A seventh woman has accused a West Sacramento police officer of sexual assault while he was on duty

WOODLAND, Calif. - A seventh woman is alleging she was sexually assaulted by a West Sacramento police officer while he was on duty.
  
 The Sacramento Bee reports the 30-year-old woman has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Sergio Alvarez of forced copulation and sodomy during two separate attacks between May and September of last year.
  
 The suit declares that Alvarez engaged in "sexually predatory conduct." The officer's attorney declined to comment Monday.
  
 In March Alvarez entered not guilty pleas to 35 counts including rape, sodomy, oral copulation and kidnapping.
  
 The 38-year-old Alvarez is accused of assaulting the six other women after stopping them late at night or early in the morning while on patrol between October 2011 and September 2012.
  
 A five-month investigation began after a woman reported to another officer that she had been sexually assaulted by a uniformed policeman.

U.S. Charges 18 Sheriff’s Officers in Inquiry Into Misconduct at Los Angeles Jails

LOS ANGELES — Federal prosecutors on Monday charged 18 current and former members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department with excessive use of force and obstruction of justice as part of a sprawling investigation into allegations of misconduct and abuse of inmates in county jails, federal law enforcement officials said. 

All but two of the officers, including two lieutenants, were arrested on Monday; the two deputies who were not arrested were apparently traveling, prosecutors said. 

The officers all worked in the county’s jails in downtown Los Angeles. 

The county’s jail system — the largest in the country and, according to many inmate advocates, the most troubled — has been under intense federal scrutiny for more than two years after a string of lawsuits accused deputies of abusing inmates. 

One of four indictments returned Monday named seven officers who were supposed to monitor internal affairs. In the indictment, federal officials charged that two lieutenants tried to hide an inmate after they discovered that he was acting as an informant for the F.B.I.'s investigation. 

The inmate had obtained a cellphone after one deputy at the jail accepted a bribe from an undercover federal agent, according to the indictment. The officers changed records to make it seem as if the inmate had been released, then rebooked him using a different name; one officer told the informant that he had been abandoned by federal investigators, prosecutors charge. 

Two deputies then tried to obtain a court order from a county judge to get information about the federal investigation; when the judge denied the request, two sergeants from the sheriff’s department confronted an F.B.I. agent at home, threatening her with arrest, the indictment said. 

“These incidents did not take place in a vacuum,” André Birotte Jr., the United States attorney for Los Angeles, said Monday in announcing the charges at a news conference. 

“Certain behavior had become institutionalized, and a group of officers considered themselves to be above the law,” he said. “Instead of ensuring the law is defended, they are accused of taking steps to prevent that.” 

The allegations come at a particularly difficult time for Sheriff Lee Baca, who is facing several challengers in his campaign for re-election next year. Sheriff Baca has repeatedly said that he responded to all charges of misconduct as soon as he was aware of them, but critics like the American Civil Liberties Union say that he willfully ignored persistent problems. 

Sheriff Baca said Monday that the department had cooperated fully with the investigation, and he defended the county jails as the “safest jails in the United States.” 

“We do not tolerate misconduct by any deputies,” he said. 

Sheriff Baca said 14 or 15 of the officers charged were still with the department and would be placed on unpaid leave. “My employees, 99.9 percent of them, also do outstanding work.” 

The two lieutenants assigned to oversee internal problems who were indicted Monday were identified as Gregory Thompson, in charge of the Operation Safe Jails Program and the jail investigations unit, and Stephen Leavins, of the Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau, which investigates allegations of crimes by sheriff’s officials. Both men were charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice. 

Sheriff Baca refused to say whether he knew about their actions at the time described in the indictment or whether he had been interviewed by the grand jury. 

The indictment lists several cases in which visitors were taken to a break room meant for deputies at the jail and beaten. One man visiting his brother in 2011 had his arm broken and shoulder dislocated and was locked up for five days without justification, Mr. Birotte said. The man, who was not named in the indictment, now has a permanent disability, officials said. 

The indictment also charges Sergeant Eric Gonzalez, who supervised the visitor center but no longer works for the department, along with four deputies who reported to him; each participated in at least one beating, according to the court documents. Mr. Gonzalez was accused of scolding deputies who did not use force against visitors who “disrespected” sheriffs. 

In June 2011, according to the indictment, the husband of the Austrian consul general was arrested near the entrance to the visitor center. When the diplomat later asked to speak to a supervisor about her husband’s arrest, she was also arrested, although she was not charged. 

Uplands Park officer charged in assault, robbery of motorcycle club member

ST. LOUIS   •   Lamont "Puff" Aikens, a former Uplands Park police officer involved in a pursuit that killed an innocent driver in 2009 and led to a $3 million settlement, has been charged in an attack on a rival motorcycle club member.
St. Louis prosecutors charged Aikens, 38, of the 4700 block of Lexington Avenue, on Dec. 5 with first-degree robbery and assault.
Police said Aikens, a member of the Hell's Lovers motorcycle club, beat and robbed a member of another group about 11:30 p.m. Nov. 30 during a charity event at the Masonic Lodge in the 4500 block of Olive Street.
Aikens and another man, Thomas "Guardrail" Viehman, 53, repeatedly punched and kicked the 47-year-old man until he was unconscious, and took his wallet and phone, officials allege.

Prosecutors charged Viehman, of the 800 block of Peppers Corner Road in Silex, Mo., with robbery and assault. Police said Viehman is the president of the Chicago-based Hell's Lovers. 
The victim told police that Aikens and Viehman argued with him after he escorted a female club member to the restroom.  
Aikens has prior felonies including possession of a controlled substance and felonious restraint, officials said. 
He was serving as an auxiliary officer in Uplands Park when he chased a speeding car into St. Louis on Dec. 3, 2009. It crashed into another vehicle, killing Lashanna Snipes, a 34-year-old mother of four who was heading to a family member's house to hang Christmas lights. 
and a $3 million settlement, 
  Prosecutors charged Aikens with holding the commission of a police officer without a valid license, but Circuit Judge Dennis Smith aquitted Aikens of the crime in May. 
In June 2012, a St. Louis jury returned a $3.1 million verdict against Uplands Park for Snipes’ death. She had been driving her sister, two children and a grandnephew when they were struck by the fleeing car.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys said the department hired Aikens about two months earlier, knowing he had a history of 18 arrests — including two felonies.
Derion Henderson, who chose to flee after being clocked at 46 mph in a 30 zone, is serving 17 years for second-degree murder and vehicle tampering.

Officer charged with domestic violence

CARROLL TOWNSHIP — A Carroll Township police officer was arrested Sunday morning and charged with domestic violence after a woman called 9-1-1 and whispered that she needed help.
William Windnagel, 56, was charged with one count of domestic violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.
When officers arrived at a residence in the 7500 block of West Salem Carroll Road moments after the call came in, a woman came running out, according to the report.
During the investigation, according to the report, Windnagel refused to answer questions, and the woman expressed fear that she was going to be killed by Windnagel.
She told officers the two had gotten into an argument and that he refused to allow her to leave the house and forcefully held her on a sofa, the report says.
After Windnagel was arrested, the report says, investigators obtained search warrants for the West Salem Carroll Road property and vehicles located on the property and for a garage at a Titus Road location in Carroll Township.
Information about the search warrants was not made available since the matter is an open investigation, separate from the domestic violence incident, the spokesman said.
Carroll Township police Chief Jody Hatfield asked the OCSO to handle the matter, since Windnagel is employed by Carroll Township.
He is employed on a part-time basis according to an Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office report.
Windnagel retired from the OCSO about five years ago, according to a department spokesman.
Hatfield said Windnagel is on unpaid administrative leave until a departmental hearing can be held.
He was released from the Ottawa County Detention Facility on Monday after making an initial appearance in Ottawa County Municipal Court, a jail spokeswoman said.
Windnagel’s bail was set at $8,025, she said, and he is scheduled to appear in court again on Dec. 11

Culture of contempt. Look at that son of bitch smile as he shoots the dog who was protecting his owner

New Mexico officer fired in van shooting to appeal

 

Lawyers for a New Mexico State Police officer who fired shots at a minivan full of children during a chaotic October traffic stop in Taos said he plans to appeal his firing.

Attorneys for Elias Montoya said Sunday they were reviewing the allegations against the veteran officer and intend to claim he was wrongfully terminated.

"One of the most dangerous situations is a traffic stop on a rural road with limited radio access," attorney Antonia Roybal-Mack said in the statement. "It is difficult to second-guess the actions of Officer Montoya without completely reviewing all of the evidence."

No one was hurt in the shooting that occurred while five children were in the minivan.

Under department policy, Montoya has 30 days to appeal his firing to the Public Safety Advisory Commission, which is made up of civilians appointed by the governor.

Gov. Susana Martinez said Monday she supported the decision by New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas to fire Montoya.

"You don't use deadly force against someone who is not threatening you with deadly force," said Martinez, a former district attorney whose husband is a retired law enforcement officer.

The governor said she reviewed video from a police cruiser's dashboard camera taken during the Oct. 28 traffic stop that showed Montoya shooting at the minivan as Oriana Farrell of Memphis, Tenn., drove away from a traffic stop after an officer knocked out her van's window with a baton.

The 39-year-old motorist had been stopped by another State Police officer for speeding. Authorities said she fled twice after that officer tried to give her a ticket and then arrest her.

After a chase that reached speeds of nearly 100 mph, Farrell and her teenage son were arrested in front of a Taos hotel. Farrell was released on bond and faces charges of child abuse, fleeing and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia for a pair of marijuana pipes that authorities say were in the van.

According to a police report, Montoya later bought the entire family food from McDonald's during the booking process.

Montoya was fired Friday, following an internal investigation and a disciplinary hearing.

Still, several dozen people braved freezing temperatures on Sunday to march through the northern New Mexico community with handmade cardboard signs.

"We support him because of who he is and what he is to this community," Taos resident Ray Martinez told KRQE (http://bit.ly/1bqOsHT).

Ray Martinez and other supporters said Montoya, who had worked for the department for 12 years, should get his job back, and Farrell should take most of the blame for endangering her children and others as she sped through the town.

Montoya's attorneys said their client was thankful for the support.

Others in Taos have complained that excessive force was used during the stop. Members of the group Citizens for Social Justice plan to meet with Kassetas this week to discuss the incident.

Bumbling cop gets tasered, shoots disturbed man: lawsuit

Cops fired 10 bullets at an emotionally disturbed man because a confused officer screamed out he was being stabbed — when he’d accidentally been Tasered by a colleague, an explosive new lawsuit charges.

Police are claiming the officers who responded to Mohamed Bah’s Harlem apartment in 2012 opened fire — fatally hitting him with eight bullets — because he was lunging at them with a knife.

When they entered the dimly lit apartment, cops tried to subdue the African immigrant with Tasers and guns firing rubber pellets.

Officer Joseph McCormack fired his stun gun, striking Officer Edwin Mateo “from behind,’’ according to Bah family lawyer Randolph M. McLaughlin, of the law firm Newman Ferrara.

Mateo, who’d recently returned from a National Guard tour in Afghanistan, yelled, “He’s stabbing me. Shoot him,’’ according to the $70 million lawsuit, which is being filed Monday in Manhattan federal court.

The lawsuit also claims the 28-year-old Guinean was still alive, although barely, after being shot – but then was callously “dragged” by authorities through the building’s hallways, leaving a trial of “smeared” blood.

“First they shoot the man and treat him like a criminal – and then they drag him down the hallway like an animal,” said McLaughlin.

“Perhaps he’d still be alive if they just picked him up.

“This kind of behavior shocks the conscience and should not be tolerated on a civilized police force.’’

Two weeks ago, a grand jury empanelled by Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance found the cops — who had responded to a 911 call by Bah’s mother seeking medical help for her son — were justified in using deadly force and shouldn’t face criminal charges.

The Bah family’s lawsuit, which adds the new allegations to previously filed legal papers,  relies on eyewitness accounts, police reports and other official documents, McLaughlin said.

It quotes Bah’s mother saying her son was still alive, if barely, when emergency responders tried reviving him outside the building.

He died soon afterward at a local hospital.

The lawsuit names as defendants the city, the NYPD, and the three cops who it’s believed fired the fatal shots: Mateo, Andrew Kress and Michael Green.

Bah’s mom says she called 911 not expecting armed cops brandishing tactical gear to show up.

She says she only wanted medics to treat her son, who suffered from depression.

McLaughlin said there’s another bizarre angle to the case.

The city probably won’t be able to introduce into evidence the knife cops claim his client was using to fight off the officers.

McLaughlin said he was told it mysteriously disappeared from a flooded police warehouse during Superstorm Sandy.

The NYPD — which is still conducting its own internal probe — referred questions to the city’s Law Department.

A Law Department spokesman said: “The case involves tragic circumstances,’’ and officials will “evaluate the matter thoroughly.’’

New York City Police Officer and Criminal Associates Charged with Extorting Queens Restauranteur

Defendants Collected $24,000 of “Protection” Money During a Five-Month Period

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeDecember 03, 2013

·         Eastern District of New York(718) 254-7000

A three-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging Redinel Dervishaj, Besnik Llakatura, and Denis Nikolla with Hobbs Act extortion conspiracy, attempted Hobbs Act extortion, and brandishing a firearm in relation to the extortion. The charges arose from the defendants’ extortion of money from a Queens County restaurant owner. Llakatura was at the time of the alleged offenses a police officer with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), assigned to the 120th Precinct in Staten Island, New York. He was suspended without pay upon his arrest. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York before United States Magistrate Judge Joan Azrack.

The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, NYPD.

“The defendants told their victims they offered 'protection,' but in reality, they peddled fear and intimidation through the Albanian community—their community—of Queens,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “When one victim turned to law enforcement for help, he was betrayed again by a corrupt officer on the take, who turned his back on his badge, his oath, and his friend in exchange for extortion money in his pocket.” Ms. Lynch expressed her thanks to members of the Joint Organized Crime Task Force, which includes agents of the FBI and detectives of the NYPD, which led the investigation, as well as the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Division for its cooperation and assistance in the investigation.

“By creating a climate of fear, the defendants allegedly coerced an innocent restaurant owner into paying for so-called protective services. The victim was further betrayed when seeking the assistance of Besnik Llakatura, an NYPD officer whose sinister intentions were shrouded by his badge of honor. But Llakatura didn’t serve his community with honor; he, instead, abused his powers to the detriment of the public trust. He remains an exception to those law enforcement officers who work selflessly to weed out crime and corruption in their communities,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos.

“Llakatura is alleged to have exploited his friendship and shared heritage in order to help the defendants extort a restaurateur. Once it was reported, the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the Department’s Organized Crime Investigations Division thoroughly responded, resulting in the charges being announced today,” Commissioner Kelly said.

According to the indictment and court filings, Dervishaj, Llakatura, and Nikolla demanded monthly payments from a Queens restaurant owner in exchange for “protection,” repeatedly using threats and intimidation to ensure his compliance. The scheme began shortly after the victim opened a restaurant in Astoria when he was visited by Dervishaj and told that he had opened a business in “our neighborhood” and, as a result, “you have to pay us.” The restaurant owner, who understood that he was targeted because he, like the defendants, is of Albanian descent, sought help from his friend Llakatura. Unbeknownst to him, Llakatura, an NYPD officer on Staten Island since 2006, was conspiring with Dervishaj in the extortion. Llakatura discouraged the restaurant owner from going to the police and sought to leverage his position to persuade the victim that he had no choice but to make the demanded payments. When the victim resisted, he was threatened with physical violence and chased at gunpoint down the street in Queens by Nikolla.

Court-authorized wiretaps of the defendants’ telephones uncovered detailed evidence of their efforts to maintain control over businesses in the neighborhood through fear, intimidation, and violence. In one intercepted call, Llakatura joked about how he “taxes” local businesses. In another, Nikolla described to Dervishaj how he had grabbed another victim “by the neck” because he had told Nikolla that he only had $2,000 and could not pay more. (The referenced language from the intercepted calls is based on draft translations from Albanian.)

Over the course of five months, each of the three defendants took turns collecting monthly payments from the Astoria restaurant owner, ultimately collecting $24,000 in so-called protection money.

The charges announced today are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nadia Shihata and M. Kristin Mace.

Defendants:

Redinel Dervishaj, a/k/a “Redi”
Age: 37
Queens, New York

Besnik Llakatura, a/k/a “Besi” and “Nick”
Age: 34
Staten Island, New York

Denis Nikolla
Age: 33
Brooklyn, New York

Ranking Midlothian Police Officer Charged with Federal Civil Rights Violations Involving Alleged Use of Excessive Force

U.S. Attorney’s Office December 04, 2013

Northern District of Illinois (312) 353-5300

CHICAGO―A south suburban Midlothian Police officer was indicted on federal civil rights charges alleging that he used excessive force against two different victims in separate beating incidents in 2010 and 2011. The defendant, Steven G. Zamiar, was indicted on two counts of violating the victims’ civil right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer. The two-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury yesterday and was announced today by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Zamiar, 46, of Midlothian, joined the Midlothian Police Department in 2000. He was a detective sergeant at the time of the alleged beating in 2010 and was deputy chief when the alleged beating occurred in 2011. He was later demoted to lieutenant and was placed on paid administrative leave this past September. He will be arraigned on a date yet to be scheduled in U.S. District Court.

According to the indictment, on September 6, 2010, when he was a detective sergeant, Zamiar used excessive force, resulting in bodily injury, against Victim A. On November 24, 2011, when he was deputy chief of the Midlothian Police Department, Zamiar allegedly used excessive force, resulting in bodily injury, against Victim B. During the November 2011 incident, Zamiar allegedly used, attempted to use, and threatened to use a dangerous weapon.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Otlewski.

An indictment contains merely charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Former Mission cop arrested for taking cash to "fix cases"

A former Mission police officer found himself on the other side of the law after being accused of taking bribes in order to "fix" court cases.
Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested 40-year-old Carlos Celedon on state jail felony theft charges on Friday evenving.
Investigators told Action 4 News that the former Mission Police Department corporal is accused of taking bribes on at least two occsasion.
Court records obtained by Action 4 News show that Celedon no longer worked with the police department but told both victims that he had "connections" in the courts.
One victim told deputies that he paid Celedon $1,582 to make a prior DWI and a traffic ticket "go away" but that never happened.
Another victim told deputies that he paid Celedon $3,546 to expunge his three DWI's from his criminal record.
Deputies reported the man came forward because Celedon refused to give him his money back after he failed to deliver what he promised.
Investigators reported that Celedon once worked for the Mission Police Department but was convicted on theft charges in a 2010 case where he promised to deliver large screen televisions and other items for discount prices but never delivered.
Celedon appeared before Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Ismael "Melo" Ochoa where he was issued $15,000 in bonds.

Former Philadelphia police officer convicted of corruption

PHILADELPHIA - December 3, 2013 (WPVI) -- A 23-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police force was found guilty Monday of interfering with a federal drug investigation.

52-year-old Rafael Cordero of Philadelphia was convicted by a federal jury for passing along sensitive information about a drug investigation to his half-brother, David Garcia, who is an alleged member of the Christian Serrano/Edwin Medina Drug Trafficking Organizations.

Prosecutors say Cordero tipped Garcia off to a surveillance camera installed by the DEA to monitor drug related activities at a garage, located at 538 East Indiana Street in Philadelphia.

In addition, when the FBI and DEA executed search warrants at several locations, including the garage, Cordero showed up at the locations without having any official reason to be there - allegedly informed of the raids by his half-brother. Authorities found him looking in the windows of the garage, and when asked what he was doing, Cordero allegedly lied about his reasons for being there, and even offered to assist in the search.

Cordero then called Garcia immediately after leaving the garage to share with him details about the search. In a subsequent phone call Cordero allegedly told Garcia, "When you get home take my picture down."

Garcia also removed a recording that law enforcement missed during the search which captured footage of Cordero at the garage at the time of the search. Prosecutors say Cordero never informed law enforcement of the video tape's existence.

In addition, prosecutors say that between January and July of 2011, David Garcia was permitted to store money at Cordero's home, which Cordero apparently knew were the proceeds of illegal drug sales. After DEA agents arrested David Garcia on July 27, 2011, Cordero allegedly had his brother, E.C., take the money, thereby obstructing justice.

Cordero faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

longtime Chicago police lieutenant pleads guilty

By Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune reporter

December 6, 2013

A former longtime Chicago police lieutenant pleaded guilty Thursday in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme involving a Northwest Side real estate mogul and a crooked former suburban police chief.

Erroll Davis, 52, choked up as he entered his guilty plea in federal court to one count of making false statements in a tax return. Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan that Davis faces 12 to 18 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines but that they would recommend a lighter sentence if he continues to cooperate. Davis, a 27-year police veteran who spent years with the marine unit, resigned from the department after the charges were announced last month.

Robert Michael, 62, a former CEO of the now-defunct Citizens Bank and Trust, has pleaded not guilty to charges he hoodwinked his own bank into illegally lending $650,000 to Davis for the fraudulent purchase of an apartment building in the South Chicago neighborhood.

The building was actually owned by Regina Evans, the former police chief of Country Club Hills, who owed Michael's bank and realty company more than $300,000 in mortgage payments on the building and rent for a nightclub. But the bank loan instead went to pay off Evans' debt, and Davis was given a $30,000 check for his troubles, according to court records.

Davis admitted in his plea agreement he lied on the loan application and failed to claim the $30,000 as income on his 2008 tax return. Evans, who was not charged, is scheduled to be sentenced next week in a separate case for stealing state grant money.

police officer arrested on child sexual assault charges

A former Rio Grande City Police Officer has found himself on the other side of the law.

Rodolfo Hinojosa was arrested this morning on two charges of sexual assault of a child.

Hinojosa appeared before Judge Zarrate around 7:00 p.m. and his bond was set at $200,000 for the two counts.

The case is currently investigated by the Starr County District Attorney’s office and the Texas Rangers.

City Manager Matt Ruszczak told the McAllen Monitor that Hinojosa resigned from the department on November 21 and had been working with the department since 2006.

Investigators told Action 4 News that Hinojosa worked as a supervisor and had sexual contact with a teenage girl who had enrolled in the police department's Explorer program.

Coroner Testimony Crushes Cop Lawyer Claims That Kelly Thomas Killed Himself

By R. Scott Moxley

Four days into the sensational Kelly Thomas murder trial, it's clear that defense lawyers for two Fullerton cops accused of criminal conduct in the gory July 2011 police killing will rely largely on half-truths, complete distortions and semi-cleverly spun nonsense to win.

I reported after the Dec. 2 opening statements that John Barnett and Michael Schwartz, lawyers for Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli, declared that a severe, five-minute attack by a group of cops was not even a minor factor in the death of the unarmed, comparatively small, homeless man.

As if somehow exculpatory for their clients, Barnett and Schwartz proclaim that Thomas (blood-covered, unconscious and horrifically mauled) still had a pulse at the immediate conclusion of the beating.

Though the defense claims Thomas killed himself during the attack by overexerting an enlarged heart and suffering a heart attack, the coroner who performed the autopsy ruled that out as a possibility during today's testimony.

"He died with an enlarged heart," said Dr. Aruna Singhania. "But he didn't die because of an enlarged heart."

Singhania directly attributed the cause of death to what everyone but apologists for police brutality knows: The length and severity of the unnecessary physical attack--including numerous crushing blows to his face--restricted Thomas' oxygen supply.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas quickly followed up, asking that at the very time Thomas needed more oxygen during the incident, was his supply "getting less and depleted"?

"That's correct," the veteran coroner replied.

Digital audio records made by police at the scene document the 37-year-old Thomas repeatedly and with ever-increasing exasperation telling the much-heavier officers pummeling him with punches, kicks, baton slams, stomps and Taser gun blasts, "I can't breathe."

The defense team has tried to use the declarations to, at best, underscore their laughable assertion that Thomas' complaints of pain at the scene had no merit, and, at worse, to mock the dead man's statement as a lie.

They've even secured testimony that if a person can say he can't breathe, then he's breathing.

But to view Thomas' statement without context is as absurd as holding someone accountable for the literal meaning of the following type of utterances: "I lost my head," "You crack me up," "I have a chip on my shoulder" and "Lend me your ear."

Under an attack that would kill him, Thomas voiced an urgent expression that was ignored by the cops. He wasn't uttering a lie. He was communicating that he felt the horrific sensation of losing critical oxygen.

Guess what, folks?

Despite the defense team's premature freeze-framing of events to when Thomas was alive, he ultimately fell unconscious while hog-tied at the feet of joke-cracking cops, who rendered no aid and fretted about minor scratches they suffered.

Shortly thereafter, the man--who'd committed no crime and certainly no act to justify his execution by the Fullerton Police Department--lost his breath forever.

During the three-minute ambulance trip to a hospital trauma unit, Thomas' heart stopped beating, and according to paramedics, he flatlined on the electrocardiogram.

 (During the preliminary hearing phase in the case, Barnett and Schwartz strongly implied that Thomas might have died because of medical incompetence after he'd been moved from the cops.)

Over the objections of the defense before the noon recess, Rackauckas showed the jury multiple autopsy photographs of a badly beaten corpse.

The defense team will work to undermine Dr. Singhania's findings beginning this afternoon and will likely continue to press its claim that Rackauckas coached the coroner on the cause of death, an assertion Singhania testified is groundless.

Officer suspended after video surfaces of alleged abuse

CALIFORNIA, Pa. —

A police chief in Washington County has suspended one of his officers after he viewed surveillance video allegedly showing the officer abusing a handcuffed suspect.

California Boro Police Chief Rick Encapera said he felt he had to report the actions of Officer Justin Shultz.

According to Encapera, the video showed Shultz assaulting a handcuffed man, Adam Logan, who was simply sitting on a bench after getting arrested for an alleged purse snatching.

“He grabbed the detainee, shook him, threw him against the wall and then the floor. You could tell by the guy’s face he caused substantial pain,” Encapera said.

Encapera said in his police report that Shultz, 29, defended his actions.

“He said he was attempting to calm down a prisoner who was unruly and aggressive. I didn’t see that in the video,” Encapera said. “I couldn’t live with myself if I let this go without any action.”

Channel 11’s Cara Sapida reported Shultz has been placed on leave while the district attorney’s office investigates.

Shultz was previously placed on leave in May after a number of complaints were filed against him for using excessive force.

Cop punished for drunken behavior at Seahawks game in trouble again

Posted by John de Leon

A Bellevue police officer who was disciplined for his drunken off-duty behavior at Seattle Seahawks game in September 2012 has been charged with misdemeanor drunk driving in an incident in which a fellow Bellevue officer stopped him for erratic driving and then allowed him to go home with a relative.

The officer who was pulled over has been identified as Andrew Hanke.

Bellevue police say on Nov. 20, an unidentified off-duty Bellevue police officer was driving home in his patrol car when he stopped a car on Interstate 90 near Issaquah to investigate the driver for possible DUI. The driver of the vehicle that was pulled over was Hanke, according to Bellevue city Prosecutor Lynn Moberly, who filed the DUI charge Thursday in King County District Court in Issaquah.

The off-duty officer did not arrest Hanke and instead allowed him to be driven home by a relative, police said.

The investigating officer notified a supervisor of the incident.

The following morning, Bellevue police Chief Linda Pillo was notified of the incident and Hanke was immediately placed on administrative leave, said Bellevue police public information Officer Seth Tyler.  The department has also opened an internal investigation into the officer who stopped Hanke but did not arrest him.

“While officers are allowed some discretion during a traffic stop, the officer’s decision in this case not to make an arrest is undergoing a thorough and objective internal investigation. That investigation will determine whether the on-duty officer used poor judgment and/or failed to perform their duties,” police said in a news release.

Police say details of the internal investigations will not be released until they are completed.

“I expect our officers to abide by our guiding principles of respect, accountability, integrity and service, and to abide by the laws of the state of Washington both on and off duty,” Pillo said in a statement. “If these allegations are sustained, the involved officers will be held accountable for their actions.”

Hanke was one of two Bellevue officers punished last year for their off-duty behavior at a Seahawks game, when they drunkenly confronted a female Seattle police officer and got into a profanity-laced altercation with a fan and his family.

During the investigation into that incident, which was first reported by The Seattle Times, Hanke was suspended for 30 days without pay and removed from the Bomb Squad. Hanke had told investigators that he was too drunk to remember driving home to Snoqualmie from CenturyLink Field.

Officer Charged with Stealing Money

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (WKRC) -- A Maysville police officer is now charged with stealing money from a federal drug task force. A grand jury today indicted Timothy Fegan on charges of stealing from the Buffalo Trace-Gateway Narcotics task force.  It's based in Maysville and investigates drug crimes in northern and eastern Kentucky counties.

The 52-year-old Fegan served as executive director of the task force for two-and-a-half years.  According to the indictment, Fegan took money agents seized during drug raids and money task force members kept on hand for controlled drug buys.  

Fegan faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000 dollars.

Officer Charged with Stealing Money

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (WKRC) -- A Maysville police officer is now charged with stealing money from a federal drug task force. A grand jury today indicted Timothy Fegan on charges of stealing from the Buffalo Trace-Gateway Narcotics task force.  It's based in Maysville and investigates drug crimes in northern and eastern Kentucky counties.

The 52-year-old Fegan served as executive director of the task force for two-and-a-half years.  According to the indictment, Fegan took money agents seized during drug raids and money task force members kept on hand for controlled drug buys.  

Fegan faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000 dollars.

Fort Wayne officer charged with raping woman

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Prosecutors have filed rape charges against a Fort Wayne police officer, saying he attacked a woman he had arrested for drunken driving.

Allen County prosecutors added the two counts of rape on Thursday to the charges against Officer Mark Rogers. He had first been charged in September sexual and official misconduct.

The Journal Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1bmNqkM ) the new charges allege Rogers stopped the woman and took her to a hospital for treatment because of her high level of intoxication. Prosecutors say that after she was release from the hospital Roger took her to a city park and had sex with her.

Defense attorney David Zent didn't immediately return a telephone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Internal affairs questions chief

Police Chief John Tedesco was questioned by the police department's internal affairs unit Monday afternoon, city officials confirmed Tuesday.

Tedesco was interviewed about a letter he sent to a person who filed a complaint regarding alleged police brutality. Tedesco said in the letter that the complaint was upheld by the internal affairs investigation.

Mayor Lou Rosamilia said Tedesco faced internal affairs after he had postponed the meeting several times.

"I will have the findings after it's over," Rosamilia said.

Tedesco is the city's first police chief to be the target of an internal affairs probe.

Deputy Chief Richard McAvoy and Capt. Terrance Buchanan of internal affairs met with Tedesco for about 30 minutes in an office that was cordoned off.

Tedesco had said the media were invited to attend his interview, but no reporters were present.

The chief faces the investigation after a complaint was filed saying that the letter he sent was written before the officer under investigation had exhausted the appeals process.

Tedesco's questioning came as city officials learned that the chief asked the City Council to investigate the police department's operations and internal affairs unit under Police Commissioner Anthony Magnetto.

Tedesco also has called for the FBI to investigate the department's internal affairs cases.

The City Council and members of Rosamilia's administration received an eight-page letter Friday night from Tedesco's attorney outlining the need for the inquiry.

"Recent events have again made clear the need for a properly trained and autonomous ISB (Inspectional Services Bureau) officer who remains free from the influence of any outside sources, especially the PBA," wrote Brian Premo, Tedesco's lawyer.

Premo's letter alleged that Buchanan is influenced by the Troy Police Benevolent Association due to having received off-hours employment through the union.

Rosamilia said the latest letter from Tedesco, which he reviewed Monday, is "the same thing." He called the chief's actions a distraction to the police department.

Premo's letter was widely circulated throughout the police department Monday.

Since Magnetto was appointed earlier this year, Tedesco has been pushed aside in managing the police department. Magnetto has moved ahead with implementing programs, such as school resource officers, that Rosamilia promised he would deliver if elected mayor.

Premo's letter attacks Magnetto's appointment as illegal and highlights the influence that the Troy Police Benevolent Association has in the department.

"Chief Tedesco firmly believes that a zero-tolerance policy against egregious misconduct must be strictly enforced to prevent future incidents of brutality and that his other 'best practices' and policies must be reinstated for effective and efficient management of the Police Bureau," Premo wrote.

Columbus Settles Police Misconduct Case

BY JIM LETIZIA

Columbus City Council last night approved a 35 thousand dollar legal settlement with a man whose constitutional rights were violated by Columbus police.

Earlier this year, a three judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati reversed a judge's decision to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit filed in 2008 by Tremaine Nelms against the city and two police officers. The panel said it appears the officers violated Nelms' constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure. Nelms claimed the officers and his North side apartment complex manager entered and searched his apartment unlawfully and without reason. City attorney Rick Pfeffier.

Jury chosen for ex-officer in Katrina shooting

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Opening statements are set to begin Wednesday in the retrial of a former New Orleans policeman who shot and killed a man four days after Hurricane Katrina.

David Warren is charged with violating 31-year-old Henry Glover's civil rights and with using a weapon in a violent crime.

Warren was guarding a police substation from a second-floor balcony when he shot Glover in 2005. He testified that he thought Glover had a gun. He was convicted of manslaughter in 2010, but a federal appeals court overturned the conviction.

The court ruled he should have been tried separately from officers charged in a cover-up designed to make Glover's shooting appear justified.

Suit spotlights AC police brutality complaints

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge is raising questions about the Atlantic City police department's handling of brutality complaints against its officers.

U.S. District Judge Joel Schneider in Camden is presiding over a 2010 excessive-force lawsuit against two Atlantic City officers who have faced nearly 80 complaints between them. None has been upheld by the department's internal affairs.

The city previously provided summaries of the complaints against the officers, Sgt. Frank Timek and Officer Sterling Wheaten. But the judge has ordered the city to turn over the full internal affairs reports, The Press of Atlantic City (http://bit.ly/18izzKU ) reported.

The judge said the reports are needed to determine if the city has been, as alleged, "deliberately indifferent to the violent propensities of its police officers."

He noted that no complaints against Timek and Wheaten were ever upheld in internal affairs investigations even though the two "regularly appear in this court as defendants ... in excessive force cases, several of which are remarkably similar to the instant one."

Beyond the allegations made against the two officers, Schneider noted, not one of hundreds of excessive force complaints against any city police has been upheld through internal review.

The city police union's president, Paul Barbere, said it's wrong to judge the officers by the number of complaints received. He called such complaints an occupational hazard for officers and the work of defendants looking to improve their chances in court.

In the case now in federal court, Matthew Groark alleges that he and his girlfriend were at a nightclub at Caesars Atlantic City on Aug. 7, 2010, when they approached Wheaten and Timek, who were working a security detail there, for assistance.

When the officers shined a light in the couples' eyes, Groark said, he asked why and then alleges he was thrown down the stairs, punched and kneed by the officers. He alleges the attack was unprovoked, and that he then was charged with obstruction of justice, resisting arrest and aggravated assault.

Court records show Groark has no criminal record and that the 2010 charges were dismissed.

Timek had 52 complaints filed against him over 11 years, and Wheaten had 26 over nearly four years, the summaries of the cases against them showed.