Fairfax Co. police release more details in woman’s stun gun death

Fairfax Co. police release more details in woman’s stun gun death

By Sarah Beth Hensley

WASHINGTON — Police have released new details surrounding the death of a 37-year-old Alexandria, Virginia, woman who died after deputies used a stun gun on her while she was in custody.

On Thursday, Fairfax County police released information from the ongoing investigation into the death of Natasha McKenna. 

McKenna was in the process of being transported from the Fairfax County jail to the Alexandria city jail on Feb. 3 when deputies say she failed to comply with their commands and resisted them. Deputies used a stun gun to restrain her, and she later had a medical emergency that led to her death on Feb. 8.

In information police released Thursday, they said a Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team comprised of six deputies attempted to remove McKenna from her cell in the Fairfax County jail when she physically resisted the deputies and refused their commands.

During the struggle, a SERT member used a stun gun to restrain McKenna. Also, deputies placed a spit net on McKenna — a device designed to restrict and prevent spitting.

A nurse from the medical staff was present at the time and checked McKenna and cleared her for transport to Alexandria Detention Center, police said.

Deputies attempted to put McKenna in a medical transport chair, but she “continued to be combative,” Fairfax County police said. She was put in a restraint chair for transport to a vehicle transfer area, commonly known as a sally port.

While in the sally port, McKenna had a medical emergency. Deputies did CPR and used an automated external defibrillator while awaiting rescue personnel from the Fairfax City Fire Department.

An ambulance arrived and transported McKenna to the hospital where she was put on life support. She was taken off life support and died Feb. 8.

McKenna had been jailed since Jan. 26 on a charge of assault on a police officer.

Also, police addressed rumors that McKenna suffered an amputated finger during the incident.

“The investigation by detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department affirmed that McKenna had a pre-existing injury (missing the tip of her ring finger on her left hand), which was noted during the arrest booking on Monday, Jan. 26,” police said in a release.

Fairfax County police and the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office are working together on the investigation and say they will give more updates within the next 30 days or as soon as additional details become available.

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Police: Restraints, including hood, used along with Taser on inmate who died in custody

By MATTHEW BARAKAT  Associated Press

McLEAN, Virginia — An inmate who died in custody after a stun gun was used on her had also been in restraints that included a light hood, Fairfax County Police said Thursday.

The news release issued by police included new details and indicated Natasha McKenna, 37, of Alexandria, had previously assaulted a sheriff's deputy while incarcerated at the Fairfax County jail.

On Feb. 3, Fairfax County deputies used an emergency response team to move McKenna out of her cell ahead of her transfer to Alexandria. Police said McKenna resisted officers, who used a stun gun, a restraint chair and the hood, made of a mesh material that goes over the head with a fabric material over the nose and mouth designed to restrict and prevent spitting.

Sheriff's office procedures carefully outline instructions for use of the hood and require filing a report any time it is used. The guidelines call for continuous monitoring to ensure "the person's airway, nose and mouth are unobstructed at all times."

According to Thursday news release, the hood and restraints were removed after deputies saw she was in medical distress.

She died five days later, after being taken off life support.

McKenna was charged in Alexandria with assaulting a police officer. On Thursday, Fairfax police said McKenna had also assaulted a deputy at the Fairfax jail three days before the Feb. 3 stun gun incident.

According to police, McKenna was brought to the Fairfax jail on Jan. 26 when officers discovered her outstanding warrant for assaulting a police officer in Alexandria.

Police say they have video of the response team's efforts to remove McKenna from her cell, but they are treating the video as evidence and have no plans to release it at this time.

A lawyer for the McKenna family, Harvey Volzer, declined comment Thursday.

Va. inmate had been restrained, fitted with anti-spitting mask before death

By Justin Jouvenal February 19

The mentally ill inmate at the Fairfax County jail had previously assaulted a deputy, so when it came time to transfer Natasha McKenna to face a charge, the sheriff’s office sent in a six-person team outfitted in padded gear to remove her from her cell, police said.

McKenna, a 37-year-old Alexandria resident, refused commands and resisted the deputies on Feb. 3, touching off a struggle, police said in a statement released Thursday. The 130-pound woman was Tasered “several times” and an anti-spitting mask was placed over her face, police later said in an interview. After she was restrained, McKenna continued to resist the officers, so she was placed in a special chair that restricted her movements.

But after being cleared by a nurse for transport to Alexandria and being taken to an entryway, McKenna went into cardiac arrest and later died at a hospital.

Fairfax police released the account as part of an ongoing investigation into the incident. It is the most detailed description yet of the events that ended with McKenna’s death, but it does not say how many times she was Tasered and how she allegedly resisted deputies that morning.

“It takes six deputies to restrain a 5’3”, 37-year-old woman?” Harvey J. Volzer, an attorney for McKenna’s family, asked in an e-mail to The Washington Post. He said that McKenna had been diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 12.

“Where were persons trained to deal with prisoners with mental issues?” he asked.

The Fairfax sheriff’s office declined to answer further questions about the incident Thursday. In an e-mail, Capt. Tyler Corey said, “We are grateful for the diligence and professionalism displayed by the Police detectives as they work through their investigation.”

McKenna came to Fairfax’s attention Jan. 25 after police said she called 911, saying she had been assaulted. When a county police officer responded to the call, she gave him a report and agreed to go to a hospital for an examination. At the hospital, McKenna decided not to pursue the investigation, police said, and declined additional help from police.

Officers then discovered that McKenna had an outstanding warrant against her for assault on a law enforcement officer in Alexandria and took her into custody.

The charged stemmed from a Jan. 15 incident at a Hertz car rental agency, Alexandria police said. Employees reported that McKenna was being disruptive and acting strangely. Police arrived and McKenna was taken to local INOVA hospitals, where police obtained an involuntary detention order against her. She was eventually released. INOVA officials said patient confidentiality laws barred them from discussing why.

After learning about the incident in Alexandria, Fairfax police transported McKenna to the jail on Jan. 26. The Alexandria sheriff’s office said they notified Alexandria police three times that McKenna was ready to be transferred — the last on Feb. 2 — but that she was not picked up.

“We are still investigating why she wasn’t picked up,” said Crystal Nosal, an Alexandria police spokeswoman. Fairfax police said that McKenna assaulted a sheriff’s deputy at the jail Jan. 31.

By Feb. 2, staff at the jail had become alarmed at the deterioration in McKenna’s mental health, a person familiar with the case said.

Ron Honberg, legal director for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, said the case was particularly sad because it appeared that Alexandria police acted correctly in initially seeking treatment for McKenna before charging her. Nosal said that McKenna was charged because she had allegedly assaulted an officer.

Honberg added that many law enforcement agencies have instituted crisis intervention training for officers that focuses on defusing tensions during encounters with the mentally ill. Aggressive responses by authorities, he added, can exacerbate problems.

“Acting aggressively to someone who is already fearful and paranoid is pouring gasoline on the fire,” Honberg said.

Corey, of the Fairfax sheriff’s office, said 32 out of about 500 deputies had been through crisis intervention training and an additional 80 had received training specific to mental health issues at the county jail. All deputies receive 10 to 12 hours of basic mental health training at the academy.

Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. has promised a quick and thorough investigation and monthly updates to the public. No decision has been made about whether to file charges in McKenna’s case.

“I've been watching events around the country and locally,” Roessler said. “As a profession, we need to be more transparent.”

Senate committee kills police asset forfeiture bill

By Patrick Wilson

The Virginian-Pilot

RICHMOND

A Senate committee on Tuesday killed a bill that would prevent police from seizing assets in a criminal case unless a defendant were convicted or entered a plea agreement.

The measure (HB1287) passed the House of Delegates 92-6 earlier this month and passed the Senate Courts of Justice Committee 11-2 last week.

However, the Senate Finance Committee killed it Tuesday, and Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City County, said it would be studied by the State Crime Commission.

"I'm very disappointed," said the bill's sponsor, Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, outside the hearing room. "I think that was just an excuse to kill the bill."

Police are allowed to keep property seized from suspects in drug investigations, sometimes even if a conviction is never obtained. From 2008 to 2013, Virginia law enforcement agencies seized more than $57 million through the state civil asset forfeiture process.

Some offenses that have been added to the law recently, such as human trafficking, require a conviction in order for police to seize property, Cole said.

His bill would make the law uniform by requiring a conviction for asset forfeiture in all criminal investigations. Defendants also would have a chance to exhaust appeals before their assets were seized.

"I think it's just fundamentally wrong for the government to be able to take someone's property who has not been convicted of a crime," Cole told the committee.

"Can you give us an example? I think I understand what you're saying," said committee chairman Sen. Walter Stosch, R-Henrico County.

"Somebody could be accused of dealing drugs," Cole said. "Not even charged. But a civil proceeding could be brought against their assets without them having been convicted, and their assets could be taken."

Stosch and Norment voted to kill the bill, as did Sens. Kenny Alexander, D-Norfolk; Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach; Chuck Colgan, D-Prince William County; Janet Howell, D-Fairfax County; Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax County; John Watkins, R-Powhatan County; and Bill Carrico, R-Grayson County.

Voting for the bill were Sens. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta County; Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg; Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover County; Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier County; and Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenburg County.

Police and prosecutors opposed the bill, while several conservative and liberal groups backed it. A letter in support of the bill on Monday was signed by Claire Guthrie Gastanaga of the Virginia American Civil Liberties Union, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and two officials with the Institute for Justice, a civil liberties law firm.

John Geer shooting

Fairfax prosecutor resumes probe in police killing of John Geer in 2013

By Tom Jackman

The Fairfax County prosecutor is resuming his investigation into the Fairfax police department’s shooting of John Geer in 2013, obtaining the documents that police refused to give him 15 months ago and preparing to make a decision on whether to charge the officer involved, the prosecutor said Saturday.

In his first public comments on the case since transferring it to federal prosecutors in January 2014, Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh strongly criticized Fairfax County attorneys for what he characterized as obstructing the investigation into the Geer shooting.

“Protecting the county coffers” in anticipation of a civil lawsuit, Morrogh said, “can’t be a factor in a criminal investigation.”

County officials said Saturday that they did not have a protocol in place for handling requests from the prosecutor’s office for internal affairs files at the time Morrogh requested the documents and that a protocol has since been developed.

Morrogh also provided his first detailed explanation of why he sought the internal affairs files of Officer Adam D. Torres, who fatally shot Geer — who was unarmed — while the man stood in the doorway of his Springfield home on Aug. 29, 2013. Morrogh also discussed why he then transferred the case to federal prosecutors when Fairfax police refused to cooperate.

Letters released Friday night by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) showed that the Fairfax police provided Torres’s internal affairs files earlier Friday and that Morrogh had hired an outside prosecutor to screen the files to ensure that he did not receive any protected material. Morrogh said Saturday that he enlisted Fauquier County Commonwealth’s Attorney James P. Fisher, who obtained a murder indictment against a Culpeper County police officer in 2012, to review the files.

The Justice Department, which is considering whether to file civil rights charges against Torres, said in a letter Friday that it did not object to Morrogh “conducting a concurrent investigation.” The letter from Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik did not indicate when Justice might rule on Torres’s case, and Morrogh said he also did not know what the department’s timeline might be.

Morrogh said he planned to wait to see if federal prosecutors decide to charge Torres before acting. But “in the event they don’t charge him, I’m going to have to do something,” Morrogh said. “I’m going to have to be ready.”

Also Friday, Fairfax police turned over the Torres internal affairs files to the attorneys for Geer’s family, as ordered by a Fairfax judge in the family’s civil suit against Fairfax chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows required police to provide the internal files of both their ongoing Geer investigation and of a 2013 incident in which Torres had an angry exchange with a Fairfax prosecutor outside traffic court.

The Geer family’s attorneys declined to comment Saturday.

Bellows’s order opened the door for Morrogh to request the same files, information he had originally sought in November 2013 while trying to decide whether to charge Torres with a crime. Torres told investigators in September 2013 that he fired one shot into Geer’s chest after a 42-minute standoff because Geer quickly jerked his hands from above his head to his waist, police documents released last month show. Four other officers, plus Geer’s father and best friend, all said Geer’s hands were near his head when Torres suddenly fired, their statements show.

Presented with this information by Fairfax homicide detectives, Morrogh turned to the police internal affairs bureau for background on Torres.

“I wanted to know the history of this guy, with respect to what kind of evidence is out there,” Morrogh said. “We’ve been investigating police shootings the same way all the time. In so many, it’s necessary to know the background [of the officer], and they’ve given it to me. In this case, they did not.”

Morrogh said he met with Roessler and an internal affairs captain in November 2013 and was surprised to see three Fairfax County attorneys enter the meeting.

He said the county attorneys told him they would not provide Torres’s internal affairs files in any of his cases, in part because of the “Garrity” ruling that compelled statements given by officers cannot be used against them in criminal cases. Morrogh said he would take steps to ensure that didn’t happen, but he said the attorneys told him to subpoena the files.

Morrogh said he knew, though, that Virginia Supreme Court rules, attorney general opinions and case law all state that a grand jury may only subpoena documents from a person or agency who is “not a party to the action,” thereby excluding specific defendants or their government agency.

The prosecutor said the county attorneys told him if he subpoenaed Torres’s records, they would fight the subpoena, and Morrogh knew they likely would win. Morrogh said Roessler deferred to the county attorneys’ advice on the matter.

“It was unprecedented when this occurred and put a lot of obstruction in this investigation,” Morrogh said. “You’ve got a police department that’s investigating itself, and they’re fighting the prosecutor? How’s that going to look to the public?” He said he, and the police, were tasked with seeking justice in the case and that concern about a possible lawsuit “should be the furthest thing from anyone’s mind in a criminal investigation.”

Morrogh then found that federal subpoena rules were different, asked the U.S. attorney in Alexandria if he would take on the case, and in January 2014 shifted the case there.

Fairfax County Attorney David Bobzien said Saturday that in 2013, “the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office and the Police Department did not have a protocol in place for handling requests by the Commonwealth’s Attorney for an officer’s [internal affairs] files.” He said both sides recognized that internal affairs investigations “are legally protected,” that a police officer’s internal affairs statements cannot be used against him in a criminal case and that a protocol for prosecution requests has now been developed. But Morrogh said the police had previously provided such files without incident.

In Roessler’s letter to Grassley, the chief stated that he “had a general awareness soon after the Geer incident that Officers Torres and [Rodney] Barnes had different accounts of Mr. Geer’s actions.” But Roessler said that because he must rule on any internal discipline for Torres, he has not read the officers’ statements or other investigative materials, though the county has posted them on the Internet.

Grassley also asked Roessler how often he briefed the Board of Supervisors and what he told them. Roessler responded only that he first met with the board in September 2013, and again “in other sessions” in 2013 and 2014, but he declined to specify what information he provided them.

Tom Jackman is a native of Northern Virginia and has been covering the region for The Post since 1998.

Fairfax County Creates Panel to Review Police Procedures

FAIRFAX, Va. — Fairfax County officials are creating a commission to review police department policies after an officer shot an unarmed man and investigative documents were kept secret for 17 months.

County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova announced the creation of the new commission Friday. The panel will include law enforcement personnel, citizens and scholars.

Bulova says the commission’s review is part of an effort by county supervisors to take a “hard look” at how police inform the public about major incidents. The commission will recommend changes to Fairfax policies to improve transparency around police-involved incidents.

The proposal for a commission comes after criticism of the slow pace of an investigation into the 2013 shooting of an unarmed man, John Greer, by an officer. Federal authorities are now handling that case.

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In Fairfax, Va., a different, no-less-scary police shooting

18 months ago John Geer was shot by police while standing at his front door with his hands raised

By Neil Macdonald, CBC News

Senior Washington Correspondent

Neil Macdonald is the senior Washington correspondent for CBC News, which he joined in 1988 following 12 years in newspapers. Before taking up this post in 2003, Macdonald reported from the Middle East for five years. He speaks English and French fluently, and some Arabic.

White privilege didn't protect John Geer.

That's not to say he didn't have it. As a middle-class kitchen designer living in the pleasant Washington suburb of Fairfax, Va., he had nothing whatsoever in common with the impoverished black men killed by police in Missouri and Brooklyn last year.

Those deaths triggered riots, marches and demonstrations across America, and interventions by the White House.

But Geer, pierced 18 months ago by a police bullet as he stood inside the screen door of his own home, his hands raised, begging not to be shot, simply disappeared into the emotional mixing bowl of American news and political priorities.

That should not have happened. The killing of John Geer is probably the clearest and most compelling example of what amounts to police impunity in recent American history.

He committed no crime the day he was killed. Even the officer who shot him acknowledges that. There was no struggle. The details are not murky.

But because no one was marching in the streets on behalf of John Geer, because he was absent from national headlines, the system was able to make his outrageous death go away by the simple expedient of doing nothing and refusing to discuss it.

Here are the facts:

In August 2013, Geer's common law wife, who was breaking up with him and moving out, called police to report he was angrily throwing her possessions onto his front lawn.

Asked whether Geer had weapons, the woman answered yes, but they were legally owned and secured. No, he hadn't been drinking.

John Geer, 46, was fatally shot by police in August 2013 in an unusual confrontation for which no charges have been laid. His family has launched a suit for wrongful death. (Jeff Stewart / Washington Post)

Two squad cars — four officers —  initially responded. Geer, on seeing them, retreated into his home, refusing to answer questions.

A few minutes later, Officer Rodney Barnes, a trained police negotiator, arrived, and as the four other policemen stood close behind him with weapons drawn, he began trying to coax John Geer out onto the porch.

Barnes would later recall that Geer was polite, but reluctant to leave his home, saying repeatedly he was frightened of being killed.

He said "I don't want anybody to get hurt," the negotiator told investigators a few months later. "I don't want to get shot."

'I know I can get shot'

Barnes asked Geer if he owned a pistol. Geer said yes, and fetched it. He held it up, holstered, for Barnes to see and set it aside, raising his hands again. He offered to let Barnes come into the house and retrieve the weapon.

He asked for permission to scratch his nose, Barnes said, and did it slowly, then raised his hands again. He asked to reach into his pocket for his phone; Barnes asked him not to, and he obeyed.

"He said 'I know if I reach down or drop my hands I can get shot," Barnes told detectives later. "I said, hey, nobody's going to shoot you…"

But Geer pointed to one nearby officer in particular: Adam Torres, who kept raising his Sig Sauer pistol from the "ready" position (pointed at Geer's legs) to aim at Geer's chest.

Please ask him not to point his gun at me, Geer begged Barnes. Geer even offered to come out and be handcuffed voluntarily if Torres and the other patrolmen would agree to move "way back."

Then he asked to scratch his nose again. Barnes consented. And Torres fired.

Geer, grabbing his wound, screamed in pain and stepped back, slamming his door.

"And I'm like, who the fuck shot?" Barnes told detectives later. "I kinda got a little pissed."

Torres acknowledged it had been him, and began muttering how he was sorry, and that his wrist was hurting. Then, unbidden, he told Barnes how he'd had a fight over the phone with his wife just before arriving on the scene.

Everyone else is wrong

Asked by Barnes why he'd fired, Torres said Geer had dropped his hands to his waist suddenly, that he appeared to be going for a weapon.

"I said I didn't see that," said Barnes later. "You know, and I never took my eye off him (Geer)."

In this cellphone video, Fairfax County police stand outside John Geer's home after he had been shot by an officer and fell back into the house. The officer at left is said to be Rodney Barnes, the main negotiator. By the time police tactical forces arrived to enter the home, Geer had bled to death. (CBS)

The other three officers who'd been present told investigators the same thing. So did two civilian witnesses.

But prosecutors and police commanders and county officials buried the case.

Fairfax County's top prosecutor declared a conflict of interest and referred the shooting to federal authorities.

The police department stonewalled reporters.

Federal investigators did investigate, and have reported to the U.S. attorney in Virginia, who has done nothing.

And all this was done under a cloak of secrecy, until, earlier this month, a judge finally ordered disclosure of nearly 11,000 documents, containing interviews with nearly everyone involved.

Torres, it turns out, stuck to his story that the other four officers were wrong.

Does he regret having shot Geer? "I don't feel sorry for shooting the guy at all."

Why did he tell Barnes immediately afterward he was sorry? He was concerned about having upset Barnes by shooting, he said.

Why did he talk about his wrist hurting? He doesn't remember. Why did he immediately say he'd just had a fight with his wife? "I don't know why."

Under the radar

The judge's disclosure order has created a bizarre situation: Nearly all the available evidence, including audio of the witness statements, is now available on the Fairfax County website.

According to those official documents, the shooter — a cop with significant anger issues (he once screamed and cursed at prosecutors in open court) — is contradicted by four fellow officers and two civilian witnesses. That sort of rank-breaking is practically unheard of.

And yet there has been no judicial action, and almost no public uproar. Most politicians have remained silent. Those who have marched against police shootings in the past have been largely uninterested.

A protest at Fairfax police headquarters drew a couple of dozen people. Only the Washington Post has taken a serious interest in the case.

But the killing of John Geer should frighten everyone. It is the best example yet that while police often target minorities disproportionately, their basic and overriding demand is total and unquestioning submission to their authority.

Resist, however peacefully and even in your own home, and heaven help you, no matter what your skin colour.

St. Louis officer under fire for turning off dashcam video during arrest

Video: St. Louis Cop Turns Off Dash Cam as Officers Kick Driver

In Missouri, a St. Louis police officer has been suspended after turning off a dashboard camera as her colleagues were kicking and tasing an African-American man during a traffic stop. Cortez Bufford has filed suit against police over the April arrest. Video shows police dragging Bufford from the car, then kicking and tasing him. At one point he shouts, "I can’t move." Then, using the slang term "red," to mean the dashboard camera is rolling, Officer Kelli Swinton tells her colleagues to wait while she turns it off.

Kelli Swinton: "Hold up! Hold up, y’all! Hold up! Hold up! Everybody hold up. We’re red right now, so if you guys are worried about cameras, just wait."

The video then abruptly stops. Police, who had received a call about shots fired in the area, accused Bufford of speeding, making an illegal U-turn and abruptly parking. They say an officer kicked him to prevent him from reaching for a gun, which they say they found in his pocket. But all charges against Bufford were dropped after the prosecutor saw the footage. Police Chief Sam Dotson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he does not believe the officers did anything wrong. In addition to Swinton, he suspended a sergeant who was supervising the scene — for one day.

Man sues police for turning off dashcam during arrest

Technically Incorrect: In St. Louis, the use of cameras offers another controversy. A man claims police tried to cover up alleged rough treatment as they arrested him.

by Chris Matyszczyk

We're all filming each other, a habit that can come in very useful when we encounter officers of the law.

Especially if they insist that the frisbee in our car is a sure sign that we're a pot smoker.

It's not, though, as if injustice only flies in one direction. The police, too, are increasingly using cameras to prove their side of incidents. Recently, police in Arizona released chilling bodycam footage of an incident in which an officer died to show the everyday perils of their job.

The use of cameras, though, remains imperfect. It remains open to abuse. In St. Louis, for example, a man who was arrested is reportedly suing the local police force because footage seems to show the police deliberately turning off their dashcam after they had manhandled him to the ground.

As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, video from the scene -- the dashcam wasn't the only camera rolling -- has the audio of a female officer saying: "Hold up, everybody, hold up. We're red right now so if you guys are worried about cameras just wait."

The phrase "red right now" is said to refer to the light signal of a camera rolling. The Dispatch identified the officer as Kelli Swinton. KTVI-TV identified Swinton as having been named Officer of the Year in 2013.

The arrest of Cortez Bufford happened last April. His vehicle was stopped, as it was allegedly speeding and performed an illegal u-turn, as well as having some vague resemblance to a car identified as being connected to a shooting.

What ensued was police allegedly smelling marijuana in Bufford's car, his alleged refusal to get out of it, the police's allegedly observing a gun in his pocket and a forcible removal of Bufford from his car, after which he was allegedly assaulted. Police also used their Taser on him.

Bufford's lawyer says that excessive force was used on his client. Moreover, he told KTVI: "The probable cause statement was simply made up." He added: "Our client wasn't speeding, he didn't make an illegal U-turn and he didn't abruptly pull to the curb. Those are all figments of the officer's imagination."

The video that does exist appears to show the police kicking Bufford. Police say they found a 9mm gun on Bufford and live rounds, as well as marijuana.

Oddly, the criminal case against Bufford was dropped last August. The original incident report accused him of "assault of a law enforcement officer (intimidation)," as well as unlawful use of a weapon and marijuana possession.

A spokeswoman for the Circuit Attorney's office told the Dispatch that the case was dropped because "the action of turning off the dashcam video diminished the evidentiary merits of the case."

One can imagine that, in an instance where an officer was seen allegedly trying to influence the evidence that might be presented, any other evidence presented might have a slight odor to it.

I contacted the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to ask for its reaction to the fact that the case was dropped and to wonder just what discipline Swinton might have been recommended for. I was referred to the office of the mayor.

City Counselor Winston Calvert told me: "The officers were confronted with an individual who refused to comply with police officers, and was reaching for a semi-automatic gun. In these circumstances, the officers acted with appropriate force in making the arrest. The officers did what was necessary to protect themselves and to protect the public from a man who was kicking, punching, and reaching for a gun."

However, he added: "The Police Department's policy required that the officers leave the dash camera on. An Internal Affairs Investigation found that an officer violated that policy and should be disciplined. The officer is currently appealing the discipline."

Dashcam units used by the St. Louis Police Department have a 90-second post-event buffer. This means they (should) continue to record after the stop button has been pushed. However, lawyers for the officers contend that nothing more happened than the action visible on the video.

The case brings up many facets regarding the use of cameras in law enforcement.

It took a long time for this footage to even emerge. Some police forces believe that such footage isn't necessarily public property, as there may be privacy issues involved with respect to those who are featured in videos. Moreover, KTVI reported that the Missouri Attorney General, Chris Koster, is in favor of ensuring that all bodycam and in-car camera footage be kept from public eyes.

As more and more footage is taken, who will be tasked with keeping it all anyway?

This case, though, highlights the possibility of subterfuge. If footage appears to be incomplete, will there be a natural assumption that an officer tampered with it? Very probably.

What's interesting in Swinton's alleged actions here is the sheer normality with which she suggests turning off the camera. It sounds like something that might, just might, have happened before once or twice. She doesn't even seem concerned that her words may be themselves recorded.

Why is it that she might think that the other officers were worried about cameras? Why, if she had any doubt at all, did she still go ahead and turn the camera off?

When it comes to technology, there is always someone who is at its controls. The question is, who should be?

St. Louis officer under fire for turning off dashcam video during arrest

By AnneClaire Stapleton, Sonia Moghe and Dana Ford, CNN

•           Police say Cortez Bufford refused to get out of his car as ordered

•           Another dashcam video shows officers kicking Bufford as he's on the ground

•           Bufford had a loaded handgun in his pants, police say

(CNN)A St. Louis man has filed a lawsuit alleging excessive force in a case that involves an officer turning off a dashcam that was recording the man's arrest.

At one point in the video from the dashcam, a female officer can be heard saying: "Hold up, everybody, hold up. We're red right now so if you guys are worried about cameras just wait."

The phrase "we're red right now" indicates that a camera is recording.

A second dashcam continued to record.

Video of the April arrest shows officers stopping a vehicle being driven by Cortez Bufford, whose car roughly matched the description of one possibly involved in an area shooting.

As officers approached the vehicle, they ordered Bufford and his passenger to show their hands. They did.

According to the police report, one officer smelled marijuana and saw what looked to be plastic baggies full of a leafy green substance.

The passenger was ordered from the vehicle, and he was handcuffed without incident.

Bufford was also ordered to exit the vehicle, but he refused and became increasingly agitated, according to the report. He was then removed.

While officers attempted to place him in handcuffs, one saw the handle of a handgun sticking out of Bufford's right front pocket. According to the report, Bufford was seen reaching for the weapon.

The video then shows officers kicking Bufford while he is on the ground. According to his suit, Bufford suffered abrasions to his fingers, face, back, head, ears and neck. He was handcuffed after an officer used a Taser on him.

A loaded handgun was later removed from Bufford's pocket.

An attorney representing the city and the police department defended the officers' actions in the arrest, while condemning the officer who turned off the dashcam, which is against department policy.

"The officers were not acting out of line at any time during the arrest. The person involved in this altercation had a semi-automatic gun, and the officers were protecting themselves and the public. They did what had to be done to protect themselves," Winston Calvert told CNN.

He said the use of force and the dashcam issues are separate. The officer who shut off the dashcam video was referred to an internal affairs department, Calvert said.

"The city's Police Department has a policy on the use of dash cameras and other cameras, and the Police Department special order says the cameras should be left on until the event is concluded. When we saw that an officer had violated that policy, it was very disappointing," he said. "The internal affairs recommended discipline for the officer, which is what happened."

Because the case is still open to appeal, Calvert declined to say what the punishment was. He said the officer, who he identified as Kelli Swinton, remains on the job while her appeal is underway. A call to the officer's lawyer was not returned.

Attorney Joel Schwartz, who represents Bufford, is urging reform.

All of the charges against his client have been dismissed. According to a statement from St. Louis prosecutor Jennifer M. Joyce, the "action of turning off the dash camera video diminished the evidentiary merits of the case."

"I don't think an officer on the scene should have the capability to stop the camera from rolling. Otherwise it defeats the entire purpose of having body cameras and/or dashcams," Schwartz said.

CNN's Alina Machado contributed to this report.

St. Louis police officer warns cops to turn off camera during controversial arrest

A St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer calls out, 'Hold up. Hold up, y'all. Hold up. Hold up, everybody, hold up. We're red right now, so if you guys are worried about cameras, just wait,' just before camera gets turned off in new video released as part of an excessive force lawsuit filed by lawyers for Cortez Bufford.

BY TOBIAS SALINGER

New police footage catches St. Louis cops hurriedly switch off a dashboard camera recording a violent 2014 arrest that ended with the man racking up thousands of dollars in medical bills, according to an excessive force lawsuit.

Lawyers for Cortez Bufford, 18, went public with the video of officers kicking and tasering Bufford, who cops say was reaching for a loaded gun later recovered by cops.

But after several police officers had Bufford subdued, officer Kelli Swinton warned the group that it was all caught on tape.

"Hold up. Hold up, y'all. Hold up. Hold up, everybody, hold up,” Swinton says in the video, obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We're red right now, so if you guys are worried about cameras, just wait."

The video ends seconds later.

New police footage catches St. Louis cops hurriedly switch off a dashboard camera recording a violent 2014 arrest that ended with the man racking up thousands of dollars in medical bills, according to an excessive force lawsuit.

Lawyers for Cortez Bufford, 18, went public with the video of officers kicking and tasering Bufford, who cops say was reaching for a loaded gun later recovered by cops.

But after several police officers had Bufford subdued, officer Kelli Swinton warned the group that it was all caught on tape.

"Hold up. Hold up, y'all. Hold up. Hold up, everybody, hold up,” Swinton says in the video, obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We're red right now, so if you guys are worried about cameras, just wait."

The video ends seconds later.

Austin police review allegation of police brutality on Sixth Street

By Chris Sadeghi

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A YouTube video showing Austin police officers detaining a man downtown has prompted two different reviews for two different officers regarding two different policies.

The video description said the incident took place around 2 a.m. Sunday on Sixth Street. The photographer appears to be walking behind four mounted patrol officers when an officer on foot is seen throwing a man to the ground.

Prior to things getting physical, it appears one of the mounted patrol officers gestures to try and get the man to back away from the horse. Immediately afterward, it looks like the man walks behind the horse moments before the officer grabs and tosses him. That officer initially points for the man to leave the area, but places him in handcuffs with the help of other officers moments later.

APD said they will review the incident with the officer’s Chain of Command to determine if the “response to resistance” was appropriate and within policy.

However, the photographer is heard saying the name and badge number for the officer involved in the physical altercation. A few moments later he asks another responding officer for their name and badge number. The officer responds, “Get a life, dude. Get a life.”

APD policy states officers will provide name and employee number whenever it is requested and that part of the incident will also be reviewed.

Daytona Beach police officer accused of groping woman under arrest, cops say

Officer fired, arrested on battery, false imprisonment, misconduct charges

Author: Sheli Muniz,

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -

Daytona Beach police say an officer has been arrested on accusations of groping a woman he was arresting.

Police say the woman was arrested in a hit-and-run crash but instead of taking her to jail, Officer Larry Jones, 22, touched the woman inappropriately in an incident last week.

The woman told police Jones pulled his patrol car over to adjust her handcuffs because they were hurting her. Police said Jones then told the woman he needed to search her again, put his hand under her shirt and touched her breast.

According to police, Jones also rubbed the woman's leg and groin, pulled down her pants and underwear away from her body and shined his flashlight down her pants.

The department's spokesperson, Jimmie Flynt, said Jones' GPS showed they stopped.

They also said there have been inconsistencies in Jones' story, but Flynt said, "She has not waivered with what she says happened from the day she made these allegations to when they interviewed her maybe three or four days ago."

Jones was on the police force for less than a year. He is now on unpaid leave facing charges of battery, felony false imprisonment and official misconduct.

Jones was booked at the Volusia County Jail on $7,500 bond and bonded out Tuesday evening.

Orlando police officer charged with battery fired

By John W. Davis, Reporter

An Orlando police officer charged with battery and perjury has now been fired from the department.

Officer William Escobar was charged with battery and perjury stemming from an incident that happened last March. He's accused of kicking and punching a man he was arresting and then lying about it.

Cell phone video taken by Refus Holloway's sister shows Escobar allegedly kicking and punching Holloway. Hollaway’s battery against an officer and resisting arrest charges related to this incident were eventually dropped.

Chief John Mina said Escobar violated several department policies, including excessive force and filing false reports.

"The Orlando Police Department takes all allegations of excessive force very seriously. And these matters are thoroughly investigated," Mina said. "The actions of officer Escobar that night do not reflect the overall actions performance and behavior of OPD or our committment and dedication to keeping this community safe."

Charges were announced against Escobar back in January. A trial is set for May 4.