CMPD officer charged with DWI | WCNC.com Charlotte

CMPD officer charged with DWI | WCNC.com Charlotte
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer was charged with Driving While Intoxicated on New Year's Eve in Union County.
www.wcnc.com/.../CMPD-officer-charged-with-DUI-1854688...


Friendswood police deny teen's brutality claim | khou.com Houston
The videotaped arrest of a teenage girl has sparked outrage among witnesses who believe the Friendswood police officer who made the arrest went too far.
www.khou.com/.../Friendswood-teen-claims-police-brutality--...


Texas officer suspended indefinitely for cursing outburst caught on tape
CBS News
A police officer from Hurst, Texas, is suspended indefinitely for violating department rules with a profanity-laced outburst caught on tape, CBS DFW reports. An investigation included that the officer, Disraeli Arnold, was extremely unprofessional when ...
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CBS News
2 Muncie officers suspended over party gunshots
WRTV Indianapolis
MUNCIE, Ind. - Two Muncie police officers have been suspended over gunshots they fired during a Fraternal Order of Police lodge Christmas party. Police Chief Steve Stewart said Sgt. Brad Wiemer and patrolman Tyler Swain each admitted firing gunshots ...
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JPD officer charged with theft, misconduct; Attorney says Robbie Weems denies ...
Jackson Sun
A Jackson police officer has been suspended without pay after he was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on charges of theft and official misconduct, according to a news release from the Jackson Police Department. Officer Robbie Weems, 51, surrendered ...
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Tucson correction officer charged with credit card fraud
KVOA Tucson News
Former Corrections Officer Mance was hired on August 30, 2010. On October 16, 2010, Mance was assigned to ASPC-Tucson until his resignation on December 26, 2012. On December 26, at approximately 2 p.m. ADC Investigators affected the arrest warrant ...
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Boulder officers suspended over Elk shooting
Fox 31 KDVR.com
BOULDER, Colo. – Two police officers involved in shooting an Elk in a west Boulder neighborhood have been suspended, the chief of police said Friday. Chief Mark Beckner tweeted the officers were “placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of ...
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False Arrest Claim May Stick to Flipped Off Cop | Strike-The-Root: A .

False Arrest Claim May Stick to Flipped Off Cop | Strike-The-Root: A ...
False Arrest Claim May Stick to Flipped Off Cop. "A car passenger who gave the finger to an upstate New York police officer can sue for false arrest and ...

National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 12/28/12 ...
Here are the 7 reports of police misconduct tracked for Friday, December 28, 2012: Detroit Lakes, Minnesota: A police officer has been charged in district court ...
www.policemisconduct.net/national-police-misconduct-newsfe...

Police brutality claimed - The Decatur Daily - Decatur, Alabama
The father of a man charged with felony domestic violence is accusing Decatur police of beating his son at the city jail following his arrest, but police say video ...

NJ township police officer charged in shooting

CMPD Officer Charged with DWI in Union County | Charlotte News ...
Police in Union County have arrested a CMPD officer for driving while intoxicated on New Year's Eve.
www.foxcharlotte.com/.../CMPD-Officer-Charged-with-DWI-i...


NJ township police officer charged in shooting
San Francisco Chronicle
The prosecutor's spokesman Bernie Weisenfeld said in a news release that Compton, who is not a police officer, was in critical condition at Cooper Medical Center in Camden. He said the 29-year-old Stuart was charged with two counts of aggravated ...
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One of the highest paid police forces in the world, and this is what we get

Fairfax County Homicides Up in 2012
Patch.com
In 2012, the Fairfax County Police Department handled a total of 16 homicides in the area — five more than were reported in 2011. Fifteen of the 2012 cases have already been solved or closed, says police public information officer Lucy Caldwell. In ...

Ohio Gang Rape: DOJ Found Steubenville Police Misconduct in 1997



Turns out, the protests claiming a “police cover-up” or “corruption” by the Steubenville Police Department and City Leaders to protect a group of local “Big Red” high school football players allegedly involved in the gang rape of a teenage girl were to be expected.
Why?
In 1997, the US Department of Justice found a “pattern or practice of” civil rights violations by the Steubenville Police Department including excessive use of force, false arrests, false charges, tampering with evidence, false reporting, and political corruption resulting in a lawsuit against the City of Steubenville, the Steubenville Police Department, the City Manager, and the Civil Service Commission.
The DOJ alleged in the Steubenville lawsuit, “that officers of the Steubenville Police Department have engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives persons of rights, privileges,or immunities secured and protected by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and that the City of Steubenville, the Steubenville Police Department, and the Steubenville City Manager (in his capacity as Director of Public Safety) have caused and condoned this conduct through inadequate policies and failure to train, monitor, supervise, and discipline police officers, and to investigate alleged misconduct, all in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 14141.” (US v. City of Steubenville, Steubenville Police Department, Steubenville City Manager, in his capacity as director of Public Safety, and Steubenville Civil Service Commission, Civil No. C2 97-966, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, August 28, 1997.)
Over a twenty year period, the city (Steubenville) lost, or settled out of court, 48 civil rights lawsuits involving its police force. The city paid out more than $800,000, $400,000 of which was between 1990 and 1996. As a result, the city’s police force became the second city in the United States to sign a consent decree with the federal government due to an excessive number of civil rights lawsuits, as stated on wikipedia.com. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steubenville,_Ohio)
Ouch.
As a settlement, the City of Steubenville agreed to a Court Consent Decree allowing for monitoring of the Steubenville police department by the DOJ and the implementation of an extensive list of changes to the police department’s training program, police procedures including the creation of an internal affairs unit to handle police complaints. Read full consent decree here.
This all may just be old news from 14 years ago, but, when the DOJ finds a “pattern or practice’” of civil rights violations and police misconduct, most attorneys will continue to look under the hood, especially, given that the current gang rape investigation was done and remains in the hands of the Steubenville Police Department. As we all know, cases can be won or lost depending on what a police officer/investigation did or didn’t do. Just ask OJ Simpson.
So, what’s changed in Steubenville? Has there been a significant reduction in the number of civil rights lawsuits and police complaints? Have the players changed? I can’t tell by the City’s new “transparent” website, but, I did find out that the current police chief and others did not go to the same Big Red high school as the defendant football players. (http://steubenvillefacts.squarespace.com/).
However, I did notice that Steubenville’s attorney has not changed. Mr. Gary Rapella, Steubenville’s law director, was the attorney of record back in 1997 for all the Steubenville defendants during the DOJ lawsuit and his name appears today as the law director. (http://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/PN-OH-0002-0003.pdf) Having been a deputy city attorney myself, I presume that Mr. Rapella continues to provide legal advice to the Steubenville Police Department, City Council and the City of Steubenville on the handling of their current police cases including the current gang rape investigation, media scrutiny and public protests.
On most days, police departments and city officials walk a tough line. Yet, these days, it may be wiser to call in an outside agency to handle the prosecution and the investigation of a potentially high-profile case (think Penn State and Duke) to avoid allegations of a “cover-up”, the intense media scrutiny and the expected public protests (Anonymous’”Occupy Steubenville”) especially, when the jurisdiction has a marked history of police misconduct and civil rights violations. Not to mention, the potential of jeopardizing the underlying case.
The question remains has Steubenville learned the lessons of the past.
Simply my opinion, what say you?

(Update 1/6/2013: As just reported on CNN, a defense attorney claims that the alleged victim sent a text to his client stating that the “rape didn’t happen” and that the attorney doesn’t think “she (victim) thinks she was raped”. The other defense attorney when asked about the issue of consent and alcohol, stated that the victim “was conscious”. What? This is an alleged gang rape case–who consents to a gang rape? Speaking as a former DV prosecutor, rape is about power, control, humiliation and violence. It is not about love or sex, and given those dynamics, alleged victim recantation is not a surprise and it doesn’t stop a prosecution in light of other physical and witness evidence. BTW in Ohio, it’s not a statutory rape case because the victim is 16, the age of consent. The defendants were charged as juveniles as the age of an adult is 18 and charging as an adult is up to the judge. Lastly, as to the police department, I wonder why no adult including the football coach who reportedly hosted one of the parties that August night where alcohol was allegedly served hasn’t been charged with any offense. Apparently, as reported on CNN, no other defendants will be charged in the alleged gang rape case. For rape crisis services, please contact http://www.rccmsc.org/faq.aspx or National Sexual Assault Hotline 800-656-HOPE; suspected civil rights violation contact US DOJ at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/#one )

National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 01-04-13


  • Hurst, Texas: A police officer has been fired after being recorded on video threatening a teenager and using profane language. “You can’t help but be embarrassed — not only for the officers that work in our department, but for anybody in the law enforcement profession,” The Hurst Assistant Chief said. “You just expect when an officer shows up, they’re going to be in charge. You don’t want the foul language, anything that looks like it might be overreaction. You just want to be professional, calm and in control of the scene.” ow.ly/gxILV

  • Charlotte Mecklenburg, North Carolina: A police officer was arrested and charged with drunk driving on New Years Eve, troopers said. ow.ly/gxLpT

  • Hearne, Texas: An officer is on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation into a shooting in which he was involved that left a mentally challenged man dead. ow.ly/gxBr3