National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 07-28-10

Here are the 25 reports of police misconduct recorded in the National Police Misconduct News Feed for Wednesday, July 28, 2010:

• A Walton County Florida deputy has been arrested on aggravated battery on a child and child neglect charges after his 3-month-old daughter had to be hospitalized with a skull fracture and a broken femur. The officer is accused of holding the baby upside-down by her leg and then throwing her into a crib. However, doctors say the leg injury may have occurred prior to that incident.

• A New York NY police officer is the subject of a lawsuit filed by the mother of an 18-year-old boy who was put into a coma for four days after he suffered a fractured skull and brain damage caused when a police officer allegedly body slammed the boy onto the pavement during what appeared to be one of that city’s controversial “stop and frisk” incidents. Witnesses say the officers involved had taunted the kids before one of them picked up the victim and slammed him into the pavement without any justification. The boy was shackled to his bed while in a coma and charged with reckless endangerment, a charge witnesses say wasn’t deserved. The department hasn’t investigated the case because the boy, now in rehab due to his brain injury, hasn’t yet come in to file an official complaint.

• A now-former Uplands Park Missouri police officer has pled guilty to several federal felony counts including deprivation of rights, witness tampering, and false statements charges for sexually assaulting at least four women and robbing them… He sexually assaulted one of his victims while in uniform at the police station.

• A now-former Dallas Texas police officer who was fired after police caught him in his cruiser while he was attempting to sexually assault a woman because his in-car radio was transmitting his attempts to coerce her into sex under threat of arrest has now been charged with sexual assault after another woman stepped forward after seeing the story alleging that she was attacked by the same officer.

• A Middlesboro Kentucky police officer has been suspended for two weeks without pay after a public hearing into allegations that he used excessive force when he slapped a woman in custody while other officers held her hands behind her back.

• The Troy New York police department is the subject of a lawsuit filed by a man who was falsely arrested at his place of work on 42 felony charges related to a home invasion case where the victims described their assailants as Spanish-speaking Hispanic men but the police showed them a photo-lineup consisting entirely of black men, of which the plaintiff was the one fingered. The man lost his job as a result and spent two weeks in jail and thousands on defense attorneys until the charges were finally dropped nearly a year later.

• A San Marcos Texas police officer who was forced to be rehired by an arbitrator after he was fired on allegations that he beat a handcuffed woman with a baton then lied about it will not be allowed to perform any normal police duties after the Hays County DA Brady listed the officer due to his history of dishonesty. For those who don’t know, a Brady List is a list of officers who prosecutors are required by law to tell defense attorneys about regarding their histories involving integrity issues that make their testimony at trial unreliable. The officer also made national news last year when his dashcam camera caught him berating a couple for speeding for 20 minutes while their dog, that they were trying to get to the vet, died in their car.

• Speaking of arbitraitors, The Paris Texas police department is being forced by an arbitrator to repay a police officer for 2 days of unpaid disciplinary leave that the officer was recently given for using excessive force when he violently slammed a handcuffed man onto the hood of a cruiser, all of which was captured on that cruiser’s dashcam.

• A Denver Colorado police officer is under investigation on allegations that he used non-standard issue ammunition, allegedly full metal jacket military rounds that tend to fragment easily, when he opened fire on a suspect and hit a bystander with fragments from two of those rounds. While the state AG has refused to charge the officer he did express concern about the use of unapproved ammunition by the officer and the department is allegedly investigating, the victim in question, a woman, was hit in both legs and the torso and hospitalized briefly after the incident.

• Hundreds of FBI agents and officials are the subject of a DOJ investigation on allegations that an unknown number of those agents may have cheated when they took an open-book exam on the agency’s policies regarding surveillance on American citizens. The director of the FBI himself even seemed a bit unsure about his agency’s policies regarding how they can spy on the public when he was questioned about the issue by members of congress.

• A now-former Horry County South Carolina deputy has been sentenced to 42 months in prison in exchange for a guilty plea for possession of child pornography charges after he was caught in a federal sting operation exchanging child pornography.

• An Omaha Nebraska police sergeant is on desk duty while under investigation on allegations that he pulled a gun on a motorist who had called 911 to report him for reckless driving while he was off-duty in his truck. While following the officer during the 911 call the officer stopped, got out of his car, and then confronted the man and pointed a gun at his head while recorded on the 911 call yelling at the man for following him. Police tracked him to his home from the license plate number the man described to the 911 dispatcher and, when the arrived, the officer refused to come to the door because he knew he would be arrested if he did. The officer in question was also involved in a 2007 incident when a mentally disabled man died after tasered by the officer and another cop, both were cleared in that case.

• A Greensboro North Carolina police officer who forced his department to rehire him after he won an appeal on a conviction for assaulting two women is now on unpaid leave for unspecified reasons. The suspension occurred after he was removed from the gang squad he used to belong to before the assault incident and began accusing his superior officers of racism.

• At least two three Philadelphia Pennsylvania police officers are under investigation after they were caught on security camera illegally entering a local bar while they were investigating a false alarm call at a neighboring business and then videotaped stealing drinks and over $1,000 in cash from a safe in the bar. One officer was allegedly shown on video stuffing cash down his pants. The department is refusing to discuss the incident other than to admit that two of their officers are on desk duty while they are the subject of an internal investigation.

• The police chief of Medina Tennessee, the mayor, and two police officers have been subpoenaed by a lawyer representing a teenager and his family who allege that the city violated his rights when they released his name to the media when he was arrested on a vandalism charge even though he was a minor. The complaint against the city goes on to allege that officers have been continually harassing the teen, issuing him several false traffic citations, after he was allegedly threatened by the chief and the mayor when his family filed a complaint about the incident.

• A Windber Pennsylvania police officer who also works as a part-time officer for Paint Twp has been ordered to participate in a domestic violence counseling program or face charges including simple assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct after police were called to his home during a domestic dispute where he allegedly threw his wife on the floor and attempted to choke her when she told him to leave during an argument.

• A Seymore Connecticut police officer has been suspended for 5 days after an internal investigation into unspecified misconduct. The police chief refuses to divulge why the officer has been disciplined and even went so far as to not inform the police commission of what happened.

• A now-former Newport News Virginia deputy who was previously arrested last week for possession of stolen vehicles is now a wanted man after he disappeared when charged with two new counts of grand larceny on allegations that he stole the two motorcycles that he was possessing. This isn’t the first encounter on the other side of the law for the deputy who took a plea deal in 2009 that reduced a felony bad check charge into a misdemeanor.

• The El Dorado County California sheriff’s department is the subject of a second sexual harassment and discrimination suit that has been filed by three civilian employees of the department after a similar suit was filed two months ago by a female deputy who has since been placed on administrative leave. The women accuse the department’s supervisors of having a “boy’s club” mentality that has allowed some officers free reign to threaten and harass female employees.

• A now-former Ozaukee County Wisconsin sheriff’s lieutenant has been arrested on allegations that he stole $1,880 in cash intended for investigations from the department and fraudulently charged up to $7,300 to a department-issued credit card for personal use. All this allegedly occurred before the lieutenant retired in 2008 but it was only recently that the activity was noticed when another lieutenant received word that one of the department’s credit cards had gone into collections with unpaid charges.

• A now-former New Hanover County North Carolina sheriff’s corporal has been arrested on an illegal access of a government computer charge on allegations that he illegally accessed police records… in a bid to gain entry to a nightclub. Yeah, I can’t wait to hear all about this one.

• The Seattle Washington police department is accused of overreaching and may face a civil suit after officers were accused of pressuring a property owner into tearing down a public art display because one of the photos displayed in a “collaborative community storytelling project” showed a suspected drug dealer and officers claim that some members of the community, whom police refuse to name, complained about. The ACLU claims the police had no right to do that even if someone did complain but the police say they had every right to intervene as part of “good community policing.”

• The Jackson County Kansas sheriff’s department is under investigation by that state’s bureau of investigation on unspecified allegations of misconduct. Officials for the county and the state agency are refusing to say what the investigation is about, how many officers are involved, or anything at all really. Kansas, of course, is one of the states who’s laws keep police misconduct information completely secret from the public.

• An Elmwood Ohio police officer may face disciplinary action after a disabled man snapped a photo of the officer’s cruiser parked in a handicapped spot. The man took the pictures after he couldn’t find a parking space for himself and when the officer noticed he allegedly asked the man if he wanted to get a picture of him standing next to his police car. When he called to complain the same officer answered the phone and then when he contacted the police chief he was simply told to file a complaint. But now the mayor is involved and promised consequences for the officer in this case.

• And finally… A Lynn Massachusetts police officer is on paid leave and expected to resign in order to take advantage of a deal that will drop any potential charges he could face after he was caught on video stealing meat and other goods from a grocery store where he was working as a uniformed private police detail. Last year the officer made a little over $100,000 after his salary, overtime, and pay for working private security details.

That’s it for today, as always, stay safe out there.