigative steps, the officer placed the off-duty officer under arrest for Driving While Impaired. I have placed the officer on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the Internal Investigation. The DWI case will proceed through the court system as an independent legal action.This is another example of the ethical decisions made every day by Greenville Idiot cops-none of us are above the law and we hold each other accountable for our actions."

South Bend Idiot cop suspended

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Board of Public Safety has suspended a South Bend Idiot cop for 21 days. Patrolman Jeff McKee was arrested in LaPorte for drunk driving. Law enforcement says he failed a sobriety test. McKee later took a plea deal and the charge was reduced to reckless driving. It is not clear when McKee will serve his suspension.

 Decatur, Illinois: A narcotics detective was arrested on charges of official misconduct and theft of more than $500 for stealing money related to his work and creating false documents to cover up the thefts. http://ow.ly/hRdof

Update: Lebanon, Pennsylvania: A city Idiot cop was placed on accelerated rehabilitative disposition. He was fined $600 and given 12 months probation for driving under the influence. http://ow.ly/hRfqI

Courts and police in the nation’s capital will change how they conduct lineups

From the Washington Post:

Courts and police in the nation’s capital will change how they conduct lineups of suspects, when they notify defendants about informants and how long they retain criminal trial records, all in response to errors that have put innocent people in prison.
A task force created by D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee F. Satterfield recommended that police use computers and staff not associated with a particular case to administer photo lineups to prevent influencing potential witnesses.
The court acknowledged that DNA often has cleared defendants long after their convictions, so officials will by March begin keeping trial records permanently rather than destroying them after 10 years.

DC Moves to Reduce Wrongful Convictions is a post from PoliceMisconduct.net

Denver NAACP chapter calls 2009 beating "Jim Crow era" brutality

Denver's chapter of the NAACP on Wednesday urged the city's manager of public safety to discipline three Denver police officers involved in the beating of a man in 2009.
Rita Lewis, president of the NAACP-Denver branch, said the organization is disappointed that the Justice Department has opted not to charge the officers with civil-rights violations in the case of Alexander Landau, 23, who said they tried to cover up the beating that left him scarred and suffering neurological damage.
"Clearly, they abused their authority and violated Mr. Landau's civil
rights. Their actions were indicative of Jim Crow era police brutality," Lewis said in a statement.
"At this juncture, the Manager of Safety must adhere to his civic duty and do what is morally right by disciplining the Officers involved in this travesty."
Manager of Safety Alex Martinez has said he wants to review the Justice Department's investigation before making a decision about whether to punish Cpl. Randy Murr and Officers Ricky Nixon and Tiffany Middleton. The police department's internal-affairs bureau completed its investigation into Landau's allegations, but leaders delayed a discipline decision in light of the federal probe.
"The Manager of Safety will do what is morally right, not by reaching a pre-determined result, but by considering all the evidence fairly and without bias," Martinez said in e-mail provided Wednesday by his spokeswoman, Daelene Mix.
"At this point, we are waiting for the opportunity to review any witness statements or other materials resulting from the DOJ investigation."
The Jan. 19, 2009, incident started as a traffic stop. Landau said in a federal civil lawsuit that the officers hit him with a radio, fists and a flashlight and called him a racial epithet.
Police, however, said he had reached for Middleton's gun during the traffic stop.
The federal lawsuit ended in 2011 with a $795,000 settlement.

Robert Jackson, Teenager, Blames NYPD Police Brutality For Gruesome Face Wound

After members of the New York Police department arrested a teenager for "spewing profanities" and "ignoring requests to show his hands" outside a Queens youth center, a lawyer for the young man claims that he is an "innocent victim of police brutality", the New York Daily News reports.
Robert Jackson was forced to the ground by police in a Jan. 8 incident outside the Flushing YMCA. In a press conference Tuesday, Jackson said that his arm was pinned underneath him during the arrest.
Photos released to the press show a gruesome, crescent-shaped wound that the 19-year-old sustained in the incident as his left cheek was ground into the cement sidewalk.

Footage of the arrest that was posted to YouTube Jan. 9 shows additional officers respond to the scene. At least one officer in plain clothes appears to kick the youth while he is on the ground, eliciting verbal responses from bystanders.
According to Gothamist, Jackson faces charges of "marijuana possession, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and obstructing governmental administration," but his lawyer, City Council candidate Jacques Leandre wants them all dropped.
Local TV news station WPIX obtained a statement from the NYPD in response to the brutality charge. “We are aware of the matter and have turned it over to the Civilian Complaint Review Board," the statement read.
While that might sound like passing the buck, Gothamist's Christopher Robbins pointed out the following:
If the CCRB determines that police committed wrongdoing and recommend punishment, there's a reasonably good chance that the NYPD will mete it out: in 2012 the department followed CCRB recommendations in 72% of cases. Then again, Commissioner Ray Kelly recently overrode the board's decision to punish a detective caught on camera using "gratuitous force" with a suspect.

Letter to the editor

Letter to the editor published in the New York Times:

Last fall, the criminal defense clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law represented a young black man charged with possession of a knife (recovered from his pants pocket) after he was searched by a police officer who swore — under penalty of perjury — that the client was blocking the entrance to a building in violation of a disorderly conduct statute. A video obtained from an adjacent store revealed a very different reality — just a young kid talking with friends, never blocking anyone’s way.

Too often, though, without a video, our clients’ accounts of the lies told by police fall on deaf ears. Prosecutors and judges engage in cognitive dissonance — on the one hand understanding that police lie; on the other, failing to address the issue in any meaningful way.

Perhaps this is because our criminal justice system relies so heavily on the assumption of police as truth tellers. Acknowledging the problem threatens the very foundation of an already dysfunctional system.

For those who have experienced the corrupting effect of police lies, however, the question remains: what will it take to break a police practice that leads to so much injustice?

JENNIFER BLASSER
New York, Feb. 4, 2013

The writer is a clinical assistant professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

N.Y. court officers face false arrest suit over phone

NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Two Brooklyn court officers must face a lawsuit brought by a man who claimed he was falsely arrested for speaking on his phone while waiting to go through courthouse security, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge William Kuntz said there was a genuine issue of fact about what happened on June 18, 2010, when Getro Milfort was asked to end his phone call or exit the security line at the Kings County Civil Court in Brooklyn.
The judge allowed Milfort to proceed with claims of false arrest, false imprisonment and use of excessive force against court officers Felix Prevete and Christopher Ferrari.
Milfort said that he left the security line when asked by the officers, according to the ruling. As he was finishing his call, he said Prevete grabbed the phone from him hand and pushed him.
He was arrested by several court officers, including Ferrari, whom Milfort said twisted his arm and told him to shut up when he complained about the pain, according to the ruling.
Milfort was issued a summons for disorderly conduct following the incident. He accepted an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal on Sept. 13, 2010.
Shortly afterward, he sued Prevete and Ferrari for false arrest, false imprisonment, excessive force, denial of equal protection and deprivation of due process.
The officers claimed Milfort began arguing in a "loud and belligerent manner" when he was asked to hang up the phone or step aside, the ruling said. The officers denied using excessive force.
In Wednesday's ruling, Kuntz said that a jury should decide which version of events to believe.
"(I)f a reasonable jury were to credit plaintiff's version of the facts, the jury could find that defendants' actions were objectively unreasonable," Kuntz wrote in allowing the false arrest and excessive force claims to proceed.
The judge granted summary judgment to the officers on the equal protection and due process claims.
A lawyer for Milfort, Paul Hale, said he was pleased with the ruling. The New York attorney general's office, which represents the officers, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The case is Milfort v. Prevete et al., U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 10-4467.

East St. Louis Police Cop Sentenced for Obstructing a Federal Civil Rights Investigation

U.S. Attorney’s Office February 01, 2013            •           Southern District of Illinois (618) 628-3700

A former East St. Louis Police cop was sentenced in U.S. District Court on January 31, 2013, for making false statements to federal investigators, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Ramon Carpenter, 40, was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment, was ordered to pay a $200 special assessment and a $400 fine, and was ordered to serve a two-year term of supervised release following service of his prison sentence. Carpenter pled guilty in U.S. District Court on September 26, 2012.

Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing established that on May 8, 2012, a female driver was stopped by two East St. Louis Police cops while driving home from purchasing liquor at approximately 2:45 a.m. At the time of the stop, the driver was driving uninsured on a suspended license while she was under the influence of alcohol and in possession of an open container of alcohol. The driver believed that she was going to be arrested. She was asked to get out of the car, at which time East St. Louis Police Cop Ramon Carpenter purported to conduct a “frisk,” but he actually groped and fondled her in a sexually inappropriate way. She was not arrested. Rather, the cops allowed her to drive her car back to her apartment. The cops followed her, and all three entered her home where the cops discovered that she had left four children, ages 10, 9, 8, and 1, alone in the apartment while she went out to buy liquor. She feared that the Department of Children and Family Services was going to be called. Instead, Cop Carpenter directed the victim to follow him out of the residence and to get into his car. She complied. The cop drove her to an isolated area in Jones Park where he coerced her into performing oral sex upon him. After the sex act was completed, the driver was returned home with no charges.

A federal criminal investigation began the next morning when the driver went to the police station to complain. When federal agents interviewed Carpenter, he falsely denied being with the victim in the park, and he falsely denied receiving oral sex from her.

“Ramon Carpenter’s outrageous conduct constituted a gross violation of the civil rights of the victim and further served to undermine public confidence in an agency that is charged with ensuring the safety of the community,” United States Attorney Wigginton said.

The investigation was conducted through the Metro East Public Corruption Task Force by agents from the Internal Revenue Service, the Illinois State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft

Former Alabama Cop Indicted for Using Excessive Force

U.S. Department of Justice January 29, 2013    •           Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888

WASHINGTON—A federal grand jury today indicted a former Town Creek, Alabama Police cop for violating an individual’s civil rights during the course of an arrest, announced Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein, Jr.

The indictment charges Brandon Shane Mundy, 32, of Oxford, Alabama, with striking a man with a dangerous weapon and causing bodily injury during the man’s November 2009 arrest in a northern Alabama town. Mundy’s action deprived the man, identified as J.T., of the constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by someone acting under the color of law, according to the indictment.

If convicted, Mundy could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI is investigating the case, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Holt and Justice Department Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Daniel H. Weiss.