COPS behaving badly

[RVInit]

A few days ago.

[LM K]

Former Alabama Officer Is Sentenced to 25 Years for Murdering Suicidal Man

A former Huntsville, Ala., police officer who fatally shot a suicidal man was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison, capping a trial in which he was strongly supported by city officials who spent $125,000 in public money on his legal defense.

The former officer, William Darby, 28, resigned from the force only last month, two months after he had been convicted of murdering Jeffrey Parker. Mr. Parker had called 911 on April 3, 2018, to report that he was suicidal, and he was holding a gun to his head when the police arrived, prosecutors said.


The Huntsville City Council voted to dedicate $125,000 in public money to Mr. Darby’s defense, the entire sum of which was spent on his case, city officials said on Friday. Mr. Darby also remained on the force after his conviction, first on paid administrative leave and then on accrued leave with pay, before he resigned on July 23, city officials said.


“I believe it is evident I didn’t want to kill him,” he told Judge Donna S. Pate of the 23rd Judicial Circuit, AL.com reported.


“At every turn, Mr. Darby refused to take any responsibility for what he did, and he would never admit that he did anything wrong,” Timothy R. Gann, the chief deputy district attorney of Madison County, said in an interview on Friday.

“There was no remorse from him about the killing,” Mr. Gann said. “There was no acknowledgment from him about the gravity of what he did. That was one of the most disturbing things about the case.”

[RTH10260]

justified in using deadly force

What is justified to shoot a guy who is suicidal?

Formally he may have been justified according to police rules, aka shoot a guy who holds a weapon and does not drop it. But it seems the guy never pointed the weapon at any police officer.

[keith]

justified in using deadly force

What is justified to shoot a guy who is suicidal?

Formally he may have been justified according to police rules, aka shoot a guy who holds a weapon and does not drop it. But it seems the guy never pointed the weapon at any police officer.

Assisted Suicide.

[RTH10260]

Ex-Torrance police officers charged with spray-painting swastika on car

BY JAMES QUEALLYSTAFF WRITER
AUG. 19, 2021 5:30 PM PT

Two former Torrance police officers were charged with spray-painting a swastika inside of a resident’s car, and prosecutors are now reviewing hundreds of cases involving the ex-cops to see if their alleged actions might imperil any arrests or convictions, officials said.

Former officers Cody Weldin, 28, and Christopher Tomsic, 29, were each charged with conspiracy and vandalism in connection with January 2020 incident, prosecutors announced Thursday afternoon. The two men pleaded not guilty during a brief appearance in a downtown courtroom, officials said.

According to a news release issued by the district attorney’s office, Weldin and Tomsic were part of a group of officers who responded to a report of mail theft in January 2020. A car that was potentially involved in the alleged crime was towed from the scene, prosecutors said.

The two officers allegedly spray-painted a swastika on the vehicle’s rear seat and a happy face on the front passenger seat, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday. Prosecutors also alleged the pair falsified a document submitted to the California Highway Patrol as part of their investigation by not including information about the vandalism in the report.



https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... ika-on-car

[RTH10260]

Police leave disabled Colorado woman with nearly $1,600 toll bill after using her stolen license plate
Christopher Osher chris.osher@gazette.com Aug 19, 2021 Updated Aug 20, 2021

A 52-year-old Westminster woman with back problems faces $1,592.72 in E-470 toll charges because the president of the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police, who also headed the narcotics unit of the Longmont Police Department, used a stolen license plate that comes back as registered to her.

The state has barred the woman, Debra Romero, from renewing the registration for her car, which expired in May, until she pays off the unpaid tolls she didn’t accrue. She said she’s left with no car to drive and has had to rely on her two children to drive her to her appointments with a doctor as she considers undergoing her third back surgery.

“It’s got me down to depression because I don’t know who to talk to or what to do,” Romero said. “I reported it stolen, but they aren’t doing anything about it.”

When contacted by The Gazette, Longmont City Manager Harold Dominguez and Longmont Deputy Police Chief Jeff Satur promised to fix the situation, which they said was an oversight by the city.

“She does not deserve to be in that situation,” Satur said.

Dominguez said the matter was referred to the city’s risk management division for resolution months ago, but he said a search found no reimbursement from the city for the toll charges.

“We can’t find that payment was made, and we want to resolve that situation as fast as we can,” Dominguez said.

Internal police records show Acting Police Sgt. Stephen Schulz, who headed the Longmont Police Department’s narcotics unit, took the unclaimed recovered license plate from the police department’s property and evidence room and began using the plate on an unmarked take-home police car.

Internal police documents show the license plate issue caused controversy at the Longmont Police Department because the use of the plate skirted the way undercover license plates are supposed to be issued.

In an internal May 5th police memo, Longmont Police Commander Eric Hulett wrote he found the use of evidence room license plates on undercover take-home vehicles “to be very alarming and out of alignment with the proper practice of having the state issue special license plates for undercover police officers.”

The license plate foul-up is not the only issue at the police department involving Schulz, who is state president of the state FOP, the largest professional police advocacy group in Colorado.

Schulz and three other officers in the narcotics unit were placed on paid administrative leave for months while the city retained the Denver-based Investigations Law Group to investigate the narcotic’s unit workplace environment. Another officer had accused Schulz of using an epithet used against homosexuals to describe the way the officer looked for wearing a mask to protect himself from the COVID-19 virus, records show.

After that probe, the narcotics unit, which was called the special enforcement unit, was disbanded and folded into other operations at the police department. Schulz, who did not return telephone messages and emails seeking comment, has returned from administrative leave and is currently working in a unit that investigates gang activity. Dominguez declined to comment on the external investigation and how it was handled, stating it was a personnel matter that he could not discuss.




https://gazette.com/premium/police-leav ... 6809a.html

[RTH10260]

Longmont pays off woman's $1,592 toll bill that a narcotics sergeant rang up by using stolen license plate
CHRISTOPHER OSHER chris.osher@gazette.com Aug 20, 2021 Updated Aug 20, 2021

The city of Longmont has paid the $1,592.72 E-470 toll bill a woman faced, responding to reporting by The Gazette on the toll charges that accrued after a Longmont police sergeant used a license plate stolen from the woman.

Sgt. Stephen Schulz, who also is the president of the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police, took the license plate from the evidence and property room at the Longmont Police Department and put the plate on his undercover take-home police truck, records show.

Schulz, who also was the acting sergeant over the Longmont Police Department’s narcotics unit, circumvented proper protocol for undercover license plates, according to a May 5th internal police memo. That memo described Schulz’ actions “to be very alarming and out of alignment with the proper practice of having the state issue special license plates for undercover police officers.”

For Debra Romero, the toll bills had left her without the use of a vehicle. The 52-year-old Westminster woman, who has had two back surgeries, could not pay the nearly $1,600 bill the Longmont police department amassed while using her stolen license plate. The E-470 toll system had refused to waive the toll charges even after Romero filed a report last October with the Adam’s County Sheriff’s Office declaring her license plate as stolen.


https://gazette.com/colorado-watch/long ... b2bac.html

[RTH10260]

S.C. police officer fired, charged after bodycam video shows him stomping on Black man’s head

August 05, 2021 at 3:29 pm PDT
By Crystal Bonvillian, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — A South Carolina police officer is unemployed and facing criminal charges after he stomped on the head of a physically disabled Black man last week.

David Lance Dukes, 38, of Orangeburg, is charged with first-degree assault and battery, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. He was booked Saturday into the Orangeburg County Detention Center and later released on $10,000 bond.

If convicted, Dukes faces 10 years in prison.

Body-worn cameras recorded the violent incident, which took place just after 5 p.m. on July 26 as Dukes and other officers went to the Colleton Village Townhomes to investigate a 911 call about a man with a gun.

An incident report released Wednesday and obtained by the Times and Democrat in Orangeburg alleges that a female resident had called to report a man, identified as Clarence Gailyard, 58, of Orangeburg, banging on her door and window, trying to get in. The report states that the caller said Gailyard had a gun in the waistband of his jean shorts.

The caller, identified in police reports as a relative of Gailyard, later said she’d never seen a gun.

When officers arrived, they found Gailyard in the parking lot, holding a stick wrapped in shiny silver tape. At a news conference Tuesday, Gailyard’s lawyer explained that his client walks with the stick as protection from aggressive stray dogs.

Gailyard also uses a cane, which he held in his hand Tuesday as he sat and listened to his attorney, state Rep. Justin Bamberg, speaking to reporters.

“I know there are people, unfortunately, who may look at this and think it’s not that big of a deal or it’s not that serious,” Bamberg said. “But ask yourself this: In reality, if a person were to walk up to a defenseless dog and stomp on the dog in that fashion, video of that would go viral and millions of viewers, people across the planet, would be saying the citizen that stomped on that dog deserves to go to prison.

“But it wasn’t a dog that got stomped on. It was a living, breathing human being and he’s sitting right here.”

Gailyard suffered an injury to his face, which was still visible Tuesday.

“Every time I look in the mirror, I see the scar on my forehead, and it’s not OK,” Gailyard said. “The only thing I want the community to do is change.”




https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/sc- ... UFIJ42V7U/

[RTH10260]

Pennsylvania Police Chief Suspended After Harassing Pregnant Black Woman
Last week, Police Chief Jeff Desimone just couldn't wait for his prescription. Now, he will have 72 hours to work on his patience.
ByRachel Pilgrim
Saturday 11:15AM

According to NBC’s WPXI, the local borough council suspended Desimone at a meeting on Thursday. Several Black Homestead residents allegedly expressed to the council that this was not the first time the police chief has exhibited this behavior, many calling for him to resign.

The video shows Desimone in plain clothes and an unmarked car shouting at Kamahlai Stewart in a Giant Eagle pharmacy drive-thru last week. WPXI reports that Stewart was picking up medication for her child, who was in the video coughing in the backseat. The chief demanded that she leaves so he can get his medication sooner. He then turned on his vehicle’s police lights.

According to Newsweek, Stewart pulled out her camera when she began to feel unsafe. Before she began recording, Desimone had approached her car and started cursing at her. He then called for police backup.

From Newsweek:

Desimone insisted that the confrontation has been unjustly blown out of proportion, describing it as a “little dispute” and suggesting that it was reasonable to use his position as chief of police to demand that Stewart pull over to let him jump the line.

At Thursday’s council meeting, multiple Black residents said that the chief had exhibited inappropriate behavior in the past and argued in favor of him being fired rather than given a short suspension. One woman called the suspension a “disgrace,” describing it as a “vacation” rather than a punishment. Homestead Mayor Betty Esper defended Desimone.

“Everybody’s got a different disposition,” Esper told WPXI. “He’s [been] here 20-some years. I mean, come on, he’s never abused anybody. There’s two sides to every story, also.”

Stewart reportedly called the chief’s actions an “abuse of authority.” In the video, another officer was standing next to her car window as Desimone shouted at a pharmacy worker about her prescription.

“What were you thinking to put myself, my unborn child and my 5-year-old ill son in danger like this?” Stewart said, according to Newsweek, “I was shocked, appalled. I can’t believe you, of all people—you’re the chief of police—for you to turn on your lights and try to intimidate me was totally an abuse of power.”




https://www.theroot.com/pennsylvania-po ... 1847532517

video in article

[RTH10260]

video clips in article

COPA investigating altercation between Chicago police officer, Black woman walking dog
CPD officer placed on desk duty pending outcome of COPA investigation
By Diane Pathieu and Alexis McAdams and Maher Kawash
Tuesday, August 31, 2021 1:00PM

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A white Chicago police officer has been placed on desk duty as the Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigates a video that appears to show the officer in an altercation with a Black woman walking her dog.

In cellphone video recorded early Saturday morning at North Avenue Beach in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood, a woman can be heard screaming for help as she struggles with a CPD officer.

The woman's attorney said the altercation began after the officer seen in the video allegedly asks the woman to leave the beach because it was closed. Following that order, the video shows an altercation between the two.

• WATCH: Video shows altercation between CPD officer, Black woman walking dog
  Videos provided by the woman's attorney show the altercation between his client and the officer.

The woman's attorney said that other people were walking out on the beach, but feels she was targeted because of her race.

"For some reason, this officer decided to specifically interact, and then ultimately address and attack Ms. Brown," said Keenan Saulter, the woman's attorney.

Saulter identified the woman as Nikkita Brown and said she is traumatized from the encounter.

Her lawyer called the incident a brutal and unprovoked attack, saying that she was leaving the beach when the officer put his hands on her.

"She was always in the process of leaving," he said. " She was always walking out of the park."



https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-police- ... /10986831/

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

video clips in article

COPA investigating altercation between Chicago police officer, Black woman walking dog
CPD officer placed on desk duty pending outcome of COPA investigation
By Diane Pathieu and Alexis McAdams and Maher Kawash
Tuesday, August 31, 2021 1:00PM

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A white Chicago police officer has been placed on desk duty as the Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigates a video that appears to show the officer in an altercation with a Black woman walking her dog.

In cellphone video recorded early Saturday morning at North Avenue Beach in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood, a woman can be heard screaming for help as she struggles with a CPD officer.

The woman's attorney said the altercation began after the officer seen in the video allegedly asks the woman to leave the beach because it was closed. Following that order, the video shows an altercation between the two.

• WATCH: Video shows altercation between CPD officer, Black woman walking dog
  Videos provided by the woman's attorney show the altercation between his client and the officer.

The woman's attorney said that other people were walking out on the beach, but feels she was targeted because of her race.

"For some reason, this officer decided to specifically interact, and then ultimately address and attack Ms. Brown," said Keenan Saulter, the woman's attorney.

Saulter identified the woman as Nikkita Brown and said she is traumatized from the encounter.

Her lawyer called the incident a brutal and unprovoked attack, saying that she was leaving the beach when the officer put his hands on her.

"She was always in the process of leaving," he said. " She was always walking out of the park."



https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-police- ... /10986831/

Looks very much like the officer was haranguing her, she got bored and pulled out her cellphone, and he tried to rip it out of her hands. "How dare you ignore me, peasant!"*

*NADQ

[Patagoniagirl]

It's just amazing how cell phone video has caused the proliferation of police violence. Before cell phone - no police violence. Now, gosh almighty.

[RTH10260]

It's just amazing how cell phone video has caused the proliferation of police violence. Before cell phone - no police violence. Now, gosh almighty.

I have recently again been following some "1st Amendment Auditors". It's astonishing the bad behaviour they get to document. The bad actors are fully aware that they are on camera. Many times now interactions that turn sour are even livestreamed! It's not just police officers, the guys on the stomp, it's even their direct superiors, the supervisors in rank of sargent, and even the occaisonal lieutenant, that fail to recognize existing law and 1AA ending up in false arrests.

While I know that the 1AA crowd(*) are frowned up around here I would classify them as civil rights activists. Several are prepared for the worst (have bond ready and a lawyer at hand) and take the infractions to court and win.

(*) yes - they are many bad actors among them, those that just did see on the internet that they can get "recognition" by posting online but are just jackasses without understanding the finer points of the laws. And then the various guys that have a chip in their sholder, having an issue with authority, and are just out to harrassing police.

[neonzx]

It's just amazing how cell phone video has caused the proliferation of police violence. Before cell phone - no police violence. Now, gosh almighty.

In the early days of cell phone cameras, police tried to stifle their use/recordings as not being legal. FUCK THEM... record everything.

[neeneko]

While I know that the 1AA crowd(*) are frowned up around here I would classify them as civil rights activists. Several are prepared for the worst (have bond ready and a lawyer at hand) and take the infractions to court and win.

I am trying to figure out a bit of a language to do some separation here. When I hear 'first amendment auditor' I picture the bored white guys harassing public officials in order to get youtube views.. as you say, jackasses.

But I also know activists who keep copies of relevant laws with them because filming police has become such a valuable tool and police have a history of preventing or punishing filming in places where it is legally protected. I really think the later needs some kind of distinct term associated with them beyond 'community activist' to associate them with the 1A related activism but differentiate them from the 'auditor' crowd.

[Phoenix520]

Frauditorz? For the YouTube variety.

[Suranis]

I think from the Cops point of view the amount of bad cop treatment complaints have fallen off a cliff, as they can prove the nutcases they had to deal with are not representing the situation right.

And I know I'm biased from watching Shrodingers Cat and Ragical the Unhallowed Knight youtube channels, but These frauditors are experts in preloading a scene by antagonizing the cops then pressing record, and misrepresenting situations. Frankly in the videos they show, the Cops are way too patient and should kick the frautors out much sooner than they do. Not to mention that idiot who always reaches behind him to "scratch his back" when facing the cops to make them think he is going for a gun.

[RTH10260]

I think from the Cops point of view the amount of bad cop treatment complaints have fallen off a cliff, as they can prove the nutcases they had to deal with are not representing the situation right.

And I know I'm biased from watching Shrodingers Cat and Ragical the Unhallowed Knight youtube channels, but These frauditors are experts in preloading a scene by antagonizing the cops then pressing record, and misrepresenting situations. Frankly in the videos they show, the Cops are way too patient and should kick the frautors out much sooner than they do. Not to mention that idiot who always reaches behind him to "scratch his back" when facing the cops to make them think he is going for a gun.

I turned a dislike on Shrodingers Cat, as at several other YT channels that re-publish 1AA vireo clips. They claim fair use by copying the content and editing them, adding own comments that are seldom useful - essentially they steal the content without haveing to do any of the footwork. The "readers digest" version is only useful cause it cuts down on sometimes lengthy sections of no real activity of the "auditors" just standing around and filming with no reaction of anyone. They often cut out the crucial development prior to the "explosive moments". For best experience, read the description onthe video and follow the link to the original poster (many don't post the link to the actual video, so some extra searching is required within the channel).

[LM K]

Longmont pays off woman's $1,592 toll bill that a narcotics sergeant rang up by using stolen license plate
CHRISTOPHER OSHER chris.osher@gazette.com Aug 20, 2021 Updated Aug 20, 2021

The media solved this issue is less than 24 hours.

Imagine that.

[LM K]

S.C. police officer fired, charged after bodycam video shows him stomping on Black man’s head


https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/sc- ... UFIJ42V7U/

The
incident report is something else. One officer, a black woman, turned Dukes in immediately after the incident.

It's worth reading the entire report.

[RTH10260]

now former...

Former Oklahoma City Police Department sergeant fired amid prostitution, assault and battery charges

by: Jessica Bruno/KFOR
Posted: Aug 31, 2021 / 05:07 PM CDT / Updated: Aug 31, 2021 / 05:19 PM CDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A now-former Oklahoma City Police Department sergeant has been fired amid prostitution and assault and battery charges following an incident at a massage parlor last year.

Sgt. Alonzo Fields, a 7-year veteran of the Oklahoma City Police Department, has now been fired following an incident back on Sept. 11, 2020 at Studio 132 Massage Therapy, which has since closed down.

Mike Richards is out as producer of ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’
According to court documents, Fields asked the massage therapist for a “’Nuru massage,’ which is associated with sex acts.”

The documents allege that she “informed Defendant Fields the request was not legal, and the cops had been called.”

That’s when Fields attempted to retrieve his money back and “became aggressive.”

Fields allegedly pushed two of the employees into a wall.



https://kfor.com/news/local/former-okla ... y-charges/

[RVInit]

It's just amazing how cell phone video has caused the proliferation of police violence. Before cell phone - no police violence. Now, gosh almighty.

Yeah. I remember how the excuse for nearly every black man that got shot by police was always "he was trying to take my gun". Nearly every sworn statement used that as an excuse for why the black man had to be killed. All the sudden at the same time everybody has a cell phone with video capability black men all over this nation just happened to all at once quit trying to take cops' guns away from them.

/s (just in case)

[Patagoniagirl]

Well, to be fair, and perhaps anecdotally, the Mister had quite a few white"hippie" clients who got the shit beat out of them who "resisted arrest" while being too fucking stoned to drive a car. Some real ass-kicking beatings while in handcuffs.

[Frater I*I]

Well, to be fair, and perhaps anecdotally, the Mister had quite a few white"hippie" clients who got the shit beat out of them who "resisted arrest" while being too fucking stoned to drive a car. Some real ass-kicking beatings while in handcuffs.

I got arrested by Cleveland PD back in the mid 90s, at the station at about head level above the bench where you get you handcuff attached to. Get lippy, well hard to curl in a ball when your arm is cuffed above your head.

[RTH10260]

Lawsuit against Scottsdale PD for bad arrest will continue

ABC15 Arizona 31 Aug 2021

A pair of Valley attorneys have agreed to represent a woman falsely accused of a hit-and-run accident by Scottsdale officers who overlooked clear evidence of her innocence.

'I want to clear my name': Woman speaks out after being falsely accused by Scottsdale police

While detained, scared, and crying, Scottsdale police officers repeatedly called her a liar and ignored clear video evidence of her innocence before handcuffing Garcia for a hit-and-run she didn’t commit.

While detained, scared, and crying, Scottsdale police officers repeatedly called her a liar and overlooked clear video evidence of her innocence before handcuffing Garcia for a hit-and-run she didn’t commit.

But Garcia said the reality didn’t fully set in until she heard the “click” and felt the metal on her wrists.

“Exactly when he told me to put my hands behind my back, and that’s when everything went black,” she said. “I just kind of heard [the officer]. It was kind of like an echo. I was kind of in shock, and I just kind of dropped down.”

Making the arrest worse, Garcia was forced to strip at the police station, had her blood forcibly drawn, and her mugshot was splashed across the internet the following day.



https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/i ... ale-police