Suburban Chicago officer charged in fatal crash



A judge set bail at $500,000 on Sunday for a suburban Chicago police officer accused of causing a traffic accident that killed two people in a wrong-way collision on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive.

During the hearing, prosecutors said Terrell Garrett's blood alcohol content after Friday's wreck was measured at 0.184, which is more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. The North Chicago police officer is charged with two counts each of reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol.

Garrett, 35, was in serious condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and didn't attend the hearing.

Witnesses said Garrett's car was driving at least 60 mph as it sped in the wrong direction on the scenic highway, where the speed limit is 45 mph, according to prosecutors. The collision totaled both vehicles and killed 25-year-old Joaquin Garcia and his friend Fabian Torres, 27.

Relatives of the men said they couldn't believe the judge granted bond for Garrett, who wasn't on duty at the time of the crash.

"I believe he should be in jail," Julian Garcia, Joaquin Garcia's uncle, told the Chicago-Sun Times.

Garcia's mother, Cecilia Garcia, told the newspaper that learning that the man suspected of causing a crash that killed her son was a police officer makes things "10 times worse" for her.

"He's supposed to be protecting us," she told the paper.

Joaquin Garcia was studying to be a surgical technician at Malcolm X College in Chicago and was set to graduate in May, according to family members. Torres was a first-year student at DePaul University.

"We were supposed to be going to my brother's graduation in a month," said his sister, who is also named Cecilia. "Now, we're planning his funeral."

Garrett, who has been relieved of his police powers, has been placed on administrative leave from his job in North Chicago.

Original report here




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The Thin Blue Line

There’s a lot we won’t ever know for sure about the death of 16-year-old Kimani Gray, shot to death by police on Monday, March 11 in the Brooklyn district of East Flatbush. Here’s what we do know: two plainclothes officers approached Gray after seeing him “suspiciously fixing his waistband.” The confrontation ended with the officers firing eleven bullets at the teen, hitting him with seven, including three in the back.

In between the waistband-fixing and the body hitting the ground, things get less clear. The officers claim that as they approached Gray, he pulled out a revolver and aimed it at them, thus their use of deadly force. At least one eyewitness, however, claims that Gray had nothing in his hands and did not appear armed; furthermore, when he was already on the ground, clutching the wound at his stomach, one officer told him to “Stay down or we’ll shoot you again.” Another witness claimed that Gray did have a gun, and was trying to make that known precisely so he wouldn’t be perceived as a threat. But let’s give the cops the thing they never seem to give suspects in these situations: the benefit of the doubt. Say Gray was pointing a gun at them. Are they justified in firing? Firing eleven rounds, including three after Gray’s back was already turned?

Remember, from Gray’s point of view, these men aren’t identifiable as policemen. That’s the whole point of plainclothes. All he sees is two random guys approaching him, intent on something. Even if he does draw, even if he does take aim, this is still a defensive posture. The police and various eyewitnesses naturally disagree as to whether any advance warning was given, but even if the officers did announce themselves before firing, Gray has no reason to believe them.

Bear in mind that this is the version in which the police come off best. This isn’t the telling in which two patrolmen shoot yet another unarmed black male, and plant a gun on him in order to cover up their malfeasance, and trust in the blue wall of silence to take care of the rest. No, in this rendering, a case could be made, however tenuous, for pumping seven bullets into a scared teenager. But even so, the incident — like several hundred more in the last few years alone — stands as an indictment of the policing tactics in Mayor Bloomberg’s city.

Recall that it was Bloomberg who strongly encouraged the use of “stop and frisk” techniques, which allow policemen operating under a “reasonable suspicion” to detain anyone on the sidewalk, and publicly pat them down for weapons. Even though more than 90% of these stops do not result in arrests — and far fewer still in convictions, often because they illegally seize small drug stashes (and, lately, arrest women carrying condoms as prostitutes) in the process — and even though by the city’s own stats these tactics are disproportionately used on blacks and Latinos, intensifying the distrust felt by many minorities for the police, Bloomberg insists this suspension of Fourth Amendment rights is crucial to protecting New Yorkers as they go about their daily business.

The question of who, exactly, will protect New Yorkers like Kimani Gray (or those within stray-bullet or ricochet range when police open fire), seems irrelevant to these calculations — if you are “fixing your waistband” in public, and especially if you’re young, black, or Latino, you simply don’t count in the same way as the hypothetical citizen Bloomberg has in mind. If you disagree, you are free to protest — as many in the community did in the nights after Gray’s death — but NYPD is also free to treat your protest as an incipient riot, and deploy troops accordingly. The last few nights, police in riot gear have used “kettling” tactics, extending netting across streets and maneuvering on horseback in order to constrict protestor movement, and eventually to envelop them completely. A minimum of 19 (and possibly upwards of 40 or 50) were arrested, many of them young black women. Hair was pulled, faces were pushed into concrete, pregnant woman were shoved to the ground.

When several journalists, who were streaming a live feed of the scene, tried to approach closer, they were met with police claiming another of Bloomberg’s suspensions of constitutional rights: the “frozen zone” that supposedly trumps the First Amendment protection of freedom of assembly. Like so many abrogations of our rights, this has its roots in counter-terrorism, being conceived as a justification for dispersing crowds around the WTC site on the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. It was deployed liberally against the Occupy crowds, since Zuccotti Park was conveniently located near Ground Zero; now it appears to be available as an on-site justification anywhere in the city. Here’s how it seemed to work last night: a journalist approaches the scene of an arrest, and a cop orders them to leave, because it’s a frozen zone — and that is the extent of the logic involved: “Because I said so.”

It’s the same logic that’s at work throughout Bloomberg’s fiefdom, extending all the way from Wall Street to the corner store (even if the ludicrous Big Gulp ban was at last overturned). The control he exercises makes him the envy and icon of every politico who aspires to power simply because he knows best — and, if you’ve been keeping track, you’ll know that’s pretty much every one of them.

The end result of such arbitrary, good-for-you power is what has been termed the “carceral state”: a polity based on imprisonment, whether or not that corresponds with actual prison bars. The days of community policing are long dead; the model now is adversarial policing. Kettling, stop and frisk, frozen zones: these are prison tactics, marks of a society bent on treating citizens as inmates. So far in Mayor Bloomberg’s New York, that has meant inconvenience and harassment for millions, and death for Kimani Gray and hundreds more.

Original report here




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British family release harrowing CCTV of grandfather 'left to die' in the back of a police van after being pepper sprayed

A family has released video footage that shows a grandfather who was allegedly left to die in the back of a police van, while police officers waited nine minutes to revive him.

Lenny McCourt lost consciousness in the cramped cage after being arrested for being drunk and disorderly at his home in Seaham, County Durham on 11 September 2010.

The 44-year-old had been pepper sprayed twice during his arrest and was taken to Peterlee police station.

Relatives of Mr McCourt have made the 'heartbreaking decision' to release the CCTV footage after the Durham Police officers involved did not face action, despite failing to administer immediate CPR.

Mr McCourt's sister-in-law Tracey McCourt, 47, said: 'Lenny could be here today if one of the police officers had done their job and tried to help him. 'It's clear from the CCTV that it took them more than five minutes to take his cuffs off and nearly ten minutes before they try and give him CPR.

'They are trained in first aid but if they aren't going to use it, or even try and get help, what is the point? 'They have a duty to protect the public and they just stood there with their hands on their hips while Lenny lay dying.'

Last November, an inquest at Crook Coroner's Court ruled that Mr McCourt died of heart disease precipitated by the stress of the events of the day and excess alcohol. Coroner Andrew Tweddle ruled his death was by misadventure.

Tracey, who is married to Lenny's brother Gene, 49, said: 'We were all devastated, we still are.

'He was a gentle giant, who loved all of his family. He had five brothers who he adored. He didn't deserve to die alone in a police van.'

The family has released the footage as their own way of gaining justice after they felt let down by the police. 'People need to see this to show what is really happening when people are in custody,' Tracey, a factory worker, said.

'The way you see the custody sergeant who can't get to the phone quickly enough to phone for an ambulance explains that he wasn't alive.

'Lenny was pronounced dead at 5.42pm but the first family member didn't find out about it until 11.50pm - that's appalling. 'It's disgusting how we have been treated, the whole process is a disgrace.

'I'm a rational person but when you see the people who are there to protect us failing to do that, I struggle to accept it.

"The more people that know about this, the better. 'It's a very tough video to watch, but the police are in a position of power and they need to be brought to account.'

The Independent Police Complaints Commission detailed a catalogue of failures by police, including officers waiting about nine minutes before trying to resuscitate Mr McCourt.

PC Richard Clark, of Durham Police, was given a final written warning after a disciplinary panel found his actions on the day Mr McCourt died constituted gross misconduct. Special Constable Jeanette Horlock, resigned from the force.

A Durham police spokesman said the inquest found no officer had acted unlawfully.

The force's head of professional standards, Superintendent Darren Ellis said: 'Since this tragic event we have reviewed our policies and procedures regarding the safe transportation of people taken into custody.

'We have also looked at our policies and procedures for ensuring all relevant officers and staff continue to receive appropriate first aid and refresher training.'

Original report here




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A middle-class black man raised by white parents, Ben had always respected the police. Until one night they stopped his car...



Growing up as a black person in a predominantly white society, I always regarded myself as having a balanced view of the world. I have experienced my share of prejudice, of course, but life has taught me that, on the whole, our nation is decent, tolerant and, above all, fair.

I was born in the UK and raised in Middlesex by adoptive white parents after my Bajan birth mother fell seriously ill. We were a middle-class family and I was educated largely privately, so I was sheltered to some extent from the casual racism which blights so many lives.

I own and run an international theatre school. When I speak to people on the phone, the vast majority assume I am white, which, though it pains me to admit it, probably makes my life easier.

But I have plenty of black friends and have worked with disadvantaged youngsters all my adult life. So when certain sections of the black community exchanged elaborate — and almost always anonymous — anecdotes about deeply ingrained police racism, I took it all with a pinch of salt.

I knew better than to mistake conspiracy theory for fact. Or so I thought, until my cosy illusion was shattered two weeks ago.

The Damascene moment came as I drove home to Kingston-upon-Thames after seeing A Chorus Line at a London theatre. Settling back into the driving seat of my £36,000 black Audi A5, I was happily humming a tune from the show when I noticed a flash of blue in my rear-view mirror.

I spotted an unmarked police car but continued my journey, assuming the flashing light was nothing to do with me, since I was driving at a perfectly legal 30mph.

When I realised the car was on my tail I pulled over, wondering if, perhaps, my brake light was out.

Five seconds later, a police constable was rapping on my window and shouting: 'Open it!'

No sooner had I done so than he barked: 'Is this your car, pal?' I nodded, but before I could speak he launched into a tirade.

'I don't think you heard me right, mate. I asked if this was your car? It's a very nice car for a bloke like you to be driving, isn't it? Now I'm going to repeat the question, to be absolutely clear, and think hard before you answer me: Is. This. Your. Car?'

Again I tried to answer, again I was cut off.

'Let me guess — it's yours but you can't prove it? Or maybe you've borrowed it from a friend? And you haven't got your driving licence. Am I right?'

Finally given the opportunity to reply, all I could do was stare into his eyes, gripped by self-righteous fury.

I took a deep breath and slowly, quietly, informed him that I did have my driving licence and perhaps he could let me know on what grounds he had stopped me.

His voice dripping with disdain, he told me to be quiet and hand over my licence. When I asked if I could see some form of identification — or at least get his name — he leaned in and jabbed his finger at me, hissing the words: 'Hand. It. Over.'

Which I did and, of course, everything was in order. In a heartbeat, his demeanour changed.

His anger was replaced by a distinctly panicked look. Now he was allowing me to speak freely, and my pronunciation was clearly giving him the jitters — I trained in the theatre and have retained the clear diction drilled into me by my teachers.

I asked again why he had stopped me, and he spluttered something about a spate of Audis being stolen in Twickenham.

Ignoring the fact our conversation was taking place six miles away in Roehampton, I pointed out that surely they would have the registration numbers of the stolen cars? Were they stopping every Audi within the Greater London area, or just the ones who drove safely within the speed limit?

The police officer stared at his shoes, apparently dumbstruck.

Once more I asked to see his warrant card, whereupon he turned on his heel, flashing some form of identification as he walked away, telling me: 'You can go about your business now.'

The ID he showed me could have been a Nectar card for all I could make out.

Ten seconds later he pulled off, tyres squealing. As he sped off — apparently the 30mph restriction does not apply to officers of the law — my first reaction was to laugh out loud.

But there wasn't the slightest hint of mirth in my laughter. It was born of bitter frustration, shock and an overwhelming sense of foolishness.

I was an idiot. What's more, I owe a huge apology to Britain's black community.

I always believed in the Boys in Blue; trusted them to look after our best interests because, well, that's what they do, isn't it?

My faith in them survived the Macpherson Report, with its allegations of institutional racism, and a disturbing documentary called The Secret Policeman, which exposed racism among recruits.

Call me naive, but I regarded these as mere speed bumps on the road to a better place — an opportunity to learn lessons and move forward.

On a personal level, I never had the slightest reason to doubt the police or their integrity. Whenever I came across them — especially after I received racist death threats two years ago — they were unfailingly polite, professional and respectful.

The only time I wavered in this view was when Stuart Lawrence, whose brother Stephen's racist murder prompted the Macpherson Report, spoke out about being stopped in his car by police up to 25 times, simply because of the colour of his skin.

That stopped me in my tracks, I must admit, but still I had nagging doubts. Could it really be true? It shames me to admit this but, hand on heart, I couldn't help wondering if there was more to the story, because this kind of racism had never happened to me.

Now, having been through my own chastening experience, I cannot recall a time when I have felt more foolish.

There is no doubt in my mind why that ignorant policeman pulled me over: I was a black man in a high-end car. People like me don't get to drive a new Audi A5 unless we are professional footballers, pop stars or up to no good.

I am no longer surprised that so many ethnic minorities distrust the police. I can see why they choose not to step forward when asked to, often preferring to settle disputes without recourse to the very people who belittle and, on some occasions, openly detest them.

Setting off on my short journey home from the West End, my mind flooded with contradictory thoughts. Chiefly, I thought, what an utter waste of police time. How many burglaries were being committed within a mile of us while he was indulging his prejudice?

What could I do about it? Surely they can't get away with treating people like that?

Then the reality struck me. They can and they do. This is precisely what Stuart Lawrence was talking about.

This is why the black community complains so bitterly about the lack of respect they experience on a daily basis from the police.

This officer had picked on me because of the colour of my skin, but he would never be held to account for his actions. He was gone, like a ghost in the night, and without knowing his identity there was nothing I could do about it.

Here I was in a leafy suburb, protected by relative wealth and privilege, which had clearly frightened him into a hasty retreat. There is no such luxury for the majority of black people, who have no option but to take the abuse and move on.

In the days since this happened, there has been a stark change in my world view.

I am no longer surprised that so many ethnic minorities distrust the police. I can see why they choose not to step forward when asked to, often preferring to settle disputes without recourse to the very people who belittle and, on some occasions, openly detest them.

This has been a huge wake-up call for me after years of blithely assuming the best — a reminder that while we have come a long way as a nation, we can never stop striving to improve.

I still maintain that the vast majority of police officers are decent, hard-working and fundamentally honest servants of the people.

Yet it only takes one rotten apple to spoil the barrel and, judging by the experiences of Stuart Lawrence and many more, this is clearly not a case of one rogue officer.

These are difficult times for our police forces. The officers themselves admit as much: two-thirds of bobbies in London's Metropolitan Police say the public no longer receives a good service.

Lord Stevens, who was the Met's commissioner from 2000 until 2005, speaks of a 'national crisis' in police morale.

Well, it cuts both ways. Just as they have lost confidence in themselves, I have lost confidence in them. And for that I am truly sorry.

Original report here




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Chicago goons at work again

Suit: Cops responding to robbery shoot store owner 11 times

An Austin store owner filed a lawsuit against the city this week claiming that Chicago Police officers mistakenly shot him nearly a dozen times after a robbery at his West Side store. The lawsuit seeks millions of dollars in damages.

Bassil Abdelal, owner of B&B Beauty Supply, 5155 W. Lake, claims two Chicago Police officers responding to an armed robbery at his store on March 14, 2012, mistook him for a robber and shot him 11 times after the robbers already had fled.

At the time, police said responding officers encountered the robbers during the crime and a shootout ensued.

Abdelal had closed his store and locked the front door when a man knocked on the door about 8:30 p.m. and said he wanted to make a purchase, according to a suit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Abdelal unlocked the door and attempted to hand the apparent customer the merchandise without letting him inside, but the man ran away.

A short time later, three masked men, including the man who had knocked on the door earlier, stormed in through the unlocked door, the suit said. Two of the masked men had guns that they pointed at the heads of Abdelal and his father-in-law.

One of the men took Abdelal’s father-in-law to the back of the store and demanded he show him where the circuit breaker was so he could turn off the electronic surveillance, according to the suit.

The robbers demanded that Abdelal open the register and give them the cash, the suit said. Abdelal explained the register could not be opened because the power was cut. One of the men turned the electricity back on and Abdelal handed over the $160 in cash inside.

Abdelal told the upset robbers there was more money in a back washroom, but the robbers got scared after receiving a cellphone call that police were coming and ran away, the suit said. One of the robbers dropped his gun outside the store.

The suit claims Abdelal picked up the gun for protection and waited by the door until police arrived. He then threw down the gun, but police opened fire and shot him in the leg, according to the suit.

Abdelal was wounded, and he ran back inside screaming, “Don’t’ shoot I am the store owner,” the suit said. The officers shot Abdelal repeatedly and shot out the store windows and glass door, the lawsuit alleged.

Abdelal was shot 11 times, including in the hands, shoulder, legs and hips, according to the suit. The injuries required screws and metal rods to be placed in his legs.

The suit claims the officers never told Abdelal to put his hands up or lay on the ground. The officers then allegedly stopped Abdelal’s father-in-law from helping him.

While Abdelal was recovering at an area hospital, detectives visited him numerous times and even handcuffed him to his bed, the suit said.

Police said at the time that officers arrived at the store and found a robbery in progress, and the three suspects confronted them and pointed their weapons at the officers, who shot the men.

Police confirmed at the time that a person inside the store was wounded and two guns were recovered.

All three alleged robbers were charged shortly after the incident, authorities said.

Omar Young, 24, of the 300 block of North Lockwood, was charged with one count of armed robbery with a firearm; one count of aggravated assault of a police officer and a parole violation. Richie Cole, 20, was charged with one count of armed robbery with a firearm and a parole violation. Leevon Carter, 22, of the 100 block of North Lockwood, was charged with one count of armed robbery with a firearm, authorities said.

The 10-count suit claims the city followed its “code of silence” to protect and cover for two officers who shot the unarmed store owner. It further claims surveillance shows the robbers left the guns outside and none of the wounded was armed.

Abdelal claims, among other things, excessive force, false imprisonment, assault, battery and negligence. He is seeking more than $10 million for each count plus punitive damages determined at trial and attorneys fees.

Original report here




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Senate hears from victims of sexual assault in the military

Survivors of sexual assault in the military urge senators to take the final authority over cases out of the hands of high-ranking officers

Survivors of sexual assault in the military urged lawmakers to require independent review of claims, taking the final authority out of the hands of high-ranking officers who have in some cases reversed decisions by military juries. That, they testified in a Senate hearing Wednesday, is the best way to end widespread underreporting of sexual assaults in the military.

In the first Senate examination of sexual assault in the military in nearly a decade, the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel weighed a range of potential solutions to a long-standing problem that permeates every branch of the military.

The controversy was amplified by a recent case in which an Air Force lieutenant general overturned a military jury's verdict and sentence for Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, who had been found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced to one year in prison.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) pressed officers from each branch of the military who were assembled at the hearing on whether they thought justice was served in that case. She asked them whether they thought the jury was mistaken. In her view, Gillibrand said, "justice was not done."

Rebekah Havrilla, a survivor of military sexual assault who has become an advocate of reform through the Service Women's Action Network, said the Wilkerson case was a high-profile instance of a common occurrence in the military.

Of the 2,439 formal reports submitted in 2011, only 240 proceeded to trial. Anonymous surveys of military personnel for the same year showed that 19,000 instances of sexual harassment or assault went unreported in 2011.

Havrilla testified she had endured sexual harassment and been raped while serving in the Army in Afghanistan. She hesitated to report the rape because she had seen previous accusations against her commanding officer go nowhere. Also, she added, "the unit climate was extremely sexist and hostile in nature toward women."

Havrilla and other survivors described an "old boys club" atmosphere among military officers that causes complaints to be suppressed.

Military officers testified about a number of efforts in recent years to improve training of investigators. The Air Force has implemented a pilot program to provide independent counsel for victims.

The officers raised concerns that the outside reviews suggested by reform advocates could threaten the leadership roles of commanding officers and could slow responses to the reports they do receive.

Original report here




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Too Big To Jail: Is Wells Fargo Guilty of Negligent Homicide?

As Robert Borosage wrote, “Too Big Too Fail” has become “Too Big To Jail.” According to attorney general, our big banks have gotten so big that bringing criminal charges against them for blatantly criminal acts “will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy.” (Click here to tell Attorney General Eric Holder that no bank should be “Too Big To Jail,” and no bank should be above the law.) is ”Too Big To Jail” a license to kill? Does that mean big banks can get away with murder — or at least negligent homicide?

It sounds like Wells Fargo may have gotten away with murder or some lesser charge in the case of Larry Delassus, innocent victim of “death by typo” c/o Wells Fargo.

"On the morning of Dec. 19, 2012, in a Torrance courtroom, Larry Delassus‘ heart stopped as he watched his attorney argue his negligence and discrimination case against banking behemoth Wells Fargo."

His death came more than two years after Wells Fargo mistakenly mixed up his Hermosa Beachaddress with that of a neighbor in the same condo complex. The bank’s typo led Wells Fargo to demand that Delassus pay $13,361.90 ­— two years of late property taxes the bank said it had paid on his behalf in order to keep his Wells Fargo mortgage afloat.

But Delassus, a quiet man who suffered from the rare blood-clot disorder Budd-Chiari syndrome and was often hospitalized, didn’t owe a penny in taxes.

One of his neighbors, whose condo “parcel number” was two digits different from Delassus’, owed the back taxes.

In a series of painfully tragic events, Wells Fargo relied on its typographical error to double Delassus’ mortgage — from $1,237.69 to $2,429.13 — as its way of recouping the $13,361.90 in taxes Delassus didn’t owe. Delassus, a retiree living on a $1,655 check, couldn’t meet the mysteriously increased mortgage. He stopped paying, and soon was far behind on his mortgage.

Delassus and his attorney did not discover until May 2010 that a mis-entered number had dragged Delassus into this spiral. As court documents obtained by L.A. Weeklyshow, after admitting its error, Wells Fargo foreclosed on Delassus anyway and sold his condo.

Delassus had to move to a tiny apartment in an assisted-living home in Carson.

Friends say he didn’t die of heart disease that day in court, as the coroner found. He was, they believe, killed by a system so inhumane that it could not undo a devastating piece of red tape the system itself created.

According to the LA Weekly piece, Wells Fargo later acknowledged its error, but by then Delassus — a disabled veteran who suffered from Budd-Chiari syndrome —had stopped paying his mortgage after Wells Fargo doubled his payments, leading the bank to foreclose. (Strangely, there was an unexplained $2,861 discrepancy between the $13,361 Wells Fargo said it paid in property taxes on Delassus’ behalf, and the $10,500 the bank admitted in court documents was mistakenly charged to Delassus.) Not only that, but the bank refused to let Delassus resume his regular mortgage payments in the $1,237 installments he paid before the bank mistakenly jacked-up his payments.

Instead the bank demanded that he pay a sizable “reinstatement cost,” which is usually the past due amount plus fees. The bank never told Delassus how much his reinstatement cost would be. Instead, Wells Fargo demanded full payment on the condo, payment due within 24 hours. Delassus sued Wells Fargo for negligence and discrimination against a disabled person. To add insult to injury, in May 2011 the bank sold Delassus’ condo one day after he’d been released from the hospital after a bout of illness.

According to friends, Delassus still had enough faith in our system of justice to honestly believe that he would return to his home of 16 years. He was in court, listening to his attorney argue his case when he slumped over and died.

Here was a guy who received a notice out of nowhere from Wells Fargo, demanding that he repay the bank for property taxes he didn’t even owe. The bank then proceeded to double his mortgage payments even as Delassus was probably still trying to figure out what the hell happened.

It’s not surprising that Delassus stopped payment on his mortgage while he and his attorney tried to sort things out. It’s unlikely that the bank would have accepted a partial payment, and might have returned the check, charged him a late fee, and maybe even foreclosed on him anyway. Given the complexities of finance law, making the payments might have been interpreted as legally acknowledging the alleged debt.

Wells Fargo, even after admitting its error, foreclosed on Delassus for failing to make mortgage the payments he would have made had it not been for Wells Fargo’s initial error. The stress of it all might nearly have killed someone in excellent health.

None of this is surprising given Wells Fargo’s record:

Wells Fargo has foreclosed on homeowners who were trying to make good on they mortgage payments.

Wells Fargo sent a crew to foreclosed on a home that didn’t even have a mortgage, and dragged its feet about returning the homeowners (broken, damaged) belongings after the banks crew broke in and hauled everything away.

Wells Fargo forcibly evicted a cancer patient despite a court order posted on the front door, and then claimed it wasn’t to blame.

Wells Fargo offered homeowners deceptive mortgage modifications, and then foreclosed even when the homeowners made good on their “modified” mortgage payments.

Wells Fargo was slapped with a $1.3 million fine for mishandling a New Orleans man’s mortgage, and improperly charging him $24,000 in fees.

Wells Fargo paid $175 million to settle a lawsuit that the bank’s discriminatory lending practices caused more than 34,000 African-American and Hispanic homeowners in 36 states to pay higher loan rates solely because their race.

The coroner later reported heart disease was the cause of death. But I tend to agree with his friends, that Delassus was killed by a system not only “so inhumane that it could not undo a devastating piece of red tape the system itself created,” but so nearly sadistic that it continued punishing Delassus for an error of its own making.

Delassus isn’t the only homeowner on Wells Fargo’s body count. In fact, Delassus’ story brings to mind what happened to Norman Rousseau when Wells Fargo made a mistake with his mortgage.

The quick version of this terrible story is that Norman and Oriane Rousseau of Newbury Park, California were scammed into a predatory mortgage. But they made their payments anyway, always paying with a cashier’s check in person at the same branch. Then one day the bank misapplied their payment and said they still owed the money. This started a long, nasty process that led to the bank evicting the Rousseaus from their home.

Here’s the shocker: right at the start the Rousseaus came up with proof that the bank had received the payment and had cashed the check. But the bank continued to claim it had missed the payment, gave the Rousseaus the runaround, started applying fees, and used it as an excuse to foreclose on the house anyway.

The Rousseaus fought back, the bank dragged it out for so long and pulled so many tricks, getting its way every step of the process, until this last Sunday Norman Rousseau finally gave up and shot himself in despair – two days before the scheduled eviction, Tuesday, May 15. (The Rousseau’s lawyer just said he was able to win a 2-week delay.)

First-degree murder charges might be asking too much, but negligent homicide — defined as allowing others to die through criminal negligence.

What’s to be expected of a bank that engaged “robo-signing,” committed massive foreclosure fraud, and even laundered drug money for Mexican cartels?

Here’s the thing. If we can’t get a bank like Wells Fargo for committing massive foreclosure fraud, or laundering money for Mexican drug cartels, what can we get them for? Iran hangs bankers for far less. And Wells Fargo is just one part of Wall Street’s “Foreclosure Fraud Machine.” How is it that our government, our justice system can’t even bring charges against criminal enterprises masquerading as banks because doing so “will have a negative impact on the national economy? Talk to Larry Delassus, Norman Rousseau and the other homeowners above about “negative impacts.”

Well, as Digby noted, at least Delassus and Rosseau suffered at the hands of the private sector, rather than some “faceless, uncaring Government bureaucrats who make too much money.”

Obviously, this is just one many thousands of similar stories across the nation during the past few years. And it’s still happening. But I’m pretty sure that if we can just cut Social Security and Medicare and get millionaires to fork over the money they lose between their couch cushions it will all be good.

The truth is, Wells Fargo will get away with what it did to Larry Delassus, like it’s gotten away with everything above. At most, it will pay a few fines and settlements that amount to chump change compared to its record $4.94 billion in profits reported at the end of 2012.

If you or I, or any other person perpetrated even half of the crimes Wells Fargo committed as a “corporate person,” we wouldn’t have a hope of getting away with it. Banks, no matter how big they are, shouldn’t be able to get away with it either.

Original report here




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London cop who called black men 'monkeys' is fired for gross misconduct

Cops are not entitled to express their opinions, apparently. It would be different if discriminatory behaviour had been alleged but it was not. Dismissal seems more like a paranoid reaction than a measured response. Mere words uttered in private are "gross misconduct"?

A police officer who said that a black man looked like a monkey has been sacked, Scotland Yard said today.

Metropolitan Police constable Kevin Hughes, who was based at Newham, was cleared of racially-aggravated offences in November, but has now been dismissed for gross misconduct, the force said.

Hughes and fellow constable David Hair were both cleared of using threatening words or behaviour to cause alarm and distress and of racially-aggravated harassment at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in November.

Hughes, of Brentwood, Essex, admitted saying a black man looked like a monkey, while Hair was said to have told a black woman colleague he thought she was going to 'rant' about overtime and not do any because she was 'going home to cook bananas'.

The two officers were alleged to have used abusive language about black men while they were on patrol. The court hearing was told they referred to each other at ‘Auntie’ and ‘Uncle’ in a sing song ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ accent. On other occasions Hughes said black people were like chimpanzees or Neanderthals.

In his defence Pc Hughes claimed he was merely discussing evolution.

Chief magistrate Howard Riddle said that while Pc Hughes’s language was 'unacceptable and offensive', it did not amount to a criminal offence. And he said that while the insulting nature of Hair’s comment seemed obvious to many, he did not think it was to him.

Hair was said to have been 'mortified' when Hughes suggested his comment could be taken as being racist.

Hughes was dismissed for gross misconduct in relation to authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct after a hearing which ended yesterday.

Hair was given a final written warning.

In a statement today, Scotland Yard said the officers’ behaviour had been brought to the attention of senior management in March last year.

The matter was referred to the police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which conducted an independent investigation, leading to the officers being charged.

Commander Allan Gibson, from the Directorate of Professional Standards, said: 'As soon as the actions of these officers were brought to the attention of the Directorate of Professional Standards the matter was voluntarily referred to the IPCC.

'The Commissioner has made it quite clear that racism is not acceptable within the Met, this is a view supported by the majority of officers and staff, which has been demonstrated by those who were prepared to challenge PC Hughes.

'The public have an absolute right to expect that officers serving with the MPS treat them and their colleagues with respect and courtesy and that they do not hold discriminatory opinions.

'Pc Hughes has now been dismissed from the Metropolitan Police Service.'

The force said that although the case against Hair was found proven, the panel has taken into account the opinion of a witness that he did not intend to cause offence, and issued him with a final written warning.

IPCC Commissioner Mike Franklin said: 'Pcs Hughes and Hair used offensive language and arguably many people will find their comments to be insulting and unacceptable.

'This situation is aggravated further by the fact the offensive remarks were made within a group of officers which suggests Hughes and Hair thought their comments were appropriate work place banter.

'Fortunately, their colleagues were not prepared to let the remarks go unchallenged and they had the courage to report the officers’ comments as well as providing evidence at the criminal trial.

'To stand-up and report your peers in this way should not be underestimated and we acknowledge and thank those officers who had the fortitude to challenge the offensive remarks.

'It is vital the Metropolitan Police Service takes seriously reports of officers using racially offensive language. It can indicate a potential wider problem and can undermine the efforts being made to deliver the professional service the public deserves.'

Original report here




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“For your own protection”

There is no situation that cannot be made instantly and immeasurably worse through police intervention. A splendid illustration of this principle is found in a recent ruling from the the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

According to the court, police were entitled to arrest, taze, and beat a teenager who had done nothing more sinister than speak to his mother on the street in front of their home. A police officer accosted the young man – who, as a juvenile, is identified only by the initials "R.R." – after he saw him approaching a woman who was walking a dog.

The officer, who belongs to a social cohort of people who are distinguished primarily by their timidity, claimed that he was "concerned for the woman’s safety." His fears should have been allayed when it was established that the woman was the teenager’s mother.

If the cop had been an actual peace officer, he would have tipped his hat and left. But he was a law enforcer – that is, someone through whose dark ministrations innocent people are transformed into "criminals" – and so he insisted on detaining and interrogating the entirely harmless youngster. To that end he sent for "backup," and a thugscrum soon coalesced around the puzzled and terrified teen.

As the Court of Appeals summarizes, R.R. was "tasered several times, removed from the backseat [of a police vehicle], thrown to the ground, tasered again, kicked, handcuffed, and arrested." All of this was done because the young man "moved around and wrestled around while the officers held him on the ground, making it difficult for the officers to put the cuffs on him."

Because he didn’t permit himself to be shackled like a slave in front of his own home because he had been seen speaking to his mother, the teenager committed the supposed crime of "refusing to submit to arrest."

The trial court in the case also acknowledged that the victim was "a fine young man, an excellent student, and active in sports, clubs and church activities." The judge reportedly expressed dismay that "an innocent situation … just completely got out of hand" – which is, once again, the familiar and entirely predictable outcome when members of the State’s enforcement caste materialize. Despite these superficial expressions of regret, the Judge sentenced the victim to serve one day in detention – thereby leaving him with a criminal record because he had been on the receiving end of a state-aggravated assault.

Like most communities in its section of the country, Pope County, Arkansas, where that incident occurred, is thickly populated with Evangelical Christians, whose numbers probably include most elected officials, prosecutors, judges, and police officers. At some point in Sunday School they probably read the 22nd chapter of the Book of Acts, which describes how the Apostle Paul, accused of disturbing the peace, was arrested by Roman occupation soldiers and taken to a local barracks to be questioned under scourging.

As the interrogator was preparing to whip the apostle, Paul pointed out to the centurion in charge that it was illegal to flog a Roman citizen unless he had been tried and convicted of a crime. This objection caused the interrogator to desist immediately, and prompted the officer in command to express the fear that he could face criminal charges because he had chained – that is, handcuffed – a Roman citizen.

Every day in this supposedly free country, police commit an act that was impermissible for their antecedents in imperial Rome: In the name of "officer safety," they handcuff American citizens who are not criminal suspects while conducting investigations. Police also routinely inflict summary punishment – using batons, Tasers, pepper spray, or other means – against those who resist being detained without cause. Within a few years police will have at their disposal handcuffs that can impart electrical shocks to detainees.

In an 1894 essay published by The Strand Magazine, Inspector Maurice Moser of Scotland Yard wrote that the earliest historical mention of handcuffs was in the fourth century B.C., "when soldiers of a conquering Greek army found among the baggage of the routed Carthaginians several chariots full of handcuffs, which had been held ready in confident anticipation of a multitude of prisoners."

"My personal experience of handcuffs is small, because I dislike them," wrote Inspector Moser of the restraints. He pointed out that in Belgium, which at the time was the seat of a substantial empire, "the use of handcuffs by police is entirely forbidden."

Like most police officers of his era, Moser was a relatively civilized man who found the act of shackling another human being to be barbarous and punitive. Handcuffing a human being certainly doesn’t enhance the safety of the person being restrained. Nor does it relieve police anxieties about the all-encompassing threat to that most sacred of considerations, "officer safety." Witness the large and ever-growing number of cases in which officers – almost always in the plural, of course – beat, taze, pepper-spray, and even shoot suspects who have already been handcuffed.

Original report here




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Van driver hauled to court for SPLASHING a British cop as he drove past a puddle wins seven month legal battle to clear his name

A motorist left stunned when he was prosecuted for accidentally splashing a police worker when he drove along a flooded road has finally won his seven-month legal battle.

Mick Davidson, 60, was driving his Volkswagen down Cheshunt High Street, Herts., last June when he went past PCSO Richard Moore.

Days later a PCSO and a police officer turned up at his home claiming he had been driving in a careless or inconsiderate manner - a criminal offence.

Mr Moore accused him of drenching him with a 'six foot high wall of water' by deliberately driving through a 10ft by 3ft puddle.

Enraged Mr Davidson was told to either go on a driving awareness course or face prosecution - and he decided to fight his corner, insisting the officer was telling a 'pack of lies'.

He spent weeks gathering his own evidence to prove that no such puddle could have existed.

The case got as far as the magistrates court but the Crown Prosecution Service suddenly dropped it as the trial was about to start - admitting their evidence was 'irregular'.

Mr Davidson, from Puckeridge, Herts., said: 'This police officer and PCSO came to my home and showed me a piece of paper saying I had been driving and careless or inconsiderate manner.

'I told them 'you're joking' but they went ahead. 'I wrote them a long letter saying I couldn't guarantee turning up to the driving awareness course because of health issues. 'They then decided to take me to court and at that point I saw the PC and the PCSO's witness statement.

'I was so incensed by how incorrect it was. I wasn't having none of it. It was a complete pack of lies. 'I'm not the kind of person who goes about looking for a copper to splash.

'I have never denied that the road was flooded. And I have never denied that I could have accidentally splashed the PCSO.

'But there is no way there was one puddle of those exact measurements on the road. The whole road was puddles.'

Stevenage magistrates were told the statements of PCSO Moore and a Turkish witness were similar - including identical spelling mistakes.

The witness used an interpreter, but the court found there was no interpreter's signature on the original statement and dropped the case.

Mr Davidson says he has received no apology from the police, who he blasted for wasting time and money on the case.

He said: 'They expected me to cave in, but I refused to give up. I went back to where it happened five times to gather information. 'I cannot believe we went all the way to court over a puddle. What a waste of money and time. The police should be putting their resources in to solving real crimes.'

Hertfordshire Constabulary said PCSO Moore was no longer employed by the force and that the case was still 'being reviewed'. It is understood that Mr Moore is now training to become an officer with Cambridgeshire police.

The Crown Prosecution Service said: 'On the day of the trial, an irregularity with the recording of evidence by the police became apparent, which meant that the trial could no longer proceed. 'The CPS offered no evidence and the case was dismissed.'

Original report here




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British Police took SIX DAYS to respond to a 999 call made by terrified homeowners who found gang of men raiding their home

Red-faced police chiefs have made a grovelling apology to the victims of a burglary after officers took six days to respond to their terrified 999 call.

The victims, who have asked not to be named, returned to their home, in Thurrock, Essex, to find a 4x4 car in their drive and a gang of men raiding their house.

When the husband and wife confronted the men, one claimed to be cleaning their block paving.

But as the quick-thinking couple called police, the gang ploughed their vehicle through the garden wall and made a quick getaway.

But despite the seriousness of the situation, police failed to send an officer to visit the couple until a full six days later.

The homeowners are now demanding answers from Essex Police after they were left to deal with the aftermath of the terrifying incident alone.

The husband said: 'It's not good enough. The police showed up six days after we called them. 'The officer was very good but I felt dreadful for him - while he was with us he was called to a possible jumper off a bridge over the A13.'

A spokesperson for Essex Police confirmed they are now investigating the embarrassing incident which happened on Friday, February 22. A statement read: 'Essex Police are looking into the background of this case but it would appear that the caller did not receive the response that they should have and we wish to apologise for that.

'In this particular case it would appear the call was not given the correct priority and officers should have responded on the day.

'We will examine how this happened to see if there are any lessons that can be learnt to prevent it from happening again. In the meantime we would like to reassure people that the investigation into the offence is on-going and officers are continuing enquiries to find the offenders.

'The Thurrock area is covered by a number of different policing teams including Neighbourhood Crime Teams, Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Response and Patrol vehicles and the Criminal Investigation Department as part of the Force's borderless policing concept.

'This means we have a variety of resources available and will always look to send the nearest appropriate officer to a report of a crime.'


Original report here




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Shamed British cop who stole £400 during a house search faces return to prison for stealing a suspect's iPhone

A shamed police officer who stole cash during a house search is facing a return to prison for taking a suspect's iPhone. Former PC Ian Scouler was jailed for 12 months last November after being secretly filmed pocketing £400 while on duty in 2011.

But Scouler was back in court today to admit stealing a suspect's iPhone and another handset while employed by the Metropolitan Police.

The former cop - who walked into Westminster Magistrates Court after being released from his prison sentence - was warned he now faces a swift return to jail.

He pocketed an iPhone after it was seized during the search of a suspect's home on October 28, 2010. 'At the time this theft occurred, Mr Scouler was a serving police officer with the Met,' said prosecutor Emma Scheer. 'When officers went to restore the property to its owner, they found some of the items were missing. 'The iPhone was found to have been sold by Scouler shortly after the date of the search.'

Scouler had set up an account under his own name at website fonebank.com to sell on the stolen handset.

He admitted selling the phone but initially tried to pin the blame on one of his fellow officers. 'He said he didn't in fact take the iPhone but it was given to him by a colleague and had no idea that phone was stolen', said Ms Scheer.

Investigators also discovered he had stolen another phone in May 2010 which had been handed in to police. He again sold it online, but was 'very vague' when investigators asked where he had got it from, the court heard.

Scouler's career was destroyed when a jury at Southwark Crown Court found him guilty of theft following a trial.

He was caught taking money in a sting operation set up following allegations of thefts by officers from Greenwich Borough's Disruption unit during searches. Scouler was filmed removing the cash from a leather jacket left in a flat in New Eltham, south east London, and putting it into his pocket.

He was also taped joking 'It's not divisible by three' when a colleague found 200 Euros.

Scouler and colleagues were filmed browsing pornography and playing music while they were supposed to be searching the flat, which had been wired with hidden recording devices.

He later claimed to have forgotten about the money which he took home, but a jury convicted him of theft. Judge Michael Gledhill QC branded Scouler a 'rogue officer' when sentencing him to 12 months in prison.

'The trust that society places in their police officers is vitally important to everyone', he said. 'When that trust is broken by rogue officers, as you became, public confidence is eroded, it makes the job of honest officers far more difficult, and it seriously undermines society.'

Ms Scheer said Scouler's theft of the phones only came to light in September last year, when the victim asked police for his seized possessions back.

She said it was only after he was jailed for stealing the money that he owned up to his other crimes. 'It appears that only after having been convicted of the maters at crown court that he subsequently admitted he was guilty in relation to these matters', she said.

District Judge Nicholas Evans freed Scouler on unconditional bail until a sentencing hearing on March 28. 'I have indicated that the court has custody in mind', he added.

Scouler, of Borough Green, Kent, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft.

Original report here




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Married British community cop 'used police computers as dating agency to strike up affairs with vulnerable women and had sex with victims on duty'

A police community support officer used the police database ‘as a dating agency’ to have affairs with single mothers and domestic abuse victims while on duty, a court heard.

Peter Bunyan accessed inside information to do background checks on women and their ex-partners after ‘welfare’ visits to victims of crime, it is alleged.

He is accused of neglecting his duties by turning his police radio off on shifts before having sex with women, including at a neighbourhood police office.

He is alleged to have urged a mentally ill woman to email explicit pictures of herself to the police station.

Married Bunyan, 40, a father of two, denies 12 counts of misconduct in a public office over a five-year period.

Prosecutor Simon Burns told Taunton Crown Court yesterday: ‘If he was not in uniform or on duty, there would not be a trial. ‘But if on duty or in his uniform he should have been at work but he was in bed with somebody, he was not exercising his proper role as a police officer. ’

Bunyan, of Carharrack, Cornwall, admits he had sex with four women but said it was off duty. He denies sex with a fifth woman. All five say the sex was consensual.

Mr Burns said of Bunyan’s use of the police database: ‘You do not use the criminal intelligence system as a dating agency.’

Peter Bunyan, an officer with Devon and Cornwall Police, is alleged to have accessed highly sensitive police data to perform background checks on women and their former partners after so-called 'welfare' visits to victims of crime.

He is accused of neglecting his duties by turning his police radio down on shifts before having sex with women, including at a police neighbourhood office, as well as encouraging one mentally ill woman to send explicit pictures of herself on email to the police station.

Bunyan, a father-of-two, denies 12 counts of misconduct in a public office, taking place over a five-year period in the Camborne and Redruth areas of west Cornwall.

The case is being held at Taunton Crown Court, Somerset, out of the Devon and Cornwall Police force area.

Prosecutor Simon Burns told the jury: 'This is not a court of morals. You will hear all sorts of sordid details in relation to this case.

'He (Bunyan) has abused his position as a police officer by targeting women - targeting vulnerable women - and conducting inappropriate sexual relationships with them while on duty.

'He has behaved, while on duty as a police officer, inappropriately and unprofessionally.

'Not only was he in his full uniform... but occasionally even turned down or off his police radio.'

Mr Burns said Bunyan had sex with women at various locations, including at a neighbourhood police office.

Bunyan also accessed the police database, where he was able to find highly personal details about people in the community, including the women he targeted, the court heard.

Mr Burns added: 'He used that confidential information, which is not allowed to be simply looked at by a police officer, unless they have a lawful reason for doing so.

'You don’t look up somebody simply to be nosy, to look at where they live, to look for their telephone numbers. He abused the police computer system to his own advantage. 'You do not use the criminal intelligence system as a dating agency.'

Mr Burns said the public expected PSCOs such as Bunyan to protect them on the streets, 'not to be in bed with them'.

Mr Burns said Bunyan’s first affair was with a woman who had some mental health issues.

She was later sectioned under the Mental Health Act. The woman previously had reason to call the police following a dispute with someone.

Another woman struck up a relationship with Bunyan after he went to her home to take a witness statement when she was a victim of domestic violence.

But the statement took “an inordinate amount of time to complete”, the court heard. Bunyan then started to ask the woman intimate questions about her body.

The couple developed a relationship, which in one case saw Bunyan collect the single mother from a firework display and take her to a neighbourhood police office where they had sex. The woman said Bunyan had been on duty - something Mr Burns said the PCSO later admitted.

Bunyan is said to have “encouraged” the women to post naked pictures of themselves - some pornographic - to his local police station.

Colleagues of the PCSO told the jury how he “clearly appreciated” the images, which were sent on CDs and viewed by Bunyan on the police computer at Redruth police station.

PCSO Karen Moreley, who worked with Bunyan for a year, said he was sent images of naked women regularly. She told the jury: 'There were topless images and images using mirrors. 'He clearly appreciated these images and would laugh and joke and check the mail to see if any discs arrived. 'I found him quite forthcoming to women, quite creepy and unprofessional.'

Bunyan admits having sex with four women, who include single mothers, women in their 20s, and victims of domestic abuse, but said it was off duty.

Bunyan denies 12 counts of misconduct in a public office and his trial, expected to last up to three weeks, continues.

The officer has been suspended by Devon and Cornwall police.

Original report here



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'Tired' London police officer 'stamped’ on handcuffed black teenager's back as he lay face down on floor in custody, court hears

Most unwise to taunt ANY cop

A teenager told a court today that a Metropolitan police officer stamped on his back while he was in custody, 'dropping his whole body' on him.

PC Joseph Harrington, 29, from Walthamstow in east London, denies assaulting the boy in a caged area at Forest Gate police station days after the London riots in 2011.

The teenager, who was 15-years-old during the alleged attack, told Southwark Crown Court: 'It was painful, I’ve never felt like that before. I couldn’t breathe properly.'

He also said that PC Harrington had also put his hands round his neck a few days before in a London park.

The teenager said: 'I was in a park with my friends, police were coming in with cameras, taking pictures, and we walked away.

'They came back in riot uniforms and were running towards us.

'I stayed where I was, and waited for them to come towards me, and Joe Harrington said I needed to go. I said, ‘my friend’s house is here, I have nowhere else to go’.

The teenager said that PC Harrington then pushed him up against a wall.

A few days later on August 11 the teenager was arrested for an alleged public order offence and was taken from Stratford police station, east London to Forest Gate police station.

He was in the caged area when PC Harrington walked in. The teenager said he asked if PC Harrington remembered him.

PC Harrington said no. Then the boy acted out putting his hands around his own neck with his handcuffs on and said, ‘do you remember when you did this to me?”’

According to the boy, Harrington replied, ‘it wasn’t me, I wasn’t there, I wasn’t working those days’. Then Harrington said 'do you want it to happen again?’

The teenager said that he laughed at him: 'I thought. I’m already arrested for something I haven’t done, I’m handcuffed, in a police cage, what could get worse?'

Then an older policeman grabbed him by his jacket, which ripped, and they dragged him across the floor, the teenager said.

Harrington then stamped on his back, he added. 'He stamped on me with his foot and held me there with his foot, then dropped his whole body on me.' This continued for eight seconds.

The teenager said: 'A lady came and said, ‘get off him’, I couldn’t really see what was happening, because my vision was blurry.'

He remained in custody overnight and went to a GP three days later: 'I was still in pain, on my spine.'

PC Harrington denies the charge, saying that he dropped his right knee on to the teenager's back so he could reposition his handcuffs to behind his back.

He told investigators from the Independent Police Complaints Commission that in the run up to the incident he had been working a 24-hour shift and had worked 100 hours in five days.

Original report here




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Freed to kill by police blunders: British mental patient who murdered stranger begged to be confined to a mental hospital

One check would have shown she'd killed before

A string of police blunders meant a psychiatric patient and convicted killer remained free to commit murder.

Just before knifing a woman to death, Nicola Edgington rang 999 four times from a hospital begging to be arrested.

A simple check would have told officers that she had stabbed her mother to death in 2005, but no-one accessed the Police National Computer and a crucial opportunity to section her under the Mental Health Act was missed.

Three hours later, she stabbed Sally Hodkin, 58, with such force that the accounts manager was almost beheaded. A second woman, Kerry Clark, 22, managed to fight Edgington off.

Yesterday Mrs Hodkin’s grieving husband told of his fury that the 32-year-old was freed to strike again in October 2011, six years after killing her mother.

Paul Hodkin said his wife and their 40-year marriage were ‘wiped out in seconds by someone who should not have been on the streets’.

He is considering legal action after the ‘chronic failures’ meant Edgington was allowed to walk out of a hospital in Woolwich, South-East London.

The Hodkin family said the tragedy highlighted fears about the treatment of dangerous offenders in the community.

Yesterday a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) highlighted serious failings in the case, including:

* Police did not carry out a computer check on Edgington which would have alerted them to her previous conviction for manslaughter;

* Officers missed an opportunity to use their powers under the Mental Health Act when Edgington tried to leave the A&E department shortly after she arrived with police;

* Edgington’s second 999 call from the A&E department was downgraded because she was considered to be in a ‘place of safety’ and an officer was not asked to return despite Edgington saying she could be very dangerous;

* The police contacted the hospital only after her fourth 999 call.

IPCC commissioner Sarah Green said it was of ‘great concern’ that police did not carry out a computer check. ‘Nicola Edgington had a violent history linked to her mental health problems and was evidently aware that she was a threat to others.

‘She made repeated phone calls to police asking to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act and warned officers in person of the risk she posed to those around her.

‘While our investigation found that no police officers or staff breached the code of conduct, it is of great concern that no Police National Computer check was carried out which would have immediately alerted them to Edgington’s violent history.’
Hour by hour, the missed chances

It has also emerged that the Oxleas NHS Trust, which recommended Edgington’s release in 2009, has cared for 12 other patients who went on to kill. Oxleas chief executive Stephen Firn said none of the other killings had involved random attacks on strangers, and the trust said the numbers were not disproportionately high in comparison to other London mental health trusts.

Edgington, a former private school pupil, was ordered to be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after killing her mother.

But she was released after a recommendation for her to be discharged into the community was rubber-stamped by the Ministry of Justice. The mother of two spiralled into ‘freefall relapse’, and in October 2011, she dialled 999 and told police: ‘The last time I was feeling like this, I killed someone. I killed my mum.’

She was allowed to walk out of the hospital and catch a bus to Bexleyheath, Kent, where she bought a £2 kitchen Asda knife and launched a terrifying attack on Miss Clark. Edgington then stole a 12-inch butcher’s knife and killed Mrs Hodkin.

In the Old Bailey, she was given a double life sentence for the murder of Mrs Hodkin, and the attempted murder of Miss Clark, and was told she would serve a minimum of 37 years. The former prostitute and pole dancer had attempted to blame her actions on paranoid schizophrenia, and asked the court to accept a guilty plea to manslaughter with diminished responsibility.

But prosecutors produced evidence that her diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia was wrong and that she should be convicted of murder.

Trial judge the Recorder of London Brian Barker said: ‘You are manipulative and exceptionally dangerous. You made your choice and the fact is these were terrible acts for which you must take responsibility.’

Original report here




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Australia: Police negligence accepted. Murder charges to be laid in the deaths of women 21 years ago

To anybody who knew even the basic facts about this matter, it has been crying out for justice. The small-town cops who ruled that the deaths were suicide were widely ridiculed. Were they just lazy or did they want to avoid upheavals in their small town? Perhaps both. Or could it be a simple as what one of the cops involved said: He claims a senior police officer refused to order an investigation into the suspected double murder because of overtime costs?

FOR 21 years, Vicki Arnold's family has been told the mild-mannered chartered accountant bashed her best friend with a rock, slit her throat and shot her twice before turning the gun on herself - firing two shots through her own head in an apparent murder-suicide.

She did this, according to a police investigation and two coronial inquests, despite having no motive and no history of depression or any other mental health issues.

Yesterday, State Coroner Michael Barnes tore holes in the findings of police and the previous inquests - declaring it was more likely Ms Arnold, 27, and her best friend Julie-Anne Leahy, 26, were murdered.

In an extraordinary hearing before a packed courtroom, Mr Barnes ordered Mrs Leahy's husband Alan stand trial on two counts of murder.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and he is expected to be extradited from Western Australia to face court in Queensland.

Mr Leahy yesterday told The Courier-Mail he would maintain his innocence. "Of course I will fight the charges," he said.

The bodies of the women were found inside the Leahy family 4WD in remote bushland near Cairns in August 1991 - two weeks after they failed to return from a late-night fishing trip.

"Those involved in the early stages of the investigation failed to gather, lost or corrupted evidence that may have established the truth of what happened at Cherry Tree Creek on the night of July 26, 1991," Mr Barnes said.

"They then set about squeezing what evidence was left into an explanation that required no further action."

He said two coronial inquests went along with the police opinion that the women's deaths were an open-shut murder-suicide.

The court heard Mrs Leahy's husband told police the women had left home after midnight to go fishing and never returned.

Mr Barnes said it was telling that Mr Leahy spent that night in bed with his wife's 16-year-old sister Vanessa. "Alan Leahy spent considerable time in his wife's sister's bed on the night the two women disappeared," he said.

"A possible interpretation for what would seem cavalier behaviour is that he knew his wife would not be returning."

Mr Barnes also found:

* While Ms Arnold had bought the gun that was used to shoot the women, the most likely scenario was that she had done so for someone else. Mr Barnes said she knew nothing about guns, yet insisted on buying a .22 rifle while giving various explanations as to why she needed it.

* Ms Arnold had neither the equipment or the know-how to saw down a rifle. Mr Leahy did and lied about owning a vice, which would have been used to shorten the barrel.

* Ms Arnold had no motive, appeared content the night she disappeared and had apparently embarked on a midnight fishing trip despite having made work appointments for 6am the following day.

* It was unlikely Ms Arnold had shot herself in the back of the head after first shooting herself in the thigh and chin.

* Trajectory examinations found one bullet was likely fired from the back seat.

* The sawn-off barrel from the gun, a hacksaw and instruction manual were placed inside a pillow slip from the Leahy house and left in Ms Arnold's driveway two weeks after her body was found. Mr Barnes said "only someone who had themselves been involved in the deaths had a motive to do that".

He said while Ms Arnold did not appear to have a motive, Mr Leahy did.

The court heard Mr Leahy had been having an affair with his sister-in-law, had mounting debts and stood to gain $120,000 from his wife's life insurance. He also lied about owning true crime magazines - one depicting a murder made to look like a murder-suicide. The court heard the day before the women disappeared, Mrs Leahy had asked her younger sister to stay home from school - a request the teenager was convinced meant Mrs Leahy wanted to confront her about the affair.

Mr Barnes ordered Mr Leahy to stand trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court in Cairns, giving him 14 days to surrender to police.

The women's relatives in court - and others viewing the hearing live in Cairns - cried and applauded as Mr Barnes delivered his finding.

Mrs Leahy's brother Peter Martin punched the air. "I'm on top of the world," he said. "(The decision) takes Vicki straight out of the picture - as it should have been from word go. We can wake up tomorrow morning and have a smile on our face."

In Cairns, Ms Arnold's wheelchair-bound mother Vida sobbed as Mr Leahy was ordered to stand trial.

"I've waited nearly 22 years for this result," she said. "I've lost a lot of sleep over the years. Who knows if I'll get any sleep tonight." She thanked Mr Barnes, her lawyer Philip Bovey and State MP Curtis Pitt for correcting a "miscarriage of justice".

Original report here. (Via Australian Politics)




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Two British community cops arrested over allegations of rape and misconduct

Two Police Community Support Officers have been arrested in connection with alleged sexual offences and misconduct in a public office. The officers involved are based in Nottinghamshire, the county's police force said.

The two men, aged 28 and 45, are facing accusations relating to alleged offences said to have taken place several years ago, according to a police spokesman.

The 28-year-old man was taken into custody this week and questioned on suspicion of rape and misconduct in a public office.

The second, 45-year-old officer was arrested yesterday and is facing accusations of misconduct in a public office, the spokesman said.

The officers were taken into custody after details of the alleged offences were reported to Nottinghamshire Police on Wednesday. Both men have since been released on bail pending further inquiries.

The force has also referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, said the spokesman.

The IPCC investigates the most serious complaints and allegations of misconduct against the police in England and Wales.

Original report here




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British Detective accused of selling stolen drugs for hundreds of thousands of pounds 'was cheating on his wife with his ex-fiancee'

A 'corrupt' detective constable accused of making thousands of pounds from selling drugs that had been seized in raids was cheating on his wife with his ex-fiancee, a court has heard.

Detective Con Nicholas McFadden, 38, had an on-off affair with colleague Tanya Strangeway after they called off their engagement in June 2006, his trial was told on Wednesday.

DC McFadden's wife, Clair, and Ms Strangeway, both gave gave evidence, one after the other, at Leeds Crown Court - telling the jury how he had began spending large amounts of money on them.

The policeman is currently on trial accused of stealing heroin, cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis and then plotting with his older brother Simon, 41, to supply the drugs. They are alleged to have made around £600,000.

Ms Strangeway told how she had started seeing him when he was newly married to Clair, but that they had ended it when she became pregnant.

She said: 'We had been happy but both of us had had debts. I guess I blamed Nick for those debts but I did have my own credit card debts and had a loan I needed to pay back.

'I brought the relationship to an end because I'd fallen out of love with him but we kept in contact as friends. We used to text and send the odd email. I became aware in December 2006 that he'd met Clair but early in 2007 my relationship with Nick became intimate.

'When me and Nick started seeing each other again we started making plans to get back together.'

The court heard how DC McFadden had ended his relationship with his ex-lover when his wife discovered she was pregnant in May 2007.

'After Nick decided to stay with Clair, we didn't have much contact,' said Ms Strangeway.

'Then, in June 2011, I received a text message off Nick saying we were going to be working together on a job. Then we became close again. He told me that he had something he wanted to give me and when we met up, that's when he surprised me.'

Ms Strangeway said DC McFadden had given her a parcel which contained bundles of ten and twenty pound notes. 'There was £10,000 in total, she said.'

'I made an assumption that the money came from the sale of his house. It was a life-changing amount of money from a house we shared together. I didn't feel like I had to ask questions about it. I had no reason to doubt him.'

The court heard how McFadden bought an Audi A4 for his ex-lover in July 2011, costing £10,000, gave her £2,000 in cash for a shopping trip and posted parcels of money through her letterbox, amounting to around £1,000.

The gifts came to light when Ms Strangeway was asked to declare them after the vetting procedure changed at her work. 'Nick was very concerned about his wife finding out that he'd given me the money and the car,' she said.

Giving evidence, Mrs McFadden, an assistant headteacher at a primary school, said: 'Our daughter was born in January 2008 and Nick changed. It really brought us together. We were really happy and I couldn't have asked for more.

'Towards the end of 2010, he seemed to have more money and started paying for things but I assumed he was just taking more responsibility after he became a father.'

Mrs McFadden said she was 'flattered by the attention and the extravagance'.

'In December 2010 he changed all the windows in the house and bought me a private number plate for my car. He gave me £8,000 in cash and told me not to pay it into a bank.'

She said DC McFadden told her the money had come from the overtime he was doing and said he had remortgaged his property.

'I accepted what he said because he was my husband and a police officer. He thanked me and said it was all down to me organising him.'

The court heard how DC McFadden organised a lavish trip to London for a weekend, forking out for first class train tickets, fitted a new kitchen and built an orangery at the back of the house.

But things changed following a luxury family holiday to Egypt in August 2011, after the policeman had resumed his affair with his ex-lover.

She said her husband began having mood swings, 'and just acted like he didn't want to be there,' and was always on his mobile phone.

At their home in September 2011, Mrs McFadden said she found him crying and shaking whilst 'curled up in a ball on the bed.'

'He said he wanted to leave but I managed to calm him down and he stayed. Another night I left him decorating and went to bed,' she said.

'He never followed and when I woke up in the middle of the night I had a text message off him saying he had taken some lads, who he'd caught doing things they shouldn't be, in our street to the police station.'

On October 13, when Ms Strangeway had been questioned by police following the declaration of the money and the car, the court heard that she received a text message from DC McFadden apologising for what he had done.

It read: 'You did the right thing. I have dragged you into something I shouldn't have. I cannot express how deeply sorry I am for what I have done to you. I've ruined a lot of lives. Sorry.'

The court heard previously how police first became aware of DC McFadden's suspicious activities in the middle of 2011 when his bank alerted officers to the fact that he had deposited a total of £30,000 in small payments into their cash machines over three months.

When police arrested him at work in October 2011 they searched his Ford Focus car and found £6,000 in wads of cash hidden in different compartments, the jury were told. They also found wads of cash stashed in bags, totalling £19,755, and a further £157,560 in the garage of his home in Castleford, West Yorkshire.

Between the homes of DC McFadden and his brother, there was over £600,000, the court was told.

DC McFadden has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of stealing and conspiracy to supply drugs between 2007 and 2011, with his brother, of Leeds, pleading not guilty to four charges of conspiracy to supply and one of money laundering.

DC McFadden and Simon McFadden's wife Karen have pleaded guilty to money laundering.

The trial continues.

Original report here




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Australia: Ombudsman criticizes killer NSW cops

For no good reason they piled onto the student after he was down

The family of a Brazilian student who died in Sydney after being tasered and sprayed with capsicum spray say they are disgusted at what they say is a complete lack of accountability for police officers.

Roberto Laudisio Curti died on March 18 last year in Sydney's central business district while being restrained by New South Wales police officers.

The state's ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, has criticised the force's own investigation into the incident, describing some aspects of it as farcical.

In a report that was released yesterday, Mr Barbour called for his office to be able to monitor any internal police investigations into incidents involving a death.

Mr Curti had been living in Sydney with his sister Ana Laudisio de Lucca and her husband Mike Reynolds.

The couple spoke exclusively to the ABC's AM program after the ombudsman's report was released.

Ana Laudisio de Lucca says her family is still struggling with the shock of her brother's death. "He left this world and nothing came out of this for the better, so that's why waiting for answers is very frustrating," she said.

On the night of his death Mr Curti had taken LSD, making him paranoid and delusional, and stole a packet of biscuits from a convenience store.

Police pursued the 21-year-old, firing Tasers at him 14 times and also blasting him with capsicum spray.

Last year Coroner Mary Jerram made an open finding on Mr Curti's death. But she also said, "It's impossible to believe that he would have died, but for the actions of police."

Ombudsman Bruce Barbour says the internal police investigation into the death was lacking. "The police investigation into the death of Mr Laudisio Curti failed to adequately identify and deal with the question of whether there was any police misconduct," his report says.

Mr Curti's brother-in-law, Mike Reynolds, welcomes Mr Barbour's findings. "Look, I think it's incredible. Unfortunately it is not entirely surprising," he said.

"I just think that throughout this process we have kind of had the feeling that the police have been trying hard not to admit that they've done anything wrong and that's really tough for us to deal with."

In his report Mr Barbour says that, despite collecting evidence, it appears no-one in the New South Wales Police Force wanted to address difficult questions about the conduct of officers.

He says leaving the four officers under investigation armed with their Tasers for eight months after Mr Curti's death ignored the risk those officers posed to the community.

Mr Barbour says there was a "farcical situation" where the internal investigation team and the Taser Review Panel each assumed the other would review the use of Tasers by the officers.

Mr Curti's sister and her family still live in Sydney, but no longer have any trust in the state's police.

"Following closely the case, you can see that a lot of these officers are really young, they barely have any training and they're just giving arms that look like toys to go out there," Ana Laudisio de Lucca said.

"When you really think about it, the fact that this could go wrong and the fact that they can be promoted and they are even still police officers is, I think, quite scary," Mr Reynolds said.

"So unfortunately you don't have a degree of confidence in the police as a result of that."

More HERE

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