Australia: Fat-assed Victoria police couldn't even be bothered by a DEATH

A Victoria Police investigation into the violent death of a patient at a state-run psychiatric hospital was "manifestly inadequate", with crucial physical evidence not collected and potential witnesses not questioned, a scathing report by the homicide squad has found.

Detective Senior Sergeant Sol Solomon described "catastrophic failures" of basic police investigatory procedures as he presented his report to the Coroners Court on Monday as part of the inquest into the death of Fred Williamson at the Austin Hospital's psychiatric unit in Heidelberg in March 2008.

"The deceased and his devoted family deserved far better service than they have received in this situation. Quality control processes … failed on all levels," Senior Sergeant Solomon said.
Fred and Roma Williamson with their son Fred.

Fred and Roma Williamson with their late son Fred, centre. Photo: Jason South

Mr Williamson, 52, was found in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor inside the locked room of another patient. He was found with a plastic bag covering part of his head and had suffered several injuries indicating a possible assault.

Despite Mr Williamson's injuries and the bizarre nature of his death, Heidelberg detectives and uniformed officers attending the scene determined on the day that it was not suspicious, concluding that suicide or misadventure was the most likely cause.

Their conclusion meant that neither the homicide squad nor forensic crime scene investigators were called to attend and potential witnesses, including staff and patients, were not interviewed. The room was cleaned soon after the incident, destroying any forensic evidence.

In 2011, Fairfax Media reported the Williamson family's disappointment with the police investigation and coroner Paresa Spanos's request that Senior Sergeant Solomon, then a 19-year veteran of the homicide squad, review the case.

Senior Sergeant Solomon told the inquest that his review had identified a "number of aspects" that did not support the suicide scenario. These included an assessment by Mr Williamson's treating psychiatrists that his risk of self-harm was extremely low, extensive blood spatter patterns at the scene, the fact that Mr Williamson had been recently assaulted twice by other patients and an autopsy report that showed injuries indicating possible assault.

He said important evidence, such as the plastic bag found over Mr Williamson's head, had not been collected or examined by forensic experts and had since been lost. A cloth towel reportedly found near or inside the plastic bag was also not examined and its whereabouts were unknown.

Senior Sergeant Solomon also found anomalies in statements by uniformed police regarding their claim that no footprints were at the scene when photographs suggested otherwise.

"I cannot reconcile or understand how the attending members could have come to the conclusion they came to [so quickly]," he said. "I have attended hundreds of crime scenes and deaths and I've never seen anything like this."

Senior Sergeant Solomon said senior police attending the scene had failed to show leadership and that Mr Williamson's family had received a "manifestly inadequate" investigation.

Two senior plain-clothes detectives who were called out on the afternoon of Mr Williamson's death were also strongly criticised by Senior Sergeant Solomon, who found they should have taken control and treated it as a potential crime scene. Police records indicate the detectives spent less than 40 minutes at the scene before leaving it to uniformed officers.

A uniformed junior constable was left with the task of preparing the brief for the coroner with very little or no supervision.

Ms Spanos said the inquest had heard evidence that a junior constable was given the job of preparing the coronial brief - her first- on the basis of a local police convention that deemed the officer who drove the car to the scene also did the paperwork. Senior Sergeant Solomon said he had not heard of such a convention and described it as "absolutely outrageous".

"With a shoplifting it might be OK, but you're talking about a man's death," he said.

Original report here




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Ex-wife sues former husband over compensation for the 24 years he spent in prison for crimes HE DIDN'T COMMIT!

Police tunnel vision again

Steven Phillips spent 24 years in a Texas prison for a string of sexual assaults it was later determined he didn't commit.

For his decades of unjust incarceration, the state of Texas awarded him nearly $6million in compensation after his August, 2009 release, which is in accordance with a relatively new Texas law that specifies the amount of compensation exonerated prisoners are to receive.

Then came the legal bills - his attorneys charged him more than $1million for work they claim to have done to lobby Texas lawmakers to increase the amount of compensation for exonerees.

Then came his ex-wife.

Phillips and his former bride, Traci Tucker, were expecting their first child in 1982, when Phillips was first charged in the case that ultimately would send him to prison for more than two decades. They divorced nearly 10 years later, in 1992, after Phillips says they 'grew apart.'

Now the two are engaged in an ongoing legal battle over compensation she claims she is owed for wages lost by her former husband's incarceration. “He was a victim of a wrongful justice system, and his family was also,” Tucker tells the Texas Tribune.

Last year, a Dallas County judge awarded Tucker more than $150,000 of Phillips' compensation, a ruling Phillips has since appealed.

The case is likely headed to the Texas Supreme Court, where justices will determine what - if any - sort of compensation former spouses of exonerated prisoners should receive.

In 2009, the Texas Legislature passed the Tim Cole Act, which raised the compensation for exonerated prisoners to $160,000 for each year a person was wrongfully imprisoned. For the 24 years Phillips spent behind bars, he received a lump-sum payment of more than $2million. Additionally, he will receive a monthly annuity of about $11,000, as well as medical and education benefits from the state.

But Phillips contends that the compensation is not for lost wages. Rather, he claims in his appeal, it's a mandatory payment he is owed under the law for his time spent behind bars.

Texas state Senator Rodney Ellis, one of the architects of the Tim Cole Act, seems to agree.

In an affidavit filed in the case, Ellis writes that the legislature never intended to compensate exonerees for lost wages; otherwise it would have been based on their income prior to their incarceration and be subject to taxes (as the law is written, compensation for exonerees is tax-free).

Ellis notes that the Legislature recognized that a man cannot support his children while in prison, which is 'we drafted the compensation statute to include any child support payments and interest on child support arrearage that are owed by the exoneree.'

The affidavit was not allowed into evidence.

Another of the law's architects, state Senator Rafael Anchia, says lawmakers had failed to consider former spouses of exonerees when drafting the law. 'This is an example of the law of unintended consequences,' he says 'We did not think about entitlement by spouses who had become divorced from these innocent men while they were in prison.'

Regardless of the law, Tucker says she had every intention of sticking it out with Phillips while he was in prison. “To me, marriage was for life, and I was going to be with him forever, and we were going to get through this — or so I thought,” she says.

Prior to the divorce, Tucker claims she visited Phillips frequently and provided him with money to buy things in the prison's commissary. At his trial, Tucker was Phillips' star witness.

The string of sexual assaults for which Phillips was wrongly convicted happened in 1982. Several women were attacked and forced to perform sex acts at gun point. At least two of the victims wrongly identified Phillips.

Tucker provided Phillips' alibi, testifying that he couldn't be the person committing the assaults because she was with him when some of the assaults took place.

Phillips was convicted anyway and sentenced to two 30-year prison sentences. He subsequently pleaded guilty to several other, similar crimes to avoid what would likely have been a life sentence had he been found guilty.

In 2001, Phillips began learning about DNA and - with the help of the Innocence Project - was able to have his DNA tested against DNA found at the scenes of crimes supposedly committed by him. The DNA didn't match. However, it did match a convicted sex criminal Sydney Alvin Goodyear.

'This is one of the worst cases of tunnel vision we’ve ever seen. Police seized on Steven Phillips as a suspect and refused to see mounting evidence that someone else actually committed these crimes,' said Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck. 'Sidney Goodyear was a one-man crime spree who could have been stopped much sooner if police had followed the evidence instead of locking onto an innocent man.'

After the Dallas crimes for which Phillips was wrongfully convicted, Goodyear committed at least 16 other sexual assaults and related offenses in multiple states.

Of the lawsuit and inflated bill from his attorneys, Phillips - who says he has no ill-will against his ex - sums his situation up as follows: 'When the cheese is on the table, the rats come out.'

Original report here




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British police acted unlawfully at demonstration by filming woman and asking for her personal details

A woman 'kettled' by police, before being filmed and told to hand over personal details during a 2011 trade union rally was treated unlawfully, the High Court said today.

The Metropolitan Police argued they were legally entitled to obtain, and retain, the information for crime prevention purposes before allowing Susannah Mengesha to leave.

But Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Wyn Williams, sitting in London, ruled they had acted outside their powers.

Scotland Yard will now have to delete any records of Miss Mengesha taken at the demo, including on film and camera.

'The absence of any statutory power to obtain identification in the circumstances in this case establishes conclusively the unlawfulness of the police action in requiring (Ms Mengesha) to be filmed and give her name and address and date of birth before she was released from containment,' Justice Moses said.

Ms Mengesha, a law graduate and caseworker at the Bar Pro Bono Unit, was corralled in a crowd of protesters for two hours on November 30 2011 at a trade union march against public sector pension cuts. She was acting as a legal observer.

The march, which started at Lincoln's Inn Fields in central London, proceeded to Piccadilly Circus in the West End.

Some of the crowd, including Ms Mengesha, were blocked in at nearby Panton Street. Police said the containment was 'necessitated by a reasonably apprehended imminent breach of the peace'.

While the judges agreed that containment was necessary, they declared being filmed and having to give the police personal details as 'the price of release' a step too far.

Their ruling will be welcomed as important backing for the freedom to protest without the 'chilling' effect of being forced to hand over particulars.

The judge declared: 'It was not lawful for the police to maintain the containment for the purposes of obtaining identification, whether by questioning or filming. 'It follows that it was not lawful to require identification to be given and submission to filming as the price for release.'

Ms Mengesha, who is now training to be solicitor, was allowed out of the kettle some two hours later at 5.52pm. The filming and taking of personal details occurred when the police assessed that containment was no longer necessary.

Ms Mengesha said some 100 detainees were searched for 'offensive weapons or dangerous instruments' before their release - but were also told they had to give their personal details to obtain their freedom. She was 'tagged' - filmed close up under bright lights - for identification purposes by a civilian employee of the police and gave her name, address and date of birth to a police officer.

Demonstrators were filmed 'individually in close-up, from front and back' and the images linked with their personal details. In those circumstances, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects private and family life, became engaged, said the judge.

While the Met Police had a published policy of overt filming and photography, 'there is no such published policy on the retention of images and personal details'. So the interference with the claimant's rights enshrined in Article 8 was not 'in accordance with the law'.

A Metropolitan Police Service spokesman said later: 'We are aware of the judgment today and will now give it our full consideration and take forward any learning.'

James Welch, legal director for campaign group Liberty, said: 'It shouldn't have needed a court to tell the police they can't require personal details and compulsory filming before releasing people from a kettle. Any law student could have worked that out. The courts have been clear that kettling is a last resort - it should never be abused as a tool for bullying demonstrators.'

Original report here




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Mom's Crime? Asking To See the (Nonexistent) Arrest Warrant for Her Son

Police in Slaton, Texas, took exception when a 32-yeReasonar-old mom had the nerve to ask to see the arrest warrant for her 11-year-old son. Rather than show it, or leave, they arrested the by-the-book mother and hauled her in to spend the night behind bars. The son who was the supposed focus of their attentions? They left him unmolested.

From MyFoxLubbock:

"Slaton police came to this woman's house, who wishes to remain anonymous, to arrest her son. But by asking one simple question, she found herself behind bars instead.

"I told him, 'I will release my son to you upon viewing those orders.' Those were exactly my words," The complainant said. "He said, 'This is how you want to play?' He took two steps back, turned around to the officer and said, 'Take her.' They turned me around, handcuffed me, and took me in."

The complainant said she was aware police would be coming to apprehend her 11-year-old son based on a criminal complaint, and that she just wanted to see the warrant. As it turns out, that warrant didn't exist. She spent the night in jail while her son was left at home."

It turns out that the police had no warrant because the "the directive to apprehend was not signed until May 30," which was the day after they showed up at the house. That probably explains why the kid wasn't arrested during the visit, even as his mom was.

The Slaton Police Department has offered to apologize — if the family agrees not to sue. Well, good manners aren't the local authorities' strong point, we already know.

Original report here




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Ohio cop arrested; accused of crimes against a child



An on-duty Youngstown Police officer is arrested by his own department, and accused of misconduct with a child.

On May 30, Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene received information from Children Services that during an interview with a young sexual assault victim, she alleged feeling victimized all over again. This time, by the Youngstown Police officer handling her case.

Sheriff Greene immediately reported the allegations to Youngstown Police Chief Rod Foley and they agreed to call in the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Now, instead of enforcing the law, Detective-Sergeant Robert Lodwick is accused of breaking it.

The Youngstown Police patrol supervisor was pulled off the road and asked to return to police headquarters sometime during the early morning hours Friday and that's when he was arrested.

As Lodwick appeared by video arraignment before a Judge, it was made clear that he was in protective custody and receiving threats from other inmates who had to be locked down.

Youngstown's Chief Prosecutor Dana Lantz requested a $50,000 cash bond on each of the felony charges, and told Judge Robert Milich, "The victim in this case is the victim of a rape case wherein he was the detective assigned to that case, and by right should have been protecting her, not soliciting her as alleged in the complaint."

The Judge ordered that Lodwick be held on a total bond of $100,000 cash.

Lodwick did not enter a plea to the felony charges of illegal use of a minor in sexually oriented material and importuning.

If Lodwick is able to make his bail, the judge has ordered that he be placed on house arrest and he is not allowed to have any contact with the young victim.

Lodwick, a 13-year veteran of the police force is married with a child and is an Iraq War veteran, who was promoted to a supervisory position in the Youngstown Police Department in December of 2012.

Authorities say he copied a disc of naked photos of his 14-year-old victim and solicited her over the Internet or cell phone for sex. Sources say he has confessed to the crimes.

"Two words come to my mind. Disappointed and disgusted," said Youngstown Police Chief Foley.

In just over a week, the undercover probe of Sergeant Lodwick allegedly cemented the case against him, according Joe Dietz, the Special Agent Supervisor of BCI's Cyber Crimes Unit.

"Based on our initial interview with the victim -- one of our cyber crimes agents became involved in an undercover chat with Sergeant Lodwick," said Dietz.

The investigation moved quickly to gather enough evidence to secure an arrest, and the priority was to protect the young victim and the public.

"They expect to trust us. We felt that we lost that trust a little bit today and we have to gain it back. This is why we needed to do this very quickly. Hopefully, there's not other victims out there," said Chief Foley.

Lodwick is currently on paid administrative leave.

Original report here




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Police sergeant faces the sack after he is caught on CCTV grabbing drunk 14-year-old boy by the throat in cells

A police sergeant who grabbed a drunken 14-year-old by the throat and branded him a 'horrible little individual' faces the end of his career after he was convicted of assault.

Sgt Steven Rea, 39, of Chelsfield, Kent, was caught on CCTV attacking the teenager in the custody area of Bexleyheath police station in southeast London.

The Met Police officer then advised subordinate police officers who were propping up the boy: 'I tell you what - let him drop.'

When the victim appeared to slump over the sergeant's desk during the incident last October 13, Rea said: 'Get off my desk, you horrible little individual.'

Rea claimed he only tried to lift the teenager up but District Judge Jeremy Coleman rejected his defence after a trial at Westminster Magistrates Court.

The judge said: 'In the custody suite he [the victim] was being difficult and irritating. However, he was not being violent.

'Sgt Rea decided to use shock tactics and he agrees that CCTV shows him accurately and he did this in order to gain his cooperation.

'He had lost his temper and left the neutral area behind his desk. What he did next was completely out of character.' The assault Rea then perpetrated on the boy went well beyond 'necessary force, albeit after provocation', the judge said.

William Emlyn-Jones, defending, told the court: 'This finding will undoubtedly bring this career to an end.'

Relatives of Rea openly wept in the gallery as the verdict was read. CCTV footage played in court showed how Rea attacked the boy as he was lying on a bench at the police station.

Rea was behind his desk when he told the teenager: 'Right your [custody] clock starts now, young man'.

The boy then raised his middle finger.

Rea moved around his desk and shouted: 'Now you have f****** upset me, get up, stop being a p****', before picking the victim up by the throat and roughly shoving to the floor and then across the room.

The boy had been arrested earlier in the night after the theft of a bottle of vodka from Iceland.

Questioning Rea about the assault on October 13 last year, prosecutor Carl Kelvin asked: 'How is that compliant with your officer safety training on how to deal with people who are an unknown risk or potentially show aggression?'.

'I took a calculated risk in what I did', Rea replied.

Mr Emlyn-Jones claimed his foul language merely added 'emphasis' and did not reflect any 'anger'.

Rea claimed he only tried to lift the boy, adding: 'I expected him to lift himself with my assistance.'

His barrister hailed him as an 'exemplary character' and a 'public servant'.

'The use of force was not just necessary but clearly unavoidable by his [the victim's] conduct. Something had to happen - something had to be done about him. 'He couldn't couldn't be allowed to just loll about in the custody area. The only question is whether he [Rea] used reasonable force. 'All he did in fact was try and pick him up. He didn't slap him, or punch him, or kick him.

The judge accepted that the victim had been 'deliberately uncooperative' but said there was no doubt the sergeant's actions amounted to assault by beating.

Stan Fitzpatrick, an inspector at Bexleyheath Police Station, had told the court earlier that Rea was 'a credit to my team.' 'I certainly would have him back anytime', he said.

Rea was handed a six month conditional discharge and costs of £500.

He denied the charge but was convicted of assault by beating.

Detective Chief Superintendent Alaric Bonthron, MPS Directorate of Professional Standards said: 'The custody sergeant has responsibility for the welfare of those within the custody suite especially the young and vulnerable.

'The public has a right to expect that anyone brought into a custody suite will be treated in an appropriate manner.

'Steven Rea let everyone down when he assaulted this boy and it is right that he has been convicted at court.'

Original report here



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Northern Ireland and payout for wrongful conviction in bomb plot

The Department of Justice made a mistake when it decided it cannot compensate a man wrongly convicted of an IRA plot to bomb soldiers, a judge ruled.

In the High Court, Mr Justice Stephens quashed the department’s decision taken in Gerard Magee's case and ordered it to consider whether to exercise a discretionary power on his bid for a pay-out.

After a non-jury trial in 1990 Mr Magee (48) from Carrickmore, Co Tyrone was found guilty of involvement in an alleged bid to kill soldiers on patrol in Antrim. He served half of a 20-year jail term before being released under the Good Friday Agreement.

His convictions were quashed in 2001 after the European Court of Human Rights held that he only made a confession after being denied access to a lawyer for two days, breaching his right to a fair trial.

A year later the NIO refused his bid for compensation on the basis that the overturning of his convictions was not based on any new or newly discovered fact.

Mr Magee made a fresh application following a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2011 involving Sinn Fein MLA Raymond McCartney and Derry journalist Eamonn MacDermott, who were both cleared on appeal of murdering an RUC officer in 1977.

It held that the test for payments to those wrongly convicted should be redefined.

But despite asking the authorities to review his case, the Department of Justice stated in March 2012 he was ineligible.

Lawyers for Mr Magee issued judicial review proceedings, claiming the refusal to deal with the claim for compensation was unreasonable. They contend it breached the department's duty to make payment.

Ruling on the case yesterday, Mr Justice Stephens rejected an argument that the authorities were under an obligation.

But he held that there is a discretionary power to reconsider the Secretary of State's decision.

Following the verdict Mr Magee's solicitor, Fearghal Shiels of Madden and Finucane, confirmed he will now be pressing the Justice Minister, David Ford, for compensation.

Original report here




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NY: State appeals Dan Gristwood's $5.5 million verdict for wrongful conviction

Syracuse, NY -- Lawyers for the state have filed a notice saying they might appeal a $5.5 million wrongful imprisonment verdict awarded to an Oswego County man.

The state filed the notice last week with the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, and has 60 days to follow through with an appeal of the verdict awarded to Daniel Gristwood.

If it's filed and Gristwood prevails, he probably won't see his money for at least another nine months, said his lawyer, Thomas Shannon.

Ed J. Thompson, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Syracuse office, declined to comment.

The interest on the verdict goes up $1,369 a day, Shannon said. The interest has already reached more than $1 million from the date in April 2011 when state Court of Claims Judge Nicholas Midey found the state liable, Shannon said.

If the state follows through with the appeal and it takes nine months, that would tack on another $370,000 in interest and bring the total to nearly $7 million.

Gristwood, 46, runs a small-engine repair business out of his Pennellville home. He's said he's planning to use the money from the verdict to help his five children and five grandchildren.

"He's frustrated," Shannon said of Gristwood's reaction to the state's filing. "He wishes it were over. But this is out of everyone's control."

It does appear that the state's lawyers plan to follow through with the appeal because they've asked for copies of all the exhibits from the trial, Shannon said.

The state could appeal both the amount of Midey's verdict and his finding that the state was liable.

Midey ruled in May that the state must pay Gristwood for the nine years he spent in prison on a crime someone else committed.

Gristwood was freed from prison in 2005, two years after Mastho Davis admitted he was the man who attacked Gristwood's wife, Christina Gristwood, with a hammer as she slept in the Gristwoods' Clay apartment in 1996.

Midey found that state troopers coerced a false confession from Gristwood in 1996.

Gristwood testified in a Court of Claims trial two years ago that his time in prison was a "living hell, " and that the years of separation from his children severely strained his relationship with them. Two psychologists - one for Gristwood and one for the state - agreed that he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression from being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.

Christina Gristwood suffered severe brain damage and was paralyzed on one side in the attack.

Davis first admitted he was the attacker, although he didn't know the victim's name, during a 2003 court appearance on an unrelated crime. After authorities took no action, he walked into the Syracuse Police Department and again a few months later and told officers he'd beaten a woman with a hammer seven years earlier.

Gristwood was convicted in 1996 of attempted murder and sentenced to 12 1/2 to 25 years in prison. State Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti set Gristwood free in 2005 based on Davis' confession.

Davis attacked three other strangers in the 10 years after beating Christina Gristwood. The last was in 2006, when he broke into the home of a 75-year-old woman in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and beat and raped her. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Original report here




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The foul British police again

A businessman who confronted suspected burglars raiding his premises at night could be jailed after he grabbed one of the gang’s weapons and used it to fight back.

Andrew Woodhouse, 43, claims he was chasing thieves off his property when one of them ‘came at’ him with a wooden stick.

In the scuffle, he managed to grab the stick and used it to injure the man’s legs before holding him down and screaming at his wife to call the police.

After a series of burglaries at his paving firm in Abergavenny, South Wales, Mr Woodhouse thought he might finally have helped to bring one of the robbers to justice.

But then police arrested Mr Woodhouse as well and held him in a cell for 18 hours.

He has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent and will appear before magistrates on Thursday, along with the two men he apprehended.

‘I was scared. It was pitch dark, they had hoods on and I was getting hit,’ the father of five said last night.

‘I can’t see what else I could have done. I thought it was a man’s right to protect his property. I’ll fight to clear my name.’

While the law was changed a few months ago to protect those who use force against burglars, the rules apply only at home, not if thieves are chased outside.

Mr Woodhouse’s case has led to calls for the Crown Prosecution Service to show ‘common sense’ in dealing with those who defend themselves outside, with MPs calling the decision to prosecute him ‘astonishing’.

If found guilty, he could face a sentence of life imprisonment.

Mr Woodhouse was in bed with his wife Lisa at their detached home in the village of Govilon when his burglar alarm went off at about 12.30am. The alarm is fitted to his business premises on an industrial estate a mile from his six-bedroom £350,000 home.

He drove to the estate, where he saw two men trying to steal diesel from the engines of his fleet of vehicles. His wife, 42, said: ‘He shouted at them to stop and when they turned and ran he chased them.

‘One of them turned and faced Andrew. He was holding a stick. Andrew defended himself, he grabbed the stick off the bloke and whacked him with it.

‘The fellow was on the floor screaming at him. It all happened so quick, it was dark, I’m not sure anyone knew what was really going on.’

As Mr Woodhouse held Kevin Green, 52, the other alleged burglar, Timothy Cross, 31, is said to have returned with a third man, both carrying planks.

Mrs Woodhouse had, by this time, also driven to the scene. She said: ‘When I got there Andrew was chasing one of the chaps. He saw me and shouted, “Get the police, get the police”.

‘The police arrived and Andrew admitted he’d whacked the chap with the stick. The police said he had two broken legs and a broken wrist. They arrested Andrew and took him into custody. I didn’t see him until 6pm the next day.’

Police charged Mr Woodhouse with causing grievous bodily harm with intent because he used ‘unreasonable’ force.

His wife said: ‘I fail to see where there was any intent on Andrew’s part. He didn’t intend to get up in the middle of the night to assault anyone. All he did was protect his property.

‘People may think he took the law into his own hands but what was he supposed to do, stand by and watch?’

Mr Woodhouse employs six staff including two of his sons at the family business, which was set up 20 years ago. The firm has lost £15,000 in recent years to thefts of diesel and tools.

There is much support for him locally. He claims to have collected about 50 character references, including ones from a policeman and a priest.

MPs are calling on the CPS to drop the case against Mr Woodhouse and his local MP, Tory David Davies, said he would raise the issue in Parliament.

‘If someone came at him with a piece of wood, my sympathy is with the hard-working businessman, not with the people breaking into his property,’ he added.

Gwent Police said the 52-year-old man arrested at the scene had been taken to hospital with ‘serious leg and arm injuries’. A spokesman added that the decision to charge Mr Woodhouse was taken after CPS advice.

Original report here. (Via POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)




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Lazy British cops who left a killer's home without realising his dying girlfriend was in his bedroom are CLEARED of blame

Two officers confronted murderer David O’Sullivan, 28, on his doorstep after neighbours reported hearing a commotion on Christmas Eve. O’Sullivan, who had scratches on his arm and other signs of a struggle, told officers: 'Everything is OK.'

They then left the house as mum-of-three Charmaine Macmuiris, 37, was lying fatally wounded just feet away.

She was found dead at O’Sullivan’s home on Christmas Day and he was jailed for life earlier this week.

Dyfed-Powys Police referred their investigation to the Independent Police Complaints Commission after O’Sullivan was charged with murder. The watchdog then referred the case back to the force to investigate itself.

An internal review found no wrong doing by the officers who left the scene without checking for Ms Macmuiris inside.

A Dyfed Powys Police spokesmn said: 'The extent of police attendance and engagement at the address in Carmarthen on the 24 December 2012 was disclosed in full in court.

'Dyfed Powys Police referred it voluntarily to the IPCC, and they concluded it should be referred back to Dyfed Powys Police to investigate. 'No issues of concern were identified in relation to police actions or response on that night.'

The investigation which cleared the officers was revealed after O’Sullivan was jailed for life on Monday at Swansea Crown Court for the murder at his home in Carmarthen, South Wales.

Prosecutor Patrick Harrington QC told the court: 'When police officers asked him about cuts to his arm he said he had punched a hole in the wall. 'But it is clear serious violence began inside the house with strong indications there was more than one assault.

'The second and fatal attack saw him use a knife to stab her to death.'

The court heard how O’Sullivan, who was well known to police, was a jealous and controlling boyfriend. He stabbed Ms Macmuiris to death at his home in Carmarthen, west Wales, after becoming convinced she was seeing other men behind his back.

The court heard how close police officers came to finding her before she died from her wounds. But her bloodied body was only found the next day when O’Sullivan’s parents came to celebrate Christmas with him.

Original report here




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Dubious Brooklyn DA to be cross-examined

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes has been ordered to give a sworn deposition in the $150 million lawsuit brought by man wrongfully convicted of murder.

Brooklyn Federal Court Magistrate Judge Robert Levy ordered Hynes on Wednesday to submit to the deposition in the wrongful-conviction case of Jabbar Collins over the objections of city lawyers. “I think it is inevitable that his deposition is going to have to be taken,” Levy said in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Collins, 37, who served more than 15 years in prison for the 1994 murder of Brooklyn Rabbi Abraham Pollack, said he was looking forward to his attorney grilling Hynes under oath.

“I think it’s finally vindication to confront him and have him answer questions under oath why he permitted the horrendous misconduct in my case to occur and why he failed to do anything about it,” Collins said after the hearing.

Levy also ordered that Hynes’ top aide, Michael Vecchione, who prosecuted Collins, be deposed on June 21. Hynes’ deposition is set for August 19.

The 78-year-old Brooklyn prosecutor, who is seeking reelection, told the Daily News Wednesday that he has nothing to hide.

“I’m one of two DAs in New York City that has a special Conviction Integrity Unit and the only one investigating my own cases looking for wrongfully convicted inmates,” Hynes said.

“We set David Ranta loose recently after we reinvestigated,” he said referring to a Brooklyn man who served 22 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.

The Collins case was gutted by accusations that prosecutors coerced witnesses to testify at the trial and failed to turn over evidence to the defense.

A key witness insisted last month that Vecchione, now chief of the DA’s rackets bureau, threatened to bash him over the head with a table and jail him if he didn’t testify against Collins.

“Mike Vecchione has been pilloried in ways I’ve never seen before and he has no recourse because he’s a public official,” Hynes said.

Federal Judge Dora Irizarry tossed Collins’ conviction, noting with regret that she did not have the authority to complete the hearing into prosecutorial misconduct.

City lawyers objected to Levy’s order that Hynes be deposed, contending it was too early in the discovery process.

“We are disappointed in today’s ruling, but we feel that DA Hynes will confirm that the city acted in good faith in this case,” said Arthur Larkin, senior counsel of city Law Department’s Special Federal Litigation Division.

Original report here




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Chicago: Why Prosecutors Fear Widow's Testimony in Wrongful Conviction Case

Wilda Vargas was widowed by a gunman's bullets in 1993. Her testimony helped convict two Humboldt Park men who have steadfastly professed their innocence. Now she wants to set the record straight by testifying at a court hearing that will determine whether the men win new trials. Why are Cook County prosecutors fighting hard to keep her off the stand?

Twenty years ago, Vargas thought she knew who murdered her husband, Rodrigo, as he was leaving for work. That's because a detective told her he'd solved the crime. Area 5 Det. Reynaldo Guevara persuaded the widow that Armando Serrano and Jose Montanez were the killers. He said he was sure, among other reasons, because an informant had come forward to report that the duo had confessed to him.

But Det. Guevara failed to tell Vargas that the so-called informant was actually a jailhouse snitch -- a stick-up man who got a sweet deal in exchange for testifying in her husband's case. The detective also failed to tell her that the snitch was a heroin addict whom Guevara had slapped around before ordering him to fabricate the confession. She would not learn about this evidence for 12 years. And, it would take even longer for her to discover that Guevara had lied to her about supposedly damning ballistics evidence in the case.

Meanwhile, Guevara convinced Vargas in 1993 that an incident the day before the murder was vitally important. While at a gas station, she saw her husband exchange words with several men who seemed to follow them after they headed home. Since her husband had paid for the gas with a roll of bills, the motive for the murder was robbery, Guevara told her. The men, he said, were Serrano and Montanez. At trial, the widow recounted the incident, and though she misidentified the defendants in court, she figured that justice had been done because the judge found them guilty.

Fast forward a decade. In 2004, the jailhouse snitch admitted to Northwestern University journalism students that he had lied on the stand, a recantation he has repeated to a succession of defense attorneys. Two years later, Vargas met with other journalism students and volunteered that she had nagging doubts about whether the gas station altercation had led to her husband's murder. It had been a minor dust-up, the men had not followed them all the way home and she had not gotten a good look at them, she acknowledged in an affidavit.

Last summer, while preparing for an innocence hearing based on the snitch's recantation -- and evidence that now-retired Det. Guevara hadinduced false statements in at least 40 other cases -- lawyers for Serrano and Montanez showed up at the widow's home. She welcomed them inside and, sitting around her dining room table, she repeated the concerns she had expressed to the students.

Although Vargas had remarried and moved on with her life, she remained deeply troubled by whether the right men had been convicted, she told Jennifer Bonjean, Serrano's pro bono lawyer. Vargas worried that the real killer might still be on the loose. "'I want to know the truth about who killed my husband and the father of my children,'" Bonjean quoted her as saying. Then the widow blurted out something she had not told the journalism students.

After the murder, she and Det. Guevara had driven around Humboldt Park looking for the car that she had seen at the gas station. Guevara suddenly stopped next to a tan Buick that he knew belonged to Jose Montanez, a local gang member, and pointed to a hole in its side. "'That's a bullet hole,'" he declared. "'Tests prove it matches the bullets used to kill your husband.'" Must be the car from the gas station incident, she figured, so the suspects had to be guilty. In that moment, Vargas became a witness for the prosecution.

When Bonjean explained that a bullet hole in a car can't be matched with ballistics from a crime scene, and that no such evidence had been introduced at the trial, Vargas' brown eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "'He lied to me!'" she said angrily. She promised to show up at the hearing and tell her story to Judge Maura Slattery Boyle, who will soon decide the fate of Montanez and Serrano.

On May 15, without being subpoenaed, Vargas drove from the western suburbs to the George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building on the city's Southwest Side and stood outside Judge Boyle's courtroom, expecting to testify -- this time, for the defense. She waited patiently, wondering what was happening. Hours passed.

Inside, Bonjean was imploring the judge to allow the widow to take the stand. But prosecutors vehemently objected, claiming that Vargas had nothing new to add. They also argued that her testimony would be improper because her affidavit was not part of the original innocence petition filed by previous lawyers.

Bonjean had repeatedly asked the court for permission to update the petition to include Vargas' revelations. But to no avail. The judge sided with the prosecutors, as she had throughout the hearing.

The widow was told to go home, filled with more doubt than ever about whether she and her children would ever learn the truth.

Family members of the prisoners wondered the same thing. They had waited for this hearing for nine years, ever since the snitch recanted; it seemed like the injustice had only been compounded. In court that morning, a veteran prosecutor had called their loved ones "mutts." Courtroom spectators gasped. Serrano's sister shouted, "That's flat-out racist." The prosecutor apologized on the spot, and State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's spokesperson later characterized the comment as "unfortunate and inappropriate" to Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn.

But shutting out the widow of a murder victim is not just a slip of the tongue. It reflects a conscious effort by prosecutors, who claim they are advocates for crime victims' families, to thwart their testimony when it proves inconvenient. It reflects a culture that is more concerned with maintaining a conviction than finding the truth.

The hearing is scheduled to resume on June 17, when Det. Guevara and the snitch have been subpoenaed to testify. The families of the prisoners and the murder victim are united in demanding justice. Will prosecutors continue to stand in the way?

Original report here




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Black Arizona man charged with DUI -- even though a blood test showed zero alcohol

Jessie Thornton sleeps during the day and runs errands and works out during the night. "My wife, she's an ER nurse and works three 12-hour shifts, so I adjusted my schedule to be like her schedule," said Thornton.

The 64-year-old retired firefighter moved to a Surprise retirement community from Ohio.

Jessie says his late hours have put him in the police spotlight.
"I've been stopped 10 times in Surprise and given four tickets, it's amazing," said Thornton.

His latest incident with Surprise police officers prompted Thornton to hire a lawyer with plans to sue the department.

Around 11 p.m. Thornton, according to Surprise Police Department paperwork, was pulled over for crossing the white line in his lane. "He (the officer) walked up and he said 'I can tell you're driving DUI by looking in your eyes,'" said Thornton.

The 64-year-old says his eyes could have been red because he had just left LA Fitness where he was in the pool swimming.

"I take my glasses off and he says, 'You've got bloodshot eyes.' I said, 'I've been swimming at LA Fitness,' and he says, 'I think you're DUI,'" said Thornton. "He (the officer) goes, 'Well we're going to do a sobriety test.' I said, 'OK, but I got bad knees and a bad hip with surgery in two days.'"

Medical documents show Thornton was scheduled to have hip replacement surgery two days after the incident.

According to the police report, the officer notes that Thornton does have a hip and knee problem.

Thornton said two other officers arrived and he conducted the sobriety test. "At one point, one of the officers shined the light in my eye and said, 'Oh, sorry,' and asked the other officer if he was doing it right,'" said Thornton.

Thornton said he was then placed in handcuffs and told to sit on the curb. "I couldn't even sit on the ground like that and they knew it and I was like laying on the ground, then they put me in the back of an SUV and when I asked the officer to move her seat up 'cause my hip hurt she told me to stop whining," said Thornton.

According to documents provided to ABC15 from the City of Surprise, Thornton was taken to police headquarters where he took a breathalyzer test. The test, according to the police documents came back with a blood alcohol level of 0.000. "Yes, I do the breathalyzer and it comes back zero, zero, zero," said Thornton.

While in custody, a "DRE" or drug recognition expert is called to test Thornton. "After he did all the tests, he says, 'I would never have arrested you, you show no signs of impairment,'" said Thornton.

The Surprise resident is right. The police documents show the drug recognition officer wrote, "I conducted an evaluation of Jessie, in my opinion Jessie was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol." According the documents from the Surprise Police Department, the blood analysis showed no drugs were detected in Thornton's blood.

Jessie's car had been impounded and the MVD notified of the DUI charge. "I then get this message that my license is being suspended and I have to take some sort of drinking class or something," said Thornton.

According to the police documents, Thornton was later released to his wife. "She was at work and had to come get me, it was a mess, I couldn't believe it," said Thornton. "On top of that my car was impounded on a Friday night and they said I couldn't get it until Monday.."

Thornton now claims this wasn't DUI. "It was driving while black," said Thornton. "This is a case of D-W-B, driving while black," said Thornton's attorney Marc Victor.

Victor's office has filed a notice of claim against the City of Surprise seeking $500,000.

"It's not totally about the money, although I'm already out more than $5,000, that's $5,000 that I don't have," said Thornton. "This is not the way American citizens ought to be treated by officers or treated by anybody for that matter," said Victor.

To be clear, ABC15 provided the Surprise Police Department an opportunity to talk about Thornton's incident, however, due to standard policy, the Department was unable to comment due to pending legal action. The DUI charge was recently dropped, but Victor's office claims it's not enough.

"Here he (Jessie) is being harassed for no other reason than the color of his skin," said Attorney Charity Clark. "It's frustrating that somebody had to go through this type of experience, they poke and prod him and arrest him for nothing."

Thornton said his daughter, who is in law enforcement, has filed an official complaint with the City of Surprise. "Listen, I was a firefighter and firefighters work hand in hand with police officers, I have nothing against police officers, this just wasn't right."

As for Jessie's hip, medical documents show he did have hip replacement surgery days after the arrest.

"I just don't want any of this to happen to somebody else," said Thornton.

Original report here




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Australia: Watch-house bashing revealed on CCTV

(At least one of the victims was black. But the black threw the first punch)

FOOTAGE of a police officer repeatedly punching a prisoner and dragging another through a watch-house by his neck has been shown to a public hearing held by Western Australia's corruption watchdog.

The footage, taken by CCTV cameras at the Broome watchhouse in WA's Kimberley region, shows the same senior constable involved in two separate incidents less than three weeks apart earlier this year.

After viewing the footage, Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan served a loss of confidence notice on the 31-year-old constable, who has since resigned from the force.

In the first incident on March 29, the officer appears to place a teenager arrested for obstructing police in a neck hold before dragging him inside after he refused to leave a police van.

As the hysterical girlfriend of the teenager looks on, the youngster is placed in a padded cell and stripped - as numerous other officers watch.

In the second incident captured by CCTV, a man is seen swinging a punch in the Broome watch-house after being arrested for public drinking.

The senior constable reacts by swinging several hard punches. Then, as the prisoner lies on the floor, the officer appears to drop his knee twice on the head of the man, who goes limp.

The prisoner is then dragged inside where another camera shows him flying forward through a doorway onto the hard floor with his hands cuffed behind him.

As other police look on, another officer removes the man's shorts and searches them.

Some time later, when the detainee is back on his feet, the 31-year-old constable is alleged to have said to him: “Nice face, ****.” He then added: “Nothing wrong with mine. You punch like a faggot.”

The detainee suffered a broken finger and swelling to his eye, according to Gail Archer SC, counsel assisting the Commissioner Roger Macknay of the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC).

The public hearings into the incidents, beginning today, were ordered by the CCC.

Ms Archer said the hearings would investigate the use of force by the officers, and what other officers at the station could - and should - have done.

Two other officers were stood down over the incidents, although one of them, a 38-year-old female, has since returned to her duties.

Commissioner Macknay ruled that the identity of the two arrested men and the former officer should be suppressed during the hearing, while the CCTV footage would not immediately be released to media.

Original report here




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57,000 suspects are left in bail limbo as British police 'drag their feet' with one man waiting three-and-a-half years to find out if he will be charged

Thousands of criminal suspects are ‘left dangling’ on police bail for months before they are told if they will be charged.

More than 57,000 people are on this type of bail – where conditions are set by the police rather than the courts – including 3,000 for more than six months.

One fraud suspect is still on bail three years and seven months after being arrested, a survey found.

Many of those arrested and bailed will ultimately not face charges. In some cases, suspects are suspended from their jobs while allegations against them are investigated.

The Law Society, which represents solicitors, is calling for a 28-day limit on police bail, after which it said officers should be required to go before a magistrate to justify further bailing of a suspect.

Freedom of Information requests by BBC Radio 5 Live found at least 57,428 suspects were on bail in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while 3,172 have been on bail for more than six months. In Scotland, bail is set by the courts, not the police.

Scotland Yard has more than 12,000 suspects on bail, including 910 for over six months. In London, a man, 45, has still not been told if he will be charged after he was arrested in October 2009 on suspicion of fraud.

Senior police officers appear divided on the issue, with Andy Trotter, the head of the British Transport Police, calling for a six-month limit on bail. However, the Association of Chief Police Officers said that bail was an ‘essential tool in securing justice’.

Richard Atkinson, chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, said: ‘It is not unusual for people to be on bail for several months while fairly routine investigations meander their way to a final decision.

‘Because there is no requirement for the police to act within any time, there is an attitude among some officers of “let’s put off until tomorrow what we could have done today” and things are just left to drag along.’ He said one suspect accused of stealing a bicycle had been left on bail for seven months.
Peak: The largest number of bailed individuals are in London, with 12,178 waiting to hear from the Metropolitan Police

The largest number of bailed individuals are in London, with 12,178 waiting to hear from the Metropolitan Police

Civil liberties campaigners have condemned the excessive use of police bail, which allows officers to restrict suspects’ activities. This can include forcing them to live at a certain address, handing over their passport and making them report to a police station on a regular basis.

There is no time limit on how long bail can continue and how many times it can be renewed.

Earlier this month, Mr Trotter told The Mail on Sunday: ‘In the past, police have released people without bail and that hasn’t stopped us continuing the investigation, particularly if they are unlikely to abscond. We have re-arrested them at a later stage when we have had sufficient evidence. That way, they are not left dangling.’

But Chris Eyre, Acpo spokesman and chief constable of Nottinghamshire, said: ‘Police bail is an essential tool in securing justice. It allows investigators to ensure every possible avenue is explored, while those arrested need not remain in custody.’

Steve White, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the lack of resources made it more difficult for investigations to be concluded quickly.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We continue to keep police bail provisions under review to ensure they strike the right balance between protecting an individual’s right to civil liberty and allowing police to carry out thorough criminal investigations.’

Original report here. (Via POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)




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Horror British police again

Rugby coach hands son's drug dealer to police...and is charged with kidnapping

Furious that his 14-year-old son had been buying cannabis, Cenydd Nickels vowed to bring the dealer to justice. His anger was made worse by the fact his mother had recently been violently mugged for the sake of just £6 to buy drugs.

But when the 53-year-old tracked down the culprit and carted him to a police station, officers were not interested. They let the suspect walk free...and put Mr Nickels in the dock instead.

Their decision triggered a five-month, £100,000 legal battle that ended only when the Crown Prosecution Service decided to drop the charges without explanation.

Mr Nickels had confronted the drug dealer in a ‘sting’ operation at a park, having been promised by police they would be there to make an arrest. No officers arrived and – following a fight – Mr Nickels, who is a dog warden and junior rugby coach, put the younger man in the boot of his car and drove to a police station.

The station was closed so he telephoned officers who arrived 20 minutes later.

To Mr Nickels’s horror, they arrested him for assault – even though the dealer told them he did not wish to press charges. The next day he was charged with kidnap and causing actual bodily harm.

That led to ten court appearances until, at Swansea Crown Court last month, prosecutors decided to offer no evidence and he was formally acquitted of both charges.

One of his neighbours in Ystradgynlais, near Swansea, said: ‘Cenydd is a pillar of our community. ‘He’s there for young people week in week out at the rugby club and is well known in the area for being a lovely guy.

'No one here will have a bad word to say about him. It’s a joke that he was arrested in the first place. What a waste of everyone’s time and money.’

Mr Nickels posted an emotional message on Facebook about his arrest in January. In it he said his mother had been left black and blue by her mugging ordeal and needed hospital treatment, including stitches, for her injuries.

He added: ‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family, county councillors, community councillors, scout leaders and the people who have supported me over the past few weeks.

‘We have won the battle, but not the war over drugs in our community. We must stick together and keep on top of the drug dealers and report them to the police, so that they will always be looking over their shoulder in future.

‘We as a community have to help the police to get rid of this scum and hope they will respond to our concerns.

'There will always be someone out there who will try to make money on the backs of our children by selling drugs to them. ‘They will cause misery and heartache to our families. Our community is worth protecting. Our children are worth protecting. Our children are worth fighting for.’

No one from Dyfed-Powys Police was available for comment yesterday.

Original report here




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British mother wrongly arrested for murder when three-year-old son died of natural causes receives undisclosed damages from police

Police have paid an undisclosed out-of-court settlement to a mother who was arrested on suspicion of murder after her three-year-old son died of natural causes.

Abby Podmore, from Quinton, Birmingham, was held in police custody overnight in February 2011 by officers investigating the death of Alfie Podmore.

Ms Podmore, a dental nurse, has already received a five-figure out-of-court settlement from Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust after it admitted failings in medical care prior to her son's death.

An inquest held in September 2011 heard the toddler died of a chest infection after being misdiagnosed by hospital staff.

In a statement issued today by law firm Irwin Mitchell, which represented Ms Podmore, she expressed relief that legal proceedings against the hospital and police had been concluded.

She said: 'Alfie was adored by his family and everyone whose lives he touched during his short time with us and he will never be forgotten.

'I'm just relieved the legal battles with both the NHS Trust and police are now over as we can finally look to begin rebuilding our lives.'

Tom Riis-Bristow, a medical law expert at Irwin Mitchell's Birmingham office, who led the legal action, said: 'The consequences of losing Alfie so suddenly and in such tragic circumstances have had a long lasting psychological effect on Abby.

'The out-of-court settlements will be used to help fund the ongoing psychiatric care she needs and will also provide the couple with funds to help them move house, as their present home has so many painful memories which they have understandably found extremely hard to deal with.

'Following our investigations, the hospital has assured Abby that the internal investigation carried out after Alfie's death has led to important lessons being learnt and a number of changes to procedures have since been made which will hopefully mean that no other family has to suffer the same heartbreak.'

In a statement to Alfie's inquest, Ms Podmore described her arrest as a 'horrifying' event which had robbed her of the chance to grieve.

The inquest heard that antibiotics may have saved Alfie, but he was instead given antacid medication and died at his home on February 6, 2011.

West Midlands Police made the payment to Ms Podmore without admitting any wrongdoing on behalf of the force.

Chief Inspector Garry Billing, from Birmingham Police's Child Protection Unit, said: 'A payment has been made to Abby Podmore; she's accepted it is a full and final settlement and without any admission from West Midlands Police.

'Ms Podmore was arrested following her son's death as it was deemed in the best interest of the investigation at that stage; she's since recognised that police were acting on information available to them at the time and needed to fully investigate matters.

'It became apparent, however, the case should not be treated as a murder inquiry and she was quickly dismissed as a suspect.

'This is a truly tragic case and no amount of money can ever compensate for the death of a child.'

Original report here




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Cops Choke Black Boy Holding Puppy for Giving Them ‘Dehumanizing Stares’

Police brutality against blacks, especially black males, is a nationwide crisis. Newspapers from Philadelphia to New Orleans to New York have decried out-of-control cops routinely arresting, beating and even killing innocent blacks for weak, implausible or trumped-up reasons. In 2012 police, security guards, and vigilantes killed a black man every 28 hours in the U.S., according to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.

Remember Abner Louima, raped by policemen who arrested him based on charges that were later dropped? Amadou Diallo, shot to death for pulling out his wallet? Sean Bell, killed on his way out of his own bachelor party?

Miami cops have given us a brand-new example of police violence against black males: 14-year-old Tremaine McMillan. (This is why I write “black males” and not “black men” — youth are in no way exempt from police beatings.)

Police threw McMillan to the ground and choked him with, at best, very little reason. Even the six-week-old puppy in the boy’s arms got hurt, despite being white.

The police officers said they took McMillan down for giving them “dehumanizing stares” and “clenching his fists.” (Pause a moment to consider the irony of two white adults complaining because a black boy gave them a dehumanizing stare.)

They say they first noticed him because he was roughhousing. They told him that behavior was unacceptable and asked where his mother was. He walked away.

After that, the cops say, they chased him in ATVs. When they caught him he tried “to pull his arm away, stating, ‘Man, don’t touch me like I did something,’” Alternet reports.

“Of course we have to neutralize the threat in front of us,” a Miami police detective said. But McMillan and witnesses say there was no threat to neutralize.

According to them, the youth was playing on the beach with friends. He says he walked away from the cops to take them to his mother and that he was feeding his puppy from a baby bottle, which occupied both his hands, precluding any clenching of fists.

It was when the officers slammed McMillan to the ground that his puppy, Polo, “got hurt and bruised his front paw… It makes me feel sad,” he said.

The video above shows that once McMillan was down, one officer choked him while the other took his time handcuffing him. McMillan says that he couldn’t breathe for so long that he urinated on himself.

McMillan’s mother, who made the video above with her cell phone, said “I ran over there and said, ‘That’s my son, that’s my son. Can you get off of him? He can’t breathe.’”

On July 16th McMillan will have to stand trial on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He pleaded not guilty.

It’s hard to disagree with that he was not guilty. Even if everything the police officers said is true — he was roughhousing with another youth, walked away after they spoke to him, clenched his fists, and looked at them funny — he didn’t do anything that merited a violent arrest. If a white 14-year-old were thrown around, choked, and cuffed, I suspect the officers would find themselves on “administrative leave” and any charges against the boy would be dropped.

Original report here




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Britain's social work Gestapo again

Secret court jails father for sending son 21st birthday greeting on Facebook after he was gagged from naming him

A father has been jailed at a secret court hearing for sending a Facebook message to his grown-up son on his 21st birthday. Garry Johnson, 46, breached a draconian gagging order which stops him publicly naming his son, Sam, whom he has brought up and who still lives with him.

In a case which is certain to fuel concerns about Britain’s shadowy network of secret courts, a judge sent the former music executive to prison for contempt at a closed-doors family court hearing in Essex at the beginning of last month.

He was not arrested by police or even represented by a lawyer.

The order silencing Mr Johnson – which follows an acrimonious divorce eight years ago – means he cannot mention either of his boys, 21-year-old Sam and Adam, 18, in public, even by congratulating them in a local newspaper announcement when they get engaged, married or have children in the future.

The extraordinary gag is set to last until the end of his life, although his boys are now adults. Last night they condemned their father’s jailing as ‘cruel and ludicrous’.

After their parents’ divorce, the two boys chose to live with their father, following a series of rows with their mother over her new boyfriend.

But within a year of the divorce, Mr Johnson’s ex-wife made allegations to Essex social workers that he was neglecting the children and not feeding them properly at his smart family home.

An investigation by social workers cleared him of any wrongdoing and said the boys were fine.

A year later, in 2006, she made further allegations to social workers that he was mentally unfit to care for the boys.

Medical documents shown to the Mail by Sam and Adam reveal that Mr Johnson was examined three times by a local psychiatrist hired by social workers. The doctor wrote to social workers saying:

‘There is no evidence of mental illness. I cannot understand why there are concerns about Mr Johnson’s mental health.’

Social services refused, as a result, to get involved.

In 2007, the ex-wife started private care proceedings to remove the boys from their father. A judge put the boys under a ‘living at home with parent’ care order.

It meant they would continue to live with their father, but under supervision by social services.

This care order was accompanied by the gagging order to stop an increasingly anguished Mr Johnson talking about the case publicly. Even naming his sons in the most innocuous circumstances – such as on Facebook – became a contempt of court.

The care order on Sam expired on his 18th birthday three years ago. The one on Adam in October last year when he reached 18. Normally, a gagging order imposed by a family court judge on a parent expires at the same time as a care order on the child. This one did not.

Mr Johnson was imprisoned at the height of the Mail’s campaign against jailings by this country’s network of secret courts.

The secretive family court system, which jailed Mr Johnson, deals with custody wrangles, children’s care orders and adoption.

Mr Johnson received a letter in late April from Chelmsford County Court officials ordering him to go to Basildon Magistrates’ Court building on May 2 for a hearing regarding his children.

He was not warned he might face imprisonment or that the hearing was about his Facebook message, posted on Sam’s birthday a few days earlier on April 23.

On arrival, he was escorted by court security guards to a private room in the building for a half hour hearing under family court rules before His Honour Judge Damien Lochrane. He was not warned that he might need a lawyer.

At the private hearing, Mr Johnson learned he had breached a gagging order, imposed by the family courts in 2007, by sending the Facebook message.

He informed the judge that he had had four heart attacks and was awaiting a triple by-pass operation. But he was sentenced to 28 days’ jail and sent down to a court cell to await transport to Chelmsford prison.

In the court cell, he had a heart attack caused by the shock. Rushed to a local hospital by ambulance, he was then shackled and handcuffed to a bed while on oxygen and receiving morphine.

A team of prison officers were put on 24-hour shifts beside his bed to make sure he did not escape.

He recovered and was sent to prison two days later, serving two weeks of the sentence before being released. Details of the horrifying case were made public to the Mail by his sons, who are not subject to any gagging order according to their Essex-based lawyer, Alan Foskett.

The jailing provoked a horrified response from MPs last night. John Hemming, the Lib Dem MP who has campaigned against the secret courts, said: ‘This is yet another example of how the secret courts are stopping freedom of speech. I have never heard of a gagging order of this kind going on into adulthood. This is a surreal case.’

Mr Johnson’s local MP, John Baron, said: ‘I have helped Mr Johnson and his sons – who always wanted to live with him – over several years. To find he has been imprisoned for sending a birthday message to one of them is troubling.

‘Whilst I appreciate the need to protect children, the family court system often ignores the legitimate wishes of families. This needs to change, and quickly.’

Sam, a telesales manager and former professional footballer, said last night: ‘My dad is a good father and has never been in trouble with the police. He was treated like a criminal. This ludicrous gagging order should not exist and must now be lifted.

Both Adam and myself are adults. This cruel ruling is now hanging over my father to silence him about the sons he loves for the rest of his life. That is a terrible thing in what is meant to be a free country.’

Mr Johnson was imprisoned a day before senior judges, on May 3, reacted to the Mail campaign by saying they planned to stop courts jailing defendants in secret for contempt.

The Ministry of Justice this week said that it does not count up people jailed by the family courts because the numbers are ‘so small’.

A spokesman said of the courts: ‘It is very rare for anyone to be imprisoned for contempt of court and it only ever happens in extreme circumstances when a person has continually disregarded legally binding requirements made by the court and clearly communicated to them.

‘A person accused of contempt of court will always be given their full legal right to defend himself or herself at a hearing will always be heard in an open court.’

However, it is estimated by campaigners and MPs that up to 200 parents a year are imprisoned for contempt by the family courts. Because of the controversial secrecy rules, some have been sent to jail for discussing their case with MPs or charity workers advising them.

Original report here. (Via POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)




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Nurse cleared of poisoning patients is suing police for £100,000 after British cops 'changed her Facebook password and made her profile public'

A nurse cleared of poisoning patients is attempting to sue the police for £100,000 after officers allegedly leaked her name to the Press and made her private Facebook account available to the public.

Rebecca Leighton spent six weeks in custody as police investigated the deaths of several patients from suspected saline drip contamination.

After being charged with contaminating saline fluids with insulin, Ms Leighton was refused bail for her own protection. But the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges because of a lack of sufficient evidence against her.

The Times has now reported that in a High Court writ the nurse has alleged officers asked for her Facebook password following her arrest so it could be closed down 'to minimise the potentially damaging intrusion into her private life and avoid prejudicing public opinion towards her'.

But it is alleged an officer reset the password and deactivated then reactivated the account, which meant her previously private page was made available to all internet users. Ms Leighton's family and solicitor were also allegedly unable to shut the page down because the password had been changed.

The nurse has claimed officers gave her name to the media, who obtained messages and pictures from her Facebook account, while 'highly abusive and distressing' messages were also posted by members of the public.

It is also alleged officers obtained confidential information from her Hotmail account after she gave her password so it could be shut down.

She is now seeking compensation of up to £100,000 for aggravated damages for breach of confidence, misuse of private information, negligence and breach of a statutory duty and her legal costs.

The 29-year-old says the publicity resulted in her being remanded in custody and has left her unable to find work. She alleges she has also had to abandon a business venture which has lost her £22,157.

In February she was suspended for three months by a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel after she admitted stealing drugs.

The panel found her fitness to practice impaired following a disciplinary hearing in which she suggested staff habitually took medication from the premises.

Ms Leighton sobbed gently as the panel, sitting in London, said the 'relatively short' suspension would be the best course of action as she had shown remorse, had done the best to atone for actions and was unlikely to repeat her misconduct. Colleagues also had confidence in her as a nurse, it noted.

Panel chairman Susan Hurds said: 'We are satisfied that Ms Leighton has learned a tremendous amount from the experience and we are satisfied she would not repeat her actions.'

The disciplinary panel found that she was 'not fundamentally dishonest' and had worked hard to mediate her conduct since the incident. Ms Hurds said she had sought no intentional financial benefit and had a 'previously unblemished nursing career'.

In September 2011, following her release from jail, Ms Leighton told ITV's This Morning how she was too frightened to walk down the street alone. She said she had been portrayed as an 'Angel of Death' following her arrest. She said the ‘normal life’ she enjoyed before she was arrested had been destroyed.

Original report here




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The Indian woman jailed for 19 years because nobody had $92

FROM India comes a story of injustice, desperation and a son's deep devotion to his mother.

A woman has languished in jail for 19 years because no one could afford to pay her bail. Her bail was 5,000 rupees. That's about $90.

No-one could raise the money, so the woman had to stay in jail for two decades. There is also a report this morning that the Indian justice system is so muddled and inefficient, she wasn't even aware she had been granted bail.

The woman's name is Vijay Kumari. In 1990 she was imprisoned on a murder charge. In 1994, a court granted her bail, but she couldn't afford it. She gave birth to a son in jail. The son was taken away to a children's home just before he turned five. And still the woman languished behind bars.

The child, whose name was Kanhaiya, grew up. Kanhaiya worked night and day in a garment factory on a miniscule wage until finally he earned enough money to cover his mother's bail.

Then just this week, Kanhaiya paid the bail and his mother was released.

The fact that nobody from the woman's extended family could pay the bail 19 years ago has triggered much debate in this nation of 1.24 billion people and more than 1,300 prisons.

The High Court in the northern Indian province of Uttar Pradesh, where the woman languished in jail, has decided to take action over thousands of other people in local jails, many of whom have been incarcerated as long as Ms Kumari.

Authorities have directed that prisoners who have been granted bail should be handed over to the court at once.

That means many more men and women like Ms Kumari could be be reunited with their families - especially those without a son as devoted as Kanhaiya.

Original report here




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Another crooked Muslim cop in Britain

A senior police officer who spearheaded a ‘zero tolerance’ crime clampdown is facing jail after being convicted of a £46,000 insurance and mortgage scam.

Mohammed Razaq was in charge of a neighbourhood police team in Bolton, Greater Manchester, until he was arrested and his office was raided by police.

Disgraced Inspector Razaq, 53, has been found guilty of a fraud involving four rental properties he owned.

Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester heard that Razaq created a false damage report document, purporting to be from a genuine company, and used it as evidence for a bogus insurance claim. He then made a series of claims for damage on properties that he owned and a false mortgage application.

Insp Razaq, who owned four homes and was trying to buy a fifth property in Bolton, used several different identities in a bid to cover his tracks.

Robert Hall, prosecuting, said that his ambition was part of his downfall.

He said: ‘He was undoubtedly ambitious in his approach to life and his rise to inspector. ‘The Crown says that his ambition for status and wealth is what fuelled this dishonesty.’

The court heard that in 2008 he ‘could not have wanted for anything else’.

He had a wife and three children in their teens or early 20s and Mr Hall said Razaq was ‘not short of a bob or two’.

Razaq was found guilty of six counts of fraud and three counts of converting criminal property and will be sentenced next month.

His dishonesty started in 2008 when he had a water leak at his home and a surveyor said the cost of the damage was about £1,200. Razaq disputed this and submitted two documents from companies showing that the damage cost more than £7,000. The insurance company paid out £7,685.

The court heard that there was water damage at another house he owned, which prompted a fire service call-out. Insp Razaq submitted an insurance claim for £20,000 but it was rejected.

He changed his insurance company on his home in Bradford Road and, in 2010, he claimed again for water damage, having not declared a previous claim to the company. The prosecution says this damage was the same damage that he had claimed for previously, but had not been repaired. He was paid £6,300.

The court heard he also applied for a £12,000 mortgage for home improvements on an address in Bradford Street, on the basis that he lived there, but in reality it was rented out. The money was transferred to him in June, 2010.

In March 2011, the court heard, Razaq lied about which house he lived in when applying for a mortgage for another property claiming he was going to move there.

But within two weeks of the mortgage being granted he called an insurance company for a quote to insure the building as a rental property.

Razaq had more than 33 years policing experience, including spells in CID, Tactical Aid, a firearms unit and various community cohesion projects.

Speaking after the court case yesterday Elisa Hopley, Senior Crown Prosecutor from the CPS North West Complex Casework Unit said: ‘Mohammed Razaq embarked upon a prolonged period of dishonesty, breaching the trust that was placed in him as a serving Inspector for Greater Manchester Police.

‘The public are entitled to expect the highest standards from police officers and whilst cases where police officers are charged with criminal offences are rare, today's conviction shows that they are not above the laws they are expected to uphold.’

Original report here




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New Zealand police discredited again

Was another "orchestrated litany of lies" needed for the attack on this guy

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has won access to evidence seized during raids on the file storage service. The decision to grant access was made by the New Zealand high court which said warrants used to grab the material were illegal.

The ruling is a victory for Mr Dotcom who said his defence was harmed because police could see evidence he could not.

Computers, hard drives and documents were grabbed in January 2012 during raids co-ordinated by US authorities.

They accused Megaupload of making massive profits from digital piracy by helping people share movies and music illegally. The raids, led by the FBI, forced Megaupload to close.

Mr Dotcom has denied the charges saying Megaupload was just a storage service that should not be held responsible for what its users did with it. He has fought a long-running legal battle over the case in New Zealand where he lives and has scored several victories. In September 2012 he won an apology from New Zealand's prime minister over the handling of the case.

The latest decision requires New Zealand police to comb through the evidence scooped up in the raid and return any data files considered "irrelevant" to the case. Clones of this information created by investigators must be destroyed.

In addition, copies of any information considered "relevant" to the ongoing case must also be handed over to Mr Dotcom's legal team.

Lawyers working for Mr Dotcom have long requested access to the information as they prepare for an extradition hearing scheduled for August. US authorities want Mr Dotcom to face charges in the US over alleged copyright theft.

This hearing may be delayed because of questions over whether the evidence being given by the US as justification for extradition was acquired illegally.

A year after the Megaupload shut down, Mr Dotcom, formerly Kim Schmidt, started a separate online file-storage service called Mega.

Original report here




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