COPS behaving badly

[raison de arizona]

From article above:

Experts say the new ruling could mean Derek Chauvin's third-degree murder conviction earlier this year in George Floyd's 2020 death could also come under review.

Well, crap.

[bob]

From article above:

Experts say the new ruling could mean Derek Chauvin's third-degree murder conviction earlier this year in George Floyd's 2020 death could also come under review.

Well, crap.

This article isn't so pessimistic:

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruling may hold implications for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was also convicted of third-degree murder, as well as second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the 2020 killing of George Floyd.

During Chauvin's trial, Judge Peter Cahill struck the third-degree murder charge, saying it required that the defendant's action be focused on more than one person.

But the Minnesota Court of Appeals decision on Noor's case forced the judge to reinstate the third-degree murder charge for Chauvin.

Because second-degree murder is the most serious charge, it's the only charge that Chauvin was sentenced on.

Even if Noor's successful appeal led to the reversal of Chauvin's third-degree murder conviction, his sentence would remain the same unless his second-degree murder conviction was also overturned.

So if Chauvin's second-degree murder conviction is sustained on appeal, but his three-degree conviction is vacated, it won't change the sentence.

[RTH10260]

New York State trooper charged with murder after ramming family's car, killing 11-year-old girl
BY SOPHIE REARDON

OCTOBER 28, 2021 / 9:58 AM / CBS NEWS

A New York State trooper has been charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of 11-year-old Monica Goods, Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday. Christopher Baldner is accused of ramming a car with four members of the Goods family inside, flipping the car and killing Monica while on duty in December 2020.


The attorney general's office said Baldner was in his police car when he stopped Tristan Goods for speeding in Ulster County just before midnight on December 22. He was going to visit family for Christmas and had his wife and two daughters, who are 11 and 12 years old, in the car with him. During the stop, Baldner administered pepper spray into the Goods' car and Tristan Goods sped off, the indictment said.

The trooper followed the family's car, ramming into the back of their car twice before Goods' vehicle flipped multiple times. Monica Goods was ejected from the car and died, the attorney general said.



https://www.cbsnews.com/news/monica-goo ... arged/#app

[LM K]

Gonzalez is a former school safety officer who shot an 18 year old through a car window while the car was driving away from him.

Gonzalez had been a police officer ... briefly, before becoming a school safety officer. His law enforcement job history shows that it's very likely he was fired from both jobs because he wasn't fit to be a police officer. Gonzalez is an ex-Marine.

Gonzalez' bail is set at $2 million. There's no way he'll raise enough to bail out. The shooting is so absurd that he won't get a large number to donate to him through crowdfunding.

Former School Safety Officer Is Charged in the Fatal Shooting of a Teenager

A former California school safety officer who fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old girl last month has been charged with murder, prosecutors said.

The former officer, Eddie F. Gonzalez, 51, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with one count of murder in the Sept. 27 shooting of Manuela Rodriguez, 18, near Millikan High School in Long Beach, the Los Angeles County district attorney, George Gascón, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Mr. Gonzalez, who was a school safety officer with the Long Beach Unified School District, was booked into the Long Beach jail on Wednesday, where he was being held on $2 million bail, according to jail records. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.


Just after 3 p.m. on Sept. 27, Mr. Gonzalez was patrolling an area near the high school when he noticed Ms. Rodriguez and a 15-year-old girl fighting in the street, the police said. The 15-year-old, who was not identified, was a student at Millikan High School.

A lawyer for the Rodriguez family, Michael Carrillo, said Ms. Rodriguez, who was known as Mona, was not a student at the school and had a 6-month-old son.

Investigators said a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were also involved in the incident. When the man, the boy and Ms. Rodriguez tried to drive away, Mr. Gonzalez approached the vehicle to prevent them from fleeing, the police said.

Mr. Carillo said the man, Rafeul Chowdhury, was Ms. Rodriguez’s boyfriend and the father of her son, and the boy was Mr. Chowdhury’s brother.

Video showed the car almost hitting Mr. Gonzalez, who fired at least two shots as it drove off, striking Ms. Rodriguez, who was a passenger, according to the police. Mr. Carrillo said she was shot in the head.


She added that the school district’s use-of-force policy says “officers shall not fire at a fleeing person, shall not fire at a moving vehicle and shall not fire through a vehicle window unless circumstances clearly warrant the use of a firearm as a final means of defense.”


Mr. Gonzalez is expected to be arraigned on Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Long Beach Branch.

Today Gonzalez was charged with 2nd degree murder.

The former school safety officer for Long Beach Unified School District accused of wrongly shooting an 18-year-old woman faces second-degree murder, a prosecutor disclosed at court on Friday, Oct. 29.


First-degree murder is premeditated, and second-degree murder is not. In California, a first-degree murder conviction carries up to 25 years to life in prison and a second-degree conviction carries up to 15 years to life.


Gonzalez’s court appearance on Friday was for his arraignment, when he could have declared his guilt or innocence. As is often the case, his was postponed, to Dec. 8.


Rodriguez was unarmed, the district attorney has said. She was declared brain dead by doctors after the shooting, then died after taken off of life support on Oct. 5.

Previously I had wondered why a school safety officer "patrolling an area near the high school"? SSOs in Long Beach do patrol areas adjacent to schools. Gonzalez was patrolling an assigned patrol area.

What are school safety officers and when do they have authority to shoot people?

“SSOs don’t investigate crimes,” said LBUSD spokesperson Chris Eftychiou. “The police do that.SSOs do not arrest but can detain pending an investigation by law enforcement. Deadly force is allowed in self defense or in defense of others to prevent death and great bodily injury.”

Typically, Eftychiou said, SSOs, “assist with the more serious incidents that occur on or near campus involving our students or staff. They also assist and work with local law enforcement to maintain order and prevent criminal activity that may impact our schools. SSOs assigned to the high schools are also trained to respond to an active shooter incident.”

Using deadly force
Eftychiou said that the district does not publicly distribute SSO training materials “because they contain tactical information.”

But his description of when SSOs are allowed to use deadly force is more narrow than the Long Beach Police Department’s policy, which is available online.

LBPD authorizes its officers to use deadly force—including shooting at people—to stop an imminent threat but also to apprehend a fleeing felony suspect if they believe “that the person will cause death or serious bodily injury to another unless immediately apprehended.”

The LBPD also tightly restricts when officers can fire at moving vehicles, saying officers should avoid putting themselves in the path of a moving car and only fire on a moving vehicle “in the event of an imminent threat or immediate apprehension.”

It’s rare for an SSO to fire their guns, although one officer did accidentally discharge theirs on an empty campus during a training exercise in 2019.

Roles of SSOs
In practice, SSOs serve two main roles for high schools, according to two LBUSD administrators, who asked not to be named due to the ongoing investigation around Monday’s shooting. One role is that they often patrol the area around high schools when students are coming to or leaving class.

On the district’s job description for SSOs, the first listed example of duty is “Patrol District sites and adjacent areas to provide safety and protection for students, staff, equipment and property; assure compliance with applicable laws, codes, rules and regulations.”

Their other main function is to respond to calls for more serious incidents or concerns, such as a student bringing a gun to campus.

According to one Millikan employee who asked not to be named, it’s common for an SSO to be on patrol in the area off-campus just north of the school, at Spring Street and Palo Verde Avenue where the shooting occurred. A large crowd of students typically flows in that direction when school gets out because of the bus stations located near that intersection.

I can't imagine a jury agreeing that Gonzalez feared for his life and shot out of self defense.

The screams heard in the below video are haunting.

[RTH10260]

more bad boys

4 former Granville County Sheriff’s Office employees indicted

by: Emani Payne
Posted: Oct 27, 2021 / 06:13 PM EDT / Updated: Oct 27, 2021 / 06:13 PM EDT

CREEDMOOR, N.C. (WNCN) – Indictments were handed down Tuesday to four former employees with the Granville County Sheriffs Office following a three-year investigation into the department.

Former Sheriff Brindell Wilkins was indicted on charges of falsifying training records, while he was already on suspension for previous obstruction charges.

Former Chief Deputy Sherwood Boyd was also indicted this week on obstruction charges along with two other former deputies.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman is handling the case.

“It is essential that they work every day to maintain the public trust and part of maintaining the public trust is applying to strict standards on credibility and on maintaining qualifications,” said Lorrin Freeman, Wake County district attorney.

CBS 17 went to the sheriff’s office to talk with Wilkins’s replacement, Sheriff Charles Noblin Jr., about these developments but were told he’s resigning Wednesday.

CBS 17 received the following statement:

“Due to personal reasons beyond my control and newly discovered information brought to my attention concerning the ongoing investigation, I feel that it is in my best interest and betterment of Granville County’s Sheriff Office that I inform you of my resignation effective October 27th 5:00pm.”

“There were allegations concerning a singular incident of falsifying a firearms qualification form that we believe was most appropriately handled administratively now that Noblin has made the determination to step down.” Said Freeman.

The training records are all centered around firearm qualification requirements.



https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/4 ... -indicted/

[sugar magnolia]

‘A long time burden:’ NC sheriff switches political parties
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/polit ... 04408.html

[Foggy]

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman is handling the case.

We're buddies, when she was chair of the Wake County Democratic Party, I was her newsletter editor and publisher. Wonderful lady, I miss the days when FALCON was going to report me to her because I supported the President of the United States of America (and so did she). I was gonna be in big whuppy trouble!

[Foggy]

‘A long time burden:’ NC sheriff switches political parties
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/polit ... 04408.html

Paywall, I'm never giving a nickel to the N&O.

[pipistrelle]

‘A long time burden:’ NC sheriff switches political parties
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/polit ... 04408.html

Paywall, I'm never giving a nickel to the N&O.

I didn’t run into a paywall earlier.

He didn’t say why the Democratic Party is now poison to him, nor did they ask.

[RTH10260]

from the link

[Suranis]

Yes, every ex Democrat calls the party the "Democrat party."

[AndyinPA]

Yes, every ex Democrat calls the party the "Democrat party."

Yeah, he lost me at the first sentence.

[tek]

"good conscious" eh?

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

"good conscious" eh?

My thoughts exactly.

[LM K]

Just how did the Democratic party leave him? It hasn't changed it's values. The Repub party has.

[Patagoniagirl]

An awful story. Law enforcement need more training, starting with deescalarions, dealing with mental illness and people with disabilities.




Your Military
‘She was just doing her job’: Homeless vet loses service dog during arrest for panhandling
By Rachel Nostrant
Wednesday, Oct 27







Former Kentucky National Guardsman Joshua Rohrer, an Iraq war veteran, and his service dog Sunshine walking in Gastonia, N.C., October 2021. (Courtesy of Joshua Rohrer/ Facebook)

"Joshua Graham Rohrer, a homeless veteran in North Carolina, says he was wrongfully arrested and mistreated by Gastonia police officers, who also tased his service dog Sunshine, sparking support from those who witnessed the incident.

The Gastonia Police Department told Military Times that although Rohrer will go to court for the charges against him, the department is now looking into the incident to “determine if the conduct of our officers was appropriate.”

More at the link.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your ... nhandling/

[RTH10260]

long article

KARE 11 Investigates: Jailed, innocent, in labor – and shackled
Police raided a pregnant woman’s home wrongly suspecting her husband stole a snowblower; she ended up in jail, in labor, and experts say, illegally in shackles.

Brandon Stahl (KARE11), A.J. Lagoe, Steve Eckert

{links to chapters not carried over}

January 7, 2020, began like any other evening at their Dayton, Minn., home. Faris Hussien sat in his living room playing video games on his laptop; his wife, Sara, 9-months-pregnant with their first child, cooked in the kitchen.

Due in only two weeks, they dreamt of how they would welcome their son into the world. Her husband would be by her side to comfort her, with their family close by, ready to bring him back to a home filled with everything their new baby could possibly need.

“We were so excited to be a family,” Faris said.

Then they heard what sounded like a boom at their front door.

The night would end with 26-year-old Sara alone in the Hennepin County jail, booked for a crime she did not commit, weeping in searing pain and in labor.

Her 26-year-old husband sat behind bars in another part of the jail, arrested after he says he defended his wife and unborn child against what he thought were home invaders.

Instead, they turned out to be police, raiding his home because they wrongly suspected he was working with a small-time shoplifter.
After Sara said she spent the next day and a half begging jail guards for help, her water broke. Then, records and interviews show, she was taken to a hospital shackled to the ambulance gurney and then to a hospital bed.



https://www.kare11.com/article/news/inv ... d3f7266b03

[RVInit]

It is unreal those charges took over a year to be dropped. I hope this family gets a huge settlement.

[RTH10260]

Denver’s Top Parking Enforcer ‘Fixed’ 21 Of His Own Tickets
Jonathan Featherston Says It Was Part of Secret 'Mystery Shop' Campaign

By Brian Maass
November 5, 2021 at 8:44 amFiled Under:Colorado News, Denver News

DENVER (CBS4)– A CBS4 Investigation has found Denver’s Director of Right of Way Enforcement, Jonathan Featherston, received 21 parking citations on his personal car in 2021 and 2020. He ordered every one of the citations canceled, with Featherston now explaining that he received the tickets while he was engaging in a secret “mystery shop” campaign to test how well parking agents were doing in handing out parking tickets.

The mystery shop campaign cited by Featherston was apparently known to only one other person in the agency: his supervisor, Todd Richardson, Chief Operating Officer for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Featherston declined to answer questions and since CBS4 began investigating the citations, the city has suspended his “mystery shop” program.

The curious practice came to light when a whistleblower in the Right Of Way Enforcement division noticed what Featherston was doing and filed a complaint in September with the city Board of Ethics, suggesting Featherston was engaged in “questionable ethical conduct,” using his public position for private gain.

In his ethics complaint, which was obtained by CBS4, a supervisor under Featherston- noted that he believed what Featherston had done might amount to fraud. “Employees who receive a parking citation shall pay their citation, go before the parking magistrate or schedule a court date to contest their citation”, wrote the employee. None of that occurred with Featherston’s tickets- instead he just ordered them dismissed. The employee called Featherston’s actions “unethical conduct by a higher ranking DOTI (Department of Transportation and Infrastructure) official. The type of conduct found has resulted in disciplinary action and/or termination with past employees.”




https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/11/05/ ... ts-denver/

[LM K]

If Lakey hadn't had heart disease, he be just fine after being tased 53 times!

2 Ex-Officers Who Used Tasers on a Man Over 50 Times Are Convicted of Murder

Two former Oklahoma police officers were convicted on Friday of second-degree murder for using their Tasers a total of more than 50 times on an unarmed man who later died in 2019, according to court records.

Prosecutors said the repeated use of the Tasers, also known as stun guns, by the former officers, Brandon Dingman and Joshua Taylor, was “dangerous and unnecessary” during their encounter with Jared Lakey on July 4, 2019.

It was a “substantial factor” in the death of Mr. Lakey, 28, who stopped breathing and became unresponsive shortly after he was taken into custody by the officers, who were employed by the Wilson Police Department, court documents said. Mr. Lakey died two days later.


Citing a medical examiner’s autopsy report, she said that Mr. Lakey had an enlarged heart and critical coronary artery disease before he died. The report listed the officers’ use of electrical weapons and restraint as contributing to Mr. Lakey’s death.

“It’s just a tragedy for everybody,” Ms. McMurray said. “In my opinion, they acted within policy.”

Ms. McMurray said that the officers had been trying to avoid using other types of force on Mr. Lakey. “They were truly, truly concerned for his safety and theirs if they had gone hands-on,” she said.

Warren Gotcher, a lawyer for Mr. Taylor, said on Monday that his client would also file an appeal.

“We’re very disappointed in the verdict,” said Mr. Gotcher, who also pointed to Mr. Lakey’s health as playing a significant role in his death. “No one could look at him and tell that he had that much of a diseased heart.”

The police department in Wilson, which is about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A lawsuit filed by Mr. Lakey’s family said that his body was riddled with Taser probes and that medical providers had told the family that he died from multiple heart attacks.


The chief, Kevin Coley, testified that the officers had been attempting to cause neuromuscular incapacitation in Mr. Lakey but that he had kept moving around on the ground, the television station KXII reported. The chief could not be reached on Monday.

During the officers’ encounter with Mr. Lakey, they were responding to a call that involved his “acting in a disorderly way,” according to the State Bureau of Investigation.

When Mr. Lakey would not comply with the officers’ commands, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Dingman used their Tasers a combined total of more than 50 times, “which greatly exceeded what would have been necessary or warranted by the attendant circumstances,” court records said.

The records said that “such dangerous and unnecessary” use of the Tasers was a “substantial factor” in bringing about Mr. Lakey’s death.

Craig Ladd, the district attorney for the 20th Judicial District in Oklahoma, which includes Carter County, said on Monday that police officers were trained to limit Taser exposure to 15 seconds or less and to avoid simultaneously using their devices. But in the case of Mr. Lakey, he said, the electrical connection from the officers’ Tasers lasted 3 minutes and 14 seconds.


“They Tased Jared because he was lying naked in a ditch and wouldn’t put his hands behind his back when they asked him to, even though it wasn’t clear whether Jared truly understood what was going on or what he was being requested to do,” he said. “He never made any aggressive moves towards the officers, swung at them, lunged at them, or kicked at them.”

[raison de arizona]

That’s not even human.

[raison de arizona]

I'm not entirely certain that is how the felony murder rule is intended to be used.

Angelo “AJ” Ford, 16, and Hasein Strand, 18, face first-degree murder, aggravated assault and gun charges in the Aug. 27 shooting, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.

Witnesses told police Ford and Strand had been arguing in the stands of Academy Park High School’s football stadium during a game between Academy Park and Pennsbury, and that shortly after the game, they engaged in a gunfight as fans were leaving the stadium, according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests.

After the shooting, which injured another victim, Sharon Hill Police officers monitoring the crowd nearby opened fire on a vehicle they believed to be involved. In that shooting, the three officers struck Fanta and three other people, police said. Fanta was pronounced dead at the scene.

[bob]

I'm not entirely certain that is how the felony murder rule is intended to be used.

"Cops kill bystander to a robbery" is a hypothetical that's taught.

But, as the article indicates, the cops claim they were returning fire.

[raison de arizona]

I'm not entirely certain that is how the felony murder rule is intended to be used.

"Cops kill bystander to a robbery" is a hypothetical that's taught.

But, as the article indicates, the cops claim they were returning fire.

According to an arrest affadavit, Ford and Strand were on opposite sides of a conflict between two groups of teenagers as they left the football game. What they were fighting about is unclear, but witnesses said Ford lifted his shirt as the argument escalated, revealing a handgun.

Strand went to a nearby car and allegedly pulled out a 9mm pistol. The two began firing at one another, striking and injuring an unidentified victim, police said.

The three officers then drew their weapons after Strand allegedly shot in their direction, police said. A car turning onto the street—occupied by two 19-year-old women, both alumni of the school—was caught in the subsequent crossfire.

As bullets struck the vehicle, the women in the car were cut badly by shattering glass, according to authorities. Other shots went beyond the car, striking Fanta and her sister, who were leaving the stadium, as well as two others.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/angelo-fo ... nia-police

I guess. It doesn't seem to me like the police should be firing irresponsibly like that though. I suppose I'm ok with the charge, a jury can decide, but I hope the police face some consequences as well. I don't think they should be off the hook. It sounds like the three officers involved are currently suspended, so maybe that is happening.

[sugar magnolia]

Being suspended after an officer-involved shooting is SOP. It doesn't mean they'll actually face any discipline, much less termination.