Baton Rouge police officer charged with beating his daughter in cellphone argument

Baker police officers arrested an 18-year veteran with the Baton Rouge Police Department on Wednesday night after he pushed and choked his 14-year-old daughter in an argument over a cellphone, according to court records. 

Sgt. Wroten Brumfield was charged with domestic abuse battery strangulation, which is a felony, according to police.  

A nurse at Central High School suspected Brumfield’s daughter had experienced child abuse.

The nurse contacted the state Department of Social Services, which filed a police report after doctor’s findings said the physical abuse was not by accident.

Baker police said the girl’s mother received a text message from her daughter stating that her dad choked her, slapped her and pinned her against the floor, “ultimately striking her with a piece of board on right elbow.”

According to police records, the teen told police that her father confronted her about a cellphone. After she walked away, her father grabbed her, pushed her against the wall and began choking her, according to the police report.

The teen said she was thrown from one room to another and slapped, and “restrained on the ground like a prisoner,” the report says. The 14-year-old told police that while she was on the ground, her father told her, "You must want me to treat you like I treat the people on the street."

The teen’s stepmother eventually came home and interrupted the incident, according to the police report.

Brumfield told police that he confronted his daughter about a cellphone. “She refused to give the cellphone to him, at which time he grabbed her forcefully, trying to get said phone,” the report says.

Brumfield stated that he did slap his daughter and retrieved a wooden stick he described as a “spanking paddle” to spank her. Brumfield said that while trying to spank his daughter, he hit her in the right arm, striking her bone. He said he immediately stopped.

Brumfield was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, and has been placed on administrative leave pending the criminal and internal Police Department investigation, Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L’Jean McKneely said.

Feds: Vegas police better at tracking use of force

The head of a federal law enforcement oversight group credited Las Vegas police Wednesday with upgrading training, keeping better track of how and when officers use deadly force, and instituting a pilot program to put cameras on the uniforms of some officers.

The acting head of the U.S. Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services told reporters that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has addressed or completed all but nine of 80 reforms called for in a report the agency made public 10 months ago.

"We're talking significant progress in a matter of months," COPS Acting Director Joshua Ederheimer said at a news conference with U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden and Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie.

Ederheimer noted that other police departments take years or decades to implement reforms, and said the collaborative COPS review appeared to be having an effect in Las Vegas.

"The number of officer involved shootings is gradually declining," he said.

After peaking at 25 shootings in 2010, Las Vegas police were involved in 17 officer-involved shootings in 2011, 11 in 2012 and 10 so far this year, the report said. Four people died in police shootings in 2012, and two this year, department officials said.

Ederheimer, Bogden and Gillespie said some of the nine unresolved recommendations depended on action by other agencies, such as a proposal that the Clark County district attorney dedicate resources to more fully investigate officer-involved shootings.

Other recommendations, like a call for training and evaluating Las Vegas police officers on their ability to de-escalate tense confrontations, weren't assessed yet but would be made part of a final report due in February, Ederheimer said.

One, which would have police officers involved in on-duty shootings provide statements to criminal investigators, may never be implemented, the report said. It said police unions were directing Las Vegas officers involved in shootings not to cooperate with deadly force investigations.

The head of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, Chris Collins, disputed that finding. He said officers routinely cooperate in several layers of post-shooting departmental and administrative reviews. But he said officers are advised not to provide statements in legal proceedings unless they are granted so-called Garrity protection from criminal prosecution _ meaning their words won't be used to self-incriminate them.

COPS was enlisted in January 2012 to study Las Vegas police use-of-force policies and practices aimed at cutting the number of officer-involved shootings, after a series of high-profile police shootings and a Las Vegas Review-Journal analysis that tallied 142 people killed by Las Vegas police in a little more than a decade. The newspaper investigation concluded that Las Vegas police were quicker to the trigger than officers in other similarly sized cities.

COPS officials on Wednesday termed the resulting review a "collaborative reform model."

Gillespie, the elected chief of a Las Vegas police force that includes about 3,200 sworn police and jail officers and 1,500 civilians, has announced he won't seek a third term as sheriff. But he promised the reforms would continue.

"Actions speak louder than words," Gillespie said. "We were, we are and we continue to be committed to these reforms."

Ederheimer noted that his agency planned to use the Las Vegas experience in similar police practices reviews of departments in Philadelphia and Spokane, Wash.

Pasadena Council shuts down one member’s request for police oversight study

The City Council shut down a request by Councilman John Kennedy to look at the possibility of establishing a citizen oversight committee for the Police Department.

Kennedy has been pushing the issue since last month’s Public Safety Committee meeting, citing numerous requests from constituents for additional police oversight following several allegations of misconduct in the department.

“There is nothing to fear in having a comprehensive report or study done,” Kennedy said.

But his fellow council members argued Monday that the issue has already been debated and put to rest.

“Yes it’s a democracy, but even in a democracy there has to be a time when you move on,” Councilman Steve Madison said. “Honestly, John, this reminds me of what is going on in Washington right now. This idea that we can just keep talking about the same thing when there is clearly not the votes to do it is not well taken in my view.”

Monday’s agenda item was only to decide whether to place an action item on a future agenda, but the council held a full discussion on the issue that stretched toward midnight. No member of the public stayed to hear the discussion, and Police Chief Phillip Sanchez was not present at the meeting.

Kennedy continued to insist that he himself had not yet made up his mind on the issue and merely wanted more information, but others on the council said they already know enough to make the decision that an additional oversight committee on top of the four-member Public Safety Committee was not necessary.

“I’ve had experience with such bodies and I don’t believe there is truly the value added that some people believe,” Councilman Victor Gordo said, “I have found that some individuals appointed to these bodies that aren’t accountable to the voters or elected body use the position to either be critical of an individual like a police chief or insert politics into the public safety dialogue and I think that’s inappropriate.”

Joe Brown, the former Pasadena NAACP president who spoke in favor of the public oversight committee at a previous meeting, said he was “dissatisfied” with the council’s response to Kennedy’s request.

“To me, it is a slap in the face to the citizenry here in the city of Pasadena,” Brown said. “Everybody deserves to be heard and everybody deserves to know whether or not that may be in the best interest of the community.”

In the end, Kennedy said he did not agree with his colleagues’ comments but had to accept the council’s decision to not discuss the issue further.

“I think part of any council member is to be armed with the facts and it seems to me that the council is still wanting of the facts without a true desire to have the facts,” Kennedy said. “As one council member shared with me form the beginning, there is no appetite for (public police oversight) and obviously there is no appetite for even an independent, comprehensive report on the subject. So in some respects for the moment it’s end of story.”

Police Officer Placed On Involuntary Leave

He was named Officer of the Year twice and was even called a hero after an officer-involved shooting in 2008, but now that same Greece police officer has been placed on involuntary leave.

Most jails are now equipped with surveillance cameras for the protection of both the officers and those under arrest. Greece Police Chief Todd Baxter was looking through last week's footage when he noticed what he calls 'unprofessional' behavior by one of his officers.

"I don't like the level of the force or the conduct of the police officer at that moment," Baxter said.

John Schneider, 51, is seen in his mugshot with a small cut on his forehead and bruising around his cheek and eye; all injuries the chief says Schneider received while in police custody.

"This is our review of our own folks, keeping them to a high standard, if they don't meet that high standard, we're going to investigate."

Police arrested Schneider Saturday for violating a restraining order and breaking a garage window on his wife's property, but when he was brought back to the jail, Chief Todd Baxter says an altercation occurred between Schneider and one of the officers.

Schneider was brought to the hospital for minor injuries. Baxter said there's an internal investigation underway to determine if appropriate force was used.

"You've got a person that's got to be moved from point A to point B let's say, get up and get in the jail cell, no, you're already under arrest, you're already handcuffed, resisted arrest and in handcuffs, so he's gotta use some kind of force to move him, but is there better ways to do business than what he chose to do?"

While Baxter is not stating the officer's name, he did say he was involved in an officer-involved shooting and was credited with saving a woman. Our archives identify that officer as Shaun Moore.

According to the arrest report, Shaun Moore was one of the arresting officers in this case. Baxter did say Moore hasn't been at work and won't be returning next week.

Schneider is currently in the Monroe County Jail on six charges including criminal mischief and harassment.

Off-duty cop suspended for sleeping at 2nd job

BELLEVILLE, N.J. — A Belleville police officer has been suspended after he was caught sleeping in a police cruiser in a Bloomfield parking lot, police said.
A video of the officer appeared on the popular site YouTube as well as CNN iReport. The officer was identified as Jesse McKeough. McKeough, a recent police academy graduate, has since been suspended, although the duration of the suspension is not known.

McKeough was working an off-duty, part-time security job, according to Chief Joseph Rotonda, and was permitted to wear his uniform and use a police cruiser. However, the police chief said that off-duty officers are still subject to departmental rules and regulations just like on-duty officers are.
Full Story: Belleville police officer suspended for sleeping in cruiser, police say

Cop fired, charged in deadly DUI

THOMAS WINKIS, a veteran Philadelphia police sergeant who served as an aide to one of the city's top cops, was charged with homicide by vehicle yesterday in connection with a fatal DUI case.

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey also announced that Winkis, a 21-year veteran of the force, had been suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss based on information Internal Affairs investigators gathered about the Sept. 14 car crash that cost a Fishtown man his life.

Winkis was behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenger shortly before midnight that night when it slammed into David Farries' Ford Econoline van at State Road and Ashburner Street in Holmesburg, police said.

Farries, 55, was ejected from his van. The father of four died of his injuries at Aria Hospital's Torresdale campus on Sept. 17.

Winkis, 45, was charged administratively with driving under the influence while off-duty, and a related offense, police said.

The District Attorney's Office announced on Twitter last night that Winkis had been charged criminally with involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence and several related offenses.

Two nights before the crash, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 held a fundraiser in support of Winkis' family.

His ex-wife, a fellow cop named Michelle Winkis, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm on Sept. 7, leaving behind three children.

"It's tragic all the way around, both for the family of the individual who died, as well as the Winkis family," Ramsey said last night.

"Nobody wins on something like this."

Farries' family earlier this week called for justice in the case, and wondered aloud if Winkis was receiving special treatment.

He served as an aide to Deputy Commissioner Thomas Wright, and worked on the same floor at Police Headquarters as other top brass.

"There was an investigation that we had to go through," Ramsey said. "We came to a conclusion ... that there was sufficient grounds to dismiss him."

John McNesby, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, said the union would represent Winkis.

"We'll be there to stand by him," he said. "I don't know how it's going to work out. It's an unfortunate case for everybody."

Idiot Police Officer Shoots Self in Leg in Front of Headquarters

A Coatesville Police Officer shot herself in the leg, right in front of police headquarters last night while she was trying to arrest a man.

The man she was pursuing is being charged with driving under the influence and related offenses.

According to a police statement, the officer was attempting to arrest Michael Vega when she pulled out her gun and it went off.

Vega, 43, was the suspect in a hit and run that happened in another part of town.

When the victim in the other car was trying to exchange information with Vega, he left the scene, according to police. The female officer found Vega, in his car, at 3rd and Kersey Street.

Vega was resisting arrest when the officer drew her gun, police say.

Her injuries are not life-threatening.

Vega, who is from Coatesville, is charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, driving under the influence and related charges. His bail was set at $500,000.

police officials ignored 2010 corruption probe

Savannah-Chatham police officials were told as early as mid-2010 that a veteran drug agent and a second officer were the subjects of a major federal narcotics corruption investigation and, shortly afterward, that federal and county prosecutors would refuse to use them as witnesses, according to documents obtained by the Savannah Morning News.

The basic case, initiated in 2008 and continuing into June 2010, involved what FBI agent Josh Hayes said were complaints that Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team agents were engaged in illegal drug activities.

The complaints under investigation also alleged Malik Khaalis, a CNT agent on loan from the Savannah-Chatham police department, was divulging information regarding that probe to Star Cpl. Willet Williams, who had a family member who was a target of the investigation. Williams was allegedly “participating in the illegal activities by providing police escorts for (a family member) when the illegal substances were being sold,” Hayes told internal department investigators.

CNT agents had observed “unusual behaviors and actions” by Khaalis that raised concerns about his “conduct as a police officer,” the department investigation reported.

In a separate police internal affairs probe in 2004 under then-Chief Dan Flynn, Khaalis, also referred to as “Little Man,” was repeatedly named as involved in a “police corruption” probe of two CNT agents who resigned.

In the wake of the CNT investigation, Khaalis was “involuntarily transferred” back to Savannah-Chatham police on June 3, 2010, “as a major narcotics investigation was being concluded,” documents show.

Despite the CNT investigation and its findings, Khaalis was allowed to take the examination for police sergeant and was promoted in June 2012.

Documents dated Sept. 24, 2010, also stated that the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Georgia advised Savannah-Chatham police that Khaalis, 39, “could not be used as a witness in any case in federal court.”

The Chatham County District Attorney’s office, then headed by Larry Chisolm, also was advised of the federal position and that CNT prosecutors would not use Khaalis’ “for testimony,” the memo said.

The reason cited: a “court decision regarding truthfulness” of witnesses in court.

Under existing law, prosecutors are required to disclose information of potentially tainted testimony by a witness to a defendant and his or her attorney. Such notification would place the credibility of the officer in question and could put prosecutors in a position of having to defend potentially tainted testimony.

Internal affairs nixed cases

Following the investigation by FBI and CNT agents, internal affairs officers with Savannah-Chatham conducted a separate probe.

“The Internal Affairs Investigation conducted into allegations made by CNT and the FBI failed to prove any (departmental) police violations,” Capt. H. Wiley III, internal affairs commander, reported Nov. 16, 2010.

The city attorney’s office “concluded that there was no evidence of illegal activity by agent Khaalis” and recommended the cases against Khaalis and Williams be “closed not sustained.”

Neither officer was charged as a result of either investigation and both remain on active duty. Khaalis is assigned to the Islands Precinct; Williams, 48, is a crime prevention officer with the Central Precinct.

Questions remain

Left unanswered in the stacks of documents from the investigation is whether allegations against Khaalis under two police chiefs should have raised a red flag with police officials ahead of his being promoted.

A second unanswered question is how two officers who prosecutors say they will not use in court can remain on the job.

Prior to an announcement of his retirement Friday afternoon, recent Savannah-Chatham Police Chief Willie Lovett repeatedly declined, through his spokespeople, to comment on the case. In a letter dated Friday and addressed to City Manager Stephanie Cutter and County Manager Russ Abolt, Lovett said he intended to retire within 60 days but, instead, decided to do so immediately.

Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson said Friday that when the 2010 investigation came to her attention she and City Manager Stephanie Cutter “put it in the hands of the city attorney,” for review.

“I’m very satisfied with the way it is being handled now,” Jackson said, adding she wants all of the information, including input from the U.S. attorney, the district attorney and police chief so Cutter can report back to her and council.

The matter remains “active,” she said.

Official comment from city staffers has been limited to the initial response from City Attorney Brooks Stillwell: “The city attorney has been made aware of the issue and is researching it. Given that, and the fact that this is a personnel issue, we will not be able to discuss the issue until he has had a chance to complete his inquiry.”

Khaalis, through his attorney Nathanael Wright, declined to comment for this story.

District Attorney Meg Heap also declined to comment for this story, as did Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Durham.

Issues surfaced

Questions about Khaalis and Williams resurfaced this month with the revelation of a May 7, 2013, letter from Heap to Lovett in which she advised him that U.S. Attorney Edward Tarver said “his office will not prosecute (in federal court) any cases where officers Malik Khaalis or Willet Williams are involved.”

The letter, which put in writing Heap’s earlier conversation with Lovett, went on to advise Lovett that “after discussions with the (state’s) Prosecuting Attorneys Council, I am in agreement with the U.S. Attorney.

“My office will not prosecute any cases where the above-named officers have any substantive involvement.”

She also cited the credibility issue and requirement that she inform defendants and their attorneys of the material.

Disciplinary action withheld

Ultimately, the FBI and CNT investigations produced no action against Khaalis or Williams except for Khaalis briefly being placed on administrative leave with pay and returned to a patrol position with the Savannah-Chatham police department.

“No disciplinary action” was taken against Khaalis, a Dec. 17, 2010, letter authored by Roy J. Harris III, then-director at CNT and Khaalis’ supervisor, said.

Harris is a retired deputy director at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who retired from CNT in December 2010. Now, he is Chatham County Sheriff Al St Lawrence’s chief deputy.

The letter stated that FBI, CNT, Drug Enforcement Administration agents and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Durham were familiar with the investigation. Savannah-Chatham police Office of Professional Standards investigator Capt. Dean Fagerstrom was present for the interviews before Khaalis’ transfer back to metro.

Harris’ Dec. 17 letter was part of a required notification to Ken Vance, executive director of the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council. It informed him that Khaalis was under investigation by CNT’s Major Case Team, the FBI and DEA Savannah offices during a wire tap investigation being conducted by CNT and the DEA.

Megan Fail, Vance’s assistant, said POST records show no investigation or file on Khaalis was opened by the state agency.

A Sept. 24, 2010, memorandum from Harris to County Manager Russ Abolt stated Khaalis was assigned to CNT for six years, during the last four as a member of the major case unit.

During a major narcotics investigation, Khaalis was interviewed by FBI agents as part of a “corruption investigation,” the memo said.

During an FBI criminal polygraph test, Khaalis “showed deceptive on two critical questions, these pertaining to compromising an investigation by providing information to (a family member) under investigation and active surveillance, and the secondly (sic) where he had violated his oath of office,” the memo stated.

“Agents have no idea how many CNT investigations if any were compromised during the time Khaalis was assigned to the unit,” a CNT report showed.

The same memo to Abolt also outlined:

• Repeated violations of department policy by Khaalis, including leaving his assigned duty station without permission, stopping a suspected vehicle without the knowledge or approval of his supervisor, and responding untruthfully when questioned.

• By carrying out these actions, Khaalis endangered the investigation for “reasons that remain unknown,” CNT investigators reported.

• While Khaalis was detailed to sit in the wire room to monitor calls, he told his supervisor he was going home for lunch.

Instead, he drove to an area near the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport after he had been “fed false information about a money courier going to that area to pick up money to take to Atlanta.” He was tracked with a device installed on his CNT vehicle, the memo said.

• “These statements to supervisors about ‘going home for lunch’ were untruthful conduct during the course of an official investigation,” Harris said.

• Khaalis’s request for permission to call Willet Williams about a family member’s whereabouts was denied “as this was not proper investigative protocol.”

• “Later after checking toll records on Officer Willet, it was discovered that he and agent Khaalis had been in cellphone contact with each other numerous times during the course of the surveillance,” the memo said. “Later when questioned by the FBI, Khaalis could not, or would not, explain the calls.”

Williams, in a July 18, 2011, letter, sought a meeting with Chatham County officials, including Lovett, Harris and Savannah-Chatham police Maj. Julie Tolbert after telling them, “Recently I was falsely accused of being involved in illegal drug activity.”

“Whenever I question the Chatham County CNT regarding this slanderous claim lodges against me, I am told I am still being investigated. However, after speaking with Chief Lovett, I find that he was told there is no open case against me.”

He went on to say that whenever he asked Harris and current CNT director Everett Ragan for a report: “Each time I was told the investigation is still open.”

2004 probe

In the 2004 case, police documents show Khaalis’ name repeatedly appeared in connection with a “police corruption” investigation of CNT agents Cpl. Rafael Hall and Charles Boyd for conduct in a series of drug cases.

Hall was placed on administrative leave on June 25, 2004, pending the outcome of the investigation. He resigned Oct. 4, 2004.

Boyd resigned on Nov. 29, 2004, “prior to the conclusion of the inquiry.”

During a Dec. 8, 2005, interview with internal affairs, Khaalis “stated of all the times he worked with Agent Hall he had never seen him do anything illegal whatsoever, and if Hall was doing illegal activities he never had any knowledge of it. He never saw it nor heard of it.”

Khaalis also denied taking money or seizing money illegally. He stated he had read all the allegations concerning him and any claims about him being involved in a drug ring, taking money and selling drugs were untrue.

Khaalis told investigators he is an “honest professional police officer, and he has never been involved in illegal activities whatsoever.”

THE OFFICERS

The officers under investigation:

• Malik Abdul Khaalis, 39, is a 1993 graduate of Beach High School who joined the Savannah Police Department in January 2000 after working for a year as a corrections officer at Coastal State Prison in Garden City. He has been described in departmental reviews as a “workhorse” who works well in any environment, and “energetic and tireless in his efforts.”

• Willet Jarette Williams, 48, is a Calhoun County native who joined the Savannah Police Department in January 1992. He previously worked for the Albany Police Department, the Moultrie/Colquitt Drug Squad and the South East Georgia Drug Task Force.

Lyons police officer charged with robbery by FBI

LYONS – An officer with the Lyons Police Department has been charged with robbing and extorting targets of his investigations into the sale of contraband and counterfeit cigarettes, the FBI's Chicago Office announced Monday.

Jimmy J. Rodgers, 43, was charged in a one-count criminal complaint filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with Hobbs Act robbery, a felony, according to a news release.

The complaint against Rodgers was unsealed Friday after he appeared in court. Rodgers was released pending his next court appearance, which is not yet scheduled.

Rodgers is accused of recruiting a cooperating source to help set up sales where the source would sell contraband cigarettes to potential targets. According to the criminal complaint, Rodgers would pay the source a fee for each transaction the source conducted. The complaint detailed two transactions between the source and targets, for which the source was provided a village of Lyons check to pay for his services. The complaint further alleges the source was later paid in cash following subsequent transactions from money paid to the source during the transactions, the source told the FBI in June.

According to the release, the source agreed to record conversations and meetings with Rodgers in connection with another contraband cigarette transaction with a potential target. On July 30, the source received $11,280 from the target in exchange for 300 cartons of cigarettes and was told by Rodgers to keep $3,280 of that amount.

The source was also given 30 cartons of cigarettes to pass to another source, which help arrange the transaction with the target.

According to the release, Rodgers was recorded allegedly acknowledging that he was not supposed to pay the source from the proceeds of the transactions and told the source to say all payments were given via check from the police department.

An FBI agent reviewed the report of the July 30 transaction filed by Rodgers and noted that the report did not mention the seizure of cash from the target. The Lyons Police Department also had no record of Rodgers turning in $8,000 from the transaction.

Robert J. Shields, Jr., acting special agent in charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI, thanked the assistance provided by the Lyons Police Department and the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations during the course of the investigation.

Idiot Hartford police officer accidentally shot

 Hartford police say a city officer was shot while responding to a robbery when a gun accidentally fired.

Authorities say the officer suffered a non-life threatening arm injury Saturday night while responding to a robbery at a sandwich shop off Franklin Avenue. The officer’s name hasn’t been released.

Police haven’t disclosed other details of the shooting. It’s not clear if the officer shot himself by accident or was shot by someone else’s gun.

Officials say two suspects robbed the Subway shop, displayed weapons and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police are continuing to investigate the robbery and shooting.

Philly officer charged in crash turns himself in

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia police officer has turned himself in to face charges stemming from an off-duty car crash that killed the other driver.

Authorities said 45-year-old police Sgt. Thomas Winkis turned himself in to police Tuesday. He is charged with vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.

Investigators say Winkis was drunk and driving 100 mph when he broadsided a van around 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Northeast Philadelphia.

The driver of the van, 55-year-old David Farries, died in a hospital several days later.

Commissioner Charles Ramsey has suspended Winkis for 30 days with intent to dismiss. It couldn't immediately be determined if he had an attorney.

cop arrested for $10K utility-bill scam

A former Philadelphia cop has been charged with theft of services after he allegedly scammed nearly $10,000 by meddling with his home’s electric meter to save on utility bills, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Douglas Diemidio, 50, of South Philadelphia, turned himself in to police this afternoon. Authorities say he tampered with the meter at his home on 12th Street near Tasker over four years in an effort to avoid full payment of his PECO bills. His arrest came after an investigation by PECO, the Police Department’s Internal Affairs unit and the District Attorney’s special investigations unit.

Diemidio joined the Department in July 1993 and worked in the 18th District, at 55th and Pine in West Philadelphia, until he resigned Sept. 23, said Officer Jillian Russell, a police spokeswoman.

This isn't the first time Philly's finest have been accused of stealing public utilities. Last fall, the Department fired two officers - Lt. Aisha Perry and Officer George Suarez - after both got arrested for theft of services. Both were accused of stealing from PGW, PECO and the water department.

Officer suspended following internal investigation, additional punishment to be considered by Police Merit Commission

On September 18th 2013, the Evansville Police Department Internal Affairs initiated an investigation into allegations that an on-duty officer violated multiple department rules and regulations. The allegations stemmed from the officers interaction with a female at a local business.

The Internal Affairs investigation has been completed. The findings of the investigation have resulted in recommendations from Chief Billy Bolin to the Police Merit Commission. The recommendations include the officer involved in the complaint be suspended without pay for 21 days. The suspension begins immediately. Chief Bolin has also recommended the Police Merit Commission consider dismissal of the officer.

Upon receiving the Chief’s recommendations, the Merit Commission will hear the case at an upcoming meeting. The Merit Commission can affirm the recommendations or change them to a lesser action.

Billings man sues police officer, city over incident

Billings resident Robert D. Bassett says he got up in the night last year to let his dog out in his front yard when he got tackled and injured by a Billings police officer who was chasing a suspect.

The run-in, Bassett said, left him with a torn rotator cuff that required shoulder surgery.

Bassett, 56, is suing Billings Police Officer Paul Lamantia, who previously had been suspended and then reinstated, and the city of Billings over the encounter.

Bassett alleges Lamantia’s conduct was negligent and that the city violated his civil rights by creating a risk of harm to citizens by allowing Lamantia to work without proper supervision.

Bassett filed the suit in May in state District Court. In July, the city had the case transferred into U.S. District Court. The suit is assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon, who has set a scheduling conference for Nov. 7.

All parties are seeking a jury trial. Bassett is seeking unspecified general and medical damages.

Russell Plath, a Billings attorney who represents Bassett, said Tuesday that Bassett had to have “pretty extensive surgery.”

Bassett, who is on Social Security disability, had to wait for surgery until he qualified for Medicare. Bassett had surgery this spring, Plath said.

The lawsuit stems from an incident July 16, 2012, in which Lamantia was dispatched to a loud party in the area of the 700 and 800 blocks of North 15th Street. The officer saw a person running in a driveway at 818 N. 15th St., and started chasing the subject when he lost his flashlight on the ground, Bassett’s complaint said.

Meanwhile, Bassett, who lives at 820 N. 15th St., had gotten up to let out his dog. As Bassett entered his front yard, he saw a person running in his neighbor’s driveway, the complaint said. Bassett also saw a police officer in his neighbor’s driveway looking into his yard for an object on the ground.

The officer then jumped over a retaining wall into Bassett’s yard, wrapped his arms around Bassett, picked him up and tackled him onto the ground, the complaint said.

Plath said some of the incident could involve mistaken identity during a nighttime chase. “It was dark. He dropped his flashlight,” he said. The officer was chasing a subject in an underage drinking party," he said.

Plath said Bassett was going to tell the officer, “The kid ran that way,” when the officer tackled him.

Lamantia’s history with the police department also raises issues about the city’s responsibility in properly supervising the officer, Plath said. Lamantia had signed a “last-chance agreement” before the incident with Bassett occurred, he said.

A "last-chance agreement" requires an officer to follow certain conditions, which if violated normally results in the officer's termination.

The city disciplined Lamantia in May 2012 for violating police department policies when he drove an intoxicated man and woman outside city limits and left them on the side of a two-lane highway at 3 a.m. in January. The discipline included the last-chance agreement, two weeks’ suspension without pay and other punishment. He returned to work on May 28, 2012.

Lamantia also had received four other unrelated reprimands for misconduct and poor job performance in March 2012 while he was on paid leave.

Both the city and Lamantia have denied the charges.

Harlan Krogh, a Billings attorney representing the city, said the case is in the early stages. While there is dispute over the nature of the contact between Lamantia and Bassett, Krogh said, Lamantia did respond to a call and was chasing a suspect.

In the city’s response to the complaint, it said Lamantia climbed over a retaining wall into Bassett’s yard.

Lamantia saw “a silhouette of a figure approaching him at a short distance. The area was very dark. In concern for his own safety, Officer Lamantia forcefully pushed at the person approaching Lamantia to repel him. The individual fell backwards on his back,” the city said.

Once Lamantia found his flashlight, he recognized that the person was not the subject he was chasing, the city said. Bassett shouted at the officer, “He went that way,” and pointed to the backyard.

After chasing the suspect, Lamantia returned and contacted Bassett. Lamantia and another officer offered Bassett medical help but he twice declined, the city said.

The city also said that Bassett’s summary of disciplinary action taken against Lamantia was not complete or accurate.

Lamantia’s attorney, Brendon Rohan of Butte, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

In a response filed in court, Lamantia denied tackling Bassett.

He also asserted that his conduct was reasonable, entitling him to qualified immunity and preventing any claim of an alleged violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Manchester Cop Suspended For Excessive Force

MANCHESTER — A police officer was suspended recently after an internal investigation found he used excessive force on a prisoner at police headquarters.

Officer Jason Wagner was suspended without pay for five days, Police Chief Marc Montminy said Wednesday. Montminy said he agreed with an investigation by Lt. David Ellsworth that found Wagner's use of force was both "unnecessary and excessive."

The unnamed prisoner was not injured and did not file a formal complaint, Montminy said. The investigation began after a review of video recordings in the booking area, he said. The internal affairs report says Capt. William Darby asked Ellsworth to launch an investigation.

Two videos from different angles, which Montminy showed to a reporter but did not release, show Wagner leading a prisoner into the booking area on Aug. 20 at about 5:10 p.m. The man had been driving a car that crashed at Charter Oak and Spruce streets. He appeared to be drunk and was arrested after failing field sobriety tests, police said. Montminy said he redacted the man's name from the internal investigations report because the report mentions the man's mental health and addiction problems.

As Wagner is leading the prisoner into the booking area, a police service aide, a non-sworn attendant in the booking area, is heard saying, "I witnessed that," after the prisoner head-butted a door frame. Once at a caged area where prisoners are fingerprinted and sign forms, the video shows the man again knocking his own head against a steel door frame.

Wagner can be heard yelling at the prisoner to "knock it off!" The video shows the officer standing directly behind the handcuffed prisoner. When the man turns his head back toward Wagner, their faces just inches apart, Wagner grabs the man around the neck and forces him to the floor, placing a knee on the man's chest.

The two police service aides who were in the booking area at the time both said they did not consider Wagner's actions to be excessive, the report says. The video does not show Wagner hitting or kicking the prisoner, but Ellsworth found that the officer "acted inappropriately when he brought (the unnamed prisoner) to the ground in the manner in which he did.

"Officer Wagner was never trained in performing take-downs in this manner," Ellsworth wrote. "There were clearly other options available to Officer Wagner and this method could have caused significant injury."

Wagner told Ellsworth, according to the report, that he wanted to avoid being hurt by the prisoner.

"I did not know what he was going to do, the way he was acting he was banging his head," Wagner told Ellsworth, according to the report. "I didn't know if he was going to spit on me if he was going to swing his head at me or what his intentions were."

Wagner called a superior that night about the incident, according to the report. Two Breathalyzer tests on the man showed his blood-alcohol content at .176 and .196, both more than twice the legal limit for drivers. The man was charged with driving under the influence, evading responsibility and reckless driving and taken to Manchester Memorial Hospital for treatment and mental health evaluation.

Sgt. John Rossetti, head of the police union, said he had no comment on Wagner's suspension.

County settles suit alleging false arrest, excessive force

Sedgwick County kansas commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday after an executive session to pay $75,000 and mediation fees to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a former jail inmate who alleged false arrest and excessive use of force.

The county admitted no wrongdoing in the case, filed against the sheriff’s office, Sheriff Jeff Easter, former Sheriff Robert Hinshaw and three sheriff’s deputies, attorney Ed Keeley said. The county hired Keeley to represent it in the case.

“The defendants deny claims of excessive force and false arrest,” Keeley said Wednesday. “We continue to deny the claims and do not admit liability. We wish the lawsuit to be over to avoid the costs of going to trial.”

Phillip G. Henderson alleged that on July 23, 2012, a sheriff’s deputy falsely arrested him after Henderson left the Citi Host Motel on South Broadway. The deputy “immediately pulled in behind the plaintiff’s vehicle because he was curious as to why the plaintiff was at the Citi Host Motel,” the lawsuit alleged.

Henderson drove two blocks to Bill and Mary’s Bar and “despite the fact that plaintiff signaled his intention to turn left continuously for approximately 190 feet before turning,” the deputy pulled Henderson over for failing to signal to turn, according to the lawsuit.

The deputy arrested Henderson on suspicion of driving while under the influence.

The lawsuit admits that Henderson “was intoxicated and made numerous profane, belligerent and rude comments while in transport.” But Henderson argued that the deputy “but for the illegal stop of plaintiff’s truck … would not have been in a position to make observations that led to his belief that plaintiff was under the influence of alcohol.”

Henderson alleged in the lawsuit that after arriving at the jail, the deputy “forcibly shoved” him to the ground after Henderson moved toward him and “struck him in the back of his head, causing his face and head to repeatedly strike the floor.”

Other deputies “repeatedly kicked, stomped, beat and punched plaintiff about his body for approximately 20 seconds,” the lawsuit alleged.

Mark Schoenhofer, Henderson’s lawyer, said Wednesday that Henderson still suffers from a knee injury and sustained three fractures in his back.

“We’re happy that Mr. Henderson has received compensation for the injuries he received out of that incident,” Schoenhofer said after the commission meeting. Schoenhofer also noted that the DUI case against Henderson was dismissed.

Jury Deliberating in Manslaughter Trial of Former Alexander Police Officer

ALEXANDER, AR - A jury is now deliberating in the manslaughter trial of a former Alexander police officer.

Nancy Cummings is accused in the September 2012 shooting death of Carleton Wallace that happened while she was working patrol.

We'll have more as we learn new information from the courtroom.

Original story (October 3):
ALEXANDER, AR - The trial for a former Alexander police officer charged with manslaughter is under way.

Nancy Cummings pleaded not guilty after being arrested for shooting and killing Carleton Wallace while working patrol in 2012.

The former officer said she saw Wallace walking down the road with a gun in his waistband, which he then tossed into the woods. Cummings says during the subsequent search of Wallace, her gun went off accidentally.

The Alexander Police Department confirmed that Cummings had not been trained to patrol the streets, which is allowed under state law.

Trial wraps up for former Pittsburgh police officer charged with homicide

The prosecutor agreed Wednesday that former Pittsburgh police officer Adam Lewis had no intent to harm the passenger on his motorcycle in the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 2010.

But the prosecutor, Lisa Carey, said the man intentionally chose to get on his motorcycle after he had been drinking to drive Jessica Lojak home.

"I think he did act in a reckless and grossly negligent manner," Ms. Carey said. "He chose to speed after he ingested alcohol. He knows there's a dangerous curve coming up."

Mr. Lewis, who has since been fired from the police bureau, is charged with homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence for the crash on Mifflin Road about 2:30 a.m.

Ms. Lojak, 28, of Fawn, was killed.

Mr. Lewis testified Tuesday during his nonjury trial before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning that as he was traveling through a curve in the road, he felt Ms. Lojak's weight shift, causing him to lose control of the motorcycle.

It traveled into the oncoming lane of traffic and was struck by an SUV.

Investigators testified that Mr. Lewis took the curve at about 41 mph -- in a 25-mph speed zone -- and that his motorcycle was leaning over too far.

Both sides agreed that Mr. Lewis' blood alcohol level at the time was 0.108 -- above the legal limit of 0.08 in Pennsylvania.

William Difenderfer, who represents Mr. Lewis, said his client had three to five beers earlier in the night, and that none of the friends with whom he had been at Rivertowne Pub & Grille in North Huntingdon thought it was unsafe for him to drive.

Mr. Lewis received a call during the night asking him to meet his fiancee and her friends, who were out for her bachelorette party, asking if he would meet them in the South Side so they could follow him back to his house.

Ms. Lojak, who had previous experience riding on motorcycles, asked if she could ride on the back of Mr. Lewis' with him.

"It goes from probably one of the best nights to a tragedy words can't even describe with the death of Jessica Lojak," Mr. Difenderfer said. "There would be no reason for him to have any intention of riding fast or reckless."

There was testimony at trial that Mr. Lewis safely negotiated a number of raised manhole covers along Carson Street, which was being resurfaced at the time.

"Nowhere in the record is there any sign of intoxication of Mr. Lewis," Mr. Difenderfer said.

But Judge Manning responded that based on Mr. Lewis' blood alcohol level, driving would be illegal whether he was doing it safely or not.

Judge Manning said he would announce the verdict on Tuesday.

Paula Reed Ward: pward@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2620 or on Twitter @PaulaReedWard.
First Published October 3, 2013 12:00 am