FERNDALE, Mich. -- An off-duty police officer is accused of racking up $75 at a restaurant without paying the bill.
Deontaie Turner, 28, was arrested, charged and fired from his job of two years as a patrol officer with the Van Buren Township police for walking out of a Buffalo Wild Wings in Ferndale without paying his tab.
Police Chief Gerald Champaigne said an internal investigation revealed Turner not only dined and dashed, but tried to pull rank. He identified himself as a police office when restaurant management stopped him.
According to restaurant staff, a waiter confronted the officer at the door and tried to get him and his friends to pay, but they left, taking off in a car without its lights on.
Ferndale police stopped the officer and his friends not far from the restaurant.
He was charged with a misdemeanor charge of defrauding an innkeeper and has been fired from his job.\
Video Here
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Cop tasers Cow on Video then Sets it to Music and sends it to friends
ROGERS - The city's police department is investigating one of its own following a complaint of animal cruelty.
In a letter sent Feb. 11, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accused Rogers Police Department Lt. David Mitchell with using his Taser on a cow and video taping the incident.
"It is our understanding that the alleged incident occurred while Lt. Mitchell was off duty, that the Taser's darts were not removed from the cow's flesh afterward, and that Lt. Mitchell apparently found the incident so amusing that it was recently set to music and distributed as a joke among his friends and colleagues," wrote Stephanie Bell, PETA's senior cruelty caseworker.
Mayor Steve Womack, who has not seen the video, said it was clear the incident happened but not the context in which it happened.
He said the city would take action if "city equipment is being used for someone's personal enjoyment and entertainment."
RPD Chief Steve Helms said he started an internal investigation following a call from PETA that preceded the letter. He would not comment on the specifics of the case.
When the investigation is complete, the department will turn the results over to the prosecutor's office, Helms said. Because animal cruelty is a misdemeanor, any charges would likely be filed by the city attorney's office. He also said that, if convicted of a crime, it is possible Mitchell's employment is terminated.
RPD has been plagued recently with reports of low morale, accusations of racism, and the arrest of one officer for sexual indecency with a child. Helms said he did not know why so many issues were arising in a short period, but he said some were to be expected.
"Any department the size we're getting is going to have problems like this," he said.
Womack said Helms will be responsible for taking any actions deemed necessary following the investigation, including amending the department's policies.
Despite the department's recent problems, Womack said he still had confidence in Helms.>
"I still believe in the chief's ability to do his job," Womack said.
Helms hoped the investigation into the accusations against Mitchell would help maintain the public's perception of the department.
"It shows the public we're dealing with problems that need to be dealt with," he said.
Story Here
In a letter sent Feb. 11, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accused Rogers Police Department Lt. David Mitchell with using his Taser on a cow and video taping the incident.
"It is our understanding that the alleged incident occurred while Lt. Mitchell was off duty, that the Taser's darts were not removed from the cow's flesh afterward, and that Lt. Mitchell apparently found the incident so amusing that it was recently set to music and distributed as a joke among his friends and colleagues," wrote Stephanie Bell, PETA's senior cruelty caseworker.
Mayor Steve Womack, who has not seen the video, said it was clear the incident happened but not the context in which it happened.
He said the city would take action if "city equipment is being used for someone's personal enjoyment and entertainment."
RPD Chief Steve Helms said he started an internal investigation following a call from PETA that preceded the letter. He would not comment on the specifics of the case.
When the investigation is complete, the department will turn the results over to the prosecutor's office, Helms said. Because animal cruelty is a misdemeanor, any charges would likely be filed by the city attorney's office. He also said that, if convicted of a crime, it is possible Mitchell's employment is terminated.
RPD has been plagued recently with reports of low morale, accusations of racism, and the arrest of one officer for sexual indecency with a child. Helms said he did not know why so many issues were arising in a short period, but he said some were to be expected.
"Any department the size we're getting is going to have problems like this," he said.
Womack said Helms will be responsible for taking any actions deemed necessary following the investigation, including amending the department's policies.
Despite the department's recent problems, Womack said he still had confidence in Helms.>
"I still believe in the chief's ability to do his job," Womack said.
Helms hoped the investigation into the accusations against Mitchell would help maintain the public's perception of the department.
"It shows the public we're dealing with problems that need to be dealt with," he said.
Story Here
Feds to Probe Police Brutality Charge
Feds to Probe Police Brutality Charge
February 21, 2008 - 2:34am
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - Police chief Henry Whitehorn said Wednesday the district attorney and the Justice Department will investigate the case of a woman who is seen in a police department video lying in a pool of blood in an interrogation room. Angela Garbarino, 42, said she was beaten after her Nov. 17 arrest on a drunk driving charge.
Wiley Willis, the the police officer who was fired Feb. 5 in connection with the case, said through his attorney that Garbarino fell.
Excerpts from a police video tape show Garbarino struggling with an officer in the interrogation room. But the camera was turned off for a time. When it was turned back on, Garbarino is seen on the floor in a pool of blood.
"I had an opportunity to view the tape. I was outraged at what I observed," Whitehorn said at a news conference at police headquarters. "I immediately ordered an internal affairs investigation. That investigation determined that numerous policy violations had occurred."
Garbarino said Willis, 30, tried to force her to take a breath test against her will and that he beat her after turning off the camera.
Willis' lawyer, Eron Brainard, was not immediately available for comment when called Wednesday by The Associated Press. He told The (Shreveport) Times that Willis did not beat Garbarino.
"After her refusal to take the breath test, officer Willis turned off and saved the videotape in accordance with normal practice," Brainard said in a story published Wednesday. "The suspect again tried to leave the room. In the process of (Willis) stopping her, she fell and injured herself."
Paramedics took her to LSU Hospital in Shreveport, where she was treated for a broken nose, a fractured cheek bone and bruises on various parts of her body. Two of her teeth were knocked out.
Garbarino had been taken into custody for DWI testing after someone saw her crash her vehicle into other cars in a casino parking garage and a light pole on a city street, according to police.
Whitehorn said it is police policy for an officer to turn off the videotape of a sobriety test when testing is over and the officer is preparing to book the offender.
Policy will now be changed to where two police officers are in the room at all times, authorities said.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
NYPD Brawlers and Brethren Busted
A fight outside a Yonkers bar that cost a man his vision in one eye, may cost a number of NYPD members professionally. One of the participants in the brawl on the border of the Westchester city and the Bronx, Thomas Wimmer, has already resigned from the force. Three other officers are suspended without pay after their arraignment Friday on misdemeanor charges related to a beating on McLean Ave. that cracked a man's skull.
Last September, off-duty cops Michael McGhee and Thomas Wimmer got into a fight outside a bar in Yonkers. When partners Stella Ibanez and Jeffrey Alicea arrived on the scene, they witnessed McGhee punch the victim and so handcuffed him. After McGhee identified himself and Wimmer as cops, they let him go and the quartet later concocted a story about neither McGhee nor Wimmer identifying themselves as police.
The judge at the arraignment seemed familiar with the scene of the crime, which consists of a strip of Irish bars near the county line, where victim Peter Cummins was punched after leaving the Rockin' Robin with his girlfriend very early in the morning September 14th. Per the New York Post: "'Little good happens on McLean Avenue at 3:30 a.m.,' said Judge Michael Martinelli."
The three suspended officers and the now-resigned Wimmer pleaded not guilty to blinding Cummins or coming up with a story to cover each other. A fifth man, Patrick Tully, is not a police officer, but was allegedly involved in the fight alongside McGhee and Wimmer.Story here
Last September, off-duty cops Michael McGhee and Thomas Wimmer got into a fight outside a bar in Yonkers. When partners Stella Ibanez and Jeffrey Alicea arrived on the scene, they witnessed McGhee punch the victim and so handcuffed him. After McGhee identified himself and Wimmer as cops, they let him go and the quartet later concocted a story about neither McGhee nor Wimmer identifying themselves as police.
The judge at the arraignment seemed familiar with the scene of the crime, which consists of a strip of Irish bars near the county line, where victim Peter Cummins was punched after leaving the Rockin' Robin with his girlfriend very early in the morning September 14th. Per the New York Post: "'Little good happens on McLean Avenue at 3:30 a.m.,' said Judge Michael Martinelli."
The three suspended officers and the now-resigned Wimmer pleaded not guilty to blinding Cummins or coming up with a story to cover each other. A fifth man, Patrick Tully, is not a police officer, but was allegedly involved in the fight alongside McGhee and Wimmer.Story here
Deputy Charged for Dumping Paralyzed Man
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A sheriff's deputy who was videotaped dumping a paralyzed man from a wheelchair onto a jailhouse floor has been charged with abuse of a disabled person, a sheriff's official said Friday.
Surveillance footage from Jan. 29 shows Hillsborough County deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, dumping Brian Sterner out of his wheelchair and searching him on the floor after he was brought in on a warrant after a traffic violation.
Sterner, 32, said when he was taken into a booking room and told to stand up, Jones grew agitated when he told her that he could not.
Marshall-Jones was suspended without pay, and three other deputies were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Marshall-Jones is charged with abuse of a disabled person, a third-degree felony, said Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee.
If convicted, she could be sent to prison for five years.
Gee said Marshall-Jones was aware of the warrant for her arrest, but that he didn't know when she might turn herself in.
Marshall-Jones could not be reached by phone for comment Friday night. A telephone number listed in her name has been disconnected.
Sterner, who can drive a car but has not been able to walk since a 1994 wrestling accident, was arrested at his Riverview home and taken to the Orient Road Jail on a charge of fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, according to records. He had called for charges to be filed against Marshall-Jones.
Surveillance footage from Jan. 29 shows Hillsborough County deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, dumping Brian Sterner out of his wheelchair and searching him on the floor after he was brought in on a warrant after a traffic violation.
Sterner, 32, said when he was taken into a booking room and told to stand up, Jones grew agitated when he told her that he could not.
Marshall-Jones was suspended without pay, and three other deputies were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Marshall-Jones is charged with abuse of a disabled person, a third-degree felony, said Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee.
If convicted, she could be sent to prison for five years.
Gee said Marshall-Jones was aware of the warrant for her arrest, but that he didn't know when she might turn herself in.
Marshall-Jones could not be reached by phone for comment Friday night. A telephone number listed in her name has been disconnected.
Sterner, who can drive a car but has not been able to walk since a 1994 wrestling accident, was arrested at his Riverview home and taken to the Orient Road Jail on a charge of fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, according to records. He had called for charges to be filed against Marshall-Jones.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Officer fined $18,00 for arresting firefighter
(KMOV) -- A police officer in Hazelwood will have to pay thousands of dollars for getting into it with a firefighter while he was trying to help an accident victim.
News 4 obtained police video that shows the Hazelwood police officer arresting a fire captain while he's trying to move an injured driver.
Watch raw video from the dashcam
It happened on Interstate 270 back in May of 2003.
Officer Todd Greeves wanted a fire truck moved to open up another lane of traffic.
The Robertson Fire Protection District Captain wanted the truck there to protect emergency workers.
Officer Greeves has been ordered to pay $18,000.
His attorney says he's disappointed and that his client's conduct was not malicious in any way.
Video and story here
News 4 obtained police video that shows the Hazelwood police officer arresting a fire captain while he's trying to move an injured driver.
Watch raw video from the dashcam
It happened on Interstate 270 back in May of 2003.
Officer Todd Greeves wanted a fire truck moved to open up another lane of traffic.
The Robertson Fire Protection District Captain wanted the truck there to protect emergency workers.
Officer Greeves has been ordered to pay $18,000.
His attorney says he's disappointed and that his client's conduct was not malicious in any way.
Video and story here
Officer fined $18,00 for arresting firefighter
(KMOV) -- A police officer in Hazelwood will have to pay thousands of dollars for getting into it with a firefighter while he was trying to help an accident victim.
News 4 obtained police video that shows the Hazelwood police officer arresting a fire captain while he's trying to move an injured driver.
Watch raw video from the dashcam
It happened on Interstate 270 back in May of 2003.
Officer Todd Greeves wanted a fire truck moved to open up another lane of traffic.
The Robertson Fire Protection District Captain wanted the truck there to protect emergency workers.
Officer Greeves has been ordered to pay $18,000.
His attorney says he's disappointed and that his client's conduct was not malicious in any way.
Video and story here
News 4 obtained police video that shows the Hazelwood police officer arresting a fire captain while he's trying to move an injured driver.
Watch raw video from the dashcam
It happened on Interstate 270 back in May of 2003.
Officer Todd Greeves wanted a fire truck moved to open up another lane of traffic.
The Robertson Fire Protection District Captain wanted the truck there to protect emergency workers.
Officer Greeves has been ordered to pay $18,000.
His attorney says he's disappointed and that his client's conduct was not malicious in any way.
Video and story here
New Charges Against City Cop
ABC2 has obtained new video of Baltimore police officer Salvatore Rivieri in action at the Inner Harbor. This time he confronts Billy Friebele, an artist from Washington D.C., who was videotaping at the Harbor last summer.
Friebele told ABC2 he was taping the reactions of passersby to a box he was moving with a remote controlled car. Officer Friebele is seen on tape kicking the box off of the car and then kicking the car. The officer then orders Friebele to leave the area.
Rivieri is the same officer caught on a youtube video wrestling a 14 year old skate boarder to the ground. A spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department declined to comment on this latest videotape. Officer Rivieri is suspended without pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation of the incident with the skate boarder.
Friebele told ABC2 he was taping the reactions of passersby to a box he was moving with a remote controlled car. Officer Friebele is seen on tape kicking the box off of the car and then kicking the car. The officer then orders Friebele to leave the area.
Rivieri is the same officer caught on a youtube video wrestling a 14 year old skate boarder to the ground. A spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department declined to comment on this latest videotape. Officer Rivieri is suspended without pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation of the incident with the skate boarder.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
New Bill To Allow Police Misconduct Be Hidden From Public
Remember this????
A new bill proposed at the legislature would allow for police to withhold misconduct reports from the public. Supporters of the bill believe that police misconduct should be kept secret from the public so to not discredit police testimony. Others say that a forthright police unit is essential to the community.
Story here
A new bill proposed at the legislature would allow for police to withhold misconduct reports from the public. Supporters of the bill believe that police misconduct should be kept secret from the public so to not discredit police testimony. Others say that a forthright police unit is essential to the community.
Story here
Officer Is Indicted in Deadly Pileup on Beltwa
Washington Post article
By Megan Greenwell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 14, 2008; Page A01
The Prince George's County police officer whose pursuit of a motorcyclist on the Capital Beltway in May led to a fatal seven-car pileup has been indicted on two counts of vehicular manslaughter, authorities announced yesterday.
Officer Scott Campbell, 47, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of causing the deaths of two people in the crash on the Beltway's inner loop near Forestville. The wreck, one of the most horrific on the Beltway in recent memory, killed two friends, Kevin McCarter, 49, of Fort Washington and Sidney Clanton, 50, of Buffalo, and injured 15 others.
A grand jury heard evidence "regarding Officer Campbell's conduct leading up to the accident," said State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey. "That convinced them that there may have been criminal wrongdoing."
Ivey did not elaborate, but several law enforcement sources have said that Campbell did not call the chase in to dispatchers, in apparent violation of the police department's policy on high-speed pursuits. A camera in his police cruiser recorded speeds of more than 120 mph as he drove briefly onto the shoulder and back onto the highway in pursuit of the motorcyclist, they said.
The indictment of an officer in connection with a police chase is extremely rare. Such cases more often lead to civil lawsuits against police departments or prosecution of fleeing motorists, said attorneys for people who have alleged police misconduct.
"I haven't ever heard of that happening," Greg Lattimer, a Washington-based lawyer, said of the indictment. "I find that very surprising, when charges have not been filed when clearly people have been shot to death. But we welcome any indication that police officers involved in questionable conduct will be held accountable."
Since taking office in 2002, Ivey has attempted to prosecute five police officers, including Campbell. He has obtained four indictments and one conviction.
Keith A. Washington, a former police corporal, is on trial in Upper Marlboro for shooting two furniture deliverymen, one fatally, at his home in Accokeek.
A home phone number for Campbell could not be found late yesterday, and it was unclear whether he had retained an attorney. Ivey said the officer is not in custody.
Vince Canales, president of the Prince George's police union, said the union will play a "support role" in the case, adding that the officer should not be presumed guilty. "The only thing I can say is that this is a tragedy for everyone involved, including Scott Campbell and his family," Canales said.
The incident began about 7 p.m. May 30, when Campbell, a seven-year veteran of the department on routine patrol, began chasing a speeding motorcycle near the Richie-Marlboro exit on the Beltway's outer loop.
Campbell's police cruiser slammed into McCarter and Clanton's sport-utility vehicle. The SUV flew over the guardrail and into traffic on the Beltway's inner loop, causing a series of crashes that closed down all lanes for almost five hours.Under department policy, officers may engage in high-speed pursuits only if there is probable cause that the suspect used or threatened physical force or was involved in a hit-and-run accident resulting in serious injury or death.
Police spokeswoman Sharon Taylor declined to comment about the police investigation, which was passed to the state's attorney's office in October. Taylor said that the police department had worked hand in hand with Ivey's office and that officials "have faith in the process."
The motorcyclist fled after the crash, but a spokesman for Ivey's office said yesterday that investigators had interviewed the motorcyclist and about 20 other people. No charges have been filed against the motorcyclist or any other driver involved in the crash.
Ivey said the grand jury reviewed "reconstruction reports, physical evidence and testimony."
"It certainly is a tragedy anytime there's a loss of life in a traffic situation," he said. "Two men died on the way to a jazz concert."
By Megan Greenwell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 14, 2008; Page A01
The Prince George's County police officer whose pursuit of a motorcyclist on the Capital Beltway in May led to a fatal seven-car pileup has been indicted on two counts of vehicular manslaughter, authorities announced yesterday.
Officer Scott Campbell, 47, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of causing the deaths of two people in the crash on the Beltway's inner loop near Forestville. The wreck, one of the most horrific on the Beltway in recent memory, killed two friends, Kevin McCarter, 49, of Fort Washington and Sidney Clanton, 50, of Buffalo, and injured 15 others.
A grand jury heard evidence "regarding Officer Campbell's conduct leading up to the accident," said State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey. "That convinced them that there may have been criminal wrongdoing."
Ivey did not elaborate, but several law enforcement sources have said that Campbell did not call the chase in to dispatchers, in apparent violation of the police department's policy on high-speed pursuits. A camera in his police cruiser recorded speeds of more than 120 mph as he drove briefly onto the shoulder and back onto the highway in pursuit of the motorcyclist, they said.
The indictment of an officer in connection with a police chase is extremely rare. Such cases more often lead to civil lawsuits against police departments or prosecution of fleeing motorists, said attorneys for people who have alleged police misconduct.
"I haven't ever heard of that happening," Greg Lattimer, a Washington-based lawyer, said of the indictment. "I find that very surprising, when charges have not been filed when clearly people have been shot to death. But we welcome any indication that police officers involved in questionable conduct will be held accountable."
Since taking office in 2002, Ivey has attempted to prosecute five police officers, including Campbell. He has obtained four indictments and one conviction.
Keith A. Washington, a former police corporal, is on trial in Upper Marlboro for shooting two furniture deliverymen, one fatally, at his home in Accokeek.
A home phone number for Campbell could not be found late yesterday, and it was unclear whether he had retained an attorney. Ivey said the officer is not in custody.
Vince Canales, president of the Prince George's police union, said the union will play a "support role" in the case, adding that the officer should not be presumed guilty. "The only thing I can say is that this is a tragedy for everyone involved, including Scott Campbell and his family," Canales said.
The incident began about 7 p.m. May 30, when Campbell, a seven-year veteran of the department on routine patrol, began chasing a speeding motorcycle near the Richie-Marlboro exit on the Beltway's outer loop.
Campbell's police cruiser slammed into McCarter and Clanton's sport-utility vehicle. The SUV flew over the guardrail and into traffic on the Beltway's inner loop, causing a series of crashes that closed down all lanes for almost five hours.Under department policy, officers may engage in high-speed pursuits only if there is probable cause that the suspect used or threatened physical force or was involved in a hit-and-run accident resulting in serious injury or death.
Police spokeswoman Sharon Taylor declined to comment about the police investigation, which was passed to the state's attorney's office in October. Taylor said that the police department had worked hand in hand with Ivey's office and that officials "have faith in the process."
The motorcyclist fled after the crash, but a spokesman for Ivey's office said yesterday that investigators had interviewed the motorcyclist and about 20 other people. No charges have been filed against the motorcyclist or any other driver involved in the crash.
Ivey said the grand jury reviewed "reconstruction reports, physical evidence and testimony."
"It certainly is a tragedy anytime there's a loss of life in a traffic situation," he said. "Two men died on the way to a jazz concert."
Cop Shoots the Family Dog......
....in front of the family....
"That officer had a flashlight on his shotgun, and the dog was going toward that light, and the officer shot him, just blew his head off"
Original story here
Cop cleared of wrong doing
CNN Story
"That officer had a flashlight on his shotgun, and the dog was going toward that light, and the officer shot him, just blew his head off"
Original story here
Cop cleared of wrong doing
CNN Story
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Baltimore Cop vs. 14 year old Skateboarder
"somebody's going to kill you."
The Baltimore Police Department suspended a police officer after a video surfaced on the Internet showing the officer berating two kids for skateboarding, putting one of them in a headlock and pushing the boy on the concrete.
Story here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
