This week’s candidates for the Brian Sonnenberg Peaceful Resolution to Conflict Center Award. Fairfax County Police. police brutality

Reynoldsburg OH police investigated after incident involving cop’s mistress making threats while armed with a gun [0] bit.ly/z9JOj1
Aldine TX ISD school police officer arrested on domestic assault charges alleging repeated assaults & death threats [0] bit.ly/AhI7gQ

North Canton OH police lt charged w/felonious assault for firing gun in off-duty incident after police arrived [0] bit.ly/AyWCVO

The Fairfax County Police Officer Jeffrey Hand Award for Creative Income Production. Fairfax County Police. Police Brutality

Washington DC police sgt sentenced to 18mo jail for stealing $40k from elderly woman she met during investigation [0] bit.ly/y3aSy5

Los Angeles CA police sgt already charged w/burglary in an incident where a woman peppersprayed him was arrested in yet another burglary case. [0] bit.ly/zmX8Vk

North Carolina trooper arrested on fraud charge for claiming work injury when actually injured in fight w/wife [0] bit.ly/ytLv0x

Whitehouse TX police chief & dept under investigation over alleged financial irregularities and other allegations [2] bit.ly/yuLq4E

Fuck you and your law, we're above it all

Wrightsville Beach NC police criticized for refusing to release names of suspended cops contrary state law [4] bit.ly/xSVO2I

Palmyra WI police chief fired for mishandling several cases including refusal to arrest man accused of flashing kids[0] bit.ly/yzstbZ

The Fairfax County Police officer Walter R. Fasci/ Sean McGlone award for sober living. Fairfax County Police. Police brutality

Anne Arundel Co MD cop arrested on conspiracy to distribute drugs & other charges after leaking info on raid [0] bit.ly/xqfJng

Okaloosa Co FL deputy arrested on drunk driving charges after crashing motorcycle & refusing med help & breath test [0] bit.ly/yY51pZ

Woodward OK police detective charged w/13 felony counts for allegedly stealing meth from evidence [0] http://t.co/QE4SYqge

Fairfax County Police Officer “Crazy Moe” Mohammed Oluwa Jihad on your ass. Fairfax County Police. Police Brutality

Manatee Co deputy suspended after allegedly elbowing clinic worker in face while she was stealing her med records [0] bit.ly/ACiKh7

Fairfax County Police Officer Larry A. Jackson award for false arrest. Fairfax County Police. Police brutality

2 Dallas TX cops ordered by jury to pay $169k to man they arrested on false charges, a 3rd cop the jury also found had participated in the false arrest wasn’t made to pay anything.[3] dallasne.ws/ztdnQ7

Chicago IL settles suit for $700k to family subjected to illegal raid by now-convicted cops who tried to extort cash[0] bit.ly/zJHBUD

Quebec Provincial police sued by Muslim arrested, home raided for telling coworkers to “blow away the competition” [3] bit.ly/zCTlwS

Fredericton NB police questioned over raid on blogger’s home in alleged “criminal libel” investigation, no charges [5] bit.ly/yI2GOy

The officer Christian Chamberlain Award for “Fuck you, I’ll get away with it anyway” Fairfax County police . Police brutality



Woodbridge NJ cop investigated after accused of beating man & his brother after he swore when he got parking ticket [3] mycj.co/wX4F2p
Canby OR police sued by man claiming cop broke his ribs during arrest for walking past police station while drunk [0] bit.ly/x62YaV

New York NY police sued alleging they harassed and subjected transgendered woman to cruel & unusual punishment [3] bit.ly/ysVJtp

Denver CO misses deadling to file appeal despite promises to fight ordered rehire of cops in brutality case [3] on9news.tv/zdWmsj


This weeks child molestation charge by yout local police...where the hell is the Justice Department?

Coon Rapids MN now-retired cop pleads guilty to sexually abusing boy multiple times while he was still an officer [0] bit.ly/ztYifW

Murdered by your local police

2 St Louis MO cops investigated by FBI after one accused of shooting unarmed man to death while he begged for his life [3] http://bit.ly/zdPVRs

Fullerton CA police chief retires after taking 6 months of medical leave following fatal beating of homeless man [3] lat.ms/zW0mfm


Cop arrested


Shadyside, in the southern end of Anne Arundel County, is known to police Corporal Rick Alexander. His exact ties to the 1300 block of Juniper St. are under investigation.

But his superiors say a tip given to people inside ‘1304’ placed his colleagues in danger and tampered a search warrant.

"While we were conducting interviews during the search warrant, one of the individuals inside that house indicated that they had received information from Cpl. Alexander saying that the raid was about to take place," said Capt. Joseph Jordan, Southern District Commander, Anne Arundel Co. Police Dept.

On Thursday at 10 p.m., Anne Arundel Co. police say five people, four men and one woman, were inside the home when detectives searched for drugs. George Graf heard the commotion.

"He said freeze. And the guy froze. And out of nowhere three more came out and they told them get on the ground or I'll blow your head off," said Graf.

Police found some drugs at first, but later tracked down a larger amount - nearly 83 grams of marijuana, a street value of $829.

They say Cpl. Alexander gave the people inside a heads up.

"We believe that Cpl. Alexander reached out to them through the telephone and was able to contact them. We don't believe he was at the scene when any of this occurred," said Capt. Jordan.

Investigators aren't saying his relationship, if any, to the five suspects. But neighbors know him. Some say they’ve seen cars coming and going from that house and what appears to be drug activity.

Cpl. Alexander is a 14-year member of the department. He was taken to the court commissioner and later released.

"We try to do these things in a covert manner, so whenever someone notifies them that the police is coming it obviously puts our officers in danger," said Capt. Jordan.

Corporal Alexander will still get paid as he fights the charges of Obstruction and Hindering a Police Officer, Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, and Misconduct in Office. His police powers have been suspended.


New Scandal Brewed as SDPD Sergeant Testified

When San Diego police Sgt. Kevin Friedman took the stand in November, a jury got its first glimpse of the man responsible for supervising the defendant, former cop Anthony Arevalos.

Friedman was Arevalos' boss until March last year, when police arrested Arevalos and charged him with soliciting sexual bribes from seven women while on duty. Police accused Arevalos of committing 21 felonies, the jury found him guilty of eight.

The breadth and severity of the allegations, part of a larger spike in police misconduct, raised the most serious questions about internal oversight at the Police Department in the last decade. It spurred apologies from the police chief and promises to reform.

But Friedman's role supervising Arevalos — a focal point of internal scrutiny — didn't become public until the final days of Arevalos' criminal trial. Arevalos' attorneys called Friedman to testify about several traffic stops involving him and Arevalos.

Even today, as headlines reveal Friedman's own legal battles, his involvement in one of the city's biggest scandals in the last decade isn't well known. When media outlets across the city broke news last week that Friedman has been charged with fixing two traffic tickets, none mentioned Arevalos.

At the trial, Friedman's testimony played a pivotal role in reducing Arevalos' maximum prison sentence. Arevalos' attorneys pushed Friedman to poke holes in the prosecution's case and undermine the credibility of one accuser. A third of the felony charges were related to her accusations alone.

The woman testified that Arevalos sexually assaulted her multiple times during her arrest. Friedman was at the scene that night and testified that he never saw Arevalos do anything inappropriate. The jury acquitted Arevalos of all charges related to the arrest.

During its cross-examination of Friedman, the prosecution pressed him to explain any unusual behavior by Arevalos. Those questions elicited some of the most damning evidence about Arevalos' character during the entire trial.

Friedman testified that Arevalos was known to target female drivers and brag about the beauty of the women he arrested. Friedman said officers nicknamed Arevalos "the Las Colinas transport unit" because he arrested so many women.

"If someone was attractive, he would display it," Friedman testified.

The testimony provided some of the most concrete evidence that officers within the department knew Arevalos acted suspiciously but did nothing to address the behavior. Until one woman stepped forward in March last year, Arevalos continued patrolling San Diego's streets, where he arrested more women than his peers.

After the trial, Friedman went back to work at the Police Department and stayed out of public limelight until December, when his name and picture aired in a story by NBC7 San Diego.

The station broke news that Friedman was also the subject of a misconduct investigation. Police suspected he'd fixed traffic tickets for two county prosecutors last year.

Then, in January, the Attorney General's Office made the accusations official. It pressed misdemeanor charges against Friedman and one of the county prosecutors, Allison Debow.

According to the criminal complaint, a San Diego police officer issued citations to Debow and county prosecutor Amy Maund because they weren't wearing seat belts during a May 28 drive. Debow called Friedman, a close friend, and asked if there was something he could do about the tickets.

Friedman hid or destroyed the Police Department's record of the tickets, the complaint says, and then told Debow to shred her own copy. The complaint says Maund had no knowledge of the scheme until Debow told her to shred her ticket, too.

The complaint doesn't confirm how authorities learned of the incident. In December, NBC7 reported that a county prosecutor unknowingly had her ticket destroyed and later reported it to her superiors. The Attorney General's complaint only says Maund unknowingly had her ticket destroyed, not whether she reported it.

The District Attorney's Office declined to say when it began investigating the incident, but the Police Department first knew of the allegations July 8, spokeswoman Lt. Andra Brown said. The department pulled Friedman from patrol, assigned him to administrative duties and launched an internal investigation.

According to the Police Department's timeline, Friedman was under internal investigation throughout Arevalos' entire criminal trial. Brown said the department completed its probe Dec. 8, about a month after Friedman took the stand. In total, the department's investigation of Friedman took five months.

Though Friedman has been formally charged, he is still assigned to administrative duties and being paid. Debow is also on paid administrative leave until the case is resolved. Their next court hearing is scheduled for March 7.

Hackers take over Boston police website with ‘OWS’ message; Anonymous claims responsibility

BOSTON — The hacking collective Anonymous is claiming credit for defacing the Boston Police Department’s website.
A message posted on the website Friday said, “Anonymous hacks Boston Police website in retaliation for police brutality at OWS.” That’s apparently a reference to Occupy Wall Street.
Police are working to restore the website. A police spokesman would not confirm Anonymous was responsible.
Boston’s Occupy movement set up camp in the city’s financial district for two months this fall. Police dismantled the camp Dec. 10, citing public health and safety concerns.
Anonymous is a collection of Internet enthusiasts, pranksters and activists whose targets have included Visa and MasterCard, the Church of Scientology and law enforcement agencies.

Occupy Oakland declares 'day of action' against police brutality



The Occupy Oakland General Assembly has declared February 6 as a 'day of action' against police brutality against Occupy movement protesters.



Occupy Oakland has faced heavy police repression since its inception. From the first police raid on October 25th, when the camp was violently destroyed and people were brutally tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets, to the recent targeted snatchings and arrests of the last couple weeks, and finally to the attack on Occupy Oakland in its attempt to move into a vacant building which manifested itself in tear gas, rubber bullets, assault grenades and the mass arrest of up to 400 people last night, Oakland's Police Department and City Government have made it clear that they will continue to target and repress those in Occupy Oakland in the attempt to squash the movement that challenges their exploitation, and oppression of the people of Oakland and the %99.



Often those arrested have had their charges dropped after spending several days in jail due to lack of evidence.



The newest tactic being used by the state is stay away orders, given to those arrested, making it illegal for those arrested to be in the vicinity of Oscar Grant Plaza essentially making it illegal to participate in future Occupy Oakland events. Manyof these people have been around since the beginning of occupy and are key organizers for different committees and actions.



While many members of occupy have come to support those arrested at arraignments, picked people up from jail when they were released, called local officials or marched in solidarity with those who have been repressed, Occupy Oakland has yet to have a chance to present our side of the facts in court. Feb. 6 will be Occupy Oakland' s day for that.



On this day, it will be the first time that lawyers working with Occupy will be able to argue against the repressive tactics used by the OPD and present evidence of unlawful activities and arrests. occupyoakland.org



FACTS & FIGURES



Oakland police have responded to the Occupy movement with flash grenades, rubber bullets, tear gas and firing of “non-lethal” weapons directly at protesters.



The Alameda Labor Council, the local labor federation in Oakland, has denounced the police crackdowns singling out for criticism Mayor Jean Quan and the City Council. firedoglake.com



The Courage Campaign, a 700,000-member activist organization in California, has gone out with a petition demanding that Mayor Quan investigate the police brutality in Oakland. firedoglake.com



Scott Olsen, 24 and an Iraq war veteran, suffered a fractured skull and brain swelling after he was hit in the head by a police projectile during the clashes on October 25. Guardian



A second Iraq war veteran suffered serious injuries in November after clashes between police and Occupy movement protesters in Oakland. Guardian


Suit involving former police officer filed against the city

As the police department pushes forward with layers of independent oversight and monitors to restore public confidence, yet another lawsuit involving a former police officer has been filed against the city.
Former Burbank Police Det. Pete Allen has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming he was fired in retaliation for participating in an internal misconduct investigation into the police response to the Porto’s Bakery robbery in December 2007.
Allen claims the city violated the California Whistleblower Protection Act after he provided information to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and FBI after they launched use-of-force probes into the department.
“We are very confident that a jury of Pete Allen's peers will find in our favor,” Allen’s attorney, Brian Claypool, said in an email. “It is patently obvious that the Burbank [Police Department] retaliated against Pete for having called out members of the department for engaging in unsavory and unethical business practices. Pete Allen's good name was besmirched and impugned by virtue of his courage.”
Allen, an 18-year veteran who was named officer of the year in 2009, was assigned to oversee the investigation of the robbery when he was told by Det. Angelo Dahlia that he witnessed officers beating robbery suspects, according to the lawsuit.
Dahlia has also sued the city, and along with Allen and eight other officers, was terminated in 2010.
Allen and Dahlia’s administrative proceedings with the city are pending, Claypool said.
City Attorney Amy Albano said the city had not been served yet, only that they were placed on notice that a lawsuit was pending.
Claypool said his client’s case did not depend on the results of the city appeals process.
“Regardless of how it plays out, Allen is going to have his day in court,” Claypool said, adding that the city was stalling the administrative proceedings.
“It’s an ingenuous attempt to use the administrative process to frustrate and thwart [Allen’s] appropriate legal regress in civil court,” Claypool said.
A federal judge in December threw out a lawsuit filed by former police Officer Elfego Rodriguez, ruling that he first needed to exhaust the city’s appeal process.
Some lawsuits involving former and current police officers against the city and department have been dropped, while others continue to wind their way through the court system. At least two former officers filed lawsuits in both state and federal courts.
“Regardless of the purported changes at the Burbank Police Department, the fact of the matter is that Pete Allen was degraded, and his career was ruined,” Claypool said. “If change is truly taking place, I commend that. Then they’re learning from this debacle. I hope they are, and are growing from this experience. But that doesn’t make Pete Allen whole. You can’t apply it retroactively and say ‘sorry.’”

Mayor: Lawrence is trying to fire suspended cop

LAWRENCE — Mayor William Lantigua said yesterday he has moved to fire a former police officer who was suspended with pay after his conviction for domestic assault and battery 19 months ago.
Lantigua also said a city planner suspended with pay in August for alleged workplace misconduct will return to work Monday.
Lantigua, responding to mounting pressure to fire Police Officer Daron Fraser and to act in the case of Planner Richard Burke, said his options for dealing with the two have been constrained by Civil Service laws and his desire to "avoid future legal and financial liability" that might follow if he acted hastily.
"I took appropriate action and assure you that I do not support paying individuals that are not both on-site and on-duty," Lantigua said in a press release issued yesterday. "I must, however, keep due process, HIPAA and civil service in mind when I make decisions."
HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act, guarantees the privacy of medical patients. Lantigua suggested the law limited his options for dealing with Burke while Burke was taking "the necessary steps, under his health insurance policy, to put himself in a position to return to work with the city."
Lantigua did not elaborate, but a month after Burke was suspended from his job, he was jailed on a drunken driving charge. At the time, he also was awaiting trial on other drunken driving charges from an April 2011 arrest in Woburn. He was convicted of the Woburn charges on Oct. 31 and sentenced to two years probation.
Burke, 41, of Marblehead was a legislative aide to Lantigua when the mayor was a state representative and went on the city payroll in July 2010, seven months after Lantigua became mayor. He makes $50,000 a year.
City Personnel Director Frank Bonet has declined to provide details about the misconduct complaint against Burke that resulted in his suspension.
Lantigua yesterday said a Civil Service hearing on his effort to fire Fraser was scheduled for Thursday, but was delayed at the request of his lawyer. Fraser also is appealing his assault conviction. Meanwhile, he continues to collect a paycheck from his police job, which provides him nearly $100,000 a year.
"The City Lawrence will continue to comply with the procedural protections afforded to Officer Fraser by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Civil Service laws, following the process through to its lawful conclusion," Lantigua said in his press release

Cop assualts citizen

WOODBRIDGE — Members of a Colonia family claim that a police officer beat up one of their two sons when a parking-ticket incident apparently turned ugly.

About 10:40 p.m. Jan. 30, Thomas Calero, 21, was parked outside his parents’ home in their car, waiting to give his brother and his friend a ride to work, Calero said. When Patrolman Emil P. Jagiello discovered that the car was parked improperly, he issued a ticket to Calero, who said he directed an expletive to the officer under his breath while walking back to his car

According to four witnesses, Jagiello then charged Calero, threw him up against his car, handcuffed him, beat him profusely to the head and ribs, and threw him to the ground onto his stomach. Vinnie Carelo, 19, said Jagiello then kicked his brother, straddled his back and continued to punch the side of his face, back of his head and ribs with his fists and elbows.

Jagiello’s partner, Sean P. Grogan, called for backup, mother Caroline Calero said. Jagiello ceased the striking when five other police cars arrived, she said.

“This cop was in such rage, it looked like he wanted to kill my son,” Caroline Calero said. “My son always has been very respectful to police, but he was just very agitated for getting the ticket in front of his house. Still, there was no reason for the police officer to do what he did. He could have said don’t talk like that and given him another ticket. He didn’t have to take it to that extreme.

“My son is small in stature,” she continued. “He’s only 5-foot-4. The cop must have been over 6 feet.”

Vinnie Calero and his friend, Brandon Gentenny, 20, corroborated the details of the incident. They said another friend also witnessed the scene.

“My brother was taking me to work at FedEx to go onto the night shift,” Vinnie Calero said. “I had to go back into the house to grab my cellphone, which I left in the house. My brother was parked on the side but didn’t pull into the driveway. The cops pulled up, turned their lights on and said we can’t be parked there. As we came out of the house, he said, ‘Don’t get into the car. I’m searching you. He throws me against the car, searches me and searches my friend, Brandon.

“My brother was a little pissed off now,” he continued. “Talking to himself, he says this is ‘f-ing’ ridiculous. The cop said, ‘There is no need to curse. Give me your license, now you’re getting a ticket for disorderly conduct.’ So he gives my brother the ticket. My brother turns his back, walks away, and says, ‘This is f-ing ridiculous.’ And the cop says, ‘Now you’re arrested.’

“He puts the cuffs on my brother, who is not resisting at all, and starts to punch him in the face. He cuffed him already. My brother wasn’t resisting. The only reason my brother started moving was because he was getting punched in the face.

“So the cop throws him against my dad’s car and then slams my brother on the floor, kicking him in the face and elbowing him in the head while he’s handcuffed. His partner is telling him, ‘Get off. You’re doing too much.’ He was just punching my brother in the face. His partner was saying, ‘That’s not necessary. You don’t need to do that.’ ”

Calero said he blacked out during the incident. He was arrested, charged with annoyance to the neighborhood and resisting arrest, released and told he will be mailed a court date.

His parents then took him to JFK Medical Center in Edison, where he was treated for cuts to the back of his head and contusions and abrasions to the forehead, face, neck, elbow, ribs and knees, his mother said.

Jagiello did not return a phone call requesting comment. Grogan was unavailable for comment. Mayor John McCormac also declined to comment.

The Police Department received a complaint involving allegations of police misconduct, which is under investigation by the Internal Affairs Unit and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, township spokesman John Hagerty said.

The Prosecutor’s Office said it could not confirm or deny the existence of the investigation, but township Police Director Robert Hubner confirmed that the Internal Affairs complaint was filed with the Prosecutor’s Office and is being investigated.

“We’ll wait to see what they have if there’s anything to it,” Hubner said. “We’ll let the investigation take its course.”

A copy of the incident report of the arrest was not provided because, according to Hagerty, it is part of the prosecutor’s investigation. It will become available once the investigation is over, he said.

Calero will be represented in the criminal case by township-based attorney John Perrone, who also is representing another young Woodbridge man who Perrone said allegedly was beaten by township police officers.

“You want to be respectful to a police officer all the time, but he was walking away,” Perrone said of Calero. “Whatever he said — and I’m not saying he did use a derogatory word — you don’t jump on the kid and start beating him for that. The kid was walking away.”

“This really has changed the way I look at police officers,” Caroline Calero said.


Police Beat Alleged Cop Shooter At Precinct Station House, Lawyer Says

The court-appointed attorney for alleged cop shooter Luis "Baby" Ortiz said his client was beaten while he was in police custody. At Ortiz's arraignment yesterday, lawyer Eric Poulos surprised no one by accusing cops of roughing up his client after he was arrested, bruising his face and chipping a tooth. “He was struck by police officers’ fists, both at the scene and at the station house hours after,” Poulos told the judge yesterday. Considering all the other horrible things that can happen to a perp while in police custody, it sounds like the alleged cop shooter got off easy.
The judge granted a request for medical attention for Ortiz, who pleaded not guilty. His attorney said, "I think there is an effort here by the prosecution to sandbag this case. The videotape shows wrestling—it doesn't show who did the shooting. The gun was found outside in the projects." Ortiz was picked out of three different lineups by witnesses, but his lawyer says called the lineups "a set up" since police didn't allow Mr. Ortiz to change his clothing, the Wall Street Journal reports.
But prosecutor Lewis Lieberman called the shooting "an assassination attempt by this defendant against Police Officer [Kevin] Brennan," who miraculously survived a bullet to the head. Prosecutors say surveillance video shows Ortiz and Brennan scuffling in a hallway of the Bushwick Houses Tuesday night, and in the video the suspect loses a white sneaker. Ortiz was later arrested wearing one white sneaker that matched the one recovered at the scene, and investigators say ballistic tests show the bullet recovered from Brennan's head matches a gun found outside the apartment where Ortiz was collared.
Ortiz faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted, and sources tell the Post that the .38-caliber revolver used to shoot Brennan was the same gun used in the New Year’s Day murder of drug dealer Shannon Mckenzie. (Ortiz was wanted for questioning in that murder.) Investigators also say Officer Brennan cheated death twice, because Ortiz tried to squeeze off a second round, but the gun misfired. "If the second bullet went off, he’d probably be dead," one source tells the Post. And an Ortiz neighbor tells the tabloid, "He’s a trigger-happy motherf--ker."

City settles over rogue cops' shakedown

$700,000 to go to South Side family menaced by police



The city of Chicago has agreed to pay a South Side family $700,000 to settle a 2006 lawsuit that alleged a group of rogue police officers extorted thousands of dollars during a series of armed raids at the family's home, according to the family's attorney.

"We were constantly in fear every day," said plaintiff Sharon Wilkins, 44, during a news conference Friday. "(We were) barely sleeping at night."

Roderick Drew, a spokesman for the city's Law Department, confirmed that there is "a proposed settlement in place" that would be subject to City Council approval

Four of the defendants named in the lawsuit were arrested in 2005 and later convicted and sentenced to prison for shaking down drug dealers in Englewood. Wilkins and her family alleged that those former police officers targeted them because her brother Larry had a criminal drug record.

In 2004, officers Corey Flagg, Eural Black, Darek Haynes and Broderick Jones came to the home of Wilkins' mother at times when they knew the family had received Social Security or work checks, then threatened to plant drugs and guns on Larry Wilkins and arrest him if the family didn't pay them, according to family attorney Blake Horwitz.

"They would say, 'We're going to arrest this guy (Larry Wilkins) today,'" Horwitz said. "See these drugs, these drugs are going to be his. See this gun, this gun is going to be his."

The officers would handcuff family members or friends who happened to be at the home and threaten them with arrest and criminal drug possession charges if they did not give them cash, according to the lawsuit.

The raids went on for about a year and the officers stole between $8,000 to $13,000, according to Horwitz.

Wilkins' son on Friday recalled that on one occasion a police officer even held a gun to his head.

"I thought he was going to shoot me," said Rashi Gant, now 18. "They corrupted my whole image and the way I think of police."

On Aug. 6, 2004, the family alleged that they refused to pay the police and Flagg planted cocaine on Larry Wilkins and arrested him. Wilkins spent eight months in jail before the charges were dismissed, according to the lawsuit.




Ex-cop pleads guilty to gun charges

TRENTON — A former Vineland police officer has pleaded guilty to possession of assault rifles and illegal ammunition magazines.

Brian Hinkel, 62, of Newfield, pleaded guilty Thursday before Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson in Gloucester County to four counts of third-degree possession of an assault rifle and 21 counts of fourth-degree possession of a prohibited device.

The prohibited devices were 21 illegal large-capacity ammunition magazines. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend Hinkel be sentenced to five years in state prison. He will be sentenced June 1.

Hinkel was arrested on Jan. 26, 2009, when members of the State Police went to his house to question him in an unrelated investigation and discovered numerous firearms in plain view. The State Police executed a search warrant and discovered around 258 guns, including the illegal assault rifles.

Hinkel admitted to illegally possessing 21 large-capacity magazines for semi-automatic rifles, as well as the following illegal assault weapons: a Calico .22-caliber long rifle semi-automatic carbine, a 7.62x39mm Norinco semi-automatic rifle, a .223-caliber Colt semi-automatic rifle, and a .30-caliber National Ordnance semi-automatic carbine.