Why even bother reporting this?

Fairfax County officer fatally shoots man during fight at homeless shelter.

The gun happy Fairfax County police shot and killed another citizen. Just like the killing of the unarmed John Geer in Springfield earlier this year, nothing will become of this.

This is as far as this story is going to go. In the end, once again, the Fairfax County cops will investigate the Fairfax County cops and find the Fairfax County harmless in the incident.

The news says that the department’s Criminal Investigations Bureau and an Internal Affairs unit are investigating the incident….so what? The results will never be made public even though the public has paid the cops ($300 million) for those results.

Just like the killing of John Geer in Springfield earlier this year, nothing is will become of this. This is as far as this story is going to go. In the end, once again, the Fairfax County cops will investigate the Fairfax County cops and find the Fairfax County harmless in the incident

The Fairfax County cops bank on the fact that the electronic media probably won’t report the story and if they do it will get, perhaps, 15 seconds of air time, and, since TV news doesn’t do follow stories, the cops are safe on that front.

The print media, which has done an excellent job holding the Fairfax County Police accountable for their butchering, could be a problem for the cops on this, so Internal Affairs, whose primary job is not to establish the truth but to protect the department from bad publicity, will stall the issue for a few years and eventually even the print media will forget about it.

The County’s elected officials cower at the thought of confronting the cops and won’t dare raise the issue, besides; the guy they killed this time was homeless and probably mentally ill, so he was of no value to elected officials. Think we’re wrong about that? Watch and see because not one of them will raise a squeek over this.

In the end, once again, the Fairfax County cops will investigate the Fairfax County cops and find the Fairfax County harmless in the incident. But that’s an old story and not really relevant.

The real story isn’t in the cop’s willingness to gun people down. The real story is in the departmental culture of contempt that tells the cops its okay to shoot first and think later.

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: police officer on trial in sexual assault case

Todays sexual assault charges against your police: police officer on trial in sexual assault case: FORT WORTH — Lawyers for a police officer accused of sexually assaulting a woman told the jury that the woman is pursuing a lawsuit st...

Another drunk cop

SOMERSET, Ky. (WKYT) - Pulling people over is a part of Sergeant Jason Griffith's job as an officer for the Somerset Police Department, but having the lights behind him is another story.
"Well, the case is fresh and we don't have all of the facts in front of us just yet," said Attorney Scott Foster, representing Sgt. Griffith.
According to the arrest citation, which we acquired courtesy of the Commonwealth Journal, Sgt. Griffith was arrested by a Department of Fish and Wildlife officer Sunday night on suspicion of driving under the influence.
"It obviously bothers him and upsets him that he's taken away from his career over this," answered Foster on Griffith's behalf.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife says Officer Lucas Tucker was on his way home when he noticed a truck driving all over Highway 80 in Pulaski County. Tucker attempted to stop the truck, but the Department of Fish and Wildlife says the truck ignored Officer Tucker. The truck finally stopped at the Somerset city limit. The arrest citation says Griffith was "crossing all lanes, going into the grass and shoulder on both sides of the road.". The report said Tucker could smell an odor of alcoholic beverage and that Sgt. Griffith was reportedly swaying outside his truck. The report said Griffith refused his field sobriety test and breath test.
Foster has a lot of questions about the validity of the arrest. "I've got to do some research on the topic, but there are some questions about the authority of a fish and wildlife officer to enforce the criminal laws in the State of Kentucky."
The Department of Fish and Wildlife say they have jurisdiction statewide and explain that they can act in "life threatening situations." The Department of Fish and Wildlife said Officer Tucker called the Somerset Police in to assist, and once on scene they identified the driver as Sgt. Griffith. A spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife said the Somerset Police requested that Officer Tucker complete his arrest report.
"There's some statutory language that tends to indicate they may not," added Foster.
At this time, Foster explained that Sgt. Griffith is on paid administrative leave, per department policy, and he said the 20-year vet has an otherwise sterling career.
"There's been no prior issues with him, no prior arrests or criminal complaints, or no other issues of that nature," said Foster.
However there's another twist, Foster said he is investigating a claim of a prior incident between Sgt. Griffith and the arresting officer.
"There is an indication that in the past Mr. Griffith stopped this gentleman and cited him," adding, "I don't know if there's an animus between the two."
While there is still more to sort out, Foster said the sergeant will have his day in court on November 18th, Foster said his client will enter a "not guilty" plea.

Brown may review policy after NYPD Kelly silenced

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Brown University may have to consider changing its policies on public lectures after New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was shouted down by community members and students as he tried to give a speech about his department's stop-and-frisk policy, a spokeswoman for the Ivy League school said Wednesday.
Spokeswoman Marisa Quinn said it is valuable to have such events open to the public, but they need to be conducted as a free exchange of ideas. Both Brown students and members of the general public disrupted the event, she said.
Brown President Christina Paxson said in a letter to Brown students, faculty and staff that she planned to contact Kelly to "convey my deepest regret for the manner in which he was treated." Quinn said Wednesday the two have spoken.
Paxson also called a meeting of the Brown community Wednesday evening.
Kelly declined to comment Tuesday and again Wednesday through spokesmen for the New York Police Department.
The NYPD contends stop and frisk has made the city safer. But a federal judge recently ruled the practice of stopping individuals who the police think look suspicious violated the civil rights of minorities. The city is appealing.
Kelly had just begun to speak Tuesday when protesters began shouting and would not let him continue. The disruption went on for about 30 minutes before university officials put an end to the event and cleared the room.

Students opposed to Kelly's visit first petitioned the university to cancel the lecture, said Jenny Li, a Brown student who helped organize the protest. When the university did not cancel the event, "we decided to cancel it for them," Li said. She called the protest "a powerful demonstration of free speech."
Brown's public lectures are typically free and open to the larger community, and protests have disrupted talks there before. A few years ago, a man who did not attend Brown threw something at then-Rep. Patrick Kennedy during a talk. In another instance, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman had a cream pie thrown in his face by two people, at least one of whom was a student. In both those instances, the talks continued.
Ross Cheit, a Brown professor and member of the faculty at its Taubman Center for Public Policy, which hosted the lecture, said that while Kelly expected some protests, he appeared to be taken by surprise that he wasn't allowed to speak.
Also, contrary to what some demonstrators claimed Tuesday, Kelly was not paid for his appearance and was never going to get an honorarium, Cheit said.
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare, who attended the Tuesday event, said Wednesday he wanted to hear Kelly speak and was disappointed he didn't get to hear him answer questions about the NYPD practice.
"When you shut people down, whether you're pro or con, we all lose as a community," Pare said.
Pare said his own department had discussed practicing stop and frisk after a rash of shootings, but eventually rejected the idea.
"From some readings and some perspectives, it has been successful at reducing crime, but at what cost?" he said.
The Associated Press on Wednesday attempted to contact several people involved in the protest, but they either did not return messages or they declined to comment.

Lawsuit accuses Roxbury police of making false arrest after ignoring part of phone message

A Pennsylvania man is suing the Roxbury Police Department and two of its officers, claiming he was falsely arrested after they deliberately ignored part of a recorded telephone message.
Joe Paszkowski, 65, of Columbus, Pa., was charged with threatening to kill by means of hanging, but the charge was dropped after a Morris County grand jury returned a “no bill” and refused to indict him, according to court records.
The suit says that in the recorded message in April that resulted in his arrest, Paszkowski told a person in Roxbury, “I’m going to hang both of you … so bad. I’m coming up to New Jersey … I’m going to … have a prosecutor look into the case for what you did.”
But in his reports, Officer John Sylvester included only the first part of the message, and “deliberately and maliciously” left out the second part mentioning the prosecutor, said Paszkowski’s attorney, Joel Rachmiel.
Those words “clearly negate any threat to kill another by hanging,” Rachmiel said.
Paszkowski says he was arrested and held at a jail in Pennsylvania, where the “stress and anxiety” caused by the “baseless charge” made him suffer breathing problems, which necessitated his hospitalization.

Cops and the women they abuse: officer charged with domestic battery

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Durant officer charged with DUI appears in court

DURANT, OK -- A Durant Police officer charged with driving under the influence of alcohol pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
OHP says 36-year-old Brandon Carbaugh crashed his pickup truck on State Highway 91 earlier this month.
Troopers say he was arrested and taken to MCSO, but was not booked into jail because he was injured.
Durant Police say he is on administrative leave.
Carbaugh is set to appear in court for a disposition December 12th.

Armstrong County police officer charged with having guns on college campus

Police at a Massachusetts college campus last week filed a criminal complaint against a law school student who is also a part-time Armstrong County police officer after guns were discovered in the on-campus apartment where he was staying.
William DeForte, 42, of Clinton will be notified by summons by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Department of Public Safety to appear for arraignment on charges of carrying a firearm without a university license and storing his handguns and ammunition improperly.
It is illegal in Massachusetts for anyone to bring a gun onto a college campus, even if they are a police officer, without dispensation from the public safety chief, according to John Hoey, assistant chancellor of public affairs.

Michael Hart, Skokie Police Officer, Charged With Battery In Alleged Brutality Caught On Video

A Skokie, Ill. police officer has been charged with felony aggravated battery and official misconduct after he was captured pushing a female arrestee into a jail cell, resulting in the woman sustaining multiple serious facial injuries.

According to Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, officer Michael Hart, 43, of Gurnee, Ill., "became irate" after helping with the fingerprinting and photographing of 47-year-old Cassandra Fuerstein and shoved the 110-pound Chicago woman into a concrete bench during her March 10 arrest on DUI charges, ABC Chicago reports.

Fuerstein had been disregarding Hart's commands, prosecutors say.
The attack shattered several bones in Fuerstein's face and the woman required reconstructive surgery including a titanium plate in her cheek, according to NBC Chicago. She also has had vision and dental problems since the shoving.

Video of the shoving was released earlier this month by Feuerstein's attorney, Torreya Hamilton, after Feuerstein filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officer. The video prompted an outcry and over 1,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling for Hart's arrest.

Hart was ordered held on $75,000 bond and faces up to five years in prison if convicted. Hart's attorney, Jed Stone, told the Chicago Tribune his client "cannot believe after 19 years of serving Skokie that his career has come to an arrest. … I don't think pushing her into a cell is a crime."

As a result of the charges, Skokie officials have put Hart on administrative leave while they complete an internal investigation that could lead to disciplinary action, Patch reports.

Hart filed a complaint against Feuerstein after the incident for resisting a peace officer. Those charges were later dismissed after Cook County prosecutors reviewed the evidence. Feuerstein pleaded guilty to drunk driving.

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Macedon Police officer Edward O'Konsky suspended

Canandaigua, N.Y.

A Macedon police officer has been suspended without pay after allegedly stealing money from the bargaining unit representing the town’s police officers and removing and using a piece of evidence from the department.

Macedon Police said Edward O'Konsky, 38, of Farmington, alleged stole nearly $2,200 from the Macedon Association of Police Officers over the course of a year.

O'Konsky is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, first-degree falsifying business records, official misconduct, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and petit larceny. He was arraigned on the charges and is due back in court next month.

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Hartford Police Sergeant Under Review For Accidentally Firing Gun Into Neighbor's House While Off-Duty

WINDSOR— An off-duty Hartford police sergeant who accidentally fired his gun through the wall of his home and into the bedroom of a 12-year-old girl in the neighboring house is not facing criminal charges.
The neighbors of Sgt. Eric Smith's neighbors were satisfied with an apology, according to Capt. Tom LePore of the Windsor Police Department.
"There was no desire on the part of the victim to have an arrest made," LePore said. "As a matter of fact they said they did not want their neighbor to be arrested for that."
According to an incident report from Windsor, a resident of Village Lane called police on Sept. 25 after his daughter found a bullet in her bed. The daughter told police that three days earlier she had discovered a hole in her bedroom wall just underneath the window.
Police examined the bullet hole and determined the shot came from a southerly direction. An officer then went to Smith's residence, which is just south of the caller's house.
Smith told Windsor police that on the evening of Sept. 24, he was in his bedroom unloading his off-duty handgun when he accidentally fired one shot, the incident report states. Smith said he checked the hole in his bedroom wall with a screwdriver and thought the bullet had stayed inside the wall. He also said he checked outside for evidence that the bullet had exited the wall and found none, according to the report.
Windsor police spoke with a sergeant from Hartford police Internal Affairs division, who stated that the "situation would be addressed internally," the report states.
The case was closed by Windsor police, though the report gives no explanation of the discrepancy between when Smith reported the accidental shot and when the girl reported finding the bullet hole. The report does not indicate whether anyone was inside the neighbor's home at the time of the shot.
LePore said that although Smith could have been charged with reckless endangerment or unlawful discharge of a weapon, he did not receive special treatment.
An internal affairs investigation into the matter is almost complete, but disciplinary action against Smith has not been determined, said Lt. Brian Foley, head of the Hartford police Major Crimes division. The investigation is currently in the "command review stage," Foley said.
Although no criminal charges were filed, LePore said this sort of incident should have been reported immediately.
"I can't actually understand why he didn't report it to his agency, number one, or how he didn't see that it penetrated his house," LePore said. "I mean those are all very good questions."