Hornell police officer charged with theft

A Hornell City Police officer has been arrested in connection the June theft of $15,000 from the department’s evidence room.

Jennifer A. Speed, 39, of Hornell was charged by the Steuben County District Attorney with third-degree grand larceny, first-degree tampering with public records, two counts of first-degree falsifying business records and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.

According to the district attorney, the cash went missing in June. The money had been taken into evidence in conjunction with the March 2012 arrest of Steven Brockway, who was charged with attempted murder.

The money had been forfeited and was to be used to pay the medical expenses of Brockway’s victim. State Police were called in to investigate the missing cash and in December, a Steuben County Grand Jury issued a sealed indictment and arrest warrant.

Speed, currently on leave, was the senior evidence custodian at the time of the offenses. She was sent to Steuben County Jail without bail and is to be arraigned in Steuben County Court.

DC Police Officer Samson Lawrence charged with attempted murder

Joanie Vasiliadis

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (WUSA9) -- A D.C. police officer has been indicted for attempted murder after officials say he tried to kill his wife.

Officer Samson Lawrence, 45, has been indicted for attempted first and second degree murder, and related charges for attacking his wife with a metal lamp post, officials said in a news release.

He was assigned to the 5th District as a School Resource Officer. 

On November 24, 2013, Lawrence was trying to hang a projection TV in his house when he became angry with his wife because she told him she didn't know where the screws to hang the projector were, according to officials.

Police say Lawrence grabbed a can of Lysol and sprayed it in his wife's face every time she spoke. When Lawrence's wife refused to make him something to eat, he allegedly pushed her.

Lawrence's wife tried to call 911, but Lawrence grabbed the phone from her. She then tried to leave the house, but officials say Lawrence followed her and pushed her to the floor in their living room.

Police say Lawrence picked up a metal light post and hit her in the head while she lay on the floor.

When his wife tried to escape, police say Lawrence cornered her and held two knives by her face and throat and threatened to cut her. His wife was finally able to escape and called 911 from a neighbor's house.

Lawrence was not home by the time the police arrived, but he was arrested the next day.

In addition to attempted first and second degree murder, Lawrence has also been charged with first and second degree assault and wearing and carrying a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure.

Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham told the Associated Press that Lawrence joined the department in 1990.

2 Harrison officers in 'Facebook Four' scandal promoted to sergeant

Written by JORGE FITZ-GIBBON

HARRISON — Two town police officers who were suspended and disciplined for exchanging lewd, sexual comments about Harrison’s then-supervisor on Facebook now have been promoted and given hefty raises.

Michael DiLauria and Frank Massaro, part of the “Facebook Four” who also exchanged racist comments in 2009 about President Barack Obama, have been made sergeants earning $113,810, a raise of $15,699, effective Friday.

The move didn’t sit well with former Supervisor Joan Walsh, who had pushed to have DiLauria, Massaro, Detective Richard Light and town code enforcement officer Ed DiBuono fired following the scandal.

“Given my experiences with them, I am concerned how they treat other townspeople,” said Walsh, 78. “They felt free to make these totally unsolicited comments when they had absolutely no interaction with me. Was it to curry favor with somebody, or is this the kind of thought process that they have all the time.”

DiLauria, Massaro, Light and DiBuono were suspended with pay Feb. 27, 2009, and later ordered to do community service and docked pay for the online exchanges.

In Facebook postings between November 2008 and February 2009, they ridiculed Walsh and joked about raunchy sex with her.

In one posting, Massaro wrote, “Ed, how about JW and you go out and get drunk, then on the way home you both can play the game and get nakid (sic) while you drive. Everything but the cast comes off. Salute!”

Light, who was demoted after the scandal, also commented on Obama’s election, saying “the rose garden will be turned into the watermelon garden” and there will be “KFC set up right in front of the white house.”

Police Chief Anthony Marraccini defended DiLauria’s and Massaro’s promotions Friday, saying “these were very good officers prior to this event” and that “they were and are stellar officers after the event.”

“I didn’t agree with any of their actions, but they suffered severe penalties,” he said. “Both of these officers, upon returning to duty, performed and served this community to the highest of standards. They have both been a credit and an asset, not only to the town but to the community.”

“It would be unjust to have this item from the past penalize them for their entire career,” he said.

Harrison Supervisor Ron Belmont did not return calls seeking comment.

The promotions come four days after a Pleasantville police officer was suspended while that department investigates allegations that he posted a profane, racist rant against Obama on his Facebook page. Pleasantville Police Chief Richard Love said the probe of the officer, Peter Burns, “could lead to his dismissal.”

Denver police officer resigns after cocaine allegations

By Sadie Gurman

A Denver police officer under investigation for allegations that he used cocaine has resigned from the force.

Brian Niven, a member of a Special Crime Attack Team based out of the District 1 station on the northwest side, was suspended in September while internal affairs investigated the allegations. Denver police officials have not provided details about the case, but sources said it involved allegations that Niven used illegal narcotics and was required to take a drug test before he was suspended.

Niven's duties on the SCAT team, an elite group of officers handpicked by their commander to proactively fight crime, often included investigating narcotics activity.

He had been on the department for seven years. He resigned while awaiting further discipline in the case.

Case Of Yahnick Martin, Arrested For Being A 'Smart Ass,' Leads To Discipline Hearing For Cop Roman Goris

By Jonathan Vankin, Fri, December 20, 2013

Yahnick Martin, the Brooklyn man tossed in jail by New York cops for being a “smart ass,” is getting some measure of satisfaction this week as Roman Goris, one of the officers who arrested him, becomes the first New York cop to face an independent disciplinary hearing for taking the city’s controversial “stop and frisk” policy a step too far.

The city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, under new powers it assumed earlier this year, may now take up stop-and-frisk cases on its own, investigating whether officers abused the policy. Under stop-and-frisk, police may stop and search anyone they suspect of carrying an illegal object or substance.

The original intent of the law was to help police curb gun violence by seizing illegal guns before they could be used. But of the staggering 533,000 people stopped by police under the policy in 2012, only 729 were found to be carrying guns.

In all, about 29,000 were stopped for possessing marijuana, which is actually decriminalized in New York. About 5,000 people were arrested for marijuana possession.

Martin (pictured) filed a $2 million lawsuit against the city for his wrongful arrest. The suit gives details of the incident for which Goris now faces disciplinary charges.

A 35-year-old real estate broker and married father, Martin was waiting by his car, parked in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, while his wife delivered Christmas presents on Dec. 23, 2011. He was puffing on a cigar.

Goris and two other cops, saying that they smelled marijuana, asked Martin if he had any. Martin said he did not and blew out cigar smoke to make his point.

Goris searched him anyway, emptying his pockets and finding nothing. Then Martin, perhaps unwisely but certainly not in violation of any known statutes, thought it would be amusing to make a joke.

"Where's the $100 that was in my pocket?" he quipped.

“You want to be a smart ass and make accusations, you’re going to jail,” one of the humorless officers replied.

The officers cuffed the real estate broker and took him to the 77th Precinct Station where he was slapped with disorderly conduct charges — which were quickly dropped.

Before they hauled him off, Martin asked to shut off and lock his automobile, which was filled with Christmas presents and still running. The cops refused to allow him to secure the vehicle.

The car was stolen by the time his wife came out of the building, according to Martin’s lawsuit.

Martin is African-American. Almost 90 percent of people stopped under the stop-and-frisk policy in 2012 were black or Latino.

Until the recent reforms, the civilian board was able only to make recommendations to the NYPD which then conducted internal disciplinary hearings.

"When it comes to prosecuting police officers accused of mistreating civilians, it is essential that those cases be handled by someone independent of the police department," said Christopher Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which has frequently challenged the city’s stop-and-frisk policy.

Former Philadelphia police officer charged with fondling girl, 14, gets prison time

PHILADELPHIA — A former Philadelphia police officer who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl at a suburban motel has been sentenced to six to 20 years in state prison.
The Bucks County Courier Times (http://bit.ly/1dseei1) said 37-year-old Anthony Dattilo wept during his sentencing Friday and apologized for embarrassing his family.
Dattilo will also be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
The 12-year police force veteran was arrested in May 2012 after the victim sent text messages to family members saying she was being held against her will at a hotel in Bensalem.
Dattilo pleaded guilty in June to aggravated indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor and related charges

Orange County's chief probation officer charged in pot-growing operation

By Tammy Grubb

CHAPEL HILL — A top Orange County probation officer has been charged with operating a marijuana-growing operation in her Efland home.

Carlisha Lakwan Davis, 38, of 3306 Loganberry Court, Efland, was charged Dec. 9 with felony maintaining a dwelling for the sale, manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, felony marijuana manufacturing and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, according to court records.

The charges stem from a June break-in, Orange County sheriff’s investigator Randy Hawkins said. Davis’ arrest was delayed because investigators “were making sure we had what we needed” to file the charges, he said.

Davis was released from the Orange County Jail after posting a $10,000 unsecured bond. She returns to court Jan. 24. Orange-Chatham District Attorney Jim Woodall said the N.C. Department of Justice is handling the case.

Davis is southern Orange County’s chief probation and parole officer, earning $45,914 a year. N.C. Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Pamela Walker said Davis has been on administrative reassignment since June with a Guilford County probation office.

According to a search warrant, deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to a break-in call around 9 p.m. June 18 at the home. Deputies reported finding “an obvious break-in” and checked inside for any potential suspects, the warrant states.

In the master bedroom closet, they found what appeared to be the remains of a marijuana-growing operation, Hawkins said in the warrant. Among the items seized were plant-growing lights, fertilizers, marijuana, marijuana seeds and growing media, the warrant states.

Deputies told him the break-in suspect or suspects may have stolen marijuana plants growing in the house, but it was hard to tell because of the condition in which they found the closet, Hawkins said.

“It appeared that the suspects got all that they could carry and had to leave some items behind,” he said.

Deputies found more lights and equipment in the garage, the warrant states. Court records show Davis was charged with having between 0.5 and 1.5 oz. of marijuana in the home.

Hawkins said deputies did not know at the time of the break-in that the home belonged to Jones and her husband, Feltus Juan Jones, 40, who also could face charges.

Orange County’s 12 probation and parole officers supervise the daily activities of 667 offenders – roughly 56 per officer – and ensure they comply with court orders.

Davis joined the Department of Public Safety in 1998. She worked in the Carrboro office on Laurel Avenue for many years, including as an educational officer and the unit’s domestic violence officer, and was promoted to chief probation and parole officer in 2008. Davis supervised six probation officers and one office assistant, Walker said.

State budget cuts forced the county to close the Carrboro office in recent years, consolidating the officers in Hillsborough.

If Davis is found guilty, Walker said the Public Safety agency “will take whatever action is appropriate at that time.”

Off-duty Alpine police officer charged with DWI in Linden crash

BY ABBOTT KOLOFF

An off-duty Alpine police officer was charged with driving while intoxicated after being involved in a motor vehicle accident that injured a 19-year-old man in Linden, authorities said Friday. The officer, Wendell Simpson, was issued a summons by the Linden police, said a spokesman for the Union County prosecutor’s office, Mark Spivey. The man who was injured in the accident, which occurred at 2:30 a.m. Thursday, was taken to University Hospital in Newark where he was in stable condition Friday night, Spivey said. Spivey said that he did not have details about the accident and that the Linden police department was the lead investigative agency in the matter. Linden police were unavailable to provide information about the accident Friday evening. The chief of the Alpine police, Chris Belcolle, acknowledged that Simpson was one of his officers and said that Simpson was off duty in his personal vehicle at the time of the accident. Belcolle declined to say whether Simpson will be suspended during the investigation of the accident. Email: koloff@northjersey.com

Prosecutors: CPD officer broke senior citizen's hip in gas station dispute

By Jeremy Gorner and Patrick SvitekTribune reporters

8:20 p.m. CST, December 21, 2013

A Chicago police officer has been relieved of his police powers after being accused of breaking a senior citizen's hip when the officer shoved the man during an argument earlier this month.

David Barrett, a 20-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bond on Saturday on a charged of aggravated battery.

The incident happened while Barrett was off-duty Dec. 12 at a Shell gas station, 10601 S. Cicero Ave. in south suburban Oak Lawn, according to court records and prosecutors. 

Frustrated with a gas pump, Barrett went into the station and began screaming at the attendant, according to prosecutors. The 89-year-old man, who was standing in line with Barrett, told him to calm down, at which point Barrett pushed the senior citizen to the ground, prosecutors said.

The 89-year-old man broke his right hip and had to undergo surgery, according to court records. He also tore his right rotator cuff, a group of tendons and muscles in the shoulder.

Stuart Goldberg, Barrett's attorney, disputed that account in a bond hearing, arguing the 89-year-old man attacked Barrett first. Goldberg has asked that recorded tape of the incident be preserved.

Barrett, 58, who is assigned to the  Chicago Public Safety Headquarters, turned himself in to Oak Lawn police Thursday, authorities said.

Barrett has been relieved of his police powers, and his further status with the department is pending conditions of his bond, police spokesman Adam Collins said in an email.

Barrett's family declined to comment Saturday.

He is due back in court Tuesday.

Former Fayetteville Officer Accused of Rape While on Duty

FAYETTEVILLE, AR (KNWA) -- A former police officer has been arrested and charged with rape.

According to a press release, on Nov. 10, the Fayetteville Police Department received a report from a woman who said she had been sexually assaulted two weeks prior by a uniformed police officer.

A police department supervisor spoke with the victim and forwarded the report to the Chief of Police through the chain of command.

Investigators spent the next several days investigating the allegation, conducting interviews, reviewing radio logs, Digital Mobile Video Recorder data, and metadata from the GPS tracking data from patrol cars.

On Dec. 3, Officer Jamison Stiles was interviewed and relieved of duty for the remainder of his shift.

The next day, police said Stiles was placed on paid administrative leave and was relieved of his badge and gun pending the outcome of the internal investigation. A separate criminal investigation was initiated by the Fayetteville Police Department Criminal Investigation Division.

GA sheriff's officer charged with child molestation

Our NBC news partners at WTOC are reporting Chatham County Sheriff's Deputies along with investigators arrested Lieutenant Rick Hall Friday night.

Hall is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, according to the Sheriff's Office. He was arrested and charged with aggravated child molestation. A search warrant was conducted at his residence on Wilmington Island late Friday evening.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Hall is suspended without pay pending further investigation. He is currently being held at the Chatham County Detention Center awaiting arraignment.

The investigation was a joint effort between the CCSO and the District Attorney's Office, with technical assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Records at the Chatham County jail show Hall is being held without bond.

Hall joined the CCSO in 1985 and has been a lieutenant since 2007.

Chief Deputy Roy Harris and Sheriff Al St Lawrence will speak about the matter at a press conference on Monday, Dec. 23rd.

Sanford officer sentenced for accepting bribes

SANFORD --

A former Sanford Police officer was given a suspended sentence for taking bribes in 2011.

Joseph Wiggins pleaded no contest to the charges.

It started when he conducted a traffic stop two years ago on Enrique Ramirez, who said he was driving with a suspended license.

Wiggins told Ramirez he was going to jail unless he wanted to pay $400 cash.

After Ramirez paid Wiggins, he filed a complaint and Sanford Police launched an investigation.

Wiggins ended up making the same offer to an undercover officer during a traffic stop.

He was arrested and fired.

Wiggins was also put on five years probation and ordered to re-pay Ramirez

Former Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography

Cop arrested for child porn

U.S. Attorney’s Office December 17, 2013          •           Southern District of Ohio (937) 225-2910

COLUMBUS, OH—Stewart A. Miller, 48, of Sunbury, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to one count of receipt of child pornography. Miller was a Columbus police officer prior to his recent resignation.

Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

According to testimony provided by the government during the plea hearing, the FBI began investigating Miller in October 2013 after receiving a tip. They obtained and executed search warrants at Miller’s residence at the time and a storage facility he rented, recovering various computers and digital media.

A forensic examination of two external drives located in the crawl space above Miller’s bathroom revealed the presence of several thousand images and more than 1,100 videos of child pornography. The images dated back to 2002. The children in the videos ranged in age from toddler to teenager. The file paths of some of the images indicated that they were originally downloaded via a peer-to-peer file sharing network. Images and videos of child pornography were also located on a laptop computer seized from the basement of the residence. Additional images of child pornography were recovered from several CDs seized from the storage facility rented by Miller.

The crime is punishable by at least five years and up to 20 years in prison. Judge Marbley will set a date for sentencing. The court placed Miller on home detention with electronic monitoring until sentencing and also prohibited him from having access to the Internet.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill, who is prosecuting the case.