|
"The only good nigger is a dead nigger and they should hang you in the town square to prevent any other nigger from coming in the area."
-- July 2011 Statement by Oakland, CA Public Schools Police Chief Pete Sarna to an African-American police officer under his command. (August 18, 2007: A high-ranking California Department of Justice official hired by Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown resigned Friday. His resignation comes a week after he crashed a state-owned vehicle and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Peter C. Sarna II, deputy director of the Division of Law Enforcement, helped oversee hundreds of state agents, criminologists and other employees who provide investigative, intelligence, forensic and security services for the department. Sarna, 37, is a former Oakland police officer who headed special operations, including gang suppression efforts, when Brown was the city's mayor. One of the few aides Brown brought along when he took office in January, Sarna assumed a leadership role in the attorney general's anti-gang program that recently produced dozens of arrests through joint state-local raids on gang members' homes in Stockton and Atwater in the Central Valley.)
"Smack Down!"
Posted: Monday, October 1, 2012 | Updated: Saturday, October 6, 2012 02:45 PM PDTMinn. (WCJB) -- Duluth Police released surveillance video on Friday of an alleged assault that took place between Officer Richard Jouppi and a 50-year-old wheelchair bound man. The incident happened Friday, September 21, 2012 at the local detox center.
The 34-year-old officer of two years has been placed on paid administrative leave. The department is looking to file 5th degree assault charges in the incident.
The alleged assault isn't the first complaint against the officer.
Duluth Police say in March, Jouppi discussed details of an open investigation with a suspect. Police say he never notified the department that he was talking to the suspect or that he knew where the suspect was located. When ordered to sign a statement under the Garrity Warning, Police say he left the statement intentionally incomplete.
"Drivin' Drunk!"
Posted: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 | Updated: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 03:56 PM PDT
PHILADELPHIA, PA (WCJB) – A Philadelphia police officer has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Police Sergeant Chanta Herder (pictured left) a 42-year-old and 14-year veteran of the department, was reportedly involved in a minor accident with another vehicle on the 7900 block of Verree Road on Monday, Oct. 1. Herder, who was off-duty at the time, was impaired at the scene of the accident. A breathalyzer test revealed her blood/alcohol level to be over the legal limit. Herder has been assigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation."Philly Smackdown!"
Posted: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 | Updated: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 03:24 PM PDT
PHILADELPHIA, PA (WCJB) - The images are disturbing. A decorated Philadelphia police lieutenant from the elite Highway Patrol caught on tape taking a swing at a woman during the celebration after Sunday's Puerto Rican Day parade. It immediately stirred controversy. "It was just plain wrong you know, he didn't know what was going on so he just hit the first person he seen," said one eyewitness to the incident. 
The lieutenant is Jonathan Josey (pictured left) a 19 year veteran of the force. He was on duty with dozens of other officers during a car stop at 5th and Lehigh when someone threw water on the officers. As at least two videos show, Josey, in the white shirt, turns and strikes an unidentified woman in the head. She immediately went to the ground. She was arrested and hauled away. Her face bloodied. "An investigation is underway, and we'd be remiss if we didn't say it gives us a little concern," said Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross."The cop thought she throwed the water on him, but it wasn't it was some body else," said Charles Green, who also saw the incident.
Josey has been with Highway Patrol for years. Back in 2010, he was given a bravery award by the Citizen Crime Commission after he interrupted an armed robbery on the Main Line while off duty. The suspect was shot to death by Josey, who was cleared by the Montgomery County DA in the shooting. "He's actually an excellent lieutenant who's done a lot of good things and again he's due his day," Commissioner Ross said.
Make him an example," said Jose Colon. "You can't be doing that."
Josey has actually done several anti violence videos and was a bit player in the movie Law Abiding Citizen. He just returned from volunteer duty at the Democratic National Convention, where he helped escort dignitaries. He has risen in the ranks at Highway Patrol from patrol officer to sergeant and now lieutenant.
"Oops!"
Posted: Saturday, September 22, 2012 | Updated: Saturday, September 22, 2012 02:19 PM PDT
LEBANON, Tenn. (WCJB) --A 61-year-old man was shot to death by police while his wife was handcuffed in another room during a drug raid on the wrong house. Police admitted their mistake, saying faulty information from a drug informant contributed to the death of John Adams Wednesday night. They intended to raid the home next door. The two officers, 25-year-old Kyle Shedran and 24-year-old Greg Day, were placed on administrative leave with pay. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating.NAACP officials said they are monitoring the case. Adams was black. The two policemen are white. “They need to get rid of those men, boys with toys,” said Adams’ 70-year-old widow, Loraine.
John Adams was watching television when his wife heard pounding on the door. Police claim they identified themselves and wore police jackets. Loraine Adams said she had no indication the men were police. “I thought it was a home invasion. I said ‘Baby, get your gun!,” she said, sitting amid friends and relatives gathered at her home to cook and prepare for Sunday’s funeral.
Police say her husband fired first with a sawed-off shotgun and they responded. He was shot at least three times and died later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Loraine Adams said she was handcuffed and thrown to her knees in another room when the shooting began. “I said, ‘Y’all have got the wrong person, you’ve got the wrong place. What are you looking for?“‘
“We did the best surveillance we could do, and a mistake was made,” Lebanon Police Chief Billy Weeks said. “It’s a very severe mistake, a costly mistake. It makes us look at our own policies and procedures to make sure this never occurs again.” He said, however, the two policemen were not at fault. Weeks said he has turned the search warrant and all other evidence over to the bureau of investigation and District Attorney General Tommy Thompson. A command officer must now review all search warrants.
Family members did not consider race a factor and Weeks agreed, but said the shooting will be “a major setback” for police relations with the black community. “We know that, we hope to do everything we can to heal it,” Weeks said. Johnny Crudup, a local NAACP official, said the organization wanted to make sure and would investigate on its own.
"Lying is the Norm!"
Posted: Tuesday, September 4, 2012 11:12 EDT | Updated: Friday, September 7, 2012 04:12 PDT
Prince George’s County, Maryland - A police officer in Prince George’s County, Maryland is facing criminal charges for assaulting a 19-year-old man in February, and now the public knows why.Video from the incident, filmed by a gas station’s security camera on February 3 but not released to the public until Monday, shows Cpl. Donald Taylor striking 19-year-old African-American male Ryan Dorm in the face with the butt of his handgun. The gun discharges in the man’s face right as the blow lands.
The officer (pictured right) was charged in August with second-degree assault, making false statements, reckless endangerment and official misconduct after prosecutors finally obtained a copy of the video, according to media sources in Maryland. Dorm spent months in jail after Taylor claimed he reached for his gun amid a struggle outside a gas station in Brentwood, which Dorm was accused of trying to rob.Dorm and attorney Jimmy Bell have filed a $10 million lawsuit against the officer and the department. “What [the video] shows is that my client didn’t lie,” Bell told a reporter with NBC Washington. “They print my client is a criminal. They put his face on television saying he committed these crimes, and he didn’t.”
"Heroic!"
Published: August 24, 2012 | Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 10:24 PM 
NEW YORK — All nine people injured during a dramatic confrontation between police and a gunman outside the Empire State Building were wounded by gunfire from the two officers, police said Saturday, citing ballistics evidence. The veteran patrolmen who opened fire on the suit-clad gunman, Jeffrey Johnson (pictured above, center) had only an instant to react when he whirled around and pointed a .45-caliber pistol at them as they approached him from behind on a busy sidewalk. Officer Craig Matthews shot seven times, and Officer Robert Sinishtaj fired nine times, police said. Neither had ever fired their weapons before on a patrol. The volley of gunfire felled Johnson in just a few seconds and left nine other people bleeding on the sidewalk.
Both Matthews, 39, and Sinishtaj, 40, joined the nation’s largest police department 15 years ago. Matthews had drawn attention this year by suing the New York Police Department, accusing his superiors of unfairly punishing him for not meeting arrest quotas. A judge threw out the complaint.The officers confronted Johnson as he walked, casually, down the street after gunning down a former co-worker on the sidewalk outside the office they once shared. The shooting happened at 9 a.m., as the neighborhood bustled with people arriving for work. In the initial chaos Friday, it wasn’t clear whether Johnson or the officers were responsible for the trail of the wounded, but based on ballistic and other evidence, “it appears that all nine of the victims were struck either by fragments or by bullets fired by police,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters Saturday at a community event in Harlem. Police officials have said the officers appeared to have no choice but to shoot Johnson, whose body had 10 bullet wounds in the chest, arms and legs.
Police have determined that three people were struck by whole bullets — two of which were removed from victims at the hospital — and the rest were grazed “by fragments of some sort,” Kelly said. Two women with leg wounds and a man with a wound to his buttocks required surgery and remained hospitalized Saturday. They were listed in stable condition.
The gunman and his victim, Steve Ercolino, had a history of workplace squabbles before Johnson was laid off from their company, Hazan Import Corp., a year ago. At one point, the two men had grappled physically in an elevator. John Koch, the property manager at the office building where the men worked, said security camera footage showed the two pushing and shoving. The tussle ended when Ercolino, a much larger man, pinned Johnson against the wall of the elevator by the throat, Koch said. Ercolino let him go after a few moments, and the two men went their separate ways. “They didn’t like each other,” Koch said. After shooting Ercolino, Johnson, an eccentric T-shirt designer and avid bird-watcher who wore a suit every day, even when photographing hawks in Central Park, walked away as if nothing had happened.
Alerted by a construction worker, officers Matthews and Sinishtaj gave chase as Johnson rounded a corner and walked along Fifth Avenue in front of the landmark skyscraper. A security videotape from the scene shows several civilians — including three sitting on a bench only a few feet away — scattering as the officers opened fire.
"Judicial Quid Pro Quo!"
Published: Friday, August 31, 2012 
CHATSWORTH, GA -- A news release from the Murray County Sheriff's Office this afternoon stated that Deputy Mike Henderson has been terminated "as of today, 8/31/12." The release further states that both Henderson and Deputy John Greeson (who was terminated Wednesday) gave false statements to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation during a criminal investigation. The GBI investigation follows the arrest of Angela Garmley (pictured above, center-right) on a drug charge. Garmley, who accuses now former Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran (pictured above, center-left) of asking for sex while working on her case, was arrested August 14.
According to the incident report, a drug dog found a magnetic container beneath her car with meth inside. Charges against Garmley were dismissed last week and GBI investigators say she should never have been arrested.
Cochran resigned two weeks ago, and is also under investigation for pre-signing warrants.
The implications are huge, while the developments strike at the heart of public confidence and trust in law enforcement officers. Now-former deputy Josh Greeson (pictured above, center) and possibly others are accused of a scheme to falsely arrest a woman with drugs planted on her car. "It's a sad day, we're very disappointed, we want the truth, we expect the truth of all our employees," Murray County Sheriff Howard Ensley said.
Sheriff Ensley met with Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Jerry Scott and District Attorney Bert Poston Wednesday. He said they found K-9 officer Greeson lied when questioned about the August 14 arrest of Angela Garmley. Greeson was immediately fired after that meeting. Greeson and his boss, Captain Mike Henderson, were put on leave for the investigation. Tuesday night Garmley's attorney McCracken Poston, no relation to Bert Poston, said "there's a lot of officers in the department that know what went on, whether they were part of it or not and they need to come forward by definition of their office, they need to come forward and tell what they know."
Captain Henderson is former chief magistrate Bryant Cochran's cousin. He was also Greeson's shift supervisor the night of the traffic stop. In Greeson's report he said he found a metal, magnetic container filled with methamphetamine stuck underneath Garmley's Dodge Challenger. Garmley was arrested on drug charges. Day's before that stop Garmley was the first woman to come forward with accusations against Cochran, saying he wanted sex in exchange for favorable outcomes to cases in court. Cochran resigned from the bench once the accusations became public.
Cochran's cousin, Capt. Henderson, was also terminated after required leave time was completed. The G.B.I. and district attorney also found Capt. Henderson lied when questioned about the August 14 events. When asked if he expects to fire Captain Henderson Sheriff Ensley said "well, we will have to do that Friday, he has to be given three days."
As the investigation into the deputies and former magistrate Cochran continues there is the possibility of criminal charges and law suits being filed.
Published: 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - Updated: 3:25 p.m. PDT Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Georgia - The state is investigating a North Georgia judge for allegedly asking a woman to be his mistress when she appeared before him to take out a criminal arrest warrant, the woman and her lawyer said. The alleged incident occurred April 9 after Angela Garmley says she was assaulted by three people who once rented a trailer from her and her husband in Murray County. Garmley said when she went to take out the warrant, Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran propositioned her for sex when she was alone with him in his chambers.
"He asked me if I cheated on my husband," Garmley, 36, of Chatsworth, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He said he wanted to have a mistress he could trust."
Cochran says that never happened. "We're denying all allegations," Cochran, who was reelected last month, said Wednesday. "The truth will come out. Right now, I'm not exactly sure what's going on." Cochran did not sign the warrant on April 9. Instead, Garmley said, he asked her to return to court a few days later and to wear a dress but no underwear. "He said if I did that I would be very satisfied with the decision he'd make on my case," she said. Garmley said she did not follow through on Cochran's request to show up in the requested attire in his chambers. But she said she did later text him a photo of herself wearing only underwear because she felt pressured to do so.
Garmley's lawyer, a former state legislator from Ringgold, said Garmley is cooperating with an ongoing investigation of Cochran by the Judicial Qualifications Commission, the state agency that regulates judicial conduct. "She does not want this to happen to anyone else," he said. Jeff Davis, director of the judicial watchdog agency, said he could neither confirm nor deny whether the commission is investigating the case.
Garmley said that within minutes after she left Cochran's chambers on April 9 he began calling and texting her. At one point, Garmley said, she turned on her cell phone's speaker so her sister could hear what Cochran was saying. Sherry Sane, Garmley's sister, said that during one phone call she heard Cochran proposition Garmley and ask her to return to court wearing a dress and no underwear. "He also asked her to bring him a prepaid phone he could use to call and text her with," Sane told the AJC. "He said, 'I don't want to be using my government phone.'"
Garmley said she does not have recordings or text messages of Cochran's alleged propositions. But she provided the AJC a recording of a call she received from Cochran after Garmley's husband confronted the judge about the allegations. During that confrontation, Garmley said, her husband told Cochran that Garmely's sister had overheard their conversations.
During his phone conversation with Garmley, Cochran said, "Let me ask you a question and I'll ask it point blank. Does she have access to your messages or anything along those lines, or is what she telling him just hearsay?" Garmley responds that her sister has seen the messages but doesn't have them in her possession. Cochran says, "We have not done a damn thing. I know we joked around and stuff on the text messages, but I don't know."
The judge said he been receiving phone calls about the allegations and expressed concern the local TV station may ask him about them. "I'm just going to say point blank, that I've done nothing inappropriate," Cochran said. "Nothing inappropriate has ever happened. It's politically motivated and that's the truth. And if they [the television station] want to interview you you can tell them the same thing." When asked Wednesday about that phone call, Cochran acknowledged that he had had several conversations with Garmley but declined further comment.
NBA Bound!
Posted: July 24, 2012 - Updated: August 3, 2012 1:29:12 AM PDT"I didn't do it."
-- July 24, 2012 Statement by Darrell Williams as the verdicts were read, convicting him of two counts of rape by instrumentation and one count of sexual battery.
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Darrell Williams was convicted Monday night of two counts of rape by instrumentation and one count of sexual battery, though the jury acquitted him on two other counts of rape by instrumentation. Prosecutors accused the 22-year-old of groping the women and reaching inside their pants without their consent at a party in December 2010. The Oklahoma State basketball player broke down in tears as he was convicted on charges that accused him of sexually assaulting two women, then turned to jurors and yelled "I didn't do it." The outburst prompted Assistant District Attorney Jill Tontz to quickly move to the other side of the prosecutors' table and cry as she clutched a sheriff's deputy. The prosecutor later said she felt intimidated.
One defense attorney cried as well, as the verdicts were read, saying "Oh my Jesus God" as he bent over and banged his hands on the defense table. Several of his teammates left the packed courtroom without commenting, and an inconsolable female relative was helped out as Williams was taken away by sheriff's deputies. Defense attorneys throughout the trial tried to cast doubt that Williams was the perpetrator. Witnesses testified that several players at the party wore similar Oklahoma State warm-up suits, and his attorneys claimed that could have led to a misidentification. One of Williams' Defense attorneys referred to the case as a "he said, she said situation." She noted during closing arguments that no one heard anyone scream at the party, saw any struggles or reported anything inappropriate. Neither of the women suffered any cuts or scratches, and no clothing was torn after the alleged incident.
With little physical evidence to bolster prosecutors' case, Assistant District Attorney Jill Tontz had to rely on testimony from the two women. Both women testified during the trial and said they identified Williams as their attacker after police showed them a photo of the Cowboys basketball team. One woman said Williams held her against her will and dragged her in a yard. She said the attack happened in the basement of the house and that no one came to her aid. "It made me feel violated and sick to my stomach," she testified.
"'No' means just that: It means 'no,'" Tontz said during closing arguments earlier Monday. "These girls felt dehumanized, embarrassed." After the verdicts, Tontz said the women "waited 16 months to tell a jury what Darrell Williams did to them. This verdict represents justice."
Jurors, who deliberated for about eight hours, recommended that he be sentenced to a year in prison for each of the two rape by instrumentation counts. His formal sentencing is set for Aug. 24. After the verdict, one attorney for Williams said she was "very disappointed" with the outcome. She had asked the judge to release Williams pending his sentencing, but the judge denied the request, noting Williams' sudden outburst as the verdicts were read.
Williams has long denied the allegations, and did so in a recorded interview with police that attorneys played at the trial last week. "I don't know what happened in the basement," Williams said on the audio recording. "I was probably misidentified." Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford testified on Williams' behalf Wednesday, saying he believed the young man was innocent. The coach declined comment after the verdicts Monday. Williams was suspended from the team in February 2011. Before that, he led the team in rebounding and averaged 7.1 points per game.
Scouts Honor!
Published: August 5, 2012 - Updated 03:37 p.m. PDT, Wednesday, August 29, 2012LOS ANGELES, CA — Internal documents from the Boy Scouts of America reveal more than 125 cases in which men suspected of molestation allegedly continued to abuse Scouts, despite a blacklist meant to protect boys from sexual predators. A media review of more than 1,200 files from 1970 to 1991 found suspected abusers regularly remained in the organization after officials were first presented with sexual misconduct allegations. Predators moved from troop to troop because of clerical errors, computer glitches or the Scouts’ failure to check the blacklist, known as the “perversion files,” the newspaper said. In at least 50 cases, the Scouts expelled suspected abusers, only to discover they had re-entered the organization and were accused of molesting again.
In other cases, officials failed to document reports of abuse in the first place, letting offenders stay in the program until new allegations came to light, the Times reported. One scoutmaster was expelled in 1970 for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Indiana. After being convicted of the crime, he went on to join two troops in Illinois between 1971 and 1988. He later admitted to molesting more than 100 boys, was convicted of the sexual assault of a Scout in 1989 and was sentenced to 100 years in prison, according to his file and court records. In 1991, a Scout leader convicted of abusing a boy in Minnesota returned to his old troop shortly after getting out of jail.
In response to the media findings, the Scouts issued a statement that said in part:
“The Boy Scouts of America believes even a single instance of abuse is unacceptable, and we regret there have been times when the BSA’s best efforts to protect children were insufficient. For that we are very sorry and extend our deepest sympathies to victims ... We are committed to the ongoing enhancement of our program, in line with evolving best practices for protecting youth.”
The “perversion files” naming suspected child molesters include admissions of guilt as well as unproven allegations. They are used to vet applicants for volunteer and paid positions. The confidential documents have come to light in recent years in lawsuits by former Scouts, accusing the group of failing to detect abuses, exclude known pedophiles or turn in offenders to authorities.
Scouting officials say they’ve used the files to prevent hundreds of men who had been expelled for alleged sexual abuse from returning to the organization. The Boy Scouts have fought in court to keep the records from public view, saying confidentiality was needed to protect victims, witnesses and anyone falsely accused. Many of the files will soon be made public as a result of an Oregon Supreme Court decision. Multiple media outlets petitioned for the release of 1,247 files from 1965 to 1984 that had been admitted as sealed evidence in a 2010 lawsuit.
One media source analyzed a set of files that were submitted in a California court case in 1992. Their contents vary but often include biographical information on the accused, witness statements, police reports, parent complaints, news clippings, and correspondence between local Boy Scout officials and national headquarters, according to the newspaper.
'Forced Score'!
Posted: August 1, 2012 - Updated: August 3, 2012 2:01:12 AM PDTMISSOULA, Mont. - Prosecutors plan to charge University of Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson with raping an acquaintance in February after she invited him to her room to watch a movie. Missoula County Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney Suzy Boylan filed documents in state court late Tuesday afternoon asking a judge to determine whether there is probable cause to proceed with a charge of sexual intercourse without consent against Johnson. Boylan said in the documents that bail has not been set and that Johnson's attorney has assured prosecutors that the quarterback will appear voluntarily when summoned.
According to Boylan's court documents, Johnson and the female student have known each other since 2010 and they began texting each other regularly in December 2011. On February 4, they decided to watch a movie together in the woman's room. He then kissed her, pulled her on top of him and tried to take off her shirt, according to the court documents. When she resisted, he became aggressive, pulled her clothes off and raped her, Boylan wrote in the documents. Afterward, the woman sent a text to her roommate in the next room that said, "Omg ... I think I might have just gotten raped."
"She has sought counseling and has shown signs of depression, panic and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder consistent with Rape Trauma Syndrome," Boylan wrote. Boylan added that Johnson said it was consensual sex and that he broke off communications with her afterward because he liked another woman and didn't want that woman to be upset if she knew he had sex with the alleged victim.
Johnson has previously denied the allegation. His attorney released a statement Tuesday that said Johnson and his family "are surprised and saddened" by the timing of the criminal charge, since the encounter took place in February and police have been aware of the allegation since the woman, another student, filed a report six weeks later. "Jordan strongly maintains his innocence and looks forward to the opportunity to prove his innocence at trial, clear his name and return to pursuing his education," his attorney said in the statement.
University president Royce Engstrom told Missoula media sources that upon verification of the charge against Johnson, "our student conduct code would call for immediate suspension from team activities." It's the latest turn in a sexual assault scandal at the university that has prompted three investigations by federal governmental agencies and the NCAA. The Department of Justice and Department of Education are investigating how the university and city officials responded to reports of sexual assault on campus and in Missoula.
A university investigation earlier this year found nine allegations of sexual assault that had gone unreported over 18 months, and two others have been made public since then. Some have involved student athletes, but only those cases involving criminal charges have been made public. In January, running back Beau Donaldson was suspended from the team after he was charged with raping an acquaintance in September 2010. He has pleaded not guilty. In the aftermath of that report and as the federal investigations became publicly known, Engstrom fired head football coach Robin Pflugrad and athletic director Jim O'Day, saying a change in leadership was needed.
If Johnson is suspended from the team, that will leave more uncertainty at the quarterback position. Johnson was the starter, and backup Gerald Kemp has been indefinitely suspended from the team for violating unspecified team rules. Another backup, Nate Montana, transferred from Montana earlier this year.
21st Century Policing - 2012!
'In the Family'!
Posted: 11:39 PM, Nov 5, 2012 - Updated: 07:17 PM PDT, Nov 7, 2012
Atwood, Tennessee -- The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested a suspended Milan police officer Monday on 24 counts of sexual misconduct. A Gibson County grand jury indicted Adam Scott Martin (pictured left) of Atwood, on 18 counts of rape, one count of incest, one count of aggravated sexual battery, one count of sexual battery by an authority figure and three counts of sexual battery, after a TBI investigation.TBI spokesperson Kristin Helm said Monday that the bureau will not release any details about what reportedly occurred between Martin and the woman. Martin, 39, initially was arrested in July on one count of sexual battery by an authority figure against a 19-year-old woman. The July charge was included in Monday’s indictment and involves the same victim. She said investigators believe the incidents occurred on multiple occasions “over a several-year period while the victim was underage.”
Bobby Sellers, a police commander for the Milan Police Department, said Monday that Martin worked under him at the department and that there were no indicators Martin did anything improper as an officer. “He worked for me as an investigator, and he did a really good job,” Sellers said. “He was somebody we worked with for a long time, and the allegations were a shock to us, but we have business to take care of and we can’t dwell on issues.”
Sellers said Martin was suspended the day after his initial arrest in July and that he now is suspended without pay. He said that at some point Martin’s employment will be reviewed but that he is innocent until proven guilty. Martin’s investigator position has been filled by another officer in the department, Sellers said.
Martin was booked into the Gibson County Jail on a $150,000 bond. His arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 13.
Cop on Top!
Posted: Aug 29, 2012 4:03 PM Updated: Aug 30, 2012 3:46 PM PDT
FRESNO, Calif. (WCJB) - A Fresno police officer has been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman while she was unconscious. William Wyatt was arrested on Tuesday. The alleged victim used to be a police officer in Reedley. Authorities say Wyatt drank with the woman at a northwest Fresno bar in August 2010 before assaulting her.
She allegedly told investigators she was too drunk to consent and did not remember having sex with Wyatt. Authorities say she learned she had been assaulted after nude photos of her surfaced on Wyatt's computer. The 34-year-old Wyatt has been on paid administrative leave since January.
Wyatt's attorney, says his client denies the charges. According to his attorney, Wyatt surrendered when the arrest warrant was issued and has since bailed out of jail.
Patrol Indictment!
Posted: Aug 21, 2012 1:32 PM PDT Updated: Aug 29, 2012 3:16 PM PDT
CLEVELAND, OH (WCJB) - Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced that Cleveland Police Officer Gregory C. Jones was indicted by a Grand Jury for rape, gross sexual imposition and kidnapping. On July 13, 2012, the female victim, 34, of Chicago, was visiting friends on Ohio Avenue in Cleveland. The victim and two friends were playing cards when one friend decided to call Jones to join them. After introductions the four talked and watched a movie instead of playing cards. Jones announced he was leaving and the victim walked him out. He then asked the victim if she would like a tour of the neighborhood and drove to his home. There, Jones informed the victim he had to run inside and she accompanied him.
Once inside Jones (pictured left) left the victim alone. He returned a few minutes later and attempted to force the victim to perform oral sex. She refused then Jones raped her as she told him he was hurting her and telling him to stop. Jones then offered the victim a rag to clean up with and told her to take a shower. She refused and walked back to her friend's house, where Jones was waiting in his vehicle. The victim said that Jones told her he was sorry and asked her not to tell their mutual friend.The victim called other friends to pick her up and they took her to the hospital where she was treated by a SANE nurse, then released. The victim spoke to Cleveland Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit and communicated the specifics of the incident. On July 18, 2012, a search warrant was executed at Jones' residence on Lawndale Avenue. DNA samples were obtained from Jones.
On August 9, 2012, Jones was arrested and charged with rape. Subsequently he was removed from duty pending the outcome of the felony charges. Prosecutor Mason said, "It is always a disappointment when a member of law enforcement tarnishes the badge. The allegations of this case are particularly troubling." An arraignment date has not yet been scheduled.
Posted: Aug 10, 2012 1:32 PM PDT Updated: Aug 29, 2012 3:16 PM PDT
CLEVELAND, OH -- A veteran Cleveland police officer was arrested Thursday by police internal affairs investigators on a rape warrant. Police spokesman Sgt. Sammy Morris said Patrolman Gregory Jones, 47, a 21-year veteran, was arrested without incident for an alleged rape which occurred July 13. Morris said Jones is accused of forcing a female victim to engage in sexual conduct. With the filing of charges Thursday, Jones was suspended by Cleveland Public Safety Director Martin Flask without pay pending the final ruling by the court.
Morris said Jones had been taken off street duty and given a different assignment while internal affairs investigators were gathering information and details on the July 13 incident. Jones' attorney, said he welcomes their day in court. "Gregory Jones is a 20-plus year veteran with an impeccable record," he said, "and he categorically denies the accusations. "As to the details we've been presented with, this is nothing but an accusation."
Probable Cause!
Posted Aug 17, 2012 @ 01:52 PM - Updated: Posted Aug 18, 2012 @ 12:02 AM PDTNORWOOD — A probable cause hearing was rescheduled this week to Sept. 28 for an ex-Westwood Police officer from Norwood who was charged with rape in June. McCarthy was arrested June 4 and charged with two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, police said. After the warrant was released, McCarthy turned himself over to the police. When he appeared in Dedham District Court at the time, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. The arrest came after a yearlong investigation.
Kevin McCarthy of 195 Sunnyside Road, Norwood, did not speak during the hearing Thursday in Dedham District Court. His lawyer said the probable cause hearing is likely to go forward and that he called the court last week to say he needed to reschedule it. He agreed to the new date of Sept. 28, suggested by Judge Mary Hogan Sullivan.
McCarthy was hired by the Westwood Police Department on Dec. 1, 1997, according Paul Tobin, the public information information officer for the department. On Aug. 4, 2004, McCarthy was placed on administrative leave for alleged violations of the department's rules and regulations, said Tobin. He was fired on March 28, 2005, at the conclusion of the investigation, said Tobin. Tobin would not elaborate on the violations.
On April 20, 2011, a woman told Norwood Police she was sexually assaulted overnight. She said she was parked on the side of the road when a man opened her passenger side door. When she asked him to leave, he replied that he was a police officer, according to the police reports. The man then looked through vehicle asking the victim for drugs, police said. She pleaded with him to leave, he refused, and sexually assaulted her, according to police. She described the man as being in his mid-40s wearing dark clothing. She said that judging by the way the man spoke, he sounded like a police officer, according to the police. She also told investigators the man had two small dogs with him.
Several weeks after this incident, Officer Andrew Jurewich was on patrol near where that assault occurred. At about 3:30 a.m. that day, he saw a man walking two dogs, police said. After Jurewich spoke to him, the officer told Det. John Gover. Gover, along with members of the Sexual Assault Unit of the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, investigated the case. Additional physical evidence was developed linking McCarthy to the rape, police said. McCarthy and the woman did not know each other, police said.
$75 Large, … or else ...!
Posted: July 29, 2012 9:35 AM – Updated: July 29, 2012 2:11 AM PDTNEW YORK (WCJB) - An NYPD detective has been suspended without pay after a kidnapping victim was found inside the officer’s garage. Police said that they traced a ransom call to a home in Springfield Gardens, Queens. When officers showed up on Saturday, 17-year veteran Ondre Johnson came out the front door. Although he was not charged, four other people — including a relative of the officer — were arrested. Police said that the victim was grabbed off of the street and was being held for $75,000 dollars. The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating.Trottin' Shot!
Posted: 12:23 p.m. EDT, Friday, May 18, 2012 - updated on: 10:09 pm PDT, Saturday, May 19, 2012“Officer Smith is what I believe one of our exemplary employees.”
-- Trotwood police captain John Porter describing Ronald Smith, a 5-year-veteran with the department, who shot a man twice for refus[ing] to comply with his demands and was jaywalking on Olive Road.
TROTWOOD, OH — A Trotwood police officer who shot a man when he allegedly refused to comply with demands has been cleared of any wrong doing, according to police. Ronald Smith, a 5-year-veteran with the department, fired his gun twice, hitting Denton Little, 40, in the chest, critically wounding him on March 25. Smith said Little refused to comply with his demands and was jaywalking on Olive Road. Smith has been taken off administrative leave and is back on duty, according to police. Smith is described as an exemplary employee who has worked with other law enforcement agencies to reduce gun violence.
“Officer Ronald Smith was hired July 18, 2006,” (pictured left) said Trotwood police captain John Porter at a media conference. “He is currently assigned as our K-9 officer.” Porter further stated Smith also sometimes works with Dayton Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office on a task force to help reduce gun violence. “Currently, there is nothing in officer Smith’s file that would indicate any type of excessive use of force,” Porter said. “Officer Smith is what I believe one of our exemplary employees.” Smith was named the department’s officer of the year in 2007.
According to Trotwood police captain John Porter (pictured right) while on patrol near the corner of Olive Road and Lorimer Avenue, Smith saw Little jaywalking across Olive and called out to him. Porter said that Little was asked to remove his hands from his back pockets, did not, and kept advancing toward Officer Smith, who was still in his vehicle. Smith responded with gunfire, firing two shots and hitting Little at least once, according to Porter. Porter, who is a training officer, has said that police are trained to use deadly force if they think they are in danger and the suspect is within 15 to 21 feet, which Little was. While no weapon was seen on the Dash Cam videotape made available to reporters, a back-up officer is heard asking about one. “He could have dropped something under my car,” Officer Smith said. “He just came at me.”
In an interview with local media, Little (pictured right) disputed the police department’s version of the incident. Little also disputed a theory by police that he was attempting “suicide by cop.’’ Little, in the same interview with reporters from his hospital bed, disputed the department’s account of the event, saying he was not suicidal as Trotwood police officials have suggested and that the shooting was unjustified. “I assume I did jaywalk,” Little said, and then the officer told him to “come here” and said he wanted to talk. Little disputed police claims that he had his hands in his pockets. He said he showed his hands and approached the vehicle because he was told to do so. “It happened so fast,” he said. The officer fired twice, hitting Little in the torso. “It’s just not making no sense,” Little said. “He could have Tased me.”Little, who has since been released from the hospital, will be formally charged with five misdemeanors ranging from obstructing official business to what amounts to jaywalking. Capt. John Porter said the charges are aggravated menacing (m1), inducing panic – both first-degree misdemeanors; obstructing official business, a second-degree misdemeanor; and two minor misdemeanors involving traffic violations – right of way yielded by pedestrian and pedestrian walking in roadway. If convicted on all of the counts, Little could be sentenced to 15 months jail and/or fined $3,000.
“We have no reason to believe that our relationship with the community has been hampered or hurt at all in any specific way,” Porter said to media sources in response to whether he or the police department felt that people would react negatively to the idea that a person was shot and charged for jaywalking.
Trottin' Shots Up!
Published : Friday, 11 May 2012, 5:53 PM EDT - Updated: Saturday, 19 May 2012, 10:13 PM PDTTROTWOOD, Ohio (WCJB) - A Trotwood police officer involved in a shooting outside a bar reportedly admitted to investigators that he thought he shot an undercover officer. Court documents were just released that confirm what some have long suspected. The shooting happened in April at Leo's II bar on Salem Avenue. Officers were called there on a disturbance. They were chasing a suspect when the shooting happened. The suspect and an Dayton undercover detective were hit. Investigators have long kept the information of who shot whom under wraps, but details of the shooting are part of an injunction to get the notorious bar shut down.
The Trotwood officer, Sgt. William Moore (pictured left) has been on administrative leave since the shooting. The report says Moore told a fellow officer on the scene that night, "I think I shot the officer". Moore was hired in Trotwood in July 2006. He was promoted to sergeant in September 2011. Sgt. Moore has discharged a weapon once before. He opened fire at a domestic standoff in December 2010 as part of the SWAT team. A man was holding his family hostage. He was shot, but it was unclear whether it was Moore's weapon that actually injured the man.The suspect, Deontay Cochran, is currently under home detention. The Dayton undercover detective, who has not been named, continues his recovery. Moore remains on administrative leave while the investigation continues.
Reader Pageviews by Country
United States
Movie Intermission!
The Hobbit - Full Production Video Blogs
Description: Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, journeys to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by a group of dwarves to reclaim a treasure taken from them by the dragon Smaug. (Runtime: 01:08:48)
More Below
