Dunk and drugged up cops Officer
Charged in DUI Hit-and-Run: Sources
A Philadelphia police officer
was arrested after she allegedly struck several vehicles with her car and then
fled the scene while she was under the influence.
Law enforcement sources told
NBC10 that June Nowell, an 18th District Police officer, struck several parked
cars early Friday morning in Northeast Philadelphia. Nowell then allegedly fled
the scene in her vehicle.
Sources say a witness directed
responding officers towards Nowell and she was arrested a short time later.
Nowell was off-duty and was not
using a police vehicle at the time of the crash, according to sources. Sources
also say she was charged with DUI.
Philadelphia Police confirmed
that an officer was arrested for DUI though they did not confirm whether or not
it was Nowell.
“The officer has been taken off
the street and relieved of police powers pending the outcome of the case,” said
Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Stanford. “There were no injuries involved
in this incident.”
Dunk and drugged up cops Cop
Crashed Into Sober Woman, Broke Her Neck, Arrested Her For Drunk Driving
A sheriff’s deputy rolled
through a stop sign and crashed into another driver — 25-year-old Tanya Weyker
— breaking her neck in four places.
Unbelievably, police arrested
Weyker for drunk driving — even though she was sober, and even though they soon
obtained surveillance video proving the deputy was at fault.
It took a year for Weyker to
definitively clear her name, and she still hasn’t been reimbursed by the county
for damages to her vehicle and medical expenses, according to FOX 40.
Joseph Quiles, a Milwaukee
County, Wisconsin, sheriff’s deputy, caused the accident at night in February
of 2013, when he rolled through a stop sign, T-boning Weyker.
Quiles was soon joined by
another officer at the crash scene. Weyker was injured so badly that it was
impossible for officers to administer a field sobriety test. She told the
officers that she had consumed a few sips of alcohol from a friend’s cup, and
was previously taking medication after having her wisdom teeth removed. The
officers considered this to be enough information to charge her with drunk
driving.
In Quiles’ report, he claimed
that he stopped at the sign, and the accident was Weyker’s fault.
Within two days, authorities
received video proof that the crash had been Quiles fault. They did not drop
the charges, however. The county even wrote letters to Weyker demanding that
she pay for all the damages to both cars.
Five months later, test results
proved that Weyker was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time
of the arrest. Still, it took another five months for prosecutors to drop the
charges against her. Luckily for Weyker, Quiles eventually contradicted his
original statements and indicated that he was at fault for the crash. He was
suspended for nine days because he damaged county equipment, but was never
disciplined for giving a false statement.
Quiles was on medical leave for
months following the crash, and has applied for permanent medical leave. While
he is no longer on duty, it’s unclear whether the county will continue to pay
him.
Weyker — a cancer survivor with
a spotless driving record — may have been vindicated, but she hasn’t yet been
repaid for all she suffered. A planned lawsuit against the officer who arrested
her may change that, however.
“Lots of people are too afraid
to stick up for themselves against someone in such high power,” she said in a
statement.
Dunk and drugged up cops Mountlake
Terrace officer fired for drunken driving
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. (AP) -
A Mountlake Terrace police commander has been fired following a January arrest
for drunken driving.
The Everett Herald reports
Friday that 50-year-old Don Duncan was an 18-year veteran of the city's police
department. He was arrested on Jan. 31 on suspicion of drunken driving after a
state trooper noticed his car crossing the center line and that his headlights
weren't on. Duncan pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge and the case is pending
trial.
However, authorities say Duncan
attempted to talk himself out of being arrested and accused the trooper of
being untruthful.
In the 14-page termination
letter sent Thursday, Mountlake Terrace city administrator Arlene Fisher wrote
that Duncan's behavior showed "a complete absence of judgment" and
reflected poorly on the police department.
Duncan says the city's internal
investigation was flawed.
Dunk and drugged up cops Baltimore
cop pleads to DUI, endangerment
With BAC of 0.276 and his kids
in the car, his plea agreement calls for house arrest, probation
By Rick Lee
In a negotiated plea agreement,
Baltimore City Police Officer Shawn Byron Johnson has pleaded guilty in York
County court to driving under the influence and two counts of endangering the
welfare of children.
Northern York County Regional
Police said that at 9:26 p.m. on March 24, 2013, they responded to the 1400
block of Detwiler Drive, where they found Johnson, now 41, standing by his gray
2008 Honda Accord.
The Honda sustained severe
front-end damage after crashing into a Hyundai sedan and a large brick pillar.
Police found Johnson's
children, who were not injured, in the back seat of his car. His ex-wife came
to the scene and picked the children up, documents state.
Johnson's blood-alcohol level
was 0.276 percent, documents state; the legal limit for driving in Pennsylvania
is 0.08 percent.
Johnson's attorney, Chris
Ferro, said his client's negotiated plea agreement calls for a sentence of
three days on house arrest, 10 days wearing an alcohol monitoring bracelet and
two years on probation.
Following his arrest, Johnson's
wife reportedly told police that "she and Johnson ate dinner, and he drank
three small mixed drinks at her house before taking the children and traveling
home," documents state. She told police she didn't think Johnson was drunk
or intoxicated.
Ferro said Friday that Johnson,
of the 1400 block of Monroe Street, West York, had gastric bypass surgery
before his arrest and that "medical research shows that significantly
enhances (blood alcohol levels.)"
"My client said he drank
moderately," Ferro explained. "But the law doesn't consider medical
explanations. If you're above, you're above."
Ferro said the status of
Johnson's employment likely will not be determined until after his Nov. 26
sentencing.
Dunk and drugged up cops: Portland
cop pleads guilty to criminal mischief
PORTLAND -- An off-duty
Portland police officer arrested for vandalizing his neighbor's vehicle pleaded
guilty to criminal mischief during a plea hearing Friday.
Homero Reynaga, 41, was
arrested Dec. 31 by Tualatin police on charges of criminal mischief in the
second degree and booked into Clackamas County Jail.
The incident wasn't Reynaga's
first arrest. In July 2011, he was taken into custody for hitting another
vehicle and being intoxicated.
Reynaga is scheduled to be
sentenced May 23. He was a 15-year-veteran of the Portland Police Bureau.
Ex-Concord cop pleads no
contest to stealing drugs
By Gary Peterson
MARTINEZ -- A Concord K-9
police officer who resigned after being arrested and charged with stealing
prescription drugs from the elderly pleaded no contest to five counts in Contra
Costa Superior Court on Friday and received a sentence of 2½ years.
As part of the plea agreement,
Matthew Switzer will spend six months in County Jail, with the other two years
of his sentence suspended pending his successful completion of a licensed,
secure residential drug-treatment program.
"This negotiation gives
him a fighting chance to beat his addiction," said Harry Stern, Switzer's
attorney, after the hearing in Judge Bruce C. Mills' courtroom.
"This gets the point
across that what he did was wrong, and that being a police officer did not
place him above the law," said deputy district attorney Barry Grove.
"The ball's in his court now. He's getting the help he needs."
Switzer, a 12-year veteran of
the department, was arrested after Concord police were tipped off that he was
stealing drugs from residents of a seniors complex. He was charged with two
counts of first-degree burglary, one count of second-degree burglary, one count
of fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs and one count of elder abuse. He
was held on $480,000 bail.
Stern, shortly after Switzer
was arrested, said the "well-respected" officer became addicted to
painkillers after an on-the-job injury. Grove said Switzer used his status as a
police officer, sometimes with the aid of his dog, to steal prescription drugs
to feed his addiction.
For most of Friday's hearing,
Switzer stood quietly in a prisoner enclosure. When the hearing was complete,
he made a spontaneous statement.
"I apologize to the
court," he said, "and especially to the victims, my family and my
relatives."
"I'm extremely proud of
him," said Stern, whose firm specializes in representing peace officers.
"This is a bold, courageous step toward beating his addiction. I'm
confident he's going to win."
Grove, who said after Switzer's
second hearing that "I absolutely hate having to" prosecute a police
officer, seemed to feel empathy for the former officer.
"It's no easy thing having
felony strikes on your record,"Grove said. "And it's not an easy
thing being a peace officer serving time in County Jail."
Edgewood officer on
drugs at time of fatal crash
Anderson — Prosecutors say blood tests have
found an off-duty central Indiana police officer was under the influence of an
anti-anxiety drug and a painkiller when his SUV plowed into a car, killing a
man and injuring his pregnant wife.
Suspended Edgewood Officer
James Foutch faces driving while intoxicated causing death and other charges
from the April 6 crash that killed 23-year-old Jesse Sperry. His wife,
22-year-old Rebecca Sperry, gave birth to a daughter later that day at an
Indianapolis hospital.
The Herald Bulletin reports
Madison County court documents filed Monday show Foutch's blood tested positive
for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the painkiller hydrocodone.
Foutch doesn't have a published
telephone number and court records don't list a defense attorney. His initial
court hearing is scheduled for May 19.
