National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 08-22-11

VERBATIM POST
Injustice Everywhere
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• Bay City MI settles suit for $1mil to family of 15yr-old who died after tasered. While police claim he was tasered for taking up a “fighting stance”, witnesses claim he was cuffed when he was tasered. [0] bit.ly/q2tsBp

• Gretna LA cop who is already the subject of an excessive force case where a police dog bit off a man’s penis is now being sued by a man claiming the officer tasered him and his 7-year-old son during a traffic stop then beat him afterward. [3] bit.ly/mShOEo

• Washington Park IL cop pleads to rights charge for firing at car, illegally jailing 2 men & unrelated fraud charges [0] bit.ly/ob6rRg

• Portsmouth VA cop sued by man claiming he was tasered while handcuffed in drug arrest that was later dismissed [3] bit.ly/pFX4Yk

• Palmetto FL cop arrested for threatening wife & kids w/rifle & taser had history of 14 disciplinary cases in 11yrs [0] bit.ly/n3sWCV

• Trenton NJ cop arrested on agg assault & other charges for allegedly pointing gun at girlfriend & threatening her [0] bit.ly/od2Abg

• Cranford NJ cop suspended w/o pay after arrested for alleged on-duty criminal sexual contact & official misconduct [0] bit.ly/ruApXf

• Harrison Co IN sheriff gets 9mo house arrest in plea deal to groping employees & covering it up w/intimidation [0] bit.ly/orqmh4

• Philadelphia PA cop w/history of retaliatory false arrests subject of 3rd suit alleging yet another false arrest [0] http://t.co/O1kij5L

• Draper UT K9 cop arrested on drug paraphernalia charge after allegedly caught on video smoking heroin in patrol car [0] bit.ly/nLjBj8

• Chicago IL police sgt threatens & takes ID from traffic cop who put boot on car of cop who had 62 unpaid tickets [0] bit.ly/pGsAjA

• Boone IA cop subject of state criminal investigation into unspecified allegations after resigning last week [2] bit.ly/nTPX4j

Before I go there are two reports I’m trying to figure out.

First, there appears to have been a mass detention incident in the aftermath of the second OpBART protest by groups including Anonymous in San Francisco California over two shooting deaths and Bay Area Rapid Transit’s attempt to quell potential protests by shutting down cellular service. We’ve seen a number of suits arise out of similar police actions during protests where, instead of singling out individual troublemakers, the police just round everyone up in the area including innocent bystanders and reporters…. which appears to have happened here. However, nobody has come out yet and alleged that it was an illegal action which makes me wonder, was it legal? What do you think?

Second, someone sent me an email about this case in Vilas County Wisconsin where an off-duty deputy mistakenly shot his niece was a cougar while she was playing a practical joke on him. These ones are difficult as it’s a call between an honest mistake and culpable negligence. Yes, the niece unintentionally put herself at risk during the prank, but the deputy violated a general gun safety rule by firing at an unconfirmed target. I think this is one to watch to see how the internal investigation turns out, but the niece isn’t pressing charges so I don’t think we’ll see criminal negligence called on it. What do you think?