City mulls paying $525,000 to settle cop misconduct cases

One cop stripped of police powers but still works for department

The City Council Finance Committee on Monday recommended paying out $525,000 to settle two cases of alleged police misconduct, one involving an officer stripped of his police powers who still works for the department.
If approved by the full council Wednesday, the city would pay $325,000 to settle a case involving Officer John Haleas, who was considered the department's top enforcer of drunken driving laws before prosecutors accused him of falsifying police reports.
In the case, Julio Martinez Jr. accused Haleas of beating him and falsely accusing him of driving under the influence after handcuffing him to a bar in March 2006, said Leslie Darling, a top city attorney. Martinez, a hemophiliac, suffered a head injury that required medical treatment that cost $106,000, Darling said.
In 2008, Haleas was stripped of his police powers. Last year, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor obstruction of justice, years after a felony case against him fell apart. He served a one-day suspension and now works in the police records department earning nearly $81,000 a year, which Ald. Willie Cochran, 20th, called "unacceptable."
Aldermen also recommended paying $200,000 to settle a case filed by a man who was run over by a police squad car chasing him in May 2009. Officers at first said RL Johnson fell, but that was inconsistent with his injuries, Darling said. A video recording of the incident is missing, she added.

Deputy Chief John Hunter pleads guilty in police misconduct case

Nassau County police commander pleaded guilty Wednesday to official misconduct for trying to help derail burglary charges against the son of a man who donated money to police causes.
Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, former deputy patrol chief John Hunter avoided jail time. He was sentenced instead to 3 years of probation and 500 hours of community service.

Valley Falls Outraged Over Reported Auxiliary Police Misconduct

VALLEY FALLS, Kan. (WIBW) -- Disgruntled citizens in Valley Falls gathered to voice their opinions on what they're calling auxiliary police misconduct.
The reason why many of them are so heated has them wondering how their council is running their city.
Residents describe last Saturday night in downtown Valley Falls as total mayhem, and it had Wednesday's council meeting in mayhem as well.
Saturday night, residents reported teenagers drag-racing and speeding up and down the city's main street. The icing on the cake for them was finding out an auxiliary police officer and councilman, Todd Harrington, was part of it.
 Another auxiliary member, Doug Wildeman was reported to have been driving around town with a young girl in his lap.
"He was turning the siren on and off, the headlights on an off, the flashers on and off, hit the airhorn a couple times," said witness Lee Kahn of Valley Falls. "He floored it and he gunned it at maximum speed. I assumed it was a police officer so I came in to City Hall to file a written complaint, only to find out it wasn't even a police officer driving the car, that it was a civilian."
Valley Falls city council approved its auxiliary police program April 25. It gives civilians the right to drive in police cars and patrol the city. The council said having a civilian on patrol will make kids feel comfortable with hanging out downtown. Harrington said in the meeting that the city council's goal was to have the kids all in once place so they would be easier to watch. He also said he wanted the atmosphere to be similar to when he was a teen, hanging out downtown.
"They are afraid to be uptown when the cops are up there. They get run off," Harrington said.
Many Valley Falls residents and parents are outraged that civilians were patrolling that Saturday when the situation got out of control. One trained patrolman was reported to have been filling out paperwork while two auxiliary members were out in police cars.
"We pay officers to do their job. I don't think people who aren't qualified should be doing something like that," resident Pat Reyley said. "As taxpayers, if something was to happen to the patrol car, who's going to pay for that? Us."
Residents say the auxiliary program test-run did nothing but encourage reckless behavior in the town's youth.
"This is the night to come and tear up our community. This is the town to be in at that night because they know there's no police around to do anything about it. That concerns me," Julie Trower said.
13 News received information from an anonymous source that the mayor, Charles Stutesman was going to fire the chief of police Josh Pence about the whole situation, but decided against it and reappointed him.
As it stands, the auxiliary program was tabled at Wednesday's meeting and will no longer be in effect for the time being.
No arrests, citations or tickets were given out on Saturday night. Two Jefferson County police officers were called to downtown Valley Falls when the teenagers were there.

6 Police Misconduct Settlements Worth Millions

When police abuse their authority everyone loses. Victims may get hurt or even lose their life, police damage their credibility and taxpayers end up shouldering huge payouts to victims and their families.

Last week, the Los Angeles Police Department settled a lawsuit brought against it by two women officers mistakenly shot at during the Dorner manhunt in February. The settlement will cost the city $4.2 million and attorneys called it "a bargain."

Parents of Dancer Shot and Killed by Police After Jumping Ship Settle for $2.5 Million

Paul Hirschfield, 37, was one of the dancers on a boat chartered for a gay pride party in San Diego on July 19, 2010.
At about 11 p.m., he jumped into the San Diego Bay and was shot and killed by Harbor Police during an altercation as they were trying to get him out of the water.
Police said he fought with an officer and tried to grab his gun. Hirshfield's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit, pointing out that he was unarmed and shot in the back.
The victims parents settled the case for $2.5 million

Women Shot at During Dorner Manhunt Settle for $4.2 Million

Two women mistakenly shot at by Los Angeles police during the manhunt for Christopher Dorner earlier this year reached a $4.2 million settlement.
Emma Hernandez, 71, and her daughter Margie Carranza, 47, where delivering newspapers when police officers fired about 100 bullets at their pickup truck on February 7, 2013.
Dorner reportedly drove a pickup truck, but the women's vehicle did not match the make, model or color of Dorner's.
Los Angeles city attorney Carmen Trutanich said the agreement was a "no brainer because costs were going to skyrocket."
"We got out of this thing pretty cheaply all things considered," he said according to the Los Angeles Times.

$3.5 Million Settlement After Police Kill man Inside Connecticut House

Heavily armed police charged into a home in Easton, Conn. with guns drawn and flash grenades exploding when they shot and killed Gonzalo Guizan, who was "quietly watching porn" on TV at the time.
According to reports, the raid took place because police were under pressure to "do something" about Ronald Terebesi, the home owner. Terebesi would entertain exotic dancers in his home and was "considered a blot on an otherwise pristine neighborhood." He was also reportedly using drugs and his house had been shot at by the boyfriend of one of the dancers.
The Guizan family settled their lawsuit $3.5 million in February 2013.

Homeless Man's Mother Settles for $1 Million

On July 5, 2011, Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia, was stopped by two officers for allegedly trying to break into cars at a bus depot in Fullerton, Calif.
The officers beat him and used a Taser several times, eventually leaving him unconscious. Thomas was treated by paramedics and was taken to the hospital, but died five days later after being taken off life support.
The City of Fullerton gave a $1 million settlement to Cathy Thomas, the victim's mother.

Family of Deceased Beer-Drinking Celtics Fan Settles for $3 Million

David Woodman died after sustaining injuries during an arrest while celebrating the Boston Celtics 2008 NBA championships. His family settled a lawsuit with the city of Boston for $3 million.
Police apprehended Woodman who was drinking beer near the Fenway area with a group of fans. Woodman collapsed, according to reports, and was taken to a hospital where he died 11 days later.
An investigator's report concluded he died of a pre-existing heart condition. However, his family said they believed police lied about what happened during their son's arrest. Woodman had more than a dozen abrasions, bruises, cuts or lacerations that were not mentioned in the investigator's report.

Chicago's Surpasses $27 Million Set Aside for Settlements in Less Than a Month

The city of Chicago has already surpassed the $27 Million it set aside for settlements in 2013.
The city reached settlements in two cases of police misconduct in January reaching $33 million. The first case settled for just over $10 million was for a man who had been wrongfully convicted for murder. A second $22.5 million settlement was reached for a woman with a bipolar disorder who was attacked, raped and injured when she fell from a 7th floor window after police released her in one of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods.
In March, Boston officials agreed to settle three lawsuits totaling $7 million. The largest of the three was for $4.5 million for the wrongful death of Rekia Boyd, who was shot by an off-duty cop. Boyd was walking on the street, when the policeman shot his weapon blindly over his shoulder at a group of men.

City to pay $325,000 to hemophiliac beaten by cop, falsely charged with DUI

Officer John Haleas indicted on four counts each of official misconduct and perjury and two counts of obstruction of justice as he leaves the Criminal Court House at 26th & California after his arraignment

Chicago taxpayers will spend $325,000 to compensate a hemophiliac falsely charged with DUI, then beaten by a Chicago Police officer while handcuffed to a metal bar in a holding room.

Julio Martinez was treated for a possible skull fracture after a May 2009 beating administered by Chicago Police Officer John Haleas, who was once Chicago’s most prolific officer in making DUI arrests, only to be stripped of his police powers after being accused of falsifying drunken driving arrests. 

Haleas wracked up 718 arrests in 2005 and 2006, only to have 156 of those cases dismissed after his arrest. Two Cook County prosecutors were the original witnesses to the officer’s alleged failure to give a DUI suspect a field sobriety test or tell the man he could refuse to take a Breathalyzer test.

He was indicted and relieved of his police powers in 2008 and pleaded guilty four years later to misdemeanor attempted obstruction of justice.

Haleas received a five-day suspension subsequently reduced to a one-day suspension by the Police Board. He is now assigned to the Records Division.

The $325,000 settlement was approved Monday by the City Council’s Finance Committee, but not before aldermen demanded to know why Haleas was still being paid by Chicago taxpayers. 

“The exposure that we’re seeing from people like Mr. Haleas — it’s just compounded more and more when a decision is not made” to fire him, said Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd).

Ald. Willie Cochran (20th), a former Chicago Police officer, added, “We didn’t hire him to work in the Records Division without any sworn [powers]...Here we are again in the same situation with an officer who committed a criminal act. Other officers…can testify and represent the city well. This person cannot, but he’s been given continuing employment status after admitting to this wrongdoing? . . . That we would support a person like this continuing to get a payroll check? I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

Terry Ekl, an attorney representing Martinez, was equally incensed.

Ekl also represented a diminutive bartender beaten by former Chicago Police Officer Anthony Abbate in a case that culminated in a $850,000 damage award and a precedent-setting finding that a “code of silence” in the Chicago Police Department played a role in the videotaped beating.

“The city is still paying him the same amount of money to sit in an office to answer a telephone when police officers should be on the street protecting citizens,” Ekl said.

“It’s reprehensible. It’s part of the failure of the Chicago Police Department to appropriately investigate and discipline police officers engaging in misconduct, which is a part of the code of silence.”

The Finance Committee also approved a $200,000 settlement to an alleged robbery suspect who suffered a severe leg injury after being run over by a Chicago Police officer in May, 2009.

The officer initially denied running over plaintiff R.L. Johnson, then admitted hitting Johnson, but inisisted it was an accident. Video from the squad car camera in the lead pursuit vehicle is “missing” and has not been located, Deputy Corporation Counsel Leslie Darling said.

The injured man was “found with drugs on his person,” but had no weapon and the robbery victim declined to press charges.

“The court has ruled that it will allow argument that the missing video was deliberately destroyed, although we have no evidence of such destruction,” Darling said.

Cop charged with destroying evidence

Former Nebraska police officer James Kinsella has been charged with felony tampering with evidence, misdemeanour obstruction and theft over the arrest of Octavious Johnson last month, KPTM reports.
As Juaquez Johnson filmed his brother being beaten in the street in front of their home, officer Matthew Worm warned him he would be arrested if he stepped onto the street again.
After ignoring the directive the officer chased Mr Johnson, who ran into his home and hid behind the wheelchair of a disabled relative.
As more officers followed him into the home a third brother, Demetrious Johnson, began to film the unfolding incident on his mobile phone.
Police allege that a short time later Kinsella took the memory card from Mr Johnson's phone and destroyed it.
Sergeant Aaron Von Behren has also been charged with misdemeanour accessory to a felony and obstructing government operations over the incident.
A police investigation found the arresting officers' use of force had been within acceptable limits but the men were fired over the incident.
Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said police would cooperate fully with the investigation.

More idiots at work

Center City, Pennsylvania: Three men and one woman have filed a federal lawsuit against the police claiming that they were mistreated by an officer. The encounter was recorded by one of the men. ow.ly/kGoua

Idiots at work

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Allegations have surfaced that police officers are abusing their power, making arrests for trespassing when people have done nothing wrong and no one’s asked them to leave. A lawsuit has been filed against the GRPD by the ACLU. http://ow.ly/kGsEw

Nassau County, New York (First reported 02-21-13): A former police chief has pleaded guilty to official misconduct and conspiracy charges. He was one of the three police officials who prevented the arrest of a teenager whose father was a police benefactor. http://ow.ly/kGBUs

Cops sued

New York, New York: Three men have said that police officers confronted them, sometimes violently, searched their clothing, and discovered small amounts of marijuana, according to a civil rights lawsuit. The suit contends that the officers routinely stop black and Latino men without cause and then falsely claimed the marijuana was in public view, making it a low-level misdemeanor, which allows for sentences of up to three months in jail. ow.ly/kGpb5