K9 officer charged with shooting neighbor's dog

By Beth Alston

A Georgia police officer has been charged with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals after investigators said he shot and killed a neighbor's dog.

Officer William Lamb, 31, of the Americus (Georgia) Police Department was out walking his own dog, a member of the K9 unit, on Wednesday when he saw his neighbor's dog unleashed and on the street, according to Sumter County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Col. Eric Bryant.

Lamb took his own dog back inside and returned to the street with a .270 rifle, and then shot and killed the neighbor's animal, Bryant said.

Bryant said witnesses said they heard two shots, but only one shell casing was found.

Lamb turned himself in and was released Thursday on a set a $5,000 bond.

Laura Lee Bernstein, CEO of the city of Americus, said that Lamb was on family medical leave and would be placed on unpaid administrative leave when he returns.

Oklahoma City Police Officer Will Go to Trial for 36 Counts of Sexual Assault

After a two-day preliminary hearing, an Oklahoma state court judge ordered that Daniel Holtzclaw, an Oklahoma City police officer, will stand trial for sexually assaulting 13 African-American women while on duty.

Holtzclaw is charged with 36 counts of sexual assault, including six counts of first-degree rape, and multiple counts of forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery, and indecent exposure.

During the hearing, all 13 women gave testimony against the police officer, who is alleged to have used his power as an officer to commit these crimes. One woman testified that she was forced to perform sexual acts: “It was either that or the county jail.” Another woman testified, “He was an officer. And I was scared. And I knew he could hurt me.”

A 17-year old girl also offered testimony that Holtzclaw, after threatening her with arrest, pulled down her shorts and forced her to have sex with him on the front porch of her mother’s home. “What am I going to do? Call the cops? He was a cop,” she testified. “I was afraid of what could happen to me if I was snitching.” Prosecutors introduced DNA evidence found inside of Holtzclaw’s pants matching that of the girl.

Another woman testified that Holtzclaw stopped her as she was walking through her neighborhood. The 52-year-old said the officer put his hands under her blouse, and when she resisted, he put his hand in her pants. After this, she said Holtzclaw told her, “OK, you don’t have anything in there. You can go.”

Police began investigating Holtzclaw after one of the survivors reported an assault in June. The other 12 women had not reported Holtzclaw until they were contacted by detectives investigating the June assault. Many of the women feared reprisal or that they would not be believed.

“Who are they going to believe?” the 17-year old told the court. “It’s my word against his. He’s a police officer.”

In their written testimony to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, the Black Women’s Blueprint referenced the Holtzclaw case as symptomatic of a larger pattern of practice among law enforcement officials in the US that most often plays out in communities of color. In their report, they highlighted that despite the fact that black women and racially-mixed black women are more often the victims of rape than their white counterparts, they are much less likely to get a conviction for a sex crime.

Holtclaw has pleaded not guilty. He remains out on $609,000 bail. During the hearing on Tuesday, protesters outside of the courthouse called on the court to rescind bail.

Winslow Township officer charged with shooting his own patrol car

By Mark Daniels

An officer with the Winslow Township police department has been charged for allegedly shooting his own patrol car, authorities in Camden County announced Friday.

Da'Shaun Carr, 23, of Clayton, was charged Nov. 17 with false public alarm in the incident that occurred Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. at New Brooklyn Park in Winslow.

According to prosecutors, Carr activated an emergency button in his patrol car and indicated over police radio that it had been fired upon, according to prosecutors.

Officers with the Winslow Township Police Department, New Jersey State Police, Camden County Sheriff's Office and Camden County Prosecutor's Office responded to the incident, authorities say.

The CCPO's Crime Scene Investigation Unit processed the scene and determined the vehicle had been shot once through the windshield and bullet fragments were recovered, according to prosecutors.

Investigators believe Carr used a personal handgun to shoot the vehicle from the outside, prosecutors say, and ballistic testing results are pending.

Carr is a part-time Class II Special Law Enforcement Officer with Winslow and had been with the department for about a year, according to police.

Carr was arrested Nov. 19 and released on his own recognizance pending appearance in court.

He has been suspended without pay.

Wisconsin officer gets 10-hour suspension for videotaped arrest

By Shelley Nelson

SUPERIOR, Wis. -- A Superior police officer was given a 10-hour unpaid suspension Friday for his actions in the videotaped Jan. 5 arrest of a woman that sparked allegations of abuse of force.

Video released shortly after the incident, shot by a dashboard camera in officer George Gothner's squad car, shows him shoving Natasha Lancour, 29, of Superior onto the hood of the vehicle and striking her in the face with a closed fist as she reached toward his face and tried to pull away.

The spension was given because Gothner used vulgarities when dealing with Lancour outside Keyport Liquor and Lounge, and his manner didn't defuse the situation, according to the police department.

"It's an absolute and utter joke," said attorney Rick Gondik, who represents Lancour.

Superior Police Chief Charles LaGesse said an internal investigation into the matter, which followed an independent prosecutor's decision not to charge Gothner in connection with the incident, focused on two issues. The first was whether the use of force was reasonable and consistent with policy. The second was whether Gothner's conduct and communication complied with department policies.

Gothner was originally placed on paid administrative leave, but later returned to the force in a desk job while awaiting review of the incident from a prosecutor and the department.

LaGesse said the findings on use of force were based on a Department of Justice Office of Law Enforcement Standards review of the incident, which found they were reasonable and consistent with the Superior Police Department's policies, which align with training provided by the state.

"Our investigation found that Officer Gothner's use of force is consistent with our policies, and reasonable and consistent with the training provided by Wisconsin," LaGesse said. "While the force used in this arrest is difficult to view -- and has caused many to question its appropriateness -- the force was used in response to resistance and to the officer perceiving that Ms. Lancour was assaulting him. The use of force ended when control was established."

It was determined, however, that Gothner's conduct and communication with Lancour fell short of department policies.

"It was the finding of the investigation that Officer Gothner failed to utilize professional communication and was vulgar in his initial contact with Ms. Lancour; his words were a violation of several departmental policies," the chief said.

LaGesse said he is unaware of any other Superior police officer being suspended for using vulgarities. He said such incidents would be handled normally by counseling the officer.

"The situation where the arrestee is yelling vulgarities, it's not appropriate for the officer to respond in kind; a suspension of one day makes that point," LaGesse said.

However, in this case, Gothner's use of vulgarities and a manner that did not defuse the situation prompted the suspension, the chief said.

"It's basically slapping George Gothner on the wrist, if at all. It's a joke. It's a travesty," Gondik said.

Godnik said the truth will come out when the civil case is heard, and Friday's announcement of the discipline Gothner would face "sealed the deal" on filing a civil suit against the city.

"It's nothing I didn't expect," Gondik said.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice was reviewed by a special prosecutor and a John Doe hearing was held to determine if charges should be filed against Gothner. Special Prosecutor Fred Bourg, the Bayfield County district attorney, called Gothner's actions "rude, in poor taste, and possibly, unnecessarily violent," but decided not to file charges because of the burden of proof and the unlikelihood of a conviction.

Gondik appealed that decision Nov. 4, but said Friday he still hadn't heard from Bourg in connection with the appeal.

Gothner is expected to return to patrol duty in the coming week, the chief said.

"The Superior Police Department places great value on our relationship with the community," LaGesse said. "This trust has been eroded by this incident and we will strive to win that back through living up to the tenants of our mission statement. The Superior Police Department is sworn to protect, committed to justice and dedicated to professional service.

Officer’s Errant Shot Kills Unarmed Brooklyn Man

By MICHAEL WILSONNOV

Two police officers prepared to enter the pitch-black eighth-floor stairwell of a building in a Brooklyn housing project, one of them with his sidearm drawn. At the same time, a man and his girlfriend, frustrated by a long wait for an elevator, entered the seventh-floor stairwell, 14 steps below. In the darkness, a shot rang out from the officer’s gun, and the 28-year-old man below was struck in the chest and, soon after, fell dead.

The shooting, at 11:15 p.m. on Thursday, invited immediate comparison to the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in Ferguson, Mo. But 12 hours later, just after noon on Friday, the New York police commissioner, William J. Bratton, announced that the shooting was accidental and that the victim, Akai Gurley, had done nothing to provoke a confrontation with the officers.

An officer with his gun drawn in a so-called vertical patrol in the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn, in 2013.Public Housing Patrols Can Mean Safety or Danger NOV. 21, 2014

Police officers conduct a top-to-bottom patrol in the Pink Houses in Brooklyn. The city’s 334 housing projects have 2,000 police officers assigned to them.Policing the Projects of New York City, at a Hefty PriceDEC. 26, 2013

The encounter, glimpsed in a still from a video obtained by The New York Daily News.Man’s Death After Chokehold Raises Old Issue for the PoliceJULY 18, 2014

A sidewalk memorial on Staten Island where Eric Garner died after a confrontation with the police.Death of a Man in Custody Adds Fuel to a Dispute Over a Policing StrategyJULY 20, 2014

Indeed, as the investigation continued into Friday night, a leading theory described an instance of simple, yet tragic, clumsiness on the part of the officer. Mr. Gurley was not armed, the police said.

William J. Bratton, the New York police commissioner, said that the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a police officer in Brooklyn Thursday was accidental and that the victim was a “total innocent.” Video by AP on Publish Date November 21, 2014. Photo by Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times.

The episode promised to bring scrutiny to a longtime police practice of officers drawing their weapons when patrolling stairwells in housing projects.

The shooting occurred in the Louis H. Pink Houses in the East New York neighborhood. The housing project had been the scene of a recent spate of crimes — there have been two robberies and four assaults in the development in the past month, two homicides in the past year, and a shooting in a nearby lobby last Saturday, Mr. Bratton said.

Additional officers, many new to the Police Department, were assigned to patrol the buildings, including the two officers in the stairwell on Thursday night, who were working an overtime tour.

Having just inspected the roof, the officers prepared to conduct what is known as a vertical patrol, an inspection of a building’s staircases, which tend to be a magnet for criminal activity or quality-of-life nuisances.

Both officers took out their flashlights, and one, Peter Liang, 27, a probationary officer with less than 18 months on the job, drew his sidearm, a 9-millimeter semiautomatic.

Officer Liang is left-handed, and he tried to turn the knob of the door that opens to the stairwell with that hand while also holding the gun, according to a high-ranking police official who was familiar with the investigation and who emphasized that the account could change.

Kimberly Michelle Ballinger, the domestic partner of Akai Gurley, left, picking up their daughter at a day care center on Friday. Credit Uli Seit for The New York Times

It appears that in turning the knob and pushing the door open, Officer Liang rotated the barrel of the gun down and accidentally fired, the official said. He and the other officer both jumped back into the hallway, and Officer Liang shouted something to the effect that he had accidentally fired his weapon, the official said.

Mr. Gurley had spent the past hours getting his hair braided at a friend’s apartment. Neighbors said he had posted photos of himself on an online site for models, featuring his tattoos, his clothing and his muscular frame.

He and his girlfriend, Melissa Butler, waited for an elevator on the seventh floor, but it never came, so they opened the door to the dark stairwell instead. An instant later, the shot was fired. Mr. Gurley and Ms. Butler were probably unaware that the shot came from a police officer’s gun.

 “The cop didn’t present himself, he just shot him in the chest,” Janice Butler, Ms. Butler’s sister, said. “They didn’t see their face or nothing.”

Mr. Gurley made it two flights down, to the fifth floor, where he collapsed. Melissa Butler called 911 from a lower floor, the official said.

Officer Liang and his partner came upon Mr. Gurley and called in the injury on the police radio, saying it was the result of an accidental discharge, the official said.

 Commissioner Bratton called Mr. Gurley “a total innocent” and said the shooting was “an unfortunate accident.” The victim was not engaged in any activity other than trying to walk down the stairs, Mr. Bratton said.

Mayor Bil de Blasio was also quick to offer his condolences to Mr. Gurley’s family. “This is a tragedy,” he said.

About 6:45 p.m. on Friday, the mayor, accompanied by his wife, Chirlane McCray, and Mr. Bratton, arrived at the Red Hook East Houses to visit the home of Mr. Gurley’s domestic partner, Kimberly Michelle Ballinger, 25.

They spent a little more than 10 minutes there and left without making any comment.

Earlier, Mr. Bratton said that whether an officer should draw his weapon while on patrol when there was no clear threat was a matter of discretion.

At left, William J. Bratton, the New York police commissioner, and Mayor Bill de Blasio, accompanied by his wife, Chirlane McCray, arriving at the home of Mr. Gurley to pay condolences. Credit Uli Seit for The New York Times

“There’s not a specific prohibition against taking a firearm out,” he said, adding, “As in all cases, an officer would have to justify the circumstances that required him to or resulted in his unholstering his firearm.”

The president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Patrick J. Lynch, declined to say anything about the officer, but commented on the conditions of stairwells in projects, including the setting of the shooting.

“The Pink Houses are among the most dangerous projects in the city, and their stairwells are the most dangerous places in the projects,” he said. “Dimly lit stairways and dilapidated conditions create fertile ground for violent crime, while the constant presence of illegal firearms creates a dangerous and highly volatile environment for police officers and residents alike.”          

The Brooklyn district attorney, Kenneth P. Thompson, issued a statement that questioned the condition of the lighting in the stairwell.

Vermont Police Officer Released to Rehab After Allegedly Swiping Drug Evidence

Colchester Police Detective Cpl. Tyler Kinney was fitted with a GPS device before going to rehab

By Jack Thurston

Tyler Kinney, a veteran officer with the police department in Colchester, Vermont, was released from jail to a residential drug treatment program Monday.

The release comes shortly after Kinney was accused of stealing heroin, other drugs and a gun from the evidence storage lockers at the police department. Kinney has yet to answer to the charges formally with a plea in federal court.

Kinney declined to answer several questions from New England Cable News as he departed the federal building Monday with relatives for the Serenity House, a drug treatment program in Vermont's Rutland County. Kinney's defense attorney, John Pacht, did speak to reporters.

"Hopefully, he'll be engaged [in the rigors of treatment]," Pacht said. "That's really proven by the treatment itself, not words you say before you get into treatment. He's very focused on the need, and he seems to have the motivation required to engage in it."

Court paperwork filed last week, in advance of Kinney's initial appearance in federal court last Thursday, showed the detective revealed to a federal investigator he had been an opiate addict for about a year. Kinney was in charge of the evidence room for the Colchester Police Department, which is now the subject of an exhaustive audit of its secure lock-up areas, and its policies, Chief Jennifer Morrison said last week.

Also last week, Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan said his office is doing a thorough review of cases Detective Corporal Kinney would have handled that got advanced for prosecution. Donovan said he expects some criminal charges against suspects would have to be tossed, because of concerns over evidence handling.

Kinney's release to rehab Monday was briefly delayed, after the U.S. Attorney's office raised new concerns over threats the officer allegedly made in the past to Peter Burnett. Burnett was identified in court paperwork as a friend of Kinney's who allegedly would use heroin with the detective, and to whom Kinney allegedly gave a stolen gun to use for protection. On his client’s behalf, Pacht denied there were any threats made to Burnett.

U.S. District Court Judge John Conroy permitted Kinney to be released from jail to rehab, provided he wears a GPS monitoring device. The defense and prosecution agreed to the new GPS condition of release.

Jimmy Vezina of Burlington, Vermont told NECN he is now clean and on a good path after he battled drugs, including heroin, for most of his life. "I was shooting up at 13-years-old in this town, and didn't stop until I was 35," Vezina said.

Vezina expressed his opinion that there is no excuse for the police officer's alleged actions, but called the case proof of how far-reaching drug use is.

"It hits anybody," Vezina said. "Anybody can be grabbed by the demon, man."

Kinney remains on unpaid leave from the Colchester Police Department, Chief Morrison said Monday afternoon.

The federal charges against Kinney could bring him 10 years in prison, if he is convicted.

Man films Ferguson officer Darren Wilson allegedly violating his rights during confrontation at his home

An online video captured by resident Mike Arman reportedly shows Wilson refusing to allow him to record the incident and threatening to 'lock (his) a-- up.' Wilson arrested Arman on Oct. 28, 2013 for failure to comply but the charge was later dropped.

BY JOEL LANDAU

The Ferguson, Missouri officer who killed an unarmed 18-year-old is featured in an online video taken by a man who said Darren Wilson unlawfully arrested him and violated his rights.

The 15-second video shows an officer alleged to be Wilson in uniform in the middle of a conversation with resident Mike Arman, who made the brief recording.

Resident Mike The video begins with Arman asking the officer his name, and Wilson replies, "If you wanna take a picture of me one more time, I'm going to lock your a-- up."

Arman replies he is not taking a picture but recording the incident, then Wilson walks several feet toward him.

Arman asks Wilson if he has the right to record the incident and Wilson replies "no" and says "come on" as the video comes to a shaky end.

The video shows only a small glimpse of the encounter but Arman writes in the description of the video posted Friday that Wilson violated his First Amendment rights, arrested him unlawfully and lied on the police report.

Wilson is the officer at the center of the fatal Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Wilson has said he was threatened by Brown and said the teenager tried to grab his gun. But witnesses said Brown had surrendered before Wilson shot him.

A grand jury is currently mulling whether to indict Wilson and the decision is expected soon.

The incident has sparked months of protests in the St. Louis suburb as well as national attention and debate on police brutality and racial profiling.

If you wanna take a picture of me one more time, I'm going to lock your a-- up.

A police report of the Arman incident written by Wilson states he went to the home on Oct. 28, 2013 because Arman had multiple derelict vehicles on his property, which violated a local ordinance.

Arman told The Guardian he believes Wilson lied on the report and should have been allowed to record the incident. He said he began filming moments after the officer approached his home.

The Ferguson Police Department declined to comment on the video and a spokesman told the newspaper he did not believe it was Wilson though the officer's name appears on the police report.

The officer wrote he told Arman he would issue him a summons when the resident became upset and claimed the city was harassing him.

The officer then stated Arman took out his cell phone and Wilson said only a voice recording of the conversation would be acceptable — but Arman told The Guardian he was only told that after he was already arrested.

He also wrote he told Arman he would not give him his name and that he could read it off of his nameplate. He also said he told Arman to remove the camera from his face.

Wilson then charged Arman with failure to comply and transported him to county jail. He wrote in the report that Arman laid on the floor for about 10 minutes and said he was having trouble breathing and was unable to feel his arms and legs before being booked. Wilson wrote Arman later calmed down and acted normally.

Arman told The Guardian the charge was dropped after he told his lawyer he had video footage of the incident. Wilson also charged him with violating local pit bull regulations but those charges were also dropped when Arman showed his canine was actually a bulldog, the newspaper reported.

The 30-year-old told the newspaper he was working on his porch and was being cordial, but wanted to record the conversation to safeguard himself.

Judge: Salisbury officer made unlawful arrest

Vanessa Junkin

A judge found a Salisbury police officer made an unlawful arrest of a teen – who is involved in a lawsuit against the city – at a hearing Monday.

Wicomico County Circuit Court Judge Leah Jane Seaton's finding, made at a juvenile hearing for Renaldo Mesadieu, resulted in the 15-year-old Salisbury boy being acquitted on several charges.

The arresting officer, Salisbury Police Officer Justin Aita, stopped Mesadieu for riding his bike without a light and wearing headphones on both ears while traveling on Route 13 in Salisbury. Aita asked him some questions, to which he received suspicious answers, the officer testified Monday.

After doing a partial search on the teen, he was about to handcuff Mesadieu when the teen ran away, he testified. Aita testified Mesadieu punched him and he chased after Mesadieu before more fighting, he said.

After Seaton determined the arrest was unlawful, she acquitted Mesadieu on charges of second-degree assault and obstructing and hindering. The state and defense had agreed based on Seaton's ruling, charges of resisting a lawful arrest, attempting to escape and making a false statement to a police officer about identity upon arrest would not be appropriate, so Mesadieu was acquitted on those charges.

Mesadieu was found involved in assuming a false identity, operating a bicycle with a headset covering both ears and riding a bicycle on a highway without a functioning front light. In juvenile court, a respondent is found "involved" or "not involved" rather than "guilty" or "not guilty."

A disposition in Mesadieu's case –– the juvenile version of a sentencing –– will be held in about a month.

Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton said the judge's ruling has left an unclear message. Following a debriefing about what happened, he said he and others plan to seek clarification on where the line is drawn for probable cause.

Mesadieu's mother, Nathalie Francois, on behalf of him as a minor, and his aunt, Alexandra Francois, are plaintiffs in a federal case against Aita and the City of Salisbury. Although the cases relate to the same circumstances, there is not a cause-and-effect connection between them.

When asked what Monday's events meant for the civil case, defense attorney Luke Rommel said it meant "as a matter of law, there's been a false arrest."

False arrest is one of the allegations the Francoises have brought against Aita and the city in the federal lawsuit, in addition to alleging unreasonable seizures and excessive force, and a count of civil assault against Aita.

It's one of three lawsuits that Aita and the city face regarding excessive force in unrelated incidents.

Senior Assistant State's Attorney Richard Catlin said he respected the judge's decision in Monday's case, but the state's position was that Aita had a valid reason for the arrest.

FBI reports 27 cops were killed last year. But how many civilians were killed by officers?

By Ellen Nakashima

On April 18, 2013, 27-year-old Sean Collier, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, was shot and killed as he sat in his patrol car on campus. His alleged killer: one of the two brothers suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings three days earlier.

Collier was one of 27 police officers fatally wounded in the line of duty last year, according to the FBI, which released its annual report on the topic Monday. Forty-nine others died in accidents.

The bureau compiles a wealth of statistics on law enforcement deaths: The number decreased by 45 percent compared with the 49 officers killed in 2012. The average age of the officer killed last year was 39. All but two were white. Two were black. Two were female.

Six were killed while making arrests. Five were ambushed. Four were involved in tactical situations. All but one were killed with a firearm. One was struck and killed by a vehicle.

But there is no reliable data on the number of civilians who are killed by police officers each year, The Post’s Wes Lowery reported in September.

The police shooting of an unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson has shined a spotlight on the issue. And early Sunday, a Cleveland police officer fatally wounded a 12-year-old boy brandishing what turned out to be a BB gun. Days earlier, an unarmed man was accidentally shot and killed by a police officer in a Brooklyn housing project. All three victims were black.

Police unions  insist that shootings by officers are rare and even more rarely unjustified. Civil rights groups have just as quickly ascribed racial motives to many of the shootings, declaring that black and brown men are being “executed” by officers, Lowery reported.

Complicating the debate is the fact that there is no reliable national data on how many people are shot by police officers each year. Federal officials allow the nation’s more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies to self-report officer shootings. That figure, Lowery reported, hovers around 400 “justifiable homicides” by law enforcement each year.

Several independent trackers, primarily journalists and academics who study criminal justice, insist the accurate number of people shot and killed by police officers each year is consistently upwards of 1,000 each year, Lowery reported.

Meanwhile, the FBI has warned about “a growing domestic threat to law enforcement” coming from people who believe that state and federal governments operate illegally in the United States.

Earlier this year, two officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were shot –one in the back of the head, the other in the throat and then multiple times after that–in a pizza joint on the Las Vegas Strip. Their assailants were a couple, Jerad and Amanda Miller, who placed a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag and a swastika on one of the officer’s bodies. They pinned a note to the other’s body that read “This is the beginning of the revolution,” The Post’s Mark Berman reported. Jared Miller was killed by police; his wife committed suicide.

There is a movement that believes that the federal government has dangerously overstepped its authority, and within that movement are groups that believe they need to be ready to fight back against any perceived overreach, Berman reported.

Ellen Nakashima is a national security reporter for The Washington Post. She focuses on issues relating to intelligence, technology and civil liberties.

Photo from 1966...think about it

Fairfax County hires former Mark McGwire lawyer in John Geer police shooting case

By Tom Jackman

In response to an inquiry from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) about the August 2013 slaying of John B. Geer by Fairfax County police, the Fairfax Board of Supervisors has hired a Washington lawyer who previously counseled baseball slugger Mark McGwire to evade Congressional questions about steroid use.

Fairfax police and prosecutors and federal prosecutors in Alexandria have all refused to say who shot an unarmed Geer in the doorway of his Springfield home or why, and no ruling has been made on whether the shooting was justifiable after nearly 15 months. On Nov. 13, Grassley sent a three-page letter to both Fairfax police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. and U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente with five questions about the case and when it might be resolved. The case was referred to federal prosecutors after five months by Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh.

Fairfax County moved quickly and hired Mark B. Bierbower of Hunton & Williams, a Richmond-based firm frequently used by Fairfax as outside counsel in various legal matters. Bierbower contacted Grassley’s office on Nov. 17 and told them he was representing the county, according to both officials in Grassley’s office and Michael Lieberman, the lawyer for Geer’s family. The family filed a civil suit against Fairfax police in September after a year without any answers in the case.

Fairfax County spokesman Tony Castrilli said he could not comment on, or even confirm, the hiring of Bierbower, or say how much county taxpayers would be paying Bierbower. Fairfax Chairman Sharon Bulova did not return a message seeking comment.

 In a photo taken by a neighbor just minutes before the shooting, John B. Geer stands in the doorway of his Springfield townhouse with his hands on the top of his storm door, with two officers aiming their service weapons at him. Soon after, one of the officers fired one shot, and Geer died. Almost 15 months later, no ruling has been made on the legality of the shooting. (Courtesy DiMuro Ginsberg)

Lieberman said Bierbower’s hiring “strikes me as an awful waste of funds in this case just to keep information from becoming known to the public, about what happened. If they’re hiring counsel to answer those five questions, I’m sure they’re not doing it to provide that information.”

Although Fairfax has its own county legal department, headed by county attorney David Bobzien, Bobzien has been involved in advising the Fairfax police on how to respond to investigative inquiries from county and federal prosecutors, several people familiar with the case said, and also must oversee the county’s response to the Geer family’s civil suit. Lawyers said either situation may have caused Bobzien to feel he had a conflict of interest in responding to Grassley.

Several people close to the Fairfax board said the supervisors are taking Grassley’s inquiry into the unsolved police shooting very seriously, and Bierbower lists two of his specialties as “Congressional oversight and investigations” on his web page. He is a former president of the Bar Association of D.C., as was his father, and the two partnered to represent Environmental Protection Agency assistant administrator Rita Lavelle as she came under intense congressional scrutiny in the 1980s. Lavelle was later prosecuted and convicted of lying to Congress.

In March 2005, Fairfax Congressman Tom Davis (R) convened a hearing into steroid use in baseball. McGwire, who had set the single season home run record in 1998, hired Bierbower and later said he wanted to testify truthfully about his steroid use during his playing days. But he was not granted immunity from criminal prosecution, Davis and Bierbower later said, and so he tried to answer questions without lying.

“My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, or myself,” McGwire said in his opening statement. In response to pointed questions, McGwire often said, “I’m not here to talk about the past…I’m here to be positive about this subject.” His testimony was not well received publicly, and he has not been admitted to the baseball Hall of Fame.

In 2010, McGwire admitted he had used steroids while playing. Bierbower then told American Lawyer Daily that “I think [Mark] deserves credit for being honest and open, and obviously the situation is different today than it was five years ago…He wanted to tell the truth then, which was quite a risk at the time. He was aware that he could be prosecuted and that his family and friends could be the subject of criminal investigations. And now he felt it was time to get this off his chest and tell the truth.”

Grassley’s office said neither the Justice Department nor Fairfax County police had yet provided any answers to the senator’s questions.

Dallas officer fired, charged for excessive force

Jason Whitely,

DALLAS – The Dallas Police Department fired Officer Jesus Martinez Monday afternoon and then charged him with official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor, for using excessive force against a panhandler.

A passerby recorded part of the incident on video showing Ofc. Martinez, 30, sitting on the handcuffed suspect, Joe Wesson, 57, who did not appear to be resisting.

"He was attacked by this guy, maced this guy, and then was blinded by his own mace and was holding on until cover arrived," Richard Todd, Fraternal Order of Police president, said.

Dallas officer fired for official oppression 2 WFAA

News 8 first reported the story in July after Wesson complained that Martinez went too far.

When the video begins, it shows Wesson already in handcuffs, apparently complying with Martinez's command, yet the policeman still sits on top of him and yanks Wesson's arm over his head several times.

"He was actually kneeing me in my back and pulled both my arms in the air like he was trying to break both of them," Wesson told News 8 in July.

"The video showed Officer Martinez using his right knee to pin the pedestrian's right elbow down while raising the pedestrian's left elbow and hand upward causing him severe pain," Dallas police said in a news release. "Officer Martinez holds the pedestrian in this position for approximately 40 seconds. At one point, Officer Martinez raised the pedestrian's left elbow until it touched the back of his head. During the video, the pedestrian could be heard screaming in pain. This continued for approximately 45 more seconds until cover officers arrived."

"I can understand disciplining him but firing him and arresting him is excessive," Todd added.

"Another independent witness observed Officer Martinez and the pedestrian exchange words and then Officer Martinez followed the pedestrian and subsequently tackled him. The witness also gave an account of the incident as described on the video and did not see any resistance," DPD's statement said. "An Internal Affairs investigation concluded that Officer Martinez used unnecessary and/or inappropriate force against a citizen."

On Monday afternoon, police charged Martinez with official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor.

"They take your badge, your gun, and your freedom because you're out doing the job they ordered you to go do," Todd continued.

The Fraternal Order of Police said Martinez has earned 17 awards and commendations since Dallas hired him in 2006.

Martinez will likely appeal his firing. The FOP said he can't do so until he settles the criminal charge against him.

Rookie cop who shot unarmed Brooklyn man was likely in breach of NYPD protocol: police source

Probationary Officer Peter Liang should have had his Glock 9-mm. pistol in its holster, unsnapped and ready to be drawn — but not in his hand, a high-ranking police source said.

BY TINA MOORE , BEN KOCHMAN , STEPHEN REX BROWN

The rookie cop who shot an unarmed Brooklyn man likely was in breach of NYPD protocol before he pulled the trigger, a police source said.

Probationary Officer Peter Liang should have had his Glock 9-mm. pistol in its holster, unsnapped and ready to be drawn — but not in his hand.

“Bad tactics,” the high-ranking police source said, adding that wasn’t Liang’s only apparent problem.

“You can teach tactics all day every day, but you can’t teach heart. If you’re scared, no tactic in the world is going to change what you do. If you don’t have heart, tactics aren’t going to matter.”

He said the officer, who joined the force last year, probably got startled when he ran into Akai Gurley, 28, in a dark stairwell of the Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn, Thursday night.

“The cop probably had his finger on the trigger and flinched,” the source said.

“He’s going to get fired.”

Meanwhile, local politicians expressed their outrage and urged NYPD reform.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams — himself a former cop — called the tragedy “a teaching moment” for the NYPD.

You can teach tactics all day every day, but you can’t teach heart.

He said he urged NYPD brass to match more rookies with vets.

He added that Liang should not be allowed to continue working as a cop, even if he is exonerated.

“I don’t believe there is an exoneration for taking away an innocent life,” Adams said.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said he had met with Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson and was confident the incident would be properly investigated.

Still, he slammed Liang.

“This death appears to me to be unprovoked, unnecessary and unjust. And the community is sick and tired of being sick and tired of these types of violence,” Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) said.

With Edgar Sandoval and Chelsia Rose Marcius

Misdemeanor DUI charges against off-duty Chicago cop accused of firing at off-duty suburban cop

Misdemeanor DUI charges have been filed against an off-duty Chicago police officer accused of firing several shots at an off-duty south suburban officer who tried to pull him over, authorities said.

The Chicago officer was driving with another off-duty officer in Merrionette Park around 4:30 p.m. Sunday when a police officer from the suburb, who also was off-duty, tried to pull them over, sources said. The Chicago officer took off and the Merrionette Park officer pursued him, the sources said.

The pursuit ended in the 1900 block of West Pryor Avenue, a block north of the Morgan Park District station where the Chicago officer works, sources said.

The Chicago officer got out of his car and went after the Merrionette Park officer, firing several shots, the sources said.  The Chicago officer was arrested by Chicago police nearby, sources said.

A statement from Police News Affairs acknowledged that "there are reports the officer discharged a weapon and that is currently under investigation.”

 “If the allegations are true, the actions and behavior demonstrated by this officer are beyond unacceptable, have absolutely no place in our department, and he will be separated from CPD,” the statement said.

The Chicago officer has been stripped of his police powers while the incident is being investigated, according to the statement.

Merrionette Park police were not available for comment.

Cop gets 9 months in jail for child sexual exploitation

OGDEN — A former Tremonton police officer was sentenced to less than a year in jail for crimes related to sexual exploitation of a child.

Jeremy Rose appeared in the 2nd District Court of Ogden for a sentencing hearing Monday after he pleaded guilty to several charges including sexual exploitation of a child, communications fraud and voyeurism in September.

Judge Scott Hadley sentenced Rose to multiple prison terms, but suspended the sentences in favor of jail and probation.

Along with 270 days of jail, Rose must complete 36 months of probation and register as a sex offender. He has been allowed work release in jail. He must also pay a $603 fine or complete 60 hours of community service.

Rose will also be allowed to be transferred from the Weber County Jail to the Northern Utah Community Correctional Center for therapy should a bed become available during his jail sentence.

A permanent stalking injunction from the victim was also filed against Rose.

Rose was arrested in June 2013 after an investigation conducted by the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

Rose had reportedly contacted a 15-year-old girl, posing as a pornographic website’s administrator and convinced her to sell him nude photos of herself, according to court documents. He was said to have paid the girl $300 and given her an iPhone..

Rose was also charged with setting up hidden cameras in the girl’s bedroom to watch her undress.

Brigham City prosecutors and 1st District Judge Ben Hadfield recused themselves from the case due to professional ties to the officer, so the case was sent to the 2nd District Court in Ogden.

Rose’s 12-year career with Tremonton police included a rotation with the Box Elder Narcotics Strike Force. He resigned from being an officer in July 2013.

Ex-Colorado sheriff’s deputy arrested in Bloomington

By Staff Reports

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — A former Colorado sheriff’s deputy indicted this week in the murder of his wife was arrested Tuesday morning in Bloomington, police officials confirm.

34-year-old Tom Fallis was arrested around 8:30 a.m. at his home on Laurelwood Drive. Neighbors say he moved in about two years ago, with his three children.

Fallis’ wife, 28-year-old Ashley, died in 2012 in Evans, Colorado, about an hour north of Denver. Officials say her death was initially ruled a suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In April, police decided to re-open the case after they learned of new evidence, including a statement from the couple’s daughter saying she’d seen her father shoot her mother.

Her family has maintained from the beginning Ashley’s death was not a suicide. At an April news conference, they said statements from key witnesses were omitted or changed from the original police report.

“We keep continuing to believe, and have always believed that at one time the truth would come forth, and that time is now,” said one of Ashley’s family members at that April press conference.

A Colorado grand jury indicted Fallis on a second-degree murder charge Monday.

The indictment states Tom and Ashley Fallis argued at a New Year’s party they hosted, saying Tom Fallis was angry Ashley was going to smoke. It states Tom Fallis then got a gun, and during a struggle, shot Ashley, then called 911 to report she had shot herself in the head.

Tom Fallis declined an interview from the Monroe County Jail Tuesday, but his lawyer released this statement:

Mr. Fallis is innocent. He deeply loves his wife and did not kill her.   It is understandable that a parent may not want to accept that their child has taken her own life. Mr. Fallis grieves every day about his wife’s suicide. The truth will come out in the courtroom, not in what a biased news source decides to report.  

The District Attorney has the absolute power to charge Mr. Fallis, but they did not. They left this difficult decision up to a grand jury who makes determinations based upon the District Attorney’s presentation of one-sided evidence. The accused is not present and cannot challenge any evidence presented.

—Iris Eytan, Attorney for Tom Fallis

Bloomington Police arrested Fallis Tuesday morning without incident, after his three children went to school.

Captain Joe Qualters with Bloomington Police Department told 24-Hour News 8 the department was aware of the situation in Colorado, and had been asked to conduct two welfare checks on the children since April by Colorado authorities.

“We did not find anything on either visit there. We were aware this individual was in our community. We really at this point have no idea what made him choose Bloomington as a place to stay once he left Colorado,” said Qualters.

Qualters says they’re not sure what job Fallis held in Bloomington. Our news partners at the Herald-Times report Fallis told a judge Tuesday he was supporting his children with his deceased wife’s Social Security death benefits meant for them.

“The parents of the young woman that died are very happy with the beginnings of justice in their mind. They have tried for three agonizing years to show their daughter did not commit suicide, but in fact was murdered by her husband,” said Colorado attorney Dan Recht, who represents Ashley’s family.

Recht said Ashley’s parents were coming to Indiana to care for the children and bring them back to Colorado.