We REALLY need to raise IQ standards on police forces that take federal funds

Patrolman Patrick Cahill to six months in prison for abusing his then 9-year-old sister in 2012.

10-year-old handcuffed during police stop in Middletown


Cop gets prison sentence
By Russ Olivo
WOONSOCKET – A Superior Court judge on Monday sentenced suspended city Patrolman Patrick Cahill to six months in prison for abusing his then 9-year-old sister in 2012.
Superior Court Judge Daniel Procaccini sentenced Cahill to 10 years in all, with six months to serve and the balance suspended, with probation, for choking the girl and dragging her by the hair.
The 25-year-old policeman must surrender all his firearms, undergo mental health counseling and refrain from contacting his sister as part of the judge’s sentence.
The judge allowed Cahill to remain free on bail at least until Jan. 14. At that time Procaccini will decide whether Cahill must report to the Adult Correctional Institutions or be allowed to remain free on bail pending an appeal, according to Amy Kempe, spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin.
Cahill was convicted of second-degree child abuse after a seven-day trial on Oct. 9.
Testimony showed that on Aug. 20, 2012, Cahill threw his sister on a sofa after pulling her indoors – by the hair – from the front drive of his house on Newport Avenue. Then he pressed his knee on her chest and squeezed her throat with his hands until her face turned red and she started coughing.
She complained of difficulty breathing after Cahill let go. The episode happened while two of Cahill’s sisters, including an 11-year-old, were visiting him at the home Cahill shared with his father, Michael Cahill, a retired Woonsocket police captain.
After the girls had been watching TV for some time, Cahill became angry after the younger girl asked him if she could go outside to play. Cahill had instructed the girl to stay in the house, but she went outside anyway, at which point Cahill went after her and grabbed her by her ponytail.
After the trial, it was Procaccini alone who found Cahill guilty because he waived his right to a trial by jury. At the time, Kilmartin called Cahill’s actions “reprehensible and disturbing.”
Cahill has been on unpaid administrative leave from the Woonsocket Police Department since the time of his arrest. His status is not expected to change immediately.
After the conviction, Police Chief Thomas Carey said the department would not revisit the issue of Cahill’s employment status until he had exhausted all of his appellate rights in the judicial system.



 10-year-old handcuffed during police stop in Middletown
By Kaitlyn Naples
MIDDLETOWN, CT (WFSB) -
Working undercover, Middletown detectives executed an arrest warrant last Wednesday night outside of a South Main Street liquor store.
Police arrested 27-year-old Kenneth Ford on drug charges and reckless driving and evading responsibility.
Police said they watched and followed Ford first, from the Woodrow Wilson Middle School.
Ford reportedly left the school twice for two different drug deals before returning to pick up a female and head to the liquor store.
Police confronted Ford outside of the store and heard screaming from inside of his car.
The female in the back seat was a fifth grade student that he picked up from basketball.
Attorney Corey Brinson said, “They (police) grabbed my 10-year-old client, a fifth grader, threw her up against car, and handcuffed her. Patted her on the side of the car, while guns were drawn and she screamed in terror, frightened.”
Ford asked police to call the girl's mother, who told officers her age which is when police then removed the handcuffs immediately.
The child was placed in another unmarked car before returning to the police station to be picked up by her mom.
"I can understand concerns mom would have when daughter handcuffed, but have to do everything in safest possible manner,” said Middletown Police Lt. Heather Desmond.
Police said Ford is a convicted felon known to carry guns. They found four cell phones, seven bags of crack cocaine and almost $3,000 in cash in his possession.
They also said some of the drugs were in plain view and within immediate reach of the girl.
The child's mother said she wants a resolution and some sympathy.
“She's a very sensitive kid. She's been crying for days, missed school, went back today, still upset, and is going to seek therapy,” said her mother Canaa Chaney.
“Many of us have children of our own, never want to see a child in this situation and not be with someone selling drugs and unfortunately daughter in place and police acted appropriately,” Desmond said.
Brinson said he and his clients are likely going to file a federal lawsuit for wrongful false arrest and unlawful imprisonment “because enough is enough, handcuff her and throw her against the car.”
On Friday, Ford was still behind bars and he and the girl's mother have a child together.
She said she has never known him to carry a gun or be in a situation with crack in clear view.