Officer Sues Police Dept.

An Atlantic City Police Officer claims he received a death threat after he complained about police misconduct to his superiors. Sergeant Mark Benjamin is now suing the department, which is already dealing with several allegations of police brutality.

Two separate lawsuits accuse Atlantic City police officers of using excessive force while arresting unarmed people. Sergeant Mark Benjamin, a 16-year veteran with the department, says he’s witnessed his share of misconduct as well as an officer releasing a K-9 on a person without reason.

“The technical term may be a whistleblower,” Benjamin said. “But I’m just a good cop and upstanding citizen reporting misconduct.”

Shortly after making the report however, Benjamin claims he himself became a victim. In 2012, he filed a lawsuit against the department stating he was the target of racial discrimination and retaliation after he spoke out. The suit claimed there was “criminal activity by members of the police department.”

“It was like the masses turned against me,” Benjamin said. “I reported things in reference to police misconduct and with that came the hostilities.”

Benjamin says he now fears for his life after a friend told him a hit was made against him.

“When I inquired what he meant by a hit, the individual specifically said I was being videotaped and that I better watch my back,” Benjamin said. “I took that as a threat. Just as he said, a hit means a hit.”

Benjamin says he reported the alleged threat to his superiors. After an investigation however, he was later told there was insufficient evidence to support it. NBC10 contacted a top police official who claimed he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit or the alleged threat. Court records show the Department has denied any wrongdoing however.

Benjamin says he already knows how other officers will respond when they hear about his allegations.

“They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” he said. “They’re going to say I went against the blue code. They’re going to say I’m a rat. They’re going to say they have a lack of respect for me.”

The police department and Atlantic City have denied any wrongdoing and are trying to get the lawsuit dismissed. Benjamin however continues to argue that his case should go to trial. 
  

Los Angeles Police Misconduct Lawyers Settle LAPD Civil Rights Case Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1596766#ixzz2lSvMdB7z

November 19, 2013

The Layfield Law Firm, APC is a full-service personal injury law firm representing injured victims and families throughout the nation. Recently, the firm reached a $975,000 settlement in a case involving violations of U.S.C. section 1983 by the LAPD (Rosales v. LAPD, Case No. CV12-00034DDP, Los Angeles, CA).

According to court documents, the case revolved around a confrontation between a local Los Angeles man and the LAPD on February 4, 2011 after a bar fight. The Layfield Law Firm contended that an LAPD officer shot a father of three without justification by using a beanbag shotgun without proper warning. This “head strike” incident resulted in serious head injuries as a result of the bean bag shotgun being used at close range while aimed at the victim’s head.

Court records state that a video had recorded the events of the shooting and that the LAPD allegedly destroyed key evidence. Attorney Philip J. Layfield – founder of The Layfield Law Firm – was able to effectively highlight evidence that supported claims that various LAPD officers lied, destroyed and failed to preserve evidence, and resorted to witness intimidation during the course of the investigation and pending case.

Attorney Layfield was able to utilize his firm’s resources to conduct a 2-year long investigation through the use of private detectives, forensic analysis, and indexing of thousands of pages of documents utilizing the most advanced technology to bolster his clients’ claims. His commitment to preserving his clients’ rights, to speaking out against injustice, and to working zealously on a case that needed to be addressed proved successful in earning a nearly one million dollar settlement. Thanks to the firm’s legal team, the clients will receive the compensation needed to pay for past and future medical expenses, as well as the additional emotional and economic damages they incurred.

The successful settlement is yet another example of the abilities of The Layfield Law Firm’s legal team to take on the most complex and difficult cases. Few firms are able to utilize the intellectual and financial resources of The Layfield Law Firm. For more information about the firm and the police misconduct cases the legal team handles, visit the firm’s website at: http://www.layfield-law.com/.

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The Layfield Law Firm, APC provides experienced personal injury and business litigation representation to clients throughout Southern California. The firm’s legal team has decades of combined experience and has recovered more than $70 million in compensation. The firm has office locations across Southern California, including El Segundo, Santa Monica, Riverside, Palm Springs, Newport Beach, and Ventura.

A Miami Gardens Store Owner Catches a YEAR of Police Abuse on Film (Vide...

Miami Gardens Store Owner Catches Police Misconduct on Hidden Cameras

Miami Gardens store owner Alex Saleh has enacted his own form of “zero tolerance.” Saleh installed 15 cameras to catch outrageous police behavior on video — including against his own store clerk, who was stopped and questioned more than 250 times by Miami Gardens police, 60 times for trespassing.

In addition to repeated questioning, Earl Sampson was searched more than 100 times and arrested and jailed 56 times, the Miami Herald reported.

“I never felt they had any probable cause,” Sampson told the Herald. “They hop out of the car and search me before they even ask me for my name.”

“The same one stop me 2 and 3 times a day,” he told CBS Miami. “I feel like I can’t even be in my own neighborhood anymore.”

Saleh said his Quickstop convenience store has never been robbed — he installed the cameras in June of 2012 to protect himself, his employees and his customers from the police.

“I seen the outrageous police abusing people in the community,” Saleh told CBS. “They’ve been treating the people wrong.”

He has since amassed more than two dozen videos. The Herald obtained some of them, along with Sampson’s 38-page criminal history, which includes one marijuana possession charge among many charges that were never pursued by prosecutors.

In addition to the aggression Sampson experienced at the hands of police, the videos show officers stopping and questioning citizens, searching them, arresting them for trespassing without reason, using what appears to be excessive force on people who are not resisting arrest, filing inaccurate police reports and searching Saleh’s store without a warrant.  

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union Florida, said the Miami Gardens police chief has not done his job in stepping in.

“Where is the police chief in all this? In a police department in a city this size, this kind of behavior could not escape his attention,” Simon said.

“Doesn’t the City Commission know that they are exposing the city to either massive liability for civil rights violations? Either that, or they are going to wake up one day and find the U.S. Department of Justice has taken over its police department.”

Saleh, Sampson and their attorney Steve Lopez are filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the police department.

Trial Involving CHP Officer for Police Misconduct to Commence Next Month

Torrance, California (PRWEB) November 20, 2013 

Attorney Alex Galindo with the law offices of Curd, Galindo & Smith, LLP announces that his client's case Cox v. State of California Los Angeles Superior Court Case No.: BC 473308 is scheduled to commence December 10, 2013.

Court documents indicate that on February 5, 2011, CHP Officer Ron McMillan was performing routine traffic patrol along the I-405 northbound near LAX. Officer McMillan noticed that the driver of a gold colored SUV was attempting to alert the officer. Officer McMillan immediately noted that the driver was angry. The driver was William Cox a 52 year old truck driver. Mr. Cox was attempting to summons the officer to complain about another motorist who was cutting off other motorist. Court records state that Officer McMillan a 10 year veteran with the California Highway Patrol pulled Mr. Cox over. Mr. Cox immediately complied and stopped his vehicle on the right shoulder and exited his SUV. Court documents state that upon exiting Mr. Cox began shouting at the CHP officer asking why he didn't pullover the vehicle that was cutting people off. The incident report and court records show that the entire incident was captured on the patrol car's video camera. The video which was lodged with the court shows Officer McMillan in an attempt to keep Mr. Cox safe requested that he place his hands on his head. Mr. Cox complied but when Officer McMillan attempted to handcuff him, Mr. Cox pushed away and asked what was going on. The lawsuit further alleges that Mr. Cox requested a supervisor and began to walk away back to his vehicle when Officer McMillan shot Mr. Cox in the back with a Taser. Officer McMillan contends that he fired the Taser as he felt that his safety was threatened by Mr. Cox. Mr. Cox fell face first and alleges that he suffered severe injuries. The complaint goes on to allege that Mr. Cox was taken to a nearby hospital where he was diagnosed with a wrist fracture and facial lacerations. 

On November 4, 2013, a Judge of the Superior Court denied the State's motion to dismiss the case which now allows the case to proceed to a jury trial.    

Mr. Cox contends that the Officer exercised excessive force and violated his civil rights. Mr. Cox seeks damages against the Officer and the CHP. The Officer contends that he acted in accordance with CHP policy and procedures and that he fired the Taser to protect himself. The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Mr. Galindo is a founding member of Curd, Galindo & Smith, LLP which is a full service law firm that represents both corporate and professional clients and those who have been seriously injured or have lost a family member due to an accident, defective product, police misconduct or negligence. The law firm has recovered millions of dollars for its thousands of clients since 1995 by winning complex and challenging business disputes, death and injury cases involving police misconduct, traffic collisions, work place injuries and defective products, including defective automobiles, against some of the world's largest companies and governmental agencies.

Mr. Galindo received his business degree from University of Southern California in 1982 and his law degree in 1985 from the University of Oklahoma. Mr. Galindo has been a lawyer and real estate broker for over 25 years. He has won numerous jury verdicts and settlements in the area of personal injury, products liability and civil rights/police misconduct cases. Mr. Galindo is a member of ABOTA which is an organization of attorneys representing both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases. All of the attorneys who belong to ABOTA have earned great distinction at trial. Mr. Galindo is a member of Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Consumer Attorneys of California, Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, NPAP (National Police Accountability Project), National Lawyers Guild, National Association of Realtors and California Association of Realtors.

Protests after shocking police brutality video emerges

Police in San Francisco are being accused of heavy-handed tactics after a video showing officers making several arrests at a block of flats.

The YouTube video, taken on a cell phone, has sparked claims of 'police brutality' as well as a protest at the Mission substation last night.

About 100 people marched along the road and stood outside the electricity distribution centre. Police watched over the protest in riot gear as the angry residents shouted 'police brutality', NBC reports.

Police Chief Greg Suhr said the incident originally started because a 20-year-old man was asked to stop riding their bike on the sidewalk but then escalated quickly into a 'tremendously resistive situation'.

D'Paris Charles Williams was arrested on Friday when members of the city’s violence reduction team ordered him to stop riding his bicycle on the sidewalk in the Valencia Gardens Housing Complex.

Mr Suhr said: 'Why the desperation to avoid this police contact which would be just a simple citation for riding on the sidewalk?

'From what I see in the video, the officers are also being punched at. Our rule is they can use whatever force reasonable to overcome the resistance,'

Police chief: Greg Suhr said the incident started when a 20-year-old man was asked not to ride his bike on the sidewalk

In the six-minute clip, several police cars are parked in the middle of the road and scores of people line the sides of the road shouting at the police.

Five officers were injured; two went to the hospital.

Lawsuit alleges police brutality

BRIDGEPORT -- A $10 million federal lawsuit claims Bridgeport police officials closed their eyes to a rampage by three rogue officers allowing them to leave a nearly two-year trail of abuse and brutality.

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"This was a deliberate indifference to the rights of citizens," said Gary Mastronardi, who with Robert Berke filed the lawsuit Friday against the city, Mayor Bill Finch, Police Chief Joseph Gaudett and members of the city's Office of Internal Affairs. "They didn't protect the citizens, they protected these cops. Gaudett is going to have some explaining to do."
The lawsuit alleges that since 2010, Sgt. Ronald Mercado and officers Robert Lawlor and Elson Morales were given a free hand by their superiors to beat up and abuse citizens. The suit lists nine specific incidents.
"We believe there are many more," Mastronardi said.
"The department has in place specific policies and procedures against the improper use of force," said Police Department spokesman Bill Kaempffer. "Allegations regarding unreasonable force are taken seriously and investigated by the Office of Internal Affairs under a procedure approved by the federal court. The department intends to defend its actions in investigating citizens' complaints against the allegations in this lawsuit."
But Mastronardi countered that the OIA's investigative process intimidates citizens from proceeding with their complaints against officers.
He said prospective complainants are told they could be prosecuted if they lie in their statements. He claimed detectives don't actively investigate claims, but instead send registered letters to the complainants asking them to come in and give statements.
"The system is set up so that the citizen is never believed unless a video is made public," he said.
Of the eight incidents identified in the lawsuit, two of the alleged victims never filed a complaint with OIA, and three did not respond to certified letters to provide signed, sworn statements so their cases were closed. One later withdrew his complaint.
Among the nine incidents of alleged brutality by the officers include the May 20, 2011, kicking and stomping by the officers of a man lying on the ground in Beardsley Park that was captured on video by a passerby that was posted a year later on YouTube, and the May 5, 2012, struggle between the officers and a man stopped for driving with tinted windows, also captured on video.
On May 20, 2011, Orlando Lopez-Soto was arrested in Beardsley Park following a chase by Morales and Lawlor.
A video taken by a citizen in the park shows that after twice being shot with stun guns by the officers, Lopez-Soto was repeatedly kicked in the head, face and body by Lawlor, Morales and officer Clive Higgins. The video was made public earlier this year and received national attention.
Lopez-Soto has a separate lawsuit pending against the officers in federal court.
In another videotaped incident, on May 5, 2012, Michael Stinson was driving in the P.T. Barnum housing complex when he was stopped by Mercado, Lawlor and Morales for driving with tinted windows.
A video taken by a citizen shows Mercado shoving Stinson on the ground and choking him while Lawlor and Morales repeatedly kick Stinson. Lawlor then shot pepper spray into Stinson's mouth.
Feliciano, Bracey, Santiago, Bravo, Lopez-Soto and Stinson have prior criminal records. Lopez-Soto pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges from the incident and is serving a 5-year prison term. Stinson later pleaded guilty to assault and drug charges in an unrelated incident and is serving a 5-year term.
"Ironically, Mr. Stinson and his lawyers assert a failure of the internal affairs process when it is in fact undisputed that Mr. Stinson himself failed to cooperate with their investigation of his claim," said Associate City Attorney Betsy Edwards.


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More Information

About the lawsuit
The lawsuit against several Bridgeport officials and the city includes the following allegations:
On Dec. 3, 2010, William Feliciano was arrested on Gilmore Street after a brief chase. Two officers repeatedly kicked Feliciano in the face, head and body causing multiple fractures requiring two surgeries and medical bills of $125,000.
On Dec. 30, 2011, Efraim Perez was arrested. After handcuffing Perez, an officer watched as two others rammed Perez's head into a wall, rubbed his face into ice and snow on the street and beat Perez while accusing him of being a gang member.
On Jan. 3, 2011 Aaron Bracey was leaning against a parked car on Reservoir Avenue waiting for a ride to work when the suit states he was approached by officers, who grabbed him and pinned his chest to the hood of the car. He was handcuffed and put into their police car and after a while let go with a ticket for loitering, according to the suit.
On April 19, 2011, Angel Santiago was being arrested by an officer who repeatedly kicked him in the head, face and mouth.
On May 23, 2011, Ramon Sierra was walking to a store on Boston Avenue when he was stopped by police. The suits alleges that officers grabbed Sierra, who is paralyzed on his left side, threw him on the ground, then drove his head into the side of the police cruiser. He was hospitalized for his injuries.
On May 20, 2011, Orlando Lopez-Soto was arrested in Beardsley Park following a chase by police. A video taken by a citizen in the park shows that after being shot twice with a stun gun by the officers, Lopez-Soto was repeatedly kicked in the head, face and body.
On Aug. 16, 2011, Courtney Swabey was arrested after he criticized officers for using excessive force against a female friend. They then threw him on the ground and kicked him repeatedly in the head and body, causing him to be hospitalized, the suit states.
On Nov. 3, 2011, William Bravo was arrested after a foot chase for possession of marijuana. Bravo was struck repeatedly in the head with an officer's gun, then was kicked in the head, face and body.
On May 5, 2012, Michael Stinson was stopped by police for driving with tinted windows. A video taken by a citizen shows an officer shoving Stinson on the ground and choking him while two others repeatedly kick Stinson. An officer then shot pepper spray into Stinson's mouth

Ralliers Allege Police Brutality at Insomnia Cookies Protest

Protesters held a rally Friday to voice complaints of police brutality, claiming that the Cambridge Police Department injured a protester picketing outside of Insomnia Cookies the previous night.

Jason Freedman, the protester, sustained injuries to his face, back, and arms while being arrested by the police, claimed Geoffrey Carens, a Harvard library assistant and Industrial Workers of the World member.

Freedman was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct, according to CPD spokesperson Daniel M. Riviello.

Freedman declined to comment Sunday.

Thursday night’s protest was one in a series of monthly pickets at the 65 Mount Auburn St. store that began in August, when several workers fired by the cookie shop made claims of labor rights violations. The protesters urge the company each month to increase wages and let workers unionize.

The picket on Thursday began at approximately 9:30 p.m., according to IWW member Christopher M. Perkins, who was present at the protest.

“We were chanting and holding signs, trying to make the point that Insomnia Cookies is unfair to its workers,” Perkins said.

More than a dozen CPD officers arrived at the scene approximately 20 minutes into the picket, according to Perkins.

Riviello wrote in an emailed statement, “Officers dispatched to this location were attempting to strike a balance between the freedom of speech of the [protesters] and the rights of pedestrians and business to access the public sidewalk.”

According to Perkins, the CPD officers approached a protester holding a megaphone and demanded that he turn it off. The protester complied.

“Nonetheless, they began pushing the person who was holding the microphone,” Perkins said.

Freedman then approached the CPD officers to demand that they not touch the protester with the megaphone, according to Perkins. One of the CPD officers then punched Freedman in the face, he said.

Genevieve Lechat, an IWW member who was also present at the protest, said that she took photos of Freedman as he was being assaulted. The photos, which have been circulated online and over email lists, seem to show a man that Lechat identified as Freedman being overpowered by several officers outside of Insomnia.

Riviello did not respond to a question about a photograph that seemed to show officers subduing Freedman.

Carens, who has previously supported labor movements at Harvard, wrote in an emailed statement that the police threw Freedman on the trunk of a vehicle and then on the ground, “pinning him partially under a parked car and on the curb as they piled on top of him.”

More Police Brutality Allegations

Another person has come forward claiming she was the victim of police brutality from an Atlantic City officer.
In only five years on the force, Officer Sterling Wheaten has already been named in half a dozen lawsuits. The latest comes from Janine Costantino, who claims Wheaten assaulted her at Caesar’s Casino last year.
“I couldn’t imagine this was actually happening,” she said.
Costantino says Wheaten arrested her brother after he got into an altercation with another patron.
“Wheaten had my brother in a headlock and his arms were limp and his legs were weak,” Costantino said. “I screamed out that it was police brutality and that I was videotaping it all.”
That’s when she claims Wheaten turned on her.
“He was running at me and he says, ‘Give me the phone you b**h,’” she said. “He grabbed my bun and he was slamming my forehead into the floor.”
Wheaten then arrested Costantino but court records show the charges against her were later dropped. Costantino says she’ll never forget what one officer told her the night of the incident.
“He’s like, ‘Oh, that’s your first mistake,’” she said. “You shouldn’t be videotaping police officers.”
Wheaten already made headlines earlier this year after video surfaced allegedly showing him releasing his K-9 on a man who was already face down on the ground. Lorenzo Langford, who was the Atlantic City mayor at that time, called the video “horrifying.”
NBC10 obtained an internal police report which shows that Atlantic City Police internal affairs investigated Wheaten 15 times between 2008 and 2010 for allegations of misconduct, some of those allegations being excessive force. Each time however, the department concluded Wheaten did nothing wrong or that there was not enough evidence to clearly prove he did something wrong.  Wheaten’s attorney told us she was confident internal affairs performed complete and thorough investigations. She did not respond to the latest lawsuit however.
“I get calls every day from people who have been brutalized and terrorized by the Atlantic City Police Department,” said Jennifer Bonjean, an attorney who is representing Costantino and others who are suing Wheaten. “It’s overwhelming the pattern that I’ve been able to establish just with these limited cases I’ve been involved in. I think the prosecutor’s office is turning a blind eye to many of these allegations. They have to be seeing the same police officers that we’re seeing.”
The Atlantic City Police Department is also at the center of another lawsuit from one of their own. Sergeant Mark Benjamin sued the department after claiming he received death threats for reporting police misconduct to his superiors.
The various allegations against the Department have caught national attention. The Reverend Al Sharpton visited Atlantic City on Wednesday to attend a rally speaking out on the department’s alleged police brutality.

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Ex-Detective Guilty In Tax Case

A former Waterbury Ct. detective pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to mislead a federal Internal Revenue Service investigation of charitable contributions he claimed as deductions on his tax returns in 2007 and 2008.

Robert Liquindoli, 42, of Waterbury lost his job with the city police force when the IRS arrested him a year ago and could be sentenced to 10 months or more in prison when he returns to court, probably in February.

Liquindoli was ensnared by a federal investigation of retired IRS agent Thomas Thorndike, who opened a Waterbury-area tax preparation business that counted many area law enforcement officers as clients. Thorndike, who prepared Liquindoli's tax returns, was sentenced to six years in prison for tax fraud and was accused of falsifying returns in order to give clients undeserved deductions.

Waterbury When IRS agents accused Liquindoli of claiming questionable deductions, authorities said he lied to them and tried to create phony receipts to justify his claimed non-cash, charitable contributions.

Fired Pa. cop guilty of man's holding cell beating

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A western Pennsylvania police officer who was fired after he refused a random drug test last year has been convicted of beating a handcuffed prisoner in a holding cell and then trying to cover it up.

Walter R. Johnson, 38, of Oakdale, was convicted at a non-jury trial of simple assault and official oppression — the cover-up charge. An Allegheny County judge on Monday also sentenced him to two years' probation and two weeks in jail, though Johnson doesn't have to serve that time until January. Johnson's defense attorney, James Wymard, didn't immediately return a call for comment and the officer doesn't have a listed home telephone.

Johnson was a patrolman in Avalon, a tiny borough near Pittsburgh, when he threw the prisoner, 49-year-old Robert Szilagyi, into a holding cell wall so hard the man's jaw was broken and his teeth loosened — including one later found lodged in his airway. Avalon police alerted Allegheny County detectives after they learned surveillance video of the April 2012 beating existed following Johnson's firing last July.

According to a criminal complaint the detectives filed against Johnson, Avalon police first encountered Szilagyi after a report that he was fighting with another man that night. Police contend Szilagyi ran away before police arrived and was found hiding in bushes, then struggled and fought with officers while they were handcuffing him.

On that night, medics were called to take Szilagyi to a hospital after he was found to have injuries in the police station holding cell — though police at that time attributed the injuries to his earlier struggle with officers, according to the complaint.

The detectives determined, however, that security video from the holding cell showed Johnson walking Szilagyi to the cell at which point he "literally throws Szilagyi, with his hands still handcuffed behind his back, into the cell ... propelling the victim forward with such force as to cause him to leave his feet, hurtling head-first toward the floor and rear wall of the holding cell," according to their complaint.

Another officer enters the cell and leaves with Johnson, closing the door, before a third officer arrives and Szilagyi can be seen "with a large puddle of blood drops on the floor in front of him," the detectives said.

Online court records show Szilagyi pleaded guilty to simple assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct stemming from the earlier fight and encounter with police and was sentenced to a year's probation. He could not immediately be located for comment because he's in the county jail awaiting trial on charges including aggravated assault, drunken driving and burglary stemming from two separate and unrelated incidents earlier this year.

Szilagyi's criminal defense attorney for his April 2012 arrest said he couldn't comment on whether Szilagyi pursued a claim for his injuries, citing a confidentiality agreement. Federal and county court records show no record of a lawsuit.

Avalon police officials did not immediately return calls for comment on the verdict, or about the request for a drug test that prompted Johnson's firing.

Police officer convicted of DWAI

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A judge returns a verdict in the trial of an Albany police officer who lost his job after a drunk driving arrest.

The judge found Brian Lutz guilty of DWAI after a bench trial.

As a result, Lutz will have to pay $875 in court fees, complete the DMV's Drinker Driver Program and a attend a victim impact panel. The judge also suspended his license.

Lutz was arrested in December 2010 after police said he was asleep behind the wheel, and parked on the right lane of Interstate 787.

He plead not guilty to drunk driving charges back in March 2011. Lutz is currently suspended without pay.

Officer charged with lying to get search warrant

A decade after a federal judge publicly attacked his truthfulness, a Baltimore police officer has been charged with lying to get a warrant to search a Northwest Baltimore home, the state's attorney's office said.

Thomas E. Wilson III, a 19-year veteran of the department, lied when he said he saw a suspect leaving a house in the 5600 block of Wilvan Ave. carrying a black bag, according to the state's attorney's office. He faces charges of perjury and misconduct in office.

The Police Department declined to comment on the charges. Wilson could not be reached, and no attorney is listed for him in court records.

Other Baltimore officers have been implicated recently in fabricating details to secure authorization for arrests or searches. At the sentencing of officer Kendell Richburg in federal court last month, his attorney said the practice was widespread and driven by pressure on police to hit targets.

At the hearing, federal prosecutors said the FBI was investigating a number of officers who had made up information. Wilson worked in the same district as Richburg, but an FBI spokesman said the charges against him were not related to that inquiry.

In the Wilson case, the day after the search in May 2012, a man named Thomas Foster who lived at the Wilvan Avenue address was charged with gun and drug offenses. Prosecutors dropped those charges in December 2012, court records show.

In 2003, Andre M. Davis, then a U.S. District Court judge in Baltimore, said an affidavit in a separate drug case that Wilson filed seemed to be packed with "knowing lies." Davis also called Wilson's account of that bust "implausible and incredibly presented" before he threw out the case.

The Police Department disciplined Wilson for neglect of duty, stripped him of five days' pay and ordered him to remedial training. But his attorney told The Baltimore Sun in 2010 that the administrative trial board did not convict Wilson of an integrity violation.

Wilson stayed on the force, but a defense attorney used the judge's words against him in a case stemming from a 2008 arrest.

"His credibility is suspect," the lawyer told the jury. "This is a man who was chewed out in almost unheard-of fashion by a federal judge five years ago."

Wilson testified that in both instances he had been honest, even if he had been confused on some of the details in the 2003 case. The defendant was convicted, but granted a new trial by an appeals court, after it found prosecutors had gone too far to protect Wilson.

The defendant, Bryan Sivells, pleaded guilty to the lesser of the two charges he faced and received a four-year prison sentence, most of which he had already served.

Cops charged in Kentucky brothel slayings

After nearly 20 years, authorities believe they have finally solved the murders of two workers at a Kentucky massage parlor with the arrest of two former police officers -- including the lead investigator in the case.

After nearly 20 years, authorities believe they have finally solved the murders of two workers at a Kentucky massage parlor with the arrest of two former police officers -- including the lead investigator in the case.

Edward Carter and Leslie Duncan are among three men indicted in the late-night slayings of two young women at the New Life Massage Parlor in Oak Grove in western Kentucky. Carter and an Alabama man face murder charges while Duncan has been charged with complicity to murder.

Investigators are being tight-lipped about how the ex-cops were allegedly involved the deaths of Candace Belt, 22, and Gloria Ross, 18. Their battered, blood-soaked bodies were found in a back room of the parlor on Sept. 20, 1994, after co-workers left the building to get something to eat.

Locals long suspected police involvement, but authorities just couldn't come up with the evidence.

"At the time and for years to follow, everybody thought that it was a couple of police officers that were involved, but there was never any proof given," said Oak Grove Mayor Dan Potter.

"There were always potential suspects," said prosecutor Lynn Pryor. "No one felt comfortable bringing charges on them before now."

One person, at least, didn't hesitate to voice her suspicions early on: Tammy Papler, the madam who ran the brothel.

At a public meeting in 1997, Papler -- angered for being forced to shut down the parlor -- stood up and unleashed a slew of allegations, including the claim that she had been bribing police to keep her business open. She said after she stopped making the payments, the killings occurred.

Carter was paid to work as a janitor at the parlor, but the payments were in reality bribes to allow the brothel to remain open, Papler claimed. Duncan, meanwhile, sometimes demanded cash from her, she said.

Law enforcement officers were such a common sight at the parlor that soldiers from nearby Fort Campbell didn't think twice to come in when the police were around, she said at the time.

Papler couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. But Pryor, the prosecutor, said the former madam would likely be called as a witness if the cases come to trial.

Relatives also said they had long believed that police were involved.

"There's a few of us that suspected the cops had something to do with it there," said Johnny Belt, Candace's uncle.

Duncan even came to the home of the victim's grandmother to express condolences.

"He came and sat at my mom's table and drank coffee, telling her how bad he felt," Belt said.

Bobby Combs, an ex-Oak Grove police officer, recalls taking orders from Duncan -- the case's lead detective -- at the murder scene.

"Oak Grove, as you can tell, messed it up," Combs said.

Eventually, the case was turned over to the local Christian County sheriff's office. But it languished, becoming the subject of an "Unsolved Mysteries" segment on TV. Kentucky State Police took over the investigation in 2006.

The arrests have brought a fresh round of notoriety to the town of about 9,000 bordering the Fort Campbell post along the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

"It's kind of like knocking a scab off a wound," said the Rev. Dave Noffsinger, pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church in Oak Grove.

Carter, 43, and Frank Black Jr., 39, of Gadsden, Ala., were indicted late last week by a Christian County grand jury on two murder counts.

Carter was arrested in Warren County, Ohio. Black was taken into custody in Etowah County in Alabama. There were no records either man had yet hired an attorney, court officials in both states said. They are being held on $1 million bond and will be arraigned after being extradited to Kentucky, state police said.

Duncan, 50, is serving a three-year sentence for evidence tampering in the case. It was his arrest that broke open the case. Authorities wouldn't give further details. His attorney, Stephanie Ritchie, declined to comment on the case.

Investigators don't anticipate other arrests, said Kentucky State Police Trooper Stu Recke.

Carter and Duncan left the Oak Grove police force soon after the slayings. After leaving town, Duncan spent time working as a security guard at a discount store in Hermitage, Tenn., while Carter worked as a private security guard and police officer in a Louisville suburb.

State police offered few details about Black's alleged involvement, other than to say he was not a police officer. He was convicted of attempted rape in December 1995, and registered as a sex offender when he moved to Alabama.

Combs, the ex-Oak Grove police officer, said Papler has been vindicated with the arrests.

But city council member Barbara Jean Leavell disagreed.

"If you run a business like that, you're just as guilty," she said. "You might not have pulled a trigger or a knife ... but she was guilty of running that business."

Second Officer Suspended After DPD Shooting Of Mentally Ill Man

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The Dallas police officer who witnessed his partner shoot an unarmed mentally ill man and then lied about what happened afterwards has been punished with a 15-day suspension.
Officer Christopher Watson was placed on restricted duty after home surveillance video showed a different story than what Watson swore to in a signed statement.
The video, taken on October 14, showed the victim, Bobby Bennett, with his arms at his side moments before Officer Cardan Spencer shot him. Both Spencer and Watson claimed Bennett lunged at them with the knife before Spencer fired the shot.
At the same disciplinary hearing, Police Chief David O. Brown stated Officer Watson would be investigated by Internal Affairs. Based on the results of that investigation, IA determined that Watson violated the department’s procedures by immediately approaching a possibly armed person. IA also determined Watson was untruthful in a sworn affidavit. Watson, who has been on the force since January 2008, does have the right to appeal his suspension.
Bennett’s mother initially called police on October 14, to report her son was acting violently and may have had a knife. After he was shot, officers charged him with aggravated assault. Those charges were dropped when surveillance video showed he did not threaten officers with a knife as the officers reported. Bennett, who has been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia, spent nearly a month in the hospital recovering from his injuries after the shooting.

Buffalo rookie police officer fired after being charged with growing marijuana at his home

James Hamilton’s Facebook photo shows him posed behind his Porsche Cayenne wearing sunglasses and a “Party All Day” T-shirt.

But the Buffalo police officer wasn’t celebrating Thursday after his arraignment on charges of operating a marijuana-growing operation in the basement of his Floss Avenue home on the East Side.

A six-month investigation led by the Police Department also resulted in Hamilton’s immediate dismissal from the force on which he served for less than a year.

“Like any organization, you have bad apples,” Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said Thursday.

A rookie cop who was recently named Officer of the Month by his union, Hamilton faces multiple drug and weapons charges in connection with the marijuana-growing operation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch said 82 marijuana plants and 4 pounds of loose marijuana were found in the basement of the home. Police also recovered a 12-gauge shotgun.

Hamilton, 29, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, who entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

“My client is innocent,” defense lawyer Matthew Borowski said. “And he intends to fight these charges.”

Prosecutors said Hamilton’s arrest came on the heels of his sale Wednesday afternoon of two quarter-pound quantities of marijuana for $1,100 to a confidential source in the city’s Broadway-Bailey section.

Hamilton, who was under surveillance, was then called to Police Headquarters, where he was arrested. Later in the evening, police with a search warrant went to the home and found the pot-growing operation.

Derenda said the investigation started in May and was led by his Internal Affairs and Narcotics bureaus. He said the investigation, which included the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, was welcomed by rank-and-file officers in his department.

100 Charges Have "Inadmissable Evidence" in Child Rape Case

A man accused of raping and molesting children had faced 105 charges, but now that's down to five. Prosecutors say that's because the Tallassee police officer investigating the case is now being investigated himself. Stephen Conrad came to court today to make a plea on his case, but that didn't happen -- instead, that plea has been delayed. And District Attorney, Randall Houston, says that's because Tallassee Assistant Chief, Chris Miles, was the lead investigator in the Conrad case -- but he illegally obtained the evidence and it can no longer be used.
"It calls into question everything with that officer and everything about the case," Said C.J. Robinson with the Elmore County District Attorney's office. He says it's a case that's left he and other investigators able to only prove five charges against Stephen Conrad, who is accused of raping and molesting eight children in the last 11 years.  Four of those children were family members. And the youngest was three months old.
Robinson says the lead investigator in the case, Tallassee Assistant Police Chief Chris Miles, physically coerced Conrad into confessing, as well as three co-defendants, including his wife, Brandy Conrad, Helen Gantt and Mark Jeffrey Ray. They were were charged with failure to report the sexual abuse of a child.

officer charged with felony

A Beech Mountain police officer has left the department and turned himself in to face a felony drug charge, according to police.Avery County Sheriff's Office received a complaint concerning possible illegal activity by patrol officer Josh Hernandez, according to Sheriff Kevin Frye. Frye forwarded the complaint to Chief Jerry Turbyfill of the Beech Mountain Police Department, who started an internal investigation.

officer charged with theft

SAYREVILLE — A borough police officer has been charged with stealing more than $20,000 from the Sayreville Housing Authority. According to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, Stephen Gulick was charged Nov. 14 with a count of theft by deception for allegedly collecting money from the housing authority between Feb. 2, 2012, and July 8, 2013. An investigation conducted by the prosecutor’s office and the Sayreville Police Department showed that Gulick allegedly collected federal money to subsidize the rent paid by a female tenant at a property he owned in Sayreville. He subsequently married the tenant, who then became ineligible for the housing assistance. However, Gulick allegedly continued to receive and cash checks paid by the housing authority on behalf of the woman.During the period the woman was ineligible to receive assistance, Gulick allegedly collected 18 checks totaling $20,466.

Norristown police officer charged with sexual assault of minor in Chester County

NORRISTOWN — A Norristown police officer has been charged with sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. Nicholas Santo, 47, of North Coventry, was arraigned in front of Chester County District Judge James DeAngelo on Sept. 18, according to Priya DeSouza, the Chester assistant district attorney prosecuting the case. His bail was set at the full amount of $25,000 which was later paid in full. According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Sept. 18 Chester County detectives received a report that a young girl had been sexually assaulted. The report stated Santo allegedly sexually assaulted the girl Sept. 13.

Cop sued

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union has sued a white Pittsburgh police officer on behalf of a black teacher who claims he was wrongly arrested for commenting on the officer's driving.
The teacher, 38-year-old Dennis Henderson, had just left a community group meeting June 26 that addressed community-police relations when Officer Jonathan Gromek, who was driving by, heard Henderson criticize his driving and stopped. Henderson was jailed for about 12 hours following his arrest. The Allegheny County district attorney later had police drop charges including disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
"Dennis Henderson, an award-winning Pittsburgh teacher, was arrested and jailed overnight simply for answering truthfully when a police officer asked him whether he had a problem with the way the officer was driving," according to the 12-page federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Gromek was pulled off patrol duty in July and assigned to the warrants office, a common outpost for officers awaiting possible disciplinary action, while the city's Office of Municipal Investigations reviewed the encounter.

City police spokeswoman Diane Richard said the office found the allegations to be true and that Gromek is awaiting police department action. The lawsuit says Gromek received a letter Oct. 1 advising that the city had determined he violated three broad police policies: conduct toward the public, conduct unbecoming and incompetence.
Gromek does not have an attorney listed in court records and a home telephone number listed in his name was disconnected Tuesday. An attorney with the city law department did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Only Gromek is being sued, but the city may eventually have to defend Gromek because he was acting within the scope of his official duties.
The stop happened shortly after Henderson left a meeting of the Community Empowerment Association, which seeks to address problems in poorer black neighborhoods. Among other topics, the group had discussed the lack of trust between some members of the black community and the police, particularly in high-crime areas like Homewood, the neighborhood where the meeting was held.
Henderson was speaking to a photographer for the New Pittsburgh Courier, a newspaper that covers the city's black community. Both were standing in the street next to Henderson's car while he retrieved a business card and spoke about a teaching award he recently received.
According to the lawsuit, Gromek's patrol car drove by close enough that both people pressed against Henderson's car for safety, at which point the teacher said, "Wow!" - referring to the speed with which the officer was driving down a narrow street.
Gromek then turned around, stopped and confronted both of them and asked Henderson, "Do you have a problem?"
Henderson asked for the officer's name and badge number so he could file a complaint about Gromek's driving.
Henderson then began recording the encounter on his cellphone, which he handed to the photographer once the officer told Henderson to put his hands behind his back. The officer eventually handcuffed the photographer and allegedly refused to explain why either Henderson or the photographer were taken into custody, the lawsuit said. The photographer was never criminally charged and released minutes later.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for claims including false arrest, malicious prosecution, excessive force and retaliation against someone for his speech.

Appeal set for cop

A Chadbourn Police sergeant fired for conduct unbecoming an officer will speak before the town council Dec. 2.  Sgt. Brian Campbell was fired and another officer disciplined after they posted videos to the Vine.com social media website of themselves in uniform using racially-charged language, Mayor Fax Rector said.Cambell was fired after arguing with chief Steven Shaw, but there apparently is no official letter of dismissal or a reprimand for the video. The videos were removed and edited after Campbell was dismissed Oct. 23. The firing was upheld in a grievance hearing Nov. 11. Campbell notified Rector of his intent to appeal to the full council Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.

Ala. police officer accidentally shot himself, died of extreme blood loss

PHENIX CITY, Alabama — An eastern Alabama coroner says a police officer who died Nov. 10 accidentally shot himself. Russell County Coroner Aurthur Sumbry Jr. told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Tuesday that 30-year-old Phenix City police Sgt. Daniel Davis died of extreme blood after accidentally shooting himself in his leg.
Davis was found in the parking lot of an apartment complex and was later pronounced dead.
Investigators have said Davis was inside of an unmarked police car when his gun discharged.
Alabama Bureau of Investigation Sgt. Steve Jarrett says the probe into his death is ongoing.

Mich. cops charged with robbing daughter's phone thief

DETROIT — Two off-duty police sergeants robbed three men they apparently suspected in the theft of a cellphone belonging to the teenage daughter of one of the officers, prosecutors in Detroit said Monday.

Detroit Sgt. David Pomeroy and Sgt. Michael Notoriano, who works in the Detroit suburb of St. Clair Shores, are both charged with armed robbery, among other charges.

Notoriano's 16-year-old daughter and a friend bicycled to a Detroit gas station on July 20. Dwayne Weathington, 24, of Detroit grabbed Notoriano's daughter by her backpack, threw her to the ground, stole her iPhone and fled on foot, the Wayne County prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The phone was traced to a location on Detroit's east side where Pomeroy and Notoriano drove on July 21 and confronted three Detroit men, ages 26, 27 and 28, at gunpoint, prosecutors said.

The officers retrieved the girl's iPhone, struck one of the men in the face and took a handgun, cash and marijuana, prosecutors said.

Notoriano's lawyer, Todd Flood, told The Associated Press that his client and Pomeroy are "outstanding" and "highly decorated" officers.

Pomeroy, 47, and Notoriano, 42, both are charged with armed robbery, willful neglect of duty, unlawful imprisonment and failure to uphold the law. Pomeroy also is charged with larceny of a firearm and Notoriano with possessing a firearm during a felony, felonious assault and ethnic intimidation.

The prosecutor's office didn't identify the ethnicities of those involved.

The officers were arraigned Monday and a probable cause hearing was scheduled for Dec. 18.

The prosecutor's office filed unarmed robbery charges against Weathington. He hasn't yet been arraigned and doesn't have a lawyer, prosecutor's spokeswoman Maria Miller said in an email.

Associated PressCopyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Probation in bribery scheme involving Wichita cop

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man was sentenced to two years of probation for helping a former police officer try to bribe a witness. Forty-year-old Patrick Melendrez was sentenced Monday for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He admitted that he helped former police officer Joletta Vallejo in the bribery scheme to help Vallejo keep her job.

Prosecutors say Vallejo didn't properly report alleged crimes against two people. During a police department investigation, Vallejo and Melendrez tried to bribe a witness to recant his statements to the department's professional standards bureau. Instead, the witness cooperated with an undercover investigation into the bribery attempt.Vallejo is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2.

Cop caught in bribery sting sentenced

Cigarette smuggler Mustafa Mohd Shaikh was caught in June 2011 on an undercover recording describing how having the protection of a longtime sheriff's investigator meant his enterprise could operate with impunity.

"Anything happens to you in Chicago, this guy will get you out," Shaikh was quoted in court records as telling an informant. "This guy is willing to protect. Nobody will touch you or come by you."

The "guy" he was talking about was Lawrence A. Draus, a 35-year veteran of the Cook County Sheriff's Department who extorted thousands of dollars in cash payouts to safeguard the cigarette smuggling operation, but to Draus' surprise the entire setup turned out to be an elaborate government sting.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John Tharp sentenced Draus to 2½ years in prison for his role in the scheme, saying corrupt police officers are particularly dangerous because they weaken the public's trust in the criminal justice system.

Draus, 64, choked up as he described how his late father — a Chicago police officer for more than three decades — passed along some sage advice when Draus became a sheriff's deputy — "Never lose your compassion, be fair and honest, and be careful who you trust."

Draus, who was stripped of his police powers before retiring earlier this year while under indictment, paused to wipe away tears before apologizing for the "disgrace" he'd brought to his family and "all the honest police officers out there."

Retired East Haven police sergeant to be sentenced

EAST HAVEN Ct.  Retired Sgt. John Miller, one of four officers the FBI arrested in January 2012 following a Department of Justice probe into racial profiling allegations, will be sentenced on Feb. 12, according to federal court records.
Miller pleaded guilty in September 2012 to a single charge of deprivation of rights to be free from the use of excessive force by a law officer.”
He had been charged with a total of 10 counts and was originally scheduled to be sentenced last February.
Miller’s attorney, Donald Cretella, said his client felt the decision “was the best thing for his family.”
“He pleaded guilty to one charge of punching one guy who wasn’t a minority,” Cretella said at the time.
Miller, 44, admitted to punching a man during a January 2012 arrest on Thompson Street. Court reports indicated the man — identified only by his initials as “N.D.” — had already been handcuffed by two officers when Miller popped him.
Cretella said Miller “lost his cool” during the incident and added that his client was “adamant about not doing anything to any minorities.”
The announcement of Miller’s sentencing comes roughly a month after Officers David Cari and Dennis Spaulding were found guilty in federal court of a pattern of civil rights abuses. Cari’s case revolved around his arrest of a New Haven priest in February 2009.

Parents Blame City Cops for Son's Suicide

By MATT REYNOLDS 

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - A teenage boy posted on social media that he was about to kill himself, and Huntington Beach police knew it, and found his address, but did nothing to stop it, the late boy's parents claim in court.
     Seventeen-year-old Matthew Cline shot himself in the head on July 17 at his home in Huntington Beach, his parents, William and Kathleen, say in the lawsuit against the City of Huntington Beach, in Superior.
     Matthew was a high school senior on the varsity football team. His mother found him after she returned from the gym.
     Matthew's parents say that on July 16, their son posted on iFunny: "My name is Matthew Cline. This will be my last post on ifunny as I will be committing suicide tonight."
     The parents say in the complaint that Huntington Beach police knew of the post, and knew Matthew's address, but did not send a squad car to the home or warn the Clines.
     Had it done so, Matthew would "be alive and well today," the Clines claim.
     According to the lawsuit, Ana Gutierrez, a teenager in Los Baños, in Northern California, alerted police after reading Cline's iFunny post, then finding his Facebook page and discovering that he lived in Huntington Beach.
     The parents claim that a Doe police officer, identified in the lawsuit as "Rodriguez," took the call and "lulled" Gutierrez into believing police would intervene and do everything they could to stop Matthew Cline.
     Rodriguez did locate Cline's address in Huntington Beach, hours before Cline killed himself, the parents say. But police neither called the parents nor dispatched officers to the house.
     Rodriguez's police report is attached to the court filing as an exhibit. It states: "I attempted 2-3 phone calls but no one answered. Due to the fact we were unable to determine where the Mathew Cline lived who made the post, no units were sent to any of the addresses we located under that name."
     The parents call that a "blatant, bad-faith" lie: "Approximately 20 hours after the HBPD received the call from Gutierrez, Matthew shot himself in the head and committed suicide at his Dovewood [Drive] residence. Had the HBPD made contact by sending a unit to the Dovewood address, or even just telephoning the Clines, Matthew Cline would be alive and well today."
     Responding officers "immediately recognized" Cline as the person who had posted on iFunny, and questioned neighbors about the post, the parents claim.
     "In addition, HBPD claimed that they had called plaintiff William Cline's cell-phone number upon receipt of the call from Gutierrez, substantially prior to Matthew's suicide, but the Clines received no phone call to warn them, either to their cell phones or their residence phone," the complaint states.
  

cop arrested in connection with '94 double homicide

A former Kentucky police officer was arrested over the weekend on a 1994 double murder charge, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office announced this morning.

Edward Carter, 43, was taken into custody without incident at the Days Inn motel off Bards Road and Interstate 71 in Deerfield Township early Saturday, said Lt. Eric Johnson.

Carter, who has been living in Mason, was one of three men indicted Friday by a Christian County grand jury in the shooting and stabbing deaths of two prostitutes inside a massage parlor in 1994 in Oak Grove, Ky., where he used to work as a police officer.

Warren County sheriff’s detectives were able to establish, with the use of the License Plate Reader system (LPS), that Carter was in Mason in August of this year.

Jury selection beings in trial of Oklahoma police officer charged in teen's death

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jury selection has begun in the trial of a Del City police captain charged in the shooting death of an unarmed teenager.
About 50 prospective jurors appeared Monday in Oklahoma County District Court for the trial of 48-year-old Capt. Randy Harrison. Harrison is a 23-year-veteran of the Del City Police Department and has pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the March 14, 2012, death of 18-year-old Dane Scott Jr.
An affidavit filed by police says Harrison was trying to arrest Scott after a car chase and took a handgun from the teen. As Scott ran away, Harrison fired four times with the fourth shot striking Scott in the back.
The affidavit says Scott was unarmed and was posing no threat of death or great bodily harm.

Officer Charged With Theft by Deception

Theft by deception charges have been filed against a New Jersey police officer accused of improperly accepting more than $20,000 in rent subsidies paid by a municipal housing authority. Acting Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Andrew Carey says Sayreville officer Stephen Gulick turned himself in this week and was released on his own recognizance. A telephone number for Gulick, who has been on the force for 14 years, could not be located Saturday. Carey says Gulick got the money from the Sayreville Housing Authority to subsidize the rent paid by a female tenant at a property he owned. The woman's name was not disclosed. Gulick subsequently married the tenant, who then became ineligible for the housing assistance. But authorities say he continued to receive and cash checks on her behalf

Controversy Brewing Over Arrest, Tasering of 14-Year-Old-Boy

Was excessive force used by Tullytown police when they tasered a 14-year-old last week?
That’s the question raised publicly via social media when an images of the bloodied and busied boy spread over the weekend.

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said the actions of the borough police officer who fired a single taser barb toward the 14-year-old handcuffed boy as he ran toward busy Route 13 in an attempt to escape “seems appropriate.”
The mother of the boy, Marissa  Sargent,  and many on social media are calling into question whether the officer’s actions were “appropriate.”
“I know what my son did was wrong, but look at the picture, you think he deserved all that for retail theft?” she told LevittownNow.com exclusively on Saturday morning.
Sargent also alleged her son’s rights were violated because police officials “wouldn’t let me see him at the police station.”
“He’s a minor, I’m his parent, and I should’ve been able to talk to him while I was there” she said.
According to court paperwork first obtained by LevittownNow.com on Friday, the boy was taken into custody along with Jordan Gibson, 19, who has no fixed address, and another passenger, who was not identified in court papers. The arrest came after Tullytown police were called to the Walmart for the group of that were accused of shop lifting $31.93 worth of merchandise on Tuesday at about 2:30 p.m. The F-150 driven by Gibson allegedly sped at “high speeds” through the Levittown Town Center shopping and was then chased by police onto Route 13. Police said the F-150 struck the rear of a car before officers trapped in as it drove into the Route 13 construction zone and took the three retail theft suspects into custody.
Heckler said as the 14-year-old boy sat handcuffed in the back of patrol car he somehow managed to escape and ran for it. A Tullytown officer gave chase on foot, repeatedly yelled for the boy to stop and warned him he would use the taser, Heckler said. After the boy did not comply, Heckler said the officer fired his taser to stop the boy from running handcuffed into busy afternoon Route 13 traffic, where construction barriers would have likely trapped him in the lanes of travel.
“If he would have ran out there and been hit by a cement truck, you’d be hearing a hoo-ha about it,” Heckler said.
One question that will need to be answered is how in fact did a boy handcuffed in the back of a patrol car get free, Heckler said.
Sargent claims the boy was struck in the face by the taser barb and “punched” several times in the face also causing a nasal fracture as the minor and his uncle left Walmart and were approached by authorities.  ”He’s going to need surgery now,” she said.
“A mystery shopper”, Sargent said, “saw Jordan take a BB gun from a case and put it  into my son’s backpack.”
The alleged BB gun was not listed in the probable cause affidavit filed against Gibson.
Heckler said the boy was actually struck in the shoulder by one prong of the barb and the other stuck in his cheek.
“[The boy] probably turned around to see if the officer was chasing him when the barb caught his cheek,” the district attorney said. “With handcuffs there was nothing to break his fall as his legs gave out.”
The boy was taken to Lower Bucks Hospital and treated for his injuries. He was released a short time later and taken to the Bucks County Juvenile Detention Center in Doylestown Township a short time later.
The boy’s family said he was released from jail on Friday.
The image of the boy circulated on social media shows swelling and bloodied wounds. Heckler said the boy’s wounds looked considerably worse as swelling set in.
Heckler said the boy did not report police brutality when youth officials talked to him during the week. He added that it was his understanding the boy was on probation, however if the family does lodge a report “county detectives will look into it further.”
Officials confirmed Saturday night that no formal complaint has been filed by the boy or his family with the district attorney’s office or Tullytown police.
“The police department is aware of the misinformation that has been circulating on social media about an arrest made by Tullytown officers. A thorough review of the incident is underway,” Tullytown Police Chief Dan Doyle told LevittownNow.com via phone interview.
Sargent, when asked on Saturday if she was going to file a complaint against the Tullytown Police Department, said, “we’ll be doing that  Monday.”

Court date set in police corruption suit

BENTON HARBOR A court date has been set for a lawsuit against the city of Benton Harbor.

Three men, previously charged with drug crimes, are suing the city over a drug scandal involving two former police officers. The men claim the city encouraged officers Andrew Collins and Bernard Hall, who are now serving prison time for planting drugs on suspects.

According to the Herald Palladium, the lawsuit claims as many as 80 others were wrongly arrested. Several cases were dismissed in 2008, when an internal investigation found drugs in the officers' lockers, and found that they created fake police reports and warrants.

Trial has been set for December 3rd