Black man was handcuffed when he was shot by Minneapolis police.  Why?

Reports from black witnesses to shootings have repeatedly been shown to be worthless so everything will depend on what the videos show

THE emergency call came from an ordinary looking apartment block in Minneapolis. A domestic incident, a man and his partner arguing.

When police arrived, guns drawn, they are said to have found Jamar Clark trying to prevent, or at least hindering, ambulance officers giving treatment to his partner.

Moments later Mr Clark, 24, was on his back on the pavement with a bullet hole above his eye. His heart was still beating but the wound left his brain dead, and his life support was switched off.

There is conflict about what happened in the crucial few seconds between the police arriving and Mr Clark being shot.

People watching from nearby apartments say he was on the ground, not resisting and in handcuffs. They said there were two officers standing over him before the shot was heard.

One neighbour, Nekelia Sharp, said he tried to speak to his partner; that’s when he was handcuffed and shot, she alleged.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is leading the investigation into what is officially a homicide, has obtained video of the scene from several sources, including police themselves and the ambulance, but will not reveal what they show.

“[We] don’t want to taint the interviews that may be ongoing with witnesses in this case and by having the videos being public we may potentially taint portions of the investigation,” Minnesota BCA superintendent Drew Evans told reporters.

However, he did confirm handcuffs were found at the scene.

For their part, police say Mr Clark was not handcuffed, but have not explained where the handcuffs came from. One possibility as they fell from an officer during the incident. But they have not said why police felt the need to shoot, which should be a last resort if they or others are in imminent danger.

In a statement, Mr Evans said there had been a “struggle” but did not directly address reports Mr Clark allegedly reached for an officer’s gun.

Supporters of Mr Clark say that he was virtually dead from the time police arrived; that a black man’s life is in far greater jeopardy than a white man’s in the same situation, while the police chief Janee Harteau said: “This incident should not and will not define us.”

The Mayor Betsy Hodges has called in federal investigators from the Department of Justice, well aware of the simmering anger in the community

“We’ve been saying for a long time that Minneapolis was one bullet away from Ferguson. Well, that bullet was fired last night,” Jason Sole, an associate professor of criminal justice at Metropolitan State University, told the local Star Tribune.

Details have emerged on social media of what officers were heard talking about on the police scanner before the shooting, including a call for backup. “We’ve got a big crowd; we need a lot of cops.”

This was in apparent response to the hysterical group of bystanders who saw the shootings and swarmed around emergency vehicles that were responding. In a video posted on Facebook by a witness, one woman was repeatedly shouting, “Y’all just killed that man!” Others stood close by taunting and pointing at police.

In the tense confrontation that followed several people were pepper sprayed to get the growing crowd back. Meanwhile, family of Mr Clark rushed to his bedside to discover there was nothing that could be done to save him.

One devastated family member told the Star Tribune he was shot in the head “execution style”.

Over the last 48 hours a rally called by Black Lives Matter a few blocks from the police headquarters with an estimated 250 people forming a barricade around the protest to form a “no cops zone”.

Protest organisers also ignored an invitation from Mayor Hodges to a formal community meeting she was conducting — at that meeting someone in the crowd loudly heckled her, while at the rally, organisers continued to maintain Mr Clark was shot while handcuffed, and doubted any official inquiry would be impartial.

So far there has not been any of the violence other US cities have faced after police shootings like the havoc wrecked in Ferguson, in Missouri, after the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.  But if the inquiry reveals police are guilty of what has been alleged, the tense situation, which is already on a knife-edge, could explode.

Mica Grimm, an organiser with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, was among a group of university students and activists occupying an entryway to the station.

She said people plan to stay there — taking turns for weeks, if necessary — until the officer responsible for the shooting is arrested, The Atlantic reported.  “We’re here because police officers have gotten away with murder for so long and we’re tired of it,” Ms Grimm said.

Original report here



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Girl Guide leader who sent hate mail packed with razor blades to herself that led to an innocent woman being locked up avoids jail

I hope the sentence is appealed.  She did a lot of harm.  The police are also to blame for acting on no evidence



A girl guide leader who sent herself threatening letters containing razor blades in an 'manipulative' stunt which landed an innocent woman in jail has today walked free from court.

Glesni Phillips, 20, sparked a major police inquiry by writing bogus hate mail from an imaginary stalker which led to female police officer Kaylie Davies being arrested.

The 27-year-old spent a night behind bars, had her computer seized and spent two months on bail before police realised Phillips was sending the 'disturbing' letters to herself.

Today, the Brownie leader, from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, avoided jail 'by a whisker' as the judge branded her actions 'disgraceful and manipulative'.

Judge Jonathan Furness: 'Everyone was taken in by your behaviour and the police arrested Kayleigh Davies, a Special sergeant. It was demeaning and belittling for her to be locked up by her own colleagues.

'She went off work with anxiety and depression as a consequence of your false allegations. This was attention seeking, it made you feel good. It is a pathetic story.'

Swansea Crown Court had heard how Phillips, who was also a volunteer with St John Ambulance, initially went to police to report one threatening letter.  She then told them about a second letter which she claimed told her she was being 'watched'.

Officers soon began suspecting Miss Davies, whose car was spotted near Phillips' home. The pair knew of one another but were not friends and did not spend time with one another.

The court heard how the probe then escalated when Phillips was sent another letter containing razor blades, which apparently told her to 'use them.'

Despite Miss Davies being arrested over the letters, the court heard how Phillips did not tell police about the error. She even continued to complain to police about made-up allegations, including that someone had burgled her house and that she had been attacked on a clifftop.

Prosecutor Janet Gedrych said: 'Phillips was made aware of the arrest but did not tell the police they had made an error.

'She continued to complain to police that she was being stalked and that someone had burgled her house and scrawled offensive words on the walls.

'She later claimed she had been attacked while taking photographs on a clifftop at the seaside village of Solva. More than 10 officers were involved in the search for her attacker which involved dog handlers.

'But the police became suspicious of Phillips and during an interview she admitted writing some of the letters.'

Phillips sat with her head bowed in the dock as she admitted perverting the course of justice. James Jenkins, defending, pleaded for her not to be jailed because she had never named Miss Davies as a suspect.

Phillips, who was in court with her parents, was given a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 240 hours unpaid work. She was ordered to pay £1,100 compensation to Miss Davies.

Miss Davies said after the case: 'I am disappointed - I expected her to go to jail for all the stress and worry she caused me. 'What she did will affect me for a long time, I feel as if I can't go back to working with the police after this.'

Original report here


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UK police pay £12,500 compensation to man they bruised when tackling him to the ground during an arrest which was gleefully filmed by shoppers

A man who was left bruised after being tackled to the ground by police because he was selling CDs has been awarded £12,500 compensation.

Shocking footage shows the moment officers tackled the unnamed 45-year-old in Sefton Park, Liverpool, because he did not have the correct licence to sell.

The clip shows the man being approached by community support officers on August 3 last year.

The PCSOs then call for back up before two officers tackle the man, who is wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, to the ground and hold him down.

Onlookers gather as the incident happens with one woman, who is with a child in a wheelchair, appearing to film it on her mobile phone.

The clip ends with a crowd, including a number of young children, gathering as the man is put into handcuffs and led into a police van.

Chris Topping, the victim's solicitor, said the man was left with cuts and bruises after the incident.

He was charged with assault on the two officers but was acquitted at the Community Justice Centre in Bootle in February.

Mr Topping said: 'The client contacted us after he had been acquitted in court and we made a claim for damages.  'The police came back fairly quickly with the offer.'

A spokesman for Merseyside Police said the force carefully considered the civil action and it was thoroughly examined by the force's legal team. He said: 'It was considered that in this case it was appropriate to make an offer of compensation to the claimant.

'Merseyside Police is determined to demonstrate the highest levels of integrity and to ensure officers maintain professional standards at all times.

'The force recognises the importance of maintaining people's confidence and trust in the services we provide to our communities across Merseyside.'

Original report here


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FBI investigating 'senseless murder' of rancher, 62, gunned down by deputies while he was trying to euthanize his 2,500lb bull

The FBI has launched an investigation into the death of an Idaho rancher who was shot and killed by sheriff's deputies after one of his bulls was struck by a car and charged emergency crews.

Jack Yantis, 62, died on November 1 after an altercation with two Adams County deputies near the town of Council that was spurred on by his 2,500-pound Gelbvieh bull, Idaho State Police said.

The dead rancher's family claims the deputies had shot the bull before Yantis got to the scene with his .204-caliber rifle. As they had failed to kill the animal, they asked Yantis to put it out of its misery.

What happened next is unclear, but family members who claim they saw the shooting said Yantis aimed the gun at the animal lying on the highway pavement, the Idaho Statesman reported.

The deputies stood behind Yantis as he put the barrel a few feet from the bull's head with his finger on the trigger and then one of them turned the rancher around and pushed him, his family said.

Relatives think the gun might have gone off accidentally and caused the deputies to open fire, with bullets striking Yantis in the chest and abdomen.

'There was no shootout. It was a senseless murder,' said Yantis' daughter, Sarah.

Investigators said it is believed that Yantis and both of the deputies fired their weapons.

The well-known cattle rancher had a criminal record and had previously been found guilty of resisting or obstructing officers, and driving under the influence, according to state records.

US Attorney Wendy Olson said federal authorities are involved because of allegations the deputies used excessive force, which would violate US laws.

'The attorney general's office will carefully review the evidence, we'll carefully review the evidence, and decisions will be made.

'That does take a period of time to do and get right.'

Olson said the FBI's investigation is separate from the one by state police and that the Idaho attorney general and the US Attorney's Office would independently decide whether to file charges.

'Law enforcement should be trained to de-escalate situations,' said Rowdy Paradis, a nephew of the Yantis' who said he was a witness. 'In this case, I stood ten feet away and watched two deputies escalate the situation and needlessly kill a man.'

Yantis' wife, Donna, who was also at the scene, said she and Paradis tried to run to the fallen rancher but the deputies threw them to the ground.

She had a heart attack at the scene and had to be flown to a local hospital, where she recorded a video statement about what she said she had witnessed.

'And then they threatened me and my nephew ... threw us on the middle of Highway 95, searched us and handcuffed us, and wouldn't let us go take care of Jack,' she said in the video statement.

In the state's rural areas it is common for vehicles to strike livestock and Yantis had put down animals before, according to his relatives.

The deputies who were involved have not been identified and they are on paid administrative leave as per agency policy, according to the Adams County Sheriff's Office.

'Our thoughts are with our community and especially all those involved in this incident,' said Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman.

'The Adams County Sheriff's Office takes matters involving any use of force very seriously and we have requested detectives with the Idaho State Police to conduct the investigation into this incident.'

Original report here



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Police officer 'rejected call for help from disabled man before he was burned to death by his neighbours' because she was 'stuffing her face with POT NOODLE'





A police officer rejected a call for help from a disabled man who was later beaten and burned to death by his neighbours because she was 'stuffing her face' with a Pot Noodle, a court has heard.

Bijan Ebrahimi, 44, who was falsely branded a paedophile by a gang of neighbours, contacted police to report that there was a 'mob' of vigilantes outside his home in Brislington, Bristol.

But PC Leanne Winter - who had previously had contact with the victim - dismissed the call and asked the operator to tell terrified Mr Ebrahimi that she was 'busy' at a job, the jury was told.

In reality, the officer of nine years was allegedly sat in Broadbury Road police station - situated just three-and-a-half miles away from Mr Ebrahimi's home - tucking into an instant noodle snack.

Lee James, 24, beat up the man - whom he wrongly believed had been filming his daughters for sexual motives - before setting him alight and leaving him to die on some grass outside his flat.

James later pleaded guilty to murder and was jailed for life over the killing, while neighbor Stephen Norley - who had helped him set Mr Ebrahimi on fire - was sentenced to four years in prison.

This week, Bristol Crown Court heard how Mr Ebrahimi had frantically called the police, prompting the male operator to contact the local police station and ask to be put through to PC Winter, 38.

The operator - who was not identified - was allegedly told by one of the officer's colleagues: 'Leanne Winter is sat just opposite me stuffing her face with a Pot Noodle at the moment.'

PC Winter refused to speak with 'vulnerable' Mr Ebrahimi, the court heard

'I don't want to speak to him. Not at all. Tell him police will be with him when they can get there,' she apparently said. 'Tell him I am busy at a job and it won't particularly be me coming.'

PC Winter denies misconduct in a public office.

She has been charged in the case alongside colleagues PC Kevin Duffy, 52, PCSO Andrew Passmore, 55, and PC Helen Harris, 40.

Mr Ebrahimi had previously been visited by PC Winter and PC Harris after calling police on July 11, 2013, to report that James had beaten him up over the false belief he was a paedophile.

When the experienced officers arrived, one noted James was so angry he was 'foaming at the mouth' and bragged he would 'do time' to protect his children, the court heard.

The 26-year-old father mistakenly thought that Mr Ebrahimi, an immigrant, was filming children  for sexual reasons - but actually he was gathering evidence of alleged antisocial behaviour.

Despite viewing footage of James barging in Mr Ebrahimi's flat, the two officers arrested the victim in front of a 'vigilante crowd', it was said.

Mr Ebrahimi was released without charge on the morning of July 12 and driven home by PC Henrietta Staveley-Brown.

The victim made 12 further calls to police, hoping to speak to beat officer PC Duffy, whom he had been told would visit him later that day to log the assault, the court heard.

But although he was asked to investigate, Duffy allegedly said he was 'busy' because he 'disliked' Mr Ebrahimi and 'never found the time'.

Instead he sent PCSO Passmore, who despite claiming he spent an hour patrolling the area, actually stayed for 'three to four minutes', jurors were told.

By 2pm, Mr Ebrahimi had not heard anything from beat manager Duffy, so he started calling the non-emergency police 101 number to try and speak with him, it was said.

At 7.30pm, he then desperately asked to be put through to PC Staveley-Brown. However, the operator made a mistake and instead thought he wanted to speak with PC Winter.

But she allegedly ignored his call and said she was 'busy' - despite tucking into a Pot Noodle.

According to a statement made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in September 2013, that was read out in court this week, PC Winters said she was 'preparing an interview plan while waiting for a solicitor to arrive at the police station' at the time of Mr Ebrahimi's panicked call.

She said she didn't know why the victim wanted to speak with her.

And she even said she 'wasn't aware' Mr Ebrahimi knew her name, the jury heard.

But when Mr Ebrahimi was told PC Winter was not available, he reportedly got upset and said: 'What's going on? Your colleague told me forty minutes ago he is coming as soon as he can. 'I can't even open the door. What shall I do?'

Despite further calls to the police, Mr Ebrahimi was brutally murdered at 1am on July 14 on the green outside his flat. James punched and kicked him until he lost consciousness. Seconds later, he and Norley, 25, set the victim's body on fire.

Norley was charged with assisting an offender for his role in the murder.

The trial - which is expected to last up to six weeks - continues.

Original report here


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Lawless LA cops

Instagram sensation Dan Bilzerian received some bad news when he returned to his West Hollywood mansion after a September break-in — several of his guns were gone.  But it wasn’t burglars who had taken the firearms, it was the Los Angeles Police Department.

For two months after the break-in, Mr. Bilzerian, a professional poker player and gun rights champion, says police inexplicably continued to keep the nine firearms under lock and key without a warrant. When the eight pistols and one rifle were returned to their owner about a week ago, all the ammunition for the firearms was missing, raising questions about the LAPD’s protocol for seizing firearms.

“All of my ammunition and the magazines were gone. And they couldn’t explain what happened to the magazines, but that ammo couldn’t be released with a firearm and that I’d have to schedule a separate three-hour visit for the ammo,” Mr. Bilzerian told The Washington Times. “If they are gonna take the guns and make me wait for three hours at the police station, they should at the very least return what came with them.”

The break-in occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 5, a weekend when Mr. Bilzerian was out of town, according to the police report.

The perpetrators disabled security cameras outside the home before breaking a glass window to gain entry. Once inside, the intruders attempted to break into a closet where Mr. Bilzerian kept a collection of firearms, but the steel-reinforced room withstood their attempts.

Meanwhile an alarm for a security system to the house was triggered, summoning police. The burglars escaped before police arrived, but once on scene, the officers turned their attention to the firearms they believed were in the home.

It’s unclear exactly why police forced their way inside the closet where the guns were stored. Officers asked Mr. Bilzerian’s assistant and security guard for permission to break into the room but the aides declined, but the officers accessed it anyway, Mr. Bilzerian said.

“They broke into our closet and took them after we were burglarized,” said Mr. Bilzerian’s assistant Jeremy Guymon. “It’s not like we were doing anything wrong.”

The responding officers confiscated nine firearms supposedly under the premise that they wanted to secure the home in case the burglars attempted a second break-in, Mr. Bilzerian said. But strangely, the officers left behind an arsenal of shotguns and a high-powered semiautomatic carbine rifle like the ones used by special operations troops.

“The officers told my assistant that they took the handguns because they didn’t want the suspects to come back and get them on a second break-in even though they were unsuccessful at opening the steel reinforced door the first time,” Mr. Bilzerian said. “Essentially they were ‘trying to protect my property and people’s safety.’ This is hard to grasp, when they left my $21,000 FN SCAR17 with thermal optic and shotguns unsecured in that same room.”

After two months shuffling between prosecutors’ and police offices to retrieve the firearms, Mr. Guymon said it seems unlikely at this point that Mr. Bilzerian will get his ammunition back.

Los Angeles police spokeswoman Officer Norma Eisenman said Wednesday the department was unable to immediately comment on the allegations made by Mr. Bilzerian or the LAPD’s protocol for securing stored guns at the scene of a break-in.

Attorney Joseph A. Silvoso III, a California gun law expert at the law firm Michel & Associates, said he has seen numerous incidents in which police responding to a crime scene confiscate guns without a warrant, either talking victims into permitting the seizure or declaring it was necessary for public welfare or personal safety.

“I can speak to California and there is a mindset, either it is cultural or politically pushed by the leadership, where we are seeing law enforcement responding to a scene where a crime has been committed, then asking for the location of any weapons and the ability to seize the firearms comes up,” he said.

Mr. Silvoso said after the guns are taken by police, it is a cumbersome paperwork process in California for the legal owners to get them back. And Mr. Bilzerian’s experience of not getting his ammunition returned is not uncommon, he added.

“We’ve unfortunately seen law enforcement from different agencies from time to time do that,” he said. “They just say ‘it’s just not safe to hand you back the guns and the ammuniton together’ or drum up some other reason not to return the ammunition or magazines.”

The LAPD’s seizure and handling of firearms from gun owners has raised legal concerns in the past. This year, at least two people have sued the department over its failure to return firearms that were taken from gun owners.

In July, Wayne William Wright filed a $4.8 million lawsuit against the LAPD following nearly 10 years of legal battles over the department’s seizure of more than 400 of the gun collector’s firearms. The guns were taken after police orchestrated a sting operation in 2004 during which Mr. Wright sold a gun illegally to an undercover agent, according to court records filed in the case.

Mr. Wright pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and later sought to retrieve his firearms. The department did return 26 of the seized guns, but claimed that Mr. Wright could not prove he was the rightful owner of the other firearms and refused to return them, according to court documents. In 2013, the department destroyed the firearms despite Mr. Wright’s attempts to reclaim them.

Another man sued the LAPD over a similar issue in April after the department destroyed 11 guns worth an estimated $75,000 after they were seized from his home after a shooting at the residence.

The LAPD took the firearms belonging to Alan Minato, owner of a Los Angeles strip club, in 2010 after a child accidentally shot a sibling at Mr. Minato’s home, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported.

Mr. Minato was not charged with any crime related to the shooting and tried to collect the confiscated firearms several times but was told that he would be notified when the guns were available. When he tried to collect the firearms again in 2013, Mr. Minato was told that the guns had been destroyed, the Tribune reported.

Mr. Bilzerian, who has advocated for Second Amendment rights including in a column in The Washington Times, said his experience with the LAPD has only furthered his dislike of the “aggressive and unconstitutional anti-gun stance California has taken with its law-abiding citizens.”

Original report here


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'They didn't give him any option': New Zealand Police officer is filmed holding a man on ground and punching him repeatedly in the head

The victim was a Maori -- who can be aggressive -- so the cop may have intended to subdue any opposition

A police officer in Napier, New Zealand, has been filmed punching a man in the head during an arrest in the city's KFC car park.

One witness who saw the arrest said the arrested man got out of the car without causing any trouble at all. He was then restrained by police by putting his hands behind his back and pushed to the ground, where he was punched in the head by a police officer, the witness said.

Another witness said that police 'didn't give him any option, they didn't even try to talk calmly.'

But Stuff.com reports that Luke Shadbolt, vice-president of officers' union the Police Association, said the officers had done nothing wrong.

'What [this incident] looks like is police officers going about an incident that occurs on a daily basis throughout New Zealand where we're dealing with violent or unco-operative offenders and have to use pepper spray or other tactical options to get then under control,' Mr Shadbolt said.

'That incident is probably significantly longer than what is shown in the post on Facebook. It's important that when people view this type of footage they bear in mind that it's often been very selective... Often the full context of a situation is missed.'

However, the woman who shot the video was adamant the man was punched.

She said it was a punch with 'a clenched fist'. Another woman tried to intervene and was also arrested. A younger woman who had been in the car with the man also got pushed to the ground during the scuffle.

A police statement said they tried to get the man's keys from the car, but family members got in the way and refused to let them take the keys of the vehicle.

These people also became violent and were arrested during the incident. All four will now face multiple charges.

Police said that they will be taking a look at what happened as 'part of normal procedure when force is used at an incident.'

However, the woman who filmed the incident said the man looked 'confused', but 'co-operative' with police officers during the incident.

Original report here



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Useless British police again: Man dies after cries for help were ignored

Three PCs and a PCSO failed a disabled man who was burnt to death by vigilante neighbours despite making at least a dozen calls to police for help, a court heard.

Vulnerable Bijan Ebrahimi, 44, was beaten to death and set on fire by Lee James, 24, after being falsely branded a paedophile by a mob in Brislington, Bristol.

Two days earlier he called police to report he had been assaulted by James and was visited by PCs Leanne Winter, 38, and Helen Harris, 41.

When the experienced officers arrived, one noted James was so angry he was 'foaming at the mouth' and bragged he would 'do time' to protect his children.

But, instead of investigating Mr Ebrahimi's allegation, the two officers arrested him in front of a 'vigilante crowd' who mistakenly thought he was a paedophile.

The innocent Iranian-born immigrant was later released and made 12 further calls to police hoping beat officer Pc Kevin Duffy, 52, would help him.

But Bristol Crown Court heard despite being asked to investigate, Duffy said he was 'busy' because he 'disliked' Mr Ebrahimi and 'never found the time'.

Instead, he sent PCSO Andrew Passmore, 55, who claimed he spent an hour patrolling the area but in reality only stayed for 'three to four minutes', the jury were told.

Just 48 hours after he first asked for help - and despite even more calls to the police - Mr Ebrahimi was brutally murdered at 1am on July 14, 2013.

Duffy, Winter, Harris and Passmore, all officers with Avon and Somerset Constabulary, deny misconduct in a public office.

Opening the case against them today, prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said: 'Two of the defendants, PC Winter and Harris, were sent to deal with [Mr Ebrahimi's] complaint.

'Lee James was so angry that he was said by PC Winter to have been foaming at the mouth. He was bragging that he would 'do time' to protect his children.

'You may well think that the danger of Lee James taking the law into his own hands could hardly have been plainer. Worse still, Lee James was not alone.

Mr Aylett continued: 'Moreover, PCs Winter and Harris, who had been sent to investigate Mr Ebrahimi's complaint, they ended up arresting Bijan Ebrahimi.

'Therefore, the prosecution suggest, that did nothing to ensure that Mr Ebrahimi's original complaint was properly investigated. As far as Lee James' ugly threats, they were simply overlooked.

'Mr Ebrahimi was released the following day. In the course of that day, July 12, Mr Ebrahimi made no less than 12 calls to police in the hope that his beat manager, PC Duffy, would look on him and deal with his complaint against Lee James.

'It is however clear that PC Duffy did not like Bijan Ebrahimi. PC Duffy was asked a number of times [to visit] and PC Duffy said that he was busy, and he would go and see Mr Ebrahimi in his own good time.

'From the content of these calls, it is perfectly apparent that PC Duffy regarded Bijan Ebrahimi as a liar and in fact in one call he called him a "perpetual liar".  'He must also have regarded Mr Ebrahimi as a nuisance and he was, we suggest, simply not interested in any complaint that Mr Ebrahimi had.

'Despite being asked a numerous times to go and see Mr Ebrahimi, PC Duffy never seemed to find the time.'

Mr. Aylett said on the following day, July 13, Mr Ebrahimi continued to contact police without success, but 'nothing' was done.

'Had something been done, the prosecution suggest, Lee James would have realised that the police were at the very least keeping an eye on him,' he added. Instead he must have thought he could simply do as he pleased.

'All in all, the prosecution suggest, there was a potentially toxic situation that called for proactive and effective policing

Describing the fatal attack, the prosecutor added added: 'At around 1am on July 14, Lee James attacked Bijan Ebrahimi outside his flat.  'He punched and kicked Mr Ebrahimi until he lost consciousness then with the help of another man, Lee James set fire to Bijan Ebrahimi's body. 'The only mercy is that Mr Ebrahimi must have lost consciousness before he was set alight.'

Lee James, now 24, has been sentenced to life for his murder. Stephen Norley, 25, who lived next door to James, admitted assisting an offender and was jailed for four years.

The trial of the police officers continues.

Original report here



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Scotland: Ex-partner of woman who died after police took three days to find her in crashed car slams police's 'reckless disregard for public safety'

The former partner of a woman who died after Scotland's national police force failed to respond to reports of a crashed car for three days has accused the force of a 'reckless disregard for public safety' after a report from watchdogs highlighted 'weaknesses' in the force's call handling.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) carried out an urgent review of procedures following the death of Ms Bell, 25, and her partner John Yuill, 28, in a car crash on the M9 near Stirling in July. Miss Bell died after police failed to respond to a report of her crashed car for three days

Mr Yuill died in the crash and although Ms Bell, who had a five-year-old son Kieran Burt, was conscious when officers arrived at the scene, she died four days later in hospital.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Derek Penman said staffing levels at the Bilston Glen contact, command and control centre - where the initial call regarding the fatal crash was received - were insufficient and had resulted in 'low levels of performance'.

Kieran's father Lee Burt and the boy's grandfather James McMillan slammed the reports findings, insisting it 'delivers a damning indictment on Police Scotland's call handling processes.'

In a statement released by lawyer Aamer Anwar, they said: 'Lamara Bell was not an isolated incident, despite what they wanted everyone to believe.

'It is clear that Police Scotland was not ready for national changes in call handling but went ahead despite concerns for safety and introduced 'unacceptably high levels of pressure' on staff.

'Of course human error is inevitable, but the fact that Police Scotland does not even have 'systematic processes for recording adverse incidents or near misses' suggests a dangerously cavalier approach to such incidents. Sadly it took Lamara's death to expose a systemic crisis at the heart of the call handling system.'

They said Kieran is 'at the heart of this tragedy', describing him as boy who 'never stops speaking about his mum'.

The statement said: 'Some mornings he will wake up a happy boy because he dreamt of Lamara, but it is heart-breaking when a little boy tells you he misses his mum and the sound of laughter changes to silence.

'Kieran's family will try their best to fill his life with love but they will never be able to fill the void left by Lamara.

'The family have two primary concerns, the first is that such a catastrophe should never happen again, but second is the question of accountability.

'Police Scotland are guilty of failing communities across Scotland, whilst their approach to the complaints of call handlers can be described as at best 'ad-hoc' and at worst 'shambolic'.

'Lives still remain at risk and if the authorities genuinely care about Kieran's loss and what happened to Lamara, then they must hold to account those in the leadership of Police Scotland who appeared to have had such a reckless disregard for public safety.'

As well as problems with staffing, HM inspectorate's report also highlighted concerns regarding the force's IT system and staff training.

Mr Penman said: 'I have highlighted a number of weaknesses in Police Scotland's approach to the roll-out of its new national call handling model.

'This model is a critical element in the delivery of front line policing and a key part of the bringing together of Police Scotland post-reform.'

But he added: 'The oversight of this project has been inadequate with key risks and other issues not being identified or highlighted to senior managers.'

In their report, the inspectors slammed Police Scotland for creating a working environment where 'weak management' and 'axed control rooms' added to an all-round bad atmosphere.

In total, 30 recommendations were made for improvement - which Police Scotland has already said will be implemented.

Despite being ordered following the deaths of Mr Yuill and Miss Bell, the final report by inspectors does not consider why police took three days to follow up the reported sighting of the wrecked car.

Instead, it looks more widely at the operation, systems and processes in place within police contact, command and control (C3) centres across Scotland.

Holyrood's Justice Secretary today pledged there will be 'rapid intervention' if performance drops below standard at any of Police Scotland's call handling centres in future.

Michael Matheson also announced the centres, which deal with half a million 999 calls and 3.24 million 101 calls a year, will be subject to unannounced inspections by HMICS while an ongoing restructuring programme is carried out.

The Scottish Police Authority has been monitoring performance at the call handling centres on a weekly basis, and the Justice Secretary stressed: 'In future any dip in performance such as experienced in Bilston Glen earlier this year will become quickly apparent and will trigger rapid intervention.'

Original report here


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Statistics Trump Slogans on Police Killings of Black Men

by DEROY MURDOCK

If the Black Lives Matter crowd is correct, bloodthirsty, racist cops are blasting black men like clay pigeons at a shooting range. The pace of this alleged slaughter is breathtaking.

The Nation of Islam's Nuri Muhammad on October 10 told the 20th-anniversary gathering of the Million Man March: "Every other day, we see a young black man being murdered by the Blue Klux Klan."

​That adds up to 182 such homicides per year.

"When we're hearing reports that every 28 hours, a black person is murdered by police, it feels like we're in a war," Black Lives Matter activist Cherno Biko told Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly on a September 4 special on this topic. "It feels like we're under occupation."

If that's true, killer cops are rubbing out some 313 innocent, law-abiding blacks annually.

Rise Up October organized protests in New York City last month. The group complained about "the rampant epidemic of police murder . . . happening all over this country" and asserts that there are "over 1,000 people a year killed by police."

Wrong! And more than doubly so.

Dr. Richard R. Johnson, an assistant professor in the University of Toledo's criminal-justice program, examined the latest data from the FBI and Centers for Disease Control. From 2003 through 2012, law-enforcement officers killed an average of 429 people per year in "legal interventions." These include a relatively small number of innocent people killed by cops and many more who died due to reasonable use of force. When a bank robber thrusts a loaded Glock into a teller's neck, that's a really good time for the police to kill him - whatever Black Lives Matter may think.

Anti-police protesters chant the well-known names of some half-dozen black males who lately have died at the hands of cops: Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and Walter Scott. (Martin was not killed by a cop, but his fatal shooting by neighborhood-watch volunteer George Zimmerman in February 2012 likely inspired this entire cause.)

Some cops (such as Darren Wilson, who shot Michael Brown) have been exonerated, even by Obama's Justice Department. Others face trial, namely Officer Michael Slager, who shot Walter Scott in the back in North Charleston, South Carolina, and the three white and three black Baltimore cops in whose custody Freddie Gray died.

These stories all ended tragically. These black men will be in graves this holiday season, not around their family dinner tables at Thanksgiving and Christmas. That is very sad.

But what this controversy sorely needs is less emotion and a strong dose of facts.

Actual crime data reveal that this movement is based on mythology. Thanks to the Ferguson Effect, blistering anti-law-enforcement rhetoric and sometimes fatal attacks on police have made cops timid, if not terrified. The result? A murder explosion that, ironically, is killing the very black people whom Black Lives Matter claims to champion. Compared with this time last year, homicides are up 8.3 percent in New York, 19.2 percent in Chicago, 51.5 percent in St. Louis, and 52.5 percent in Baltimore.

On average, 4,472 black men were killed by other black men annually between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2012, according to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports. Using FBI and CDC statistics, Professor Johnson calculates that 112 black men, on average, suffered both justified and unjustified police-involved deaths annually during this period. This equals 2.5 percent of these 4,472 yearly deaths. For every black man - criminal or innocent - who was killed by a cop, 40 black men were murdered by other black men. The (at most) 2.5 percent of the problem generates relentless rage. And yet it is rude-to-racist to mention the other 97.5 percent of the problem.

Meanwhile, film director Quentin Tarantino ignited widespread panic when he told an October 24 anti-police rally in Times Square: "When I see murder I cannot stand by. And I have to call the murdered the murdered, and I have to call the murderers the murderers."

Tarantino seemed to finger the NYPD, although he now says, "I never even implied that."

Still, since it is America's largest police force in its most populous city, one would expect the NYPD to be a major player in this alleged mass murder of innocent blacks.

Not so.

The supposedly trigger-happy, bigoted NYPD killed a whopping eight people last year, according to its meticulous, 73-page 2014 Annual Firearms Discharge Report. Of these, four were black. All of them were armed with cutting instruments (respectively, scissors, a hatchet, a box cutter, and a knife) and wielded them when they fatally were shot.

Rather than NYPD gunfire, the high-profile Eric Garner case involved a police chokehold that may have given the overweight Garner a lethal coronary.

Still, these five deaths (at least four of them justified) constitute all of last year's NYPD "genocide" against black men. They equal 4.95 percent of Gotham's 101 black-on-black murders in 2014. Other blacks are 20 times deadlier to black New Yorkers than is the NYPD. Just don't say so in public.

Yes, some police are overzealous, twitchy-fingered, and - surely - racist, just as some columnists display such traits. NYPD officer James Frascatore's heavy-handed takedown of tennis player James Blake outside a Manhattan hotel last September confirms that some cops need leashes.

(The fact that Blake was mistaken for a black suspect wanted nearby confirms that black crooks should be excoriated for placing bullseyes on the backs of law-abiding blacks. This should be part of this heated national conversation. Of course, it isn't.)

The notion that America's cops simply are gunning down innocent black people, however, is one of today's biggest and deadliest lies.

Original report here


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Western Australia Police Minister concedes major cases could have been mishandled

This reflects the poor relationships between Aborigines and W.A. police.  Aborigines in custody will often agree to almost anything so special care has to be taken not to ask leading questions.  The case below would seem to be about police NOT taking any precautions at all.

A scathing review of the bungled police investigation into the death of Josh Warneke could indicate other major crime squad cases have been mishandled, Police Minister Liza Harvey has conceded.

The Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) last week released its report into the police handling of the case, in particular flawed 2012 interviews with Kimberley man Gene Gibson, who later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Mr Warneke, 21, was bashed with a metal pole and left to die by the side of a road in Broome in August 2010.

The report found "the errors of individuals reflect a deeper malaise and systemic weakness, which permeates criminal investigations in this state".

Mrs Harvey was asked if the case raised doubts about other major crime investigations in Western Australia.

"It's quite possible and I would put to members of the community, if they feel that they are aggrieved with the respect to the way their matter has been investigated, that they should contact police," Ms Harvey told reporters.

Gibson, from the Western Desert [Aboriginal] community of Kiwirrkurra, was charged in August 2012 with murdering Mr Warneke in Broome in 2010.

But police questioned him without a translator and the Supreme Court ruled his interviews were involuntary and inadmissible.

Gibson's lawyers then negotiated with prosecutors who accepted a plea of guilty to manslaughter.

The CCC was highly critical of the Major Crime Squad, which headed the investigation and conducted the interviews.

The watchdog found detectives failed to follow procedures and breached the Criminal Investigations Act.

It said the squad needed to urgently review its capacity to conduct admissible interviews and the way it dealt with people with language difficulties.

Five officers have been stood aside as an internal investigation into police conduct continues.

The CCC did not publicly release any opinions of misconduct regarding the case but gave a separate report to police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan, who has said he was considering the report.

Mrs Harvey said she did not believe Mr O'Callaghan should be sacked, but all the CCC's recommendations should be adopted and it was his responsibility to enact change.

She said he had already taken steps to change the management structure in the Major Crime Squad.

"It is up to the commissioner, he's been in the role for a long time, to sort any of these issues out," Mrs Harvey said.

"If there's a cultural issue, I expect him to address it. He's given me his assurance that he will."

Original report here


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Jeremy Mardis, six, was shot dead by state marshals on Tuesday night.  Why?



Lt. Derrick Stafford, 32, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, a reserve officer, were arrested Friday night by the Louisiana State Police after the shooting death of Jeremy Mardis and the wounding of his unarmed father, Chris Few, in the central Louisiana town of Marksville on Tuesday.

Jeremy Mardis, a first-grader from the town of Effie, was shot five times in the head and torso when deputy marshals opened fire on his father's fleeing car.

Coroner Dr L. J. Mayeux said it was likely that Jeremy was caught 'in the line of fire' as the marshals shot at the driver's side, with the boy on the passenger's side of the car.

It's still unclear what led police to pursue Few and what triggered the shooting.

Col. Mike Edmonson said that there was no weapon found in the SUV or any indication that shots were fired from that vehicle.

The parish coroner said earlier this week that the officers were serving a warrant on Few when he fled, but Edmonson later said he had no information about a warrant.

Records in both Marksville city court and the area district court show several traffic violations and a recent DWI conviction but no outstanding warrants or ongoing criminal cases, reports the The Advocate.

Edmonson said that Greenhouse and Stafford were booked on charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

In the late night press conference he said: 'Let's make tonight about Jeremy Mardis.  'That little boy was buckled in the front seat of that vehicle and that is how he died. He didn't deserve to die like that.'

Speaking of the body camera footage that was recovered from the officers, he said: 'It is the most disturbing thing I've seen, and I will leave it at that.'

'The initial statement to my investigators was that the vehicle was backing up, they feared for their lives and they started firing,' Edmonson told CBS News.

'I think the longer it takes for these officers to come forward and give us information, it's more concerning,' Edmonson told CBS News Friday morning.

Two other officers, Lt. Jason Brouillette and Sgt. Kenneth Parnell, were involved in the incident.

When Edmonson was asked whether he anticipated any more arrests, he said: 'We'll see where it takes us.'

It has since emerged that in October, 2011, Lt. Derrick Stafford was indicted by a Rapides Parish grand jury on two counts of aggravated rape, reports KATC - the station says it is waiting for records to see exactly how it was resolved.

The station also reported he has five pending civil lawsuits involving him in Avoyelles Parish and Norris Greenhouse Jr. was also named in several of the suits.

One of the cases alleges that while arresting a woman involves Stafford Tasered her without warning while she was cuffed in the back of the car.

Another case claims while breaking up a fight between two girls, Stafford allegedly pulled a 15-year-old girls' arms behind her back and apparently broke her arm.

KATC reports the pair are named in a July lawsuit filed in federal court along with five other Marksville police officers regarding an arrest of a man at a festival which ended up with him being Tasered.

Few's 57-year-old stepfather, Morris German, has accused the marshals of indiscriminately opening fire on the vehicle.

German said Few was heavily sedated, unable to talk and has bullet fragments lodged in his brain and lung.

He described Few as a loving father and added the man's son 'was his whole life.'

German added that the 6-year-old had been diagnosed with autism, describing him as a delightful child who 'loved everything, everybody.' German said the boy had no siblings and the family had recently moved to Marksville from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

'I know a 6-year-old should not have been shot,' German said.

Original report here


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Boston: Two officers face discipline in mishandling of domestic violence case that resulted in murder

Stephanie McMahon wanted her intoxicated ex-boyfriend out of her Hyde Park home, which is why she called Boston police. When the two officers arrived, they failed to make the simple computer check that would have confirmed the restraining order she told them she had against him, and should have led to his arrest. They took Randall Tremblay to a detox facility instead.

That may have been a fatal lapse. A day later McMahon was beaten to death.

Now, Tremblay is awaiting trial in McMahon's murder, and two police officers and a dispatcher face discipline, according to Police Commissioner William B. Evans, who called the case "extremely troubling."

"Domestic violence all too often ends with tragic results," Evans said this week. "It is concerning that additional steps weren't taken in this case."

Police officers Robert C. Boyle and William R. Hubbard have been on administrative duty, and Evans said they are facing "appropriate discipline." A department spokesman said the officers could be suspended.

According to the Police Department's account, Boyle and Hubbard responded to McMahon's River Street apartment twice on Nov. 16, 2014. Both times, officers were asked to remove an intoxicated person from the apartment. The second time, McMahon told the officers that she wanted Tremblay out of her apartment, according to a police spokesman, Lieutenant Detective Michael McCarthy.
Both McMahon and Tremblay were intoxicated, McCarthy said. "They were known to us to have issues with each other," he said.

McMahon told the officers she had a restraining order against Tremblay, but when asked to provide a copy of it she instead showed them hospital discharge papers, McCarthy said. The officers took Tremblay to Lemuel Shattuck Hospital for detox, where he spent the night before signing himself out.

Police discovered her battered body beneath a blanket on her sofa shortly after 2 a.m. on Nov. 18, 2014. Her face was bruised and bloodied, according to court documents. McMahon's skin was cold to the touch. Her dentures, full of blood, were on a TV stand.

On March 9, the medical examiner ruled McMahon's death a homicide caused by blunt force injuries to her head.

A homicide investigator discovered the active restraining order against Tremblay, court records show.

An internal affairs investigation was then launched at the urging of homicide investigators. The investigation found that Boyle, a 28-year veteran of the force and former union secretary, and Hubbard, a 12-year veteran, neglected their duty when they failed to identify Tremblay, document their response to the call, and determine if there was a restraining order against him, McCarthy said.

The department's rules indicate that anyone found to be in violation of a restraining order could be subject to arrest.  McCarthy said arrest is the preferred response in such cases.

A discipline hearing will be scheduled for the officers, McCarthy said.

Police records show Boyle has had 22 internal and citizen complaints filed against him for use of force, disrespectful treatment, and conduct unbecoming. Six of those complaints have been sustained, meaning that there was enough evidence to support the complaint.

Boyle made headlines roughly two decades ago when he shot and killed a Dorchester man he said had a gun. State and local prosecutors determined that the shooting was justified.

Hubbard has three complaints on his record, including the complaint in the McMahon case. He was the subject of a 2006 lawsuit after he led a car chase that left a 15-year-old boy dead in Roslindale.

Boston Police Patrolmen's Association attorney Kenneth Anderson described Boyle and Hubbard as "outstanding officers" who, when responding to McMahon's call, did "the best they could in this situation."  Anderson said the officers had a "complete lack of cooperation from all parties involved."

A civilian dispatcher, Sean Murphy, who also faces discipline, downgraded the domestic violence call to "a removal" without a supervisor's permission, McCarthy said. Under a domestic violence call a written report is required, McCarthy said, adding that once it was downgraded the officers can clear the call without a report.

Tremblay, 44, a homeless convicted sex offender with a lengthy criminal record that includes a child rape conviction and assault and battery charges, is scheduled to stand trial in March on charges that he beat McMahon to death and violated the restraining order she had filed against him.

In the April, 23, 2014, restraining order, McMahon said Tremblay pushed her to the floor during an argument. It wasn't the first time he had done something like that, she said, but she hadn't reported it to police. "I'm afraid of retaliation," she wrote. "I have PTSD, and I don't want to live my life looking behind my back all of the time."

Reached by phone Wednesday, McMahon's mother, Marilyn Barresi, said she was devastated by her daughter's death. When she was informed of the internal affairs investigation involving the two officers, she said: "I don't have a reaction to that. This is the second daughter I have lost."

Barresi said McMahon was beaten so brutally that the casket had to be kept closed at her funeral. "This is a terrible day for me," she said on Wednesday, the day McMahon would have turned 48. "It's a monster who did it."

Original report here


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Ill-judged prosecution costs an Australian police force a heap of legal fees

NSW Police ordered to pay legal costs to Rickey Caton and Adam Antram over toy dinosaur incident

The police case against Rickey Caton started with a "roaaaar!" when he was forcibly arrested by two officers after jokingly producing a toy dinosaur during a roadside car stop.

But it ended with a whimper on Friday when a magistrate ordered the police force to pay more than $100,000 in legal costs after finding the matter should never have gone to court.

The police are facing even more financial pain over the ill-judged prosecution, with Mr Caton and his mate set to launch a claim for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for assault, wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution.

"The [police] proceedings should not have been brought," Magistrate Mark Douglass told Kiama Local Court on Friday, as an inspector from the police force's Professional Standards Command looked on.

"The prosecutor failed to reasonably investigate relevant matters ... which might have suggested that the accused was not guilty."

The magistrate was referring to the evidence of the third officer present on the night of the arrests - Lucie Litchfield - who said that far from assaulting police as her colleagues had claimed, it was Mr Caton and his mates who had been the victims of aggression.

Ms Lichfield said that when police stopped Mr Caton and his mates in Queanbeyan in late December 2013 and asked if they had any weapons, the local father had cheekily pulled out the toy and declared "I've got a dinosaur – roaaaar!".

She said one of the officers, Senior Constable Todd Finnegan, had subsequently forced Mr Caton from the car, pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him. Her other police colleague, Senior Constable Patrick Hicks, had then crash-tackled Mr Caton's friend, Adam Antram into a retaining wall.

The police prosecutors in the case were aware that Ms Litchfield had contradicted her colleagues' version of events, but they failed to question her about it and continued with the prosecution.

On Friday Magistrate Douglass described her evidence as "cogent and compelling".

Ms Lichfield told Fairfax Media that the magistrate's comments had been "extremely satisfying".

"If the police had done their job properly they would have questioned me about my evidence before it went to court," she said.

Ms Lichfield says she was subjected to bullying and isolation at work after blowing the whistle and has since resigned from the force.

Magistrate Douglass upheld the application for legal costs by Mr Caton's barrister, Steven Boland, ordering the police to pay more than $100,000 after finding that the prosecution had been conducted in an "unreasonable manner".

The police had strenuously opposed the costs application.

Mr Caton and Mr Antram are expected to file civil claims next week against NSW Police in the District Court.

Fairfax Media understands the men will claim that the police committed the civil tort of "trespass to a person" during the arrest and then concocted the assault claims in a bid to cover up their behaviour.

The men are expected to allege that police then pursued a malicious prosecution, deliberately ignoring the evidence of Ms Lichfield that contradicted her fellow officers' claims.

Fairfax Media understands that the matter is now the subject of an internal police investigation involving the Professional Standards Command.

Original report here



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Alabama cop’s award rescinded after video shows him shooting suspect on ground

Is that all? No prosecution?

Police are rescinding an officer’s award following the public release of a video that shows him shooting a suspect on the ground.

Officer Daniel Aguirre received the department’s Combat Cross Medal in May. Officials said he was being honored for shooting a robbery suspect who pointed a gun at him during a struggle last year.

But Al.com published police video Tuesday night that shows the suspect, Aubrey Williams, on his hands and knees and dropping to the ground as an officer standing above him shoots twice. The officer then kicks away a gun that was on the ground.

The police department released a statement shortly after the video’s release, saying it was rescinding Aguirre’s medal under further review.

Williams recovered and is charged with attempted murder.

Original report here


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Canada: Retired detective refuses to admit error in wrongful conviction

As a cop he learned not to

Ivan Henry was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in 1983. He is suing prosecutors for allegedly breaching his Charter rights after he was acquitted in 2010 of 10 sexual-assault convictions.

It appears to have ossified retired Vancouver police detective William Harkema.

The 72-year-old, who made key investigative decisions that led to the wrongful conviction of Ivan Henry for a series of 1980s sex assaults, may have turned to stone.

During his week-long testimony at Henry’s B.C. Supreme Court trial seeking compensation for the 27 years he spent in prison, Harkema came across as bitter, refusing to even consider he might have made a horrendous mistake.

Racked by health problems and sitting outside the witness box to accommodate his discomforts, Harkema took refuge in a spotty memory, or simply denied any responsibility for Henry’s ordeal.

He bristled at being labelled the lead investigator, although he received a commendation for being “the task force coordinator and responsible for preparing the (Henry) case for court.” While his superiors praised his devotion, “the backbone of the investigation,” Harkema sourly maintained “that wasn’t my opinion, it was their opinion.”

He chafed at the suggestion he should have pointed out the discrepancies in the identification of Henry and other problems with the case.

Some of the victims described the attacker as short with blue eyes, small hands and smelling of body odour. Henry was 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, with large hands, and his wife said he was fastidiously clean.

“I’m not going to argue with the prosecutor,” insisted Harkema, who was then a 17-year veteran and a senior major crimes investigator.

Two other detectives had been working for a year or so on a score of sex assaults thought to have been committed by a single suspect known as the “Rip-off Rapist.”

But Harkema was given the file on June 17, 1982, with the expectation he would produce results.

Police had put Henry under surveillance, sprinkled invisible fluorescent powder in his car hoping it would turn up at a crime scene incriminating him, installed a dial-number recorder on his phone and obtained a wiretap warrant.

Nothing implicated Henry.

Still, after reading the file and reviewing his past convictions in Winnipeg, Harkema was sure: “I was convinced he was the main suspect.”  In fact, Henry was Harkema’s only suspect.

Just over a month after he was handed the case, a fellow officer hypnotized one of the victims, J.F., and the following day, Harkema showed her a photo array that included Henry standing in front of a jail cell.

On June 8, the day J.F. was assaulted, she told an officer she stared at the attacker for 30 seconds but “had difficulty describing him.” She said at the time he was in his “mid-20s, light brown, possibly curly hair … grey-blue eyes.”

At that time, Henry was 35 with red or auburn-coloured hair and hazel-brown eyes.

“Did you stop and think, ‘Hang on a minute, this description of J.F. of her assailant does not fit with Ivan Henry. I’d better be looking at somebody else or at least stop looking at him?’” lawyer Richard Brooks asked. “Did that occur to you?”

“No, no, it didn’t,” Harkema replied.

“In retrospect,” Henry’s lawyer continued, “don’t you think it should have?”

“No,” Harkema said.

On July 27, the day after the hypnosis session with the detectives, nearly two months after her assault, J.F. picked Henry from the photo array. She was the only victim to positively identify him.

Although she testified at the preliminary inquiry, J.F. was an American who returned to New Jersey and did not attend Henry’s trial. Her prejudicial testimony was read in.

On June 21, 1983, after Henry’s conviction, J.F. wrote a heart-felt letter to Harkema apologizing for not attending the trial and letting him down.

She emphasized how he was a person of tremendous caring, recalling his “blue eyes.” She invited him to visit and come to a Yankees game. “I made it to a Yankees game, but not with her,” he said. “And it was in Fenway Park.”

Harkema said he showed his wife the letter 33 years ago then put it in a fireproof, metal box where it lay until he turned it over to city lawyers in 2011.

Brooks quoted from in one last time — “you are always acting as my guarding angel.”

“You didn’t give it to (Prosecutor Michael) Luchenko?” the lawyer added.

“No,” Harkema said. “I thought it was a personal letter, I guess.”

Asked if he had seen J.F. since, he said no.

From his testimony, all those years ago Harkema locked away something more than a letter — a tender man. He was nowhere in evidence.

The trial continues.

Original report here


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A loving father's life destroyed by child sex abuse lies peddled by his own DAUGHTER

When Geoff Long held his newborn daughter Tina in his arms for the very first time, he was overwhelmed by the rush of paternal love he felt.

‘I was at the birth and cut the umbilical cord,’ he recalls. ‘And when I walked Tina down the aisle as a proud father 19 years later, I felt the same emotion. Here was my only daughter, a poised and grown young woman, beginning her own married life.’

Despite going through an acrimonious divorce in the 1970s from his first wife Sue, Geoff remained a thoughtful and generous parent to their children – Tina and her brothers Steve and David.

Then, five years ago, this loving father’s world came crashing down when he found himself standing in the dock at a Crown Court listening to shocking accusations of sexual abuse. And, to his utter disbelief, they were being made by Tina, the daughter he had doted on.

The evidence seemed so flimsy as to be practically non-existent, yet in 2010 Geoff was convicted and jailed for five years for sexually abusing Tina from the age of eight until she was 16. Only this year was he finally exonerated.

His story is one of unfathomable betrayal – it was only when Tina finally confessed in court in January that she had lied that the injustice of his conviction was revealed.

While he had been locked up in jail he became haunted by thoughts that he might lose his new wife Louise and son James, and came close to suicide.

Talking about his ordeal for the first time, and with his voice cracking with emotion, Geoff, 67, says: ‘I cannot describe how it felt to stand and listen to my only daughter accuse me of paedophilia.

‘I had been advised by my legal team to try to remain impassive when Tina was giving evidence. But inside I wanted to scream the roof off. This was my own flesh and blood.’

It is a story that has its roots in the misery of family breakdown and, he believes, the jealousy he faced when he began to build a successful new life of his own.

His treatment is also an indictment of a justice system that even today seems clueless in the face of such allegations, whether true or otherwise. In the view of Geoff’s solicitor, it was ‘blindingly obvious’ that the claims against him were false. Yet an innocent man was subjected to four court appearances, including an appeal and two retrials, before his conviction was quashed.

Geoff’s ordeal has its origins in his first marriage, when he was working as a painter and decorator. Geoff and wife Sue were both young – he was 17 and she was just 16 when they married. Their union ended in divorce, as did Geoff’s second marriage, which produced two sons.

Throughout all of this, however, his business expanded and he became increasingly affluent. He says: ‘I think it angered Sue, who felt the children from my second marriage, and indeed my second wife, lived a very different lifestyle from her own. She felt the children she had with me were losing out financially to my new family.’

By the time Geoff and his third wife Louise married and had their son James, now ten, Geoff’s contact with Sue and Tina had been reduced to drunken, accusatory late-night phone calls in which mother and daughter screeched abuse about imagined slights and long-forgotten disputes.

‘They saw me as an endless pot of money. They ranted that all my newly acquired wealth was going to my subsequent children,’ he says.

Louise, now 49, ran a successful child-minding business, and when premises that she saw ideal as a nursery came up for sale near their Eastbourne home, they snapped it up. It opened in 2009.

Almost at once came a renewed round of calls from Sue insisting that her grandchildren be enrolled at the nursery. Geoff and Louise refused because of the children’s father’s previous behaviour. But the decision pitched them into a nightmare.

Tina went to Brighton police’s historic sexual abuse inquiry team and told them that 30 years before, when she was just eight, she had been abused by her father. The immediate result was an early morning visit to Geoff from officers. ‘I had no idea what was happening,’ he says. ‘I’ve never dealt with police in my life.

They took me to the local station and told me two officers from Brighton’s historic sex abuse team wanted to talk to me. ‘I was horrified when I heard Tina’s allegations: that I abused her regularly on Saturday nights when her mother was at bingo; that after the abuse I would wash myself and her in a pink sink in her bedroom.

‘I kept telling them this was just a revenge allegation she had made up. But they insisted she wouldn’t have accused me if it hadn’t happened.

‘Now I realise that many things I said in that initial interview were twisted during my trial. I told them I had a regular mistress during those years and that I always saw her on a Saturday night.

They kept asking me if I had changed Tina’s nappies as an infant. I said maybe if they were wet, but that was women’s work. I had no idea that would be used to portray me as an adulterer, a liar and a chauvinist.’

After his arrest in 2010, Geoff was convinced by his lawyers that nothing would come of such wild allegations and he and Louise tried to put the matter behind them. But with such emotive allegations, rumours swiftly circulated. Social workers began monitoring the family closely because they had a young son.

Then Geoff was charged and to everyone’s astonishment was found guilty that same year and given a five-year sentence – merely on Tina’s evidence. ‘We were all in shock,’ he says. ‘The jury was told all about my affairs, my lies. But there wasn’t a shred of evidence of sexual abuse against me. ‘Ultimately, I was convicted for being an untrustworthy husband.

At one stage the prosecution barrister even pointed out that since my second wife had been eight years younger than me, and that Louise is 18 years younger, I clearly had an interest in young girls.’

That first night in Lewes prison was horrific, he recalls. ‘I lay there asking why, why, why? I’d had a stent fitted in my thigh after a heart attack and I thought about taking the plug out. Just bleeding to death.’

After two months he was moved to Maidstone prison. One day, sobbing uncontrollably, he told an inmate what he had been convicted of. ‘Tell no one,’ the prisoner told him. ‘You are a dead man in here if you do.’

Tina, by contrast, was determined to win publicity. Although the court had ruled she would remain anonymous because of her age at the time of the alleged offence, she opted to write a salacious magazine article telling in intimate detail the false tale of her supposed abuse.

In the article she wrote how Geoff called her his ‘special little girl’ while assaulting her and warned her she would ‘split up the family’ if she ever told ‘our secret’. In the meantime, Geoff’s spirits plummeted.

During prison visits he regularly told Louise to divorce him and start afresh. Son James, just four at the time, cried every time he saw his father, begging him to come home.

Louise, however, was determined that such a blatant miscarriage of justice should be challenged. She paid for 3,600 pages of witness reports, not introduced into court, to be transcribed and uncovered some damning evidence.

The police officer who had carried out the initial investigation had typed up notes explaining there was no pink sink in Tina’s childhood room. He even had floorboards ripped up to ensure there had never been plumbing to the room.

The bingo hall that Tina’s mother said she was at when Geoff was supposedly abusing their daughter had closed decades before the alleged assaults. Louise even traced Geoff’s then-mistress, who confirmed she was with him every Saturday night.

There was evidence, too, that Sue and Tina had illegally taped the original trial to ensure their stories tallied when they were in the witness box.

In a drunken moment Tina confessed to her brother Steve that she had made up all the accusations. But when Steve went to police he was charged with perverting the course of justice.

However, on January 28 this year in a second retrial, after further investigations, the CPS dropped charges against Geoff and Steve after Tina admitted lying under cross-examination. It was a heady moment for Geoff. ‘At first I was dumbstruck. After what I had been through, it was difficult to grasp that I was finally free, that at last I had been believed.’

So after a tortuous process which began with the original trial in 2010, an appeal in 2012, and retrials in 2014 and 2015, the ordeal was over. And all along, as Geoff’s solicitor Mark Newby says, ‘all the evidence’ indicated that the allegations were false.

He says: ‘That the Crown stuck doggedly to a case – there was not one but two attempts at a retrial – is not only a scandalous waste of money but, even more alarming, reveals a credulous approach to self-evidently flawed evidence,’ he says. ‘What was the prosecution thinking?’

It is a question Geoff has asked many times. And he is only too well aware of just how far-reaching the effect on his reputation and standing has been. ‘Yes, I have been wholly exonerated and justice has been done,’ he says. ‘But I live with the knowledge that some people will inevitably take the view that there is no smoke without fire. It tortures me that the stigma remains.’

Geoff and Louise believe their legal bills amount to £100,000. But while the CPS admits the ‘live evidence in the retrial was inconsistent with that in the original trial and the prosecution case was therefore fatally undermined’, and Sussex Police say that ‘during the retrial in January this year the CPS decided not to offer any further evidence’, Geoff still feels the weight of his unjust conviction.

He still struggles to understand his daughter’s actions, in part blaming himself for his ‘jack-the-lad’ behaviour. He admits to a number of affairs. ‘While I was in prison I made up a lot of excuses for her behaviour. I chastised myself about how poor a home life I had given her by cheating on her mother.

‘I felt my sentence was payback for being an unfaithful husband. But her allegations were painful and deprived me of my reputation and my liberty. That takes a lot of getting your head around.’

Tina, meanwhile, is yet to be prosecuted despite apparently perverting the course of justice – not that Geoff is keen for that to happen. ‘I’ve saved my anger for the Crown Prosecution Service. What happened to me was an utter miscarriage of justice. Why this ever came to trial is beyond me. Someone, somewhere, owes me a lot of explanations.

‘As for Tina, I can’t ever see us being able to speak again. I’m not seeking revenge and I don’t want to see someone else go to prison. ‘But I need to close the door on what happened. Tina has her own conscience to deal with. And that must be torture in itself.’

Original report here


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

Students protest IN SUPPORT of cop who dragged schoolgirl, 16, from her desk and threw her across classroom

The defiant student was black and the defending students are both black and white. I said from the outset that I had little sympathy for the defiant student

Students have held a rally calling for the police officer who threw a schoolgirl across a classroom in a violent arrest to be given his job back.

Cop Ben Fields was caught grabbing a black 16-year-old and flipping her out of her chair before slamming her on the ground and arresting her.

The 34-year-old school resource officer at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina, was initially suspended without pay after the clash, but was fired earlier this week.

Despite the aggressive arrest, around 100 students at the school held a rally in support of Fields on Friday.

The teenager had refused to turn in her phone, prompting maths teacher Robert Long to call in Fields.

Deputy Fields asked pupils sitting nearby to move and placed the girl's laptop on another desk before repeatedly asking the girl to move, fellow students said.

When she refused again, the officer grabbed hold of the desk and flipped it up, causing the girl to fall out before he threw her across the classroom.

Pupils said they wanted to support the cop and help protect his reputation as they marched out of classes on Friday. Students chanted the cop's name and wore shirts which said 'Free Fields' and 'Bring Back Fields'.

They did not return to classes until principal Jeff Temoney arrived, saying he had respectfully listened to their protest and expected the students to get back to lessons.

Senior London Harrell was among Fields' supporters and told WLTX: 'We just want to show that we're still supporting him and that he's still a good guy. 'We don't want his reputation to be ruined because of something that happened on Monday.'

In a letter to parents, Mr Temoney said around 100 students had left lessons at around 10am but were back in classrooms within ten minutes.  'I addressed the students to let them know that we understood their need to make their voices heard,' Temoney wrote.

'Then I reminded them that Spring Valley High is all about the business of teaching and learning, so it's time to go back to class.'

Fields was a deputy for ten years before the incident, which was caught on camera by at least three students.

The girl involved was recently orphaned, having lost her mother and grandmother in the past year, and had been placed in foster care, her attorney said.

An arrest report revealed Fields, who weighs 300lb, used ‘muscling techniques’ on the girl and spent a total of 15 minutes in the classroom.

Richland 2 School District Superintendent Debbie Hamm said: ‘We know important work is ahead of us as we thoughtfully and carefully review the decision-making process that may lead to a school resource officer taking the lead in handling a student disruption.’

Field is under both state and federal investigation.

Original report here


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

Mass: Ex-Somerville High student sues to clear name in 2013 case -- Rape charge dropped but stigma still haunts him

Hazing is an age-old male bonding activity but it is inappropriate outside the military. In the military it helps men toughen up.  But it is brutality and must be stopped in civilian life.  I think this kid got about what he deserved.  On his own account he knew it was wrong.  And his subsequent travails will be a warning to others

A month after turning 17, Galileo Mondol was accused of a hideous crime - sexually assaulting a boy at a school-organized retreat in the Berkshires.

Prosecutors alleged that Mondol and two other teenagers from Somerville High School took a broom handle and tortured freshmen boys as fellow students looked on.

He was kicked off the soccer team and suspended from the high school after the 2013 assault. News cameras filmed him as police took him from his Somerville home in handcuffs. He faced penalties as severe as life in prison for rape of a child.

Mondol denied the accusations, and last April the Berkshire district attorney's office quietly dropped the charges, saying it was in the best interest of justice. Now Mondol and his parents have filed a federal lawsuit against the city, saying that Somerville's mayor, in his capacity as an assistant football coach who was present at the camp, and two other officials knew about past hazing incidents.

The $1 million suit alleges that Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Anthony Pierantozzi, the school district's superintendent at the time, and soccer coach George Scarpelli violated Mondol's civil rights by engaging in a zealous campaign to have him arrested, and manipulating witnesses and victims into giving misleading statements to police.

"The defendants conspired to conceal and cover up the hazing," the complaint states, "because they understood that such conduct raised serious questions about their role in facilitating it and recklessly allowing it to occur."

The lawsuit states that Curtatone spoke to the students about hazing, even handing out an antihazing pledge, because he and the others were aware of past problems with hazing, and "knew there was a high risk of such incidents reoccurring in 2013."

Despite that awareness, the suit alleges, no adults were in the cabins to supervise the students.

Curtatone has previously said the assaults took place in a cabin during a transition period between daytime activities, and that they happened as coaches were on the other side of the door.

A spokeswoman for Curtatone said Friday she did not have information on the lawsuit, which was filed late in the afternoon. She declined to comment.

Messages left Friday for Pierantozzi and Scarpelli were not immediately returned.

The accusations have plagued Mondol for the past two years. Search the Internet for his name and photos of him flanked by police appear. At Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, where he is now a senior, fellow students point at him in the hallways and whisper, he says.

"Everyone always assumes that I'm a rapist," said Mondol, now 19. "It feels like I'm always a step behind because of this stigma that follows me."

In 2013, Mondol transferred to Somerville High School because he wanted to join its premier soccer team.

The weekend of Aug. 23 that year, he and 60 other boys from the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity squads boarded buses to attend a "team-building" camp in Otis, a town more than 100 miles west of Somerville.

On Aug. 25, prosecutors alleged, Mondol and two 16-year-old boys forced their way into the cabin where the freshmen boys were staying. One of the 16-year-olds grabbed a broom, forced a freshman onto the floor on his hands and knees, and raped him with the object, they said.

Prosecutors said Mondol initially told the two other older students to stop, but once the assault was underway, he changed his mind and asked for the broom. The older boys, prosecutors said, then tried to assault two other freshmen, who fought off the attacks.

After his arrest, Mondol was kept alone in a cell for a week and then released on $100,000 bail, according to his complaint.
Somerville officials told the media that the incident was horrific, but isolated. "I assure you, this was not systemic," Pierantozzi said at the time. "I believe it's isolated. . . . This is definitely contrary to the culture of our school district."

However, in his complaint, Mondol said the assault was the culmination of a weekend of disturbing acts that he witnessed while the adult chaperones were not around.

The day of the assault, Mondol said, he sat on a bunk and watched as two 16-year-old boys teased the freshmen boys, who laughed. One of the freshmen pulled down his pants and mooned the 16-year-olds, but he winced when he was poked with the broom and scrambled onto his bed. One of the older boys told him to come down. The boy obeyed and pulled down his pants.

Mondol said he whispered to the 16-year-old not to do it, but the boy laughed at him.

Mondol said that later he told the victim, who had been crying and bleeding in the bathroom, to tell someone.

School officials, however, did not learn of the incident until a freshman told his mother what happened, according to the lawsuit and earlier accounts of the incident.

Police reports reveal confusing and contradictory statements from witnesses and victims that suggest they were manipulated by Somerville officials, according to the complaint filed by Mondol and his parents.

The two 16-year-old boys pleaded guilty to indecent assault and battery, and were committed to the Department of Youth Services.

On April 24, three days before Mondol's trial was supposed to start, the Berkshire district attorney's office told the court that it would not prosecute the case. "This order is being entered after consulting with the three alleged victims in this case, and with their consent," the office wrote.

The office of District Attorney David F. Capeless did not return several calls seeking comment on the decision.

"It shouldn't have gone as far as it did," Janice Bassil, Mondol's criminal defense attorney, said. Prosecutors "should have taken a much harder look at the case and at the facts."

Mondol enrolled at Rindge and Latin in September, after his family moved to Cambridge. He had hoped to join the soccer team and achieve his dream of playing for a scholarship. But soon after practice began, the coach told him he could not try out because of his age, a statement his family doesn't believe because other 19-year-olds have played for the team in the past. The athletic director at Rindge declined to comment.

"There have been days where Rindge is great and there are kids who really advocate for me and could care less what happened," Mondol said in an interview. "And then there are days where it's pretty miserable and everyone is looking at me and I just don't want to be in school."

He plans to change his name. He said he scored high on the SAT and hopes to get into New York University or a large state school far away where he can blend in. "I'll be able to move on," he said. "Which will be really great."

Original report here



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