Fairfax County Police Watch: Again, we need a national IQ standard for cops

Man accidentally shot by Palm Springs police settles for $125K

Man accidentally shot by D.C. police while getting haircut didn’t receive apology

Sandusky officer accidentally shoots self after slipping on ice

Charges dropped against suspects in blue-on-blue shooting

Man accidentally shot by Palm Springs police settles for $125K

Benjamin Meza was shot in leg while walking dog in Warm Sands neighborhood in 2013

Patrick Edgell, Digital Content Director, patrick.edgell@kesq.com

According to City Attorney Doug Holland, the city has been working on the settlement deal with Benjamin Meza since November of 2014.

Holland said Meza was an innocent bystander who was accidentally shot by police while walking his dog in the Warm Sands neighborhood. Officers were in a gunfight with a burglary suspect when Meza was hit in the leg by a stray bullet.

The accidental shooting happened in the 600 block of S. Camino Real around 10:30 p.m.

The settlement was for $125,000 and Holland said even with the settlement, officials claim the officers acted appropriately.

The burglary suspect was identified as Juan Villanueva Lopez Jr.

The Palm Springs Police Department caught up with him later that night in Cathedral City where a standoff occurred well into the morning. Villanueva Lopez Jr. finally surrendered to police and was arrested around 11 a.m. the next day.

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR

Boycott the following companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games

Apple Federal Credit Union,

LMI,

Noblis,

B.F. Saul Company,

Galls LLC,

Sage Communications,

Macerich,

Glory Days Grill,

Reston Limousine,

City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,

NOVA Media Services,

Clyde’s Restaurant Group,

Level3 Communications,

Verizon

Globe, Dewberry,

IMC, ESPN 980,

Serco,

Loudoun County,

Grant Thornton,

Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and

Booz Allen Hamilton.

Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the Fairfax County Police? Then fire the people who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of office. He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.

Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t matter.

Man accidentally shot by D.C. police while getting haircut didn’t receive apology

By Sam Ford

WASHINGTON (WJLA) – A man accidentally shot by D.C. police three weeks ago—the day before a job interview—says he is in nearly constant pain and can’t sleep longer than three hours at a time. He also says he has heard nothing from police, not even an apology.

“I jumped out the chair, I tried to run, but my leg locked up on me and I fell on the ground,” said 22-year-old James Kearse, recalling the moment he got shot while getting his hair cut at a barber shop on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

Police shot at a man suspected of armed robbery who dropped a pellet gun. They missed and the stray bullet struck Kearse in his right hip. The bullet remains lodged in his pelvis.

“Waves of pain, waves of pain,” he said.

The barbers at Next Level Cuts were furious.

“It was reckless on the police behalf,” said barber Keith Pruden. “Children visit this shop all the time to get their hair cut.”

Kearse’s problem with the police is that he has heard nothing from them since the accidental shooting.

“Nothin’, nothin’ at all,” he said. “They didn’t call, they didn’t send a card, they didn’t do nothin’. At all.”

Kearse said he later heard that the officer who shot him rendered aid until the ambulance arrived. He said another officer questioned him briefly at the hospital, but did not apologize.

“I thought I’d [have] heard from them the same day or the day after, that week—somethin’,” Kearse said.

Kearse was getting his hair cut for a job interview that’s now gone.

“I think it took about two months to get that interview and when I got it, this happened,” he said.

Now, Kearse spends a lot of time with his 11-year-old dog, Midnight.

“I just wish it ain’t happen,” he said.

ABC 7 News sought reaction from Metropolitan Police.

Chief Cathy Lanier said, “[Kearse] is absolutely right. I should have called,” adding that she would soon call him to apologize.

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR

Boycott the following companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games

Apple Federal Credit Union,

LMI,

Noblis,

B.F. Saul Company,

Galls LLC,

Sage Communications,

Macerich,

Glory Days Grill,

Reston Limousine,

City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,

NOVA Media Services,

Clyde’s Restaurant Group,

Level3 Communications,

Verizon

Globe, Dewberry,

IMC, ESPN 980,

Serco,

Loudoun County,

Grant Thornton,

Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and

Booz Allen Hamilton.

Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t matter.

Sandusky officer accidentally shoots self after slipping on ice

The bullet just grazed Detective Lester Peters' hip, leaving him with relatively minor injuries

Courtney Astolfi

A Sandusky police officer narrowly avoided serious injury Thursday night after he slipped on ice and accidentally shot himself during the execution of a search warrant.

Detective Lester Peters, a Sandusky officer since 2006, was sent to Firelands Regional Medical Center after a bullet grazed his right hip. Officials said the bullet did not penetrate Peters' skin, instead leaving behind relatively minor abrasions.

Peters and four other officers were outside a home in the 800 block of Third Street just before 9 p.m. Thursday, preparing to execute a drug search warrant against Salei Harris, 28, according to Sandusky police Sgt. Dana Newell.

Peters was at the forefront of the group as they approached the house. He had his weapon unholstered and angled down toward the ground — an appropriate way to hold the gun in this kind of situation, Newell said.

But despite Peters carrying his weapon properly, the detective slipped on some ice, his arm jerked up and his finger depressed the trigger.

“Luckily the type of holster he was wearing and his duty belt took the impact of the bullet,” Newell said.

The bullet ultimately struck a screw on the holster, then ricocheted into Peters' leather belt, coming to a rest between his body and the belt, alongside his hip.

“The other officers were close to him and they all heard the shot — then it was a question of whether they were being shot at. At first they were readying for cover, then they saw Lester start staggering,” Newell said.

Following protocol, one officer took Peters off to the side and began tending to him, while the other three officers continued on with the execution of the warrant, Newell said.

The two people inside the home at the time — Harris and a second man — also heard the shot. Due to the brief delay after Peters' gun went off, they likely had more time to react to officers' presence and the impending search than they would have otherwise.

When the three officers went to enter the home, the second resident met them at the door and let them in.

Police searched and cleared the bottom floor, then found Harris standing at the top of a staircase. He complied with officers' orders, walked downstairs and gave himself up.

In an upstairs bedroom, officers found a loaded .40-caliber gun sitting on the bed and a box of ammunition nearby.

When asked if it appeared Harris readied his weapon in response to hearing the gunshot outside, Newell replied:

“That would be speculation, but I would say his firearm was very accessible to him.”

A small amount of heroin and marijuana, along with $1,900 cash and a digital scale was found in the residence.

Harris was later charged with heroin and marijuana possession, weapons under disability and criminal tools. He was held in the Erie County jail on a $30,000 bond, but posted it Friday and was released from custody.

Peters, meanwhile, was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released shortly thereafter.

It does not appear the detective violated any departmental rules during the incident, officials said.

“When (a gun) goes off, that's an alarming thing. It was alarming to the officers, so I'm sure it was alarming to the people in the house and possibly to some of the people living around there,” Newell said. “But it was an accident. We've been trained over and over on the positioning (of our) guns. Because (the bullet) went downward, that lets us know he was entering (the home) properly with his firearm.”

Newell said the accidental gunshot did not compromise the safety of the search warrant execution.

“Safety for the public and ourselves is a priority and that's why we train — so that when we do bring that gun out of our holster, we hold it (properly). At the time he slipped, he was not pointing the gun at anybody because he wasn't engaging anybody, and that's why the bullet didn't go off in (a sporadic direction)” Newell said.

Peters will be medically cleared in the coming days, and is expected to return to work early next week.

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR

Boycott the following companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games

Apple Federal Credit Union,

LMI,

Noblis,

B.F. Saul Company,

Galls LLC,

Sage Communications,

Macerich,

Glory Days Grill,

Reston Limousine,

City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,

NOVA Media Services,

Clyde’s Restaurant Group,

Level3 Communications,

Verizon

Globe, Dewberry,

IMC, ESPN 980,

Serco,

Loudoun County,

Grant Thornton,

Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and

Booz Allen Hamilton.

Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t matter.

Charges dropped against suspects in blue-on-blue shooting

Edmond Vester and Damien Bailey were in the same car when an Albuquerque police officer accidentally shot fellow officer Jacob Grant during a sting.

Detective Holly Garcia and Grant were both in the car and both undercover during the sting. They were attempting to buy drugs, and at one point one of the suspects pulled out a realistic pellet gun.

That forced Grant to break cover and pull out his own gun, identifying himself as a cop.

That’s when Lt. Jeff Brachel accidentally shot Grant.

Vester and Bailey faced drug charges, but now those charges have been dropped because of a technicality. The District Attorney’s Office said Albuquerque police asked them to postpone prosecution against Vester and Bailey until the witnessing officers are in a better state to assist in the case.

Grant remains in critical condition and Garcia is on paid administrative leave because of injuries sustained during the incident. That means neither can testify in front of a grand jury for the case against Vester and Bailey to move forward.

Police said the charges were dropped to protect the suspects' constitutional rights, but they can be refiled down the road.

According to online inmate records, Bailey is still locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center, but Vester has been released.

Vester is believed to be homeless. Police said it’s not uncommon for them to have to locate suspects who are homeless. They said they do that from time to time and feel they’ll be able to find Vester when charges are refiled.

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR

Boycott the following companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games

Apple Federal Credit Union,

LMI,

Noblis,

B.F. Saul Company,

Galls LLC,

Sage Communications,

Macerich,

Glory Days Grill,

Reston Limousine,

City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,

NOVA Media Services,

Clyde’s Restaurant Group,

Level3 Communications,

Verizon

Globe, Dewberry,

IMC, ESPN 980,

Serco,

Loudoun County,

Grant Thornton,

Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and

Booz Allen Hamilton.

Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t matter.