Veteran Police Officers Charged with Insurance Fraud

By Liz Spear

Prosecutors revealed additional evidence Monday against two veteran LAPD officers charged in workers' compensation fraud cases.
Officer John Hall, 45, a 19-year-old veteran last assigned to the Emergency Services Division, is charged with two counts of insurance fraud, one count of attempted perjury and one count of grand theft.
Prosecutors said Hall claimed he injured his back while on duty. But while on paid leave, he was spotted more than once on a boat helping to carry heavy diving equipment and giving scuba diving instructions to an undercover police officer, according to a District Attorney's Office spokeswoman.
Hall, free on $80,000 bail, appeared in court Moday, but his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 10.
Arraignment was also postponed for Officer Ralph Mendoza, who is set to return on Jan. 21 to enter a plea.
Mendoza, 44, a 13-year veteran who lives in San Bernardino County, was last assigned to the Hollenbeck Division patrol. He is charged with one count of insurance fraud and one count of grand theft.
Prosecutors said Mendoza altered a doctor's return to work slip in June 2012.
"Public trust is at the very core of the police profession, and when that trust is violated we must employ every measure to restore it," said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck when the officers were arrested Dec. 11.
"I am troubled whenever our officers are accused of violating that trust. As the chief, it is my duty to ensure that we fully investigate these cases of alleged misconduct and to take appropriate action when the misconduct is found to be true."
If convicted, Hall faces up to eight years in jail, while Mendoza faces up to six.

Fort Worth officer charged with sexual assault is fired

By Deanna Boyd

dboyd@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — A police officer arrested in October on allegations of sexual assault by a public servant, official oppression and theft has been fired.
Douglas V. Campbell’s indefinite suspension from the Fort Worth Police Department took effect Dec. 23, according to Civil Service documents obtained Monday by the Star-Telegram.
Campbell, 33, is accused of sexually assaulting a prostitute, threatening another that he would take her to jail if she did not engage in sexual activity, and stealing $2 from an abandoned vehicle.
He was indicted on the sexual assault and official oppression cases Dec. 18 and remains free on bail awaiting trial in all three cases, according to Tarrant County court records.
“Officer Campbell, of course, denies those accusations in the indictments and looks forward to his day in court,” said Jim Lane, his defense attorney.
Campbell has appealed his termination. His attorney in the appeal, Craig Driskell of the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, declined to comment Monday.
The department’s special investigation unit began investigating Campbell after receiving information in August from other officers that Campbell was possibly having sex with prostitutes.
Investigators began conducting surveillance of Campbell, then interviewing women with whom he had contact.
One prostitute told officers that Campbell had removed his penis from his pants and had told her to engage in sexual contact with him or he would take her to jail. She said the conversation stopped, however, when another officer drove up, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Another prostitute told investigators that Campbell had touched her and pulled her G-string between her legs, causing her pain, the affidavit states.
According to the disciplinary letter signed by Police Chief Jeff Halstead, Campbell admitted paying for sexual acts at least five times since being commissioned as a Fort Worth officer in 2007.
The theft charge stems from allegations that Campbell removed $2 from an abandoned vehicle that he had been dispatched to, then give it to a female friend whom he had arranged to meet there. The incident was recorded, according to the disciplinary letter.
Campbell also did not accurately report the chain of custody of narcotics found inside the van, the disciplinary letter states.
Halstead said an internal investigation sustained eight allegations of misconduct against Campbell.
“His actions are a disgrace to our department, our city, and the policing profession,” Halstead said in an emailed statement. “I will continue to hold all employees accountable for any violations of policy that jeopardize the level of public trust within our community.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/01/06/5464201/fort-worth-officer-charged-with.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Openings in trial of cop expected this morning

BY JULIE MANGANIS STAFF WRITER The Salem News Tue Jan 07, 2014, 11:42 AM EST

PEABODY — In a strange coincidence, a potential juror in the trial of a Peabody police officer accused of molesting a relative was excused from serving yesterday after telling the judge about his long-standing resentment of police.
The jury pool member said the belief dates back to his arrest in 1983 on a drunken-driving charge. He told Lawrence Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins that he has long believed that the Georgetown police officer who arrested him should have given him a break because he was a friend of the officer’s son.
And that, it turns out, is also a central issue in Frederick Wojick’s defense as he goes on trial in Lawrence Superior Court on nine counts of indecent assault and battery and two counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor.
Wojick and his attorney, Thomas Drechsler, contend that the accusations, by a relative of Wojick’s estranged wife, were made in retaliation over Wojick’s refusal to intervene when the accuser’s boyfriend was charged with drunken driving last year. Wojick had instead expressed disapproval of the relationship, his attorney has said.
Wojick, 49, was arrested in November 2011 after a colleague went to his superiors with concerns about statements Wojcik had made to him about his troubled family life, and an investigation eventually led to the disclosures by the relative, a teenager.
Opening statements in the case are expected this morning, followed by testimony from the teenager and, potentially, other witnesses.
Drechsler and prosecutor Kate MacDougall told the judge the case is expected to take about a week.
Both sides are seeking to limit the evidence that can be used during the trial, according to court filings.
The defense wants to bar the prosecutor and witnesses from referring to Wojick’s hospitalization for mental health treatment around the time of the disclosures, as well as evidence taken from computers.
The prosecutor is asking the judge to block questions about the teen’s sexual history. Such questions are typically off-limits under the state’s “rape shield” law, a law that seeks to prevent defense attorneys from attempting to elicit irrelevant testimony that could prejudice jurors against an accuser in a sexual assault case.
The prosecutor is also seeking to bar introduction of evidence of “prior bad acts” by either the accuser or witnesses in the case, including the drunken-driving arrest of the accuser’s boyfriend, unless Drechsler can prove that they are relevant.

Off-duty Portland cop arrested, accused of vandalizing neighbor's vehicle

PORTLAND, Ore. – Tualatin police arrested an off-duty Portland police officer who they said vandalized a neighbor’s vehicle on New Year’s Eve.
Homero Reynaga was taken to the Clackamas County Jail on one count of criminal mischief (second degree).
Police said Reynaga was vandalizing a vehicle in the 6400 block of Southwest Nyberg Lane.
Reynaga, a 15-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau assigned to the Central Precinct, was place on paid administrative leave and his police powers have been rescinded pending an internal investigation, which is standard bureau procedure.

Suspended Greenwood Officer Resigns

(GREENWOOD) - A suspended Greenwood police officer has resigned from the department, according to Greenwood police.
The resignation is effective immediately.
Joey Rodriguez was suspended last week after getting into a fight during a New Year's party. During the fight, he's accused of punching responding officers and kicking at medical crews.
FOX59 learned last week that Rodriguez did not enter an alcohol rehabilitation program, which was part of his agreement to be released from the Johnson County Jail.
The Greenwood Police Merit Board was scheduled to meet Monday, and Rodriguez had until before the meeting to resign. Otherwise, he would face termination by the department.
As part of his agreement, Rodriguez was also ordered to have no contact with any of the people he fought with at the party

Seabrook officers suspended, video shows man's head slammed against concrete wall

SEABROOK -- Two police officers have been placed on administrative leave and town officials are scrambling for answers after a four-year-old video uploaded on to YouTube yesterday shows one officer slamming a young man's head against a cement wall inside the Liberty Lane police station.

Town Manager Bill Manzi would not immediately disclose the names of the suspended officers pending a police investigation into the incident conducted by Chief Lee Bitomske. Manzi added that its possible that an outside agency will be hired to assist the investigation.

"While the investigation is conducted no town official will have able to offer additional comment beyond this station," Manzi said.

The roughly four-minute-long video, titled "police brutality in seabrook," and shot by a cell hall camera on Nov. 11, 2009, shows the suspect being lead down a hall by a police officer while two others walked along side. Seconds later, the officer throws the suspect's head against against the wall, knocking him off his feet and sprawling him onto the floor. Still dazed, the suspect is hauled to his feet before falling down again. Moments later, a second police officer douses the suspect with appears to be pepper spray. At various points, some of the officers smile, and one looks directly at the surveillance camera.

A description of the video, uploaded by a man whose screen name is Mike Berg, reads: "Charged with a dwi not even drunk and tried explaining that I wasn't drunk and they could be out catching actual criminals. Then after being in the cell for a while waiting for a bail bonds man I was taken out and brought in the booking room to call for a ride. After calling a ride I was told I could take my phone that I called from and my wallet. as soon as I grabbed my wallet from the table he officer with the glasses came at me saying he never told me I could take my stuff and choked me against the wall then tried to grab the wallet from my pocket. Once he got the wallet and my phone this is what happened."

Manzi said part of the investigation will focus on how the video, which he confirmed was shot within the police station, got into the hands of the suspect, whose identity has been confirmed.

"We don't know how it got out there," Manzi said, adding he didn't know why the video surfaced yesterday four years after the fact.

According to information found on the video post, the suspect said his lawyer, whom he hired after the incident, took the tape and kept it for two years until the suspect tracked him down. "But now I think it's to late to do anything with it even though I have a permanent lump on the back of my head chipped teeth and brain injuries but talking to a lawyer soon."

At the time of the incident, Seabrook police was led by now-retired Chief Patrick Manthorn. Bitomske was sworn in as the department's newest chief in November 2012.

Earlier today, Bitomske visited the town office building where he and Manzi discussed the matter further. Upon leaving the building, Bitomske declined to comment but said he may have a statement later this afternoon or tomorrow.

Manzi said he first watched the video yesterday after being alerted that there was a video involving Seabrook police that he should see.

Charges for 106 in Huge Fraud Over Disability

The retired New York City police officers and firefighters showed up for their psychiatric exams disheveled and disoriented, most following a nearly identical script.

They had been coached on how to fail memory tests, feign panic attacks and, if they had worked during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, to talk about their fear of airplanes and entering skyscrapers, prosecutors said. And they were told to make it clear they could not leave the house, much less find a job.

But their Facebook pages told investigators a starkly different story, according to an indictment and other court papers.

Former police officers who had told government doctors they were too mentally scarred to leave home had posted photographs of themselves fishing, riding motorcycles, driving water scooters, flying helicopters and playing basketball.

“The brazenness is shocking,” Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, said on Tuesday.

The online photos, along with intercepted phone calls and the testimony of undercover officers, were evidence of what officials said was the largest fraud ever perpetrated against the Social Security disability system, a scheme stretching back to 1988 in which as many as 1,000 people — many of them officers and firefighters already collecting pensions from the city — were suspected to have bilked the federal government out of an estimated $400 million.

An indictment unsealed on Monday by the Manhattan district attorney’s office charges 106 people, four of whom are accused of running the scheme. The group was headed by Raymond Lavallee, 83, a Long Island lawyer who started his career as an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and once served as a senior Nassau County prosecutor, court papers said.

Mr. Lavallee worked most closely with two men: Thomas Hale, 89, a pension consultant who investigators say filled out applications, and Joseph Minerva, 61, a former police officer who works for the Detectives’ Endowment Association.

The organizers received cash kickbacks of more than $28,000 from each applicant, money that was taken from the recipients’ first check from the Social Security Administration, prosecutors said.

Lawyers for all four men denied the accusations.

Scores of former police officers and firefighters were arrested on Tuesday and brought in handcuffs to State Supreme Court in Manhattan, where they were arraigned before Acting Justice Daniel Fitzgerald on charges of grand larceny. They are accused of collecting between $30,000 and $50,000 a year.

Many of the 72 city police officers and eight firefighters named in the 205-count indictment had blamed the Sept. 11 attacks for what they described as mental problems: post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and severe depression.

“It’s a particularly cynical part of the charged scheme that approximately half the defendants falsely claimed that their psychiatric disabilities were caused by the 9/11 attacks,” Mr. Vance said at a news conference.

Yet investigators said the accused were living full lives and in many cases were holding jobs in private security, construction and landscaping.

Several of the defendants documented their activities on Facebook. The bail letter includes photographs culled from the Internet that show one former officer riding a water scooter and others working at jobs including helicopter pilot and martial arts instructor. One is shown fishing off the coast of Costa Rica and another sitting astride a motorcycle, while another appeared in a television news story selling cannoli at the Feast of San Gennaro in Manhattan.

Prosecutors said Joseph Esposito, 64, who retired from the Police Department in 1990, coached the applicants to act symptomatic during exams conducted by psychiatrists for the Social Security Administration.

In one secretly recorded telephone conversation, Mr. Esposito told an applicant to misspell words and miscalculate simple arithmetic, and to say that she kept the television on at home “just to hear a voice in the house,” but to emphasize that she kept changing channels because she could not focus.

“When you’re talking to the guy, don’t look directly at him,” Mr. Esposito said, according to a transcript of the conversation in the bail letter. “You know, pause for a second. You’re just trying to show that, you know, you’re depressed. You, you can’t, you, you don’t have any desire for anything, and if you can, you pretend you have panic attacks.”

Mr. Vance said one of the defendants, Louis Hurtado, had retired from the Police Department with a disability pension after sustaining a neck injury and then opened and taught at a martial arts studio. Yet he still applied for disability from the Social Security Administration, saying he had post-traumatic stress disorder.

During the bail hearing, Christopher Santora, an assistant district attorney, outlined how the scheme worked. The defendants generally first contacted Mr. Esposito, who was known in law enforcement circles for helping people secure disability benefits. Mr. Esposito would take applicants to Mr. Hale and Mr. Minerva, who referred them to one of two psychiatrists.

With Mr. Esposito’s coaching, the applicants would go to the psychiatrists for a year to build a false record of mental instability before applying for benefits.

Mr. Hale then filled out the applications in cookie-cutter fashion, using the same phrases, like, “I don’t have interest in anything,” and “I am up and down all night long.”

The bail letter traced the scheme’s origins to 1988 and estimated that the retirees collected fraudulent disability awards, over time ranging from approximately $50,000 to $500,000. All told, $21.4 million in disability benefits was paid to people charged in the indictment. Among the others charged were correction officers, Nassau and Suffolk County police officers and civilians. 

Lawyers for the men accused of organizing the scheme predicted they would prevail in court. Mr. Lavallee’s lawyer, Raymond Perini, said “a decorated Korean War vet, F.B.I. agent and prosecutor lost his 60-year reputation today and we are going to win that back in the courtroom.”

Mr. Hale’s lawyer, Joseph Conway, said that his client’s consulting business would prove to be legitimate. Mr. Esposito’s lawyer, Brian Griffin, said his client denied the accusations.

Mr. Griffin said most of the people named in the indictment did have a disability of some kind, noting prosecutors appear to be alleging that only the mental disabilities underlying the federal Social Security applications were exaggerated.

Mr. Minerva’s lawyer, Glenn Hardy, said his client had a legitimate job helping officers obtain benefits and denied that Mr. Minerva had told applicants what to say.

Mr. Lavallee and Mr. Hale were each released on $1 million bail, while Mr. Esposito posted $500,000 and Mr. Minerva put up $250,000.

The inquiry started in 2008 when Social Security investigators noticed that two retired police officers who had gun permits were also receiving payments for a mental disability. That discovery led to a review of other applications handled by Mr. Lavallee and a multiagency investigation.

Patrick P. O’Carroll Jr., the inspector general for the Social Security Administration, said more arrests were expected.

Cincinnati police officer indicted on charges involving nude photos of teen to face judge

CINCINNATI -- A Cincinnati police officer indicted on felony charges involving nude photos of a 17-year-old and the opening of a fake police substation in East Price Hill is scheduled to appear in a Hamilton County courtroom Monday to either enter a plea or set a date for trial.

Darrell Beavers, 44, who has been with CPD for about 13 years, was indicted on one count of theft in office, one count of tampering with evidence and four counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance.

Deters said these charges date from June 2013 to Sept. 2013.

If convicted on all charges, Beavers -- a former player in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs -- faces the possibility of eight-and-a-half years in prison.

In October, Beavers was put on the CPD's Telephone Reporting Unit pending a grand jury decision. Following his indictment he was suspended on unpaid leave. Beavers earned $73,646.67 per year and was hired on August 19, 2001.

Beavers participated in The Cincinnati Police Explorer program, a program for teenagers interested in a career in law enforcement. Founded in 1973, the program is only open to young people age 14 to 21, according to its website.

In September 2013, the parent of a 17-year-old Cincinnati Police Explorer became concerned about his daughter’s contact with Beavers, Deters said. He later complained to the Cincinnati Police Department which resulted in an investigation into Beavers' activities.

It was later determined Beavers received nude photos of the teen, Deters said.

"Until I see the evidence, I can't comment on the case but he is a very, very well-received police officer and as far as I am concerned did well in the community," said Beavers' attorney, Carl Lewis, after the indictment was announced.

Beavers has served in District 3 since August 2008. In his August 2013 performance evaluation, Beavers exceeded all core and patrol performance standards, but only met standards in two categories: evidence management and compliance with policies and procedures.

He has earned 10 commendations for his police work, including one directly from former police chief Col. Tom Streicher Jr. in January 2007 for his work in the vortex unit, according to his personnel file.

"He's been a generally good employee," Assistant Police Chief Lt. Col. James Whalen told WCPO. "And this is obviously very disappointing."

He was named a neighborhood liaison officer in November 2010, according to his personnel file.

"We have supervisors and all kinds of rules and regulations, and he didn't obey any of them in this regard, our investigation show us," Whalen said. "As a neighborhood officer, we would have expected him to be out in the community and meeting with people and when we discovered he wasn't, we took this action."

Beavers Sets Up His Own Substation

Beavers is also charged with improper use of an apartment at 2600 Bushnell Street in East Price Hill.

An investigation revealed Beavers secured the apartment alleging that it would be used as a Cincinnati Police substation, Deters said.

"An officer on their own is not empowered to do that, we have a policy in place and he just didn't follow the police and submit it up the chain," Whalen said.

In an interview with WCPO's Jay Warren, apartment manager Marti Burcham said Beavers approached her earlier this year and asked if she would like a substation.

For Burcham, the thought of extra police security was a no-brainer.

"Two weeks later, he came back and said, 'yes, we were approved’ and we had to furnish an apartment and the electricity," Burcham said.

Burcham said she then began moving things into apartment No. 9, including a bed.

She was also told to put a Cincinnati Police Department sticker on the window of the stairwell, she said.

"I saw him move stuff in -- a computer and stuff like that -- and he hung the sign on the window, so I thought it was all perfectly legit," Burcham said.

Kathy, a resident of the apartment who asked that WCPO not use her last name, said she -- like Burcham – agreed with the idea of a substation at the complex.

"When I first heard that there was going to be a substation in our complex, I thought it was a really nice idea,” she said, “It's off the beaten path…security would really really be nice."

But as time went by, Kathy said something didn't seem normal.

"Only because they were never there, it seemed like if there was going to be some police presence in the neighborhood at least they would be there on occasion,” Kathy said. “An hour here and an hour there -- but it really didn't appear that way to me."

When the police searched the apartment in late September, they found a bed, bedding, food, personal lubricant, videos and a night vision camera that was property of the Cincinnati Police Department.

“A police officer commands, and should command, the respect of the entire community. When an individual police officer betrays that trust, it devastates the entire community which is why the Cincinnati Police Department and my office place the highest priority on these types of cases and will not tolerate this behavior,” Deters said.

The theft charge against Beavers is based on his use of the apartment for free and claiming it was for official Cincinnati police business.

Count two of the indictment alleges Beavers destroyed a cell phone after he became aware of the official police investigation into his activities.

Beavers: 'You Shouldn't Be Afraid Of The Police'

Beavers also worked with Camp Joy in Clarksville, Ohio, for several years, where he was paired with dozens of campers – ages 10 to 12.

Officers at the camp are often paired with children for a week, giving them the chance to reach out to inner-city kids in hopes of preventing problems later down the road. The partnership between the camp and the police department has existed since 1969.

"Once they've reached a certain age, it's kind of hard to grasp, to bring them back,” Beavers said about his efforts at the camp in an interview with 9 On Your Side in 2012. “If you can save them now, you can talk to them now, you can probably reach out and be able to change a lot of their behavior," he said.

Beavers told WCPO that it is important for the children at the camp to understand who the police are when they see them out and about in their neighborhoods back home.

"A lot of these people are victims of their environment,” Beavers said. “We want the children to come out, outside of their environment...come to an environment where there's nature, where they feel safe, they feel comfortable, they feel no threats at all."

Beavers added, "You shouldn't be afraid of the police. We're the ones we want you to come to if you're in need. We want you to come to us."

He is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m.

Trial of Peabody police officer charged with sexually molesting young girl gets started

LAWRENCE, Massachusetts — The trial of a Peabody police officer charged with molesting a family member and showing her and another girl Internet pornography is getting underway.
Jury selection in the Lawrence Superior Court trial of 49-year-old Frederick Wojick is scheduled to start Monday. Wojick is charged with nine counts of indecent assault and battery and two counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor.
Prosecutors say the girl told them Wojick had repeatedly touched her inappropriately, sometimes while showing her pornography, over a six-year period that started when she was around 11 years old.
Later, a second child came forward and said Wojick had also showed her pornography.
The defendant's lawyer tells The Salem News (http://bit.ly/1cGm8lx ) his client denies what he calls "salacious, sensationalized allegations."
Wojick is on unpaid leave.

Officer pleads guilty in assault

By — Peter Hermann, Lynh Bui, — Martin Weil and — Matt Zapotosky

 A veteran D.C. police captain has been given a suspended prison sentence and probation for assault after authorities said he tried to choke his wife in the back of a car in Prince George’s County, according to authorities.
Capt. Lamar West, 49, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict following an October trial. A judge declared a mistrial, but West agreed to a deal rather than face a new trial.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks said in a statement that West, who has been on the force 23 years, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison, all of it suspended, and put on 18 months of supervised probation.
— Peter Hermann and Lynh Bui

Fort Worth Officer Suspended After Theft, Sexual Assault Allegations

By Frank Heinz

The Fort Worth Police Department has placed a police officer on indefinite suspension after he was arrested twice last fall.

According to police, patrol officer Douglas Campbell was first arrested on Sept. 25, 2013, for theft under $50 by a public servant.  On Oct. 4, 2013, he was arrested again on two warrants -- one for official oppression/sexual harassment and a second for sexual assault by a public servant.

The arrests were made following an extensive investigation by the Fort Worth Police Special Investigation Section, police said.

"The Internal Affairs investigation into the gross misconduct of Officer D. Campbell sustained all eight allegations of misconduct.  He is also facing criminal charges.  His actions are a disgrace to our department, our city, and the policing profession.  I will continue to hold all employees accountable for any violations of policy that jeopardize the level of public trust within our community," said Chief Jeffrey Halstead, in a statement released to NBC 5.

If convicted of the crimes, Campbell faces between two and 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000 for the charge of sexual assault by a public servant, which is a second-degree felony.  He faces up to a year in jail and a fine up to $4,000 for the charge of official oppression/sexual harassment, which is a class A misdemeanor.  For the charge of theft under $50 by a public servant, a class C misdemeanor, he faces a fine of up to $500 if found guilty.

Campbell was commissioned in Aug., 2007, and was based out of the Central Division. He was placed on indefinite suspension on Dec. 23, 2013.  He will have the right to appeal the discipline

Jackson Police Department Detective Sentenced on Bribery Charge

U.S. Attorney’s Office January 03, 2014

Southern District of Mississippi (601) 965-4480

JACKSON, MS—Robert Nikita Shegog, of Terry, Mississippi, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 22 months and 15 days imprisonment for bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen. Shegog was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Shegog pled guilty to the bribery charge in July 2012, admitting that, while employed as a Narcotics Detective with the Jackson Police Department in 2010, he advised a Hinds County criminal defendant that he would assist him in getting a sentence reduction on an outstanding drug charge if he would pay Shegog $45,000.00.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Rushing.

Cleveland police officer charged with aggravated menacing

Dena Greer


CLEVELAND - A Cleveland police officer has been charged with aggravated menacing.
Officers said a citizen made a complaint against Officer Leonard Moore following a July 4, 2013 traffic stop.
Police said the complaint was investigated by the Division's Integrity Control Section and the results were reviewed by the Prosecutor's Office.
Officer Moore was then served Friday with a summons to appear in court.
His arraignment has been scheduled for Jan. 21.
No other information was released.

Yamhill reserve police officer arrested, charged with assaulting 4-year-old in Sheridan

Michael Shane Abo, 34, a reserve police officer for the city of Yamhill and a former Yamhill County Sheriff's deputy, was arrested Saturday morning by McMinnville police for allegedly physically abusing his girlfriend's 4-year-old son.
The boy is listed in critical condition at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, according to police.
Abo is charged with two counts each of first-degree assault and first-degree criminal mischief. The assault charge is a Class A felony and Measure 11 offense, punishable on conviction by a mandatory minimum prison sentence. The criminal mistreatment charge is a Class C felony.
He is lodged in the Washington County Jail in Hillsboro on $1 million bail. Given Abo's local law enforcement connections, he was moved to Washington County from the local facility. He tentatively will be arraigned at 1:20 p.m. Monday in Yamhill County Circuit Court.
Yamhill County Sheriff Jack Crabtree also requested that McMinnville police investigate the alleged abuse.
Crabtree confirmed that Abo was terminated as a deputy with his department.
"His job performance was not up to our standards," Crabtree said. "We tried working with him."
McMinnville police reported Abo was a reserve with the Yamhill department at the time of his arrest.
Police gave this account of the incident:
The sheriff's office responded Tuesday night to a medical call at Abo's residence, 420 N.E. Evans St.. The boy was transported by Life Flight helicopter to OHSU
An Oregon State Police SWAT unit and the U.S. Marshals assisted in taking Abo into custody Saturday.
News-Register records show Abo was awarded a Yamhill County Sheriff's Lifesaving Award in April 2012.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call McMinnville Police Detective Hugo Cerda at 503-434-7307.

Federal court upholds Tulsa police officer's corruption conviction

DENVER -— An appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of a former Tulsa police officer who was caught in a sting during a federal police corruption investigation.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 against Harold R. Wells' claims that he was unfairly convicted in 2011 in federal court in Tulsa.
Wells, 62, is serving a 10-year term at a federal prison in Minnesota and is not scheduled for release until 2020, Federal Bureau of Prison records show.
The former Tulsa police corporal was among three police officers and a federal agent to be sent to prison in connection with the corruption probe by FBI undercover agents. It began on suspicions that police officers were stealing drugs and money from drug dealers.
"The evidence supporting Wells' convictionswasexceedingly strong," judges of the Denver-based appellate court wrote in Friday's 41-page decision.
The evidence included wiretaps of Wells' telephone calls.
Wells was convicted of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with an intent to distribute it, conspiracy to steal public funds, theft of public funds and using a telephone to facilitate the commission of a drug felony.
The public funds were sting money the FBI planted in 2009 in a motel room that Wells and other officers thought was occupied by a drug dealer they purportedly were investigating.
The supposed dealer was an uncover FBI agent.
Hidden cameras captured images of Wells and other officers taking the planted money.
Wells contended, among other claims, that the FBI obtained evidence against him by unconstitutional means.
"This court has no difficulty concluding there is sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that Wells was not engaging in legitimate police practices but was, instead, engaging in a criminal conspiracy," Friday's decision states.
"The evidence ... provided the jury a sufficient basis to infer that Wells' and (former office John K.) Gray's motivation in developing a relationship with Joker (the pseudonym for the FBI agent posing as a drug dealer) was to maintain a steady supply of drug dealers from which they could potentially steal cash and drugs," the decision states.
Gray pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing money during the sting. He cooperated with prosecutors, was sentenced to four months in prison and was released in May 2012.
Former officer Jeff Henderson was convicted of civil-rights violations and perjury. He completed a 42-month prison term in October.
Brandon McFadden, a former ATF agent who pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy in the corruption case, was sentenced to 21 months in prison. He was released in July.
The trials of the former law enforcement officers involved allegations of falsifying sworn affidavits for search warrants, perjury, witness-tampering, selling drugs and conspiracy.
Three officers were acquitted of civil-rights violations.
At least 48 people have been freed from prison or had their cases modified because of civil-rights violations or potential problems with their cases stemming from the police corruption scandal.
At least 17 lawsuits have been filed against the city of Tulsa and individual police officers as a result.

Romulus police corruption trial begins Thursday

• Oralandar Brand-Williams

Romulus— The first in a series of trials into allegations of wide-ranging corruption within the Romulus Police Department begins this week.

On Thursday, Sandra Vlaz-St. Andre, wife of the former Romulus Police Chief Michael St. Andre, goes on trial for allegedly using money belonging to the department on a tanning salon. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office alleges that the money came from the department’s drug forfeiture funds and was embezzled by her husband while he was chief.

A second trial in the case is scheduled for Feb. 24 and involves former Romulus Police Detectives Jeremey Channells and Larry Droege, who are charged with misconduct in office.

The former chief and former Romulus Police Officers Richard Balzer, Richard Landry and Donald Hopkins face trial later in the year for their alleged roles in the case, which involved charges of embezzlement of more than $100,000 in drug forfeiture funds and running a criminal enterprise from 2006 to 2011.

The trials cap a three-year investigation by the Michigan State Police that resulted in dozens of charges, the most serious of which is operating a criminal enterprise, which carries a 20-year prison sentence.

Prosecutors maintain the defendants pretended to be investigating the Landing Strip Bar in Romulus and Subi’s Place in Southgate. The phony investigations, it is alleged, were a ruse for hiring prostitutes from nearby strip clubs and fabricating expenses for which they were later reimbursed.

During one year, the officers allegedly spent $40,000 in forfeiture funds on prostitutes, marijuana and alcohol, prosecutors said. St. Andre is accused of using $75,000 from the funds to pay for trips and to buy his wife the tanning salon.

The former chief faces 10 charges. His wife is charged with acquiring or maintaining a criminal enterprise and conspiracy to maintain a criminal enterprise. Both face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Balzer’s attorney, Mike Rataj, said although he doesn’t expect his client will go to trial until the summer, he is confident he will be cleared of the charges.

“We’re ready to try this case, and we’re confident we’re going to win,” said Rataj, who added there are a few issues to be worked out before Balzer’s trial begins.

Former Lancaster County detective charged with homicide has many local ties

By BRETT HAMBRIGHT

It was a case of a local cop becoming the criminal.

Eighteen years ago, Jack O. Edmundson Jr. — now charged with homicide in western Pennsylvania — raided the Willow Street property of a suspected marijuana grower.

Edmundson and other detectives found what they were looking for — numerous marijuana plants and drug-packaging paraphernalia.

Edmundson, while later perusing the suspected dealer's assets, made another find — 200 platinum coins in a safe deposit box.

He took 20 of them for himself, according to police reports.

An East Hempfield Township coin dealer later told police he bought 10 of the coins for $3,670.

Edmundson, booted off the force, eventually was sentenced to 1 to 2 years in Lancaster County Prison for theft. He served 10 months and four days, prison officials said Friday.

Lancaster city Mayor Rick Gray, a former defense attorney who represented the Willow Street marijuana grower, said Edmundson had a reputation even before the charges against him became public.

"He wasn't held in high esteem," Gray said Friday morning. "Most police officers tell you something and you can take it to the bank. Edmundson's reputation was that he was otherwise. He dealt with things the way he felt he had to."

Now, more than 12 years after being paroled, Edmundson, 43, is facing a murder charge in western Pennsylvania. Indiana County investigators allege Edmundson shot and killed 62-year-old Frank Petro on Tuesday inside Petro's sportsman's store.

Investigators said the killing might have been part of an extortion plot. Edmundson is accused of extorting more than $130,000 from the victim while posing as an undercover police officer, according to the Associated Press.

Alan Goldberg, a county defense attorney who also represented the Willow Street grower, couldn't recollect Friday all the specifics about that case.

But he remembered Edmundson's reputation.

"When he was with the Lancaster County Drug Task Force, his veracity always seemed to be in question," Goldberg said. "He was very proactive. Most on the defense bar always questioned his reports."

After being released from Lancaster County Prison on Sept. 24, 2001, Edmundson left the area. He was recently living in Saltsburg, a Pittsburgh-area town with a population of 873.

Prior to becoming a Lancaster County Drug Task Force detective, he worked part-time as a Quarryville police officer, according to newspaper records.

Quarryville police Chief Kenneth Work, who joined that force in 2001, said Friday he never heard mention of Edmundson's name prior to this week.

Gray, former president of the Lancaster Bar Association, said the name was known among defense lawyers.

"Police officers certainly develop reputations as being straight-ahead people and factual," Gray said. "He wasn't highly respected by the defense bar.

"Police officers are human beings. ... it's rare when they go this far astray."

Lancaster County President Judge Joseph Madenspacher was district attorney here when Edmundson joined the Drug Task Force in the mid-1990's.

"He was fairly young," Madenspacher said Friday. "In retrospect, it might have been a mistake."

Initially, Edmundson's boss heard no complaints.

"My recollection is he was fine. I didn't hear anything," Madenspacher said.

Madenspacher, however, placed Edmundson on administrative leave "when we had good evidence this (coin theft) occurred."

Edmundson didn't follow the order.

"He broke administrative leave by going out on a raid," Madenspacher said. "I remember I told the head of the Task Force, 'I want his resignation on my desk tomorrow morning.' "

"I found out after the fact that other (defendants) were complaining to their lawyers about him stealing stuff," Madenspacher said.

One of those allegations — that Edmundson had stolen valuable phone cards during a 1995 arrest in Paradise — went to court.

Edmundson was sentenced jointly for both thefts, according to court records.

Chicago Police Misconduct Lawsuit: Brandy Allen And Nicholas Timmons Claim Authorities Robbed Apartment And Illegally Detained Them

By Howard Koplowitz

A Chicago-area couple is suing local law enforcement agencies, saying officers ransacked their apartment and car looking for drugs but instead stole thousands of dollars’ worth of items. Brandy Allen and Nicholas Timmons, a couple living together in North Chicago, Ill., filed a federal suit late last month against Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group, a Lake County MEG officer, “unknown agents” of the group and “unknown police officers,” charging they were unlawfully detained and had been robbed by the officers while they were being interrogated, according to court records.

On July 24, as the couple left their apartment to go grocery shopping, their vehicle was pulled over by four officers who were “clad in fatigues and bulletproof vests” and “jumped out of an unmarked SUV” with assault rifles, according to the suit. The couple was ordered out of their van, and when Timmons asked an officer for a reason for the stop, he was allegedly told, “you know what it is for mother f-----.”

Timmons was handcuffed and searched as officers demanded he tell them where drugs and guns were in the car, but he said he had no information about drugs or guns.

The defendants named in the suit then allegedly “thoroughly searched and damaged plaintiffs’ van, ripping out panels and carpeting,” noting that “nothing unlawful was retrieved from the van.”

Allen, who was sitting on a curb while her partner was being questioned, was eventually handcuffed and put in a police vehicle. The couple was then taken to a Lake County MEG office, where they were interrogated separately.

Allen told the officers that she never saw her partner with guns or drugs and said she didn’t understand why Timmons was being detained. She was also allegedly threatened, with one of the defendants telling her “with this kind of stuff, [Department of Children and Family Services] could get involved and take your kids.”

Timmons was also told that DCFS could get involved and was allegedly told by officers that they would go easy on him if he gave them names of people who had guns or drugs, and that he would otherwise go to jail. But he insisted that he didn’t know anything.

One of the defendants allegedly told the North Chicago man that his home was being raided during the questioning, but that nothing of interest to law enforcement was found in the apartment.

The couple was eventually released after being detained for hours, the lawsuit said. They weren’t charged with a crime.

After returning home, Allen and Timmons noticed that a number of their possessions were stolen, including flat screen televisions, laptops, their children’s video games and even their $1,500 in money orders that represented Allen’s tax refund.

“Every room in the apartment had been upended, including the children’s rooms, and furniture was ruined,” the lawsuit claimed. “The front door frame was broken and the apartment could not be secured.”

Allen asked Lake County MEG to return the couple’s property, but one of the defendants denied stealing the items. She later found out that the law enforcement agency cashed in her $1,500 in money orders. When she confronted Lake County MEG again, one of the defendants told her they wouldn’t give her back the money until she hired a lawyer and could prove that the money orders didn’t come from drug proceeds.

Allen said she was fired for her new job because she stayed home worrying that police would ransack her apartment again. The raid also cost the couple their apartment; the lawsuit claims the raid led the landlord to evict them from the property.

The lawsuit, which claims that the couple’s Fourth Amendment and other rights were violated, alleged that Timmons and Allen still has not been compensated for the stolen items.

“Defendants have not returned plaintiff’s possessions, and plaintiff’s home remains largely empty,” the complaint stated.

Cops: officials knew of police misconduct, didn't stop it

By Jan Skutch

A former Savannah-Chatham police official on Thursday alleged that city, county and police officials knew of corrupt departmental conduct and allowed it to continue well before it erupted with the abrupt retirement of Chief Willie Lovett in September.

Allegations by former Major Mark Gerbino were contained in a so-called ante litem letter filed by attorney Will Claiborne and included for the first time County Manager Russ Abolt, former City Manager Michael Brown and former city manager Rochelle Small-Toney in connection with alleged injuries.

A second letter filed Thursday by Claiborne for Robert vonLoewenfeldt contains the same basic allegations.

The letters are considered notices of intent to sue and are the ninth and tenth filed by Claiborne for a client who alleges he or she was the victim of misconduct by Lovett and others on the force.

The latest letters allege that as a result of conduct by the people named, Gerbino and vonLoewenfeldt suffered damages including retaliation for reporting corruption and/or illegal activity by Lovett and others and placing the officers in false light.

In his letter, Gerbino alleged illegal activity included:

• Lovett, receipt of payment for a no-show off-duty job, gambling, obstruction of a gambling investigation, obstruction of narcotics investigations, ordering department internal affairs officers to dismiss meritorious complaints, obstruction of domestic violence investigations and manipulation of crime statistics.

• Capt. Hank Wiley and Sgt. Cleveland Lovett, dismissing meritorious internal affairs complaints and ignoring illegal activity by department officers.

• Former Sgt. Malik Khaalis, obstruction of narcotics investigations

• Former Star Cpl. Willet Williams, engaging in the sale or trade of illegal narcotics and obstruction of a narcotics investigation.

“Our preliminary investigation of Mr. Gerbino’s claim has revealed that some or all of the allegations … were known by individuals responsible for the governance and oversights of the (police department), including, but not limited to County Manager Russ Abolt, former city manager Michael Brown and former city manager Rochelle Small-toney,” the letter stated.

vonLoewenfeldt’s letter identified only Khaalis and Williams in connection with specific alleged illegal activity but added Sgt. Eric Henderson for engaging in the sale or trade of illegal narcotics, obstruction of a narcotics investigation and harboring a federal fugitive.

Gerbino, 62, was brought in by former police chief Michael Berkow in July 2008 and left the force in mid-2011. He went on to become chief of police in Americus before leaving in mid-2013 amid alleged work force misconduct. He was hired in October as police chief at Savannah Technical College.

vonLoewenfeldt, 42, joined the local force in October 2000 and left April 1, 2013

Wells schedules D.C. Council hearing on police misconduct

By Peter Hermann

The chairman of the D.C. Council’s public safety committee announced Thursday that he will hold an oversight hearing Jan. 24 on police misconduct. It comes after three District officers were recently charged with crimes.

Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) said he wants to press Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier on whether officers who are under stress or who are involved in questionable behavior are being identified.

It is very important to me that residents have confidence in our police officers to be upstanding citizens who are on the side of angels and not people who commit crimes,” said Wells, who is running for mayor.

Two of the recently accused officers — both from the 7th Police District were charged with sex-related crimes. Another officer wascharged with attempted murder in a domestic incident.

Lanier has said that two of the officers were hired more than 20 years ago when standards were lowered to increase the size of the force.

Wells said the chief needs to do more to reassure the public that officers are being properly monitored.

In an interview Thursday, Lanier said she would like to have “as many meetings as possible to let people know the facts,” help stop rumors and reassure the public about the quality of the officers. The chief is scheduled to talk to residents Jan. 9 at the 7th District station in Southeast Washington on misconduct issues.

The chief said in an op-ed published in The Washington Post that 18 officers were accused of criminal misconduct in 2103. There are about 4,000 officers on the force.

Newsday expose on police misconduct is tip of the iceberg

BY: THOMAS F. LIOTTI

The exhaustive and commendable expose by Newsday into police misconduct in Nassau and Suffolk Counties reveals the underbelly of the criminal justice system to the lay public but for those of us who must frustratingly deal with an errant system each day, it is just the tip of the iceberg masked by corrupted elected officials who have an interest in seeing to it that things stay as they are. Newsday should continue its work because it alone may be successful in awakening the public's conscience to the issues of public corruption and police misconduct. It is rampant and deadly. It demands immediate action from all elected officials.

Following the Knapp and Mollen Commissions in New York City, the socalled Armstrong Commission was established to prosecute cases of police misconduct. In contrast, to independence of such a special prosecutor, District Attorneys and elected officials stand for election and accept campaign contributions from police unions. No wonder we hardly ever see criminal legislation that might curtail some of the more prevalent misconduct.

We need a Special Prosecutor statewide to deal with these cases and we need Civilian Complaint Review Boards to conduct real investigations and not the white washed versions run by Police Department Internal Affairs. Nassau and Suffolk should have Ombudsmen or women appointed for a term of years much like F.B.I. Directors appointed for a term of ten (10) years.

Campaign contributions to District Attorneys, judges and elected officials by the P.B.A. should be outlawed. Salaries and pensions by corrupted police should be revoked. If taxpayers want an honest government, they must fight for it. Newsday can not do it alone even if they do again win the Pulitzer Prize for their investigation which they should.

Thomas F. Liotti is an attorney in Garden City and Village Justice in Westbury. He is the former Chair of the Nassau Bar Association Civil Rights Committee.

Pennsylvania Woman Sues Claiming She Lost An Arm To Police Brutality While In Jail

By Sarah Fruchtnicht, Tue, December 31, 2013

A 35-year-old woman in Pennsylvania is suing Allegheny County claiming her arm had to be amputated after sheriff’s deputies injured it and the jail’s medical provider ignored her pain.

Amy J. Needham was arrested on April 2 after a warrant was issued because she missed a preliminary court hearing, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

She claims sheriff’s employees broke down a bathroom door to take her into custody. The complaint says she was simply using the restroom when they Tasered her, applied arm bars and wrist locks, and put on handcuffs "that were too tight.”

She says the rough treatment resulted in "compartment syndrome," or increased pressure in the muscle compartment, that can results in muscle and nerve damage.

Her attorney, Marvin Leibowitz, said she was spent one week in jail and made 16 requests to see a physician. The mother of three was eventually hospitalized at UPMC Mercy, where doctors amputated the arm.

"She feels that her life is ruined," said Leibowitz. "I think she's having psychological problems. You're 35 years old and you lose your arm."

In April, Needham had failed to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge that was later dropped. She pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge in August, but was not sentenced to punishment.

She pleaded guilty this month to charges stemming from her April arrest, including two counts of assault and one count of resisting arrest. She was given nine months of probation.

Sources: Post-Gazette, TribLive

Police violence against people with disabilities-on the rise?

by Thomas Oswald

Saturday Dec 28th, 2013 12:40 AM

Across the United States the rights and lives of people with disabilities are being violated by police officers. Reports show that as many as 50 percent of those shot by cops are have mental illnesses. The current system allows police to use their authority to justify the outright killing of disabled people. Usually, the police officer receives no penalties.

Last summer in Oregon, an 11-year-old girl on the Autism spectrum was tasered after failing to respond to an officer. The officer claimed that the violence was necessary to protect the girl, who was naked and walking alone along a road. However an eyewitness refuted this by saying that the girl was not walking towards traffic and was not in immediate danger. Because the girl is nonverbal, she was unable to respond to the officer. Even after his false statement the policeman remained unsuspended.

Even an unarmed double amputee’s rights were ignored when another police officer killed Brian Claunch, with a gunshot to the head in Houston. The officer arrived at care center because Claunch was distressed. The officer claimed that the disabled man was armed and shot him; however it was found he only was holding a pen he used to doodle. Just recently on Oct. 14, a mentally ill man in Dallas was also shot by police. Both officers at the scene made false statements claiming Bobby Bennett lunged forward, which contradict the surveillance camera evidence which showed him standing still when shot.

Another tragic story involves the death of Robert Ethan Saylor, a 26 –year-old with Downs syndrome. On Jan. 12 in a movie theatre in Maryland, he wished to watch the show again. When security guards placed their hands on him he reacted in fear and distress. He was handcuffed and thrown forcefully to the ground, where he struggled for breath and then died.

These are just a few stories of this kind of brutality, police kill hundreds of disabled individuals every year. Given the inadequate health care system, the disabled often cannot receive the help they need. The budget cuts to health care combined with few attempts to fix the broken mental health care system, demonstrate that the lives and rights of the mentally ill, physically and intellectually disabled poeple are not as important to the government and business as profit. Disabled people are not viewed as equal beings but are often treated with discrimination. The way to make sure that these individuals get their needs met is to do away with the system of profit and to implement a socialist society. Under a planned economy the people’s needs are able to be fully met, allowing a safe healthy environment for people with disabilities, where they can be valued members of society.

12-year-old boy held in detention center after falsely arrested

by Elizabeth Eisele/ KMOV.com

 (KMOV.com) -- A family is demanding answers after their 12-year-old son was approached by a cop for walking on the wrong side of the street and then is falsely arrested because of an officer’s oversight.

The middle school student said a New Mexico police officer stopped him for walking on the wrong side of street. Then the officer ran his name and a warrant charge showed up for possession of marijuana.

However, the warrant was actually issued for a 15-year-old boy with the same name.

“He was in the juvenile detention center overnight like he’s 12,” said the boy’s mother Shaniqua Byrd, “That doesn’t, shouldn’t have happened and no one has offered an apology or anything we haven’t heard anything from them.”

The officer’s police chief is admitting they were wrong in making the arrest, but the family is suing because they say their child should have never been stopped in the first place.

King County deputy arrested after passing out in parked patrol car

BY JAMIE SKORHEIM 

The King County sheriff's office says an on-duty deputy was arrested after he appeared to be passed out at the wheel of his parked patrol car on New Year's Eve.

King County Sheriff John Urquhart said that a citizen called 911 when he observed the deputy hunched over the steering wheel and could not wake him. His car was parked in a Starbucks parking lot in Newcastle.

King County Sheriff's spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West said the 46-year-old deputy was arrested for suspicion of physical control of a motor vehicle, the legal equivalent of DUI when no driving is observed.

"It looks to us that like he is probably impaired by something that didn't appear to be alcohol," Urquhart told KIRO Radio's Dori Monson.

Urquhart said drug recognition experts from the Bellevue Police Department, trained in recognizing if someone is impaired by something other than alcohol, believed he was.

"Their conclusion was that yes that this person was impaired by some sort of a drug, possibly a narcotic," said Urquhart.

The deputy was processed and released by Bellevue Police. A search warrant will be obtained later this week to search the interior of his patrol car for evidence.

"There are two investigations going on. One is a criminal investigation that the Bellevue Police Department is doing. And the other is the internal investigation that my own people are doing," said Urquhart.

The deputy, a 15-year veteran, is on administrative leave pending those investigations.

"We did take a sample of his blood that will go to the state patrol crime lab and we'll see what happens when it comes back," said Urquhart. "I would like nothing better than for it to come back and he be clean and he was just sound asleep. At this point, we don't know that. He was arrested by the Bellevue Police Department. They developed probable cause to arrest him. They processed him. He's now on administrative leave and we are waiting for the conclusive evidence from the crime lab."

Monson tried to gauge how Urquhart might handle a case in which it was determined a deputy was impaired on the job.

"If you had an officer who tested positive, would they be gone?" Monson asked.

"Most likely," said Urquhart. "Each situation is individual."

"I've always said that cops need to be above reproach," said Monson. "They have the power of deadly force when we encounter them. I've often wondered - and this is a tough balancing act - but if a cop makes bad decisions about their life, how can we trust them with our life?"

Urquhart agreed officers of the law should be held to a higher standard, and said he often reminds his officers of that.

"I meet with my officers all the time and I tell them repeatedly, you are held by a higher standard, by the public, by persons like yourself, but by me as well," says Urquhart. "They are held to a higher standard. I hold them to a higher standard, and I will not accept any officers who fall below that standard."

Urquhart said he doesn't know what will happen in this case. He points out it could be a case where it was a prescribed drug, but he says it could still be illegal to drive under the influence in that case. The department is awaiting the results of the investigations.

"When I look at discipline, when I look at officers, I try to make the distinction was this a mistake of the head, or was this a mistake of the heart. A mistake of the head is they knew they were doing the wrong thing and they did it anyway. A mistake of the heart is you're trying to do the right thing and they make a mistake, and that does happen," said Urquhart. "I'm not sure that is going to apply in this case, but it's one of the things that I look at as I decide on the discipline."