Law Enforcement Corruption

Judge Rules on Serious Misconduct of Law Enforcement

2012-02-14T13:27:00.002-05:00

Panel Cites Police Misconduct in Shelving Delinquency Finding
The New York Law Journal by Andrew Keshner - February 14, 2012

A police officer's "exceptionally serious misconduct" has prompted a Brooklyn appellate panel to reverse a teenager's adjudication as a juvenile delinquent in the interest of justice. The panel found that the police officer had submitted a defective affidavit claiming he watched a teenager hop a fence into private property although it was later disclosed that the officer was not present to witness the alleged act. "[W]e conclude that the attesting officer's execution of the defective affidavit, submitted as the primary support for the institution of this juvenile delinquency proceeding, constituted exceptionally serious misconduct of law enforcement personnel in the presentment of the petition," Justice Robert J. Miller (See Profile) wrote for a unanimous panel of the Appellate Division, Second Department in Matter of Steven C., 2011-02350. "Such conduct poses a grave risk to the assurances of due process afforded to juveniles by the Family Court Act, and it should not be countenanced." The ruling, released on Feb. 9, reverses Steven C.'s February 2011 adjudication as a juvenile delinquent by Queens Family Court Judge Fran Lubow (See Profile) and remands the matter to Family Court for proceedings under Family Court Act §375.1. The provision governs the sealing of records where a delinquency action has been terminated in favor of the respondent. Justice Miller was joined by Acting Presidiing Justice William F. Mastro (See Profile) and Justices Mark C. Dillon and Sandra L. Sgroi. The case was argued on Oct. 21.

With his lunch hour ending, Steven was arrested by police officers one day in April 2008 as he returned from a bagel shop to his Queens high school. Steven, a freshman, was handcuffed and put in a police vehicle with another student who had been arrested. A third student was also arrested nearby. The city in court papers alleged Steven and the two other teens had committed acts that would have constituted third-degree criminal trespass if they were adults. In a signed and notarized affidavit, a police officer, who was not identified in the decision, said he saw Steven and the two other youths jump over a fence into the backyard of a private residence. An accompanying document from the owner said she had not permitted anyone to be in her backyard at the time when the officer claimed he spotted the students. Judge Lubow presided over a fact-finding hearing that began in October 2009 and concluded in December 2010. The attesting officer did not testify at the hearing but two officers who arrested the other youths did testify. The officers said they saw Steven and the other two youths standing in the backyard. The youths fled once they made eye contact with the officers, jumping into another backyard, the officers said. The officers chased and arrested the other two youths, but not Steven. Both officers said at the hearing they were the only officers present, and both said the attesting officer was not there when they saw the youths. Steven and one of the other youths also testified, saying they were returning from the bagel shop when they saw the officers. They worried they would be cited for truancy and acknowledge that they ran away but insisted that they were never in a backyard. Steven said he was apprehended just as he tried to enter his school. In February 2011, Judge Lubow adjudicated Steven a juvenile delinquent and put him on probation for a year.

A 'Latent Defect'

In his decision, Justice Miller observed that juvenile delinquency petitions require non-hearsay allegation and said "[n]othing on the face of the petition rendered it insufficient." But testimony from the officers showed the attesting officer did not see the act in question, which, Justice Miller wrote, rendered the affidavit defective. He said juvenile delinquency petitions are subject to mandatory dismissal if the defect is facially apparent. But Justice Miller said if the defect is revealed later, as in Steven's case, the petition is not subject to mandatory dismissal. The petition, with its "latent defect," was however subject to dismissal in the interest of justice under Family Court Act §315.2[1]; the statute requires courts to weigh factors like "exceptionally serious misconduct of law enforcement personnel" against "the extent of harm caused by the crime." Here, Justice Miller said that the court needed to look no further than the "troubling shortcomings" of the police officer's affidavit. He said nothing in the record showed Steven had any contact with law enforcement before or after the arrest, nor was there anything to suggest he failed to follow the terms of his probation. Further, Justice Miller noted there were no claims that property or persons had been harmed in the incident. The officers testified the three youths were "merely standing in the backyard of the private residence at the conclusion of the students' lunch period." Steven C. was represented by Larry S. Bachner of Jamaica. Assistant Corporation Counsels Steven J. McGrath and Susan B. Eisner represented the city. Andrew Keshner can be contacted at akeshner@alm.com.

Retired Officer Protests in Uniform Against Corruption

2012-02-13T23:44:00.002-05:00

Retired Philly officer again protests in uniform
The Associated Press - February 13, 2012

PHILADELPHIA, PA — A retired police captain who was arrested in uniform during an Occupy Wall Street protest last year joined demonstrators on the lawn of Independence Hall on Monday, saying he isn't breaking any law by wearing his old uniform despite the city police commissioner telling him to stop. Ray Lewis, who retired in 2004 after 24 years on the force, joined a group of Occupy Philadelphia protesters, again wearing his old uniform — complete with an Occupy button on it. He said he wants to speak out against corporate greed and corruption. "I have not violated any law" by wearing the uniform, the 60-year-old Lewis said. "I spent my entire career devoted to law enforcement, and I was proud of that." Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told Lewis in a Nov. 23 letter to stop wearing the uniform, saying that retirees had no authority to do so and that he found Lewis' conduct "disrespectful." The Fraternal Order of Police also asked him to stop wearing it, and its grievance committee is investigating the matter, said John McNesby, president of the local FOP lodge. Depending on the outcome of that investigation, Lewis could lose his FOP membership, meaning that the organization would no longer represent him and that he would lose his life insurance, McNesby said. "We're not going to put up with that here," McNesby said of Lewis wearing the uniform while protesting. "He's not a cop. He's a retired cop. ... Stop wearing the uniform." A police spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. In November, Lewis became one of the faces of the Occupy Wall Street movement when he was arrested in full-dress uniform after blocking a street and ignoring police orders to move while demonstrating near the New York Stock Exchange. Last month, he took Manhattan prosecutors' offer to get the disorderly conduct case closed without jail time or probation if he avoids getting arrested again for six months. Lewis, who moved to upstate New York after his retirement, said he's not doing anything illegal by wearing the uniform, noting that he's not trying to impersonate a police officer. "I have never tried to influence anybody with any false authority," he said. "They could easily arrest me for impersonating a police officer. ...The thing they won't get is a conviction." Later Monday afternoon, Lewis took his anti-corporate message to the downtown Philadelphia headquarters of cable giant Comcast, which was being guarded by police and building security. He was among about two dozen activists from Occupy Philadelphia at the building, a frequent target of the movement. Also on site were members of the Washington-based group Rethink Press, which delivered to Comcast a petition signed by more than 23,000 people asking the company to carry the Arab news channel Al-Jazeera English. Lewis said he wasn't previously aware of the demonstration on Al-Jazeera, but he supported that cause, too. "If people don't want to watch it, they don't have to watch it," Lewis said. "That's what freedom of the press is all about." Comcast released a statement noting that company officials have met with representatives of Al-Jazeera in the past. "We regularly examine our channel lineups and talk with a wide range of programmers to ensure that we are bringing the content that our customers want the most," the statement said. It also noted that Al-Jazeera English is streamed for free online. Associated Press writer Kathy Matheson contributed to this report.

NYPD Auxiliary Cop Arrested On Possession of Child Pornography

2012-02-03T19:04:00.001-05:00

NYPD auxiliary cop caught with slew of sickening kiddie porn at his upstate home, state police says

The New York Daily News by Sarah Armaghan - February 3, 2012
Daniel Sayer arrested and charged with two felony counts of possessing child pornography

Daniel Sayer was arrested and charged with two felony counts of possessing child pornography, officials said, and is being held in lieu of $15,000 cash bail in Orange County Jail. An NYPD auxiliary cop was caught with a slew of sickening kiddie porn at his upstate home, the New York State Police said. Daniel Sayer, 59, was arrested and charged with two felony counts of possessing child pornography, officials said, and is being held in lieu of $15,000 cash bail in Orange County Jail. He was dismissed from his volunteer position as a Deputy Inspector of the Auxiliary unit at the upper West Side’s 20th Precinct as a result of the arrest, the NYPD said. From 1972 to 1998, Sayer owned and operated “Dan’s Cougars Children’s Sports Club” in the city, coaching youngsters in sports, authorities said. Police raided a vacant rental home in Blooming Grove, where they later discovered Sayer had been staying, on Jan. 26 and found photos of boys under 16 years old engaging in sexual acts. They found more graphic images at his residence in Greenwood Lake on Feb. 1, the State Police said.

Former Beach Patrol Officer Found Guilty of Perjury

2012-01-23T08:46:00.003-05:00

Former Beach Patrol officer found guilty in perjury case
The Daytona Beach News-Journal by Jay Stapleton - January 20, 2012

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- A former Volusia County Beach Patrol captain was found guilty Thursday by a jury of solicitation to commit perjury for telling a young woman to lie to authorities during an investigation of sexual activity with teen girls within the agency. The jury took less than two hours to find Jecoa Duane Simmons guilty. He now faces a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. The state's case against Simmons, 38, focused on deception and betrayal in the intimate sex lives of all involved. A key piece of evidence was a conversation between Simmons and Christie Rancourt, 26, recorded by State Attorney's Office investigators. Rancourt, who was 19 when she said she had sex with Simmons, was contacted in late 2009 by authorities conducting a larger investigation into sexual misdeeds within the agency. Simmons had called Rancourt on the phone after fellow Beach Patrol Officer Robert Tameris was arrested on a charge of having sex with a 16-year-old girl. Robert Taylor, an investigator with the State Attorney's Office, also called Rancourt, who gave a statement. They arranged for her to use a recording device and call Simmons. "You don't have to tell them anything," Simmons told Rancourt in the recorded conversation that was played for the jury on Thursday. "We never had sex, that's all they need to know." Rancourt conceded she was angry at Simmons during the conversation, mostly because he wouldn't "admit" on the phone the details of their relationship. "We were friends with benefits," Rancourt said in court Thursday, explaining the casual nature of their relationship. Simmons never admitted any sexual activity with her, either on the recorded conversation or in court. Simmons lost his job as a Beach Patrol officer in 2009 when he was charged with the third-degree felony. A more serious charge of tampering was dismissed in court last year. Prosecutor Celeste Gagne focused on the recorded conversation to convince the jury of Simmons' efforts to get Rancourt to lie. Defense lawyer Mike Lambert, however, attacked the very fact that charges were pursued. He pointed at a portion of the recorded conversation, in which Rancourt had asked Simmons, "what should I tell them if I'm put under oath?" "If you're under oath, then I wouldn't talk to them," Simmons had told her. "I'd get a lawyer." That, to Lambert, was proof that Simmons did not tell Rancourt to lie. "He told her to get a lawyer," he said. The jury disagreed. Simmons' legal trouble began in 2009, when the State Attorney's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Volusia County authorities began to look into sexual relationships Beach Patrol officers were accused of having with underage lifeguards. Rancourt was one of several young women who spoke with investigators at the time. She said she'd had sexually intimate relationships with both Simmons and Beach Patrol Officer Bobby Tameris, 46, who was arrested in a separate case alleging sex with underage girls. Tameris, Simmons and lifeguard Christian Duarte, 32, were all fired after the allegations came to light. Duarte was never charged. Tameris, who also is represented by Lambert, is awaiting a separate trial next month. Lambert told the jury the case against Simmons was "generated by the State Attorney's Office." He questioned why the charges were pursued, suggesting the case against Simmons was all about getting people to talk about Tameris. Gagne had the last word. "The defendant is being prosecuted because he violated the law," she said. Simmons was asked to turn over his passport while awaiting sentencing. Simmons also was named as a defendant in a federal civil suit by a former teenage lifeguard, most of which was dismissed Thursday afternoon.

Possible Modern-Day Serpico Found in PA

2012-01-21T02:19:00.003-05:00

Policing police: Bristol Borough's Serpico?
The Philadelphia Intelligencer - January 18, 2012

What the heck’s been going on in the Bristol Borough Police Department? If the allegations raised in a lawsuit filed by Officer Ritchie Webb are factual, the guy is a modern-day Serpico whose refusal to lie on a fellow officer’s behalf earned him years of harassment and threats. And not just from his colleagues and superiors. In a federal civil lawsuit, Webb named in addition to police officials, the mayor, the council president and a borough attorney. He claims to have been harassed both on and off the job for years as a result of his investigation into allegations that a fellow officer engaged in a sexual encounter with a woman after responding to domestic dispute call. The officer resigned and eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of “official oppression” — using his badge for sex. The woman is suing the borough for $2 million, and Webb was called to testify. Webb claims that within weeks after the incident he was threatened with termination if he spoke about what he knew, that in the ensuing months he was subjected to “retaliation and humiliation” and, most troubling, that when he responded to a call requiring backup, none came. Webb said he had to call neighboring police for help. Wow! Bristol might be a tiny town and its police department a small one, but Webb’s charges are a big deal. Their seriousness cannot be dismissed as just small-town politics, which borough matters too often are. Fortunately, council President Ralph DiGuiseppe Jr., who was named in Webb’s suit, has asked District Attorney Dave Heckler to investigate the allegations. We urge the DA to accept the invitation — without delay. Unfortunately, Heckler didn’t sound enthusiastic. “I am not aware of what exactly he is looking for,” Heckler said of DiGuiseppe’s request, noting that an earlier grand jury probe of Bristol police “did not yield any prosecution.” We’re not sure what the confusion is. Seems pretty clear to us that DiGuiseppe wants the cloud under which borough and police officials must now function lifted. Apparently, DiGuiseppe believes that once revealed, the facts will clear officials of any wrongdoing. Borough residents surely must hope that will be the case. Problem is, right now they just don’t know. Webb’s charges naturally raise suspicion about the folks running the town, including the police department. With their ethics and honesty in question, officials’ moral authority is compromised and their ability to lead eroded. It’s an awful position to be in. And that’s not to mention the personal toll the situation must be taking as reputations are on the line. Again, we implore the district attorney to clear the air. People need to know if Officer Ritchie Webb is a local version of New York City policeman Frank Serpico, who famously went undercover to expose police corruption and was the subject of threats and intimidation and later a hit movie. Or if this whole mess is just small-town politics gone hugely awry.

Officer Pleads Guilty to Extortion in Drug Case

2012-01-20T03:14:00.002-05:00

Ark. police officer pleads guilty in 'Delta Blues'
KATV - The Associated Press - January 20, 2012

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say an Arkansas police officer indicted on drug-trafficking charges has pleaded guilty to an extortion charge. Prosecutors agreed to drop multiple other charges against Helena-West Helena Police Officer Robert "Bam Bam" Rogers in exchange for Thursday's guilty plea. Neither the Helena-West Helena police chief nor Rogers' attorney immediately responded to phone messages and it wasn't clear whether Rogers was still on unpaid leave as an officer. Rogers was 1 of 5 law enforcement officers arrested in a corruption and drug-trafficking investigation in eastern Arkansas. Seventy-one people were indicted as part of the probe that authorities called "Operation Delta Blues." Two others also pleaded guilty on Thursday in the case. Prosecutors said they're recommending a 16-month prison sentence for Rogers. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Cop Arrested, Charged with Harassing Estranged Wife

2012-01-19T07:10:00.000-05:00

Memphis police officer arrested, charged with harassing estranged wife
The Commercial Appeal by Sara Patterson - January 19, 2012

A Memphis police officer accused of harassing his estranged wife was arrested Wednesday and relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of an investigation, according to the Memphis Police Department. The same officer, 33-year-old Daniel Dermyer, was involved in a car accident last week that killed a 38-year-old woman. Dermyer was the passenger in a squad car that crashed into another car in Raleigh, killing Mervat Amalhi. Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said the suspension and crash were unrelated. Dermyer's wife alleged in a court affidavit that Dermyer began following her in his truck when she left her apartment the night of Jan. 14. When she tried to lose him on Interstate 40, he sent her text messages stating, "so you have a boyfriend and you are southbound on 40 huh," and "hope someones home watching your kid, cops on the way, charge heard it on the scanner," according to the affidavit. A detective with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, the investigating agency in the case, took photographs of the text messages, according to the affidavit. Dermyer's wife told investigators the couple has been separated since October. She also stated in the court document that the couple's two children, ages 4 and 6, were in Dermyer's Chevrolet Silverado truck with him while he trailed her. Dermyer has been with MPD since Oct. 12, 2009, according to a press release, and is assigned to the Old Allen Station. -- Sara Patterson: (901) 529-2542

ATF Agent Sentenced in Police Corruption Trial Reports To Prison

2012-01-19T03:06:00.000-05:00

ATF agent sentenced in police corruption trial reports to prison
Tulsa World by Omer Gillham - January 19, 2012

The last of four law enforcement officers sentenced to prison in December for police corruption has reported to federal prison in Texas, records show. Former Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Brandon McFadden was sentenced Dec. 6 for his part in a police corruption probe involving the Tulsa Police Department. McFadden received 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy in May 2010. McFadden reported Wednesday to Seagoville, a federal facility near Dallas, prison officials said. McFadden and three former Tulsa police officers were sentenced as part of a grand jury investigation of civil rights violations, falsified search warrants, stolen drugs and money, and perjury. The Tulsa police officers sentenced Dec. 6 are John K. “J.J.” Gray, Jeff Henderson and retired Cpl. Harold R. Wells.

Correction Officers Get Short Jail Sentences in Teen's Death

2012-01-18T05:44:00.002-05:00

Rikers Island correction officers get short jail terms for role in 18-year-old inmate’s death
The New York Daily News by Henrick Karoliszyn - January 18, 2012

Ran jailhouse shakedown scheme called "The Program."

A pair of rogue Rikers Island correction officers stood silently Tuesday as they were sentenced to short jail terms for running a jailhouse operation that left a teen inmate dead. Officers Michael McKie and Khalid Nelson avoided 50-year jail terms in a sweetheart plea bargain deal for their roles in “The Program.” The sadistic, secret society for inmates led to the death of 18-year-old Christopher Robinson at the hands of other Rikers inmates in October 2008. McKie, who has already spent 21 months behind bars, will serve another three months after receiving a two-year jail term for assault. Nelson was sentenced to a year in prison for attempted murder. Both declined to comment before Bronx Judge Joseph Dawson imposed the terms and the ex-officers were led from the courtroom in handcuffs. The judge ripped the duo as “disgraceful,” condemning their “breach of trust.” The slain teen’s anguished mother said the sentencings were not cause to celebrate. “I’m not happy,” said Charnel Robinson, 38. “It’s not a win for me. My son is gone ... I’m happy for the justice, but I’m still greiving my son. At the end of the day, these people are still able to see their families. “My only child is a sight I’ll never see again.” Attorney Sanford Rubenstein said he was pursuing a civil suit on behalf of the Robinson family. The plea deal for the two correction officers came after a three-year probe by the Bronx district attorney. Prosecutors said the convicted officers turned a blind eye as other inmates belonging to “The Program” killed Robinson. The officers recruited inmates as part of the operation, allowing those who cooperated to extort commissary money, phone privileges and clothes from other inmates. The prisoners who refused to surrender their property were beaten at a time and place authorized by the corrupt guards, prosecutors charged. The motive for letting the inmates run the cellblocks was laziness, Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said when the officers were indicted in 2009.

Internal Affairs Probes Conflicting Reports Of Excessive Force

2012-01-18T04:53:00.000-05:00

Internal-affairs probe: Police reports at odds over whether excessive force used
The Orlando Sentinel by Rene Stutzman - January 15, 2012

LAKE MARY, FL — Tucked inside the internal-affairs report about Lake Mary police Officer Christopher Dye grabbing a drunk by the neck and throwing him against a truck is another revelation: Another officer wrote up what she saw and was told by managers at the Lake Mary Police Department and Seminole County Sheriff's Office to write a new report that said nothing about excessive force. Seminole County Deputy Celinas Rios did and three days later told a Lake Mary internal-affairs investigator that her second report includes lies. One of the lies, she said, was that Dye had a valid reason to arrest the drunk. Here's what happened: Sean DeSilva, 28, of Orlando, owns Bermuda Triangle Bar in Lake Mary. On Halloween night at closing time, more than a dozen of his customers wound up in the alley. One man had cuts to his face and said he'd been punched by someone inside. Dye, two other Lake Mary officers and Rios tried to sort out what had happened. DeSilva stepped into the bar's back door, blocking it, Dye wrote in his arrest report. DeSilva was belligerent and wouldn't move when ordered, so Dye pushed him, Dye wrote. DeSilva was jailed, accused of resisting arrest without violence and disorderly intoxication, charges that have now been dropped. But Rios told a Lake Mary internal-affairs investigator that DeSilva was not resisting. She had taken his hand and was leading him away when Dye came charging toward them. DeSilva wound up slammed into the side of a pickup, leaving a big dent. Lake Mary police Sgt. Joe Gowen and Sheriff's Office Sgt. Kristen Bates asked Rios to write what happened, but when they saw the details about excessive force, they asked her to write another version without those details. She felt she had no other choice, she told a Lake Mary internal-affairs investigator. Gowen and Bates corroborated Rios' account. Gowen had gone to the bar that night and listened to two of its customers complain that Dye had used excessive force. He wanted the information taken out of the arrest report because he didn't want DeSilva or the general public to read about it, he told the internal-affairs investigator. He did not, however, hide the allegations from Lake Mary police managers. He had already begun gathering evidence for the internal-affairs investigation that he suspected Dye would face, and it began immediately, said Lake Mary police Chief Steve Bracknell. During the internal-affairs investigation's early stages, Lake Mary police Lt. David Prince discovered that Dye had gone into a city-county software program and deleted Rios' first report. He is now awaiting trial on evidence-tampering charges. He was not investigated for the possible assault or battery on DeSilva because DeSilva wasn't willing to cooperate, said Bracknell. Dye told an internal-affairs investigator that he had pushed DeSilva but not wrapped his hands around the man's neck. Dye's lawyer, Kepler Funk, would not talk about the excessive-force allegations but said his client did not tamper with evidence. The Sheriff's Office would not answer questions about why Rios wrote the pared-down report or why her boss, Bates, told her to write it then signed off on the rewritten version. It has an internal-affairs investigation of its own under way, said agency spokeswoman Kim Cannaday. She would not disclose who it involved but said both Rios and Bates were at work at their normal assignments. It is not Sheriff's Office policy to delete from reports information that may be damaging to law-enforcement officers, she wrote in an email. Dye currently is on paid leave. Lake Mary City Manager Jackie Sova is expected to decide soon, perhaps this week, whether to fire him. That is the recommendation of the police chief. rstutzman@tribune.com or 407-650-6394

Police Corruption Panel to Add Four Attorneys

2012-01-17T18:25:00.001-05:00

Police Corruption Panel to Add Four Attorneys
The New York Law Journal by Laura Haring - January 17, 2012

Four additional full-time attorneys will be hired by the Commission to Combat Police Corruption following Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Jan. 12 State of the City address. "We don't tolerate misconduct or corruption anywhere, and we have the very highest standards for those we entrust to enforce the law," Mr. Bloomberg said. "Our police force is the best in the world. And Commissioner [Raymond] Kelly has done an outstanding job making sure that New York's Finest are also the most upstanding." The commission, which is independent of the NYPD, reviews more than 100 open and closed cases from the department's Internal Affairs Bureau each year. Budget cuts have reduced the number of staff attorneys to two from six when the commission was created in 1995. Michael F. Armstrong, a partner at Lankler & Carragher who chairs the agency, said the additional staff will allow the commission to look into bigger corruption cases, including officers making false statements on official reports. "We will be able to fulfill to a greater degree the role that was envisioned when we were set up," he said There has been a string of high-profile police corruption cases in the last year, including allegations of widespread ticket fixing in the Bronx and reports that officers in Brooklyn had accepted bribes to bring unlawful firearms into the city. However, Mr. Armstrong, the former counsel of the Knapp Commission in the 1970s, said he does not believe there has been breakdown of the corruption control system. "You're never going to eliminate corruption in the police department," he said. "The question is how extensive is it and do you have the proper systems in place for keeping it to a minimum and the indications are that Commissioner Kelly runs a tight ship and Internal Affairs Bureau is efficient."

Judge Dumps Case, Says Cops Had Quotas

2012-01-17T01:23:00.003-05:00

Judge throws out DUI case, saying police had quotas
The Baltimore Sun by Peter Hermann - January 5, 2012
Howard County police chief calls ruling a bad decision

A Howard County judge threw out charges Thursday that an Ellicott City woman was driving under the influence of alcohol, ruling that they were linked to an illegal quota indicating that officers had to cite two to four motorists every hour. It was unclear how many other county cases might be affected by the ruling, which involved federally funded initiatives that targeted drunk and aggressive drivers from January through April of 2011. At least two other similar cases are pending before the same judge. Howard County Police Chief William J. McMahon, in an unusual criticism, called District Judge Sue-Ellen Hantman's decision a "bad ruling" and said an appeal is likely. The police chief said a memo distributed to officers contained, "in retrospect, not the best wording," and conceded that he "could see how it could be misinterpreted." McMahon added, "We don't have quotas. It's against the law, and it's not how we manage the Police Department." Motorists pulled over for traffic stops routinely suspect they're victims of a quota system designed to enhance revenue or build an officer's resume, or both. That perception has been stoked occasionally by leaked memos or emails that supervisors send out to implore officers to work hard. But this is the first time lawyers and police can recall that a judge threw out a criminal case based on such a missive. The driver's attorney, Mark Muffoletto, subpoenaed police memos that served as the crux of his case.

Gary McLhinney, an executive with the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents officers in Howard County, said the issue indicates that "there is a problem with what leadership is doing. The rank and file didn't do anything wrong. But they're suffering the consequences." McLhinney, a former Baltimore police officer and former chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, said, "It introduces an unwanted dynamic in every traffic stop. Citizens are not only upset that they get stopped, but now they can question the motives. People of Howard County need to have the confidence that the police are doing the right things for the right reasons." In 2006, then-Howard County Police Chief Wayne Livesay canceled a short-lived policy that some officers perceived as a quota. It called on them to make three traffic stops a shift and an average 11/2 drunken-driving arrests each month. Thursday's case stems from the April 2011 stop of Katie Majorie Quackenbush, 22. Officer Erika Heavner stopped her 2001 Honda on suspicion of driving 38 mph on Ellicott City's Main Street, where the speed limit is 25 mph. McMahon said the woman's blood alcohol content registered 0.17 percent, more than twice the legal limit, and she was arrested. The officer was working what is called a "saturation patrol" that used overtime funded by a federal grant to target drunk and aggressive drivers. The police chief said that "we have more deaths in traffic incidents than we do in violent crime" and that every officer is pushing to "do everything we can to stop intoxicated drivers and get them off the road." Hantman ruled from the bench and did not issue a written opinion. She is a former prosecutor in Howard County, once served as a Democratic Central Committee chairwoman and in 1994 contemplated a run for Howard County executive. Hantman did not return calls to her chamber seeking comment. Both the defense attorney, Muffoletto, who was in the courtroom, and the police chief, McMahon, confirmed her decision. Electronic court records show that the defendant, Quackenbush, was acquitted of all charges on Thursday. Court records show she faces another speeding case in Howard County, accused of driving 71 mph on U.S. 29. The quota issue arose from the federal grant, which included ways to measure performance. McMahon said the grant "mandated that an average of 2-4 citations must be written per hour on each of these details by each officer or future funding may be withheld." McMahon said an employee who administers the traffic safety program repeated that wording on an internal memorandum distributed to officers on the detail. He said there was no intention to set quotas, and noted they are illegal when linked to employee evaluations — by penalizing officers for failing to meet a benchmark, for example. But McMahon acknowledged that supervisors questioned the memo and it was revised. "I know there was some concern about the wording," McMahon said. "It was a guideline given to the officers. Grants have expectations, and this was a way of explaining that to the officers. … The goal clearly wasn't to set out for X number of citations. It was a well-intended effort to underscore the importance to be active on these details. "All funding is scarce. The public has an expectation that we make good use of these funds. … I acknowledge how this could be misinterpreted. That's why we don't use it anymore." McMahon said it was unfair to judge traffic enforcement efforts by a single instance. But a December 2010 stat sheet obtained by The Baltimore Sun includes a handwritten notation advising county officers of "a prize" for boosting traffic stops 60 percent. This memo was not used in the court case. Muffoletto said the practice is more widespread than the traffic stops made under one grant. He called the ruling from a former prosecutor "courageous" and disputed the police chief's explanation. "It is a quota," he said. "Just because they were caught … doesn't change the fact that it was a quota." peter.hermann@baltsun.com

Former Cop Gets, And Appeals, 90-Day Jail Sentence

2012-01-16T01:19:00.000-05:00

Former Hollywood cop gets, and appeals, 90-day jail sentence
The Sun Sentinel by Rafael A. Olmeda - January 13, 2012

Fort Lauderdale, FL - Former Hollywood police officer Dewey Pressley was sentenced to 90 days in jail Friday for doctoring crash and DUI reports to protect a fellow cop who rear-ended a drunk driver almost two years ago. But Broward Circuit Judge Michael Robinson allowed Pressley to remain out on bond as his attorneys appeal the sentence. A jury on Dec. 6 found Pressley, 45, guilty of two counts of falsifying records related to the Feb. 16, 2009, arrest of a woman who stopped her car in the middle of the road to look for a cat that had jumped out of her car. Another police officer, Joel Francisco, rear-ended the woman's car because he didn't realize she had stopped; he was talking to a friend on his cellphone at the time, prosecutors said. Pressley's report placed all the blame for the crash on the woman, who was legally drunk and failed videotaped field sobriety tests. The same video recording captured Pressley's voice bragging about how he was going to do "a little Walt Disney" in his report to protect Francisco, citing the wayward cat as the reason Francisco got distracted. "I'm gonna put words in his mouth," Pressley said, explaining how he would phrase the report to make it appear that Francisco did nothing wrong. Prosecutor Adriana Alcalde-Padron recommended the maximum possible sentence of almost two years behind bars. "This crime spits in the face of justice," she said. "It cannot go unpunished." Defense attorney Rhea Grossman presented Robinson with a stack of letters from advocates for leniency for Pressley. She asked for a sentence that would erase the convictions and place Pressley on probation. Robinson upheld the convictions and gave Pressley 90 days in jail for each count, to run concurrently. The appeals process could last as long as two years, Grossman said outside court. She also said she was disappointed to see a jail sentence imposed for a misdemeanor first offense. Francisco also is facing charges related to the incident, which took place under the Interstate 95 overpass on Sheridan Street. Francisco's trial will take place at a later date. The jury rejected more serious conspiracy and official misconduct charges against Pressley, a 22-year veteran of the police force. Pressley was the first of two officers found guilty last month of crimes committed in the line of duty. On Dec. 19, Miramar police officer Jean Paul Jacobi was convicted of official misconduct, criminal mischief and falsifying records related to the search of an apartment rented by a drug suspect. The apartment was being used as a grow house, but Jacobi went in without a warrant and without the suspect's permission, witnesses testified. Jacobi faces more than five years in prison when he's sentenced. He's due back in court next week. In both the Hollywood and Miramar cases, prosecutors said police misconduct resulted in the dismissal of charges against defendants who otherwise would likely have been convicted. raolmeda@tribune.com - 954-356-4457 or Twitter@SSCourts.

Cop Suspected of Moonlighting as a Pimp

2012-01-15T07:32:00.002-05:00

NYPD suspects veteran officer Monty Green moonlighting as a pimp

The New York Daily News by Rocco Parascandola, Joe Kemp and Larry McShane - January 13, 2012

Exclusive: Internal Affairs reports cop discussed prostitution-related activities on wiretap

A man identifying himself as Monty Green at his Brooklyn home denied being involved in an NYPD wiretap investigation. NYPD Internal Affairs investigators amassed wiretap and surveillance evidence against a seven-year veteran cop suspected of moonlighting as a pimp, the Daily News has learned. Officer Monty Green was taped “discussing prostitution-related activities,” according to an NYPD Internal Affairs investigative report. In a conversation with a suspected pimp, Green admitted having sex with a hooker and said he wanted to pimp the woman out, the report says. Despite the probe, which dates back to 2009, the married cop has stayed on the force. He hasn’t been criminally charged, but the NYPD is going after his job. “It was presented to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office for prosecution,” said Deputy Inspector Kim Royster, an NYPD spokeswoman. “The DA said there wasn’t enough evidence.” Law enforcement sources said the suspected prostitutes were intimidated and refused to cooperate with prosecutors. The Sex Trafficking Unit of the Brooklyn district attorney’s office was investigating the case at the time, two sources said. Still, Green sits in the Police Department’s crosshairs. “We are now moving toward filing departmental charges against the officer, and our plan is to terminate him,” Royster said. The 30-year-old cop, in a brief interview at his two-family home on a tree-lined Flatlands street this week, professed his innocence in the prostitution probe. “That’s not me,” a shirtless Green told The News. “I don’t know anything about that.”

The case began in July 2009, when the officer’s name came up in a wiretapped phone call involving Andre Dickenson — later charged with a double murder inside the Long Island condo of ex-Jets star Jonathan Vilma. Green was soon the target of his own wiretaps, including one that captured his conversations with Jason “China” Marshalleck, a man police described as a pimp, the Internal Affairs report indicates. One month after the Green probe began, Marshalleck and his pregnant girlfriend were arrested in a Queens gun case. Marshalleck identified Green, a cop from the 73rd Precinct, as a “good guy” who could help out with traffic tickets. But his girlfriend, then 20, told cops that she believed the man she knew as “Monty” was supposed to receive the seven firearms. The NYPD set up a sting operation against Green at a hotel, according to the Internal Affairs report. He “agreed to bring strippers to the location, but failed to show up at the last minute,” the report says. Green was placed on modified duty in December 2009 over an unrelated menacing case involving an unidentified woman, sources said. He remains in the police Fleet Services Division. The Internal Affairs report shows Green has been the subject of nine department investigations. He’s been accused since 2007 of associating with criminals, menacing and official misconduct. The reports shows all but two were either unsubstantiated or had “no disposition.” The report also shows he’s been the focus of two Civilian Complaint Review Board cases. The dispositions of those complaints were not available.

Homeland Agent Nailed on Corruption Charges

2012-01-14T08:10:00.000-05:00

TSA Official Nailed on Corruption Charges
The Examiner by Jim Kouri - January 14, 2012
The suspect cooperated with drug smugglers while working to secure the airport.

Minnetta Walker of Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and faces 2 years in federal prison to be followed by one year of supervised released, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police. The 43-year old Walker was employed by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), as a Behavior Detection Officer, assigned to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport (Buffalo Airport) in Cheektowaga, New York. Many observers of this case believe her punishment doesn't reflect the seriousness of her crime as a federal enforcement officer. The TSA is responsible for ensuring passenger safety and national security as it relates to the country’s air, rail and public transportation. The defendant’s official position required that she observe, detect, and analyze conduct and behavior in persons throughout the airport, which indicated a particular traveler could be a threat to aviation security. Such activity is known an psychological profiling or behavior analysis. The investigation established that while on official duty, Walker assisted certain individuals in bypassing the normal security procedures, measures, and requirements at the Buffalo Airport. The defendant’s criminal conduct included allowing one suspected narcotics trafficker -- Miguel Guzman -- to travel under a fictitious name, and permitting that individual to bypass the ticket document checker, whose job is to examine persons, property and other articles entering aircraft and the airport area at the Buffalo Airport. Walker also on occasion directed the suspected narcotic trafficker to bypass the body image scanner/pat-down security line and interfered with a screener’s ability to monitor the x-ray of his belongings. In addition, the defendant admitted that she alerted at least one other suspected trafficker to the fact that police officers were conducting undercover surveillance of him. The two suspected narcotics traffickers are pending indictment on unrelated narcotics conspiracy charges. Other individuals convicted to date in the public corruption aspects of the investigation consist of former U.S. Airways employee Tinisha Tucker-Anthony and Regina R. McCullen, a former City of Buffalo employee, both of whom provided one of the suspected narcotics traffickers with fraudulent travel and identification documents, respectively. Miguel Guzman, meanwhile, has been convicted of narcotic conspiracy charges in connection with this case, and is awaiting sentencing. “As a TSA employee, Minetta Walker represented one of the nation’s last lines of defense when it comes to airline safety and national security. In this position, the public had a right to expect from Walker the highest degree of honesty and integrity. By abusing her position of trust, Walker not only dishonored her profession, she permitted illegal narcotics trafficking to continue to the detriment of the Western New York community. Today’s sentence sends a strong message that such behavior will not be permitted by this office,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul.

Two Cops Guilty of Making "Bad Faith" Arrests

2012-01-13T02:46:00.000-05:00

NYPD finds two officers guilty of making arrests 'in bad faith' in department trial
The New York Daily News by Joe Kemp - January 12, 2012

Bronx cops docked 10 vacation days for wrongfully arresting a pedestrian

Officers Richard Rodriguez and Miguel Alvarez were found guilty of wrongfully arresting a pedestrian in 2009. Two cops who were the first to be prosecuted in a departmental trial by lawyers for the Civilian Complaint Review Board were found guilty, officials said. Bronx Police Officers Richard Rodriguez and Miguel Alvarez were docked 10 vacation days for wrongfully arresting a man crossing a street in 2009, officials said. They arrested Julius Lewis, 41, for disorderly conduct after he stepped in front of a police vehicle responding to a burglary in progress on E. Tremont Ave. A trial commissioner found the officers “made the arrest in bad faith,” and there was no evidence Lewis attempted to or actually did impede traffic. The officers were later charged with abuse of authority. Although CCRB has assisted in departmental trials against NYPD cops, this was the first time the board had their own lawyer prosecute a case. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly proposed the idea “because he believed it would give CCRB attorneys crucial insight into how seriously we take such cases, as well as insight into the complexities of the investigations involved,” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said when the trial began.

Top Sheriff to Face, and Fight, Domestic Violence Charges

2012-01-12T16:25:00.002-05:00

Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco Sheriff, To Face Domestic Violence Charges, According To Source
The Associated Press by Terry Collins - January 12, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Prosecutors on Friday charged San Francisco's newly sworn-in sheriff with three misdemeanors, including domestic violence, related to a New Year's Eve incident with his wife. Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi faces one count each of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said. "While I do not relish having to bring charges against a San Francisco elected official, I have taken an oath to uphold the laws of the state of California, and as the chief law enforcement official for the city and county of San Francisco, it is my solemn duty to bring criminal charges when the evidence supports such action," Gascon said. "Whether this was the elected sheriff or any other San Francisco resident, this type of behavior is inexcusable, criminal and will be prosecuted," the district attorney said. Gascon said the basis for the child endangerment charge was that the couple's son saw the alleged incident occur. Gascon declined to explain the allegation that Mirkarimi influenced a witness. Mirkarimi was booked at San Francisco County Jail, said San Francisco police Sgt. Michael Andraychak. He was released on $35,000 bail. Gascon said prosecutors have also requested an emergency protective order prohibiting Mirkarimi from having contact with his wife and son. He is also ordered to stay away from his home while police investigate other possible domestic violence incidents involving Mirkarimi and Lopez, Gascon said. Mirkarimi could be arraigned as early as Tuesday, Gascon said. The sheriff, 50, vowed to remain in office while he fights the charges. He spoke to a gaggle of reporters camped outside his office Friday afternoon and denied the allegations. "The charges are very unfounded," he said calmly. "We will fight the charges." He also said he wouldn't resign from office and planned to turn himself in for fingerprinting and mugshots later Friday. "We are cooperating," he said. His wife spoke briefly, and much more emotionally. "This is unbelievable," she said. "I don't have any complaint against my husband. This is unbelievable." A neighbor reported that Mirkarimi grabbed and bruised Eliana Lopez's arm during a heated argument at their home, according to a police affidavit. The injury was shown on a video recorded by the neighbor, and a text message conversation between Lopez and the neighbor included details of the incident, according to the affidavit requesting a search warrant to obtain the video camera and phone. Lopez, a former Venezuelan telenovela star, defended her husband in a written statement, saying the episode was "completely taken out of context." The couple was married after having their first child in 2009. Controversy swirled around the investigation from the start. Days after the alleged dispute, Mirkarimi was sworn in as San Francisco sheriff, but a judge had declined to perform the ceremony to avoid a potential conflict if Mirkarimi were charged. Mirkarimi appeared at the ceremony with his wife and son. Asked about the incident, he called it a "private matter, a family matter." But the case prompted newspaper commentary and protests by anti-domestic violence groups. A coalition of them on Thursday urged Mirkarimi to take a leave from his post until the case is resolved. San Francisco's sheriff does not have broad law enforcement powers as sheriffs do in other jurisdictions. The position mostly entails overseeing an organization of more than 800 sworn officers and a civilian staff of about 100. The department runs San Francisco's jails with an average daily inmate population of 2,200, provides City Hall and courtroom security, carries out court-ordered evictions and warrants, and aids San Francisco police in enforcement actions.

Mirkarimi was elected sheriff in November after serving seven years as one of the city's more liberal supervisors. He's been an advocate for legalization of medical marijuana, was a co-founder of the California Green Party before becoming a Democrat in 2010, and led the nation's first successful attempt to ban plastic bags from supermarket chains. If convicted of the misdemeanor charges, Mirkarimi would have to give up his department-issued firearm and possibly be subjected to searches as conditions of probation. He also would be required to attend domestic violence classes, pay a $400 fine and could be put on probation for up to three years or sent to jail for up to a year. That would make him the only elected sheriff in the state forbidden from carrying a gun, said Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin, president of the California State Sheriff's Association. Under state law, Mirkarimi could only be automatically removed from office if convicted of a felony. Mayor Ed Lee has the authority to charge Mirkarimi with official misconduct and suspend him from office, according to John St. Croix, executive director of the city's Ethics Commission. Lee issued a statement Friday evening terming the charges "extremely serious and troubling," but did not indicate what actions, if any, he would take. "As mayor, I must now review the facts and options available to me under the city charter, but I must also ensure that we do not take steps that undermine the integrity of the criminal justice proceedings," the statement said. After possible hearings, the commission could make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors about whether to reinstate him or permanently remove him from office. Associated Press writers Beth Duff-Brown and Paul Elias contributed to this report.

State Trooper Exposes Police Corruption

2012-01-11T07:58:00.000-05:00

Trooper exposes police corruption in memoir
THE MOULTRIE NEWS - January 11, 2012

High-profile federal case exposes secret police society named Lords of Discipline.

In 2007 the New York Times article "New Jersey Agrees to Settle Trooper's Harassment Suit" reported on Justin Hopson's federal lawsuit. Hopson claimed to have been hazed and harassed by a secret society of state troopers after refusing to testify in support of an unlawful arrest and false report made by his training officer. Hopson blew the whistle on the unlawful arrest, harassment and the secret society of state troopers known as the Lords of Discipline. Revealing new information and insight about his historic case, Hopson delivers his new memoir "Breaking the Blue Wall: One Man's War Against Police Corruption." "With only 11 days on the job as a New Jersey State Trooper, I witnessed an unlawful arrest and falsified report made by my training officer. I didn't sign up for this," says Hopson. Not compromising himself or his oath to protect and serve, Hopson acted with integrity. "After confronting my training officer and refusing to testify in support of the unlawful arrest," he says, "my life veered into a dangerous journey of hazing and harassment. I was targeted by a secret society of troopers known as the Lords of Discipline (LOD). The LOD bullied and harassed colleagues for decades. I blew the whistle on the LOD, which sparked the largest internal investigation in state police history." Hopson hopes to inspire readers to be catalysts for change. His new book demonstrates how one committed individual can stand up to the social forces of fear, intimidation and corruption. "I was an ordinary cop with an extraordinary cause," says Hopson. Justin Hopson (breakingthebluewall.com) holds a Master of Arts degree in management and has a high degree of professional training in such areas as gang awareness, management evaluation and critical first response. He has been certified as a state police instructor and American Heart Association healthcare provider. After retiring as a New Jersey State Trooper in 2007, Hopson founded Hopson Investigations, a state licensed private investigative firm based in Charleston. He was appointed to the Charleston County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Advisory Board in May 2009, and became a member of the South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators in June 2010.

Former Cop Sentenced to 3 Years for Targeting Hispanics

2012-01-11T03:32:00.002-05:00

Former Lantana police officer sentenced to 3 years in prison
The Sun Sentinel by Charlie Grau - January 10, 2012

Mark Ott pleads guilty to stealing money from Hispanics during traffic stops

A former Lantana police officer was sentenced to three years in prison after an undercover operation found he was targeting and robbing Hispanics. As part of a plea agreement, Mark Ott pleaded guilty on Tuesday to three felony charges of robbing Hispanics while on duty. Circuit Judge Stephen Rapp Ott also ordered Ott to pay $1,780 restitution to seven of his victims. Ott's attorney Michael Salnick said his client took the deal because he didn't want to drag out the case and embarrass the department or his family. "He had been with Lantana police since he was a dispatcher, and just wanted to move on, get on with his life," Salnick said. Prosecutors found that from February to May, Ott targeted Hispanics he suspected were undocumented. He pulled them over, asked for identification, then stole a portion of their money. According to a probable cause affidavit, Ott took as little as $35 and as much as $400 during the string of robberies. The investigation began when an FBI agent accused Ott, 36, of pulling him over in February and harassing him and his son. The incident was reported to the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office. Tips from the FBI about Ott's robberies led to an undercover operation involving the State Attorney's Office, the FBI and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. During the operation, a sheriff's deputy acted as a driver and an "FBI source" acted as a passenger. The deputy was given $400 in marked bills. When Ott pulled them over on May 18, he took the agent's cash and wallet and put it in the front seat of his patrol car, according to the affidavit. Ott let both men go and returned the cash. But the agent later learned that Ott had taken $150. According to the affidavit, Ott was called back to the Lantana Police Department and read his rights. The missing cash was found in his tactical vest and matched through the serial numbers. cgrau@tribune.com, 561-243-6633 or Twitter @CharlieGrau

Law Enforcement Bad-Mouthing Games

2012-01-10T01:51:00.000-05:00

FBI should partner with the NYPD, not badmouth the police
The New York Daily News - EDITORIAL - December 18, 2011

Agents ignored Mueller orders to stop dissing cops

FBI terror fighters were so determined to denigrate the NYPD’s bust of a homegrown suspect that they ignored direct orders from Director Robert Mueller to keep their mouths shut. The bureau opted out of pursuing self-radicalized alleged pipe-bomb plotter Jose Pimentel, leaving the NYPD to track him alone. Then, he actually started work on a bomb, hoping to target cop cars, post offices and U.S. troops, police said. So they arrested him. And FBI agents launched a whispering campaign, ridiculing the case. They anonymously questioned the role of a confidential informant, leaving the strong implication that they believed a poor dimwit had been entrapped. It became very clear that unacceptable interagency jealousies had come into play. Now, in testimony before a Senate committee, Mueller revealed that he had to order his minions not once but twice to knock off the counterproductive carping about the Police Department’s intelligence unit. “I gave directions that that should not happen,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee, “and when I saw it happening, again went back to give directions to have it stopped.” That’s two admonitions too many. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place, but it should never have taken two warnings to convince FBI agents that their duty is to fight terrorism, not other agencies that are also battling it. Least of all, the NYPD, as Mueller made clear. “[Police Commissioner] Ray Kelly has done a remarkable job in terms of protecting New York City from terrorist attacks, New York City being a principal target,” he said. In other words, you’re all on the same side, and don’t forget it.

NYPD Won’t Divulge Key Crime Stats

2012-01-09T04:34:00.000-05:00

NYPD won’t divulge key crime stats
The New York Daily News by Barbara Ross - January 9, 2012

The New York Civil Liberties Union says the NYPD has refused to hand over crime statistics for a Brooklyn precinct mired in a stats-tampering controversy — and they want a judge to intervene. The NYCLU asked the courts to order police brass to release 11 years of statistics for Bedford-Stuyvesant’s 81st Precinct, where the commanding officer was transferred and disciplined and four others hit with departmental charges after a cop alleged stats were manipulated. The litigation is the latest twist in a scandal set off by Officer Adrian Schoolcraft, who was handcuffed, put into a psychiatric ward for a week and suspended without pay after he claimed his superiors were fudging numbers. He is suing the city for $50 million. In court papers, the NYCLU said the Police Department has released biannual internal “quality assurance” audits since January 2000 for every precinct except the 81st. The NYPD said crime classification complaints for the precinct are “the subject of active and ongoing investigations by several units of the NYPD” — and told the NYCLU their disclosure would “interfere (with) and hamper these ongoing investigations” and judicial proceedings. But the NYCLU said the police department failed to explain how the release would interfere with those investigations. The group's attorney, Christopher Dunn, said "there hasn't been a public peep" in a year from one of those investigations, which is being conducted by a panel of three former prosecutors selected by Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. One panel member recently died. There was no immediate reaction from city officials, who have several weeks to respond in court.

Traffic Agent Arrested Over Tow

2012-01-09T02:40:00.002-05:00

Traffic Agent With Unpaid Tickets Is Arrested Over Tow
The New York Times by Andy Newman - January 9, 2012

A traffic agent who owed more than $450 in parking tickets was arrested Monday morning in Brooklyn, accused of trying to stop her S.U.V. from being towed, the authorities said. The agent, Olatakumbo Erinosho, 39, was charged with obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, the police said. City marshals went to Greene Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant before dawn on Monday to tow Ms. Erinosho’s 2007 Cadillac Escalade, the police said. But she “interfered with and resisted their lawful efforts to seize her personal vehicle” and “subsequently resisted efforts by police who were summoned by marshals to arrest her,” Paul J. Browne, the chief Police Department spokesman, said in a statement. Ms. Erinosho has been a traffic enforcement agent for eight years, the police said. The job’s duties include directing traffic and writing tickets.

Cop Resigns After Failing to Report Fiancee's Crash

2012-01-08T10:37:00.003-05:00

Hollywood officer resigns after failing to file report in crash involving fiancee
The Sun Sentinel by Tonya Alanez - January 4, 2012

Hollywood, FL - A police officer who failed to complete a traffic-crash report about a possible DUI collision involving his fiancee has resigned in lieu of termination. Derek Albers, 29, was off duty when he responded to the scene of the Sept. 26 crash and struck a deal with the other driver to settle damages among themselves, according to an internal affairs investigation report. Albers' fiancee, Serena Russo, 25, appeared intoxicated and was driving a red 2008 Toyota pick-up truck registered to Albers, the report said. He also failed to conduct a roadside field sobriety test, according to the report. Albers resigned Dec. 6. During his eight-year tenure with the agency, Albers had never before been the subject of an internal affairs investigation. Over the years he had received six commendations touting his teamwork, initiative, investigative and tactical skills, including Officer of the Month in March 2009. Albers could not be reached for comment for this article. According to an internal affairs investigation report obtained by the Sun Sentinel, Albers violated half a dozen department rules, regulations, policies and procedures. The "sustained" violations included misuse of in-car technology, improperly conducting a DUI crash investigation and breaking the rules of professional conduct, according to the Nov. 20 report. "The internal affairs investigation recommended termination," said city spokeswoman Raelin Storey. "We were in the process of terminating him and he resigned." Storey declined to speak specifically about Albers misconduct but said: "The police department adheres to very high standards for its officers and won't hesitate to investigate and take the appropriate action if those standards appear to be violated."

When the driver of the vehicle that Russo crashed into called 911 about 8 p.m., he advised that Russo appeared "to be under the influence" of alcohol or drugs. He described her as looking dizzy, having droopy eyelids, talking slowly and repeating herself. His passenger corroborated those observations, according to the report. A community service officer and Albers' supervisor later reported similar observations. According to the report, Albers responded to the crash at North 56th Avenue and McKinley Street in his marked police vehicle, armed and in uniform. He conferred with his fiancee before speaking to the driver of the other vehicle. Albers called Community Service Officer Tina-Marie Gurdak about 8:30 p.m. on her cellphone and told her he had reached an agreement with the other driver to "settle amongst themselves." He told Gurdak to "no report" the call, the report said. The report did not detail the extent of damages. Contrary to department policy, Albers failed to enter license plate numbers of all involved vehicles into a police computer system and failed to obtain a supervisor's approval to not report the incident. Under oath, Gurdak said "she was uncomfortable with Officer Albers' request, especially knowing it was against procedure/policy" and immediately called her supervisor Sgt. Stephanie Szeto. Szeto instructed Gurdak to begin a traffic-crash report. When Szeto met Russo at the apartment she shared with Albers at 9:30 p.m., Russo smelled heavily of mouthwash and perfume, was unsteady on her feet, stuttered and repeated herself and had jittery eyes, Szeto said. Szeto later concluded: "I was pretty confident that she was impaired that night." The next day Russo was ticketed for failing to yield right of way while making a left turn. She was fined $165. Russo's eventual sworn statement "drastically conflicts" with statements made by Szeto, Gurdak, the other driver, his passenger and Albers, the report said. "I feel I have a complete understanding of the seriousness and consequences of the action I feel compelled to take in this matter," Police Chief Chad Wagner wrote in a Dec. 5 letter. "It is my decision to terminate your employment from the City of Hollywood Police Department." Albers resigned the next day. By resigning, Albers gave up his rights to formally dispute the termination and try to regain his job through arbitration. Among Albers commendations was a nod for spending his own money to help an elderly woman who had run out of gas and praise for helping to save a life when he quickly responded to a house fire where an elderly man was trapped inside. tealanez@tribune.com or 954-356-4542

Police Captain Ousted Over Sexual Harassment Charges

2012-01-08T02:40:00.002-05:00

Seneca police captain demoted, officers ousted over sexual harassment charges
The Independent Mail by Ray Chandler - January 8, 2012

SENECA, SC — A sexual harassment complaint filed in early December by a female Seneca police officer resulted in a captain’s demotion and the departure of several other officers, Seneca Police Chief John Covington said Monday. Covington released the information Monday in response to a freedom of information request filed by the Independent Mail. A copy of the demotion form was included in the response but in an accompanying letter Covington said the city would decline to release the personnel records of the former police department employees. “We believe the release of information concerning former employees is not a matter of public or general interest and would constitute an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy,” Covington said. The South Carolina Court of Appeals in 2004 allowed limited public access to law enforcement officers personnel files in the ruling of Burton vs York County, but the information sought in that case involved York County sheriff’s deputies still employed by the agency. The records indicate that an unidentified female police officer filed a report on Dec. 1 in which she alleged numerous instances of advances by another officer. The advances included two reported direct propositions of a sexual relationship and instances of touching that the female officer reported made her uncomfortable. She also reported instances of comments by other officers. “At times there have been other officers that made unwanted comments, but not so severe that I have felt so uncomfortable that I have to avoid them,” the officer reported. The names of all officers involved, including the name of the officer filing the report, were redacted from the information released Monday. As a result of the ensuing investigation, Dean Awalt was demoted from captain to corporal, effective Dec. 10, in addition to the other officers involved leaving city employment. In discussions of the matter with the Independent Mail leading up to Monday’s release, Covington reiterated that behavior as reported in this case would not be tolerated in the police department.

Former Deputy Investigated for Not Reporting Seized Drugs

2012-01-07T09:44:00.002-05:00

Fmr. McMinn Co. deputy investigated for seizing drugs, not reporting them
WVLT-TV - January 8, 2012

Former McMinn Co. sheriff's deputy Justin Hester stands accused of seizing prescription medication and not properly registering them as evidence, according to Sheriff Joe Guy.

ATHENS, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Former McMinn Co. sheriff's deputy Justin Hester stands accused of seizing prescription medication and not properly registering them as evidence, according to Sheriff Joe Guy, who said he handed over the investigation to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. A complaint filed in early November alleged Hester may have taken the medications during traffic stops, Guy explained. He added that though it is department policy to document all evidence and property seized, Hester did not note taking any items. “We occasionally receive unfounded complaints against officers,” said Sheriff Guy. “But these allegations were serious enough that I immediately contacted the TBI.” Although Hester did not resign until December, after the complaint was lodged, Guy stated he had already indicated his desire to quit law enforcement before then. “Justin was a good officer while he was employed here, and we are disappointed any time such allegations are made," said Guy. "But our officers know we have high ethical and professional standards that will be adhered to. Misconduct and criminal activity will not be tolerated by our administration.”

CT State Police Investigating Possible PD Corruption

2012-01-06T23:49:00.001-05:00

State police investigating possible corruption in New London department
The Day - January 6, 2012

State police today seized a police vehicle and several pieces of evidence as part of an ongoing investigation into possible corruption in the New London Police Department, according to a press release from New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio. In a press conference Friday, the mayor announced that Officer Joshua Bergeson had been fired after a hearing to review his role in the Dec. 14 beating of Reuben Miller outside the Southeastern Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependency facility on Coit Street. Finizio also announced that K-9 Officer Roger Newton has been placed on paid administrative leave as federal, state and local agencies investigate a city man's allegations that Newton planted drugs at the scene during his arrest on drug-dealing charges in October 2010. According to today's release, Finizio said he, Police Chief Margaret Ackley and State's Attorney Michael Regan requested the assistance of the Connecticut State Police Central Division in an ongoing investigation into possible police department corruption. "The City of New London is grateful for the support of the Connecticut State Police as we continue an ongoing and expanding probe into possible corruption in the New London Police Department," Finizio said. "I also have complete confidence in the good men and women of the New London Police Department, who represent the overwhelming majority of members in the department, to cooperate fully with this ongoing investigation," Finizio said.

Former Officer Begins Four-Month Prison Sentence

2012-01-05T23:57:00.002-05:00

Ex-officer begins four-month prison sentence
The Tulsa World by Omer Gillham - January 5, 2012

A former Tulsa police officer who admitted stealing money during an FBI sting has reported to prison and begun serving time in a federal facility in Louisiana, records show. John K. “J.J.” Gray, 45, was charged in June 2010 with stealing more than $1,000 during an FBI sting in May 2009 at a local motel. Gray, a former burglary detective, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tulsa and cooperated with special prosecutors investigating police corruption within the Tulsa Police Department. Gray was sentenced to four months in prison Dec. 6 by U.S. District Judge Bruce Black of New Mexico. Gray retired from the police department shortly before he was charged. He is one of three former Tulsa police officers to be sentenced Dec. 6. The officers are Jeff Henderson, retired Cpl. Harold R. Wells and Gray. Henderson served in the Tulsa Police Department’s Special Investigations Division. Additionally former Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Brandon McFadden was sentenced Dec. 6 for his part in the scheme. McFadden and Henderson weren’t involved in the FBI sting. In Gray’s case, three other Tulsa police officers were charged with stealing money during the sting. Two of the officers — Nick DeBruin and Bruce Bonham — were acquitted in June of all charges against them. Wells was convicted of drug conspiracy, stealing money during the sting and other crimes and sentenced to 10 years in prisons. Wells and Henderson were previously transferred to federal prison to begin their sentences. Henderson received a 42-month prison sentence for perjury and civil rights violations. Gray was ordered to report to prison within 90 days. Federal prison records show that he is being held in federal prison in Pollock, La. McFadden received 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy. Black ordered McFadden to report to federal prison by Jan. 18. McFadden has requested Seagoville, a federal facility 11 miles southeast of Dallas. Federal prison officials interviewed by the Tulsa World said police officers or other similarly identified inmates are monitored for safety and are not placed in harm’s way with inmates who might be hostile to an officer. Although officers generally are kept in the open population for access to prison programs, they can request protective custody if they feel threatened, the World has reported. In total, 11 police officers were named in a two-year corruption probe that involved allegations of falsified search warrants, nonexistent informants, perjury and stolen drugs and money, a World investigation showed. Omer Gillham 918-581-8301 - omer.gillham@tulsaworld.com

Ex-Deputy Pleads in DUI, Loses Job

2012-01-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

Ex-deputy accepts plea agreement
The McCook Gazette - January 5, 2012

McCOOK, Nebraska - A former sheriff's deputy admitted guilt to first offense refusal to submit to a chemical test in exchange for dismissal of charges of drunk driving and driving left of center.
The defendant, Amber D. Hiatt, will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 9. Cambridge attorney Eric Eisenhart served as the Red Willow County prosecutor in the case and said during the December hearing that possible penalties for the refusal charge were essentially the same as DUI first offense. District 10 Judge Robert Ide presided over the case, after County Court Judge Anne Paine recused herself in July. During is recount of the factual basis for the case Eisenhart said that at approximately 1:45 a.m. on June 12, 2011, a McCook police officer saw Hiatt's vehicle driving in a manner that attracted his attention. He pulled the vehicle over without knowing who was driving. The officer found Hiatt driving the vehicle, accompanied by a male companion, who turned out to be another deputy. According to Eisenhart, Hiatt was subsequently arrested and taken to the McCook jail, where she refused chemical tests of her blood, breath and urine. Hiatt, a 28-year-old Red Willow County Sheriff at the time of her arrest, was originally cited with DUI, driving left of center, refusal to submit to a chemical test and for not having her driver's license on her person. The June 2011 traffic stop occurred near the 300 block of West Third Street in McCook. Hiatt pleaded not guilty to the charges in July, in addition to submitting her resignation to the Red Willow County Sheriff's Department, before accepting the plea agreement during the December hearing. Prior to scheduling sentencing in the case, Ide ordered a pre-sentence investigation which included a drug and alcohol evaluation of Hiatt. Ide said then that statistics showed that 80 percent of first-offense drunk drivers would not be seen in court again, but 50 percent of fatal accidents were alcohol related.

Senior Citizen Claims Cops Tackled Him

2012-01-04T22:03:00.003-05:00

Senior citizen claims in lawsuit city police tackled him
The Connecticut Post by Tom Cleary - January 4, 2012

BRIDGEPORT, CT -- A 76-year-old city man has filed a federal lawsuit against nine Bridgeport police officers claiming his constitutional rights were violated when he was injured during a raid on a Washington Terrace residence in 2008. George Brown, who lives in the Washington Terrace house that was raided, was tackled to the ground by Officer Ivan J. Clayton while sitting in a lawn chair outside the house, according to the complaint filed in federal court in May. According to the police report, Brown attempted to block entry to the officers and "took a boxer's stance," against Clayton. After Brown was tossed from the chair, face-first onto concrete, the complaint says Clayton put his knee in the elderly man's back and handcuffed him. Brown suffered a right wrist contusion, head contusion, shock to his nervous system and a torn left rotator cuff in his shoulder that required surgery. "This is a wonderful case of Grandpa George, frail and elderly, sitting on a lawn chair when the Bridgeport Tactical Narcotics squad shows up, in full regalia -- for a raid on the home -- and all the drug-dealing kids and various assorted relatives," said Sally A. Roberts, a New Britain-based attorney who is representing Brown pro bono, in an email. "Grandpa George was probably trying to protect the homefront, but in his frail state cannot reasonably be said to pose a threat with his `boxer stance.' "

"I cannot wait to present this case to a jury -- there is a certain hilarious element to it," Roberts said. "I will ask Grandpa George to get off the stand, assisted by his cane, and assume the threatening `boxer stance' for the court and jury. I would not be surprised if some of the jury start laughing so hard they nearly fall out of their seats." Brown was charged with interfering with a police officer, but the charges were later dropped, according to Roberts. Three others were charged with various drug offenses as a result of the raid and more than four grams of cocaine were seized, according to court records. The suit is requesting compensatory findings, and money to pay for medical bills, including future bills that will occur as a result of lasting injuries from the incident, according to the complaint. In addition to Clayton, the lawsuit names officers Carl Bergquist, Edward Rivera, Ricardo Vargas, Walberto Cotto Jr., Miguel Perez, Jose Bahr, Gregory Iamartino and William Simpson. The complaint claims the eight officers "had reasonable opportunity to prevent (Clayton) from violating the plaintiff's rights." The officers are being represented by city attorney Betsy Edwards, who couldn't be reached for comment Thursday. Brown also filed a citizen's complaint with the police department's internal affairs office, but it was rejected by Lt. Rebecca Garcia because it wasn't submitted within 60 days of the incident. Roberts, who took Brown's case in late December, is also representing city resident Kelly Smith in her lawsuit against a civilian booking officer who is accused of violating her constitutional right to be free from unreasonable force during an arrest. Smith had been arrested after she was involved in a domestic dispute with her husband. Keila Farmer, the civilian officer, has been terminated by the city. Officers Michael Dos Santos, Omar Jimenez, Edwin Rivera and Michael Sigrist, all of whom were present during the incident, have also been named in that lawsuit. Surveillance footage of the incident was obtained and distributed to media outlets by Roberts. In a third federal lawsuit filed against the police department, William Feliciano, is seeking $3.5 million from the city. In that suit, which names Sgt. Ronald Mercado and police officers Joseph Lawlor, James Hanley Jr., Christina Arroyo, Jose Sepulveda, Elizabeth Santora and Christopher Martin, as defendants, Feliciano claims he was ordered onto the ground at gunpoint, handcuffed and then repeatedly kicked and punched. The suit claims Feliciano's jaw was broken in three places and he suffered broken teeth and concussion-like symptoms. Feliciano had been involved in a high-speed chase in 2010 that began on Fairfield Avenue and ended in the city's East Side. Reach Tom Cleary at 203-540-9827 or tcleary@ctpost.com. Follow him on Twitter @tomwcleary.

Fellow Cops Asking Why Training Officer is Still on Job

2012-01-03T23:08:00.002-05:00

Police officer caught photographing exam still on force
Fox 4 by Mike Mason - January 3, 2012

Sergeant used iPhone to photograph exam

FORT MYERS, FL - He's taken a vow to serve with honor but a Fort Myers police Sergeant caught photographing an exam seems to be getting away with it. Now some of his fellow officers want to know why! Four in your Corner investigator Mike Mason finding out why this Sergeant is still on the job and in charge of training other officers! We have the internal affairs investigation tonight and fellow officers are outraged.The sergeant who trains them and serves as their role model is caught taking a picture of exam materials but some say he only got a slap on the wrist. Police officers are held to a higher standard. So when word got out that Fort Myers police Sergeant Roger Valdivia photographed his Lieutenant's exam against policy, many officers were outraged. Investigators found when the test was given out last September, Valdivia brought in his iPhone during the process where candidates can contest the grading of the exam and snapped pictures of the testing materials, which violates the department and testing policy. While Valdivia's actions did not affect his score on that test, some fellow officers were concerned he could have had an unfair advantage on subsequent tests. However, the department says that is not the case because the test is changed each time. When questioned, Valdivia told investigators quote: "It's a smart phone, I use it for everything. Uh, obviously I wasn't smart enough to make a good decision, so I apologize." Four in your Corner investigator Mike Mason spoke with the Director of the police training academy, Tim Day. Mike asked, "Why is integrity so important when you're a police officer?” Day replied, “I just think the public wants to be able to trust their law enforcement people." One of Tim Day’s duties at the training academy includes testing potential police recruits. "Well certainly that would be a problem. I judge things by what we do here at the academy, that would be removal from the academy on the examination," said Day. Valdivia works at the police training center five days a week training existing Fort Myers police officers and now some of them feel he is not setting a very good example. Day wouldn't comment specifically about this case but officers we spoke with say Valdivia should have been fired. At the very least he shouldn’t be allowed to continue training officers. We wanted to speak with Chief Doug Baker but instead he released a statement saying in part, "We will not be participating in interviews to avoid any further embarrassment to the employee involved." Valdivia says he deleted the photos of the exam. He received written counseling and will not be considered for a promotion to Lieutenant this year or next.

Police Chief Defends Handling of Evidence in Video

2012-01-02T23:45:00.003-05:00

Police chief defends handling of evidence in video
The Utica Observer-Dispatch by Rocco LaDuca - January 2, 2012

NAACP still sees proof of UPD wrongdoing during traffic stop

UTICA, NY - Local police officials say its acceptable practice for officers to place drug evidence in their pockets while searching a suspect. A local NAACP official, however, questions whether such methods create the potential for tampering. Just 24 hours after a video titled “Utica, NY police planting evidence” went viral across the Internet, Utica police Chief Mark Williams was forced to explain the ambiguous actions of one officer caught on tape during traffic stop in February 2011. As the public has reacted with outcries of corruption since Monday, Williams released the entire 30-minute recording to show all of the circumstances surrounding an incident in which he believes no wrong occurred. The earlier online video snippet – lasting 1 minute and 40 seconds – shows Utica police Officer Paul Paladino pull a full, clear plastic baggie from his pocket before leaning into a vehicle stopped at the intersection of Clinton and Kemble streets. After about 25 seconds, Paladino walks away from the vehicle with similar-looking baggies in his hand, according to footage from the dash-cam of Paladino’s police vehicle.

NAACP official concerned

Venice Ervin, chairman of the Legal Redress Committee of the NAACP in Utica and Oneida County, said he is convinced this footage caught Paladino in the act of planting evidence. “We do feel there is concern that some wrongdoing has been done because police officers don’t place evidence in their back pocket and then take it out and climb into a suspect’s car, and then exit with the drugs unrolled,” Ervin said Tuesday. Williams and Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara, however, say officers sometimes have no choice but to put recovered evidence in their pockets while searching a suspect on the street. “You can put the evidence on your person to maintain custody of it until you have a chance to store it,” Williams said. “Where else are you going to put it, on the ground? In the course of searching someone, sometimes the only thing you’ve got is your pockets until a short time later you can put it all together.” And that’s what Paladino did in this case, Williams said. But, Williams added, the briefer portion of video that was first posted Monday on YouTube fails to show everything that happened at the stop. Minutes before Paladino enters the rear passenger side of the vehicle, the footage shows him removing similar looking baggies from the pockets of handcuffed suspect Grady Jones, 51. The search of Jones’ passenger, Ameya Hunt, 38, was not recorded on film. But Williams said seven baggies of marijuana were recovered from her purse, in addition to 10 baggies of marijuana from Jones. The scent of burnt marijuana also could be smelled coming from the vehicle, and a blunt cigarette was found, police said. The shorter controversial segment of the footage, Williams said, actually shows Paladino later removing those same baggies of marijuana from his pocket so that he could separate them in the backseat of Jones’ vehicle. Under the driver and passenger seats, Paladino also recovered other plastic baggies that contained a small residue of cocaine, resulting in misdemeanor charges, Williams said.

Planting evidence?

The cocaine allegations prompted the defendants to question whether evidence had been planted, Williams said. Those misdemeanor charges were dropped in Utica City Court when Jones pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor marijuana possession and Hunt pleaded to a marijuana violation, police said. One of the suspects, however, forwarded a recording of the stop to the NAACP and the FBI, which prompted Utica police in October to conduct an internal investigation, officials said. After the limited portion was posted on YouTube Monday, it was only a matter of hours before the footage spread across the Internet through various websites. On one site, www.reddit.com, more than 1,200 public comments were posted below the video in 11 hours. “I’m pretty sure it’s part of their training not to do the things they did in the video,” Ervin said of the police. “That makes it very suspect when you see something like that.” DA McNamara disagreed Tuesday, and he believes Paladino did nothing wrong. “The way I look at this is: It’s easy to second guess, and it’s even easier to say ‘woulda, shoulda, coulda,’” McNamara said. “However, in our community that has lost three police officers to gunshot wounds, I’m never going to second guess a police officer who feels the safest, most appropriate thing to do is to secure the evidence on his person, where he knows where it is.” If any questionable issues do arise later, they will then be dealt with in a courtroom, McNamara said. Williams said the department’s Office of Professional Standards has nearly completed its own internal investigation and has found that Paladino did not plant evidence. The FBI, Williams said, has asked to review Utica’s findings. Williams said this incident will lead department officials to discuss whether there is a better way to handle drug evidence “so it doesn’t look so bad to the eyes of the public.” But Williams also wanted to assure the public that any officer who does plant evidence would be fired. “I just hope people are open-minded and realize that it’s in my best interest, if I have a dirty road cop, to get rid of him, not defend him,” Williams said.

Numbers Don't Lie, Unless Those Numbers Fudged

2012-01-01T08:44:00.003-05:00

Police Tactic: Keeping Crime Reports Off the Books

The New York Times by Al Baker and Joseph Goldstein - December 30, 2011

Jill Korber walked into a drab police station in Queens in July to report that a passing bicyclist had groped her two days in a row. She left in tears, frustrated, she said, by the response of the first officer she encountered. “He told me it would be a waste of time, because I didn’t know who the guy was or where he worked or anything,” said Ms. Korber, 34, a schoolteacher. “His words to me were, ‘These things happen.’ He said those words.” Crime victims in New York sometimes struggle to persuade the police to write down what happened on an official report. The reasons are varied. Police officers are often busy, and few relish paperwork. But in interviews, more than half a dozen police officers, detectives and commanders also cited departmental pressure to keep crime statistics low. While it is difficult to say how often crime complaints are not officially recorded, the Police Department is conscious of the potential problem, trying to ferret out unreported crimes through audits of emergency calls and of any resulting paperwork. As concerns grew about the integrity of the data, the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, appointed a panel of former federal prosecutors in January to study the crime-reporting system. The move was unusual for Mr. Kelly, who is normally reluctant to invite outside scrutiny. The panel, which has not yet released its findings, was expected to focus on the downgrading of crimes, in which officers improperly classify felonies as misdemeanors. But of nearly as much concern to people in law enforcement are crimes that officers simply failed to record, which one high-ranking police commander in Manhattan suggested was “the newest evolution in this numbers game.” It is not unusual for detectives, who handle telephone calls from victims inquiring about the status of their cases, to learn that no paperwork exists. Detectives said it was hard to tell if those were administrative mix-ups or something deliberate. But they noted their skepticism that some complaints could simply vanish in the digital age. Detective Louis A. Molina, president of the National Latino Officers Association, said that for some officers, the desire of supervisors to keep recorded crime levels low was “going to be on your mind,” and that it “can play a role in your decision making.” “For police officers,” he added, “it’s gotten to the point of what’s the most diplomatic way to discourage a crime report from being taken.”

Some public officials have said they have received more complaints from constituents that their reports of crime were not being recorded. State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn said his office had to contact “local precincts directly to make sure that criminal complaints were filed and processed appropriately.” In the case of Ms. Korber, the police did eventually take a report of her being groped, but only after her city councilman, Peter F. Vallone Jr., intervened, she and Mr. Vallone said. In fact, Mr. Vallone said that he had grown so alarmed over how many women were being groped in his district that he contacted the 114th Precinct; his staff then asked Ms. Korber to go there again. Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said each precinct must audit police responses to radio dispatches four times a month “to assure that crime complaints are taken when necessary and prepared accurately.” “Alleged failures to take a report of a crime are investigated by the Internal Affairs Bureau and, if corroborated, the officer is subject to disciplinary action,” Mr. Browne said. Additionally, Mr. Browne said the department conducted frequent audits of written reports to ensure that officers were properly classifying crimes. The most recent of those audits have found an error rate of 1.5 percent, down from 4.4 percent in 2000, he said. The reasons for not taking a report, police officials said, can vary. Some officers seek to avoid the dull task of preparing reports; others may fear discipline for errors in paperwork. Sometimes officers run out of time because they are directed to another job. There are certainly calls that do not merit a crime report: a victim’s account of an alleged crime can be deemed dubious, for example. However, some commanders said, officers sometimes bend to pressure by supervisors to eschew report-taking. “Cops don’t want a bad reputation, and stigma,” one commander said. “They know they have to please the sergeants.” Like several other officers and supervisors, he spoke only on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. The sergeants, in turn, are acting on the wishes of higher-ups to keep crime statistics down, a desire that is usually communicated stealthily, the commander said. As an era of low crime continues, and as 2011 draws to a close with felony numbers running virtually even with last year’s figures, any new felony is a significant event in a precinct and a source of consternation to commanders.

On the Upper West Side in July, a man in red shorts climbed through a window into the living room where Katherine Davis, 65, was reading the paper. She ran, a few steps ahead of him, and locked herself in an adjacent apartment, where she watched through the peephole as the man searched for her before he left. Officers drove her around to look for the intruder, unsuccessfully. Ms. Davis asked if they could take fingerprints. But the officers said, “Oh, no, that’s only if you have a detective, or investigation,” she recalled. She asked for a case number. “They said, ‘There is no case number,’ ” she said. No one came to interview her or to seek videotape from the numerous surveillance cameras nearby, she said. That is where things ended. “I just assumed it was laziness,” Ms. Davis said. “Why bother to take a report?” Even when New Yorkers follow up, they are sometimes surprised to learn that their complaints were never classified as a crime. In one case, Sandra Ung, 37, went to the Fifth Precinct in Chinatown after her wallet disappeared at a Starbucks. “I had it and then it was gone,” she said of the Feb. 23 episode. She said she believed her wallet had been stolen, but could not prove it. She assumed the police had recorded it as pickpocketing, but when she retrieved a copy of the report days later, she saw it was recorded not as a crime, but as lost property that had gone “missing in an unknown manner.” That report also reflects the line of questioning Ms. Ung faced; it noted that “she wasn’t bumped nor jostled.” In June, the Police Department issued a guidebook that instructed officers how to categorize all imaginable variations of crimes — including 24 situations involving identity theft and 3 types of strangulation. Its section on pickpockets could be viewed as a rebuke to how officers handled Ms. Ung’s case and possibly others like it. The guidelines focused on the very words that the police used to discount her suspicions: “The victim does not need to have witnessed, felt or otherwise been aware of being bumped or jostled in order to properly record the occurrence as grand larceny.” Despite the new guidelines, some critics say subtle tweaks in police protocol offer opportunities to avoid taking reports. In 2009, the department came up with a new policy that might seem inconsequential: Robbery victims would have to go to the station house to give their reports directly to a detective or patrol supervisor. The intent was to get an investigator on the case as quickly as possible, but one police commander said supervisors were aware that another consequence could be that fewer crimes would be reported. The policy was restored to its original form last year, with uniformed officers once again allowed to take the initial report of a robbery. “A police report wouldn’t get made because they make you wait in the police station for hours,” one commander said. Eventually, he added, the crime victim would give up and leave.

Justice Story: How ‘French Connection’ Heroin Went Missing

2012-01-01T08:37:00.004-05:00

Justice Story: How ‘French Connection’ heroin went missing from NYPD Property Clerk’s Office
The New York Daily News by David J. Krajicek - January 1, 2012

$70 million drug theft rocked city police department in 1972

Policeman works at NYPD property desk where more than $70 million in "French Connection" heroin was slowly stolen from evidence between 1969 and early 1972. Forty years ago this week, a cop scratched a name into the ledger at a chaotic warren stuffed with police evidence at 400 Broome St. and walked out lugging nearly $25 million worth of heroin, no questions asked. The Property Clerk’s Office was the police department’s Fort Knox, with bomb-proof walls and castle-strength doors. It was impregnable, unless you were a cop — or were posing as one. That is how “Nunziata,” shield number 3496, managed to leave those premises on Jan. 4, 1972, with nearly 100 pounds of smack, enough to keep every doper in the city high for months. The shield number was bogus. The name was questionable. The only certain fact in the ledger was the time: 12:25 p.m., lunch hour. This would prove to be the final withdrawal by a cabal of corrupt cops and mobsters of at least $70 million worth of “French Connection” heroin, which had been sitting in evidence for a decade following its seizure 50 years ago, in 1962. In every detail, the plundering of the evidence illuminated the pervasive police corruption of that era. “It is tragically apparent that the department’s procedures for the control of confiscated narcotics have been totally inadequate,” admitted Police Commissioner Patrick V. Murphy. Just how inadequate? It was considered revolutionary on Broome St. when Murphy ordered an inventory of the 135,000 parcels of narcotics stored there. Until then, inventory control was based on the honor system. “You have to rely basically on the honesty of your employees,” the boss of the property office said. That didn’t work out so well. And the narcotics thefts came to light only because of another police scandal that became incidental by comparison. In October 1972, cops identified one of their own, Patrolman James Farley, 29, as a serial rapist who had targeted perhaps a dozen women in the city and suburbs. He was arrested by detectives tailing him as he talked his way into a woman’s house not far from his own home in Holbrook, Long Island. When they searched Farley’s place, cops found a collection of manila envelopes from drug evidence signed out of the Property Clerk’s Office. This prompted a search on Broome St., where officials discovered that the French Connection heroin, stored in suitcases, was infested with red beetles. Someone had replaced 400 pounds of heroin and cocaine with flour.

Police Excessive Force Case Moves Forward

2011-12-30T07:52:00.003-05:00

Trial to Decide if Officer Used Reasonable Force in Taser Incident

The New York Law Journal by Joel Stashenko - December 30, 2011

Saul W. Hollad sufficiently raised triable issues about the actions that culminated in his being tasseled by a Poughkeepsie [New York] policeman to preclude the city's motion for summary judgment on several of Mr. Holland's state common-law claims, a unanimous panel of the Second Department ruled last week.

Holland v. City of Poughkeepsie, 3981/08 - Appellate Division, Second Department - Cite as: Holland v. City of Poughkeepsie, 3981/08, NYLJ 1202536920434, at *1 (App. Div., 2nd, Decided December 20, 2011) Before: Dillon, J.P., Angiolillo, Dickerson, Cohen, JJ. - Decided: December 20, 2011 - 2010-05610, 2010-09699 - ATTORNEYS - For Appellants: McCabe & Mack, LLP, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (David L. Posner of counsel). - For Respondent: Joseph Petito, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

DECISION & ORDER - In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for personal injuries and for civil rights violations pursuant to 42 USC §1983, the defendants City of Poughkeepsie, City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and Michael Labrada appeal (1), as limited by their notice of appeal and brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Dutchess County (Brands, J.), dated May 19, 2010, as denied those branches of their motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the first, second, fourth, and thirteenth causes of action insofar as asserted against the defendants City of Poughkeepsie and Michael Labrada, the seventh cause of action insofar as asserted against the defendant City of Poughkeepsie, and so much of the third cause of action as alleged state and federal claims based upon false arrest and false imprisonment insofar as asserted against the defendants City of Poughkeepsie and Michael Labrada, and (2), as limited by their brief, from so much of an order of the same court dated September 13, 2010, as, in effect, upon reargument, adhered to so much of the original determination in the order dated May 19, 2010, as denied those branches of their motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the first, second, fourth, and thirteenth causes of action insofar as asserted against the defendants City of Poughkeepsie and Michael Labrada, the seventh cause of action insofar as asserted against the defendant City of Poughkeepsie, and so much of the third cause of action as alleged state and federal claims based upon false arrest and false imprisonment insofar as asserted against the defendants City of Poughkeepsie and Michael Labrada. ORDERED that the appeal from the order dated May 19, 2010, is dismissed, without costs or disbursements, as the portions of that order appealed from were superseded by the order dated September 13, 2010, made, in effect, upon reargument; and it is further, ORDERED that the order dated September 13, 2010, is modified, on the law, by deleting the provisions thereof, in effect, upon reargument, adhering to so much of the original determination in the order dated May 19, 2010, as denied those branches of the motion of the defendants City of Poughkeepsie, City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and Michael Labrada which were for summary judgment dismissing so much of the first, third, and fourth causes of action as alleged violations of 42 USC §1983 insofar as asserted against the defendant City of Poughkeepsie, the seventh cause of action insofar as asserted against the defendant City of Poughkeepsie, and the second and thirteenth causes of action insofar as asserted against the defendants City of Poughkeepsie and Michael Labrada, and substituting there for a provision, upon reargument, vacating so much of the order dated May 19, 2010, as denied those branches of the motion of the defendants City of Poughkeepsie, City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and Michael Labrada which were for summary judgment dismissing so much of the first, third, and fourth causes of action as alleged violations of 42 USC §1983 insofar as asserted against the defendant City of Poughkeepsie, the seventh cause of action insofar as asserted against the City of Poughkeepsie, and the second and thirteenth causes of action insofar as asserted against the defendants City of Poughkeepsie and Michael Labrada, and thereupon granting those branches of the motion; as so modified, the order dated September 13, 2010, is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements. This action to recover damages for personal injuries and civil rights violations arises from an incident involving the plaintiff, an epileptic, who refused transport to the hospital after having suffered four grand mal seizures, two of which were witnessed by a paramedic and an emergency medical technician (hereinafter the EMT). According to deposition testimony, after the paramedic administered valium and the plaintiff partially recovered from his seizures, the paramedic called his supervising physician, who instructed him to transport the plaintiff to the hospital because a narcotic had been administered. When the plaintiff refused to go, the EMT called the defendant City of Poughkeepsie Police Department (hereinafter the police department) for assistance. Upon responding to the scene, the defendant Officer Michael Labrada attempted to convince the plaintiff to go to the hospital. The plaintiff became agitated, pulled the monitor leads off his chest, pulled out his IV, and exited the back of the ambulance while screaming obscenities. Labrada and the EMT testified that the plaintiff "lunged" at Labrada. A struggle ensued, during which Labrada attempted to restrain the plaintiff and warned him that he would be arrested if he did not stop. When the plaintiff failed to respond to these warnings, Labrada used his taser to incapacitate the plaintiff. Additional police officers arrived, the plaintiff was handcuffed, and he was transported to the hospital in custody for, inter alia, disorderly conduct. Labrada testified inconsistently at his deposition as to whether the EMT and paramedic were the only people present in the vicinity while these events were occurring. The plaintiff commenced this action against, among others, the City of Poughkeepsie, the police department, and Labrada (hereinafter collectively the defendants), alleging various New York common-law causes of action and federal civil rights violations under 42 USC §1983. The defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them. Insofar as relevant to this appeal, the Supreme Court denied those branches of the motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the state and federal claims under the first, second, fourth, and thirteenth causes of action insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada, the state and federal claims under the seventh cause of action insofar as asserted against the City, and so much of the third cause of action as alleged state and federal claims based upon false arrest and false imprisonment insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada. The defendants moved for leave to reargue these branches of their motion, and the Supreme Court, in effect, upon reargument, adhered to so much of the original determination as denied these branches of the motion. The defendants appeal, and we modify. The first four causes of action are premised upon allegations of excessive force (first cause of action), violation of the right to "bodily integrity" by the use of excessive force and arrest without just cause (second cause of action), false arrest and false imprisonment (third cause of action), and assault and battery (fourth cause of action). Each of these causes of action alleged that the City and Labrada should be held liable pursuant to both New York common law and 42 USC §1983.

Addressing first the New York common-law claims, the Supreme Court properly, in effect, upon reargument, adhered to so much of the original determination as denied those branches of the defendants' motion which were for summary judgment dismissing those claims under the first, third, and fourth causes of action insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada. With respect to the first cause of action, "[c]laims that law enforcement personnel used excessive force in the course of an arrest are analyzed under the Fourth Amendment and its standard of objective reasonableness" (Ostrander v. State of New York, 289 AD2d 463, 464; see Campagna v. Arleo, 25 AD3d 528, 529). That analysis "requires a careful balancing of the nature and quality of the intrusion on the individual's Fourth Amendment interests against the countervailing governmental interests at stake" (Graham v. Connor, 490 US 386, 396 [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]). The use of force must be judged "from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight," recognizing that "police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments — in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving — about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation" (id. at 396-397; see Campagna v. Arleo, 25 AD3d at 529). Because of its intensely factual nature, the question of whether the use of force was reasonable under the circumstances is generally best left for a jury to decide (see Harvey v. Brandt, 254 AD2d 718, 719). If found to be objectively reasonable, the officer's actions are privileged under the doctrine of qualified immunity (see Hayes v. City of Amsterdam, 2 AD3d 1139, 1140; Higgins v. City of Oneonta, 208 AD2d 1067, 1071 n 1). Here, the defendants failed to eliminate a triable issue of fact as to whether Labrada's use of a taser to restrain the plaintiff, either to arrest him or to restrain him for his own safety, was excessive (cf. Draper v. Reynolds, 369 F3d 1270, 1278, cert denied 543 US 988; Diederich v. Nyack Hosp., 49AD3d 491, 494; Gagliano v. County of Nassau, 31 AD3d 375, 376). Moreover, unlike the claims pursuant to 42USC §1983, a municipality may be held vicariously liable for torts committed by its employee while acting within the scope of his or her employment (see Eckardt v. City of White Plains, 87 AD3d 1049, 1051; Ashley v. City of New York, 7 AD3d 742, 743). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly, in effect, upon reargument, adhered to so much of the original determination as denied that branch of the defendants' motion which was for summary judgment dismissing so much of the first cause of action as alleged excessive force pursuant to New York common law insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada (see Harvey v. Brandt, 254 AD2d at 718-719). The third cause of action alleged false arrest and false imprisonment, which are two names for the same tort (see Lee v. City of New York, 272 AD2d 586; Jackson v. Police Dept. of City of N.Y., 86AD2d 860, 860-861). To establish a cause of action alleging false arrest under New York common law, a plaintiff must show that "(1) the defendant intended to confine him [or her], (2) the plaintiff was conscious of the confinement, (3) the plaintiff did not consent to the confinement, and (4) the confinement was not otherwise privileged" (Lee v. City of New York, 272 AD2d at 586; see Broughton v. State of New York, 37 NY2d 451, 456, cert denied sub nom. Schanbarger v. Kellogg, 423 US 929). Probable cause to believe that a person committed a crime is a complete defense to a claim of false arrest (see Fortunato v. City of New York, 63 AD3d 880). Where the arrest is made without a warrant, "a presumption arises that it was unlawful, and the burden of proving that the arrest was otherwise privileged is cast upon the defendant" (Tsachalis v. City of Mount Vernon, 293 AD2d 525, 525 [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Broughton v. State of New York, 37 NY2d at 458; Gagliano v. County of Nassau, 31 AD3d at 376). In general, the existence or absence of probable cause is a question of fact and "becomes a question of law to be decided by the court only where there is no real dispute as to the facts or the proper inferences to be drawn there from" (Fortunato v. City of New York, 63 AD3d at 880 [internal quotation marks omitted]; see People v. Bigelow, 66 NY2d 417, 420). Here, the plaintiff was charged with disorderly conduct based upon his engagement in "fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior" with "the intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof" (Penal Law §240.20[1]). Although he was also charged with obstructing a firefighting operation pursuant to Penal Law §195.15(2), probable cause for that offense was lacking because no firefighting operation was occurring. With respect to disorderly conduct, there was evidence that the plaintiff was engaged in tumultuous behavior, but a triable issue of fact remains as to whether a reasonable officer could interpret the plaintiff's behavior as being motivated by an "intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm" (Penal Law§ 240.20[1]). In addition, although the plaintiff might nevertheless have recklessly caused public inconvenience, the defendants failed to eliminate a triable issue of fact as to whether the "public" was inconvenienced by submitting, in support of their motion, Labrada's deposition testimony, which was equivocal as to the presence or absence of bystanders other than the ambulance crew. These triable issues of fact with respect to whether Labrada's evaluation of probable cause was objectively reasonable preclude an award of summary judgment in favor of Labrada on the ground of qualified immunity (see Malley v. Briggs, 475 US 335, 340; Diederich v. Nyack Hosp., 49 AD3d at 493; Simpkin v. City of Troy, 224 AD2d 897, 898). Moreover, the City may be held vicariously liable under the state law claim for torts committed by Labrada acting within the scope of his employment (see Eckhardt v. City of White Plains, 87 AD3d at 1051; Ashley v. City of New York, 7 AD3d 742, 743). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly determined that the defendants failed to establish their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing so much of the third cause of action as alleged a New York common-law claim of false arrest and false imprisonment insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada (see Forrest v. Jewish Guild for the Blind, 3 NY3d 295, 315 [Smith, J., concurring]). The fourth cause of action alleged assault and battery. "To recover damages for battery, a plaintiff must prove that there was bodily contact, that the contact was offensive, i.e., wrongful under all of the circumstances, and intent to make the contact without the plaintiff's consent" (Higgins v. Hamilton, 18 AD3d 436, 436). In light of the defendants' failure to eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether Labrada's use of the taser was excessive or objectively reasonable under the circumstances, the Supreme Court properly, in effect, upon reargument, adhered to so much of the original determination as denied that branch of the defendants' motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the New York common-law claims of assault and battery insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada. With respect to the federal claims under the first, third, and fourth causes of action, 42 USC §1983 provides that "[e]very person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage…subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States…to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured" (Eckardt v. City of White Plains, 87 AD3d at 1051-1052 [internal quotation marks omitted]; Hudson Val. Mar., Inc. v. Town of Cortlandt, 79 AD3d 700, 703). The Supreme Court properly, in effect, upon reargument, adhered to so much of the original determination as denied those branches of the defendants' motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the federal civil rights claims under the first, third, and fourth causes of action insofar as asserted against Labrada because, as noted, the defendants failed to eliminate a triable issue of fact on the issues of excessive force, false arrest, and assault and battery, which may properly form the basis of a claim under 42 USC §1983 (see Hodges v. Stanley, 712 F2d 34, 36; Eckardt v. City of White Plains, 87 AD3d at 1051; Delgado v. City of New York, 86 AD3d 502, 511). The first, third, and fourth causes of action, as well as the seventh cause of action, also asserted federal claims against the City. "A municipality is not liable under 42 USC §1983 for an injury inflicted solely by its employees or agents" (Hudson Val. Mar., Inc. v. Town of Cortlandt, 79 AD3d at 703; see Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs., 436 US 658, 694), or "solely upon the doctrine of respondeat superior or vicarious liability" (Lopez v. Shaughnessy, 260 AD2d 551, 552; see Connick v. Thompson, ___ US ___, ___, 131 S Ct 1350, 1359 [2011]; Eckardt v. City of White Plains, 87 AD3d at 1052; Alex LL. v. Department of Social Servs. of Albany County, 60 AD3d 199, 205). Thus, to the extent that the first, third, fourth, and seventh causes of action sought to impose vicarious liability on the City for the actions of Labrada pursuant to 42 USC §1983, the City is entitled to summary judgment dismissing those portions of the causes of action. To the extent that the first, third, fourth, and seventh causes of action sought to impose liability on the City as an entity for its own alleged violations of the plaintiff's constitutional rights, such liability may be imposed only by establishing "a direct causal link between a municipal policy or custom and the alleged constitutional deprivation" (Canton v. Harris, 489US 378, 385; see Connick v. Thompson, ___ US at ___, 131 S Ct at 1359 [2011]; Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs., 436 US at 694). The plaintiff must show that "the action that is alleged to be unconstitutional either implements or executes a policy statement, ordinance, regulation, or decision officially adopted and promulgated by that body's officers or has occurred pursuant to a practice so permanent and well settled as to constitute a custom or usage with the force of law" (Maio v. Kralik, 70 AD3d 1, 10-11 [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]; see Eckardt v. City of White Plains, 87 AD3d at 1052). Applying this principle, the City established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the federal claims asserted against it under the first, third, and fourth causes of action, insofar as such claims were premised upon allegations of Labrada's use of excessive force, false arrest, and assault and battery, respectively. The City adduced evidence sufficient to establish, prima facie, the lack of a causal link between its policies, customs, or practices, and the alleged constitutional violations. In opposition thereto, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact. The seventh cause of action alleged, inter alia, that the City was negligent in its training of police officers. Under "limited circumstances," proof of a municipality's "failure to train can [be the basis for] liability under §1983" (Canton v. Harris, 489 US at 387, 387 n 6). However, "[o]nly where a municipality's failure to train its employees in a relevant respect evidences a 'deliberate indifference' to the rights of its inhabitants can such a shortcoming be properly thought of as a city 'policy or custom' that is actionable under §1983" (id. at 389; see Connick v. Thompson, ___ US at ___, 131 S Ct at 1359-1360 [2011]; Pendleton v. City of New York, 44 AD3d 733, 736-737). Three requirements must be met before liability may be imposed. First, "the plaintiff must show that a policymaker knows 'to a moral certainty' that [his or] her employees will confront a given situation," for liability will not be imposed based upon failure to train for "rare or unforeseen events" (Walker v. City of New York, 974 F2d 293, 297, cert denied 507 US 961, 507 US 972, quoting Canton v. Harris, 489 US at 390 n 10). In this respect, "[a] pattern of similar constitutional violations by untrained employees is 'ordinarily necessary'" (Connick v. Thompson, ___ US at ___, 131 S Ct at 1360, quoting Board of Comm'rs of Bryan Cty. v. Brown, 520 US 397, 409). Second, "the plaintiff must show that the situation either presents the employee with a difficult choice of the sort that training or supervision will make less difficult or that there is a history of employees mishandling the situation" (Walker v. City of New York, 974 F2d at 297). Finally, "the plaintiff must show that the wrong choice by the city employee will frequently cause the deprivation of a citizen's constitutional rights" (id. at 298). Where the plaintiff establishes all three elements, "it can be said with confidence that the policymaker should have known that inadequate training or supervision was 'so likely to result in the violation of constitutional rights, that the policymakers of the city can reasonably be said to have been deliberately indifferent to the need'" (id., quoting Canton v. Harris, 489 US at 390).

Here, municipal officials could certainly expect that police officers would be confronted with individuals who needed medical assistance and could further expect that some individuals would refuse medical assistance. However, a situation such as this — where an individual received some medical assistance, but then violently refused further treatment and transport to the hospital that was needed in light of the treatment already rendered — is the sort of "rare or unforeseen event[]" for which liability under 42USC §1983 does not arise (Walker v. City of New York, 974 F2d at 297; see Connick v. Thompson, ___ US at ___, 131 S Ct at 1360 [2011]). Similarly, while this situation surely presented the police officers with a "difficult choice," it was not "a difficult choice of the sort that training or supervision will make less difficult" (Walker v. City of New York, 974 F2d at 297). In sum, while training in dealing with situations like the one at bar might be desirable, any failure on the part of the City to offer its police officers such training cannot be characterized as "deliberate indifference" (Canton v. Harris, 489 US at 389 [internal quotation marks omitted]; Connick v. Thompson, ___ US at ___, 131 S Ct at 1359 [internal quotation marks omitted]). Thus, the City established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the alleged violation of 42 USC §1983 based upon negligent training of police officers insofar as asserted against it under the seventh cause of action, and the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition thereto. Further, as correctly conceded by the plaintiff, the New York common-law claim of negligent training asserted against the City under the seventh cause of action must also be dismissed. Generally where, as here, the employee was acting within the scope of his employment, the employer may be held liable for the employee's torts under a theory of respondeat superior, and no claim may proceed against the employer for negligent supervision or training under New York common law (see Eckardt v. City of White Plains, 87AD3d at 1051; Talavera v. Arbit, 18 AD3d 738, 738; Karoon v. New York City Tr. Auth., 241 AD2d 323). Accordingly, the Supreme Court should have, upon reargument, vacated so much of the original determination as denied that branch of the defendants' motion which was for summary judgment dismissing both the state and federal claims premised upon allegations of negligent training under the seventh cause of action insofar as asserted against the City, and thereupon granted that branch of the motion. On appeal, the plaintiff has properly conceded that the thirteenth cause of action to recover damages for negligent assumption of a duty should be dismissed as duplicative insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada. The second cause of action arose from the same facts as the first and third causes of action and did not allege distinct damages; therefore, that cause of action should have been dismissed as duplicative insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada (see Tsafatinos v. Lee David Auerbach, P.C., 80 AD3d 749, 750; Leonard v. Reinhardt, 20 AD3d 510).

In sum, the Supreme Court properly, in effect, upon reargument, adhered to so much of the original determination as denied those branches of the defendants' motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the New York common-law claims insofar as asserted against the City under the first, third, and fourth causes of action, and the New York common law and 42 USC §1983 claims insofar as asserted against Labrada under the first, third, and fourth causes of action. However, the Supreme Court should have, in effect, upon reargument, vacated so much of the original determination as denied those branches of the defendants' motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the second and thirteenth causes of action insofar as asserted against the City and Labrada, so much of the first, third, and fourth causes of action as alleged violations of 42 USC §1983 insofar as asserted against the City, and the seventh cause of action insofar as asserted against the City, and thereupon granted those branches of the motion. DILLON, J.P., ANGIOLILLO, DICKERSON and COHEN, JJ., concur.

Justice Denied and Taxpayers Lose When Bondsmen Abuse Privileges

2011-12-27T13:06:00.002-05:00

Editorial: Taxpayers lose when bondsmen abuse privileges
The Dallas Morning News - EDITORIAL - December 26, 2011

A bail bondsman’s operation is one that the general public seems happy to know little about. It’s a world of lowlife situations, jail cells, police and trouble — stuff that most of us try to stay as far away from as possible. But ignorance definitely isn’t bliss when bondsmen’s abuses of the legal system cost taxpayers millions of dollars. As Dallas Morning News staff writers Ed Timms and Kevin Krause reported last week, a powerful lobby representing Texas bail bondsmen has, for years, pushed through legislation in Austin that allows them to artificially manipulate the value of property they use as collateral on bail bonds. This unethical nonsense must stop. Courts typically allow arrested people to get out of jail until trial by posting a bail bond backed by collateral property owned by the bondsman. It’s in the bondsman’s interest to cite the highest valuation possible for this property, since the system allows him to post 10 times that value to cover clients’ bail. And, of course, he profits from the percentage his clients must pay him in return. Higher property values should mean higher taxes for the bondsman. But the bail-bond lobby in Austin, with its generous campaign contributions, has won wide leeway from the Legislature to manipulate the appraisal process. These properties are allowed by law to have two values — one set by a private appraiser hired by the bail bondsman for bail-posting purposes and the other set by the county central appraisal district for taxation. Dallas County is typical of a statewide bail-bond system rife with abuse as bondsmen play both sides. The private appraiser inflates the property value to help the bondsman’s business, but when it comes to the county’s appraisal, unethical bondsmen have histories of filing multiple protests to get the valuation reduced to a fraction of the private appraiser’s estimate. They are gaming the system at your expense, especially because, if the arrested person skips bail or the bondsman goes bankrupt, the collateral becomes the government’s property. What appears on paper to be very valuable can turn out to be junk. You, the taxpayer, wind up footing the bill when the government gets stuck with that property. When bondsmen pay far less than they should in property taxes, you, in effect, pay the difference. Don’t be surprised. This is just the latest in a series of reports by Timms and Krause on how bondsmen are abusing the system while county regulators either look the other way or are legally powerless to take action. It’s doubtful that the bondsmen will grow a conscience and self-correct. The Legislature created this mess, and it’s up to lawmakers to fix it. Among key findings of The Dallas Morning News investigation: In order to avoid forfeiting collateral property, bondsmen falsely claim rearrest of clients who jumped bail; courts do little to verify claims. Current and former bondsmen and attorneys authorized to write bonds owed the county $35 million in unpaid judgments. The county lacks a system to track bond forfeiture cases to make sure final judgments are paid on time. Until recently, Dallas County was charging bondsmen interest-free, bargain rates for fees owed when clients jumped bail. Judges and the district attorney’s office have been letting bondsmen off the hook for court judgments against them, often without explanation.

Former Detective Gets 26 Months in Federal Prison

2011-12-11T11:08:00.002-05:00

Ex-Washington Park police officer going to prison for fraud, lying
STLtoday.com - December 9, 2011

EAST ST. LOUIS • Former Washington Park police Det. Kim L. McAfee was ordered Friday to spend 26 months in federal prison and pay more than $73,000 in restitution and court assessments for crimes committed in his private security business and in his official capacity. In addition, his plea agreement bars McAfee, 48, of East St. Louis, from ever working as a police officer again. McAfee also has been the subject of an investigation since a witness in a St. Clair County murder case alleged that he bribed her to lie about seeing him at the scene of the killing of Washington Park's mayor. As owner of KLM Loss Prevention Inc., McAfee paid employees less than he claimed under federally subsidized contracts with East St. Louis School District 189 and the East St. Louis Housing Authority, then pocketed the difference, officials said. He also was accused of under-paying overtime and failing to pay back wages, and telling lies on forms and to investigators. On Sept. 13, U.S. District Judge William D. Stiehl accepted McAfee's guilty plea to 16 counts of making false statements, 15 of mail fraud, three each of wire fraud and falsifying records and one count of lying to FBI agents investigating a possible civil rights violation. In Friday's sentencing hearing in court in East St. Louis, Stiehl ordered McAfee to pay $69,274.36 in restitution — $66,928.17 of it to employees — and $3,800 in assessments. The civil rights case involves an incident in which McAfee shot into a vehicle stopped at a BP service station in Washington Park, held the two men who were inside, then released them without charges about 24 hours later. McAfee told the FBI he thought he had seen a drug transaction, ordered the car's driver to stop and fired out of concern for nearby pedestrians if the car kept going. The two men, not seriously hurt, denied drug activity, officials said, and no evidence of it was found. McAfee's sentence includes paying $2,346.19 as compensation for a chipped tooth suffered by one of the men, damage to the car and towing and impound fees. "He operated as a crook with a badge," U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton said in a prepared statement. "He violated his oath to uphold the very laws that he flaunted. He cheated low income employees in an economically disadvantaged area. He lied to the FBI agents who were investigating a very troubling shooting incident. "His prosecution should put other police officers, public officials, and business leaders on notice that we will aggressively investigate and charge cases of fraud and corruption." Aaron "Chill" Jackson was on trial in October in the 2010 murder of Washington Park Mayor John Thornton when a key eyewitness, LaQueshia Jackson, told prosecutors outside court that McAfee bribed her to testify that he was not present when Thornton was shot. Officials pledged to investigate. Judge Milton Wharton sent the jury home and ordered a retrial for Jackson, no relation to the witness, in February.

Prosecutors Offer Ticket-Fix Cop 18 Years

2011-12-10T08:17:00.002-05:00

Bronx police officer at heart of parking ticket-fixing scandal gets a plea deal offer from district attorney
The New York Daily News by Kevin Deutsch & Erin Durkin - December 9, 2011

Prosecutors offer alleged crooked cop, who'll serve 50 years if convicted, 18 years in jail if he pleads guilty

Ticket-fixing cop suspect Jose Ramos has been offered a plea deal on a slew of charges. Prosecutors offered the Bronx cop at the center of the ticket-fixing scandal a plea deal Friday - 18 years in jail instead of the 50 he faces if convicted on all charges. Officer Jose Ramos is facing 26 counts that include attempted robbery, transporting what he believed to be massive a shipment of heroin in his squad car while in uniform, selling stolen goods andcounterfeit CDs and DVDs, and other crimes. Under the deal, he would also get five years of supervision following his release, prosecutors said. The 17-year veteran, who worked the midnight shift at the 40th precinct, is accused of using the two Bronx barbershops he inherited from his father as a front for drug deals - all the while relying on his badge for protection. Authorities built a case against him by placing in undercover officer trained in cutting hair in one of the shops. He apparently sunk much of the proceeds into illegal gambling, using a bookie to make high-stakes wagers on baseball, football, basketball and hockey - sometimes for several thousand dollars a pop, according to an internal NYPD memo summarizing phone taps. The investigation into the accused crooked cop - in which he was caught on tape discussing fixing summonses in exchange for gifts - triggered a massive NYPD ticket fixing scandal that led to the indictment of Ramos and 15 other cops and has roiled the department. Authorities said the cops would make summonses vanish before they reached court, or lean on Patrolmen's Benevolent Association members to lie in court and get the tickets thrown out. Ramos and the other cops pled not guilty in October. Ramos was held on a hefty $500,000 bail. He will weigh the plea offer with his lawyer before making a decision. kdeutsch@nydailynews.com

Playing Politics With Police Chiefs A Costly Gamble

2011-12-07T10:55:00.002-05:00

Playing Politics With Police Chiefs A Costly Gamble
The Connecticut Law Tribune by Karen Lee Torre - December 5, 2011

East Haven’s (now former) Democratic Mayor April Capone got what was coming to her. Last month, the town’s voters booted her out of office, replacing her with Republican Joseph Maturo. A prominent campaign issue was Capone’s treatment of East Haven Police Chief Lenny Gallo, and her consequent squandering of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on what many believed to be a personal feud. That is hardly uncommon. Police chiefs too often find themselves targeted by newly elected mayors who prefer to award the powerful job to a political crony, one who will of necessity be the mayor’s lapdog. With that, a mayor can more easily get tickets “fixed,” protect a relative, crony, or a friend’s kid from arrest, and worse. Capone did not appoint Gallo; she inherited him. Sometimes, a police or fire chief irks union leaders and members by strictly enforcing work rules, and attempting to reign in sick leave and workers’ compensation abuse. The unions give money to the mayor’s campaign, work the polls, and the mayor agrees to get rid of the chief. It has happened. Long ago, and in the public interest, the Connecticut legislature acted on this problem. State law does not permit chiefs to be employed and dismissed at will. It protects them against politicians by requiring just cause for dismissal. A chief has a right to timely and specific charges, and an opportunity to be heard. To further protect chiefs against trumped-up charges of misconduct or contrived allegations of administrative incompetence, a chief may appeal the discharge to superior court, where an impartial judge can review the matter. Gallo joined other of the state’s police chiefs who fought back, including former New Haven chief Ben DeLieto and Hamden’s former chief, John Ambrogio. New Haven voters, upset with how DeLieto was treated, later elected him mayor. For causing and losing a long, costly personal battle against Ambrogio, former Hamden mayor John Carusone became an ex-mayor. At various picnics, parties and retirement dinners over the past year, I had occasion to talk to a lot of East Haveners about this. To a man and a woman, they thought the racial profiling allegations against their police department were crapola, politically motivated, and contrived, and they were furious at Capone for so quickly and without proof aligning herself with those who would profit from making those allegations, at enormous financial risk to taxpayers. For throwing a chief under the bus in the process, she is now out of a job. Good. She deserves it. At a time of fiscal crisis, Capone was burning public money on this feud. New Mayor Joe Maturo promised voters he would stop the nonsense and pull the plug on paying three police chief salaries, and do it quick. He made good on that promise. Noting that no chief should be kept home for a year and eight months without the letter and spirit of the law being followed, Maturo reinstated Gallo. East Haven voters want the laws enforced, criminals nabbed, motor vehicle offenders cited. They don’t want their cops, and more importantly their police chief, to be afraid to do their jobs because of fear of getting sued, fired or accused of “profiling.” Whether Gallo and his officers will succumb to that fear remains to be seen, but I am sure that those who stand to profit one way or the other from racial profiling charges would rather have a collaborating April Capone and a stooge for a police chief. Politicians are responsible for the emerging populations of illegal aliens in our midst. Mayor John DeStefano declared New Haven a sanctuary city, making it a magnet for thousands of illegals, many of them poor. Now his budget officials acknowledge that the city is crumbling under a financially unsustainable “at risk” population. “Racial profiling” has become a political tool used by ethnic groups to instill a fear in cops of being accused of racism if they stop a minority with an expired or phony plate. We need more Frank Rizzos among the ranks of police chiefs. On my summer reading list was a biography of the legendary Philadelphia chief, a gift from his son, Frank Rizzo Jr., now a Republican councilman in Philly. Rizzo was elected mayor despite the hysteria from left-wingers over his aggressive and no-holds-barred law enforcement as chief, and notwithstanding persistent allegations of racial profiling (which Rizzo of course dismissed as expected rhetoric from the guilty). Rizzo couldn’t care less what the liberals said. “When I’m elected mayor,” Rizzo said, “I’m going to give the Henry Avenue Bridge concession to one of the reporters. He’ll charge six-fifty a head to the liberals who want to jump off. He’ll make a fortune.” But of the many notable quotes Rizzo’s biographers attributed to him, the following is an undeniable truism: “Politicians create the problems then leave them in the laps of the police.” - Karen Lee Torre, a New Haven trial lawyer, litigates civil rights issues in the federal courts. Her e-mail address is thimbleislands@sbcglobal.net.

Good Cops Outraged By Bad Cops

2011-12-06T08:08:00.002-05:00

Good cops outraged by bad apples
The Beacon-News, A Chicago Sun-Times Publication by Kristen Ziman - December 5, 2011

In reference to my column where I talked about the Chicago Police Officer who tarnished our badge and our profession by falsifying an incident, a reader wondered if I get pushback from my fellow officers when I bring these topics to light because I’m supposedly breaking the “blue wall of silence” by illuminating these dark places. The answer is no. I sometimes feel like police officers get painted with a broad brush because the headlines report about corrupt officers leading people to believe that all police officers are dishonest. I can concede to the fact that there are police officers who should have never been allowed to assume the great responsibility that comes with the power they are afforded. I will admit that there are some police officers who use their position of authority in ways that serve themselves. There are police officers who take advantage of sick time and leave the officers who come to work every day to pick up their slack. While they exist, it is in minuscule percentages when compared to those officers who come to work every day and do their jobs with a warrior spirit and a servant heart. The people that disrespect their office and abuse their power exist in every profession. They exist in religious institutions, the medical profession, political office, and most recently, in the locker rooms of prestigious colleges. Give me any profession and I will show you someone who has violated the core principles of humanity and the organization they represent because of their own character flaws. The reason I don’t get any negative feedback on calling out the ones who don’t deserve to wear the badge is because the great majority of our officers are just as angry as the public at large about the lack of respect for the position they hold. In fact, the main reason institutions get into trouble in the first place is by failing to acknowledge when someone in their own organization does something devoid of ethics. Or worse, they cover up the wrong-doing in the hope that no one will find out about it. I don’t think the general public is naive enough to believe that no one will ever abuse their position of influence or office. But we expect that it be dealt with swiftly should it occur. When the Catholic Church covered up the sexual abuse allegations against priests, the public was outraged. When Penn State turned a blind eye to the heinous sex acts being committed on young boys by their beloved coach, we took issue. The same goes for the “thin blue line” in policing. In the police departments of old, I can assure you there was cover-up and corruption. But I can tell you with great confidence that the times have changed. In our profession, if you commit an act that is a disgrace to the badge, you stand alone. The thin, blue line of loyalty has dissipated because there are systems and processes in place by which cover-up and deceit only serve to get an officer unemployed. Blind loyalty is no more. Just like the public should be outraged when organizations attempt to cover up wrong-doing for the sake of avoiding a scandal, so should every person who is a part of the disgraced organization. The reason the police officers don’t get upset with my shining the light in dark places is because they don’t want those unworthy to wear the badge either. It takes immense moral courage to stand against a colleague who you know to be engaging in behavior that is destructive or illegal. And it takes even greater mental fortitude as the leaders of organizations where it is occurring to acknowledge it. But it must be done. Kristen Ziman can be reached at KristenZiman@gmail.com.

Dirty Cop Now Driving City Bus

2011-12-05T23:12:00.000-05:00

Heist cop hired to drive B'klyn bus
The New York Post by Doug Auer and Jeffifer Fermino - December 5, 2011

He’s gone from Butch Cassidy to Ralph Kramden!

An infamous dirty cop — who was caught moonlighting as a bank robber in the 1990s — has a new gig driving a city bus in Brooklyn, The Post has learned. Former Queens cop Paul Voss is now working the night shift driving the B44 bus, some 13 years after his arrest for sticking up five banks — including one when he was on duty. The MTA knew all about his criminal past, but it decided to hire the badge-betraying bandit last April. The now-repentant 44-year-old copped to his unorthodox work history on both sides of the law when he applied to the transit agency and in subsequent employment interviews. But that didn’t preclude him from getting a job, thanks to strict state hiring laws. State agencies are forbidden from using candidates’ criminal histories against them in most cases. “He served a five-year sentence followed by eight consecutive years of gainful employment at a single company,” said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz. “Mr. Voss further revealed his criminal record and work history to the Background Investigations Unit of the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which upheld the hiring decision made by Transit.” After passing the civil-service bus-driver test, Voss was hired by the MTA at $20.38 an hour. That’s pocket change compared to what he was making during his stint as a bandit, when he netted a cool $17,000 for five quick heists in Queens from 1993 to 1997. MTA brass may have shrugged off his felonious past, but some regular riders of the B44 were a little uneasy. “Robbing a bank. That’s a serious charge,’’ said Louis Golden, 57, who rides Voss’ route from Bedford-Stuyvesant to Flatbush. Others were forgiving. “If he acknowledged he made a mistake, why shouldn’t we allow him redemption?” said passenger Teai Reid, 18. Now living in a cookie-cutter single-family home in Lindenhurst, LI, with his wife, the bank-robber-turned-civil servant refused to discuss his new vocation. He was equally taciturn when robbing banks back in the day. His MO involved wordlessly handing over notes demanding cash to terrified tellers. He flashed guns at three of them to show he meant business. At one point, a surveillance photo taken from one of Voss’ robberies was hung in his Queens precinct station house. A fellow cop thought the suspect looked like Voss, but discounted the possibility because it seemed too incredible, The Post reported in 1997. Eventually, Voss was caught in a joint investigation by NYPD Internal Affairs and the Queens DA. Fingerprints left at one of the robberies matched those of the cop. Additional reporting by Julia Marsh - dauer@nypost.com

Cop Tells Federal Judge He Abused His Position of Trust as Cop

2011-12-04T03:27:00.003-05:00

Ex-Chicago cop pleads guilty to working for Latin Kings
The Chicago Sun-Times by Teresa Auch Schultz - December 3, 2011

Wearing a black-and-white striped prison outfit, former Chicago police officer Antonio Martinez Jr. admitted Friday morning that he used his badge to help steal drugs, guns and money from people in Illinois and Indiana for the Latin Kings. “Do you agree you abused your position of trust as a Chicago police officer?” U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano asked Martinez in U.S. District Court in Hammond. “Yes, I do, your honor,” Martinez answered. Martinez, 40, described how co-defendant Sisto Bernal would give orders to him and his partner, Alex Guerrero, to shake down competing drug dealers and rival gang members by using their badges to coerce their way into homes and to pull over vehicles under the ruse of a legal traffic stop. Bernal would pay them in return for the stolen goods, Martinez said. Guerrero, 41, who is also charged in the case, and Bernal have both pleaded not guilty. “Yeah, basically my partner and I used our position of authority ... to not only facilitate but conduct various acts of criminal conduct,” he said. The men, along with 18 other defendants, were charged last month with conspiracy to racketeer along with numerous other drug, weapons and murder charges. Martinez reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to one count each of racketeering, conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute, using violence to interfere with commerce and carrying a gun during a crime of violence. He faces between 15 years and life in prison on the charges, according to the plea agreement. Prosecutors will recommend, however, that he receive the minimum under federal sentencing guidelines, which will be established later. Martinez has agreed to testify against his co-defendants. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Nozick also described Martinez’s crimes, adding that he at various times collected drugs from Lake County, Ind., and would then give them to Bernal and co-defendant Alexander Vargas, 34, of Highland, Ind. On at least one occasion, Nozick said, Martinez went with Bernal to give the drugs to customers. He also helped steal drugs from a warehouse in Rockford, and rob numerous homes in Lake County, including the home of James Walsh in December 2006. Walsh, who was a leader of the rival Latin Dragons gang, was shot to death outside a Griffith restaurant a few months later. Prosecutors claim Vargas ordered the shooting in retaliation for his brother’s death. Martinez admitted he wore his Chicago Police badge and bulletproof vest, and used his department-issued gun, when committing the crimes, which included the armed robbery of a marijuana trafficker during a Chicago traffic stop; the armed robbery of a drug trafficker in East Chicago, Ind.; the armed robbery of a drug trafficker near South Massasoit Avenue in Chicago; and the armed robbery of a drug trafficker in Chicago while the trafficker and leader of the Latin Kings were conducting a drug deal, prosecutors said. He also admitted to the armed robbery of a woman at her Hammond home during which two guns were stolen. Nozick added that Martinez would often commit his crimes while he was on the clock as a Chicago cop. Lozano set a sentencing date for June 14, although he said it would likely be postponed if the rest of the co-defendants’ cases are not wrapped up by then. tauch@post-trib.com - Contributing: Tina Sfondeles

Retired Sheriff Charged in Meth-For-Sex Case, In Jail Named After Him

2011-12-03T01:46:00.000-05:00

Ex-Colorado sheriff charged in meth-for-sex case
The Associated Press by P. Solomon Banda - December 2, 2011

DENVER, CO (AP) — A former Colorado lawman who was once named the nation's sheriff of the year was charged Friday with drug and prostitution offenses after authorities said he offered methamphetamine to a man in exchange for sex. Patrick Sullivan Jr., 68, was being held on $500,000 bond in an isolation cell at a jail named in his honor in suburban Denver. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said current or former law enforcement officials are usually kept from the general inmate population for their safety at the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility. Prosecutors charged Sullivan with felony distribution, possession of meth as well as a misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution. Authorities say he offered methamphetamine in exchange for sex from a male acquaintance in a sting set up by officers with a drug task force. Sullivan also is charged with attempting to influence a public servant following a Sept. 20 report of an "old man" inside a home that the caller said he wanted to leave. An incident report notes a man at the house reported Sullivan was getting three recovering addicts back into drugs. Sullivan told investigators he was helping them out as part of his work with a law enforcement and state drug rehab program. Officials have no record of Sullivan working for either. Sheriff's officials say Sullivan has declined to grant interviews while incarcerated. Sullivan was sheriff of the suburban Denver county from 1984 until 2002, when he retired. He was hailed as a hero following a daring 1989 rescue in which he crashed a vehicle through a fence to provide cover for two of his deputies who were pinned by gunfire. He was also named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriff's Association and praised by former Rep. Tom Tancredo in 2002. Meanwhile, Robinson said police talked to him in January about Sullivan as part of an investigation into the unsolved drowning death of a man. Robinson said a detective contacted him in January for insight into the personality of Sullivan. "He told me they were interested in interviewing Sullivan," Robinson said. Denver police refuse to say whether they questioned Sullivan or what information they sought in the Jan. 26 drowning death of 27-year-old Sean Moss. An autopsy found intoxication from meth and gamma-hydroxybutryic acid that's a rave drug known by various street names such as "Liquid Ecstasy," that's also a date rape drug, contributed to Moss' death. Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said the case remains open because the coroner was unable to determine if Moss' death was accidental, a suicide or homicide. The Denver Post reported that Sullivan had posted bail for Moss after his arrest Jan. 14 in a domestic violence case in Centennial, a suburb of Denver. That case involved a fight that broke out in a car on Interstate 25 between Moss and a man described by investigators as Moss' boyfriend, according to an incident report from the Arapahoe County sheriff's office. The incident report said Moss and the other man were living together at the time. Both men were arrested. Moss was carrying a backpack packed with a denture brush, eight pairs of socks, some clothes, and other personal items when his body was found in the South Platte River southeast of downtown Denver. Robinson said he knew little about the Moss investigation because that was Denver's case. A Denver man remained in custody in a Denver jail Friday over allegations he supplied methamphetamine to Sullivan. Robinson said Timothy Faase, 49, was arrested Tuesday after investigators tailed Sullivan to Faase's Denver apartment. Faase was being held in a Denver jail on suspicion of drug trafficking and possession of more than 2 grams of methamphetamine. His bond was set at $25,000.

Former Cop Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy

2011-12-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

FBI: Former Chicago Police Officer Pleads Guilty To Racketeering
ENEWSPF - December 3, 2011

Washington, D.C.-(ENEWSPF)- Antonio C. Martinez Jr., 40, a former Chicago police officer, pleaded guilty today to racketeering conspiracy and related charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David Capp of the Northern District of Indiana. Martinez pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano to conspiracy to commit racketeering activity; conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana; robbery; and using a firearm while committing these federal crimes. Martinez was charged, along with 14 additional defendants, in a third superseding indictment unsealed on Nov. 18, 2011. To date, 21 individuals, including Martinez, have been charged for crimes related to their membership or association with the Almighty Latin Kings and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) gang. Martinez admitted that he committed a series of robberies from 2004 to 2006 at the direction of the Latin Kings, using his position as a Chicago police officer to facilitate the robberies. Martinez admitted that he was wearing his Chicago Police Department badge and department-issued weapon when he committed the robberies, which included those of drug traffickers in Rockford, Ill.; Chicago; and East Chicago, Ind. In one instance, Martinez admitted to participating in the armed robbery at the home of a deceased Latin Dragon gang leader in Hammond, Ind. In addition, Martinez admitted that he picked up and delivered packages of cocaine on multiple occasions for two Latin Kings leaders. Sentencing is scheduled for June 14, 2012. At sentencing, Martinez faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. The investigation of Martinez was conducted by the Chicago City Public Corruption Task Force, a Chicago Police Department-Internal Affairs and FBI Chicago law enforcement initiative. The investigation of the remaining defendants was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Immigration and Custom Office of Homeland Security Investigations; the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement & Coordination Center; the National Gang Intelligence Center; the Chicago Police Department; the East Chicago Police Department; the Griffith, Ind., Police Department; the Hammond Police Department; the Highland, Ind., Police Department; and the Houston Police Department. The cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Joseph A. Cooley of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Nozick of the Northern District of Indiana.

Feds Take Over Syracuse Coach Sex Investigation

2011-12-02T08:04:00.002-05:00

Feds take over investigation of fired Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine
The New York Daily News by Chrisitan Red & Teri Thompson - November 28, 2011

Feds move in after feud between local authorities

The Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center at Syracuse University will be combed over by federal agents as they take over Bernie Fine case. Bernie Fine is now a federal case. Apparently seeking broader statutory support and perhaps an end to a bitter feud between local authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York took the lead in the investigation into claims that Fine, the former Syracuse assistant basketball coach, sexually abused a former ball boy and two others. Syracuse police chief Frank Fowler issued a statement Monday afternoon saying the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service would head the investigation. “We have now moved into a new phase of the investigation,” the release stated, adding that the Syracuse police department and Chief Frank Fowler are “committed to working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service in this investigation.” A source told the Daily News Monday that the Department of Education is also investigating the university to see if there was a failure to comply with the Clery Act, the federal statute that requires colleges and universities to report sexual abuse crimes. The DOE announced Nov. 9 that it was conducting a similar investigation at Penn State, where former football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse of minors. Fowler also said Monday his office will hand over information about the case to Onondago County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick from 2002, when former Syracuse ball boy Bobby Davis reported to that city’s police that he had been molested by Fine. Davis was told then that the statute of limitations had run out on the accusations. A dispute had arisen between Fitzpatrick’s and Fowler’s offices over the handling of the explosive case in which Fine, an assistant to Jim Boeheim for 35 years, has been accused by Davis, his stepbrother and a third man, 23-year-old Zach Tomaselli of Lewiston, Me., of abusing them when they were boys. Syracuse police reopened the case on Nov. 17 when Davis again told police he had been molested. This time, Davis’ stepbrother, Mike Lang, told police he, too, had been molested by Fine. Fitzpatrick complained that police had not turned over information from Davis, then accused Fowler of leaking contents of an affidavit provided by Davis’ girlfriend, Danielle Roach, in which Roach said she had left messages with the DA’s office in 2002 to report the abuse but had not been called back by anyone. The two were headed to court Monday to resolve the dispute when Fowler agreed to turn over the information from the investigation.

“The Syracuse Police Department will provide the information requested by the Onandaga County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday,” Fowler’s office said. Fitzpatrick said Monday that he, too, would cooperate fully with the federal investigation, saying he has been “in close contact with the U.S. Attorney.” “We’re acting in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” he said. “I’m not doing anything without checking with them.” Fitzpatrick said the investigation centers on determining if Fine can be prosecuted. “The U.S. Attorney is, as I am, interested in finding out if there are any prosecutable (persons),” Fitzpatrick said. For the feds to assume jurisdiction in the investigation, they would have to rely on statutory authority that could include a range of crimes that wouldn’t violate statute of limitations constraints, including sexual or physical abuse or kidnapping of a child under 18; crossing state lines to commit a crime against a child; or the use of interstate commerce, or the Internet, to commit a crime against a child. Pittsburgh police announced Monday they will open an investigation in conjunction with the existing investigations into Tomaselli’s claims that he was molested by Fine in January 2002 at a Pittsburgh hotel room, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Tomaselli was 13 at the time, and if proven, that alleged abuse might be prosecutable in federal court. “A federal case is difficult to overcome for a defendant,” said Tom Harvey, a New York criminal defense lawyer who is following the case for The News. “Their statutes are more wide-ranging and inclusive and can widen the statute of limitations. For a potential defendant to be under a federal investigation is never a good thing.”

Federal Judge Denies Bail to Accused Corrupt Cop

2011-12-02T01:43:00.000-05:00

Federal judge denies bond request by Arkansas police officer accused in corruption scheme
The Associated Press - November 28, 2011

LITTLE ROCK, AK — A federal judge has denied a motion to allow a Helena-West Helena police officer to post bond while he awaits trial for his alleged role in a drug-trafficking and corruption scheme in eastern Arkansas. U.S. District Judge James Moody wrote in an order issued Monday that there is evidence that Robert Rogers is a danger to the community, and that "no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of (the defendant) as required and the safety of any other person and the community." U.S. District Judge James Moody wrote in an order issued Monday that there is evidence that Robert Rogers is a danger to the community, and that "no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of (the defendant) as required and the safety of any other person and the community." Rogers and four other officers are accused of taking bribes to protect drug shipments and overlook offenses in a four-year investigation dubbed "Operation Delta Blues." Seventy people have been indicted. Assistant Federal Public Defender Justin Eisele didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Ticket-Fix Witness Warned to Leave Town

2011-12-01T03:38:00.000-05:00

Ticket-fix witness warned to leave NY
The New York Post by Jamie Schram and Jeane MacIntosh - November 28, 2011

Authorities have told a key informant in the Bronx ticket-fixing scandal to stay out of town for a while, The Post has learned. But the investigators have not told the witness, who helped build Bronx DA Robert Johnson’s case against alleged dirty cop José Ramos, why he should make himself scarce — or even whether he’s the target of threats, sources said. The informant just got a call telling him to keep away at least a week, the sources said. A Johnson spokesman declined comment. The witness helped cops target the 18-year NYPD veteran, whose reputed ties to Bronx drug dealer Lee King sparked the ticket-fixing probe. According to details obtained by The Post, the informant, working with undercover cops, helped lure Ramos to an uptown hotel, where the rogue officer planned to steal what he thought was $60,000 in drug money, sources said. Video surveillance had been set up in the room. The informant went in first, after which Ramos strolled in and took all the cash he could find — $20,000, the sources said. The development came as a trio of police-union honchos indicted in the scandal prepared to fight for their right to continue to be paid while doing union work. The officers — Brian McGuckin, Michael Hernandez and Joseph Anthony — had been suspended for 30 days after being accused of official misconduct and tampering with public records. Their suspension expires today — and the Police Department has indicated it will send them back to a regular department assignment. But their lawyers are set to argue in Manhattan Supreme Court tomorrow that they should be allowed to return to their union duties on the NYPD’s dime, as per their contract.

Police Chief Arrested on Embezzlement and ID Theft

2011-12-01T02:32:00.000-05:00

Platteville police chief arrested on embezzlement and ID theft charges
The Greeley Tribune by Nate A. Miller - November 30, 2011

Authorities: Chief used officers’ info to steal funds for gas

Platteville’s police chief has resigned after being accused of using the Social Security numbers of his fellow officers to illegally use police department fuel cards to buy gas for his own vehicle. Scott Alan Smith, 47, surrendered to Morgan County Sheriff’s Office deputies and was released Monday night, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said Tuesday. He was accused of one count of embezzlement and two counts of identity theft, both felonies. At his rural Eaton home Tuesday, Smith declined to comment about the accusations. According to an arrest affidavit from the Weld District Attorney’s Office, investigators identified 14 suspicious gasoline purchases between March 3 and Sept. 19 that totaled $392.40. The affidavit stated that each officer is assigned a personal identification number — the last four digits of the officer’s Social Security number — for the fuel cards. Smith is accused of tapping into the Colorado Crime Information Center to obtain driver’s license information on police officers, which included the Social Security numbers. The affidavit also stated the Platteville Police Department has a small fleet of police vehicles, which officers fuel at area gas stations and convenience stores. Each car is assigned a unique fuel card. According to the affidavit, after being confronted with the accusations, Smith told an investigator he violated department policy by taking patrol cars home. “He also stated he had used police department fuel cards to put gas into his personal vehicle,” the affidavit stated. “He stated he knew this was wrong. He stated he had permission to take a ‘gas allowance’ from two of the town board members.” Smith told the investigator he had been at the home of one of the board members for a party. “A discussion was held regarding the defendant not being paid what he and they believed he should be paid,” the affidavit stated. When Smith “mentioned a gas allowance would help, he was told by one of the town board members to go ahead and take such an allowance.” In the affidavit, Smith identified the town board trustees as Bonnie Dunston and Joe Rudd. Dunston told The Tribune she couldn’t comment about the case because it was under investigation. However, in the affidavit, she told an investigator she does not have the authority to approve such a request, and she would be opposed to an employee paying for personal gas with the town’s money. Rudd, who did not return phone calls from The Tribune seeking comment, told the investigator “he would not authorize such transactions, nor did he have the authority to do so,” the affidavit stated. Town Manager Troy Renken said Smith submitted a letter of resignation Nov. 9 and made his resignation effective Nov. 11. Renken said the town had just begun advertising the open police chief position, and the department’s sergeants and Renken — a former Platteville police chief — would handle the chief’s duties while the search for a replacement was conducted. “It will go for several weeks now and then a hiring committee will be formed to fill that position,” he said. Renken said he did not think the town needed to adjust what it pays the chief. “I think the salary is pretty competitive with other agencies our size,” he said. “I think all of us would like to make more money than we do.” NMILLER@GREELEYTRIBUNE.COM

Police Captain Voids Ticket to Lieutenant

2011-12-01T01:24:00.000-05:00

Concord Cop Gives Off-Duty Police Lieutenant a Ticket, Captain Voids it “In the Interest of Justice”
Claycord.com - November 28, 2011

On October 7th at 8:37am, an off-duty Concord Police Lieutenant was issued a citation by a Concord Police Officer for the Lieutenant’s role in a traffic collision on Galindo Street, directly in front of the Concord Police Department. The off-duty Lieutenant, identified by the City of Concord as Robin Heinemann, was responsible for the collision, according to the City Attorney’s Office. The collision report states, according to sources, that Lt. Heinemann was making a left turn into the Police Department’s Driveway from Galindo when she failed to yield to oncoming traffic, causing a two-vehicle collision. Lt. Heinemann was then issued a citation by Officer Ron Bruckert for violating vehicle code section 21801a (failure to yield to oncoming traffic during a left turn movement). Ten days after the citation was issued to Lt. Heinemann, it was voided by Concord Police Captain David Downing. In a supplemental report, which was viewed by Claycord.com, Downing states “After conducting a review with Off. Bruckert, Sgt. Nunes, Lt. Graham & Lt. Heinemann concerning the accident, I decided to rescind the citation (#32-669043) to driver #1 in the interest of justice.” Captain David Downing was asked what he meant by “in the interest of justice“, and although he acknowledged our request for a comment, he did not answer the question. Claycord.com also tried to obtain the full report and the voided citation, but was denied by the Concord City Attorney’s Office. Concord Police Chief Guy Swanger was also contacted, but claimed the City Attorney’s Office had already answered our question. According to the California Courts website, the fine for a failure to yield to oncoming traffic citation is about $234.

Jail Deputy Arrested for Smuggling Cell Phones

2011-11-30T07:15:00.003-05:00

Orleans Parish deputy booked with smuggling cell phones into jail
The Times-Picayune by Laura Maggi - November 28, 2011

A deputy who worked at the Orleans Parish jail was arrested Saturday and booked with several counts of smuggling cell phones into the facility where he worked. An Orleans Parish deputy has been charged with smuggling cell phones to prisoners. Other deputies with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office discovered a cell phone in a jacket belonging to Michael Conerly, 24, according to a brief police report written by Deputy Ernest Newman. The jacket had been left by Conerly at the control office of the House of Detention, one of the jail's facilities. A supervisor, Sgt. Nicole Harris, told Newman that she confiscated the jacket from Conerly after he arrived for his shift because it did not conform to departmental regulations. When later questioned about the cell phone and charger found in his jacket pocket, Conerly confessed that the phone was for an inmate. Conerly also told Newman that he had smuggled phones into the jail twice before, according to the report, which was posted on the website of The Lens. Conerly told investigators that the smuggled cell phone that they discovered Saturday was intended for inmate Larenzo "Woodie" Peters, according to the report. But the Sheriff's Office later clarified that the inmate was Alonzo Peters, 21, who records show is jailed on a charge of heroin possession with intent to distribute. The report by the Sheriff's Office did not name the other two inmates to whom Conerly allegedly provided phones in the past.The Sheriff's Office booked Conerly with three counts of malfeasance in office and three counts of contraband possession at a correctional institution. He bonded out of jail early Monday morning. The incident comes amid questions about the security of the jail -- in particular, about the ability of some inmates to communicate with the outside world. Last month, Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said that high-profile inmate Telly Hankton was moved out of the Orleans Parish jail in late 2010 because of the FBI's concerns that he was too easily able to get messages to people outside the jail while awaiting trial on a murder charge. The move came shortly after John Matthews, who was preparing to give eyewitness testimony in Hankton's murder trial, was shot at his eastern New Orleans home -- allegedly by a cousin of Hankton's. At the time, a spokesman for Sheriff Marlin Gusman called Cannizzaro's claim "irresponsible" and said the DA had never reported a concern that Hankton was getting messages to the outside. In a statement released on Monday, Sheriff's Office spokesman Marc Ehrhardt said the office has a "zero-tolerance policy" about guards engaging in illegal conduct, adding that the agency searches for contraband on a daily basis. "This individual was arrested because OPSO deputies were vigilant in their duties and followed standard procedures to stop this illegal activity," Ehrhardt said in the statement. The office declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation. Laura Maggi can be reached at lmaggi@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3316.

Police Chief Knew About Claims of Rape Against Cops

2011-11-30T07:04:00.002-05:00

Cleveland Police Chief Wes Snyder knew about claims of statutory rape against officers
The Chattanooga Times Free Press by Todd South - November 29, 2011

Recent court testimony indicates that Cleveland, Tenn., Police Chief Wes Snyder knew of allegations of statutory rape and drug abuse against some of his officers in 2008 but did not launch a direct investigation into the claims. The officers later were arrested, fired and pleaded guilty to sex acts with teenage girls. Testifying Nov. 17 in an employment lawsuit filed by former Cleveland detective Duff Brumley, Cleveland Assistant Police Chief Gary Hicks described a hostile work climate and said Snyder showed animosity toward Brumley leading up to the officer's 2010 firing. While testifying about events in the department connected to Snyder, Hicks said that, before May 2008, the department had received complaints that some of its officers were having sex with teenage girls and providing them alcohol. The complaints also said the officers illegally were abusing prescription medications such as hydrocodone, Hicks testified. Snyder told him to have a meeting with the accused officers and "get their attention," Hicks said. In May 2008, Hicks said, he called the officers and their supervisors into the department training room and wrote on the board that the conduct had to stop or they would be fired. He said those in the room nodded their heads, but no one spoke of details. No official investigation into the allegations ever was launched. Snyder did not respond to questions related to Hick's testimony. Instead, at the request of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, he produced internal affairs records from an investigation into a separate incident involving the officers. Nearly seven months after Hicks' meeting with the officers, off-duty officer Dennis Hughes shot officer Chris Mason in the hand while Mason and Officer John Hammons were at Hughes' home on duty. An investigation into the shooting revealed that officers Nathan Thomas and Hammons were using pills without a prescription. Thomas was suspended. But the pill investigation revealed other issues. Police charged Hughes and Thomas with having sex with 14- and 16-year-old girls in November 2008 and again on Jan. 4, 2009. In July 2010, Thomas pleaded guilty to drug, forgery and statutory rape charges. The 14-year police veteran was sentenced to six years in prison and is eligible for parole after two years, records show. Hughes pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape and received probation, according to the Bradley County Court clerk's office. City Manager Janice Casteel said she wasn't present at any of the meetings and directed questions to Snyder.

Police Major Suspended in Traffic Fix

2011-11-29T23:10:00.002-05:00

Atlanta police major suspended in Tracy Reed traffic case
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by Jeremiah McWilliams - November 28, 2011

An Atlanta police major faces a 15-day suspension without pay after a city law department investigation of two traffic stops involving Mayor Kasim Reed’s older brother. The disciplinary action against Maj. Rodney Bryant was announced on Monday, the same day the city released results of its investigations. Mayor Reed’s brother, Tracy F. Reed, kept his city job and continued driving -- sometimes in a city-owned vehicle -- after he was detained in May for driving on a suspended license. When a local television station aired footage of another traffic stop in late October, the city launched two separate investigations and he resigned from his job in the Office of Contract Compliance. The city law department focused on whether Tracy Reed received preferential treatment from police during the traffic stops on May 4 and Oct. 28. Bryant, a precinct commander, intervened during both incidents, according to the investigation. The investigation found that, after being stopped in October for an expired tag, Tracy Reed called Police Chief George Turner, who then called Bryant, a precinct commander, and told him to go to the scene. Turner told investigators that Reed told him there was “an identity issue” but that he did not know other details. The investigation found that Bryant failed to get all the information available before allowing Tracy Reed to drive away with an expired and suspended license. At that time, there was a bench warrant out for his arrest, issued in Atlanta Municipal Court on Oct. 6 after Reed failed to appear to answer a charge of driving on a suspended license. It was the latest of several failures to appear, according to police reports. But the law department’s investigation found that the officers at the scene did not know about the warrant because such warrants are not included in the Atlanta Criminal Information Center database. In an interview earlier this month, Mayor Kasim Reed said footage of the October stop, showing Bryant returning Tracy Reed’s license and letting him drive off in a black Lexus, “certainly shows that he was treated differently.”

“I did not request that anyone provide special treatment for my brother,” the mayor said in the interview. In the May incident, an officer was going to take Tracy Reed to jail after he stopped Reed in southwest Atlanta while driving another person’s black Chevrolet Suburban. The officer, running what was described as a random vehicle registration check, found that the tags were for a Honda Accord. Reed told the officer he didn’t have his license with him, but the officer ran a search and found that Reed’s license had been suspended in January 2006 for failure to appear in court. In any case, Reed’s license had expired in September 2006, according to the police report. Bryant told the responding officer to give Reed a copy of charges and then release him, which the officer did, according to the law department’s investigation. The decision to suspend Bryant was consistent with previous disciplinary action imposed on police officers for similar violations, Mayor Reed’s office said in a statement. Bryant declined to comment through a police department spokesman. Meanwhile, the city’s human resources department, which conducted a separate investigation, said it will change the policy governing the use of city vehicles. All employees who operate city vehicles will be required to provide consent for review of their motor vehicle records. Departments that have vehicles will be required to maintain logs and will be audited twice a year by the office of Fleet Services. The human resources department called for a city-wide review of all employees who are authorized to take vehicles home overnight to make sure they are complying with the the vehicle use policy. And there will be a city-wide review of departments to determine whether or not they need to have assigned vehicles. Atlanta has a motorized equipment fleet totaling about 4,700 units, according to the city’s most recent budget.

Cop Suspected of Having Sex With High School Girl

2011-11-28T09:22:00.002-05:00

NPD cop suspected of having sex with high school girl
Nogales International by Manuel C. Coppola - November 25, 2011

A 24-year-old Nogales police officer is under investigation for sexual conduct with a minor after officials at Nogales High School tipped off the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office about talk heard on campus. Authorities withheld the officer’s name pending formal charges. He has been placed on suspension. “Our officers take an oath, and if they violate that oath, they will be held accountable,” said Nogales Police Chief Jeffrey Kirkham. In May 2010, 29-year-old NPD Officer Mariano Garibay was arrested after authorities learned that he had been having sex with a 16-year-old member of the department’s Explorers program. Garibay eventually pleaded guilty to three of 11 counts of sexual conduct with a minor, and in February 2011, Judge James A. Soto sentenced him to two years and three months in prison. “It’s the same thing over again,” said County Attorney George Silva. “You would think that after the Garibay prosecution and subsequent prison sentence that (law enforcement officers) would get the message. “It’s hard to understand. Otherwise this young officer seemed to be coming along and doing all the right things” on the police force, Silva said. He explained that the 17-year-old alleged victim spoke to other students about the affair and eventually, word reached school officials. By law, they are required to inform law enforcement. Silva said sheriff investigators have served a warrant on the officer’s home and conducted other aspects of the investigation. But because they were called out to a triple homicide in the Tumacacori Mountains, they have been unavailable to brief him on their findings. “Our office needs to know all the particulars,” he said. “In sex crimes, the specific acts committed determine what kinds of charges are filed. But once we have all of that, I can assure you he will be charged.”

ACLU Sues Sheriff's Office Over Complaining Prisoners

2011-11-27T23:33:00.000-05:00

ACLU sues Canyon County sheriff, alleging jail punished prisoners who file grievances
The Idaho Statesman by Kristin Rodine - November 23, 2011

The civil rights organization, which had previously sued Canyon County in 2009 over conditions caused by chronic jail overcrowding, raised new allegations Wednesday in a federal lawsuit that targets Sheriff Chris Smith and his chief deputy. The complaint contends that Chief Deputy Gary Deulen ordered that a prisoner be transferred to a different facility in retaliation for the prisoner filing numerous complaints and keeping in contact with the ACLU. The suit also alleges that Smith and Deulen “maintain a policy and practice of retaliating against prisoners who file grievances that allege unconstitutional conditions of confinement.” Smith and Deulen could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. The ACLU sent out a news release about the lawsuit after business hours Wednesday. The suit, filed on behalf of present and future Canyon County jail inmates, has two named plaintiffs who remain in the jail and also details the story of inmate Dana Harris, who was transferred out of the jail after repeatedly complaining about what he considered unsanitary conditions. The plaintiffs contend the only reason Harris was sent to another jail Oct. 25 “was to prevent him from notifying the ACLU about further deficiencies in the jail and to hinder his right of access to the courts.” The complaint quotes an email from Canyon County Deputy Prosecutor Carl Ericson, who responded to a query from an ACLU attorney by stating Deulen decided to transfer the inmate to the Payette County Jail because Harris “did not appear to like being in our jail based on the large number of grievances and complaints that had been submitted.” “There was no retaliation against Harris,” Ericson wrote. “He had major issues with being in our jail so he was sent to a jail that would be more acceptable to him.” The Sheriff’s Office often transfers inmates to jails in surrounding counties to keep inmate numbers down to levels required by an agreement with the ACLU that at least temporarily resolved the organization’s previous lawsuit, filed in January 2009 alleging “indecent, cruel and inhumane conditions” in the jail. Lorraine Scott, one of the named plaintiffs, complained to jail staff she was being threatened by another prisoner. The lawsuit contends that staff placed Scott in solitary rather than respond to her grievances. “Threats and retaliation put a chill upon the exercise of rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” said Monica Hopkins, executive director of the Idaho ACLU. “In a facility known for having many significant problems, it is essential that prisoners are able to lodge grievances without fear of retaliation.” krodine@idahostatesman.com

Police Captain Denied Bail in Federal Drug-Trafficking Case

2011-11-21T08:44:00.003-05:00

Police capt. denied bond in federal court

WSVN - November 19, 2011

MIAMI (WSVN) -- A police officer accused of covering up a crime appeared in federal court Friday and was denied bond. During the hearing, as the indictment against Opa-Locka Police Captain Arthur Balom, 44, and seven others was unsealed, new disturbing details came to light about Balom's alleged role in a deadly armored car ambush. A federal judge denied Balom's bond, saying he poses a danger to the community. Defense Attorney Michael Cornley said, "I'm a little disappointed the court did not release him today. I think he is a fine man. I think a lot of these charges are a result of him not totally cooperating with the federal government." A two-year investigation ended the Police Captain cuffed. He and several other men were placed in handcuffs Thursday for allegedly being involved in a drug ring. The FBI carried out evidence from the Opa-Locka Police Department, including the captain's personnel file. North Miami Beach City Manager Bryan Finnie said, "Today is a sad day for the City of Opa-Locka. As you know, it appears that one of our officers was indicted and arrested on conspiracy charges. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, and we are shocked and dismayed and very concerned about the outcome." But the alleged corruption does not stop there. Some members of this alleged drug ring were already arrested, accused of taking part in a Brinks armored truck robbery in Miramar last year, including accused ring-leader Toriano Johnson. In that robbery, 48-year-old Alejandro Arencibia was shot and killed. In federal court Friday, the U.S. District attorney's office claimed Balom not only aided and abetted drug deals, but that he also provided Johnson, his friend and partner in crime, information that helped Johnson elude police for more than a year. Possibly most shocking, the prosecution claims, Balom sold several bulletproof vests to Toriano, one of which may have been used during the armored truck heist. Balom's family left federal court after hearing that he will remain behind bars until his trial. Balom's attorney said his client was only doing his job. "The evidence is going to show that, at one time, he was involved in a crime task force, and he was asked, asked to have contact with these people." The prosecution says this is only the first wave of indictments and more arrests are coming. Balom will be back in federal court on Nov. 28 for his arraignment.

-----RELATED STORY:

Opa-locka officer arrested in drug-trafficking case
The Miami Herald by Michael Vasquez - November 18, 2011

Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced criminal charges against eight men allegedly running an Opa-locka drug-dealing ring — and one of the accused is a longtime Opa-locka police officer. Capt. Arthur Balom, a 12-year veteran of the department, was among those charged in the four-count federal indictment. Balom, along with the seven other defendants, faces various counts of drug distribution and conspiracy to distribute narcotics. The drug ring distributed cocaine, Ecstasy, and Oxycodone, according to prosecutors. The charges are the culmination of a two-year multi-agency investigation. If convicted, the defendants face up to 40 years in prison, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In that statement, U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer called drug trafficking “a scourge on our communities.” “Its effects are even worse when, as in this case, we find police officers, who are sworn to protect and serve our community, instead abuse the public trust and engage in drug trafficking to line their pockets,” Ferrer said. Balom, who lives in Miramar, is accused of using his position to help the drug-trafficking organization, though the specifics of this allegation were unclear late Thursday. Balom and the other defendants are scheduled to make their initial court appearance Friday. “We’re just shocked and dismayed,” Opa-locka City Manager Bryan Finnie said. Finnie said FBI investigators visited Opa-locka police headquarters Thursday to view Balom’s personnel file. The other defendants charged in the indictment are Toriano Johnson, 36, of Opa-locka; Terrence Johnson, 38, of Miramar; Dwayne Miller, 27, of Opa-locka; Jermaine Parrish, 29, of Miami; Antwan Davis, 29, of Miami; Lawrence Benbow, 35, of Miami Gardens; and Justin Jean, 27, of Opa-locka. Although not outlined in the indictment information released by prosecutors on Thursday, Miami Herald news partner CBS4 reported that Balom may have also been involved with last year’s robbery of a Brinks armored truck in Miramar — a robbery in which one Brinks guard was killed. CBS4 reported that Balom allegedly provided the robbers with assistance. mrvasquez@MiamiHerald.com

Police Overtime Scrutinized

2011-11-21T07:55:00.003-05:00

Police overtime scrutinized

The Albany Times Union by Kenneth C. Crowe II - November 18, 2011

Authorities looking into allegations involving five Troy sergeants

TROY, NY -- Five police sergeants are under investigation for allegedly taking sick time to boost each other's overtime income, police and city officials said Friday. The state Attorney General's office has participated in the ongoing investigation, Chief John Tedesco said. The alleged overtime padding involving five of the department's 27 sergeants came to light as the city prepares its defense in a federal lawsuit brought by 16 police officers for nonpayment of overtime for a week in November 2010. The alleged overtime scheme occurs as the city administration has tightened payments for officers working overtime. In 2010, the city paid $500,000 less in overtime for the 125-member department than the year before, according to city budget reports. As city payroll records were reviewed in January for the court case, the five sergeants came under suspicion of calling in sick so that other sergeants would take their place while being paid overtime, Tedesco said Friday following a departmental promotional ceremony. Overtime payments are included in calculations to determine a police officer's retirement pay.

In 2010, 13 of the top 25 overtime earners in the city were police officers, according to city records obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request by the Times Union. The records also showed that 97 of the city's 708 employees made $10,000 or more in overtime that year. A detailed audit of department payroll records has so far uncovered no evidence of the swap, according to City Council members briefed on the investigation in an executive session during Thursday night Finance Committee meeting. The council members asked not to be identified because of the confidential nature of the investigation. The council members approved a budget transfer of $5,700 to pay for the forensic audit by a private firm. Officer Robert Fitzgerald, president of the Troy Police Benevolent Association, said he does not know what the audit has uncovered. He said he has not seen the audit. Tedesco said the audit is part of an ongoing internal department investigation and would not be made public. The identities of the five sergeants have not been released. Tedesco declined to provide additional details of the investigation. When Tedesco was promoted to chief in 2010, he was ordered by Mayor Harry Tutunjian to reduce police overtime costs. Tutunjian also declined to comment on the investigation. The police department paid $1.38 million in overtime in 2009, which dropped to $838,513 in 2010, according to city budgets. Tedesco said he anticipates another $250,000 reduction in overtime when the year is over. Reach Kenneth C. Crowe II at 454-5084 or kcrowe@timesunion.com.

Retired Cop Facing Sex Charges

2011-11-21T07:50:00.002-05:00

Retired cop facing sex charges
The Albany Times Union by Bob Gardinier - November 18, 2011

TROY, NY -- A retired Albany police detective already arraigned in Albany and Warren counties on charges he sodomized a teenage boy was indicted Friday in Rensselaer County on the same charges. Paul Pierce, 58, of East Greenbush allegedly victimized the 16-year-old boy at his home from spring through December 2010, according to the indictment. Pierce, in handcuffs and street clothes after being picked up Friday, appeared before Judge Robert Jacon and pleaded not guilty to charges in the sealed indictment of third-degree criminal sexual act, a felony, and misdemeanor charges of forcible touching, third-degree sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the indictment. Jacon continued Pierce's $30,000 bail set in Albany and ordered the man to appear weekly at the probation department for drug and alcohol testing. Jacon also said he was going to make arrangements to have Pierce evaluated by a psychologist. In September, Pierce was arraigned on the same charges in Albany County Court relating to contact with the same boy in an Albany home. On Oct. 31, he was indicted in Warren County and pleaded not guilty to the same charges accusing him of molesting the same boy and a 16-year-old girl at a residence in Chestertown in 2009 and 2010, according to that indictment. That indictment charges Pierce with have oral and anal sex with the teens. The third-degree charge, a low-level felony, carries up to four years in prison. The misdemeanor brings up to one year behind bars. Court papers allege Pierce, a one-time DARE officer in the Albany school district, subjected the boy to "deviate sexual contact." The allegations are based on conversations between State Police and the victims. State Police encouraged parents of children who knew Pierce to talk to their children and contact investigators if they believe any youths were victimized. Reach Troop G headquarters at 783-3211.

Cop Charged With Promoting Prostitution

2011-11-20T11:41:00.002-05:00

Cop charged with promoting prostitution
KRQE by Alex Tomlin - November 18, 2011

New charges for Matt Kindle

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) - He's the same cop who was fired after he was charged with trying to bribe a prostitute for sex. Now, he's accused of being a pimp while he was on the force, and the new charges may be connected to a high-profile case. Albuquerque police said Matt Kindle was literally caught with his pants down in August, but an indictment handed up Thursday alleges Kindle may have been involved in much more long before that. The indictment charges Kindle with taking bribes and promoting prostitution between 2004 to 2008. Those are new charges, piled on top of the August incident when police say Kindle, who was on duty and in uniform, met with what he thought was a prostitute at a hotel near Interstate 40 and Carlisle Boulevard NE. Cops said he was caught on tape offering to help the woman out in a criminal case in exchange for sex, and offered to give her tips on how to avoid the vice squad while working as a prostitute in the city. The whole thing was really an undercover sting. Kindle was charged that night and fired from the Albuquerque Police Department three weeks later. APD isn't saying what the new charges are for. But News 13 has learned Kindle's new charges are connected to an Albuquerque prostitution ring. In the original criminal complaint from August, an officer noted that Kindle had been investigated for playing a part in “Private Ice,” a high-priced online hooker ring operating out of an Albuquerque business front that was busted in 2008. The complaint said Kindle's involvement couldn't be substantiated back then, and no one is saying yet if his new charges for promoting prostitution during the same years mean he has now been linked to “Private Ice”. It's unclear if Kindle was on duty at the time he's accused of making money on the side off prostitutes a few years ago. “Private Ice” was a big takedown for APD and then-Mayor Martin Chavez. Bobbie McMullin is spending the next decade in prison for masterminding the operation. McMullin also owned "The Ice House", an all-nude strip club downtown that closed in 2006. The strip club was a thorn in the side of the mayor because of the racy murals painted on the outside of the building. It's now a youth center.

Parking Officer Back Writing Tickets After Drug Arrests

2011-11-19T05:33:00.003-05:00

D.C. parking officer at work after PCP arrests
The Washington Times by Andrea Noble - November 17, 2011

On two nights a month apart this year, Takia Johnson drew the attention of D.C. law-enforcement officers, who pulled over her car and took her into custody on charges she was driving under the influence of PCP. But despite the arrests, Ms. Johnson by day continued in her city job — enforcing the laws of the District as a parking officer. During the first incident in February, Ms. Johnson was pulled over for driving erratically, police said. She appeared to be in a drug-induced stupor, according to court records. A charge of driving under the influence from that incident is pending in D.C. Superior Court, but a month after the arrest, she was stopped again while driving and found with two PCP-dipped cigarettes in her car. She pleaded guilty to a possession charge from that incident. The charges are related to a hallucinatory drug formally called Phencyclidine. Users engage in delusional and sometimes violent or behavior, which calls into question whether Ms. Johnson should have been on the job at all after the arrests — and whether her employer, the D.C. government, should have known about them. A spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works, which employed Ms. Johnson, said the agency is investigating the arrests but declined to say whether she remains on duty as a parking enforcement officer. "Once that investigation is concluded, the department will take the appropriate action," DPW spokeswoman Linda Grant said in an email. Attempts to reach Ms. Johnson through the agency, union officials and a lawyer representing her in the open case were unsuccessful. Public employment records indicate that Ms. Johnson, 31, has worked since 2003 as one of about 200 parking enforcement officers with the agency, which enforces D.C. laws related to parking, most notably by writing tickets.

Since 2003, Ms. Johnson has pleaded guilty to three other criminal charges: driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of PCP in the District in 2005, and carrying a concealed handgun in Prince George's County, where she now lives, in 2007. Only certain "safety-sensitive" positions with the D.C. government require random drug testing, and employment can be terminated if an employee tests positive, said Charles Tucker, general counsel for the District's Department of Human Resources. Ms. Grant said parking officers are not among those subjected to random drug testing. The rest of the District's employees are governed by city personnel regulations, which do not specifically prohibit drug use but state that employees should not engage in an interest "which is in violation of federal or District law" or "which might impair an employee's mental or physical capacity to such an extent that he or she can no longer carry out his or her duties and responsibilities." Criminal defense lawyer David Benowitz, who has no connection to the case, said Ms. Johnson's prior guilty pleas raise difficult questions for the agency to answer. "It certainly doesn't speak well to the credibility of any tickets she has written," he said. According to court documents from the two arrests this year, Ms. Johnson was stopped by the same pair of police officers in the same Northeast block after the officers noticed a moving Dodge Charger without its headlights activated. In the Feb. 1 incident, officers watched the Dodge make an illegal U-turn in the 6000 block of Clay Street Northeast, then drive at about 2 mph for a block. When they pulled over Ms. Johnson, she was "staring blankly forward" and "only able to repeat the word 'yes ... yes ... yes,' " say state charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court. She later told officers that she had smoked a cigarette dipped in PCP about 15 minutes before she was pulled over. During the March 1 arrest, the same officers saw the Dodge going east on Clay Street with its headlights dark and pulled over the vehicle. When they approached the car, the officers noted a strong chemical smell that they suspected was PCP, which prompted them to search the car, charging documents state. Two cups of alcohol and two cigarettes dipped in PCP were found inside the car. Ms. Johnson and a passenger bickered over who owned the PCP-laced cigarettes, but the officers charged both with possession. In July, Ms. Johnson pleaded guilty to the possession charge and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation. A non-jury trial is scheduled in January on the DUI charge.

3 Indicted Ticket-Fix Cops Lose Union Priviledges

2011-11-18T02:12:00.000-05:00

Three NYPD cops indicted in ticket-fixing scandal stripped of union privileges

PBA mulling legal action, sources say
The New York Daily News by Rocco Parascandola - November 15, 2011

Three NYPD cops indicted in the ticket-fixing scandal have been stripped of their union privileges by the city, likely setting the stage for a court clash, sources said Monday. Officers Joe Anthony, Mike Hernandez and Brian McGuckin are Bronx trustees for the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, meaning they work full-time as union officials and are excused from police duty. But their “release time,” as it’s called, was recently removed by Office of Labor Relations Commissioner James Hanley, who notified PBA President Pat Lynch in a letter, “It’s rare, but it has happened before,” mayoral spokesman Marc LaVorgna said. “You have to be in good standing, and obviously these three are not in good standing. “They are suspended, they’re coming back to modified duty -- and they’re indicted.” Lynch turned down an offer to name three other union officials to serve as trustees. "It is our position that we are entitled to these excusals by law and can employ them in the manner the union designates,” Lynch said. “The presumption of innocence that allows police officers to remain members of the NYPD should also allow them to continue to serve the police officers who elected them.” Hanley and PBA President Pat Lynch have repeatedly butted heads over contentious contract negotiations. But LaVorgna said Hanley’s decision is nothing personal and that officials from other unions have lost their privileges during criminal probes. Sources said the PBA is mulling legal action. Hanley had no comment. The trustees are three of 16 cops charged in the scandal. Sources said lawyers for the cops intend to focus on the validity of the wiretaps at the heart of the prosecution’s case. Documents obtained by the News show that the Internal Affairs investigators were given strict instructions about monitoring phone calls. Investigators were told, for instance, that they had to determine within two minutes if the parties were discussing ticket-fixing or other crime -- or whether the call was personal. For personal calls, investigators were told to stop listening. With Reuven Blau - rparascandola@nydailynews.com

Detective Charged in Auto Insurance Fraud

2011-11-18T01:26:00.000-05:00

Port Chester detective charged with insurance fraud involving car damage
The Journal News by Rebecca Baker - November 16, 2011

Port Chester, NY - A Port Chester police detective is due in court today on charges he defrauded his insurance company by exaggerating a damage claim on his car. James Kumano, 39, was indicted on a felony charge of third-degree insurance fraud and a misdemeanor charge of first-degree falsifying business records. He pleaded not guilty at his Nov. 4 arraignment and was released without bail. A conference on his case is scheduled today before acting state Supreme Court Justice Albert Lorenzo in White Plains. Kumano, a Westchester County resident, is accused of defrauding Allstate Insurance of more than $3,000 between March 22 and July 2, 2009, and then trying to conceal his actions. Port Chester Police Chief Joseph Krzeminski said Kumano has surrendered his weapon and has been placed on modified duty. He has been doing administrative work and is barred from handling evidence or taking statements. "We're waiting to see how the criminal investigation unfolds, and we're conducting our own investigation," Krzeminski said. Kumano would automatically lose his job if convicted of a felony. A misdemeanor conviction could lead to administrative punishment by the department. Kumano was hired in January 2002 from the New York City Police Department. He was promoted to detective in 2007. He is the second Port Chester cop to face criminal charges in the past two months. Officer Michael Martello, a 16-year member of the department, was arrested Sept. 3 on a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge. He is accused of hitting a parked car with his Lexus. Martello, 41, refused to take a breath test and was suspended following the incident. He is back on duty but the case is still pending.

Ex-Deputy Admits Buying Assault Rifles

2011-11-17T06:00:00.002-05:00

Ex-deputy admits buying assault rifles for Blackwater
The HamtonRoads.com - November 15, 2011

GREENVILLE, N.C. - A former deputy pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to using the Camden County Sheriff's Office as a front to buy automatic weapons for the military contractor formerly known as Blackwater. Jonathan Worthington, 45, who worked as a Camden deputy and as a firearms instructor for Blackwater, used Sheriff's Office letterhead in spring 2005 to buy 17 AK-47s from an import company known as Century International Arms and 17 M4s from Bushmaster. That resulted in charges of aiding and abetting others by making false statements related to records required of a licensed firearms dealer. As a private firearms dealer, Blackwater could not possess more than two fully automatic weapons. Police agencies, however, are allowed to have automatic weapons. The Camden Sheriff's Office served as the legal buyer, but in reality, Blackwater paid for the weapons and stored them in a secure armory at the company's compound in Camden County, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler said. Camden County, with only 12 full-time deputies at the time, had no need for 34 automatic weapons, Bowler said. After the federal investigation began, some Camden deputies carried M4s "to put in a nice appearance," he said. In June 2008, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized the automatic weapons at the Blackwater compound. Former Blackwater president Gary Jackson, former vice president William Mathews Jr., former general counsel Andrew Howell, former vice president Ana Bundy and Ronald Slezak, who handled federal firearms paperwork, were indicted last year. They face similar charges and are awaiting trial. Worthington is expected to be sentenced in February.

-----RELATED STORY:

Former North Carolina deputy pleads guilty to charge related to buying weapons for Blackwater
The Associated Press - November 15, 2011

GREENVILLE, N.C. — A former North Carolina deputy has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he used the Camden County Sheriff’s Office as a front to buy automatic weapons for the military contractor formerly known as Blackwater. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., reports (http://bit.ly/uzPDSu) that 45-year-old Jonathan Worthington pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court. Worthington was charged with aiding and abetting others by making false statements related to records required of a licensed firearms dealer. He’s expected to be sentenced in February. Several former Blackwater employees face similar charges and are awaiting trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler says the sheriff’s office had no need for the 34 automatic weapons Worthington ordered on sheriff’s office letterhead. Worthington also worked as a firearms instructor for Blackwater, which is now called Xe Services.

Former Cop Convicted on Corruption Charges

2011-11-17T05:44:00.002-05:00

Former Houston police officer convicted on corruption charges
The Associated Press - November 16, 2011

HOUSTON, TX—A former Houston police officer has been convicted by a federal jury on corruption charges. U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson says 46-year-old Leslie Aikens of Houston was convicted Tuesday. The 19-year veteran of the Houston police had been charged with aiding and abetting possession of a controlled substance by providing an escort for drugs through the Houston area in his police vehicle. He was also charged with extortion for accepting a $2,000 bribe to provide the protection for the vehicle he believed to be transporting 7 kilograms of cocaine. The indictment was returned in June. Magidson says the jury found Aikens guilty on all counts he was charged with. Aikens faces up to life in prison. He’s set to be sentenced Feb. 2.

-----BACKGROUND STORY:
HPD sergeant arrested in cocaine bribery case
The Houston Chronicle by Anita Hassan - July 28, 2011

A veteran Houston police sergeant was arrested Wednesday and charged with accepting a bribe to provide protection for a vehicle carrying several kilograms of cocaine, federal authorities announced. Houston Police Department Sgt. Leslie Aikens, 46, was charged with aiding and abetting the possession with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine on or about March 10, U.S. Attorney's Office officials said. Aikens also was charged with accepting a $2,000 bribe to provide protection for a vehicle transporting 7 kilograms of cocaine. Suspended with pay - Aikens, who's worked for the department for nearly 19 years, has been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of an investigation by the department's internal affairs division, according to a statement by HPD Chief Charles McClelland "As is customary with internal investigations, the Houston Police Department will make no further comments regarding this matter until the investigation(s) are completed," McClelland said in the statement. Houston Police Officer's Union Vice President Ray Hunt said its office is not aware of the matter and has not been contacted by Aikens for legal representation. He noted that requests from officers for legal representation are reviewed and if evidence of criminal activity is found, the union will not provide an attorney. He said HPOU represents officers acting only within the scope and course of their job. "Any criminal conduct is outside of the scope and course of your job as a Houston police officer," Hunt said. Free on bail - Aikens, who is assigned to the HPD Jail Division and was promoted to sergeant last year, was arrested after the unsealing of the June 22 indictment on Wednesday by officers with HPD Internal Affairs Division, Texas Rangers and FBI agents. He appeared before a federal judge Wednesday and was released on $50,000 bail. The drug offense charge carries a penalty of not less than 10 years or more than life imprisonment and a $10 million fine upon conviction. The extortion charge is punishable by up to 20 years incarceration without parole and a $250,000 fine. anita.hassan@chron.com

Politician Call for Police Oversight Board

2011-11-16T23:29:00.000-05:00

Koppell renews his call for police oversight board
The Riverdale Press by Graham Kates - November 16, 2011

Buoyed by a slew of recent corruption cases from within the NYPD, Councilman Oliver Koppell is hoping to create a new, stronger committee for investigating police misconduct. The Independent Police Investigation and Audit Board, which Mr. Koppell and seven other Council Members are sponsoring, would have the ability to conduct independent corruption investigations and subpoena information from the police department. The proposal was inspired by the 1994 Mollen Commission report, produced after a two-year-long corruption investigation that found the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau “ignored and at times concealed corruption, rather than root it out.” The Commission recommended that the police department reform it’s internal review process, but also create an independent board to oversee internal investigations. To that end, an earlier iteration of the Independent Police Investigation and Audit Board was proposed, passed by the City Council and vetoed by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. After the veto, the City Council took its case to the courts and Mr. Koppell was the attorney who represented the city council. “He’s always been someone who’s been very concerned with issues of corruption, and police corruption in particular,” said Jamin Sewell, a representative for Mr. Koppell. “He got more involved with the issue and it became important to him [during the court challenge].” Almost two decades later, there is still little New Yorkers can do to monitor police corruption. There’s the Civilian Complaint Review Board, a city board tasked with examining allegations of misconduct within the New York Police Department, but the CCRB is swamped with complaints and, according to the non-profit Citizen Crime Commission, the police department is often slow to produce information requested by the CCRB. And there’s also the mayor’s Commission to Combat Police Corruption, a small team that issues one annual report on corruption in the department. But neither the CCRB or the Commission to Combat Police Corruption have the legal teeth that Mr. Koppell hopes his Independent Police Investigation and Audit Board would have. Proposed in 2010, Mr. Koppell is hoping a rash of recent NYPD scandals will net the legislation renewed attention. “The need for an independent entity to closely monitor the Department’s anti-corruption efforts as well as independently investigate allegations of illegal activities is undiminished,” Mr. Koppell’s proposal states. In the last six weeks, 16 Bronx police officers were arrested in relation to a ticket-fixing investigation, seven narcotics investigators were convicted of planting drugs on people to meet arrest quotas, eight current and former cops were arrested for gun smuggling, three for robbing a warehouse and another was charged with arresting someone because of his race.

Officials Intend to Fire Police Chief

2011-11-15T05:37:00.002-05:00

East Washington intends to fire police chief
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Liz Navratil - November 15, 2011

East Washington officials declared Monday night their intention to fire police chief Donald Solomon, who has been accused of violating the Hobbs Act that prohibits some forms of public corruption. Mayor Mark Pacilla said the borough will send paperwork to Mr. Solomon and his attorney within five days explaining its rationale for firing the chief, who will then have the option to file an appeal. Chief Solomon has been accused of watching over what he thought were drug deals, selling Tasers to people he suspected were criminals, organizing the shooting of a car and talking with others about harming a former housemate and a borough councilman. Chief Solomon pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in U.S. District Court. He was in the Allegheny County Jail Monday night, according to jail workers. Liz Navratil: lnavratil@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1438.

Parole Officer Gets 60 Days In Sex Case

2011-11-15T05:32:00.002-05:00

Parole officer gets 60 days in sex case

The Albany Times Union by Robert Gavin - November 14, 2011
Nicholas Kordas admits to misconduct; rape trial ended in mistrial

ALBANY, NY -- Parole officer Nicholas Kordas was sentenced Monday to 60 days in jail and three years probation for misdemeanor official misconduct, 21/2 months after his rape trial ended in a mistrial. Kordas, 51, of Clifton Park will not be retried in Albany County Court on allegations he raped a woman on parole under his supervision. He had faced 25 years in prison if found guilty of first-degree rape and criminal sex act. The married father admitted in his testimony to having consensual sex with the parolee in her Guilderland apartment but adamantly denied forcing himself on her. He waived his right to appeal his conviction on one count of official misconduct, which carried a maximum of one year in jail. Wearing a black sweatshirt and pants, Kordas thanked acting Supreme Court Justice Dan Lamont for being fair to him. "I apologize for my actions, as I have disgraced my profession, my family and my friends," Kordas said, as his teary-eyed wife looked on from the gallery, "and it's time to move on." His wife mouthed, "I love you" to him as a deputy led him out of the courtroom. Kordas motioned toward his handcuffs and said, "Sorry." Kordas had been free on $75,000 bail. He remains on unpaid leave from his job. Assistant District Attorney Shannon Sarfoh, who prosecuted the case, told the judge the 25-year-old woman who accused Kordas "wants to put the entire (incident) behind her." In August, a jury of eight men and four women was deadlocked, with nine jurors wanting to acquit Kordas, three wanting to convict. In an unexpected turn of events, the judge revealed the verdict before the jury returned to announce it. The judge, who apologized for the revelation, said he understood Kordas was to be found guilty based on his testimony. "I did misspeak," Lamont said before the jury announced its official verdict. Kordas' attorney, Cheryl Coleman, said he has always maintained his innocence on the other counts. Prosecutors alleged Kordas raped the woman on his second visit to her home after 8 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2010. They said he suggestively asked the woman, at one point, how much she valued her freedom. They said he also mentioned he had undergone a vasectomy if she was worried about pregnancy. The prosecution argued Kordas left the apartment when his advances were rejected but came back and threatened to arrest the woman if she did not let him in. Once inside, they said, he handcuffed and raped her. The defense ripped the woman's testimony as inconsistent and her memory as foggy. Coleman and her co-counsel, Gaspar Castillo, said the woman was lying -- and noted she had been diagnosed as a "sociopath" and "psychopath." They alleged the woman set up Kordas in a scheme to possibly sue the state. The attorneys noted while serving five years in prison for felony assault -- the woman had stabbed a woman repeatedly -- the parolee had contact with notorious killer Pamela Smart, who received more than $23,875 in a settlement of a suit against the state. Smart made national headlines with the murder-for-hire of her husband, Gregory, in New Hampshire in 1990. She alleged racy photographs of her in her prison cell, which appeared in the National Enquirer, were taken by a correction officer who sexually assaulted her. Reach Robert Gavin at 434-2403 or rgavin@timesunion.com.

Investigating Police Conduct in New York City

2011-11-15T05:12:00.000-05:00

The New York Times - Letters - November 14, 2011

Investigating Police Conduct in New York City

To the Editor: As chairman of the Commission to Combat Police Corruption, I am grateful for your call to put “more force” behind our commission (“Can They Police Themselves?,” editorial, Nov. 7). But I take issue with some of your comments. The Internal Affairs Bureau did, in fact, “uncover” most of the “problems” to which you allude. In all cases, it participated actively, to the extent that was appropriate, in investigations that resulted in many indictments of corrupt police officers and dismissals from the department. As for us, our commission already has “full authority to oversee the Internal Affairs Bureau as well as the broader department.” And subpoena power, while potentially useful, is not a priority need. The department has responded promptly and appropriately to our requests for documents, and we have access to Department of Investigation subpoenas should we need any. Our real need is to reverse budget cuts that have reduced our investigative staff from six attorneys to two supervisory attorneys and two investigative analysts. Combating corruption in the Police Department is the business of five district attorneys, two United States attorneys, an aggressive Internal Affairs Bureau — and us. If we all fail, we can always rely on the press to tell us so. But criticism is helpful only if it is on target. MICHAEL ARMSTRONG, New York, Nov. 7, 2011

To the Editor: A drive past any police precinct in New York City will answer the question “Can They Police Themselves?” The police park their personal cars wherever they wish, blocking fire hydrants and crosswalks, and they are often double-parked. One side of the street in our neighborhood hasn’t been cleaned in years; the curb is filled 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with police cars, most of them backed onto the sidewalk. “Zero tolerance” has been a slogan of several recent commissioners, believing the philosophy to be the key to lowering crime rates of all kinds. Perhaps a bit of zero tolerance ought to be tried with the police culture, which thus far continues to believe in laws of its own creation. S. E. PHILLIPS Brooklyn, Nov. 7, 2011

False-Arrest Cops' Trial Set To Begin

2011-11-14T05:21:00.003-05:00

Camden Officers' Trial Set To Begin
The Courier Post by George Mast - November 13, 2011

CAMDEN, NJ — The federal trial of two suspended Camden police officers charged with making false arrests to put drug suspects behind bars is set to begin this week. Patrolman Antonio Bayard and Robert Figueroa were indicted on federal corruption charges in October 2010 following a two-year investigation into what authorities said was a rogue five-officer platoon at the department. The officers allegedly planted stolen drugs on suspects, carried out illegal searches, pocketed drug proceeds and then lied on police reports to cover their tracks. Camden police first began an investigation into the officers and then handed the case over to the FBI. Former officers Jason Stetser and Kevin Parry, along with former Sgt. Dan Morris, the unit’s supervisor, have already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and named specific incidents where the officers carried out illegal arrests. At least Parry, the first officer to plead guilty in March 2010, is expected to testify about Bayard and Figueroa’s role in the scheme in the upcoming trial. According to federal court documents, in late 2009 Parry provided information to the FBI about cases where Figueroa, Bayard and the others allegedly participated in illegal arrests. Figueroa, 35, and Bayard, 33, are each charged with conspiracy to deprive others of civil rights and have maintained their innocence. The charge carries up to 10 years in prison. The police scandal quickly became one of the furthest reaching in the troubled city’s history and has become a civil liability nightmare. Even before Parry pleaded guilty and admitted that between May 2007 and October 2009 the officers planted drugs on suspects in dozens of cases, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office began dismissing drug charges in cases involving the officers. Over the ensuing months, charges in more than 200 cases were dropped, dozens of people were suddenly released from prison and lawsuits began pouring in against the city.

To date, 59 people who claim they were falsely arrested by the officers have filed federal lawsuits against the city and are waiting eagerly to see what new details about the alleged conspiracy surface during the upcoming trial. “There will be a lot of information that will come out at the trial which we can use in our civil cases,” said attorney Paul Melletz. Melletz, whose client filed the first lawsuit in reference to the officers, said the attorneys have had to wait for the culmination of the officers’ trial before they begin taking depositions and gathering needed evidence from the government. “As soon as the criminal trial is over with, then we can start going,” he said. Melletz said the attorneys have agreed that a representative from the many cases will be present throughout the trial to report back on details. John Williamson, president for Camden’s rank-and-file officers, said he, too, will be monitoring the trial. Williamson declined to comment further but said he has known Bayard’s father, a retired Camden police sergeant, for years and has always known Bayard “to be a good officer.” Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson has maintained the accused officers are not a reflection of the rest of the department. “There is nothing more vital for the Camden police than to maintain the trust of the people we serve,” he said in a message on Friday. “We will continue to take the needed measures to ensure our officers are operating with the highest levels of integrity. “The ends will never justify the means.” Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Kugler said Wednesday that opening arguments could begin as soon as Tuesday afternoon. Aside from Parry, federal prosecutors Matthew Skahill and William Fitzpatrick are also expected to put numerous persons on the stand who they say were falsely arrested by the officers. Bayard’s attorney, Robert Agre, and Figueroa’s attorney, Ralph Jacobs, said in a pretrial hearing Wednesday they intend to challenge the credibility of the witnesses — many of whom have prior criminal convictions — as nearly all of them pleaded guilty following their various arrests by the officers. “There are many impairments to these government witnesses,” Agre said during the hearing.

As indictments against Bayard and Figueroa cite more than a dozen specific occasions where the officers were involved in illegal activities, Fitzpatrick said the trial will consist of multiple “mini trials” for each of the alleged incidents. Authorities contend Figueroa and Bayard were part of a hard-charging narcotics squad, the Special Operations Unit, 4th Platoon. The five-man unit was created on July 28, 2008, and its members were breaking the laws within days, indictments against Figueroa and Bayard allege. And the alleged illegal activities continued for months. In a Jan. 27, 2009, incident, the indictment claims Bayard, Figueroa, Stetser and Parry unlawfully searched a Camden home where a person identified only as “R.M.” was located and arrested the individual based on “false information.” The indictment alleges Bayard then authored a police report containing “false and misleading facts” in order to “conceal their unlawful actions.” In continuing the scheme Bayard then “testified falsely under oath” before a state grand jury in reference to the arrest, according to the indictment. According to a Nov. 24, 2009, FBI report, Parry told federal agents and the head of Camden’s Internal Affairs Unit about the same Jan. 27, 2009, incident where the four officers searched a home occupied by Ronald Mills. Parry told the agents that the part of a subsequent police report stating Mills fled from the house and threw down a small sandwich bag to the ground was false. “Parry stated that this did not happen,” the report reads. “Parry stated that the drugs were found inside of the house under some carpet.” Although authorities claim the officers tried to cover their tracks by doctoring police reports, a second FBI report shows members of Camden’s Internal Affairs Unit began to become suspicious as complaints against the officers began to mount. A May 13, 2009, FBI memo states that by March of the same year there was information from multiple sources about allegations of police corruption in Camden. According to the memo, Camden’s internal affairs investigators had handed over to the FBI 20 files of complaints against the officers. One particular citizen complaint alleged that the officers had illegally searched an apartment and stolen thousands of dollars from a drug dealer. The memo alleges that the officers then only turned in a portion of the drug proceeds — a pattern that was also seen in other complaints. In November 2009, Figueroa, Parry and Stetser were suddenly suspended without any public explanation. Weeks later when Bayard was informed he too was being suspended, he stormed through the police headquarters and punched out a window in anger, according to a Camden Police Internal Affairs report. “You people put me with them,” Bayard yelled, according to the report. “It’s your fault. I didn’t do anything.”

Former Overcompensated Police Chief Sues City

2011-11-14T05:14:00.002-05:00

Former overcompensated police chief Adams serves Bell with lawsuit
The Los Angeles Political Buzz Examiner by Jules Manson - November 13, 2011

On Thursday November 10, 2011, former Bell Police Chief Randy G. Adams served the City of Bell, CA, with a lawsuit for expenses incurred defending himself on a legal investigation of possible corruption related to the now infamous Bell scandal. The legal documents also expressed a 15-day time window for both parties to contact each other for the purpose of litigation that might result in possible resolution of this case outside of court. Adams' is the latest in four lawsuits directed at Bell from former administrators. In an email exchange with Councilman Nestor Valencia, he writes of the three prior lawsuits, "New lawsuits from the three administrators claims they were forced to resigned and they want their money." He does not name them but this reporter expects that this may be referring to at least a few former members of the council or top managers. It comes at a time when Bell is tightly strapped for cash because of their alleged illicit activities while employed by the city that nearly drove it to bankruptcy. In 2010, Bell became the focus of the nation when a scandal of unbelievable unrestrained corruption became public that was allegedly committed by its then mayor and nearly all members of its council, by its then chief administrative officer Robert Rizzo and other high officials including its then police chief, Randy Adams. It was reported that Adam's annual salary was an incredible $457,000. In addition to his compensation, a recent (Oct 2011) Los Angeles Times article, Former Bell chief wants strapped city to pay his legal fees, reported that, "...Adams and Bell's former chief administrative officer, Robert Rizzo, struck a deal that allowed the chief to file for a disability pension with the city's support. The agreement would amount to a 50% tax break on his retirement benefits." Such compensation far exceeds what is normal for a police chief for a city the size of Bell. It even far exceeds the salary of Los Angeles County Sherriff Lee Baca. Relentless public pressure compelled this most noble public servant (Adams) to resign his post. However, the aforementioned linked article also reveals that his attorneys claim that he was instead fired. What impact this might have on this case remains to be seen. If interested, please contact examiner reporter Jules Manson for a PDF copy of the legal documents that Bell was served with. Also, please visit Bell councilman, Nestor Valencia, speaks at Libertarian Party meeting for a recent prior article on the Bell scandal that is also by this reporter. Policial Buzz Examiner, Jules Manson, also wishes to gratefully acknowledge Bell Councilman Nestor Valencia for providing this breaking news information to him immediately after he received it.

Denver Deputy Gets 24 Years in Sex Assault Case

2011-11-13T01:46:00.000-05:00

One Denver deputy gets 24 years, another pleads guilty in sex cases
The Denver Post -- August 8, 2011

Two veteran Denver County sheriff's deputies were in court on unrelated sex assaults today. Mark Davis, 49, was sentenced to 24 years after pleading guilty to abusing two young boys beginning in 2002. Brennon Lonergan, 36, pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching a teenage girl in May 2009 and faces up to six years when he is sentenced in November, according to the Denver District Attorney's Office. The cases are unrelated and Denver sheriff's officials have said the crimes were unrelated to their law-enforcement work. Both men had worked at the Denver County Jail. Davis pleaded guilty earlier this year to child abuse and attempted sexual assault on a child. He was accused of abusing a 12-year-old boy he abused between August 2002 and June 2006 and an 8-year-old boy abused between June 2010 and September 2010. He received the maximum sentence possible under his plea agreement. Besides his prison sentence, Davis received a 12-year suspended sentence on the condition he complete eight years of Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Probation after he is released, prosecutors said. When he was arrested last October, Davis had worked for the Denver Sheriff's Department for 14 years. Lonergan, a deputy since 2005, had been on leave for two months before his arrest in April. He is accused of making inappropriate physical advances on a teenage girl in May 2009. He remains in jail on a $12,500 bond in that case, but he also is being held on a $100,000 on an unrelated April 12 case in Lakewood. In that case he accused of felony stalking with threats, following, contact or surveillance, as well as a felony count of stalking with emotional distress. Records show Lonergan's wife filed for divorce on March 16 and received a restraining order against Brennon Lonergan alleging domestic abuse.

Three Cops Face Discipline in Rough Detention of City Officials

2011-11-12T03:25:00.002-05:00

3 Officers to Face Discipline for Detaining City Officials at Parade
The New York Times by Joseph Goldstein - November 10, 2011

The Police Department will discipline three officers for an episode in which a city councilman and another city official were detained and handcuffed after the West Indian American Day Parade in September, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union. The department’s Internal Affairs Bureau found that there was “sufficient evidence to partially substantiate” the complaints by the councilman, Jumaane D. Williams, and the city official, Kirsten John Foy, according to letters that the two men received from the bureau’s chief, Charles V. Campisi. Mr. Williams said he believed racial bias fueled the episode, in which he and Mr. Foy, an aide to the public advocate, were stopped by police officers after walking down a sidewalk that had been closed because of the parade. Despite identifying himself as a councilman, Mr. Williams said, he was handcuffed. Mr. Foy was pushed to the ground by a police officer and also arrested, a video of the episode showed. Mr. Williams and Mr. Foy are black. The men said they were originally granted permission by a high-ranking officer to walk down the closed sidewalk. Chief Campisi indicated that Internal Affairs investigators had determined that excessive force had been used when Mr. Foy was pushed to the ground by a police officer, according to a spokeswoman for the civil liberties union, Jennifer Carnig. The investigators also found that a supervisor had failed to provide adequate supervision. The officer and the supervisor will receive command disciplines, the civil liberties union said, which typically involve a loss of vacation days and a notice entered into the officer’s personnel file. A third officer was reprimanded for not informing other officers that the two men had been earlier granted permission to pass through a barricade into a closed zone, according to the civil liberties union, which has filed complaints on behalf of Mr. Williams and Mr. Foy. The names of the officers have not been released. A spokesman for the Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday, but police officials have previously described a chaotic scene after the parade, which was linked to three shootings involving five victims. Mr. Williams has said that the Police Department’s “stop, question and frisk” practices — which he said were part of a larger police culture of racial profiling that had led to the police action against him and Mr. Foy — needed changing. “This issue is bigger than Kirsten and I,” Mr. Williams said in a statement. “This needs to be a teachable moment for the N.Y.P.D. as to its unjust encounters with the hundreds of thousands of black and Latino New Yorkers that are subject to a discriminatory police culture every day.” But Deputy Inspector Roy T. Richter, the president of the Captain’s Endowment Association, a police union that represents the upper echelons of city officers, said the episode involving Mr. Williams was emblematic only of public officials’ seeking preferential treatment. “This is about an elected official who was in a rush,” Inspector Richter said, “and decided to use his position to get through a police barricade. “It is wrong that all these officers will now face discipline to appease some political purpose. Again, they were only doing their job.” David W. Chen contributed reporting.

Ex-Sheriff's Deputy Sentenced To Probation

2011-11-12T02:39:00.002-05:00

Ex-Denver Sheriff's Deputy Sentenced To Probation
KJCT8.com - November 8, 2011

DENVER, CO -- A judge says that an ex-Denver sheriff's deputy's former job played no role in her sentencing him to probation for a sex offense. The Denver Post reports that Denver District Court Judge Anne Mansfield sentenced 36-year-old Brennon Lonergan Monday to 10 years of sex offender probation. Lonergan pleaded guilty in August to attempted sex assault on a child involving a teenage relative. Lonergan's public defender Julie Stancil argued that Lonergan would be killed in prison and explained the offense as prescription drug abuse that exacerbated a mental condition. Lonergan apologized in court. Longergan is also serving probation for a case out of Jefferson County after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and menacing. Felony stalking charges were dropped.

Woman Who Claimed Improper Strip Search Gets $90k

2011-11-11T06:47:00.002-05:00

Woman who claims cop forced her to strip during improper search gets $90K
The New Daily News by John Marzulli - November 11, 2011

Detective allegedly photographed below-the-navel tattoo with cellphone

NYPD Det.Charles Derosalis, accused of improperly searching a 25-year-old woman. A Brooklyn woman who says an NYPD detective forced her to strip so he could photograph her below-the-navel tattoo will receive $90,000 to settle a federal lawsuit, the Daily News has learned. Claudia Bova, 25, was subjected to what she says was an improper body search by Det. Charles Derosalia after she was arrested in a Coney Island drug sweep in 2007. Derosalia told her there were no female cops available and that he had to photograph the tattoo with his cellphone camera for “identification purposes,” according to court papers. The photos were not recovered. After Bova filed a complaint, NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau investigators found 17 women who also claimed they had been strip-searched by Derosalia, who was assigned to the Narcotics Borough Brooklyn South. Bova's lawyer, Nicole Bellina, said that two other women besides her client testified about the improper searches at Derosalia's department hearing. NYPD regulations prohibit male cops from performing strip searches of female prisoners. Derosalia was found guilty and the recommended penalty is dismissal from the force, Bellina said. “Detective Derosalia victimized women who were in his custody and control,” Bellina said. “He victimized them in police precincts, right under the noses of his supervisors.” Under the settlement, the city will pay Bova $75,000 and Derosalia must fork over $15,000. “We feel that Det. Derosalia is appropriately contributing personally to this settlement and that it is in the best interest of all the parties,” city lawyer Brian Farrar said Thursday. Last year, the city paid $27,000 and Derosalia $1,000 to Quantalis Legrand, who claimed she was forced to disrobe in front of him so he could check for contraband. Detectives Endowment Association lawyer James Moschella did not return a call for comment. jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

Ever Fix a Ticket?

2011-11-11T06:41:00.002-05:00

Fix a Ticket? Kelly Says Never, but How About Selleck?
The New York Times by Al Baker - November 10, 2011

Tony Bennett solicits a ticket fix from the police chief, played by Tom Selleck, at 2:22 of this clip of a recent episode of “Blue Bloods.” As television moments go, it was prescient. It was weeks before the unsealing of indictments in the Bronx against more than two dozen police officers, 11 of them on charges related to fixing traffic and parking tickets. But there, on the CBS crime show “Blue Bloods” broadcast Sept. 23, the fictional chief of the city police force, Frank Reagan (played by Tom Selleck), sat in a lounge watching Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood sing. After crooning his way through “It Had to Be You,” Mr. Bennett gestured to the audience and said, “I see my old friend Frank Reagan over there. By the way, my driver got a speeding ticket — could you take care of that for me?” A round of laughter followed, and the chief bowed his head and waved. “Thank you,” said Mr. Bennett, apparently taking the wave as recognition of a favor granted. Then he, too, giggled. It was no light matter, though, when the city’s real-life commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, was asked whether he had ever fixed a ticket at a news conference after the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, unsealed those ticket-fixing indictments Oct. 28. Mr. Kelly said he had never fixed a ticket in his career with the department, nor had he ever been asked to. “If I was approached, I’d say no,” Mr. Kelly said. He pointed out that the long investigation, which involved wiretaps of officers’ phones, unveiled some evidence of officers’ declining to fix tickets. “The notion that everybody does it simply is not supported by what we heard on the tapes,” Mr. Kelly said. In truth, the question of whether Mr. Kelly had ever fixed a ticket came up well before the indictments were unsealed, because he has spent much of his adult life within the department, serving twice as commissioner. Some months ago, at the top of his regular e-mail list of press clippings, sent to 10,000 current and former officers, and others, Michael E. J. Bosak, a retired sergeant and police historian, focused on that question: “Where is Raymond Kelly in this mess?” he wrote. “He came up through the ranks — all the way up from a white shield patrolman in the 20 Precinct; sergeant in the 23 Pct.; lieutenant in the 10th Precinct, and captain in the 88 Precinct to police commissioner today. He’s knows how the system works; he is the system!” At that time, in the spring, Mr. Kelly declined an interview request, through a spokesman, citing the grand jury inquiry. “Whenever an allegation of ticket fixing came to the commissioner’s attention, it was pursued I.A.B.,” said the spokesman, Paul J. Browne, referring to the Internal Affairs Bureau. “And no, he never fixed a ticket or was party to fixing one.”

No Interdepartmental Subpoenas, Please

Commissioner Kelly makes plain his view on whether the Commission to Combat Police Corruption — a small city agency charged with monitoring the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau — deserves subpoena power: They do not, the commissioner believes. The question has come up repeatedly over the years as those who have tried to squeeze data from the department face roadblocks. In 2005, Mark F. Pomerantz, then chairman of the mayoral commission, told the City Council’s public safety committee that the commission had sought to review fraudulent claims for police overtime and sexual misconduct and domestic violence by officers, but was stymied by the department’s failure to provide information. The department insisted that the reviews were not within the panel’s mandate of examining corruption. Mr. Pomerantz said the panel would be more effective if it had subpoena power. In an interview that year, he told The New York Times that the panel also wanted to examine the integrity of the department’s crime statistics reporting following allegations that police commanders were downgrading some crimes to lesser offenses. On Nov. 2, Mr. Kelly said of that debate: “The argument we had was, ‘Hey, we all report to the same boss; if you want these documents we’ll give it to you.’ In other words, this is the mayor’s committee. You work for the mayor and we work for the mayor, so there was no need for subpoena power.” The following day, when several politicians called on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to create an independent commission to investigate what they contend is systemic corruption, a mayoral spokesman first referred the question back to the Police Department. After the police answered, however, the mayor’s office gave a similar answer of its own. The bottom line, the spokesman said: “There is absolutely no need to creating another layer of government here.” Al Baker, police bureau chief for The New York Times — and the son of a police lieutenant — brings you inside the nation’s largest police force every Thursday. Mr. Baker can be reached at OnePolicePlaza@nytimes.com.

Ex-Deputy Admits To Smuggling Contraband

2011-11-11T01:24:00.000-05:00

Ex-deputy admits to smuggling contraband into Fulton County jail
The Atlanta Crime Examiner by Kinathi Lewis - November 9, 2011

Dressed in a uniform and sporting a badge, Mr. Marvie Trevino Dingle was more of an undercover drug smuggler than a Fulton County Sheriff’s deputy. On Tuesday Mr. Dingle admitted to accepting bribes of more than $2,000 to smuggle drugs into and outside the Fulton County jail, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. And the cost of that payoff could mean up to 70 years for the ex-deputy who had been in the department for barely two years when he was caught. “Instead of protecting the public, this former deputy sheriff chose to sell his badge to protect drug deals,” U.S. Attorney Mrs. Sally Quillian Yates said. “We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who tarnish the badge of honest, hard-working law enforcement officers.” Mr. Dingle was the second former Fulton County law enforcement officer to plead guilty in federal court recently. On Oct. 24, Mr. Derick Deshun Frazier, 32, of Stockbridge, pleaded guilty to extortion under color of official right for accepting $300 to smuggle mobile telephones into the county jail, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. Mr. Dingle and Mr. Frazier were among eight people charged in June after the sheriff launched a contraband sting operation at the jail. Jailers, sheriff’s deputies and others were implicated in various smuggling plots, including attempts to bring marijuana, cocaine, cell phones and cigarettes into the jail to distribute inmates. They were also accused of selling drugs outside the jail. Federal investigators said on March 21, deputy Dingle accepted $700 from an undercover agent to deliver seven grams of a substance he believed to be cocaine to an inmate inside the jail. On April 22, deputy Dingle accepted $1,500 from an undercover agent to assist in delivering a kilogram of a substance he believed to be cocaine to a man in the Dunwoody area, the press release said. Mr. Dingle, 34, had only been a deputy with the department for one year and seven months, the Fulton County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ms. Tracy Flanagan said. The former deputy was indicted in June on two counts of attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine and two counts of extortion under color of official right, the press release said. He pleaded guilty to all counts and could receive up to 70 years in prison and a fine of up to $6,000,000 for the drug offenses and up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the extortion offenses. Mr. Dingle is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24 at 11:00 a.m.

----- FBI PRESS RELEASE:

ATLANTA, GA—Former Fulton County Deputy Sheriff MARVIE TREVINO DINGLE, JR ., 34, of Lithonia, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine and to accepting bribes of more than $2,000 to facilitate the distribution of cocaine inside and outside the Fulton County Jail. United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “Instead of protecting the public, this former deputy sheriff chose to sell his badge to protect drug deals. We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who tarnish the badge of honest, hard-working law enforcement officers.” Brian D Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said, “Public corruption investigations such as this continue to be a priority for the FBI due to the immense harm that can be caused from those that choose to disregard their sworn oaths. The FBI continues to work with its various law enforcement partners in such matters to further ensure that the public’s trust in its law enforcement community is not eroded by such individuals as Mr Dingle.” Fulton County Sheriff Theodore “Ted” Jackson said, “This sends a strong message that corrupt activity will not be tolerated at the Fulton County Jail. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is giving full cooperation to the FBI as agents continue their work. This investigation is vital to ensuring the safety and security of inmates and employees.” According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: On March 21, 2011, DINGLE, while employed as a deputy sheriff at the Fulton County Jail, accepted $700 from an undercover agent to deliver seven grams of a substance he believed to be cocaine to an inmate inside the jail. On April 22, 2011, DINGLE accepted $1,500 from an undercover agent to assist in delivering a kilogram of a substance he believed to be cocaine to a man in the Dunwoody area. DINGLE was indicted in June, 2011 on two counts of attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine and two counts of extortion under color of official right. He pleaded guilty to all counts of his indictment. He could receive a maximum sentence of 70 years in prison and a fine of up to $6,000,000 for the drug offenses and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the extortion offenses. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders. DINGLE is the second former Fulton County law enforcement officer to recently plead guilty in federal court. On October 24, 2011, former Detention Officer DERICK DESHUN FRAZIER, 32, of Stockbridge, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of extortion under color of official right for accepting $300 to smuggle mobile telephones into the county jail. Sentencing for DINGLE is scheduled for January 24, 2012, at 11:00 AM, before United States District Judge Amy Totenberg. This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Brent Alan Gray is prosecuting the case. For further information please contact Sally Q Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.

Editorial: Cop Betrayed Public Trust

2011-11-10T05:47:00.003-05:00

Faux traffic tickets written by New Orleans police officer were real corruption: An editorial
EDITORIAL - The Times-Picayune - November 9, 2011

NEW ORLEANS, LA - Glenn Gross betrayed the public trust and ripped off taxpayers as a New Orleans police officer when he wrote hundreds of phony tickets while working federally financed overtime shifts. The grant, which the New Orleans Police Department received in June, was meant to help enforce seatbelt laws. But investigators haven't been able to find a single legitimate ticket in the 215 that the 22-year veteran wrote over several months. While it isn't clear how much overtime money Mr. Gross pocketed, because of his scheme at least some grant money intended to promote public safety instead enriched a corrupt cop. Such dishonesty is repugnant, and it's a relief that Mr. Gross won't be writing any more tickets, real or fake. As part of a deal with the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office, he left the force and pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of malfeasance. Orleans Parish Criminal District Judge Camille Buras also sentenced him to five years probation -- something that the DA's office said was not part of the deal they made with him. But it's fitting that Mr. Gross faced stiffer consequences than just losing his job. He abused the public trust by lying and taking overtime pay he did not earn. When he was initially arrested, he was booked with 215 counts of injuring public records and a single count of malfeasance in office. The NOPD isn't alone in having problems with officers misusing federal grant money. William S. Marciante Jr., a St. Charles Parish Sheriff's deputy, was arrested last week after an investigation alleged that he had been filing false seat belt citations to motorists he had never stopped and claiming overtime pay. In that case, the deputy is accused of citing real motorists -- which is even more damaging to public trust since it subjected citizens to false accusations. In August, Carol Ney, a former Harahan police officer, was sentenced in federal court to two years probation and ordered to pay restitution for padding her time sheets to take advantage of a federal policing grant. The fact that police agencies in three different jurisdictions experienced problems with federal overtime grants is worrisome and points to the need for careful oversight of such programs. In the case of Mr. Gross and the New Orleans Police Department, there's an even more troubling pattern -- he joins a long list of New Orleans Police officers who are no longer on the force because they have been accused of breaking rules or the law. In the past 18 months, nearly 50 officers have been fired or have resigned or retired while under investigation. Those include high-profile cases, like the officers involved in the shooting of innocent civilians on the Danziger Bridge and the subsequent cover-up, and more prosaic wrongdoing, like Mr. Gross' phony ticket scam. All instances of police wrongdoing and corruption -- large and small -- damage public confidence in law enforcement and by extension, hurt efforts to make the community safer. It's a sign of progress that Mr. Gross was discovered quickly by an alert supervisor who saw a curious pattern and, as Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas put it, "did not turn his head'' but instead notified the Public Integrity Bureau. The NOPD needs to continue to root out the bad apples, and that requires continued vigilance. www.NOLA.com

Congratulations New York! Corruption Everywhere!

2011-11-09T07:22:00.003-05:00

NYPD copes with spate of corruption allegations; lawmakers calling for investigation
The Associated Press by Colleen Long - November 9, 2011

The Republic - Columbus, Indiana

NEW YORK, NY — Police officers accused of making traffic tickets disappear for friends. Cops arrested in a gun-running sting. An officer convicted of planting drugs on innocent people. The unusual spate of corruption and misconduct allegations at the New York Police Department is prompting cries for an investigation into whether there is an endemic problem or a few bad apples, drawing comparisons to past scandals and renewing questions about whether the Police department can effectively Police itself. "It's a lot of scandal hitting in a short period of time," said Fordham Law School professor James Cohen, who studies Police activity. "One could draw the inference that there's more out there. I think no one would think we've cleaned all that up." The biggest blow in terms of numbers came late last month when 16 officers were accused of corruption and other charges in the Bronx ticket-fixing scandal. The officers include an Internal Affairs Bureau lieutenant who is accused of tipping off the targets of the investigation, and union delegates charged with helping friends and family avoid paying tickets. Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said the actions cost the city up to $2 million in revenue. The day of their arraignments where they all pleaded not guilty, hundreds of Police officers stood outside, calling Commissioner Raymond Kelly a hypocrite, heckling residents and blocking journalists from getting inside. The cops held signs that read: "It's a courtesy, not a crime," and union officials said the longtime practice was not criminal. Just days before the scandal broke, five officers were arrested in a gun-running sting. And later, Brooklyn South Narcotics officer Jason Arbeeny was found guilty of misconduct for planting drugs on two innocent people.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach bashed the department after the Arbeeny trial exposed corruption and talk of downgrading crime at Police precincts. "I thought I was not naive regarding the reality of narcotics enforcement, but even this court was shocked, not only by the seeming pervasive scope of misconduct, but even more distressingly by the seeming casualness by which such conduct is deployed," Reichbach said. Separately, the cases could be dismissed as examples of a few rogue cops, or in the ticket-fixing case, minor infractions blown out of proportion. But taken together, lawmakers say, the accusations seem to indicate an alarming trend. They urged Mayor Michael Bloomberg to form a commission to investigate the NYPD, pointing to past investigations decades ago that inspired some change.

"The outbreak of corruption is staggering," said State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from Brooklyn. "The mayor can no longer ignore it." Part of the issue, though, is that politicians and citizens have short memories — and the problems of the past have never been fully addressed, experts say. "As we pointed out ..., unfortunately history has shown about every 20 years a new Police scandal erupts," said Justice Milton Mollen, a former deputy mayor and longtime judge who explored Police corruption two decades ago. "It's almost exactly 20 years from our report." And almost exactly 20 years before Mollen's commission was the Knapp Commission, which unearthed how plainclothes officers systematically collected protection money from gamblers and prostitutes. It was formed to look into the allegations of Frank Serpico, New York City's most famous cop whistleblower. Mollen's 1994 report covered the so-called "Dirty 30" scandal at the NYPD, where cops were accused of stealing cash from drug dealers, taking bribes, beating suspects and lying under oath to cover their tracks. The commission detailed a series of changes within the department that included an increased command responsibility, training and supervision. Many of the internal changes were implemented, but it also recommended the creation of an independent commission that would investigate corruption and have subpoena power. The Commission to Combat Police Corruption was created and still exists, but it lacks any power — and investigations are done only when the department asks for them. Mollen said he didn't know enough about the current-day cases and couldn't comment on them. But he said he believes Kelly has worked hard to combat corruption.

Under Kelly's watch, the department has probed allegations of downgraded crimes, changed its system for logging parking tickets, and beefed up the internal affairs bureau. Kelly said it was "difficult" to announce so many misconduct charges. "These misdeeds tarnish the good name and reputation of the vast majority of Police officers who perform their duties honestly," he said. Despite all the bad news, the commissioner remains popular. He's consistently considered the top candidate to succeed Bloomberg in 2013, though he has said he has no plans to run for office. But some of Kelly's policies are also under fire, and that threatens to shift his image, Cohen said. "He's Teflon, but I do think this is tarnishing him," he said. "There are too many incidents and criticisms coming from different areas." Renewed calls by lawmakers to curb the city's stop, question and frisk tactics came in recent weeks after the arrest of Officer Michael Daragjati on federal civil rights charges accusing him of casually using a racial slur in recounting the false stop and arrest of a black man. The 31-year-old man who was stopped is among hundreds of thousands of people who have been stopped, questioned and frisked by Police. In the past three years, more than 1 million have been stopped in New York — and only about 10 percent of those stops have resulted in Arrests. Daragjati has pleaded not guilty, but critics say the case is proof of what they have been arguing for years: The policy unfairly singles out black and Hispanic men. Department officials say the policy is essential for taking guns off the street and preventing crime in neighborhoods where men of color make up the vast majority of murder and shooting victims. Some city council members are seeking more oversight over the department because they felt left in the dark about intelligence programs that subjected Muslim neighborhoods to surveillance and scrutiny — revealed by an Associated Press investigation showing the Police monitored Muslim communities for reasons of ethnicity. The department says it only follows leads about allegations of potential wrongdoing. The cases brought against a couple dozen officers need to be put in perspective, experts said. Mollen added he did not want to pass judgment on any of the officers in the current cases, because they are presumed innocent until proven guilty. "These are isolated individuals. The vast majority of Police are not corrupt," he said. "If you have 35,000 Police officers ... think 35,000 clergymen, 35,000 lawyers, 35,000 ditch-diggers, you're going to find X percent are going to be corrupt." Associated Press writer Tom Hays contributed to this report.

Department of Justice Mum on Police Corruption Probe

2011-11-09T06:33:00.002-05:00

DOJ Doesn’t Update Police Probe During Meeting
KOAT.COM - November 8, 2011

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Community members said they left a Monday evening meeting disappointed after U.S. Department of Justice officials failed to update the status of a possible probe into the Albuquerque Police Department. Community members said they showed up Monday to get news about a possible investigation into APD after a rash of officer-involved shootings during the past year and a half. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hoses didn’t offer much information about what’s happening in Washington. “Right now, they're in the process of gathering information to determine whether or not there will be a full blown investigation, but I can't comment on that now, and I don't have any answers for you with respects to that question,” Hoses said. City leaders said they’ll cooperate with the DOJ if it decides to launch an investigation.

Two Cops Suspended In Handling of Another Cop's Crash

2011-11-08T05:50:00.002-05:00

Tuckahoe cops suspended for handling of NYPD officer's crash
The Journal News by Jonathan Bandler - November 8, 2011

TUCKAHOE, NY — Two village cops were suspended without pay for their handling of an accident last year involving a New York City police officer who may have been drunk, police Chief John Costanzo said Monday night. Costanzo issued a press release indicating that the department's investigation into the April 18, 2010, accident concluded with Sergeant John Cuccinello and police Officer Vincent Pinto accepting the suspension as "command discipline." The chief could not be reached for comment and the press release did not reveal the duration of the suspension or whether it was ongoing. Last week, Costanzo and the Westchester District Attorney's Office indicated there would be no criminal charges in the case. The investigations began in May of this year after www.DNAinfo.com posted a wiretap recording of a phone conversation in which one New York Police Department union delegate told another about the aftermath of the Tuckahoe accident and the effort to cover-up the fact that the officer in the accident had been drunk. The caller, officer Chris Letizia, discussed how Cuccinello, a friend of his, went to his Tuckahoe home just after the accident to solicit his help in convincing the "bombed" driver to accept summonses for property damage. The NYPD officer Letizia called was Joseph Anthony, one of the PBA's top-ranking delegates in the Bronx. The call was taped as part of a lengthy investigation by the Bronx District Attorney's Office into ticket-fixing by police. Anthony was among 16 NYPD cops indicted two weeks ago in the case. The driver in the accident, Michael Lazarou, had smashed his SUV into a decorative light pole and parking meter on Sagamore Road around the corner from his home. When Cuccinello and Pinto got to the scene, the car was gone. But Pinto followed a fluid trail and found the car, with Lazarou nearby, on Dante Avenue half a mile away. Lazarou's property damage summonses were dismissed last fall after his insurance company paid the village $17,600. Neither Tuckahoe officer agreed to be interviewed by the public integrity bureau of the District Attorney's Office, protecting their right against self-incrimination. But they were required to answer questions as part of the police department's internal probe and Costanzo said both men were interviewed. Costanzo's press release did not reveal what departmental rules the two officers violated. "The integrity and reputation of the Tuckahoe Police Department is paramount to every member of the department," Costanzo wrote in the press release. "I am proud of the service that each member provides and their involvement in addressing the needs of our community. Every day our members strive to earn the public's trust while providing first rate police services."

DOJ Views Albuquerque Police Department Wrongdoings

2011-11-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

APD shootings still under investigation

KRQE by Hawa Konte - November 6, 2011
DOJ to meet with activists regarding APD shootings

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A meeting is expected to happen Monday between local activists and U.S. Department of Justice officials, this regarding the long list of recent APD officer-involved shootings. Twenty people have been shot by Albuquerque police since last January. Of those 14 were killed. Community activists, and family members of some of the people killed, have been calling for a federal investigation of APD. Latino and black activists say they will meet Monday evening with two justice department attorneys to review allegations of civil rights abuses. Earlier this year, Mayor R.J. Berry vetoed a city council resolution that requested a formal justice department review of the police shootings. The mayor pointed to a separate independent review that resulted in a long list of recommendations for the police department. APD and city officials are now in the process of implementing suggested changes, like requiring more training for officers and changing hiring criteria. Justice department officials have still not said if a full-scale investigation is necessary.

----- RELATED/BACKGROUND STORY:

Albuquerque City Council invites DOJ to investigate controversy-ridden police department
The New Mexico Independent by Mikhail Zinshteyn - September 20, 2011

The conviction and sentencing of officer Brad Ahrensfield for tampering with a federal investigation put the spotlight back on Albuquerque’s law enforcement agency as the city council battles with the mayor in permitting the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the city’s police department for its high rate of shootings. While the two incidents were unrelated, Ahrensfield’s crimes and APD’s ongoing struggles with its officers brandishing guns compound the frustrations city officials and residents have with the police force. Last night, the city council voted unanimously to invite the Justice Department to look into 20 police-involved shooting incidents in 20 months, a symbolic gesture that nonetheless gave elected officials a platform to express that not enough is being done to reform ADP and preclude Mayor Richard J. Berry from vetoing the council’s second attempt to move the resolution forward. “We need change. We need the council to come forth and do what’s right for the people. We the people are talking to you, listen,” pleaded Mike Gomez, the father of Alan Gomez who was shot and killed by APD. Still though, the vote is purely symbolic. “We don’t really have the ability to ask the Department of Justice, come in, this is what you need to do. That is a decision the Department of Justice makes on its own,” said Councilman Rey Garduño. The bill they passed back in August essentially pushed for the DOJ to investigate. That bill narrowly passed, but was vetoed by Mayor Berry. Not all councilors agreed with it. “I just don’t support the DOJ coming in. I think the administration is taking care of all the issues and I think it’ll happen sooner than later,” said Councilman Brad Winter. The new resolution basically says if the DOJ decides to investigate APD, council and the mayor will support it. So is it a waste of time to debate something council has no power to enforce? Councilors on both sides say no. “That’s what government is about. It’s to have public comment, listen to people voice their concerns, so it’s never a waste of time for that,” said Winter. “There’s never a time where we can’t listen to the community. I think the community has asked for this, they’ve pleaded for this. If anything, we’ve wasted their time by not acting a little sooner,” said Garduño. Meanwhile, Ahrensfield was ordered to serve six months in jail, and one day in federal prison, for tipping off a friend who owned a car dealership that federal investigators were monitoring his business for possible contraband and drug activity. Ahrensfield faced a possible sentence of 20 years, though the judge looked favorably at his clean record and military service.

Former Cop Indicted On Felony Forgery Charges, Illegally Requested Phone Records

2011-11-07T03:32:00.000-05:00

Former Frankfort officer indicted on felony forgery charges
The Utica Observer-Dispatch by Amanda Fries and Rocco LaDuca - November 4, 2011

HERKIMER, NY — The former Frankfort village police officer accused of illegally requesting phone records in March 2010 was indicted on felony forgery charges Friday afternoon, according to Herkimer County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Carpenter. Daniel Herrman, 39, was charged with two counts of felony second-degree forgery and two counts of misdemeanor official misconduct, Carpenter said and could face up to seven years in prison if convicted. In August 2010, Samuel Ameduri III alleged that his constitutional rights to privacy were violated when Herrman — one of his colleagues — falsified an emergency information request form and sent it to Verizon Wireless with the intent to obtain Ameduri's personal records, according to O-D archives. According to the emergency request form presented to an O-D reporter, the records request was around the same time as Ameduri said the former village police Chief Steven Conley had choked him in an attempt to get him to change his sworn statement about a civil case in which village resident Harold Griffin claimed Conley wrongfully arrested him. Carpenter wouldn’t comment Friday on whether Herrman’s current charges are related to the allegations made by Ameduri. It was unclear whose records Herrman was obtaining. When asked whether anyone else could face a possible arrest in this case, Carpenter said “It’s still an open investigation.” Herrman pleaded not guilty in front of Judge Patrick Kirk, after being arrested on a warrant somewhere in Utica, Carpenter said. After his appearance, Herrman was committed to Herkimer County jail on $10,000 cash, $20,000 bail bond. He is due back in court at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 10. The Village Board in July 2010 voted to remove Herrman from the police force, which also is when Conley announced his retirement. With his retirement came a swarm of allegations in regards to Conley’s leadership centered on Herrman. Aside from the fact that Herrman’s signature allegedly was found on the emergency request form, he also was never certified during his 15 months with the village police.

Former Cop Gets 20 Years for Molesting 12-year-old Girl

2011-11-07T01:01:00.000-05:00

Former Atlanta cop sentenced to 20 years for molesting 12-year-old girl
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by Christian Boone - November 4, 2011

A veteran Atlanta police investigator was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday after a jury convicted him on two counts each of child molestation and sexual battery. Wilson Carstaffin, 46, met his 12-year-old victim in November 2007 while working a side job as a resource officer at a middle school. According to prosecutors, Carstaffin summoned the girl, who has a slight developmental disability, from class and instructed her to meet him after school at a nearby church. The Fulton County District Attorney's office said Carstaffin picked the girl up in his car and began fondling her, at one point asking his victim if he could be her boyfriend. Carstaffin kept the girl for hours save for one 15-minute stretch when he went to meet his wife. Prosecutors say he dropped the girl off, unattended, at a nearby gas station and returned to pick her up. He resumed fondling the 12-year-old before finally taking her home. The girl's father tried to contact the officer for an explanation, but Carstaffin never responded. Eventually the girl told one of her teachers what had happened inside the officer's car. An APD investigation followed, resulting in Carstaffin's arrest, indictment and dismissal from the force. Carstaffin was also sentenced to 20 years probation, which he'll serve following his prison sentence.

Police Department Management Debacle

2011-11-07T01:00:00.001-05:00

Boynton Beach fires police officer, its sixth to face legal troubles this year
The Palm Beach Post by Julius Whigham II - November 4, 2011

BOYNTON BEACH, FL — A city police officer accused of using unnecessary force has been fired from the department for the second time in the past four years. Officer David Coffey was dismissed Oct. 24 after an internal affairs investigation determined he slammed a restaurant patron into a video-game console without ever trying to handcuff him while making an arrest Jan. 16 . Coffey's latest dismissal comes while the 160-member department is under scrutiny after the arrests of five other officers this year. On Tuesday, with Police Chief Matthew Immler in attendance, city commissioners said they will review how Boynton Beach hires and supervises its police officers. According to the internal affairs report, Coffey responded to a disturbance at the Carolina Ale House on North Congress Avenue and arrested a patron, Floyd Selleck, on charges of obstruction of justice and resisting arrest without violence. Coffey, who will turn 31 Saturday, wrote that Selleck was "highly intoxicated" and approached a fellow officer while the officer was escorting another patron out of the bar. Selleck, however, filed a complaint Feb. 1, alleging that Coffey used unnecessary force. Selleck alleged that he had been talking with another officer after an altercation at the restaurant when Coffey grabbed him, threw him to the ground and slammed him into the machine . Witnesses, including three off-duty West Palm Beach Police officers, indicated that Coffey used excessive force. It was unclear this evening whether Coffey would fight the city's decision. It is the second time that the department has fired Coffey. The first was in 2007 after an investigation found that he had improperly used a Taser on a suspected drunk driver who was being kept in a holding cell. An arbitrator later determined that Coffey could regain his job, and he was rehired in December 2008. Of the five officers who have been arrested this year, one other was fired. Former officer David Britto was terminated after he fled to Brazil while awaiting trial for charges of trafficking methamphetamine. Three others - Michael Mulcahy, Alex Lindsey and Kenneth Magielski - have been placed on administrative duty after their arrests on charges ranging from DUI to official misconduct. Former officer Michael Arco resigned after being charged with official misconduct and giving false information. Coffey is also facing charges stemming from an incident involving a fellow police officer in April. He was charged with improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon and culpable negligence. Boynton police officer Rachel Loy accused Coffey of sneaking up behind her and activating his department-issued Taser after placing inches behind her ear. Coffey is scheduled to face a case disposition hearing for those charges on Friday morning. Staff Writer Cynthia Roldan contributed to this report

Former School Security Officer Arrested on Child Porn

2011-11-06T18:05:00.002-05:00

Former Birmingham City Schools Security Officer Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

The Herald News - November 5, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, AL— FBI agents today arrested a former Birmingham City Schools security officer and substitute bus driver for Shelby County Schools on child pornography charges, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley. A joint investigation by Birmingham Police and the FBI led to this morning’s arrest of MICHAEL WAYNE WOOTEN, 60, of Alabaster. Wooten was arrested in Bessemer. He is charged in a criminal complaint with receiving child pornography and with possessing a computer, computer disk, and other material containing child pornography. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert R. Armstrong Jr. detained Wooten following an initial court appearance this morning. Armstrong scheduled a detention hearing for Wooten at 1:30 p.m. Monday. “Birmingham Police and the FBI worked diligently in this case to take someone who preys on children off the streets,” Vance said. “This investigation uncovered sexually explicit photographs we believe were taken in a studio Wooten set up in a closed Birmingham school building,” Vance said. “Not all victims shown in the photographs have been identified, and the investigation continues. We ask that anyone who believes they may have any information related to this case please call the FBI, toll free, at 1-866-372-0209. The call will be returned,” Vance said. According to an FBI affidavit supporting the arrest complaint, results of a forensic examination of Wooten’s computer were received by investigators in October and showed graphic pornographic images of at least five girls who appear to be under age 12. The pictures show the children involved in sexually explicit conduct, including images that depict Wooten engaging in actual or simulated sexual intercourse, according to the affidavit. The pictures appear to have been taken in the office of Dupuy Elementary, a closed school building in the Birmingham City School System, according to the affidavit. Wooten worked as a security officer for Birmingham City Schools from July 1997 until May 2011. In that capacity, he did not have unsupervised access to students, according to Birmingham Schools spokeswoman Michaelle Chapman. A Shelby County Schools official said Wooten qualified for a bus-driving license with the system this year after passing all pre-employment requirements, including a criminal background review. Wooten has substituted on 21 days since school started Aug. 11, the official said. Wooten told investigators in April 2010 that he shared the office at Dupuy Elementary School with another security guard. Wooten said he set up a studio at the office to photograph children in order to build his art portfolio. A Birmingham Police officer and an FBI agent searched the office in April 2010 after law enforcement was alerted that Wooten had taken a 9-year-old girl to the empty school and photographed her in several outfits, including sexually explicit costumes, the affidavit states. In the search, the officers found five plastic bins containing girls’ clothing, including dresses, bathing suits, and thong underwear. Only the 9-year-old girl has been identified and interviewed by law enforcement. Investigators hope to identify the other children in the photographs, and any other children who might be victims in the case. Birmingham Police and the FBI investigated the case, with assistance from Birmingham City Schools’ security. Hoover and Alabaster police assisted in today’s arrest. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Fortune.

Two Elite Crime-Fighting Cops Arrested

2011-11-06T11:16:00.002-05:00

Fort Lauderdale Police 'NW Raiders'

The South Florida Times by Elgin Jones - November 4, 2011

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Two members of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s elite "NW Raiders" crime-fighting unit have been arrested on numerous counts of corruption. They surrendered Thursday night. Detectives Brian Dodge and Billy Koepke are charged with multiple counts; including kidnapping, extortion, theft, making threats, and false arrest. They are being held in the Broward Main Jail pending bail and will be placed on house arrest. Dogde and Koepke, along with Fort Lauderdale detective Matthew Moceri and their sergeant, Michael Florenco, were under investigation by the Broward State Attorney’s Office and the FBI over a suspicious drug arrest. Its details were first reported in a June 15 South Florida Times article. The officers are accused of robbing drug dealers of cash and contraband and kidnapping them at gunpoint to participate in drug operations. Both Dodge and Koepke are accused of committing the following crimes: Racketeering, kidnapping, extortion, five counts of false imprisonment, five counts of grand theft and two counts of falsifying records. In addition, Dodge was charged with forgery and perjury.

Broward Circuit Judge Martin J. Bidwell signed the arrest warrants Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors decided not to bring charges against Florenco and Moceri, but it has not been explained why. Sources say that even though they will not face criminal charges, they will be terminated from their jobs. All four officers were placed on paid administrative leave on April 18 after the department was informed of the investigation. The investigation initially centered on the Aug. 24 arrest of Junior Jerome, 25, of Oakland Park and Dieudson Nore, 22, of Lauderdale Lakes. They were charged with cocaine possession and delivery. The alleged informant, it turned out, is reported to have been an unwilling participant who was forced to take part in the operation. Out of safety considerations, South Florida Times is not identifying the informant. The arranged drug deal was scheduled to take place at the Red Roof Inn, 4800 N. Powerline Road, Oakland Park. According to the police report, the Northwest Raiders received a tip from the person identified as the informant that Jerome and Nore would deliver crack cocaine at the hotel. “As we approached, I responded to the driver’s side and Det. Dodge to the passenger side. I then observed Junior drop from his right hand an open M&M container to the floor on the driver’s side and several pieces of the suspected crack cocaine came out,” said the police report compiled by Koepke and Dodge. Video from the hotel’s surveillance cameras confirmed those accounts were fabricated. Charges were dropped against the two men and the investigation of the officer began. The arrests are the first for the FBI's anti-public corruption task force that is quietly operating in Broward County.

Trooper vs. Cop

2011-11-06T10:41:00.003-05:00

Trooper vs. Miami cop: police, public see clash differently
The Miami Herald by Diana Moskovitz and David Ovalle - November 5, 2011

A dashboard video cam that captured the image of Florida state trooper Donna Jane Watts marching a uniformed, handcuffed Miami police officer to her squad car, all the while berating him for speeding, has sparked a figurative slugfest in the blogosphere that seems to be intensifying by the hour. The core issue that has transfixed Miami’s law enforcement community in the past few days appears to be this: whether Watts, a trooper with a no-nonsense attitude, crossed the line when she sped south on Florida’s Turnpike behind the police car of Miami officer Fausto Lopez, as he broke speed limits to get to an early-morning off-duty assignment. When Lopez finally stopped — and there is considerable debate over whether he was traveling the previously reported 120 miles per hour — Watts approached him like any other suspect and not a brother officer on the side of the dark road. She pulled her sidearm — highly unusual for a speeding stop — aimed and shouted at him as she approached. Then she cuffed him and escorted him back to her vehicle. Therein lies the firestorm. Watts violated one of the unwritten rules of the profession: It holds that an officer should try at all costs to avoid pulling over a fellow officer for minor infractions. Kick it to the higher ups and let them hash it out. “This is not police corruption,’’ said retired North Miami Police Maj. Bob Lynch, a police instructor. “These are not criminal offenses, but traffic violations.” He says he warns his classes: “Don’t ever put yourself, on-duty, in a position where you’re asking for a confrontation.” Many outside law enforcement are also upset, but for an entirely different reason. They want to know why any officer would feel he or she has carte blanche to break laws they have been sworn to uphold. Or, as Herald reader Joe Canas of Kendall said in response to an online query, echoing many: “I can’t remember a single time where a police car was ever following posted speed limits. All of them — and I mean all of them save for FHP — get on the left-most side of the highway and speed with impunity.” Lynch and other trainers say both law officers are to blame — Lopez for speeding enough to warrant FHP attention, and Watts for agitatedly handcuffing a uniformed officer, despite his polite protests. “I felt the gun should have been put away and I don’t think she should have made the physical arrest,” said Francis “Bucky” Greene, a former Miami-Dade sergeant and retired police trainer. “If she called a supervisor to come to the scene, I think the guy would have his [city-owned] car taken away on the spot.”

VIRAL VIDEO

Fueled by anger from both law enforcement and citizens, the video of the traffic stop has gone viral. Officers have mocked Watts in online postings, doctoring photos. Conversely, Watts supporters have started a Facebook page. Here is what is known about the early morning incident from Oct. 11: Watts, while on patrol, spotted a police cruiser whiz past her in the southbound lanes of Florida’s Turnpike in Broward. In her report, Watts would write that Lopez was weaving in and out of traffic at speeds of more than 120 miles per hour. With lights and sirens blazing, she began following the sedan. A recording later released by FHP at the request of the news media showed that superiors tried unsuccessfully by radio to get Watts to stand down and “back off.” But she did not. Ultimately, Watts released Lopez after issuing him a ticket charging reckless driving, a second-degree misdemeanor. And then there are the unknowns: Since she pulled her firearm, Watts must have thought she was in danger, so why didn’t she wait for backup? Once she realized it was a fellow law enforcement officer, why didn’t she request a supervisor? Did the chaotic back-and-forth over the radio prevent Watts from hearing the admonition to “back off?” Lopez would later say he hadn’t realized the flashing lights of the FHP squad car were for him and he moved to another lane to get out of the way. He has hired a lawyer. Miami’s police union had harsh words for the trooper. “The law enforcement community is not upset with her because for her traffic summons,’’ Miami Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Javier Ortiz told The Herald. “We’re upset with her because of her reckless behavior in pulling a firearm on a uniformed patrolman in a marked patrol unit.” In the aftermath, an online law enforcement message board, LeoAffairs.com, exploded with opinions, many threatening toward Watts. His photo has been plastered across the Internet, sometimes digitally altered to include a bottle of vodka.

RE-ENACTMENT

Uniformed Hialeah officers posed for a photo comically re-enacting the episode. The make-believe Watts is a male wearing a blonde, curly wig to mimic the real trooper. “It’s the classic thin blue line,” Lynch said, explaining the backlash and not his own feelings toward the incident. “One of my buddies gets shafted, and we all think it’s wrong. We’re all going to defend him and sometimes it gets out of hand. It’s childish and it needs to stop.” This wasn’t the first time the decision of an officer to ticket another officer has been questioned. In 1997, a confrontation between two officers that began with a traffic stop vaulted into prime time news across the country after it was caught on camera. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office pulled over Metro-Dade police Maj. Aaron Campbell because he changed lanes without signaling. Campbell, who is black, believed he was pulled over because of racial profiling and because he was driving a new car with Miami-Dade license tags. Deputies denied the accusation. The confrontation resulted in a full-blown trial, a lawsuit that was later dropped and a lot of bad feelings. In 2006, the issue arose again when Miami police Lt. Armando Bello got news that his son, a Miami-Dade officer, had been critically injured in an off-duty crash. Bello, in the Florida Keys when he got word of the accident, jumped in his Mercedes and raced north. FHP trooper Jose Burgos ticketed him for going 91 in a 55-mph zone. In later reviewing the ticket amid an outpouring of criticism, FHP said the trooper didn’t know about the crash, which resulted in the death of Bello’s son. This isn’t the first time Watts has ticketed a fellow cop. Broward court records show she cited Miami Beach officer Philip Elmore in June for going 82 in a 55 mph zone. The case went to trial and Elmore was convicted but adjudication was withheld, according to records. The records did not indicate if Elmore was on or off duty or what kind of vehicle he was driving. Watts became a deputy with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office in 2003. Before coming to South Florida, she patrolled the western Panhandle for FHP. In 2008, she was among a dozen or more troopers honored for making more than 100 drunk-driving arrests the prior year.

COMMENDATIONS

Lopez , a Miami cop for five years, has received several commendations for good work, according to his personnel jacket. Earlier for this year, he was written up for failing to immediately report damage to the driver’s side fender of his cruiser. And his record shows a driving complaint reported to internal affairs in 2009, but it doesn’t show how it was resolved. His lawyer, Bill Matthewman, said he understood that it was dismissed. “You know, for being on the street that long and having no complaints of any merit at all, it shows that he is a very level-headed and reasonable officer who treats people fairly,” Mattewman said. Outside the law enforcement community, the response to the incident has little to do with Lopez’s record. Many are nursing a grudge, saying they’ve spent a lifetime watching police cars bob and weave through traffic at reckless speeds, and switch their lights and sirens on and off at intersections, solely to avoid obeying traffic lights. “Many times I see Dade-based police speeding north in Broward County,” said Sean Schwinghammer of Miami Lakes. “I have called police departments about it regularly and reported the numbers on the back of the cruisers. Only once was I called back, and they told me they would deal with it.” Dennis Chang of Miami concurred that police drive as if the laws apply to others and not them, adding: “If we are observing the speed limit, why aren’t they?” On the LEO website used by law officers, one person posted: “Please know tonight that citizens across this country are reading your posts….I support law enforcement but am telling you now that you are and will lose in the COURT of PUBLIC OPINION on this issue if you continue to debate this in open forums.’’ Ultimately, the stop and the furor it has generated underscores a characteristic of many professions, not just law enforcement, said professor Dennis Kenney, a former Polk County law officer who teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Each profession has its courtesies, fair or not — and citizens can feel slighted when officers catch a break from a fellow cop. “They are right,’’ Kenney said. “The law should apply evenly to everyone. To the citizen who is getting the ticket, it’s expensive. To the officer writing the ticket, it’s work product,’’ something they do all day, every day. El Nuevo Herald staff writer Alfonso Chardy contributed to this report. dovalle@MiamiHerald.com

Police Chief Arrested By FBI

2011-11-05T08:18:00.002-04:00

East Washington police chief, protection offer linked
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review by Brian Bowling - November 1, 2011

A Washington County police chief agreed to buy Tasers and act as protection for people he thought were drug dealers, an FBI agent testified on Monday. Three days after the FBI arrested East Washington police Chief Donald Solomon, 55, authorities explained how he violated the Hobbs Act, which prohibits government officials from using their positions to extort money. Solomon pleaded not guilty. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert C. Mitchell ordered him held without bail, saying the chief presented himself to undercover agents as "the best cop that money could buy" and bragged about killing people or having others kill for him. Assistant Federal Public Defender Marketa Sims argued for Solomon's release because he has no history of violence or crime before the charges. She said agents coaxed him into bragging about killing people or having others hurt or kill people, but there is no evidence he's done any of that. "He's suddenly blossomed into this violent, Tony Soprano figure? That's not what we know about people," she said. East Washington Solicitor Cary Jones said borough officials did not expect the charges because the council never received a complaint about Solomon during his two years as chief or the previous two decades as a part-time police officer. "I just think it was a shock to people on borough council and borough residents because it seems out of character," Jones said. Solomon has always been "polite, professional, friendly, hard working, intelligent -- he just did his job." FBI Special Agent Joseph Bieshelt testified that police were investigating a drive-by shooting that damaged a car and the house where Solomon's ex-girlfriend lived this year. The car belonged to her current boyfriend, Bieshelt said.

The investigation led them to Solomon, who agreed to supply Tasers, restricted to law enforcement use, for an undercover FBI agent posing as a drug dealer, the agent said. Solomon also agreed to provide protection for two fake drug deals conducted by undercover agents, the indictment states. The agents paid Solomon $500 "per kilogram" for the protection, according to the indictment. Sims said there would be little argument about the facts in the case, but considerable debate over how they should be interpreted. The FBI coaxed Solomon into making threats against his ex-girlfriend and an unnamed borough councilman, and he went along with them because he was desperate for the money they offered, Sims said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Cessar argued that Solomon is a danger to himself and the community because he was recorded repeatedly threatening his ex-girlfriend, the councilman and others, as well as telling a friend that he'd shoot himself rather than go to jail. He said the drive-by shooting happened before the FBI got involved. Authorities did not elaborate in court about Solomon's alleged boasts of killing people. Solomon appeared in court unshaven and wearing red jail garb. Other than responding to questions from Mitchell, he remained silent. Solomon's arrest took borough officials by surprise. On Friday, Mayor Mark Pacilla, who oversees the police department, said that Solomon was suspended with pay. A community of 2,234 people, East Washington neighbors the county seat. Part of Washington & Jefferson College sits within its limits. Timothy D. Johnson, 40, of Washington also was arraigned yesterday. During Solomon's hearing, authorities identified Johnson as the man who shot the car and house. He is charged only with illegal possession and transfer of a silencer. Mitchell ordered Johnson held without bail. Johnson's lawyer, Lee Markovitz, said after the hearing that Johnson is a truck driver who has been steadily employed with no criminal record since he got out of the Army in 1992. Johnson made a "somewhat inculpatory" statement to investigators when he thought that he wouldn't be charged in the case, Markovitz said. Brian Bowling can be reached at bbowling@tribweb.com or 412-325-4301.

Cop Charged With Obstruction and Civil Rights Violations

2011-11-04T03:21:00.003-04:00

Dolton cop charged with civil rights violations, obstruction
The Chicago Tribune - WGN Radio by Steve Schmadeke - November 1, 2011

DOLTON, ILLINOIS - A Dolton police officer was arrested Tuesday and charged with “unlawfully” striking two people in the head and later threatening to hurt the town’s police chief for cooperating with a federal investigation into the assaults. Patrol officer Kevin Fletcher, 34, of South Holland, has been on desk duty since 2009 after allegations of a civil-rights violation, said Dolton spokeswoman TaQuoya Kennedy. He was not arrested at work, she said. Fletcher pleaded not guilty Tuesday to two counts of violating civil rights by using excessive force and one count of obstruction of justice. He was released on a $15,000 secured bond, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. On May 17, 2009, Fletcher was allegedly acting as a police officer when he struck two Calumet City residents in the head with a law-enforcement-style baton, according to an indictment made public Tuesday. Less than a year later, he allegedly “threatened to cause bodily injury” to then-Chief Robert Fox for turning over records to a grand jury investigating the civil-rights violations and providing information to the FBI, the indictment says. The south suburb has “fully cooperated” during the investigation, Kennedy said. “We recognize that the misfortune falls upon the officer, but it also falls upon the community and the entire police force,” Kennedy said in an email. “We will continue to do all that we can to help resolve this matter.” The department has had issues with officers using excessive force. During the same month Fletcher allegedly struck two people, another Dolton police officer, Christopher Lloyd, was caught on camera allegedly breaking a special-needs student’s nose because the 15-year-old boy hadn’t tucked in his shirt. Lloyd was fired after the incident, officials said at the time. sschmadeke@tribune.com

Cop Pleads Guilty, Resigns After Coercion Incident

2011-11-04T02:08:00.000-04:00

Cop Pleads Guilty, Resigns After Coercion Incident in East Meadow

The East Meadow Patch by Geoffrey Walter - November 2, 2011

Officer pleads guilty to misconduct after sexually inappropriate behavior during traffic stop.

A Nassau County police officer from the Third Precinct pled guilty and resigned Wednesday after being charged with official misconduct in relation to a traffic stop in East Meadow during which he reportedly coerced a woman into touching him sexually. The former officer, Garrett Mannerz, had served as a Nassau County police officer since November 2005. He resigned at 12:25 p.m. on Wednesday and is ineligible for a NCPD pension. Mannerz, 34, was arrested on June 15 following an investigation by the Nassau District Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Bureau in conjunction with the Nassau County Police Department Internal Affairs Unit (IAU). According to Nassau DA Kathleen Rice, Mannerz stopped a vehicle that was travelling in the vicinity of Hempstead Turnpike and Newbridge Road in East Meadow on Feb. 27, 2011. Three women in their early 20s were inside the car. After performing field sobriety tests on the driver, Mannerz ordered one of the passengers out of the car, asked for her phone number and had the woman walk over to his patrol car where he told her that if she “did something for him,” then he would allow the driver to leave the location without receiving a summons or being charged criminally, Rice said. According to Rice, after allowing the women to leave, Mannerz then began to place sexually suggestive calls to the woman. He was arrested after the victim recorded one of the phone calls and brought it to police. Hon. John Kase sentenced Mannerz to 80 hours of community service and issued orders of protection prohibiting Mannerz from contacting the three women who were in the car and granted a conditional discharge. Mannerz had been facing up to seven years in prison on multiple charges, including felony bribe receiving, but a plea deal knocked the case down to a single misdemeanor official misconduct charge. “Garrett Mannerz abused his authority by taking advantage of a woman while on duty, and his conduct was a disgrace to the Nassau County Police Department,” Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement. “Nassau County is a safer place with Garrett Mannerz off the police force.”

Experts Say NYPD Isn’t Policing Itself

2011-11-03T06:15:00.002-04:00

Experts Say N.Y. Police Dept. Isn’t Policing Itself

The New York Times by William K. Rashbaum, Joseph Goldstein and Al Baker - November 2, 2011

Seven narcotics investigators are convicted of planting drugs on people to meet arrest quotas. Eight current and former patrol officers are charged with smuggling guns into the state. Another is charged with making a false arrest, apparently as a favor for his cousin. Three more are convicted of robbing a perfume warehouse. All these cases involved New York City police officers and unfolded or were resolved in recent months. But beyond the fact of criminal charges against those sworn to protect the public, they all had another thing in common: Each case was uncovered by an outside agency, not the Internal Affairs Bureau of the New York Police Department, the unit responsible for unearthing and investigating officers’ wrongdoing. This spate of unrelated corruption prosecutions, and what some see as the Internal Affairs Bureau’s spotty record of uncovering major cases involving crooked officers, raise questions about the department’s ability to police itself, said nearly a dozen current and former prosecutors who have handled corruption cases, as well as some current and former Internal Affairs supervisors and investigators. Several of them blamed a lack of effective outside oversight of the department’s anticorruption program, characterizing the monitoring as weak at best in recent years, with monitors having neither the political will to press the department nor support from City Hall. They also cited low starting salaries for new officers, poor morale, recruits drawn from a smaller pool of qualified candidates and a hidebound Internal Affairs Bureau bureaucracy. For his part, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly disputed any weaknesses in Internal Affairs, saying it was as aggressive as ever, if not more so, and noting that its ranks and budget had swelled even as the department’s manpower and budget had been cut back. He said Internal Affairs officers were front and center in making several of the recent cases. The case of the corrupt narcotics investigators — seven have been convicted, one on Wednesday at a trial where testimony suggested that such conduct was pervasive — was initially uncovered by the office of the Queens district attorney, Richard A. Brown. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and Manhattan, have uncovered other cases, and the case of the officers convicted in September of the armed robbery of the perfume warehouse was uncovered by the Carlstadt, N.J., police and the F.B.I.

Another sensational case that became public with the indictments of 16 officers last week — a long-running investigation of ticket-fixing in the Bronx — was indeed uncovered by Internal Affairs. But that was hardly a clean-cut coup. Several people involved in the matter said the bureau initially did not want to pursue the ticket case, directing investigators instead to focus more narrowly on a drug case against one officer that had prompted it. Police officials vehemently disputed that version of events. With the ticket-fixing indictments on Friday, and the announcement three days earlier of the charges accusing eight current and former officers of smuggling M-16 assault rifles, Commissioner Kelly twice found himself standing at news conferences talking about the arrests of officers. In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Kelly, joined by Chief Charles V. Campisi, the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau, said the budget for the bureau had risen to $66 million, from about $41 million in 2001. “We have increased the staffing in I.A.B., core I.A.B., we have increased it by over 100 from 2001 to the present,” Mr. Kelly said. He added, “The vast majority of cases I.A.B. does are initiated by I.A.B.” Mr. Kelly said previously that as a result of the ticket-fixing investigation, in which some officers were accused of altering their testimony in traffic court, he had assigned additional officers from other commands to monitor traffic court testimony. Chief Campisi said the officer who had been charged with making a false arrest for his cousin was already being investigated by Internal Affairs, though for a different matter, when the F.B.I. began investigating him. He said the case of the narcotics officers was, for the most part, an Internal Affairs case, even if the original arrests of falsely accused civilians first came under scrutiny by the Queens district attorney’s office. And Mr. Kelly and Mr. Campisi said that the Carlstadt department was first involved in investigating the perfume warehouse robbery only because the crime occurred there, and that as soon as the role of New York officers was revealed, Internal Affairs joined in. There is a tiny city agency responsible for monitoring the Internal Affairs Bureau: the Mayor’s Commission to Combat Police Corruption. But it has no subpoena power — it must rely on the department’s good will, and its modest budget and staff of five are spread thin.

A new study by the Citizens Crime Commission in New York, provided by Richard Aborn, its president, shows that other major municipal police departments are overseen by agencies that do have subpoena power and can focus more broadly on misconduct. The chairman of the mayor’s commission, Michael F. Armstrong, served in the 1970s as the counsel to the Knapp Commission, which grew out of one of the Police Department’s worst scandals. Mr. Armstrong said he felt his current panel was doing an effective job and praised the department’s anticorruption efforts. But he acknowledged that the commission was significantly limited in what it could do. One former Internal Affairs Bureau investigator who was involved in scores of cases in recent years said the number of corruption complaints — “logs” in police parlance — had been on the rise, climbing to about 65,000 a year from about 45,000 a year in a little under a decade. The bureau’s top management classifies those complaints into three categories: “corruption,” the most serious; “misconduct,” which includes off-duty and less serious wrongdoing; and “outside guidelines” cases, the least serious. They are known as C, M and OG cases. While the number of C cases has hovered at about 1,000 a year for that entire period, the former Internal Affairs investigator said, many in Internal Affairs believe that number is kept artificially constant. “They hold steady miraculously,” said the former Internal Affairs investigator, who insisted on anonymity for fear of retaliation. A number of current and former prosecutors said that the Internal Affairs Bureau, when it is brought in on a case, often provided invaluable assistance. Most added that they had never seen bureau supervisors or Chief Campisi, who starts work between 4 and 5 a.m., seek to cover up misconduct. Several praised his work and commitment. But others, and current and former Internal Affairs Bureau supervisors and investigators, said the crushing weight of its bureaucratic approach to investigations — put in place, they say, because officials feared criticism by the Mayor’s Commission to Combat Police Corruption — kept it focused on small-bore cases and did more to generate paperwork than productive investigations. Current and former Internal Affairs investigators said very little of the bureau’s day-to-day effort was spent trying to identify corruption or spot worrisome trends and practices among the police. “We don’t have anything proactive where we can sit there and think like cops and track corruption,” the former Internal Affairs investigator said. “There is no real detective work going on.” The person added, “Everything in I.A.B. is all reactive.” The former Internal Affairs investigator said that nearly all investigative work was spent looking into the thousands of complaints it received each year, many of which were brought anonymously, often with the complainant unable to identify the suspect officers. While some logs look promising, others seem like dead-ends. But such cases are never closed after a cursory review, and even the least promising require months of intermittent investigation before they may be closed out. “No matter how outlandish it is,” the person said, “they’ll do a 60 or 70 page file on it.”

The Blue Wall Cracks, Cops Approve Corruption

2011-11-03T05:44:00.002-04:00

The Blue Wall Cracks: NYPD Officers Approve Corruption
The Epoch Times by John Christopher Fine - November 2, 2011

"Corruption of the most evil sort, proved by taped recordings, with the worst motives and language, is condoned."

NEW YORK—They are sworn to uphold the law. When they go wrong there is nobody to stop them. That there are corrupt cops is not surprising. That their criminal conduct is condoned, even applauded, by other police officers is appalling. A continuing scandal in the New York Police Department under Commissioner Ray Kelly, has sparked protests by tough looking cops rallying around the courthouse to support Officer Joe Ramos, a 17-year veteran of the NYPD. Ramos was indicted for making a heroin buy and delivering it while on duty in his patrol car. Ramos is also charged with stealing $50,000 from a police undercover operative that posed as a drug dealer and for revealing an informant’s identity. Corruption of the most evil sort, proved by taped recordings, with the worst motives and language, is condoned. Sixteen NYPD officers were indicted on charges that they used the law they were sworn to uphold for their own purposes. Police Lieutenant Jennara Everleth-Cobb was reported to have leaked information about the investigation to a Police Benevolent Association (PBA) official and other cops. Wiretaps issued by the court, revealed in the indictments in Bronx Supreme Court, quoted Lt. Jennara Everleth-Cobb saying “Be careful when you’re on the phone. They’re listening.” Jose Ramos is quoted on the wires saying “I stopped caring about the law a long time ago…I could drive a dead body in the trunk of my car where I want to and nobody would stop me.” Officer Christopher Scott was recorded saying to other cops in an assault cover-up fix, “We don’t know who did this, ok? We’re going to make this go away for him.” Another NYPD officer, Jamie Pagan, fixed a relative’s ticket and was recorded saying, “Whatever you need, you tell me and I’ll take care of it. You won’t get no f… hassle. It will be like it never happened.” Pagan is a PBA Delegate. That these NYPD officers were caught is a wonder in and of itself. That many of them were involved as officers with the PBA is a disgrace to police officers everywhere.

PBA Trustee Brian McGuckin was charged with 2 counts of forgery, 2 counts criminal possession of a forged instrument, 62 counts of official misconduct and more.
PBA Trustee Joseph Anthony was charged with 1 count tampering with a public record, 10 counts of grand larceny, 44 counts of official misconduct and more.
PBA Trustee Michael Hernandez was charged with 1 count tampering with public records, 22 counts of grand larceny, 48 counts of official misconduct and more.
PBA Delegate Luis Rodriguez was charged with 17 counts of grand larceny, 40 counts official misconduct, 19 counts of conspiracy and more.

Surprising? No. Not in the NYPD where corruption scandals reached even the top echelons of administration. A recent Commissioner was proposed for a U.S. cabinet position in Homeland Security until his misconduct was revealed. What is menacing to society is the fact that PBA union delegates and officers were arrested and indicted for serious crimes and that 500 other officers and their PBA union rallied to their support outside the courthouse where they were arraigned on the charges. The signal is very clear. Corruption of the most evil sort, proved by taped recordings, with the worst motives and language, is condoned. It is approved. Police officers waved placards that proclaimed “NYPD Culture, Not A Crime.” And, “Just Following Orders.” The arrests and protesters ran the gamut of NYPD population: women, men, blacks, Hispanics, Irish descendants, veterans and younger officers. The disgrace and shame brought to the NYPD by the arrests pales in comparison to the boldness of the ostensible cover-up and approval by their peers. When terrorists wear a police uniform and flout the law, when their colleagues in the department cover-up and condone their criminal conduct then it is time to reassess the power put in the hands of bad people. That this NYPD scandal existed at all is a direct result of defective management. Some ranking police officers seek ambitious goals beyond their status. That they receive publicity in connection with their appearances on television helps them along in their egotistical agendas. When a commissioner is on watch and a scandal of major proportions happens, it is time to put aside personal goals and take responsibility for the massive corruption that could only take place through bad management.

John Christopher Fine served as senior Assistant District Attorney in New York County’s Rackets Bureau where he investigated and prosecuted matters involving official corruption and organized crime. He served as head of the Organized Crime Task Force and was Special Counsel to a U.S. Senate investigating committee. He continues as a consultant to government for matters involving official corruption and organized crime. THE EPOCH TIMES

More on Tulsa Police Department Corruption

2011-11-03T05:02:00.000-04:00

Judge grants more time for prosecutors to file response to Tulsa officer's acquittal motion
The Republic - The Associated Press - November 2, 2011

Tulsa, Okla. — A federal judge has granted a 10-day extension for prosecutors to reply to a motion for acquittal by a Tulsa Police officer convicted of perjury and Civil rights violations. U.S. District Judge Bruce Black approved the extension Tuesday for U.S. attorneys to prepare their response to Officer Jeff Henderson's request for a new trial and acquittal. Attorneys for Henderson suggest in their motion that jurors could have been confused when entering some of the verdicts against him, among other allegations. In August, jurors found Henderson guilty on eight of the 53 counts against him, including six counts of perjury and Civil rights violations. They cleared fellow officer William Yelton on all eight charges he faced. Five officers were indicted last year on more than 80 charges in a widespread corruption probe that roiled the department and the city.

********** BACKGROUND:

Corruption Investigation of the Tulsa Police Department

The Tulsa World - www.TulsaWorld.com

First police trial: May 31 to June 10
Defendants: Tulsa police officers Nick DeBruin, Bruce Bonham and retired Cpl. Harold R. Wells. DeBruin and Bonham are assigned to patrol; Wells was also a patrol corporal.
Indictments: Unsealed July 20, 2010, alleging the officers stole money during an FBI sting May 18, 2009 and planted drugs on individuals to gain convictions. Wells indicted on 10 counts, DeBruin on six and Bonham on five.
Prosecutor: First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Duke, Eastern District of Arkansas
Judge: U.S. District Judge Bruce Black, of New Mexico
Outcome: Wells convicted of five counts; DeBruin and Bonham acquitted on all counts. Sentencing for Wells, who is being held in the Tulsa Jail, has not been set. DeBruin and Bonham are on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.

Second police trial: Aug. 1 to Aug. 24
Defendants: Tulsa police officers Jeff Henderson and Bill Yelton, assigned to the Special Investigations Division
Indictments: Unsealed July 20, 2010. Henderson is charged with 53 counts related to perjury, civil rights violations, drugs, witness tampering and one firearms count. Yelton is charged with eight counts: four related to civil rights violations, two related to witness tampering, one related to suborning perjury and one count of attempted retaliation against a witness, which was added in September 2010.
Prosecutor: First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Duke, Eastern District of Arkansas
Judge: U.S. District Judge Bruce Black, of New Mexico
Outcome: Officer Jeff Henderson was found guilty on eight counts; officer Bill Yelton was acquitted. Henderson was found not guilty on 45 other counts. Jurors deliberated for 23 hours over four days. Henderson was found guilty on count 39, which relates to a charge of deprivation of civil rights stemming from the search of Carah Bartel and William Kinnard. His other guilty counts relate to perjury in testimony Henderson gave during a suppression hearing in the federal case of Ronald Crawford. Each perjury count carries not more than five years. Deprivation of civil rights is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of one year. The judge has discretion to run them consecutively or concurrently.

Officers indicted or named in grand jury probe

Tulsa Police Officer Jeff Henderson
- Hired June 5, 1995. Placed on paid leave in March; suspended without pay July 23.
- Current assignment: Special Investigations Division.
- Indicted July 20 on 58 counts: 22 counts related to perjury, 20 related to civil rights violations, 12 related to drugs, two witness tampering counts, one firearms count and one attempted bribery count. Ordered held without bail July 23.
- Henderson was convicted Aug. 24 on two counts of civil rights violations and six counts of perjury. He was acquitted on 45 counts of perjury, civil rights violations, drug conspiracy and witness tampering. He could be sentenced to one year for each civil rights violations and five years for each perjury count.

Former ATF Agent Brandon McFadden
- Hired by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on July 15, 2002.
- Resigned from ATF on Sept. 25, 2009.
- Pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy May 6, 2010 in federal court
- Cooperating with prosecutors and released to home in Lubbock, Texas, pending trial.

Former Tulsa Police Officer Harold R. Wells
- Hired Oct. 1, 1975.
- Retired in May
- Assignment before retiring: Gilcrease Division.
- Indicted July 20, 2010 on 10 counts: three related to civil rights violations, three related to drugs, two related to theft of U.S. funds, one firearms count and one count of using a telephone to commit a felony. Released on bond.
- Convicted June 10, 2011 of five counts: knowingly carrying and possessing a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking crime, conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substance (methamphetamine), Conspiracy to steal U.S. funds, stealing U.S. funds and use of a telephone to commit a felony.
- Being held in the Tulsa Jail pending sentencing, which has not been set. Faces 15 years in prison.
- On Aug. 22, U.S. District Judge Bruce Black acquitted Wells of a single count of carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime. While Black threw out the gun charge, he rejected a motion by Wells' attorneys to dismiss all the counts against him. Wells remains convicted on four counts.

Tulsa Police Officer Nick DeBruin
- Hired July 6, 1999.
- Assigned to Special Investigations Division, 2002-05, later assigned to patrol.
- Placed on paid leave July 21; suspended without pay July 23.
- Indicted July 20, 2010 on six counts: two counts related to theft of U.S. funds, two related to civil rights violations, one drug count and one firearm count. Released on bond.
- Acquitted of all counts June 10, 2011
- Pay was reinstated on June 13

Tulsa Police Officer Bruce Bonham
- Hired Aug. 13, 1990.
- Placed on paid leave July 21; suspended without pay July 23.
- Indicted July 20, 2010 on five counts: two counts related to theft of U.S. funds, one count related to civil rights violations, one drug count and one firearm count. Released on bond.
- Acquitted of all counts June 10, 2011
- Pay was reinstated on June 13

Tulsa Police Officer Bill Yelton
- Hired April 16, 1985.
- Current assignment: Special Investigations Division.
- Placed on administrative duty June 18 and paid leave July 21; suspended without pay July 23.
- Indicted July 20 on seven counts: four related to civil rights violations, two related to witness tampering and one related to perjury.
- Ordered held without bail July 23.
- Acquitted on all counts Aug. 24. Released from jail the same day. He is suspended with pay pending an Internal Affairs investigation.

Former Tulsa Police Officer John K. Gray
- Hired March 1, 1990.
- Retired in May.
- Assignment before retiring: Mingo Valley Division.
- Pleaded guilty June 14 in federal court to stealing money during an FBI sting.
- Cooperating with prosecutors and released on bond.

Tulsa Police Officer Eric Hill
- Hired July 5, 2005.
- Former assignment: Gilcrease Division.
- Placed on paid leave June 22.
- Court records say he admitted stealing drug money during a bust.
- Arrested July 19 on unrelated complaint of domestic assault and battery.
- Fired Aug. 18, 2010 for admitting that he planted drugs during drug arrests.
- On Sept. 14, 2010, Hill was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. The case was dismissed Jan. 28, 2011.

Former Tulsa Police Officer Callison Kaiser
- Hired Oct. 8, 2004.
- Resigned August 2008 to work for U.S. Secret Service.
- Resigned from Secret Service in early June.
- Assignment before resigning from TPD: Gilcrease Division.
- Court records say he admitted stealing drug money during a bust.
- Cooperating with federal prosecutors.

Unindicted co-conspirators

Officer Sean Larkin
- Hired: Jan. 6, 1997
- Previous assignment -- UDE
- Transferred to Special Investigations Division -- April 8, 2007

Officer Frank Khalil
- Hired: Jan. 3, 2000
- Previous assignment -- detective
- Transferred to Special Investigations Division -- Aug. 29, 2004

Officer Shawn Hickey
- Hired: March 20, 1989
- Previous assignment -- UDN
- Transferred to Special Investigations Division -- Aug. 26, 2001

Cop in Ticket-Fix Scandal Covered-Up Brutal Beating

2011-11-02T07:44:00.003-04:00

NYPD cop in ticket-fix scandal covered up 'near deadly beating' for friend: sources
The New York Daily News by Kevin Deutsch - November 1, 2011

Allegedly enlisted other officers to make charges go away after receiving phone call from assailant

A Bronx man severely beaten by a paint store manager whose NYPD pals then allegedly covered up his crime is now suing his attackers, the Daily News has learned. The hobbled victim, Jose Ayala, will likely testify against the cops who tried to squash the case — including one officer who is accused of being one of the most egregious offenders in the NYPD ticket-fixing scandal, sources said. Ayala, 51, suffered numerous broken ribs and debilitating muscle injuries during the alleged Oct. 2010 beatdown at the hands of paint-store manager Michael Loturco. Ayala had snitched after seeing Loturco and another store manager slash a rival’s tires, prosecutors said, leading the men to seek a bloody vengeance with their fists. “He just kept beating me,” Ayala said of Loturco, who was indicted Friday along with 16 cops in the ticket-fixing scandal. “I’m still hurting.” As Ayala lay bleeding and hurt outside the New Palace Paint and Supply Shop on E. 180th St., Loturco called his longtime pal, Officer Christopher Scott. Scott, who fixed hundreds of tickets in the months before and after Loturco’s call, agreed to quash the assault case that his friend would have faced for the beating of Ayala, prosecutors said. To ensure Loturco beat the rap, Scott allegedly enlisted the help of Police Officers Marc Manara, Ruben Peralta, Jeffrey Regan and Lisa Marsh. The cops knew Loturco beat Ayala but turned a blind eye as a favor to Scott, prosecutors said. They falsified paperwork for Ayala's complaint, listing the perpetrator as unknown, court papers show. All the cops but Marsh were indicted and charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, falsifying records, hindering prosecution and official misconduct. Marsh may be called to testify against her comrades at trial, sources said. Loturco was connected and used that connection to avoid going to jail, said a source with knowledge of the case. Ayala was a completely innocent victim who had his assault complaint swept under the rug. He was just being a good Samaritan. It was vile. A bodega worker who knows Ayala said they were within a couple blows of killing him. It was ugly, he added. But they were like ... untouchable. The cover-up was sniffed out by NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau investigators, who listened to the plot unfold because Scott's phone was wiretapped. Scott, who works in the 48th Precinct, was once lauded as a hero for helping to save 12 people from a burning building in 2007. But prosecutors say he tarnished his badge by turning into one of the most prolific ticket-fixers in the NYPD. He faces nearly 200 criminal counts in connection with the ticket-fixing indictments, and 20 more counts for the assault cover-up. Loturco was released on $10,000 bail Saturday. Neither he nor his lawyer could be reached for comment. At the paint store where Loturco worked, an employee threatened a Daily News reporter who quizzed him about the assault. Get the f--k out of here! yelled the worker, who would not give his name. Ayala, meanwhile, still gets physical therapy every day for his injuries. He said he s glad the cops and Loturco have been brought to justice. Police should be better than that, he said. kdeutsch@nydailynews.com

Judge 'Shocked' by 'Cowboy Culture' of Narcotics Cops

2011-11-02T06:54:00.000-04:00

Brooklyn judge 'shocked' by 'cowboy culture' of narcotics cops
The New York Daily News by Oren Yaniv - November 1, 2011

Officer Jason Arbeeny planted drugs on innocent people he arrested, judge finds

Police officer Jason Arbeeny at State Supreme Court in Brooklyn where he was found guilty of 8 counts of official misconduct and filing false records by a judge following a bench trial. He faces up to 4 years in prison. A Brooklyn judge declared himself shocked by the "cowboy culture" of narcotics cops Tuesday when he convicted a detective of planting crack on an innocent couple. "Having been a judge for 20 years, I thought I was not naïve regarding the reality of narcotics enforcement," said Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach. "But even the Court was shocked, not only by the seeming pervasive scope of the misconduct, but even more distressingly by the seeming casualness by which such conduct is employed." He found Detective Jason Arbeeny guilty of eight counts of falsifying records and official misconduct in an explosive bench trial that revealed the police practice of "flaking" - nabbing blameless people to pad arrest quotas and earn overtime. The judge noted that several witnesses said narcotics officers were expected to make 60% of their arrests for felonies and that cops would spread collars around so they could all meet the quotas. The judge even said that paled in comparison to the "mindset in Narcotics that seemingly embraces a cowboy culture where anything goes in the never-ending war on drugs." Arbeeny, one of eight cops to be charged in the scandal, was found guilty of planting a twist of crack under a car seat during a Coney Island bust in January 2007 and for doctoring paperwork to make the arrest stick. He was cleared of 43 other counts, mostly related to two separate incidents that same year. The 14-year veteran faces up to four years in prison when he's sentenced early next year. He left court without comment. "It's a sad day when a police officer abuses his authority to plant drugs," prosecutor Charles Guria said after the verdict. "It's a very disturbing charge." Most troubling, Judge Reichbach said, was the "casualness" of arresting innocents, which emerged at trial. The attitude was made worse by officers' rationalizing that charges would likely be dismissed anyway - "a rationale that is transparently pharisaical," the judge said. Alluding to movies about police corruption, he said some of the testimony painted the Brooklyn South Narcotics squad "as a cross between 'Training Day' and 'Prince of the City.'" oyaniv@nydailynews.com

Federal Court Orders City to Turn Over Police Records

2011-11-01T10:41:00.001-04:00

Federal Court Orders City to Turn Over Police Records
The New York Law Journal by John Caher - November 1, 2011

Noting that federal courts do not recognize the confidentiality privilege in New York Civil Rights Law §50-a, a Western District magistrate judge has ordered the city of Buffalo to turn over the personnel and disciplinary records of a police officer for in camera review. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott gave the city 30 days to deliver the records, shielded from disclosure by state law, on Officer Raymond Harrington. Justin L. Levy, the plaintiff in Levy v. Harrington, 09-cv-720A, accuses the officer of false arrest and imprisonment, and excessive force. After the defendants removed the case to federal court, Mr. Levy sought records that are not obtainable in state court due to the privilege delineated in Civil Rights Law §50-a. Magistrate Judge Scott noted that no federal rule precludes discovery of police disciplinary or personnel files and, after concluding that Mr. Levy met his initial burden of showing materiality and relevance, said he would review the records in camera to determine if they should be revealed to the plaintiff. The magistrate judge said the same issue has been raised in another case pending in his court, Paulding v. City of Buffalo, 10-cv-712. Steven M. Cohen of HoganWillig in Amherst represents the plaintiffs in both cases.

Two More Cops Plead Guilty in Towing Scheme

2011-10-27T02:22:00.003-04:00

Two More Baltimore Police Officers Plead Guilty in Towing Scheme

The Essex-Middle River Patch by Ron Snyder - October 24, 2011

Two more Baltimore City police officers have pleaded guilty to illegally steering car accident victims to a Rosedale auto repair shop. Jerry Diggs, Jr., 25, of Baltimore, and Osvaldo Valentine, 39, of Edgewood, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit and committing extortion, acording to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. The two are the eighth and ninth officers to plead guilty to similar charges. The owners of Majestic Auto Repair paid Diggs, Valentine and other Baltimore City Police officers to arrange for their company, rather than a city-authorized business, to tow vehicles from accident scenes and make repairs, states a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. The officers contacted Majestic owners Herman Alexis Moreno and Edwin Javier Mejia for towing and repair services, even though Majestic was not an authorized Baltimore City towing company, according to the officers' plea deal. In exchange, the owners paid Diggs and Valentine up to $300 for each vehicle they referred to Majestic, according to the release. Valentine also recruited multiple other city officers to participate in the conspiracy and extortion scheme, according to the release. Moreno, 30, of Rosedale, and Mejia, 27, of Middle River, pleaded guilty in July to bribing police. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 18. As part of the alleged conspiracy, the officers persuaded accident victims to allow their cars to be sent to Majestic by telling the victims that the business could tow the car, provide repair services, help with the insurance claim, assist in getting a rental car and waive the owner’s deductible, according to the release. Federal prosecutors said that from January to September 2010, Moreno or Mejia paid Valentine $14,400 in checks for vehicle referrals. In September 2010, the owners paid Valentine in cash. In February 2010, Diggs also had Moreno scratch his car with a key which allowed the officer to file an insurance claim for the scratched area, the release states. His insurance company then paid Majestic $2,809 to fix the scratches. Diggs also falsified police reports stating some vehicles had more damage than they actually had sustained so the auto shop could charge more, according to the release. Overall, from March 2010 to February 2011, the Majestic owners paid Diggs $5,050 for his referrals, according to the release. Both officers face a maximum of five years in prison for the conspiracy, and a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,0000 fine. Sentencing is set for March 12, 2012.