Gangsters in Blue

This week, a couple stories that should cause anyone critically thinking to see that those wearing badges aren’t always operating with the best intentions.

Story #1
Ex-Wellford Officer Accused of Abusing Vulnerable Adult
http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/22249261/sled-wellford-officer

A former Wellford, South Carolina police officer was arrested this past Tuesday by state agents after they said he sexually and physically abused a vulnerable adult.
The State Law Enforcement Division said between July 1, 2012 and Jan. 1, 2013, 32-year-old Bennie Hand sexually battered and physically abused the victim, who suffers from a mental condition impairing her from providing her own care or protecting herself.
During the abuse, SLED said Hand worked as a Wellford police officer.
Wellford Mayor Thomas Watson said the city received a complaint about the allegations made against Hand and called in SLED to investigate. He was placed on administrative leave when the investigation began and was fired following his arrest, Watson said.
Hand was arrested on charges of misconduct in office, criminal sexual conduct third degree and abuse of a vulnerable adult.
State agents were called in to investigate at the request of Wellford police and the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute the case.
Hand is being held at the Spartanburg County Detention Center.

Story #2
St. Paul to Settle $237,500 Excessive Force Lawsuit
http://www.startribune.com/local/207448291.html

In other news, the city of St. Paul is set to reach a $237,500 settlement, which taxpayers are forced to pay, with a Twin Cities man who says that St. Paul police officers used excessive force and caused significant injuries that sent him to the hospital when they arrested him several years ago.
James Newbill, who has since changed his name to Ras Yirehmiel Tafari, said he had been the victim of excessive force, battery and assault during a 2010 arrest. Tafari sued the two police officers along with the city originally seeking damages of more than $1 million.
The settlement agreement is expected to be approved at a City Council meeting Wednesday.
The two officers had been working in the narcotics/vice unit on August 17, 2010, when they came upon a suspected drug deal in a church parking lot near the State Capitol. According to the complaint, the officers rushed Tafari “without giving any commands or instructions,” and he ran to the front of the church.
As Tafari raised his hands, one officer used a Taser gun on him, causing him to fall to the steps, the complaint said. The other officer then kicked Tafari in the face, knocking him out.
Tafari was handcuffed and taken to Regions Hospital, where he spent three days in the intensive care unit. According to the complaint, his broken jaw needed wiring for nearly three months. Oral surgery was required to repair his teeth and cuts to his mouth. Tafari needed to wear a neck brace for nearly four months because of broken vertebrae.
Tafari eventually pleaded guilty to possession of a small amount of marijuana – a harmless plant.
In the settlement agreement, the city does not admit any wrongdoing or liability.
It is the third settlement having to do with police conduct that the city has agreed to this year.
How far will you let these public officials go before you speak out, or stop funding their violence?

Police Accountability Report: Episode 92 – LRN.fm is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This article was written by Court Thomas and shared via CopBlock.org’s submit tab.

DAY 1 – Easter Sabbath

I worked in the Disney area as a Quality Control man for Vacation Homes. I love this job very much, but because of religious beliefs, as a 7th Day Ethiopian Orthodox Christian (Rastafarian Sect), the only thing I ever deplored about it was having to work on the Sabbath.

On the Sabbath before Easter, Saturday April 30, 2013, I awoke with a severe backache, which was painful from the night before, and could not call in sick because it was Easter weekend and was told by management none could be off on Easter weekend. I came to work walking at an angle and not straight upright due to the mysterious back-pain.

I had four homes in the Hampton Lakes sub-division off Highway 27 in Polk County, Florida. This was the next to last community on my list of checks to do for the day. At 3:35 PM, As I entered the development I noticed the officer in an unmarked car parked reverse in a precarious position in the middle of the entrance to Hampton Lakes development. I had an idea what he was up to. I was profiled when coming into the development.

As I was Quality checking the 2nd home in Hampton Lakes, I was called by the office wanting me to be sure to return a Key because a customer came in a bit early to check-in and the key was needed. Usually we collect 2 keys to avoid such a scenarios. That day, this was not done, probably because of the high Easter volume, 2 keys – one for QC and the other for the customer.

Therefore, by the end of checking the last house in Hampton Lakes, I had less than 15 minutes to check another house across the street (Highway 27) in Westridge, and then return the key to the office at 192 and 1-4.

As I was about to leave the Hampton Lakes development, going 25 miles per hour or possibly a little above, a very young Polk county Sheriff officer, named Officer Node, who was less than half my age, flashed his lights to pull me over. I immediately stopped in surprise as to why.

He came charging to the car like a Spanish Bull, shouting in a very disrespectful and unprofessional manner ordering me to show my driving information. As I was getting out the wallet, I asked, “What did I do wrong officer?” He then yelled that I was going 35 in a 25 mile zone, which I knew I was NOT! I started becoming very nervous due to the shouting and profane words hurdling at me.

He then yelled that I was not moving fast enough and ordered me out of the car. With my heart beating nearly through my throat, and with the car in neutral, engine still running, I proceeded to place the car’s gear shift in the parking position prior to opening the door. The officer then pulled me out of the car shouting profane curse words, untruthful statements that I was not listening fast enough. By this time I was scared as hell! He then slammed me against the car said to put my arms behind my back. I asked which was up or down and why the officer was acting that way, while the officer was still shouting, not listening or responding to what I was asking.

He rammed his knee in my aching back, pushed me on the pavement of the open street stating, “You’re going down today, buddy!” The left cheek of my face, my right elbows, both my knees and my left hip-bone now hurt like hell.

I was then hurriedly forced into his unmarked squad car and locked in there for at least an hour. It was intensely hot and stuffy – windows shut tight and NO AIR, except on his side of the squad car. I felt tormented and tortured by this CRUEL experience which I’d only ever seen in the media; never in a wild nightmare did I think it would happen to me.

My driver’s license was ran and there was a suspension on there that I thought was already taken of. The driving class ordered by the the court/Tallahassee was completed over 2 weeks ago. Even after emailing the completion certificate, the completion was NOT entered into the system. I did not realize I had to physically appear at the DMV to pay another FEE and show more proof of the class for reinstatement.

I was profiled and excessively dragged out of the car I was driving, beaten and arrested by Officer Node, the young Sheriff officer of Polk County, Florida, old enough to be my son.

He was large and quite heavy. I grew up very non-confrontational and throughout my 54 years of life I tend to avoid confrontations at all costs! I was therefore very scared and embarrassed.

The undue aggressive use of force seemed to have been caused by some pent up frustrations the officer had prior to the event.

While handcuffed, the car was searched and all my private belongings were completely combed through by assistant officers who arrived on the scene. My home in Daytona Beach had out of state visitors for a week, so I took all my sensitive paperwork and very private belongings out of the home and into the car’s truck and car’s rear. I was surprised by the search of my privacy.

After the search, I was confronted about the driver’s license issue and the unopened beer in grocery bags in the car, and because my auxiliary wallet was found in the car’s trunk. I was questioned as to why my FL license was suspended, why I had an old California expired license, an extra copy of Florida license in the wallet, Jamaican and other International currency in the auxiliary wallet, and also questioned as to if I had a Jamaican driver’s license also.

I then answered that I had NO Jamaican license; I learned to drive in the USA when I was a college kid. I travel to other many other countries on 3 continents plus the Caribbean, and that a class was completed so I was surprised by the remaining suspension, thinking it was all cleared up. He then stated they found contraband, of which I did not recall any was there in my private belongings, and for all I know, may have been planted.

The hot squad car and extremely tight hand was unbearable torture, I felt dizzy and very faint. After asking to speak to another older officer. I begged for air or to stretch my legs.

It was the last day of LENT season and I was fasting, so the experience with hunger, no air, heat, and no water for so long in the squad car, made me very lethargic.

He then threatened to tow the car. I STILL HAD THE KEY THE CUSTOMER WAS WAITING ON. I explained this to them, and after an hour or so of pleading and begging them to call the office, they did, using the number saved in my private cell phone.

Matt Collins, my immediate supervisor, took his time out from the busy office with another co-worker to come get the car.

After Matt was gone with the car, I began pleading and begging again for air, to loosen the cuffs to a more comfortable setting, and to stretch my legs in the cramped squad car with virtually no leg room. By this time, my wrists were in severe pain and the skin ruptured in the cuffs.

I was questioned by another curious officer about my Ethio-Jamaican Orthodox Christian beliefs (Rastafarian) and their usage of Marijuana as a religious ritual by a sizable population of Jamaicans. I told him because the first plant was found on King Solomon’s grave and it’s the weed of wisdom spoken of in Genesis 1:12) “He gave hemp for people to use with our free will. … yielding her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Rastafarians believe the HUMAN BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD, not just a Physical Temple such as a Church building. In preparation for worship or deep reasoning, The Rastafarians burn it in the Holy Bodily Temple, much the same as the Catholics burn Frankinscence & Myrrh in the Physical Temple of God or Chirch Building.

I then proceeded to explain about the Rastafarian faith and Bibical story about meeting of the famous Hebrew King Solomon and his affairs with the famous Ethiopian-African Queen Makeda of Sheba, and how their son, the 1st Son of Solomon and heir to the throne of Ancient Israel, took the Israelite faith and the Ark of the Covenant the God gave to Moses to safety in the Ethiopian highlands., and the 3000 year reign of Isrealite-Ethiopian Kings from King Menelik I, the son of Solomon & Sheba to Emperor Haile Selassie. The direct Holy grail blood connection between Jesus Christ, and the Ethiopian Royal family, via King David and his son King Solomon of Israel. King David the father of Solomon was the grandfather of Mary (Maryam) the mother of Christ, thus making the blood connection of cousins between the Ethiopian royals and Christ.

After another hour of sitting in the car while he wrote his report, I was taken to another nearby location, and held in the car for at least another hour. He continued his report for another hour.

By this time, Officer Node calmed way down and began speaking to me like a normal human. He then allowed me to stretch my legs and offered me a feed of his personal water drink; I was relived somewhat. We began talking like men about family, kids, etc. After at least 3 hours of wearing tight handcuffs and waiting another hour for the PADDY VAN, when the van arrived I was turned over to a transportation officer. Officer NODE then said to the other transportation officer, “This is a nice guy, and has been very cooperative.” I then wondered silently, “If I was such a nice guy, then why was I treated this way with such undue brutality and use of force?”

The tight handcuffs were then removed and the transportation officer placed much more comfortable, looser cuffs to my hands. I was relieved.

We traveled to another facility and the processing was very slow. After a change of clothing, I was placed in a very cold cell. I was trembling and shaking the whole entire time. I stayed there in the dirty cold concrete cell until about 4:00 AM, then was transported to another location with bunk beds and, finally, thin bed sheets and a thin blanket.

DAY 2 – Easter Sunday – Resurrection Day

I was awaken to eat breakfast just before sunrise (possibly 6:30 AM). I, due to cold and nervousness, could not eat nor drink so I skipped the meal. It was cold and I’m tropical, so it was better under the sheet and blanket – and with toilets in the open, it was better not to eat to prevent a bowel movement, and prevent using those disgusting toilets in the open.

I tried for hours to call out. NO FREE PHONE CALLS WERE GIVEN. All numbers stored in my private cell phone went with the confiscated cell phone and I could not remember any local numbers in Florida except for one person. I could not get through because cell phones do not allow for collect calls. There was a very big muscular Angelic jail mate who God had to have sent for this occasion to my cell. He was on weekend jail time.

He stated to everyone, “Anyone who wants to call out, I will help you reach your goal,” via a bonds lady he knew on the outside. He then made the miracle call and I was saved and finally bailed out at 3:00 PM. Strangely and mystically, he got out at the same time as I did and I thanked him and the almighty God for the Angelic form of help because I was told I could not leave until someone came and bailed me out. It couldn’t be done myself unless I had over $1000 in confiscated cash. How many average people travel around the streets with that much cash? So, self-bailing is not a viable option for the average person imprisoned.

I was finally bailed and processed out, which took another two hours or so. When I received my wallet, ALL the cash was missing, and WITHOUT ANY PRIOR NOTIFICATION, The Florida Drivers License card was also missing, It was shocking that they would go into my private wallet and steal all the cash, which I did not notice until after leaving the building. As soon as I could, I called the Booking Department to find out that the money was taken as a Jail Accommodation charge and I was over $16 in a deficit!

By this time, my friend who came to bail me out became overly hungry and sickened by the process. On the long 1.5 hour long drive from Bartow, Fl to Orlando, he vomited in the car due to sympathetic stress and duress from experience I went through.

We got to Orlando, FL and he photographed the injuries I endured. That night it was difficult to sleep; I had a fever and alternating feelings of being too hot and then too cold. After finally sleeping for 2 or so hours, I was awoken by my own clothing completely drenched in my perspiration, from a fever; I had to change into new clothes to sleep in. I had flu symptoms and was spitting green goo because of the cold jail cell the night before.

There was an arthritic numbness in my wrists and painful fingers, back and left hip bone. I also had a serious headache; I hadn’t had a headache in years.

DAY 3: Easter Monday
There was increased pain in my fingers, arthritic numbness in my wrists, and a headache. It took two days to eat half of a Subway tuna sandwich, due to stomach nervousness and lack of appetite. The bruise on my hip and cheekbone from the overuse and abuse of force hurt even more.

Florida Driver’s License Bureau:

It took two trips to the Florida License Bureau to clear the unforeseen problems. Due to the pressure of the driving job, it took a while to get proper help. By this time, I already racked up too many tickets and points. The class taken was an 8-hour course; apparently, it should have been a 12-hour course, which is what caused the continued cancellation without my knowledge. The Florida DMV discovered the error and granted me the new driver’s license at 5:15 PM, after an all-day ordeal at the DMV. I was forced to carry non-owner’s insurance because of the points.

I then started wondering about all the conflicting statements made by the young, abusive and disrespectful officer, half my age and old enough to be my son.

If I was charged with Resisting Arrest – non-violently, then why was I, a 54-year-old man who woke up with back pain, so excessively brutalized? Then who was doing the excessive beating, torture and damages to my body a Temple of Christ?

We all know from life experiences that some one is lying or stretching un-truths when statements conflict themselves or when statements are mathematically illogical.

In the beginning of the arrest, he told his buddy officers that “I was trying to get away.”

If I was trying to get away, then, why did I stop in the first place?

When I placed the car in park, did he mistakenly think I was trying to put it in 1st gear?

When he handed me over to the humane and respectful transport officer, he explained to him that I was a nice guy and VERY COOPERATIVE. Well if so, then why do I have so many bruises and so much pain on my body and face?

Please, someone one help me answer these questions about the statements he made that are defying logic?

My Recent Experience With Polk County Sheriff Profiling and Excess Brutality is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

My name is Laura Stinehart and I am housekeeper of a 62-year-old man and am writing this to you on his behalf, because he still can’t write due to the continuing pain in his right wrist. He is the only one that can give you an exact description of the torture and brutality that he went through in November of 2012. I’ve been needed as his caretaker since then. His name is Mr. John Minor and has for the past 14 years been fighting 3 forms of Lou Gehrig’s disease. They are called Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy (RSD for short), Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS for short), and Chronic Pain Syndrome. He has successfully been able to stay ahead of these diseases by working out. He is the longest living person with these diseases and is used as a reference and study guide for doctors worldwide. They consider him the utmost expert in these matters.

The big problem here is Mr. Minor’s diseases are invisible ones. You can’t “see” them until they rupture a patient’s skin. These diseases can also make you lose one limb at a time, and even kill you if you don’t fight. People don’t believe he’s sick because they can’t see his illnesses, but I have, and do every day. He has a clean record, not even a parking ticket on it. Five years ago, he had to go talk to the Chief of Police for Orange Beach, AL due to his ex-wife, Lori Minor, stressing him out. He had a semi-seizure in the Chief’s office because of it. The Chief asked if he could help John, and that started a supposed friendship. Prior to the events that took place on November, 2012, he had put 2 Obama stickers on his car. We pulled into a gas station and as I was pumping gas, Mr. Minor asked, “What are they doing?” When I looked up, I noticed a female police officer from the Orange Beach, AL pointing her finger at Mr. Minor in the way she’d point a gun. The officer’s name was found out later to be Officer Croll.

As she was pointing, several of the other male officers looked in his direction, like they were targeting Mr. Minor. She had continued to do this on other occasions, until Mr. Minor stopped going to this gas station. On November 7th, 2012, John had to deal with his ex-wife because she was causing problems again. When Mr. Minor went into the same police station to keep his appointment with the chief, the officers rushed him! Mr. Minor’s ex-wife had convinced them that he was a very dangerous man and had all the officers believing her. She also told them how to man-handle Mr. Minor due to previous injuries he has suffered. Mr. Minor was then arrested with no warning and not given any reasoning for it.

They put rusty shackles on him, like he was a hardened criminal, injured his arm, re-injured his left knee, and ruptured a tendon in his right wrist. He asked the male officer not to be rough with his knee because he just had surgery on it. The officer didn’t care and caused severe pain by jerking his knee this way and that. Because of John’s diseases, he’s unable to bend or turn in certain ways. The female officer tried to take his fingerprints. When she couldn’t do that because he couldn’t move his wrist the way she demanded, she jumped up and slammed his wrist down with all her weight, rupturing his tendon. She then gave up trying to print him and continued to torture him.

When John tried to help the officers do their job, the female told him to shut up or they would call in reinforcements. John said nothing. They tortured him for about 2 hours total. I was there because Mr. Minor was too sick to drive, but needed to talk to the Chief. The heavyset officer that re-injured John’s knee came out and, with a smug look on his face, gave me the “wait a minute” finger. He did this for about 2-4 minutes while I was looking at him, waiting patiently, wondering why was he there and where John was. Then, he finally told me they had arrested John. He told me to go talk to the officers at a certain door because he didn’t have time to talk to me. I thought that was extremely rude!

I went to the door and the female officer was even worse. Snotty and rude, she demanded John pay a “bail” to get out of jail – a $1,000 one. She wouldn’t say anything else. They didn’t seem to care that John takes medications daily for his diseases and that he needs them to live, nor did they seem to care that I didn’t know where I was because I’d never been to Orange Beach or where John keeps his medications in his house. John would have died in that jail without those medications and the cops didn’t care!

John’s best friend came and bailed him out the same day. John’s best friend, Bill McGinnis (aka Papa Rocco) was given 20 minutes to get there with the bail money. 38 miles in rush hour with a possibility of getting a speeding ticket, he came and bailed John out. The chief told me John would be out in a minute or two and didn’t have time to talk to him, but could see John on the following Monday. The chief took his time getting into his SUV and talking to me until the minute he saw John walk out! When John walked out, the chief did everything he could do to get out of the parking lot, so as to not talk to John. I noticed the change in attitude right away!

All John wanted to do was talk to the chief since this was the reason for John’s visit. John then proceeded to show me the injuries that he had received from the police station. I could only see his arm and noticed the scuffed and bleeding right wrist with the bulge on it. John went to his doctor of 14 years and he gave John a tetanus shot because of the rusty shackles. From that day on until the current day, I’ve been doing the best care giving ever for John! They have sent him back on his fighting his diseases by about 10 years! I’ve had to drive him places, cook his meals, and even help him walk up a flight of stairs and take off his boots so he could go to bed.

The physical damage that the officers have done has receded, but the mental has not! The last time his knee was injured, it took 12 years on a walker, crutches, canes, and then finally a very strong knee brace to bring his knee back to normal from a 100% inability to use the doctors predicted! While he was working on his knee, his memory went south. I mean, he couldn’t remember much past what just happened to him. 2 hours later and he’d forgotten what you’d talked to him about. Now, it’s worse! I have been helping him keep his appointments, and I help him remember to take his meds most of the time.

His physical appearance makes people believe he’s faking it, but I’ve seen the effects of what his diseases can do, have done, and are continuing to do to him! He is originally from Peoria, IL but has moved here to retire – and he can’t even retire because of people like his ex-wife and the officers in Orange Beach. The day finally came for him to go to court about this; he stood in front of the judge for 60 seconds and that was about it! The judge, Judge Bracket, stated there was no violence or any other degrading thing in these papers! The judge also stated that not only are these things on the ex-wife’s recordings one sided, but they are things he would say if he was upset with a child or spouse. There was nothing incriminating or violent about them!

The ex gave false dates as to times when John supposedly did these bad things. She is the one that has a violent criminal record, not John. The judge said  angrily to John’s ex, “This is BS and doesn’t belong here. Do not put this in front of me again!” He went off on John’s ex then turned to John and said, “I apologize for this sir. You are free to go!” Officer Croll ran up to the judge and yelled, “What about John saying he was going to get my job?” The judge looked at her, gave her a stern look and said, “This has nothing to do with this case. You need to leave.” Since then, she has tried to threaten John – because she’s “lovers” with John’s ex-wife.

John’s daughter Barbie contacted the chief and with a tape recorder and talked to him. He said the officers didn’t handcuff John. Barbie said, “You’re right, they put shackles on him!” The Chief stated that they didn’t, but that he would check into it. That was a week after the jail incident. The chief has called John and said he was sorry for what John has gone through, but that the video tape that would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt how corrupt the cops down here are has magically disappeared! The Chief said Mr. Minor doesn’t have to pull over when Officer Croll might try to pull him over for any reason. Mr. Minor was glad to hear that because he’s in fear that she has targeted him because of her lover, Mr. Minor’s ex-wife, who is vengeful towards Mr. Minor since he won’t give her what she wants.

Both Officer Croll and his ex-wife have been trying everything to make Mr. Minor’s life miserable, even to the point of the torture at the police station. How many other people less fortunate than John are getting worse treatment and can do nothing about it? If you have a badge and you abuse it by any means, it should be taken away from you! The Mayor knows all about RSD and what John has dealt with, but is unwilling to help, saying, “I can’t go against my people over this!” Mr. Minor’s doctor of 14 years, Dr. Eslava, will verify everything I have written because he became angry at how John was treated when John saw him the day after the jail episode, November 8th. John states he’s not looking for a lawsuit. He wants actions taken though. He says if he committed a crime, he would go to jail and be punished for it. He’s looking for the same treatment to these men and women that tortured him, for no reason. Even the Judge, Judge Bracket, found him innocent of any and all charges!

The punishment should also include the chief for letting this happen! I think that even the mayor should step down, knowing what he knows by working with John before; he knows all about John’s diseases and just wants to let it slide. Because of John’s diseases, no doctor will operate on him to fix his arm. Mr. Minor didn’t do anything wrong and has a clean record. If he was lying, how come there are 4 or more other witnesses, including his doctor of 14 years, who have seen the same thing? His doctor wouldn’t jeopardize his job to lie for John.

All he wants is to be heard and people that caused his torture and suffering to be punished. John will not go away, but continue to climb the “ladder” of officials until he finds someone to listen to him and help take action against these people for the torture and suffering. John is the VICTIM here, not a criminal or perpetrator. The cops are all sticking together; they don’t seem to care that they made a big mistake by picking on an innocent man and they’re not going to do anything about it.
Submitted to CopBlock.org by Laura Stinehart

62-Year-Old Man With 3 Forms of Lou Gehrig’s Disease Falesly Arrested and Brutally Tortured is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This video was submitted by Joe.

Woman Has Heart Attack After Being Tasered By Cops is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Sarasota, Florida – The Sarasota Police Department appears to have issue with the homeless.

After a recent posting regarding Darren Kersey and his arrest for “theft of city utilities,” charges which were dropped after an overnight in the City Jail, a video has surfaced of Officer Derrick Gilbert slamming Roger Fields face first into a metal wall during an arrest.

The incident, captured by security cameras, occurred on the morning of October 6, 2012 at a city bus deport.

Asked for comment Thursday, Police Chief Mikel Hollawa, whom is retiring on Friday, stated in an email that Mr. Fields “caused his own problems.” He later clarified, “If we’ve done anything inappropriate, we will deal with it just like we have in the past.”

City Manager Tom Barwin acknowledged that the incident “was clearly excessive force and will be referred to Internal Affairs immediately.” Barwin called Sarasota Police Chief Mikel Hollaway and told him to promptly suspend the officer. Officer Gilbert was placed on administrative leave several hours later.

Article from WTSP News.

Sarasota Police Officer Slams Homeless Man’s Head Into Metal Wall is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

According to the Journal Sentinel, a coalition of residents Tuesday presented the U.S. attorney’s office with hundreds of pages of documentation they say proves Milwaukee police have violated citizens’ rights through using excessive force, engaging in racial profiling and generating misconduct complaints that have cost taxpayers more than $14 million over the past 10 years.

The coalition gathered the materials after federal officials announced they were seeking public input into whether to conduct a “pattern and practice” investigation into the Police Department. Such an investigation would examine whether the department tolerates illegal or abusive behavior by officers and whether the department failed to prevent or address that type of conduct. Such an inquiry could result in federal oversight of the department.

Advocates and civil rights attorneys have said for years that such an investigation is needed. In September, after questions about the death of Derek Williams in police custody came to light, federal officials announced they were considering it.

“We’ve got a problem,” coalition member Harriet Callier said. “We’re paying with our lives. We’re paying with the loss of quality of life in our communities. We’re paying with fear and intimidation.”

And taxpayers are paying with cash, she said.

The coalition compiled information about citizen complaints and lawsuits against the police using the city’s online records system, known as Legistar. It provided the U.S. attorney and the Journal Sentinel with a list of 1,200 complaints it says has cost the city $14 million to defend and settle from 2002 through this year.

Submitted by Joe.

Milwaukee Police Misconduct Has Cost Taxpayers $14 Million, Group Says is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

[pr0xy404] “made this video showing the corruption that is commonly found in the police force.”

1st song: Vinnie Paz – David Icke – End Of Days ft Block McCloud
2nd song: LOWKEY – TERRORIST

Police Brutality Compilation 2012 is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

PINELLAS PARK, FL — Police tasered a man who says he was trying to save his family and his home. A neighboring house was the source of the fire, and it began to spread onto Dan Jensen’s roof. He grabbed a garden hose to put it out. Firefighters had not arrived on the scene, and he felt that his only choice was to attempt to stop the fire from spreading and destroying all of his property and memories. Next thing he knew, he “was laying in a puddle of water being electrocuted” in front of his children.

Police Taser Homeowner For Trying To Save Burning House With Garden Hose is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Calling 911 on the Syracuse Police Department

Sometimes you see things that change your whole perspective on an issue for better or for worse; unfortunately this time around, it was not for the better. My name is Brittany Pupello and I’m a twenty-three year old white female living in Syracuse on the north side. Let me state first and foremost that I’ve never had a criminal record or been arrested for anything in my life. I moved to Syracuse around five years ago from a small town up north to further my education and, ultimately, my life. I grew up with my mom being a single parent and raising three children on her own; I am the only girl and the middle child. Currently I work at Dominick’s Restaurant on Burnet Ave. as a part-time server so that I can go to my other job as a full-time student at Lemoyne College. I’m in my third year and I hold a B+ average, with a major in Business and Marketing. School and education has always been important to me because I see the value in getting a better understanding of the world so that one day I can do something significant enough to make my very own foot-print. I’ve always seen the potential that Syracuse city has to offer and have been slowly watching it bloom with new architecture and a solid business foundation that seems to grow every day. Telling you this background information is completely necessary to give you an idea about what kind of person I am. I’m a good person, a hard-worker, I enjoy being a part of my community and I have a need to succeed in life.
After half a semester down at school, I decided I was going to have a Halloween party with some friends to just let loose and have a good time; not something I get to do too often with work and school. It was set Saturday the 27th, it was the House of Tuttney’s (my roommate and my nickname) Halloween Bash and we went all out. We decorated for three days, spent over five hundred buck for food, decorations and the booze of course. We hired a DJ for the night and let the neighbors know they were more than welcome to join in, and they did. So the party was off to a great start the spirit of Halloween was alive and well. Everyone was having good time, I’d say there was a good twenty people present which isn’t much for my house as it’s pretty spacious. Eleven turned to twelve, twelve turned to one and one turned into the hour that my whole perspective changed on my rights to freedom as an American citizen. Two cops approached my door around one thirty after already trespassing through my front gate without permission.

They came up to the front door and demanded to come in. My friend told them that they were not welcome to come in but that she would go get the home owners to try and resolve the problem. They were there for a noise complaint which I thought was weird seeing as how they were there a half hour before handing out parking tickets in front of my house and there are no neighbors close enough to complain. Once I was told they were here I was the first one outside out of my two other roommates. They told me that I had to end the party and kick everyone out, never giving me an option to turn the music down or bring everyone inside off my porch, nothing they said to kick everyone out and that I would be ticketed as well. As soon as I started to try to reason with them about not ending the whole party a cop by the name of (cop 1) grabbed by my arm and started pushing me towards the gate. I was scared at that point so I started walking out, in no way, shape or form did I know what was to happen as soon as we turned the corner and lost visibility of the rest of the people at the party. The cop grabbed both of my arms and started twisting them behind my back and kept telling me to “shut the fuck up.” When I started screaming that he was hurting me he just kept tightening them harder and said something that will never sit well in my stomach, “You better shut the fuck up you prissy fucking bitch, you’re not getting away with shit.” I knew at that point that there was no turning back, I was going to jail.

The whole ride to the station I just kept hearing his words and thinking “getting away with what?” Oh, and let me just add Jennifer and myself were never read our Miranda rights. Once we got to the jail the officer yanked me out of the car with one hand around my upper arm asked me if I was ready to start talking. I told him he didn’t need to touch me seeing how I was handcuffed and now in the police building. He replied with, “What the fuck did you just say to me?” Once again he tightened his hand around my arm really hard and threw me into the cage down on the bench. The only thing I could do at this point was cry so that’s all I did, cry and think to myself it’s all a bad dream and how could these other officers see he was hurting me and not say a word?!

My best friend and roommate was also arrested and taken in a separate police van, she too had been brought in to the police station and was thrown in the cage. However, contrary to the way I was feeling Jen was more angry than anything else. What they failed to write in her police report was that she saw the way the whole thing went down, how the cop grabbed me and started pushing me for no reason. Jennifer was there to make sure her best friend didn’t go down alone so unjustly and for that I can never thank her enough. I won’t go explicitly in to her side of the story because I know she plans to write her version as well. After leaving the cages we had to give up all our belongings and blow into a breathalyzer test. I blew a .03 while Jennifer blew a .06. This means that we both literally had a couple beers in our system so none of our behavior stemmed from the alcohol. Once we were brought in they made us strip down completely naked in front of some woman and do a very classy “cough test” where you squat naked and cough to make sure there isn’t anything hiding in your rear end. Talk about degrading. We were given jail clothes we had to put on, everything down to our underwear and bra. Next we were thrown in a holding cell without any sort of direction as to what was going on or what was to happen next. So a brief description for those who haven’t had the luxury of experiencing the holding cells in jail. They are unheated, and not just cold, I’m talking freezing to where your pulling your sweatshirt (if you’re lucky enough to have) down over your legs and curling up in a ball just to stay from shivering. (Oh and a side note don’t bother asking for another sweatshirt because they won’t give it to you even though they have fifty extra.) There is no hand soap for after your done going to the bathroom and as well as no drinking fountain so unless you can bang on the door for long and hard enough to get someone’s attention then you go without anything to drink. The walls are covered in an array of different substances just a few being dirty hand prints and food. The floors look like they’ve never been cleaned before and seeing as how I had to lay on them for a good few hours because there wasn’t enough seating on the cement to go around it made the stench of urine and dirt that much harder to bear.

So here it was; the waiting game. Something told me we were not going to win. They eventually pulled us out for finger printing and told us that court was set for 9am the next morning. This meant we had roughly six or seven hours to go before we could even be seen by a judge to think about going home. Meanwhile, I’ll have you keep in mind that two house owners are in jail with no idea of the state of our house, belongings or pets. While in the holding cell it reminded me somewhat of what you see in the movies, everyone coming together and telling their story of how they ended up in there. One girl that I encountered especially stuck out because she said she had been in that holding cell for three days without them letting her have a shower or anything all because she violated probation. I get it, I’m not saying that a line has to be drawn somewhere when people mess up but three days in those conditions when she still had two to go, I would never wish that on my worst enemy.

I went through six hours of hearing and seeing horror stories of all types until finally it was 9 am and some kind of relief passed over my body like cool breeze, a sign of hope that this horrible nightmare would come to an end. After the trial I started to perk up a bit because I knew that meant it was time to be released or at least that’s what I thought. Once again I was terribly mistaken because they kept us in the holding cell for another four hours until I couldn’t take it anymore. I started knocking on the glass door to see what was going on, the workers would all look at me like I was some kind of caged animal but never came to ask me what I wanted. So I started banging on the door: I was freezing, exhausted, starving and I’d had enough. Finally a police officer approached me and kindly said, “What the fuck do you want”?! He scared the crap out of me but at that point I just didn’t care anymore. I asked him what was going on, what was taking so long and when would we be released. The officer decided that would be the moment to get his “sick kicks” out on me because he replied with an “Oh, you want to get out do you? Hey John [police officer up at desk], you better start doing your fucking job, this girl wants to go home!” The other officer began to laugh hysterically. I knew at that point in time that I was in hell except the role of the devil had been equally distributed to all the members of this so called “elite” workforce. Much to my surprise ten minutes later a different officer came over with the officer that just made a mockery out of me.

First he called Jennifer out, then me. When I came out he said that I had to apologize to the other cop for “running my fucking mouth” to him or else they would keep me in that cell until midnight that night. I sucked up my pride and began to apologize and crumbled saying that I was sorry, I was so tired and hungry…I was quickly cut off by a “shut the fuck up and stop acting like a fucking retard.” They did it; they managed to completely break my innocent spirit that I held onto so hard the whole time I was there. We changed our clothes (back into my belly dancer outfit with no shoes) and they sent us on our way out but not without one last kick to the back of our legs. When walking through the Metal Detector it went off because we had our jewelry in hand. Jennifer said to me as I looked back when it went off “don’t worry about it, we’re leaving”…just stating the obvious. The cop up at the desk replied with “Yeah, no shit!” Luckily Jens mom was waiting for us out in her car though it was a ways of a walk with no shoes and hardly any clothes; my feet were numb by the time we actually got to the car.

After arriving home and seeing our pets were okay, we were assessing the damage of everything. A few broken things and some money and credit cards were stolen, all because our house was left unattended. We’re actually very fortunate it wasn’t more.
What do I want out of this, what’s the point of me even writing this? I want to be heard. For that half a day that was snatched from me with no voice and no rights that are entitled to me as a hard working and good-intentioned member of our community, I want someone (or many people preferably) to read this and say shame on you to the officer that decided it was okay to man handle a 125 pound woman, because no one ever stepped in before and told him he wasn’t allowed to do that. I want further investigation into the corruption that’s taking place in the police system that seems to be a reoccurring thing with the Syracuse District. I want a few so-called “men” to lose their jobs that they don’t deserve to have, to feel an ounce of the pain I felt and am still feeling everyday having to think about what happened. I now have to take time, energy and money out of my pocket to try to fight for justice to be served. I’ve never really been intimidated by much my whole life, that’s just the way I am. However, when Monday came and I had to sign terms and conditions of my “pre-trial release” downtown at the civic center my heart was pounding at the thought of seeing that officer again.

Why is it that I have to be fearful of seeing someone who is given a job in the community I live in “to serve and protect the people?” I will be pressing charges on the officer that threw me around and I will be taking my story as public as I possibly can so that I can prevent this from happening to another innocent person. Please share my story and consider this happening to your daughter, sister or mother…it’s just simply not right.

Brittany Pupello

Shame On You, Syracuse Police! is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

TMZ reports:

This video is INSANE! A Halloween partier dressed as a Ghostbuster climbs on a police car in Eastern Canada this weekend and does a BACKFLIP over one very angry cop. But what happens next is even crazier.

The ghostbuster sticks the landing, but the cop is PISSED – grabbing the ghostbuster by the collar … and saying, “You’re a smart ass … come here!”

Another cop rushes towards the ghostbuster — slamming him against the cop car … and warning, “Don’t you f*ckin’ move … don’t f*ckin’ do that … you stupid idiot.”

The cops then handcuff the ghostbuster and place him under arrest for mischief and for being drunk in a public place.

After the man is in custody, the cops turn to the photog … and demand he turn off his camera saying, “You wanna be under arrest too?” The video cuts off right after the warning.

TMZ spoke with the photog who tells us … the ghostbuster was taken to a nearby station and was thrown in the drunk tank … but was released a short time later.

Oh, and here’s a shocker … we’re told the ghostbuster had been drinking heavily before the stunt.

Ghostbuster Arrested for Backflipping Over Police Officer is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights