Fairfax County Police Museum: The fairfax County Police have gotten away with no...

Fairfax County Police Museum: The fairfax County Police have gotten away with no...: 220 days How long would the let you not answer for a homicide?

School cop accused of inappropriate relationship with girl

By Drew Joseph

SAN ANTONIO — An Edgewood Independent School District police officer is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with the same student who was impregnated by another district employee, officials said Monday.

As district officials investigated the first allegation, which surfaced last week, they found evidence that Officer Manuel Hernandez, 56, also had a relationship with the Memorial High School student, spokesman Roland Martinez confirmed in an email.

Hernandez resigned Monday, Martinez said, and was taken into custody by the Texas Rangers that evening.

Memorial High School science teacher Marcus Revilla, 44, was arrested Thursday and charged with sexual assault of a child. The student, 16 years old and more than four months' pregnant, told police she and Revilla had sex more than 20 times starting when she was 15.

Revilla told authorities he knew how old the girl was and that he didn't want to go to jail so he could provide for their baby. He resigned from his job the day before he was arrested.

The Texas Rangers are investigating both cases.

“Edgewood's dedication to student safety is absolute and the District wishes to assure the public that the actions of two individuals do not reflect the values of the overwhelming majority of EISD employees, whose commitment to the health and safety of its students is total,” Martinez wrote.

djoseph@express-news.net

John Geer

Crooked cop helped suspected robbers

For some time in 2012, local police looked for two suspects in a South Carolina armed robbery.

When they found them in the home of a Cincinnati police supervisor, they – and then-Cincinnati Police Sgt. Jeff Brunswick – were arrested.

Brunswick, 57, paid for that Tuesday, well after he left the police force for the second time. He retired – sooner than he planned because of the crimes, his attorney admitted Tuesday – after the 2013 indictment and before he pleaded guilty in January to promoting prostitution and two counts of unauthorized use of the police crime computer.

He was sentenced Tuesday by Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge John "Skip" West to three years of probation.

Brunswick previously admitted he used police computers to see if the two men had warrants out for their arrest. When he saw that they did, he tipped them off and allowed them to stay at his house for a few nights. The men were Brunswick's girlfriend's brother and the brother's friend.

Then, while he was out on bond on that case, Brunswick had sex with a prostitute and paid for a hotel room for her to service others.

"I've embarrassed my family. I embarrassed myself. I embarrassed the city of Cincinnati," Brunswick said.

Those embarrassments were the latest of several for Brunswick, whose base pay as a CPD sergeant was $74,000 per year when he was arrested.

Brunswick left the Cincinnati police force the first time after was fired in 1990, when his supervisors accused him of operating a vehicle in a reckless manner and lying about it. He was also accused of firing bottle rockets in a Northern Kentucky parking lot while intoxicated. After he was fired, he sued and got his job back.

Brunswick also pleaded guilty to a 2011 charge for punching fellow Officer Jeff Ruberg even as Brunswick tried to apologize for an earlier dispute.

John Geer

Ex-cop arrested on drug charge and forgery

Ex-cop arrested on drug charge and forgery From Staff Reports  

The Titus County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) Narcotics Division, with the assistance of Titus County Deputy Allan Holloway, stopped a vehicle Friday on FM 2152.

The stop was made in connection with narcotics trafficking, according to Sheriff Tim Ingram, and Joe Heath Lane, 43, of Teague, was identified as the driver. Upon speaking with Lane, it was found that his driver’s license had expired in 2006.

Consent was then received to search Lane’s vehicle and his person, said Ingram. When searching, Lane was asked to remove his boots and he agreed to comply.  When Lane pulled off his boots, a small bag containing a substance believed to be methamphetamine was located.

Lane was placed under arrest and transported to the Titus County Jail, reports Ingram

“Once at the jail it was also discovered that Lane had another baggie with what is believed to be meth residue hidden in the lining of his hat,” said Ingram. “Not only was Lane in possession of a substance believed to be an illegal narcotic, he was also found to be in possession of counterfeit money.”

Lane had a total of $96, and all of it was counterfeit, said Ingram

“The Titus County Sheriff’s Office is dedicated to fighting drugs in this county and makes many arrests on a day to day basis,” said Ingram. “But, what made this one a little different is that the arrested person in this case used to be a cop.”

“Joe Heath Lane used to be a police officer for the City of Naples for the span of about three and a half years before leaving his job, and losing his commission in 2007,” continued Ingram. “Lane was in possession of his badge and ID Card that he used to carry while employed with the City of Naples at the time of his arrest.”

Lane was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, under 1 gram, and Forgery. The drug charge is a State Jail Felony. If convicted, Lane could spend up to two years in a state jail and pay a fine of up to $10,000..

The Forgery charge is a third degree felony, which carries jail time of two to ten years if convicted, and a fine not to exceed $10,000.00.

John Geer

Movers sue city after wrongful burglary arrest

By Selim Algar

Moving day ended in a jail cell for two Brooklyn men who were busted for “burglarizing” a building — when they were only trying to haul a new resident’s stuff inside, a lawsuit alleges.

Cops arrested Iouri Pakhomtzchik, a professional mover, and Sergey Menejyan, who was hanging out with the moving crew, on March 20, 2012, after a woman falsely claimed they tried to break into her apartment, according to the federal suit and Pakomtzchik’s attorney, David Zelman.

The woman told officers she had seen the moving man and his pal running away after burglarizing her home.

Cops didn’t find any of the woman’s belongings with the men. But she also claimed she was missing cash, and Menejyan had $590 on him, Zelman said.

The officers decided to haul both men away on charges of burglary, trespassing and criminal possession of stolen property, the suit says.

Both spent 12 hours in jail at the 60th Precinct station house before being transported for arraignment, the suit says.

Pakhomtzchik was released on his own recognizance, while Menejyan was hit with $2,000 bail and forced to spend eight additional hours at Rikers Island before getting sprung.

All charges against Pakhomtzchik were dropped after two quick court appearances. Menejyan, however, had to appear 10 times before his case was dismissed.

Zelman said the woman’s case crumbled after she failed to adequately identify the men she claimed to have seen running from her apartment.

Also, Zelman said Menejyan was able to prove in court that the money he was carrying was from his tax refund.

The two men sued the city, Officers James Riordan, Viktoriya Sadovskaya, Matthew Brennan and John Esprey and several other unidentified officers for false arrest and a other civil-rights violations in January.

Menejyan agreed to settle his case with the city for $7,500 last week, according to a court filing.

Pakhomtzchik refused to accept the same sum and is pursuing the case in hope of landing a higher payout, court papers show.

Neither man would comment on the case. The city Law Department declined to

John Geer

Off Duty Police Officer Charged with Terroristic Threats

by tashaj4

April 2, 2014: The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has charged 34 year old Edward Sawicki III with Terroristic Threats, PIC, Simple Assault, Harassment, and Disorderly Conduct for an incident that occurred in October of 2013. Sawicki, an officer with the Philadelphia Police Department, was off duty at the time of the assault.

On October 20, 2013, at approximately 2:45 AM, the victim was walking near in the 1300 block of S. 9th St. when he came into contact with Edward Sawicki. Sawicki was backing up in his vehicle when the vehicle struck the victim, hitting him in the knee. The victim then pounded on the trunk of Sawicki’s vehicle with his hand in order to alert Sawicki that he backed into him. Sawicki exited the car, pulled up his shirt showing a gun, and rushed at the victim. Sawicki then yelled racial epitaphs at the victim and threatened to kill him. At one point Sawicki stated “N#!!er, I’ll smoke you” while keeping his hand on the holstered gun. The victim immediately contacted the police, Sawicki was identified as an off-duty Philadelphia police officer, and Sawicki’s gun, which was his city-issued firearm, was confiscated.

Edward Sawicki III turned himself into authorities this morning and he is currently being processed by police.

Midland officer charged with online impersonation felony

Midland officer charged with online impersonation felony Odessa American oanews@oaoa.com 

A Midland Police Department officer was charged with online impersonation, a third-degree felony, following a criminal investigation into allegations that the officer used a woman’s name and explicit photos on a social networking site, a MPD release stated.

Jaren Speck, 25, a one-year probationary officer with the department, was terminated by Police Chief Price Robinson and was being transported and booked into Midland County Jail on Dec. 13, 2013. Speck was released from jail on a $15,000 bond Dec. 14, 2013.

A criminal investigation followed after a woman alleged Speck used her name and explicit photos on a website without her consent with “the intent to harm, defraud and intimidate her,” a Midland Police Department release stated.

Speck was placed on administrative suspension on Dec. 12 pending the outcome of the investigation. Detectives charged Speck with online impersonation, a third-degree felony, Tuesday afternoon, the release stated.

“The Midland Police Department does not condone this type of behavior. I want it made perfectly clear that public trust is of the utmost importance to this department and the men and women that serve our community,” Police Chief Price Robinson said. “This is an isolated incident that we are taking very seriously. We do not tolerate such a violation of public trust.”

District Attorney Teresa Clingman will prosecute the case.

Suburban officer charged in 95-year-old's death

John Kass

An officer was charged this morning in the police killing of 95-year-old John Wrana, the World War II veteran who was fatally shot with beanbag rounds in his apartment at a south suburban senior facility last year.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s office said patrolman Craig Taylor, 43, was charged with one count of reckless conduct, a Class 4 felony. Taylor has been with the Park Forest Police Department since January, 2004.

Taylor appeared before a judge today at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building and was released on his own recognizance.

John KassWrana, who had served with the U.S. Army Air Corps in Burma during World War II, was just weeks shy of his 96th birthday when the confrontation occurred with police at the Victory Centre assisted-living center in July 2013.

The elderly man had refused medical treatment for a urinary tract infection, and reportedly became belligerent. Police who were called to the scene fired a Taser that failed to hit Wrana, and then shot him with bean-bag rounds fired from a shotgun. He died hours later of internal bleeding, authorities said.

Though Wrana was infirm and needed a walker or a cane to get around, police considered him armed and dangerous. They said he brandished a cane, a knife and a 2-foot-long metal shoehorn that some officers initially took for a machete.

Police responded with a Taser, a riot shield, a shotgun with beanbag rounds and one drawn handgun when they rushed him. An Illinois State Police inquiry of the case determined that Taylor fired the 12-gauge Mossberg police shotgun five times at Wrana.

Park Forest police used shotgun beanbag rounds from Combined Tactical Systems Inc. The rounds travel up to 190 mph, and manufacturer’s guidelines recommend that shooter be between 21 and 50 feet from the target. An independent pathologist who studied the original autopsy report said that it appeared Wrana had at least four impact wounds to his abdomen.

Despite Wrana being inside his living unit alone with his front door closed, prosecutors said, "the officers did not make any attempt to talk with Wrana and instead formulated a plan within a few minutes of their arrival to re-enter the apartment in force and secure Wrana with a ballistic shield, a Taser, a less-lethal shotgun, and a loaded-firearm.”

Prosecutors said in a court document that when Wrana moved toward officers and refusing to drop his knife, Taylor "opened fire upon Wrana with the shotgun shooting one beanbag round at Wrana and paused for a moment before firing four more rounds in succession with all of the shots coming within just a few seconds.”

Wrana dropped the knife after Taylor fired the fifth and final time, prosecutors said. Taylor was 6 to 8 feet away from Wrana when he fired the shots, prosecutors said, even though he was trained to fire the shotgun at a minimum of 15 feet.

After the fifth shot, Wrana dropped the knife but remained standing, prosecutors said. At that time, the police commander on the scene used the riot shield to knock Wrana to the floor, where other officers handcuffed him, prosecutors said. He died later at a hospital.

In a court document, prosecutors asserted that the police overlooked less violent approaches to handle the standoff.

"Other viable options to de-escalate and resolve the matter safely were ignored, including allowing Wrana to remain alone in his room while the officers attempted to calm him down through the closed door," prosecutors said in a court document.

"Even after the missed Taser attempt, the officers still could have safely retreated from his room before resorting to violence, and the Defendant himself chose to open fire on Wrana failing to consider the full effect that five beanbag rounds fired in quick succession, from close range, would have upon a 95-year-old man."

If convicted, Taylor faces a sentence ranging between probation and three years in prison. No other officers have been charged in the case.

An attorney for Taylor could not immediately be reached for comment.

Nicholas Grapsas, the attorney representing Wrana’s stepdaughter Sharon Mangerson, said: "On behalf of the family, we're pleased that it's finally been addressed and reviewed. We're pleased that there's at least been an outcome with respect with an investigation that's taken far, far too long."

jskass@tribune.com

John Geer

The death of John Geer: Now seven months of silence on Fairfax police shooting

•           By Tom Jackman

John B. Geer, 46, was shot and killed by a Fairfax County police officer in August 2013 while standing unarmed in the doorway of his Springfield townhouse. (Jeff Stewart)

The clock keeps ticking, and that’s about the only sound emanating from the investigation into the death of John Geer. Geer, 46, was unarmed when he was shot to death by a Fairfax County police officer on Aug. 29. It has now been seven months and there is still no explanation from the Fairfax police, prosecutors or federal investigators about how and why this happened, and whether or not it was legally justifiable.

Geer was standing in the doorway of his home in Springfield, speaking to an officer who had his service weapon drawn. Geer’s girlfriend and two daughters had fled the home. Geer was distraught, had thrown his girlfriend’s clothes out of the house and had been drinking, witnesses have told The Post, and there was a gun in his townhouse on Pebble Brook Court. But he did not have the gun on him, a fact which was clearly visible as he stood with his hands high on a door frame, dressed in shorts. As Geer stood speaking to the still unnamed officer, the officer fired one shot into Geer’s chest, witnesses told The Post. Geer staggered back into the house and closed the door. Police waited another hour before going in, where they found Geer dead.

The unanswered questions are the same as they were on Aug. 29, as is the silence from Official Fairfax. Why did the police create a “barricade situation” with one man alone in a townhouse? Why did the officer shoot? And why did the police take so long to render aid to a man they knew had been shot in the chest at close range? We can speculate as to the answers, but the taxpayer-funded Fairfax County police and prosecutor absolutely owe clear, definitive answers to the public and to Geer’s family, and it is utterly baffling that this has turned into the most drawn-out police shooting case in Fairfax County history.

Also waiting for an answer is the still-unnamed officer. He has been on desk duty for seven months. Maybe he was perfectly justified in his actions. He also deserves an answer, one way or the other. Once a ruling is issued on criminal charges, the police internal investigation will begin, drawing out his process even further.

In February, at the five-month mark of the investigation, Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh  said he was passing the case to the U.S. attorney’s office in Alexandria, because of  a possible conflict of interest. He would not specify the conflict, and said he had not intentionally delayed the case for five months. Of the three previous most notorious police shootings in Fairfax, Morrogh and his predecessor Robert Horan took no more than two-and-a-half months to rule on the criminal liability of a shooting. Each time, they found none.

Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler said in February that he had been in touch with the family and promised accountability. Both he and Morrogh declined to comment Tuesday as the case passed the seven-month mark, as did acting U.S. Attorney Dana Boente in Alexandria.

Geer’s family has been notably quiet throughout this seven-month period. Their lawyer, Mike Lieberman of Alexandria, declined to comment Tuesday. In February, after Morrogh announced he was handing the case to the feds, Geer’s father, Don Geer, told The Post: “I don’t know whether that’s good or bad — if I had a better idea of why they are doing it, I could form an opinion.”

Brian Buchner is president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, a large group of local police oversight groups. Of the Fairfax case, Buchner said: “While not typical, there are cases where a prosecutor’s decision in an officer-involved shooting case has taken seven months or longer to make.” Buchner works for the Los Angeles Police Commission’s inspector general, and L.A. has literally dozens of police shootings every year. So he should know.

It is cases like the death of John Geer that led to the formation of the Virginia Citizens Coalition for Police Accountability, in particular the 2009 Fairfax police killing of unarmed motorist David Masters on Route 1 in the Alexandria area. The coalition has continued to press for some sort of formal civilian oversight on police actions, as is done in many other large jurisdictions, including the District. When the police shoot and kill someone, and then remain completely silent for seven months, it’s hard to vouch for the reliability of the current system where the police investigate the police.

John Geer

Former Mesa cop turned art dealer arrested for sexual assault

by Jason Volentine

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- A former Mesa cop and Scottsdale ancient art dealer is in trouble, accused of sexual assault in a case with bizarre details emerging from a police report.

Walter Knox, 42, is the owner of Knox Artifacts in downtown Scottsdale.  Police served a search warrant and arrested Knox at his business last week.

Two women in their late 20s are listed as victims in the police report with one of the women claiming sexual assault.  Knox is also charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

A Scottsdale police report said officers found cocaine and guns when they searched Knox Artifacts.

In the report, officers said during the arrest that Knox claimed he was the victim of a theft and assault at a strip club the night before. 

One of the cops present at the arrest noted in his report that Knox looked high. Another officer said Knox talked at length about his experience as a Mesa police officer, shootings in which he had been involved and his current medical issues.

Knox was released after his arrest and the next day, according to the report, called Scottsdale police back to his gallery, claiming  the victims listed in the sexual assault case had stolen $2,800 in cash and used his credit card to book first class airplane tickets to Texas.

The report said Knox also gave officers two baggies of drugs he claimed cops had left at the gallery during their search the day before. Police seized the two baggies of meth and another drug.

Knox is out of jail pending further investigation on this case.

John Geer

OKC Police Arrest Cop Impersonator For Child Sex Crimes

By Lacie Lowry

OKLAHOMA CITY -

A metro man accused of impersonating a police officer was arrested today on new charges. He was booked this afternoon and court documents show he's now accused of child sex crimes.

Oklahoma City police said 31-year-old David Roberts preyed on a 15-year-old boy and took the kid out of state to have sex with him.

Investigators said Roberts picked up the boy from his Mustang home on Christmas Eve.

New court documents said Roberts met the boy "through the internet on a homosexual social site and they arranged to meet to exchange drugs."

Police said Roberts took the boy back to his place "where Roberts injected the juvenile with Methamphetamine."

Police believe Roberts took the teen to Joplin, Miss. where he "continued to provide/inject the juvenile with meth" and convinced the boy to have sex.

The search warrants said "Roberts videotaped the sexual act."

We reported on Roberts last month after a metro driver called 911 and said he was impersonating a cop.

Officers arrested him then for impersonation, and now he's back behind bars.

Police said the 15-year-old victim managed to get away from Roberts after 10 days with him.

David Roberts is in the Oklahoma County Jail tonight on a $500,000 bond.

Cop arrested after hitting, threatening pedestrian

A Philadelphia police officer has been arrested for an off-duty incident last fall in which he allegedly drove into a pedestrian - and then threatened to kill him, shouted racial slurs and flashed his gun.

Officer Edward Sawicki III, 33, turned himself in to police today to face charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, harassment, and disorderly conduct. Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey suspended him for 30 days, with intent to dismiss.

The Oct. 20 incident occurred at 2:45 a.m. as a pedestrian was walking on Ninth Street near Wharton in South Philadelphia, according to the District Attorney's Office. Sawicki was backing up in his car when he hit the 37-year-old man in his knee. The victim pounded on the trunk of Sawicki’s car with his hand to alert Sawicki that he'd hit him.

Sawicki then leapt out of his car, pulled up his shirt to show his city-issued gun and rushed at the pedestrian, yelling: "N--,  I’ll smoke you!” while keeping his hand on his holstered gun, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The victim called police. His gun was confiscated, and Internal Affairs officers investigated. Sawicki, a 9-year veteran, was last assigned to the 25th District in North Philadelphia.

It apparently wasn't the first driving mishap to land Sawicki in trouble. A West Philadelphia man sued Sawicki and another officer in January in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, claiming they beat him and ran him over with their police cruiser during a car stop two years ago.

In that complaint, John Lewis claims that Sawicki and Officer Kelly Robbins stopped a car in which he was a passenger on Jan. 31, 2012, in Fairhill. The officers ordered Lewis and the car's driver to get out and hand over their identification, according to the lawsuit. When Lewis reached for his identification, Sawicki yelled "he is reaching for something!" and began beating Lewis with his nightstick, the complaint charges. Robbins responded: "You hold him and I will give him the Taser," according to the lawsuit.

Lewis "became afraid for his life, having been assaulted and Tasered by police in the past, and managed to get free," the lawsuit stated. Lewis sprinted down the block - but the officers jumped back in their cruiser and ran him down, according to the lawsuit. Lewis suffered a fractured pelvis and elbow, lacerated liver and other injuries in the incident and is suing for medical expenses, emotional distress and punitive damages, according to the complaint.

John Geer

Suspended Officer Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Assault Of Teen Cadet

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) _ A suspended Trumbull police officer has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges that authorities say involve a teenage girl he met through the local police cadets program.

 The Connecticut Post reports  that William Ruscoe entered the pleas Tuesday in Bridgeport Superior Court and his case was  continued to April 28. Ruscoe and his lawyer declined to comment as they left the courthouse.

The 19-year veteran officer remains on paid leave pending an internal

investigation of the allegations.

State police allege the 44-year-old Ruscoe began texting the 17-year-old girl

in March of last year saying he wanted to have a sexual relationship with her,

and also texted her naked photographs of himself and his wife. Troopers say

Ruscoe later sexually assaulted the girl at his home in Trumbull.

John Geer

Atlanta cop fired for Eagle raid lies gets job back

By Matt Hennie | Apr 2, 2014 | 5:46 PM

A Georgia court ordered Atlanta to rehire Sgt. Willie Adams, one of several police officers fired for lying about their roles in the botched raid of gay Atlanta bar the Eagle.

Sgt. Willie Adams will be reinstated to Atlanta police and receive back pay, according to the court ruling. WSB first reported the court decision on Wednesday.

"He feels nervous because he still doesn't believe they will actually do it," Mary Huber, Adams' attorney, tells WSB. "This hurt this officer very deeply."

Turner suspended Adams and six other officers in June 2011 and then fired him and five others days later. The discipline came in the wake of two damning reports about the agency's role in the botched raid in September 2009. Adams was fired for lying about his actions during the raid in the later investigations, an action the city's civil service board upheld. The raid cost the city some $2.7 million in legal fees and lawsuit settlements.

A police union, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, paid Adams' legal fees. Last year, a Fulton Superior court judge overturned the firing and the city appealed. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Adams, ordering the city to rehire him.

"A careful and complete review of the entire record, the transcripts, and the briefs of the parties reveals that the superior court correctly concluded that no evidence in the record supported the Board's findings," the court ruled.

Adams and Cayenne Mayes, also fired for lying about his role in the Eagle raid, were later hired by the Clayton County Sheriff's Office.

A statement from Mayor Kasim Reed's office said the city "respectfully disagrees" with the court's decision.

Chief George Turner dismissed Willie Adams based on inconsistent statements Adams made during the City’s investigations into the Eagle matter.  Chief Turner takes violations of the Atlanta Police Department’s work rules seriously and, in fact, three APD work rule violations were upheld against Adams.  Adams’s dismissal was the only discipline resulting from the Eagle investigations which was overturned.  While the City of Atlanta respectfully disagrees with the Court's decision, the City is prepared to reinstate Adams to his former position.

John Geer

Jury finds veteran Cleveland police officer guilty of 2012 rape

 Rachel Dissell, The Plain Dealer 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A jury today found veteran Cleveland police officer Gregory Jones guilty of raping and kidnapping a woman in 2012.

Jones, 49, faced multiple charges of rape, kidnapping and gross sexual imposition involving two separate women.

After trial that lasted more than a week in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Steven Gall's courtroom, a jury deliberated for about two days before reaching a verdict.

They found Jones not guilty of a rape reported by a separate woman in 2008.

Gall ordered Jones taken into custody and set his sentencing for April 30.

"The jury saw Greg Jones for what he is – a predator who victimized a helpless, vulnerable woman," Assistant  Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Jesse Canonico said after in an email after the verdict was announced. "He was a rapist masquerading as a police officer, but this jury saw through the disguise and held him accountable for what he did."

An officer of more than 20 years, Jones maintained his innocence and testified that he had had consensual sex with the women, one whom he was introduced to by a friend and another he had casual sexual relationship with.

Jones' attorneys, Steven Bradely and Mark Marein, pointedly attacked the credibility of both women. They could not be reached for comment after the verdict.

In a closing statement, attorney Steven Bradley called one of the women a "chronic 20-plus-year crack user" who admitted to being high and drunk the night she said Jones attacked her. He also said she had sometimes worked as a prostitute.

She reported to police that Jones attacked her after seeing a news report about him being accused of a 2012 rape. Bradley said there was no evidence other than her report.

"Who here would be willing to rely on her," Bradley asked jurors.

The other woman, who made the first report against Jones in July 2012 when she was 34, willingly went to Jones' home and wasn't honest with the jury about having an interest in Jones, Bradley said.

He said witnesses described the Chicago woman as a conniving and manipulative liar.

Assistant County Prosecutor Melissa Riley, however, called attention to what she called Jones' "Penthouse forum" description of the encounters.

Jones' recollection didn't make sense with the reaction or injuries of the woman he met through friends at a card game.

Riley said witnesses described how upset she was after she said Jones raped her and that medical records backed up that she had physical injuries consistent with what she told police.

Riley also said the woman's doctors described several injuries she had and a recently surgery that made Jones' descriptions of her actions that night unlikely.

Riley also asked the jury to question why – if the allegations were false – did a man that knew Jones call the 2012 victim and offer her money to drop the complaint.

Jones has been suspended from the department without pay since August 2012.

Public Safety Director Michael McGrath will hold an administrative hearing soon to determine the fate of Jones' employment with the city, spokeswoman Maureen Harper said Wednesday.

John Geer

Ex-officer seeks dismissal of manslaughter charge

By CHUCK BARTELS, Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former Little Rock police officer charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy is asking a judge to throw out the case to avoid having a third trial of the case.

The latest trial is scheduled to begin May 5 as prosecutors make another attempt to convince a jury that Josh Hastings was reckless when he fatally shot Bobby Moore III in 2012. Two previous juries couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. Hastings' most recent trial ended in September.

Attorney Bill James argues in court documents that Hastings should not have to endure a third trial, citing constitutional grounds of due process and fundamental fairness. Prosecutors haven't yet filed a response.

Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen ruled Wednesday that Hastings can't argue to the jury that he was justified in shooting into a car that approached him as he was investigating car burglaries at a Little Rock apartment complex.

As he did in the earlier trials, Griffen said he'd limit what the jury can hear to whether Hastings acted recklessly or not. Griffen argued that reckless behavior cannot be justified.

Griffen wrote in his Wednesday ruling that the manslaughter charge applies when someone is accused of having "consciously disregard(ed) a substantial and unjustifiable risk."

"If the prosecution fails to prove that an accused (person) acted recklessly, then the accused cannot be found guilty of manslaughter," Griffen wrote.

Hastings claims a car driven by Moore was moving toward him when he fired, but prosecutors say the physical evidence from the scene didn't match Hastings' version of events.

James and Griffen have tangled since the first trial in June 2013, with Griffen citing James for contempt and ultimately fining him $5,000, a sum he reduced from $25,000.

After the first jury could not reach a verdict, Griffen informed James of the 10 contempt counts for the way James characterized two juvenile witnesses who were in the car with the victim at the time of the shooting.

James has filed a motion asking Griffen to withdraw from the case, noting that Arkansas law allows a judge to be recused "if the judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or a party's lawyer."

Griffen hasn't ruled on that motion yet, but turned away a similar request before Hastings' second trial.

The judge also refused to give ground on rules he established for questioning prospective jurors. Griffen denied a motion by James that objected to Griffen requiring the sides to submit questions under seal for his approval before they could be asked of the jury 

Officers accused of excessive force face hearing

Maranda Faris,

Three Mt. Juliet police officers who are accused of using excessive force against four apartment residents in June face a settlement hearing Friday in U.S. Magistrate Court.

The four are among 30 residents who also allege racial discrimination by police, the city of Mt. Juliet and apartment management.

The lawsuit alleges that the three officers arrived in response to a disturbance at an apartment complex on June 10.

They arrested three teens and the mother of one of them, used pepper spray on the crowd and threatened to use a stun gun.

According to the complaint, Officer Matt Mang arrived at Willow Creek Apartments in Mt. Juliet and asked the three teens — Kari Banks, Kenneth Clemmons and De'Ontre Nealous — to turn down the music on an iPhone.

Banks then began to argue with the officer, according to the complaint. Mang handcuffed Banks and is accused of grabbing him by the hair and shoving him into the side of his patrol car. Clemmons and Nealous were recording video of the incident on their phones.

A group formed around the officer as Banks' mother, Kitakiamma Banks, arrived and questioned why her son was handcuffed. She became upset, was thrown to the ground and handcuffed, and suffered a seizure. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was ultimately arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Clemmons faced the same charges, while Kari Banks was charged with resisting arrest and unruly behavior. Nealous was charged with disorderly conduct and assault.

Other officers arrived to assist Mang with crowd control. Two of those officers are accused of threatening to pepper spray the crowd around them and hitting Nealous and Clemmons with police batons.

The complaint identifies those two officers by last name only — Toy and Short — and the city of Mt. Juliet and the police department refuse to identify them further.

The racial discrimination part of the lawsuit stems from the actions taken by apartment management and police. Three residents were evicted from their apartments, and the managers, Cheri Hass and Trina Gonzalez, subsequently requested permission from the ownership — Woodland Arms Apartments and Concord Management Limited — to have Mt. Juliet police guard the complex. Hass, Gonzales and the two owners also are defendants in the case.

The plaintiffs say their movements were restricted by police security and that they were kept from entering common areas of the complex after dark while white residents were not.

They also argue that all arrests, restrictions and evictions occurred only to African-American residents due to their race, not misbehavior on the residents' part.

The three officers involved are still employed by the Mt. Juliet police department.

City Manager Kenneth Martin said that it would "not be proper" to comment on the case because litigation is pending.

Maranda Faris

John Geer