Fairfax County Police Watch: 10/08/13

So hows that investigation of the John Geer killing going?

This Week's Charge of Child Molestation by your Local Police: cop arrested on sex charge

This Week's Charge of Child Molestation by your Local Police: cop arrested on sex charge: -- A Bellevue police officer was arrested Wednesday on a charge of sexual battery. According to reports, Bradley McMahon, 41, of Fre...

KIDS AND COPS: GEE, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?: School security officer could face 1st degree murd...

KIDS AND COPS: GEE, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?: School security officer could face 1st degree murd...: WBIR - Luttrell) At a preliminary hearing Friday morning, a judge determined there was enough evidence for a grand jury to consider fir...

KIDS AND COPS: GEE, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?: Prichard Officer Arrested

KIDS AND COPS: GEE, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?: Prichard Officer Arrested: PRICHARD, Ala. (WPMI) Less than 24 hours after Prichard names a new police chief, one of the department’s own officers is thrown in j...

This Week's Charge of Child Molestation by your Local Police: Hayward cop arrested for child molestation at prev...

This Week's Charge of Child Molestation by your Local Police: Hayward cop arrested for child molestation at prev...: A Hayward police officer was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of sexually abusing several girls in Livermore before he became p...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: cop accused of rape says sex was consensual

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: cop accused of rape says sex was consensual: Sacramento police officer Gary Dale Baker told investigators he had sex with the elderly, stroke-impaired woman he is accused of rapin...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: 4 Cops Forcibly Strip Search Woman After DUI Arres...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: 4 Cops Forcibly Strip Search Woman After DUI Arres...: A DUI arrest turned into a disturbing strip search when four officers, three of whom were male, pinned an Illinois woman face down on the...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Colville police officer charged on alleged sexual ...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Colville police officer charged on alleged sexual ...: A Colville police officer was charged Friday with seven criminal counts, including four felonies, stemming from a string of alleged s...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Police reports released on former TPD officer char...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Police reports released on former TPD officer char...: New details are emerging about a fired-former Tucson Police Officer who is now facing felony charges connected to sexually assaulting...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Lakeland Police officer Julio Pagan charged with s...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Lakeland Police officer Julio Pagan charged with s...: Lakeland, Florida -- Another sex scandal at the Lakeland Police Department, and this time, the officer involved faces criminal charge...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Lakeland Police officer Julio Pagan charged with s...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Officer Suspended In Bra Search

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Officer Suspended In Bra Search: The Lakeland (Fla.) Police officer who told a woman to shake out her bra for drugs received a one-day suspension, the agency announced ...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Police reports released on former TPD officer char...

This Week's Charge of Child Molestation by your Local Police: Woodland Park cop sentenced to five years for atte...

This Week's Charge of Child Molestation by your Local Police: Woodland Park cop sentenced to five years for atte...: Calling his crimes “horrible” and “mind-boggling” a judge Wednesday sentenced former Woodland Park police officer Steven E. Vigorito, Jr....

This Week's Charge of Child Molestation by your Local Police: Woodland Park cop sentenced to five years for atte...

The epidemic of mentally unstable cops in America: Newtown Police: Norwalk Cop Threatens Suicide at H...

The epidemic of mentally unstable cops in America: Newtown Police: Norwalk Cop Threatens Suicide at H...: Newtown, CT public schools were put into lockdown mode as police responded to a Norwalk police officer's threat to kill himself, New...

Court: website alleging police corruption shouldn’t have been shut down

Local cops posted text, audio showing claimed corruption—then their bosses sued.
Lafayette, Louisiana is known as the capital of Cajun culture—and it'll now also exist as a reference point in First Amendment case-law.

On Monday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that previously allowed a website created by current and former members of the Lafayette Police Department, describing allegations of top-to-bottom corruption, to be shuttered. (City officials denied the site's allegations.)
Initially, the Lafayette Police sued the owners of the site and got a magistrate judge to order that the site be “closed and removed immediately.” This was a way for that court to avoid influencing a prospective jury pool in a related civil case.
But in today's unanimous decision, the three judges wrote:
We disagree, however, with the Lafayette PD Defendants’ implicit suggestion in their briefs (made explicit at oral argument) that the Officers have a complete “either or” choice between filing a lawsuit and exercising their First Amendment rights. This area, as the district court recognized, demands a nuanced approach to the delicate balance between the necessity of avoiding a tainted jury pool and the rights of parties to freely air their views and opinions in the “market square” now taking form on the electronic square known as the Internet. The district court faithfully and carefully addressed numerous precedents surrounding the use of “gag orders” and applied a careful and nuanced approach in much of the challenged order. When it came to the Website, however, the nuanced approach gave way to a more wholesale striking of its entire content—indeed, the very website itself.

Woman To Fight Wrongful Arrest

WHEELING - Bonnie Grewe, who was arrested days after publicly criticizing Wheeling police and then exonerated when another woman confessed to the crime, will meet with a lawyer this week to pursue wrongful arrest charges.

James Villanova, a Pittsburgh-based lawyer, confirmed that he will meet with Grewe to discuss the case. He declined to comment further.

Villanova already is Grewe's attorney in an ongoing lawsuit against a real estate company.

Grewe declined to comment on the wrongful arrest charge or a possible lawsuit.

At least two officers identified Grewe, 51, as the woman seen on video surveillance stealing a wallet last week from a retail store on Chapline Street.

Hours after the theft, Grewe criticized the police department during a community meeting in East Wheeling for their investigation and arrest of her son, Cory Henry, on "false allegations."

The meeting, which was led by Delores Wiggins, president of the Ohio Valley Black Caucus, was advertised as an opportunity to "stand against the corruption" of city police, municipal judges, county magistrates and prosecutors.

Grewe turned herself in to police Monday after learning there was a warrant for her arrest. She "profusely proclaimed her innocence" that day, a police report states.

Wiggins said that following Grewe's arrest, a "liaison" of the Black Caucus in Wheeling noticed the resemblance between Grewe and 50-year-old Wheeling resident Geraldine Goeller. That woman subsequently contacted Goeller, who admitted to the crime, according to Wiggins.

Police were provided with that information, and Goeller admitted to officers she was the one who stole the wallet that day, according to court filings.

Police provided that information to the prosecutor's office, which dropped the case again Grewe on Thursday.

Goeller turned herself in to police later that night and was charged with petit larceny.

Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger took responsibility for the misidentification, but denied it was a police retaliating against Grewe. He remarked how similar Grewe and Goeller look.

Wiggins said Grewe and Goeller "could pass for twins."

cop who witnessed Alexian Lien beating suspended.

The cop who went on to witness the Alexian Lien beating and did nothing to avail the situation has been this evening put on suspended leave.

The narcotics officer, whose identity is not being released has also gone on to be stripped of his gun and badge pending an outcome of an internal affairs investigation.
The cop at the time, off duty, is said to have been riding with the Frontline soldiers club at the time of the Alexian Lien beating.
The nypost is also reporting that NYPD spokesperson John McCarthy has gone on to say that internal affairs is trying to determine whether any other officers were also present at the beating and who hadn’t immediately reported it. It is understood the suspended undercover cop waited until as late as Wednesday night, four days after the beating to come forward.
Authorities have also since gone on to reveal that it has acknowledged there were at least five off duty cops who went on to witness the Alexian Lien beating. At present it is not understood if those officers participated in the beating or if they made any effort to come to the aid of Lien.
According to investigators, the undercover narcotics cop declined to intercede in Lien’s beating because he feared it would break his cover.
That said a source has now gone on to reveal that the detective told the beating was in the process of breaking up, and the level of danger for the overmatched Lien was diminishing. The source also went on to tell that the undercover claimed that somebody was already calling police when he arrived at attack site on the Henry Hudson Parkway.
The UK’s dailymail goes on to note that undercover cops are required by protocol to immediately report being a witness to a crime.
Uniformed officers are required to take police action if they see a crime occurring, but the rules are murkier for undercover officers who face blowing their cover, confusing civilians who don’t realize the undercover is really a cop and ruining years long investigations.
Although the suspended cop has said he was not involved in the actual beating of Lien, it is understood he has now gone on to hire a lawyer.
The nydailynews also goes on to note that the narcotics cop opted to leave once he knew police were on their way and several people had rushed to Lien’s aid. Behavior which has since been called into question.
The suspension comes after increasing public scorn of the biker’s actions and calls that what many perceive to be reckless and aggressive action to be reigned in. It is believed that the officer has now been assigned to desk duty pending further investigation.

White Plains cop said sacked over killing of ex-Marine in own home

A police officer in White Plains has been sacked, allegedly for using a racial epithet during an encounter in which a fellow officer shot and killed a 68-year-old former Marine.

Officer Steven Hart’s dismissal was announced Monday by White Plains Police Commissioner David Chong, who refused to explain why the cop was fired. But attorney John Pappalardo said the firing stems from a deadly encounter in 2011 between police and resident Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. — an incident first reported by the Daily News. Police went to Chamberlain’s apartment after his medical alert device went off. The device recorded one of the cops using the racial slur, according to his family’s lawsuit.

cop arrested, accused of soliciting bribe

A Hayward police officer solicited a $500 bribe from a suspect in exchange for letting the woman slide in a prescription forgery case, authorities said.

Romeo Aberin, 30, was arrested Monday after Alameda County prosecutors charged him with extortion under color of authority and receiving a bribe by an executive officer, both felonies. Aberin, a patrol officer since joining the department in 2007, posted $50,000 bail and turned in a letter of resignation, officials said.

The case stems from an investigation last month in which Aberin interviewed Tammy Spencer, an employee of a clinic, and determined that she had stolen blank prescription pads and forged prescriptions for friends, police said.

Instead of arresting Spencer, Aberin tried to use her as a confidential informant, telling her that she had two weeks to come up with information relating to drug trafficking and money laundering, police officials said.

However, Aberin "never notified the department of his actions or intent" and failed to follow policies mandating how officers deal with informants, said Hayward police Sgt. Mark Ormsby.

Two weeks later, on Sept. 13, Aberin allegedly arranged to meet Spencer at her workplace. The two met while Aberin was off duty, and he reminded her of what he wanted from her, officials said.

"When the victim advised Aberin there was no useful information to give him, he proceeded to ask for cash in exchange to dismiss reporting any criminal activity against the victim," Ormsby said. "Out of fear and duress, the victim complied."

Authorities said Spencer gave Aberin $500 that she withdrew from an ATM, police said, while secretly recording the interaction on her cell phone.

The next day, she reported Aberin to the San Leandro Police Department. Aberin admitted to taking the $500 but "contended she provided the money willingly," investigators said in an affidavit. Spencer was not arrested.

Aberin's arrest comes nine days after Livermore police arrested another Hayward officer, Richard McLeod, 38, on charges that he abused numerous girls when he previously worked as a teacher at an after-school program in Livermore. McLeod is being held without bail.

Protesters Demand Arrest Of Cop Who Fatally Tasered Teen

MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Oct 6 (Reuters) - More than 200 people marched through Miami Beach on Sunday, clogging tourist-filled sidewalks to demand the arrest of a policeman who fired a stun gun at a graffiti artist who died in police custody.

The protesters alleged that Officer Jorge Mercado used excessive force when he used a Taser on Israel Hernandez-Llach, 18, during an arrest attempt in August.

"He was sentenced like a prisoner when he goes before a firing squad," Hernandez-Llach's father, Israel Hernandez Bandera, said on the steps of Miami Beach City Hall.

Friends, family and supporters carried signs reading "Paint is temporary, death is forever" and chanted "No justice, no peace" in English and Spanish.

Hernandez-Llach was prolific graffiti artist nicknamed "Reefa," and the march was led by the Justice for Reefa Committee and the American Community Council. Marchers asked that Mercado be fired and arrested and that the Miami Beach Police Department change its policy regarding use of stun guns.

Police discovered Colombian-born Hernandez-Llach spray-painting the wall of an abandoned McDonald's early on the morning of Aug. 6. The teenager fled, evading police for several minutes before he was cornered and stunned with the Taser.

He died shortly afterward and friends who were with him told Reuters they heard and saw officers celebrating and high fiving while the young man's body lay on the ground.

Medical examiners have yet to release a toxicology report or cause of death. Miami Beach Police have declined to comment pending an ongoing investigation.

The teenager's father submitted a letter late last month to the U.S. Department of Justice and President Barack Obama alleging that police used excessive force and refused to provide him with information regarding the incident.

"I'm not an investigator, just a broken father who wants answers," he wrote.

He said his son's body showed signs of mistreatment, including an injury to the forehead, after it was turned over to the family for the funeral.

"My biggest concern is was it due to the Taser or was it from blows (by police)," said his father.

Hernandez-Llach's sister, Offir Hernandez, disputed speculation that her brother was on drugs at the time of the incident, but said that according to friends he had smoked marijuana that morning.

"He took care of himself," she told Reuters. "He was very healthy and wouldn't even drink sodas and ate salads and fish. He'd never put acid in his body."

Hernandez-Llach's family has also filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court against the Miami Beach Police Department and Mercado, seeking an undisclosed amount for damages and alleging the police used "unnecessary, excessive and unconstitutional force."

The Colombian-born artist was slightly built and unarmed, and "officers had no reasonable basis to fear for their own safety or the safety of the public," the lawsuit said.

Mercado was named in several prior complaints according to police Internal Affairs reports obtained by Reuters. He was disciplined for failing a drug test in 2011 but was exonerated in several other cases, including punching a man in the face during an off-duty fight in a men's room in 2007.

Philadelphia narcotics officer charged with DUI in crash that injured teen after Eagles game

UPPER DARBY, Pennsylvania — A Philadelphia narcotics officer has been charged with drunken driving for a suburban crash following an Eagles game that injured a teen driving another vehicle.
Online court records don't list an attorney for 42-year-old Levaun Rudisill, who faces a preliminary hearing Oct. 30 before an Upper Darby district judge.
Upper Darby police say Rudisill was returning from a Sept. 15 football game when he crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a car driven by an 18-year-old boy head on. The other driver was treated and released for his injuries at Delaware County Memorial hospital.
Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. John Sanford says Rudisill has been restricted to desk duty while the charges are pending in court.
Upper Darby police Superintendent Michael Chitwood says Rudisill failed a field sobriety test and refused a blood test.