“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”
Newark NJ cop fired for threatening FedEx driver after missing delivery, officials say he had “too many strikes” [0] bit.ly/zBwKCr
Fullerton CA sued by towing company claiming police have been harassing, falsely detaining & citing their drivers [3] bit.ly/wE7auM
Detroit MI cop still on duty after neighbors say she fired gun 2x during DV incident, cop says she tripped [3] bit.ly/Av7Unr
The Fairfax County Police Officer Jeffrey Hand Award for Creative Income Production. Fairfax County Police. Police Brutality
Houston TX cop convicted on corruption charges for providing escort to agents posing as drug runners [0] bit.ly/yv85Qa
Film the police whenever you can for any reason
Pinellas Co FL deputy investigated after breaking copwatcher’s camera & arresting him for filming police [3] on.wtsp.com/xzRd3W
Sexual assault charges against your local police
This weeks child molestation charges against your police...where is the Justice Department?
Haskell TX police sued by 2 woman & a juvenile claiming drug planting cop ordered their illegal strip search [3] bit.ly/ArbY02
Rockdale Co GA deputy investigated for alleged inappropriate relaitionship w/student as school resource officer [0] bit.ly/zm7mpe
Reading PA cop charged on allegations he helped two men set up a sex trafficking ring including girls under 18 [0] http://bit.ly/xjzTmu
The officer Christian Chamberlain Award for “Fuck you, I’ll get away with it anyway” Fairfax County police . Police brutality
Charleston Co SC deputies shown beating chase suspect & petting k9 as it attacked him, sheriff admits slapping him [1] bit.ly/yyK4D4
Norfolk VA offers to settle after sued by woman beaten by cops who thought she was stealing her own car [0] bit.ly/zBEBPw
DeKalb Co GA cop w/history of 30 infractions suspended 10 hours for using excessive force during false arrest [1] bit.ly/zW6c6T
Denver CO cop suspended 4 days for slamming cuffed shoplifting suspect face-first into wall & floor on video [0] on9news.tv/wrgVnX
Cleveland OH police sued by gay couple claiming cops beat them then told them “faggots don’t deserve pants in jail” [3] bit.ly/AEnIZJ
Fairfax County Police Officer Larry A. Jackson award for false arrest. Fairfax County Police. Police brutality
San Francisco CA police sued by man who spent 18yrs in prison after wrongfully convicted on false testimony [3] bit.ly/xMGCAn
Bayonne NJ cop loses $91k jury decision to woman who sued claiming he used excessive force & falsely arrested her [3] bit.ly/w0W9UAMurder by your local police...where the hell is the Justice Department?
New York NY police fatally shoot unarmed teen in front of family in apt after chase over suspected pot possession [1] bit.ly/zF4fIi
Calumet City IL police investigated after fatally shooting 15yr-old autistic kid who threatened them w/butterknife [0] cbsloc.al/wNenWJ
Bella Vista AR police lose $20k jury judgment to family of man fatally shot after chase, cop pled to neg homicide [0] bit.ly/yr4oP7
Tennessee trooper sued for leaving the scene & leaving man to die after car he chased crashed then caught fire [3] bit.ly/zS5pn5
Police brutality claim still under investigation
POWDER SPRINGS — Months after a driver says he was Tased twice by Powder Springs police officers during a traffic stop, two separate investigations are still going on.
The city council of Powder Springs, meanwhile, rejected a settlement request for half a million dollars from the driver, Brice Wilson, 23.
According to Wilson’s attorney, he was stopped last June 1 by Powder Springs Police Lt. Vernon Bailey and Sgt. Keith Moore because his license plate light didn’t work. Police say Wilson later resisted arrest after one of the officers said he smelled like marijuana.
He is represented by lawyer James Howard of Tucker.
In a November letter to the city, Howard said the officers put Wilson in a choke hold, groped his crotch and slammed him to the ground, and that Bailey twice used a Taser on Wilson, including once when he was already in handcuffs.
Wilson is a college graduate and Delta Air Lines employee with no prior criminal record, Howard said. The lawyer said that continued criminal prosecution could threaten Wilson’s future job prospects, while the repeated Taser use threatened Wilson’s heart and life due to a congenital heart condition.
In a phone interview, Howard said he did not expect the City Council to immediately approve a settlement.
“This case isn’t really about compensation. It’s about making sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said. “So far, nobody (in Powder Springs government) has indicated the officers did anything wrong.”
Sewell, who became chief on Aug. 1, said he could not discuss the case while an internal affairs investigation is ongoing. The investigation is one of two taking place, because Sewell has asked Cobb County Police to investigate it as well.
Cobb Police Sgt. Dana Pierce said his agency is investigating any wrongdoing, on either the part of the officers or Wilson.
“We’re not going to leave out something the suspect did or didn’t do, and the same thing with the officers,” Pierce said.
Lt. Bailey resigned Aug. 3 after an unrelated incident in which he was accused of taking a pellet gun from a scene where police were looking for suspects after a mobile home fire. Sgt. Moore, who pulled Wilson over, remains on the force.
The city council of Powder Springs, meanwhile, rejected a settlement request for half a million dollars from the driver, Brice Wilson, 23.
According to Wilson’s attorney, he was stopped last June 1 by Powder Springs Police Lt. Vernon Bailey and Sgt. Keith Moore because his license plate light didn’t work. Police say Wilson later resisted arrest after one of the officers said he smelled like marijuana.
He is represented by lawyer James Howard of Tucker.
In a November letter to the city, Howard said the officers put Wilson in a choke hold, groped his crotch and slammed him to the ground, and that Bailey twice used a Taser on Wilson, including once when he was already in handcuffs.
Wilson is a college graduate and Delta Air Lines employee with no prior criminal record, Howard said. The lawyer said that continued criminal prosecution could threaten Wilson’s future job prospects, while the repeated Taser use threatened Wilson’s heart and life due to a congenital heart condition.
In a phone interview, Howard said he did not expect the City Council to immediately approve a settlement.
“This case isn’t really about compensation. It’s about making sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said. “So far, nobody (in Powder Springs government) has indicated the officers did anything wrong.”
Sewell, who became chief on Aug. 1, said he could not discuss the case while an internal affairs investigation is ongoing. The investigation is one of two taking place, because Sewell has asked Cobb County Police to investigate it as well.
Cobb Police Sgt. Dana Pierce said his agency is investigating any wrongdoing, on either the part of the officers or Wilson.
“We’re not going to leave out something the suspect did or didn’t do, and the same thing with the officers,” Pierce said.
Lt. Bailey resigned Aug. 3 after an unrelated incident in which he was accused of taking a pellet gun from a scene where police were looking for suspects after a mobile home fire. Sgt. Moore, who pulled Wilson over, remains on the force.
Law enforcement websites under attack by hackers
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ Saboteurs have hacked into the websites of several law enforcement agencies worldwide in attacks attributed to the collective called Anonymous, including in Boston and in Salt Lake City, where police say personal information of confidential informants and tipsters was accessed.
The Utah hackers gained access this week to sensitive data, including citizen complaints about drug crimes, including phone numbers, addresses and other personal information, police said.
“We’re still knee deep in trying to get a feel for the extent of the problem,” Salt Lake City police Detective Dennis McGowan said.
The group claimed responsibility for an attack on the website of a Virginia law firm for a U.S. Marine convicted in a deadly 2005 attack in Haditha, Iraq.
The attacks come after Anonymous published a recording of a phone call between the FBI and Scotland Yard early Wednesday, gloating in a Twitter message that “the FBI might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now.”
In Greece, the Justice Ministry took down its site Friday after a video by activists claiming to be Greek and Cypriot members of Anonymous was displayed for at least two hours.
In Boston, a message posted on the police website Friday said, “Anonymous hacks Boston Police website in retaliation for police brutality at OWS,” apparently a reference to the Occupy Wall Street movement. A police spokesman would not confirm Anonymous was responsible.
In a message posted on the Boston police department’s website, the group said that the site had been attacked several months ago and that hundreds of passwords were released in retaliation for what they called brutality against Occupy Boston.
In October, Boston police acknowledged that various websites used by members of the police department _ including the website belonging to the police patrolmen’s association _ had been hacked and possibly compromised. The department said it had asked all department personnel to change their passwords on the police department’s network.
Boston’s Occupy movement set up camp in the city’s financial district for two months this fall. The first hack came about 10 days after Boston police arrested 141 Occupy Boston demonstrators on Oct. 11.
Police dismantled the camp Dec. 10, citing public health and safety concerns.
“They clearly ignored our warnings,” the message on the department’s website said Friday.
“So you get your kicks beating protesters? “That’s OK; we get kicks defacing ... your websites _ again.”
“It is unfortunate that someone would go to this extent to compromise BPDNews.com, a helpful and informative public safety resource utilized daily by community members seeking up-to-date news and information about important safety matters,” police said in a statement.
The Salt Lake City website remained down Friday as the investigation continued, and police said criminal charges are being considered.
Police in blamed the attack on Anonymous’ opposition to an anti-graffiti paraphernalia bill that eventually failed in the state Senate. The bill would have made it illegal to possess any instrument, tool or device with the intent of vandalizing an area with graffiti.
The group says it attacked the website of the Alexandria, Va., law firm of Puckett & Faraj, which represented a U.S. Marine convicted in a 2005 attack in Iraq that resulted in the deaths of 24 unarmed civilians. Attorney Neal Puckett did not immediately return a telephone message and email request for comment Friday.
Anonymous is a collection of Internet enthusiasts, pranksters and activists whose targets have included financial Visa and MasterCard, the Church of Scientology and law enforcement agencies.
Following a spate of arrests across the world, the group and its various offshoots have focused their attention on law enforcement agencies in general and the FBI in particular.
The Utah hackers gained access this week to sensitive data, including citizen complaints about drug crimes, including phone numbers, addresses and other personal information, police said.
“We’re still knee deep in trying to get a feel for the extent of the problem,” Salt Lake City police Detective Dennis McGowan said.
The group claimed responsibility for an attack on the website of a Virginia law firm for a U.S. Marine convicted in a deadly 2005 attack in Haditha, Iraq.
The attacks come after Anonymous published a recording of a phone call between the FBI and Scotland Yard early Wednesday, gloating in a Twitter message that “the FBI might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now.”
In Greece, the Justice Ministry took down its site Friday after a video by activists claiming to be Greek and Cypriot members of Anonymous was displayed for at least two hours.
In Boston, a message posted on the police website Friday said, “Anonymous hacks Boston Police website in retaliation for police brutality at OWS,” apparently a reference to the Occupy Wall Street movement. A police spokesman would not confirm Anonymous was responsible.
In a message posted on the Boston police department’s website, the group said that the site had been attacked several months ago and that hundreds of passwords were released in retaliation for what they called brutality against Occupy Boston.
In October, Boston police acknowledged that various websites used by members of the police department _ including the website belonging to the police patrolmen’s association _ had been hacked and possibly compromised. The department said it had asked all department personnel to change their passwords on the police department’s network.
Boston’s Occupy movement set up camp in the city’s financial district for two months this fall. The first hack came about 10 days after Boston police arrested 141 Occupy Boston demonstrators on Oct. 11.
Police dismantled the camp Dec. 10, citing public health and safety concerns.
“They clearly ignored our warnings,” the message on the department’s website said Friday.
“So you get your kicks beating protesters? “That’s OK; we get kicks defacing ... your websites _ again.”
“It is unfortunate that someone would go to this extent to compromise BPDNews.com, a helpful and informative public safety resource utilized daily by community members seeking up-to-date news and information about important safety matters,” police said in a statement.
The Salt Lake City website remained down Friday as the investigation continued, and police said criminal charges are being considered.
Police in blamed the attack on Anonymous’ opposition to an anti-graffiti paraphernalia bill that eventually failed in the state Senate. The bill would have made it illegal to possess any instrument, tool or device with the intent of vandalizing an area with graffiti.
The group says it attacked the website of the Alexandria, Va., law firm of Puckett & Faraj, which represented a U.S. Marine convicted in a 2005 attack in Iraq that resulted in the deaths of 24 unarmed civilians. Attorney Neal Puckett did not immediately return a telephone message and email request for comment Friday.
Anonymous is a collection of Internet enthusiasts, pranksters and activists whose targets have included financial Visa and MasterCard, the Church of Scientology and law enforcement agencies.
Following a spate of arrests across the world, the group and its various offshoots have focused their attention on law enforcement agencies in general and the FBI in particular.
Police chief accepts firing
POWDER SPRINGS - Former Powder Springs Police Chief L. Rick Richardson decided not to appeal his firing, Mayor Pat Vaughn announced Wednesday morning at what was to be an appeal hearing.
Richardson's lawyer, Harlan Miller of Atlanta, notified City Attorney Richard Calhoun of the change in plans via e-mail Monday night. Richardson - who did not appear Wednesday - did not state a reason for withdrawing his appeal in the e-mail, Vaughn said.
She and the Council then went into executive session for nearly four hours to discuss possible litigation and other issues related to the termination. In February, City Manager Rick Eckert confirmed that he had fired Richardson after concluding that Richardson had not followed protocol in selling two police vehicles for less than their market value and in making an unauthorized donation on behalf of the city.
Calhoun said later Wednesday that the Cobb Sheriff's Office investigation of Richardson's actions was the primary focus of the executive session, and that possible litigation was discussed. No lawsuit has been filed against the city, he said.
"There are always claims that are made to potential litigation and things like that," Calhoun said. "There were threats of litigation, I think right after he was terminated. So those are still out there. We're entitled to discuss that."
The mayor and council, which together make up the appeal board, were not allowed to view the sheriff's investigation before the scheduled appeal hearing. Therefore, they took the opportunity to look at the investigation's findings, Calhoun said.
"From Thanksgiving till now, they were not allowed to know anything about this," he said.
Richardson's attorney, Harlan Miller of Atlanta, did not respond by press time to an e-mail asking for comment from him or his client.
In February, Eckert confirmed that he had fired Richardson, after the Journal reported news of his termination.
A letter from Eckert to Richardson regarding the firing stated that he had lost confidence in the 17-year police veteran's ability to effectively run the police department, after an investigation into the sale of two police vehicles at below market value, as well as the unauthorized donation of a city-owned camera system by Richardson. Those actions did not follow city protocol, Eckert said.
The city has begun a search for an interim police chief.
Richardson's lawyer, Harlan Miller of Atlanta, notified City Attorney Richard Calhoun of the change in plans via e-mail Monday night. Richardson - who did not appear Wednesday - did not state a reason for withdrawing his appeal in the e-mail, Vaughn said.
She and the Council then went into executive session for nearly four hours to discuss possible litigation and other issues related to the termination. In February, City Manager Rick Eckert confirmed that he had fired Richardson after concluding that Richardson had not followed protocol in selling two police vehicles for less than their market value and in making an unauthorized donation on behalf of the city.
Calhoun said later Wednesday that the Cobb Sheriff's Office investigation of Richardson's actions was the primary focus of the executive session, and that possible litigation was discussed. No lawsuit has been filed against the city, he said.
"There are always claims that are made to potential litigation and things like that," Calhoun said. "There were threats of litigation, I think right after he was terminated. So those are still out there. We're entitled to discuss that."
The mayor and council, which together make up the appeal board, were not allowed to view the sheriff's investigation before the scheduled appeal hearing. Therefore, they took the opportunity to look at the investigation's findings, Calhoun said.
"From Thanksgiving till now, they were not allowed to know anything about this," he said.
Richardson's attorney, Harlan Miller of Atlanta, did not respond by press time to an e-mail asking for comment from him or his client.
In February, Eckert confirmed that he had fired Richardson, after the Journal reported news of his termination.
A letter from Eckert to Richardson regarding the firing stated that he had lost confidence in the 17-year police veteran's ability to effectively run the police department, after an investigation into the sale of two police vehicles at below market value, as well as the unauthorized donation of a city-owned camera system by Richardson. Those actions did not follow city protocol, Eckert said.
The city has begun a search for an interim police chief.
DeKalb cop accused of bogus arrest, excessive force
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A DeKalb County police officer has been reprimanded for using excessive force and being unprofessional when arresting a man in October 2010, internal department documents show.
According to a DeKalb County Police internal affairs investigation acquired by Channel 2 Action News, Officer T.J. Crumpton slammed Brian J. Peterson into an SUV, a police car and to the ground while Peterson was handcuffed.
"I hit the concrete. I feel blood running down my face. Once we get to the patrol car he throws me into it full speed and then he throws me on the ground," Peterson told Channel 2.
Peterson encountered Crumpton on the night of Oct. 20, 2010, while Crumpton was working an off-duty, part-time job at a Memorial Drive bar.
Crumpton charged Peterson with public drunkenness, felony interference with government property (kicking a squad car, the initial incident report says), giving a false name to police and obstruction.
While one person interviewed during the internal affairs investigation supported Crumpton’s assertion, two DeKalb officers told internal affairs investigators that Crumpton was too heavy-handed.
“She saw [Crumpton] throw the suspect into the passenger’s side of a black SUV in the parking lot, causing a dent,” the IA report said Officer S. Harvey stated during an interview. “After arriving at the [police] vehicle, officer Crumpton threw the suspect into the driver’s side rear of the vehicle causing a dent. Officer Crumpton then threw the suspect on the ground causing an injury to his face/head.”
Crumpton’s attorney, Tessie Edwards, declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday.
When taking a lie detector test during the internal investigation, police determined that Crumpton was dishonest when he denied using profanity while arresting Peterson and slamming the man into the two vehicles, according to the internal report.
Peterson spent five days in jail and eventually lost his job as an insurance broker because of the felony charge, his attorney Mark Bullman said in a letter threatening litigation and sent to the department last autumn. The charges against his client, Bullman said, were bogus.
“No one at DCPD has done anything to have the arrest voided and the charges dismissed, despite having overwhelming evidence that no such crime occurred,” Bullman said in the Oct. 17 letter. “Mr. Peterson will be seeking damages associated with loss of his job and income.”
In an interview with Channel 2, Bullman said, "They know Brian did not do this from every witness we spoke to, except officer Crumpton. ... There is absolutely no excuse for that man to have been remaining at the department, none.”
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s office dropped charges against Peterson in November 2011. Speaking about the arrest, the loss of his job and what he had to say to his family, Peterson told Channel 2, "It was embarrassing. It was very hard."
DeKalb police suspended Crumpton for 10 hours.
“For violating federal and state laws and DCPD policy, DCPD saw fit to give Crumpton a day off without pay,” Bullman said of Crumpton’s punishment in his letter. “This response is ludicrous.”
According to personnel records obtained by Channel 2, Crumpton has more than 30 infractions, internal investigations or complaints, including 10 incidences of excessive use of force dating back to 2005.
And one police major, reviewing a 2009 infraction for taking a part-time job without department permission and as a result being unwilling to report on another officer's excessive force, recommended Crumpton be fired.
"In review of IA’s three-year disciplinary history of Officer Crumpton, he has repeatedly shown a patter of misconduct that is indicative of someone who consistently uses poor judgment time and again," Maj. Lionel G. Higdon said in a June 3, 2009 letter to Deputy Chief G.R. Horner obtained by Channel 2.
At that time, Crumpton had amassed four counseling letters and more than two weeks of unpaid suspension between 2007 and 2009 for offenses ranging from insubordination to neglect of duty.
In his letter, Bullman argued that Crumpton should face criminal charges, citing the officer’s history of getting into trouble.
“Crumpton clearly violated Georgia law by false swearing in his affidavits to obtain the felony and other warrants, which he knew were not supported by the facts,” Bullman said. “If anyone should have been arrested for the events of that evening, it is Officer Crumpton.”
The District Attorney’s office is reviewing the case, but no charges have been filed against Crumpton, a spokesman said.
FBI arrests ex-city cop in online sex-ring case
Ronald R. Miko, 37, a nine-year veteran of the force, was charged with obstruction of a criminal investigation in a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.
Miko was arrested Thursday afternoon by FBI agents and taken into federal custody. He was scheduled to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia today.
According to the indictment:
Miko used a room in a house owned by Sewell - who identified himself as "God" - in the 200 block of North 10th Street, where Sewell and co-defendant Michael Johnson operated an Internet-based call girl operation named "God's Prostitutes." A nearby house in the 200 block of Fisher Court also was used for the business.
The ring operators branded the prostitutes, with names such as "God's Rebel" and "God's Taken" tattooed on the back of their necks. Some of the prostitutes were underage girls.
Sewell, 46, and Johnson, 41, were arrested by Berks County detectives in the summer of 2010.
They were indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges on Nov. 4, 2010.
The indictment alleges that between May 2 and June 7, 2011, Miko wired money to Johnson's federal prison account to keep Johnson and Sewell quiet about Miko's involvement in the business.
If convicted, Miko faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the federal grand jury:
In 2007, Miko advised Sewell on how to set up the business. Between 2007 and 2010, Miko offered advice to Sewell about the females employed by the ring.
Miko sometimes lived at the 10th Street property and used a room there from about 2005 until it was raided by county detectives on July 28, 2010.
Investigators said he had sexual relations with women at the property who were not part of the prostitution business.
Miko visited the properties several times a week, sometimes in uniform in his squad car.
Sewell and Johnson lived in the house on 10th Street.
After the men were jailed, Miko tried to bribe them not to talk about his involvement in the operation. He wired an undisclosed amount of money to Johnson's federal prison account in an attempt to obstruct the investigation.
City Council fired Miko in January 2011.
Investigators said Miko also was a bodyguard for Sewell.
Sewell, a former bounty hunter who unsuccessfully tried to have his name legally changed to God, was charged with producing child pornography, among other crimes.
District Attorney John T. Adams declined comment. Police Chief William M. Heim could not be reached.
Gladstone cop fired over porn, fraud allegations
City officials decline further comment in ‘personnel matter’
A Gladstone police sergeant was fired for potentially criminal misconduct that had nothing to do with the 2011 killing of Higbee Benton, according to a document released Thursday by the city at the advice of the Clackamas County district attorney’s office.
In a Dec. 12 memorandum, Police Chief Jim Pryde says Sgt. Lynn Benton engaged in a “fraudulent marriage” to a Brazilian man in 1993, when Benton was legally female, so the man could qualify for U.S. citizenship, potentially a violation of federal law.
The memo also says Benton possessed and viewed pornography on his police-issued laptop computer, a violation of city policy.
Portland and Milwaukie police, at Pryde’s request, investigated the misconduct issues, and Pryde’s memo says both allegations were “sustained.”
“As a result of these findings, bearing in mind the gravity of each individually and collectively, it is no longer tenable for Lynn Benton to serves as a police officer with the city of Gladstone,” Pryde wrote. “Therefore, I am recommending immediate termination following any due process the city feels is in order.”
City Administrator Pete Boyce fired Benton Dec. 21 after a hearing, but city officials declined further comment this week, saying it was “a personnel matter.”
Boston Police Website Hacked In Retaliation For Alleged Brutality
The online group "Anonymous" claimed responsibility for hijacking the site BPDnews.com, which provides information about the police and crimes.
The online protest group "Anonymous" is claiming responsibility for hacking the website of the Boston Police Department.
BPDnews.com provides information about the police and news about crimes in Boston neighborhoods. The hackers say in a message on the hacked site "ANONYMOUS HACKS POLICE WEBSITE IN RETALIATION FOR POLICE BRUTALITY AT OWS."
The hackers put a video of KRS-One's "Sound of Da Police" on the BPDnews.com homepage. The song compares police officers to plantation overseers during slavery.
Here is a link to the Google cache of the site as it looked during the attack. (Hat tip to Universal Hub's Twitter feed for that live link.)
In a statement, police say their engineers are working to turn back the cyber attack:
The Boston Police Department is working diligently to restore the function of BPDNews.com, the department’s public safety blog. It is unfortunate that someone would go to this extent to compromise BPDNews.com, a helpful and informative public safety resource utilized daily by community members seeking up-to-date news and information about important safety matters. Our skillful technical staff is focused on rectifying this issue. Detectives continue their investigation into individuals engaging in this type of disruptive and criminal activity.
There were tense moments during Occupy Boston's period of camping out near South Station, but no confirmed reports of police brutality.
Here is text the hacker or hackers posted on BPDnews.com:
Do you remember a few months ago when #antisec attaked the Boston Police and released hundred of passwords in retaliation for the brutality against Occupy Boston? They clearly ignored our warnings, because not only did they raid the camp again and kicked protesters off of public parks, but they also sent undercover TSA agents to assualt and attempt to steal from some organizers. So you get your kicks beating protesters? That's OK; we get kicks defacing and rm'n your websites - again. , the "Boston Poice Department Virtual Community" also fell to the swift merciless veangeance of the hive. Do you really want to step to this??
The online protest group "Anonymous" is claiming responsibility for hacking the website of the Boston Police Department.
BPDnews.com provides information about the police and news about crimes in Boston neighborhoods. The hackers say in a message on the hacked site "ANONYMOUS HACKS POLICE WEBSITE IN RETALIATION FOR POLICE BRUTALITY AT OWS."
The hackers put a video of KRS-One's "Sound of Da Police" on the BPDnews.com homepage. The song compares police officers to plantation overseers during slavery.
Here is a link to the Google cache of the site as it looked during the attack. (Hat tip to Universal Hub's Twitter feed for that live link.)
In a statement, police say their engineers are working to turn back the cyber attack:
The Boston Police Department is working diligently to restore the function of BPDNews.com, the department’s public safety blog. It is unfortunate that someone would go to this extent to compromise BPDNews.com, a helpful and informative public safety resource utilized daily by community members seeking up-to-date news and information about important safety matters. Our skillful technical staff is focused on rectifying this issue. Detectives continue their investigation into individuals engaging in this type of disruptive and criminal activity.
There were tense moments during Occupy Boston's period of camping out near South Station, but no confirmed reports of police brutality.
Here is text the hacker or hackers posted on BPDnews.com:
Do you remember a few months ago when #antisec attaked the Boston Police and released hundred of passwords in retaliation for the brutality against Occupy Boston? They clearly ignored our warnings, because not only did they raid the camp again and kicked protesters off of public parks, but they also sent undercover TSA agents to assualt and attempt to steal from some organizers. So you get your kicks beating protesters? That's OK; we get kicks defacing and rm'n your websites - again. , the "Boston Poice Department Virtual Community" also fell to the swift merciless veangeance of the hive. Do you really want to step to this??