Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Trial for ex-Sacramento officer accused in assault...

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: Trial for ex-Sacramento officer accused in assault...: SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The case against a former Sacramento police officer accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting an elderly woman while ...

Cops and the women they abuse: police officer charged with assaulting his wife

Cops and the women they abuse: police officer charged with assaulting his wife: AGAWAM - A 13-year member of the Agawam Police Department was arraigned on a domestic assault and battery charge Monday inWestfield Distric...

Officer arrested on fraud charges

A Philadelphia police officer was arrested Tuesday and charged with committing fraud by requesting compensation for military leave even though he had retired from the military.

Officer Louis Fletcher, 34, a five-year veteran of the department, was charged with theft by deception and related offenses, police said.

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey suspended Fletcher 30 days with intent to dismiss. Fletcher was assigned to the Ninth Police District, which covers the western half of Center City.

An investigation was launched after the department's Internal Affairs Division was informed Apr. 8 about Fletcher's alleged fraud. Investigators found that Fletcher submitted requests for military leave from January 2012 through March 2013, and was paid by the city a total of $3,788.94, police said.

Fletcher, however, had retired from the Navy in September 2011, police said. He also was charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, receiving stolen property, tampering with records and identification and unsworn falsification to authorities, police said.

NYPD Officer Charged In Connection With Videotaped Biker Attack

Investigators say undercover and off-duty officer Wojciech Braszczok was part of a motorcycle group that attacked the driver of an SUV.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
An undercover New York City police officer has been arrested and charged in connection with the beating of an SUV driver last month by a group of motorcyclists. The attack was videotaped and went viral on YouTube.
Wojciech Braszczok, 32, was part of the motorcycle rally on Sept. 29. As The Associated Press says, the rally "began with a reckless motorcycle group ride on a Manhattan highway ... [and ended when] one motorcyclist was run over, and the SUV driver was dragged from behind the wheel and beaten on a street."
New York Police Department spokesman John McCarthy confirmed the arrest. The AP says NYPD internal affairs "began looking into the undercover detective's conduct because he didn't report having been at the rally until three days later. The expectation that police officers will act if they see crimes isn't the same for undercover officers."
The New York Post says video evidence allegedly shows that Braszczok, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, "shattered the window [of the SUV] with his gloved hand."
The Post says:
"Braszczok surrendered with his lawyer at Central Booking and was charged with rioting and criminal mischief — and he could face up to seven years in prison, sources said. ...
"Braszczok told authorities that he pulled up toward the end of the beating, leaving him no time to help victim Alexian Lien or his terrified wife and 2-year-old daughter in the SUV, sources said."
Lien, 33, had bumped a motorcycle. In the video, other riders then surround Lien's Range Rover, possibly smashing a window.
The AP says:
"There was no immediate response to phone messages left with Braszczok's attorney, Phil Karasyk. He had previously said the 10-year NYPD veteran only witnessed other bikers attacking the vehicle."
As The Two-Way's Mark Memmott wrote last week, "moments later, Lien drove off — striking at least one motorcycle rider ... Edwin "Jay" Mieses, who sustained serious leg and back injuries and was placed in a medically induced coma.
Last week we reported that one of two male bikers taken into custody earlier had been released by authorities. The second, Christopher Cruz has been charged with reckless endangerment and child endangerment.

9 Monroe police officers suspended after cases dismissed

MONROE, N.C. — 

Nine Monroe police officers will be suspended without pay for criminal cases that were dismissed because of incomplete investigations.

There could potentially be more disciplinary action against more senior members within the department.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the city manager released the names of nine employees at Monroe police that will be suspended without pay for five days as a result of the criminal case dismissals.

Of the nine officers disciplined, five are detectives, and all have worked at Monroe Police Department for several years.

The Union County District Attorney announced last month he had to dismiss 39 pending cases because those officers didn't complete investigations or file necessary paperwork and evidence.

The cases dismissed included suspected drug dealers, fraud and even a man who allegedly shot into a car with a toddler inside.

These suspensions will take place within the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, the city continues to make policy changes to ensure this never happens again.

Channel 9 was told within the next several days the District Attorney's Office will appoint an officer liaison to specifically deal with the filing issues.

The city is looking at buying a digital records system so it's easier for officers to submit paperwork.

Police video star suspended over donations

When Officer Reese Jenkins was injured on the job this year, he was floored by the number of calls and outpouring of support he received from his colleagues in the Baton Rouge Police Department.

Concerned co-workers donated some $500 to aid his recovery, entrusting their contributions to David K. Stewart, an officer who spread the word via email of Jenkins’ “financial demands” and the overwhelming circumstances he faced.

While he was flattered by the response, it struck Jenkins as odd that the hat was being passed by Stewart, an officer with whom he was not particularly close.

“We never talk about my finances,” he later told an investigator.

Jenkins’ superiors shared his misgivings and began investigating Stewart this summer on suspicion of theft and malfeasance in office after Stewart kept the contributions for himself for several weeks.

Even though Stewart misled Jenkins about a credit union account that didn’t exist, detectives could prove no “criminal intent” in his actions and were told by a prosecutor recently that they didn’t have a case, according to police records.

An internal investigation, however, concluded Stewart committed “conduct unbecoming an officer,” prompting Chief Carl Dabadie to suspend him for three days. The Advocate reviewed the investigative records Tuesday, following their release in response to a public records request filed last month.

Efforts to reach Stewart on his cellphone Tuesday for comment were unsuccessful.

Dabadie did not respond to a request to discuss the case and the disciplinary action he chose. In an address to the Baton Rouge Rotary Club last month, he said he was trying to bring a greater level of accountability to the department “to ensure that we are producing the best possible service for this community.”

“It’s time that people be held accountable,” Dabadie said. “We’re going to do that, and we have been doing that.”

The Police Department began concurrent investigations in June after Jenkins, 37, returned to work from an injury that required arm surgery and had sidelined him since February.

The internal affairs inquiry sought to determine if Stewart had run afoul of any departmental policies, while detectives separately investigated whether he had broken any Louisiana laws.

The department routinely handles criminal investigations involving its own employees and only rarely calls upon an outside agency to conduct an independent inquiry.

On April 15, Stewart sent an email beseeching his colleagues to consider Jenkins in their prayers, and with their wallets.

Supervisors found the message unusual, but Stewart told them he had received approval to send it to the department.

“We have an officer in need,” the email said of Jenkins. “His circumstances are indeed overwhelming and are becoming worse because of financial demands.”

The message elicited a series of concerned calls and text messages from Jenkins’ brothers in blue. One came from Lt. Chris Becnel, of the Baker Police Department.

Baffled, Jenkins told Becnel he hadn’t told anyone he needed financial help, documents show.

Jenkins is quoted in police records as saying he was “doing fine” and knew where to turn if he ended up in a bind.

Nevertheless, Stewart was collecting cash contributions from a number of officers.

Two wrote checks for $100. Stewart also wrote a $100 check, but never gave any of the money to Jenkins, even after he returned to work.

After Stewart sent out the email, Dabadie’s secretary, Michelle Iverson, suggested the contributions be held in an account at the City-Parish Employees’ Federal Credit Union. Previous collections for officers wounded in the line of duty have been kept in such accounts.

At some point, after Jenkins called to thank Stewart for leading the collection effort, Stewart said that some of the donations had been deposited at the credit union.

But records show that when the recovering officer went there to collect them, he was informed that no account had been created in his name.

Stewart declined to provide a statement to detectives during the criminal investigation but told internal affairs officers he had been keeping the donations in an envelope at home.

“It’s been sitting up on my shelf where I keep my keys in my apartment, and for some odd reason I just kept forgetting it,” Stewart is quoted as telling internal affairs officers. “I wish I had brought it two weeks ago and I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

He added, “Man, I hope that fella don’t think I stole that money.”

The contributions were turned over to detectives as evidence, and it wasn’t clear from records whether Jenkins ever received any of the money.

Department emails show Jenkins requested at one point that the money be given to John Colter, a detective who was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash over the summer.

The three-day suspension wasn’t the first time Stewart has been admonished by his supervisors. He was verbally counseled last year after pulling over an off-duty Baton Rouge police officer for speeding and driving erratically in Livingston Parish.

The traffic stop, which occurred outside Stewart’s jurisdiction, was followed by a heated exchange between the officers that was captured on Stewart’s dashboard camera.

Newark police officer found drinking at bar hours after calling off sick

NEWARK — A veteran police officer with the Newark Police Department has been suspended 180 hours without pay after he took sick time and was later seen drinking at a bar after the legal serving hours.
Officer Adam Pfannenschmidt called off of his shift July 20, but was seen 13 hours later, around 5 a.m. July 21, at the Harry Beasley Lounge in Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 127, consuming alcohol.
According to an internal investigation report obtained by The Advocate as part of a quarterly review, the sergeant on duty on July 21 was driving in the area of the FOP Lodge and noticed lights on in the building and cars in the parking lot around 5 a.m. when the lodge typically was not open.
The sergeant went inside through an unlocked door and found Pfannenschmidt with a beer in his hand and three other individuals inside the lounge area. Pfannenschmidt told the sergeant he had permission to be in the facility. The sergeant ordered Pfannenschmidt, the other man and two women, who were identified in the report as dancers at Club2K, out of the lounge. One of the women was identified as being Pfannenschmidt’s girlfriend.
During an interview with officers conducting the internal investigation, Pfannenschmidt said about 12 beers had been consumed and had not been paid for. Pfannenschmidt offered to pay for the drinks after the interview.
Pfannenschmidt said he was a trustee of the FOP Lodge and had a key to the facility, which is how the individuals got into the building after it had closed for the night.
In a follow-up interview, Pfannenschmidt said he had been in the lodge with one of the females after hours about 10 times in the past year. The drinks were put on a tab the other nine times, the internal investigation said.
On Aug. 9, Chief Steven Sarver found two allegations sustained against Pfannenschmidt and requested a predisciplinary hearing. That hearing was held Sept. 4.
Safety Director William Spurgeon imposed a 180 hour suspension without pay effective at 5 p.m. Oct. 3 for Pfannenschmidt’s misconduct.
According to previous internal investigations obtained by The Advocate, Pfannenschmidt and another officer were given a written reprimand in 2010 for being involved in a pursuit on Linden Avenue at a high rate of speed for about a minute.
In 2012, Pfannenschmidt was suspended for 40 hours without pay after lying to his supervisor about an injury sustained during a bar fight that resulted in an extended use of sick time.
Sarver said Pfannenschmidt has been with the department since December 2007 and “does a good job on a day-to-day basis.” Pfannenschmidt is a member of the department’s honor guard.
“His performance evaluations have been OK throughout the time he’s been here,” Sarver said.
Sarver said an agreement on the punishment was reached between the Ohio Labor Council, Newark’s Human Resources Director and Spurgeon that Pfannenschmidt would not contest the punishment.
Pfannenschmidt will be eligible to return to work Nov. 2.
A message requesting comment from the Licking County Fraternal Order of Police president was not returned by press time.
Also receiving discipline, according to internal investigations, were the following:
• Two detectives received oral reprimands for failing to give a Miranda warning to a suspect who later confessed.
• A patrol officer received an oral reprimand for taking time off without prior permission.
• A communications officer received a verbal warning for failing to dispatch an officer to a report of a bicyclist riding erratically in the road.

Cop Dog Killers: Dog allegedly shot by police, left for dead

Cop Dog Killers: Dog allegedly shot by police, left for dead: EAST ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI)– For a young, black-and-white pit bull mix, just the right person came driving by at just the right time Wednes...

Former National Park man struck and killed by drunk cop

 A former resident of National Park was killed on Oct. 4 in Staten Island when he was hit by an SUV driven by an off-duty cop who has since been charge with vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving, according to Staten Island Advance.

William Bruce Hemphill, Jr., 51, a resident of Tilghman, Md., was crossing the street in Mariners Harbor in Staten Island, New York, when Office Joseph McClean, 29, struck him with his 2010 Ford Escape, police said.

Hemphill landed on the hood of the car. A witness to the accident said he went to check on Hemphill and determined "he must have been dead on the scene right there," Staten Island Advance reported.

He was taken to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton and pronounced dead.

Police said McClean fled the scene in his car but returned within a half-hour. His blood-alcohol content was reported to be .073, which is below the legal limit of .08, however officers told the Staten Island Advance that he had an odor of alcohol, a flushed face, watery eyes and slurred speech which "typically tilt the scales toward a charge of driving while intoxicated."

Hemphill was a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 25, and was working t the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company LLC in Mariners Harbor.

According to an obituary published in the South Jersey Times, Hemphill previously resided in National Park and is survived by a number of family members. Services will be held Thursday in Woodbury.

cop admits lying,

A 23-year veteran Dayton police officer says his firing this week for lying to his superior officer was an overreaction and vindictive.

The Dayton Police Department concluded that Ronald Horton, who was let go Tuesday afternoon, violated policy when he lied.

And whether Horton gets his job back -- the case is in arbitration, he told News Center 7's Layron Livingston on Wednesday night -- rests with how strongly he makes his case.

"He was not truthful in an investigation," Deputy Chief Robert Chabali said. "He was fired as part of an administrative investigation" that involved a violation of department policy.

Chabali said he could not go into detail about the firing, but noted there "was no safety issue" stemming from what Horton did or didn't do.

Horton, formerly a uniform officer assigned to Central Patrol Operations Squad 2, admits he lied to his supervisor, a sergeant, the morning of June 3 when he was asked where he was.

He was at home, using the restroom, when he was supposed to be on his way to a scrap yard in the 300 block of West Washington Street to assist another officer. The call involved suspected illegal scrapping, which turned out to be a dispatch run that was cleared without incident.

But it was too late by then, Horton said. He had advised dispatch that he would be delayed. "I told them I was at Main [Street] and Great Miami [Boulevard], actually I was at Main and Babbitt [streets]."

Later that same day, when his sergeant asked him where he had been, Horton said, "I did tell him at first that I was at home. I wasn't truthful then."

Horton said he came clean the next day. He said he's done this kind of thing before -- going off duty -- during his shift. In the past, he said he has told dispatch where he was.
"This time, for some particular reason, there's a problem."

Usually, he said, officers go to the nearest and most convenient facility when nature calls. Horton claims there is bad blood between him and his supervisor -- whom he did not identify by name.

"I know it's a vendetta," Horton said.

Two years shy of his pension, he answers "of course" when asked whether he'd like his job back. The termination is in arbitration. He doesn't know whether he will prevail.

"I was fired, I think unjustly," Horton said, noting that he could understand his being suspended or put on desk duty as punishment. But to be terminated, he said, "just for going home to use the restroom, I just don't understand it."

Andrea Rebello's family petitions for police files

The family of a Hofstra student accidentally shot and killed in May by a Nassau police officer during an off-campus hostage standoff has asked a judge to order the release of all records related to the case.
The request was filed in Nassau Supreme Court after the family appealed to Nassau police for documents but only received partial records of the May 17 shooting of Andrea Rebello, said David Roth, the family's lawyer.
The county has refused to turn over all but a few records, citing the investigation into the shooting, which also killed Dalton Smith, the Hempstead ex-convict police said took Rebello hostage during a home invasion.
"The NCPD's refusal to provide almost all information requested is unfair and unreasonable," Roth wrote in the Sept. 30 filing in Nassau Supreme Court.
The petition names Police Commissioner Thomas Dale, County Executive Edward Mangano, the police department and the county. It asks a judge to declare the denial of the records "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and erroneous as a matter of law."
Nassau County attorney John Ciampoli said the county would review the petition. "It is puzzling to me why these attorneys are attempting to drag this matter out piecemeal in the courts and have not handled this in a more traditional fashion wherein they bring an action against the county."
In August, the family's lawyers filed papers saying they intended to sue the county for wrongfully causing Rebello's death. No suit has been filed.
Roth said the timing of the lawsuit's filing is irrelevant.
"All we're asking for is what we're entitled to," Roth said.
The family first raised questions about the shooting shortly after police said Smith barged into the Uniondale rental home about a block from campus that Rebello shared with three students, including her twin sister.
Police said Smith demanded money, jewelry and took four students hostage. Responding officers, including Nikolas Budimlic, arrived within minutes of a 911 call. Budimlic confronted Smith as he held Rebello in a headlock, a handgun at her head, police said. Smith pointed the gun at Budimlic, who fired. Smith was hit seven times, and an eighth bullet hit Rebello in the head.
In August, a Nassau judge ruled that the medical examiner must turn over Smith's autopsy report to the family. Lawyers said it was key to get the report to determine how the bullets entered his body, the size and shape of the bullet holes, and other details.
Ciampoli said the family has the report but Roth said it's "incomplete" and is missing numerous files and photographs.
"We've requested that they rethink their position, instead of narrowly construing the judge's order, and turn over the full materials," Roth said.
With Robert Brodsky