Police abuses

[Louis VI the Fat]

Or, in one Texas town, police:

That's just third world. I know America likes states rights, county rights, much autonomy for local law enforment. But this is just insane. Civilized America should clamp down on this.

Kidnapping they say. I call it sheer piracy. Aye, these scally wags should paint a Jolly Roger on their police vehicles when they go buccaneering passing-by landlubbers.

[InsaneApache]

Unbelievable.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Criminals pretending to have badges:

Deputies said two suspects armed with a long-barrel weapon burst into a south Orange County home this morning and shot one of the residents to death.

Orange County Sheriff's Office investigators said the victim is a 38-year-old man who lived in the residence at 1901 Rose Boulevard. They have not released his name.

Preliminary reports show the suspects knocked on the door and yelled "Police, open the door!" sometime after 1 a.m. The suspects rushed inside and fatally shot the victim, reports show.

In Oregon, an excessive force cop gets a 'cop of the year award' - I guess that's what they reward.

More on the theft-by-cop mentioned above (an earlier article).

Law enforcement authorities in this East Texas town of 1,000 people seized property from at least 140 motorists between 2006 and 2008, and, to date, filed criminal charges against fewer than half, according to a review of court documents by the San Antonio Express-News.

Virtually anything of value was up for grabs: cash, cell phones, personal jewelry, a pair of sneakers, and often, the very car that was being driven through town.
...
Some lawmakers, fed up with calls from irate constituents, say enough is enough. Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said the state’s asset forfeiture law is being abused by enough jurisdictions across the state that he wants to rewrite major sections of it this year.

“The idea that people lose their property but are never charged and never get it back, that’s theft as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, believes some law enforcement agencies in his cash-strapped district in the Rio Grande Valley have become so dependent on the profitable seizures that they routinely misapply the state’s civil forfeiture law.

“In a lot of cases, they’re more focused on trying to find the money than in trying to find the drugs,” he said.

That means law enforcement agencies in the Valley tend to target vehicles heading south into Mexico rather than northbound cars, Hinojosa said, because the southbound vehicles are more likely to be transporting cash — the profits from the drug trade — as opposed to just the drugs.

In 2008, three years after stripping a man of $10,032 in cash as he drove south along U.S. 281 to buy a headstone for his dying aunt, Jim Wells County officials returned the man’s money — and the county then paid him $110,000 in damages as part of a settlement. Attorney Malcolm Greenstein said criminal charges never were filed against his client, Javier Gonzalez, nor any of the dozens of people whose records he reviewed. People were given the option of going to jail or signing a waiver, Greenstein said. Like Gonzalez, most signed the waiver.
...
But in Tenaha, a town of chicken farms that hugs the Louisiana border, critics say being a black out-of-towner passing through with anything of value is seen as evidence of a crime.

Tenaha Mayor George Bowers, 80, defended the seizures, saying they allowed a cash-poor city the means to add a second police car in a two-policeman town and help pay for a new police station.

“It’s always helpful to have any kind of income to expand your police force,” Bowers said.

A Missouri cop strangles and knees a suspect in the neck - after he's already been handcuffed.

Watch the videos.

Geoffrey Alpert is a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina. For the past 25 years, his research has focused on high-risk police activities, specializing in use of force.
...
"I don't know how you'd make an argument to be normal, for that activity to be justified. There's no reason for it. Even if he was fighting, even if he were wrestling, you don't put a knee in someone's neck," Alpert said.
...
Neither Lee's Summit police officials nor Heil wanted to talk on camera, but in a statement the department said, "The use of force was deemed appropriate, and the actions of the officers were considered appropriate, as well, based on training and procedure."

EDIT: Another story. This time a town threatens a business because the manager, legally, doesn't talk to the police.

CR

[Vladimir]

Silly Rabbit, you're doing the same thing the anti-gun nuts do to argue against firearm possession.

[LittleGrizzly]

Silly rabbit is (checks tribesman signature).... ahh fine and acceptable... just avoid the word poor...

So rapidly avoiding turning this into a gun thread, is your point Vlad, that these examples of bad policing are very rare and no laws should be passed or policy put into place to prevent these events from happening as most police are good guys who should be left to get on with the job ?

[/S]hey thats the same logic the pro gun nuts use![/S]

That logic is severly flawed...

Police need some of the greatest oversight and restrictions on thier powers as they are quite literally the law, especially in examples that CR came up with, or my personal experiences with cautions and the like, police can very often be judge, jury and executioner fine collector. Once one or a few police officers have made the decision they can not be stopped before/during the event and later on its almost impossible to prove you have been wronged...

[Vladimir]

So rapidly avoiding turning this into a gun thread, is your point Vlad, that these examples of bad policing are very rare and no laws should be passed or policy put into place to prevent these events from happening as most police are good guys who should be left to get on with the job ?

I know 2 + 2 can equal 1, 0, or a variety of other numbers but most likely the answer is 4.

How do you pass laws against something which is illegal?

[Crazed Rabbit]

Here's a video from Alabama with a very unusual ending:
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/05/...e_officer.html

A suspect leads police on a chase in a van. He's forced off a freeway on-ramp and the van flips, knocking him out and ejecting him. He lands face down on the ground.

And then five officers fall upon him like rabid dogs, kicking and beating him.

But the unusual bit is that the five officers were fired!

Five Birmingham police officers have been fired for a January 2008 beating of an already-unconscious suspect with fists, feet and a billy club, a battering caught on videotape until a police officer turned off the patrol car camera, city and police officials said today.
...
Police Chief A.C. Roper called the video "shameful." Mayor Larry Langford said it was "disgusting."

Roper said the video shamed the police department and the citizens served by the department, saying it was especially troubling because these were seasoned, veteran officers.

But we have something else:

Authorities believe the video, [see the full 20-minute chase here] taken after a high-speed chase by several area law enforcement agencies ended when the fleeing suspect's van flipped, has been seen by numerous Birmingham officers and up to a half dozen supervisors over the past year. But top city and police officials weren't made aware of the taped beating until they were contacted by the district attorney's office two months ago.
...
Roper said there will be additional disciplinary action against supervisors who failed to report the incident to higher-ups. He has demanded the Internal Affairs Division track down every supervisor who saw the videotape, including those who have since retired. He said the department is reviewing its reporting mechanisms and policies.

Yup - supervisors saw this and did nothing. They protected criminals. That is the modern mentality of the thin blue line.

Also distressing are some of the comments.

Here's another, where an officer breaks the shoulder of an 83 year old woman:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/art...9037/-1/NEWS04

Here's one about a cop on trial ((!) only because of the video) for bodyslamming a woman and breaking her jaw:
http://www.lohud.com/article/2009051...force+on+woman

And, after all the child, woman, and restrained person beatings, sometimes we need a little levity, like this video of a guy following and pulling over a young cop and getting into his face. And not even getting arrested! So fun.

And then the cop gets disciplined by the department!

CR

[Banquo's Ghost]

I have renamed the thread, since it has long passed the original single example and evolved into a wider reportage of incidents of police abuse.

[InsaneApache]

Walking on the Moon was definatly abusive.

[seireikhaan]

I know that these incidents are crazy, but what exactly has the point of the thread become? That police forces need better regulation on who is allowed to become officer? Harsher punishment for thug cops?

[Crazed Rabbit]

I know that these incidents are crazy, but what exactly has the point of the thread become? That police forces need better regulation on who is allowed to become officer? Harsher punishment for thug cops?

In a sentence, I want some real, actual punishment for cops who break the law - and a dismantling of the system of silence and cover ups in police departments that protects them. Discussions on how to achieve that would certainly be appropriate. I think civilian oversight boards with full, constant access to all police documents and reports, and the power to discipline and fire cops, would be good. Something that's not the pathetic internal reviews that exist today.

The thread seems to have become a listing of abuses I use to prove that not only do abuses exist, but that they are systemic. Plus it means I don't start a new thread whenever I round up another batch of cop news items.

CR

[seireikhaan]

In a sentence, I want some real, actual punishment for cops who break the law - and a dismantling of the system of silence and cover ups in police departments that protects them. Discussions on how to achieve that would certainly be appropriate. I think civilian oversight boards with full, constant access to all police documents and reports, and the power to discipline and fire cops, would be good. Something that's not the pathetic internal reviews that exist today.

The thread seems to have become a listing of abuses I use to prove that not only do abuses exist, but that they are systemic. Plus it means I don't start a new thread whenever I round up another batch of cop news items.

CR

Well, I would not say that police abuses are systemic- I find the word a bit strong. Certainly a problem, no doubt. I rather like the civilian oversight board idea, but it would be a bit tricky in practice; do the members get paid, is it a full time job? Would it be more like jury duty, where anyone could potentially get called in for a given service? Hmm....

[Vuk]

You know what I think is much more dangerous and in need of urgent reform? Legislative abuses. They are much more common, have much worse consequences often times, and they are barely ever touched. You are not gonna root out the bad jackets until you go after the suits. Go for the guys up top who allow this type of corruption and replace them with honest, diligent people. 99% of police I believe are decent people, and a lot of police abuses are caused by repeat offenders who should have been fired the first time. The reason that they weren't is because of the corrupt supervisors and such. Go after the suits, and the jackets will tow the line. Go after the jackets (who are mostly innocent, dutiful people who put their lives on the line for you and I) and all you will do is scare away good people from the profession, and only opportunists who know hirer ups will join, and nothing will be done about them. The good cops will feel defensive, feel like they are being treated unfairly, and their morale will be considerably lowered. When police exercise too great an amount of caution, innocent people can die. That is what will happen when you attack the police men and women themselves (and you know what? Most of them don't deserve such accusations as are usually leveled against the force as a whole (except Stateys, they deserve it all )).

Go after all the corrupt bureaucrats (which there are a lot more of) and you will take care of most of the problems with police abuses AND get rid of so much of the financial corruption that is crippling many municipalities. (My county comes to mind *cough*) And you know what? I bet that abuses AGAINST cops are a LOT more common than abuses by cops against civs. Why is no one crying about all the violence done to police? What, are they not human beings? Is it irrelevant?

[Husar]

And, after all the child, woman, and restrained person beatings, sometimes we need a little levity, like this video of a guy following and pulling over a young cop and getting into his face. And not even getting arrested! So fun.

And then the cop gets disciplined by the department!

CR

I'm not arguing the other cases, those five cops beating the unconscious man was really sick, good riddance.
But this case above, well, he was speeding, 100mph is not scary but the guy who makes the video sounds like some weird sadist as well, trying to harass the cop for it and enjoying that the cop doesn't know what to do. that the cop does not beat or arrest him actually speaks for the cop if you ask me.
Don't get me wrong, the cop shouldn't be speeding at all but the video guy goes a bit too far not only with his language but alsowhen he tries to hold up the cop by blocking the path of his car, he's got the video and the cop's name, the rest is just provocation and the cop is a better cop for not falling for it.

[LittleGrizzly]

The guy had a somewhat noble cause... its a shame he is a complete idiot, he should have had a go at the copper for speeding without reason... instead he makes himself look like a bit of a wind up artist who is just trying to annoy the cop rather than do something for the common good...

TBH i think he was doing it because he dislikes cops rather than some noble cause, still good things are done that way sometimes...

Why is no one crying about all the violence done to police? What, are they not human beings? Is it irrelevant?

Same reason civilian deaths are cryed about alot more than soldiers deaths... police are there to put themselves on the line and look after civilians, so when a thug beats a cop that is a tragedy, but when a cop beats a civilian for little reason it is so much worse...

partially because they are the law and are more likely to get away with it
partially because they are supposed to protect us and are doing the opposite
partially because we don't pay thugs to beat up policen offiicers but when police offiicers beat up civilians were paying them to do it...

im sure theres one or two i missed there...

I think a large portion of the problem with police forces is arrogance, cops by and large seem a lot more arrogant and on a power trip than any other group i could think of in society. You could say it is inevitable, we put them in charge and plenty of people when in charge let it go to thier head, so i can't say ihave really got a good idea how to change individual police officers personalitys...

But stuff like cams on cars (preferably with no 'off button) civilian oversight board (with a range of people like human rights activist, and maybe people in the mould of CR and Vuk, and maybe older/retired officers with spotless records and reputations, so you get a good range of views at the board)

I think police should have less ability to do things such as on the spot fines and cautions, these things really do make them judge, jury and executioner.... not sure, but i think you can't really appeal against these either, oversight from non officers is essential i feel to any punishment...

Ohh and that includes DNA and fingerprints, we shouldn't have them taken on the whim of police officers...

[Vuk]

The guy had a somewhat noble cause... its a shame he is a complete idiot, he should have had a go at the copper for speeding without reason... instead he makes himself look like a bit of a wind up artist who is just trying to annoy the cop rather than do something for the common good...

TBH i think he was doing it because he dislikes cops rather than some noble cause, still good things are done that way sometimes...

Why is no one crying about all the violence done to police? What, are they not human beings? Is it irrelevant?

Same reason civilian deaths are cryed about alot more than soldiers deaths... police are there to put themselves on the line and look after civilians, so when a thug beats a cop that is a tragedy, but when a cop beats a civilian for little reason it is so much worse...

partially because they are the law and are more likely to get away with it
partially because they are supposed to protect us and are doing the opposite
partially because we don't pay thugs to beat up policen offiicers but when police offiicers beat up civilians were paying them to do it...

im sure theres one or two i missed there...

I think a large portion of the problem with police forces is arrogance, cops by and large seem a lot more arrogant and on a power trip than any other group i could think of in society. You could say it is inevitable, we put them in charge and plenty of people when in charge let it go to thier head, so i can't say ihave really got a good idea how to change individual police officers personalitys...

But stuff like cams on cars (preferably with no 'off button) civilian oversight board (with a range of people like human rights activist, and maybe people in the mould of CR and Vuk, and maybe older/retired officers with spotless records and reputations, so you get a good range of views at the board)

I think police should have less ability to do things such as on the spot fines and cautions, these things really do make them judge, jury and executioner.... not sure, but i think you can't really appeal against these either, oversight from non officers is essential i feel to any punishment...

Ohh and that includes DNA and fingerprints, we shouldn't have them taken on the whim of police officers...

When someone is noble enough to put their life on the line, it is just as horrible when they are abused as a civi who does not put his life on the line. I get your point, but a human being is a human being. I find it hard to understand how you can say that one innocent person being beat up or killed is somehow not as important as another. The uniform does not make them ANY less human, it simply is their chain of responsibility and their medallion of pride. When they neglect their responsibilty or abuse their power, it is certainly horrible, but no more horrible than someone who dutifully bears that responsibilty and puts their life on the line being abused or killed.

[Mooks]

You know what I think is much more dangerous and in need of urgent reform? Legislative abuses. They are much more common, have much worse consequences often times, and they are barely ever touched. You are not gonna root out the bad jackets until you go after the suits. Go for the guys up top who allow this type of corruption and replace them with honest, diligent people. 99% of police I believe are decent people, and a lot of police abuses are caused by repeat offenders who should have been fired the first time. The reason that they weren't is because of the corrupt supervisors and such. Go after the suits, and the jackets will tow the line. Go after the jackets (who are mostly innocent, dutiful people who put their lives on the line for you and I) and all you will do is scare away good people from the profession, and only opportunists who know hirer ups will join, and nothing will be done about them. The good cops will feel defensive, feel like they are being treated unfairly, and their morale will be considerably lowered. When police exercise too great an amount of caution, innocent people can die. That is what will happen when you attack the police men and women themselves (and you know what? Most of them don't deserve such accusations as are usually leveled against the force as a whole (except Stateys, they deserve it all )).

Go after all the corrupt bureaucrats (which there are a lot more of) and you will take care of most of the problems with police abuses AND get rid of so much of the financial corruption that is crippling many municipalities. (My county comes to mind *cough*) And you know what? I bet that abuses AGAINST cops are a LOT more common than abuses by cops against civs. Why is no one crying about all the violence done to police? What, are they not human beings? Is it irrelevant?

Exactly what bureaucrats are you talking about? Are you talking about the Police Chiefs or what?

[Crazed Rabbit]

Vuk; we have laws against assaulting people, including the police. When the police are assaulted, or abused, the people who did it are prosecuted. Often much more than if they had abused someone who wasn't a cop. The legal system gets into gear and the abuser is held to account for their actions.

The damnable thing about all the abuse by cops is that they are so very rarely held to account if they break the law and abuse people. That's my biggest problem, and why police abuses are so terrible; they are not punished. By the virtue of their position and their fellows, they do not have to answer for their crimes; they are above the law.

The reason that they weren't is because of the corrupt supervisors and such. Go after the suits, and the jackets will tow the line. Go after the jackets (who are mostly innocent, dutiful people who put their lives on the line for you and I) and all you will do is scare away good people from the profession, and only opportunists who know hirer ups will join, and nothing will be done about them.

Sorry, but it certainly is not just supervisors. All levels are complicit in not reporting abuse. Rank and file cops who cover up for abusers should be hunted down with the abusers. Doing so will result in less power-tripping scumbags joining, and less covering up for cops who abuse their power.

But this case above, well, he was speeding, 100mph is not scary but the guy who makes the video sounds like some weird sadist as well, trying to harass the cop for it and enjoying that the cop doesn't know what to do. that the cop does not beat or arrest him actually speaks for the cop if you ask me.

Ya, the guy who made the video is no saint. The cynic in me says the cop didn't arrest him because he was too inexperienced and alone.

Another, not funny, video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtgRAr4wnFQ

More cops acting like rabid dogs when they come upon a suspect who has gone prone and spread eagle on the ground.

And, of course, the police union says the kick was justified as a "distraction blow";

The kick to the head delivered by an El Monte police officer to a car-chase suspect lying on the ground at the end of a televised high-speed pursuit was a legally justified “distraction blow," an attorney for the police union said today.

Dieter Dammeier, attorney for the El Monte Police Officers Assn, said the officer acted within his training and department policy when he delivered the kick.

“Unfortunately these things never look good on video. Sometimes officers have to use force when dealing with bad guys,” said Dammeier. “The officer initially came upon the suspect alone. The suspect hadn’t been searched and was a parolee and a gang member. The individual officer saw some movement. He feared the parolee might have a weapon or be about to get up. So the officer did what is known as a distraction blow. It wasn’t designed to hurt the man, just distract him."

El Monte officers, he said “are trained to deliver a distraction blow to stop a [suspect] doing what they planning on doing.”

CR

[Meneldil]

Ridiculous.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I knew it!

Tough-talking Crazy Rabbit chickens out when law enforcement uses excessive force.

Cowardly Rabbit.

[Meneldil]

, les poulets

[Crazed Rabbit]

Oklahoma Highway Patrol stops an ambulance on the way to the hospital after the ambulance didn't out of the way of a HWP car that was coming up behind it. The trooper apparently thought he had gotten flipped off as he passed. Apparently the troopers felt the need to demonstrate what big manly men they are, albeit with amazingly petty grievances. So they pulled over the ambulance, without one care to the patient except to assert their authority and bully unarmed men. To top it off, the rageaholic troopers actually choked one of the EMTs.

Be sure to watch the video and read the EMT's statements.

EDIT: In Louisiana, the Fraternal Order of Police supports a bill that won't let the public see the vast majority of officer misconduct records.

CR

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

A cop was raided by his own force's SWAT team. Of course, they found nothing and it possibly came from departmental squabbles.

The phone in his upstairs bedroom woke him from a dead sleep at 4 a.m. His wife was away visiting her family, and their two small children slept down the hall. The voice on the line identified himself as a lieutenant with the LAPD's elite SWAT unit. The house, he told Franklin, was surrounded. Peering out of the bedroom window, Franklin saw it was no joke: a knot of heavily armed officers were pressed up against the house. Snipers were perched on the neighbor's porch. A helicopter hovered overhead.

Franklin had no idea what his own Police Department would want with him. He asked for time to roust his 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. He had 20 minutes, the SWAT officer said, or police would come in and get him.

Before Franklin pulled open the front door and walked into the blinding glare of spotlights, he put himself between his little boy and girl and took their hands in his own. "I wanted the police to be able to see our hands," he recalls. "I didn't want to give them any reason to shoot us."

[Louis VI the Fat]

Dernière modification par Banquo's Ghost 05-25-2009 à 13:10. Motif: The rules apply in French too.

I copied and pasted this to my hard drive.

It is an implicit acknowledgement by the mods that French is an official language of the Backroom. When the rules apply in French, then French applies to the rules. Furthermore, by Common Law practice, your decision grants explicit legal status.

All of which is entirely superfluos of course, since French is already a permissable .org language. Just a safeguard against any possible future powergrabs - always keep a close watch on the perfidious Anglos.

[Crazed Rabbit]

A cop was raided by his own force's SWAT team. Of course, they found nothing and it possibly came from departmental squabbles.

It definitely did:

Franklin is a tightly wound man. When he describes the LAPD's six-hour search of his house, his jaw clenches and he seethes words like "degrading" and "humiliating." He recalls how he was made to sit in the back of a police van with his children, guarded by someone wearing the same uniform he wore each day. He remembers how neighbors gathered to gawk as drug-sniffing dogs were led inside, dogs that left paw prints on his bed. He talks about the quiet fury he felt as his demands for an explanation were ignored.
...
If the explanation of officers who oversaw the search is to be believed, the incident was an unfortunate mistake born of honest police work. However, Franklin, in a lawsuit and interviews, has alleged that the search was the culmination of a campaign of retaliation orchestrated by his supervisors, with whom he had feuded.

Over the course of a year, LAPD officials reviewed Franklin's accusations and dismissed them as unfounded. So, Franklin sued the officers who ordered the search, as well as the LAPD, for violating his civil rights, inflicting emotional distress, and negligence. Late last year, 12 jurors listened to what Franklin had to say and decided the officers should never have disturbed his life on Woodlawn. Corners were cut, they decided, lies were told.

After nearly five years in the Marine Corps, Franklin joined the LAPD in 1984 and established himself as a capable, if unremarkable, cop. His personnel file is full of positive performance evaluations, noting his work ethic and unbending adherence to department policies. Franklin was rarely disciplined -- his most serious misstep coming when he berated a patrol officer who stopped him for a traffic violation.

But he is not a cop's cop. By his own account, Franklin has reported several partners for perceived abuses, even telling a suspect once that his partner had unlawfully arrested him. In 2000, after being promoted to sergeant, Franklin was assigned to the department's Pacific Division on the Westside, where he solidified his reputation as a strict, by-the-book supervisor and a rabble-rouser who didn't shy away from criticizing other cops. More than once, he says, he raised eyebrows when he ordered officers to release suspects taken into custody under dubious circumstances.

Mistake my . It was retaliation against an honest man, a good cop.

In other news, manly cops beat, mace, and hit a 13 year old kid with a club.

In more news, they sic a dog on a handcuffed suspect.

One police chief has to tell his cops to stop whining about how a convicted wife-hitting cop was fired.

Cop lies, saying a DUI suspect was behind the wheel of a car, when video shows he was in the back seat.

CR

[Major Robert Dump]

Haven't been able to contribute to this thread because of real life issues, one of which -- incidentally -- involves my less-than-savory interaction with the Comanche County sheriffs department outside of Ft Sill in the horribly violent city of Lawton, Oklahoma. I have some pictures to post but left the film at the parents, and my cell phone recordings are fairly low quality which prompted me to go buy a 600 dollar phone.

I'll post more info later as things slow down for me, but lets just say that I pulled over on a country road to help a little old man with his car trouble, he pulled a gun on me and I was shot. I got away, and so did he, and the sheriffs department accused me of everything except what I said happened, including: drug deal gone bad, suicide attempt, shot myself while cleaning my gun, shot myself to get out of army.....so i stopped cooperating and the case was handed over to military CID, who then informed me that the sheriffs dept had acted unprofessionally and negligently, and I retained a civilian attorney to tell the sheriff to back off before I hit them with a defamation lawsuit.

I'm fine, BTW, bullet entered above left hip, traveled about 4 inches and made a right turn and exited through my love handle. Entry wound bigger than exit wound, caliber unknown, hurt like hell and I didn't even go on profile.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Haven't been able to contribute to this thread because of real life issues, one of which -- incidentally -- involves my less-than-savory interaction with the Comanche County sheriffs department outside of Ft Sill in the horribly violent city of Lawton, Oklahoma. I have some pictures to post but left the film at the parents, and my cell phone recordings are fairly low quality which prompted me to go buy a 600 dollar phone.

I'll post more info later as things slow down for me, but lets just say that I pulled over on a country road to help a little old man with his car trouble, he pulled a gun on me and I was shot. I got away, and so did he, and the sheriffs department accused me of everything except what I said happened, including: drug deal gone bad, suicide attempt, shot myself while cleaning my gun, shot myself to get out of army.....so i stopped cooperating and the case was handed over to military CID, who then informed me that the sheriffs dept had acted unprofessionally and negligently, and I retained a civilian attorney to tell the sheriff to back off before I hit them with a defamation lawsuit.

I'm fine, BTW, bullet entered above left hip, traveled about 4 inches and made a right turn and exited through my love handle. Entry wound bigger than exit wound, caliber unknown, hurt like hell and I didn't even go on profile.

I'm glad to hear you are recovering, MRD. Your story is astonishing, but in the context of this thread, not surprising. I just don't understand why the policemen would distrust a serving soldier so meanly.

Take care - we always miss you.

[Samurai Waki]

Jesus, MRD I'm glad you're relatively okay!

I won't make any comments in reference to your case, suffice it to say, I hope you're able to shove every inch of you're black polished combat boots up this guys

Get well! and have a speedy recovery!

[Crazed Rabbit]

Haven't been able to contribute to this thread because of real life issues, one of which -- incidentally -- involves my less-than-savory interaction with the Comanche County sheriffs department outside of Ft Sill in the horribly violent city of Lawton, Oklahoma. I have some pictures to post but left the film at the parents, and my cell phone recordings are fairly low quality which prompted me to go buy a 600 dollar phone.

I'll post more info later as things slow down for me, but lets just say that I pulled over on a country road to help a little old man with his car trouble, he pulled a gun on me and I was shot. I got away, and so did he, and the sheriffs department accused me of everything except what I said happened, including: drug deal gone bad, suicide attempt, shot myself while cleaning my gun, shot myself to get out of army.....so i stopped cooperating and the case was handed over to military CID, who then informed me that the sheriffs dept had acted unprofessionally and negligently, and I retained a civilian attorney to tell the sheriff to back off before I hit them with a defamation lawsuit.

I'm fine, BTW, bullet entered above left hip, traveled about 4 inches and made a right turn and exited through my love handle. Entry wound bigger than exit wound, caliber unknown, hurt like hell and I didn't even go on profile.

Wow! Glad you're alright.

In Maine, the police raid a fundraiser and seize money intended for a charity that gave food to the needy - because the fundraiser was a poker game, which apparently required a license.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

BUXTON, Maine -- Buxton police raided a building where people were trying to raise money to give free food to the needy.

It happened at the Narragansett Pythian Sisters Temple on Route 22 where people were playing the card game Texas Hold'em to benefit the Buxton Community Food Co-op.

But state police said the game was illegal.

That's because whenever a gambling tournament is held to raise money for a group and takes place at its headquarters, a permit is needed and the co-op didn't have one.

So, state police seized cards, poker chips and $500 in cash -- money the food co-op desperately needed.

A member of the co-op, Joann Groder, said she is very, very sad about what happened.

"We've had a lot of people who come here -- people who are out of work, people who have cancer. We have a lot of people," said Groder.

But state police are standing by what was done.

"In this particular case they weren't licensed, and they knew they weren't and they knew they needed one," said Lt. David Bowler of the Maine State Police.

The money from the co-op's card game is currently being held as evidence while the investigation continues.

Groder now plans to hold a pot roast dinner to raise money for the co-op.

A lawsuit alleges pervasive racism and sexism at a police department in California.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Five Burbank police officers have filed a discrimination lawsuit alleging racial prejudice, sexual harassment and retaliation when they complained about the mistreatment.

The officers' 63-page complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday seeks damages that their lawyer says could cost the city as much as $25 million.

The plaintiffs are Burbank Lt. Omar Rodriguez and officers Cindy Guillen-Gomez, Steve Karagiosian, Elfego Rodriguez and Jamal Childs.

Defendants in the case are the city of Burbank, the police department, the chief of police and a number of individual police officers.

Burbank City Attorney Dennis Barlow did not immediately return a call for comment.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Solomon E. Gresen, said the officers were the targets of "unbelievably offensive racial, sexual and ethnic slurs."

"It has become so pervasive that it has long been a department practice," said Solomon. "The BPD is run as an insider's club where if you aren't white, male and heterosexual, you had better keep your mouth shut and play along with the bigots or suffer the consequences."

Lt. Rodriguez, a 21-year member of the force, alleges to have been a victim over his time on the force to offensive racial, ethnic and sexual preference slurs.

Rodriguez also alleges to have been placed on administrative leave April 15 after complaining about retaliatory action and that he was demoted the next day and reassigned to the
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patrol division.

Similar complaints of racial, ethnic and sexual harassment were made by Cindy Guillen-Gomez, a 9-year veteran.

Karagiosian and Elfego Rodriguez allege to have been removed from an elite special enforcement division and then excluded from the formation of its successor because of their respective Armenian and Latino heritages.

Childs, an African-American, alleges to have had similar experiences of discrimination and to have observed and reported numerous instances of racial and gender-based bias, harassment and retaliation.

Cop in San Bernnardino steals valuables from the people he arrests.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating one of its deputies on allegations he took wallets, jewelry and other items from people he arrested.

Last week, detectives searched Deputy Ricker Hunt's Apple Valley home, his truck and his locker at the sheriff's Adelanto Detention Center, where he is assigned, according to an affidavit returned Thursday to San Bernardino County Superior Court.

Found were a baggie with metal jewelry, a box with coins and a bracelet, a digital camera, credit cards and identification belonging to two men cited or arrested last August, wrote sheriff's Sgt. Chris Fisher.

In Fisher's affidavit seeking the warrant, the same items are described as previously seen at the deputy's home after he cleaned out his desk when reassigned from the Apple Valley station to the jail.

Hunt, 49, could not be reached for comment Thursday. The 24-year department veteran has not been arrested or charged.

Sgt. Dave Phelps, a sheriff's spokesman, said Hunt is not currently working but did not release any further information.

According to the affidavit, the sheriff's probe began May 19 after officials received a tip that Hunt was in possession of property belonging to people he contacted on patrol in Apple Valley.

In September 2008, someone found a wallet in Hunt's home that belonged to a 28-year-old man he arrested eight months prior on suspicion of transporting marijuana and child endangerment, Fisher wrote. The wallet contained the man's Social Security card and credit cards.

When someone confronted Hunt, he said, "He might have obtained (the) wallet accidentally," Fisher wrote. It was returned to the sheriff's property room, and there is no evidence any of the information or credit cards were ever used.

Earlier this year, a different wallet and identification holder were found at Hunt's home, Fisher wrote. With them were the bag of men's and women's jewelry, silver coins and a Canon PowerShot digital camera.

Hunt arrested one of the men pictured on an identification card in his possession last August on suspicion of drunken driving, Fisher wrote. The vehicle was towed after the arrest, and the man told Fisher he didn't report it because he assumed someone from the tow yard had stolen the items.

The other man whose wallet was recovered had been cited in Apple Valley for speeding, also last August, records show.

Two deputies beat handcuffed teens - and are then fired and arrested!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

wo Jefferson parish sheriff's deputies have been arrested and kicked off the force after brutality allegations. A couple of teenagers say the deputies beat them up in Marrero.

According to the teens, they were playing paintball at an abandoned Marrero apartment complex last weekend when approached by deputies Cornell Farlin and Shawn Henry. The teens claimed Farlin and Henry handcuffed them, and then began punching and kicking them, even using their police batons, before releasing them with a summons.

"I think the message here is the quickness in which we responded to the complaint, that we take this very seriously," said Sheriff Newell Normand at a news conference Friday. "This type of conduct by our officers will not be tolerated."

Sheriff Normand said the two accusers also said there were other deputies present during the beating. The sheriff says the investigation continues.

CR

[Husar]

MRD, glad you're okay, or on the way to being okay again.