The Cop crime wave continues




Miami-Dade Cop Arrested Over Road Rage Incident
Durham police officer charged with assaulting wife
Dallas officer charged with family violence assault a second time
Two Florida police officers charged with battery
Suspension cut in half for Georgetown officer who shoved students
Cop Gets Drunk, Shoots a Motorist and Gets a $500 Fine
Syracuse Police Officer Suspended with Pay After DWI Arrest
Ticket-Fixing Ex-Cop Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Kill a Witness
Man sues Denver cops for shooting him in back in excessive-force case



Miami-Dade Cop Arrested Over Road Rage Incident
A Miami-Dade Police officer who allegedly shot at a Miami-Dade Corrections officer over a road rage incident turned himself in
Steve Litz reports.
A Miami-Dade Police officer who allegedly shot at a Miami-Dade Corrections officer over a road rage incident turned himself in Tuesday and was booked on multiple charges.
Jonathan Lang, 42, surrendered to police and now faces charges of discharging a firearm from a vehicle, aggravated assault with a firearm, and tampering with physical evidence.
Lang’s story started when corrections officer Georgina Illa said a driver in a white car cut her off on the Turnpike near Southwest 153rd Street. Illa said as she went to pass the car, someone threw out a cup of some liquid and then pulled out a gun and shot.
The bullet went through Illa’s taillight, through her trunk, and then lodged in the rear seat of the car. Illa said she flagged down an officer driving nearby, who then pulled the suspect’s car over. Illa said she also stopped and that’s when one of the officers on the scene told her a Miami-Dade Police Officer fired his gun.

Durham police officer charged with assaulting wife
DURHAM, N.C. — A Durham police officer has been placed on administrative leave after being charged with assault, police said Wednesday.Cpl. James John Cartwright, 41, of Knightdale, was charged with assault on a female and interfering with emergency communications.Wake County deputies said Cartwright's wife alleged that he assaulted her Tuesday night in their car on Interstate 440.Cartwright has been employed by the Durham Police Department since 1998 and is assigned to the Patrol Bureau.

Dallas officer charged with family violence assault a second time
By NAHEED RAJWANI
A Dallas police sergeant was arrested this week on a misdemeanor charge of family violence assault — his second such arrest since 2012.
Sgt. Paul Figueroa, a 20-year veteran at the Dallas Police Department, turned himself in Wednesday to the Collin County sheriff’s office, police said. He was charged with a class A misdemeanor in connection with an incident that occurred Nov. 1.
Details of the incident were not immediately available, so it’s unclear whom he’s accused of assaulting.
Figueroa is assigned to the north central patrol division and has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation, police said.
This is the second allegation of family violence for Figueroa in Collin County. In 2012, Murphy police arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of family violence assault.
A police report states Figueroa and his wife got into an argument after celebrating her birthday at a restaurant.
Murphy officers saw her walking home, barefoot, and asked her what had happened.
“He pushed me out, pulled my hair, slapped me on my face,” she told officers, according to the police report. “This is not the first time he ever got physical with me.”
Figueroa was arrested and placed on administrative leave while the Dallas Police Department’s internal affairs division investigated the claims.
DPD concluded Figueroa didn’t violate any departmental policies after his wife signed an affidavit saying the investigation process made her “uncomfortable” and she did not wish to pursue charges against him.
Records show she changed her story and said Figueroa had pulled her hair to keep her from trying to get out of the car, the affidavit states.
“I never wanted any of this to happen,” she wrote in the affidavit. “I did not initiate contacting police. I am not in fear of my life, safety.”
Collin County court records show Figueroa and his wife divorced last year.

Two Florida police officers charged with battery
By Barbara Liston
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Florida prosecutors on Friday announced the filing of misdemeanor battery charges against two Orlando police officers in unrelated 2014 incidents involving the arrests of black men.
Officers Chase Fugate and William Escobar were suspended with pay pending the outcome of separate internal investigations to determine whether their actions violated department policy, according to a police press release.
The investigations come as scrutiny on police has been heightened in recent months by the killing of unarmed blacks by white officers, raising questions about police treatment of racial minorities.
The press release from the office of State Attorney Jeff Ashton offered no details of the specific actions that led to the charges.
Fugate faces two misdemeanor charges of battery for his June 14 arrest of a 22-year-old black man who fled as Fugate attempted to stop him from driving a car reported as stolen, according to the police report of the arrest.
Escobar faces two charges of battery and two charges of perjury, all misdemeanors, stemming from a March 15 incident.
That night, Escobar and his partner checked out a group of people arguing in the street amid the odor of marijuana, and arrested two black men, ages 24 and 33, according to the police reports of the arrests.
Both men were charged with resisting arrest and one with battery on an officer.
Both officers will receive summonses and court dates from the clerk of court, which is standard procedure for misdemeanor charges.



Suspension cut in half for Georgetown officer who shoved students
 Claire Osborn
The Georgetown Police Department has agreed to reduce the suspension of a police officer who tripped and pushed students on a soccer field from 40 days to 20 days, according to the settlement agreement released by the city of Georgetown on Friday.
The city has also agreed to pay Officer George Bermudez $3,966.96 for 16 of the days he was suspended, according to the agreement. Bermudez has already served the 40-day unpaid suspension he originally received.
Bermudez filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September alleging that Georgetown Police Chief Wayne Nero had discriminated against him because two other Georgetown police officers – who were white – received less or no punishment for more severe violations of the department’s use of force policy, said Robert McCabe, Bermudez’s attorney.
Nero has declined to comment about the settlement or about Bermudez’s allegation of discrimination.
Bermudez’s case received widespread attention after cellphone videos showed him tripping one student and pushing others rushing onto a field April 19 after the Vandegrift High School girls’ soccer team won a championship game.
Bermudez has been a Georgetown police officer since 2005.



Police officer on paid leave after tripping students
Claire Osborn
The Georgetown Police Department has placed Officer George Bermudez on paid administrative leave after video surfaced this weekend showing him tripping and pushing students who were rushing onto a field after a soccer game.
Bermudez’s actions were not appropriate measures for a crowd control situation, said agency spokesman Roland Waits. He said the matter has been referred to the internal affairs unit of the Georgetown Police Department.
Bermudez was chosen as an outstanding police officer for the Georgetown Police Department last year, Waits said. He said Bermudez has been with the department since 2005 as a school resource officer at Georgetown High School, where the soccer game was held Saturday.
Bermudez has no history of reprimands or disciplinary action, Waits said.
Earlier: A Georgetown police officer was filmed tripping and pushing students as they rushed onto a field Saturday after a state championship soccer game at Georgetown school district athletic complex, said Police Department spokesman Roland Waits.
The officer can be seen about eight seconds in the YouTube video in the bottom middle of the screen tripping a student and grabbing another student.
The officer’s name has not been released. Officials are investigating the incident Monday morning to determine whether the officer should be placed on administrative leave, Waits said. The officer was on duty when the incident happened during the state finals of a soccer tournament, Waits said.
After Vandegrift High School won the final game, students rushed onto the field to celebrate, Waits said.
The girls soccer team at Vandegrift High School in the Leander school district had just won the state championship against Wylie East High School when the incident occurred, said Pam Waggoner, the president of the Leander school board.
The players from Wylie East High School had just left the field when students from Vandegrift High School jumped a fence separating the bleachers from the field about 6 p.m. Saturday, said Waggoner, who was at the game.
Students were excited because it was the first time in the school’s five-year history that a sports team has won a state championship, she said. The Vandegrift soccer team won in the last two minutes of the game, she said. When the students fans ran onto the field, “it wasn’t a chaotic situation,” she said. “It was over as fast as the kids got on the field.”
Waggoner said she didn’t see what happened with the Georgetown officer but she did talk to a male student limping off the field who said the officer had tripped him. “He’s still a little hurt,” she said.
She said when students rushed on the field, some of them did pile on top of the soccer players and the officer could have been concerned about that. “I’m sure he was just trying to keep the players safe; it was just his method in which he chose to do it that’s questionable,” Waggoner said.
Parents who were in the bleachers filmed what happened with the officer, she said. “They were pretty upset,” Waggoner said. “I wasn’t even out of the stadium before they were putting it on YouTube,” she said.



Cop Gets Drunk, Shoots a Motorist and Gets a $500 Fine
By Tom Boggioni / Raw Story
An off-duty Louisville police officer was acquitted by jury of one charge and fined $500 on another after shooting a motorist while off-duty and after a night of drinking at a friend’s house, reports WDRB.
Officer Chauncey Carthan had been charged with wanton endangerment and driving under the influence for the 2012 incident when the he pulled over a motorist, initiating a confrontation that ended up with the officer shooting the suspect, Ishmael Gough, in the leg.
After deliberating three hours, the jury acquitted Carthan on the endangerment charge, but found him guilty on the lesser charge, with the officer paying a fine and not serving time in jail.
According to court records, Carthan left his friend’s home on the evening of Sept. 4,  after an evening of drinking. While on his way home, he pulled Gough over for speeding and identified himself as a police officer, although Gough disputed that. Gouch stated the out of uniform cop was aggressive, while pointing a gun at him and demanding he get on the ground without ever saying what he had done wrong.
A witness who called 911 described the incident to the dispatcher saying, “He’s got his gun, he’s saying he’s police though, but dude’s begging for his life down here on the ground.”
After being asked by the dispatcher if the man with the gun was a police officer the woman said, “Yeah, he said he’s the police, but I don’t know. He ain’t got no uniform, no badge, no nothing- but he’s got this pistol pointing at the dude.”
Prosecutor Nick Mudd argued that Carthan should serve time jail, saying, “He was a drunk off-duty cop, driving a taxpayer car, with his taxpayer gun, going home.”
Following the indictment, Carthan resigned from the police department and he still faces a civil suit from Gough.

Syracuse Police Officer Suspended with Pay After DWI Arrest
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Police officer arrested for driving drunk and resisting arrest has been suspended with pay. The Onondaga County Sheriff's Department confirms that officer Ty Cogan has been suspended since his arrest in December Investigators say Cogan's blood alcohol level was twice the legal driving limit when he was pulled over along Route 370 in the village of Liverpool.
Officials say Cogan struggled with a Liverpool Police officer and a deputy, which resulted in minor injuries for all three involved. He was charged with aggravated DWI and resisting arrest among other charges.

HPD officer will spend almost 3 years in federal prison for extortion
By Lynn Kawano
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Even before the sentencing hearing started Wednesday morning, former Honolulu Police Officer Roddy Tsunezumi was emotional.
He wiped tears from his eyes numerous times and repeatedly turned to look at his family and girlfriend sitting in the gallery.
The former HPD Traffic officer pleaded guilty to extortion. Tsunezumi, and an accomplice Jeremy Javillo, convinced the owners of a Honolulu bar that they were the target of a robbery plot. Tsunezumi suggested they pay $15,000 for protection and said if he didn't, they could be in danger.
One of the owners testified at the hearing that he and his wife suffered from psychological and emotional distress as a result. He said they would barricade themselves in their home out of fear and got a gun permit.
Tsunezumi also admitted to taking part in an elaborate scheme to sell stolen cars.  It was his accomplice, Jeremy Javillo, who ended up working with the FBI to set up Tsunezumi. Court documents detail the scheme saying Officer Tsunezumi would buy junked cars at auction and would send Javillo to steal a similar car.  Tsunezumi would then switch the Vehicle Identification Number or VIN and sell the stolen car. One of the vehicles used to set up Tsunezumi, was the white pickup truck shown here.
Police sources say at least one other HPD officer purchased one of the stolen cars. That officer, a motorcycle cop, is on administrative leave as the investigation into his role continues.
Tsunezumi's attorney pointed out during the hearing, that numerous letters were written on the officer's behalf to tell the court that the 9-year veteran of the force was a good man who did a lot of work for the community.
Tsunezumi also read from a statement saying he started going to church and volunteering after resigning from HPD and from the Air National Guard.
Even the Assistant U.S. Attorney, Kenneth Sorenson told the judge that Tsunezumi was cooperative after his arrest and helped them with other criminal cases.
But in the end, Federal Judge Derrick Watson called Tsunezumi's behavior 'reprehensible' and a 'violation of the public's trust' in law enforcement. He sentenced him to the maximum in the range, 33 months in federal prison.
Tsunezumi was allowed two weeks at the request of the U.S. Prosecuting Attorney who said he needed the former officer's help with an ongoing case. He will surrender to authorities on January 28.

Ticket-Fixing Ex-Cop Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Kill a Witness
A former police officer convicted in a case that led to the NYPD's ticket-fixing probe has pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill a witness, selling counterfeit DVDs, ticket fixing and other charges.
Jose Ramos, 45, was sentenced to up to 23 years in prison following Tuesday's plea. The sentence will run concurrently with the 12 to 14 years he's already serving for attempted robbery and drug charges after being convicted in October.
Prosecutors say Ramos turned his two Bronx barbershops into a front for drug dealing and stolen goods.
The ticket-fixing investigation against more than a dozen officers sparked a debate over the informal practice of police squashing tickets or minor summonses as favors for friends and relatives.

Man sues Denver cops for shooting him in back in excessive-force case
By Kirk Mitchell
A man has sued the city of Denver and five police officers claiming that he was shot in the back and in the finger while lying on the ground with his hands above his head in surrender even though he was an innocent bystander during the arrest of a friend.
Michael Valdez filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver against the city of Denver and officers Peter Derrick III, John McDonald, Robert Motyka Jr., Jeff Motz and Karl Roller, after he had to be resuscitated in a hospital emergency room.
A finger in Valdez's left hand was partially amputated, he underwent a small bowel resection and suffered multiple fractures in his back, which left bone fragments in his spinal canal. Valdez was in a wheelchair for a year, suffers constant pain and has regained only partial use of his legs and feet, the lawsuit says.
"Tragically, as if his physical injuries were not enough, the Denver Police Department and the defendant officers fabricated criminal charges against Mr. Valdez," the lawsuit filed Thursday says.
He was charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of first-degree assault in one case and two counts of first-degree murder in a second case even though officers knew he wasn't involved, the lawsuit says. Denver prosecutors held him in jail long after learning that Valdez was innocent, the lawsuit says.
"Defendants recklessly, knowingly, intentionally, willfully and wantonly arrested and imprisoned Mr. Valdez with no probable cause or reasonable grounds for believing that Mr. Valdez attempted to kill, injure or menace any police officer," the lawsuit says.
Ron Hackett, Denver police spokesman, said Friday he could not comment about the case because it is in litigation.
The Denver District Attorney's Office dismissed 19 felony counts against Valdez on March 19, 2013. He was then released after he spent two months in the jail "in agonizing pain and without the use of his lower limbs," the lawsuit said.
Valdez is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorneys' fees, according to the lawsuit filed by Laura Menninger of the Denver law firm Haddon, Morgan and Foreman.
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of complaints in which Denver law enforcement officers have been accused of excessive force, including a case in which Denver paid $6 million to the family of homeless street preacher Marvin Booker.
"Defendant Denver exhibits deliberate indifference to or tacit approval of its police officers' misconduct, which is Denver's official custom, policy and practice," the suit says.
Motyka, a sergeant, and three other Denver police officers were sued in 2011 after they entered a home and arrested the wrong people, members of a family Mariachi band and not drug-dealing brothers who had previously moved from the rental home. A jury awarded the family $1.8 millionfollowing a September trial.
On the afternoon of Jan. 16, 2013, Valdez accepted a ride in a red Dodge pickup truck driven by his friend John Montoya. Valdez didn't know that his friend had been involved in an incident in which the same pickup was used in a crime, also that morning, the suit says.
Police tried to pull the truck over, but Montoya sped away and led police on a chase until he crashed into a tree at West 39th Avenue and Osage streets.
Valdez and another woman exited the truck several minutes later with their hands in the air and lay down on the ground several feet from the truck.

"While prone on the ground with his face in the grass and his hands extended overhead, Valdez was shot by the defendant officers, once in his back and once to his fourth finger as he tried to shield his head from gunshots," the lawsuit says.