National Crime Watch: Police

National CrimeWatch: Police

Period: Tuesday, 2004/06/22 through Thursday, 2004/06/24

The Usual Suspects:

Former Breckenridge officer indicted
Rocky Mountain News, CO - 17 hours ago
By Rocky Mountain News. A former Breckenridge police officer is accused in federal court of hiding her ownership of a $32,700 Jeep ...

Officer sentenced for embezzlement
Providence Journal (subscription), RI - 4 hours ago
PROVIDENCE, RI (AP) - A former Providence Police Department Officer of the Year was sentenced to one year on probation and fined $1,000 for embezzling from the ...

Task force report on use of force
Rocky Mountain News, CO - 6 hours ago
... shall develop a thorough knowledge of the DPD's and DSD's policies, procedures, and practices and of best practices for addressing officer misconduct. 14. ...

Sheriff fired 27 in 3 months
Los Angeles Daily News, CA - Jun 23, 2004
... The office, which county supervisors created in 2001, reviews internal sheriff's investigations to ensure that allegations of officer misconduct are handled in ...

Goward warns of no-nonsense climate
News Chief, FL - Jun 22, 2004
... 2002. Romine was forced to resign in the wake of multiple incidents of officer misconduct, alleged discrimination and low morale. ...

Former Dallas police officer pleads guilty
Fort Worth Star Telegram (subscription), TX - 21 hours ago
DALLAS - A former Dallas police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to making false statements to a federally-insured financial institution, US Attorney Jane J ...

Town of Hamburg Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child ...
WGRZ-TV, NY - Jun 22, 2004
A town of Hamburg police officer pled guilty Monday, to receiving child pornography on his home computer. Forty five-year-old George ...

Ex-police officer pleads guilty to theft
Peoria Journal Star, IL - Jun 22, 2004
By KAREN McDONALD. EUREKA - A former Metamora police sergeant faces up to five years in prison for using money from a 9-11 fund-raiser ...

Wronged restaurateur settles
Canyon Courier, CO - 3 hours ago
... Ardehali pulled over on his own, concerned about what was going on. The officer charged him with two petty traffic offenses of questionable validity. ...

Arbitrator trumped; firing might stand
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH - 18 hours ago
By Jane Prendergast. The city of Cincinnati might not have to rehire one of the officers fired for lying after the death of Roger Owensby Jr. ...

Police quickly take to Tasers
Kansas City Star (subscription), MO - Jun 23, 2004
... Cincinnati police, with 566 Taser-equipped officers, fired their weapons 72 times from mid-January through the end of March. ...

New chief spends Monday meeting police, residents
Fort Worth Star Telegram (subscription), TX - Jun 22, 2004
... low morale and an image marred by the nation's highest crime rate among the largest cities, a fake drug scandal and a string of officers fired for questionable ...

Rule Would Bar Officers From Riverside Panel
Los Angeles Times (subscription), CA - Jun 22, 2004
... for the gun. Officers fired 24 times, killing Miller and sparking a furor in the city's African American community. The nine-member ...

Greenacres police officer charged with molestation
Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, FL - 22 hours ago
By Shahien Nasiripour and Nancy L. Othón. GREENACRES · A police officer who authorities say befriended a 12-year-old girl and began ...

One Year Later, Benton Harbor Residents Still Engaged in Struggle
Infoshop News - 11 hours ago
... and bottles. When a police officer fired a warning shot, someone in the crowd returned fire and hit a bystander in the leg. Early ...

Fired Officer Has To Wait And See
WLOX, MS - Jun 22, 2004
A Moss Point police officer fired earlier this month will soon learn whether he'll be back on the job. Mayor Frank Lynn and the ...

Off-Duty Deputy Arrested For Alleged DWI
ClickonSA.com, TX - 8 hours ago
SAN ANTONIO -- An off-duty sheriff's deputy was arrested overnight following a crash on the North Side. The driver and his passenger ...

Deputy arrested on domestic violence charge
KING5.com (subscription), WA - Jun 23, 2004
By ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News. A Whidbey Island detective arrested for allegedly abusing his wife, a police dispatcher, had his ...

Deputy Arraigned on Sexual Conduct
WLUC-TV, MI - Jun 22, 2004
A Schoolcraft County Sheriff's Deputy is released on a $4,000 bond after being arraigned yesterday morning on 4th Degree criminal sexual conduct. ...

Greene County Deputy Charged With Rape
WSFA, AL - Jun 23, 2004
A Greene County Sheriff's deputy, on the job for just a few days, is on unpaid administrative leave after he was accused of rape. ...

Ottawa County deputy fired
Fremont News Messenger, OH - Jun 23, 2004
PORT CLINTON -- Chad Magrum, a 15-year veteran of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, has been fired for improper conduct with a female jail inmate. ...

Former Constable Sentenced For Abusing Girl
INDYchannel.com, IN - 14 hours ago
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A Franklin Circuit Court judge sentenced a former county constable to 30 years in prison Tuesday, after he pleaded ...

Former probation officer gets deferred sentence
The Havre Daily News, MT - 6 hours ago
State District Judge David Rice sentenced Edward L. Schmidt on Wednesday after finding him guilty of one count of official misconduct at the end of a one-day ...

News briefs from Southern California
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - 8 hours ago
... and his department of violating Tinajero's civil rights, failing to properly supervise the jailhouse staff, negligence and other acts of official misconduct. ...

Juvee center worker faces sex charges
The Trentonian, NJ - Jun 23, 2004
... arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact, two counts of aggravated sexual assault, one count of official misconduct and one ...

Agents: Jailer accepted cash, allowed tobacco into Hamblen jail ...
Morristown Citizen Tribune, TN - Jun 22, 2004
... afternoon. Mullins hasn't yet been charged with allowing contraband into the jail, but was dismissed for alleged official misconduct. ...

1 indicted cop quits, another is fired
Chicago Tribune (subscription), IL - Jun 22, 2004
... Scales has been charged with official misconduct, aggravated assault, reckless discharge of a firearm and three counts of obstruction of justice, while ...

BX. COP CAUGHT IN 'NET
New York Post, NY - Jun 22, 2004
... prosecutors will huddle to determine whether the cop, whose name is being withheld, should be charged criminally with "official misconduct," a misdemeanor ...

Ex-Somerset police chief draws 1-year sentence
Lexington Herald Leader, KY - Jun 22, 2004
... Godby was charged with taking a $1,000 bribe from a car dealer and then recommending the city buy police cars from the dealer, and also with official misconduct ...

Minneapolis approves record settlement in police brutality claim
Pioneer Press (Subscription), MN - 2 hours ago
Minneapolis has agreed to pay almost $1 million to settle a police brutality suit brought by a man who lost his colon and part of his small intestine following ...

News footage shows LAPD officer striking man during arrest
Ventura County Star, United States - 7 hours ago
... watch our brothers and sisters be treated like this?" said Morris Griffin of the Los Angeles Coalition for Justice and Peace to End Police Brutality Committee. ...

What Cosby said
Denver Post, CO - 20 hours ago
... jailing of their kids. I've protested police brutality and a judicial system that so easily destroys black lives. But the truth ...

Dad details alleged beating
Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, PA - 20 hours ago
... Questions about possible police brutality were first raised by Councilman Danny Argo, who last week refused to vote in favor of hiring an additional police ...

Rally examines criminal justice nationally, abroad
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, IA - Jun 23, 2004
... The same demon that breeds abuse in Iraq is the demon that contributes to police brutality and racial profiling," Goodson said. ...


CRIME BLOTTER
New York Press, NY - Jun 22, 2004
... How it started was unclear, but police eventually had to use mace, and 19 people were arrested. Partygoers are claiming police brutality and harassment. ...

Protest the TEXCUTIONER and the Criminal Injustice System
MediaRights.com - Jun 22, 2004
... Republicans have pushed for a program nationwide that had led to more death rows, prisons, harsh drug laws, an end to parole and increased police brutality. ...

Protester Plans To Ask For Police Chief's Resignation
Officer.com - Jun 22, 2004
... community activists and some of Jones' relatives gathered downtown at the Jackson County Courthouse to voice concern over what they call "police brutality.". ...

Activist ’ s secret ? Words , words , words
Portland Tribune, OR - Jun 22, 2004
There are the City Hall gadflies who dress up like clowns, deliver sermons against police brutality, offer prayers to the City Council and perform seductive ...

Warren Area Urban League
WKBN, OH - Jun 22, 2004
... Recent incidents of alleged police brutality in Warren have put the city and the Urban League at the forefront of the "EXCESSIVE FORCE" issue.

Allegations of Police Abuse Cause Officer to Resign
KAIT, AR - 2 hours ago
... job. Last week Sgt. Arvin Volner was investigated by the Arkansas State Police for allegations of excessive force. Investigators ...

National Clips
People's Weekly World - 6 hours ago
... s words to life, two days later, the NAACP filed in federal court charging the Austin Police Department with using �excessive force against minorities and ...

Guns N' Roses victim 'sickened' by adjudicator's decision
CBC British Columbia, Canada - 7 hours ago
Police Complaints Commission adjudicator Ross Collver has ruled that Const. Reg Forster did not use excessive force when he struck 42-year-old Robert Parent. ...

Lawsuit blames cops for man's death
Marin Independent-Journal, CA - 15 hours ago
... The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Grime's wife, Liza, and their three children, claims the police used "abusive and excessive force" and that Doyle and county ...

Officer nailed for armed 'horseplay'
Allentown Morning Call, PA - 20 hours ago
... pay. Katz concluded that Vazquez violated Schall's civil rights, including his right to be free from the use of excessive force. ...

NAACP targets APD funds
Austin Chronicle, TX - 21 hours ago
... June 19 complaint filed with the DOJ, the NAACP alleges that Austin's black and Hispanic residents are disproportionately met with excessive force at the hands ...

Riverside hires firm to study police force
phillyburbs.com, PA - Jun 23, 2004
... Nearly 70 people showed up and 15 addressed the board in March 2003 to voice concerns of police misconduct and excessive force. ...

Seeks to overrule decision to ID cops in fatal shootings
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - Jun 23, 2004
... The cases involve accusations of excessive force against Officers David Burns for events dating to 1998, Nikolaus Borthne in 1999 and Gabriel Gallaread in 1999 ...

Racial Profiling Investigation Continues
WKYT, KY - Jun 23, 2004
... That's where police arrested several African-Americans. Some residents say police maced the crowd and used excessive force that night. ...

Charges Dropped Against Pats' Law
KTVU.com, CA - Jun 22, 2004
... traffic stop. Poston also said one of the officers used excessive force and that Law was considering filing a complaint. Law, a ...

WATCH THE VIDEO
News 9 San Antonio, TX - 10 hours ago
A night of drinking and driving landed an off-duty police officer in jail and in an unrelated case a man is behind bars for trying to beat-up a school district ...

TV clip sought in cop case
San Francisco Examiner, CA - 10 hours ago
... Hill was not in court Wednesday, but more than 20 off-duty police officers showed up. The court will meet again next Wednesday for a trial date hearing. ...

Officer Held for Trial in Road Rage Shooting
KDKA, PA - 13 hours ago
Paul Palmer was off-duty on disability leave at the time of the December third shooting on Interstate 279 just outside Pittsburgh. ...

Deputy whose firing was contested has resigned
Indianapolis Star, IN - 19 hours ago
... In November, a civilian merit board deadlocked 2-2 over firing Parker for a hotel-room sex act last summer that, while it occurred off-duty, involved a ...

Officers frustrated by investigation of sergeant
East Valley Tribune, AZ - 21 hours ago
... The women accused the 38-year-old husband and father of acting indecently a day earlier while off-duty at the Anthem Community Center with his children. ...

Police look into crack in Britney's butt
The Spoof (satire), UK - Jun 23, 2004
... Police later revealed to us that a crack team of DEA crack investigators, twenty-six off-duty traffic cops, fourteen male stenographers and possibly two fat ...


Policeman's Activities in Antiwar Group Spur Allegations
Los Angeles Times (subscription), CA - Jun 22, 2004
... But the newspaper story listed him as Aaron Kilner, a 27-year-old Fresno County, Calif., sheriff's detective who died in a motorcycle accident while off duty. ...

Student Killed by Off-Duty Officer
WXYZ, MI - Jun 22, 2004
By John Klekamp. Police say an off-duty Detroit cop had a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit when he hit and killed another driver. ...

Sniper hunter joins racial profiling talk
York Dispatch, PA - Jun 22, 2004
... ACLU is suing York County Sheriff William Hose and two of his deputies, accusing them of using race as a reason for stopping an off-duty state trooper last ...

Shelby officer on leave
Mansfield News Journal, OH - 19 hours ago
... was doing. Badnell said he had no information on Hackedorn being placed on leave because he does not handle employee issues. He ...

Dallas Officer Placed On Leave For 'Domestic Issues'
Officer.com - Jun 23, 2004
The department made the announcement Tuesday afternoon, the second day on the job for new Police Chief David Kunkle. The officer ...

Officials call jail sexual-misconduct cases rare
Press-Enterprise (subscription), CA - Jun 23, 2004
... He said he did not know how many inmates may have been involved. Doyle said Tuesday that he does not believe any more employees will be placed on leave. ...

Ex-cop set to cop a plea on theft counts
Bend.com, OR - Jun 23, 2004
You must be a registered user to make comments in this forum. By Barney Lerten. June 23 - Former Deschutes County sheriff Greg Brown ...

Jury in sex trial deliberating ex-cop's fate
Muskegon Chronicle, MI - Jun 23, 2004
By John S. Hausman. That's one question facing jurors deliberating the fate of former Muskegon Heights Police Sgt. Phillip E. Coleman ...

Ex-cop told to report to jail
York Dispatch, PA - Jun 22, 2004
By ELIZABETH EVANS The York Dispatch. A former York County detective has been ordered to begin serving his prison sentence for stealing ...

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/3446325/detail.html
Hit Man's Sentencing Nears
Martorano Confesses To 20 Murders
UPDATED: 5:50 p.m. EDT June 22, 2004
BOSTON -- Notorious mob hit man John Martorano will be sentenced Thursday, and the judge who will be deciding his sentence is getting an earful from the families of Martorano's many murder victims.
[...]
Martorano will come before a federal judge for sentencing Thursday, seeking favorable treatment for his work as a government witness. "It's disgusting to look at the life of all of the people that are rotting in state prison in Massachusetts because they impulsively killed someone one time, and this assassin, this hired gun, gets out in 12 years? It's frankly a disgrace," retired judge Robert Barton said. Martorano testified about corrupt FBI agent John Connolly. Connolly, who was convicted, implicated Martorano in murder. He also implicated former FBI agent Paul Rico, who was charged last fall in Wheeler's murder. Martorano tied his old pals and secret FBI informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi to numerous murders with which they were charged after long being protected by corrupt agents. But no one has been charged with committing as many murders as Martorano, who cannot be charged himself because he admitted them as part of a plea agreement. But among those calling for leniency for Martorano is the son of the Tulsa man he killed. David Wheeler holds the FBI far more responsible than Martorano. "The mafia hit man that pulled the trigger has more integrity than the FBI when you find your government has conspired to a situation that led to your father's murder," Wheeler said. Martorano was a mechanic doing a job, Wheeler wrote the judge. Some other victims' families agree with that assessment -- he was working for others. But no one can doubt that as a killer, Martorano was a pro's pro.
[...]

The Herald News
The Herald News, MA - Jun 23, 2004
... to testify in the civil lawsuit Mulcahy has filed in Newport Superior Court against the town and police officials claiming there was police corruption and a ...

Former Officer Accused Of Destroying Ex-Wife's Property
INDYchannel.com, IN - 6 hours ago
INDIANAPOLIS -- A former Indianapolis police officer who served prison time for bribery has been rearrested on accusations he destroyed some of his ex-wife's ...

Louisiana Police Chief Indicted
Officer.com - 12 hours ago
... Chief Clarence Skipper _ the town's only law-enforcement officer _ has been indicted by a Concordia Parish jury on charges of public bribery and malfeasance in ...

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TOTALLY UNRELATED, but fascinating...
Cheney in Firing Line over Nigerian Bribery Claims
Collective Bellaciao, France - Jun 23, 2004
A British lawyer is emerging as a key witness in a $180 million bribery investigation that could lead to the indictment of US vice president Dick Cheney. ...

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Hamblen Co. jailer faces possible bribery charges
WATE, TN - Jun 23, 2004
MORRISTOWN (WATE) -- A former Hamblen County jailer could have to get used to the other side of the bars. Next month a grand jury ...

Witnesses testify on behalf of officer
Providence Journal (subscription), RI - Jun 22, 2004
... said. Sedoma was convicted of aiding drug traffickers, bribery, extortion, fraud, corruption and several other charges in 2001. ...

$2.3 million in cocaine vanished from MPD property room, state ...
GoMemphis.com, TN - Jun 22, 2004
... Defense lawyer Scott Crawford, who often sat as a substitute judge in General Sessions, was charged in March with bribery and money laundering. ...

Ex-Somerset police chief draws 1-year sentence
Kentucky.com, KY - Jun 22, 2004
... dealer, and also with official misconduct. The jury acquitted Godby on the bribery charge. Jurors convicted him on the intimidation ...

News in brief from Northern California
Monterey County Herald, CA - Jun 23, 2004
REDDING, Calif. - A man who died in custody last month was asphyxiated while being restrained, the Shasta County coroner ruled. ...

Investigator: Police put hood on man who died in custody
Duluth News Tribune, MN - Jun 22, 2004
MEQUON, Wis. - A man who died in police custody was mistakenly placed in a high-tech protective hood instead of a device that shields ...

Inmates Death Ruled Suicide
WALB-TV, GA - Jun 22, 2004
Since Brown died in custody, Georgia law requires the GBI to investigate the death and Berrien County Corner Bob Lovein to hold an inquest. ...

Prosecutors Aim to Deny Stewart New Trial
Springfield News Sun, OH - 3 hours ago
... arrest record to get on the panel. Larry Stewart has pleaded not guilty to perjury charges and is scheduled for trial in September.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040624/APN/406241018
BOSTON -- Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said Thursday that she would consider limiting police powers if assured that would bring an end to wrongful convictions.

Stephen Cowans, who spent more than six years behind bars after he was found guilty of the 1997 shooting and wounding of a Boston police sergeant, was released in January after DNA tests proved his innocence.

A grand jury determined that there is not enough evidence to charge two Boston Police Department fingerprint technicians whose testimony helped convict Cowans, Attorney General Thomas Reilly said Thursday in a news conference with O'Toole and Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley.

O'Toole said a team of outside consultants, including the FBI, is examining police procedures regarding identification and interrogation of suspects.

"I would be willing to further limit the ability of the police beyond what the Constitutional requirements are in order to ensure we're not improperly identifying people," said O'Toole, who has assigned new leadership to the identification unit.

O'Toole earlier suspended fingerprint technicians Dennis E. LeBlanc and Rosemary McLaughlin. She said Thursday that McLaughlin has since filed for retirement, and LeBlanc remains on paid suspension.
[...]