Davie officer cleared in child abuse gets job back

A veteran Davie Police Officer recently returned to work eight months after he was accused of striking his two teenage daughters during a fight. Timothy "Scott" Donohue, 47, resumed his position as a road patrol officer on Aug. 29 after he was suspended without pay for two weeks and signed an agreement regarding future discipline.

Davie Police Chief Patrick Lynn recommended firing Donohue as a result of his arrest in December on felony child abuse and misdemeanor battery charges. But the town pursued a lesser discipline that allows Donohue to keep his position as long as he doesn't violate another police department policy, such as neglecting his duties or not showing up for work, within the next three years.

Donohue first joined the Davie Police Department in 1998 and makes $84,237 annually. Donohue was paid his regular salary while he was on leave during the investigation.

The officer was arrested by his own police department after he allegedly struck one of his daughters in the face and pushed another daughter during a fight over a Bible that he apparently tossed on the floor. Donohue was on-duty and was not supposed to be at home when the domestic dispute happened.

Idiot cop shoots teen by accident

Officer accidentally shoots woman in leg, SPD says

A Seattle police officer who accidentally shot a 19-year-old woman in the leg Wednesday night has been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, police said

A Seattle police officer who accidentally shot a 19-year-old woman in the leg Wednesday night has been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, police said.

Assistant Police Chief Paul McDonagh said the shooting is being investigated by the department’s homicide and assault detectives and will be reviewed by the Firearms Review Board as well as the Use of Force Review Board.

“Any discharge of a weapon is very, very serious to us,” he said during a news conference.

The 29-year-old officer, who has not been identified, has been with the department a year and a half, police said.

The woman, who was wanted on felony warrants, suffered a wound not considered life-threatening, police said. She was unarmed.

McDonagh said the officer was among those responding to a false report of an exploding incendiary device at a hotel on Aurora Avenue North and North 120th Street around 11 p.m. when he saw one woman punching another on the sidewalk near the hotel.

One woman saw the officer and took off running, McDonagh said.

He said the officer got out of his car and chased the woman across the street, through a parking lot and behind a building into a dark corner. The woman refused the officer’s commands to stop and show her hands, McDonagh said.

He said the officer could not see the woman’s hands, but believed they were near or in her waistband. The officer then “drew out his gun” to cover himself and in doing so the weapon discharged unintentionally, police said.

The officer immediately realized he’d made a mistake, called for help and apologized to the woman.

The woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center. It was unclear if she was still there Thursday evening. She was booked on several felony warrants out of Snohomish County, McDonagh said.

McDonagh said officers are trained to place their index finger along the side of the handgun rather than on the trigger whenever they pull a handgun from its holster. An officer is only to place his finger on the trigger once he decides to use deadly force, the assistant chief said.

Police are investigating the exact circumstances that caused the weapon to discharge, said police spokesman Jeff Kappel.

According to police, the original call about the incendiary device was not connected to the brawl between the two women, police said. It turned out to be a bogus report made by a person with mental-health issues, police said.

Teen accidentally shot by police

Teen accidentally shot by police recovering at Grady

A 16-year-old teenager skipping class from Southwest DeKalb High School was shot by a DeKalb County police officer investigating a home invasion.

DeKalb County police said one of their officers was forced to shoot a burglary suspect Tuesday morning.

It all started around 10:30 a.m. on Streamside Court when Prince Norwood heard the sound of someone trying to break into her house.

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Zaynaah Griffin, a friend of the teen, who she identified as Marquez Redden, told CBS Atlanta's Mike Paluska, Redden was shot through the right forearm. The bullet went through muscle and came out his elbow.

"He told me 'They shot me, he shot the wrong person,'" Griffin said. "He didn't know anyone's house got broken into, he got scared because kids get locked up for truancy, he ran and hid behind there."

We spoke to Griffin before she went to visit Redden at Grady Memorial Hospital.

"He was in a lot of pain, he thought he was dying," Griffin said.

Police Chief Cedric Alexander said officers were searching the area near Streamside Court in Decatur when one of them noticed someone start running through the woods.

"He saw police officers in the area, knew he was truant so he took off running," Alexander said. "And at one point, one of our officers saw him take off, along with a K-9 too."

The home invasion started around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Prince Norwood heard the sound of someone trying to break into her house. She hid in her closet and called 911 and then phoned her husband. DeKalb police were able to capture two suspects involved in the burglary hiding inside the ceiling of the home. At least two other suspects were on the run. At the time, Alexander said his officers were actively searching for the suspects and had no idea the teenager the officer was chasing was truant.

"He [the officer] was not aware at all, because he was going house-to-house still following the trail and that is when he came up on this truant kid," Alexander said. "We weren't even looking for him but unbeknown to the officers, they thought he was the one running away from the other crime scene."

The officer entered a shed where the teenager was hiding, got startled and fired one shot striking the teenager in the right arm.

Alexander said they just learned this morning that the 16-year-old was not involved in the home invasion when they went to the hospital to interview him.

"What I will say to the community is this, as things unfold in this department we are going to be forthright and transparent about it. And that is what we are doing here," Alexander said.

Griffin said Redden told her he was trying to surrender to police when he was shot.

"The officer came back there with a dog, and the officer said some language cussing him, and he threw his hands up and the police officer just shot him," Griffin said.

No new trial for ex-cop convicted in teen suspect beating

HOUSTON -- The only Houston police officer convicted in the beating of Chad Holley

Drew Ryser was convicted of official oppression and sentenced to two years probation. Ryser's defense team requested a new trial. It contends there was jury misconduct when a juror went home, looked up the definition of misconduct on the internet and brought that information into jury deliberations.

On Tuesday morning, a judge rejected the request.

"Both sides were very competently represented," said special prosecutor Jon Munier. "Their argument has some merit to it, just as ours does, but in the end I believe justice was served."

"We'll appeal the case and let the court of appeals decides whether or not this was a correct ruling," said Ryser's defense attorney, Lisa Andrews.

Three other former officers were charged with crimes in this case. Andrew Blomberg was acquitted, while Raad Hasan and Phil Bryan accepted plea deals.