The Fairfax County Police officer Walter R. Fasci/ Sean McGlone award for sober living. Fairfax County Police. Police brutality

Denville NJ cop sentenced to 3yrs prison for stealing oxycodone & heroin from evidence, compromising 40 cases [0] dailyre.co/y5we1f

Fraser-Winter Park CO cop charged w/burglary, tampering & official misconduct, broke into woman’s home while drunk [0] bit.ly/w1Elcu

Fairfax County Police Officer Larry A. Jackson award for false arrest. Fairfax County Police. Police brutality

2 Morgan Hill CA cops disciplined for illegaly searching detainee’s cellphone & posting pics from it on Facebook [0] bit.ly/A3speX

The officer Christian Chamberlain Award for “Fuck you, I’ll get away with it anyway” Fairfax County police . Police brutality

Fort Worth TX cop accused of excessive force in complaint by witness & woman who suffered broken arm in bar arrest [0] bit.ly/zfziUV

5 Peel ON cops investigated after judge finds they violated man’s rights w/brutality, illegal search & denied lawyer[4] http://bit.ly/wbpyQd

Bend OR police dog escapes from handler’s yard and attacks passing jogger, man treated at hospital [0] bit.ly/yxUKey

Murdered by your police

6 Philadelphia PA cops subject of suit by family of unarmed passenger in stolen car killed in barrage of 60 shots [3] bit.ly/y6UyYX

Clackamas Co OR sued by families of 2 women killed by deputy claiming sheriff & officials knew he was unstable [0] bit.ly/x4SjLR

Mendota Heights Police Chief Under Investigation for Ethics Violations

Mendota Heights police officers have accused Mike Aschenbrener of ignoring incidents of police misconduct.

Mendota Heights Police Chief Mike Aschenbrener is being investigated by the Carver County Sheriff’s office after Mendota Heights police officers accused him of ethical and criminal violations.

A letter of complaint by Mendota Heights police officers claims Aschenbrener ignored or declined to investigate incidents of police misconduct involving the theft of a picnic table, a cell phone, and a Dakota County Drug Task Force bag, according to Fox 9 News.

City Administrator Justin Miller confirmed that he received the letter last Thursday, at which time he submitted the complaint to Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson for investigation.

Aschenbrener is still operating in his capacity as chief, according to Miller. The city administrator said he consulted with the city’s legal counsel and determined that a leave “was not needed at this time, though that is something that can always change.”

The letter of complaint had been submitted to the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), who then forwarded the letter to Miller. Miller could not say how many officers filed the complaint.

Paul Monteen of POST said that they receive about 150 complaint letters a year, and operate as an impartial recipient.

Sandra Krebsbach, the mayor of Mendota Heights, told Patch that the investigation will not affect public safety in the city.

Aschenbrener has been chief of police in Mendota Heights since 2003. He started his career with the police department in Forest Lake, where he achieved a rank of acting chief. He also worked as an instructor for Alexandria Technical College. He holds a masters degree in Police Leadership and Education from the University of St. Thomas and holds a management certificate from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, according to his bio.

Coolican: Henderson officials out of loop on police brutality case, raising red flags

Henderson City Councilwoman Gerri Schroder only learned Monday that a Henderson Police officer was caught on tape kicking a restrained man in the head five times during a botched traffic stop in October 2010 that wound up costing the city $257,000.

By now the ugly incident is well known: Adam Greene was in diabetic shock and driving erratically when he was pulled from his car by police at gunpoint, forcibly restrained on his stomach and then kicked in the head by Sgt. Brett Seekatz. Highway Patrol troopers were also involved, and the whole thing was captured on video.

What’s concerning now, though, is that the people’s representatives on the Henderson City Council were left in the dark so long.

Where’s the oversight?

The attitude emanating from Henderson City Hall this week has been: Move along, nothing to see here.

Police Chief Jutta Chambers has declined interviews. The city wouldn’t say what discipline the officer received, but we know he wasn’t fired and apparently kept his rank. (By contrast, when Metro Police’s Bryan Yant killed Trevon Cole in a questionable shooting and was stuck on desk duty, Metro told the public. More contrast: What would happen if you or I kicked someone in the head?)

Mayor Andy Hafen released a statement, which reads in part: “What happened to Mr. Greene was wrong, and we regret the pain and suffering that he and his family endured because of it. As a result of what happened a year ago with Mr. Greene, our police department modified their training on the use of force. As a result, we have already seen the numbers of those types of incidents go down.”

The police department put out a similar news release, saying “use of force” incidents had declined from 567 in 2010 to to 396 in 2011.

A problem I had reporting this story Friday is that Henderson takes Fridays off. How Greek. (OK, to be fair, they work four 10-hour shifts.) Hafen didn’t return a message to his home. The police spokesman told me the chief was off.

Schroder said when she saw the video Monday she was “shocked” and “disappointed” and then happy to learn that Henderson Police “used this incident to further train officers to ensure this does not happen again.”

I asked if she had talked to Chambers, the police chief, about discipline meted out to Seekatz. Or about disciplinary procedures more generally. Or about whether the officer is still interacting with the public.

Schroder said the city charter prohibits her from interfering in personnel matters. She’s right, and for good reason: We don’t want part-time city council members meddling and micromanaging. The council supervises the city clerk, city attorney and city manager.

But she can’t even ask questions?

“I don’t want to be in violation of the charter, and I’m always cautious about that,” she said.

Here’s what the charter says: “Except for the purpose of inquiry, the Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the City Manager, and neither the Council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately.” (Emphasis mine.)

I’m no lawyer, but I think the City Council is entitled, nay, required to ask questions about its police force, the agency to which it has given a legalized monopoly on violence and kidnapping (and apparently head-kicking, too).

Councilwoman Debra March, who learned of the incident two weeks ago and only saw the video hours before the Tuesday settlement vote, said, “We’ve expressed concerns to our city manager. He knows we’re all concerned about the way this was handled.”

City Councilman Sam Bateman, who was elected in 2011, after the incident occurred, is also a Clark County prosecutor. He indicated the need for more aggressive oversight. (He too says he was only recently informed of the incident.)

Bateman said in an email that the conduct was not representative of the work of the “great men and women” of Henderson Police, though he said he didn’t think the officer’s actions rose to the level of a criminal offense.

He said he had talked to the chief about the incident, the discipline imposed on the officer and training to reduce use of force incidents.

“I am convinced that we can keep people safe without conducting ourselves in a manner that brings public condemnation and potential civil liability.”

That is more likely with rigorous public oversight.

Jeepers! You mean a police man may have lied to save his ass? Holy Gosh

An eyewitness to a fatal police shooting in Culpeper, Virginia is contradicting the State Police version of the story.

CULPEPER, Va. (WUSA) -- An eyewitness to a fatal police shooting in Culpeper, Virginia is contradicting the State Police version of the story.

Kris Buchele says he saw a Culpeper Town Police officer shoot 54-year-old Patricia Cook to death in the Epiphany Catholic School parking lot at around 10 a.m. Thursday, February 9.

Buchele is a carpenter who was working on the house next door. He says he heard loud arguing outside and looked through a window where he had a clear view of the school parking lot. Cook was in her Jeep Wrangler .

State police say Cook rolled up the window, catching the officer's arm inside, and then dragged him.

Buchele says it didn't happen that way. He describes an encounter which looked and sounded like the officer shooting a person a point blank range, not because he feared for his life, but because the woman did not obey his order to stop rolling up the window.

"He was right next to the vehicle. He had one hand on the door handle and one hand on his weapon. And she was rolling the window up. And they were exiting out of the parkng lot.

The window was half way up he said 'stop or I'll shoot.' I really didn't think he was going to do it. But she got the window all the way up and that's when he shot. And then she took a left out of the parking lot here and he stepped out in the street and fired five more times," said Buchele.

Buchele says the officer was not dragged and that he shot her before she drove away. He says he didn't have his arm caught because the officer's left hand was on the door handle and right hand was holding a weapon. Also, he says he distinctly saw her roll up the window all the way before the officer shot out the glass and killed her.

"I'm angry, frustrated, sad, and fighting back tears right now, " said Gary Cook, Pat's husband of eight years. He doesn't understand why a police officer would shoot his unarmed wife multiple times.

"Personally I think it may be an overreaction, maybe excessive force, but I can only surmise that," Cook said.

Cook says he doesn't know why his wife was in the parking lot of the Epiphany Catholic School. Their couple's pastor at Culpeper United Methodist Church thinks she may have been there searching for work with children because she loved her volunteer role teaching Sunday school at their church.


Gary Cook is filled with questions along with grief over his wife's killing. He is contacting an attorney to pursue possible legal action.

No charges have been filed. The Virginia State Police are investigating with the assistance of Culpeper Police and the Culpeper Sheriff's Department.

Virginia State Police say that the police officer had his arm caught in her driver's side window, and was dragged alongside the vehicle as she drove away.

According to Virginia State Police, at approximately 10 a.m. Thursday, Culpeper Police got a call about a suspicious women sitting in a Jeep Wrangler in a church parking lot in the 300 block of North East Street. The officer started talking to Patricia A. Cook, 54, of Culpeper. State police say that for some reason, while the officer was trying to get her identification, Cook "suddenly closed her driver's side window trapping the officer's arm and started driving away dragging the officer alongside."

Police say the officer repeatedly asked her to stop but the car kept going. Then shots were fired, and the Jeep wrecked in the 200 block of North East Street.

Cook was shot by the officer and died at the scene.

Her remains have been transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Manassas for examination and autopsy, police said.

"The Culpeper Town Police and Culpeper County Sheriff's Office are assisting State Police with the ongoing investigation," police said.

Written by Peggy Fox

This weeks sexual assault charges against your police

Fort Dodge IA cop takes plea deal for reduced extortion charge after arrested for 3rd degree sexual abuse [0] bit.ly/yacrcJ

San Diego CA cop sentenced to 8yrs 8mo for sexually battering female motorists during traffic stops [0] bit.ly/y3JvtA

(AP) SAN DIEGO — A veteran San Diego police officer was sentenced Friday to nearly nine years in prison for on-duty sexual battery and other crimes that were part of an embarrassing string of officer misconduct incidents that prompted major reforms in the department protecting the nation's eighth-largest city.

Former officer Anthony Arevalos was convicted of eight felony and four misdemeanor charges for soliciting sexual favors in exchange for not issuing traffic tickets against young women, some of whom were inebriated.

One woman was sexually assaulted in a convenience store bathroom in exchange for not being written up for a DUI.

The case capped a series of scandals that rocked the police force in one of the country's safest cities and raised questions about whether the department was turning a blind eye to the misconduct amid the plummeting crime rate.

Nearly two dozen officers were busted on allegations ranging from rape to drunken driving and domestic violence.

Chief William Lansdowne said public trust in the force had fallen so low at one point that people were verbally challenging officers when stopped for questioning.

He has taken measures to address the problem, including beefing up internal-affairs staffing and ethics training, reviewing use-of-force tactics, and conducting meetings with uniformed and civilian employees.

The 2,300-member department has seen improvement, spokeswoman Lt. Andra Brown said. But the problem has not completely disappeared. Last month, a former supervisor of Arevalos was charged with fixing a ticket for a friend, a deputy district attorney, who was also charged.

The case against Arevalos was among the most egregious of the department's scandals.

A jury convicted him of sexual battery, bribery, assault by an officer and false imprisonment. The crimes involved five women during an 18-month period starting in 2009. All were stopped in the downtown Gaslamp Quarter, known for its vibrant night life.

Arevalos was arrested last March after a woman reported he had stopped her in the district for failing to use a turn signal. The victim testified in court that after she tested above the legal limit for blood-alcohol content, Arevalos asked what she would be willing to do to make the DUI go away. He eventually led her to a nearby convenience store bathroom where he sexually assaulted her.

Arevalos was fired from the San Diego Police Department after he was charged in April.

Judge Jeffrey Fraser said it was significant that the officer targeted drunken young women who were vulnerable and could not call on anyone else for help.

"The defendant was their protector and he became a predator," the judge said. "If we can't trust police to protect us, who can we trust?"

The judge said the crimes will have a permanent impact on the victims.

"They will forever fear the police," he said.

During the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Sherry Thompson read the judge a statement from one of the victims who said she cannot sleep at night and is afraid of being alone.

"I still do not understand how for 18 years the sick propensities of Mr. Arevalos were ignored," the victim said in the statement about his time on the police force.

The sobbing officer begged the judge to have mercy on his family and not send him away. He apologized to the victims, the Police Department, community and his family.

"I realize my actions caused a lot of pain," said Arevalos, who must register as a sex offender. "I'm deeply remorseful and I pray for forgiveness."

Chief Lansdowne applauded the judge for "his handling of this difficult case and his thoughtful consideration concerning what punishment was appropriate for someone who so completely violated the public trust."

The chief also thanked the victims for stepping forward and said the sentence should make it clear that officers will be held accountable for their actions.

"As difficult as this has been for the San Diego Police Department, I believe we have emerged a stronger and more resilient organization," Lansdowne said in a statement.

The judge praised the department for its investigation of Arevalos.

"No matter how ugly it was they turned over every rock," he said. "Their job is to track down criminals even if it's one of their own, and they did that."

The defense had asked the judge to spare the 41-year-old father of two from jail time, pointing out that he had been a decorated police officer who removed drug dealers and rapists from city streets and saved a young boy's life during his career.

Fraser, however, said the eight-year, eight-month sentence was meant to punish Arevalos and act as a deterrent to any other potential violations of public trust by officers. The prosecution had asked for the maximum sentence of nine years, eight months.

This weeks child molestation charges against your police..where is the justice department?

 Conn. ex-cop gets 10 years for child porn

 (AP) HARTFORD, Conn. — A former police captain was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for amassing what authorities said was one of the largest and most disturbing child pornography collections they've ever seen in Connecticut, one that included images of infants and toddlers.

Former Granby Capt. David Bourque, 51, told a federal judge in Hartford that he had lost his way during the several months he was downloading and sharing child pornography images. He denied physically abusing any children.

"I spiraled out of control for six months," Bourque told Judge Alvin Thompson. "The fact that I viewed child pornography is beyond comprehension."

Bourque was arrested in April after authorities said they found nearly 22,300 images and more than 4,000 videos of child pornography on his computers, mostly involving prepubescent boys. He pleaded guilty to a single count of receipt and distribution of child pornography last July.

Bourque called child pornography a "horrible and illegal activity" and apologized to the children in the images as well as his family. But he asked Thompson for leniency.

"I am not a predator," said Bourque, who worked for Suffield police for years before his stint in Granby.

Federal prosecutor Raymond Miller said authorities recovered from Bourque's computers chats he had with others interested in child porn. In one chat, Bourque told someone that he was interested in boys under 14 and that he had "a couple" of real bondage, rape and torture videos, Miller said.

"The chats tell the story," Miller told the judge. "It shows his intents. It shows his desires."

Miller said child pornography repeatedly harms its victims.

"Watching these videos hurts the children in them. They're victimized again and again and again," Miller said.

Some victims of the images wrote letters to Thompson saying how their lives have been affected. The contents of those letters weren't disclosed.

Bourque's lawyer, Richard Brown, spoke for about two and a half hours, saying there were factors that led his client to watch child porn but that didn't excuse the crimes. He also said there was no way Bourque could have viewed all the child porn images on his computers because there were too many.

Brown said Bourque had developed post-traumatic stress disorder after years of responding to fatal car accidents as a member and leader of a regional accident reconstruction team in north-central Connecticut. Brown said Bourque responded to 150 to 200 fatal car accidents during his career. He also said his client was sexually abused as a child.

Brown said post-traumatic stress disorder "is a real condition and it affects people. In my opinion, it can skew their judgment."

Bourque wore a dark gray suit and cried at times during the hearing. Nearly 20 of his relatives and friends attended.

Bourque's viewing of child porn was out of character for a man who dedicated his life to public service and helping people, his supporters said.

"My sister and I still consider him the best father anyone could ever had," said his daughter, Caitlin Bourque, 24.

She said she was stunned when she learned about the charges, but she said people shouldn't forget all the good her father has done in his life including protecting the community and once saving a paraplegic from drowning in Maine. She said she has been devastated watching her mother and her father's friends abandon him.

David Bourque resigned from the Granby police department last year. Brown said Bourque accepted responsibility for his actions and sought treatment for mental health problems.

Bourque tried to avoid detection by installing sophisticated software on his computer, authorities said. And he used information gained as a police officer to assess the ability of other law enforcement officers to detect his criminal activity, prosecutors said.

Bourque at one point was investigating a child pornography case while collecting child porn on his time off, authorities said.

Prosecutors said in court documents that Bourque showed a "callous disregard" for the harm suffered by the children, telling his trading partners to "enjoy" themselves or "have fun" while viewing his collection.

This weeks child molestation charges against your police..where is the justice department?

Granby CT police capt sentenced to 10yrs for amassing & distributing massive & disturbing collection of child porn [0] huff.to/zXirCx