In clearing the officer of possible criminal charges, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr.

The Washington Post


December 6, 2000, Wednesday, Final Edition


Police Sued by Victim's Family




The family of a Hyattsville man shot to death by an undercover Prince George's County police officer in Virginia filed a federal lawsuit against the county and the police yesterday.


The lawsuit--filed on behalf of the mother and estate of Prince C. Jones Jr. in U.S. District Court in Washington--states that rogue officers planned an act of vengeance that miscarried against an innocent man.


Jones, 25, was killed Sept. 1 after a detective trailed his Jeep Cherokee to Fairfax County. Cpl. Carlton B. Jones fired 16 shots after Jones rammed the officer's car. The men are not related.


In clearing the officer of possible criminal charges, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. said the detective fired in self-defense. He said the officer believed that the Jeep belonged to another man who had tried to run down police officers in two previous encounters.


But attorneys Ted J. Williams and Gregory L. Lattimer, who represent Prince Jones's family, said at a news conference yesterday that police plotted a violent confrontation with the ramming suspect from the outset.


Cpl. Jones and his supervisor, Sgt. Alexandre Bailey, set the confrontation in motion after spotting Jones and an unidentified friend leaving a District nightclub on Georgia Avenue near Jefferson Street NW about 1 a.m., the lawsuit alleges.


The lawsuit says police followed Jones until he was alone in a quiet, suburban neighborhood that would presumably have no witnesses. "We believe that they were going to teach the occupant of that vehicle a lesson," Williams said.


The attorneys also renewed their assertion yesterday that Cpl. Jones fired as Prince Jones scrambled to leave. Two witnesses contradict police accounts that Prince Jones had initiated the confrontation after the officer made a U-turn, the lawyers said.


The FBI is still conducting witness interviews and expects to forward the results to federal prosecutors by the first of the year, said Special Agent Susan Lloyd, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington field office.


The lawsuit filed yesterday seeks $ 145 million in punitive and compensatory damages.


Lt. Peter White, a Prince George's police spokesman, declined to comment, saying the department has not seen the lawsuit.


"I think they've always planned to sue. So I'm not surprised," said Michael T. Leibig, Carlton Jones's lawyer.

The fatal shooting of a drug suspect by an undercover police officer "an unintentional reflex"

The Washington Post



November 18, 1987, Wednesday, Final Edition


Fatal Shooting Was Accidental,Police Say;


Fairfax Officer Reportedly Startled


BYLINE: Patricia Davis, Washington Post Staff Writer


SECTION: METRO; PAGE C2


LENGTH: 479 words


The fatal shooting of a drug suspect by an undercover police officer on Monday was an accident that occurred after the suspect startled the officer, Fairfax County police said yesterday.


The police department's findings that "an unintentional reflex" caused the officer's gun to discharge will be forwarded to the county's chief prosecutor, who will decide whether the shooting was a criminal violation.


Police said the officer, Investigator Irene M. Boyle, will remain on administrative leave pending the prosecutor's review.


"This was strictly an accident," Col. John E. Granfield, chief of police, said yesterday. "She fired it but without any intention of having it fired."


Police, who could not identify the man on Monday, said yesterday that the victim was 27-year-old Jose Carlos Rodriguez of no fixed address. They said the difficulty in identifying Rodriguez stemmed from his prior use of seven aliases and six birthdates.


Police said investigators had negotiated to purchase two ounces of cocaine from Rodriguez for $ 2,700 and planned to meet him late Sunday in the parking lot behind a dry cleaners in Baileys Crossroads.


Rodriguez drove to a dark section of the parking lot in his rented pickup truck, and an investigator agreed to purchase one ounce of cocaine, all that Rodriguez had with him, police said.


The investigator then alerted other officers in marked and unmarked cruisers, police said. They said Boyle, an 11 1/2-year veteran of the department, walked to the truck with her weapon drawn to provide coverage for another officer.


At first, Boyle did not see Rodriguez, but as she came within a foot of the truck his face suddenly appeared at the window of the cab. "He kind of came up like a jack in the box," said Granfield. "It startled her, and she shot the gun."


Police said one bullet struck Rodriguez in the head, and he was taken to Alexandria Hospital, where he died a short time later. No weapon was recovered from Rodriguez's vehicle, they said.


Had the transaction not gone awry, police said they would have charged Rodriguez with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, a felony.


Granfield said yesterday that the actions by Boyle, 33, were in accordance with police procedures.


That Boyle had her service revolver "out and drawn" was proper procedure, Granfield said. He noted that in virtually every undercover drug arrest made by county police, the suspects are heavily armed.


Generally police department policy states that deadly force shall not be employed except as a last resort, but Granfield said Boyle had no intention of shooting the weapon.


Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. said yesterday that he will review the autopsy results and the findings of the police department's investigation, which was conducted jointly by the homicide department and the internal affairs section.

The Maryland chief medical examiner's office still has not issued a ruling on the cause and manner of the death of an Alexandria man killed in a police chase (By Fairfax County Police)

The Washington Post


August 6, 1999, Friday, Final Edition

Cause of Death Still Uncertain in Beltway Chase; Autopsy Results Awaited to Determine Among Suicide, Crash or Police Shooting

BYLINE: Craig Whitlock, Washington Post Staff Writer

SECTION: METRO; Pg. B02

LENGTH: 705 words

The Maryland chief medical examiner's office still has not issued a ruling on the cause and manner of the death of an Alexandria man killed in a police chase and shootout on the Capital Beltway last week, leaving open the question of whether the man killed himself, died of injuries sustained in a fiery car crash or was fatally shot by a police officer.

Prince George's County police, who are investigating the death of Merachew Lucas Fitigu, 24, said yesterday that they believe he may have committed suicide by shooting himself in the head after leading Fairfax police on a 10-mile chase on the Beltway on July 27. But they cautioned that they have not ruled out other explanations for his death.

"Preliminarily, we are looking into the possibility that the suspect committed suicide," said Prince George's police spokesman Royce D. Holloway. He said police expect to complete the investigation soon after they receive a final autopsy report from the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore, perhaps within a week.

But authorities have not released any specific information about the final minutes of Fitigu's life, such as whether they believe he shot himself before or after the crash, or what prompted a Fairfax County police officer to shoot at Fitigu as he sat in his burning car.

Prince George's police are investigating the case because Fitigu died in the county after leading Fairfax police on a chase from Virginia across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Police said they found a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, 1.75 pounds of marijuana and $ 1,000 cash in Fitigu's black Pontiac Trans Am after he crashed into a guardrail just north of the Temple Hill Road overpass.

Authorities have refused to say whether the gun found in the car had been fired or whether any shell casings were recovered from the scene of the crash. Police have said they found shell casings on the Virginia side of the Wilson Bridge.

Relatives of Fitigu, the son of an Ethiopian diplomat, said they are upset at the lack of clear answers. "We stand around, but we have no idea what to say or what to think," Fitigu's sister, Yodit Fitigu, 27, said in an interview.

Dressed in traditional black Ethiopian mourning clothes outside her mother's apartment in Fairfax, Yodit Fitigu said the family has not heard from Prince George's investigators since last week, when police indicated that they believed Fitigu had committed suicide.

Fairfax police officials have said their pursuit of Fitigu began when he passed through a radar monitor in the Kingstowne area of the county. He eluded police there, but the pursuit picked up again on the Beltway after officers said they saw Fitigu driving erratically. As Fitigu and three patrol cars following him approached the Wilson Bridge, Fitigu fired shots at the police, piercing the fiberglass shell above the grill of a patrol car driven by Fairfax patrol officer Jeffrey K. Rockenbaugh, police said.

Fairfax police said they did not return fire but continued to chase Fitigu into Maryland, where he apparently lost control and struck a guardrail. Rockenbaugh and two other officers quickly arrived on the crash scene and approached Fitigu's car, which was in flames.

What happened next is still unclear. Police sources said investigators believe Fitigu shot himself once in the head as the officers got close to his car. But they believe Rockenbaugh thought that Fitigu was aiming at his pursuers, prompting the officer to fire once at Fitigu, striking him in the right shoulder.

Sources said this scenario is supported by the account of a witness--a Prince George's Fire Department battalion chief who came upon Fitigu's burning car while on the way to another incident--who reported hearing two shots.

Fitigu was pronounced dead at the scene. Yodit Fitigu said that she can't accept the idea that her brother may have killed himself.

"Suicide? No. I really bet my life that he wouldn't do that," she said. "It just doesn't fit him. He's so shy, he's so timid that he blushes when people ask him a question."Yodit Fitigu said her brother had been taking computer programming classes and was working at a convenience store and a computer retail shop in Northern Virginia.

A former Fairfax County police officer who was fired for selling his privately owned gun

The Washington Post



November 6, 1999, Saturday, Final Edition


Fairfax Police Sued Over Termination; Department Erred by Taking Action on Legal Gun Sale, Former Officer Says


BYLINE: Brooke A. Masters, Washington Post Staff Writer


SECTION: METRO; Pg. B04


LENGTH: 361 words


A former Fairfax County police officer who was fired for selling his privately owned gun to a friend sued the department yesterday, alleging the termination violated his constitutional right to choose his acquaintances.


Paulo Freyesleben, with the force for 10 years, said he was told by his commander, Audrey Slyman, that he was dismissed because he sold the gun and some ammunition to "a young man who looked like a gang member," according to a four-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.


Freyesleben's conduct violated police policy and was "unbecoming" for an officer, Police Chief J. Thomas Manger ruled in April 1998, the complaint said.


The gun sale was legal and the gun buyer was not a gang member and did not have a criminal record, said Richard Gardiner, Freyesleben's attorney. He said Freyesleben befriended the young man while providing security at a McDonald's.


Lt. Amy Lubas, a Fairfax police spokeswoman, said, "We have not been notified of this lawsuit and therefore we cannot respond to it."


According to the records of the Fairfax Civil Service Commission, Freyesleben sold the 9mm Smith & Wesson to a man he had met only three or four times and knew only as "Mario." The commission also found that Freyesleben also sold him a box of ammunition issued by the Fairfax County Police Department firing range that was labeled "for law enforcement purposes only." According to the commission, Freyesleben delivered the ammunition to the buyer while on duty, in uniform and driving a police car.


In its four-page report upholding the firing, the commission ruled that "Freyesleben's handling of this entire matter fell well below the standards of responsible behavior and exercise of discretion that must be expected of a Fairfax County police officer."


Gardiner said that the ammunition was not county property and that Freyesleben had gotten to know the gun buyer before the sale. Fairfax learned about the sale when the young man talked about the transaction to another police officer.


"They're punishing him because he chose to associate with someone who looked like a gang member," Gardiner said.

An Ohio man has filed a lawsuit asserting that a Fairfax County police officer assaulted him

The Washington Post



June 28, 1989, Wednesday, Final Edition


Suit Says Fairfax Policeman Assaulted Handcuffed Man;


4 Other Officers Also Named as Defendants


BYLINE: Patricia Davis, Washington Post Staff Writer


SECTION: METRO; PAGE B4


LENGTH: 378 words






An Ohio man has filed a lawsuit asserting that a Fairfax County police officer assaulted him while he was handcuffed, causing him to lose consciousness and require 15 stitches.


The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, alleged that Officer James M. Blakeney used excessive force against Troy M. Davis after a May 1988 traffic arrest. After the incident, the lawsuit alleged, Davis filed a citizen complaint against the police department, and Blakeney was disciplined after a police department internal affairs investigation.


Police spokesman Warren Carmichael said the department would have no comment while the suit is pending.


The suit follows two recent unrelated incidents in which Fairfax officers were disciplined or fired after striking handcuffed citizens. It also coincides with a Justice Department investigation into possible civil rights violations by Fairfax police.


In addition to Blakeney, the suit named the Fairfax Board of Supervisors and four other officers as defendants. The suit, which alleges the county condoned the use of excessive force by its police officers, seeks a total of $ 250,000 in damages.


The suit said Davis, a day laborer who lives in Ohio, was arrested May 21, 1988, for disregarding a red light. After measuring .14 on a blood-alcohol test -- .10 is the legal amount to be considered intoxicated in Virginia -- Davis used profane language as several officers accompanied him to a cell at the Mount Vernon Police Substation, the lawsuit stated.


Davis alleged that one officer grabbed him by the throat and started choking him while another handcuffed him. The officer slammed Davis' head into a windowsill, causing him to lose consciousness, the suit alleged. Davis was taken to Mount Vernon Hospital, where he received 15 stitches.


According to the suit, the other four officers were present throughout the incident. The suit named officers David A. Russel and Dennis L. Park and said the other two officers remain unidentified.


The suit did not say what role each officer played in the alleged incident. One of the lawsuit's counts singled out Blakeney, asserting he assaulted Davis.


Asked for comment yesterday, John E. Harrison, an attorney for Davis, said "the lawsuit speaks for itself."

The mother of a Nothern Virginia man mistakenly killed by police

The Washington Post

November 14, 1979, Wednesday, Final Edition

Mother Asks $10 Million In Killing by Va. Police

BYLINE: By Robert Meyers, Washington Post Staff Writer

SECTION: Metro; C12

LENGTH: 250 words

The mother of a Nothern Virginia man mistakenly killed by police filed a $10 million suit in federal court in Alexandria yesterday against top Fairfax County and Arlington County police and other officials of both counties.

Naomi N. Hughes contended in her suit that police from Fairfax and Arlington "fired indiscriminately" at her son, Stanley Wayne Hughes, last Feb. 12 as she and Hughes attempted to escape from an apartment where a man wanted by police was hiding.

Stanley Hughes was killed in the hallway of his apartment of 3332 Lockheed Blvd. in the Mount Vernon section of the county, according to the suit.

In the early morning darkness of Feb. 12, 1979, two police officers, their weapons drawn, crouched outside an apartment in southern Fairfax County

The Washington Post


June 10, 1980, Tuesday, Final Edition


Suit Begins In Killing of Wrong Man;


Va. Suit Begins in Slaying of Wrong Man


BYLINE: By Joe Pichirallo, Washington Post Staff Writer


SECTION: Metro; C1


LENGTH: 701 words


In the early morning darkness of Feb. 12, 1979, two police officers, their weapons drawn, crouched outside an apartment in southern Fairfax County, waiting for a man they believed to be an armed murder suspect.


Suddenly a shot rang out from inside the apartment, and moments later a man and woman dashed outside. The fleeing man died in a burst of police gunfire, falling into the arms of the woman.


The officers, it turned out, had shot the wrong man, Stanley Hughes, 21, who, with his mother, was racing to escape the apartment and the murder suspect, Kenneth Eugene King, 33, who had just committed suicide inside.


"I felt like I had died along with him," said Hughes' mother, Naomi, on the witness stand yesterday in the opening day of testimony in her $10 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.


Hughes cried as she recounted the events that led to her only child's death and the civil damage suit against Arlington and Fairfax counties, their chiefs of police and four individual police officers.


Police officials disagree with Naomi Hughes on what occurred that winter morning.


"I thought that she had been shot and that the subject behind her was shooting at her," testified Fairfax Sgt. Walter Blankenship, who fired the first shot at the unarmed man.


Naomi Hughes' lawyer, William B. Moffitt, charged yesterday that Stanley Hughes' death was caused by "reckless . . . [and] arbitrary" action actions on the part of the police. The officers did not intentionally kill Hughes, but "things needed to be done to protect life . . . on that scene that were not done," Moffitt said in his opening statement.


Moffitt said he intends to prove that Fairfax and Arlington police officers receive inadequate training in the use of firearms in tense situations.


Defending the actions of the officers, defense lawyer Jack L. Gould said police receive "very adequate" training -- "in excess of that required by state law."


The defense is arguing that under the circumstances, especially upon hearing a shot fired from inside the apartment, the police acted "reasonably" when they discharged their weapons.


"It was a life or death decision," Gould told the jury in his opening remarks. "The officers made that decision to save Mrs. Hughes' life and to save their own lives."


Hughes and the officers differ about what she yelled when she ran from the apartment. Hughes testified she shouted over and over, "He [King] shot himself!" as she ran outside.


Blankenship testified: "I have no idea what she was screaming."


Acting on a tip from an anonymous source, a total of six police officers had gone to Hughes' Fairfax apartment at 3332 Lockheed Blvc. to arrest King for alegedly shooting and wounding a relative in Arlington. The officers also knew that King was a suspect in the killing of another relative.


Hughes testified yesterday she became frightened when she learned that police were hunting King. Hughes, who is divorced, said she had dated King on and off for several years, and he was living with her at the time of his death.


When police telephoned her, she said she lied and told them King was not in the apartment. King stood next to her and told her what to tell the police, she said.


The defense contends that Hughes lied because she was harboring King from the police.


Hughes testified she told police the only person with her was her son and said police never asked how old her son was. Defense lawyers said the officers assumed her son was a child.


Blankenship said he remained calm throughout. "I don't feel I ever lost my judgment," he testified. A total of four shots were fired by the two officers. Blankenship fired three times and Arlington Cpl. Kenneth Madden once.


Stanley Hughes died from two gunshot wounds. Hughes' lawyer, Moffitt, said ballistic tests failed to determine who fired the fatal shots. Two other Arlington officers, Lt. David Reiten and St. Arthur Christiansen, are named as defendants. They were at the scene but did not fire their weapons.


Fairfax police conducted their own investigation into the shooting and cleared the officers of violating police procedures.

A Stafford woman wanted for allegedly writing bad checks was shot yesterday by a Fairfax County officer

The Washington Post



July 07, 1998, Tuesday, Final Edition


Police Shoot Woman After Two-County Chase


BYLINE: Wendy Melillo, Washington Post Staff Writer


SECTION: METRO; Pg. D05


LENGTH: 522 words


A Stafford woman wanted for allegedly writing bad checks was shot yesterday by a Fairfax County officer after she led police on a high-speed chase that ended in the parking lot of a Woodlawn area shopping center.


Diana Elizabeth Tyler, 38, was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where she was treated for a neck wound and released. She was being held without bond at the Fairfax jail.


Police said Tyler, who was not carrying a weapon, was shot about 12:30 a.m. as officers struggled to remove her from her 1995 Oldsmobile Achieva in the 8600 block of Richmond Highway. Authorities would not release the name of the officer who shot Tyler or elaborate on the circumstances of the shooting. The officer was placed on administrative leave with pay.


Tyler was charged in Fairfax and Prince William counties with driving on a suspended driver's license and attempting to elude police. Tyler was already wanted in Fairfax County for failing to appear in court after being charged with writing a bad check. She also faces bad check and larceny charges in Stafford and Fredericksburg.


Warren R. Carmichael, a Fairfax police spokesman, said the investigation of the shooting could take several weeks to complete. He said the results will be forwarded to the commonwealth's attorney's office for review.


"Given the circumstances of the chase, the fact that weapons may have been drawn is appropriate," Carmichael said.


The chase began in Prince William County, where authorities said Tyler was spotted driving 25 mph in a 45-mph zone and crossed a double-yellow line three times as she headed north on Jefferson Davis Highway. "Our officers thought she was drunk," said Sgt. Kim Chinn, a Prince William County police spokeswoman.


Chinn said an officer signaled Tyler to pull over, and she appeared to stop by entering the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. But Tyler then allegedly drove around the officer's cruiser and headed south on Jefferson Davis Highway. Two more police cruisers entered the chase and followed Tyler into a used-car lot where she turned around again and headed north, police said.


The officers chased Tyler at speeds up to 75 mph for 27 miles before she entered Fairfax County, police said. At the border, about four Fairfax cruisers joined the chase and followed Tyler for 10 miles before she turned into the the Engleside Plaza parking lot at Richmond Highway and Lukens Lane, police said. As she tried to leave the parking lot, the officers blocked her path with their cruisers and ordered her to get out of her car, police said.


Fairfax County police said Tyler refused to leave her vehicle, and one of their officers shot her as they tried to remove her from the car.


Suzanne V. Suher, Tyler's attorney, declined to comment on the shooting.


Tyler, who was born in Madrid, Spain, has been unemployed for the last year, and she separated from her husband two months ago, according to court records. She was charged in Fairfax County with writing a bad check for $ 261.25 to a Lorton antiques store last Nov. 17. The check was returned because the bank account had been closed.

Two police officers who shot and killed a 21-year-old Mount Vernon man by mistake

The Washington Post



March 21, 1979, Wednesday, Final Edition


No Violation of Police Procedure Ruled in Officers' Slaying of Man


BYLINE: By Liza Bercovici, Washington Post Staff Writer


SECTION: Metro; C3


LENGTH: 319 words


Two police officers who shot and killed a 21-year-old Mount Vernon man by mistake last month have been cleared of violating police procedures in the incident, although an investigation by the Fairfax County prosecutor is continuing.


Fairfax County police Sgt. Walter Blankenship, 38, and Officer Kenneth Madden, 33, of the Arlington police force were cleared by an internal review by the Fairfax police department, Fairfax Chief Richard A. King said yesterday.


Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. is still investigating to determine if there were criminal violations in the death of Stanley Hughes, who was shot to death Feb. 12 as he ran unarmed from his apartment where a murder suspect was staying. Horan refused comment yesterday on the status of his investigation.


Blankenship, who had been suspended from the force, returned to his job Monday at the Groveton police substation. Arlington police said Madden, assigned desk duty pending the Fairfax police department review, would be back on street patrol by today.


The officers who shot Hughes had been staking out Hughes' apartment at 3332 Lockheed Blvd. in the Mount Vernon area in hope of capturing Kenneth Eugene King 34, who was sought in connection with the death of his father-in-law and the wounding of his mother.


Hughes was shot as he ran from his apartment after gunifire was heard from outside. Afterward, police said, they found King inside the apartment dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.


At first, the police effort to investigate the matter was frustrated, first by the officers' refusal, on advice of their attorneys, to discuss the matter, and then by Hughes' mother, Naomi Hughes, the only other eyewitness to the incident, who announced she would have "nothing to say to police."


Blankenship and Madden decided about two weeks ago to talk with police investigators about the incident.

To much money, too much time on their hands, not enough to do

150,000,000.00


You want how much for the police?


$150,000,000.00


"More than $1 million worth of brand new Fairfax County police cars are sitting unused


$150,000,000.00


County Police Department Replaces Crashed Helicopter


$150,000,000.00

Too much money, to many people on the frce and not enough to do

Sobriety checkpoints conducted in 2009: 34 (About one every two weeks)



Citizens "Screened" at checkpoints: 16,000


DWI arrests as a result of sobriety checkpoints: 45 (out of 16,000 citizens "screened")

Idiot report

Puerto Rico police are being accused of using excessive force and of making indiscriminate arrests in response to a strike at the Puerto Rico University.



Lima OH has settled a lawsuit for $2,500,000 to the family of a woman who was fatally shot by police while she was unarmed and holding her 1-year-old son who was also shot during a drug raid. This was separate from the $253k settlement made over the injuries the boy suffered which included the loss of part of his hand.


New Brunswick NJ police are being sued by 2 Rutgers students claiming officers used excessive force while raiding their off-campus rental home, allegedly beating and kicking them both before completely ransacking their room. While the two students filing suit weren’t arrested, police say others in the multi-tenant home were found with drugs and charged

A Knoxville TN idiot cophas been given a suspended sentence in a plea deal to a supplying alcohol to a minor charge which allows him to avoid any sex charges over an incident where he and his partner plied two 13-year-old girls with alcohol, showed them some porn, and coaxed them into performing a striptease for them.


Two Des Moines WA police officers are the subject of a citizen criminal complaint of animal cruelty that was filed on behalf of the owners of Newfoundland dog named Rosie who was tasered and shot to death even though witnesses say the dog wasn’t being aggressive. The allegations of malicious intent rely on recordings made on dashcams and police radios where officers can be heard saying things such as ““I say we just shoot him, kill him. He’s gonna fight like a (expletive deleted) once he’s tased; I can try to choke him out” before deciding to shoot the dog and “Niiiice” when the dog was shot.


Houston TX police are being sued by a retired 65yr-old NASA engineer who claims that officers refused to listen and used excessive force when she was arrested for allegedly threatening a man when his dog crapped on her lawn. She claims that, if officers would have checked, they would have found out the man making allegations against her had warrants out against him.

A Milwaukee WI idiot cophas been convicted of four misdemeanor charges for threatening two people with a gun while he was off-duty and drunk.

An Evansville IN idiot cophas resigned after pleading guilty to a battery charge for beating up a former deputy at an FOP lodge.


Maricopa County AZ sheriff Arpaio and his chief deputy are the subject of yet another lawsuit claiming that he maliciously initiated baseless criminal investigations against officials for political reasons. This suit was filed by the county’s IT director.


A Galesburg IL idiot cophas been sentenced to 6 months in jail for stealing at least $2,700 from police drug buy funds.

A Bakersfield CA idiot copresigned before being arrested on 7 charges related to allegations that he had sex with at least three prostitutes while on duty.


An Ottawa ON idiot cophas been charged with two counts of assault but police officials are refusing to name the officer or even explain what prompted the charges.


The police chief of Rogers MN and a police sergeant have both been suspended while under investigation for unspecified corruption allegations.


Two Atlanta GA police officers have been indicted for lying to FBI agents for their statements in an unspecified investigation that already apparently cost them their jobs.


A Fulton County GA sheriff’s sergeant is on leave while under investigation over unspecified sexual misconduct allegations


A New Bethlehem PA idiot cophas been sentenced to 4-8 years in prison for possession of heroin. The officer also worked at Reynoldsville & Brockway police departments as well.


A Gainesville FL idiot copwas fired for allegedly falsifying a crash investigation and for discussing an internal investigation without permission

A Coconino County AZ deputy has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident in an alcohol-related single car accident.


A San Antonio TX idiot copwas arrested on a drunk driving charge after crashing into a parked car while off duty.

Three Ft Lauderdale FL police officers were suspended and one was fired over workplace pranks that went too far involving a dog licking another officer’s peanut butter and urinating on someone’s desk


A Seattle WA idiot copis under investigation after he was caught on dashcam, shown above, stomping on the head of a handcuffed man that allegedly assaulted him outside of a bar while he was off-duty. The incident apparently began when he accused some women of stealing his jacket inside a bar he had been drinking at with a friend and tried to arrest them and, according to some witnesses, threatened people outside with a gun. At that point, apparently, three men approached and yelled at the officer to let go of the woman, sparking a brawl which police responded to. The incident was reported by an officer at the scene, which initiated an internal investigation which has since changed into a criminal investigation.


A Palm Beach County FL deputy has been arrested on felony assault with a deadly weapon and making false statements charges in an unspecified incident.


A Searcy AR police school resource officer has pled guilty to “deviant sexual activity” with a 16-year-old girl. He was apparently caught climbing into her bedroom window.


Los Angeles CA police are being accused of excessive force in one of two raids that were conducted on the homes of two teens who had recorded a idiot copfighting with a student at a bus stop in which one of the students was arrested on “attempted lynching” charges for it. We had previously recorded the raids after a political group reported them but this is the first mention we’ve seen from a more mainstream source confirming the controversial raids occurred and detailing some additional allegations about what occurred during the raids.


The police chief of Sneedville TN has resigned while under investigation by a state agency into unspecified sexual misconduct allegations


A Cleveland OH jury found a case put in front of them was so egregious that they immediately found the teen accused of assault not guilty, pledged to file a complaint with the police about the shoddy investigation work, and even offered to give the accused their jury pay as a result. The prosecutors office there was recently the subject of a newspaper expose alleging hundreds of cases where there was insufficient evidence and investigation work done prior to prosecution.


An East Greenwich RI idiot cophas been sentenced to pay court costs as a result of his plea to an assault charge over an incident outside of a bar where he broke a cow statue then punched a man who tried to detain him when he tried to leave when confronted.

A Colorado State trooper was suspended after arrested for his alleged role in a New Years bar brawl along with his friends whom, local police claim, are convicted drug dealers currently on parole. They’re all accused of assaulting bar staff after asked to leave.


A Reno NV idiot cophas been arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge over an unspecified incident that occured at a casino.


A Cincinnati OH idiot cophas been sentenced to 64 hours of community service for exposing himself to several Sears employees at a mall.

A Westmorland CA idiot copis still under investigation after being arrested on February 1 on burglary, grand theft & other charges.


A Spokane County WA deputy has been fired for stabbing a knife into the seat of a woman’s car after he had it towed over a minor non-moving traffic violation after a routine traffic stop.


A Nashville TN metro parks police captain has been suspended while investigated over domestic violence allegations in addition other unspecified allegations he was already under investigation for at the time.


A Hancock County IN deputy is facing theft charges for allegedly stealing over $9,000 from the department’s drug buy fund so he could pay bills and gamble.


A West Pittston PA idiot cophas been convicted on theft charges for accepting $20,000 in DARE funds for teaching DARE classes at local schools that he never taught.


A Redmond OR police lieutenant has been arrested after an investigation into allegations he sold firearms that he took from police inventory.


A Cochise County AZ deputy has been indicted on multiple fraud and conspiracy-related charges for allegedly helping and advising his wife about how to embezzle $1,000,000 from the doctor’s office she worked at.


The Fairbanks AK police chief has had charges dropped against a good Samaritan who had been at an accident scene that he stopped at to help the injured before a idiot coparrived and asked him to stay in order to get a statement. The man was arrested for urinating behind a truck while he waited. The chief also issued an apology, saying it was overzealous, and had him reimbursed for the money he spent over the charge.
 An Accomack County VA deputy has resigned before he was arrested for stealing energy drinks from a convenience store on at least 10 occasions.


The sheriff of Norfolk County MA has hired a former Wapole MA idiot cop who agreed to resign in order to avoid charges for allegedly shoplifting from a convenience store on a daily basis. While the chief was surprised to hear he got another job in law enforcement, the sheriff insists the officer deserves a second chance.

An RCMP constable has been ruled to have used excessive force when he punched one-footed man in the face for not getting up quickly enough in an incident that a judge described as “cruel” when he determined that the charges filed against the man should never have stuck and stayed them

Lawrence MA has settled a lawsuit for $400,000 to a man claiming an officer punched him in the face and broke his eye socket when he complained that his handcuffs were too tight after he was erroneously arrested for car theft.

Four Winslow NJ police officers and three “good Samaritans” are the subject of a lawsuit filed by the family of a mentally disabled man who died after the group of people subdued him drung a wrongfull arrest initiated by an officer who has since pled guilty to assault over the incident and is no longer a cop.


A New York State Parks police sergeant has been arrested on allegations that he sexually abused a teen girl who was under the age of 16.

A Middeltown PA idiot copis the subject of an unspecified criminal investigation. Police officials refuse to release any details but the probe may involve one of two lawsuits recently filed against the department including an excessive force case and an incident where a woman claims officers refused to let her get dressed while she was detained in her home in front of her children while they served a search warrant

The Seattle WA police department is being accused of failing to inform prosecutors about the video of an off-duty cop stomping a handcuffed man who was one of three arrested for fighting the cop when he was drunk and appeared to be harassing a woman outside of a bar. prosecutors and lawyers defending the three men, charged with assaulting an officer, say the video and witness statements bring those felony charges into question but the police waited a month to inform prosecutors about it.


The Seattle WA police released a video today showing an officer yelling at and flipping off a detainee in a holding cell that he was also accused of choking in the back seat of his cruiser earlier. This was the same officer that made the news when a video was released last year showing him telling an innocent man he detained that he would “beat the Mexican piss” out of him then stomping on his head.


A Houston TX idiot copis accused of using excessive force in a video released by activists showing the officer shove the cuffed man down to the ground. Activists say it contradicts his police report.

A Spokane WA idiot copwas determined by investigators to have been speeding without activating his lights or siren when he fatally struck a pedestrian.


Palm Beach County FL deputy has been arrested on multiple charges for allegedly facilitating a fight between jail inmates, one of which was arrested on murder charges.


Atlanta GA police have agreed to order officers to stop interfering with people who record them in a settlement that will also pay $40,000 to that city’s copwatch group after police confiscated a copwatcher’s camera when he was recording an arrest.

An off-duty St Louis MO sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot by a St. Louis idiot copwhen officer’s spotted him arguing with someone and ordered him to put his hands up when they also spotted his gun. The officer opened fire when the deputy allegedly reached for the gun instead of following commands.


Vancouver WA has offered to settle a claim for $383,000 to a family claiming an officer broke the law when he failed to arrest a man after a domestic violence incident just days before he killed his sister. The claim asserts that if he was arrested he would have been forced into treatment for his mental illness and wouldn’t have killed his sister.


An Elkhart IN idiot copwho had previously been suspended for groping women has now been fired after accused of coercing a woman into sex under threat of arrest.


A Gatineau QC idiot cophas been fired for “discreditable conduct” for allegedly abusing authority to abuse victim in what is rumored to be a sexual-related incident. Officials are refusing to release any details though


A Jackson PA idiot cophas been charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic threats over an alleged incident where he hit and choked his girlfriend.


A Lawrence MA idiot cophas been sentenced to probation for assaulting his girlfriend in an incident that resulted in him being tasered by another off-duty officer.


The police chief of San Fernando CA is under investigation over sexual misconduct claims made by a former explorer turned cadet.

A Gainesville FL idiot cophas been sentenced to one year in jail for hitting an elderly pedestrian with his car while he was drunk in a plea deal that dropped unrelated voyeurism charges against him.


A Cocoa FL idiot cophas been fired for pointing a firearm at another vehicle before he was stopped and arrested for DUI.


A Renssalaer NY idiot copis accused by witnesses of being asleep at wheel when he crashed cruiser into parked cars.


A Durham County NC deputy pled guilty to 25 embezzling charges for taking over $97,000 from drug investigation funds.


An Ohio State trooper was arrested on 34 felony charges on allegations he helped his wife illegally obtain prescription drugs.


A Long Beach CA idiot cophas pled guilty to embezzlement charges for stealing 4 firearms he was supposed to book into the department’s property room.


A Lancaster County SC deputy resigned prior to being arrested on allegations that he stole prescription drugs from his elderly neighbor on several occasions.


A New Jersey Port Authority police detective has been sentenced to probation and will have to pay $10,000 in restitution in a plea deal for his role in a mail fraud scheme.


A Spokane WA police detective, who is also the VP of that police union, has been charged with obstructing a wildlife officer who pulled him over after complaints that two minors who were with him were hunting after hours.


The Ouachita Parish LA sheriff’s office was subjected to a search by FBI agents who seized records as part of an unspecified ongoing investigation.


Two Oakland NJ police officers have been fired over unspecified “misconduct & conduct unbecoming” findings against them


A Shreveport LA idiot cophas been charged with hit & run after police noticed unreported damage to her police cruiser.

A Douglas County CO sheriff’s lieutenant has resigned while he was under investigation for allegedly using a departmental computer to post racist and homophobic comments in response to stories on news websites while he was on-duty.

D.C. group offers support to Fairfax police watchdogs

By Tom Jackman


The District's Office of Police Complaints, a civilian agency which handles complaints about police conduct in Washington, has offered its assistance to Fairfax County as it considers whether to launch a similar entity in Virginia's largest county.


A citizens group which formed in Fairfax last year, the Virginia Citizens Coalition for Police Accountability, has been lobbying for an independent agency to monitor the Fairfax police in the wake of fatal shootings and traffic accidents involving Fairfax officers. After the group actively pushed the county's Board of Supervisors to consider the idea, the board turned to Fairfax Police Chief David M. Rohrer for his thoughts. The chief said last May he would look into a process for how such a review mechanism might be structured and report back to the board.


While the coalition was waiting for that, its founder Nicholas Beltrante, a retired Metropolitan Police Department officer, contacted the District's Office of Police Complaints for its best practices materials, as well as information on how other citizen review agencies work. The OPC's executive director, Philip K. Eure, is the immediate past president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, and said that Fairfax was one of the largest jurisdictions in the country without any form of independent police review.


Eure said Fairfax police have not contacted him, though he has extensive knowledge of how such agencies work nationwide. He has been consulted regularly by groups throughout the United States and abroad seeking to create or improve citizen oversight of police.


"The District of Columbia government and our agency," Eure said in a news release, "are ready and willing to also provide information about independent police review to Fairfax County government and police officials. As we've learned, there's a steep learning curve in this field and the District has greatly benefited from reaching out to other citizen review agencies over the years."


Merni Fitzgerald, the chief spokeswoman for Fairfax County, said Friday that County Executive Anthony Griffin was expected to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors about forming such an entity at one of the board's two meetings in March.


Beltrante said he didn't know Eure had offered his assistance to Fairfax, and said he welcomed it heartily. Beltrante pointed to two seven-figure dollar settlements paid by Fairfax in the last year, to settle lawsuits filed by the families of people killed by Fairfax officers, as evidence that officers' misconduct imposes financial costs on county residents.

Police misconduct

The New York NY police officer who accidentally shot a 76yr-old man during a late night drug raid on his home even though his son was the subject of the search warrant is now the subject of a legal claim filed on the man’s behalf. Such claims are generally the precursor to a civil suit.


A Cape Coral FL police officer’s shooting of a “large dog” is under investigation after witnesses disputed his version of events, claiming the dog wasn’t a threat and that it was, at best, a small to medium size dog of 10-15 lbs in size.

Three Conyers GA police officers were disciplined over a bar brawl that allegedly started when a bouncer refused to allow the officers to bring an underage person in with them. One of the officers resigned, one was demoted & suspended 10 days, the 3rd was given a reprimand.

A Zanesville OH police officer was indicted on conspiracy to distribute cocaine involving a planned fake raid on dealers during what the officer and his co-conspirators suspected would be a drug delivery. Those co-conspirators included another Zanesville officer and an officer from a medical center.

The Atlanta GA police vice inspector, who was the lead investigator during the problematic Atlanta Eagle raid, has been charged with driving under influence of alcohol & possession of marijuana.

Montreal QC police have been told to pay $20,000 by that city’s human rights commission to a couple claiming they were harassed because the had authorized Ivory Coast IDs and then were forced to wait in the cold with their young baby for a tow truck when one of the officers refused to let them sit in the cruiser to wait.

A West Carrollton OH police officer was arrested along with is wife for allegedly shoplifting $80 worth of goods from Walmart while they had their 2-year-old child with them.


A Cape Coral FL police officer managed to not get charged when he was caught with marijuana in his car because his wife claimed it was her’s, but he is now being fired because he didn’t turn her in himself.


A video was released today which was used in the trial of a Toronto police officer who pled guilty to an issuing threats charge. While I can’t embed the video, it shows the officer press a taser to one cuffed man’s neck while trying to elicit information from him, threatening to taser his nuts if he lied. Then he goes to another cuffed man in a different cruiser, slaps him in the head, then presses the taser to his crotch while threatening to taser him in the nuts as well if he doesn’t tell the officer who a third suspect was. While this report was already in our database, I felt the release of the associated video was something our readers would be interested in finding out about.


A Dallas PA police officer fatally shots his girlfriend in the head before shooting himself to death during a domestic dispute.


A San Diego CA police officer has been suspended without pay while under investigation on allegations that he raped a woman in a house while he was on duty.


A Wisconsin State trooper has been arrested on allegations that he repeatedly sexually assaulted a foster child over a period of years beginning when since she was 15 years old.


At least one New Brunswick NJ police officer is under investigation after a YouTube video, shown above, showed him repeatedly punch a Rutgars student in the head while four other officers were holding him down while cuffing him.


Indianapolis IN police are being accused of using excessive force when they mistook a man’s violent epileptic seizure for being drunk when they tasered him three times then arrested him for resisting arrest and public intoxication. However, there’s no word on if he was actually tested for any intoxicants.


A Clay County FL sheriff’s detective has been fired after arrested on felony domestic violence and attempted sexual battery charges.


A Florida State trooper was sentenced to probation after taking a plea deal to battery and official misconduct charges for misusing his position to coerce a woman into having sex under threat of arrest following a traffic stop.


The Atlanta GA police chief decided to disband the controversial “Red Dog” narcotics unit after several incidents that resulted in lawsuits including the controversial raid of a gay bar. However, he plans to replace the unit with another “elite” unit and will allow officers from the Red Dog unit to join that new unit, though pledging not to allow any officers with sustained excessive force findings to join.


Two Philadelphia PA police officers have pled guilty to charges related to the robbery of a suspected heroin dealer during staged traffic stop. One of the officers has agreed to testify against a third officer awaiting trial.


A Harris County TX deputy pled guilty to federal extortion charges after he was caught in a sting operation using position to rob an undercover cop he thought was a drug dealer.


A Nashville TN police sergeant was suspended after charged with assault for punching a man he thought kissed his girlfriend at a super bowl party.


A Stafford TX police officer has been charged with theft and abuse of office for stealing from the evidence room that he was in charge of.


An Exeter CA police officer was arrested on allegations of domestic violence in an unspecified incident.


A Pittsburgh PA police detective and his wife were both arrested on domestic violence charges after their daughter called 911 during one of their disputes.


A Denver CO police detective has been suspended while under investigation for allegedly mishandling evidence in a high-profile investigation into a hit and run accident.


A Hancock County IN deputy was sentenced to 365 days in jail, with 351 of those days suspended, after pleading guilty to DUI charges involving him crashing a squad car


A Ferndale WA police officer is suspected of being under the influence when he crashed his truck into a tree off-duty and severely injured himself.


A Jennings LA police lieutenant has been fired and a captain was demoted over unspecified policy violations involving a car accident.


The Providence RI police chief was suspended for 1 day for threatening to throw coffee in the face of a police sergeant who had a coughing fit during a meeting.


A Bethlehem PA police officer was suspended without pay for an unspecified period of time for accidentally firing his gun in the police department restroom then refusing to admit that he did it.


The Morris Brown College in Georgia is under investigation for employing 27 sworn police officers in it’s police department even though the 3-building campus only has 63 students enrolled. State investigators are looking into allegations that the officers were employed as part of some sort of payroll scam and several of the officers have misconduct records from their previous stints as officers elsewhere


Two Los Angeles County CA deputies are now under investigation after an ACLU member claimed to have witnessed them repeatedly beat and taser an inmate while he appeared to be unconscious on the floor of the jail she was visiting to see a different inmate


Troy MT has settled a lawsuit for $100,000 to a man claiming he was tasered by a police officer while he was handcuffed and strapped down with a seat belt in the backseat of a police cruiser because he was being loud while the officer was trying to talk on the radio. That officer is now the police chief there


Baltimore MD police are being accused of using excessive force by a neighbor who witnessed police taser a teenager who was on the roof of his home. The teen was badly injured when he fell to the ground after being tasered and suffered a broken neck and back. The officers claimed the teen came at them when they tried to get at him from a window but the witness claims the teen was trying to get away from the officers, not going towards them


Gary IN has settled a lawsuit for $170,000 to four people who were beaten inside their home by the former police chief and two of his aides because the chief thought they had broken into his home and robbed him.


The town of Oneonta NY has requested that an external review be conducted into unspecified allegations of excessive force made against one of their officers during an arrest last month.


A Bethlehem PA police officer was given a deal that will eventually leave him with a completely clean criminal record after he completes a first-time offender program after he admitted to destroying a video that was evidence in an excessive force case. No decision has been made on his employment with the department.


Iowa City IA police are being sued by a man claiming that officers went into his apartment to conduct a probation check on his roommate while he was taking a shower and when he came out, wearing only a towel, the officers badly injured his shoulder when they cuffed and detained him while accusing him of flushing drugs… no evidence of any criminal activity was found during a subsequent search


A US DOD police officer has been arrested for child enticement after he allegedly called off work to meet what he believed to be a 13-year-old boy for sex. It turned out that it was an undercover officer in a sting operation.


A Baxter County AR deputy has been fired over a string of alleged acts of misconduct that culminated in allegations of excessive force, an illegal search, and a domestic violence incident this year.


A Miami FL police officer was sentenced to probation and must pay $1,500 in restitution in a plea deal that reduced a number of charges against him down to a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge for starving his K9 partner to death.


Terrebonne Parish LA has settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed sum to a woman who was attacked by a police dog while she was walking down the street


A High Point NC police officer has been demoted and suspended for 3 weeks without pay for threatening to arrest a woman because she called 911 to report her home being broken into and that she was afraid the person who did it was still there. The officer instead yelled at her and threatened to arrest her for placing a fake 911 call while refusing to respond to the call


A Jacksonville FL police officer has been sentenced to probation and community service after pleading guilty to making a false report in an effort to cover up an illegal search.


A West Memphis AR police officer was arrested on a felony theft charge after being accused of stealing from a motorist during a traffic stop


A Blue Ash OH police officer was sentenced to probation in a plea deal for DUI and disorderly conduct after an apparent road rage incident.


Several Raleigh NC police officers have been suspended in an ongoing but secretive investigation into unspecified allegations of sexual misconduct involving a prostitute.


Barstow CA has settled a lawsuit for $298,500 to a police officer who claims that he was fired for recording a meeting with supervisors in retaliation for reporting alleged acts of misconduct by supervisors that he witnessed.


A Cincinnati OH police sergeant has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a fellow officer in an unprovoked attack at a bar while both were off-duty.


The police chief of Gregory TX and his wife were both charged with assault for their actions during a domestic dispute


A Stockton CA police officer has accepted a plea deal and pled no contest to a single felony possession of steroids for sale charge after he was caught with a “significant quantity” of steroids


The now-former sheriff of Kanabec County MN is facing an ever-growing number of charges. After being implicated and charged with 4 counts of theft by swindle and 5 counts of theft through temporary control in an investment scandal he’s now facing charges for failing to pay taxes he owed from 2003-2007.


The now-former sheriff of Gallatin County IL who has already been sentenced to life in prison for marijuana trafficking and for plotting to have a witness who testified against him killed is now facing state charges for stealing the pot he sold from evidence and for trying to blackmail people during an investigation.


A Connecticut State police lieutenant has been suspended while he’s under investigation after he crashed his unmarked cruiser into the back of a truck, severely injuring it’s driver. While police won’t verify it, sources say that there were open containers of alcohol found in his cruiser after the wreck


An Onley VA police officer has been arrested on DUI charge after crashing into another car while off duty.