National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 04-08-14 to 04-09-14

Here are the 25 reports of police misconduct tracked for Tuesday, April 8 to Wednesday, April 9, 2014:

• Update: Springfield, Illinois (First reported 04-03-13): A 9-months pregnant woman [Lucinda White] who was tased in a parking lot has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and two officers [Officer Edward Higginson, Officer Mark Cordes] who arrested her. ow.ly/vzTpe
• New York City, New York: A man [Mario Rodriguez] thought he was helping cops catch a hit-and-run driver, but his courtesy got him punched and jailed on a DWI charge. He has filed a federal lawsuit accusing cops [Officer Darren Guerriere] of false arrest and is seeking to recoup unspecified damages. ow.ly/vzSZZ
• New York City, New York: A young law student [Tzvi Richt] was arrested on completely bogus charges when he called out two officers [Officer Graham Braithwaite, Officer Jason Pinero] who parked their cruiser in a bus stop so they could grab lunch from a food truck, he claims in a lawsuit. ow.ly/vzSnO
• Albuquerque, New Mexico: One officer has been fired [Officer Gil Vigil] and another suspended [Officer Scott McMurrough] for their handling of a domestic abuse call. Police said the officers did not check a child for injuries, did not write a report, and did not talk to the 9-year-old boy [Omaree Varela] away from adults. Six months after the call, the boy’s mother allegedly killed him. ow.ly/vzDNs
• Update: Augusta, Kansas (First reported 07-15-13): A now-former police officer [Public Safety Officer Jerry Ballinger] has been sentenced in connection to a child sex crime. He was arrested on two counts of Aggravated Indecent Liberties with a Child. He was given 59 days of house arrest and 60 days of probation. He must also register as a sex offender. ow.ly/vzBSJ

• Bull Shoals, Arkansas: The chief of the police department [Chief Daniel Sutterfield] is facing charges tied to his use of excessive force in an arrest [victim: Nicholas Dore] he made. ow.ly/vzCTr
• Update: Culpeper, Virginia (First reported 05-03-13): The town’s insurance carrier will pay $300,000 to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit involving a woman [Patricia Ann Cook] fatally shot by a now-former police officer. The officer [Officer Daniel Harmon-Wright] is serving a three-year sentence for manslaughter in her death. ow.ly/vzyt6
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin: In a fruitless search of a home for an alligator and wolves, police [Detective Phil Simmert] shot to death two Tibetan mastiffs, the most valuable dog in the world, which recently set a record of more than $1 million for a single puppy, the dogs’ owner [Jane Flint] claims in court. ow.ly/vzh6G
• El Paso, Texas: A family [Deborah Hawthorne] plans to file charges after an officer (officers on scene refused to identify themselves) shot their three-legged pit bull [Gracie] with their 11-year-old daughter nearby when responding to their home. ow.ly/vzbwD
• Update: North Brunswick, New Jersey (First reported 02-04-14): A state police officer [William Carvounis] who was caught stealing $267 in gun supplies and other merchandise by store surveillance video was allowed to enter a special pre-trial intervention program known as Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition to avoid prosecution. ow.ly/vyYSp

• Lancaster, Pennsylvania: A woman [Trina Howze] claims in a lawsuit that a city police officer pepper-sprayer her for no reason. She also said officers with the department’s internal affairs division apologized to her and told her she was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and that the officer who sprayed her was “pumped up from an earlier incident.” A police spokesman said the department doesn’t comment on litigation [defendants: Chief Keith Sadler, 10 "John Doe"s]. ow.ly/vyJYn
• Cedar Rapids, Iowa: A lawsuit against two officers [Officer Mitchell Magill, Officer Eric Butler] claims a woman’s [Chelsea Bechman] Fourth Amendment rights were violated during her arrest. ow.ly/vyIuP
• Yonkers, New York: A civil suit says a police officer [Alex Della Donna] had charges dropped, sprung a suspect [Sonia L. Gomez] from jail and gave her PCP that had been seized by the department, apparently for her recreational use, in exchange for sex. ow.ly/vyGHk
• Update: Detroit Lakes, Becker County, Minnesota (First reported 01-22-14): The now-former sheriff [Sheriff Tim Gordon] pled not guilty to charges including felony counts of theft by swindle and presenting false claim, along with a gross misdemeanor count of misconduct by a public officer. ow.ly/vBNep
• Huntsville, Alabama: A woman [Nancy Smith] is suing the city, the police chief [Chief Lewis Morris], and five police officers [Sergeant Dewayne McCarver, 4 unidentified officers] in the death of her 17-year-old son. ow.ly/vBJc8

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: A man [Rodney Handy Jr.] says police [Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, Officer Shane Darden, Officer Timothy Taylor] used excessive force, racially profiled him, and retaliated against him when he questioned why they stopped him as he parked his car outside his home. ow.ly/vBDwW
• Selma, Alabama: A former police officer [Christopher Harris] serve 15 months in jail, followed by 5 years of probation, after pleading guilty to first-degree sexual abuse. ow.ly/vBtaB
• Port Allen, West Baton Rouge, Louisiana: A sheriff’s major [Major Jerome Fontenot] who once led the agency’s narcotics division has been arrested on drug charges, including possession of crack cocaine and several painkillers. http://ow.ly/vBPrI
• Chicago, Illinois: Three people [Caprice Halley, Tevin Ford, estate of Robert Douglas] who claim police [Officer Wherfel, Officer E. Doughtery, Officer A. Granat, Officer D. Balesteri, Officer B. Rodekohr, Officer J. Reckard, Officer R. Federici, Officer T. Conlon] strip-searched them in public and falsely accused them of carrying heroin during a traffic stop are suing the city, calling the officers’ actions “exceeding all bounds of human decency.” http://ow.ly/vBRre
• Orange, California: A resident [Jorge Galindo] has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against his police department for officers (all unidentified) allegedly using excessive force. He says he was attempting to park his car in his garage when police approached and demanded to see ID. While he was in the process of complying, one of the cops shot him “multiple times,” the lawsuit states. http://ow.ly/vC3nO

• Greenfield, Indiana: A police officer [Lieutenant Terry Austin] is facing felony charges for allegedly bribing police to perform a traffic stop on his ex-wife [Koleki Wright Austin]. http://ow.ly/vC6S1
• Update: Ludlow, Massachusetts (Previously reported 03-12-14): A high-ranking police officer [Lieutenant Thomas Foye] suspended after he was charged with stealing drugs from the department’s evidence locker pled not guilty. http://ow.ly/vC4BF
• Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana: Three deputies [Sergeant Dylan Bergeron, Lieutenant Pat Bizette, Captain Adrian Slaughter] with the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office and a New Roads police officer [New Roads, Louisiana, Captain Mark Munson] have been suspended without pay following an investigation into special treatment the officer received in an off-duty crash while suspected of driving while intoxicated. http://ow.ly/vC5ar
• Clark County, Nevada: A man [Dave Bundy] has been released after being arrested [and allegedly beaten] during an ongoing dispute over grazing rights between the Bureau of Land Management and a family [Cliven Bundy] in southern Nevada, and the family is calling for action. The Ranchers say their free speech rights have been violated, while authorities say it was a valid arrest. http://ow.ly/vC5MS
• Tulare, California: A police chief [Chief Jerry Breckinridge] could face criminal charges after getting arrested for domestic violence. http://ow.ly/vC66l

National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 04-08-14 to 04-09-14 is a post from PoliceMisconduct.net




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