Idiot Hartford police officer accidentally shot

 Hartford police say a city officer was shot while responding to a robbery when a gun accidentally fired.

Authorities say the officer suffered a non-life threatening arm injury Saturday night while responding to a robbery at a sandwich shop off Franklin Avenue. The officer’s name hasn’t been released.

Police haven’t disclosed other details of the shooting. It’s not clear if the officer shot himself by accident or was shot by someone else’s gun.

Officials say two suspects robbed the Subway shop, displayed weapons and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police are continuing to investigate the robbery and shooting.

Philly officer charged in crash turns himself in

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia police officer has turned himself in to face charges stemming from an off-duty car crash that killed the other driver.

Authorities said 45-year-old police Sgt. Thomas Winkis turned himself in to police Tuesday. He is charged with vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.

Investigators say Winkis was drunk and driving 100 mph when he broadsided a van around 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Northeast Philadelphia.

The driver of the van, 55-year-old David Farries, died in a hospital several days later.

Commissioner Charles Ramsey has suspended Winkis for 30 days with intent to dismiss. It couldn't immediately be determined if he had an attorney.

cop arrested for $10K utility-bill scam

A former Philadelphia cop has been charged with theft of services after he allegedly scammed nearly $10,000 by meddling with his home’s electric meter to save on utility bills, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Douglas Diemidio, 50, of South Philadelphia, turned himself in to police this afternoon. Authorities say he tampered with the meter at his home on 12th Street near Tasker over four years in an effort to avoid full payment of his PECO bills. His arrest came after an investigation by PECO, the Police Department’s Internal Affairs unit and the District Attorney’s special investigations unit.

Diemidio joined the Department in July 1993 and worked in the 18th District, at 55th and Pine in West Philadelphia, until he resigned Sept. 23, said Officer Jillian Russell, a police spokeswoman.

This isn't the first time Philly's finest have been accused of stealing public utilities. Last fall, the Department fired two officers - Lt. Aisha Perry and Officer George Suarez - after both got arrested for theft of services. Both were accused of stealing from PGW, PECO and the water department.

Officer suspended following internal investigation, additional punishment to be considered by Police Merit Commission

On September 18th 2013, the Evansville Police Department Internal Affairs initiated an investigation into allegations that an on-duty officer violated multiple department rules and regulations. The allegations stemmed from the officers interaction with a female at a local business.

The Internal Affairs investigation has been completed. The findings of the investigation have resulted in recommendations from Chief Billy Bolin to the Police Merit Commission. The recommendations include the officer involved in the complaint be suspended without pay for 21 days. The suspension begins immediately. Chief Bolin has also recommended the Police Merit Commission consider dismissal of the officer.

Upon receiving the Chief’s recommendations, the Merit Commission will hear the case at an upcoming meeting. The Merit Commission can affirm the recommendations or change them to a lesser action.

Billings man sues police officer, city over incident

Billings resident Robert D. Bassett says he got up in the night last year to let his dog out in his front yard when he got tackled and injured by a Billings police officer who was chasing a suspect.

The run-in, Bassett said, left him with a torn rotator cuff that required shoulder surgery.

Bassett, 56, is suing Billings Police Officer Paul Lamantia, who previously had been suspended and then reinstated, and the city of Billings over the encounter.

Bassett alleges Lamantia’s conduct was negligent and that the city violated his civil rights by creating a risk of harm to citizens by allowing Lamantia to work without proper supervision.

Bassett filed the suit in May in state District Court. In July, the city had the case transferred into U.S. District Court. The suit is assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon, who has set a scheduling conference for Nov. 7.

All parties are seeking a jury trial. Bassett is seeking unspecified general and medical damages.

Russell Plath, a Billings attorney who represents Bassett, said Tuesday that Bassett had to have “pretty extensive surgery.”

Bassett, who is on Social Security disability, had to wait for surgery until he qualified for Medicare. Bassett had surgery this spring, Plath said.

The lawsuit stems from an incident July 16, 2012, in which Lamantia was dispatched to a loud party in the area of the 700 and 800 blocks of North 15th Street. The officer saw a person running in a driveway at 818 N. 15th St., and started chasing the subject when he lost his flashlight on the ground, Bassett’s complaint said.

Meanwhile, Bassett, who lives at 820 N. 15th St., had gotten up to let out his dog. As Bassett entered his front yard, he saw a person running in his neighbor’s driveway, the complaint said. Bassett also saw a police officer in his neighbor’s driveway looking into his yard for an object on the ground.

The officer then jumped over a retaining wall into Bassett’s yard, wrapped his arms around Bassett, picked him up and tackled him onto the ground, the complaint said.

Plath said some of the incident could involve mistaken identity during a nighttime chase. “It was dark. He dropped his flashlight,” he said. The officer was chasing a subject in an underage drinking party," he said.

Plath said Bassett was going to tell the officer, “The kid ran that way,” when the officer tackled him.

Lamantia’s history with the police department also raises issues about the city’s responsibility in properly supervising the officer, Plath said. Lamantia had signed a “last-chance agreement” before the incident with Bassett occurred, he said.

A "last-chance agreement" requires an officer to follow certain conditions, which if violated normally results in the officer's termination.

The city disciplined Lamantia in May 2012 for violating police department policies when he drove an intoxicated man and woman outside city limits and left them on the side of a two-lane highway at 3 a.m. in January. The discipline included the last-chance agreement, two weeks’ suspension without pay and other punishment. He returned to work on May 28, 2012.

Lamantia also had received four other unrelated reprimands for misconduct and poor job performance in March 2012 while he was on paid leave.

Both the city and Lamantia have denied the charges.

Harlan Krogh, a Billings attorney representing the city, said the case is in the early stages. While there is dispute over the nature of the contact between Lamantia and Bassett, Krogh said, Lamantia did respond to a call and was chasing a suspect.

In the city’s response to the complaint, it said Lamantia climbed over a retaining wall into Bassett’s yard.

Lamantia saw “a silhouette of a figure approaching him at a short distance. The area was very dark. In concern for his own safety, Officer Lamantia forcefully pushed at the person approaching Lamantia to repel him. The individual fell backwards on his back,” the city said.

Once Lamantia found his flashlight, he recognized that the person was not the subject he was chasing, the city said. Bassett shouted at the officer, “He went that way,” and pointed to the backyard.

After chasing the suspect, Lamantia returned and contacted Bassett. Lamantia and another officer offered Bassett medical help but he twice declined, the city said.

The city also said that Bassett’s summary of disciplinary action taken against Lamantia was not complete or accurate.

Lamantia’s attorney, Brendon Rohan of Butte, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

In a response filed in court, Lamantia denied tackling Bassett.

He also asserted that his conduct was reasonable, entitling him to qualified immunity and preventing any claim of an alleged violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Manchester Cop Suspended For Excessive Force

MANCHESTER — A police officer was suspended recently after an internal investigation found he used excessive force on a prisoner at police headquarters.

Officer Jason Wagner was suspended without pay for five days, Police Chief Marc Montminy said Wednesday. Montminy said he agreed with an investigation by Lt. David Ellsworth that found Wagner's use of force was both "unnecessary and excessive."

The unnamed prisoner was not injured and did not file a formal complaint, Montminy said. The investigation began after a review of video recordings in the booking area, he said. The internal affairs report says Capt. William Darby asked Ellsworth to launch an investigation.

Two videos from different angles, which Montminy showed to a reporter but did not release, show Wagner leading a prisoner into the booking area on Aug. 20 at about 5:10 p.m. The man had been driving a car that crashed at Charter Oak and Spruce streets. He appeared to be drunk and was arrested after failing field sobriety tests, police said. Montminy said he redacted the man's name from the internal investigations report because the report mentions the man's mental health and addiction problems.

As Wagner is leading the prisoner into the booking area, a police service aide, a non-sworn attendant in the booking area, is heard saying, "I witnessed that," after the prisoner head-butted a door frame. Once at a caged area where prisoners are fingerprinted and sign forms, the video shows the man again knocking his own head against a steel door frame.

Wagner can be heard yelling at the prisoner to "knock it off!" The video shows the officer standing directly behind the handcuffed prisoner. When the man turns his head back toward Wagner, their faces just inches apart, Wagner grabs the man around the neck and forces him to the floor, placing a knee on the man's chest.

The two police service aides who were in the booking area at the time both said they did not consider Wagner's actions to be excessive, the report says. The video does not show Wagner hitting or kicking the prisoner, but Ellsworth found that the officer "acted inappropriately when he brought (the unnamed prisoner) to the ground in the manner in which he did.

"Officer Wagner was never trained in performing take-downs in this manner," Ellsworth wrote. "There were clearly other options available to Officer Wagner and this method could have caused significant injury."

Wagner told Ellsworth, according to the report, that he wanted to avoid being hurt by the prisoner.

"I did not know what he was going to do, the way he was acting he was banging his head," Wagner told Ellsworth, according to the report. "I didn't know if he was going to spit on me if he was going to swing his head at me or what his intentions were."

Wagner called a superior that night about the incident, according to the report. Two Breathalyzer tests on the man showed his blood-alcohol content at .176 and .196, both more than twice the legal limit for drivers. The man was charged with driving under the influence, evading responsibility and reckless driving and taken to Manchester Memorial Hospital for treatment and mental health evaluation.

Sgt. John Rossetti, head of the police union, said he had no comment on Wagner's suspension.

County settles suit alleging false arrest, excessive force

Sedgwick County kansas commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday after an executive session to pay $75,000 and mediation fees to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a former jail inmate who alleged false arrest and excessive use of force.

The county admitted no wrongdoing in the case, filed against the sheriff’s office, Sheriff Jeff Easter, former Sheriff Robert Hinshaw and three sheriff’s deputies, attorney Ed Keeley said. The county hired Keeley to represent it in the case.

“The defendants deny claims of excessive force and false arrest,” Keeley said Wednesday. “We continue to deny the claims and do not admit liability. We wish the lawsuit to be over to avoid the costs of going to trial.”

Phillip G. Henderson alleged that on July 23, 2012, a sheriff’s deputy falsely arrested him after Henderson left the Citi Host Motel on South Broadway. The deputy “immediately pulled in behind the plaintiff’s vehicle because he was curious as to why the plaintiff was at the Citi Host Motel,” the lawsuit alleged.

Henderson drove two blocks to Bill and Mary’s Bar and “despite the fact that plaintiff signaled his intention to turn left continuously for approximately 190 feet before turning,” the deputy pulled Henderson over for failing to signal to turn, according to the lawsuit.

The deputy arrested Henderson on suspicion of driving while under the influence.

The lawsuit admits that Henderson “was intoxicated and made numerous profane, belligerent and rude comments while in transport.” But Henderson argued that the deputy “but for the illegal stop of plaintiff’s truck … would not have been in a position to make observations that led to his belief that plaintiff was under the influence of alcohol.”

Henderson alleged in the lawsuit that after arriving at the jail, the deputy “forcibly shoved” him to the ground after Henderson moved toward him and “struck him in the back of his head, causing his face and head to repeatedly strike the floor.”

Other deputies “repeatedly kicked, stomped, beat and punched plaintiff about his body for approximately 20 seconds,” the lawsuit alleged.

Mark Schoenhofer, Henderson’s lawyer, said Wednesday that Henderson still suffers from a knee injury and sustained three fractures in his back.

“We’re happy that Mr. Henderson has received compensation for the injuries he received out of that incident,” Schoenhofer said after the commission meeting. Schoenhofer also noted that the DUI case against Henderson was dismissed.

Jury Deliberating in Manslaughter Trial of Former Alexander Police Officer

ALEXANDER, AR - A jury is now deliberating in the manslaughter trial of a former Alexander police officer.

Nancy Cummings is accused in the September 2012 shooting death of Carleton Wallace that happened while she was working patrol.

We'll have more as we learn new information from the courtroom.

Original story (October 3):
ALEXANDER, AR - The trial for a former Alexander police officer charged with manslaughter is under way.

Nancy Cummings pleaded not guilty after being arrested for shooting and killing Carleton Wallace while working patrol in 2012.

The former officer said she saw Wallace walking down the road with a gun in his waistband, which he then tossed into the woods. Cummings says during the subsequent search of Wallace, her gun went off accidentally.

The Alexander Police Department confirmed that Cummings had not been trained to patrol the streets, which is allowed under state law.

Trial wraps up for former Pittsburgh police officer charged with homicide

The prosecutor agreed Wednesday that former Pittsburgh police officer Adam Lewis had no intent to harm the passenger on his motorcycle in the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 2010.

But the prosecutor, Lisa Carey, said the man intentionally chose to get on his motorcycle after he had been drinking to drive Jessica Lojak home.

"I think he did act in a reckless and grossly negligent manner," Ms. Carey said. "He chose to speed after he ingested alcohol. He knows there's a dangerous curve coming up."

Mr. Lewis, who has since been fired from the police bureau, is charged with homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence for the crash on Mifflin Road about 2:30 a.m.

Ms. Lojak, 28, of Fawn, was killed.

Mr. Lewis testified Tuesday during his nonjury trial before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning that as he was traveling through a curve in the road, he felt Ms. Lojak's weight shift, causing him to lose control of the motorcycle.

It traveled into the oncoming lane of traffic and was struck by an SUV.

Investigators testified that Mr. Lewis took the curve at about 41 mph -- in a 25-mph speed zone -- and that his motorcycle was leaning over too far.

Both sides agreed that Mr. Lewis' blood alcohol level at the time was 0.108 -- above the legal limit of 0.08 in Pennsylvania.

William Difenderfer, who represents Mr. Lewis, said his client had three to five beers earlier in the night, and that none of the friends with whom he had been at Rivertowne Pub & Grille in North Huntingdon thought it was unsafe for him to drive.

Mr. Lewis received a call during the night asking him to meet his fiancee and her friends, who were out for her bachelorette party, asking if he would meet them in the South Side so they could follow him back to his house.

Ms. Lojak, who had previous experience riding on motorcycles, asked if she could ride on the back of Mr. Lewis' with him.

"It goes from probably one of the best nights to a tragedy words can't even describe with the death of Jessica Lojak," Mr. Difenderfer said. "There would be no reason for him to have any intention of riding fast or reckless."

There was testimony at trial that Mr. Lewis safely negotiated a number of raised manhole covers along Carson Street, which was being resurfaced at the time.

"Nowhere in the record is there any sign of intoxication of Mr. Lewis," Mr. Difenderfer said.

But Judge Manning responded that based on Mr. Lewis' blood alcohol level, driving would be illegal whether he was doing it safely or not.

Judge Manning said he would announce the verdict on Tuesday.

Paula Reed Ward: pward@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2620 or on Twitter @PaulaReedWard.
First Published October 3, 2013 12:00 am

Arcadia Police Officer Charged with Embezzlement

ARCADIA – Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office investigators yesterday obtained a felony arrest warrant for former Arcadia Police officer Christian Blesch, 36, charging grand theft.

The warrant was the result of an on-going criminal investigation into allegations that Blesch, a six-year employee of the department, feloniously stole money from the Arcadia Police Officers’ Association over a period of several months.

Arcadia Police Department command staff became aware of the allegations in March of this year, and soon thereafter relieved Blesch of duty, placing him on paid, administrative leave – pending the outcome of the L.A. County DA’s investigation into the thefts. As of September 24, 2013, Blesch was no longer employed by the Arcadia Police Department.

The District Attorney’s Office arranged with Blesch to voluntarily turn himself in upon issuance of the warrant and he surrendered to the Los Angeles Superior Court on October 2, 2013.

Philadelphia police officer suspected of drunken driving in Upper Darby head-on crash

UPPER DARBY — A 42-year-old Philadelphia police officer has been placed on desk duty after he was allegedly involved in an off-duty drunken driving incident that resulted in a head-on crash on State Road on Sept. 15.

Levaun J. Rudisill, 42, allegedly told the arresting officer he had “a few beers” at the Eagles game prior to getting behind the wheel of his Dodge Ram pickup and veering into oncoming traffic, striking another vehicle head on, police said.

Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said the information he’s received is that Rudisill is an officer with Philadelphia’s Narcotics Squad and was off-duty at the time of the crash.

Philadelphia police would not name the officer, as he has been issued a summons and has not yet been arraigned, but did say they are aware of the incident and are taking appropriate action.

“The officer was not officially arrested, he was informed he was required to surrender to Upper Darby police regarding the accident and DUI investigation,” Philadelphia Police Public Affairs Officer Tanya Little said Thursday afternoon. “Based on that information, the officer has been placed on desk duty until the outcome of the investigation is completed by Upper Darby.”

“It is also being monitored here by us by Internal Affairs,” she added.

The crash occurred at about 8:30 p.m. at State Road and Park Avenue, police said.

Investigators determined that Rudisill’s pickup crossed the center double line and struck a 2006 Chrysler 300 sedan head on, according to Chitwood. The off-duty officer appears to have attempted to swerve, but was unable to avoid striking the other vehicle, police said.

The operator of the Chrysler, an 18-year-old male, was transported to Delaware County Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for injuries sustained in the crash and later released.

While speaking with Rudisill, the responding officer detected a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, police said. When asked if he’d been drinking, Rudisill allegedly responded by saying he’d had a few beers at the Eagles game.

“He was asked to submit to a field sobriety test, which he did and which he flunked,” Chitwood said.

Rudisill was taken into custody and transported to Delaware County Memorial Hospital for chemical testing, which he allegedly refused. He was later released to his fiancee. That is customary unless there are extenuating circumstances, Chitwood said.

Rudisill is facing charges of driving under the influence, careless driving and failure to keep on the right side of the highway. He is scheduled to appear in Upper Darby District Court before Magisterial District Judge Ann Berardocco on Oct. 30.

Seattle man left homeless after crack bust by cop later fired for dishonesty wants state to pay up

A Seattle man who lost it all after his arrest by a King County sheriff’s deputy later fired for dishonesty may now be among the first of Washington’s wrongly convicted to get back a piece of what was taken from him.

James Simmons was a well-paid IT contractor in November 2006 when King County Deputy James Schrimpsher arrested him on suspicions he’d seen Simmons dealing cocaine at a University District bus stop. A King County jury subsequently convicted the 53-year-old of dealing cocaine.

Three months later, Schrimpsher – who’d been assigned to police King County Metro buses – was fired for dishonesty related to another U-District drug arrest. Schrimpsher is now a detective with the Algona Police Department; speaking Thursday, Schrimpsher said he stands by "every arrest" he made as a deputy.

Schrimpsher’s dishonesty cost him a job. The ex-deputy’s testimony cost Simmons that and more.

Jailed for a year, Simmons lost his security clearance and, with it, his work. The felony drug conviction ruined friendships and set him on a path that ultimately ended with him homeless on Seattle’s streets.

“My family and friends cut me out of their lives and I lost my ability to be a productive member of society,” Simmons said in a letter to the court. “I am currently homeless and have repeatedly been denied employment because the record in this case continues to appear on background searches. …

“I would like to be able to rebuild the life that was taken from me.”

Having spent 30 years working steadily in information technology, Simmons, now 53, found himself homeless and unable to find an employer willing to hire him because of his criminal record.

Simmons has since been exonerated following a series of appeals. Now, he may become one of the first former inmates wrongly convicted in Washington to be paid for his hard time under a new state law.

Enacted in May after winning unanimous approval from the Legislature, the law allows exonerated ex-cons to collect $50,000 for each year they were incarcerated and $25,000 for each year under Department of Corrections supervision, as well as attorney fees and, in some cases, college tuition waivers. The amount paid by the state jumps to $100,000 a year if the inmate was housed on death row.

On signing the law, Gov. Jay Inslee acknowledged that money cannot make up for the time and honor lost to a bad conviction.

“While the impact on the person and his or her family cannot be quantified, some measure of compensation will help those wrongly convicted get back on their feet,” Inlsee said in a statement on signing the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act.

The law does not afford convicts a new opportunity to fight criminal convictions; only men and women who’ve seen their convictions thrown out or reversed on retrial may sue for payment. Washington was the 28th state to enact such a law, which has also been instituted in the District of Columbia.

A state Attorney General's Office spokeswoman said Simmons is the third former inmate to sue under the new law.

Convicted by a King County jury in August 2007, Simmons was exonerated in early 2010 after serving a year in custody. 

Filing charges in 2006, King County prosecutors claimed Schrimpsher spotted Simmons selling crack cocaine at 5 p.m. on a Tuesday at a University District bus stop.

Schrimpsher said he saw Simmons hand cocaine to a man, who then paid a woman standing nearby. Schrimpsher forced Simmons to the ground in a violent arrest that saw Schrimpsher punch Simmons in the head and use pepper spray against him; Simmons was shocked with a stun gun at least three times during the arrest.

The deputy would later claim that Simmons, who had not been convicted of any crime previously, tried to grab his duty pistol during the struggle and bit him. Schrimpsher also said he collected 4.3 grams of crack tossed out by Simmons during the arrest.

Prior to his arrest, Simmons was employed as an information technology auditor and was working on contract in Seattle. His attorney, Yohannes Sium, said in court papers that Simmons was earning $90 an hour for his work when he was arrested. Simmons claimed he was simply waiting for a bus near the corner of Northeast 45^th Street and 11th Avenue Northeast when Schrimpsher accosted him.

Charged with assaulting a police officer and dealing cocaine, Simmons was convicted of the second offense and, on Sept. 21, 2007, sentenced to a year in prison. By then, he’d served more than six months in King County Jail.

Schrimpsher was fired two months later after then-King County Sheriff Sue Rahr found he and his partner lied about another University District drug arrest. At the time, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman – John Urquhart, who has since been elected sheriff – remarked that “if you lie, cheat or steal, you’re gonna get fired.”

Speaking by phone Thursday, Schrimpsher denied any wrongdoing in that arrest or any other. He said he was fired for violating the King County Sheriff’s Office dishonesty policy when asked about an internal investigation.

“To be honest with you, I’m better off,” Schrimpsher said from his Algona office.  “I’ve moved on. I’m in a happier place.”

Having served his time and probation, Simmons sued in December 2009, asking that his conviction be overturned, in part because his attorney wasn’t told of Schrimpsher’s history of dishonesty. Through the appeal, attorney Christopher Morales faulted the prosecution for failing to tell Simmons’ public defender the deputy was under investigation for lying.

“Without the information from the sheriff’s office, Mr. Simmons was reduced to asserting his word, the word of a criminal defendant, against an officer of the law,” Morales said in the 2009 action. “Had the jury been informed that the King County Sheriff’s Office also had reason to doubt Deputy Schrimpsher’s truthfulness, the case would have gone differently.”

In the most recent lawsuit, Sium said Schrimpsher was working as an evidence supervisor in Phelps County, Mo., in 2003 when it was discovered that evidence was missing in hundreds of investigations there. Schrimpsher said he left the department in 2001. 

Then a detective with the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department, Schrimpsher was alleged to have miraculously recovered evidence – a small baggie of cocaine – the day before a trial after the drugs had gone missing for nearly four years, Sium said in court papers.

Schrimpsher said his name was simply mentioned in an court case filed in Missouri, and that he was not accused of any wrongdoing related to the evidence handling. The detective said he left that department in good standing before going to work for a federal law enforcement agency.

Writing the court in 2009, Simmons said he had been searching for work without success since he was released from prison. Most employers would not consider him, or fired him after learning of his criminal conviction.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office did not admit fault but declined to fight the request for dismissal “in the interest of justice.” Superior Court Judge Greg Canova dismissed the case with prejudice in January 2010.

While the conviction has been vacated, the charges are still publicly accessible and the case has not been sealed. In statements to the court, Simmons said the mere existence of the charges – dismissed or not – has prevented him from obtaining work or stable housing.

“I can no longer utilize my skillset … to support myself any longer, and now find myself being reduced to having to sleep in the shelters and the streets of the city of Seattle,” Simmons said in court papers.

Simmons has asked to be paid in accordance with the new law, which would see him compensated for his time in prison and on probation. The state Attorney General’s Office has not yet responded to the lawsuit, which was filed late last month in King County Superior Court.

Judge dismisses former Sandy Springs cop's Facebook lawsuit

A Federal judge has dismissed a former Sandy Springs police officer’s lawsuit alleging the department wrongly fired him for posts he made on his personal Facebook page.
Orlando Concepcion admitted he posted comments about his position, including one about a drug seizure he worked on with the FBI, but maintains it was on a private page not accessible to the public.
Sandy Springs City Attorney Wendell Willard told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik the judge’s ruling upheld the city’s decision to dismiss Concepcion and found the city didn’t discriminate against Concepcion because of his ethnicity.
“The dismissal addressed specifically concerns the city had that he had, in making certain comments on his Facebook, it really endangered the lives of other officers,” said Willard.
Willard told Petchenik the decision should serve as a warning to other law enforcement officers posting on social media.
“You need to be very careful, realize when you’re using public media like that, you cannot talk about what you’re doing with your work,” Willard said.
Concepcion told Petchenik he’s “over it” and has moved on with his life since leaving the department.  Concepcion said he doesn’t plan to appeal the decision and that his lawsuit was never about money.  He said many of the commanders who handled his situation are no longer with the department.  Concepcion is now a detective with the Snellville Police Department.

MPD officer charged after claims of excessive force

MILWAUKEE - A police officer with the Milwaukee Police Department is due in court Friday after being accused of using excessive force.

Rodney Lloyd was arresting a man on June 16 when the incident occurred. According to the criminal complaint, MPD surveillance caught Lloyd bringing the man into the booking room.

"Lloyd, with a hand on [the victim's] head, forcibly drove [his] head into the concrete block wall adjacent to a bench while placing him onto the bench."

Milwaukee Police added that the recording also picked up audio of the man's head hitting the wall. Lloyd allegedly told the man he had "earlier used words to the effect that he could take Lloyd out."

Other officers immediately responded, and the man was given medical care.

Lloyd has been charged with misconduct in public office - act in excess of lawful authority. If convicted, he could spend up to three years and six months in jail.

City of Mission releases details on excessive force allegation in officer’s suspension

A Mission officer accused of excessive force and facing indefinite suspension once received commendations for his accomplishments with the U.S. Air Force.

On Sept. 13, Omar Diaz De Villegas, 29, was handed a letter from Interim Chief Robert Dominguez stating Diaz de Villegas was indefinitely suspended after an investigation into an incident in April. In the letter Dominguez states he has affidavits from officers who saw Diaz De Villegas hit a suspect on the head with his service weapon and then throw him in the back of a police vehicle.

Diaz de Villegas was born in Mission and joined the Air Force in 2005. He worked primarily as a security forces journeyman through 2009, according to documents in his personnel file.

In May 2007, he received an Air Force Commendation Medal for his achievements for transporting prisoners from August 2006 through February 2007 as part of the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron in Afghanistan.

“His security measures ensured the safe and secure transport of captured enemy combatants to an internment facility,” states a portion of the commendation, signed by Lt. Gen. Gary North of the U.S. Air Force.  

Diaz De Villegas also received an Air Force Achievement Medal in June 2009 after serving in Kuwait with the 49th Mission Support Group. The recognition states during that time Diaz De Villegas was the first on the scene when an individual had alcohol poisoning.
“His quick response and decisive actions ensured the timely arrival of medical personnel, preventing further injury and loss of life,” the certificate states.

He earned an associate degree in criminal justice through the Community College of the Air Force and was honorably discharged in 2009. Diaz De Villegas joined Mission PD in March 2011.

According to Dominguez’s letter, one Friday morning in April, Palmview Police Department called on Mission PD to assist officers in a car chase involving a stolen vehicle. Diaz De Villegas had to take evasive maneuvers, pulling off to the side of the road, after the car sped southbound on Inspiration Road off Griffin Parkway.

The officer turned around and joined the pursuit, the letter states. After another officer deployed an “interceptor spike stick,” deflating one of the stolen vehicle’s tires. The driver kept going, losing pieces of the tire along the way. By Veterans Memorial Cemetery, the vehicle was driven onto a dirt path and hit a drainage ditch.

The driver tried to run and was caught by two officers. Diaz De Villegas arrested the passenger, later identified as Omar Pina. Diaz De Villegas requested an ambulance because Pina’s head was bleeding, the letter states. Then, the officer took Pina to the Palmview Police Department.

Later, a lieutenant with Palmview PD called Mission PD and reported that Pina claimed the arresting officer used excessive force, intentionally hitting Pina on the head with the officer’s service weapon. According to the letter, a Palmview officer said he saw Diaz De Villegas hit Pina twice on the head with his service weapon. Another officer said he saw Diaz De Villegas lift Pina into the air while he was handcuffed by grabbing his arm and his crotch and throw him into the back of a patrol unit, according to Dominguez’s letter. One officer told Diaz de Villegas to put Pina down, but he did not, the letter states. It adds that video from patrol units at the scene back up their accounts.

“It is obvious that you were angry and not following appropriate professional police practices in securing and treating a prisoner,” the letter states.

Diaz De Villegas was put on suspension with pay April 19 while an investigation was conducted. The department received affidavits from other officers at the scene as well as from Pina on July 10 stating he was filing a formal complaint. On top of hitting Pina on the head with his gun, Pina added that Diaz de Villegas grabbed his genitalia and said, “This is what you get,” the letter states.

On July 17, Diaz De Villegas was interviewed. According to the letter, Diaz De Villegas said Pina was resisting arrest, moving his hands and looking back at the officer. It states Diaz De Villegas said he didn’t know if Pina had a weapon and he wanted to “Ki….(stutter).”

Diaz De Villegas also said he may have hit Pina on the head unintentionally when trying to turn him over and Pina was kicking his feet, according to the letter. It adds Diaz De Villegas said he picked Pina up by the bicep and inner thigh (possibly touching Pina’s genitals) because he did not want to give Pina a chance to headbutt or kick anyone.

Diaz De Villegas has the right to appeal the suspension under civil service law. 

Suspended officer testifies at trial

Beacon detective accused of making false burglary report

The case against a suspended City of Beacon police officer accused of lying to authorities could soon be handed to a Dutchess County Court jury.

Detective Sgt. Richard Sassi Jr. is on trial, charged with falsely reporting an incident to police, a misdemeanor. He’s accused of reporting a false burglary in process on Aug. 31, 2012, to cover up an affair he had with a police informant.

On Thursday, a mostly composed, but sometimes frustrated, Sassi offered his side of that night’s events.

He explained why he used a false name to report the alleged burglary and why he deleted the contents of his county Drug Task Force cellphone before giving it to prosecutors.

“I was concerned that giving my actual name and having that recorded may be an issue for (the informant),” Sassi said.

Sassi said he called police after the informant’s boyfriend broke into her Fishkill apartment, destroyed property and assaulted him.

“I told him he was in trouble because he had broken into the apartment and had committed a burglary,” Sassi said.

He said he restored his phone’s factory settings because he didn’t want his wife or colleagues to find his correspondence with the informant. He said he cleared it because he didn’t want whoever got the phone next to have his contacts.

“At that point, I didn’t consider it evidence,” Sassi said.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Weishaupt argued otherwise.

“You made sure the government would never know the content of that phone,” Weishaupt said.

Weishaupt said Sassi’s training as a police officer gave him insight into how to get rid of evidence on a phone. Sassi disagreed.

“I don’t recall identifying myself as an expert,” Sassi said.

Weishaupt challenged Sassi on evidence his attorney, Jonathan Lovett, provided the court. Lovett gave the court copies of screen shots Sassi took with his phone of correspondence between Sassi and the informant after the incident.

“You deleted those things that would have been adverse to what you want people to believe,” Weishaupt said.

Weishaupt used phone records to show Sassi had deleted messages in between the ones he provided as evidence.

The trial is expected to continue today.

Revere Police Officer Suspended And Demoted After I-Team Investigation

REVERE (CBS) – A Revere Police sergeant has been suspended and demoted as the result of a WBZ-TV I-Team investigation. The I-Team tracked Sgt. Jeffrey Langone over a period of six months and discovered he was routinely hiding out  at his parents’ home during his overnight shift. The report prompted an internal investigation.
On Friday, Chief Joseph Cafarelli told WBZ-TV’s Karen Anderson that Sgt. Langone has been suspended for 30 days without pay and reduced from Sgt. to patrolman.Chief Cafarelli previously said he would be installing GPS units in all of the police epartment’s cruisers and would conduct mileage checks after every shift.

Allegedly Drunk Off-Duty Cop Kills Pedestrian In Staten Island Hit-And-Run

An off-duty police officer assigned to the 121st Precinct on Staten Island is in police custody after fatally running over a man in the Mariners Harbor section of Staten Island. The pedestrian, identified only as a 51-year-old male, was crossing Richmond Terrace on his way to work at approximately 6:15 a.m. when the off-duty officer ran him over with his SUV. An NYPD spokesman says the victim was pronounced DOA at Richmond University Medical Center.
The NYPD has not officially announced any charges against the officer, but multiple media outlets report that he's being charged with driving while intoxicated. According to ABC 7, the driver left the scene but later returned and was taken into custody.
Sources tell NY1 the officer has been with the department since 2005 and finished his shift Thursday around 6 p.m. Judging by the damage to the SUV, it's inconceivable the cop didn't notice he hit someone before speeding away.
Update 5:34 p.m.: The NYPD has issued a statement announcing the arrest of NYPD officer Joseph McClean, 29. He's been charged with Vehicular Manslaughter, DWI, and DWAI.

Idiot cops shoots himself

Morehead City Police Officer Garrett Hardin was accidentally shot by a fellow officer during training.

A police officer who was shot in the sternum while training outside the department Wednesday morning remained in a medically induced coma at Vidant Medical Center Thursday afternoon, hospital officials and the victim's family confirmed.

A fellow officer fired a bullet Wednesday during a training exercise that shattered 22-year-old Garrett Hardin's sternum and ruptured three lobes of his lung, said Lee Anne Flanagan, Hardin's aunt.

Flanagan's words were subdued as she recalled the doctors' decision to induce Hardin's coma to preserve his health. Hardin underwent extensive surgery Wednesday, she said, to remove bullet and bone fragment-riddled tissue scattered in his right lung. But she was uncertain how much tissue had to be removed.

"He has to be very still right now," she said, adding that he will be in a coma for a few days.

Thursday afternoon, the family remained optimistic.

"Infection is our biggest fear right now," she said.

Flanagan said it is her understanding that the training exercise was not intended to accompany ammo and the shooting, which occurred in the parking lot of the police department, stemmed from an uncleared weapon's chamber.

"It's that tragic, that simple," she said, adding that no final conclusions would be made until the SBI finished its investigation.

Flanagan said the officer who accidentally shot her nephew visited Hardin Wednesday night, and they are close friends.

"He was devastated," she said, stating that Hardin's mom and the whole family has an "enormous amount of empathy" for him.

Flanagan said her nephew, who will turn 23 on Nov. 10, has been on the Morehead City Police Department, his first job, for about two years.

"As long as I've known, he's always wanted to be a police officer," Flanagan said.

She said he trained for the job in Greenville and was offered a job in Havelock, his hometown, and Morehead City.

She said he chose Morehead City because wherever he goes in Havelock he always has people calling out his name, and he thought it would be easier to work as an officer somewhere where he didn't know everyone.

"He's such a great kid," she said, mentioning that he is engaged to be married in May. "He has a lot to live for. He's young. He's strong. He's completely healthy except for that bullet damage."

Flanagan told The Daily News that Morehead City Police Department has been supportive of the family since the shooting. She said they set up a hotel for the family to get rest and take showers after keeping vigil at the hospital in Greenville; they set up a cot in Hardin's hospital room for his mother to keep watch.

She said officers are keeping a constant presence at the hospital to do anything they can for the family.

"The fraternal order of police, that's what they do," she said.

Noelle Talley, spokesperson for the N.C. Department of Justice, said the MCPD and the District Attorney requested the SBI investigate the incident and that Thursday afternoon the investigation was still ongoing, and the SBI was consulting with the District Attorney.

MCPD Chief Wrenn Johnson said in a Thursday press release that all commentary and details would be "deferred dependent on the resolution of the NC SBI investigation and or a change in the condition of Officer Hardin."

The basic procedure for all SBI investigations is for agents to gather facts and then share them with District Attorney who will then determine if any charges will be filed, according to Talley.

SBI has statewide jurisdiction and does its own independent investigation but in a case such as this, Talley said the SBI had to be asked to do the investigation. As far as Talley knows, the SBI is the sole investigating agency.

Palm Beach Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested For False Claim of Assault

Palm Beach County Sheriff‘s Deputy John Biagiotti was arrested for claiming he was assaulted in a nightclub when the establishment’s video surveillance showed that Biagiotti was the aggressor.

K-9 PBSO Deputy John Biagiotti, arrested for lying on an arrest report

Biagiotti, 51, was charged with a felony count of filing a false report of a crime and official misconduct last night.

The K-9 deputy paid his $3,000-bond and was released. He was also suspended from the job.

The incident occurred about 4 a.m. on July 14 as Biagiotti worked off-duty security at the Rumbass International nightclub on North Military Trail in West Palm Beach.

Biagiotti claimed he was assisting bouncers in ejecting patronJonathan Guevara from the club when Guevara started allegedly bumping the deputy with his chest.

Biagiotti tried to cuff Guevara, 27, but both fell to the ground. At that point, Biagiotti said he hit Guevera in the head with his fist until he stopped resisting.

Guevara was charged with two felonies, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.

Shortly after Guevara was released, however, he filed an Internal Affairs complaint against Biagiotti, who also moonlights as a salesman at Harley Davidson of Palm Beach,

IA sleuths viewed the nightclub’s video surveillance system, and here’s what they saw, according to their report:

“Guevara did not bump Biagiotti in the chest at any time,” the report reads. “He was not being aggressive and his hands were open with the palms facing Biagiotti when Biagiotti pushed him . . . Biagiotti slipped, causing Guevara to fall on top of him . . .  Guevara’s hands were still open when he was punched in the eye.”

The charges against Guevara were dropped a week later.

Glens Falls police officer charged with aggravated battery

A Glens Falls Police officer has been arrested in Georgia, where he was on military duty.Richard Llewellyn is accused of injuring a female acquaintance.Llewellyn now faces a felony charge of aggravated battery.He has been with the Glens Falls Police Department for about two years.Before that, he worked as an officer in Mechanicville.

Rio Hondo cop left pager at burglary scene, arrested in Houston

RIO HONDO — A police officer was arrested for stealing tools after a botched burglary in which he dropped a police pager at the crime scene, the sheriff said Friday.

Officer Ernesto Yañez, 26, was identified as a suspect in the Sept. 27 burglary of tools from a construction site at a residence near Rio Hondo, Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said Friday.

Yañez resigned from the police department on Oct. 1, and was taken into custody Friday in Houston, Lucio said. Yañez was expected to be returned to Cameron County.

A second suspect, 22-year-old Manuel Manzanares, also was charged in connection with the burglary, authorities said.

Both men are believed to reside in the Rio Grande Valley.

“Anytime that a law enforcement officer is involved in criminal activity, it is a black eye to law enforcement,” Lucio said. “Like everything else, you have bad attorneys, bad doctors, bad teachers; people we feel are pillars of the community, bankers and what have you.

“We wish that were not the case because it is a very honorable profession. There are a lot of outstanding officers in the cities and counties and throughout the state and the United States, but you will always find some bad apples,” the sheriff added.

Lucio said that Yañez had tried to give himself a cover story after he realized he had lost his pager.

The sheriff said Yañez called the homeowner at about 2 a.m. on Sept. 28. When the homeowner did not answer the telephone, Yañez left a message that he had been patrolling the area, had seen the gate to the property open and had walked inside to check, Lucio said.

“Apparently he was trying to cover his tracks,” Lucio said.

Subsequently, the Sheriff’s Department was called to the Rio Hondo Police Department, Lucio said, because Yañez had said that he had arrested Manzanares, a suspect who allegedly committed the burglary.

Manzanares was arrested, with bond set at $5,000.

Manzanares later accused Yañez, saying that he had been riding with Yañez in the police car, and that both had been involved in the burglary.

Yañez, after he resigned, went to Houston. An arrest warrant was issued for him.

The tools belonged to Gene Diaz, a retired U.S. Marshal, who was doing the construction work for the Glatz family. Diaz noticed the gate to the property open when he arrived for work, and realized that some of the tools had been taken, the sheriff said.

Diaz found the pager.

Lucio said the tools that had been taken from the property in the police unit had been recovered.

Rio Hondo Police Chief Weldon Matlock declined comment except to say Yañez had not been a full-time police officer and had resigned.

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, the state’s peace officer licensing agency, said Friday that Yañez had been a police officer in Port Isabel from 2009 through the spring of 2012.

Police Chief Wally Gonzalez was not available to comment on why Yañez left the police force last year.

Yañez then held a dual commission as a reserve deputy Cameron County constable in 2012, which overlapped for a few months with service as a reserve officer in Rio Hondo.

Public records show that Manzanares was charged in Cameron County with evading arrest and possession of marijuana in October 2009. The marijuana charge was dismissed and he was given deferred adjudication on the evading arrest charge after pleading guilty in February 2010. His 16-month sentence was probated, but his probation was revoked and he was to serve 90 days in jail in 2011, the public record shows.

Fla. Sheriff's Deputy Allegedly Attacks Police Officer

An Osceola deputy was arrested and suspended after she was accused of punching a St. Cloud police officer who was at a park with the deputy's husband.

Deputy Edeania Nettles, 39, was arrested on a charge of battery on a law-enforcement officer. She could be fired depending on the results of an internal investigation, sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain said.

Nettles reached through the window of Officer Jennifer Hoyos' patrol car and punched the side of her face. She then yanked Hoyos, 26, from the car, an arrest report states.

The women grappled while Nettles' husband, St. Cloud police Sgt. Elbert John Nettles, 36, tried to separate them, according to the report.

The confrontation happened about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday at Ted Broda Memorial Park at 4499 Michigan Ave. in St. Cloud. Hoyos had a skinned knee, bloody lips, a clump of hair pulled out and scratches on her neck, investigators wrote.

Hoyos, 26, was on duty, said St. Cloud police spokeswoman Officer Diara Wesler. The report does not say why John Nettles was present, and Wesler would not comment other than to say he is not her supervisor and the matter is personal.

Court records show that Hoyos on Thursday requested a stalking injunction against Edeania Nettles. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16.

Edeania Nettles worked for the Sheriff's Office for a decade, left in 2012 and returned in April.

Her husband was in the news in June 2011 when he was one of two St. Cloud officers who shot a woman dead when they responded to a dispute between roommates.

John Nettles, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, received a written reprimanded in 2012 after he accidentally shot off half of another officer's right middle finger during a drug raid.