So the Fairfax County Cop points his finger at me and says "Go ahead, prick, say one more fuck'n thing, go ahead"...and I thought "Well, if you insist.
Authorities
have filed more charges against a suspended New Jersey police officer accused
of setting fire to his police captain's home. Michael Dotro is accused
of illegally accessing police computer records, slashing a woman's car tires,
possessing illegal weapons and buying marijuana while in uniform and on duty as
an Edison police officer.
Authorities say a search of Dotro's duty bag revealed the marijuana along with
a set of brass knuckles and a small club known as a blackjack. Prosecutors say the 36-year-old engaged in a pattern of official misconduct.
Dotro has pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson and attempted murder charges
stemming from a fire at the Monroe Township home of Police Capt. Mark Anderko. Authorities claim Dotro was angry about a recent transfer and a forced
psychological evaluation.
Seattle Police Department Patrol Officer Eric Faust has been suspended for excessive force and unnecessarily escalating a confrontation in the October 2012 arrest of Leo Etherly. Etherly had been suspected of hit-and-run driving with a cyclist at 29th and Jefferson and was reportedly being uncooperative as police attempted to detain him. A dashboard camera taped the incident and the video was released to the public, leading to a vocal outcry. Etherly later died of a suspected drug overdose. The Seattle Times reports that Officer Faust has been suspended without pay; he is appealing his suspension.
Interim Seattle police Chief Jim Pugel has handed an eight-day suspension to a patrol officer, finding the officer used excessive force and unnecessarily escalated a confrontation with a man suspected of hit-and-run driving, according to newly released records.
The discipline, imposed on Officer Eric Faust, addressed the type of broad issues raised by the Department of Justice when it found in 2011 that the Police Department had engaged in a pattern or practice of constitutional violations regarding use of force. The finding led to a landmark settlement last year in which the department agreed to make broad reforms. Pugel’s findings, outlined in a June 7 disciplinary-action report, were disclosed Tuesday in documents released to The Seattle Times under a public-records request. One day of Faust’s suspension was held in abeyance for two years if he doesn’t have the same or similar misconduct. Faust, 37, who joined the department in 2006, is appealing the suspension without pay.
An internal investigation
in 2009 found that Harris County deputy constable Jimmy Drummond and another
officer were 'statistically aberrant in the numbers of complaints they
receive.' Two years later, Drummond was captured on a dash cam repeatedly
kicking David Braxton Scherz Jr.
A Texas police station was warned about a
former officer’s history of excessive force two years before he was caught on
video repeatedly kicking a man during a traffic stop, the victim’s lawyer told
the Daily News on Saturday.
An internal investigation found that Harris
County deputy constable Jimmy Drummond and another officer were “statistically aberrant
in the numbers of complaints they receive,” according to a memo sent to the
command’s captain in 2009.
Although most of the complaints were
cleared as unfounded, investigators still recommended keeping them under a
watchful eye.
.
“Patrol
supervisors should closely review the activities of the two employees for the
next several months for any possible aggression or rudeness toward citizens,”
reads the document, which was obtained by The News.
The review found that five complaints were
filed against Drummond in a two-year period — more than any other officer in
the command. Only one other constable received any complaints during the same
time.
Drummond was recorded by a dash cam on
Sept. 10, 2011 viciously kicking David Braxton Scherz Jr. during a wild brawl
with authorities outside his north Houston home.
The footage, which was recently released,
shows constables harassing other family members, who were initially arrested
but the charges were later dropped.
Drummond — who faces one misdemeanor charge
of official oppression — made his first court appearance Friday, but did not
enter a plea.
The statute of limitations will likely
prevent other officers from being charged.
Randall Kallinen, the attorney representing
Scherz family, said the document shows Harris County Constable Precinct 4
should have done more to prevent Drummond from engaging with people in the
community.
“They knew about this guy and that he was a
problem,” Kallinen said. “They do not do enough to protect citizens from
officers who use excessive force.”
Officials have declined to comment any
further on the case or Drummond’s history, but have maintained that excessive
force is not tolerated in the department.
A
Spartanburg Police officer, who attended CCU and was a football player there
until an incident with police, was arrested and fired after being accused
of discharging a firearm into a dwelling.
Alvin
Jamar Anderson, 25, of Duncan, was involved in the incident shortly before 4
a.m. Friday, and was taken into custody by Spartanburg County deputies.
Anderson
was originally placed on leave, but was later terminated from the department.
Anderson,
who is a Wellford native, started as an officer with the department
earlier this year.
He
played as wide receiver on the CCU football team, with appearances in all 11
games in 2007. Anderson played 8 games for the team in 2006 as a
freshman"This matter is extremely disappointing, but I am grateful that no
one was seriously injured or there was not a loss of life", said Colonel
Jennifer Kindall.
Anderson
was kicked off the CCU team in mid-Sept. 2008 when police say a fight got out
of control at "Break Room Billiards," which is just off Highway
544, near campus.
Police
say Anderson screamed obscenities at them while they tried to control the
crowd, so they arrested him.
Police
say he smelled of alcohol. He was 20 years old at the time.
Police
charged Anderson with public disorderly conduct at the time. The disposition of
that case is unclear.
Anderson graduated from Byrnes High
School where he led the state his senior season with 103 receptions for
1,839 yards and 21 touchdowns, earning Associated Press and High
School Sports Report Class AAAA All-State honors, as well as All-Region and
All-Area accolades, according to the CCU website.
ROWAN COUNTY, Ky.
(WKYT) - He’s supposed to
enforce the law but investigators say a central Kentucky police officer broke
the law instead.
They say he vandalized
a neighborhood and caused hundreds of dollars in damage.
WKYT’s Jordan Vilines
spoke with folks living in that neighborhood who say they were shocked when
they heard that the “vandal” was a cop:
Tucked away among
Rowan County's rolling mountains sits a neighborhood considered quiet--until
the other night. That's when residents had a run in with an unwelcome and
unexpected visitor.
“My neighbor has a
mailbox over there and I guess he ripped that apart and took the plastic thing
and started beating stuff with it. I said ‘hey I’m going to call the cops’ and
he said ‘call the cops, call the cops,’” said Skylar Lakin, who lives nearby.
Little did Lakin know,
he was a cop. A few minutes later, Morehead Police showed up and arrested
Flemingsburg Police Sergeant Lionel Aaron Workman. He was charged with alcohol
intoxication and criminal mischief.
Some folks living in
Roger’s Village Mobile Home Park near Morehead say they actually witnessed
Workman tearing up the mailboxes in the middle of the night.
"This mailbox was
pushed over on the side out of the hole which has concrete on the bottom of it
and has a still pole running down into the concrete,” said Eva Hutchinson,
whose mailbox was damaged.
According to the
arrest citation, Workman broke eight mailboxes, a handicap ramp and several
lights-- causing $801 in damages.
After his arrest,
neighbors say Workman apologized but they're still on the fence about forgiving
a man who they thought would protect them but instead, ending up damaging their
property.
“Cops are supposed to
be held to a higher standard than that,” Lakin said.
Workman is scheduled
to be arraigned on Monday in Rowan County District Court.
The Flemingsburg
Police Chief told the Morehead News that Workman has been suspended without pay
and has been reduced in rank.
PASADENA Civil rights attorney
Andrew Stein has filed a claim for $5 million against the city and the Police
Department accusing two officers of brutality and racial discrimination against
a Middle Eastern man when they arrested him at his Pasadena home in March. Hesham Maher Gabor was arrested
on March 17 in the 1000 block of South Marengo Avenue and charged with one
misdemeanor count of child endangerment and one felony count of resisting an
executive officer filed by the District Attorney’s Office. Stein, who has leveled a number
of other police misconduct allegations against the city in the past, said the
charges and the conduct of the arresting officers, Officer Eric Butler and Cpl.
Jayce Ward, were out of line. “This should be, in my opinion,
the case that rips the lid off the entire Police Department,” Stein said. “This
is an upper middle class gentleman with no history of criminal violence, no
gang activity, no nothing, who in his own home was assaulted and beaten by
police unjustifiably.” Stein said two officers entered
Gabor’s house without permission, beat him and shocked him with a stun gun in
front of his two children. Stein said Gabor also owns a home in South Pasadena
and works as an engineer. Police spokeswoman Tracey Ibarra
said the officers entered Gabor’s house after one of them was flagged down by a
neighbor who found Gabor’s 10-year-old son crying outside the door to the
house. Ibarra said Gabor’s other son,
who is 7, opened the door for the officer and went to get his father. After the
officers told Gabor he was under arrest for child endangerment, Ibarra said, he
resisted arrest. “Ultimately a struggle ensued,
the officers had to overcome his resistance because he was uncooperative, but
ultimately they handcuffed him,” Ibarra said, adding that the officers were
also injured during the incident. “There was no excessive force used in this
situation,” she said. Ibarra said an administrative
review, which is customary for all instances where officers use force,
determined that the officers’ actions were “reasonable and necessary under the
circumstances and within policy.” Gabor did not file an internal
affairs complaint, Ibarra added, and the officers were never placed on
administrative leave. But Stein, who filed a claim
letter with the city on Aug. 20, said Gabor’s son was outside the house because
of a misunderstanding with Gabor’s wife. He said Gabor was trying to ask the
officer to close the door because he has allergies but instead of listening the
officer “started to beat him up and choked him right in front of the kids.” Councilwoman Jacque Robinson, who
is chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, and her fellow committee member
John Kennedy both said they had not heard about the case. Stein said after all the cases he
has brought against the Police Department, Gabor’s is a “dream case” and he
plans to fight it out in court. “Police officers think they can
do whatever they want,” Stein said. “There will be no settlement. We are going
to air the dirty laundry of the Pasadena Police Department.”
Gabor is scheduled for a
preliminary hearing for the criminal charges on Monday in Pasadena Superior
Court.
A cop was
charged with voluntary manslaughter after shooting a man who ran towards police
for help after being involved in a car accident.
The victim,
Jonathan A. Ferrell, 24, played football for Florida A&M University in
2009-10, school officials said Sunday.
Ferrell was
seeking help at a nearby house early on Saturday after driving a vehicle that
crashed into trees in northeast Charlotte, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg
police. A woman answered the door and, when she didn't recognise the man,
called the police emergency dispatcher.
Officers
responding to the breaking-and-entering call found Ferrell a short distance
from the home, police said. As they approached him, Ferrell ran toward the
officers and was hit with a Taser. Police said he continued to run toward them
when officer Randall Kerrick fired his gun, hitting Ferrell several times.
Ferrell died at the scene.
Police called
Ferrell and Kerrick's initial encounter ''appropriate and lawful.'' But in a
statement late Saturday, they said "the investigation showed that the
subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive'' and "Kerrick did not
have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter.''
Police said
Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter, which under North Carolina law
involves killing without malice using "excessive force'' in exercising
"imperfect self-defence.''
Police were not
expected to further describe the incident Sunday, CMPD spokesman Officer Keith
Trietley said, and a report was not available on Sunday.
Kerrick, 27,
turned himself in for booking Saturday evening and was released on $50,000
bond, according to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office website. Kerrick
joined the police force in April 2011.
FAMU Interim
Athletic Director Michael Smith confirmed Sunday that Ferrell played the safety
position for the school's football team during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
"Our
hearts and prayers go out to his family during their time of bereavement,'' Mr
Smith said in an emailed statement.
A public
records search indicated that Ferrell began living in Charlotte early this year
after moving from Tallahassee, Florida, home to FAMU.
Before Kerrick
was charged, police chief Rodney Monroe describe the accident in a news
conference.
He said the
wreck was so severe Ferrell would have had to climb out of the back window to
escape. Mr Monroe said he didn't know what caused the crash and didn't say
whether Ferrell suffered injuries, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Ferrell
apparently walked about 800 metres to the nearest house and was "banging
on the door viciously'' to attract attention, Mr Monroe said.
Thinking it was
her husband coming home late from work, the woman who lives there opened the
door. When she saw Ferrell, she shut it and called police about 2:30am, Mr
Monroe said.
Mr Monroe said
he didn't think the unarmed Ferrell made threats or tried to rob the woman.
