Tom Stevens, a golfer from South Bend, was seriously injured during an arrest Tuesday. His mother, who was also arrested, has accused police officer Aaron Knepper of police brutality.



Ann Elise Taylor
After a South Bend golfer was seriously injured during an arrest, the man's mother has accused the officer involved of police brutality, WSBT and The South Bend Tribune reported.
Tom Stevens, 55, did not stop when an officer tried to pull him over around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, our news partner WNDU reported. Stevens continued to his home, which was about six houses away from where police officer Aaron Knepper tried to pull him over, the Tribune reported.
"The officer attempted to effect an arrest at this location, and in the process Mr. Stevens was injured," the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release.
But according to Suzanne Stevens, Tom Stevens' 76-year-old mother who witnessed the incident, Knepper beat her son excessively. She told WSBT and the Tribune she thought her son was going to die – she said Knepper had Tom Stevens pinned against the side of the home and punched him repeatedly in the chest, jaw, neck and ribs.
After Suzanne Stevens tried to stop Knepper, she and her son were arrested for resisting arrest and battery to an officer, WSBT reported.
According to the Tribune, this isn't the first time Knepper has been at the center of a controversy.
He was one of three officers accused of entering a home without a warrant, beating 17-year-old DeShawn Franklin and falsely arresting him in March 2013, the Tribune reported. In May, a convenience store clerk claimed Knepper, Eric Mentz and Michael Stuk, the same officers involved in the March 2013 incident, violated his rights by slashing his tires and challenging him to swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon, the Tribune reported.
The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office told WSBT that no criminal charges will be filed tonight. However, they could come in the future.
As of Thursday morning, March 27, Tom Stevens was still in the hospital, the Tribune reported. On Wednesday, March 26, WSBT reported Tom Stevens was in a medically-induced coma.
Tom Stevens is known around the area for his golf career, which won him three consecutive titles in the South Bend Metro Men's Tournament from 1981 to 1983, the Tribune reported.
To read more about the incident, visit The South Bend Tribune's website. To watch a video of Suzanne Stevens telling her side of the story, visit WSBT's website.


Family of Steven Motley sues Redding over alleged police brutality


The family of a man who died three days after a struggle with Redding Police officers left him unconscious is suing the city alleging police brutality.
The suit, filed in federal court, alleges Redding Police brutally beat Steven Motley, 33, after he led officers on a chase and stole a police cruiser. Carol Adams, Motley's mother, and his daughter, identified only as L.M., are represented by Vicki Sarmiento, a Sacramento attorney.
Motley led police on a chase before stealing a police cruiser Oct. 5. A struggle with four officers in the backyard of a home on Alta Saga Drive left him unconscious, and he died three days later.
"As a result of the excessive force by (Redding Police) officers, Steven Motley died," Sarmiento wrote.
Sarmiento writes that the officers, whom she doesn't identify, "subjected him to excessive force, including but not limited to, multiple strikes, kicks and blunt force trauma to his head face and body. Officers also deployed their taser at (Motley) until he was rendered unconscious."
She wrote that he suffered multiple broken bones, brain hemorrhages and other injuries. She wrote that Redding's practice of "inaction and cover-up encouraged officers of RPD, including the defendants named herein, to believe that unjustified force and denial of prompt medical care against individuals being detained was permissible.
The police also failed to get medical care quickly enough for Motley, Sarmiento wrote.
A coroner's report found Motley died from a heart attack exacerbated by a toxic level of meth in his system.
The city last month rejected three separate claims filed on behalf of Motley’s mother and two children.
The letters are dated Feb. 25, almost six weeks after the claims were filed by Vicki Sarmiento, the Southern California attorney representing Carol Adams, Motley’s mother, and Ashley McCain, the mother of one of Motley’s children. The third claim was filed Howard Churchill, the Redding attorney who represents Dawn Bianco, the mother of Motley’s other child.
The city did not provide a reason for rejecting the claims.
Shasta County Sheriff's detectives have said Redding Police officer chased Motley Oct. 5 after spotting him driving a pickup truck on Airport Road. Motley eventually crashed into a wall and ran off, with an officer in pursuit. Motley then circled back and stole the officer's cruiser.
He drove to Alta Saga Drive, where he abandoned the squad car, detectives have said. They said an officer tackled Motley to the ground, and then three other officers joined the struggle.
He was taken to a hospital out of the area, where he died three days later.
Motley's mother, Adams, has said he was a victim of police brutality.
Sheriff's deputies are investigating the matter.
Check back as we update this story.

Following Tom Stevens' arrest, accusations of police brutality emerge

Galveston police brutality trial under way



By Harvey Rice

Five years after more than 30 police officers swarmed into a wedding celebration at a Galveston hotel bar and used Tasers and pepper spray on the guests, officers and those they are accused of beating are squaring off in a Houston federal courtroom.
Twelve men, including former Astros' pitcher Brandon Backe, are asking a jury to find that 15 police officers used excessive force and that city officials knew that police brutality was a persistent problem.
The six men and six women on the jury are being asked to award the men an unspecified amount that would almost certainly come from Galveston taxpayers if the plaintiffs prevail. Defense attorney William Helfand said that the officers lack the financial wherewithal to pay an award.
Millions to be sought
Most of the plaintiffs don't have lasting injuries, but Backe will ask for an award that could run into the million's of dollars. Backe is alleging that a police officer ruined his pitching career by stomping on his shoulder.
Former Galveston Police Chief Charles Wiley, who was chief at the time but has since retired, testified Wednesday on the third day of the trial that he was hired in July 2008 to make drastic changes to a police department plagued by a perception of excessive use of force, lack of discipline and ethical lapses.
Settlement urged
Under questioning by plaintiff's attorney Jim Zucker, Wiley said that a small portion of the force habitually failed to file use-of-force reports required by the department. His testimony came after the father of the bride, Gilbert O'Balle, testified under questioning by plaintiff's attorney Christopher Porter about a video showing him being shocked with a Taser gun fired by a Galveston police officer and another officer dropping on him with a knee.
Helfand tried to pick apart O'Balle's testimony, at one point getting him to admit that he had made a fist that could have been perceived as threatening to the officer. O'Balle said that the still photo from the video showed him making a fist in reaction to the electric shock after he was tasered. He said he had his hands in the air and obeyed the officers.
After the jury was dismissed, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison urged the two sides to reach a settlement.

Deliberations to begin in Miles police brutality case



By Rich Lord / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The defense zoomed in on broken twigs, a discarded Bluetooth. The plaintiffs displayed a bloated face and alleged a battered Constitution.
With that, the attorneys for the two sides in the civil trial pitting Jordan Miles against three police officers made their final arguments to the jury Thursday. Deliberations begin today in a case that has come to symbolize differing perceptions on police-community relations.
Mr. Miles' attorney, Joel Sansone, portrayed his client's arrest on Jan. 12, 2010, as a "jump out" conducted by three undercover Pittsburgh officers who wanted to get the element of surprise on someone they thought might be a drug dealer, and who then delivered "frontier justice."
Mr. Sansone urged that the jury "send a message to the police. ... They must understand that we the people won't suffer this."
The officers' attorneys said the physical evidence proved "overwhelmingly" that the officers were telling the truth, and Mr. Miles was making things up.
Attorney Bryan Campbell, representing Officer Michael Saldutte, said a story Mr. Miles made up to explain his arrest to his mother and grandmother "took on a life of its own. ... All of a sudden this community rallies," and Mr. Miles can't back down.
As U.S. District Judge David Cercone explained to the jury, the case rests on whether a reasonable police officer, confronted with the circumstances the defendants met that night, would have probable cause to arrest Mr. Miles, and would have used similar force to achieve that.
If the answer is no, then Mr. Miles' Fourth Amendment rights have been violated. The jury can then award him nominal damages of $1 or compensatory damages based on his suffering, and potentially punitive damages if the officers acted "maliciously or wantonly."
The officers had "every right to stop [Mr. Miles]," said attorney James Wymard, representing Officer David Sisak. "Eleven o'clock, dark out, hiding beside the house. What do you want them to do? Keep driving? Go get coffee and doughnuts?"
"If they said they were police, what would be Jordan's reason for running?" countered Mr. Sansone. "They wanted to surprise him, and when they did so, he ran."
Attorneys for both sides accused the opposing party of lying about the particulars of the arrest, and then making up stories and possibly tampering with or destroying evidence, like the Mountain Dew bottle and gun clip reportedly found on the scene.
Mr. Wymard pointed out that the officers, and not the plaintiff, have said that Officer Sisak tackled Mr. Miles through bushes. That coincides with a broken hedgerow and the twigs embedded in Mr. Miles' mouth, he said.
And while Mr. Miles claimed he was holding a cell phone during the incident, his mother's Bluetooth wireless device was found in the snow on the scene, noted attorney Robert Leight, representing Officer Ewing. That would support the officers' account that he had his hands in his pockets.
The only neighbor who heard anything was a woman who testified that someone yelled "help" three times, said Mr. Sansone. That, he said, corroborated Mr. Miles' contention that he was beset by an attack he did not comprehend.
"And the kid had the temerity to try to get away [so] they exacted a little bit of frontier justice," said the plaintiff's attorney.
Mr. Sansone built much of his argument on evidence he found conspicuously absent: Signs of injuries to the officers, and Officer Sisak's lost flashlight.
He mocked the officers' claims that they were in "the fight of their lives" with Mr. Miles.
"Suddenly, this night, [Mr. Miles] becomes a ninja," Mr. Sansone said. "And the biggest injury any of them got was a little dime-sized hole" in the skin of Officer Sisak's knee.
Based on a transport officer's testimony that all three of the defendants searched the area with flashlights, Mr. Sansone implied that Officer Sisak reported his flashlight lost to prevent anyone from testing it for DNA. The plaintiff claimed he was struck by a hard object, possibly a flashlight, after he was handcuffed -- a claim the officers vehemently denied.
The defense contended that Mr. Miles' medical treatment was driven mostly by his mother and his attorneys, questioning the plaintiff's contention that he still suffers from post-concussion syndrome.
Mr. Sansone wasn't shy about seeking damages.
"How do you value the suffering and the humiliation he will revisit every day of his life?" the plaintiff's attorney asked. He cited Penguins captain Sidney Crosby's salary. He pointed out that a Stradivarius violin once sold for $16 million, then in a nod to the plaintiff's viola playing past, added, "Jordan's violin is silent."
The closings followed 10 days of testimony on the three-minute incident, which was also the subject of a trial in 2012. That jury found in favor of the officers on a malicious prosecution count, but could not reach unanimity on the false arrest and excessive force counts.
Mr. Leight, who also represented Officer Ewing at the first trial, called the sequel the most hard-fought trial he'd had.
"This has been a very spirited and contentious trial," Mr. Leight said, "and you've seen the very best that a lawyer can be and the very worst that a lawyer can be."



North Port police officer commits suicide





North Port police officer commits suicide

By Dale White & Ian Cummings
NORTH PORT - North Port Police Officer Ricky Urbina, facing charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment, apparently took his own life on Thursday as Sarasota Sheriff's Office deputies were preparing to arrest him.
Urbina had been in contact with the authorities and had agreed to turn himself in after a judge signed an arrest warrant. But as deputies drove to a pre-arranged location to meet Urbina, they received a report of a shooting at Urbina's home on Spinner Avenue in North Port.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Wendy Rose offered no other details about the apparent suicide, saying that city police have begun a death inquiry.
In the days leading up to his arrest, Urbina told another North Port officer that the case would cost him not only his job and freedom, but his marriage, according to a probable-cause affidavit released by the Sheriff's Office.
The second North Port officer linked to the investigation, Melanie Turner, was arrested Thursday, accused of being a principal to sexual battery and false imprisonment.
North Port Police Chief Kevin Vespia announced later Thursday that there would be a news conference this morning, and that the department had opened an administrative investigation “into the conduct of some of its officers.”
Disturbing allegations
The Sheriff's Office released investigatory documents that, in graphic detail, spelled out the case against the two officers.
Late on March 1, it is alleged, Turner and Urbina attended a party in North Port where they handcuffed a woman, took her into a bedroom and subjected her to sexual battery.
Urbina, 44, was said to have been on duty and in uniform when he got to the party. The accuser, who has not been publicly identified by law enforcement, was hosting the party at her home to celebrate her boyfriend's birthday, according to the Sheriff's Office report. She did not know Urbina, who was reportedly invited by Turner.
Shortly after Urbina arrived, the woman saw one of her guests handcuffed. Then, the woman claimed, the officers cuffed her.
The woman told investigators that Urbina and Turner, who had been drinking, led her into a bedroom.
The woman said she thought it was “merely party fun” at first but was shocked and “flabbergasted” when the two officers did not free her.
The officers reportedly pulled off her clothes and forced themselves on her. The woman cautioned that if her boyfriend “sees what you are doing to me, he is going to kill you both,” according to the report.
At that point, the report said, Urbina closed the blinds to the bedroom, removed the cuffs from the woman and left the room with Turner, leaving the woman alone.
Minutes later, she emerged from the bedroom crying and told a friend that she had been “violated.”
The friend told off-duty North Port Officer Keshia Veigel, who was at the party, the report said. Veigel, in turn, told another officer, Jeff Wilson, who was there and off duty. And Wilson “immediately” contacted a North Port police supervisor.
Sarasota deputies arrived at the party to investigate.
The accused officers were placed on administrative leave on March 2, and the North Port police brought in the Sheriff's Office to investigate. Meanwhile, North Port refused to release the accused pair's names.
Their identities soon became the subject of a legal battle, as Michael Barfield, a paralegal, was sued by the city. He had sought the names of all North Port officers on administrative leave.
Urbina's history
Eric Reisinger, Urbina's attorney, said he had been on the phone with Urbina for much of the day.


Police investigate off-duty officer breaking up crowd of cyclists


By: Stacey Welsh

EL PASO, Texas --  Cyclists in the Critical Mass group said they were worried people could get hurt when an off-duty officer from the El Paso Police Department started weaving through their crowd Friday night.

"It was complete chaos," Critical Mass organizer Emmanuel Barraza said.

Barraza said his group of cyclists often "corks" or blocks off downtown El Paso streets during their monthly ride. He said this happens because there are usually about 150 riders in the group.

"It's safer for us to keep it as a group, even if we have to run the red lights," Barraza said.

The El Paso Police Department said blocking streets and running red lights is illegal, and that's why police say the off-duty officer, Jorge Gonzalez, tried to break up the cyclists. However, police are investigating whether he is justified in taking action while off duty.

"Internal affairs will be handling the case. It is considered a criminal case, at this time no one has been booked," Detective Mike Baranyay said in a statement. Baranyay is a spokesperson for the El Paso Police Department.

Some are worried this incident will discourage others from riding bikes.

"My understanding is there were a lot of young kids in that group and a lot of parents riding with their kids. I just think it's really disappointing that this actually happened," Crazy Cat Cyclery general manager Belen Barrio-Arriaga said.

Scott White of the local cycling group Velo Paso said this incident should raise awareness of how drivers and cyclists could better share the road.

"It's a protest for the cyclists to be noticed, and that's the spirit of the Critical  Mass," Barraza said.

Critical Mass also wants to keep something like this from happening again and encourages people to keep riding.

"We need to talk to the city or somebody because we need help. If they don't want us to cork then [we would like] them to help us with escorting or have police help us," Barraza said.

The Police Department hopes to release more information about this case early next week.




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We need better educated, better trained cops


or maybe its just that the cops overreact


and they'll get away with it...get out vote...fire the people who hire the cops


Anytime


Cowards at work


Cocksuckers



Decline


Police


Out of Control


Mentally unstable cops






OKC Officer Charged With Misdemeanor Assault And Battery





Danville Man Declined to Enter Plea on Charges of Civil Rights Violations

Edmond Robles, 46, of Danville is among 6 police officers who have been indicted

 Autumn Johnson

Four San Francisco police officers pleaded not guilty in federal court today to charges of conspiring to violate civil rights and steal property, money and drugs seized during searches and arrests.

The officers are four of six charged in two separate federal indictments, issued under seal on Tuesday and announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, alleging that they conducted illegal searches of single-room occupancy residential hotel rooms and stole seized property between 2009 and 2011.

Officers Arshad Razzak, 41, of San Francisco, Richard Yick, 37, of San Francisco, and Raul Eric Elias, 44, of San Mateo, each pleaded not guilty in the courtroom of U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth Laporte to six counts they allegedly committed while working at San Francisco's Southern Station in 2010 and 2011.

Sgt. Ian Furminger, 47, of Pleasant Hill, pleaded not guilty to five counts allegedly committed while he was working at the department's Mission Station in 2009 and 2010. Another officer named in that indictment, Officer Edmond Robles, 46, of Danville, declined to enter a plea today while a former officer also charged, Reynaldo Vargas, 45, of Palm Desert, entered a plea on Thursday.

All six men have been granted release on $50,000 bond. The allegations first surfaced in March 2011 when San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi began to release a series of video surveillance tapes from single-room-occupancy hotels that allegedly showed plainclothes officers conducting illegal searches during drug busts.

Speaking to reporters after today's hearing, Razzak's attorney, Michael Rains, said that the length of time between the officers being accused and the indictment being filed indicates that the federal government did not believe that it had a strong enough case to bring charges against the officers.

"The government sat on this case for three years and allowed these guys to languish at their jobs," Rains said. Rains said that given the length of time that the federal government has been investigating the case, he expects that the evidence has previously been presented to grand juries who did not issue an indictment.

Even so, he expects the case to go to trial, but likely not for about a year. Police Chief Greg Suhr said Thursday that the department was "shaken" by the allegations and that the five officers still serving with the department have been suspended without pay. Suhr said that if convicted, they would be fired.

San Francisco Police Officers Association president Mark Halloran today questioned Suhr's judgment in making that statement, saying that the officers involved "deserve to have their day in court."

"They're all hardworking officers, they're dedicated to this city," Halloran said. "They know their job, they've been doing it efficiently for many years."

In the first indictment, the three officers formerly assigned to the Police Department's Southern Station, Razzak, Yick and Elias, are alleged to have conspired to "injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate" hotel occupants by entering and searching their rooms without legal justification.

The officers are accused of two additional counts of illegally searching two rooms in December 2010 and January 2011. Razzak and Yick are also each charged with two counts of falsifying police reports and an informant payment record.

In the second indictment, the officers from the Mission Station, Vargas, Furminger, and Robles, are accused of three conspiracies: plotting to violate civil rights by stealing money and property from people arrested; conspiring to sell drugs; and scheming to steal seized money, property and drug evidence from the Police Department.

The indictment also accuses the three men of selling marijuana in 2009 and stealing more than $5,000 worth of property from the department in 2009 and 2010. If convicted, the officers could face lengthy prison terms.

Elias, Yick and Razzak have been ordered to return to court Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, while Furminger, Robles and Vargas are ordered to return Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer.


Sgt. Downing remains on administrative leave.


OKLAHOMA CITY -
An Oklahoma City police officer has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery following a traffic stop.
According to Oklahoma City police, Sgt. Matthew Downing stopped a driver who was not paying attention when the light turned green at N.W. 36th Street and May Ave. at about 10:35 a.m. on Sunday, January 26.
As Sgt. Downing was speaking with the driver, police said another vehicle drove by, and that driver leaned out the window and yelled a comment regarding the traffic stop.
News 9 reporter Adrianna Iwasinski obtained a police report Monday. According to the report, that officer was yelling at a driver at the intersection at N.W. 36th and May Ave. when another driver yelled at him.
According to police, Sgt. Downing then left the scene of the original traffic stop to talk to the driver who yelled the comment. He caught up to that car, which was stopped at a convenience store in the area.
Sgt. Downing spoke with that driver inside the store. He tried to arrest him and the driver resisted, which resulted in a minor use of force, police said.
According to police, a police supervisor responded to the scene to investigate the use of force. The supervisor did not agree with the officer's actions. He released the driver and notified command of the incident.
"A supervisor was contacted, came to the scene, and reviewed the officer's actions," said Captain Dexter Nelson with the Oklahoma City Police Department. "That supervisor found that the officer's actions were unwarranted. and ordered the immediate release of the individual."
Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty directed the Office of Professional Standards to conduct a criminal investigation into the incident. The investigation concluded with a criminal charge presented to Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater.
The District Attorney has formally charged him with misdemeanor assault and battery for confronting the man inside the convenience store, all for yelling the phrase, "Road rage sucks!"
Sgt. Downing remains on administrative leave. He has not been arrested since he's out of town.
Downing, a 15-year veteran of the force, is part of the Uniform Support assigned to the Traffic Unit.
Former Carroll Valley officer charged with corruption of a minor
Daniel Lanious, 50, allegedly sent sexually explicit text messages to a 13-year-old girl
By Mark Walters
A former Carroll Valley Police officer has been has been accused of sending "flirtatious and sexual" text messages to a 13-year-old girl, state police state in charging documents.
Daniel Lanious, 50, of South Middleton Township, Cumberland County, was charged with corruption of a minor, according to a police criminal complaint filed at District Justice Susan Day's office in Mount Holly Springs.
The teenager's mother told police that Lanious met her daughter while volunteering at the South Middleton Township Fire Company No. 35 in July 2013, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The girl received a text message from Lanious out of nowhere, the affidavit states. The messages quickly became "very flirtatious and sexual," the affidavit continues.
The girl said she believed Lanious obtained her cellphone number from her Facebook page, the affidavit states.
The girl told police Lanious often mentioned wanting to have sex with her, according to the affidavit. She said she played along to an extent, but was not as graphic as he was, the affidavit continues.
The messages reportedly stopped on Aug. 13, when the girl's mother caught the last text, which read " I wish you were home I wish you were on birth control I have a condom," according to the affidavit.
The mother replied to the message and told Lanious she hoped he was not over 18 because her daughter is only 13, according to the affidavit.
A day or two later the mother was visited by Lanious' son, who asked the mother if she would be contacting police, the affidavit states.
During an interview with state police Trooper Matthew Johnston from the Carlisle barracks, Lanious admitted to sending sexual text messages to the 13-year-old girl, the affidavit states.
Lanious apologized repeatedly for his actions and admitted what he did was "very stupid," according to the affidavit.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Lanious on April 2 in front of Day. He is being represented by Gettysburg attorney Steve Rice. Rice declined to comment on the case until he has spoken further with his client.
"As a well respected law enforcement officer, it would be nice if people could give him the benefit of the doubt," Rice said.