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Post by Shuftin on Sept 24, 2006 0:46:26 GMT -5
September 22nd, 2006
Police said on Thursday they have fired a fellow officer for using deadly force.
The officer, Michael Tayem, was fired for using deadly force on 31-year-old Jason Pabis, who died after being shot during a scuffle outside an East Dallas apartment over the Memorial Day weekend.
Chief David Kunkle said he decided the officer, who was off-duty and working security at the time of the shooting, did not follow basic procedure. The officer said Pabis was drunk and disorderly and charged at him.
"Our deadly force policy is very strict," said Dallas Police Department spokesman Rick Watson. "It lays out that officers should take reasonable alternatives before they use deadly force."
The attorney for Pabis' family said Pabis was indeed drunk, but noted Pabis was unarmed and said the autopsy showed he was shot four times, including twice in the back.
"It could be he was running away and got shot some more," the attorney said. "We don't know. We need to investigate further."
Kunkle also on Thursday fired a 24-year veteran, Sgt. John McCaghren, alleging he failed to obey his supervisor and didn't show up to work.
Both officers have the right to appeal.
"The chief has made it no secret, from the day he came on, he said accountability was at the top of his list," Watson said. "He expects officers, including himself, from the rookiest rookie to himself, to be accountable for their actions."
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Post by Shuftin on Sept 24, 2006 0:46:26 GMT -5
September 22nd, 2006
Police said on Thursday they have fired a fellow officer for using deadly force.
The officer, Michael Tayem, was fired for using deadly force on 31-year-old Jason Pabis, who died after being shot during a scuffle outside an East Dallas apartment over the Memorial Day weekend.
Chief David Kunkle said he decided the officer, who was off-duty and working security at the time of the shooting, did not follow basic procedure. The officer said Pabis was drunk and disorderly and charged at him.
"Our deadly force policy is very strict," said Dallas Police Department spokesman Rick Watson. "It lays out that officers should take reasonable alternatives before they use deadly force."
The attorney for Pabis' family said Pabis was indeed drunk, but noted Pabis was unarmed and said the autopsy showed he was shot four times, including twice in the back.
"It could be he was running away and got shot some more," the attorney said. "We don't know. We need to investigate further."
Kunkle also on Thursday fired a 24-year veteran, Sgt. John McCaghren, alleging he failed to obey his supervisor and didn't show up to work.
Both officers have the right to appeal.
"The chief has made it no secret, from the day he came on, he said accountability was at the top of his list," Watson said. "He expects officers, including himself, from the rookiest rookie to himself, to be accountable for their actions."
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Post by Shuftin on Sept 5, 2006 9:25:55 GMT -5
Aug. 21, 2006
Baltimore City police have a new crime on the books: Stealing your own car.
Just ask Keith Spence, a Baltimore City resident who was arrested when he was driving home from work in a car he bought with a tax refund.
"I couldn’t believe it was happening," Spence said.
Spence, 28, said city police pulled him over in his 1993 red Cadillac Elderado coupe for a cracked rear Keith Spence holds the title to his car after being arrested for theft of the same car. window in February. Four officers dragged Spence and his two passengers from the car and said they were under arrest for stealing it, he said.
"I was listening to the radio from the back seat of the police car. It said a gray Cadillac sedan was stolen; mine is a red coupe. I guess the officer must have been color blind," he said.
"I tried to tell them it was my car, but they wouldn't listen."
Spence and his two friends were arrested, and the car was impounded. Charged with one count of motor vehicle theft, Spence represented himself in court in June.
"I owned the car — I knew it wasn't stolen," he said.
Even though Spence had the title proving he owned the car, he said he was cleared of the charges because of the testimony of the owner of the stolen car.
"The whole courtroom fell out — even the judge laughed," Spence told The Examiner.
Still, police sold Spence's car at auction two months before his day in court.
Now Spence is without the car it took him a year to buy, and his lawyer, Roland Brown, said he is preparing to sue the city.
"Not only did the police violate my client's constitutional rights by selling his car before the trial, but the case demonstrates that young black males in this city are blindly targeted by the Baltimore City police," he said.
Brown said the case also points out problems with the city's management of stolen vehicles. "You have to question why a stolen car would be sold at all," he said.
Police spokesman Matt Jablow said police are investigating the incident.
"We're looking into the circumstances surrounding why the car was sold," Jablow said.
Spence said he only wants the Cadillac he worked so hard to buy.
"I loved that car."
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Post by Shuftin on Sept 5, 2006 9:25:55 GMT -5
Aug. 21, 2006
Baltimore City police have a new crime on the books: Stealing your own car.
Just ask Keith Spence, a Baltimore City resident who was arrested when he was driving home from work in a car he bought with a tax refund.
"I couldn’t believe it was happening," Spence said.
Spence, 28, said city police pulled him over in his 1993 red Cadillac Elderado coupe for a cracked rear Keith Spence holds the title to his car after being arrested for theft of the same car. window in February. Four officers dragged Spence and his two passengers from the car and said they were under arrest for stealing it, he said.
"I was listening to the radio from the back seat of the police car. It said a gray Cadillac sedan was stolen; mine is a red coupe. I guess the officer must have been color blind," he said.
"I tried to tell them it was my car, but they wouldn't listen."
Spence and his two friends were arrested, and the car was impounded. Charged with one count of motor vehicle theft, Spence represented himself in court in June.
"I owned the car — I knew it wasn't stolen," he said.
Even though Spence had the title proving he owned the car, he said he was cleared of the charges because of the testimony of the owner of the stolen car.
"The whole courtroom fell out — even the judge laughed," Spence told The Examiner.
Still, police sold Spence's car at auction two months before his day in court.
Now Spence is without the car it took him a year to buy, and his lawyer, Roland Brown, said he is preparing to sue the city.
"Not only did the police violate my client's constitutional rights by selling his car before the trial, but the case demonstrates that young black males in this city are blindly targeted by the Baltimore City police," he said.
Brown said the case also points out problems with the city's management of stolen vehicles. "You have to question why a stolen car would be sold at all," he said.
Police spokesman Matt Jablow said police are investigating the incident.
"We're looking into the circumstances surrounding why the car was sold," Jablow said.
Spence said he only wants the Cadillac he worked so hard to buy.
"I loved that car."
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 25, 2006 0:49:56 GMT -5
July 8, 2006
Dumfried, Va. — Butch Shipe sat outside a Dumfries trailer yesterday, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a breakfast of beer in his belly, and listed all he had lost.
"We got all our stuff destroyed. Everything we owned: pants, clothes, everything," said Shipe, 63. "All 'cause of Calvin."
Dumfries, a town about 30 miles south of the District, is small enough that the police chief, Calvin L. Johnson, is called by his first name — a place where it seems only appropriate for a town official to say he's sorry when he hurts someone, even if he was just doing his job. Yesterday, Johnson wrote an apology to Shipe and two other homeless men whose sparse belongings were tossed out last month with the camp they had erected illegally in the woods. Another man who sometimes stayed at the camp did not lose anything.
"The letter more or less explained to the young men that we as a community are trying to make them whole," Johnson said, adding that the department is trying to replace the personal documents that were discarded. "It's not our intent to go out there and make it harder for them."
Dumfries Town Manager Dave Whitlow ordered Johnson to write the letter of apology this week. Whitlow was on vacation when the men were evicted from a wooded area adjacent to Route 1, where a couple of them had lived for more than a year. This was not the way the town wanted to be known, not the way it wanted to act, Whitlow said.
He spent part of yesterday editing the chief's apology and answering calls from a community that wanted to help. About 15 people phoned the chief's office offering to provide clothes, a tent and shaving kits. "If anything good came out of this, it's that the community is joining in and trying to help," Johnson said.
Johnson was responding to the property owner's complaint when he ordered officers and public works employees to tear down the camp, which was hidden in 27 acres.
"He insisted he wanted them off his property," Johnson said.
Still, he added, maybe they should not have thrown away the tents, cots and clothes that were strewn throughout the camp. Hidden among them were pictures and documents that connected the men to their pasts: a birth certificate from Maryland, a high school diploma from Hawaii.
Shipe said he had all his identification with him but lost everything else.
His temporary home is a loveseat in a friend's trailer, which is costing him $100 of his monthly $517 Social Security check. Born in Vienna, Shipe said he had a house there but lost it after his divorce. He had lived in the woods about eight years.
"When someone takes everything I own," he said, pausing and staring at the ground with a sullen expression that took a second to regain animation. "Oh, well, life goes on, I reckon."
"I can't blame Calvin. He's just doing his job," Shipe said. "He just didn't know this time. He just didn't know."
In the trailers around him, people told similar stories.
Rosie Bryant, 46, worked two jobs, one as a mover and another at Popeyes, but still found herself homeless and turning to the woods. She said she lived there four months, using propane to cook food and warm water for showers. Battery-operated TVs and radios passed the time. "It's not fun," she said. "People got to ride by and see you coming out of the woods because the town doesn't have enough homeless shelters."
About five months ago, she "lucked up and got this," she said, pointing to the trailer behind her.
William J. Hargis said he lived in the woods for four or five years and may end up there again soon. He's losing a $500-a-month trailer in three days because his Social Security check did not come through this month.
"God has shown me a lot of things, and I don't like what I see," he said. "It's not just this town. It's Woodbridge. It's Fairfax. It's everywhere else."
He said he's afraid to start walking down the street because the harassment will inevitably come.
"The cops are going to stop me and ask, 'Do you have any money?' No. 'Do you have a place to stay?' No. 'Well, keep walking, sir, until you find your place,' " he said. "Where is my place?"
An estimated 500 homeless people live in Prince William County. The Dumfries nonprofit group Action in the Community Through Service said that in the fiscal year that ended last month, about 8,400 people sought food or financial assistance from the organization.
About 5,000 people live in the town, which covers 1.63 square miles.
Shipe said he and the other men from the camp will most likely return to the woods, but they are taking it day by day. The community donations have helped. Shipe excitedly recounted how a woman from the town's United Methodist church dropped off a large bag of shirts — he repeated the story four times in a 30-minute span.
On a step outside the trailer yesterday sat two plastic bags filled with socks and shirts that Shipe hadn't noticed until Johnson pointed them out during a visit. Inside one of the bags, a handwritten note read: "From a neighbor. Good luck."
"All right, this is beautiful," Shipe said. "I didn't know there were this many caring people in this world.
"Most people were born and raised here, and we've all seen hard times, but we all come out on top. Isn't that the truth?" he said, gesturing toward Johnson.
"That's the truth," Johnson replied. "That's the absolute truth."
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 25, 2006 0:49:56 GMT -5
July 8, 2006
Dumfried, Va. — Butch Shipe sat outside a Dumfries trailer yesterday, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a breakfast of beer in his belly, and listed all he had lost.
"We got all our stuff destroyed. Everything we owned: pants, clothes, everything," said Shipe, 63. "All 'cause of Calvin."
Dumfries, a town about 30 miles south of the District, is small enough that the police chief, Calvin L. Johnson, is called by his first name — a place where it seems only appropriate for a town official to say he's sorry when he hurts someone, even if he was just doing his job. Yesterday, Johnson wrote an apology to Shipe and two other homeless men whose sparse belongings were tossed out last month with the camp they had erected illegally in the woods. Another man who sometimes stayed at the camp did not lose anything.
"The letter more or less explained to the young men that we as a community are trying to make them whole," Johnson said, adding that the department is trying to replace the personal documents that were discarded. "It's not our intent to go out there and make it harder for them."
Dumfries Town Manager Dave Whitlow ordered Johnson to write the letter of apology this week. Whitlow was on vacation when the men were evicted from a wooded area adjacent to Route 1, where a couple of them had lived for more than a year. This was not the way the town wanted to be known, not the way it wanted to act, Whitlow said.
He spent part of yesterday editing the chief's apology and answering calls from a community that wanted to help. About 15 people phoned the chief's office offering to provide clothes, a tent and shaving kits. "If anything good came out of this, it's that the community is joining in and trying to help," Johnson said.
Johnson was responding to the property owner's complaint when he ordered officers and public works employees to tear down the camp, which was hidden in 27 acres.
"He insisted he wanted them off his property," Johnson said.
Still, he added, maybe they should not have thrown away the tents, cots and clothes that were strewn throughout the camp. Hidden among them were pictures and documents that connected the men to their pasts: a birth certificate from Maryland, a high school diploma from Hawaii.
Shipe said he had all his identification with him but lost everything else.
His temporary home is a loveseat in a friend's trailer, which is costing him $100 of his monthly $517 Social Security check. Born in Vienna, Shipe said he had a house there but lost it after his divorce. He had lived in the woods about eight years.
"When someone takes everything I own," he said, pausing and staring at the ground with a sullen expression that took a second to regain animation. "Oh, well, life goes on, I reckon."
"I can't blame Calvin. He's just doing his job," Shipe said. "He just didn't know this time. He just didn't know."
In the trailers around him, people told similar stories.
Rosie Bryant, 46, worked two jobs, one as a mover and another at Popeyes, but still found herself homeless and turning to the woods. She said she lived there four months, using propane to cook food and warm water for showers. Battery-operated TVs and radios passed the time. "It's not fun," she said. "People got to ride by and see you coming out of the woods because the town doesn't have enough homeless shelters."
About five months ago, she "lucked up and got this," she said, pointing to the trailer behind her.
William J. Hargis said he lived in the woods for four or five years and may end up there again soon. He's losing a $500-a-month trailer in three days because his Social Security check did not come through this month.
"God has shown me a lot of things, and I don't like what I see," he said. "It's not just this town. It's Woodbridge. It's Fairfax. It's everywhere else."
He said he's afraid to start walking down the street because the harassment will inevitably come.
"The cops are going to stop me and ask, 'Do you have any money?' No. 'Do you have a place to stay?' No. 'Well, keep walking, sir, until you find your place,' " he said. "Where is my place?"
An estimated 500 homeless people live in Prince William County. The Dumfries nonprofit group Action in the Community Through Service said that in the fiscal year that ended last month, about 8,400 people sought food or financial assistance from the organization.
About 5,000 people live in the town, which covers 1.63 square miles.
Shipe said he and the other men from the camp will most likely return to the woods, but they are taking it day by day. The community donations have helped. Shipe excitedly recounted how a woman from the town's United Methodist church dropped off a large bag of shirts — he repeated the story four times in a 30-minute span.
On a step outside the trailer yesterday sat two plastic bags filled with socks and shirts that Shipe hadn't noticed until Johnson pointed them out during a visit. Inside one of the bags, a handwritten note read: "From a neighbor. Good luck."
"All right, this is beautiful," Shipe said. "I didn't know there were this many caring people in this world.
"Most people were born and raised here, and we've all seen hard times, but we all come out on top. Isn't that the truth?" he said, gesturing toward Johnson.
"That's the truth," Johnson replied. "That's the absolute truth."
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Post by Shuftin on Aug 3, 2006 16:09:11 GMT -5
Two veteran police officers critical of ticket quotas in Falls Church, Virginia have been fired or suspended.
7/17/2006
The Falls Church, Virginia police department has taken extreme steps to silence two vocal critics of the city's ticket quota policy. City police union president Scott Rhodes, 38, was fired on June 30 and union vice president Markus Bristol, 37, was suspended without pay on May 23.
In 2004, the two blew the lid off of the department's requirement that three traffic tickets or arrests be made every shift. After failing to solve the problem through internal channels, Rhodes brought the story to The Washington Post which reported that any officer who failed to meet the quota faced a pay cut or demotion. Even officers who went on vacation had to make up for the number of tickets they failed to issue while on leave.
Police Chief Robert T. Murray claims disciplinary action against the two critics is unrelated to their statements regarding ticket quotas. There are, however, no recent citizen complaints against Rhodes, a ten-year veteran of the police and former Marine who has had nothing but good evaluations in his personnel folder. Instead, he has received several commendations from the public for his service. Bristol, likewise, is a ten-year veteran who served previously in the U.S. Army. He received an award for his exemplary work as a canine officer.
Falls Church has since removed the explicit ticket quotas.
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Post by Shuftin on Aug 3, 2006 16:09:11 GMT -5
Two veteran police officers critical of ticket quotas in Falls Church, Virginia have been fired or suspended.
7/17/2006
The Falls Church, Virginia police department has taken extreme steps to silence two vocal critics of the city's ticket quota policy. City police union president Scott Rhodes, 38, was fired on June 30 and union vice president Markus Bristol, 37, was suspended without pay on May 23.
In 2004, the two blew the lid off of the department's requirement that three traffic tickets or arrests be made every shift. After failing to solve the problem through internal channels, Rhodes brought the story to The Washington Post which reported that any officer who failed to meet the quota faced a pay cut or demotion. Even officers who went on vacation had to make up for the number of tickets they failed to issue while on leave.
Police Chief Robert T. Murray claims disciplinary action against the two critics is unrelated to their statements regarding ticket quotas. There are, however, no recent citizen complaints against Rhodes, a ten-year veteran of the police and former Marine who has had nothing but good evaluations in his personnel folder. Instead, he has received several commendations from the public for his service. Bristol, likewise, is a ten-year veteran who served previously in the U.S. Army. He received an award for his exemplary work as a canine officer.
Falls Church has since removed the explicit ticket quotas.
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Post by Shuftin on Aug 9, 2006 2:49:48 GMT -5
I don't see a problem here. Police dogs are trained to go after and take down criminals. He did his job and was shot by the criminal.
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Post by Shuftin on Aug 9, 2006 2:49:48 GMT -5
I don't see a problem here. Police dogs are trained to go after and take down criminals. He did his job and was shot by the criminal.
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Post by Shuftin on Aug 9, 2006 2:47:10 GMT -5
August 7th, 2006
There was a chase, then a suspect cornered, and, when it was all over Friday, a revered police dog was dead, at the hands of a police officer.
But precisely how the incident unfolded is in question.
Dago (pronounced dah-GO) who belonged to Countryside police, was killed by a Cicero police officer who says he was attacked by the German shepherd and fired the fatal shots.
Now an investigation is under way by both departments.
Countryside Police Chief Timothy Swanson said he's upset not only over the loss, but at the lack of condolences from Cicero officials.
About 4 a.m. Friday, Cicero police attempted to pull over a van. The driver then tossed something out of the window. The chase was on. The driver led police into neighboring Berwyn, where he fled on foot.
A radio request for backup went out. Countryside officer Joseph DiGangi and partner Dago responded.
Police had found a man hiding beneath a car in the area. Officers ordered him to come out, but he didn't comply. So DiGangi announced the dog was coming in after him, Countryside's chief said.
"The canine officer announced, very loudly, as they're trained -- three times -- so the officers can clear out," said Swanson.
As officers surrounded the car, guns drawn, the dog was released.
As the dog rounded the vehicle, two shots rang out.
Cicero police spokesman Dan Proft said his officer was attacked and bitten in in the gun hand.
Four-year veteran Paul Laslie fired one shot accidentally, hitting the dog; the dog recoiled, but came after him again and Laslie fired in self-defense, Proft said.
"We don't know why the dog did what it did. We're trying to take a person into custody. We would have no reason to engage the dog," said Proft, who explained that the man they were trying to arrest and other officers corroborate Cicero's story.
QUESTIONS REMAIN
The officer's hand was injured and Dago died.
Countryside police, however, wonder why the dog went after just one officer and whether the officer simply was too close.
"If he thought he was in fear for his life from the dog, then that's his decision" to shoot the animal, Swanson said. "You have police dogs that sometimes engage and try to make an apprehension. Sometimes there are accidental bites."
All agree it's a sad event.
More frustrating is that they didn't get the suspect. Turns out the man under the car was hiding for unknown reasons, and the gunman was still at large.
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Post by Shuftin on Aug 9, 2006 2:47:10 GMT -5
August 7th, 2006
There was a chase, then a suspect cornered, and, when it was all over Friday, a revered police dog was dead, at the hands of a police officer.
But precisely how the incident unfolded is in question.
Dago (pronounced dah-GO) who belonged to Countryside police, was killed by a Cicero police officer who says he was attacked by the German shepherd and fired the fatal shots.
Now an investigation is under way by both departments.
Countryside Police Chief Timothy Swanson said he's upset not only over the loss, but at the lack of condolences from Cicero officials.
About 4 a.m. Friday, Cicero police attempted to pull over a van. The driver then tossed something out of the window. The chase was on. The driver led police into neighboring Berwyn, where he fled on foot.
A radio request for backup went out. Countryside officer Joseph DiGangi and partner Dago responded.
Police had found a man hiding beneath a car in the area. Officers ordered him to come out, but he didn't comply. So DiGangi announced the dog was coming in after him, Countryside's chief said.
"The canine officer announced, very loudly, as they're trained -- three times -- so the officers can clear out," said Swanson.
As officers surrounded the car, guns drawn, the dog was released.
As the dog rounded the vehicle, two shots rang out.
Cicero police spokesman Dan Proft said his officer was attacked and bitten in in the gun hand.
Four-year veteran Paul Laslie fired one shot accidentally, hitting the dog; the dog recoiled, but came after him again and Laslie fired in self-defense, Proft said.
"We don't know why the dog did what it did. We're trying to take a person into custody. We would have no reason to engage the dog," said Proft, who explained that the man they were trying to arrest and other officers corroborate Cicero's story.
QUESTIONS REMAIN
The officer's hand was injured and Dago died.
Countryside police, however, wonder why the dog went after just one officer and whether the officer simply was too close.
"If he thought he was in fear for his life from the dog, then that's his decision" to shoot the animal, Swanson said. "You have police dogs that sometimes engage and try to make an apprehension. Sometimes there are accidental bites."
All agree it's a sad event.
More frustrating is that they didn't get the suspect. Turns out the man under the car was hiding for unknown reasons, and the gunman was still at large.
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 27, 2006 9:05:13 GMT -5
2006-07-26
WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA – The solicitor for the Luzerne County Sheriff’s Department says two deputies used “justified” force when they sent a man to the hospital last week during an arrest.
Clint Donovan says the plainclothes sheriff’s deputies knocked a tooth out of his mouth and caused welts on his head when they slammed him to the ground and stomped on him Friday afternoon while serving a warrant on him. Several witnesses standing near the A Plus on Academy Street and Carey Avenue said the beating appeared unjustified.
But Richard Hughes, the solicitor of the sheriff’s office, said Tuesday the deputies did not use excessive force, claiming that Donovan, 34, initiated a physical confrontation with the officers and tried to disarm at least one of them.
“He put up a fight and tried to grab their service revolver and thank goodness he was subdued,” Hughes said. “Our deputy sheriffs acted totally appropriate given the circumstance … I believe the force was totally justified.”
None of the witnesses interviewed by the Times Leader said they saw Donovan assault the deputies. But Hughes, who says he has spoken with Wilkes-Barre police about the incident, said there is a witness who backs up the deputies’ claims.
Hughes would not go into other details regarding how he came to his conclusion.
Police have confirmed that there is an investigation under way to determine if Donovan assaulted the deputies, but not if the deputies assaulted Donovan. Authorities have not released the names of the deputies who were involved.
Donovan claims the men ran out of an unmarked car and one pulled out a gun, causing him to run. He says he didn’t know the men were deputies until he was on the ground getting pummeled.
But Hughes said Donovan knew he was running from deputies.
“He was totally disregarding law enforcement,” Hughes said.
The deputies confronted Hughes to serve him a warrant on theft charges in connection with allegations that he stole scrap metal.
Donovan, who has a criminal history dating back to 1996, had charges unrelated to Friday’s incident filed against him Tuesday.
Plains Township police charged him with two felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass for an alleged burglary at the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center cafeteria on April 2. Police say Donovan was startled by a nurse and fled the scene, but was later identified in a photo lineup.
Donovan remains locked up in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on the warrant and the new charges.
In the past, he’s been convicted of crimes after police say he attacked a state constable in a courtroom, wrestled with a department store security guard and led police on a short car chase.
Donovan and his brother, Mark Donovan, were accused last year of assaulting a Philadelphia man with a hammer and a flashlight at a Pittston apartment building, but Donovan was cleared of any wrongdoing in the case.
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 27, 2006 9:05:13 GMT -5
2006-07-26
WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA – The solicitor for the Luzerne County Sheriff’s Department says two deputies used “justified” force when they sent a man to the hospital last week during an arrest.
Clint Donovan says the plainclothes sheriff’s deputies knocked a tooth out of his mouth and caused welts on his head when they slammed him to the ground and stomped on him Friday afternoon while serving a warrant on him. Several witnesses standing near the A Plus on Academy Street and Carey Avenue said the beating appeared unjustified.
But Richard Hughes, the solicitor of the sheriff’s office, said Tuesday the deputies did not use excessive force, claiming that Donovan, 34, initiated a physical confrontation with the officers and tried to disarm at least one of them.
“He put up a fight and tried to grab their service revolver and thank goodness he was subdued,” Hughes said. “Our deputy sheriffs acted totally appropriate given the circumstance … I believe the force was totally justified.”
None of the witnesses interviewed by the Times Leader said they saw Donovan assault the deputies. But Hughes, who says he has spoken with Wilkes-Barre police about the incident, said there is a witness who backs up the deputies’ claims.
Hughes would not go into other details regarding how he came to his conclusion.
Police have confirmed that there is an investigation under way to determine if Donovan assaulted the deputies, but not if the deputies assaulted Donovan. Authorities have not released the names of the deputies who were involved.
Donovan claims the men ran out of an unmarked car and one pulled out a gun, causing him to run. He says he didn’t know the men were deputies until he was on the ground getting pummeled.
But Hughes said Donovan knew he was running from deputies.
“He was totally disregarding law enforcement,” Hughes said.
The deputies confronted Hughes to serve him a warrant on theft charges in connection with allegations that he stole scrap metal.
Donovan, who has a criminal history dating back to 1996, had charges unrelated to Friday’s incident filed against him Tuesday.
Plains Township police charged him with two felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass for an alleged burglary at the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center cafeteria on April 2. Police say Donovan was startled by a nurse and fled the scene, but was later identified in a photo lineup.
Donovan remains locked up in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on the warrant and the new charges.
In the past, he’s been convicted of crimes after police say he attacked a state constable in a courtroom, wrestled with a department store security guard and led police on a short car chase.
Donovan and his brother, Mark Donovan, were accused last year of assaulting a Philadelphia man with a hammer and a flashlight at a Pittston apartment building, but Donovan was cleared of any wrongdoing in the case.
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 27, 2006 8:48:07 GMT -5
2006-07-26
COOPERTOWN, TENNESSEE – The police chief of a town criticized for its heavy ticketing of drivers says he is resigning.
Coopertown, Tennessee police chief EJ Bernard told residents his plans last night at the first meeting of city aldermen since Mayor Danny Crosby was suspended.
The mayor was suspended pending a trial on accusations of ordering police to pull over political opponents, Hispanics and soldiers to get more ticket revenues for the town.
The police chief was one of several officers to testify against the mayor at a recent hearing.
Bernard says controversy from the mayor's ouster has been tough on him and his family.
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 27, 2006 8:48:07 GMT -5
2006-07-26
COOPERTOWN, TENNESSEE – The police chief of a town criticized for its heavy ticketing of drivers says he is resigning.
Coopertown, Tennessee police chief EJ Bernard told residents his plans last night at the first meeting of city aldermen since Mayor Danny Crosby was suspended.
The mayor was suspended pending a trial on accusations of ordering police to pull over political opponents, Hispanics and soldiers to get more ticket revenues for the town.
The police chief was one of several officers to testify against the mayor at a recent hearing.
Bernard says controversy from the mayor's ouster has been tough on him and his family.
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 23, 2006 12:16:37 GMT -5
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/17/06
Argument with prostitute's boyfriend led to shooting, police say
A Fulton County sheriff's deputy has been charged with murder after he shot a man during a violent argument while visiting a prostitute, authorities said.
Deputy Richard M. Jackson, 39, clad in a blue jail uniform and his head shaven, was formally charged with murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a deadly weapon in a homicide at a first appearance hearing Monday morning. Jackson told Fulton Magistrate Court Judge Roy Roberts he would hire his own attorney. Roberts denied a public defender's request that bond be set.
Jackson has been placed on administrative leave, officials said today.
Jackson shot the man — described in an incident report as the prostitute's boyfriend — after the two exchanged gunfire in the parking lot of a southwest Atlanta apartment complex late Saturday night, police said.
Jackson, who was off duty at the time, was arrested shortly after hiding in woods next to the Sky View Apartments on Beeler Drive. He was wearing his county-issued brown sheriff's shirt, residents said.
Shortly before midnight Saturday, a prostitute, who was not identified, got into Jackson's red pickup truck and the two began negotiating, authorities said.
Unhappy with the terms of the transaction, Jackson allegedly pulled out a weapon and shot at the woman, according to an account she gave police.
The woman ran to get her boyfriend, Allen Griffin, who was nearby, and the two men began arguing.
"There was possible gunfire exchanged; it's not like one person went up and shot another," said Atlanta police spokeswoman Sylvia Abernathy.
Residents heard four or five shots going off, and later saw Griffin — known in the area as Scooby — lying face-down near the apartment Dumpster, while his girlfriend screamed for someone to call police, said Emmanuel Thomas, 18.
Griffin, 22, had been shot once. Police found several different shell casings at the scene, but did not recover a second gun.
Residents at the Sky View Apartments said their small, rundown complex has been a hotbed of prostitution for some time.
Ever since the motels on Cleveland Avenue — off which Beeler runs — clamped down on women turning tricks in their parking lots, the prostitutes have set up shop at Sky View.
Pimps drop them off at the entrance to the complex and they wait for johns in the secluded back lot, said resident Najma Hunter.
The iron gate to the complex does not close. The keypad, where residents are supposed to punch in the gate code to enter, is broken and bent.
Hunter and other residents said Saturday night was not the first time they saw the deputy's red Ford pickup truck parked at the complex.
Late Sunday night, authorities were canvassing the area around the apartments to see if Jackson might have been involved in other incidents, said sheriff's office spokeswoman Nikita Adams-Hightower.
Jackson had been with the sheriff's office "a couple of years" and was assigned to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he kept an eye on inmates when they were taken there for treatment, Adams-Hightower said. Before that, he worked several years at Atlanta's Department of Corrections.
"To my knowledge, we have not had any disciplinary problems with him in the past," Adams-Hightower said.
Jackson was married in December to a woman who has two children from a previous relationship.
He himself is the birth father of a 17-year-old girl from a relationship with Nancy Smith that ended several years ago.
"You don't know how upsetting it is not knowing what to tell your daughter," Smith said Sunday night. "This is so much not his character. He would take his shirt off for people. He'd give $2 to the homeless person outside Grady to catch the train. He was always looking out for people."
Sgt. Charles Rambo, the national vice president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said he had supervised and trained Jackson when the deputy began his career at the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
"When I got the call this morning, I sat up straight in bed," Rambo said. "He's a very fine officer. It's a shock because, one, it's a such a serious charge inside the ranks; and two, I was surprised that it was Richard."
Jackson was locked up Sunday night in the same jail on Rice Street whose inmates he was once charged with overseeing.
He was, however, being kept in a cell to himself, away from the general population.
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 23, 2006 12:16:37 GMT -5
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/17/06
Argument with prostitute's boyfriend led to shooting, police say
A Fulton County sheriff's deputy has been charged with murder after he shot a man during a violent argument while visiting a prostitute, authorities said.
Deputy Richard M. Jackson, 39, clad in a blue jail uniform and his head shaven, was formally charged with murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a deadly weapon in a homicide at a first appearance hearing Monday morning. Jackson told Fulton Magistrate Court Judge Roy Roberts he would hire his own attorney. Roberts denied a public defender's request that bond be set.
Jackson has been placed on administrative leave, officials said today.
Jackson shot the man — described in an incident report as the prostitute's boyfriend — after the two exchanged gunfire in the parking lot of a southwest Atlanta apartment complex late Saturday night, police said.
Jackson, who was off duty at the time, was arrested shortly after hiding in woods next to the Sky View Apartments on Beeler Drive. He was wearing his county-issued brown sheriff's shirt, residents said.
Shortly before midnight Saturday, a prostitute, who was not identified, got into Jackson's red pickup truck and the two began negotiating, authorities said.
Unhappy with the terms of the transaction, Jackson allegedly pulled out a weapon and shot at the woman, according to an account she gave police.
The woman ran to get her boyfriend, Allen Griffin, who was nearby, and the two men began arguing.
"There was possible gunfire exchanged; it's not like one person went up and shot another," said Atlanta police spokeswoman Sylvia Abernathy.
Residents heard four or five shots going off, and later saw Griffin — known in the area as Scooby — lying face-down near the apartment Dumpster, while his girlfriend screamed for someone to call police, said Emmanuel Thomas, 18.
Griffin, 22, had been shot once. Police found several different shell casings at the scene, but did not recover a second gun.
Residents at the Sky View Apartments said their small, rundown complex has been a hotbed of prostitution for some time.
Ever since the motels on Cleveland Avenue — off which Beeler runs — clamped down on women turning tricks in their parking lots, the prostitutes have set up shop at Sky View.
Pimps drop them off at the entrance to the complex and they wait for johns in the secluded back lot, said resident Najma Hunter.
The iron gate to the complex does not close. The keypad, where residents are supposed to punch in the gate code to enter, is broken and bent.
Hunter and other residents said Saturday night was not the first time they saw the deputy's red Ford pickup truck parked at the complex.
Late Sunday night, authorities were canvassing the area around the apartments to see if Jackson might have been involved in other incidents, said sheriff's office spokeswoman Nikita Adams-Hightower.
Jackson had been with the sheriff's office "a couple of years" and was assigned to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he kept an eye on inmates when they were taken there for treatment, Adams-Hightower said. Before that, he worked several years at Atlanta's Department of Corrections.
"To my knowledge, we have not had any disciplinary problems with him in the past," Adams-Hightower said.
Jackson was married in December to a woman who has two children from a previous relationship.
He himself is the birth father of a 17-year-old girl from a relationship with Nancy Smith that ended several years ago.
"You don't know how upsetting it is not knowing what to tell your daughter," Smith said Sunday night. "This is so much not his character. He would take his shirt off for people. He'd give $2 to the homeless person outside Grady to catch the train. He was always looking out for people."
Sgt. Charles Rambo, the national vice president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said he had supervised and trained Jackson when the deputy began his career at the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
"When I got the call this morning, I sat up straight in bed," Rambo said. "He's a very fine officer. It's a shock because, one, it's a such a serious charge inside the ranks; and two, I was surprised that it was Richard."
Jackson was locked up Sunday night in the same jail on Rice Street whose inmates he was once charged with overseeing.
He was, however, being kept in a cell to himself, away from the general population.
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 21, 2006 0:51:34 GMT -5
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Post by Shuftin on Jul 21, 2006 0:51:34 GMT -5
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