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"I don't like this book because it don't got know pictures" Chief Rhorerer

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”
“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”

The Fairfax County Police Officer Jeffrey Hand Award for Creative Income Production. Fairfax County Police. Police Brutality

Centerville Officer, Wife, Step-Son Indicted
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A Centerville Police officer, his wife and step-son have been indicted by a grand jury in Hickman County.
Officials from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said that 61-year-old Centerville Police Officer Jerry Simmons was arrested and indicted on charges of official misconduct and bribery. Simmon's wife 42-year-old Pamela Simmons and his step-son 23-year-old Cory Chandler were each indicted on counts of filing a false report.
Investigators said they first began to examine Simmons in December 2111 after they learned that Simmons had allegedly manipulated a case involving his teen daughter, her child and the child's father. The case began with a domestic incident at the local McDonalds. No arrests were made at the time, but later a police report was filed which turned out to be false.
The false report claimed that the child's father had pulled a gun on Pamela Simmons, Chandler, and the daughter.
Jerry Simmons, Pamela Simmons and Cory Chandler were all being held in the local jail.

Fairfax County Police Officer Amanda Perry award for Safe Driving. Fairfax County Police. Police brutality

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (WSVN) -- A former Hollywood police officer charged in an alleged crash cover-up faced a judge, Monday.
Joel Francisco entered a guilty plea to falsifying an accident report during a DUI traffic stop.
A judge sentenced Francisco to 90 days in jail.
A police dashcam caught the incident in February of 2009. Francisco had rear-ended a suspected drunk driver, but a responding officer said he would word the report to absolve Francisco of any blame.
The other officer was recently convicted of falsifying records and was also sentenced to 90 days behind bars.


Cops and dogs...a strange, strange relationship

A Louisville family has filed a lawsuit against a Metro Police officer alleging that he shot and killed their dog without cause last year while chasing a burglary suspect in the Shawnee neighborhood.
Michelle Damron and her son, Austin Pike, filed suit last week in Jefferson Circuit Court against Officer Joseph Pence, claiming that he shot their 7-year-old Doberman pinscher, Rocco, on April 6, 2011, while the dog was “lawfully tethered” in their backyard in the 600 block of Madelon Court.
The suit claims Rocco posed no threat and Pence fired his weapon “without probable cause or justification,” shooting the dog twice in the upper torso and neck.
Rocco, according to the lawsuit, retreated to his doghouse where he lay “bleeding and screaming for a period of time” before bleeding to death.
Pence’s conduct was “beyond the bounds of human decency” and caused the family emotional distress, according to the lawsuit.
Claims made in filing a lawsuit present only one side of a case.
Police spokeswoman Carey Klain said the department has not yet seen the lawsuit and couldn’t comment.
Last year, Klain told the newspaper that officers had responded to an apartment break-in in the 600 block of Lindell Avenue and saw a man running who matched a description of the suspect.
The man ran three blocks to Madelon Court, where he entered a backyard. An officer followed him, and both were approached by a large Doberman, Klain said.
The dog leaped onto the suspect, and the officer tried to wrestle the man to the ground before the dog started attacking the officer, Klain said.
The officer shot and killed the dog, while the suspect ran to the back of another house. He was found a short time later and arrested.
Police policy allows officers to shoot domestic animals if they are being threatened by the animal, Klain had said.
The lawsuit, which is claiming that the shooting of the dog “constituted an unlawful seizure and taking” of property without proper cause or justification, is seeking damages and a jury trial

Fairfax County Police officer Irene M. Boyle “Opps! Gee gosh it was loaded?” awards

SHELBY COUNTY, Ohio —
A former part-time Port Jefferson police officer appeared in court on Monday morning and was sentenced on charges of vandalism and discharging a firearm in a motor vehicle.
Michael Blankenship, 31, of Bellefontaine, appeared in Shelby County Common Pleas Court and was given five years probation.
The judge also ordered Blankenship to pay restitution to the village of Port Jefferson and to the Shelby County Sheriff's Department that totals more than $10,000.
On the morning of Labor Day 2011, Blankenship called Shelby County Dispatch and reported that he had exchanged gunfire with a passing motorist and that he crashed his cruiser west of Port Jefferson on Route 47. Blankenship also asked for a medic, claiming that he was injured.
According to investigators, several hours later after being flown by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital, he admitted that he made the story up and lied about his injuries.
While in court on Monday morning, Blankenship apologized for the "dark cloud" he placed over law enforcement in Shelby County.
If he violates his probation, Blankenship could face up to 30 months in prison.

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”


Woman Beaten By Police



These are the pictures of Michelle Lane, a victim of Maryland post police beating by Carroll County Sheriff Deputy Zepp which left Michelle with a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. hysicians at University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center confirmed a poor prognosis of Michelle Lane, that she will never return to normal living conditions, status post head trauma and loss of consciousness beating by Carroll County, MD Sheriff Deputy Zepp.

Dep. Zepp used near lethal force, using his body parts and a weapon against and unarmed woman with a known spinal cord injury, on an animal control issue where her daughter’s pony escaped their fence due to Dep Zepp’s friends setting off professional grade, rocket propelled, illegal fireworks. Wreckless endangerment is also noted on charging document requested felony assault and battery due to Zepp efforts to engage in, then cover up his attack of Michelle Lane.

 
Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.

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


Newly Acquired Audio Tapes may be Key in Police Brutality Case
Chicago - Newly-acquired audio tapes made during an arrest in North Chicago provide key evidence in a police brutality case there.
The incident happened in November and the recordings only recently became available. They were not part of the original police report, but the attorney for the victim says that these audio tapes prove that North Chicago police used excessive force against 35-year-old Darrin Hanna.
The family filed a federal lawsuit against the department saying that brutality is a pattern in the town, only this time, it resulted in someone's death.
Police were called to Hanna's home for a domestic disturbance. He was allegedly fighting with his girlfriend.
North Chicago Police say they used a taser but it malfunctioned. They admit to punching him in the face and striking his legs but insist they used reasonable, non-lethal force.
The audio tapes were recorded during the altercation over the arresting officers radios.
"And you hear Darrin Hanna pleading for his life saying, 'Put me down, put me down. They hit me when I'm down. They're going to kill me," said Kevin O'Connor, Hanna's attorney. "And then the tape goes off."
O'Connor provided photographs of a wounded Hanna that shows that he was struck 20 to 30 times.An independent autopsy revealed that Hanna's death was caused by trauma inflicted by the police taser weapon along with pre-existing health conditions.
O'Connor says the firm is handling 12 brutality complaints against the North Chicago Police Department that happened allegedly in the last two years.
The community is calling for the arresting officers to be removed and for the entire department to be retrained.

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”


Former Portland police officer running for Wheeler County sheriff no longer collecting disability benefits
Published: Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 7:00 PM Updated: Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 8:01 PM

Christopher Humphreys, a Portland officer who was collecting stress-related disability benefits on and off for more than three years since his involvement in the controversial in-custody death of James P. Chasse Jr., was found fit for duty this month as he runs for sheriff in Wheeler County.
He was medically laid off from the Portland Police Bureau Nov. 23, 2010, because of the length of time he was off work collecting disability payments – a move the city is taking more often to ensure officers or firefighters on long-term disability don't remain on city staffing rolls forever.
Yet, as allowed, he continued to receive disability checks, recently collecting monthly checks of $1,546.86.
But as of April 7, Humphreys -- who recently announced his run for sheriff -- "no longer meets the eligibility criteria" for disability benefits after a medical report confirmed he's "now able to perform the required duties of his job," according to Portland's public safety fund.
Humphreys said Tuesday he used the time off to obtain counseling, and now is feeling good and eager to give back to the Wheeler County community, home to five generations of his family.
"I'm more than capable of being an officer, but I do not want to be an officer in Portland," Humphreys said.
Linda Jefferson, director of Portland's Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund, said the public safety fund had the medical re-evaluation done as part of its "routine claim-management activities." It also came as word spread of Humphreys' plan to run for sheriff.
Humphreys said he scheduled the medical evaluation, an annual requirement, before the fund notified him to do so.
The fund cut off Humphreys' disability benefits on April 7, which means he can no longer accrue time toward his pension since he's no longer an active member of the Portland police bureau or a disabled member. He'll be eligible to collect his pension Nov. 30, 2024.
According to the city's public safety fund, Humphreys was off duty from the Portland Police Bureau and collecting disability benefits between Jan. 27, 2006, and Jan. 3, 2007, and again from Nov. 27, 2009, through April 6, 2012.
The benefits were connected to a stress-related claim.
"Every time, I used that to protect myself and do what needed to be done, to seek counseling," he said. "No one is ever going to say I abused it."
Humphreys gained notoriety for his involvement in the city's record $1.6 million settlement stemming from a federal wrongful death lawsuit brought by Chasse's family. He faced public scrutiny and internal police review for two separate on-the-job incidents: Chasse in 2006 and another in 2009. Humphreys spent a year off duty on disability, starting about four months after the death of Chasse, a 42-year-old man who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, in his custody Sept. 17, 2006. Chasse was knocked to the ground after he ran from officers who suspected he was urinating in a street. He died from blunt force trauma to the chest. In November 2009, then-police commissioner Dan Saltzman and former chief Rosie Sizer proposed Humphreys be suspended for two weeks for failing to insist that Chasse be taken by ambulance to a hospital after police stunned him with a Taser and after the jail refused to book him because of his physical condition. Saltzman also found that Humphreys failed to provide paramedics at the scene with a full account of the violent struggle. Humphreys later filed another stress-related disability claim when the bureau began an internal investigation into his Nov. 14, 2009 shooting of a 12-year-old girl with a beanbag shotgun on a Northeast Portland MAX platform. Former police union president Scott Westerman told The Oregonian then that Humphreys was devastated when the commissioner on Nov. 19, 2009, ordered he be removed from the street, with his gun and badge taken pending the investigation. The move led to a police union protest, with members wearing , "I am Chris Humphreys" shirts in his support. In September 2010, Chief Mike Reese found Humphreys acted within policy.
Humphreys, 37, had worked as a Wheeler County sheriff's deputy for three years before joining Portland police in February 1999. He was the first to file paperwork on Feb. 10 for the position of Wheeler County sheriff. Wheeler County Deputy Sheriff Mike Garibay will run against him as a write-in candidate.
Of the Wheeler sheriff's office, Humphreys said, "They really need good leadership. Somebody like me." He described himself as a highly qualified candidate, with experience in a small sheriff's office and a large police agency where he worked patrol, in the transit division and emergency management unit. He also has a master's in criminal justice from Boston University.
"I have a concern and abiding love for that county," he said.
Should he lose the election, Humphreys would have until November 2015 to decide to return to work at the Portland Police Bureau– the five-year period allowed for return-to-work after a medical layoff.

Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.





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

Former Texas death-row inmate begins fight for exoneration
Credit: The Texas Tribune

Former Texas death-row inmate begins fight for exoneration
Kerry Max Cook's three-decade-old case will once again take center stage in Smith County Tuesday as he begins a new fight to clear his name of the 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards.
Cook, who was released from prison more than a decade ago after spending about 20 years on death row, was convicted at age 22.
"All I want is my innocence,” Cook said in a phone interview from his Dallas-area home on Thursday, his 56th birthday. “That’s all I want out of this.”
Cook is seeking to test more DNA — as much as investigators can find in the three-decades-old evidence file — to prove to the court that he is innocent and to have the murder charges officially dismissed. But, he said, he doesn’t stand a chance if he has to fight in Smith County, where the courts have said that prosecutors broke the rules to secure his conviction. Today, Cook will ask an administrative judge to move his case to another county. Smith County prosecutors, though, say that things have changed there since Cook’s trials, and that he can get a fair hearing.
Cook’s case is one of the most tortured sagas in Texas’ long history of unusual courtroom dramas. In 1978, he was convicted of murder after prosecutors convinced the jury that he bludgeoned and stabbed Edwards to death, cut out her genitalia and stuffed them in the leg of one of her stockings. He professed his innocence, and the guilty verdict was ultimately overturned. A second trial ended in a mistrial, and he was again found guilty and sentenced to death in a third trial. But an appeals court overturned that decision, finding “egregious prosecutorial misconduct” in the case. When Smith County offered him a plea deal in 1999 before what was to be his fourth trial, he agreed.
Though prosecutors who tried Cook have denied wrongdoing, the court found in 1996 that “prosecutorial and police misconduct has tainted this entire matter from the outset.”Edwards lived in the same apartment complex as Cook at the time of her murder. According to court records, she had been involved in an extramarital affair with James Mayfield, who had also been her boss. Before Edwards’ death, he had left his wife to move in with her. When he returned to his wife, Edwards attempted suicide. That made their affair public and resulted in Mayfield being asked to resign from his job at what was then Texas Eastern University and is now the University of Texas at Tyler. On the night of the murder, Mayfield told authorities, he was with his wife and daughter.
Among other things, prosecutors did not reveal that Mayfield’s daughter was known to police to be mentally unstable and had made death threats against Edwards. According to the court ruling, prosecutors also misrepresented a deal they made with a jailhouse snitch who testified that Cook confessed to the crime. And, the court found, prosecutors pressured a police sergeant to give misleading and unscientific testimony that Cook’s fingerprints in Edwards' apartment were fresh.
Prosecutors have disputed the findings of misconduct, and they proceeded with a fourth trial. Shortly before the trial was to begin, though, they offered Cook a plea deal. He could plead guilty, be sentenced to the time he had served and then be released. Cook refused to plead guilty, though, and instead entered a plea of no contest.
He avoided the risk of another trial, but Cook was still legally considered a murderer. Only after Cook signed the agreement with prosecutors did DNA testing reveal that Mayfield’s semen was on the victim’s panties. Mayfield has never been charged in relation to the crime, and Smith County prosecutors have said the DNA results don't mean Cook didn't commit the crime.
“Given the history of this case, there is no chance that the resolution of Kerry’s case can have any legitimacy or appearance of impartiality if it remains in Smith County,” said Marc McPeak, a lawyer with Greenberg Traurig in Dallas, who is working pro bono on the case.
Former Smith County District Attorney Jack Skeen, now a state district judge in Tyler, did not return phone calls seeking comment. And his predecessor, A.D. Clark III, who presided over Cook’s original trial and now works in Tyler for the Texas attorney general’s office, declined to comment on the record. Both have maintained that Cook is guilty.
Michael West, an appellate lawyer in the Smith County district attorney’s office who has done research on the case but is not directly handling it, said Cook’s request for the recusal of every judge in the county, some of whom were in high school during Cook’s original trial, is “just ridiculous.”
“Everything about Smith County is different from that time,” West said.
West, was not involved in Cook's previous trials, also questioned Cook’s motives for pursuing his innocence claims more than a decade after he was released from prison.
“To me, it’s suspicious,” he said. “It seems like if I was all fired up and gung ho about being innocent, I wouldn’t have waited so long.”
If he is exonerated, Cook could apply for compensation for the two decades he spent on death row. He could be eligible for more than $1.5 million in a lump sum payment and a monthly annuity equal to the same amount over the course of his life.
Cook said he doesn’t care about the money. He would waive the compensation if the county would simply declare his innocence.
“Between money and justice, I’ll take justice,” he said.
Money, though, is a major reason why Cook said it has taken so long for him to begin this phase of his legal battle. Getting and keeping a job and a home as a convicted murderer is no easy feat, so he has lived paycheck to paycheck.
Additionally, the DNA laws in Texas have evolved since Cook was released from prison in 1999. Texas adopted its law allowing for post-conviction DNA testing in 2001. It required defendants to meet strict requirements before testing was granted. Over the years, those have been eased.
And McPeak didn’t take Cook’s case until 2009. He has worked since then to compile evidence and testimony from a complex set of records spanning three decades, four trials and a host of lawyers. It took six months to get all of the public documents he requested from Smith County, McPeak said.
Cook, he said, already has enough evidence from the 1999 DNA results to prove his innocence. But because this could be his last chance to prove it in court, he wants to gather every piece of evidence that remains to determine who did kill Edwards.
“This is a big deal and it takes a long time, and it’s not an easy decision,” McPeak said.
Cook is married now and has a son named Kerry Justice, who is 11. But every day, he said, is a struggle for survival. He has been out of prison and away from the repeated rape and physical abuse on death row that pushed him to attempt to take his own life, but Cook said he is not truly free.
“I’m so tired; I’m so beaten up now,” he said. “Man, I struggle with suicidal tendencies.”
This fight, he said, could be his last chance to finally prove his innocence and remove the cloud of conviction from his life.
“I keep coming back like Lazarus from the dead,” he said. “I’m not going to quit because I was innocent.”

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”


Former cop now faces 4 counts of attempted murder

UPDATE: Former cop now faces 4 counts of attempted murder

JUNEAU EMPIRE

The former Juneau police lieutenant who opened fire on police officers Saturday evening was charged with three additional counts of first-degree attempted murder Tuesday, according to new charging documents.

Troy A. Wilson, 45, now faces a total of 15 felony charges. Four of those are for attempting to murder four different Juneau police officers — his former coworkers — by firing a rifle at them.

District Attorney David Brower also charged Wilson with three additional counts of third-degree assault and another count of second-degree weapons misconduct.

Wilson was arrested early Sunday morning following a five-hour shooting spree Saturday evening. Prosecutors say the former SWAT instructor barricaded himself in his house and fired about 75 to 100 shots. He used night vision devices to help him aim at police officers, charging documents state.

Police said no one was injured during the incident.

With eyes cast down and head bowed, Wilson made for his first public court appearance Tuesday. He wore a orange prisoner’s jumpsuit.

Not once did he appear to look upward to meet to eyes of the judge, the two uniformed Juneau police officers in the back of the courtroom or the four women — who refused to be identified — sitting in the first two front rows.

The only time Wilson raised his gaze was to ask a question to his newly hired defense attorney, Julie Willoughby, who sat to his left at the defendant’s table.

The 17-year JPD veteran was arraigned Sunday by a magistrate judge. That judge set bail at $500,000 cash per the state’s request.

On Tuesday, District Attorney David Brower asked the judge to raise bail to $1 million cash.

“Judge, the initial information was filed Sunday morning after initially contacting Juneau police,” Brower said. “Upon further review of the evidence and further investigation and interviews, the state has added the additional charges and the additional information. And we’re asking that the bail be increased to a million dollars — $500,000 appearance and $500,000 performance, along with third-party custodian. The allegations are extremely serious and the statements are made extremely serious.”

Charging documents show that Wilson vowed to “kill the world” during the rampage. He also threatened “to hunt down and kill” Juneau Police Department Chief Greg Browning, Assistant Chief Paige Decker, Capt. Ed Mercer and Investigator Kim Horn who tried to negotiate with him by phone throughout the standoff, according to an updated affidavit filed by Brower.

Haines Magistrate Judge John Hutchins, who was filling in for Juneau District Court Judge Thomas Nave, granted Brower’s bail request after Willoughby reserved their bail order.

“I think the state’s request is appropriate,” based on the nature of the offense and the danger presented to the community and victims, Hutchins said.

Brower also requested a blanket condition of release that requires Wilson be prohibited from contacting any Juneau Police Department officers, in addition to those listed in the criminal complaint, should Wilson post bail.

Willoughby objected, saying Wilson should only be prohibited from initiating contact with any JPD officers. She didn’t object to her client being prohibited from contacting any of the officers specifically listed in the complaint.

The judge agreed with Willoughby and allowed that condition of release to be amended.

The nine-minute hearing ended with Wilson shuffling out of the courtroom with Willoughby by his side. He was escorted by an armed court security officer.

Wilson is next scheduled to appear in court later this month on April 20 for a preliminary hearing.

Officers had responded to Wilson’s house of Black Wolf Way around 10:15 p.m. Saturday night when they received a 911 phone call from his wife. Wilson’s wife, only identified as “J.W.” in court papers, told police her husband was suicidal and had a gun.

The shooting began sometime after that, though it’s not immediately clear when. Some neighbors previously told the Empire they did not hear shots until later in the evening.

Brower alleges Wilson, who was wearing an armored vest, attempted to murder officers Lee Phelps, Darin Schultz, Brandon Lawrenson and Krag Campbell.

Phelps was stationed behind some trees behind Wilson’s house, and heard bullets hitting all around him, Brower wrote.

A bullet hole was later found in a tree behind where Phelps was stationed, the affidavit states.

Schultz was positioned across the street from Wilson’s house between a truck and a shed that were about 10 to 15 feet apart. Wilson began firing multiple rounds at Schultz’s direction “at a close enough distance that Officer Shultz could hear the rounds whizzing by his head,” Brower wrote. Three rounds were ultimately recovered by the shed, Brower said.
Schultz was also one of the first officers who arrived on scene. He quickly exited his patrol vehicle that was later found with about eight bullet holes in it, according to the document.

Lawrenson was stationed with Krag Campbell between a house and a 24-foot boat across the street. Wilson began shooting at their location, and Campbell reported hearing bullets “zipping by” his head, the affidavit states.

“Based on the direction from which the rounds were fired, Investigator (Paul) Hatch assessed that Wilson had to move from the downstairs area of his residence to the upstairs in order to fire in the direction of Investigators Lawrenson and Campbell,” the affidavit states. “Wilson also stated to the crisis negotiation team that he could see officers across the street from his house and that he intended to shoot them.”

The three new assault charges are for allegedly placing Officers Brian Dallas, Dominic Branson and Lt. David Campbell in fear of imminent serious injury. The three officers were stationed approximately five houses down from Wilson’s house and around the corner.

Wilson fired shots in their direction, and the rounds were skipping off the roadway about 20 to 50 feet away from them, Brower wrote.

“Each of the officers was in fear that they would be injured by the ricochetting rounds,” and moved their position further away, Brower said.

Wilson resigned from JPD in December as he was being investigated for off-duty behavior that allegedly violated police policy and procedure, JPD spokeswoman Cindee Brown-Mills told the Empire on Monday.

The subject of that investigation has not been released, though Brown-Mills said it was associated with a psychological condition.

This week’s candidates for the Brian Sonnenberg Peaceful Resolution to Conflict Center Award. Fairfax County Police. police brutality


DALLAS POLICE OFFICER SUSPENDED FOR 10 DAYS OVER DOMESTIC DISTURBANCES
Dallas News
By Tanya Eiserer/Reporter
Sat., Apr. 7, 2012
[Excerpts] A Dallas police officer has been suspended for 10 days in connection with two domestic disturbances involving his wife in 2011. Cortney Thornton received the suspension last month following a disciplinary hearing... Thornton was arrested on a Class C misdemeanor assault charge in January 2011... He denied assaulting her. She later signed an affidavit of non prosecution and would not cooperate with the criminal investigation... A day after the [2nd] incident, Thornton's wife called the deputy chief at southeast patrol and told her that he had locked her out of their house, that she was scared of him and that she had no place to go. Internal investigators ultimately concluded that he also violated the department's administrative leave policy when he went to his wife's workplace.

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”


Cop fired under ruling
Albany police officer with a long off-duty history is terminatedALBANY — An Albany police officer with an extensive history of off-duty problems, including arrests for assault and driving while intoxicated, was fired Monday under a ruling from a state-appointed arbitrator.
Robert L. Schunk II, 40, had faced termination since 2010, when the department moved to fire the 14-year veteran following his arrest in two domestic violence incidents, including one in which he later admitted pointing a loaded gun at his ex-girlfriend.
The woman, Barbara Waters, testified against Schunk at his criminal trials in Albany and Halfmoon. Last year, Schunk was acquitted by a jury in the Albany case. He had been indicted for felony assault and testified that he pointed a loaded handgun at Waters, and his own head, during an argument in January 2009.
Last month, Waters testified at Schunk's trial in Halfmoon, in which a jury found him guilty of harassment and criminal mischief in an incident at Waters' residence in April 2010. Schunk kicked in a bathroom door at Waters' apartment and allegedly roughed her up. She told police the incident took place after Schunk poured a drink over her head at a nearby bar in a fit of jealousy.
"Any woman that feels like a police department has control over what they do, it's not true," Waters said Monday, after learning of the arbitrator's decision. "You can fight, and you can win."
Schunk joined the department in 1998 and had off-duty brushes with police dating back 10 years. His arrest history includes a 2005 conviction for driving while ability impaired after his vehicle slammed into two parked cars in Albany.
Two years ago, the department investigated allegations that Schunk served alcohol to on-duty officers who gathered at his residence in uniform for private parties. The internal probe did not result in disciplinary charges. Department leaders said the officers, who were photographed in uniform holding beer bottles, claimed they had been relieved of duty by a supervisor.
Schunk was represented in the arbitration by an attorney for Council 82, an umbrella union for the Albany Police Officers Union. A union spokesman was not available for comment Monday.
Police Chief Steven Krokoff was not available for comment. Deputy Chief Stephen Reilly said the department is pleased with the arbitrator's decision. Although the arbitrator, Sheila S. Cole, discredited much of Waters' testimony as inconsistent, Reilly said police found Waters' accounts of a long history of domestic violence to be "credible and consistent."
"We felt that she was truthful right from the beginning," the deputy chief said. "I'm pleased that Mr. Schunk's future activities will no longer have the ability to tarnish the reputation of the honorable women and men in the Albany Police Department."
The arbitrator concluded that Schunk lied about soliciting a prostitute in Colonie two years ago while on suspension. The encounter with the prostitute took place in August 2010 when Schunk picked the 23-year-old woman up on an Albany street. He said he was driving around "bored" and gave the woman a ride out of sympathy. She told detectives he paid her $60 for sex.
A Colonie police officer discovered the pair in Schunk's pickup truck in a Kmart parking lot at 2:30 a.m. An empty condom wrapper was found on the ground next to Schunk's driver's door. The officer said their clothes were disheveled and Schunk appeared to be on top of the woman, who was arrested for giving a fake name and carrying a hypodermic needle and bags with heroin residue. Schunk was not arrested.
Two months ago, Schunk was suspended on new administrative charges after Glenville police charged him with violating an order of protection for allegedly sending emails to Waters. That case is pending and was not part of Schunk's arbitration case.
Schunk is scheduled to be sentenced in Halfmoon Town Court next month for harassment and criminal mischief..
Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III said his office will ask a judge to sentence Schunk to up to a year in jail.
"I am thankful that the Albany (police) had sufficient evidence to remove him from their ranks in order to maintain their high standard of professionalism and ethics," Murphy said in a statement. "I applaud Chief Krokoff for his decisive action."
Officer's history of troubles:
February 1998: Robert L. Schunk hired as Albany police officer.
June 2002: Colonie police respond to domestic incident involving Schunk and a woman. Police said Schunk appeared intoxicated, was physically violent and broke a vase. No arrest.
April 2005: Schunk suspended, arrested for off-duty DWI. His vehicle slammed into two parked cars in Albany.
August 2005: Schunk pleads guilty to driving while ability impaired. Returns to duty.
June 2007: Saratoga County police respond to residence of Schunk's brother as two men fought. Both appeared intoxicated and Schunk allegedly "threatened to shoot his brother with a pistol." No arrest.
June 2009: Saratoga County deputies respond to domestic involving Schunk and then-girlfriend. Alleged victim showed deputies bruises on her body. No arrest.
April 2010: Violent domestic incident as Schunk arrested by Saratoga deputies for harassment, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. Suspended from duty.
May 2010: Schunk indicted by Albany County grand jury for felony assault, accused of grinding loaded pistol against girlfriend's head during alcohol-fueled incident at Schunk's Albany residence in January 2009.
August 2010: Albany police internal investigation of allegations Schunk solicited prostitute. No charges filed.
February 2011: Albany County jury acquits Schunk of felony assault.
February 2011: Albany police internal probe into allegations on-duty officers drank alcohol at Schunk's residence. No charges filed.
February 2012: Schunk arrested in Glenville for violation of order of protection from 2010 domestic incident in Halfmoon.
March 2012: Schunk convicted of harassment and criminal mischief in Halfmoon Town Court.
April 2012: Schunk fired by arbitrator with Public Employees Relations Board.
Sources: Court records, police reports.

Fairfax County Police officer Irene M. Boyle “Opps! Gee gosh it was loaded?” awards


New Haven cop arrested in gunplay incident denies being there
NEW HAVEN — One of the police officers arrested for off-duty and possibly alcohol-fueled gunfire repeatedly denied being anywhere near State Street at the time of the shooting, police said.
But the state forensic lab confirmed five shell casings recovered near the corner of State and Clark streets were fired from the .40-caliber department handgun issued to Lawrence Burns, 38.
In all, three police officer were on paid leave and facing criminal charges in the April 1 incident outside Christopher Martins restaurant.
“You need to come back to State Street because we need to talk about what happened,” Sgt. Steve Teague told Burns in a cell phone call about 15 minutes after the incident.
The three officers were present when on-duty officers first arrived but left while the officers were speaking to witnesses.
“Naw, I wasn’t on State Street, Sarge,” Burns said. Teague asked him several more times.
“I’m going to ask you again, were you on State Street 10 minutes ago?”
“No, no. I was on State Street maybe an hour and (a) half ago,” Burns said.
The conversation didn’t last much longer. Teague asked Burns where he was. Was he home? Was he heading home? He didn’t get a straight answer, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Before he hung up, Teague said, “If that’s how you want to handle it, that’s fine
Burns and Officer Charles Kim, 35, both are charged with firing weapons just after closing time outside the popular State Street bar. Officer Krzysztof Ruszczyk, 31, didn’t fire a weapon but was charged with interfering with police.
All three were released after signing a written promise to appear in court.
Court records provided the most detailed account of the event yet. Officers arrived at about 2:40 a.m. and were flagged down by two witnesses who said people were shooting at the corner. While they were speaking to one officer, another on-duty patrolman approached the three off-duty officers a block down.
“It’s nothing. It’s 55s,” Burns allegedly told the officer, using the police code for fireworks.
The on-duty officer told them to stay there and drove to the witnesses to get a description of the shooters. In the interim, police said, Burns drove off.
“That’s the guy who was shooting and (you’re) letting him go,” the witness said as a yellow sports car sped off.
Despite also being told to stay, Ruszczyk and Kim also left in a vehicle., police said.
In the next half hour, Burns called an on-duty officer several times asking what was happening.
“This incident is not going away, you need to come back, you need to call Ruszczyk, you guys need to come back here,” the officer recalled telling Burns.
Detectives recovered six shell casings at the scene, one from a .380-caliber pistol and five others from a .40-caliber.
 Under order, the three officers turned in the guns, ammunition and badges later that afternoon. One of Burns’ magazines was missing seven rounds of ammunition. A day later, Kim surrendered a .380-caliber handgun.
On Thursday, the same day police secured arrest warrants for the three officers, a forensic technician confirmed for police that the shell casings recovered at the scene and been fired from the .380-caliber belonging to Kim and the .40-caliber issued to Burns.
The three men are due in court on April 20.


Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.




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

Grootens addresses police brutality allegations
The debate over alleged police brutality by the Jacksonville Police Department came to a head tonight.
Jacksonville Police Chief Tony Grootens addressed resident Dennis Lancaster, and his girlfriend Amanda Six, after they talked to City Council members about four separate incidents of alleged excessive force by the JPD.
Lancaster claimed police used unnecessary force in his 2009 arrest that caused facial injuries and a broken arm. Lancaster was later found guilty of aggravated battery for resisting arrest during the incident. A civil case stemming from the incident is pending.
Six says they’re not against police but they are against police brutality.
“There are plenty of cops that do help and they do their jobs correctly," says Six. "However, there are a few that are causing these injuries and there's a problem with it."
Grootens says there is no problem with police brutality in Jacksonville. He says there have been only four incidents where a person arrested has been sent to the hospital after an arrest out of the 3,000 made the last three years.
Grootens points to the fact each incident involved four different officers. Two officers were cleared of wrongdoing after investigations by the FBI.
Grootens says it’s tough not to take the allegations against the police department personally.
“I've said all along it wasn't personal with me," says Grootens. "But when they try to diminish the capability of the police department by saying they're, in essence, inept which isn't the case at all. They're highly educated, well trained and very good police officers. I think Council see that. In fact, I know Council sees that and the majority of the public sees that. That facts are the facts and the speak for themselves."
The three other arrests made that led to hospitalization stem from the Tasing of Bamako Walton in August 2010 when he tried to outrun police. Last July, Raymond Wilson suffered a broken leg after resisting arrest. Most recently, Robert Black suffered a broken neck and severe injuries to his ear when he allegedly resisted arrest.
Listen to this story on 107.1 FM or 1180 AM during the morning newscasts for more.


Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.






This Week’s Capt. Denise Hopson Screw it, it’s the public s money and not mine Award

Beloit to pay $265K to settle strip-search lawsuit

MADISON, Wis. — The City of Beloit has agreed to pay a South Beloit teen $265,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that he was illegally strip-searched and subjected to police brutality.
The settlement follows pre-trial rulings by a federal judge in Madison that it's illegal to conduct a strip search in public. That's in contrast to jailhouse strip searches, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld as constitutional earlier this month.
Court records say the boy was in a parked car with two others in January 2010 when someone called police to report drug activity. Officer Kerry Daugherty patted down the 16-year-old and saw a bulge in the boy's pants, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report.
The officer asked him what the bulge was and the boy said it was his genitalia, Daugherty testified in a deposition.
"I don't believe you. Show me," Daugherty said.
The boy unfastened his pants and exposed himself. Daugherty testified that he pushed the teen against the car "to stabilize him." The boy's head shattered the back windshield, and he suffered a concussion.
Daugherty later found a small baggie of marijuana hidden in the teen's underwear.
During the deposition, Amy Scarr, the teen's attorney, asked Daugherty why he didn't conduct the strip search at the station. Daugherty answered: "I don't know. It's just not the way we operate. We continue the investigation on the street where we were."
Daugherty said he wanted the boy to show him the marijuana, not his private parts.
Scarr said afterward that police must be held accountable.
"They have a lot of authority, and we have to be able to trust them," she said.
Attorney Gregg Gunta, who represented Daugherty and the city, said the officer was simply responding to the teen's "bizarre conduct."
Gunta said Daugherty could see the bag of marijuana protruding from the waistband of the boy's underwear. When the officer said he didn't believe the boy's denial about possessing drugs, the teen pulled out his penis and shook it at the officer, Gunta said.
"The officer's reaction was not excessive or out of the ordinary," he told The Associated Press.
Confronted by the boy's gesture, Gunta said the officer pushed the boy back to create separation. The boy slipped on the snow-covered ground and his head cracked the car window.
The defendants agreed to settle the case because it was unclear how a jury would respond to some of the details, he said.
Daugherty was not disciplined after the incident, according to court records. The teen wasn't charged with a crime, but he did receive a municipal citation, according to his attorney.


Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.