KIDS AND COPS: GEE, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
We called the Fairfax County police for help....the punks they sent threatened to arrest us. One cop tells my wife that if she keeps crying he'll arrest her and the other cop, La Forge or something, says to me "You call the police this what you get"I said that was wrong and he said "Go ahead, say more fuck'n thing prick" and I thought "Well if you insist".
Monday, August 11, 2014
Fairfax County Supervisor John W. Foust: Reward moral cowardice...send John Foust to Congre...
Fairfax County Supervisor John W. Foust: Reward moral cowardice...send John Foust to Congre...: As a county supervisor John Foust could have spoken out against the murders of unarmed, innocent citizens by the Fairfax County Police....
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Police Officer Charged
A Mars Hill Police Officer is
off the job after an alleged late night joy ride that included guns and
underage drinking. Jacob Ballard is a local who grew up in Marshall and went to
Madison High School. He also served in the Navy. Ballard joined the Mars Hill
Police force three months ago. He's charged with multiple counts including
aiding and abetting in a D.U.I. case, carrying a concealed weapon and allowing
underage drinking.
Sheriff's investigator say he
was out with 20 year-old James Fender, who is charged with D.W.I. and was
driving Ballard's truck at 1:50 a.m. Wednesday morning. Sheriff's reports show
the two were with three other underage men who were drinking and cited for
underage drinking.
Investigators don't know who
yet, but one of them shot up a sign on a rural road and also several mailboxes.
News 13 spoke with the Mars
Hill Police Chief who said he was contacted immediately when it occurred, and
it was handled immediately. As for his reaction to his officer's alleged
actions. "I was disappointed. An officer has a certain obligation when
they're enforcing the law they also need to uphold the law."
Ballard did not have his police
issued weapon with him, but other guns were recovered.
Officer Charged With Assault of Teen Ref To Have Disciplinary Hearing
A Lexington police officer
accused of assaulting a teenage referee at a ten-and-under soccer game last
year will be facing a diciplinary hearing.
The Lexington Hearald-Leader
reports the Urban County Council will move forward with a disciplinary hearing
against Keith Spears, who pleaded guilty to grabbing a 13-year-old's arm over a
call the boy made during a game in Scott County.
Officer Keith Spears pleaded
guilty to an amended charge of harassment, which is not considered a
misdemeanor, but a violation. He was originally charged with harassment with
physical contact.
LEX 18's investigative team
found paperwork that says Spears applied for "permanent occupational
disability" in March. If granted, he will retire from the Police
Department and collect tax-free checks for life.
A member of the pension board
says they haven't reached a decision.
Spears' hearing is scheduled
for June 30.
Cop in Towson Confrontation Disciplined
Derek Williams
An auxiliary police officer in
Baltimore County will no longer patrol the streets and has lost his authority
to make arrests.
44-year-old volunteer officer
Matthew Betz was caught on tape shoving and cursing at a student who was using
his cell phone to record police making an arrest.
Baltimore County police chief
Jim Johnson says Betz "behaved inappropriately", including using some
very foul language.
Betz is being placed on
permanent administrative duty and remains an auxiliary police officer.
In a statement, Chief Johnson
says “the language he used was incorrect, unnecessary and not helpful in
bringing the incident to closure.”
Betz has been a volunteer with
Baltimore County Police for 22 years.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Police Throw Grenade into Home and It Lands in Baby’s Crib
by
Tim Lynch
Officers
raiding a Georgia home in search of a drug suspect used a flash grenade not
knowing children were inside, severely burning a toddler who was sleeping just
inside the door, authorities and the boy’s family said.
Habersham
County Sheriff Joey Terrell said the officers were looking for a suspect who
may have been armed and followed proper procedure by using the device, which
creates a bright flash and loud bang to distract suspects
“It’s
a tragic incident,” Terrell said. “The baby didn’t deserve this.”
Alecia
Phonesavanh told local media her son was sleeping in his playpen when the raid
began Wednesday morning.
“The
cops threw that grenade in the door without looking first, and it landed right
in the playpen and exploded on his pillow right in his face,” Phonesavanh told
WSB-TV.
Officer accepts suspension after ‘tripping video’ surfaces
By
Patrick TolbertP
GEORGETOWN,
Texas (KXAN) — Officer George Bermudez will be suspended 40 days without pay as
punishment for tripping students who were rushing the field following a high
school soccer match.
“Officer
Bermudez overreacted,” Georgetown Chief of Police Wayne Nero said in a
statement. “The Georgetown Police Department failed to get it right.”
Nero
announced the suspension Wednesday, saying Bermudez had several days to
consider accepting the punishment or an indefinite suspension.
In
a report for the internal investigation, Nero went on to say that he still
believes Bermudez can be a viable officer for GPD but he can “confidently state
that similar actions in the future will result in [Bermudez'] dismissal from
our organization.”
Bermudez
was placed on leave with pay after video of the incident surfaced in mid-April.
Chula Vista cop on leave for allegedly attacking teen
by
Sharon Chen
CHULA
VISTA, Calif. – A Chula Vista police officer was placed on leave after he
allegedly attacked a teenage boy at the elementary graduation, authorities
confirmed Wednesday.
An
investigation is underway after the alleged victim said he was assaulted at
Chula Vista Elementary School by an off-duty officer, CVPD Captain Lon Turner
said. The unidentified officer has not been arrested or charged as of
Wednesday.
“The
officer was not arrested,” said Captain Turner.
“[Investigators] conducted witness checks and spoke with several parties
that evening. That officer later has
been placed on administrative leave.”
The
victim’s father told Fox5 that’s not enough.
“Nothing’s
being done to protect my son, there’s no ankle bracelets, no automatic
restraining order,” said the father, who wanted to remain anonymous. “He
attacked my son and abuses my son. He’s only 16.”
According
to the father, the off-duty officer ran behind his son and placed him in a
choke hold – not once, but two times.
“He
ran back and put him in a choke-hold again. He shoved him up against the wall
and punched him in the stomach again,” said the victim’s father.
The
father said the officer has a history of violence towards his family and is in
a relationship with the alleged victim’s mother.
“She
was at the ceremony and she did nothing,” said the father.
“There
was apparently some history obviously between the mom and the son,” said
Captain Turner. “There was an incident
that happened earlier in the day between the mom and son at another graduation
ceremony. We believe that may have carried over into this situation, we’re
still flushing those facts out.”
The
father is in the process of filing a restraining order.
“He
needs to be brought to justice, he needs to be charged and prosecuted for his
crimes.”
The
teen’s mother declined to speak to Fox5 Wednesday.
Fort Smith police officer resigns after arrest
Fort
Smith police officer resigns after arrest
FORT
SMITH, Ark. (AP) - A Fort Smith police officer has resigned after being
arrested for allegedly pointing a gun
at a child and at deputies at his home near Muldrow, Oklahoma.
Police
say 40-year-old Naaman Adcock resigned Wednesday after being placed on
administrative leave following his arrest early Tuesday by Sequoyah County
deputies who were responding to reports of shots fired at Adcock's home.
Authorities
allege that Adcock threatened to shoot a 5-year-boy and pointed a weapon at
deputies when they arrived at the home.
Adcock
says he fired shots inside his home, but that no one was at home at the time.
Conroe police sergeant gets probation in teen's death
CONROE,
TX (KTRK) –
By Deborah Wrigley
A police
sergeant convicted of manslaughter in the death of a 19-year-old shoplifting
suspect has been given probation.
A
Montgomery County jury delivered a five year prison sentence and recommended
probation. Sentences less than 10 years are automatically eligible for
probation.
The
mother of Russell Rios openly wept at the sentence. "He killed my
son," she said through sobs outside the courtroom, "and he gets the
five years?"
Neither
Sgt. Jason Blackwelder nor his family had any public comments after the
sentencing decision. His attorney says there is still a federal lawsuit pending
against Blackwelder.
Everett Police Officer Arrested In Alleged Beating Of 10-Year-Old Son
LYNN
(CBS) – A police officer from Everett faces charges for allegedly beating his
10-year-old because he got in trouble at school.
Jermaine
Bellard, 32, of Saugus, was arraigned Friday in Lynn District Court on one
count of assault and battery on a child with injury, according to the Essex District
Attorney’s office.
Saugus
police say Melrose-Wakefield hospital officials called them, saying the
10-year-old child was in the emergency room with injuries to his back and
buttocks
According
to prosecutors, the boy and his mother said Bellard told the boy to lie on his
bed and beat him with a belt 14 times because a school principal said he’d been
acting out in class.
Prosecutors
said the boy told them his father has beaten him before.
A
lawyer for the 260-pound Bellard described him as a “very very good police
officer,” adding that “he’s been a very good father over the years.”
The
judge set bail for Bellard at $1,000 and ordered him to stay away from the
child.
He
is scheduled to return to court Aug. 6 for a pre-trial
Denver cop arrested on child abuse, domestic violence charges
By
Noelle Phillips
Denver
police officer has been jailed on nine charges — including child abuse,
domestic violence and a weapons charge — filed by the Thornton Police
Department, officials said Monday.
Daniel
Diaz Deleon, 42, was arrested for harassment, obstructing a peace officer,
resisting arrest, domestic violence, child abuse, criminal mischief, false
imprisonment, reckless endangerment and prohibited use of weapons, according to
Adams County Jail records.
Documents
related to the weekend arrest were not immediately available.
Deleon
has been ordered to speak with his commanders, said department spokesman Sonny
Jackson.
Once
that meeting happens, the command staff will decide how to handle his
employment status, Jackson said.
Most
likely, Deleon will be put on desk duty while the charges are pending, said
Detective Mary McIver, a department spokeswoman.
Deleon,
a detective who was hired in 2004, is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
Thornton
police were dispatched at 11:53 p.m. Saturday to a domestic violence in
progress call on the 900 block of Thorncreek Court.
As
officers arrived, they heard gunshots inside the house. A dispatcher was able
to contact Deleon inside. He then came outside, where he was arrested, said
Thornton Officer Matt Barnes, a department spokesman.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Fort Smith cop and wife arrested in Sequoyah County
Naaman Adcock
By Dianna F. Dandridge-Rystrom
Staff Writer
A Fort Smith, Ark., police
officer, Naaman Adcock, and his wife Tabitha Adcock, who live in Sequoyah
County, were arrested Tuesday and charged with numerous felony firearms charges
and child endangerment.
According to Sheriff Ron
Lockhart, deputies responded to a call of shots being fired at a house north of
Muldrow.
Lockhart said a five-year-old child had asked neighbors for
help.
Deputies determined the couple
had argued and both parents had fired a gun, while intoxicated, with the
children in the house.
On Thursday, deputies served a
search warrant at the Adcock home and found video equipment that might have
recorded the incidence.
Lockhart said the new evidence
will be sent to Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for analysis.
Deputies reported that Tabitha
Adcock did not want the children talking to the deputies and that her version
of the incident was different from that of her husband.
Deputies removed all firearms
from the house and allowed the children and Tabitha Adcock to go to a family
member's home until a forensic interview could be scheduled.
Naaman Adcock was charged with
assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm while intoxicated,
reckless conduct with a firearm, feloniously pointing a firearm and child
endangerment.
Tabitha Adcock was charged with
failure to protect, child endangerment, possession of a firearm while
intoxicated and reckless conduct with a firearm.
The Adcocks were booked into
the Sequoyah County Jail. His bond was set at $24,000 and hers is $14,000.Both
bonded out on Wednesday.
According to Sgt. Daniel
Grubbs, Fort Smith Police Department, public information officer, Naaman Adcock
resigned Wednesday.
The Fort Smith Police
Department closed further investigation against Adcock, upon his resignation.
Cop arrested after fleeing car accident that injured his girlfriend
Julio Jimenez, 29, hit the gas
while his girlfriend leaned into the backseat of a vehicle to deal with the
pair’s 3-year-old. She was thrown to the ground during early Sunday morning
incident. Jimenez turned himself in to police later in the day and was charged
with accident causing injury, reckless endangerment and assault, police said.
The woman suffered cuts and bruises.
BY TINA MOORE
A cop hit the gas pedal while
his girlfriend was leaning into the backseat of a vehicle where their
3-year-old son was Sunday, throwing her to the ground, police said.
Julio Jimenez, 29, caused the
car to jolt forward at the couple’s Bronx home around 2 a.m., police said.
He turned himself in at the
45th Precinct station house at 2877 Barkley Ave. in the Throggs Neck
neighborhood.
He was charged with leaving the
scene of an accident causing injury, reckless endangerment and assault, police
said.
His 23-year-old girlfriend
suffered from cuts and bruises. It wasn’t clear if she was treated at the scene
or taken to a hospital.
Jimenez has been a cop for 4
years and is assigned to the 42nd Precinct in the Morrisanna neighborhood,
police said.
Former MPD officer arrested, charged with kidnapping
Rebecca Burylo,
A
man arrested last week and charged with kidnapping a young woman and also attempting
to entice a 13-year-old into his car is a former lieutenant with the Montgomery
Police Department
Bessemer police on May 21
arrested George David Salum, 53, on charges of first-degree kidnapping,
enticing a child, eluding police and resisting arrest.
Detective Kenneth Reese with
the Criminal Investigations at the Bessemer Police Department, said police
received a call at about 7:30 a.m. May 21 concerning a white male having
approached a 13-year-old girl.
Reese said a group of children
were waiting at a bus stop when one girl was approached by an adult male, who
later was identified as Salum. Witnesses said Salum offered the girl money to
get into his car and leave with him, but she refused, according to Reese.
Police began a search for
Salum's silver Hyundai sedan, but when they found it about noon with Salum
inside and attempted to pull it over, he fled. Police pursued the vehicle to
the Hoover-Bessemer city limits, where Salum stopped and was arrested without
incident or injury.
A passenger in Salum's car,
described by police as a woman in her 30s, told officers Salum had abducted
her.
Salum had been living in an
alcohol recovery house in Bessemer and had no previous run-ins with the law
there, according to police.
Local attormey Julian
McPhillips represented Salum when he faced allegations in 2005 of improperly
using his office and selling the identity of an undercover officer.
The incident was related to the
federal drug trafficking arrest of Montgomerian Leon Carmichael, who in June
2003 had built a $1.8 million, 3,000-seat entertainment facility in west
Montgomery. Carmichael was arrested in November 2003 after federal agents found
weapons and more than 500 pounds of marijuana. He was convicted in 2005.
A jury found that Salum had
sold the police ID photo and personnel file for undercover officer Raymond
David DeJohn — as well as police records and background on four prosecution
witnesses — to Carmichael. DeJohn's ID photo later appeared on Carmichael's
website under the banner "WANTED," along with photos of the four
other witnesses.
McPhillips said he is surprised
at the current charges facing Salum, adding that he always thought Salum was a
fairly decent man having served in the police department for about 20 years.
"Deep down inside, he's a
good guy, I don't know what went wrong," McPhillips said. "They are
only allegations still. I hope it's not true, what he's been accused of."
Salum is currently being held
under $80,000 bond in the Jefferson County Jail.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Video shows Boynton Beach police officer kick boy's legs
Officer placed on adminstrative duty after video surfaces
Peter Burke
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. -
A South Florida police officer has been placed on administrative
duty after cellphone video that seemingly shows him assaulting a boy has
surfaced on the Internet.
Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said in a
statement Tuesday that the department is aware of the videos, which first
appeared on the website LiveLeak.com.
"We are concerned as to the initial appearance of the
video, and despite the fact that we have received no formal complaints at this
time, we are committed to reviewing the situation in its entirety and taking
whatever action is deemed most appropriate at the conclusion of our investigation,"
Slater said.
According to the website, two sixth-grade students were pulled
off a school bus for their behavior.
The first video apparently shows the officer putting one of the
boys in a choke hold.
In the second video, it shows that same officer kicking the
boy's legs, causing him to fall on his back to the ground.
The incident happened May 8 at the intersection of Northwest
Fourth Street and Boynton Beach Boulevard.
Police did not say what school the boys attended.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
The bastards murder him and got away with it
Police say video footage showed Officer George Bermudez tripping one person, attempting to trip another
GEORGETOWN,
Texas -- The Vandegrift girls soccer team claimed the 4A title after beating
Wylie East this weekend.
It's
the first time any soccer program from the Austin area has won the state
championship but that's not the only thing parents and students are talking
about days after. Many are outraged after witnessing a Georgetown police
officer tripping and pushing students as they rushed the field to celebrate.
Police
say video footage showed Officer George Bermudez tripping one person,
attempting to trip another, physically restraining another person and shoving a
fourth person as people leaped from the stands after Vandegrift High School won
the state championship Saturday.
"We
get in the dog pile and it's just crazy you know," said Gray Goolsby, a
Vandegrift student who joined in the celebration.
But
before long Goolsby felt a tug on his back.
"I
felt this hand grab my shoulder and just pull me out of the dog pile and says,
'Get back to the stands,'" said Goolsby.
Goolsby
says he holds no ill will against the officer who he believes was just trying
to do his job.
"I
hope he doesn't lose his job over this because we were just trying to have fun,
and he's just trying to do his job, and hopefully everything works out,"
said Goolsby.
"These
kids were excited. They wanted to celebrate," said parent Karen Morse.
Morse's daughter is a junior on the team. "It was so exciting. In fact, it
was so exciting, I jumped up and almost blacked out and hit the woman in front
of me!"
Karen
Morse watched as her daughter's hard work paid off but something else on the
field also caught her attention.
"All
the kids are jumping over, friends, boyfriends, everybody's just running. Then
I see this police officer just sticking out his leg," she said.
In
the video, you see a student hit the ground then limp away. Bermudez then
sticks out his leg in an attempt to trip a girl, then grabs another student and
pushes him away and then another girl is pushed to the ground.
"They
just wanted to, you know, go and celebrate with the girls basically and have a
good time," said sophomore Rohan Gupta. "We're just kids running on
to a field to celebrate our team and it was kind of too much. It was kind of a
cheap shot going for his legs," he said.
Gupta
also caught it on his phone and uploaded this video to YouTube.
"We've
been inundated all day with not only media but concerned parents, not only from
Central Texas/Georgetown but actually across the nation," said Georgetown
Police Captain Roland Waits.
Waits
said last year they named Bermudez officer of the year and now he's under
investigation for misconduct.
"So
naturally this is very alarming and concerning to us," he said.
"It
wasn't like they were rowdy. They were just celebrating," said parent Lori
Digesualda. "I hope that this doesn't overshadow all of the hard work and
the dedication that the team, parents and coaches put in."
It
was a sweet victory, turned sour. Now these parents have just one question:
What was the wrong doing?
Bermudez
has been with the Georgetown Police Department since 2005, and he is assigned
to the Community Resources Unit. He's now on paid administrative leave.
The
Georgetown Police Department Police Chief Wayne Nero issued a statement on
Monday in response to the on-going internal affairs investigation:
"As
would be appropriate given the circumstances, I have fielded a number of phone
calls and emails regarding the recent actions of Officer Bermudez as depicted
in the circulating videos. After personally watching the videos, the actions of
my officer are very concerning to me as well. As the Chief of Police, it is my
responsibility to ensure that this matter is investigated objectively,
thoroughly, and in a timely manner without bias. We are doing just that.
I
want to reassure the public that it is not the position of the Georgetown
Police Department to neither condone nor tolerate misconduct of any type. This
matter was immediately forwarded to the Professional Standards Division upon
receiving notice of this incident. Given that we are a Civil Service agency
governed by Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code, there is a
well-defined process for investigating and rendering disposition of internal
investigations and we are following that process. Consistent with allegations
of similar nature, Officer Bermudez has been placed on administrative leave
with pay pending the outcome of the internal affairs investigation.
I
realize there are many condemning Officer Bermudez and demanding his immediate
termination. As an executive manager, it is my duty to ensure that a thorough
investigation is conducted into this matter and that all of the appropriate and
relevant facts are gathered so that a well-informed disciplinary decision can
be rendered. I can assure you that this will take place in a timely manner. As
a leader, it is my duty to support Officer Bermudez as both a human being and
as a troop for which I am directly responsible. As a leader, I can support
Officer Bermudez through the process of accountability without condoning or
supporting his behavior – that is what leaders do. "
Special needs tot charged with resisting arrest by U.S. cops - 8-year-old had run away from school
By
Donal MacIntyre
U.S.
cops and the justice system are being held up to ridicule as an eight-year-old
boy with severe learning difficulties has been charged by police after he ran
away from his special needs school.
Police
said that they chased 8-year-old Edward Hart, who had blted from the Hillside
Learning and Behaviour Center in Allegan, Michigan. He then cursed and hit an
officer when he tried to hand him back to his 'special needs' trained teachers.
The
Allegan police force is facing public ridicule over the incident and the
decision to charge the 8-year-old special needs student, with two juvenile
charges which could result in juvenile detention, an institution not unlike the
special needs school he currently attends.
Notwithstanding
the fact that the child is learning disabled, the public prosecutor is adamant
the charges will stick, despite the public outcry.
“I
don’t even think he did anything wrong in this case. He’s special needs,”
Robert Bluhm, Edward’s stepfather told Fox 17 news.
“He’s
ran away from the school before… but he’s never made it as far as he did this
time, he said.
Police
said that when the child was asked his name, he cursed and assaulted armed
officers.
The
child was then thrown into the back of a police car and taken to the station in
a move which is close to child cruelty, his stepfather said.
“He
has special needs. He has anger issues. They know this, and they’re going to
throw him in the back of a cop car all by himself,” Bluhm said.
The
child apparently broke a $50 camera in the back of the car and has been charged
specifically with malicious destruction of police property and resisting and
obstructing arrest.
“If
they had him under control, why didn’t they ride with him in the back of this
cop car. So this incident would have never took place?”, the stepfather told
Fox news.
The
police force are insistent on reclaiming the cost of the camera and the
prosecutor is insistent on bringing the child to court.
Police officer charged with assault on child
A
Beaufort police officer will appear in court next month on a charge that he
assaulted a child, authorities said.
On
April 20, deputies with the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office served Capt.
Robert Dunn with the arrest warrant, according to information released by the
sheriff’s office Tuesday after receiving several media inquiries.
Dunn,
46, was arrested on a warrant charging him with misdemeanor assault on a child
under the age of 12, the sheriff’s office said.
The
warrant indicated the female child is age 10 but little other information was
available.
The
charge was filed at the magistrate’s office and not by the sheriff’s office.
Dunn
was released on a written promise to appear in court. He court date is
scheduled for May 6.
Florida Teen Wrongly Arrested In K-9 Attack, Files Lawsuit Against Orlando Police Department
Khier
Casino, Thu, April 24, 2014
A
Florida man has filed a lawsuit against the Orlando Police Department after one
of its officers mistook him for a robbery suspect and was attacked by a K-9.
Isaiah
Montanez, 19, was riding his bicycle on March 31, 2013 when he was dragged off
his bike by Orlando Officer James Parker, who was looking for a suspect.
The
cop then let his K-9 loose to take Montanez down and maul him.
“He
is still very much traumatized,” Bradley Laurent, Montanez’ attorney, told WESH
2 News.
He
was just riding along and all of a sudden he just gets yoked off his bicycle by
a police officer and the dog is immediately released on him," Laurent told
WFTV Orlando. According to a police report, Parker was searching in the same
area at the time for a Hispanic robbery suspect, and he believed Montanez fit
the description. Parker also saw another man, identified as Joshua Mejia,
riding a bicycle with Montanez. The officer claims he ordered the duo to stop,
but only Mejia listened to the command, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Montanez
did not stop and “tried to pedal harder and go around me,” Parker said. That's
when the officer pulled him off the bike. Montanez was charged with resisting
arrest without violence, but the state attorney's office did not seek to
prosecute and the case is now closed - See more at: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/crime/florida-teen-wrongly-arrested-k-9-attack-files-lawsuit-against-orlando-police#sthash.NW8JT4kX.dpuf
Sunday, April 20, 2014
SEE IT: Texas cop breaks teen's arm while trying to stop school fight
BY LEE MORAN
A Texas cop has been suspended
after he was caught on camera snapping a student's arm as he broke up a school
fight.
Stephen Rivers was filmed
harshly grabbing the teen's limb and awkwardly slamming it forward, as a female
security guard held the boy firmly on the ground.
The sound of the bone breaking
can be heard in the graphic cellphone clip, recorded at West Brook High School,
in Beaumont, on March 7.
The Beaumont Enterprise reports
that Rivers, a part-time officer on the campus, was suspended without pay
following the incident.
An investigation is due to be
completed in the coming days, revealed Beaumont School District Police Chief
Clydell Duncan.
The circumstances that led to
the fight between the teen and another male student are currently unclear.
However, it has been reported
that the pair had fought on various occasions before.
Ex-cop, son charged in slaying
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —Action 7
News is learning about the arrest of a former state police officer and his son
who were both arrested and charged with murder.
Jack McDowell and his son were
arrested last year, but the warrant was just unsealed.
Rio Rancho police raided
McDowell's home in January 2013 in connection with the murder of James Chavez,
35, who was killed a year and a half earlier.
McDowell and his son were
arrested and charged, but any clues about possible motives were sealed in court
documents until recently.
Our media partners at the Albuquerque
Journal obtained an arrest warrant affidavit, claiming McDowell was a gun
runner and meth dealer with ties to the Bandidos Motorcycle Gang.
Police said they always
suspected the pair, but it took a year and a half to get enough evidence.
McDowell's defense attorney
said his client is innocent. He also said the prosecution's witnesses are
unreliable, and he'll try to keep some of them from testifying.
One of them, he said, has a
separate case pending -- the high-speed chase that severely injured Corrales
police Officer Jeremy Romero.
In the murder case, court
documents said that witness and another were both hesitant to say anything for
fear of retaliation.
McDowell and his son are being
held on $1 million cash-only bonds in Sandoval County.
In 1984, McDowell was part of
Gov. Toney Anaya's security detail while working for state polic
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Prosecutors Won't Press Charges Against Boy Who Allegedly Threw A Snowball At A Cop
By Jeremy GornerTribune
reporter
The 13-year-old boy had been
singled out last month for hitting a Chicago police officer with a snowball
about a block from his West Side elementary school.
“I thought he was going to
drive me around the corner and say, ‘Don’t do it again” or “Don’t let me see
you back around here making trouble,’” the boy said. But the officer fired
questions at him for about half an hour while he sat in the back of the squad
car with his hands cuffed, according to the boy.
He was then taken home briefly
before being hustled to a police station, arrested for aggravated battery to a
police officer and released to his mother after about six hours in a lockup,
his family said.
The incident drew media
attention and sparked questions about whether a juvenile with no previous
arrests should face a felony charge for throwing a snowball, even at a cop.
Experts contacted by the Tribune expressed surprise at how police handled the
case.
“I can understand why police
officers can feel the need to ensure that their authority is respected, but I
do think that just looking at the nature of the charge, it sounds pretty
extreme,” said Bruce Boyer, director of Loyola University Chicago’s Civitas
ChildLaw Center.
The Cook County state’s
attorney’s office apparently agrees. Office spokeswoman Sally Daly told the
Tribune that prosecutors don’t plan to press charges against the boy.
“We just don’t believe the
matter rises to any level of a criminal charge based on our review,” said Daly,
who indicated that prosecutors would let the boy know he won’t have to appear
for a scheduled court appearance next week at the county Juvenile Justice
Center.
Adam Collins, the spokesman for
police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, said the boy’s conduct could have been
“extremely dangerous” since the officer was driving at the time. But since the
officer was not injured, Collins acknowledged, “the incident could probably
have been handled in a different manner.”
The police officer who made the
arrest, a nine-year veteran, declined to comment to a reporter who tried to
talk to him by phone about his reasons for making the arrest.
During a recent interview at
their Austin neighborhood home, the 13-year-old boy and his mother said they
were baffled by the arrest. The newspaper is not identifying the family because
the boy is only a juvenile. The lanky eighth grader denied he threw the
snowball and said it didn’t even hit the officer, striking his police car
instead. He said he was with a group of about 15 students near George Leland
Elementary School after classes on Feb. 19 and that he didn’t see who threw the
snowball.
Police officers have discretion
on whether to arrest minors or release them to their parents. Often juveniles
are given a “station adjustment” – in which police make a record of an arrest
but release the minor to their parents without referring the case to juvenile
court. If the minor goes to court, however, a point system -- based on the
severity of the charge and criminal history -- determines if a juvenile should
be held in the detention facility. Juveniles who don’t score high are sent home
with new court dates.
For more than a century, Cook
County’s juvenile court has operated on the understanding that children
possessed great potential for rehabilitation. As a result, the court often
tries to find an alternative to incarceration such as community service or
simple apologies, said Elizabeth Clarke, a former Cook County assistant public
defender who represented juveniles.
The 13-year-old boy was
suspended from school for five days and fears the arrest and discipline could
mar his chances at getting accepted into Whitney M. Young Magnet High School,
regarded as one of the city’s best schools. The boy said he gets Bs, Cs and a couple
of As in school, enjoys reading but is struggling with algebra. While on
suspension, he said he sat around his apartment listening to rap music,
watching movies and playing “NBA 2K 2014“ on his Xbox 360.
According to a police report,
the school’s dean of students identified the boy to the officer as the one who
threw the snowball. Police said the snowball hit the officer on his arm while
he was driving by in his car. The boy said the dean had gotten angry at him
earlier that same day and admitted he had talked back to him.
Leland, located in the 4900
block of West Congress Parkway, is one of more than 50 Chicago public schools
part of the Safe Passage program – a security initiative that requires a police
presence at the school before and after classes.
The boy denied he belongs to a
gang in his crime-ridden neighborhood. He thinks he was targeted because he was
the only one in the group of about 15 youths who had his hair in dreadlocks.
Police, he said, often harass teens in his neighborhood with dreads, assuming
they’re up to no good.
The boy’s mother, who is
raising him and his sister on her own, also expressed concern that the incident
could hurt her son’s chances of qualifying for Whitney Young. A manager at a
Popeye’s chicken restaurant, she said she’s never been happy with life on the
West Side because of the violence and bad schools.
“I want to move far out. I want
to do better. I’m trying,” she said in a somber tone. “It’s upsetting. It’s
stressful.”
Rosemary
Regina Sobol contributed.
Jordan Miles testifies he did nothing wrong before arrest
By Bob Mayo
PITTSBURGH —A former high
school student said Thursday he did nothing wrong before three Pittsburgh
police officers forcefully arrested him more than four years ago.
The former CAPA school honors student
said he thought they were muggers when they demanded drugs, guns and money
during the incident in January 2010. Miles, who is suing the officers over
alleged civil rights violations, told the jurors that he slipped on ice and
fell as he tried to get away, then they attacked.
"They set upon him and
beat him. They beat him savagely while he laid his face in the snow. He
struggled to get up. He struggled to get away, but he never touched them. He
never swung at them," recounted Miles' attorney, Joel Sansone, outside the
federal courthouse in Pittsburgh.
Bryan Campbell, an attorney for
one of the officers, also spoke with reporters during a recess in testimony.
"There's no doubt he used
force against these officers. The one officer had to go to the hospital. Today
he said he didn't resist, he didn't do anything like that," Campbell said.
Officers Michael Saldutti,
David Sisak and Richard Ewing previously testified that Miles resisted arrest
and that they thought he had a gun, though none was found. They've suggested
they may have mistaken a bottle of Mountain Dew in his coat pocket for a
weapon. The officers say they discarded the bottle. Miles said he never had a pop bottle with him
and doesn't like Mountain Dew. On every major point, Miles' testimony and that
of the officers is at odds and there were no independent witnesses.
"He didn't know that they
were police officers, because there were no badges. There was no 'Pittsburgh
police' shouted in a commanding voice. He saw three guys jump out of a car and
mug him," said Sansone.
The officers have said they
plainly showed their badges and repeatedly called out that they were police.
"That's what's not
credible. You have three experienced police officers and he said from the very
start of this to the very end, he never knew they were police officers, they
never said they were police officers," said Campbell.
Miles testified they kept
hitting him after he was handcuffed and that they hit him with a hard object in
addition to striking him with their fists and knees.
"So he lay there and he
took their beating. Then they handcuffed him. And as he lay with his face in
the snow, praying, they beat him because he prayed," said Sansone.
"We find it incredible to
listen to his story. That he thinks that three white males driving around
Homewood at 11 o'clock at night (were) looking to mug or rob anybody,"
Campbell said.
Miles, who is black, alleges in
his federal civil rights lawsuit that the white officers wrongfully arrested
him and used excessive force
The former high school student
testified Thursday that he did nothing wrong before the three Pittsburgh police
officers arrested and beat him in 2010 as he was walking to his grandmother's
house.
Miles testified that he had
never before been arrested, played the viola in school and was an honors
student.
Miles' attorney introduced
pictures taken at a hospital after the arrest that showed his face swollen
almost beyond recognition and said examinations showed he could have been hit
14 times in the head. The officers acknowledge kneeing Miles repeatedly and
punching him in the head, but they said that was all necessary to keep him from
reaching for what they believed was a gun.
After the arrest "it hurt
to move just about every part of my body," Miles said.
Saldutte, Sisak and Ewing say
many of Miles' facial injuries occurred when he was tackled by Sisak and driven
through a shrub, head-first. Miles has insisted he was never driven through the
bush and has said the officers ripped locks of hair from his head.
Miles also said he agreed to a
drug test at the hospital because he never used drugs. The test came back
negative.
A district judge said he didn't
find the police version credible and dismissed all criminal charges against
Miles. An FBI investigation resulted in no criminal civil rights charges
against the officers.
Miles' lawsuit was heard by
another jury two years ago, which cleared the officers of allegations they
prosecuted him maliciously. But that jury couldn't decide the excessive force
and wrongful arrest claims that are the focus of the current retrial.
Miles said that he felt
confused and "helpless" at the jail.
"I didn't do anything
wrong," he said.
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