COPS behaving badly

[John Thomas8]

If it wasn't Texas I'd believe they're doing an honest investigation.

[Volkonski]

Some years ago quite a few small Texas towns funded their budgets from traffic tickets of the type where a 55 mph zone suddenly becomes 30 mph.

This became so brazen that the legislature passed a law limiting the percentage of a town's budget that could be from traffic ticket fines. Many of those towns disincorporated because they could not support their governments only by taxation.

[John Thomas8]

Some years ago quite a few small Texas towns funded their budgets from traffic tickets of the type where a 55 mph zone suddenly becomes 30 mph.

This became so brazen that the legislature passed a law limiting the percentage of a town's budget that could be from traffic ticket fines. Many of those towns disincorporated because they could not support their governments only by taxation.

I was stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas from 1981-1984. Several local towns started running "speed traps" focusing solely on troops passing to or from the base from their off base housing. It got so bad the III Corps Commander placed those towns off limits to soldiers stationed at Ft. Hood, including renting places in those towns.

The stupidity stopped in 6 months when the local economic impact made itself felt.

[Ben-Prime]

Some years ago quite a few small Texas towns funded their budgets from traffic tickets of the type where a 55 mph zone suddenly becomes 30 mph.

This became so brazen that the legislature passed a law limiting the percentage of a town's budget that could be from traffic ticket fines. Many of those towns disincorporated because they could not support their governments only by taxation.

I was stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas from 1981-1984. Several local towns started running "speed traps" focusing solely on troops passing to or from the base from their off base housing. It got so bad the III Corps Commander placed those towns off limits to soldiers stationed at Ft. Hood, including renting places in those towns.

The stupidity stopped in 6 months when the local economic impact made itself felt.

Waldo, FL, right near the Camp Blanding National Guard HQ in Florida, did the same. I don't recall if they ever stopped. I moved down to the Southern End of the state and stopped making the occasional GVL-Jax and GVL-St Augustine runs that had to pass through or go around.

[RTH10260]

may be a repeat

[raison de arizona]

Extremely callous.

This Seattle cop was going 40mph over the speed limit when he hit and killed a woman crossing the street.

Then he called in and dismissed his killing by saying she was just a regular person.

He says, "Just write a check."

[RTH10260]

[RTH10260]

re the pedestrian death case on post upthread, the issue has gone viral on Youtube



and one of many

[raison de arizona]

Every time I hear that tape it disturbs me more. They were talking about the culture of SPD, but that retired cop had it right. It reflects on ALL law enforcement. Especially with the dude being the vice president of the biggest NW law enforcement union.

[RTH10260]

Alabama high school band director speaks out about being tased, arrested after refusing to end performance

BY EMILY MAE CZACHOR
UPDATED ON: SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 / 8:09 PM / CBS NEWS

Alabama high school band director Johnny Mims spoke out Wednesday after being shocked repeatedly with a taser and arrested by Birmingham police at a football game last week in an incident that has since gained national attention.

Authorities said they took Mims into custody when he refused to direct his students to stop playing music after a game, despite their orders. But an attorney now representing the director is arguing that officers' use of force to detain him was excessive and unwarranted, and traumatized more than 100 students who witnessed the confrontation.

The band director, Johnny Mims, has retained a legal team that is pledging to take action against the Birmingham Police Department, which released body camera footage of the incident on Tuesday.

Juandalynn Givan, an attorney representing Mims, has alleged that the footage they chose to share publicly leaves out key details about how the incident unfolded, and said Wednesday that additional unreleased footage would support the legal team's accusations that police used excessive force to detain the band director. Givan said she intends to release that additional footage.

"I should have never been tased," Mims said at a news conference Wednesday morning with his legal team and leadership from the Alabama Education Association. "It was excessive, and no educator should ever have to experience that, but I definitely don't want anyone to lose sight of the students who were caught in the middle of this. They are the most important thing."

Mims, who directs the band at Minor High School in Adamsville, a Birmingham suburb, led the band's performance Thursday on the bleachers at P.D. Jackson-Olin High School, where both football teams had recently finished a game. Both the Minor and Jackson-Olin high school bands continued to play after the game in what is known as the "fifth quarter," Givan said in a statement to CBS News on Tuesday. The "fifth quarter" is a marching band tradition usually seen at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, where students continue to play music after a game ends.

Mims agreed to direct the Minor High School band through a fifth quarter performance at the suggestion of the Jackson-Olin band director, who conducted his students through their own fifth quarter show on the other side of the field, according to Mims and his attorneys.

Birmingham police officers told the band directors of both high schools to end their students' performances while attempting to clear the stadium following the game, the Birmingham Police Department said in a news release Friday. Police said the Jackson-Olin band director complied with officers' requests, but Mims did not.



https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alabama-ba ... eo-police/

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

Fuck Birmingham PD. They're lucky they still have eardrums.

[raison de arizona]

Outrage after missing Missouri dog shot by police, placed in ditch

Parker, an elderly dog from Dexter, Missouri, ran away from home during the thunderstorms Saturday night. A family who wanted to return him to his owner found him. Within hours, the Stoddard County Sheriff’s Office officers picked up Parker, drove him out to Otter Slough Park, shot him, and left him in a ditch.

“We don’t have any way of taking care of a dog,“ an officer told the dog’s owner, Bryan Pennington.


The family who found Parker posted a photo of Parker; this is the photo right before the deputy picked him up.

Pennington posted a video of the interaction on his Facebook page, calling out the Sheriff’s department for finding and shooting his dog. He wrote, “Parker showed no aggression towards him or anyone during this. I saved Parker from being shot nine years ago in Doniphan, Missouri, because the guy couldn’t afford to feed him.”

Pennington continued, portraying Parker not just as a pet but as a friend. He praised Parker’s skill in catching more mice and moles than any other cat.

Parker went missing on a stormy Saturday night. He ended up on someone’s porch. The person who found Parker shared his photo on Facebook, and then called the Stoddard County police, letting them know they found this dog. An officer came over and picked up Parker.

Pennington called the Sheriff’s office after finding out Parker had been picked up by police. Authorities came by for a home visit and a request for pictures from Pennington of Parker. Later, Pennington was informed that Parker was at Otter Slough.

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/outra ... -in-ditch/

[raison de arizona]

I dunno if you've ever been to NYC, but cops break the law with impunity. They mostly live on LI and commute to the city. Once there, they have no respect for any traffic or parking laws. With the rise of cameras, which give them tickets they can't get out of easily, they've begun covering up their license plates in recent years. Because who is going to stop them?

Cops Violated Lawyer’s Civil Rights During Infamous ‘Criminal Mischief’ Arrest: Suit
Famed bike lawyer Adam White fights back against a specious charge for repairing a defaced plate.

The NYPD violated the civil rights of attorney Adam White when cops wrongfully arrested him last fall after he fixed the obscured license plate of a Chevy SUV belonging to a driver who happened to be cozy with law enforcement, according to a new lawsuit set to be filed in federal court on Tuesday.

White says his arrest last November was not only physically and mentally taxing, but it also nearly spooked him into retirement from calling out the myriad of municipal workers — and their friends — who abuse the law with impunity by defacing their license plates.

“When cops actually arrest someone for uncovering this criminal activity, it magnifies the chilling effect because not only are they at risk of physical harm, but the cops are totally not going to care,” White told Streetsblog.

The suit charges seven members of New York’s Finest, as well the man who set the whole ordeal in motion, Sholem Klein, 44, who heads the Rockaway Nassau Safety Patrol, a controversial volunteer patrol group that works in tandem with police.

“Defendant Klein’s unlawful conduct was willful, malicious, oppressive, and/or reckless, and was of such a nature that punitive damages should be imposed against him,” the 53-page complaint says. “Mr. White now brings this suit seeking redress for the violations of his own rights, as well as seeking changes to Defendant City’s policies and practices around responding appropriately, and without retaliation, to civilian complaints about illegal ‘ghost cars,’ ‘ghost plates,’ and other traffic misconduct.”

Here's what happened. On Nov. 11 at about 9:45 am, Klein spotted White removing a piece of plastic that was obscuring one letter on the car's license plate in what White believed was an intentional manner to avoid speed or red-light cameras. Klein then called 911, prompting officers from the nearby 78th Precinct to show up within minutes.

The cops then arrested White with “tight, metal handcuffs” behind his back and charged him with criminal mischief — a charge that accused White of damaging someone else’s property. (The Brooklyn DA ended up dropping the case, saying there was "Insufficient evidence to prosecute due to being unable to prove that def intended to damage [Klein's] license plate.”)

The lawsuit raises seven claims, including false arrest, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process against Klein; unlawful seizure and false arrest, first amendment retaliation, and deprivation of fair trial rights against the NYPD; and the liability against the city. White is demanding a trial by jury, which will determine the dollar amount of damages.

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/09/19/ ... rrest-suit

[RTH10260]

happened earlier this year, likely appeared already upthread

[RTH10260]

Just another 1AA story, nothing really bad happening, just police show up for a man with camera, but they need like a presence of 13 officers with nearly the same number of vehicles for a person standing on the sidewalk Your tax $$$ at work for legal activity.




(i will later post the link to the full original clip)

[Ben-Prime]

Just another 1AA story, nothing really bad happening, just police show up for a man with camera, but they need like a presence of 13 officers with nearly the same number of vehicles for a person standing on the sidewalk Your tax $$$ at work for legal activity.




(i will later post the link to the full original clip)

I got through 10 seconds of the introductory comments. That was about all I could take. Crikey.

[RTH10260]

[

I got through 10 seconds of the introductory comments. That was about all I could take. Crikey.

Sorry, the poster himself must have had past encounters with police. Also a 2A exponent. Wait for the originl to show up.

[RTH10260]

Just another 1AA story, nothing really bad happening, just police show up for a man with camera, but they need like a presence of 13 officers with nearly the same number of vehicles for a person standing on the sidewalk Your tax $$$ at work for legal activity.


(i will laternow post the link to the full original clip)

[RVInit]

FentanylCop.jpg (59.09 KiB) Viewed 17424 times

[raison de arizona]

FentanylCop.jpg

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/ex-dep ... rcda-says/

[raison de arizona]

Paramedic rather than a police officer, but it has a similar feel to police brutality. Even making the assumption that everything the paramedic said is true, disproportionate force was certainly used.

MMA-trained paramedic seen kicking and punching a homeless man will get his job back

A Texas paramedic who was fired after he was caught on video kicking and punching a homeless man will get his job back after a favorable ruling from a judge, The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday.

During a civil service hearing, a judge ruled that Brad Cox shouldn't have been fired by Dallas Fire-Rescue. However, he will be demoted and will not get back pay if he returns to his job.

Cox had accused the homeless man of starting the fires with a cigarette along Interstate 30 and told responding officers that the man had attacked him as he tried to put out one of the fires. He claimed that the man repeatedly got up off the ground and charged at him.

Cox, who reportedly has a history of disciplinary problems, testified at the hearing that he was In fear for his life and his use of force was justified.

“I don’t ever leave the house wanting to fight anybody ever,” Cox said at the hearing. “I was put in a situation that I had no choice.”

The kicks and punches allegedly aggravated a brain injury suffered by the man, fractured an eye socket, cracked teeth and fractured a sinus. They also partially paralyzed the right side of his face.

https://www.rawstory.com/brad-cox-paramedic/

[raison de arizona]

Former Chadbourn police chief pleads guilty to more than a dozen felonies

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The former police chief of the Town of Chadbourn is going to prison, after pleading guilty to 14 felonies and one misdemeanor.

Anthony Spivey will spend between 11 and 22 years behind bars.

The troubles for the former police chief started in February of 2021, when evidence was discovered missing from the Chadbourn Police Department. According to a news release from the District Attorney’s Office, two Assistant District Attorneys with the Columbus County District Attorney’s office requested to review evidence in several narcotic cases at the Chadbourn Police Department. Spivey could not produce all the evidence requested and declined allowing the examination of the evidence he presented.

Much of the missing evidence were attached to cases initiated during such time when Spivey had exclusive care, custody, and control of the Chadbourn Police Department evidence room. Certain opened evidence bags with missing items of evidence were located within Spivey’s office, along with copies or original case files and property sheets.

Former Chief Spivey removed items of evidence and sold firearms to friends, family members, and acquaintances.

https://www.wwaytv3.com/former-chadbour ... -felonies/

[raison de arizona]

He was screaming "Mommy!"

[RTH10260]

background:

'Law enforcement-sponsored torture': Families of battered teens demand justice in Delaware

ByJohn Paul WPVI logo
Friday, September 29, 2023 10:19AM

WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Families of two teenagers who were brutalized by a Delaware state trooper in August are demanding answers and justice.

"The fact that this happened to my son, I'm angry. That officer came to my house with malicious intent," said Chavaun Harris, the mother of 17-year-old Al, who was injured by a state trooper.

She said Al was playing video games on August 21 at her home in Elsmere when police came to his door. What happened next changed his life and was caught on body camera video. The teen was yanked from his home and forced to the ground causing him to be injured.

Delaware's Attorney General Kathy Jennings said Al was the second teen attacked that night by Trooper Dempsey Walters.

"I want him held accountable for his actions, and I don't want to see that happen to nobody else," said Harris.

The night started with an unrelated prank. A 15-year-old identified as Jayden, went up to the trooper's home in Elsmere and kicked his door and ran away. The prank was caught on a doorbell camera.

Trooper Walter then called other police departments to help find the teen responsible. The trooper went to Al's home because, according to investigators, he had had an issue with the teen days earlier and looked up his address.

But when Trooper Walters learned the 15-year-old who kicked his door was found, he drove over to that location and allegedly attacked him as well. Body cam video shows him drop a knee to his back while on the ground. Then he turned off his body cam, and investigators say, punched the child with such force it broke his orbital bone.

The injury required an eight-hour surgery to repair, and he still has problems.



https://6abc.com/delaware-assault-troop ... /13839815/

[RTH10260]

3 Baton Rouge police officers arrested in connection with 'Brave Cave' scandal
"A plan was made to cover up the incident," Police Chief Murphy Paul said.

Sept. 29, 2023, 8:39 PM CEST
By Corky Siemaszko

Three Baton Rouge police officers have been hit with criminal charges as investigators probe allegations that a street crime unit turned an unmarked warehouse dubbed the “Brave Cave" into a torture chamber where innocent people were assaulted, stripped, and subjected to body cavity searches, the police chief said Friday.

Deputy Chief Troy Lawrence Sr. was charged with simple battery, obstruction of justice, malfeasance in office and theft, and was placed on administrative leave, Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul said.

Sgt. Jesse Barcelona was charged with obstruction of justice, malfeasance in office and theft, Paul said. And Cpl. Todd Thomas was charged with theft, obstruction of justice, malfeasance in office and simple battery. Those two officers were also placed on leave.

An arrest warrant has also been issued for a fourth officer who faces a charge of malfeasance in office, Paul said. He identified the officer as Cpl. Douglas Hughes but gave no details about whether he was in custody.

The investigation that ensnared the officers, Paul said, began with a complaint from a resident in August who said that in September 2020 he was strip-searched, beaten and tased by members of the now-disbanded street crime unit called BRAVE, short for Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination.




https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/3- ... rcna118104