Ceres
officer charged with assault
CERES — Prosecutors have charged a police officer with misdemeanor assault stemming
from an incident in April, Police Chief Art de Werk announced Tuesday.
Christopher Melton, a nine-year veteran of the force, is
accused of using excessive force on a suspect during an April 13 incident on
the 1600 block of Evans Road. Another officer reported the alleged misconduct.
Melton is on paid
administrative leave while the criminal and internal affairs
investigations proceed.
Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Melton on
July 23 that claims he assaulted a detained person while on duty.
Melton was once terminated
for failing his 12-month probation period.
A year after his reinstatement, he was among about a half
dozen officers named in a lawsuit filed by a group of partygoers that said
police used excessive force while breaking up the party.
Cop
gets probation for cuffing man who threatened to file complaint
Police Officer Admir Kacamakovic, 31, tells a Brooklyn
Federal Court judge, "My intent was not to commit a crime, it was to
prevent a crime." He was sentenced Thursday to probation for violating a
man's civil rights by handcuffing him after he threatened to file a civilian
complaint.
Kacamakovic was a cop in the 62nd Precinct when he responded
to an altercation outside his cousin's bar in Bensonhurst on July 5, 2008.
The cop resigned from the force last October after pleading
guilty. The feds dropped another charge that he had illegally used the NYPD
database to search for information on the victim.
Kacamakovic is also charged with using an NYPD computer to access
a federal database to search for the name on the driver's license.
Accounts
differ in cop’s murder trial
PHOENIX Jurors at the trial of a Phoenix police officer
charged with murder and animal cruelty in the on-duty killing of a man and his
pit bull were given conflicting accounts Wednesday on how a domestic dispute
call at a trailer escalated into violence.
Prosecutors making opening statements at Richard Chrisman’s
trial said the officer abused his police powers by fatally shooting 29-year-old
Daniel Rodriguez in October 2010 even though the unarmed man posed no threat to
officers. Authorities say he also deployed his stun gun on the victim, killed
his dog and placed the barrel of his weapon on Rodriguez’s temple at various
points during the encounter.
“He decided to step
over the line that day,” prosecutor Juan Martinez said.
Chrisman, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree
murder, aggravated assault and animal cruelty charges, maintains the shooting
was justified because Rodriguez had reached for the officer’s gun during a
tussle that preceded the shooting. Chrisman, a nine-year veteran of the Phoenix
Police Department, was fired about five months after the death.
Supporters
call for action after disabled man claims police brutality
SYRACUSE -- About 45 people showed up in front of the
Syracuse Police Headquarters to rally in support of Brad Hulett, a severely
disabled man who claims he became the victim of police brutality on May 3rd for
refusing to sit down on a Centro bus.
Surveillance video of what happened to Hulett on May 3rd has
outraged many people in Central New york. He refused a bus driver's order to
sit down even though the bus accomodates standing passengers. Syracuse Police
Sergeant William Galvin and Officer William Coleman were called in. Hulett
continued to refuse to sit down or leave the bus. He was tasered twice and
dragged off the bus apparently breaking his hip during the incident.
"The police tased him not once, but twice. Then they
dragged him off the bus and broke his hip. Are these people insane? For
standing on the bus? This is criminal." said Sally Johnston of Disabled in
Action.
Hulett's supporters are calling for the immediate
suspensions of the police officers and a thorough investigation of their
actions. They also want an investigation into Hulett's treatment at the Justice
Center Jail where they say Hulett was forced to suffer with a broken hip
overnight before receiving medical treatment.
Philly
cop suspended with intent to dismiss still could retain job
Another Philadelphia police officer is on the way to being
dismissed because of credibility issues. Andre Boyer, a 17-year police veteran,
has been suspended for 30 days
with the intent to dismiss following charges of intention to deceive, failing
to follow department procedures for handling evidence and conduct unbecoming an
officer. The Philadelphia Daily News reports that Boyer had been the subject of 21 civilian complaints — more than any
other officer on the force.