Man accidentally shot by Palm Springs police settles for $125K
Man accidentally shot by D.C. police while getting haircut didn’t receive apology
Sandusky officer accidentally shoots self after slipping on ice
Charges dropped against suspects in blue-on-blue shooting
Man accidentally shot by Palm Springs police
settles for $125K
Benjamin
Meza was shot in leg while walking dog in Warm Sands neighborhood in 2013
Patrick
Edgell, Digital Content Director, patrick.edgell@kesq.com
According
to City Attorney Doug Holland, the city has been working on the settlement deal
with Benjamin Meza since November of 2014.
Holland
said Meza was an innocent bystander who was accidentally shot by police while walking
his dog in the Warm Sands neighborhood. Officers were in a gunfight with a
burglary suspect when Meza was hit in the leg by a stray bullet.
The
accidental shooting happened in the 600 block of S. Camino Real around 10:30
p.m.
The
settlement was for $125,000 and Holland said even with the settlement,
officials claim the officers acted appropriately.
The
burglary suspect was identified as Juan Villanueva Lopez Jr.
The
Palm Springs Police Department caught up with him later that night in Cathedral
City where a standoff occurred well into the morning. Villanueva Lopez Jr.
finally surrendered to police and was arrested around 11 a.m. the next day.
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE
COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR
Boycott the following
companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games
Apple Federal Credit Union,
LMI,
Noblis,
B.F. Saul Company,
Galls LLC,
Sage Communications,
Macerich,
Glory Days Grill,
Reston Limousine,
City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,
NOVA Media Services,
Clyde’s Restaurant Group,
Level3 Communications,
Verizon
Globe, Dewberry,
IMC, ESPN 980,
Serco,
Loudoun County,
Grant Thornton,
Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and
Booz Allen Hamilton.
Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the
Fairfax County Police? Then fire the
people who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of
office. He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.
Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their
careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You
don’t matter.
Register to vote, form a political action committee. Run a
candidate. Take back your government.
Man accidentally shot by D.C. police while
getting haircut didn’t receive apology
By
Sam Ford
WASHINGTON
(WJLA) – A man accidentally shot by D.C. police three weeks ago—the day before
a job interview—says he is in nearly constant pain and can’t sleep longer than
three hours at a time. He also says he has heard nothing from police, not even
an apology.
“I jumped out the chair, I tried to run, but
my leg locked up on me and I fell on the ground,” said 22-year-old James
Kearse, recalling the moment he got shot while getting his hair cut at a barber
shop on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
Police
shot at a man suspected of armed robbery who dropped a pellet gun. They missed
and the stray bullet struck Kearse in his right hip. The bullet remains lodged
in his pelvis.
“Waves
of pain, waves of pain,” he said.
The
barbers at Next Level Cuts were furious.
“It
was reckless on the police behalf,” said barber Keith Pruden. “Children visit
this shop all the time to get their hair cut.”
Kearse’s
problem with the police is that he has heard nothing from them since the
accidental shooting.
“Nothin’,
nothin’ at all,” he said. “They didn’t call, they didn’t send a card, they
didn’t do nothin’. At all.”
Kearse
said he later heard that the officer who shot him rendered aid until the
ambulance arrived. He said another officer questioned him briefly at the
hospital, but did not apologize.
“I
thought I’d [have] heard from them the same day or the day after, that
week—somethin’,” Kearse said.
Kearse
was getting his hair cut for a job interview that’s now gone.
“I
think it took about two months to get that interview and when I got it, this
happened,” he said.
Now,
Kearse spends a lot of time with his 11-year-old dog, Midnight.
“I
just wish it ain’t happen,” he said.
ABC
7 News sought reaction from Metropolitan Police.
Chief
Cathy Lanier said, “[Kearse] is absolutely right. I should have called,” adding
that she would soon call him to apologize.
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE
COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR
Boycott the following
companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games
Apple Federal Credit Union,
LMI,
Noblis,
B.F. Saul Company,
Galls LLC,
Sage Communications,
Macerich,
Glory Days Grill,
Reston Limousine,
City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,
NOVA Media Services,
Clyde’s Restaurant Group,
Level3 Communications,
Verizon
Globe, Dewberry,
IMC, ESPN 980,
Serco,
Loudoun County,
Grant Thornton,
Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and
Booz Allen Hamilton.
Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the
Fairfax County Police? Then fire the
people who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of
office. He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.
Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their
careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You
don’t matter.
Register to vote, form a political action committee. Run a
candidate. Take back your government.
Sandusky officer accidentally shoots self
after slipping on ice
The
bullet just grazed Detective Lester Peters' hip, leaving him with relatively
minor injuries
Courtney
Astolfi
A
Sandusky police officer narrowly avoided serious injury Thursday night after he
slipped on ice and accidentally shot himself during the execution of a search
warrant.
Detective
Lester Peters, a Sandusky officer since 2006, was sent to Firelands Regional
Medical Center after a bullet grazed his right hip. Officials said the bullet
did not penetrate Peters' skin, instead leaving behind relatively minor
abrasions.
Peters
and four other officers were outside a home in the 800 block of Third Street
just before 9 p.m. Thursday, preparing to execute a drug search warrant against
Salei Harris, 28, according to Sandusky police Sgt. Dana Newell.
Peters
was at the forefront of the group as they approached the house. He had his
weapon unholstered and angled down toward the ground — an appropriate way to
hold the gun in this kind of situation, Newell said.
But
despite Peters carrying his weapon properly, the detective slipped on some ice,
his arm jerked up and his finger depressed the trigger.
“Luckily
the type of holster he was wearing and his duty belt took the impact of the
bullet,” Newell said.
The
bullet ultimately struck a screw on the holster, then ricocheted into Peters'
leather belt, coming to a rest between his body and the belt, alongside his
hip.
“The
other officers were close to him and they all heard the shot — then it was a
question of whether they were being shot at. At first they were readying for
cover, then they saw Lester start staggering,” Newell said.
Following
protocol, one officer took Peters off to the side and began tending to him,
while the other three officers continued on with the execution of the warrant,
Newell said.
The
two people inside the home at the time — Harris and a second man — also heard
the shot. Due to the brief delay after Peters' gun went off, they likely had
more time to react to officers' presence and the impending search than they
would have otherwise.
When
the three officers went to enter the home, the second resident met them at the
door and let them in.
Police
searched and cleared the bottom floor, then found Harris standing at the top of
a staircase. He complied with officers' orders, walked downstairs and gave
himself up.
In
an upstairs bedroom, officers found a loaded .40-caliber gun sitting on the bed
and a box of ammunition nearby.
When
asked if it appeared Harris readied his weapon in response to hearing the
gunshot outside, Newell replied:
“That
would be speculation, but I would say his firearm was very accessible to him.”
A
small amount of heroin and marijuana, along with $1,900 cash and a digital
scale was found in the residence.
Harris
was later charged with heroin and marijuana possession, weapons under
disability and criminal tools. He was held in the Erie County jail on a $30,000
bond, but posted it Friday and was released from custody.
Peters,
meanwhile, was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and
released shortly thereafter.
It
does not appear the detective violated any departmental rules during the
incident, officials said.
“When
(a gun) goes off, that's an alarming thing. It was alarming to the officers, so
I'm sure it was alarming to the people in the house and possibly to some of the
people living around there,” Newell said. “But it was an accident. We've been
trained over and over on the positioning (of our) guns. Because (the bullet)
went downward, that lets us know he was entering (the home) properly with his
firearm.”
Newell
said the accidental gunshot did not compromise the safety of the search warrant
execution.
“Safety
for the public and ourselves is a priority and that's why we train — so that
when we do bring that gun out of our holster, we hold it (properly). At the
time he slipped, he was not pointing the gun at anybody because he wasn't
engaging anybody, and that's why the bullet didn't go off in (a sporadic
direction)” Newell said.
Peters
will be medically cleared in the coming days, and is expected to return to work
early next week.
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE
COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR
Boycott the following
companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games
Apple Federal Credit Union,
LMI,
Noblis,
B.F. Saul Company,
Galls LLC,
Sage Communications,
Macerich,
Glory Days Grill,
Reston Limousine,
City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,
NOVA Media Services,
Clyde’s Restaurant Group,
Level3 Communications,
Verizon
Globe, Dewberry,
IMC, ESPN 980,
Serco,
Loudoun County,
Grant Thornton,
Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and
Booz Allen Hamilton.
Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the
Fairfax County Police? Then fire the people
who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of office.
He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.
Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their
careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t
matter.
Register to vote, form a political action committee. Run a
candidate. Take back your government.
Charges dropped against suspects in
blue-on-blue shooting
Edmond
Vester and Damien Bailey were in the same car when an Albuquerque police
officer accidentally shot fellow officer Jacob Grant during a sting.
Detective
Holly Garcia and Grant were both in the car and both undercover during the
sting. They were attempting to buy drugs, and at one point one of the suspects
pulled out a realistic pellet gun.
That
forced Grant to break cover and pull out his own gun, identifying himself as a
cop.
That’s
when Lt. Jeff Brachel accidentally shot Grant.
Vester
and Bailey faced drug charges, but now those charges have been dropped because
of a technicality. The District Attorney’s Office said Albuquerque police asked
them to postpone prosecution against Vester and Bailey until the witnessing
officers are in a better state to assist in the case.
Grant
remains in critical condition and Garcia is on paid administrative leave
because of injuries sustained during the incident. That means neither can
testify in front of a grand jury for the case against Vester and Bailey to move
forward.
Police
said the charges were dropped to protect the suspects' constitutional rights,
but they can be refiled down the road.
According
to online inmate records, Bailey is still locked up at the Metropolitan
Detention Center, but Vester has been released.
Vester
is believed to be homeless. Police said it’s not uncommon for them to have to
locate suspects who are homeless. They said they do that from time to time and
feel they’ll be able to find Vester when charges are refiled.
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE
COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR
Boycott the following
companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games
Apple Federal Credit Union,
LMI,
Noblis,
B.F. Saul Company,
Galls LLC,
Sage Communications,
Macerich,
Glory Days Grill,
Reston Limousine,
City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,
NOVA Media Services,
Clyde’s Restaurant Group,
Level3 Communications,
Verizon
Globe, Dewberry,
IMC, ESPN 980,
Serco,
Loudoun County,
Grant Thornton,
Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and
Booz Allen Hamilton.
Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the
Fairfax County Police? Then fire the
people who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of
office. He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.
Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their
careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You
don’t matter.
Register to vote, form a political action committee. Run a
candidate. Take back your government.
