FUCK THE POLICE

After dropping two passengers at Embankment, by the River Thames in central London, Mr Raphel pulled into what he had thought was a side street and left his car on double yellow lines.

Unfortunately, he had parked in an area of Westminster called Horse Guard Avenue, less than quarter of a mile from Number 10, and in the exact area a parade of ex-servicemen and women were due to march to mark the end of the First World War.

Last night, Mr Raphel said police who were surrounding his car when he returned at 2am told him he had been seen on CCTV running from the car.

They told him when they lost sight of him on camera, they carried out two controlled explosions in his vehicle because of the ‘sensitivity’ of the area.

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Boise police already had the suspect handcuffed when they rammed a Taser gun into his anus and fired.

Then they placed the Taser gun against his genitals and threatened to do the same.

At the time, the domestic violence suspect was lying face down with three officers on top of him, according to the Idaho Statesmen.

He couldn’t even breathe.

It was all caught on tape. Here is the exchange that took place:

Cop: Do you feel this?

Suspect: Yes, sir.

Cop: Do you feel that? That’s my …

Suspect: Okay

Cop: … Taser up your ass.

Suspect: Okay

Cop: So don’t move.

Suspect: I’m trying not to. I can’t breathe.

Cop: Now do you feel this in your balls?

Suspect: I do, sir. I’m not going to move. I’m not gonna move.

Cop: Now I’m gonna tase your balls if you move again.

(A full minute goes by)

Cop: Okay, I’m gonna take this Taser out of your asshole now. Are you going to fight with me?

Suspect: No, not at all, sir.

Cop: (to another cop) So far, for the last two minutes, he’s been cooperative.  But then my Taser’s in his ass.

Not only was the exchange documented on the cop’s own tape recorder, the suspect ended up with burns on the inside of his right buttock. These were evident in photographs taken ten and 13 days after the incident.

Also, another cop who taped an interview with the suspect at the jail later that night ended up erasing the taped interview.

So you would think the first cop would be prosecuted for sexual assault? Or maybe the second cop be charged with tampering with evidence?

After all, we have a case in Florida where a group of 14-year-old boys are going to be tried as adults because they sodomized one of their classmates with broomsticks and hockey sticks.

But the rules are different when you are a cop.

After an internal investigation, police determined that the first officer violated the department’s use-of-force policy. And the second officer also violated department policy when he erased the taped interview.

Both officers have been “disciplined”, according to police.

But details of the discipline were not released. And neither were the names of the cops.

After all, police say, this is an “internal personnel matter.”

That’s right, nothing to see here. Move along now.

In fact, we would probably not have even heard of this story if it wasn’t for Boise’s Community Ombudsman, Pierce Murphy, who happens to be a former cop. His job is to investigate complaints of misconduct against cops.

Although he never names the cops, he did provide an extensive and graphic 43-page report on his findings.

The officers all told Murphy that the suspect was fighting, resisting and using profanity the entire time they were dealing with him, yet he notes that none of this is evident in the audio recording.

The Complainant was not completely still in response to the orders from police to stop moving.  The Complainant was moving his torso and his legs in a manner consistent with trying to breathe more easily.  The Complainant’s movements were not consistent with trying to escape from the police, attempting to head butt them, trying to kick any officer, or assaulting the officers.

Discussion of Finding: Consistent statements from the Complainant, Officer #1, Officer #2, Officer #6, and Officer #7.  Although Officer #4 described the Complainant as “fighting” with the officers, yelling profanities, not doing what was commanded, kicking, and attempting to head butt them, the audio recording does not support her contention.  No yelling of profanity by the Complainant can be heard.  When the officers first entered the residence, the Complainant exclaimed, “God damn it.  What the fuck?”  The Complainant used no profanity after this.  Officer #3 also stated that the Complainant was kicking.  However, no officer can be heard on the recordings telling the Complainant to, “Stop kicking,”  or, “If you kick again, I’ll tase you.”  Instead, between the two of them, Officer   #3 and Officer #4 told the Complainant several times to, “Stop moving,”.

Murphy also determined that the officers could have killed the suspect by piling on top of him like they did.

In the course of this investigation, it was clear that the involved officers were familiar with the concept of Positional Asphyxia as it relates to prisoners who are hobbled.  However, none of the officers seemed to be aware of the possible danger posed by Positional Asphyxia to the Complainant in this case.  This was a situation where a heavy, not terribly physically fit, middle-aged man had engaged in heavy physical exertion at the door.  He was then placed face-down on the ground and handcuffed with his hands behind his back and the weight of three officers on his body.  This may have had the effect of restricting the expansion of the Complainant’s chest and diaphragm, thus inhibiting the ability of the Complainant to get adequate oxygen and exhale sufficient carbon dioxide to compensate for the physical exertion in which he had just engaged.

Around the nation, many in-custody deaths have been attributed to Positional Asphyxia.  The following is taken from an article appearing in the June, 1995, National Law Enforcement Technology Center Bulletin produced by the US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.

But despite the sodomy, the torture, the destruction of evidence and even the attempted manslaughter, Murphy’s recommendation was that these officers simply needed more training.

Related posts:

1. More taser-crazy cops in Idaho

To paraphrase the late Hunter Thompson, “When the going gets weird, the weird go to New Jersey.” That’s the only way to explain the case of Moorestown policeman Robert Melia. Last year, he and his former girlfriend, Heather Lewis, were arrested for sexual assaulting three young girls over a five-year period.

While this may be depraved enough, detectives found what a true degenerate Melia is after they searched his home. On his computer they found a video of a girl being sexually assaulted. They also found video of Melia — get this — having sex with cows.

Since beastiality is not technically a crime in New Jersey, investigators charged Melia with animal cruelty. And this, believe it or not, is where our story gets even weirder. Under state law, a prosecutor must prove the animal was tormented to in cruelty cases. Which led to a rather unusual argument in the court room…

Police say Heather Lewis also molested the three girls​Burlington County assistant prosecutor Kevin Morgan was left to assert that forcing a cow to give you a blowjob — especially a young, innocent calve, which is what Melia fancied — fit the definition of cruelty. “I think any reasonable juror could infer that a man’s penis in the mouth of a calf is torment,” he told the judge. “It’s a crime against nature.”

But that’s when Judge James J. Morley went a little weird on his own. He waxed philosophically about the mental powers of cows, noting that they couldn’t actually talk — a breakthrough observation — and thus had no way of expressing whether they liked giving degenerate cops blowjobs or not. And given that the jury had no way of reading the five cows’ minds — yes, Melia is a serial cow rapist — there’s no way the prosecution could prove the cows were tormented.

Melia walked.

He’s still facing charges for molesting the three girls, but he’s likely beat his biggest legal hurdle. It’s bad enough to be sent to the pen as a child rapist. But being a cow rapist would certainly preclude membership invites from the finest Aryan gangs. They do have their tandards.

via True Crime Report

Ardor in the court, Part 3

Editor’s note: Read Part 1 and Part 2 of “Ardor in the Court.”

By Alan Berlow

If anyone had any doubt that the Texas justice system operates in a parallel universe, look no further than the latest decision by the state’s highest court in the case of death-row inmate Charles Dean Hood. On Wednesday the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) said it wasn’t interested in examining whether there was a conflict of interest in Hood’s 1990 trial simply because District Attorney Thomas S. O’Connell Jr., Hood’s prosecutor, had had a long-term sexual relationship with presiding Judge Verla Sue Holland, an affair the two tried to hide for 20 years.

In 1989, Hood was convicted of murdering Ronald Williamson and Tracie Lynn Wallace. The Holland-O’Connell affair was first reported by Salon in 2005, quoting anonymous sources. Judge Holland refused to either confirm or deny the affair at the time. A year ago this month, Holland and D.A. O’Connell, both since retired, acknowledged under oath that they had had a long-term sexual relationship, which was never revealed during more than a decade of appeals by Hood’s lawyers. In her defense, Judge Holland said the affair ended more than two years before Hood’s trial. But O’Connell also testified that the two had discussed marriage, and recalled that the affair continued as late as mid-1989 — just before Hood’s trial. He said the two continued to have a “good relationship,” sans sex, during and after the trial. He said the two took a trip together in 1991.

Rather than address the affair directly, the CCA ruled 6-3 on a technical question, concluding that Hood should have raised the issue at his original trial. But Hood’s lawyers couldn’t prove the widespread rumors of the affair before Hood’s trial. The CCA had earlier criticized Hood for failing to present any “personal knowledge” of the affair, a virtually impossible hurdle given that, as far as we know, there were no witnesses to the lovemaking other than the two principals, no Paris Hilton-style video, and the judge and her boyfriend weren’t talking. The CCA also said Hood’s claims were based on “rumor,” not fact. But when Hood’s lawyers were able to present the detailed facts of the affair, based on the confessions of the principals, the CCA said it was not interested in these facts.

Needless to say, some people have found the behavior of the since-retired judge and prosecutor, and that of the CCA, since Judge Holland was once a member of the very panel weighing her actions, more than a little unsavory. A score of legal ethicists concluded that the participation of the two at Hood’s trial was unethical, unprofessional and unconstitutional, and the legal basis for a new trial self-evident. Hood’s lawyers insist the affair rendered the conviction and death sentence invalid. Now they will have to convince a federal court that Hood has a right to a new trial.

Andrea Keilen, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, which represents Hood, said, “No one would want to be prosecuted for a parking violation — let alone for capital murder — by a district attorney who is sleeping with the judge. Yet the Court of Criminal Appeals is unmoved. We are outraged by this breakdown in the integrity of the justice system.” John Rolater, an assistant district attorney for Collin County, which is pursuing the case against Hood, called the CCA ruling “a significant procedural victory.”

Given the failure of a majority of the CCA to see any conflict of interest in the Hood case, it should come as no surprise that not one of the court’s justices saw fit to recuse him- or herself from hearing arguments about Hood, despite the fact that eight of the nine justices had served with Judge Holland. Holland served on the CCA for nearly four years after leaving the district court where she presided over Hood’s death sentence. Hood’s lawyers presented evidence suggesting that some of the justices might have been aware of the affair.

In addition, the CCA’s presiding judge, Sharon Keller, who has described herself as a “prosecution-oriented person,” was tried in August before the State Commission on Judicial Conduct on five counts of judicial misconduct, including violations of due process in another death case in 2007. Advised by her staff that lawyers for death-row inmate Michael Richard — scheduled to be executed that night — needed an extra 15 minutes to file a final appeal, Keller had replied, “We close at 5.” Richard was executed that night without having his appeal heard by the CCA. The outcome of Keller’s misconduct proceeding should be announced soon.

Sadly, the conflicts of interest in the Hood case don’t end with Judge Holland, D.A. O’Connell and the CCA. Before the Hood case reached the CCA, the case was briefly assigned to District Judge Robert T. Dry who presided over Judge Holland’s divorce, and was a defendant with Holland’s former husband in a million-dollar lawsuit. Dry issued several rulings unfavorable to Hood, including one that infamously scheduled a hearing for two days after Hood was set to die. Dry recused himself the day after I inquired whether his relationship with the Hollands created a conflict of interest.

The state’s ongoing effort to see that Hood is executed is spearheaded by Collin County District Attorney John Roach, who succeeded O’Connell. Roach and Holland both crossed party lines in 1982 to urge voters to reelect O’Connell, a Democrat. Roach and Holland had overlapping terms as Collin County judges for 15 years, and for most of that time O’Connell was the county D.A. Roach told the CCA that Hood’s lawyers had been gaming the system to delay the execution, and that they “possessed a more than adequate factual basis upon which to raise his claim” about the affair long before Holland and O’Connell came clean. Among the evidence Roach cited were a series of motions and letters Hood filed — without a lawyer — which Roach acknowledged were based on nothing more than rumors, and various news reports about the alleged affair that quoted anonymous sources.

But if Hood had a “factual basis” to raise the claim, why didn’t Roach — who had access to the same information and an obligation to find the truth and not just win a conviction — use those facts to investigate whether the conviction of Hood obtained by his predecessor as D.A. had been compromised, and whether other attorneys in his office had knowledge of the affair?

He might start by asking his Assistant D.A. John Schomburger, who was O’Connell’s co-counsel at Hood’s trial,  and who now heads Roach’s felony trial division and continues to be actively involved in efforts to execute Hood. Given his decades-long association with the judge and former D.A., it is not entirely surprising that Roach opposed efforts by Hood’s attorneys to ascertain whether rumors of their affair were true. Hood’s lawyers asked that Roach be disqualified from any further participation in the case. Naturally, that motion was denied by the CCA.

Roach had several reasons for preventing the truth about the affair from coming out. In addition to his friendship with O’Connell and Holland, Roach no doubt realizes that a ruling that the relationship deprived Hood of a fair trial could mean that scores of cases O’Connell brought before Judge Holland were also tainted and could be reversed.

In 2008, Roach was named the state’s top prosecutor by the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Accepting the award, Roach said: “Recognition by my fellow Texas prosecutors as Lone Star Prosecutor of the Year is a great honor — and doubly so because of our shared dedication to truth, justice and the rule of law.”

Like many D.A.’s, Roach has campaigned on his office’s high conviction rates, taking special note of murder convictions. Similarly, Judge Holland undoubtedly knew that winning convictions and death sentences in Texas was a career booster for her good friend O’Connell. Even if Holland were able to treat both parties fairly in every case she heard, the courts have ruled that the appearance of such bias is enough to compromise a judge. In the Hood case, Holland was obliged to recuse herself with or without a request from the defense. But she didn’t. Certainly, no defendant in his right mind would have elected to have a case tried by this pair of sometime lovers.

via lamerville

When they say the Wii is addictive, they don’t necessarily mean “so addictive that policemen will forget they’re on a drug raid and start playing Wii”, but now we have video proof that this is exactly the case.

The amazing fact about this video, taken by a home security system, is the length of the Wii session that ensues. The policemen are completely taken by a game of Bowling, and they keep on playing for about nine hours. And I consider myself a gamer, with my puny 5-hour sessions. See the video, bound to become an instant Youtube hit, after the break.

From what we can see in the video, the policemen actually get pretty good at the game. That’s what 9 hours of practice does to your Wii Bowling skills.

via dailylulz

“A group of black Philadelphia police officers have filed a lawsuit against the police department and the city, alleging a hostile work environment due to a private website popular with police. Their story has received wide coverage. From CNN: ‘The suit alleges white officers post on and moderate the privately operated site, Domelights.com, both on and off the job. Domelights’ users “often joke about the racially offensive commentary on the site … or will mention them in front of black police officers,” thus creating “a racially hostile work environment,” according to lawyers for the all-black Guardian Civic League, the lead plaintiff in the suit.’ The site appears to be owned and operated by a member of the police force, but it is not funded or operated by the city. Management clearly knows it exists; it is possible police force members access it on the job, and the suit says some of them reference it on the job. Individual police force members have a right to their own opinions, but management has a responsibility to enforce the law fairly and equitably across the city and among their own workforce. What is the solution here?”

via SlashDot

Think you could never be duped into falling for a con? Think again. On The Real Hustle, see how an expert trio of scam artists can deftly steal your money, possessions and even your identity. This trickster trio takes on savvy New Yorkers and shows how even the most sophisticated city-slickers can be duped at an ATM, a restaurant or on the street. Featuring: Scratch ticket scams, café capers, apartment hoaxes, flea market fleecings, laptop lies, credit card cons, public transit pickpocketing and more. Theyll take Manhattan and everything in it! Starring: personal security consultant and con expert Apollo Robbins, sleight-of-hand and psychology specialist Ryan Oakes and Dani Marco, a sexy actress skilled in the art of visual distraction.

• Card Clone Con
• Hotel for Hustlers
• Scratch and Lose
• Hot Wheels Hustle
• Taking the Bus
• Good Samaritan Swindle
• The Cafe Caper
• Carjack Con
• Con Fishing
• The Tenant Trap
• Eavesdrop Scam
• The Distract and Conquer Con
• The Insecurity Guards
• Laptop Switch-Off
• Lotions and Potions Scam
• The Parking Hustle
• The Dumpster Dive Caper
• The New Monte
• Cash Machine Hustle
• The Night Deposit
• It’s in the Bag

via privacypete

• Police Abuse, Brutality and Misconduct in America
• Ihatepolice.com video and news collections on police brutality and other misconduct
• Amnesty International 2005 World Report
• PoliceCrimes.com: News on police brutality and other police misconduct
• Bringing awareness of Excessive Force, Malicious Prosecution and Police Brutality.
• Documented Video relating to Police Brutality - 2003
• Names of Victims of Police Brutality In Canada
• Police Misconduct, Brutality and Use of Force in Canada - 2001 - includes links to lists for Canadian brutality victims in years going back to 1975
• Stolen Lives Project - project documenting cases of killings by U.S. law enforcement
• Copwatch Project Includes the Copwatch Database: a permanent, searchable repository of complaints filed against police officers.
• Roast A Pig Help Expose Police Brutality.
• South African site where you can report police abuse.
• Collection of articles on police brutality in South Africa
• BadCops Police Oversight Portal - news, information, and resources focused on police misconduct and civilian oversight
• ER Docs claim they treat far too many cases of injuries resulting from police brutality
• World wide Police Brutalities archive

A 42-year-old Louisiana man has died, apparently of a broken neck, after being pulled over by a police deputy.

A dash cam video shows Deputy Chris Sturdivant of the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office with his arms around Adam Stogner’s neck after the officer suspected the man of putting a small quantity of drugs into his mouth.

Stogner died along Interstate 12. Preliminary results from the coroner show that Stogner died from “severe coronary artery disease, an enlarged heart, and a fracture of the hyoid bone in his neck.”

According to CBS affiliate WAFB, the sheriff’s office says Stogner did not put his truck in park when he was pulled over. This may have led the officer to believe Stogner was planning to flee the scene. And the deputy believed Stogner was impaired.

A substantial portion of the dash cam video can be seen here.

This video is from Fox News, broadcast July 13, 2009.

Download video via RawReplay.com

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