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Some parts of this bill are great, while other portions are weak.
It's a start in the right direction, though.
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More low IQ POS blue line gang members lying and fabricating bullshit stories in an attempt to try to unlawfully identify a man who has broken no laws. A couple of jackboot pigs out to harass and collect and earn the hate they so deserve.
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WATCH: Cop Body Slams Innocent Man, Fracturing his Wrist, then Lies on Report
The Georgia police officer is being sued along with several other officers for violating the man's civil rights.
A Georgia cop claimed he felt threatened by Antonio Smith when he snuck up behind him and grabbed his wrist, wrapping his arms around his body, ordering him to put his hands behind his back.
Body camera footage shows Valdosta Police Sergeant Billy Wheeler had Smith in a tight bearhug from behind, restricting Smith's movements, making it impossible for him to move his arms. Smith's arms also appeared to already be behind his back when the sergeant picked him up and slammed him to the ground, breaking his left wrist.
It was only after the sergeant and two other cops had piled on top of Smith, planting their knees on him to handcuff him, that another cop informed them they had the wrong man.
Turns out, the real suspect had already been arrested on an outstanding warrant.
Last week, Smith filed a federal lawsuit against the Valdosta Police Department, alleging his civil rights were violated. The video shows they are not just allegations. There was no reason to attack him as they did because he was already being cooperative with the other cop, presenting his identification and proclaiming his innocence even though there was no need to stop him in the first place.
Wheeler, of course, twisted the narrative in typical cop fashion, claiming that Smith was standing with a "bladed stance," which is cop spin to claim Smith was on the verge of attacking an officer which anybody can see on the video is a complete lie.
According to the Valdosta Daily Times:
"As he approached the scene, the sergeant stated he noticed the patrolman talking to Smith who was “standing with a ‘bladed’ stance and he appeared to be arguing or debating with” the patrolman.
'Based on what I observed and believing this person to have a warrant for his arrest, I grasped his right wrist. I felt Smith tense up and begin to pull away from me. At that time, I wrapped my arms around Smith in a bear hug,' the sergeant wrote in his report.
He stated he adjusted his grip after the patrolman asked Smith to put his arms behind his back and that Smith 'continued to press his arms outward against mine.'
The sergeant stated Smith did not comply with orders and he pulled Smith 'off-balance and rolled him to the ground to gain control of him in anticipation of a warrant arrest.'
After it was determined that Smith was innocent, the cops suggested he hang around and wait for paramedics but Smith wanted nothing more to do with them and declined. He later checked himself into a hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured left wrist.
The incident took place on February 8, 2020 after Smith had been waiting at Walgreens for a wire transfer via ** from his sister in Florida. As police were arresting the real suspect on the warrant, the arresting officer told an arriving officer to check the other side of the building for a man who was supposedly panhandling, although it appears the panhandler was already in custody.
Nevertheless, Valdosta police officer Dominic Henry spotted Smith walking away from the store and stopped him, asking for his identification, claiming he was investigating "suspicious activity." The video shows Smith was trying his best to cooperate, knowing he had done nothing wrong.
But Wheeler chose to abuse him anyway, grabbing hold of him from behind before even ordering him to place his hands behind his back. Meanwhile, Henry said nothing the entire time they were abusing Smith, just like those cops in Minneapolis said nothing the entire time Derek Chauvin had his knee planted on George Floyd's neck.
Wheeler is a sergeant, after all, and Henry is just an officer. Henry claimed he was confused during the arrest.
"No, there’s two different people," Henry told the other cops after watching them abuse him for more than two minutes. "That’s why I was trying to figure out if I had missed something when you told him to put his hands behind his back.”
https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/cops-...30m129NJYZmerg
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Slick we were so far ahead of the game here
Good work bro
Actually meeting w an assistant to MPLS councilwoman who I bang, she wants some ideas on the mpls reform they should seek.
SBR influence policing in America!Comment -
That's awesome.
Accountability is the largest issue in my eyes. Having the cops "police" themselves has to end. The blue line privilege needs to end. It has become quite obvious over the past few years that we are dealing with a much larger problem than "just a few bad apples." Hopefully things work out for the best in your area and if successful can be utilized as a model for other cities.
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"Dude, you're a cop. I can't believe you're even doing this."
This off duty cop, Amanda Myers, was leaving a bar and backed into another patron. She then tries to bribe the guy whose car she hit. When the police show up she attempts to persuade them to give her the blue line privilege, (AKA get out of jail free card) but they were having none of it. She then starts name dropping (owner of the bar, prosecutor, mayor) in an attempt to intimidate the police on the scene, but eventually was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle under the influence, refusal with a prior conviction and reasonable control.
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Appeals Court Strips Immunity From Abusive Cops Who Assaulted A Compliant Black Man... And The City That Allowed This To Happen
It is exceedingly difficult to overcome qualified immunity in civil rights lawsuits against law enforcement officers. It often seems no matter how egregious the rights violation, qualified immunity still gets awarded because no previous law enforcement officer has egregiously violated rights in this exact way prior to the current case.
It's a rigged game -- one rigged by the very same institution that cursed the nation with this judicial construct more than 50 years ago. The Supreme Court conjured up this atrocity in 1967 and has spent the last several decades making it even more difficult for cops to be held accountable for their actions.
In this case, via Gabriel Malor, it's a pair of unicorns. Not only does the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court strip the qualified immunity the lower court awarded to a couple of Ohio cops, but it also strips the immunity from the city of Euclid, Ohio. It's a very rare occurrence when courts actually find a "pattern and practice" argument worthy of a sustained Monell claim and this is one of them.
Let's jump right in and see what led to this lawsuit. Surprise, surprise: it's the beat down and bogus arrest of an unarmed black man. Lamar Wright was conversing with a friend while sitting in his SUV. Unbeknownst to Wright, he and his friend were being surveilled by plainclothes cops on the lookout for drug activity. The officers presumed any short conversation between black men must be drug-related and rolled up on Wright. Here's what happened next:
After Wright pulled out of the driveway, [Officers] Flagg and Williams followed him. He turned right onto Recher Avenue and then left onto East 212th Street. The officers maintain that at both turns, Wright failed to use his turn signal…
"Maintain," eh?
… but there is no dash-cam footage or other evidence to confirm the officers’ word.
No camera here, but the cops were only getting started with Lamar Wright.
The situation escalated after Wright pulled into a second driveway to answer a text message from his girlfriend. While Wright texted in the SUV, the officers exited their vehicle, drawing their guns as they approached the SUV. One of the men caught Wright’s eye when he glanced up from his texting. In his side mirror, Wright could see this man dressed in dark clothing with a gun pointed at the SUV. Believing that he was about to be robbed, Wright dropped his cellphone in the center console and threw the car into reverse.
Hey, Wright was in a "high crime area." I mean, that's what officers use to establish reasonable suspicion for warrantless stops and searches. So, someone in a high-crime area might reasonably expect people pulling guns on them are about to rob them.
A second look cleared things up:
Glancing to his left, he saw another armed man, but this time he noticed a badge. Wright heard the men yell: “Shut the car off!” and “Open the door!” Now realizing that the men were police officers, he put the car in park and put his hands up.
Finally, we have some camera footage.
These events are corroborated by the body-cam footage.
"Just comply and nothing bad will happen to you," say a bunch of dudes with Blue Lives Matter bumper stickers.
At this point, Flagg stood beside the driver’s side door while Williams was next to the front passenger door. Both officers holstered their guns.
"Just comply..."
Next, Flagg yanked the driver’s side door open and demanded that Wright shut off the vehicle. Wright complied and then raised his hands once more.
"... and nothing bad will happen to you."
Flagg grabbed Wright’s left wrist, twisting his arm behind his back. The officer then attempted to gain control of Wright’s right arm in order to handcuff him behind his back while he remained seated in the vehicle. Flagg was unsuccessful in his efforts. As Flagg continued to twist the left arm, Wright repeatedly exclaimed that the officer was hurting him, to which Flagg responded, “let me see your hand,” apparently referring to Wright’s right hand.
Flagg then tried to pull Wright from the vehicle, but the latter had difficulty getting out. As noted, Wright had recently undergone surgery for diverticulitis, which required staples in his stomach and a colostomy bag attached to his abdomen. Though the officers apparently could not see the bag and staples, these items prevented Wright from easily moving from his seat. Wright placed his right hand on the center console of the car to better situate his torso to exit the car. By this point Williams had moved over to stand behind Flagg on the driver’s side. Williams responded to Wright’s hand movement by reaching around Flagg to pepper-spray Wright at point-blank range. Flagg simultaneously deployed his taser into Wright’s abdomen. The besieged detainee finally managed to exit the car with his hands up. He then was forced face down on the ground, where he explained to officers that he had a “shit bag” on. Officer Williams next handcuffed Wright while he was on the ground.
Two cops vs. a compliant man with a colostomy bag. All caught on video. And all of it unjustified. The court notes the cops tried to make it appear to be justified by talking it up for the benefit of their body cams.
As the body cam continued to record, Flagg made various arguably self-serving statements, including that “[Wright] was reaching like he had a f***ing gun,” and that Flagg had been afraid that Wright was going to shoot him.
But Wright had no gun. Also, no drugs. But they arrested him anyway because what else are you going to do after you've assaulted a compliant man and his colostomy bag.
Not helping their case any -- at least not at this level -- the cops admitted they really had nothing when they decided to run Wright in.
The officers conceded that they did not have probable cause to arrest Wright until after they believed he was resisting, and that they had not seen Wright engage in any illegal activity prior to the arrest apart from his alleged failures to use his turn signal.
Wright spent five hours in jail. Prior to that, the officers demanded the hospital perform a CT scan of Wright's abdomen, apparently hoping to find some drugs stuffed up in there. But the hospital refused after consulting with its legal department -- one apparently was more cognizant of applicable laws than the law enforcement officers looking to retcon their bogus arrest.
Wright was in jail for five hours for one reason: to be subjected to a full body scan -- the scan the hospital had refused to do. Again, nothing was found. Seven months later, the bullshit obstruction and resisting arrest charges were dropped.
Now, here's where it gets really interesting. Wright had to prove the city was responsible for these officers' actions. To do so, he needed to show the police department -- and its ultimate overseers -- had something to do with the brutality he experienced. Lo and behold, he could. The PD gave him everything he needed. Officers received training on "defensive tactics" -- training that included a lot of offensive content.
This training contains a link to a YouTube video of a Chris Rock comedy skit entitled “How not to get your ass kicked by the police!” The video shows numerous clips of multiple police officers beating African-American suspects. During the video, Rock says things such as:
“People in the black community . . . often wonder that we might be a victim of police brutality, so as a public service the Chris Rock Show proudly presents: this educational video.”
“Have you ever been face-to-face with a police officer and wondered: is he about to kick my ass? Well wonder no more. If you follow these easy tips, you’ll be fine.”
“We all know what happened to Rodney King, but Rodney wouldn’t have got his ass kicked if he had just followed this simple tip. When you see flashing police lights in your mirror, stop immediately. Everybody knows, if the police have to come and get you, they’re bringing an ass kicking with ‘em.”
“If you have to give a friend a ride, get a white friend. A white friend can be the difference between a ticket and a bullet in the ass.”
The city and PD claimed this was all in harmless fun. It was just supposed to lighten the mood for trainees being given implicit instruction that black people know what's coming to them if they resist. Wright did not resist, but he still got the treatment described in Chris Rock's act -- jokes that pointed out the disparity in treatment between whites and blacks when interacting with law enforcement.
But that's not all. There was also a PowerPoint presentation containing this too-on-the-nose graphic, insinuating that the best defense is a good proactive beating -- one that included the phrase "protecting and serving the poop out of you."
This was explained away by the cop shop's expert witness… who had no explanation for it.
Sergeant Murowsky testified that he did not believe that the graphic conveys that the Euclid Police Department “beat[s] the hell out of people,” R. 25 at PageID 1200, but he didn’t know what other message could possibly be taken away from the image.
The end result is this: no qualified immunity for the officers, including immunity for the false arrest and unreasonable detention claims. And the city itself must stand trial for its failure to ensure its police department didn't instruct officers to "beat the poop" out of citizens under the guise of protecting and serving. Let's ask some reasonable jurors, says the Sixth:
A reasonable jury could find that the City’s excessive-force training regimen and practices gave rise to a culture that encouraged, permitted, or acquiesced to the use of unconstitutional excessive force, and that, as a result, such force was used on Wright. Therefore, we REVERSE the district court’s grant of summary judgment on Wright’s Monell claim based on failure to train or supervise.
And here's the court's final word on the case -- a single paragraph that implicates the city in the police department's inability to control its officers.
It is very troubling that the City of Euclid’s law-enforcement training included jokes about Rodney King—who was tased and beaten in one of the most infamous police encounters in history—and a cartoon with a message that twists the mission of police. The offensive statements and depictions in the training contradict the ethical duty of law enforcement officer “to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality, and justice.”
Garbage in, garbage out. That's the city of Euclid and its police department, which is so laxly overseen it's creating bad apples by the barrel using little more than Chris Rock jokes and shitty PowerPoints. Everyone being sued will continue to be sued. And when it's all over, the city that can't protect its citizens from bad cops will ask citizens to pay for everything it -- and its bad cops -- inflicted on Lamar Wright. How about them apples?
Read the lawsuit here:
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Cop Charged with Battery for Yanking Woman out of Car, Planting Knee on her Neck
The South Florida police officer was fired last week over another incident caught on video. He was arrested Thursday.
Another cop was arrested in what has been an unprecedented month for dirty cops winding up in cuffs, proving that police and prosecutors had the power all along to make these arrests instead of spending countless months with "investigations" that went nowhere.
In this case, Miami Gardens police officer Jordy Yanes Martel was arrested Thursday for yanking a 33-year-old woman out of her car and planting his knee on her neck which is evidently a routine move taught in the academy that cops were getting away with for years.
But ever since Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by planting his knee on the man's neck for almost nine minutes in a video that viral and shocked the world, cops nationwide have been getting arrested for what was once not only acceptable but probably encouraged behavior.
Martel's arrest stems from an incident in January 14, 2020 where he was working off-duty as a security guard in a strip club called Tootsie's and had been asked by the manager to issue a trespass order on a woman who had just stormed out of the venue after arguing with him over food, throwing money at a waitress on her way out.
Safiya Satchell 33, was in the driver's seat of her car with a friend in the passenger seat when a security guard blocked them from leaving. Martel walked up to the window and ordered her out of the car and to walk with him to his car so he could issue her the trespass order, which would bar her from returning.
Satchell told the cop she had just removed her shoes and asked if she could just drive to his car which apparently was on the other side of the parking lot. But he refused and began escalating the conversation as they always do, evidently another tactic taught in the academy.
Her friend began recording. It was that video that saved her.
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According to the Miami Herald:
In his arrest report, he claimed that she closed the window on his hand, then began “striking me.” Once out of the SUV, he claimed, she resisted by “tensing and kicking,” then punched him on the lip.
Prosecutors said he dragged her out, swept her leg so she fell on her back and put his knee on her neck. Then, he twice used a Taser gun, stunning her in the belly.
Defense lawyers for Satchell turned over the video — taken by Satchell’s friend — to Miami-Dade prosecutors and FDLE several weeks ago.
Investigators determined that the video showed Martel’s arrest report contained a slew of false statements, including that he was “helping” her out of the SUV and that Satchell was kicking, they said.
“We felt very strongly that what he wrote in his affidavit and the incident report was completely made up,” Fernández Rundle said. She said of the video: “We’re not always fortunate to have this kind of evidence.”
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Martel arrested Satchell on the charges of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest with violence which were dismissed once prosecutors saw the video.
On Thursday, it was Martel who was charged with battery and official misconduct for the lies he wrote in his report.
Martel was fired last week along with another cop named Jaiver Castana, for another incident caught on video.
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"Department Finds Cop who Shot Man Through his own Front Door did Nothing Wrong"
Deputy Kevin Azzara, Greenville SC County Sheriff's Office, shot a man, Dick Tench, 4 times through the man's front door. The deputy was responding to an medical assist alarm call at the home and claimed the homeowner opened the front door and aimed a gun at him. The deputy's own bodycam footage proves otherwise. Even with the bodycam footage and the lies on Azzara's report, the sheriff's office investigated their own blue line brother's actions and and of course found no wrong doing.
"Internal affairs investigators for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office determined deputy Kevin Azzara acted according to policy when he shot 62-year-old Dick Tench, who was standing in the window next to the front door to his own home.
An internal investigation conducted by the sheriff's office's Officer of Professional Standards to see if deputy Azzara violated any written policies found that no agency policies were violated when he opened fire on the man while standing outside his home.
However, Azzara blatantly lied in his police report, claiming that Tench had opened his front door and pointed his weapon at him when the video shows Tench was standing behind a closed door just holding the gun.
It happened on June 14 when Tench was awakened at midnight by loud banging on his front door and bright lights shining through his windows believed was an intruder trying to break into his home when he grabbed his pistol and walked towards his front door to investigate. Tench ended up shot by deputy Azzara, who claims he confused him for a burglar."
"The Sheriff’s Office’s statement for weeks after the shooting was that my client opened his front door and aimed at a deputy, and you can look at that body cam — that ends that version,” attorney Beattie Ashmore told The Greenville News Monday after the Sheriff's Office released the clips of footage. “It’s difficult to explain how something like this could have happened."
Bodycam footage:
Greenville County Sheriff's Office's critical incident community briefing:
Federal lawsuit filed against Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and deputy Kevin Azzara. This story is what started this thread. (page 1, post#1) This is just utterly disgusting how these blue line gang members cover up and deny any accountability when one of their own commits a horrible act like this and then has the audacity to claim that no laws or department policies were broken. What a load of bullshit! The lack of accountability and unequal application of the law is sickening. No more blue line privilege. No more police "investigating" themselves. No more union interference and influence. No more taxpayer money being used to pay for or settle these lawsuits for these jackboots' criminal activities. If these pigs can't honor their oath, then they need to be fired and/or rot in prison like any other criminal would for similar crimes. FTP!
Fired Cop Kills Man, 3 Dogs, Gets Rehired and Shoots Innocent Dad Through a Door — Still a Cop
Simpsonville, SC — In case after corrupt case, we have reported on police officers who shoot and often kill entirely innocent people — on video — and face no consequences. Even when they are caught lying about what actually happened, the officers involved in the shooting and the subsequent cover up, are almost never held accountable. Case in point, the following story out of South Carolina in which a cop walked up to an innocent man’s home, shot him through the window, lied about it, and the department ruled that he “broke no laws.”
On the night of June 14, 2019, Dick Tench and his wife were sound asleep when Greenville County deputy Kevin Azzara walked up to the couple’s home, rang the doorbell and then shot Tench four times before he could even open the door. The entire scene was captured on the officer’s body camera, and department’s original version of events did not match the video at all. Despite the blatant discrepancies between what the department claimed happened and what actually happened, Azzara was ruled justified in his actions.
In a lawsuit filed this week in federal court, we’ve learned that this cop has been involved in an unjustified shooting and allowed to remain a cop — despite being terminated from his previous job as a cop.
Azzara was terminated from a New Jersey police department for an unjustified shooting when he became a gypsy cop before moving to South Carolina, who gladly hired the dangerous officer. Despite his history of violence, the police union has no problem supporting his actions.
“That was our position from the beginning, that he broke no laws, he broke no policies, he didn’t do anything wrong,” Michael Laubshire, an attorney with the South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police who is representing Azzara, told The Greenville News.
According to the union, walking up to an innocent man’s home and attempting to murder him as he looks out the window is completely within policy. Sure thing.
Naturally, this is a statement with which Tench and his legal team strongly disagree.
“(Azzara) was hiding behind a wall and shot me at a 45 degree angle,” Tench said. “That’s what happened. I’m laying on the ground with three bullet holes in me, dying.”
Tench admits in a lawsuit that he has a concealed weapons permit and was holding a gun that night but never once pointed it at the officer. Also, he was inside his own home and had committed no crime.
“Dick Tench still has a bullet in his hip that reminds him of the shooting every day,” Tench’s attorney, Beattie Ashmore, said. “Nothing has ever been done by Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. The complaint alleges that this deputy was terminated his rookie year in New Jersey and unsuccessfully sued to get his job back. We further allege that he was then hired by GCSO and prior to shooting Dick he shot and killed three dogs and a person. The GCSO then lied about what happened by saying Dick opened the door and pointed a gun at the deputy. Thankfully the body camera video proves that Dick was shot in his own home through his front door window. Dick and Cindy want accountability and better training for local law enforcement.”
According to the department’s original “official story,” when Azzara came to the door, Tench opened up the door and pointed a gun at the deputy. However, after you watch the video below, you can clearly see that this is not the case at all.
Tench never even had a chance to open the door and was merely looking through the window when the trigger happy deputy opened fire on him.
“The Sheriff’s Office’s statement for weeks after the shooting was that my client opened his front door and aimed at a deputy and you can look at that body cam – that ends that version,” Ashmore told The Greenville News last year after the Sheriff’s Office released the clips of footage. “It’s difficult to explain how something like this could have happened.”
For several weeks after the shooting, the department protected the deputy’s identity by refusing to name him. Only after they cleared him, did they release his name.
According to the lawsuit, Azzara never identified himself as law enforcement prior and never activated the blue lights or siren on his vehicle while he was at the Tench’s house.
As the video shows, the sound on the body camera is silent for the first 30 seconds, including when the deputy fired his gun. It never shows the door open, completely blowing the department’s claims out of the water. However, the audio does pick up the conversation after the shooting, clearly showing the irresponsible nature of the deputy and the department.
TFTP predicted that this deputy would not face any charges as this is the standard operating procedure for most departments. However, we had no idea that Azzara had been in this situation before. According to SLED files, Azzara is no stranger to shooting and even killing people. Just two years ago, in 2017, Azzara shot and killed a Simpsonville man. In 2016, documents show that he shot that same man’s dog. Like this shooting, he faced zero accountability.
When the department released the video, they did so with their official narrative, attempting to justify every action the officer took along the way. Now we see why. However, we have the unedited one below. As you watch the video below, remember that this man had harmed no one, broken no law, and was safely asleep in his home when a cop came to his door and shot him. Had the man who shot Tench been a regular citizen, rest assured that a manhunt would have been launched and news alerts rolled out. However, because the shooter had a badge and a gun, not only was there no manhunt, but the shooter is still getting paid by taxpayer dollars. Shameful indeed.
“People say they have a tough job and everything… And they do. But there’s also innocent people out there getting killed every day,” Dick said. “Every day getting killed by bad decisions. They need better vetting and better training.”
https://thefreethoughtproject.com/ki...-through-door/
See the lawsuit filed here:
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Another display of criminal behavior by thugs wearing costumes and badges. These pigs can't even make up a believable lie in their attempt to cover up their criminal activity. The Knoxville blue line terrorist gang thinks that the jackboots' actions were within department SOP and the pigs' actions did not warrant an internal investigation or discipline. If they don't see any of these pigs' actions as a violation of law or their policies, then this department has no business even existing. Corruption from the top to the bottom of this gang.
Cops Choke Handcuffed Man Hold His Nose to Prevent Him from Breathing—Lawsuit
Knoxville, TN — A couple is suing the city of Knoxville after three officers with the city’s police department arrested and assaulted them for retreating into their house when police arrived to respond to a call about a domestic dispute.
On June 13, 2019, Knoxville police were called to the home of John Gorghis and his wife, Kelli, but there are very few details about what caused the initial complaint. When police arrived on the scene, the couple attempted to run inside and shut the door before officers could make it inside. John tried to shut the door as the officers approached, but he ended up slamming Officer Preston Tucker’s fingers in the door in the process. This likely set the officers off.
Tucker then pushed his way into the home and assaulted John, slamming his face onto the ground before handcuffing him and then throwing him in the back of another officer’s police car. The officers on the scene also decided that Kelli should be arrested as well.
John Gorghis would be held in the back of the cruiser for over 20 minutes before police randomly decided to inflict punishment on him. Tucker removed John from the police car, threw him to the ground again while he was still handcuffed, and then the officers teamed up to put him in a chokehold. This part of the encounter was captured on dash and body camera footage.
The officers claim that they were trying to get a picture of John’s face because it was injured in the initial scuffle, but he allegedly refused by putting his hands in front of his face. To prevent him from blocking his face, the officers said that they needed to readjust his handcuffs.
As he was being pulled out of the car, John pleaded with the officers and expressed his confusion with the situation.
“Officer, I have the most respect for you and your profession. I don’t know why you all are doing this to me!” John shouted.
In the video, John can also be heard shouting “Choke me out!? Choke me out!? I got all these bruises on me now. Why are you holding my nose? Why are you holding my nose? I don’t understand this. What the (expletive) did I do? What did I do? You have cuffs on me.”
Patrick Looper, the Gorghis’ attorney, says that Officer Matthew Speiser choked John and tried to hold his nose to further restrict his breathing.
“We will be filing a motion to amend our complaint. After reviewing the video several times, it would appear that Officer Speiser was the officer who was choking my client and not Officer Tucker,” Looper wrote in an email to KnoxNews.
Later the charges against the couple were dismissed, and they followed up with a lawsuit against the town and the officers involved. The videos of the incident also showed that officers on the scene attempted to tamper with the footage by turning off their microphones at times during the incident.
Knoxville Police Department spokesperson Scott Erland said no internal affairs investigation was conducted, and that no officers were disciplined.
Capt. Tony Willis defended the officers in a statement, suggesting that their actions were entirely legal and justified.
“I reviewed the in-car videos of the above incident and discovered that the involved officers were calm and professional throughout the encounter, including their demeanor after the subject was in custody,” Willis Wrote.
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Starbucks investigated themselves and found no wrongdoing.
LAPD officer says ‘tampon’ was put in his Target Starbucks — Target denies claim
An off-duty LAPD cop claims he found a “tampon” in his Starbucks Frappuccino, as his police union decried the act as a “disgusting assault” on law enforcement — but the internet says no way that’s a tampon as it questioned the narrative amid a spate of similar false alarms.
The incident allegedly happened last Friday around 2:30 p.m. at a Starbucks in Diamond Bar, Ca. — part of LA County — but only came out in a report Monday evening after a police report was filed, according to Fox11.
The media report, citing sources, says the 36-year-old off-duty cop, who was not in uniform, found what he believed to be a tampon in his Frap after using his police union debit card.
In a scathing statement, the LAPD union said, “This disgusting assault on a police officer was carried out by someone with hatred in their heart and who lacks human decency. We hope they are publicly exposed, fired, arrested, and prosecuted for their cowardly and repugnant actions.”
The photo of the “tampon” led to dozens of women dragging the reporter and cop on Twitter after pointing out it wasn’t a tampon.
“for a while this morning i kept thinking to myself, “did a reporter put in this much work and not even realise this isn’t a tampon?” one user wrote.
“that looks like a white dude’s dreadlock, not a blood soaked tampon. are you kidding me right now lol,” another wrote.
The Starbucks was located in a Target, and its workers are employees of the retail chain, not Starbucks.
“We have reviewed video footage and have not found any suspicious behavior,” Target said in a statement.
Los Angles Sheriffs were reviewing surveillance footage from the store, the report says.
The debacle comes a week after the NYPD Shake Shack scandal that sparked conspiracy theories about three cops getting “poisoned” by the fast-food eatery.
The Post detailed how the incident quickly escalated from the trio of officers getting a bad batch of shakes without any criminal activity to allegations of cop-hating workers trying to harm the officers.
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Disgusting blue line privilege. Former officer Clayton Jenison received a $70K payout and was allowed to resign instead of being fired. The pig avoided any criminal charges or discipline by using the blue line gang's magic "I feared for my life" statement. The taxpayers shelled out $2.3 million for a wrongful death settlement for Jenison's actions.
Kansas officer who fatally shot teen gets $70,000 payout
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — An Overland Park police officer who fatally shot a 17-year-old who was backing out of the family’s garage received $70,000 as part of a severance package when he agreed to resign, city officials said.
Former officer Clayton Jenison killed John Albers in January 2018 after responding to the family’s home when Albers’ friends reporting he was making suicidal comments. Police said Albers backed the minivan out of the family’s garage toward Jenison, who yelled at him to stop and then fired 13 times.
Albers parents were not home at the time.
The Johnson County District Attorney later ruled the shooting was justified because Jenison feared for his life.
In a statement Tuesday, the city of Overland Park said the compensation package and severance payment given to Jenison in exchange for his resignation were in the best interest of the community, WDAF-TV reported.
Albers’ family settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the city for $2.3 million. His mother, Sheila Albers, said Tuesday she was “disgusted” by the Jenison’s payout.
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The nation's largest terrorist organization is at it again. Another POS road pirate wearing a costume and badge harasses a man who has broken no laws. This jackboot is obviously accustomed to people licking his boots and just obeying his unlawful commands as he violates their rights. It's about time these pigs honor their sworn oath and abide by the law and stop policing with their egos, opinions and feelings.
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Another pig who had his ego bruised when he was asked to leave private property. After being asked to leave the property several times the POS wearing a costume and badge decided he was going to reveal his ego and low IQ to this property owner. The blue line gang can't stand it when a person stands up to them and calls them out for their actions.
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This is what 20 weeks at police academy summer camp produces.
"You need to leave our city."
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Bleed blue. You will not regret itComment -
Politically-Connected Cop Drives Twice the Speed Limit, Kills Innocent Man — NO CHARGES
Police officer Jakob Streyle was traveling at roughly twice the speed limit when he crashed into an elderly man’s SUV at an intersection in July of 2019. Steven Gene Santini, 72, was killed in the crash, and he was ultimately blamed for the incident as well — despite clear and overwhelming evidence against the officer.
Officer Streyle insisted that Santini passed through the stop sign without stopping, and was eventually able to gather at least one witness who would confirm his side of the story, but in a pending lawsuit, Santini’s wife says that police did not take statements from two people who were traveling directly behind him. The people traveling behind him say that he did stop at the intersection, and there is also reportedly video evidence from a nearby surveillance camera that confirms this version of events as well.
The police report claims that “multiple witnesses” saw Santini pass through the stop sign, but only one witness’s testimony was listed. The claims of the witness cited in the police report are disputed by video evidence and other witnesses at the scene, but their testimony was never taken and the video was never considered as evidence.
Due to the disputed testimony of the sole witness, officer Streyle has been able to avoid any consequences for his reckless behavior. It may have helped that Streyle seems to have a friendly relationship with Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Freeman, who was ultimately responsible for deciding whether or not Streyle would face criminal charges.
In a letter absolving Streyle of any charges, Freeman pointed to the disputed witness testimony, and also suggested that emergency vehicles are allowed to break certain traffic laws. However, this only applies if the vehicle is actively on their way to an emergency with their sirens on, neither of which was the case in this incident.
On the day that the crash happened, Fairmont police posted an update on their Facebook page, reporting that a police truck crashed into a man who ran a stop sign, but also said that the truck “was not being operated at an extensive rate of speed.”
They were deceiving the family from the beginning.
Eight months later, the Santini family learned that this claim was a lie, when their insurance company hired an independent crash reconstructionist, who determined that Streyle was driving at least 73 mph when the crash happened.
The family’s lawyer Tony O’Dell, believes that the police department intentionally kept this information from the family and the public.
“The family was led to believe … that the Fairmont police officer was driving the speed limit. That is very troubling that the police department allowed this family to go for months not knowing what actually happened to their husband and dad,” O’Dell said, according to the Charlestown Gazette.
Freeman is seeking reelection in November, and unsurprisingly, he has been endorsed by officer Streyle. In fact, Streyle comes from a law enforcement family, and his brother was hired just a few months after the crash.
Freeman has said that he appreciates the support he has gotten from the Streyle family, but denies any type of personal relationship that may have impacted his decision in the case.
“They’re all involved in law enforcement, so anytime you get that as a prosecutor — that kind of support, certainly it means a great deal, but we don’t have a personal relationship between myself and any of the Streyle family,” Freeman said.
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More blue line privilege. This POS pig shoots his wife in the chest during a domestic dispute and gets a paid vacation and isn't even charged or arrested.
School Cop Shoots Wife During Domestic ‘Dispute’, Fellow Cops DO NOT Arrest Him
Houston, TX — If any man in this country shoots their spouse with a gun during a domestic dispute, that man would be immediately arrested or possibly even killed in the process of taking them into custody. That is, of course, unless the shooter wears a badge.
A Fort Bend ISD police officer is flexing his blue privilege today after dumping a round into his wife’s chest. According to police, they were dispatched to a home in the 14000 block of Prosperity Ridge around 4:00 p.m. on Monday over a domestic dispute call.
When officers arrived, they found the cop’s wife bleeding out with a bullet hole in her chest.
“We came out and found out that his wife was shot one time in the chest area,” said an HPD investigator at the scene. He said the couple has three children, one of whom was inside the home at the time of the shooting, according to ABC 13.
Though police claim the shooting occurred during a domestic dispute, they released no other details other than the following statement, saying that the officer is being questioned, but not arrested.
“Fort Bend ISD has been made aware of an FBISD police officer who was involved in a domestic dispute and taken into custody by the Houston Police Department. The employee is currently on administrative leave, pending an investigation. The HPD investigation is ongoing, and as of this moment, there have been no charges or arrests.
“As normal protocol, the District’s Human Resources Department and the Fort Bend ISD Police Department will conduct internal investigations and take all appropriate actions when the investigation is completed. We will continue to work closely with all parties as they continue their investigation.”
ABC 13 spoke to neighbors who claimed the couple was normally peaceful and have never experienced anything like this before.
“I was surprised,” said neighbor, Malcolm Lacoste.
“They both seemed like peaceful people,” Lacoste said. “I mean, I personally never known them to be in any situation that would lead up to this.”
This case highlights the extensive privilege granted to police officers even in the most extreme situations. Had this man shot his wife and not had a badge, rest assured things would have played out far different.
Had he been a regular Joe, he could have and likely would have been killed — after all, police were responding to a shooting and knew the suspect was armed.
Also, what this case illustrates is that police officers in the United States have an exceedingly higher rate of domestic violence than any other occupation. The average rate of domestic violence among most families in America is around 10%. As the National Center for Women and Policing points out, two studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence. That is a four-fold increase.
A simple Google search will illustrate how police officers are arrested for domestic violence on a near-weekly basis. It is also estimated that the incident rate for domestic violence is likely far higher than reported as many women stay silent out of fear of retaliation and the fact that their abuser’s brothers in blue will cover for them.
As TFTP has previously noted, a report by a government-appointed watchdog group shows that most of the time, abusive officers who commit these crimes, do so with seeming impunity. The above case is a perfect example of why that is so.
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Brave Cop Suspended for Exposing Officers Suffocating Man, Shoving Baton in His Mouth Until He Died
UPDATE: It was just announced that the cop who blew the whistle on the death of Eric Lurry in Joliet police custody was stripped of his police powers and placed on administrative leave Monday.
Joliet, IL — Joliet police Sgt. Javier Esqueda is a good cop. We can say this with certainty because he proved it by refusing to stay silent about the alleged criminal acts of his fellow cops and risked his career to shine light into darkness. He watched a video of his fellow officers appear to suffocate a man until he died and decided that enough was enough.
His name was Eric Lurry.
On January 29, police targeted Lurry because they suspected him of having a substance deemed illegal by the state.
According to CBS 2, Nicole Lurry said her husband had just finished getting his license to be a barber, and was enrolled in school to become an instructor at the barber school. But in late January, the 37-year-old – who had served time before for drugs – got arrested again.
When police arrested Lurry, they put him in the back of a squad car and suspected him of putting drugs in his mouth. Because the state claims the right to kidnap, cage, beat, and kill people over arbitrary substances, when Lurry was put in the back of the car, he was essentially tortured.
In an attempt to get Lurry to spit out the drugs, police held his nose closed while shoving a baton in his mouth and slapping him. This torture went on for nearly two entire minutes until Lurry fell unconscious and eventually died.
“He was suffocating,” Sgt. Esqueda said. “In my opinion, anybody would suffocate in that situation.”
For five months, the department kept the video secret while clearing the cops involved. Nicole Lurry never knew of the video’s existence until Esqueda blew the whistle after he came across it.
Adding to the egregious act of hiding such damning evidence is the fact that the audio had been turned off after the officers were seen slapping Lurry.
“It was almost like the supervisor looks off and says something to somebody, and then you hear the sound cut out. That’s what alerted me that possibly, they were trying to get rid of evidence,” Esqueda said.
“So there was a deliberate, initial act to turn off the audio or get rid of the audio?” CBS 2 reporters asked Sgt. Esqueda.
“There had to be. There’s no way that can happen,” he said.
Naturally, Esqueda is scared of retaliation and when asked if he might lose his job for leaking the video, he said that is a possibility but he couldn’t remain silent.
“There’s some fear. When you see stuff like this, you have to come forward. You can’t sit there and be quiet, because then, we’re just part of the problem,” he said.
If all cops had this resolve, America would be in a much better place than where we currently find ourselves.
Surprisingly enough, Esqueda has the support of the Black Police Officers Association, which includes about 30 officers and supervisors of all races.
“He’s a member, and we’re going to back him,” said Dave Jackson, president of his department’s Black Police Officers Association.
“If someone’s doing the right thing, we’re going to stand right there with them. Sgt. Esqueda has been held as a well-respected supervisor and United States Marine and has served his country and his community proudly,” Jackson added.
Jackson also called Esqueda “brave as well as a hero” for coming forward.
“Without Sgt. Esqueda drawing attention to this death to city officials, this in-custody death may still be pending,” Jackson said, according to Patch.
Esqueda told reporters that he leaked the video because he wanted to prove that not all cops are bad.
“In light of everything that’s’ been happening – you know George Floyd really had a lot of us police officers. When we saw that video, a lot of us cried. People don’t believe that. But the thing is, there are a lot of good officers out of 750,000. Not everybody is a bad cop. Most cops that I know were upset by George Floyd,” he said.
Obviously not all cops are bad people. However, if we look at Esqueda’s case, all the officers involved in Lurry’s death, the supervisors, the chief, literally everyone but Esqueda was willing to look the other way. This would imply that all the cops in the Joliet police department are bad — except for Esqueda.
Even officials outside the police department whose “investigation” found that depriving Lurry of air for nearly two minutes played no role in his death.
The entire Joliet Police Department upper administration, Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force, Coroner Patrick O’Neil and State’s Attorney James Glasgow all stayed silent about Lurry’s death, highlighting the systemic and corrupt code of silence.
https://thefreethoughtproject.com/brave-cop-leaks-video/Comment -
Georgia Cop Charged with Masturbating at a Gold's Gym Sauna
This cop was fired and arrested after police say he was masturbating inside of a Gold's Gym.
Richmond County Sheriff’s Deputy Lamar Andrews, 29, has been fired and arrested after he was allegedly caught masturbating in a Gold's Gym sauna on July 6 in Augusta, Georgia.
According to WFXG News, Andrews was charged with public indecency. He is being held at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a Gold’s Gym in Augusta after receiving a call from a member and a staff representative about a male suspect masturbating in the sauna of the gym.
An internal and criminal investigation was conducted which led to Andrews’ arrest on July 7. Andrews was hired by the sheriff's office in October 2018 and was assigned to the field operation division in the south precinct.
https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/cops-...Mk-E475drW4vNwComment -
South Carolina Cop Caught Sleep In Patrol Car Intoxicated with Beer, Police Say
A police officer has been fired after he was discovered passed out in a patrol cruiser allegedly drunk.
Sgt. Matt Kinard of the Mount Pleasant Police Department in Mount Pleasant, SC was charged and fired on July 3. Kinard was charged with public intoxication after he was found with a beer can between his legs while sitting inside his department issued patrol vehicle.
Officers found Kinard unconscious in one of the department’s marked SUVs around 11:20 a.m. on July 3 after receiving a call of a individual passed out in a vehicle. Upon closer inspection, responding officers also say they found an open container of beer between Kinard’s legs, ABC News 4 reports.
A on-duty supervisor was notified and responded to the scene. The supervisor escorted Kinard back to the Mount Pleasant Police Department where he was met by the operations captain and the Office of Professional Standards lieutenant.
According to police, it was determined Kinard was intoxicated while on duty and had passed out in his marked police SUV.
Kinard was fired immediately, charged with public intoxication and released on a courtesy summons, which means he could be arrested if he fails to show up in court, according to state law.
Mount Pleasant Police Chief Carl Ritchie released a prepared statement:
“The criminal consequences are consistent with those a non-law enforcement member of our community would be exposed to and we should not be expected to be treated differently in this circumstance. I am very disappointed that one of our police supervisors would conduct himself in this manner."
Kinard was with the Mount Pleasant Police Department for five years.
https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/cops-...KUuNFt1uRzp5RwComment -
Revolutionary New Bill Would Require Cops to Carry Their Own Personal Liability Insurance
Since the George Floyd protests began in May, they have since morphed into a much broader movement which is now exposing a problem this country has suffered from for a long time. The system of law enforcement in this country has morphed into a militarized standing army, preying on the poor, and rife with corruption. Naturally, people are pissed and this anger is finally morphing into solutions.
To lower the likelihood of future chaos, America’s system of law enforcement needs radical change. Instead of threatening to execute suspected looters with no due process — the discussion we should be having right now is how to fix this broken system. It is not difficult, it is based in logic and reason, and its effects would be significantly felt almost overnight.
For nearly a decade, the Free Thought Project has been advocating for police officers to carry their own personal liability insurance like doctors. Now, it is finally catching on.
According to the NY Post, a bill introduced by state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx) would require police officers to obtain personal liability insurance to cover civil lawsuits filed against them for excessive force and other abuses as a way to deter misconduct.
"Under current law, cops who are sued are represented by the city law department and taxpayers foot the bill for any verdict or settlement.
Biaggi’s proposal would require each officer to obtain individual liability insurance. The city or other local governments would still be required to cover the basic insurance policy to cover tort litigation costs.
But Biaggi said her bill would better hold officers accountable by requiring them to pay any increase in premiums related to payouts for wrongdoing."
“Officers who have misconduct claims brought against them may see their premium go up and will be required to pay those costs. The purpose of this bill is to establish a financial disincentive for police misconduct and create accountability for abhorrent behavior,” she said.
As TFTP has reported, a lawsuit is filed against the NYPD every 2.5 hours. This has cost the taxpayers of New York hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. This has to change.
Police officers, even when found at fault for their abusive actions, are almost never held personally liable. It is the taxpayers who foot the bill. However, with bills like this one, all that can change overnight by requiring cops to carry personal liability insurance.
Imagine, for a moment, the result of all police officers being held personally liable for their actions and forced to pay their victims. In nearly every other profession on the planet, if someone hurts someone else while on the job, they are held liable — personally. Why can’t cops carry personal liability insurance just like doctors?
As instances of police brutality and police killings continue to be exposed, there is no doubt that the US is in dire need of reform. The simple requirement for police to be insured for personal liability is an easy fix — especially to remove repeat offenders from the force.
All too often, when a tragic death such as George Floyd occurs, later — as was the case with Derek Chauvin — we find out that the officer should have never been given a badge and a gun in the first place because of their past. However, insurance companies, who can’t fleece the taxpayers to pay for problem cops, would have to come out of pocket to pay for them and would make sure that these officers are uninsurable.
If the officer becomes uninsurable, the officer becomes unhirable — simple as that.
There are likely many cops out there right now who would be denied insurance coverage by any company, due to their track records. A requirement for personal liability insurance would, quite literally, weed out problem officers — almost overnight.
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North Carolina Chief Deputy Arrested on Gun Theft Charges
He was a Chief Deputy and second in command to a sheriff, but he lost it all after being arrested on gun theft charges.
On July 8 Don Eberhardt, 50, former Chief Deputy of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina was arrested after an investigation by special agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Special Investigations Unit.
On April 21 the State Bureau of Investigation was requested by the Buncombe County District Attorney to conduct an investigation into an alleged theft by Eberhardt of a firearm from Carolina Guns and Gear in Asheville, NC that happened on April 9. The alleged stolen pistol was a 556/Delton/Dri-15, valued at $500.
On Monday, July 6 a Buncombe County grand jury returned a true bill of indictment on the charges of felonious larceny and felonious possession of stolen goods, ABC 17 News reports.
On July 8 Eberhardt turned himself in at the Buncombe County Detention Center just before 8 a.m. After going before a magistrate, he was issued a written promise to appear. The Buncombe County District Attorney has referred the prosecution of this case to the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys.
At the initial point of the investigation Eberhardt was placed on paid administrative leave effective April 24th while the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation. However, Eberhardt is not an employee with the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office anymore. It is unclear if Eberhardt was terminated or resigned.
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Cop Arrested for Getting 12yo Girl Drunk Before Exposing Himself to Her
Highland County, OH — As TFTP reports on a regular basis, cops are constantly in the news fro their criminal actions. Second only to incidents of police brutality are crimes for instances of sexual misconduct. As the following case out of Ohio illustrates, nearly half of all police sexual misconduct involves crimes against society’s most vulnerable — children.
A police Sergeant is facing multiple criminal charges after he was accused of getting a 12-year-old girl drunk and exposing himself to her during a Father’s Day party at his house. Roy E. Stephens, 32, a longtime officer with the Leesburg Police Department, was charged with indecent exposure and providing alcohol to a minor, which seems to be fairly lenient considering the nature of the offense.
These are misdemeanor charges and under these circumstances in the state of Ohio, the matter of placing Stephens on the sex offender registry will be up to the discretion of the judge, so there is a chance he will avoid that penalty, especially if he is a first time offender and a police officer.
Leesburg Law Director Fred Beery said that Stephens had been a police officer with the city for “A few years,” but did not specify exactly how long he has been employed with the city. The complaint was made last month, after a Father’s Day party at Stephens’ house on June 20th into the 21st. The incident was reported to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office by the girl’s mother the very next day.
Stephens turned himself in on July 2nd, but was released shortly after on an own recognizance bond, which means that he didn’t have to pay bail. He will be due back in court on August 6th, and until then he has been ordered to stay away from the victim and stay at his home during night hours unless he is at work.
According to the affidavit filed in court last week. Stephens gave the young girl between three and five alcoholic beverages throughout the night, and at one point encouraged her to chug one of the drinks down fast so it would “mess [her] up faster.”
These allegations are a clear attempt at getting the girl drunk so he could have his way with her.
The young girl said that Stephen’s later exposed himself to her in his truck after giving her more alcohol. She told the police that she felt the effects of the alcohol, but was luckily still coherent enough to prevent the encounter from escalating. It is not entirely clear how she was able to get out of the situation, or how well Stephens was known by the girl and her family.
According to Law Director Fred Beery, Leesburg Police Chief Shane Nolley placed Stephens on paid leave after the incident was first reported, but then when the formal charges were filed he was placed on unpaid leave before being fired.
These stories are far more common than most people realize. There is a disturbing trend of sexual predators becoming cops and then behaving like they are above the law.
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Cop Who Threatened to ‘Shoot Protesters Through the Door’ Shot Fellow Cop Through the Door Instead
Alexander, AR — After George Floyd’s death on Memorial Day, protests encompassed the United States. During this time, the president himself promised to begin extrajudicially executing those who were suspected of looting. “The looting starts, the shooting starts,” Donald Trump promised. These comments seemingly empowered the police state to begin similar pushes with one cop going so far as to threaten to shoot peaceful protesters who showed up to his home — through the door.
On June 3, Alexander police officer Calvin Salyers, 33, shot and killed his colleague, officer Scott Hutton. He did so through the front door of his own home, just like he’d promised to do a few days earlier.
Alexander Training Sgt. Matt Wharton told investigators that just after the “riots in Minneapolis,” Salyers told him that he would “shoot through the door” if any protesters showed up at his home, according to a court document narrative from state police Special Agent Ryan Jacks, Arkansas Online reported.
According to the documents, Wharton said he reprimanded Salyers and told him that shooting through the door would be “reckless and negligent” and that officers could not shoot anyone without first identifying the person as a threat.
Salyers did not take this advice seriously.
When officer Hutton showed up at Salyers’ residence on June 3, just after 7 p.m., he was there to retrieve a patrol car. However, a frightened Salyers claimed he saw a dark figure with a firearm through the peephole and opened fire instead of answering the door — just as he promised to do days before.
Salyers told investigators he transferred his weapon to his other hand and reached for the door handle, accidentally firing a shot through the door and hitting Hutton in the chest, according to state police Special Agent Ryan Jacks.
For over a month, Salyers likely though police bought this explanation, all the while an independent investigation was taking place in the background.
“There was a complete investigative file,” Saline County prosecutor’s office spokesman, Bill Sadler said. “Everybody who was present was questioned. Everybody who may have had any knowledge that led up to that one hour before, two hours before, this officer went to that residence.”
During the investigation, officials found that Salyers had expressed his desire to shoot protesters through his door and this was used to help obtain the arrest warrant.
“I was actually the lead on the internal investigation, and that was part of my investigation was digging into those statements that were made,” Alexander police spokeswoman Sgt. Jessica Burnett said.
The accidental shooting while changing hands appears to be a falsehood as well. According to the forensics investigation, the powder residue indicated that Salyers fired the gun as he pressed it up against the door.
Burnett said the idea that Salyers accidentally fired a round while switching hands is unlikely given the amount of time police officers spend training on how to handle their firearm.
“We qualify easily twice a year,” Burnett said in regard to firearms training. “Pretty much any extra training that the officers want, they’re able to go to. We don’t turn down for any training.”
Once the facts of the case were determined, Salyers was charged with manslaughter. This charge is not nearly as serious as a murder charge, but definitely more than we’d expect for a police officer.
According to the Arkansas State Code, someone commits manslaughter if the person “recklessly causes the death of another person.”
Though Salyers acted recklessly, he also allegedly did so with the intent to kill by pressing the gun to the door and firing. This manslaughter charge should be murder instead.
“Ultimately it’s the prosecuting attorney that makes that decision — what elements of this investigation spell manslaughter,” Sadler said.
Tragically, officer Hutton was killed by one of his own and now the family of Hutton will watch the blue privilege unfold along the way. Indeed, with the manslaughter charge, they already have.
What this instance also exemplifies is the trigger happy tendency of police officers.
Salyers had no problem expressing his interest on killing entirely innocent people who walk up to his home. Unfortunately, he followed through with his intent and now an innocent man is dead.
This example has played out many times before. In fact, earlier this year, we pointed out how every cop killed in 2019 from the NYPD died at the hands of a fellow cop. If this doesn’t show you there is a problem with police violence, nothing will.
https://thefreethoughtproject.com/co...-through-door/
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Sheriff: Hillsborough sergeant fired, arrested after pointing gun at man’s head
The former sergeant, Janak Amin, faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Sheriff Chad Chronister called his actions "despicable."
TAMPA — A Hillsborough sheriff’s sergeant was fired and arrested for pointing his weapon at the head of an unarmed Black man who was already in custody, Sheriff Chad Chronister announced Friday.
Sgt. Janak Amin had served 21 years with the agency. He faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
“Sgt. Amin’s actions, the violation of public trust and the dishonoring of his oath to serve and protect, is despicable,” the sheriff said at a Friday news conference outside the agency’s Ybor City headquarters.
The incident that cost the sergeant his job took place Thursday at the intersection of N Nebraska Avenue and E Annie Street.
A jail inmate who was “inadvertently” taken to DACCO Behavioral Health Center left the facility, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies went looking for him. They found him hiding and detained the man, the sheriff said.
The man was placed in a “prone” position, but refused to give his name to deputies. “He was not armed and made no aggressive actions towards our deputies,” Chronister said.
The sheriff said Amin, who was kneeling next to the detained man, became angry, pulled out his weapon and threatened his life “simply because he refused to identify himself.” Chronister said Amin made comments to the man saying he would shoot him in the head.
Other deputies intervened, Chronister said, and defused the situation. They also used an alternative method to identify the man without his cooperation.
But Chronister emphasized what he called the “most egregious” nature of the incident: Amin pointed his gun just inches away from the head of an unarmed man, the sheriff said.
“I don’t think this incident is indicative of who Sgt. Amin is, but, regardless, it takes only one incidence to violate the oath that you take, the public’s trust and break the law,” Chronister said. “There is absolutely no reason, no excuse and no justification for why this sergeant acted the way he did.”
Chronister said he could not release the name of the victim due to the sheriff’s interpretation of Marsy’s Law, a constitutional amendment that is designed to protect crime victims but also deprives the public of information that has historically been provided in Florida.
But Chronister said the man later told deputies that he was scared for his life.
The incident was reported to command staff by the deputies who are at the scene. An investigation was launched and Amin was taken off duty on Thursday.
Then on Friday, the sheriff said Amin was fired and arrested. Amin was booked into the Hillsborough County jail, then freed after posting $2,000 bail.
The victim was Black and the sergeant was of Asian descent. “I don’t believe for a second this had anything to do with race,” Chronister said.
Last month, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd while in police custody, Chronister decided to equip his deputies with body-worn cameras. The County Commission voted to let the sheriff start the purchasing process.
Deputies aren’t equipped with those cameras yet, so the sheriff said there is no video footage of the incident.
But the Sheriff’s Office does have a policy that requires deputies to intervene if they see other deputies engaging in misconduct. Chronister said the deputies at the scene of Thursday’s incident did just that.
“There was no reason, no rationale or justification why anyone had to point a gun at his head and threaten his life simply because he didn’t identify himself,” Chronister said. “(Amin) will now have to face the criminal ramifications of what occurred.”
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Fugitive Alabama Cop Arrested in New Hampshire for Child Trafficking, Kidnapping, Sodomy
Hampton, NH — Fort Deposit police officer Joshua Matthew Davidson, 30, of Alabama, has been on the run from authorities since June 25. He was wanted on multiple charges ranging from kidnapping and sodomy to human trafficking. Thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Marshal Service, however, this alleged child trafficking cop is now behind bars.
On June 25, several warrants were issued for Davidson’s arrest including allegations of human trafficking, second-degree kidnapping and first-degree sodomy. Dallas County, Alabama, District Court requested that bail be set at $250,000, and Davidson promised to turn himself in. However, instead of turning himself in, he fled.
After fleeing his hometown of Fort Deposit, Alabama last month, Davidson went on the run and reportedly headed up the east coast. Over the weekend the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force received information from the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force that Davidson was likely in the Seacoast.
On Friday, at 6:30 p.m., officials found Davidson hiding in an apartment in Hampton, New Hampshire. He was taken in without incident.
“This arrest is another great example of the network of investigators of the U.S. Marshals Service that spans the country and the globe,” said U.S. Marshal Nick Willard. “Fugitive cases evolve rapidly and our task force is able to respond equally as quickly to ensure that we can safely take these accused violent fugitives off the streets.”
Though authorities refused to elaborate on the details of his alleged crimes, we can infer from the sodomy charge that at least one of his victims was a child.
According to Alabama law, a second-degree kidnapping charge involves abduction of another person with the intent of assuming “lawful control of that person” but “not coupled with intent to use or threaten to use deadly force.” A first-degree sodomy charge involves a person older than 16 engaging in “deviate” sexual intercourse with a person under 12.
Davidson is currently being held in the Rockingham Country jail in Brentwood, NH, where he is being held without bail as a fugitive from justice.
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WATCH: Cops Beat Man for Taking Up 2 Seats on Empty Subway, Charge Him for Cop’s Swollen Knuckles
New York, NY — Body camera footage shows a New York City police officer brutally assaulting a homeless man for taking up more than one seat on a near-empty subway train. Instead of immediately arresting the officers involved in his attack, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has decided to charge the homeless victim with assault, a felony charge which carries a maximum prison sentence of 7 years. The cop had swollen knuckles.
The 30-year-old homeless man identified himself as Joseph T. to reporters but was afraid to disclose his last name because he fears retaliation. He was charged with felony assault for allegedly kicking the officer’s hand while he was being assaulted and handcuffed. However, the video shows the beginning of the altercation where the officer needlessly escalated the situation by repeatedly punching Joseph in the face and it does not show any such kicks to the officer’s hand.
The encounter took place just after midnight on May 25th, when Joseph was riding the subway after leaving a local homeless shelter that didn’t have space for him. The subway was nearly empty and Joseph was tired so he laid down, taking up two spaces. Police told him to get up and leave because he was taking up more than one space, and he moved along to the next train, but the police decided to follow him.
When police confronted him a second time he said that he did not understand why they were bothering him and told them that they could not arrest him for refusing to leave a train. Officer Adonis Long put his hands on Joseph in an attempt to remove him from the train, but Joseph pulled away. As soon as Joseph pulled away, Long punched him in the face repeatedly and then kicked his belongings off the train.
This was likely when the officer hurt his knuckles.
Long violently subdued Joseph and threatened him with his pepper spray as he pleaded with the officer to stop.
“I’m having a panic attack, please,” Joseph called out as he was bleeding from the head and surrounded by police.
Joseph has no clue why police were so aggressive with him, and wonders if perhaps it was a case of mistaken identity.
“I feel like somebody else did something that looks like me and I’m getting the repercussions from it,” he said.
Long later complained of “sustained swelling and substantial pain to the knuckles of his right hand” and was reportedly taken to the hospital as a result of injuries sustained in the struggle.
The idea of the very small Joseph inflicting injury on the massive officer Long is laughable, but enough for the predatory law enforcement system to go after him.
Joseph is being represented by The Legal Aid Society, who is calling for the charges against him to be dismissed and for the officers involved in the attack to be fired.
“The brutal attack on Joseph by these officers is both unconscionable and completely indefensible. It’s equally shocking that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, despite seeing this video, chose to bump up the charges against our client. We are calling on them to dismiss these charges immediately in the interest of justice,” Edda Ness, staff attorney Legal Aid’s Manhattan Trial Office, said in a statement.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s decision to pursue assault charges against Joseph has sparked outrage among activists and defense attorneys. Public defender Scott Hechinger said that prosecutors who pursue charges like this are “shameless enablers of police violence.”
We agree.
Joseph had broken no law. He had harmed no one, yet he was savagely attacked by police, who kidnapped and subsequently charged him.
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WATCH: Cops Raid ‘Illegal’ Gym, Let Cop Who Was Working Out Go While Ticketing Everyone Else
Lincoln Park, MI — In northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, the almighty governor is kind enough to allow gyms to open under Phase 5 of the MI Safe Start Plan. However, the rest of the state remains in Phase 4 which means gyms in those areas are illegal. Naturally, this has upset a lot of people who chose to disobey Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s unconstitutional executive order. As a result of the fact that the only way government can enforce immoral laws is through the barrel of a gun, the gyms were raided by cops.
Last week, Tino Ulicne, owner of the RTB Gym, defied Whitmer’s dictate and opened his gym to those who wanted to be there voluntarily.
“I don’t understand,” Ulicne said. “Like, if we take all the right precautions, why can’t we open?”
Because the governor said so, that’s why! Clearly it is not evidence based as the NY Times reports, researchers found no coronavirus infections among thousands of people allowed to return to their gyms.
Ulicne said defying the governor’s unconstitutional order was not some criminal act but a financial necessity as this is his only means of income.
“It’s a do or die situation,” he said.
While taking all the necessary precautions, multiple people, who were tired of not being able to work out, voluntarily used the facility. This was a no-no to the police state, however, who promptly raided the gym. Every single staff member and patron were detained and cited for their illegal workouts — except for one — who happened to be identified as a Detroit Police officer.
According to the Michigan Sentry, several individuals have reportedly confirmed that the individual seen leaving the gym is a plainclothes officer with the Detroit Police Department named Lamar Harris, but have done so off the record due to fears of possible retribution.
As the Sentry reports, according to a report from the Detroit News, Harris graduated and became an officer in 2019. They also presented photos of celebrated cookies made by Harris’ friends and family, shaped as guns and barbells, featuring his presumed badge number, 881.
Harris’ Instagram account shows the massive cop flexing his biceps which some could say makes him a good candidate for a urinalysis to test for steroids. But I digress.
As the video below shows, as all the other gym goers were detained and cited, the man identified as Harris was simply allowed to walk right through the door. And just like that, the blue line protected their own while punishing everyone else for the non-crime of staying healthy.
“Go stand in line back there and go get a ticket,” the unidentified cop says as he lets Harris walk right out of the front door without so much as a slap on the wrist.
The irony of police officers detaining and fining people for trying to stay healthy during a pandemic is thick. But it is even more prevalent given the fact that one of their own was doing the exact same thing and he was let go.
Ulicne said that he and everyone else are due to appear July 30 in 25th District Court in Lincoln Park to answer to the citations — except for the cop of course.
“We all got violation of the governor’s orders,” he said. “The officers said they’re not sure on how we’re going to be punished. They don’t know what the fines are going to come out to, but I do believe it’s a misdemeanor.”
In total, according to WYXZ, police issued 21 violations to gym staff and members like Scott Taylor.
“I happened to finish my workout and they got me on the way out,” Taylor said.
Taylor told WXYZ that he plans to fight the ticket in court and there is already an attorney willing to represent those who received citations — pro bono.
Attorney Nick Somberg, told WXYZ none of the members should have received tickets for simply being inside the gym. He says they plan to fight the violations in the court.
“The Governor’s executive order 2020-21 order specifically exempts and encourages people to leave their home to engage in recreational activity. People go to the gym to get healthy. If this was a strip club then there would’ve been no issue,” he told Action News.
This is 2020 in the land of the free.
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Good Samaritan Finds Wallet Full of Money, Turns it in to Police Who Steal It
New Orleans, LA — A good Samaritan in New Orleans did the right thing last week when he found a wallet, reportedly full of money, and turned it in to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. This person’s good deed would be stopped in its tracks however, after the deputy who took the wallet into evidence, allegedly stole the money right out of it.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy Justin Vappie, 34, was arrested, charged, and booked Monday with malfeasance in office for allegedly stealing the cash, according to Capt. Jason Rivarde, spokesman for the department.
According to police, the citizen found the wallet in Metairie — which is just outside New Orleans — and turned it in to police. According to Rivarde, Vappie, a patrol deputy with the 1st District on Jefferson Parish’s east bank, was dispatched about 1:40 p.m. to collect the wallet, which contained a “known amount of money.”
When the wallet finally made it to the station and was logged into the property and evidence department, it was much lighter. Though the JPSO did not reveal how it knew how much money was in the wallet, they said they knew exactly how much was in it, prior to Vappie taking some.
According to NOLA.com, the department immediately opened an investigation and determined that Vappie had taken the missing money, authorities said. He was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna where he is being held without bond.
After his arrest, Vappie, who had been with the department since April 2019, was fired.
If Vappie is found guilty of the alleged crimes, it is highly unlikely that he will face any jail time. While stealing cash from a turned-in wallet may seem like a petty offense, it is a betrayal of public trust when a cop does it.
Instead of being handed down a lighter sentence for his alleged crimes, because he betrayed the trust of the people he serves, if found guilty, Vappie should receive a much heftier sentence. Sadly, that is almost never the case.
In fact, TFTP reported on a similar story in which a cop was caught on his own body camera stealing money from a man he arrested during a traffic stop — and received a slap on the wrist.
Deputy John Braman, formerly with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, was charged in 2017 after he was caught stealing money from a man he arrested.
The 35-year-old former deputy recently entered no contest pleas to petty theft, official misconduct and grand theft for the crimes he recorded himself committing. However, he received no jail.
What’s more, as the Chron reports, Braman was also sentenced to time served for misdemeanor charges, though computer records don’t show Braman spent any time jailed on the charges.
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