Judge: "He's Suffered Enough . . .," Probation for Violent Cop

Mandarino, right, his victim Ronald Bell, left

At the link you can watch dashboard camera video of the violent ass-kicking meted out by a suburban Chicago-area cop convicted of aggravated assault and official misconduct.  Warning:  this is a vicious unprovoked crime committed against an unarmed citizen. 

Former Streamwood, Illinois police officer James Mandarino, 42, faced up to 5 years in prison but, His Honor,Cook County Judge Thomas P. Fecarotta said incarceration would not be appropriate.

“Jail time would be more about revenge and less about justice,” Judge Fecarotta said.  Nice reasoning.

Mr. Bell's crime, um a traffic stop. 

At this link, The Chicago Sun-Times account of the sentencing.

Police Brutality

Yesterday, at Scott Greefield's Simple Justice blawg, Scott featured the astounding assault on a handicapped man by two DC police officers.  The characterization of the assault by the DC police was a classic in the use of euphemism.  Since I'm not going to plagiarize Scott go to the link.  But let me give you this story from WSAV-TV Savannah, Ga.


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Why do we tolerate this in our police?  I figure it's the same reason that Maricopa County tolerates Sheriff Joe Arpaio and OurTown tolerates, Jimmy Shoot'em.  We suffer the delusion that these violent/tough cops keep us safe.  Think again.

The Madness Never Ends

I go away for a few months hoping against hope that some sanity will prevail in the abuse of police power department, and, of course, I return to find that the madness never ends.  In case you haven't seen it elsewhere this account is from the Gothamist with a pic from the Daily News with links to both articles:

The NYPD has a zero-tolerance policy toward students, and hasn't hesitated to cart kids out of school in handcuffs for such offenses as doodling on their desks. But one Queens mother thinks the NYPD went too far when they dragged her 7-year-old son out of his special-ed class in handcuffs. The Daily News reports that Joseph Anderson, a first-grader at P.S. 153 in Maspeth, had been wetting himself throughout the morning on April 13th, and then became upset when he was dyeing Easter eggs and "the color on the egg he was painting didn't look the way he wanted." Yes, it's a sad story.

His mom, Jessica Anderson, says teachers threatened to send him to the hospital if he didn't calm down, and that's when Joseph jumped on the table and yelled, "I want my mommy!" So the school called her to come pick him up, but as she raced there from her job in Manhattan, administrators called in a cop to handcuff Joseph because, according to an NYPD spokesman, "he was a danger to himself and others in the classroom. He started spitting and cursing at the officers. The handcuffs were used to restrain the child because of his behavior. He was a danger to himself."

By the time Anderson got to the school, her son had already been taken to Elmhurst hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, making this the third time the school has sent him there. Poor Joseph suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, delayed speech and emotional problems. Anderson tells the News that when she arrived at the hospital, "I was crying. I broke down. They know that my son is special ed. It's like they're trying to get rid of him, and it worked because I'm not sending him back there."
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Idiots.

Drunk Cop, Mows Down Pastor's Daughter, Will Be Home By the Holidays

Stinkin' like a whiskey bottle, NYPD cop Andrew Kelly mowed down a Brooklyn pastor's daughter but his buddies in blue delayed the blood alcohol testing.  Now former Officer Kelly will be home by Christmas following his 90 day sentence for vehicular manslaughter.  He faced 7 years.  This story is remarkable for the charity shown not only by Kelly's NYPD colleagues who are serving suspensions for their role in the coverup of Kelly's DWI; but, also for the forgiveness shown by Pastor Varius Vainord who quietly but publically forgave the killer cop in Court, when Kelly entered his guilty plea.  At the link connect to the NY Daily News accounts of the sentencing and the other stories. 

The Orlando Police May Have Over-Reacted?

Arelis Hernadez reports at the Orlando Sentinel, on the local man injured and in critical condition by the actions of a local police officer in an inexplicable response by the officer:

"An Orlando senior is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after a confrontation with an Orlando police officer Saturday night on North Orange Avenue.  Police say Daniel J. Daley, (pic) 84, of Orlando was transported to Florida Hospital Orlando after he 'struck' an officer and the officer subdued him outside the Ivanhoe Grocery at 1820 North Orange Avenue about 11 p.m.

Daley's son, Greg Daley, said the World War II veteran was in critical condition with a broken neck. Two witnesses said the officer threw the man to the ground after he touched the officer during the dispute.  The conflict began when Daley confronted a tow truck driver trying to haul his car away from a parking lot across the street from the bar where he had been drinking.  The owners of Ivanhoe Grocery and The Caboose bar have clashed for months over use of parking spaces at the store. Signs recently were placed to discourage bar customers from occupying them.

Daley, a frequent patron of The Caboose, was arguing with the tow truck driver when the police were called.

Bar owner Tim Scott said the veteran 'had a few drinks but he wasn't out of control.'  Details were scarce on what happened next, but Scott said Daley touched the unidentified police officer one to three times in a non-threatening fashion. The officer responded by throwing the senior to the pavement, the bar owner said.  'I've never seen anything like it,'  Scott said. 'He hip-checked the guy and slammed his head into the pavement. He [Daley] is too old for that.'

Nicole Butler, a bartender at The Caboose, said the officer 'body-slammed' Daley to the ground after the veteran put his hands on the officer's shoulders.  Police left Daley on the ground once they realized he was injured and an ambulance arrived soon after.

'The officers looked at me with this look like they knew something had gone wrong,' Scott said.

Orlando Police Lt. C. Laboo, a watch commander on duty Sunday, said the information he had indicated that the person who was injured was drunk and belligerent when he 'struck' the officer. He said a report stated the man was arrested and listed in stable condition but did not indicate any serious injury. A full incident report is expected today.

Laboo said his information indicated that the man's injury was 'some sort of laceration to the face,' that sent Daley to the hospital.

Daley's said his father's condition was much worse. A photo taken at the hospital showed the veteran in a neck brace with a red welt on the left side of his forehead. His son said his father might not survive surgery to repair the severed vertebrae.  Hospital officials confirmed that the elder Daley was in critical condition and was being closely monitored.

'He's barely breathing and he might die. It's hard to understand how something like this happened,' said Greg Daley, who was supposed to have breakfast with his father Sunday morning. 'It wasn't like he was going to fight the officer. He's 84!'
Daley said Scott told him what happened to his father and that he had not talked to police.  The retired military veteran has been living in Orlando since 1969, after he served in both World War II and the Vietnam War. Daley has a birthday in November.

'He's never been arrested in all his life,' his son said, fighting back emotion.

Three or four witnesses saw the episode, according to Scott, who also was arguing that night with Ivanhoe's owner Faith Palermo. The store owner said she called the tow company to take Daley's car because bar patrons have been hurting her business.  Palermo said she left during the confrontation with the veteran and did not see him injured. 'This is not our nature, we are embarrassed about what happened,' she said."
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Having been a on the same end of a law enforcement reaction like the one experienced by the elder Mr. Daley, you can well imagine my perspective.  This is the sort of officer who would be better employed by the Iranian authorities.  No excuses. 

Now, as I've said many times, if this can happen to Mr. Daley, if it happens to me when I ask a Justice Center security guard about rude treatment of local citizens, then guess who it happens to--all the time?  And when the powerles say it happens to them, why do we shrug and act as if its not our concern?

Remember this Baltimore Cop--He's Fired

Good.  Here's the link at the Baltimore Sun on the dismissal.

Good For You, Chicago!

 A US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a Chicago Cop who handcuffed a stabbing victim to a wheelchair, and unprovoked beat him.  The beating was caught on video.  Tuesday the 7th Circuit Cout of Appeals upheld former officer William Cozzi's 40-month prison sentence for violating the rights of Randle Miles.  This is reporter Frank Main's Chicago Sun Times story:

A Chicago Police officer’s controversial 40-month federal prison sentence for beating a man handcuffed to a wheelchair has been upheld.

Police Supt. Jody Weis did nothing wrong when he alerted the FBI that Officer William Cozzi lied about the incident, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals says.  Cozzi’s attorneys had argued Weis violated the officer’s rights by sending two e-mails to an FBI agent asking if the bureau had investigated Cozzi for civil-rights violations.  The e-mails disclosed that the previous superintendent had unsuccessfully tried to fire Cozzi and that Cozzi 'falsified his statement' during an internal police investigation. Weis, a former FBI official, also sent the FBI a videotape of the beating.

A 1967 Supreme Court decision, Garrity v. New Jersey, protects officers from self-incrimination, barring prosecutors from using statements officers are required to give their departments during internal police investigations.

The 7th Circuit said prosecutors weren’t given any reports that contained Cozzi’s protected statements to police investigators. And Weis didn’t tell the FBI what Cozzi’s statements contained, the appeals court said. 'We do not think that simply saying a statement was ‘falsified,’ by itself, is enough to impute improper use of the statement to prosecutorial authorities,' the appeals court said in its ruling late last month.

The appeals court also rejected Cozzi’s argument that he shouldn’t have been sentenced under federal guidelines for aggravated assault.  'In his federal plea agreement, Cozzi acknowledged that he hit [the victim] in the face with a dangerous weapon,' the court said.

Rank-and-file officers were furious with Weis over his decision to notify the FBI about the beating. Many officers felt Cozzi was being punished twice for the same crime. He had previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in state court and was sentenced to probation.

In January 2008, a month before he became superintendent, Weis saw a videotape of the beating, which was obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times in a Freedom of Information request. He told reporters he was unhappy with the Chicago Police Board’s decision to suspend Cozzi for two years instead of firing him, and promised to review the case. The same month, Weis sent the e-mails to the FBI.

In federal court, Cozzi pleaded guilty to violating Randle Miles’ civil rights. Miles, a stabbing victim, was drunk and abusive to the staff at Norwegian American Hospital after he was taken there for treatment in August 2005.

Cozzi had handcuffed and shackled Miles to his wheelchair before striking him, court records show. A hospital surveillance video captured the beating — and showed Cozzi was lying when he said Miles provoked the incident by throwing punches. Before he was sentenced in June 2009, Cozzi told a federal judge that he 'let my frustration get the best of me.'

Afterward, his lawyer, Terry Gillespie, lashed out at Weis, warning Cozzi’s fellow officers that 'you’ll get thrown under the bus and it’ll be a federal bus — and it’ll be your own superintendent.' '
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Take note, New Orleans, Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, Las Vegas . . .

But also note, how the bad guy in this story is the Superintendent of police who reported the crime!  Amazing.

BJs for the Sheriff--More Bad Sheriff Day

Courthouse News Service is report on the Texas Sheriff, Bill Keating (pic) who solicited sexual favors from female inmates and the  wives of men in trouble with the law.  This is Dan McCue's report:

"The former sheriff of Montague County (near Wichita Falls, Tx) used his position to demand 'blow jobs' and other sexual favors from female inmates and other women whose relatives or husbands were entangled with the law, three alleged victims claim in Federal Court.  The women say the county failed to stop or prevent former Sheriff Bill Keating from 'coercing, intimidating, and threatening' women who relied on him to deliver justice.

Two of the three alleged victims, Lashana Dykes and Dawnita Knight, say they were repeatedly targeted for sexual assault and harassment by Keating. The third plaintiff, Shelley Lemon, says Keating made several inappropriate sexual propositions after he let her severely disabled husband off on a probation violation.

Keating allegedly visited Lemon's home after a warrant was issued for her husband, who had recently suffered two severe strokes that left him 'confused' and 'child-like.' Lemon says she offered Keating a cup of tea, which he declined, stating, 'what I really need is a good piece of ass.' He then 'demanded that Lemon 'owed him a favor' in return for his efforts in getting the warrant lifted and explicitly stated that he thought he was entitled to a 'blow job,' the lawsuit states.

Lemon says she 'put him off' that day, but later enlisted the help of police investigators after Keating kept calling to try to 'arrange a sexual encounter.'  Investigators allegedly asked her to wear a wire during her next meeting with Keating. Suspicious, the sheriff cooled his advances, but asked a community 'snitch' -- a local drug addict whom he allegedly paid for sex -- whether she thought Lemon could be trusted, according to the complaint. Lemon says she moved to Waco, Texas, because she feared for her life after Keating found out that she had been talking to police.

Dykes claims that within hours of her arrest, Keating drove her to a remote area in his patrol car and asked for oral sex. When she declined, he began rubbing her breast and between her legs, the lawsuit claims. When she continued to resist, he allegedly offered her cigarettes, marijuana and meth, which she also turned down.

She says Keating called her into his office about a month later. He allegedly handcuffed her when she arrived, telling her that 'today is your lucky day.' He then 'bent Dykes over his desk then pulled down her pants and told Dykes that they were going to do some 'role playing,' the lawsuit states.

'Keating pull (sic) down his own pants and tried to rape Dykes in his office,' the complaint states. But his plans were foiled when a jailer knocked on the door, she claims. 

Knight says her severe depression made her 'easy prey' for the sheriff. Although she resisted his overt sexual advances, she says she was repeatedly taken to his office to give him massages and watch porn on his office computer while she sat on his lap. Knight said she was twice required to have sex with a male jail trustee and was constantly reminded of her jailers' power over her. She was ultimately transferred to another jail by state officials.

The three women have sued Montague County for alleged civil rights violations.  They say the county is liable for failing to properly train and supervise its employees, allowing the sexual victimization of inmates by jail staff, fostering and encouraging such abuse, and failing to redress the situation."
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Consider the vulnerability of these women, and the incredible power of the Sheriff.   When one inmate makes an allegation, . . . you know what I mean.  When three make the claim with the sort of detail you have here, I think you might have something.

Toronto Police, Pied!

The Toronto Sun reports on the order of the Canadian Supreme Court upholding the $5,000 award to a tenacious lawyer who was strip searched by the police during a 2002 protest at the G20 summit on suspicion of having a pie intended for then Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Now, if you are suspected by the gendarmes of having an untoward pie concealed on your person,would not a simple "pat down" suffice to assure the authorities that you are pie-less?  The Toronto Sun also wonders at this obvious point but for the Canadian constabulary the answer is: apparently, not.  The Toronto police now get to pay Mr. Alan Cameron Ward his long overdue, $5,000 judgment.

Badge of Entitlement, uh . . . Nope!

Great story of an Daytona Beach  police lieutenant, doing what we all suspect they do, act like their badge grants them the keys to the kingdom, in this case Disney.  Refreshingly, though, not this time.  This is Lyda Longa's story for the Daytona Beach News Journal:

"Lt. Major Garvin was in a rush the day he parked his city vehicle in a handicapped space at a Disney facility where he was supposed to referee a basketball game on his day off, he told his supervisors at the Police Department.  Now Garvin will get some time off -- without pay -- to think about it.  The seasoned cop will be suspended from his desk job at the Police Department for two weeks for the parking faux pas at Disney's Wide World of Sports on May 2.

This is the latest flap for Garvin, 51, who was rehired earlier this year after being fired from the force in 2008 for his escapades at a local Starbucks while on duty.   This time, Garvin parked in a handicapped space in a city car on his day off. In addition, the lieutenant also placed his picture identification and badge on the dashboard of the unmarked car so people would know he is a law enforcement officer, police said. When the episode occurred, Police Chief Mike Chitwood said Garvin used his badge as a 'shield of entitlement.'

The lieutenant, when reached by phone Tuesday, said he was told Monday he would be suspended. He is paid $63,396 annually.  A police union representative who is familiar with Garvin said the lieutenant's behavior borders on insubordination because it's not the first time he's been in trouble for using his city vehicle improperly. He was suspended for vehicle misuse in 2002, according to an internal affairs report.

'At what point do you fire him?' asked Jeff Candage, a representative with the Teamsters union. 'He has willfully disobeyed a direct order.'  Chitwood, in May, said the violation was not a firing offense.

At Disney, a man named John Andrea who went to the Wide World of Sports complex that Sunday afternoon spotted Garvin's blue unmarked police car in a handicapped parking space.  Andrea knew the car belonged to Garvin because of the photo and badge left on the dashboard. He took pictures of the violation and sent them to Chitwood on May 3. The photographs were accompanied by a short complaint.

But Garvin, who's served more than 15 years with the department, had an explanation. The lieutenant told the chief he was late for a basketball tournament he was refereeing at the facility. He said a security officer at the complex told him he could park in the handicapped space.  The completed internal affairs investigation -- which started on May 3, was finished on June 15 and released this week -- shows Garvin violated a handful of Police Department policies, including parking in a handicapped space without a permit and using his city car on his day off and not for police business.

Garvin was fired in July 2008 after two Starbucks employees filed a complaint saying he demanded free specialty coffee and threatened a slower police response time to the Ocean Walk Shoppes store if employees didn't supply him with the pricey brew.

The workers also complained Garvin parked his police bicycle inside the business and became angry after one of the workers told him to take it outside.  The lieutenant, however, insisted on taking a polygraph test at the Police Department. But he failed it, Chitwood said, because he lied on two of the questions. At the time, both Chitwood and Deputy Chief Ben Walton said the lying was the most egregious factor in the case. Garvin was brought back after an arbitrator ordered he be rehired and be given $87,000 in back pay. He received the money in April, city officials said Tuesday."

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Most of the police and law enforcement that I know are excellent public servants, in the same way that most lawyers are not Bad Lawyers--but, the petty and obnoxious thoughtlessness of cops like Lt. Garvin really breed cynicism and disrespect.  I can see why his department wants him gone. 

The police at the local Starbucks in OurTown are never charged for their brews. As you might imagine they are avid customers.

Danzinger Bridge Update--6 Federal Indictments

NOLA.com updates its Danzinger Bridge story with the report of the federal indictment of 6 current New Orleans police in the investigation into the murder of black citizens of greater-New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  The New York Times also has coverage of Attorney General Eric Holder's remarks announcing these charges.  Some of the indicted officers face potential death penalty sentences.

We looked at this story in March and it will continue to play out for years.  The murders by the police and the subsequent cover up by police officials is the big story of abuse of police power during our lifetime.

Mesherle Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter

I'll write more about this later, but as you have no doubt already seen, former Oakland, Ca. BART Officer Johannes Mesherle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of the unarmed African-American Oscar Grant on New Year's day 2009.  Mesherle killed Grant during a confrontation videotaped by witnesses.  Mesherle was charged with murder and today's conviction on this lesser included offense seems like precisely the right outcome based on the evidence featured in media accounts of the trial.  As I said there is so much more to be said, and some extremely important lessons about the recklessness of law enforcement in their overuse of force.  In this case, Mesherle claimed that he mistakenly reached and intended to fire a TASER when he fired his firearm by mistake.  What a terrible tragedy for everyone especially the Oscar Grant family. 

Mesherle Weeps On the Witness Stand

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the testimony of former Oakland BART officer Johannes Mesherle, the transit cop who shot and killed Oscar Grant at point blank range and caught on cell phone video.  This is from Demian Bulwa's story:

"'I didn't think I had my gun.'

Those were the words Friday of former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle, who wept on the witness stand at his murder trial as he testified that he had accidentally shot and killed Oscar Grant while intending to fire Taser darts into the unarmed man's back.  But after waiting for a year and a half to hear an explanation from Mehserle, Grant's family was not satisfied. They said the story was a lie, the tears a piece of courtroom theater.

Mehserle said that seconds before the shooting, he had decided to shock the 22-year-old Grant with a Taser because he saw him dig his right hand into his pants pocket - the same hand Mehserle was trying to handcuff on the platform of the Fruitvale Station in Oakland during an arrest early Jan. 1, 2009.

The pistol pull was smooth, with no 'red flags' to tell him he hadn't grabbed his Taser, said the 28-year-old ex-officer. He didn't realize he had shot Grant, he testified, until he looked at his right hand after firing and saw he was holding his pistol.

'I didn't think I had my gun,' Mehserle told the jury in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. 'I remember the pop. It wasn't very loud. It wasn't like a gunshot, and I remember wondering what went wrong with the Taser. I remember looking to my right side and seeing my gun in my right hand,'  Mehserle said. 'I didn't know what to think. I just thought it shouldn't have been there.'

Defense attorney Michael Rains asked Mehserle what he remembered after that, and the former officer, by now crying, struggled with the words. "I remember Mr. Grant said, 'You shot me,'  he said.

Heckler's yell bring arrest

Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson, quickly left the courtroom as a Bay Area man identified by friends and authorities as Tim Killings, 24, stood and yelled, 'Maybe you should save those f- tears, dude.'  Bailiffs arrested Killings on suspicion of disorderly conduct and led him from court, and Judge Robert Perry declared a brief recess."
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As you will recall from my earlier posts on this sickening-video recorded homicide, the prosecution of former officer Mesherle will turn on the concept that we talk about repeatedly on Bad Lawyer--mens rea, what was Mesherle's intention. It sounds like Mesherle's testimony helped him bring perspective on this awful event.  There certainly is the "taste of hell" in this unnecessary tragedy, and lessons for all of us abounding., especially the lesson of abuse of police power.

What Was Officer Mesherle Thinking?

Former Oakland, California BART Police Officer Johannes Mesherle goes on trial this week for the pointblank shooting death of Oscar Grant III on an Oakland subway platform last year.  The homicide of Mr. Grant by Officer Mesherle is sensational because Mesherle is white and Grant balck.  More importantly the killing was caught on video and went "viral."

Officer Mesherle's legal outcome will be determined by a jury which will try to judge what was in Officer Mesherl's mind, did he have a criminal intent to kill Oscar Grant.  Mesherle's attorneys will argue that Mesherle mistakenly thought he had his taser in hand when he pulled the trigger that killed Grant, Mesherle was legally allowed to use a Taser in this scenario according to the Oakland police.

Watch the video if you have the stomach for it.  Whatever you think of Mesherle's criminal intent, the video documents the abuse of police power and the outcome was the death of twenty-two year old, Oscar Grant III.

Swat Raids Gone Wrong

Following up on the Detroit Swat raid resulting in the homicide by the Detroit police of sleeping 7 year old,   Aiyana Stanley-Jones--the Cato Institute has compiled a report and an interactive map showing SWAT raids nationally that have gone wrong.  If the abuse of police power concerns you even a little bit, this is a tremendous visual aid for appreciating the extent of the problem.

Oh, Detroit!

From the Mouthpiece Hall of Infamy, Geoffrey Fieger surfaces again as counsel for the grieving relatives of the Detroit child, 7 year old, Aiyana Stanley-Jones gunned down by the Detroit police who mistakenly stormed a Detroit home while being filmed for a A & E reality television program, The First 48. 

This tragic tale is being reported thoroughly at MLive.com and nationally because the story lies at the intersection of all these awful truths that we have talked about since the inception of Bad Lawyer: children, poverty, guns, and abuse of police power.  Fieger's involvement with a picture (above) in the New York Times Saturday that looks like a study for the Last Supper, caps another nightmare for Detroit, again of Detroit's making. 

Bangin' the Mayor, that'll Get You Supsended

The lovely woman to the left is the Mayor of Milford, Ohio a town somewhere near the Queen City.  The Cincinnati Enquirier is reporting on the Milford police officer who drew a 15 day suspension for providing services to the Mayor while on duty.  This is from Jennifer Baker's report:

"Milford Police Chief Mark Machan said Mayor Amy Brewer told him during an internal police investigation that she met more than once with Milford Police Officer Russell Kenney while the officer was working nights between November and mid-January.

The police department used GPS software to confirm Kenney’s marked police cruiser was parked outside Brewer’s condominium after the agency received a tip and began investigating, the chief said.  The department indicated Kenney’s car was at Brewer’s condo on six different dates and was parked there for periods ranging from 48 minutes to 1 hour and 53 minutes.  The cruiser’s presence raised suspicions, he said, because the mayor’s neighborhood is not one that typically generates police calls.  Among other evidence gathered during the probe, the chief said, is a cruiser camera recording of Kenney having a sexually explicit conversation with a woman named 'Amy.'

Initially, Brewer denied having sexual encounters with Kenney, according to the chief’s investigative report. Once he told her the agency had taken the tape from Kenney’s cruiser cam, the mayor 'became visibly shaken,' the chief wrote. The mayor was 'very apologetic' during the interview and 'very ashamed of her actions,' the chief wrote.’’
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The one issue making this story noteworthy is that the Officer Kenney was supposed to be patrolling Milford, and not Mayor Brewer's bed linens.  The sex part--have at it.  Likewise, the streets department will plow the snow after a snow storm, there would probably be a similar objection if it were discovered that one of the drivers was plowing the Mayor...'s driveway.

Correction:  the Original post had the wrong photo for Mayor Brewer, my apologies.

Critical Mass Assault and Battery--You Be the Judge

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The defense of former NYPD rookie, Patrick Pogan is torn from the pages of every bad rape defense--the victim, had it coming because the victim is a bad person.  Oh, and even though the video shows Pogan clearly attacking the victim Christopher Long--Pogan and his lawyer are claiming that the jurors can't believe their "lying eyes (you know, the eyes that look at a video of a cop walking across the street to shove a cyclist off his bike onto the pavement.)"  This is because, according to Pogan's attorney Stuart London, Christopher Long is a dirtbag, pot-smoking, anit-government piece of shit.  In other words, he had it coming.  This is from the New York Post coverage of the story: 

" The cyclist came at me -- and I had to stop him from hurting me,' ex-NYPD rookie officer Patrick Pogan insisted to a Manhattan jury today, giving his own, eyebrow-raising account of a notorious, 2008 cop-on-biker take down for the first time publicly. 'I thought he ran through a red light. He had his hands in the air...He had up what I perceived to be a middle finger. I told him to stop,' the baby-faced Pogan remembered to jurors.  But Christopher Long -- a kooky Critical Mass activist who told jurors earlier this week that he gets stoned every day, believes bikes have more right to the roads than cars, and finds the NYPD 'beyond reform' -- did not stop, Pogan testified.

The collision of bodies and egos that came next would be caught on a snippet of video that became an instant YouTube classic -- and some of the prime evidence against Pogan in his ongoing trial on charges of misdemeanor assault and felony false filing of a police report against Long. Today on the stand, the 24-year-old former altar boy sat on the witness stand as the video played on a screen to his side, giving the footage his own novel -- bike activists called it "dumbfounding" -- personal narration.  'I saw him going toward the sidewalk,' Pogan remembered of Long.

'He's either going there to go around me or he's going there to stop. Iok a walk to the side,' Pogan remembered. 'I see him rise up on his bike. I see him crouch down his shoulder as he's coming toward me... at this point I know he's going to try to use that shoulder against me.' Long, in his own testimony, had told jurors that he'd turned his shoulder toward Pogan at the last minute, to brace himself and put something 'not steel' between him and the cop so as to minimize the inevitable impact for both of them.

But to Pogan, Long raised his shoulder, 'maybe to scare me or use that shoulder to come through me,' the ex-cop testified.  Pogan insisted that in the split second between seeing Long's shoulder come up and the moment of impact, he performed in his head a complicated, by-the-book computation of his "force' options...'I could have used my mace but that would have cost the city more than $65,000,' the cost of settling Long's federal lawsuit, Pogan told jurors. 'Maybe I'll use my baton,' Pogan said he then wondered. 'But the baton was useless at that point. There was no way I could have used any of the tools at my disposal.'

Finally, 'I prepared myself for a hit. He was coming toward me. I braced for impact. I lowered my shoulder. There was a collision. I used my arms to get that bicycle away from me.'

Pogan conceded to the defense lawyer examining him, Stuart London, that the account in Long's arrest report and criminal complaint -- in which Pogan claimed Long had knocked him to the ground in the impact -- was less than spot on.  'It's not true -- I did not go down at that moment. I went down two later times in that incident,' Pogan averred.  The ex-cop's testimony continues this afternoon.

'I was dumbfounded,' Barbara Ross, a spokeswoman for Times Up, the environmental group that promotes the Critical Mass ride, said at the lunch break of watching Pogan testify. 'It's clear on the video that Christopher Long is avoiding [Pogan], not coming toward him. He's flipping reality upside down.'"
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It's amazing how Pogan can perjure himself from the witness stand in the face of this video. 

In another forum, I offered the opinion that the defense on this case is built on the old--good offense=good defense theory as demonstrated recently by the acquittal in february of this year of a group of NYPD cops who were alleged to have shoved a flashlight into the backside of suspect.  Despite testimony of at least one other NYPD officer who witnessed the assault the defense attorneys in that case aggressively went after the victim for being a punk and these officers "walked."  There was no video evidence.

Let's hope the jurors in this case can keep their "lying" eyes open.

Tony Abbate Wants His Job Back--Right!

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Chicago cop, Tony Abbate, perpetrator of this famous off duty assault and battery is suing to get his job back citing among the errors in his dismissal, the viewing of this video.  This is from the Tribune article on Abbate's request for reinstatement:

"A Chicago police officer fired after a video camera recorded him beating a female bartender is asking a judge to review his termination.In a petition filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, attorneys for Anthony Abbate said the Chicago Police Board made 12 errors in ordering his termination last month, including using the infamous videotape in deciding to fire him.

In a decision championed by Police Superintendent Jody Weis, the board found Abbate guilty of several rules violations surrounding the beating at Jesse's Short Stop Inn in the Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side.  Abbate's petition also claims that the civilian board wrongly viewed as a problem Abbate's decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at least 75 times during his board hearing.  The petition asks that a judge review the official record and transcripts of evidence and reverse his firing. Abbate's challenge could be moot, as he was convicted of felony aggravated battery in criminal court last summer. The city bars the hiring of people with felony convictions as police officers."
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My advice to Officer Abbate,  hold your breath.

Police Brutality--When Is Enough, Enough?

The charming looking gent to the left is Springfield police officer Jeffrey M. Asher, an assaultive cop with a lengthy track record of being involved in incidents of alleged police brutality.  Here's the MassLive.com story on the complaints surrounding Asher:

"Even before the videotape surfaced of a Nov. 27 arrest which shows him striking a drug suspect with a flashlight, the record of police misconduct allegations involving patrolman Jeffrey M. Asher was coming under increased scrutiny.  Details of the Police Department’s handling of seven civilian complaints brought against Asher over the past 12 years will play a role in the defense of New York man accused of assaulting Asher during his arrest at a downtown club in October 2008. The Police Department internal investigations records about Asher were turned over in November by the city to a lawyer for Raymond Bessette, 34, of North Granville, N.Y.  Bessette is due to face trial on Jan. 22 in District Court where he has pleaded innocent to charges of assault and battery on a police officer and trespassing. He may claim self-defense, his lawyer Frank Flannery advised the court in filings.

Flannery was successful in seeking access to the Police Department internal investigations records for Asher, including those involving incidents in which the 16-year veteran was charged with using excessive force and inappropriate conduct.   Jeffrey M. Asher Asher is now among four officers under both internal and criminal investigations in connection with the Nov. 27 arrest of Melvin Jones III during a traffic stop on Rifle Street. Asher was identified in a police report of that incident as having struck Jones repeatedly during a scuffle which ensued when the suspect tried to flee the scene and then grabbed another officer’s gun.

According to a police report of the Oct. 19, 2008, incident, police were called to the Salty Dog club at 280 Bridge St. Asher and another officer were taking Bessette, who they said was drunk and disruptive, out of the club shortly after midnight when Bessette struck Asher open-handed in the chest, according to the report. The report states that as the police officers were escorting Bessette from the bar he lost his footing and fell in the parking lot outside, getting a minor scrape.

In preparation for trial, Flannery filed a motion asking that the city be ordered to provide all internal investigation records about Asher for seven different incidents, including the 1997 case in which Asher and the department drew national attention. In that case, Asher was also caught on videotape, kicking a suspect in the head while he was restrained by other officers.   District Court Judge Jacques C. Leroy ordered the city to provide the records. Only the defense can look at the records, and they are sealed from public review, according to the judge’s order. Flannery confirmed that he has seen the records but declined to comment further.

The defense filing states that Bessette says he never struck Asher. Bessette claims Asher struck him in the shoulder with his fist, shoved him down a hallway and then threw him through swinging doors, according to the court document. In the most recent incident involving Asher, the suspect, the 28-year-old Jones, according to his father, reportedly suffered fractures to the bones in his face and remains partially blind in one eye.

Among the incidents for which Flannery sought records are:

• The 1997 suspension of Asher without pay by the Police Commission for kicking Roy Parker, a drug suspect, who was restrained and being handcuffed by two officers. Asher was cleared of criminal wrongdoing, and an original year-long suspension was later overturned and reduced to six months.

• A 2004 incident in which Asher was among a group of officers who were the subjects of a brutality complaint by a black school principal injured by police while he was in the throes of a diabetic seizure in his car at a South End gas station. After a month-long review, the Police Commission voted 3-2 to exonerate the officers. The city paid a $180,000 settlement.

• A 1994 incident which did not come to light until after the Parker case in which the city paid $75,000 in 2000 to settle a brutality complaint against Asher and another officer, Daniel Brunton. Michael J. Cuzzone, of Springfield, claimed he was beaten unconscious by Asher on May 26, 1994, after Cuzzone’s friend had a dispute with Asher’s father, Michael Asher, a bartender at Donnie’s Cafe on Chestnut Street. The city made no admission of wrongdoing in paying the settlement, and neither Asher nor Brunton was disciplined by the Police Department.

• A 12-day suspension of Asher without pay for violation of departmental rules and regulations for an incident that occurred on Clyde Street on Jan. 29, 2001. A complaint was filed by a 12-year-old boy, Luis D. Soto, and his mother, Rosa M. Sepulveda, both of Springfield. They said the side mirror of Asher’s cruiser hit the boy’s right arm while the boy was walking with friends. The child required treatment at Baystate Medical Center.

• Asher’s reprimand in 2005 by then acting Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet for 'failing to show respectful treatment'  in connection with a resident’s complaint of mistreatment in April related to Asher’s response to a dog attack. Jerry A. Belair, of Nassau Drive, said his encounter with Asher occurred when he was attempting to take his injured dog to an animal hospital after the pet was attacked by a pit bull outside his home. Belair said that despite repeated pleas to take his bleeding dog to the hospital, Asher detained him for more than 90 minutes, stated he was under arrest, handcuffed him and placed him a cruiser, all without cause. Asher denied wrongdoing, but Fitchet issued the reprimand and it was about this time that Asher was transferred to inside duty in the department’s Records Division.

• A 1995 case which resulted in a civil lawsuit filed by a former Springfield man, Brent Whitley. The Whitley case was dismissed in 1999 after Whitley appeared to lose interest in the matter and failed to contact his lawyer or appear in U.S. District Court. Whitley had claimed he was doused with a chemical spray, clubbed, arrested and pushed down stairs by Asher and another officer during his arrest on charges for which he was later acquitted.

• A 2004 incident in which, Holly M. Marion, 24, filed a complaint with the Police Department, saying Asher punched her in the face and broke her left leg on Oct. 7 as emergency workers responded to a call about a drug overdose at 75 Avon Place. Marion admitted, according to police reports of the incident, that she threatened to “stab” Asher with a hypodermic needle if he “didn’t let go” but later told him she did not have a weapon.
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Who would employ a cop like this?  Are the authorities in Srpingfield, Mass out of their minds?  This guy would be in jail if he weren't a cop.  He is nothing but a violent thug.  Chilling