City
cop pleads guilty to assault charges
A Russellville police officer
accused of having inappropriate relations with city inmates pleaded guilty to
assault charges on June 27, officials said.
Jeremy Shane Hall, 35, 1372
Franklin 89, Phil Campbell, pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree
assault and was sentenced to six months on each count to run concurrently but
suspended for two years based on good behavior.
As a condition of the sentence,
Hall will also have to surrender his certification to be a police officer and
is barred from ever being a police officer in the state of Alabama.
Retired prosecutor Gary
Alverson from Colbert County handled the case for Franklin County District
Attorney Joey Rushing, who recused from the case.
Alverson said he believed the
plea was good considering the circumstances.
“I’m not thrilled with having
to resolve the case this way, but in a circumstance like this where there is a
civil suit and a criminal case occurring at the same time, it makes the case
more difficult,” Alverson said.
“We obtained depositions from
the civil suit that was filed by some of the alleged victims, and there were
substantial inconsistencies from some of the witnesses in their statements.
“In a criminal case, especially
one where a more definitive statement has been given, the facts have to match
up, so we felt it would be best to resolve the case.”
According to records, Hall was
originally arrested on March 25, 2011, for three counts of custodial sexual
misconduct following an investigation by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.
The investigation was promoted
after Police Chief Chris Hargett received a complaint from a female inmate at
the city jail who alleged Hall touched her inappropriately.
After other women came forward
alleging Hall had also had inappropriate relationships with them as well, Hall
was indicted on seven counts of custodial sexual misconduct by the September
2011 grand jury and was terminated from his position as a city police sergeant
by the Russellville City Council that same month.
According to witness testimony
at Hall’s preliminary hearing at the end of June 2011, ABI criminal
investigator Cpl. Brian Faulkner said the first female inmate accused Hall of
making her perform a strip search when he let her out to get a snack at the
snack machine inside the police department.
Faulkner confirmed that he had
received other complaints during the course of the investigation from women who
said Hall had inappropriate interactions with them while they were housed at
the city jail.
Testimony during the hearing
also revealed that Hall was accused of offering female inmates privileges and
an “easier time in jail” in exchange for sexual favors.
In addition to the criminal
charges, a notice of claim was filed in March 2011 with the city of
Russellville by four former inmates who intend to sue the city based on events
involving Hall that allegedly took place inside the city jail.
City attorney Danny McDowell
said the civil suit had also been resolved.
McDowell said the settlement
figures could not be disclosed, but the city’s insurance company did pay a
nominal fee to settle the case with the city paying a small deductible cost.
“We didn’t believe there was
any merit to the claims made against the city or city employees, but sometimes
you have to look at the situation from an economic standpoint,” McDowell said.
“We had to do what would be in
the best economic interest of the city and a settlement was the best option.”
W-B
police officer accused of brutality returns to job
A suspended Wilkes-Barre police
officer is back on the job after being investigated for using a Taser on a
suspect in the back of a patrol car earlier this year, city officials confirmed
Monday.
Ken Jones, 37, who was
suspended with pay year while under investigation by state police for what city
officials deemed an "alleged excessive force incident," has returned
to full duty, city Municipal Affairs Manager Drew McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin declined to comment
on the findings of the investigation, which did not lead to criminal charges.
He said he could not disclose whether Jones was subjected to internal
disciplinary action as a result of the probe.
Dennis Fisher, a spokesman for
state Attorney General Kathleen Kane, also declined comment, saying the
agency's policy is to neither confirm nor deny any investigation.
Luzerne County District
Attorney Stefanie Salavantis referred the case to state police for
investigation, citing a potential conflict of interest because of the close
working relationship between her office and city police.
The man who accused Jones of
using excessive force, Matthew Phillips, 32, of 148 S. Maple Ave., Kingston, was
cited with harassment, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness in February in
connection with an incident at the Hardware Bar, 12 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre.
According to court records, a
drunken Phillips took a swing at a bouncer, Curtis Mathis, and fought with
officers. Jones alleged in a citation that Phillips, "engaged in fighting
at Hardware Bar, made unreasonable noise, obscene language and created a
hazardously physical offensive condition."
Phillips is scheduled for trial
July 15 in Luzerne County Court.
Jones was cited while on leave
for harassment, a low-level, summary offense, in an unrelated scuffle with his
father-in-law on March 23. The charge was withdrawn on April 8, according to
court records.
Report
details East Haven police misconduct
EAST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — An
East Haven police internal investigation has found police officers abused their
power in investigating a misdemeanor purse snatching from an officer's mother.
The report, obtained by the New
Haven Register (http://bit.ly/1bbNAKX ) through a freedom of information
request, found problems with the conduct of five officers during the Jan. 17
incident.
The report says police pursued
a pregnant woman they believed might have knowledge of the purse snatching into
New Haven where her car collided with a cruiser. It says the officers
improperly interrogated her and illegally seized items, including her purse,
from her car before releasing her in a strange neighborhood with no way to get
home.
The investigation into the
incident is ongoing, and none of those involved has been placed on leave.
Lawnside
police officer charged with misconduct
A Lawnside police lieutenant
was charged Tuesday with official misconduct after he allegedly failed to
notify authorities of a suspect's confession
about his role in a Salem County
homicide, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said.
Lloyd Lewis, 44, the highest-
ranking member of department, also was charged with tampering with evidence and
public records.
The accusation stems from an
alleged exchange five years ago between
Lewis and Lee Williams Jr., who was then wanted in connection with the homicide.
Reached Tuesday evening, Lewis,
a 23-year law enforcement veteran, declined to comment about the charges. His
attorney, Jeffrey C. Garrigan of Jersey City, could not be reached.
Authorities said that on Aug.
20, 2008, Lewis was contacted by a longtime friend who was related to Williams.
The friend asked Lewis to help facilitate Williams' surrender.
Williams and Lewis waited for
Salem County investigators at the Lawnside Police Department.
The Prosecutor's Office said:
"In that time, Lewis claimed Williams insisted on making a
statement."
Lewis allegedly read Williams
his Miranda rights and took the statement with audio and video equipment.
Williams acknowledged being an accomplice in the homicide, authorities said.
Lewis then wrote a report on
the incident that failed to mention Williams' statement, the Prosecutor's
Office said.
Lewis also never told Salem
County authorities about the statement and failed to preserve a recording of
it, authorities said.
Police videos in Lawnside are
saved 45 days before being copied over, and Lewis made no attempt to preserve
the confession, authorities said.
Authorities last night did not
disclose the name of the homicide victim or whether Williams had been tried in
the case.
Torrance police deny misconduct in mistaken
identity shooting during Dorner manhunt
LOS ANGELES — The city of
Torrance has filed documents denying misconduct by police officers who shot at
a white surfer during a manhunt for a rogue Los Angeles former officer.
Attorneys for the city asked for
a trial in the damage lawsuit brought by David Perdue who was on his way to
pick up a friend to go surfing when he was stopped by officers looking for
Dorner. He says police rammed his pickup truck, deploying air bags, then shot
into the driver's window with bullets whizzing past Perdue's head. The
38-year-old man says he was held on the ground with a gun to his head.
Mediation efforts between
Purdue and the city failed, and Torrance filed a 34-page answer to his federal
suit Friday saying the officers acted lawfully and used only reasonable force.
They also argued that public employees "are immune from liability for
discharging their mandatory duties with reasonable diligence."
"Defendants are immune
from liability under the Federal Civil Rights Act because they acted in good
faith with an honest and reasonable belief that their actions were necessary
and appropriate," the city said in its filing.
Authorities say Dorner killed
four people, including two law enforcement officers, during a weeklong rampage
that involved a massive manhunt and ended with his apparent suicide in a
mountain cabin following a gunbattle with police.
He was still at large when
police stopped Perdue. Authorities believed Dorner was driving a pickup,
although it was a different make and color than Perdue's truck.
Perdue is claiming he suffered
head and spinal injuries and lost his job as an LAX baggage handler because of
the incident. According to his lawyers, he remains unable to work. His speech
and his gait are impaired and he requires regular medical attention. Once a
gifted athlete, he now has difficulty even playing with his two small children,
they said.
The Perdue shooting was not the
only case of mistaken identity on Feb. 7. Two women delivering newspapers in
Torrance were also shot at by Los Angeles police officers; the city reached a
$4.2 million settlement with the women in April in addition to the $40,000
settlement for the loss of their pickup truck.
Report:
Two N.J. men use surveillance video to support police brutality allegations
(CBS/AP) PATERSON, N.J. - Two
northern New Jersey men are reportedly using footage from a surveillance camera
to help support their allegations of police brutality in 2011. Alexis Aponte
and Miguel Rivera claim that Paterson police used undue force against them when
they were arrested, according to CBS New York.
The video appears to show
Aponte being kicked by Paterson officers and then dragged down the street
during a 2011 arrest.
A federal lawsuit filed Friday
in Newark claims Aponte, of Paterson, and Rivera, of Prospect Park, were beaten
while on the ground handcuffed. Aponte was a passenger in a truck driven by
Rivera when police stopped them.
Their attorney, Darren Del
Sardo, says the video was from a camera outside the Rivera family's home. It
mostly captured what happened on the passenger side.
The lawsuit names Paterson
police and specific officers.
The suit claims authorities
punched and kicked Aponte and Rivera, nearly knocking them unconscious. It also
claims that neither man resisted arrest and that officers took their money,
jewelry and other personal items that were never returned.
Police declined to comment,
saying the case has been referred to the Passaic County prosecutor.
Aponte and Rivera allegedly got
into a fight with off-duty police officers at a sports bar hours before they
were arrested, reported the station.
Aponte is currently in prison
for charges related to a weapon he was carrying during the altercation at the
sports bar.
Police
Officer Charged With Burglary
A former Lexington police
officer has been arrested on a warrant charging him with burglary, criminal
trespass and official misconduct.
Lexington radio station KRVN-FM
reports that 49-year-old Terrance Smith was arrested at his home Wednesday. His
bond was set at $500. The case was investigated by Nebraska State Patrol and is
being prosecuted by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office.
Smith is accused of entering
Landmark Implement near Lexington after business hours on May 19, while on duty
and without a law enforcement purpose. Landmark is just outside of the
Lexington patrol jurisdiction. Landmark officials reported Smith's actions to
the police department on June 7, and Smith was fired three days later.
A public phone listing for
Smith could not be found.
