Gangsters in Blue

The write-up below was originally posted at PhotographyIsNotACrime.com by Carlos Miller on April 1, 2013

Massachusetts police pepper sprayed and arrested a man for video recording them instead of walking away upon ordered.

They then spent the next several minutes handcuffing him and stuffing him inside a police car while a woman who repeatedly identified herself as an attorney recorded it all.

The incident took place in a bar district in Northampton. And the video was uploaded today. Other than that, there is not much information available other than the following brief description:

Northampton, MA police arrest an innocent black man outside of Tully O’Reilly’s for no reason. All he did was take out his phone to start recording the police. He did not fight back, did not resist, but was pepper-sprayed and slammed onto the ground and arrested.

The video starts off with some type of police action across the street. Cops look as if they have made some arrests but the suspects are sitting on a sidewalk and everything appears to be under control.

Then we see a man standing in front of the officers, appearing to hold up a camera, which is when several officers storm up to him and order him to walk away.

He continues to stand there, apparently recording, which is when an officer unleashes a cloud of pepper spray in his face while two other officers pounce on him, tackling him in the middle of the street.

The man begins yelling out, “I didn’t do anything.”

The attorney, who is only identified as “tired ofit” and who created her Youtube account on Saturday, apparently to upload the video because it’s the only one she has, also begins yelling at the officers that he did nothing wrong.

And soon her female companion begins yelling at the cops, accusing them of racism because the man they are arresting is black.

Russell P. Sienkiewicz, Northampton police employee

Meanwhile, a security guard who apparently works at one of the bars in the area begins ordering the two women away, but the one holding the camera does a good job of standing her ground.

At one point, the security guard claims the public sidewalk is private property that belongs to the bar, which is something we’ve heard before but it’s not true.

The lawyer’s companion continues to shriek at the cops, which is one of my biggest pet peeves because it ends up drowning out everything else in the video due to her proximity to the microphone.

The lawyer also maintains the camera in a vertical position, which means we are left with a third of a screen of actual video.

But other than that, she did assert her rights in a calm manner when they repeatedly tried to get her to move away from the area.

While the video clearly shows the typical display of aggression we’ve become accustomed to seeing from police, many commenters on the Youtube video side with the officers, including the following doozie from a Lindsay Pedersen.

While the man who was arrested did not physically threaten the officers, the cops will most likely argue that he was standing too close, which made them feel unsafe.

That still didn’t give them an excuse to attack him the way they did.

___________________________

Northampton Police Department

• 413-587-1100
• 29 Center Street, Northampton MA 01060
• jlawnicki@northamptonma.gov
• http://www.northamptonpd.com

Northampton, MA Police Employees Pepper Spray & Kidnap Videographer is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Source – Flikr

Medical examiner rules man’s death homicide
Adan Salazar
Infowars.com
February 19, 2013
A Maryland mother is distraught after her 26-year-old son died last month following his encounter with three off-duty sheriff’s deputies in a movie theater.

Westview Cinema

Robert Ethan Saylor’s death was ruled a homicide yesterday by the Baltimore County Medical Examiner’s office, declaring he died from asphyxia (suffocation) while in police custody.
Saylor apparently liked the movie Zero Dark Thirty, so much so that he wanted to stick around the theater for another showing; but a Regal Cinema employee wouldn’t have it and asked Saylor to leave.

When the theater patron refused to leave his seat, the employee summoned theater security who, according to reports, was comprised of three off-duty sheriff’s deputies: Lt. Scott Jewell, Sgt. Rich Rochford and Deputy First Class James Harris.

Allegedly a struggle ensued leading the “security guards” to handcuff Saylor, throwing his face on the ground where police say he began undergoing a “medical emergency;” Saylor was after all afflicted with Down Syndrome.

However, the “medical emergency” observed was likely Saylor writhing in pain, struggling to breathe.

According to the Daily Mail, Cpl. Jennifer Bailey, of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, stated, “They made numerous attempts to get him to leave, he was cursing at them, at that point they physically removed him, and he began having the medical emergency.” [sic]
She elaborated further stating the deputies in question “immediately removed the handcuffs and administered first aid” when they noticed the disabled man going into distress, adding “It’s a very sad case, and not something we see everyday.”

The case is now under investigation by the Maryland State Attorney’s Office.

The Huffington Post reported that Patti Saylor, Robert’s mother, stated Robert “has never had anyone put their hands on him in his life,” implying he may have reacted out of fear. “He would not have been doing anything threatening to anybody.”
In a post that has appeared in several places online, a woman named Lynda Willis has urged others to help spread awareness of the horrific story: The police officers remain on duty and were allowed to invoke their rights as police officers not to provide statements even though they were not on duty or performing official duties at the time. They were security guards in police uniforms.
The county police are investigating and the story has received local news coverage. Please share this everywhere both to ensure justice but also to raise public awareness.
Where is our humanity when a young, obviously disabled young man dies for the price of a movie ticket? My son is worth a lot more to me & society than eleven dollars.

A comment posted by the submission author: A reminder to police everywhere: you are employed to protect the people, not yourselves. If these three men have committed murder, or homicide, it is not the place of a police or sheriff’s department to protect them. If the department does protect them, at least in my eyes, they are complicit in murder. People do not pay taxes for police to go out and act like gang members and kill innocent people.

Today, Thursday March 21, 2012 is World Down Syndrome Day, help raise the awareness.

Below is contact information for the Frederick County Sheriff’s department:
Frederick County -Law Enforcement Center
110 Airport Drive East
Frederick, MD 21701

Sheriff’s Office featured in Maryland Sheriff Magazine

Contact Sheriff Jenkins and let him know your thoughts on these officers actions, and ask as to why they are still on duty?

Phone: (301) 600-2071

e-mail: cjenkins@fredco-md.net

Fax: (301)600-1527
Frederick County Maryland Facebook page:

A Petition to Sheriff Charles Jenkins – Justice for Robert Saylor – has received over 1100 Signatures thus far at Change.org.

Other Media Sources

New York Times

WUSA 9 

Frederick News Post

Buzzfeed

Man With Down Syndrome Asphyxiated By Police is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Hope Ademo gets the uncle sam suit out again soon.

(Video) From the CopBlock Archives…Uncle Sam Thanking the “Slaves” is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Christopher Micklovich booking photo

MANCHESTER – Christopher Micklovich, the bar patron whose bloodied, beaten face shocked Manchester residents following his 2010 arrest, was quietly paid $200,000 to settle a federal lawsuit he filed against the city and four police officers accused of beating him, the New Hampshire Union Leader has learned.

City Risk Manager Harry Ntapalis, who oversees claims and settlements against the city, said the payment was approved and paid in mid-May of last year. Ntapalis provided the information when asked Monday by the Union Leader.

Ntapalis said the city spent another $68,000 on bills for the lawyers who represented the four officers in the lawsuit.

“It was a global settlement. All his medication, pain, suffering, everything was taken into account,” Ntapalis said. He said the $200,000 settlement was reached through mediation among lawyers for all sides.

“There were demands for a much higher amount. We went back and forth and it was eventually decided,” Ntapalis said.

The payment is yet another wrinkle in the matter, which stemmed from the March 3, 2010, beating of Micklovich by four off-duty police officers outside the Strange Brew Tavern on Market Street.

Police initially downplayed the matter, but eventually asked the New Hampshire attorney general to look into the matter. After months of investigation, Attorney General Michael Delaney concluded the four officers had not committed a crime, but said it was not the Manchester Police Department’s finest hour.

“Look at the Attorney General’s report,” City Attorney Robert J. Meagher said. “That was a really exhaustive investigation – a couple thousand pages and the result was there was no wrongdoing found on the part of the police department.”

One of the four, Lt. Ernie Goodno, retired shortly after the incident. The other three were suspended, but their suspensions were eventually overturned by an arbitrator.

Submitted by Joe

____________________

Related:

Read $200,000 Settlement Acknowledged for Micklovich Beating via Garret Ean, FreeConcord.org, March 12, 2013.

The city of Manchester, NH pays $200,000 in downtown bar beating is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Despite the fact that it is completely legal to exercise you First Amendment Rights within the confines of USA, Antonio Buehler was arrest once again for doing just that.

Gonzales PD 830-672-8686

Antonio Buehler Arrested For Free Speech (Video) is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Not sure if this is the ID PD or the MN PD but if anyone finds out please post the phone number in the comments.

“And That’s How a Police Interaction Should Be” (Video) is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

(Click on the picture to see the full mohawk)

This just out from photography(IS)acrime.com

Officer Jason Kotarak saved 4 citizens and 41 cops from hearing “profanity” uttered by a man being physically abused by bouncers, on property next to the bar they bounced for, and and by Sgt. Walter McCullough of the Milwaukee Police Department.

“You can’t be filmin’ nothin like that” yelled a bouncer from Tutto’s on Old World Third in Milwaukee. “You gotta get outta here with that camera” yelled another mis-informed bouncer seen on a video.

“You can’t be loitering on our property” Said Neil Steffek of  “Suite” on Old World Third in Milwaukee who claimed sole rights over the public sidewalk abutting the club and pizza place he works for.  Mr. Steffek reportedly made a plea for help from Officer Jason Kotarak’s Mohawk who, under the cover of an MPD issued motorcycle helmet, promptly sprung into action and arrested the alleged police film-er.

“We had to arrest this guy” said Kotarak’s Mowhawk in an interview with photography-is-a-crime.com. “Although it is completely legal to film police, especially on a public sidewalk according to longstanding case law, we (Kotarak and his Mowhawk) decided that we’d go forward with contempt of cop charges. Just because something is constitutionally protected doesn’t mean it’s gonna fly on our beat.”

Officer Jason Kotarak’s Mohawk and/or Officer Jason Kotarak himself have now charged the film-er with 3 different charges. The first one was dismissed in November 2012 and 2 more are scheduled to go to trial this spring.

We obtained copies of the police reports and noticed some substantial discrepancies between them and the video. When asked about the differences, Mr. Kotarak’s Mohawk fell down to the floor and started crying and kicking it’s legs like a small child in the candy isle of a grocery store yelling, “I can do what I want, I’m a police officer’s Mohawk!”

Here’s the Video

(Satire) Officer Jason Kotarak’s Mowhawk Haircut Saves the Day! is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Video Link

Submitted by Eric Freerock

I wrote the following article pertaining to the Atlanta sting that seems to have been way under reported since Chris Dorner was on everyone radar.

Atlanta’s Official State-Sanctioned Gang Works With Atlanta’s Drug Gangs

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Eric Freerock

Ten Gang Members Arrested in Atlanta on Corruption Charges

While everyone is focused on Chris Dorner and corruption in the LAPD, a huge story out of Atlanta has been pretty much un-circulated. U.S. Attorney Sally Yates announced on February 12, 2013 that ten Atlanta area police officers have been arrested on corruption charges stemming from their involvement in street gang activity. That isn’t figurative; they were working with street gangs.

Officers from various Atlanta area agencies have been accused of providing protection for street gang members in their conducting of drug deals and trafficking. Often they would be in full uniform and use their patrol cars to protect informants and dealers exchanging cash and cocaine in backpacks. One officer from DeKalb County offered to use his patrol car in his conducting of protection, for a fee of $800. Payments for the protection racket ranged between $700 and $7,000 dollars to protect transactions occurring in crowded shopping areas and school parking lots.

In a secretly recorded conversation Office Dorian Williams, of DeKalb County, told one of his cohorts, Shannon Bass, that if shots had to be fired that wounding someone was not an option. He said, “I gotta fucking kill him, I just can’t shoot him.” Both of them were among those arrested in this FBI sting operation.

The FBI investigation started back in August of 2011 when the ATF was alerted by undercover agents that the local gangs had law enforcement personnel on their payroll.

Those arrested were:
•Atlanta police Officer Kelvin Allen, 42, of Atlanta.
•DeKalb County Police Department Officers Dennis Duren, 32, of Atlanta and Dorian Williams, 25, of Stone Mountain.
•Forest Park Police Department Sgts. Victor Middlebrook, 44, of Jonesboro,and Andrew Monroe, 57, of Riverdale.
•MARTA Police Department Officer Marquez Holmes, 45, of Jonesboro.
•Stone Mountain Police Department Officer Denoris Carter, 42, of Lithonia.
•Federal Protective Services contract Officer Sharon Peters, 43, of Lithonia.
•DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office former jail officers Monyette McLaurin, 37, of Atlanta and Chase Valentine, 44, of Covington.

So just because the focus of the country is currently on the LAPD we cannot forget that corruption is widespread all over the country. It’s sad that something this huge is going on without any national coverage because this should be front page national news.

Sources:
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/21136254/sources
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/10-metro-police-officers-face-corruption-charges/nWM4j/

Eric Freerock
ericfreerock@freerockpress.com

In addition to running Free Rock Press, I also admin and write at over at OhioCopBlock.org, as well as admin the Facebook groups for Ohio, Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.

Ten Atlanta Officers Arrested and Charged in Corruption Sting is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Antonio Buehler of Peaceful Streets Project is harassed, again, by members of Austin PD.

Mr. Buehler has a grand jury hearing tomorrow in Austin to address his false arrest over a year ago.

If you have a minute, let APD know how you feel about cops detaining people who record police.

APD-715 E 8th St  Austin, TX 78701

“Coward” APD cops Deatain Peaceful Steets Members is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This post is from Tim of MilwaukeeCitizenPress youtube channel.

Tim was arrested a few months back for filming police in Milwaukee. Here is that video.

I find it interesting that this man, Johnny Sgrignouli, is willing to do such a poor investigation without flinching. Is this how they all end up?

You can reach MPD Internal Affairs at 414-935-7939

Here’s How Milwaukee PD Handles Internal Affairs Complaints… is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights