Encounter With 'Erratic' Black Man Ends With Officer-Involved Shooting in El Cajon: PD

He put his hand in his pocket, pulled out an object and pointed it at police, effectively committing suicide

A black man was shot in an encounter with El Cajon Police Tuesday, multiple witnesses said, while a woman wailed nearby, demanding to know why police shot her brother.

Hours later, police officers told NBC 7 San Diego the man, now identified as Alfred Olango, was acting erratically and failed to comply, although they did not release details on the specific threat he presented to officers.

The community is approximately 30 miles east of downtown San Diego.

One witness recalled seeing an officer fire five rounds. Another man said police fired Olango who had his hands out to his side. A manager inside a nearby restaurant said he refused to remove his arms from his side. Police said witness video showed Olango did not have his hands in the air.

Witnesses questioned the police motives in the shooting. Crowds gathering by the scene of the shooting began chanting, demanding answers from police.

One witness at a local restaurant told NBC 7 police came and took away their phones following the incident.

"I didn’t hear any command ‘Halt’, ‘Stop’ or ‘I’ll shoot,’" said one witness identified as George. "I didn’t hear any command or yelling. I didn’t hear the man say anything. Next thing I see ‘Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow’ – five shots.”

Police Shot El Cajon Suspect Minutes After Arriving at Scene

El Cajon Police spokesman Rob Ransweiler said police responded to a radio call of a 30-year-old "erratic subject."

Ransweiler said, Olango did not comply but would not say if the man had a weapon. "I have the information," Ransweiler said. "It’s an ongoing investigation, so I’m not releasing details of the investigation.”

One video posted to FB shows a woman, identified as Olango's sister, crying. In the video, she’s heard saying: “I called you to help me but you killed my brother.”  “Why couldn’t you guys tase him? Why, why, why, why?” the woman cries out.

Michael Ray Rodriguez witnessed the shooting as it unfolded right in front of him. “When I seen the suspect, he had his hands up,” Rodriguez said holding his arms out to the side. "I seen two officers with their firearm on him." "The man’s hands are up. No shirt," he added. "He didn’t have no shirt."

The suspect's sister said she was encouraging her brother to do what police were telling him to do; she indicated to NBC 7 that her brother was not showing his hands.  Police said witness video showed Olango did not have his hands in the air.

Original report here


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St Louis cop accused of planting a gun on a black man he shot

Jason Stockley, now 35, was charged in May with first-degree murder for the December 2011 shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith, 24, who was initially stopped on suspicion of taking part in a drug deal.

Smith drove off, causing a car chase that ended with Stockley shooting the man five times with his own personal AK-47-style rifle, equipped with a high-capacity drum magazine, KPLR 11 reported.

The footage, which was dropped off by an unknown party at the station, is shot from two cameras inside Stockley's car: one showing the view through the windscreen, another showing the rear seat.

It begins with Stockley, who is the car's passenger, exiting the car, which is in a Church's Chicken parking lot, with his personal rifle - in contravention of department policy.

He walks over to Smith's car, which drives away fast, brushing by him, over a sidewalk corner.

CCTV footage of the event shared by the St Louis Post-Dispatch shows that Smith had hit the police SUV while trying to reverse away.

Prosecutors say Stockley fired his department-issued handgun at Smith as he drove away, but as there is no audio on this part of the footage, this cannot be confirmed.

Stockley then returns to the car. Audio on the interior cameras begins as he calls in 'Shots fired' and a high-speed chase begins.

The cops exceed 80mph on wet roads, with driver Brian Bianchi at one point missing a corner and hitting a tree full on.

Audio is unclear, but prosecutors say that during the pursuit Stockley shouted '...going to kill this mother-f****r, don't you know it.'

Toward the end of the video Smith slows and swings toward the sidewalk, at which point Stockley says 'Hit it' and the cop car slams into the back of Smith.

Stockley and Bianchi then exit the vehicle and surround the car, with Stockley firing five times into the car with a pistol, hitting Smith with each shot.

The shooting was originally ruled justified after a .38-caliber Taurus revolver was found on Smith's body, but prosecutors claim the gun only had Stockley's DNA on it.

That allegation casts the final scene of the video - in which Stockley returns to his vehicle and appears to rummage through bags in the back before returning to Smith's vehicle - in a curious light. The video ends there.

But footage recorded on a cell phone by a witness shows the details around that moment.

Police remove Smith - who appears dead - from the car and laying him on the road; Stockley walks away to talk to other officers before returning to his police SUV.

After rummaging in the car, he then returns to Smith's vehicle before getting into the driver's seat. It's claimed that he found the revolver there.

Stockley was known to have unloaded the gun, possibly explaining the DNA, and his lawyer says he was looking for a clot pack to stanch Smith's bleeding.

But Smith's fiancée told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that she believed he planted the gun on Smith. 'Anthony didn't have a gun with him that day, and if he had a gun, it wouldn't be that revolver,' she said. 'That's just not a gun that any young guy is going to carry.'

Prosecutors haven't made the same claim, but say Stockley's DNA was confirmed by lab analysis.

Although the shooting took place in December 2011, it was only on May 16 of this year that circuit attorney Jennifer Joyce charged him with first-degree murder.

The police chief at the time of the shooting, Dan Isom, said on May 18 his investigators gave Joyce's office evidence years ago.

'Police reports, forensic analysis, video and the autopsy have been available for four years, however the circuit attorney in a criminal investigation had not reviewed any of this information until three weeks ago,' he said. 'There is no new information that was not known four years ago or discovered by the current chief.'

Joyce said police only involved her in the case in 2012, and questioned why Stockley stayed on the force until he left in 2013 if Isom was concerned.

'There is a lot of evidence we have, including witness statements that were developed after (Isom) left the police department that he would have no knowledge of,' she added. 'He's just speculating as to what we're looking at.'

A federal judge has prohibited release of the videos and police reports by lawyers who obtained it as part of a civil case in which the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners paid a $900,000 settlement for Smith's young daughter.

Stockley is currently free on a $1million bond secured by the St Louis Police Officers' Association. Bianchi was not accused of wrongdoing and is still on the force.

Original report here


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Mass: Braintree Police Chief Russell Jenkins resigns under cloud

Braintree Police Chief Russell Jenkins, whose department is under investigation for an evidence room scandal that could compromise hundreds of drug cases, will retire early next month at the urging of the town’s mayor, officials said Thursday.

“Clearly, this is not the way I wanted to end my career, but the mayor wants new leadership and I serve at his pleasure,” Jenkins wrote in an e-mail sent to the police department late Wednesday night.

Jenkins’ leadership has come under question after an independent audit, made public last week, found that more than $400,000 in cash, between 60 and 70 guns, and thousands of drug samples had gone missing from the evidence room since 1999.

Evidence Officer Susan Zopatti fatally shot herself in May, a week after the auditor met with her for the first time. When the auditor examined the evidence room, he found bags of drugs and cash torn open, with large amounts missing. Two guns were recovered from Zopatti’s home.

The attorney general’s office is investigating. Police have recovered most of the guns and about $140,000 of the cash.

Drugs, guns, and $400,000 missing from Braintree police
An audit found that heat-sealed drug bags were cut, bags of cash were sliced open, and at least 60 guns had disappeared.

In a statement, Braintree Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan said he had accepted Jenkins’s retirement. He did not discuss the circumstances of his departure.

“I appreciate and commend his nearly 34 years in the Braintree Police Department and the community of Braintree,” Sullivan said. “I wish him and his family well.”

Through a spokesman, Sullivan declined to comment further.

In a statement, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said the problems uncovered by the audit “mandate changes.”

“Today’s announcement is an important step forward,” he wrote. “The Norfolk DA’s Office will work with new leadership as we continue to assure the rights of defendants.”

In his announcement, Jenkins said he would have preferred to remain in the department to oversee the implementation of new policies for the evidence room, but intended to focus on the positive parts of his career and “block out” the negatives.

“I have said before that haters will hate,” he said. “But by and large we have the support of our community. They continue to believe in us and depend on us.”

So far, 32 drug cases have been dismissed because of tainted evidence, according to Morrissey’s office. But the final tally will likely be much higher.

“I think we have to wait for a real complete investigation to determine what was going on there to determine what other kinds of evidence could have been tainted,” said Nancy Bennett, deputy chief counsel at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state’s public defender agency. “There’s so much missing. If you look at the audit, thousands of pieces of evidence.”

While the audit suggests that much of the missing criminal evidence may have been disposed of in undocumented “purges” conducted in 2009 and 2012, Bennett noted that there is no proof either way. Zopatti took over in the evidence room in 2013, and evidence continued to vanish.

Bennett said it “remains to be seen” whether every case that involved the evidence room is tainted.

“I think in a way it’s good that this problem has come to light because what was worse was the people who believed that they were getting justice and their cases were being fairly handled,” she said.

Bruce Gordon, a retired State Police major who runs Narcotics Audit Solutions and conducted the Braintree audit, said most departments have never had their evidence rooms assessed.

“It’s a ticking time bomb,” he said. “You can’t bury your head in the sand. Either your evidence is OK or it’s not. And if it’s not, fix it.”

Gordon credited Braintree’s mayor and police chief and Morrissey for reacting swiftly after receiving the audit results.

“Departments should be paying attention to their evidence,” Gordon said. “That’s what convicts people, takes their liberty away, and frees them. It has to be a priority, done by people willing to do the job and given the time to do it.”

“There are a lot of hard-working and honest cops who risk their lives to make arrests,” Gordon added. “It’s a tragedy these cases are going to be thrown out.”

Town Councilor Charles C. Kokoros, who heads Braintree’s public safety committee, praised Jenkins for his four-year tenure as chief.

“He’s been a great community police chief, he’s been a great police officer over the years,” he said. “He’s a great person and a family guy and a great part of the community, and I wish him a great retirement.”

Councilor John C. Mullaney defended Jenkins, saying he did not believe his abrupt departure was justified.

“Chief Jenkins has a long history in the department; he was an exceptional person. I do not think that the condition of that department was his fault alone,” he said.

It was Jenkins who requested the audit, Mullaney pointed out, and he moved to correct the problem. But Mullaney acknowledged that Jenkins should have noticed something was amiss sooner.

“I have always believed that when a mistake is made, the person who can best correct the mistake is the person who is working there, not by bringing in a new person,” he said.

Original report here



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Sacramento police release dash-cam video of black homeless man's fatal shooting as it's revealed that cops fired 18 times at meth-addled former corrections officer

It's all  very easy to say that cops should go easy on mentally ill and drug affected people but it is precisely those people who are most unpredictable -- and therefore not  very susceptible to normal procedures.  Public safety requires such people to be treated LESS indulgently


Sacramento police released more details Tuesday about the summer fatal police shooting of a homeless man, including videos of the incident.

Under pressure from members of the city council and the mayor to provide more information about the shooting, Police Chief Sam Somers revealed Tuesday that officers fired 18 shots, 14 of which struck 50-year-old Joseph Mann on July 11.

Police released video footage taken from three police dashboard cameras and one from surveillance at a nearby business. The images show Mann running down a brightly lit street, gesturing toward officers, before he is gunned down by two officers. The officers remain on desk duty rather than patrol, Somers said.

Previously released video shot by a bystander shows Mann interacting with police before the shooting, doing karate moves in the middle of a street, and zigzagging as he walked.

As other police shootings have drawn scrutiny and protests nationwide, Sacramento police have faced criticism over the shooting, and Mann's family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that police should not have used lethal force because Mann showed overt signs he was in the midst of a mental crisis.

'It's unprecedented for us to release video prior to the adjudication process,' Somers told reporters. 'There are times that we're in today, sometimes it's important that we come out with this video or this audio.'

Members of the city council and the mayor have demanded to see the footage themselves, and were scheduled to view it Tuesday evening.

Police also released 911 emergency recordings, Tuesday, in which one caller said Mann waved a knife in the air. Another said he pulled a gun out of his pocket. Callers also speculated that Mann appeared to be mentally ill.

From another police car, Mann is  seen running at officers in a deranged manner

The chief says no gun was located, although police found a knife.

Somers said a specialized team that is able to assist officers with mentally ill subjects was not called out. But he said a toxicology screening that recently came back shows Mann also had methamphetamine in his system.

'It's not only individuals that are mentally impaired, but also chemically impaired,' police are dealing with, he said.

Family members described Mann as a college graduate who was smart, loved politics and economics, and succeeded in several careers before deteriorating into mental illness about five years ago. They said he had been living on the streets before his death.

Attorney John Burris said the family was relieved that police released the footage Tuesday, though they would like it to have been done sooner, to mitigate 'against some of the grief that the family has suffered.'

He said even if Mann had methamphetamine in his system, he was acting bizarrely and police should not have used lethal force.

'There was nothing about his conduct that suggested he should have been shot multiple times,' Burris said. 'Any reasonable police officer should have noticed that he was mentally impaired.'

Original report here


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British army hero wins £5,000 compensation 'after her breasts were exposed in wrongful arrest by officers probing alleged abuses by UK troops in Iraq'

An ex-Army officer has won £5,000 compensation after her breasts were allegedly exposed in a wrongful arrest by officers investigating historical abuses by UK troops.

Rachel Webster, once praised by former prime minister Tony Blair for her efforts in Iraq, was left 'shocked' by the rough way she was restrained in her own home.

She branded her treatment as 'tantamount to being kidnapped by the state' and felt 'humiliated' by the ordeal.

The 48-year-old also claimed she was later denied access to the toilet when she became unwell, according to Claire Newell and Ben Farmer at the Daily Telegraph.

Ms Webster's payout is understood to be the first time the Ministry of Defence has offered compensation to serving or former personnel affected by its inquiries into alleged abuses.

Dating back more than a decade, the investigations have proved controversial and details of this case will only serve to raise more questions about the conduct of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT).

MP Johnny Mercer, a former soldier, told the Telegraph: 'The whole thing is a disgrace. I am ashamed that the Government and MoD is continuing to treat soldiers who have served this country in this manner.'

Ms Webster was initially contacted by IHAT officers in October 2013. She was asked to give a witness statement about the activities of a former colleague but declined.

Three months later she was arrested following a dawn raid on her home on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. After being detained for hours of questioning she was released without charge.

Ms Webster, originally from Brigg in north Lincolnshire, served in the Army for 24 years. She joined in 1989 and rose to the rank of Captain.

In 1999, while a corporal serving in central Kosovo, she was given an award for her role in maintaining law and order and shutting down an illegal police station.

Four years later, while serving in Iraq, Sgt Webster met Tony Blair when he visited Basra soon after the invasion. She left the Army in 2013 and now works in finance.

Ms Webster said in a statement: 'Since my arrest I have waited over two years to clear my name.  'It's finally over and I can move on. Justice does prevail but at what cost!'

The MoD denies Ms Webster was prevented from using a toilet but a spokeswoman said: 'A compensation claim made following an arrest in 2014 has been settled.

'When claims are received they are considered on the basis of whether or not the MOD has a legal liability to pay. Where there is a proven legal liability, compensation is paid.'

Original report here


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Mass: Chief defends officer in Back Bay pedestrian case

Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans said Tuesday that a man in a confrontation with an off-duty police officer that was captured on video in the Back Bay this spring “wasn’t violently tackled, his head wasn’t slammed to the ground, and his hair wasn’t pulled.”

Evans, addressing a high-profile encounter on one of Boston’s busiest streets, said there were “minor issues” with the officer’s actions, and “there will be some counseling,” but no penalties.

He said most witnesses and the man involved told investigators that the man had tripped on his own and fallen to the pavement and that the officer had held, rather than slammed, his face to the ground. He said that the officer “clearly believed that his [car] window was, in fact, broken by the victim.”

“An off-duty officer has every right to activate himself” to pursue a suspect, Evans said at a news conference. “That’s what he did here. . . . If someone commits a crime, I expect my officers to act.”

But the lawyer for the man said the officer was not justified in chasing and arresting his client.

“If you’re training your officers to jump on people . . . that’s worrisome, because no crime was committed,” said Carl Williams of the ACLU of Massachusetts.

The May 24 incident, recorded on video by an onlooker and posted online, showed Officer Edward P. Barrett on top of a pedestrian with his knee on the man’s back. Barrett, who was at the time assigned to West Roxbury, was wearing a red-colored Red Sox jersey and what appeared to be his uniform pants, but no badge was visible, the video shows.

The confrontation allegedly began when the pedestrian, Milton Gurin, struck Barrett’s vehicle with an umbrella as the officer turned onto Arlington Street.

Stephen Harlowe, 47, who recorded the confrontation, told reporters soon after the encounter that Barrett chased Gurin down the street, jumped on him, and slammed his head into the ground after Gurin hit Barrett’s car.

Evans said Tuesday that Harlowe’s statements were contradicted by other witnesses and by Gurin himself.

Superintendent Frank Mancini chief of the Bureau of Professional Standards, which includes the Internal Affairs Unit, said during the briefing that separate images from video surveillance show a different story.

Mancini said Barrett pursued Gurin and was attempting to make what he thought was a “felony arrest” for willful destruction of property. He said the video showed Barrett with his knee on Gurin’s back and his hands on him, in compliance with academy training for apprehending a suspect on the ground.

In the video, Barrett is seen pulling Gurin, who was 64 at the time, up by his shirt collar and walking him several blocks to Arlington and Boylston streets, where the encounter had begun. He could be heard telling Gurin that he was under arrest.

According to the police report, Barrett told police he had a green light as he turned right onto Arlington Street in his personal vehicle, when the pedestrian “struck his vehicle’s right rear driver’s side window as he was crossing illegally against the green light.”

Gurin told police that Barrett “did have a green signal, but he was upset that [the officer] did not allow him to cross ahead of him and struck the window with his umbrella.”

According to the report, “a large vertical scratch was initially visible but was able to be wiped from the surface of the glass.”

Evans conceded that a supervising officer should have been called during the incident.

He and Mancini said responding officers acted properly by letting Gurin go without charging him once they determined the window had not been broken.

Williams, Gurin’s lawyer, blasted the findings of the internal investigation and said Evans’s news conference resembled “a witch trial” of his client.

“To say that there was probable cause to arrest [Gurin] is laughable,” Williams said with Gurin standing at his side.

Williams said Gurin tapped Barrett’s window with a “very small, plastic umbrella” out of shock and started running only “because someone was yelling at him” and he became fearful.

“The idea that Mr. Gurin hit the window and . . . ran is completely untrue,” he said. Williams conceded that Gurin tripped but blamed Barrett for Gurin’s injuries, saying that “without being chased, Mr. Gurin wouldn’t have any injuries.”

Asked about the possibility that Gurin might file a lawsuit, Williams said that “currently . . . there’s no lawsuit filed.” He declined to say whether his client would bring a civil action in the future.

Williams acknowledged that Gurin had crossed the street against the traffic signal but said it was “terrifying” that police officials believe Barrett responded appropriately.

He also expressed concern that their the police officials’ criticism of Gurin and Harlowe may “embolden police to do more physically harmful activities to Boston civilians.” Gurin declined to comment during a press conference outside police headquarters, telling reporters only that “Carl is speaking on behalf of me.”

Police officials said Tuesday that during the internal review, two people unknown to each other contacted investigators and implicated Gurin in two prior incidents in which they were accosted in their vehicles by a pedestrian in downtown Boston.

Williams denied those allegations outside police headquarters. “That could have been some random person who said ‘let’s get this guy in trouble,’ ” Williams said.

Evans described Barrett as a “top-notch officer” who is highly rated by his supervisors.

Barrett, a 20-year veteran of the force, had been investigated twice before on allegations of using excessive force. In 2005 and 2006, the Police Department investigated use-of-force complaints against Barrett and determined that one of the alleged incidents did not occur and that Barrett did not act improperly during the other.

Original report here


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Black on black shooting causes a riot for once

Because the shooter was a cop doing his job.  Note that there usually is testimony from black bystanders denying that the deceased was behaving offensively.  Such testimony has often been shown to be false

Police have insisted the man who was shot dead by a Charlotte cop was carrying a gun and refused repeated orders to drop it.

Father-of-seven Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was gunned down by Officer Brentley Vinson while standing next to his car in the North Carolina city on Tuesday night, prompting violent protests that left 16 officers injured.

His family have insisted he was disabled and was only reading a book when he was killed, but Charlotte Police Chief Kerr Putney says officers found a weapon in his vehicle.

Hours after the shooting, demonstrators arrived at the scene and began destroying marked police vehicles, setting trucks alight and throwing rocks at officers.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Putney said one person had been arrested and slammed the 'agitators' for turning a peaceful demonstration violent.

He added that the story of Scott's shooting is 'very different' to how it has been portrayed in social media, and made it clear that they did not find a book at the scene.

Charlotte's Mayor Jennifer Roberts has called for 'peace, calm and dialogue' as the city braced for further protests planned for Wednesday evening.

Students started the second round of demonstrations by staging a lie-in at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Video shows one protester jumping on top of a police car and officers firing tear gas to break up the crowd. Several hundred people gathered with some setting fires to block a major road, while others set trucks ablaze.

Some stole boxes from trucks before police used flash grenades in an attempt to disperse the angry crowd, an ABC affiliate in Charlotte reported.

A group of protesters then tried to break into a Walmart store before police arrived and began guarding its front entryway.

Some protesters were heard yelling 'Black Lives Matter,' and 'Hands up, don't shoot!' . They held up a sign saying 'Stop Killing Us' and 'it was a book', making reference to the object Scott was reportedly holding when he was shot dead.

Charlotte police went to the complex around 4pm looking for a suspect with an outstanding warrant when they saw Scott - not the suspect they were looking for - inside a car, department spokesman Keith Trietley said in a statement.

Officers saw Scott get out of the car with a gun and then get back in, Trietley said. When officers approached, Scott exited the car with the gun again. At that point, officers deemed the man a threat and at least one fired a weapon, he said.

However, Scott's brother told reporters: 'He was waiting in the car for his son to get from school.

Detectives recovered a firearm at the scene and were interviewing witnesses, Trietley said.

Officer Brentley Vinson - a former college football player - was identified as the officer who shot Scott, WCCB reports. Officer Vinson, who has worked at the department since July 2014 and is also black, has been placed on paid on administrative leave, as is standard procedure in such cases.

Meanwhile, Scott's daughter Lyric Scott live streamed the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook.

In the video, she says that her father was parked and reading a book in his car while waiting for a school bus to drop off his son.

'My daddy didn't do nothing,' she is heard saying in the video. 'They just pulled up undercover.' She added that Scott was disabled and claimed that officers had Tasered him and then shot him four times.

Adam Rhew said that the crowd began to disperse after police deployed tear gas. He said on Twitter that he estimates the CMPD used six to eight cans of tear gas.

SOURCE

Looks like PC Savage is a real berserker

Footage emerged today apparently showing the same police officer who was filmed smashing the windscreen of an innocent driver wrongly accusing another black man of stealing his own scooter.

Kyle Adair-Whyte claims he was handcuffed near Haverstock Hill in North London while an officer, believed to be the man known only as PC Savage, called for backup.

The 24-year-old alleged that he was 'humiliated' on the street despite him doing nothing wrong - and being able to prove that the vehicle was indeed his own.

It comes after another clip appeared to show the same officer screaming at driver Leon Fontana to ‘get out of the car’ before smashing his windscreen in Camden.

The officer now faces an Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry and is on restricted duties after it emerged Mr Fontana had a legal driving licence.

Father-of-two Mr Adair-Whyte, 24, said he was detained for almost half an hour on September 4 because the officer believed the scooter he was pushing was stolen.

He said: ‘He is ignorant to how his actions affect society and unaware of people’s personal space. To come up and just grab someone is just wrong.

‘I was crossing the road with the bike and he wasn’t able to see any damage to the scooter. He grabbed my wrist straight away and told me to stop.’

Mr Adair-Whyte claimed the officer then took the keys out of his scooter and accused him of being a thief before detaining him for about 25 minutes.

He added: ‘He called back up and humiliated me on the street when I hadn’t actually done anything wrong. I told him to think about what he was doing.

‘He represents us. But when I saw the video of him smashing the windscreen I knew he hasn’t learned anything from what I told him.

‘I don’t want guys like that to police our streets. I don’t feel safe with people like him around. PC Savage accused me and said the bike was not mine, even though I could prove that it was.

Mr Adair-Whyte continued: ‘He was aggressive and ignorant of people’s boundaries I think he has misunderstood his powers.

‘In that video he showed he can be violent. I have two children, I’m worried for them with police like that. Some officers do not value what they are doing.

‘They do not understand the repercussions of their actions. I want to know that the police value me as much as I value them.

‘It’s the nature of living in London, looking out for one another and the police are supposed to be at the forefront of that.’

The 25-year-old posted a video on Facebook showing the officer ordering him to get out of his car, which has since been viewed more than one million times

Mr Adair-Whyte admitted he was sentenced to two years in prison in 2013 for possessing a weapon and served 18 months.

He added: ‘I’m not an angel, I’ve done some silly things, but years later we should not have to suffer for it. We should be treated as normal members of society.’

The clip was made by social enterprise 4FrontMedia, whose director Temi Mwale said: ‘This is about the issue of stop and search. Black people are being targeted.

‘I’ve had calls in the middle of the night from people asking for our help. Young people are not surprised by the video and neither am I.

‘This sort of treatment is a daily occurrence. Feeling like you are racially discriminated against every day affects your mental health.’

A Metropolitan Police spokesman told MailOnline today: 'MPS is aware of a second video appearing on social media and its contents are being assessed.'

Earlier this week, Mr Fontana spoke of his 'terror' after the officer smashed in his windscreen and said he refused to leave his vehicle because he did not feel safe.

Mr Fontana was pulled over by officers in Camden in a case of mistaken identity, and the video of him being told to get out of his car has been viewed 25million times.

In the clip, the officer can be heard listening to a message over his radio informing him the driver only holds a provisional licence.

But Mr Fontana has had a full licence for more than two years – and he said he spent the evening in hospital after getting glass in his eyes.

The officer in the clip has since been put on 'restricted duties' and his use of force will be examined, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Scotland Yard said officers stopped the car thinking the driver was of interest to them but later realised he was someone else.

Original report here


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British dickless Tracy who refused to pay a £24 taxi fare and fled after a 'social night out with colleagues' has been kicked out of the force

PC Nicola Elston, 30, was 'jaded through drink' when she refused to pay the cab fare in Croydon, a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) misconduct hearing was told.

The Lambeth-based officer was also accused of threatening and punching the taxi driver in the stomach but cleared after an earlier trial at Southwark Crown court.

She had initially claimed that she was also innocent of theft but the jury convicted her after a three-day trial, allowing the MPS to conclude the disciplinary proceedings.

Summarising the charge at the tribunal, Assistant Commissioner Helen King said: ‘It was alleged that you were requested for payment by Mr Ali (the driver) and alighted the vehicle.

‘Mr Ali repeated his request for payment and you threatened to punch him. ‘He alleged that you punched him and he saw you enter an address. You were arrested later that same night.’

In a statement, Elston said: ‘I apologise for this matter and, in hindsight, I should have dealt with it in a different manner. ‘I accept that it is hard to continue to employ me, especially if I was asked to give evidence in court and would have to declare any convictions.’

The hearing was told that Elston, who was working for the Missing Persons Unit in Brixton while placed under restrictions, had drunk ‘a considerable amount of alcohol’.

She claimed that she had the correct amount for the fare and had left it in the cab. ‘I said that I left it there when the driver started shouting at me,’ Elston said.

‘I didn’t make the driver drive round the corner, he stopped about 10, 15 metres away [from the address].’

Sergeant Michael Kirk, for the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘On 27 June 2015, PC Elston returned home after a social evening with colleagues.

‘The price had been agreed in advance. The cab driver requested money owed to him and PC Elston refused to pay. Eventually, he called the police.

‘When police knocked at the address she had entered, PC Elston didn’t answer the door. She was later arrested.’

Sergeant James Southgate, representing Elston, said: ‘She does agree that her conduct amounts to gross misconduct and she is embarrassed by the fact that it has brought embarrassment on the Metropolitan Police.

‘She believed what she was doing was correct at the time, although jaded through drink.

‘Prior to joining the police, PC Elston went to Anglia Ruskin University where she studied for a BSc in forensic biology.

‘She immediately applied for the MPS and, while waiting to start, worked for an insurance company.

‘Since the incident, she has carried on attending work and working hard in the Missing Persons Unit.

‘I don’t wish to go over the trial and re-examine evidence, but I must mention some relevant points. She still disagrees with the outcome of the trial.

‘She left the money in the cab as the driver became threatening.

‘She told me if she is allowed to continue she would want to get the Gangs Unit and Missing Persons and CSE Units to work together.’

Handing down the decision, AC Helen King said: ‘PC Elston has provided strong evidence from colleagues and supervisors that she is a capable, courageous and hard-working officer. ‘This was not planned in any way. There is no suggestion that she intended to abuse her position

‘She was placed on restrictions and, to her credit, remained in the workplace and also to her credit retains the support of the borough commander.

‘However, I have to consider very carefully the aggravating features and what London rightfully expects of a Metropolitan Police officer.  ‘She didn’t accept responsibility for her actions in pleading guilty and was subsequently found guilty by a jury [of theft].

‘She gave evidence that made allegations against the taxi driver. PC Elston has continued to push blame onto others.

‘Officers recognise that convictions represent significant barrier to remaining as a police officer.  ‘I have come to the conclusion that the only appropriate outcome is dismissal without notice.’

Elston admitted her actions constituted gross misconduct. She was dismissed without notice.

Original report here


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Shocking video shows the moment police shot dead an unarmed, black pastor

I suspect this is another case where a dickless Tracy is the problem.  Because they are much weaker physically, female police are much more nervous of a confrontation and tend to be quick on the trigger as a result, often without good reason. The woman below should be permanently disarmed, at a minimum.  

Blacks for their part have to realize that experience makes cops very nervous of them and need to be very careful not to do anything that could be misconstrued.  The guy below did not start out well by walking away from the police with his back to them.  Had he instead engaged them in a polite conversation, he would be alive today

UPDATE:  The dickless Tracy has now been charged with first-degree manslaughter

DRAMATIC video shows the moment an unarmed pastor was shot dead by police while walking with his hands in the air.

The video shows Terence Crutcher walking toward his SUV with his hands up and Officer Betty Shelby following behind him.

Police were responding to a report of a stalled vehicle in the middle of the street. As Crutcher approaches the SUV, more officers walk up and Crutcher appears to lower his hands and reach down and place them on the vehicle. It appears one of his hands then drops down towards his stomach.

Crutcher can then be seen dropping to the ground.

In dashcam vision released by the Tulsa Police Department someone on the police radio says, “I think he may have just been Tasered.” Someone can then be heard saying, “Shots fired.” Crutcher’s head then drops, leaving him lying completely out in the street.

After that a voice can be heard on the police radio saying, “Shots fired. We have one suspect down.”

Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan confirmed Crutcher was shot to death by Shelby, a white police officer, and that Crutcher was not armed and no weapon was found in his vehicle or on his body.

Crutcher’s family is calling for a federal investigation and criminal charges against the officer.

His twin sister, Tiffany Crutcher said that her is family is devastated over his death and that the public needs to know that he was a loving father and son who sang in church each week.

She says the family is asking for “peaceful protests” over Terence Crutcher’s death.

Protesters are now calling for the immediate arrest of the Tulsa officer. We the People Oklahoma organiser Marq Lewis called for the “immediate” arrest of Officer Shelby. Shelby has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting.

About three-dozen protesters gathered outside the county courthouse to call for police reforms.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma is also calling for criminal charges saying Crutcher was left to bleed to death while officers stood by without rendering aid.

ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel says Crutcher’s death shows “how little regard” Tulsa police officers have for minority communities.

A Tulsa police spokeswoman, Jeanne MacKenzie, said she couldn’t comment on whether officers have a set protocol on when to provide medical assistance.

Original report here



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Get out of the car! Snarling British cop is filmed smashing a windscreen and SAWING it open with a penknife after the driver refused to do as he was told

The rights and wrongs of this would seem to hinge on whether the cop had a good reason to detain the man. As there were no arrests, it would seem he did not. The innocent person was therefore justified in refusing to co-operate -- risky though that is. UPDATE: The driver was black and had shown his ID before the cop went on the attack. The cops have now been put on restricted duties

A police officer has been caught on camera smashing a car windscreen and sawing it open with a knife in a furious attempt to get a driver out of his vehicle.

The dramatic video shows the officer shouting at the driver to open the door while standing outside the man's car in Camden, north London, at around 5pm on Friday.

When the man refused, the constable tried to force the side window open three times with his hands.

He can then be seen hitting the windscreen with his truncheon in the footage which is being investigated by police.

The driver, who captured the action at Weedington Road on his mobile, taunts the officer and tells him he 'has a licence and insurance'.

The officer shouts at the man: 'You're not allowed to drive it' and tells him to 'get out of the car'.

The footage, which has been shared by a former member of the music group So Solid Crew, has gone viral on Twitter with more than 40,000 views.

The driver tells the officer during the footage: 'You're smashing this for no reason. Look, look what they are doing to my car.'

He also says: 'What's the problem officer. Why ain't I allowed to drive the car?'

Once the windscreen is smashed the officer pulls out what appears to be a pen knife and begins cutting the section of the screen out.

This is enough for the driver who jumps out of the other door and is quickly surrounded by another officer who is seen earlier standing by a police vehicle.

The driver repeats what he had said earlier and says he is 'not TJ'.

He tells the officers he is filming and says: 'Do you know what you just done?' to which the officer replies: 'I've done absolutely nothing, I just need to know who you are.'

The driver asks why the officer had smashed the car windscreen to which the policeman says: 'I can't see who you are in that car'.

Before the footage ends the driver tells the officer his name is 'Leon', to which the officer responds: 'Leon that's it. I've not seen you in a long time fella.'

Leon Fontana, a 25-year-old mechanic, said he was the driver and the person who filmed the footage. He said the incident took place on Friday evening in the Gospel Oak area of north London when he had gone out on an errand for his mother.

He said it was a case of 'mistaken identity', describing what happened as 'a completely unlawful act'.

Mr Fontana, who said he spent the evening in hospital due to getting glass in his eyes, said it was 'complete madness' and that he is 'still in shock'.

He said: 'Every time he smashed the glass, fragments of glass were just ricocheting in my face.'

The Metropolitan Police said it is 'aware of footage circulating on social media of an incident involving two uniformed officers in Camden', adding that the incident took place at Weedington Road, north-west London, at around 5pm on Friday.

In a statement, the Met said: 'The footage will now be subject to an investigation by officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS).'

The police force said on Saturday evening: 'As soon as the MPS was made aware of the footage, the DPS was contacted immediately. The individual who uploaded the footage has been contacted by DPS officers.

'As this matter is in its early stages, the officers have not been suspended or placed on restricted duties. No-one was arrested during the incident.'

Mr Fontana said he is not sure when his car will be fixed and described the whole incident as 'very stressful', adding: 'I can't believe it to be honest. I can't believe it. I'm still in shock.'

The video, which could not be independently verified, has been shared on Twitter and Instagram where the officer's actions have been described as 'mindless vandalism and intimidation'.

Original report here


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British police laziness results in a dead child

The only offences that really interest them are speech offences

A police officer failed to act upon intelligence about a banned dog which went on to kill a six-month-old baby, according to a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Molly-Mae Wotherspoon died from severe blood loss after being savaged by a American pitbull called Bruiser at the family home in Daventry in October 2014.

Molly-Mae's mother, 23-year-old Claire Riley and the child's grandmother Susan Aucott, 56, were both jailed for two years at Northampton Crown Court yesterday.

Riley admitted owning a dangerously out of control dog and grandmother Aucott admitted being in charge of one.

The IPCC report, which looked into how Northamptonshire Police handled intelligence about the dog, said PC Claire Paul has a case to answer for misconduct.

The report said concerns about Bruiser's aggression were documented nine months before the fatal attack when Molly-Mae's mother Claire Riley took the pet to see a vet, who passed on details about the dog to RSPCA inspector Michelle McNab.

The vet had contacted the force on previous occasions about different animals and believed they had done nothing.

Inspector McNab was told by the vet Bruiser was 'extremely aggressive' and 'she had concerns for the children in the same house'.

Riley believed Bruiser was a Staffordshire bull terrier/mastiff cross breed, but the vet thought the animal was an American pitbull, which is banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

The information about the dog's aggression was passed on to PC Paul, but was logged as 'low priority' intelligence.

The details about Bruiser were passed on to another officer for action, but the report says the email may have been inadvertently deleted and PC Paul did not follow up this request.

The report said: 'PC Paul's inability to follow up and act upon this intelligence demonstrates that on the balance of probabilities she failed to take appropriate action to ensure an incident log was raised and that further inquiries were made in connection with this.

'This investigation recommends that there is a case to answer for PC Paul for misconduct.'

Another officer who was alleged to have failed to act on intelligence was found to have no case to answer for misconduct, the IPCC said.

Passing sentence yesterday, Mrs Justice Carr said: 'This was a tragic and totally avoidable incident. Bruiser was a large, strong and aggressive dog weighing some 33 kilograms.

'He should never have been living cooped up in a small house with a new baby, and the two of them should never have been left alone by Claire Riley in charge of someone such as Susan Aucott.

'The cage for Bruiser was too small and too flimsy for him. Indeed, he escaped it without apparent difficulty in order to attack Molly-Mae.

'There can be little doubt that Bruiser was a vicious and dangerous dog. He has been described by various professional vets as incredibly aggressive. A vet of 15 years' experience described him as one of the most aggressive dogs that she had ever encountered.'

Original report here


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Sigh!  How stupid can you be?  Pointing a gun at cops!

A 13 year old criminal with a gun!  Blacks go bad very young sometimes

Officials in Columbus, Ohio, appealed for calm, patience, and investigative help on Thursday, hours after a white police officer fatally shot a 13-year-old African-American boy who had apparently brandished a firearm that was later determined to be a BB gun.

Speaking at a news conference, the mayor, the police chief, and other officials offered few details about what led to the death Wednesday night of the teenager, Tyree King. They cautioned that the investigation, which will be presented to a grand jury, will not be quick. So far, they said, they do not know of any video recording of the incident.

“Any loss of life is tragic, but the loss of a young person is particularly difficult,” Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said. “Investigations take time, and I ask for everyone’s patience during this difficult time.”

According to police, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery in the Olde Towne East neighborhood in central Columbus and saw three males who matched the suspects’ descriptions. Two fled and officers chased them into an alley, where Tyree pulled what appeared to be a gun from his waistband, police said, and an officer shot him multiple times.

The officer was identified as Bryan Mason, a nine-year veteran.

King’s death is one in a long string of deaths of black people at the hands of police in recent years that have drawn national attention, particularly when video is made public. They have prompted sharp debates about race and policing, intense criticism of the police, and, in some cases, civil unrest. One of the most scrutinized cases, and one of the most similar to the one in Columbus, also took place in Ohio: the 2014 death of Tamir Rice, 12, who was playing with a pellet gun in a Cleveland park.

Columbus officials made it clear that they were acutely aware of that history, saying it was too early to make parallels to other cases, and insisting that they were striving for openness and community outreach that critics have said were lacking in other cities. They also repeatedly stressed King’s conduct, the credible threats officers face and the gun culture.

“Why is it that a 13-year-old would have nearly an exact replica of a police firearm on him in our neighborhoods?” Ginther asked. “An eighth-grader involved in very, very dangerous conduct in one of our neighborhoods.”

The mayor cited “easy access to guns, whether they are firearms or replicas,” as a serious problem, adding, “A 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns.”

Kimberley Jacobs, the police chief, repeatedly referred to Tyree King as a “young man,” and said: “This is the last thing that a police officer wants to do in their career. Unfortunately, because of the things that are happening out on the streets, it becomes necessary at times to defend themselves.”

She held up a photo of a BB gun of the kind found in the alley near King, to show how similar-looking it is to the sidearm used by the Columbus police, a Smith & Wesson Military & Police semiautomatic pistol.

“It turns out not to be a firearm, in the sense that it fires real bullets, but as you can see, it looks like a firearm that can kill you,” she said.

The shooting quickly drew widespread attention on social media, as people took sides to find fault with either the police or the boy.

Jacobs said police were looking for video from security cameras or bystanders’ phones, and were interviewing witnesses, including one of the people who was with King. She said it was not clear whether that person would be charged with a crime.

“There were witnesses, we believe, to the armed robbery and there were people in the vicinity of the shooting, but we don’t know what they were able to discern,” she said.

The Columbus police do not wear body cameras, but they will starting next year, said the mayor, who supports their use.

Original report here


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Five British cops face criminal charges after a black was left in a vegetative state  when he was arrested outside a nightclub

He had been booted out of the nightclub for disruptive behaviour but had gone back so it is no wonder that he had to be restrained.  People deserve little pity when their own behaviour was a big factor in their injury. If only blacks would be more co-operative with the police, much injury could be avoided.  Given their extensive adverse experience with blacks, it must be no surprise that the cops sometimes treat blacks roughly.  Cops are just men doing a difficult job, not saints.  I am a rather bold  driver so have on occasions been pulled up by the cops.  But because of my relaxed and good-humoured manner, the main result was a polite conversation, not a broken neck.  On all such occasions I noted how the cop visibly relaxed when he saw that he faced no hostility.  It's basic human relations


Julian Cole, a student at Bedfordshire University, suffered a broken neck during the incident near the Elements Club in Bedford in May 2013.

He had been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. The case was later dropped because of his condition.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission launched an investigation into 'the circumstances around the arrest and restraint of Mr Cole' and has now referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service over possible criminal charges.

The incident happened when Cole returned to the nightclub to ask for a refund after he and friends were asked to leave.

Door staff seized him before police took hold of him. CCTV captured some of the struggle but not the part where Cole apparently lost consciousness.

He reappeared on CCTV handcuffed and being carried by officers into a police van. He is now in a care home and requires round-the-clock assistance.

The 23-year-old student's mother, Claudia, said the news was 'welcome' but had taken too long.

She added: 'We want to see justice for Julian, it will not bring him back, but we hope the CPS makes a swift decision on criminal prosecutions against the officers.'

In a previous interview his brother, Claudius, said: 'Julian did not need five officers to pin him down. He is only 5ft 5in and was unarmed.'

IPCC deputy chair Sarah Green said: 'This has been a complex and lengthy investigation involving examination of over 900 documents, interviews with witnesses, a number of medical expert opinions, CCTV trawls and forensic analysis.

'We are now satisfied we have gathered all the available evidence to enable the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether or not charges should follow. We have kept Mr Cole's family and Bedfordshire police updated on our progress.'

A referral to the CPS is made when the IPCC investigation indicates that criminal offences may have been committed. But it is up to prosecutors to decide whether charges should be brought.

Original report here


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Wrongful conviction an injustice that our system must correct

How does it feel to live a nightmare, locked away for nearly a quarter of your life for something you didn’t do?

Ask LaMonte Armstrong.

After spending nearly 17 years in prison for the 1988 murder of an N.C. A&T professor, the 66-year-old Greensboro native was freed in 2012. Armstrong had maintained his innocence from day one. With help from the Duke University School of Law Wrongful Convictions Clinic, he finally got to prove it.

Another Greensboro man, Damen Vega, 50, spent 27 years in a prison for the murder of a woman that he also insists he didn’t commit. As the News & Record’s Taft Wireback reported last week in a series of stories that was, at once, fascinating and deeply disturbing, the cases of Armstrong and Vega intersect in at least three key respects:

• The victims — A&T professor Ernestine Compton and an accounting director, Carolyn Sue Lundy — were both middle-aged African American women who were strangled to death. They lived within two miles of each other and were murdered within 11 weeks of one another in 1988.

• No physical evidence tied either man to the alleged crime.

• And a third man may have been the actual murderer in both cases.

In Armstrong’s case, a computer analysis identified palm prints at the scene of the murder as belonging to a man named Chris Caviness. After being freed on parole, thanks also to the Wrongful Convictions Clinic, Vega may have used similar evidence to prove his innocence. If it still existed. The Greensboro Police Department either lost or destroyed his case file.

There were other missteps: In Armstrong’s case, police relied heavily on the dubious accounts of jailhouse informants. One of the informants, Charles “Tippy Toes” Blackwell, told police he saw Armstrong kill Compton. When he attempted to retract what he had said, Blackwell claimed later he was told by detectives that they would pin the murder on him if he didn’t stick to his story.

Police also held back secretly recorded conversations in which Blackwell attempted to coax Armstrong into admitting he killed Compton. But Armstrong could be heard on the recordings denying that he committed the crime.

As for Caviness, he was paroled in 2007 after serving 20 years in prison for killing his father with a lead pipe and a knife in 1989.

Did he also murder Lundy? We may never know. Caviness died in a car crash in 2010.

What we do know is that this tangle of tragedy and botched police work shows how the system can make mistakes that not only fail to bring the right people to justice but convict the wrong people.

To their credit, the Greensboro police and Guilford County District Attorney’s Office helped the Wrongful Convictions Clinic exonerate Armstrong. And the Greensboro Police Department has addressed many of the problems that hindered these investigations.

But the cost of those earlier sins is impossible to atone for: Seventeen years of a man’s life.

Twenty-seven years of another man’s life.

Ugly memories of prison life that are past but not forgotten.

The hard transition to freedom, which is hardly as simple as unlocking a cell and starting a new life.

There is also a price to taxpayers. The state paid Armstrong $750,000 for his wrongful conviction and the city of Greensboro has spent $271,000 defending itself against a lawsuit filed in federal court by Armstrong. That meter is still running.

Meanwhile, Vega may never be able to prove his innocence through no fault of his own.

This is what happens when justice takes shortcuts and human beings are treated as disposable means to an end. Nobody deserves the pain they’ve suffered.

Original report here


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The sex crime obsession of the British police again

DJ Neil Fox and his wife have opened up for the first time about the enormous impact the false sex allegations against him had on his family life – and the 'tough chat' they were forced to have with their 13-year-old daughter over the claims.

The former Pop Idol judge, known to millions as Dr Fox, was found not guilty of eight indecent assaults and two sexual assaults dating back to the 1980s following a ten-day trial at a central London court last December.

However, despite being cleared, he has spent much of the last two years desperately fighting the claims after being arrested for the alleged sex offences just minutes after finishing a radio show on Magic FM in 2014.

The 55-year-old father has now branded the allegations a 'witch hunt' against him and said he was 'gobsmacked' to have ever been arrested.

Speaking on ITV's This Morning alongside his wife Vicky, who has supported him throughout the ordeal, Fox relived the day of his arrest in 2014.

He explained how he had just finished his show on Magic FM and his boss was waiting outside the studio. He said: 'My boss said the police are downstairs - and immediately I thought it was something to do with the kids or Vicky - but he said they are here to arrest you.'

'I was gobsmacked. They took me down to Charing Cross, slapped me in a cell for an-hour–and-a- half while they found a lawyer for me. And you suddenly go through this process… The process is very scary and very intimidating.

'I was on bail for three months, then another four. Your life is just in limbo… that's what's hard about it. Trying to keep the routine of the kids going to school. Thank god for the kids, they keep you really level.'

Speaking of the arrest, his wife Vicky added: 'Your first concern is 'are my children ok, is my husband ok'. You're panicked.   'I had a houseful of policeman and they've got all your things, photo albums, everything on the floor, searching through the house.  'I knew there was a witch hunt against DJs. My immediate reaction was he's a DJ, you're going after him.'

Detailing how the allegations affected their family life, Fox – who made his name on Capital Radio in the 1980s and 90s - said it was 'really tough and awful' to see the headlines in the media.

He had been accused of sexually abusing schoolgirls and young women over a 26-year period, including allegedly forcibly kissing two girls at roadshow events and molesting a 15-year-old fan in the station's record library.

Two other women claimed Fox sexually assaulted them after he switched to Magic FM, dry-humping one on a sofa in 2007 and kissing another on the neck last year.

He said: 'They were really tough to hear and they are really awful when you see them on the headline of a paper because they splash out the worse bit they possibly could.

'And I know my daughter and my son go to school on public transport and saw these and it's hard for them of course.

'Scarlett was 13 at the time and as her dad, I had to sit down and have an honest chat with her. It was hard but I wanted her to know everything from me and from Vicky so no one at school could say anything that she didn't know was going on.'

Vicky added: 'I think [the children] were good. All I can say to her is just because people say things, it doesn't mean that it's true.'

During the trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court last December, District Judge Howard Riddle said the witnesses told the truth 'as they remember it' – suggesting even he believed the victims.

But he said the most difficult aspect of the case was that many of the allegations were historic and they should be treated with caution. As a result, he said the bench 'could not be sure that in the context it was a criminal offence'.

Judge Riddle said: 'We heard…from six women. We believed each of the complainants. The question we must ask is whether we are sure of the facts alleged, sure of the context in which they occurred, and sure that they amount to criminal offences.

'While the events were undoubtedly memorable for the complainants, it is appropriate...to approach accounts of what happened in a brief period of time, so long ago, with caution.'

He added: 'It was a strong case and one that needed to be brought to the court for determination.'

Speaking after he was acquitted, Fox said the case had 'once again exposed concerns about how high-profile cases' such as his are investigated by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. His barrister, Jonathan Caplan QC, said the DJ had fallen victim to a police investigation with a 'fixation on celebrities'.

Recalling the moment he was cleared of any wrongdoing, Fox told Holly and Phil on This Morning today: 'December 14 was a good day, I was acquitted. We could try and move on a little bit.  'But it isn't over, your problems are still there. You have to try and go back to some kind of work and move on.'

Fox left Magic FM after being arrested in September 2014 and said he wouldn't go back now he has been cleared because 'it was the right time to leave anyway.'

He added: 'The word 'supportive' may be an understatement. Some organisations handle things well, others handle it bloody awfully. They fell into the latter category.

'But, the problem is, we live in a modern PC world, and a lot of organisations when they get hit with these, they are wondering how they should handle it too. So there's part of me, if I was a boss, thinking 'this is tricky'… it's a hard time for everyone concerned.'

As for his relationship with his wife, Vicky says the pair are 'stronger than ever' following the ordeal.

She said: 'You go through something together. I felt I was being attacked, my family was being attacked. You get this tiger instinct to protect them.

'My family is Neil and my three children and all I wanted to do was to protect my family, so I felt very protective of Neil throughout this… and we were fortunate we had lots of amazing support. We knew we'd come through the other side.'

Speaking directly to her husband, she added: 'They didn't need to arrest you, they could have brought you in for questioning. It was rather ridiculous and the things they took from the house - Valentine's card, children's iPads - it wasn't serious big evidence. I don't think they found anything in my house that they used in court.'

When asked if such high profile cases could be done better or handled differently, Fox said: 'If you could change one thing… partly the [lack of] anonymity is hard, with social media where everyone wants a say, and if you get arrested like me or anyone else in the public eye, and you wonder how to control it and contain it…'

'But if you can try and preserve the anonymity to start with then I think the idea of being innocent until proven guilty will be a lot easier.

'Sadly you do feel when you're in the eye of the storm, that you feel guilty until you can prove your innocence… I'm not saying that's the authorities' fault, life moves, laws move, things change, but I definitely think with social media and the way the media is nowadays, this stuff gets thrown out there.'

He suggested that he might write a book about his ordeal, suggesting it could be called 'better, not bitter'.  'I want to move forward as a family. I want to come out of it better, not bitter,' he said.  'This is a bit of my life, it's a portion that finished last December, and we moved forward as a family.'

His sentiment echoed the statement he made outside court following his acquittal last December.

Speaking on the steps of the central London court after being acquitted, he thanked his family and wife Vicky saying: 'I cannot begin to tell you how much I love you and how much I thank you for simply being there and holding my hand through this long and arduous journey.

'It has been tough at times. You have shown me how to look through the good and bad, the happy and the sad, the gain and the pain and find out what makes us grateful and not hateful.'

Magic Radio's owners, Bauer Media, said Fox would not be returning to the station as his contract had expired and the station was 'going in a new direction'.

In a statement, Bauer said: 'From the outset, Bauer Media had a duty of care to Neil, to its staff, listeners and commercial partners. Therefore, in the best interests of all, the decision was taken for Neil to remain off-air to give him the time to deal privately with the allegations.

'At no time did Bauer make any assumptions or pre-judgements on the outcome of the case. During the fifteen months of the investigation Bauer Media maintained regular communication with Neil, his representatives and the police.

'By the time the case had fully concluded, Neil's contract had expired and plans had already been created to take the radio station schedule in a new direction.'

Original report here


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A SUSPECT for 27 years finally cleared by another man's confession

He was never tried so could not be exonerated but a lot of people thought he did it -- with distressing results

An elementary school music teacher who has lived under a cloud of suspicion since 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped from central Minnesota in 1989 can breathe easier now that another man has confessed to the boy's abduction and killing.

Dan Rassier was questioned about Jacob's abduction several times over the years and was subjected to lie detector tests and hypnosis.

In 2010, authorities got search warrants to dig up his farm after they said he made suspicious statements to investigators and to Jacob's mother. He was then named a person of interest.

On Tuesday, Danny Heinrich, 53, of Annandale, confessed in federal court that he abducted, sexually assaulted and killed Jacob in St. Joseph, which is 80 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

The confession 'essentially cleared Dan Rassier as a person of interest in the Jacob Wetterling case,' Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner said in an email to The Associated Press.

The case has impacted Rassier's life in ways that he says are hard to explain. 'It's impossible to fix what they broke,' he said.

He said the stress in recent years impacted his health, leaving him with headaches and causing him to miss work. As his relationships changed, he had to adapt and do more things on his own.

And while Heinrich's confession cleared Rassier, he's still troubled by the case. He feels for the Wetterlings, and now the truth has him wondering whether he could have done anything to stop the abduction.

'Would there have been anything that could've been done that could've saved him — if I would've done something differently?' he paused. 'The only thing that could've saved him would've been me chasing the car.'

Heinrich said he buried the boy's body in a field in Paynesville, where Jacob's remains were recovered last week.

Rassier, now 60, was just days shy of his 34th birthday and home alone at his family's farm when Jacob was abducted from the road at the end of Rassier's driveway on the night of October 22, 1989.

He said the next day he told authorities about a car that had turned around in his driveway, and later said he might have seen Jacob inside.

Court documents made public Friday show why authorities had Rassier on their list of potential suspects.

Although he was highly detailed in describing his day, he couldn't provide details about the timeframe during Jacob's abduction. He acted strangely under hypnosis, crying when Jacob's abduction was mentioned.

He also made comments that authorities found unusual - for example, pointing out that there were many places on his property where someone could hide a body.

In 2009, authorities asked Jacob's mother, Patty Wetterling, to talk to Rassier while wearing a recording device.

According to the documents, Rassier told Wetterling he didn't know what happened to Jacob and insisted that the driver of the car he saw was the abductor.

He also expressed a fear that if someone buried Jacob on his property, he'd be blamed.

Those statements and others were enough for the search warrant, a judge found.

After his name came out in 2010, parents at one school where he teaches got nervous, and an aide was put in his classroom.

People stopped asking him to play the trumpet at weddings. His private music lessons virtually dried up. He lost some friends.

All the while, Rassier, whom students call 'Mr. BeBop,' maintained he had nothing to do with Jacob's abduction.

Heinrich's confession 'essentially cleared Dan Rassier as a person of interest in the Jacob Wetterling case,' Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner said in an email to The Associated Press

Ann Reischl, a lifelong resident of St. Joseph Township and the town clerk, said she always knew Rassier couldn't have harmed Jacob, but she knows some people wondered about him.

'I just don't think any apology (from law enforcement) is going to be big enough,' she said. 'The continual interrogation, and asking Dan to admit it ... and he kept saying, 'No, I didn't do it.' It's got to be frustrating.'

Rassier said he thought he was helping and because of the experience he no longer trusts law enforcement.

And he says he's trying to look for the silver lining: Because of the scrutiny, he started helping his ailing father more. His dad died last year, two days after authorities announced Heinrich was a person of interest.

'I got to spend more time with my dad because of this happening,' he said. 'You try to look for something good out of it.'

Original report here


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British cop who kept his job despite harassing his WPc ex-girlfriend is given a 20-week jail term - after he did it again



A police officer who was allowed to keep his job after harassing his cop ex-girlfriend has been handed a 20-week jail term - after he did it again.

Sergeant John Mizen, 34, was ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service in 2009 over his behaviour towards PC Michelle Lacey.

The acting sergeant told his ex-lover - the mum of his twin girls - that he would ruin her life after they split up when she discovered he was having an affair.

Mizen also dug up Michelle's garden, claimed he had given her an STD and called her a 'fat b***h', a court heard.

Despite being slapped with a restraining order, he was allowed to keep his job. But seven years on, he has been convicted of the same thing.

Mizen, who works at Trinity Road police station in Bristol, admitted one count of harassment at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.

Bristol Crown Court heard he has was separated from his wife Gemma when he went to their former marital home and found her in bed with another men.

He took her phone and sent messages to her family and friends pretending to be her and telling them she was having an affair, it was said.

He also set up a fake Facebook account to send messages claiming his wife was meeting men for sex and bombarded her with 3,000 texts between last November and May this year.

The dad, of Bristol, was handed a 20-week jail sentence on Friday but has already served it on remand.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary confirmed that Mizen is currently on suspension and a fresh misconduct process will begin immediately.

Judge Michael Longman told Mizen: 'It was appalling behaviour, falling far, far short of what is expected of any partner or any husband, particularly when they are a serving police officer.'

James Haskell, prosecuting, said Mizen was in a relationship with Gemma for five years and they were married for a year.

Mr Haskell said: 'The relationship was something of a roller coaster.  'It's clear the relationship deteriorated as things became more strained between them.' The couple separated in November last year, the court heard.

The dad, of Bristol, was handed a 20-week jail sentence on Friday but has already served it on remand

But Mr Haskell said 'jealous' Mizen would often check his estranged wife's phone and bombarded her with messages.

Some were for legitimate reasons but the persistent contact became unwarranted and harassing, the court was told, although the texts were not threatening.

Mr Haskell said that after the confrontation over the other man in January, Mizen sent messages to Gemma's friends and family which 'were plainly designed to humiliate her'.

In May Mizen set up a false Facebook account in the name of Adam Adams, using it to send messages to himself stating that his estranged wife was meeting men for sex.

The court was told the conduct bore a striking resemblance to Mizen's previous conviction for harassing a former partner.

Mr Haskell said that in that case, he set up a false account with classified advertising site Trade-It, claiming that his ex was giving away items, which resulted in her being deluged with calls.

It was said he set up a false Friends Reunited profile and accessed her computer to cancel courses she had booked, causing her significant inconvenience and distress.

Rupert Lowe, defending, said that violence had neither been threatened nor used by Mizen.

He said his client had lost his home and his job and had a 'particularly difficult' time remanded in prison, due to being a policeman.

Mr Lowe said: 'He will start again with literally nothing. He thinks he will have to declare himself bankrupt. It will not be an easy start.

'That will weigh on him. He will understand the importance of avoiding the high emotion which has led to the acts which constitute this offence. 'I ask for an appropriate custodial sentence to be passed.'

Superintendent Richard Corrigan, head of professional standards for Avon and Somerset police, said: 'This is a serious offence involving a police officer.

'We, along with the public, expect the highest level of professionalism and conduct from all officers and staff at all times. 'Now the criminal proceedings have come to a conclusion, the misconduct process will begin immediately.

'It would, therefore, be inappropriate for me to comment further at this time.'

Original report here


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No charges over Mexican labourer's slaying

Throwing rocks is a bit primitive but it is still dangerous behavior -- and throwing rocks at cops is really dumb

The US state of Washington has decided not to file criminal charges against the three police officers who fatally shot a migrant Mexican farm worker in 2015 after he threw rocks at them and ran through a crowded intersection.

The killing of Antonio Zambrano-Montes in the southeastern farming hub of Pasco, captured on video by witnesses and shared widely online, sparked days of protests from the city's majority Latino community and drew criticism from the Mexican government and human rights activists.

Zambrano's death was among a series of police shootings across the United States that have put law enforcement agencies under scrutiny over their use of force against minorities.

In announcing his decision, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he determined the officers' use of deadly force was justified under state law.

Even so, in a letter to the state's governor, Jay Inslee, who had asked Ferguson's office to review the shooting, Ferguson wrote that he was "deeply troubled by Mr Zambrano-Montes's death."

"I believe that the use of deadly force in this case, though legally justified, was not the only possible way to protect the police and the public from his dangerous behaviour," he said.

His decision comes two weeks after the US Justice Department said the Pasco Police Department needed to improve officer training on use-of-force, recruit more Hispanics and women, and increase the number of officers fluent in Spanish.

Ferguson's decision also mirrors the 2015 charging decision by a local prosecutor.

Zambrano's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this year accusing the officers of excessive force.

The officers fired 17 shots at Zambrano after he ignored orders to stop throwing rocks and jogged across a busy intersection. He collapsed on the sidewalk after a volley of bullets, as several witnesses reacted with shock or anger.

The 35-year-old undocumented immigrant, who arrived in Washington state seeking opportunity about a decade ago, battled drug use and homelessness in the months leading up to the shooting.

Original report here


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Oakland police in underage sex scandal with Celeste Guap punished



A Northern California police department has announced it has started disciplinary action against a dozen officers implicated by a teenage prostitute in a wideranging sex scandal.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said the city’s police department started dismissal proceedings against four officers, but noted some may have previously left the department.

The department earlier announced that two officers implicated in the scandal previously resigned. A third killed himself last year.

In addition, seven officers will serve a range of unpaid suspensions before being allowed to return to duty. Another officer will be required to attend training classes.

“I am deeply sorry for the harm this scandal has caused,” Ms Schaaf said.

Ms Schaaf declined to identify the officers, however the scandal was reportedly uncovered after the suicide of Officer Brendan O’Brien.

It’s unclear if any of the officers were represented by lawyers.  The officers’ union said previously it wasn’t representing most of the implicated officers because the alleged misconduct occurred while they were off duty.

Celeste Guap, the now 19-year-old woman at the centre of the scandal, said she has had sex with about 30 law enforcement officials throughout the San Francisco Bay Area over the last two years.

She said she had sex with four officers before she turned 18 and sometimes traded sex for protection from arrest or tip offs to planned prostitution stings. Ms Guap has spoken to the media in the past.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley has launched a criminal investigation.

Her office didn’t respond to requests for comment late Wednesday. “We are being very sensitive to the young woman who has been exploited and been hurt,” Ms O’Malley said on August 9 when activists arrived unannounced at her office and demanded officers be charged criminally. “We are working diligently.”

Most of the implicated officers work in Oakland, which has placed three other officers on leave. In June, the department cycled through three chiefs in 10 days after the teen’s allegations were first reported in the media.

Six Richmond police officers and several others working for other law enforcement agencies have also been implicated.

Original report here


(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress.  If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where  posts  appear as well as on  the primary site.  I have reposted  the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts  HERE or HERE