Posts Tagged ‘police state USSA’

Detroit-area officer charged with assault in taped beating

Posted: April 21, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit-area police officer who hauled a man out of his car and repeatedly punched him in the head was charged Monday with assault stemming from the January traffic stop, which wasn’t publicly known until a video was broadcast in March.

“The job of a peace officer can be dangerous,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. “But we cannot tolerate those who abuse their authority, violate their oath and prey on citizens rather than protecting them.”

Recently fired Inkster Officer William Melendez was charged with mistreatment of a prisoner and assault, both felonies. Melendez has declined to discuss any specifics of how he treated Floyd Dent but said last week, “I did nothing wrong here.” Defense attorney David Lee declined to comment Monday.

The dashcam video shows Dent, 57, being pulled from his car by two officers during the stop on Jan. 28. He was repeatedly punched in the forehead by Melendez while on the ground, and is bloody when he stands up.

Worthy said her office didn’t know about the incident until March 23, when WDIV-TV aired the video. Melendez, 46, a former Detroit officer, had not been disciplined until the story broke.

“We probably wouldn’t know about it” without the video, Worthy said. Nonetheless, she declined to criticize the Inkster department.

 

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy speaks during a …

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy speaks during a news conference in Detroit Monday, April 20, 2015 …

A drug charge will be dropped against Dent, who claims a bag of cocaine was planted in his car during the arrest. A judge already has dismissed a charge of resisting police.

“I would like to thank Prosecutor Kym Worthy for her courage and conviction,” Dent said.

After he was fired last week, Melendez told WXYZ-TV that he considered himself a “political speed bump” in a period of intense national scrutiny of police tactics.

“It is a very stressful job where you have to make split-second decisions,” Melendez said.

This isn’t the first criminal case related to his work. In 2004, Melendez and seven other Detroit officers were acquitted of lying, falsifying reports and planting evidence. Federal prosecutors had accused him and another officer of being the “masterminds” of a conspiracy to “run roughshod over the civil rights of the victims.”

 

Floyd Dent, second from left, stands with protesters …

Floyd Dent, second from left, stands with protesters as they rally in front of the Inkster, Mich., p …

Separately, Worthy said there would be no charges in a Jan. 12 incident involving officers from Grosse Pointe Park and Highland Park who were investigating a car theft. An armed carjacking suspect, Andrew Jackson, was kicked and punched on the ground during an arrest in Detroit. A video was recorded by a woman in her home.

Some actions by the officers were “disturbing and inexplicable” but don’t rise to criminal conduct, said Worthy, who added that it’s up to the respective departments to order any discipline.

Jackson, who has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the officers, didn’t cooperate with investigators who wanted to ask him about the arrest, the prosecutor said.

Former Cop Who Feds Say Committed a “Horrific, Violent Crime,” Found Dead in Murder/Suicide

Posted: April 21, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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Des Moines, IA — Former Des Moines Police Officer Mersed Dautovic was found dead Sunday morning in an Urbandale apartment along with his 24-year old girlfriend in an apparent murder-suicide, according to this morning’s press release.

Dautovic’s girlfriend was identified by authorities today as Mevlida Dzananovic. The couple was found dead in garage number 19, in an apartment complex in Urbandale after a concerned family member requested the police do a “wellness check.” While police say the weapon used is unknown at this time, autopsies show both died from strangulation, Dautovic’s being self-inflicted.

Dautovic had a clear history of violence. This news comes just weeks after Dautovic was arrested in Waukee and charged with first offense domestic assault on March 28, according to court records. The couple apparently had more than just one or two domestic disputes while living together in the Urbandale apartment complex.

Dautovic was scheduled to be sentenced today on an excessive-force charge in a case that’s been ongoing since September 2008. It’s been nearly 7 years since Dautovic and his former partner, John Mailander, brutally assaulted a man named Octavius Bonds. The officers beat him during a traffic stop in what federal prosecutors have called a “horrific, violent crime.”

Officer Dautovic and his partner delivered multiple blows to Bonds on the back of his head with steel batons during the traffic stop.

The former officer originally served 20 months in prison for the crime, charged with obstruction of justice and violating civil rights. Upon being released in January, a three-judge panel found Dautovic’s sentence too lenient, one judge calling his behavior “egregious,” and scheduling a resentencing for a harsher sentence and more time behind bars.

Mersed Dautovic was scheduled to be resentenced at 10am Monday morning, and was facing up to 14 years in prison.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/iowa-officer-facing-jail-time-beating-innocent-man-commits-muder-suicide/#5Ff7FvVUV852ARg2.99

Man Dies After Police Break his Back and Sever His Spine During Arrest

Posted: April 20, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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A man who was injured while being arrested in Baltimore last week has died, just hours after hundreds of people rallied outside Baltimore Police Station to protest against how seriously he was injured.

RT.com

Freddie Gray’s stepfather, Richard Shipley, confirmed his stepson had died. His statement was confirmed by a Shock Trauma [hospital] spokesman.

According to police, Gray was first stopped by officers at 8:39am on April 12. He then managed to run away but was caught one minute later and arrested. At 8:54am he was placed in the prisoner transport wagon and taken to the Western District police station. At 9:54am an ambulance was called to treat him.

Local broadcaster WJZ-TV said that footage of the arrest filmed on a cell phone showed that he was black, and that family members identified him as 27-year old Freddie Gray.

He suffered broken vertebra and an injured voice box and had to undergo emergency spinal surgery, after which he was in a coma from which he never recovered.

Police have said that a panel has been set up to review the case which will be sent to prosecutors but have not been forthcoming with any additional information.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/man-dies-police-break-sever-spine-arrest/#m8EG112V3A1Mwjyh.99

Officer who rammed Arizona man accused of misconduct

Posted: April 17, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona police officer who used his cruiser to ram into an armed suspect has been accused of using excessive force in the past, resulting in a $20,000 settlement for a man who said the officer pointed a gun at him and choked him.

On Oct. 6, 2005, Luis Colon was driving with his wife and four children in Manhattan when he parked his car and got out. It’s unclear from records whether Colon had been pulled over or whether he stopped on his own. Colon’s attorney has not returned a request by The Associated Press for comment.

Colon said Rapiejko pointed a gun at him, ordered him to get back in the car and threatened to shoot him. He later pulled Colon out of the car, handcuffed him and choked him, the complaint states.

Colon was arrested and charged with obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct and resisting. All charges were eventually dropped. Colon sued Rapiejko in May 2008, and in December, the city settled with Colon for $20,000.

That was nearly a decade before the Feb. 19 incident in which Rapiejko used his cruiser to ram into an armed man who had threatened to kill himself.

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This undated photo provided by the Marana Police Department …

This undated photo provided by the Marana Police Department shows Mario Valencia. Dramatic dash cam  …

The incident in Marana, a small town just north of Tucson, gained worldwide attention after the release of a dash cam video showing the dramatic encounter.

Mario Valencia, the 36-year-old suspect who is shown on video walking around with a hunting rifle, pointing it at himself and threatening to commit suicide before firing the weapon into the air, was not seriously injured. He has been charged with assault on an officer and remains jailed.

Police say Valencia committed a string of violent crimes that day both in Tucson and later in Marana, where he allegedly stole the rifle and ammunition from the local Wal-Mart store. In total, Valencia faces about 15 criminal charges.

The suspect’s lawyer called Rapiejko’s actions excessive and unjustified.

“In watching the video, I think it was clear that it was not the appropriate action and that my client was not threatening to anybody except for himself,” Michelle Cohen Metzger said Wednesday.

 

In this Feb. 19, 2015, frame from a dash cam video …

Policing experts say Rapiejko’s use of his patrol car to stop Valencia was unconventional and even outrageous, but justified because of the danger Valencia posed to officers and others around him.

The Marana Police Department has defended his actions, saying Rapiejko prevented what could have been a tragedy if Valencia continued walking toward a row of businesses in the area.

Sgt. Chris Warren said the department was aware of the New York City incident when it hired Rapiejko, but it was not of concern because Rapiejko had been cleared by NYPD internal affairs and by a citizen review panel that investigated the incident.

“There were no red flags, no history of misconduct, and when we did our background investigation, there was nothing to eliminate him from the process,” Warren said.

Rapiejko worked for the Tucson Police Department before joining Marana early last year. Tucson police have not said why Rapiejko left the department.

The Pima County Attorney’s Office has cleared Rapiejko of any wrongdoing, declining to file charges against him.

Ex-Drug Cop Says He & Fellow Cops Lied, Planted Drugs, & Stole Money “Too Many Times to Count”

Posted: April 15, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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jeffrey-walker-lied,-stole,-planted-drugs

Philadelphia, PA — An ex-drug cop from the Philadelphia police department testified in court on Tuesday, which likely left those in attendance with their jaws on the floor.

Former Philly Cop, Jeffrey Walker, held little back Tuesday as he confessed to the jurors about his disgraceful past. He let them know about how he and his fellow officers set people up, planted drugs, stole money, lied on reports, and violently assaulted people — too many times to count.

According to the Associated Press, 

Walker told jurors that the Philadelphia Police Department drug squad targeted white “college-boy … khaki-pants types” who were “easy to intimidate.”

That matches the description of some of the drug dealers who have testified at the six-week police corruption trial that the squad stole as much as $110,000 at a time during violent, no-warrant raids.

Lead defendant Thomas Liciardello always got a cut of the stolen money, while the others split “jobs” that they worked, Walker said. The city’s police brass often celebrated the squad’s work with splashy news conferences to announce large seizures.

Walker explained how his supervisors were pleased with the revenue and cared not about the criminal acts conducted to obtain their loot. “They liked that, as far as the bosses and supervisors were concerned. It made them look good. It was nothing but a dog and pony show,” Walker testified.

In 2013, this officer of 24 years was caught stealing $15,000 from an innocent man and planting drugs in his car. After this arrest, he was implicated in a slew of other criminal charges.

This one man singlehandedly ruined dozens and dozens of innocent people’s lives. More than 160 convictions have been overturned since Walker’s guilty plea, and dozens of civil rights suits have been filed as well.

Walker was not some random “bad apple” cop either; his entire squad was complicit in these heinous crimes.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/ex-drug-cop-fellow-cops-lied-planted-drugs-stole-money-too-times-count/#1qHmY8dqIDT0xwlo.99

New Study: For Every 1000 People Killed by Police, Only 1 Cop is Convicted of a Crime

Posted: April 15, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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A new study released by the Washington Post reveals that for every 1000 people killed at the hands of police, only one officer is convicted of a crime. Since 2005, although there have been thousands of fatal shootings by police officers, only 54 have been charged. Of those charged, most were cleared or acquitted.

This analysis is, to date, the most comprehensive of its kind. According to the Post:

“The 54 criminal prosecutions were identified by Bowling Green State University criminologist Philip M. Stinson and The Washington Post. Cases were culled from news reports, grand jury announcements and news releases from prosecutors. For individual cases, reporters obtained and reviewed thousands of pages of court records, police reports, grand jury indictments, witness testimony and video recordings. Dozens of prosecutors and defense attorneys in the cases were interviewed, along with legal experts, officers who were prosecuted and surviving relatives of the shooting victims.”

It stands to reason that if there are thousands of fatalities due to police shootings, the number of police charged would be much higher than it is. According to the analysis, in order for prosecutors to press charges, there had to be exceptional factors at play. These include “a video recording of the incident, a victim shot in the back, incriminating testimony from other officers or allegations of a coverup.”

According to Bowling Green criminologist Philip M. Stinson, “To charge an officer in a fatal shooting, it takes something so egregious, so over the top that it cannot be explained in any rational way. It also has to be a case that prosecutors are willing to hang their reputation on.”

On the rare occasion an officer is charged with a crime, the punishment on average is much lower than would be expected, some spending only weeks behind bars. The prosecutors and defense lawyers interviewed in the study attribute this to the fact that “Jurors are very reluctant to punish police officers, tending to view them as guardians of order.” 

The most alarming part about this study is that the number of people fatally shot by police could potentially be much higher because police departments are not required to keep the database of police shootings updated. This is terrifying, as it’s arguably one of the most important records a police department could keep.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/study-reveals-police-officers-murder-alarming-rate/#kpTMbbf9GEKIOo0b.99

Video Shows Cops Arrest Healthy Man, Hours Later He’s in ICU in a Coma with Severe Injuries

Posted: April 14, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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freddie-Gray-in-a-coma-after-arrest1

Baltimore, MD — 27-year old Freddie Gray is now hospitalized in critical condition and in induced coma, after an incident with Baltimore police Sunday morning.

An eyewitness captured video footage of Gray being restrained and hauled into the back of a police van after being chased and arrested by bike cops. What happened after that is a mystery, as Freddie Gray is now unconscious in Shock Trauma with multiple injuries.

Gray’s godbrother did not want to be identified, but he did give a statement after he left the ICU, saying “I seen police, him handcuffed, him tased while he was handcuffed. I seen the police officer bending his leg to the point where it looked like he broke it. He was completely healthy, fine being carted off aside from his leg. It’s nowhere near how he’s sitting in the ICU right now.”

According to the family, Gray has spinal injuries and is barely alive. Richard Shipley, Gray’s stepfather, told local news affiliate WJZ, “His face is swollen. He just looks really horrible. Like I said, he’s in an induced coma. We’re all praying.”

Police will not say why the bike cops arrested the fleeing Gray, or how he ended up in the hospital in an induced coma. The arrest was described by witnesses as brutal, but Baltimore Police Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said he did not see any use of force by police in the video, adding that the investigation was at an early stage.

“A number of officers made an arrest of a man who fled from them,” Rodriguez stated. “This is a very serious incident, that we are looking at thoroughly. I have been on the phone with the State’s Attorney’s Office and we are going to work jointly on this investigation.”

The officers involved in the mystery incident have been assigned to administrative duties.

While Deputy Commissioner Rodriguez denies any use of force in the video, there is a considerable amount of time not documented. So what happened after Freddie Gray was loaded into the police van to put him in critical condition? Did Gray receive a “nickel ride” from the fine folks at the Baltimore Police Department?

For those who don’t know, “nickel rides,” as reported by the Inquirer in 2001, were a witness-free way for police to punish unruly, uncooperative, or arrogant suspects – without ever laying a hand on them. For rogue police, it was a literal way to deliver “street justice.”

Anyone else with evidence of the arrest is being encouraged to contact police. Unfortunately, police have a history of tampering with and erasing video evidence incriminating them. We at The Free Thought Project encourage anyone with evidence regarding this situation to send it to contact@thefreethoughtproject.com or any other media source you trust.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=11386489

Police Kidnap Children for Playing Outside without their Parents, Bring them to CPS

Posted: April 13, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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Silver Spring, MD — Two children were kidnapped by state agents Sunday as they walked home from playing.

The state claims to have kidnapped these children in order to protect them. Who, exactly, the police were protecting them from remains unclear.

In March, Danielle and Sasha Meitiv were found guilty of child neglect after letting their children walk home from a nearby park.

Refusing to let the state dictate how they can raise their own children, the Meitiv’s continued to allow their kids, ages 6 and 10, to be “free range.”

As their kids walked home Sunday around 5:00 pm, a nosey neighbor called 9-1-1 to report the horrible “crime” of two responsible children walking down the sidewalk.

Police were then dispatched to “protect” these children, so they kidnapped them.

According to Fox 5 DC, the Meitivs’ 10-year-old son told reporters they sat in the police car for about two hours before they were told they would be dropped off at home, but instead, they went to CPS in Rockville.

Frantic after their children failed to come home at 6:30, like they said they would, the Meitiv’s went out to search for them. The police never reported that they picked up their children, and CPS didn’t call them until 8:00.

Danielle Meitiv told Fox 5 DC that she always feared something like this would happen.

When the Meitiv’s arrived at CPS to get their children back from their captors, they weren’t given any information about them. They were instead told to “take a seat” and were forced to wait for hours before finally being reunited with their children at 10:30 pm.

Police claim that they are now conducting an investigation to determine what charges will be brought against these parents.

Growing up in the 80’s, I remember roaming the neighborhood as a 6-year-old child. We were told that we didn’t have to come home until the street lights came on. My parents, nor the parents of my friends, who were allowed to roam free, were never harassed or worried about facing charges for their parenting.

The term “free range kids” in the 80’s and 90’s did not exist, they were just called “kids.” What used to be a completely normal behavior is now considered a criminal act in modern day Police State USA.

What the police and CPS are proving here, is that it is, in fact, dangerous to let your children roam free. However, the people posing the greatest risk to your children as they roam free, happen to be the police and CPS.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-kidnap-children-playing-parents-bring-cps/#GQO72YuHsajlXy7S.99

Coroner: Teen killed by police in Illinois shot in back

Posted: April 7, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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ZION, Ill. (AP) — An autopsy has revealed that a teenager killed by a police officer in Illinois over the weekend was shot twice in the back, authorities said Monday.

Justus Howell was shot by Zion police on Saturday afternoon. Police say officers responding to a call about an altercation began chasing a male when he ran from the scene. They say that after the teen was shot, officers recovered a handgun.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office said in a statement Monday that one bullet struck the 17-year-old in the left back and penetrated his heart, spleen and liver. Another bullet struck him on the right side of his back. Tests to determine whether drugs were in the victim’s system are pending.

The Zion police chief didn’t return calls Monday seeking comment about the autopsy results. Zion is a community of about 24,000 people along Lake Michigan about 45 miles north of Chicago, near Illinois’ border with Wisconsin.

Howell was black and his relatives contacted the NAACP asking its officials to speak on their behalf, according to Lake County NAACP president Jennifer Witherspoon. She says Howell’s relatives are hoping to find out exactly what happened as quickly as possible.

“Whether it was a mistake on his part or a mistake on the police’s part, they want answers to make sure something like this never happens again,” she said.

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A Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Investigator …

A Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Investigator holds an evidence bag on Saturday, April 2, 2015  …

The teen’s death comes months after an unarmed black 18-year-old was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, an incident that sparked protests and heightened concerns about how minorities are treated by police around country. Police in Zion haven’t provided any details on the officer involved in Howell’s shooting, including the officer’s race.

“Here in America we are seeing this with too many brown and black boys,” said Witherspoon, who added she was encouraged that Zion police quickly handed the investigation over to the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

Family members gathered Sunday near the site of the shooting to pay tribute to Howell.

Howell, was a high school junior who transferred from a school in Wisconsin to Waukegan Public School District 60, spokesman Nick Alajakis told the Chicago Tribune.

Alajakis said the teenager attended the Lakeshore Academy, a privately-operated school that takes students from the district and, according to the district’s website, serves academically struggling students.

Runaround: DHS to Purchase Access to License Plate Databases

Posted: April 2, 2015 by gamegetterII in Police state USSA
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According to a Federal Business Opportunities report posted today, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning to solicit proposals for a “license place commercial data reader service” later this month.

An official DHS statement says that the Department is not attempting to set up its own database, but to instead query existing data held in commercially available license plate reader databases.

That statement continues, saying:  https://readfomag.com/2015/04/runaround-dhs-to-purchases-access-to-license-plate-databases/

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