Saratoga County sheriff's officer suspended over video;

By Don Lehman

A video posted online that appeared to show a Saratoga County sheriff’s officer slap a person he had stopped has led to suspension of the officer and a criminal investigation, police said early Saturday.

The video shows the officer, Sgt. Shawn Glans, cursing at the person he was speaking with, and the sound of what the videotaper alleges was a slap can be heard. Officers had spotted a rifle in the back of the parked car, according to the video.

The incident took place during an interview early Friday at the Route 9 Walmart in Halfmoon, according to Post-Star media partners WNYT-TV Newschannel 13. Deputies responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle, and found a car in a business’s parking lot with the rifle in the back seat.

Glans and another officer questioned two young men who they saw walk to the car, and a confrontation ensued when the owner refused to give police access to the vehicle.

“It is disturbing,” Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo said of the situation Saturday. “The minute we heard about it, we began an investigation. We’re going to be upfront about it and deal with it.”

The one-minute, 25-second video begins when, it appears, a male individual starts recording as Glans is demanding to search the unidentified person’s vehicle.

“Ok, then it shouldn’t be an issue for us to look,” said Glans.

“But it is. It’s just not right that you just want to search my car,” the person said to the officer.

The end of his sentence was interrupted by Glans, who said, “We’ll get a (expletive) search warrant.”

The person said OK, and Glans asked if that’s what he wanted to do.

“If that’s the route you want to take, but there’s no reason you have to search my car. There’s just no need for it,” said the person. He then said he was not in his car and asked Glans why he wouldn’t want to search his house.

Glans sighed, “(Expletive) idiot.” Glans turned away briefly, turned back and said, ”Let me see your (expletive) keys.”

As the person asked why and said, “You can’t do that,” the camera angle tilted down slightly.

Glans’ face was then not visible, but his lower torso remained in the shot. He is seen raising his arms while asking, “You want to (expletive) resist?”

Glans’ body moved, aligning with a loud slap that is heard, and again asked, “You want to (expletive) resist?”

Keys can be heard as they are apparently tossed. “Search the (expletive) car,” Glans said.

The camera angle returned to show Glans’ face. His breathing appeared slightly labored.

“I really don’t want to stand out here in the middle of the (expletive) rain, said Glans.

“Neither do I,” said the person.

“So if you have nothing to hide in there, we’re just going to check and be on our (expletive) merry way,” Glans said. The person could be heard saying, all right during that exchange.

“Understand, (expletive)?” Glans asked, while pointing at the person.

The camera operator commented, “That was intense.”

“You like that, eh,” asked Glans. “I can get a lot more intense.”

When a comment was made, “Can you slap me around?” Glans replied, “I’ll rip off your (expletive) head and (expletive) down your neck.”

The camera next turned toward the operator, who looked at the camera and said, “Oh my god.” The video ends a moment after.

Glans has been suspended without pay pending a police investigation and disciplinary action of Glans’ conduct, which began after the video was posted on the Internet. Zurlo said a person who saw the video online contacted the Sheriff’s Office on Friday night.

No criminal complaint or charges have been filed,

but Zurlo said the investigation was ongoing and interviews were being conducted Saturday. He said a decision on a possible criminal prosecution is likely in a day or two.

A slap without an injury could lead to a second-degree harassment charge, which is a non-criminal violation.

“The Sheriff’s Office takes matters such as this very seriously, and we do not in any way condone anything less than professional behavior from our members,” Chief Deputy Richard Castle wrote in a news release. “We wish to thank the members of the community who brought this to light and cooperated fully with the investigation.”

The internal personnel investigation is ongoing.

Neither the other deputy nor civilian were identified in the release, which also stated no additional information will be released until the investigation is concluded. Zurlo said the Sheriff’s Office is not releasing the officer’s name because personnel issues are not public, but he acknowledged the officer is a sergeant.

Glans also works part-time for South Glens Falls Police Department.

Glans, according to a Daily Gazette article, was found responsible for a March 1996 on-duty vehicle accident that left a man paralyzed and blind. Saratoga County and the town of Wilton settled a lawsuit with the man for an undisclosed amount after a $60 million suit was filed.

SF police corruption trial expected to start next week

Jury selection was completed in federal court Monday in the corruption trial of two San Francisco police officers accused of stealing money and property during searches in 2009.

Opening statements and testimony in the trial of Sgt. Ian Furminger, 48, of Pleasant Hill and Officer Edmond Robles, 47, of Danville are expected to begin Nov. 10 before the jury in the court of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco.

The officers were all part of plainclothes investigation teams whose alleged misdeeds in searches conducted at single-room-occupancy hotels in the Mission and Tenderloin and on Sixth Street -- including allegedly searching rooms without warrants -- were captured on video revealed by the Public Defender's Office in 2011.

A third defendant, former Officer Reynaldo Vargas, 46, of Palm Desert, pleaded guilty before Breyer to four felony counts Oct. 28 and agreed to testify against the other two men.

Following that plea bargain, prosecutors obtained a revised and expanded grand jury indictment against Furminger and Robles on Oct. 30.

The officers were originally charged in a six-count indictment in February. The revised indictment contains nine counts, including new charges of using wire communications to commit fraud and depriving the people of San Francisco of the officers' honest services.

Both Furminger and Robles are charged with eight counts and the ninth charge accuses Furminger alone of extorting property from an individual identified by the initials S.S. in 2011 and 2012.

The other eight counts include two counts of wire fraud, two counts of honest services fraud, conspiracy against civil rights, conspiracy to commit theft from a federally funded program, theft and conspiracy to distribute drugs.

A previous charge of selling marijuana was dropped from the revised indictment against Furminger and Robles.

The theft-conspiracy count adds new examples of alleged thefts during searches.

In addition to an earlier allegation that the officers stole a $500 Apple gift card during an apartment search in March 2009, the revised conspiracy count also alleges that either Robles or both Robles and Furminger joined Vargas in stealing money during four other searches in Newark and San Francisco between May and November 2009.

After stealing the money, the officers "split it among themselves" each time, the indictment alleges.

The counts each carry maximum sentences ranging from three to 10 years in prison, if the officers are convicted.

Vargas pleaded guilty before Breyer last week to charges in the original indictment of conspiracy to distribute drugs, distribution of marijuana, conspiracy to commit theft, and theft of more than $5,000 worth of property from a federally funded program.

A sentencing date has not been set.

Birmingham Police Department terminates officer charged with child sex abuse, rape in Alabaster

By Jon Reed |  

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A Birmingham police officer who faces child sex abuse and rape charges in Alabaster has been terminated from the police department.

Joshua Herbinger was terminated from the Birmingham Police Department effective Friday, according to Lt. Sean Edwards.

Herbinger, 29, was arrested Oct. 9 and charged with sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old after a young female reported the abuse to the School Resource Officer at her school. Alabaster police said Herbinger is not related to the victim.

He was arrested again Monday by Alabaster police and charged in the rape of an adult woman. He was charged with first-degree rape, and police said he wasn't in any kind of relationship with the victim.

Herbinger was a crime scene technician and a nine-year veteran of the Birmingham Police Department.

Alabaster police said Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information can call Det. Andrew Pounds at 205-663-7401.

The epidemic of mentally unstable cops

Crawford officer arrested amid allegations of indecency with a child

Crawford officer arrested amid allegations of indecency with a child By OLIVIA MESSER omesser@wacotrib.com 

A Crawford police officer was arrested Tuesday afternoon by Texas Rangers after an investigation determined he may have had inappropriate sexual contact with a minor, an affidavit states.

Officer William “Bill” Byrom, 28, was arrested on a warrant alleging indecency with a child sexual contact with a juvenile under the age of 17.

The affidavit states Crawford police Chief Clayton Bruton began investigating the alleged incidents on his own, including an interview with the victim, before asking the Texas Rangers to step in Friday.

It is unclear what prompted Bruton to look into the allegations or when they surfaced.

Mayor Brent Meyer said he was informed of the investigation Oct. 22, and Byrom was put on paid leave the next day.

According to the affidavit, Byrom admitted during an interview with a Ranger that he had placed his hands under the victim’s shirt at least once.

The victim underwent forensic interviews at the Waco Child Advocacy Center, and she said such incidents occurred at least four or five times from 2013 through September 2014, the document shows.

Meyer said a decision about Byrom’s employment will be made at a city council executive session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Byrom was released from McLennan County Jail on a $20,000 bond Tuesday evening

Gerry Hyland sucks, throw him out of office

More video of dog being shot by Racine police

By John Cuoco

Racine - CBS 58 obtained new video of a dog being shot by Racine Police on Saturday.

The video is from a security camera from a neighbor.

Similar to the cell phone video CBS 58 first showed you from Saturday, you can see the dog run outside and then it falls down to the ground.

There is no audio on this clip, unlike in the cell phone video.

On Sunday, a group of about a dozen upset over the dog being shot stood outside the Racine Police Department.

They were demanding that something be done in the case.

This situation stems from a tactical situation on Saturday.

An argument between neighbors in Racine lead to the standoff situation off of 17th and Russet.

Kim Polk said her neighbor came over and his dog defecated in her yard. She asked him to pick it up and he kicked it to the street. She said her neighbor later told her he would shot her dog with a bow and arrow. According to Polk, the neighbor also threatened her husband with a machete.

Police arrived on the scene and the man barricaded himself to the home.

Racine police said they are certainly reviewing the incident, as we do with all tactical situations.

They hope to release more information on Monday.

Jerry "Opps Deary" Hyland

Fairfax County will NEVER have this, our political leaders are afraid of the Police

Ford Police Cruisers Now Tattle When Cops Drive Like Jerks
 
By Alexander George

Everyone’s seen a cop driving like a jerk: Double parking and blocking traffic. Cruising down the highway way beyond the speed limit, with no suspect to run down. Blatantly texting while driving. Pulling the old turn-on-the-siren-just-long-enough-to-run-the-red-light trick. And for anyone who’s fantasized about making a citizen’s arrest of one of their city’s finest, police departments soon will be able to track how their cops are driving, and when they’re behaving badly.

Ford has created a way for law enforcement bosses to see where their subordinates go and track how they’re driving. Fifty Los Angeles Police Department cruisers have been outfitted with transmitters that send officers’ driving information to their supervisors, and can even tell if the boys in blue are wearing seat belts. The system is a joint effort by Ford and California software firm Telogis, and designed for the Police Interceptor models of the Explorer and Taurus. The idea is that accountability will lead to better and safer driving behavior. Auto insurance companies have been doing the same thing for years.

“From a business standpoint, these are expensive vehicles with expensive employees driving them,” says Bryan Vila, a professor and researcher at Washington State University. He also spent 17 years as an officer, including nine with the LA County sheriff. “When they crash, they’re also more likely to kill bystanders and civilians, so there’s a public safety side. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the LAPD implementing this.”

Police organizations have been ramping up education about the risks of driving fast, but Vila, having spent time with a badge and gun, understands the urge to ignore those lessons. “If you’re a young cop and someone gives you a fast car to drive, there’s a lot of temptation to do it,” Vila says. “Whether its safe, or not, and whether it’s legal, or not.”

Ford Telematics for Law Enforcement lets police departments see if their officers are giving in to those temptations. The system knows if the light bar is turned on, and measures the speed of the car against the limit. It looks for hard braking and sudden acceleration. It sees when the car spins and when the anti-lock braking system is engaged. Unlike conventional black boxes for cars, it can transmit data in real-time. And if the airbags deploy, dispatchers will see it and know to send backup immediately.


There are safety advantages for cops, too. Car crashes kill dozens of officers annually, but most California police don’t wear seat belts, according to a recent study. That may be because they find it uncomfortable while wearing other gear, they think it can prevent them from reaching their gun, or they may find it annoying given how often they get into and out of their cars. If the higher-ups want to enforce the use of seat belts, having info on who’s buckled up is a big help.

“With officers, you’re talking about a culture,” says Detective Meghan Aguilar, who’s been at the LAPD for 18 years, and whose title makes her one of the aforementioned higher-ups. “When I started it was much more common for police to not wear their seatbelt. You’re fighting a misperception that [wearing a seat belt] slows you down exiting the vehicle, pursuing a suspect.”

This type of monitoring uses technology to give supervisors eyes where they couldn’t see before. The basic principle is that being watched will prompt officers to follow the rules. “If there’s equipment that allows me to monitor that, without having to be in front of every vehicle,” Aguilar says, “there’s a good chance that behavior is going to be modified.”

That doesn’t mean every cop likes the idea of being watched over. “There’s a distinction between encouraging and active real-time monitoring that’s going to your supervisor,” says Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations. “It almost sounds like they’re trolling for violations.”

Professor Vila says this type of monitoring, used along side education about the consequences of driving irresponsibly, will be effective, and for that reason, a moral imperative. “How do you say, ‘No, I don’t want to be safer,’” he says. “There isn’t a responsible way to defend that.”

Ford hasn’t announced what the factory-installed system costs, but it should be available next year. It’s an advantage for the company, which, three years after discontinuing the Crown Victoria, competes with Chrysler and GM to provide vehicles to the nation’s police departments. If Ford can link its name to an exclusive technology like this, it could have an edge. Depending on how the LAPD’s test goes, Ford’s tech could end up in more of the 1,800 police vehicles driven by the city’s 10,000-strong police force.



Foust is done...now we toss out her Majesty Gerry "Opps deary" Hyland the killer cops best friend,

Foust is done...now we toss out her Majesty Gerry "Opps deary" Hyland the killer cops best friend

Delay in Shooting Investigation Decried
Supervisors urge action by U.S. attorney.

John Geer, standing in his doorway, minutes before he was shot by a Fairfax County Police officer. Photo courtesy of Michael Lieberman
By Tim Peterson
#The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors decided they’ve exercised enough patience with U.S. Attorney Dana Boente’s office. Now more than 13 months after Fairfax County police shot and killed John Geer, standing unarmed in the doorway of his Springfield home, Board chairman Sharon Bulova addressed the silence from Boente.
#In a letter to Boente, dated Sept. 19 and released last week, Bulova acknowledged the U.S. attorney’s office has had the Geer case since January 2014.
#“Since the shooting occurred,” Bulova said in the letter, “our citizens have regularly contacted various members of the board to communicate their concern and at times displeasure that the criminal investigation into this incident has not yet been completed.”
#After the shooting on Aug. 29, 2013, the initial investigation by the Fairfax County Police Department was handed off to Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Raymond Morrogh. Several months and a pair of conflicts of interest — cited by Morrogh — later, the case was transferred to Boente’s office.
#Fairfax County Police have yet to release any information to the Geer family or the public regarding details of the shooting or their own internal investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice been just as forthcoming.
#“The board, however, would like to express to you the importance of a resolution of this matter,” Bulova wrote in the letter, “as that will go a long way towards allowing our citizens to have faith in the process by which police shooting incidents are investigated.”
#In an Oct. 10 response, a spokesman from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said they have no additional comment in light of Bulova’s letter.
#John Geer’s father Don recently penned a letter of his own, not to Boente but to Nicholas Beltrante, executive director and founder of the Virginia Citizens Coalition for Police Accountability (CCPA). Beltrante was inspired to begin petitioning the Board of Supervisors to appoint a citizens’ police oversight board after the 2010 police shooting of David Masters.
#“We have now spent 13 frustrating months trying to acquire information as to who, why, etc. John was killed,” Don Geer said in the letter. “The Police Department policy of investigating a case, then hiding behind internal rules to avoid releasing information while working to exonerate the shooter is unacceptable. This does not provide justice for the victim, satisfaction for the public or closure for the family.”
#Don Geer summarized his account of what happened to his son, and the timeline that followed.
#“Therefore,” his letter continued, “I fully support the appointment of a Citizens Complaint Review Board that would report to the county Board of Supervisors to provide transparency and accountability for the actions of the Police Department.”
#Last month, Geer family lawyer Michael Lieberman filed a $12 million wrongful death and gross negligence suit against the Fairfax County Police Department.
#For more information on the Citizens Coalition for Police Accountability, visit www.virginiaccpa.com.

Foust is done...now we toss out her Majesty Gerry "Opps deary" Hyland the killer cops best friend

Report: Philly Paid Out $40 Million for Police Misconduct

Number “dwarfs” four other mid-sized cities combined.

MuckRock, an investigative website that specializes in open-records requests, says Philadelphia has paid more than $40 million to settle nearly 600 police misconduct suits since 2009.

Sound like a lot? The folks at MuckRock think so.

 “The numbers dwarf comparable statistics in other major cities for which MuckRock obtained the same data,” MuckRock reported. “For example, the cities of Indianapolis, San Francisco, San Jose, and Austin settled or lost a combined 122 police misconduct cases — compared to 586 cases in Philadelphia.”

We’re not sure if that’s a valid comparison; Philadelphia is roughly 600,000 residents bigger than San Jose, the biggest city on that list. On the other hand, thank God we’re not New York, either, which paid $428 million — 10 times as much as Philly — during the same time period.

In its records request for Philly, MuckRock reports: “We determined that 1,223 …  cases represented police misconduct lawsuits. Of those, the city settled 584 and lost two, roughly 48 percent, at an average of $69,401 per lawsuit.” The two biggest settlements, for $2.5 million apiece, involved police-involved shootings. There were also two racial profiling settlements, for $14,500 apiece.

What’s cool? MuckRock invites you to download the spreadsheet of lawsuits and see if you can turn up any patterns the public should know about.

Foust is done...now we toss out her Majesty Gerry "Opps deary" Hyland,, the killer cops best friend

Paws up, don’t shoot: Activists say cops shooting dogs is a problem

Protest march on state Capitol planned for October 25

By Raheem F. Hosseini

Law-enforcement agencies don’t actually use dogs in target practice, but activists say better training is needed to stop the inadvertent killing of animals during police action.

Jayme Kathleen Francis was drowsing off in her bedroom one evening last spring, when a swarm of cops mistook her duplex for the scene of a fight and entered.

Wrapped in her arms was Copper, a 6-year-old boxer who liked to dance on his hind legs and wave his nub in the air. Informed of the officers’ presence, Francis roused from her sleep to put her dog into the backyard before dealing with the confusion. He never made it that far.

As Copper padded a few feet in front of her, Francis heard a loud crack and saw what looked like crimson glitter wisp through the air.

A veteran Modesto Police Department officer had fired a bullet into Copper’s face.

The dog would later die on a veterinarian’s table, another four-legged victim of a police shooting—something critics say is a needlessly routine occurrence.

“Once I looked into it, I realized how common it was,” Francis told SN&R. “It turned my stomach.”

A nationwide animal rights group with a chapter based in Sacramento, called Freeze Don’t Shoot-California, is hoping to tap into that disgust during an October 25 march on the state Capitol. Francis will be among the speakers calling for reform in officer training and accountability.

There are no solid estimates on how many pets are injured or killed each year by peace officers. In the past six years, 22 dogs have been shot by sheriff’s department personnel in the unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, though none this year. Sheriff’s departments in El Dorado and Yolo counties didn’t respond to requests for data. The Elk Grove Police department said it doesn’t track how many animals officers shoot.

Then again, agencies aren’t required to report how many humans they shoot, to say nothing of four-legged casualties. In lieu of a dead dog database, pissed-off owners have turned to social media to share their grisly accounts and online media reports.

In May of last year, a California Highway Patrol officer killed two huskies—one of them accidentally—after receiving reports of wolves attacking a deer and running into people’s yards in Carmichael, news outlets reported. The canines’ owner had been searching for his pets for two days, and says they escaped his apartment while chasing an intruder but weren’t violent.

In November 2012, an officer with the Sacramento Police Department’s SWAT team shot a dog that reportedly charged while serving a search warrant at home in Del Paso Heights.

In May of that same year, another Sacramento police officer shot and killed two dogs after entering a backyard in the Oak Park neighborhood to investigate a drug case. Police say the dogs charged the officer, but a neighbor said she didn’t believe one of the hounds to be aggressive, reported CBS Sacramento.

Animal activists aren’t ready to say that cops are shooting more dogs than before. But they do believe these encounters are avoidable and sometimes unprompted.

“I don’t want to be a victim of an officer cutting across my property or getting the wrong address and destroying my pets because they don’t know any other means of confronting a dog,” said Rae Kelly, a Sacramento dog owner and the statewide organizer for Freeze Don’t Shoot, which began nationally in June.

Policy makers have finally gotten the message.

Earlier this year, state Senator Ron Calderon introduced a bill to require canine training for officers, but it’s unlikely to advance because of the author’s unrelated court troubles. The state agency that writes the rulebook for cops is already developing its own pet-centric training curriculum, however.

Representatives of the state Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training said they met in August with members of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Los Angeles to discuss creating a four-hour block of instruction. According to a monthly POST report, the training would help officers better assess the family dogs they encounter, “and correspondingly modify their own actions based on the relational needs of the dog.”

The Citrus Heights Police Department, which has operated its own animal control division the last few years, has already developed non-lethal contingencies for confronting dogs during warrant searches and other operations. One of the most effective—and least deadly—methods, it turns out, is a fire extinguisher. “A lot of times, that scares the dog or will deter it,” said Sgt. Mike Wells, a department spokesman. “We absolutely don’t want to be shooting a dog.”

As a result, Citrus Heights police have only shot one dog in the department’s eight-year existence.

In the case of Copper, Modesto police acknowledge they entered the wrong duplex. According to a police incident summary, officers entered through a sliding glass door after announcing their presence. They say a suspicious male retreated to the back while refusing to identify himself.

“While trying to get to the male, an officer was confronted by an aggressive dog,” the summary reads. “The male was asked to take control of the dog. The dog continued to chase the officer. The dog was shot by the officer.”

Francis contends otherwise. As she led Copper toward the backyard’s glass-panel door, she said she heard a man’s voice call out, “Dog! Dog!” And then the gunshot. She said there were several signs that animals resided there—including leashes near the front porch, an unlocked security screen that provided a clear view into the residence and a literal sign by the door saying there were dogs inside. “They had to walk through their potty area,” she added.

Francis consulted a lawyer a few months later, but didn’t pursue it. “It’s not going to bring my Copper back.”

Her daughter did file an official complaint with the Modesto Police Department. In a response letter dated August 13, 2013, police Chief Galen Carroll wrote that the involved officer was “exonerated” of wrongdoing following “an extensive investigation.”

Francis said no one interviewed her or any of the other people inside her home who witnessed the shooting.

Citing pending litigation, Modesto police spokeswoman Heather Graves declined to release details of the investigation. “I can say, however, that our hearts go out to the family for their loss, as we understand pets are often a member of the family,” she wrote in an email.

The incident left its troubling imprint. Francis finds herself wondering whether police deliberately entered her home to kill the dog she referred to as her “grandson.” She also worries about the special-needs son who witnessed the bloody aftermath and has been unable to process the loss.

“Now he will absolutely … hate cops,” Francis said of her 10-year-old.

Cop Gets Teeny-Tiny Pay Cut for Shooting This Pup to Death

And that might be the only disciplinary action Officer David Kelley faces after he gunned down Arfee, a 2-year-old pup, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Author: Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

An Idaho cop who gunned down an adorable dog, claiming he was a vicious pit bull, still has his badge and a weapon but is earning a little less cash on the beat each week.

Coeur d’Alene Police Officer David Kelley had his hourly pay slashed by $3.15 to $31.02 on Oct. 1, nearly three months after the veteran cop shot and killed Arfee, a 2-year-old black Lab, while investigating a suspicious vehicle.

The seemingly senseless slaying received national attention and prompted protests and two official reviews of the incident—each finding that Kelley violated his department’s deadly force policies. But as calls for Kelley’s resignation intensified over the summer, the department remained silent on what disciplinary action, if any, the officer would face.  “The dog was aggressively barking and growling and its mouth was within inches of my face,” Officer David Kelley recalled before shooting Arfee, a 2-year-old black Lab, in the chest. “I had the split second thought that this dog is going to bite me."

The 10 percent pay cut appears to be the full extent of Kelley’s punishment and was revealed only after the Coeur d’Alene Press, the area’s daily newspaper, filed a freedom of information request. When the paper asked Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White about the wage reduction, the top cop was characteristically dismissive.

“Are you still beating that dead horse?” White told the Press, before saying he was prohibited from discussing employee discipline.

The incident happened on July 9, when the officer and his partner had walked up to a van belonging to Arfee’s owner after a caller reported a suspicious vehicle in the area. Kelley approached the van, which matched the caller’s description, with his gun drawn. Inside was the dog, which at the sight of the officer tried to stick his head out a cracked window.

“The dog was aggressively barking and growling, and its mouth was within inches of my face,” Kelley recalled in a police report. “I had the split second thought that this dog is going to bite me.”

Spooked, Kelley fired a single shot into the poor pup’s chest. Mortally wounded, Arfee scampered to the back of the van and died. Unable to locate Arfee’s owner, Craig Jones, the officers then removed the dog’s body from the vehicle.

Jones would later return from a having coffee to find his window shot out, a note on his windshield and a bunch of blood in his van. But there was no Arfee, who was mistakenly identified as a pit bull by authorities in the following weeks. “It crushes me know the way he died,” Jones later told KXLY. “It’s a savage thing.”

As outrage grew and more than 2,000 people joined a Facebook group called Justice for Arfee to demand accountability for the incident, White remained conciliatory.

“This event has shaken confidence in our police department,” he said in September. “But the relationship between our community and our department will ultimately be strengthened as a direct result of how we respond to the situation.”

That’s yet to happen.

On Tuesday, attorneys for Jones filed a $350,000 lawsuit against the city of Coeur d’Alene.

Harrisburg police officer charged with stalking, harassment

             

Megan Trimble |

Charges were filed against Harrisburg police officer Todd R. Chance Tuesday, according to online court records.

Chance faces charges of Stalking - repeatedly commit acts to cause fear and Harassment - communication repeatedly in another manner related to a Aug. 27 offense date, according to the records.

The charges were filed through Magisterial District Judge LaVon A. Postelle's office.

Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico Jr. is expected to speak at the Radisson in Camp Hill on the police officer's arrest, according to a news release from Marsico.

Officers in 2012 police shooting have new jobs in new places

By Ed Gallek

EAST CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -

We've learned two police officers involved in an East Cleveland shooting lost their jobs there, but both have found new jobs elsewhere and are carrying weapons again.

Back in 2012, two East Cleveland officers fired 11 shots into a car during a traffic stop. They said the driver backed into their car twice.

The East Cleveland mayor allowed Brandon Smith to resign.

But the mayor fired Matthew Ferrell. In a termination letter, the mayor called the gunfire “clearly excessive,” and said there appeared to be “a total disregard for the safety of others.”

Yet, we've confirmed Smith is now in the Cleveland Police Academy. He is becoming an officer in Cleveland even as that department is under review by the feds for use of force.

Ferrell is now working as a security officer carrying a gun for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, protecting the regional sewer system.

The head of the system, Julius Ciaccia, says he's aware of the East Cleveland shooting. He told us, Ferrell “divulged it on his own.” He thought it was “worth taking a chance” on him, and he's been a “good employee.”

Ciaccia and the lawyer for Smith point out state investigators did not find excessive force was used in East Cleveland. But the driver in that case just won a civil lawsuit over it.

As for Cleveland Police, we've been trying to get a response. We're still waiting.

Citing a hardship, Mobile police officer charged with manslaughter wants judge to lift bond conditions

By Thyrie Bland | 

BAY MINETTE, Alabama -- A former Mobile police officer who was arrested on a manslaughter charge last month wants a judge to lift three conditions of her release on bond because they are creating a hardship for her, according to a court motion.

Vicky Johnston, 53, of Satsuma, was indicted in August in the July 5 death of of Linda Rutherford, 65, of Calera. Johnston was driving a Ford Mustang in the 500 block of East Boulevard in Gulf Shores when it hit Rutherford, who was trying to walk across the road, according to an accident report.

Johnston was released from the Baldwin County Corrections Center on Sept. 18 on a $50,000 bond. The conditions of Johnston's release require her to wear GPS and alcohol monitors and undergo random drug testing.

She has to pay for the cost of the monitoring and the drug testing.

Johnston, who was a Mobile police officer for 21 years, retired after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006, according to the motion.

Johnston has undergone surgery twice this year because of cataracts, the motion states.

Johnston has limited financial means and spends much of her income -- Social Security and a partial pension -- on her medical needs, according to the motion.

"The requirement of these unnecessary conditions of the defendant's bond has already created a substantial financial hardship upon the defendant," the motion states.

Johnston's criminal case is assigned to Baldwin County Circuit Court Judge Langford Floyd. Floyd has not ruled on the motion. 

Youngstown paying $50K to settle police brutality suit

YOUNGSTOWN

City council will consider legislation today to have the board of control pay $50,000 to the city’s insurance company to settle a federal police brutality lawsuit.

The settlement pays $69,000 to Alexander Henderson of Youngstown with “no admission of liability” by the city, said Law Director Martin Hume. The city would pay $50,000 to HCC Public Risk Claim Service, the city’s insurance company, for its deductible with HCC paying the remaining $19,000 to Henderson.

The city denies the allegations in the federal lawsuit, Hume said.

The suit was filed Feb. 13 stemming from an incident nearly two years prior.

The lawsuit contends that on Feb. 17, 2012, Rodney W. Lewis Sr., then a Youngstown police officer, “physically and savagely assault[ed]” Henderson “causing permanent and severe injuries to the face, head and/or ears.”

The two were in an elevator at the police station with Henderson, a prisoner in the Mahoning County jail appearing in city municipal court, in handcuffs and ankle shackles at the time.

The two exchanged words in the elevator with Lewis telling internal affairs at the time that he hit Henderson after the man spit on him.

When the elevator opened, the lawsuit states Lewis grabbed Henderson’s ankle chains “forcibly” pulling his feet out from under him, causing him to hit his face, head and other body parts on the floor, and then the officer dragged Henderson across the floor and into a holding cell.

While Hume said Tuesday the city denies the allegations, police officials determined at the time that Lewis hit Henderson, dragged him by his ankle shackles causing Henderson to fall face first on the floor and dragged him across the floor, then-Police Chief Rod Foley told The Vindicator in a March 17, 2012, article.

Clinton couple sues officer, police, town for false arrest over firework set off on their

By Judy Harrison, BDN Staff

BANGOR, Maine — A Clinton couple has sued a police officer, his department and the town in U.S. District Court alleging that Randy Henry was falsely arrested last year for setting off a firework on his own property.

The disorderly conduct charge lodged against him in March 2013 was dismissed when the Kennebec County district attorney’s office declined to prosecute Henry, 48, according to the complaint.

Henry and his wife, Debora A. Henry, 47, are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees.

Clinton Town Manager Warren D. Hatch on Tuesday declined to comment on the case because neither the town, the Clinton Police Department nor Officer Scott Francis has been served with the lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 30.

“The Henrys wanted to bring this suit because Officer Francis trespassed on their property, assaulted Randy when he arrested him, used vulgar language in front of family members and put Randy in jail for unlawful reasons,” Eugene Sullivan, the Bangor attorney who represents the couple, said Tuesday.

The events outlined in the complaint that led to Randy Henry being jailed overnight at the Kennebec County Jail began the evening of March 13, 2013, when Debora Henry, her mother and sister were at the Henry home on Mutton Lane, which is located half a mile from the nearest neighbor, baking for a baby shower for the Henrys’ daughter.

Henry and her sister “decided that they would celebrate the event by firing off a .357-caliber handgun four times (each took two shots) in her own backyard,” the complaint said. After the shots were fired, the women resumed cooking, while Randy Henry slept because his work shift at Bath Iron Works began at 3:45 a.m.

Shortly after the shots were fired, Francis arrived at the house between 7 and 7:30 p.m. and told the women a noise complaint by a neighbor had been made, the complaint said. The officer allegedly spoke to the women “in a loud and raised voice and came across in a threatening manner.”

After Francis left, Debora Henry woke her husband to tell him what had happened and that the neighbors, who have a history of making noise complaints, had called the police again, according to the complaint. Upset about the police “being called to the residence for no reason, [Randy Henry] set off an M-80 firework on his property” between 15 and 20 minutes after Francis had left.

M-80 fireworks are banned by federal law in the United States, according to information posted on the website for the state fire marshal’s office. No more than 50 milligrams of powder may be used in fireworks sold to the public. Henry was not charged with possessing or using illegal fireworks.

When the officer returned after a second noise complaint was made to police, Francis “forced his way into the home without a warrant,” the complaint said. The officer immediately grabbed Henry’s arm and moved him from the kitchen outside to the police cruiser where he allegedly pushed Henry against the cruiser door, then, placed him under arrest.

Henry was held at the Kennebec County Jail from about 8:30 p.m. until 6 a.m. March 14, 2013, when his wife posted bail, the complaint said.

The lawsuit claims that Henry never should have been arrested because the Maine Prosecutors’ Association “had advised each law enforcement agency, including Clinton [Police Department], that it is not a violation of the unreasonable noise provisions of the disorderly conduct statute to light fireworks within the limits established as reasonable by the Maine Legislature,” which includes the Henrys’ property.

Milwaukee Police Officer Christopher Manney Fired After Allegedly Shooting Man In Park

  | By M.L. JOHNSON

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn has fired an officer who he said instigated a fight with a mentally ill man that eventually led the officer to shoot the man 14 times, killing him.

Officer Christopher Manney, 38, was dismissed nearly six months after 31-year-old Dontre Hamilton's death. Activists have compared the shooting to that of Michael Brown, an unarmed, black 18-year-old shot by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Hamilton was sleeping in a downtown park when Manney responded to a call for a welfare check and began a patdown. Flynn said Wednesday that Hamilton resisted and the two exchanged punches and strikes before Hamilton hit Manney on the neck with Manney's baton. Manney then shot Hamilton.

Flynn said that while Manney correctly identified Hamilton as someone who was emotionally disturbed, he ignored his training and police policy and treated him as a criminal.

"You don't go hands-on and start frisking somebody only because they appear to be mentally ill," Flynn said during a news conference announcing the firing.

Hamilton's family has said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia but was not violent, and they doubt he struck Manney. They called Wednesday for police to release photographs documenting the officer's injuries. They also said that while the firing was "a victory," they would continue to lead and participate in marches in an effort to persuade the district attorney to bring criminal charges.

"Yes, he was fired, but he took a man's life," Hamilton's mother, Maria, said during a separate news conference.

His brother, Nate Hamilton, said the family remains hurt and their grief would not ease until they feel justice is done.

"Dontre did not attack this man, he did not have to shoot Dontre at all," the brother said.

The Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation investigated Hamilton's death under a state law that requires an outside investigator to review all officer-involved deaths. The Milwaukee County district attorney's office has asked an unnamed investigator to do a second review, and an attorney for Hamilton's family said he was told the FBI is looking into it as well.

Milwaukee County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern, who is weighing potential charges, had no comment Wednesday, his assistant Maureen Perez said.

Flynn said his decision was based on an internal affairs investigation. He sidestepped questions about whether Manney should face criminal charges. He said he found "errors of judgment, but no malice" in Manney's handling of the confrontation.

"There's got to be a way for us to hold ourselves accountable absent putting cops in jail for making mistakes," he said.

About 400 officers, or less than one-fourth of the department, have received the full, recommended 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Team training considered the model for dealing with people who are emotionally distressed. Flynn said that starting next year, all officers will receive at least 16 hours of training.

The Milwaukee Police Association condemned the firing.

"The decision to terminate this officer is cowardice and certainly unfounded and unsupported by fact," President Mike Crivello said in a statement.

Woman Ticketed After Police Shoot Her Dog

By Jonathan Wolfe, Tue, October 07, 2014

An Illinois mother is furious after police shot her dog right in front of her children last week. Mother Gina Marie Stone says her two young children were outside with the dog when it was shot.

“When I was putting my daughter’s clothes away, I heard a noise,” she told NBC Chicago.

Her children, ages four and five, came in screaming about what they just saw.

“The kids came in running like ‘The cops shot Rayleigh, they killed Rayleigh,’” she recalled.

Rayleigh survived the shooting, but Stone’s grievance with the Berkley, Illinois, police department isn’t over. She doesn’t understand why officers felt the need to shoot her dog, especially in front of her kids. One neighbor who witnessed the event doesn’t understand why police shot with kids around, either.

“What startled me even more is that these babies were right there by the cops,” Wanda Williams said.

Berkley police Sgt. Justin Patti says officers went to the neighborhood in response to an aggressive dog report.

“It was reported by one of the callers that called our station that [the children] were using conduit pipe sticks, chasing after the dog and hitting it,” Patti told NBC Chicago. “The dog actually became aggressive towards the officer, lunged at him, got within close proximity and the officer had to protect himself.”

Stone feels particularly insulted by the department’s decision to cite her after shooting her dog. After Stone rushed Rayleigh to the veterinary hospital, she was informed by police that she was being ticketed for having a “vicious dog at large without tags.”