Two Philadelphia officers accused of severely beating man

Najee Rivera

Two city police officers were arrested Thursday and accused of knocking a man off a scooter and beating him so severely that another officer thought he had been shot.

Officers Sean McKnight, 30, and Kevin Robinson, 26, were immediately suspended for 30 days and will likely be fired, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. The pair had been off the street while a grand jury investigated.

The two charmers. Were they high on something?

Ramsey said the officers acted improperly and in total violation of department training.

"No one, not even police officers, is above the law," District Attorney Seth Williams said as a video screen showed Najee Rivera's beaten, swollen face.

The officers lied to their colleagues and superiors about the May 2013 encounter in North Philadelphia by casting Rivera as the antagonist and charging him with aggravated assault and resisting arrest, Ramsey and Williams said.

After Rivera's arrest, his girlfriend went to the area and found surveillance footage of his encounter with the officers. The video shows the officers slamming him against a wall and beating him on the ground, said Rivera's attorney Leo Flynn.

"He's aware of what happens to people who don't comply. He was complying," Flynn said. "He wasn't offering anything except screams for his life when he was being beaten."

Robinson's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said Rivera fled and refused commands to show his hands. "Once he's under control, there's no further physical" confrontation, Perri said.

McKnight's attorney, Brian McMonagle, said in a statement that McKnight is a "good cop" who risks his life and said suspects create risks when they flee police.

Williams said he dropped the charges against Rivera and turned his attention to the officers when the video surfaced showing them beating Rivera with their fists and batons after one of the officers reached out a cruiser window and knocked him from the scooter. Rivera, 22, was frightened and drove away after he was pulled over by the officers, Williams said.

Ramsey said the officers violated protocol by pursuing Rivera without activating their lights and sirens and that Rivera never resisted once they knocked him to the ground and held him against a wall.

Rivera suffered a broken orbital bone and several lacerations to his head, the prosecutor said. "Another officer arrived on the scene and thought that Mr. Rivera had been shot because there was so much blood on the ground," Williams said.

McKnight, a seven-year police veteran, and Robinson, a six-year veteran, were charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, reckless endangerment, lying to authorities, falsifying records and obstructing justice.

The city has settled a lawsuit filed by Rivera for $200,000, Williams said.

Original report here

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Sloppy police work puts an innocent British man on trial

A fire chief accused of raping a woman in a pub as his wife sat yards away was cleared in less than 15 minutes today.

Sean Frayne, 48, of Fixby, Huddersfield, broke down in tears in the arms of wife Helen – who has stood by him – after he was told he could leave the dock at the end of a seven-day trial.

The £140,000-a-year Chief Fire Officer for Derbyshire was cleared after his lawyer had criticised the decision to prosecute the father-of-three.

In her closing speech to the jury, Laura Pitman questioned why police had failed to launch a blackmail inquiry after it emerged that a friend of the alleged victim wrote to Mr Frayne suggesting the woman may ‘avoid publicity’ for a substantial out-of-court payment.

Miss Pitman said: ‘They (the police) have investigated one side of the story and they have not investigated the other.

‘If this is nothing to do with money why is there even mention of an out-of-court payment?’

Trial judge Jonathan Gosling then told the jury during his summing up of the case: ‘You may think it extraordinary that no claim of blackmail has ever been followed (up) by Derbyshire Police’.

Mr Frayne had denied raping the woman – claiming they had consensual sex when she ‘came on’ to him with a ‘passionate’ kiss in an empty part of the village pub, yards from where Mrs Frayne was drinking.

The December 2006 encounter in Etwall, Derbyshire, only came to light seven years later when the woman told a male friend about the alleged sex attack.

The friend then sent Frayne two anonymous letters accusing Mr Frayne of rape and seeking an ‘out of court settlement’ for the alleged victim.

The letters threatened to report Frayne to police if he did not respond to a telephone number provided.

Derby Crown Court heard Mr Frayne took his wife along with him to confront the woman after receiving the first letter, before she made a formal complaint to police in December 2013.

During the trial a police officer in the case was questioned by Miss Pitman about the content of the letters received by Mr Frayne.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Parkins said the decision was made to treat the letter-writer as a witness and not a suspect because officers considered no threats had been made towards Mr Frayne.

Prosecutor Martin Hurst told the jury it was the Crown’s case that the alleged victim knew nothing about her friend’s decision to attempt to ‘achieve some sort of informal justice’ for her by writing to Mr Frayne.

But the trial heard the letters were not finger-printed by police because they were ‘not the focus’ of the police investigation.

Miss Pitman told the jury: ‘The victim, on her account, says she has not touched them. Were her fingerprints on those letters? We will never know because the police never bothered.’

Mr Frayne, a father-of-three who has never been in trouble before, admitted he had been a ‘fool’ for cheating on his wife so brazenly.

But he told the jury the allegation of rape had ‘wrecked’ his life.

He denied suggestions from Mr Hurst that he had forced himself upon the woman because he thought that he and his wife were going to ‘engage in some swinging’ – the swapping of sexual partners.

Mr Frayne branded the suggestion ‘absolutely ludicrous’.

The jury took just 14 minutes to reach a verdict today.

Mr Frayne and his wife left court without comment - on Mrs Frayne’s 54th birthday.

During the trial, the jury were told the alleged victim had been convicted of benefit fraud in 2012 after she failed to declare a change in circumstances.

Derbyshire Police said: ‘An allegation was made of an historical offence and we investigated it was we would do with any other. The CPS brought the case to court.

‘The letters (sent to Mr Frayne) were not judged to have passed the threshold for a prosecution for blackmail.’

A CPS spokesperson said: ‘It was determined that there was sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of a conviction and that it was in the public interest to proceed.

‘It is the role of the jury to listen to the evidence from the prosecution and from the defence and decide on that evidence alone whether a defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt - this is a different test than the one applied in our decision making.

'In this instance, having heard arguments from the prosecution and the defence, the jury have determined that Mr Frayne is not guilty of rape and we respect that decision.’

Frayne, formerly of Etwall but now living in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, has been suspended from work since his arrest last March.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service Authority will meet on Friday to decide his future.

Original report here

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The Fourth Amendment is NOT a Useless Piece of Paper

This title was adopted from a line by Justice Sotomayor during the recent Supreme Court oral arguments in Rodriguez v. United States. Over time there has been an encroachment on our Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches, as Justice Sotomayor also said, ". . . we can’t keep bending the Fourth Amendment to the resources of law enforcement." It is time for the courts to push back and protect our constitutional rights. Fortunately, two recent cases, one at the Supreme Court and another at the circuit level, have given great opportunities to do just this.

At the Supreme Court level, Rodriguez involved a defendant who was pulled over for a traffic offense, was given a ticket, and a whole eight minutes after the ticket a drug dog was brought in and alerted. The circuit court ruled that the dog sniff was only a de minimis intrusion into Rodriguez’s personal liberty and Rodriguez appealed.

While the circuit court believed eight minutes was simply a minor inconvenience, eight minutes of being wrongfully detained is eight minutes too long. For those that would like to experience just how long eight minutes truly is, I encourage you to watch this video. (Warning this video is extremely boring and should not be watched while operating heavy machinery)

During oral arguments the justices were rightly concerned that a dog sniff may become as common practice as officers asking for "license and registration." Although they do not appear ready to take Florida v. Jardines further and declare a dog sniff of a car on a public highway a search, Justice Kagan did say that detainment after a traffic ticket is a search. Whether they declare this dog sniff a search or not, a majority of justices should be able to agree that detaining an individual an additional eight minutes after a traffic ticket is an unreasonable search.

The Fourth Circuit recently decided US v. Hill, where a defendant on supervised release was arrested on drug charges after a dog sniff was performed. There were two key conditions of his supervised release, that he had to notify officials of any move and his parole officer could make unannounced visits and confiscate contraband in clear view. Police suspected that he had moved so they got an arrest warrant. After arriving at the defendant’s new residence, they first did a walk through, they then called in a dog to do a sniff (the dog alerted multiple times), and they finally sought and received a search warrant.

The government claimed the defendant had a diminished expectation of privacy so only reasonable suspicion was necessary to search. The court shot down this theory, ruling the officers needed a search warrant to perform the walk though and dog sniff; thus, they were unlawful searches in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The lesson for law enforcement is clear: get a search warrant and then perform the search, do not search and then get a warrant to search.

The founders realized there was always a threat that government power and authority would be abused. This is why they demanded the Fourth Amendment, to make sure individuals were secure in their persons, houses, and eventually, cars.

Original report here

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Australia: NSW cop sentenced after Glock sex with woman at police station

A former police officer who had sex with a woman and allowed her to handle his gun at a police station has been sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment but is being assessed for an intensive correction order.

Mark Garner appeared before a Sydney court on Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of misconduct in office.

Garner, 50, from the NSW Far North Coast, began a relationship with the woman after she went to Tweed Heads police station in June 2011 to say she had been sexually assaulted.

The former detective sergeant then had sex with the woman and used his Glock pistol during their intimate encounter.

He also accessed police files in an attempt to retrieve a laptop, which contained incriminating photos of himself and the woman.

The former police supervisor bowed his head and cried as Judge Ross Letherbarrow told the Downing Centre District Court that he had abused his position of power.

"It was a significant error of judgment. The offender abused a position of trust in relation to the victim," Judge Letherbarrow said.

The court heard Garner suffered from depression and post traumatic stress as a result of his time working as an officer who targeted outlawed bikie gangs.

The stress he endured resulted in a marital breakdown and he experienced a series of anxiety and panic attacks.

During the sentencing hearing, the court also heard that Garner had stopped drinking, had gone to a detox clinic and had "done his best" to restore his relationship with his family.

Judge Letherbarrow ordered that Garner be assessed for an intensive correction order.

An intensive correction order is a community-based punishment in which offenders must participate in rehabilitation programs, observe strict curfews, and undergo regular drug and alcohol testing.

The orders, introduced in July last year, also allow a court to set conditions such as a ban on drinking, travel restrictions, random breath tests and electronic monitoring with ankle bracelets.

Garner declined to comment about his sentence outside court.

He will next appear before the same court on March 20 to learn whether he is suitable for the order.

Original report here

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Disgusting British cops again

Man claims he was wrongly arrested and imprisoned by police for three days even though he kept pointing out he had a different name to suspect

An innocent chef was kept locked up in prison for three days - despite repeatedly telling police they had got the wrong man.

Mohamed Navid Bashir found himself wrongly locked up after a traffic patrol pulled his car over in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, on December 15 last year.

His fingerprints were taken, and a search of the police national computer appeared to reveal Mr Bashir, of Elland, was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear at court on a fraud charge in Scotland.

The officers detained the father at Halifax Police Station for the next 26 hours, before he was carted off to Glasgow, where he was kept for another night - all the time professing his innocence to the authorities.

Mr Bashir even had a different name to the man they were looking for.

It was only when he appeared at magistrates court that the enormity of the mistake was acknowledged - when the real wanted man's lawyer appeared and told the court, 'that's not my client', according to the Huddersfield Daily Examiner.

'It was like an episode of a police comedy, except it wasn’t funny for me or my family,' Mr Bashir, 35, told the Express.

Mr Bashir, who ended up missing his son's first nativity play, is now suing West Yorkshire Police.

His case was raised today in Prime Minister's Questions by his local MP Craig Whittaker after the police 'failed' to answer Mr Bashir's questions.

The Tory MP asked David Cameron to get Home Secretary Theresa May to look into the case.

Mr Cameron promised he would discuss it with Ms May, adding: 'This does sound a very concerning case. My understanding is that West Yorkshire Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrest and detention of Mr Bashir.'

Following it being discussed in the House of Commons, West Yorkshire Police have now admitted the error - although they say it was not their fault. Assistant Chief Constable Mark Milsom, of West Yorkshire Police, has since admitted the mistake - but said it happened 'in good faith'

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Milsom explained Mr Bashir's identity 'had been circulated in error'. 'Mr Bashir was an entirely innocent party and has been wrongfully arrested and detained in custody,' he acknowledged.

'However, West Yorkshire Police were not responsible for the error that led to his arrest, with our subsequent actions being conducted unaware of the error and in good faith.

'We have responded to Mr Bashir's solicitors outlining the circumstances and suggesting they may wish to raise the matter further with Police Scotland.

'Although we may not have been responsible for Mr Bashir's distressing experience, we very much regret our involvement and a senior officer will be meeting with him personally.'

Original report here

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Britain's Keystone Kops still in form

Police 'rammed' a car containing a five-year-old boy and his pregnant mother after mistaking it for a vehicle used in an armed robbery due to a registration mix-up.

Shiri Rahman, her husband Abdur, sister Rujeena, and Mohammed Eesaa, five, were driving home in the early hours of Monday morning after picking up their son from Bradford Royal Infirmary, West Yorkshire, when the incident happened.

The Bradford family was barricaded in by three unmarked cars, one containing armed officers, which crashed into the back of their Lexus. The family was terrified as they didn't realise it was the police and suffered head, neck and back pain as a result of the impact.

Police had stopped the vehicle after responding to an alert over a car used during an armed robbery of a jewellers in Doncaster the day before.

Three masked men had entered the HL Browns sore with weapons including a hammer and an axe before fleeing with a haul of watches.

The men fled the scene in a car, damaging a police car during their getaway, before ditching it.

Mrs Rahman, who is 11-weeks pregnant, said: 'I would never have imagined myself in such a terrifying position. 'I was looking out of the window and it felt like we were in a crime scene you would see on a movie set. My son was in tears, my husband and sister were in shock and I was having an anxiety attack. I could hardly breathe.

'The worst part is the incident shut down traffic and the noise caused people to come out and see what was going on. We were made to look like criminals.'

The family was driving along Ingleby Road, which goes into Horton Grange Road, when police stopped them at 12.30am.

Mrs Rahman, a counter assistant in a chemist, said: 'It all happened so fast. My husband saw a car waiting at the lights when they went green so he flashed it with his lights to try and alert them. We didn't realise it was an unmarked police car at the time and went around it when it would not move.

'As soon as we went past, my husband noticed the car started to follow us. He slowed down to let the car pass. It went in front of us and braked, forcing my husband to stop but then we were hit by another car which pulled up beside us and then a third one hit us in the back.'

The family were thrown about their car as the police rammed their vehicle multiple times.

Mr Rahman, a 34-year-old waiter, was taken into a police car while checks were made, and another officer got in the family's car and took their details.

Police explained the situation to the family and apologised for the mix-up, but Mrs Rahman said their actions were aggressive and unnecessary. The family were told the vehicle involved in the robbery used cloned registration plates similar to the one on their vehicle.

'The force was unnecessary. There was no chase and we even slowed down for them even in a 30 speed limit area with speed cameras around. They never alerted us with a light or siren to pull over.'

She said she is now taking medication for her head and her son suffered 'severe whiplash' as a result of the crash.

Detective Superintendent Jon Morgan, of Bradford District Police, said they pulled the Rahman's car over after receiving information about a vehicle 'which was believed to have been used in an armed robbery'.

He said: 'Following inquiries, a vehicle bearing the suspected number plate was sighted in Ingleby Road, Bradford. 'In accordance with the information received armed officers were deployed to stop the vehicle safely, which resulted in a minor collision.'

Det. Sup. Morgan said an ambulance was called to attend to the family.

The vehicle involved in the robbery, has since been recovered. Details about the robbery were not yet available.

Original report here

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Rude, lazy and intolerant - the public's verdict on Britain's police as complaints against forces hit a new high of 35,000

Complaints against police have reached a record high with thousands of officers accused of being rude and lazy.

Almost 35,000 cases were brought against forces in England and Wales last year, according to the independent police watchdog.

The most common complaint, making up almost one third of cases, was that police neglected their duties.

This was followed by allegations of 'incivility, impoliteness and intolerance' against members of the public, including victims of crime.

The figures led to calls for a radical overhaul of the system of making and recording complaints.

According to the latest figures released by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, 38 of the 43 forces recorded a rise in complaints.

There were 34,863 cases involving 61,694 allegations in 2013/14. This was a 15 per cent increase in cases on the previous year and the highest since the watchdog was established in 2004.

The largest number of allegations – 18,624 – were for neglect or other failures in duty by officers and civilian staff. This was followed by rudeness (9,165), assault (5,925) and 'oppressive conduct' or harassment (3,880).

The largest percentage increase in complaint cases year on year was recorded by Northumbria Police. They rose by 98 per cent from 401 to 794.

The next biggest increase was recorded by City of London Police, where complaints rose by 90 per cent from 123 in 2012-13 to 234 in 2013-14. But the City force said this was due to the addition of complaints against Action Fraud, the much-criticised national anti-fraud helpline.

Dame Anne Owers, chairman of the IPCC, highlighted a postcode lottery in the number of complaints upheld by forces and the proportion of decisions overturned by the watchdog.

'As we have said many times, this reflects a complaints system which is complex, bureaucratic and over-focused on blame,' she added. The IPCC upheld 49 per cent of appeals against cases which police did not even record as complaints – down from 57 per cent in 2012/2013.

The watchdog also upheld 44 per cent of appeals against complaints that had been investigated by the local force. Since 2013, forces have dealt with some appeals against rejected complaints in less serious cases.

Alex Duncan, of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, blamed the increase in complaints on government cuts.

'The biggest rise is due to incivility and neglect of duty and while there is no excuse for this, there are far fewer officers with far more to do and unfortunately overworked and exhausted people are often less tolerant and understanding,' he said.

Mr Duncan added that forces should not be responsible for investigating their own officers and all cases should be handed to an independent watchdog.

The IPCC said some of the increase is due to a broadening of the definition of a complaint.

Dame Anne said: 'We urgently need radical reforms to the system as a whole, to make it more accessible and straightforward, and to strengthen independent oversight.'

Cleveland Chief Constable Jacqui Cheer, who has national responsibilities for policing standards, said the handling of police complaints is under review. 'We take complaints very seriously and will always listen to and take heed of those who report any dissatisfaction,' she added.

Original report here

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Australia: Pervasive corruption in the NSW police

As the state's top police officer prepares to take the stand at a sensational police bugging inquiry next week, questions have emerged about his possible role in a shadowy taskforce set up with the intention of spying on a journalist.

On September 9, 2012, Fairfax reporter Neil Mercer published explosive details in The Sun-Herald about Strike Force Emblems, a long-buried internal police report into Operation Mascot, an anti-corruption surveillance exercise that controversially involved the secret bugging of more than 100 police officers and civilians on the back of suspect warrants and allegations.

It can now be revealed that nine days after the story was published, the force's professional standards command launched Strike Force Jooriland to monitor the veteran reporter and hunt down the police whistleblower leaking critical information to him.

When NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione appears before the parliamentary committee on Wednesday, he is likely to be grilled on how the operation came to be approved.

Mercer had remained oblivious to Jooriland until last Friday when he appeared as a witness before the inquiry.

"I am completely gobsmacked," he said on Saturday, adding: "You're exposing allegations of serious wrongdoing and criminal offences. Their response is, let's shoot the messenger and then screw the whistleblower."

MEAA chief executive officer Paul Murphy also expressed alarm, stating: "The professionalism of a journalist and the ethical responsibility to protect confidential sources needs to be respected at all times, regardless of the type of inquiry."

As Mercer was left to nervously dwell on the nature - and extent - of the surveillance, biggest questions surround the broader roles in the bugging affair played by Commissioner Scipione and NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn - who at one stage was an acting commander of the special crime and internal affairs unit (SCIA).

"We can't comment on matters that are currently the subject of an investigation by the Ombudsman," said a police spokesman when asked who had triggered the hunt.

On Friday, the inquiry heard explosive allegations about a mass cover-up that blanketed the police corruption investigation, Operation Mascot, which ran between 1999-2001.

Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas was a central target of the surveillance operation, which he testified had ruined the careers of many officers and triggered a suicide.

Ms Burn had been a senior officer within the operation which at one stage, was commanded by current Commissioner Scipione. The hearing heard that some affidavits presented to NSW Supreme Court judges had contained no information to justify surveillance, and some content was false. It emerged that during the operation, Ms Burn's unit had secured a warrant to bug Mr Kaldas and his family - despite no evidence of any wrongdoing.

Against the wishes of the NSW government, the inquiry was established last year in response to complaints about the amount of time taken by NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour to investigate the scandal. On Friday, Mr Kaldas launched a scathing attack on Mr Barbour, about his treatment. "We, the police, could not treat criminals this way and neither should we," he said.

Mercer had earlier published details of the secret Emblems report which showed Ms Burn had come under investigation, following a string of complaints relating to the investigation. While the report stated there was no evidence to bring criminal or disciplinary charges against her, it noted inquiries into those complaints had hit a wall after access to crucial documents and witnesses was repeatedly denied. It was also revealed that in November 2001, Commissioner Scipione, then commander of SCIA, had been warned some officers within the branch were concerned about the legality of the telephone taps and the release of "fictitious information" to gain listening devices. The inquiry resumes on Tuesday.

Original report here

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Justice at last

A Texas man convicted of killing a 38-year-old woman nearly two decades ago while he was on parole for a triple slaying years earlier was executed Thursday evening.

Robert Ladd, 57, received a lethal injection after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected arguments he was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty. The court also rejected an appeal in which Ladd's attorney challenged whether the pentobarbital Texas uses in executions is potent enough to not cause unconstitutional pain and suffering.

Ladd was executed for the 1996 slaying of 38-year-old Vicki Ann Garner, of Tyler, who was strangled and beaten with a hammer. Her arms and legs were bound, bedding was placed between her legs, and she was set on fire in her apartment.

In his final statement, Ladd addressed the sister of his victim by name, telling her he was "really, really sorry." "I really, really hope and pray you don't have hatred in your heart," he said, adding that he didn't think she could have closure but hoped she could find peace. "A revenge death won't get you anything," he said. Then Ladd told the warden: "Let's ride."

As the drug took effect, he said: "Stings my arm, man!" He began taking deep breaths, then started snoring. His snores became breaths, each one becoming less pronounced, before he stopped all movement. He was pronounced dead at 7:02 p.m., 27 minutes after the drug was administered.

Teresa Wooten, Garner's sister, said afterward that she accepted Ladd's apology and held no anger toward him.

"We hate the sin he committed. We hate the deed he committed," Wooten said. "But at the end of his life we no longer hated the man and have sympathy for his family."

Ladd came within hours of lethal injection in 2003 before a federal court agreed to hear evidence about juvenile records that suggested he was mentally impaired. That appeal was denied and the Supreme Court last year turned down a review of Ladd's case. His attorneys renewed similar arguments as his new execution date approached.

"Ladd's deficits are well documented, debilitating and significant," Brian Stull, a senior staff lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union Capital Punishment Project, told the high court.

Kelli Weaver, a Texas attorney general, reminded the justices in a filing that "each court that has reviewed Ladd's claim has determined that Ladd is not intellectually disabled."

Ladd's lawyers cited a psychiatrist's determination in 1970 that Ladd, then a 13-year-old in custody of the Texas Youth Commission, had an IQ of 67. Courts have embraced scientific studies that consider an IQ of 70 a threshold for impairment. The inmate's attorneys also contended he long has had difficulties with social skills and functioning on his own.

Ladd also was a plaintiff in a lawsuit questioning the "quality and viability" of Texas' supply of its execution drug, pentobarbital. The Texas Attorney General's Office called the challenge "nothing more than rank speculation."

When he was arrested for Garner's slaying, Ladd had been on parole for about four years after serving about a third of a 40-year prison term for the slayings of a Dallas woman and her two children. He pleaded guilty to those crimes.

Original report here

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Australia: Did a crooked cop skate?

Ex-Gold Coast police chief Paul Wilson left service with unresolved findings of misconduct against him. The Gold Coast cops are notoriously corrupt

The former chief of police on the Gold Coast left the Queensland Police Service (QPS) last year with unresolved findings of misconduct against him for inappropriately disclosing confidential police information.

The ABC can reveal Assistant Commissioner Paul Wilson was facing a Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) recommendation for disciplinary action when he left the service in January 2014, with a formal send-off and a Commissioner's Award for Meritorious Service.

The ABC understands he also received a significant severance payout.

Court documents show that three weeks before his departure, the CMC found Mr Wilson had inappropriately disclosed police information, leading to the identification of a Crime Stoppers informant.

The documents, which emerged in civil litigation in the District Court in Brisbane, include a letter from the CMC describing an investigation into allegations Mr Wilson had abused his position as a senior officer to gain an advantage in a bitter family dispute over his mother's estate.

They show other senior QPS officers became involved in an investigation of Mr Wilson's brother Robert after anonymous complaints to Crime Stoppers that Robert Wilson planned to murder his mother to get his hands on her money, and had previously murdered his father.

Do you know more about this story? Email investigations@abc.net.au

Nothing was found to substantiate the allegations against Robert Wilson and he subsequently complained to the CMC about his brother's conduct.

The CMC's acting director of integrity services, Darren Brookes, wrote to Robert Wilson on December 24, 2013 telling him the anti-corruption body had found there was insufficient evidence to warrant the recommendation of any criminal charges against Paul Wilson.

"However, the investigation did find that AC Wilson had inappropriately disclosed information and QPS documents ... resulting in the Crime Stoppers informant being named and identified," Mr Brookes wrote.

According to the letter, the CMC investigation had also found that, based on the available material, Paul Wilson was in breach of procedural guidelines for professional conduct relating to conflicts of interest and rules regarding "improper use of QPS information".

"Therefore, we have recommended to the Queensland Police Service that consideration be given to taking disciplinary action against AC Wilson for misconduct under the Police Service (Discipline) Regulations 1990," the CMC official wrote.

"Accordingly, the CMC has referred the matter to the QPS for that purpose."

The QPS confirmed it received the referral, telling the ABC it was handled by Commissioner Ian Stewart.

By the time the CMC letter was sent, the QPS had already announced Mr Wilson's departure from the service, making this public on December 19.

A QPS spokesman told the ABC it had first learned of the CMC investigation in October 2013.

Asked if the CMC misconduct finding or investigation had had any bearing on the timing or nature of Mr Wilson's departure, the spokesman said: "Any response impinges on the privacy of Mr Wilson."

The QPS declined to reveal details of any severance payment to Mr Wilson.

Wilson siblings in long-running dispute over mother's estate

The CMC letter is attached to an affidavit filed by Robert Wilson in a long-running dispute with his brother Paul and sister Joan Clifford over the estate of their mother, Kathleen Wilson, who died in April 2014.

The documents include police memos and Crime Stoppers logs that originated in an earlier case relating to the mother's competency in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

Paul Wilson had filed in QCAT logs of six Crime Stoppers calls in which a confidential informant had claimed Robert Wilson planned to murder his mother in order to defraud her estate.

The memos show Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett had briefed the then head of the QPS Organised Crime Group, Detective Superintendent John Sheppard, about the allegations against Robert Wilson in January 2012.

Detective Superintendent Sheppard wrote in a May, 2012 memo to Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon - head of State Crime Operations Command - that he had uncovered the identity of the Crime Stoppers informant and interviewed him.

He found the informant "was not aware of any specific act or incident that could be interpreted as (Robert Wilson) threatening or committing violence towards his mother".

"He offered no direct evidence of any offence that may have been committed," the detective wrote.

Detective Superintendent Sheppard wrote that he had then briefed Paul Wilson.

"He was appreciative of what had been done to that point. He also accepted the difficulties that the criminal investigation into his brother's actions was facing," he wrote.

Detective Superintendent Sheppard told Assistant Commissioner Condon that he had discussed the matter with the head of the fraud squad, Detective Superintendent Brian Hay, and recommended the file be passed to him.

The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) told the ABC its predecessor, the CMC, had written to the QPS on January 8, 2014 "to report on the outcome of the investigation and to recommend the consideration of disciplinary action against Assistant Commissioner Wilson and the provision of managerial guidance to two other officers".

A spokesman for the CCC said it would be inappropriate to name the other officers.

"Disciplinary action is the responsibility of the QPS," the spokesman said, adding that the timing of Mr Wilson's departure from the QPS was "a matter for Mr Wilson and the QPS".

Robert Wilson fails in bid to block eviction order

Robert Wilson was his mother's carer prior to her death and had been living in her house in the Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi for the past three years.

Last week, he failed in the District Court to block an eviction order in favour of Paul Wilson and Ms Clifford and left the house on Thursday.

As the eviction deadline passed, the ABC witnessed Paul Wilson - accompanied by a crew of removalists - greet police officers who were checking the building had been vacated.

Paul Wilson chairs the Brisbane Central committee of Crime Stoppers and was a director of Crime Stoppers between 2005 and 2007. He is also a director of the Police Credit Union.

He began his career in the QPS in 1974, working as a senior detective in the Whitsundays and as the divisional commander in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane before taking the reins on the Gold Coast, where he was responsible for 1,400 sworn officers.

His last posting was to the Police Academy, from where he was given a send-off at which Commissioner Stewart presented him with a Commissioner's Award for Meritorious Service.

The QPS said such medals were at the discretion of the Commissioner.

Mr Wilson's website, paulwilsonconsulting.com.au describes him as "one of the truly great leaders ... a hypnotic storyteller and enthralling voice on modern leadership".

Mr Wilson did not respond to emails and calls from the ABC.

Original report here. (Via Australian Politics)

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Scottish cop stalked a string of young women and sent naked pictures to one of them

A police officer has been jailed for 15 months after he stalked a string of girls and young women and sent one naked pictures of himself.

Special constable Ryan Reid, 27, wept and shouted 'I love you mum' as he was sentenced to prison at Lanark Sheriff Court today.

He terrorised his victims - one as young as 15 - by turning up at their homes and workplaces, as well as inundating them with sexual messages on Facebook

Reid also used his position with the police to access confidential data about other people and share it with his friends.

The defendant, from Lesmahagow in Lanarkshire, pleaded guilty to seven charges involving five different women.

Sheriff Nikola Stewart ordered that Reid be put on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and banned from approaching two of his victims in addition to his prison sentence.

He admitted two charges of stalking women, three under the Communications Act and one under the Sexual Offences Act, as well as one offence under the Data Protection Act.

Reid carried out the offences between 2010 and 2013 - in one case, he repeatedly turned up at the petrol station where his victim was working alone.

He loitered outside the home of another young women, as well as approaching her outside a pub sending her online messages over a six-month period.

After he was charged, Reid wrote on Facebook that he was only trying to be a 'nice guy' and claimed to be the victim of sex discimination.

He wrote: 'I am willing to explain things to people if they ask me. 'If anyone has formed an opinion of me without actually speaking to me about things fair enough that's their problem, and if you don't want me on your Facebook anymore just f***ing delete me. Too hard to be a nice guy any more.'

He added: 'Every time a woman drops their trousers - promotion. Every time a man drops theirs - disciplinary action. Where's the equality in that?'

Joseph Cahill QC, defending, said in court: 'He fully accepts he did commit these things and he has full responsibility for them.

'I can tell you that he is sitting there terrified about the possibility of a custodial sentence.

'In respect to messages sent on Facebook, he says that at the time of sending them he was unaware of the impact these were having on the complainers.

'He misread the situation he was in, he was suffering mental health issues and was drinking but that is not an excuse.'

Jailing Reid, Ms Stewart said: 'The most distressing aspect of this is that he is a police officer and made it known to his victims. He was interested in grooming young girls.

'These numerous offences all displayed a course of criminal conduct which was intended for your sexual gratification and you were willing to cloud yourself with the status and office your position gave to you. No 15-year-old would report a serving police officer.

'This is not just a case about you letting down your uniform by your actions. I have listened to everything that has been said on your behalf but there is no alternative to custody in this case.'

Original report here

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Another wrongful conviction?

British footballer Ched Evans was convicted on very flimsy grounds. The sex was consensual but a court in its wisdom decided that the woman was too drunk to give consent. How was Evans to know that? There are no standards for how drunk a woman can be before being unable to consent. If there were, millions of normal conceptions might have to be called products of rape. In our society alcohol often accompanies sex. To Evans the woman seemed no drunker than normal. If so the mens rea (guilty intent) is absent and no crime was committed.

Rapist footballer Ched Evans claimed today he has new evidence he believes will help him overturn his conviction. The disgraced striker, 26, maintains he is 'innocent' of attacking his victim in a Rhyl hotel room in 2011 because he believes the sex was consensual.

Evans has successfully applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to have his 2012 conviction re-examined, but sent a new bundle of evidence to them on Friday.

A statement on his website today said: 'Further detailed submissions - supported by previously unavailable fresh evidence that we believe strengthens Ched's application - were lodged with the Commission.'

His solicitor has told MailOnline today that he is confident that the disgraced former Sheffield United striker will be cleared.

Shaun Draycott said: 'We have fresh evidence that has been submitted late last week. 'We feel it is a strong case and I remain deeply concerned about Ched's conviction and we are hopeful that his application will lead to his case being referred to the Court of Appeal. 'But I cannot discuss the details of the application only to say it is very detailed and builds on the evidence submitted last July and includes fresh evidence'.

The footballer's legal team has handed its latest file of evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which considers if convictions are unsafe. If they believe there is a case they then refer it to the Court of Appeal where judges will consider whether to overturn the conviction or order a retrial.

This process could take up to a year to complete meaning Evans is unlikely to return to football before 2016 if he is cleared.

MailOnline understands that Evans’ fresh submission may be connected to evidence not used at his trial by the prosecution that may have helped his case if it had been disclosed to the defence at the time.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission has confirmed it has received the new legal bundle but would not discuss the case.

Evans was released from prison last October after completing half of a five-year jail sentence for raping a 19-year-old woman.

The Welsh striker denied rape, saying the sex was consensual, but he was found guilty by a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court.

The prosecution said the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was too drunk to consent to sexual intercourse.

The woman was raped in a Rhyl Premier Inn in 2012 after his footballer friend Clayton McDonald, who was cleared of rape, texted Evans on the way there saying: 'I've got a bird'. McDonald had sex with the victim, before Evans arrived and raped her, as two others filmed it through the window.

After his release from jail his old club Sheffield United, who used to pay him £20,000-a-week, agreed to let him train with them. But the League One club was plunged into crisis when three patrons quit, fans threatened a boycott and its main sponsor warned it would scrap their deal if they tried to sign him.

Earlier this month he finally apologised to the woman he raped for the first time after a deal to sign for Oldham Athletic collapsed at the last minute.

He said in a statement: 'Whilst I continue to maintain my innocence, I wish to make it clear that I wholeheartedly apologise for the effects that night in Rhyl has had on many people, not least the woman concerned'.

Original report here

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South Australia: Police Complaints Authority report found Constable Norman Hoy was unprofessional bully who was rude, arrogant and harsh to drivers

Nasty old goat got let off a charge because his form was not revealed

CONSTABLE Norman Hoy was a threatening, harsh, unfair, arrogant and rude bully whose insulting, unprofessional behaviour breached regulations, according to a damning Police Complaints Authority report.

The Advertiser today can reveal details of 11 Police Complaints Authority inquiries into Const Hoy, who was acquitted by a District Court jury last Friday of assaulting millionaire Yasser Shahin.

Within hours of the not guilty verdict being handed down by a jury, Const Hoy’s legal team, accompanied by SA Police Association President Mark Carroll, served an injunction on The Advertiser banning publication of the complaints.

That gag order was to remain in force until a hearing in the District Court today — however Const Hoy’s lawyers advised, just after 8am, they would not be pursuing their action.

Judge Paul Slattery formally dismissed the injunction just after 11am. He ordered Const Hoy, through the Police Association, to pay The Advertiser’s legal costs.

The injunction temporarily stopped The Advertiser from publishing details of a 2009 Police Complaints Authority report which concluded the "common theme" of complaints from members of the public against the 59-year-old traffic cop were descriptions of him as:

THREATENING, harsh, unfair and unfriendly.

ARROGANT and rude, someone who looked down on drivers.

A POLICE officer who made drivers feel like second-class citizens.

A QUITE aggressive, frightening bully.

ANGRY, confronting and intimidating while yelling at and embarrassing drivers.

One complaint, in 2008, arose from Const Hoy pulling over and defecting a luxury car because its front passenger window’s tint was too dark — two years before his clash with Mr Shahin over the tinting of his Rolls Royce.

In a sequence of events similar to those involving Mr Shahin, Const Hoy told the driver to "shut your mouth" and "don’t have a hissy fit".

Last week, a District Court jury cleared Const Hoy - described by SA Police Association President Mark Carroll as a "hero cop" for preventing a serious crash on the South Eastern Freeway - of assaulting Mr Shahin, one of South Australia’s most successful business figures.

Prosecutors had alleged he exceeded his lawful authority by grabbing Mr Shahin while defecting his 2008 Rolls Royce for apparently having windows which were too dark.

Mr Shahin’s family company, Peregrine Corporation, owns several of the state’s most profitable retail businesses, including On the Run, Smoke Mart and Krispy Kreme.

During the trial, Mr Shahin told jurors Const Hoy was "hostile" and "hellbent" on bullying him, and had "shoved and grabbed" him during the traffic stop in the Adelaide CBD in September, 2010.

Mr Shahin denied he did "everything in his power" to ensure he was charged.

In his evidence, Const Hoy said he had "no choice" but to grab Mr Shahin because the "intimidating, threatening" businessman would not obey his directions. He denied he engaged in "a power play" with Mr Shahin to show that he "was the boss".

After 75 minutes’ deliberation, the jury found Const Hoy not guilty.

It can now be reported Mr Shahin’s complaint, to the Police Complaints Authority, was the 12th matter filed against Const Hoy.

The PCA report did not form part of the evidence against Const Hoy in his trial.

According to the report, another driver recalled an encounter with Const Hoy in 2008 where he felt the "rudeness and aggression" displayed toward him was "totally unacceptable".

"Const Hoy said ‘look, do you want me to explain this to you or not?’ and when the driver said ‘no, I don’t’, he replied ‘well shut up then!’".

The PCA report, written in 2009, says that when Const Hoy felt the driver was showing "further agitation he said words to the effect of ‘don’t have a hissy fit, let me finish what I was saying, will you?’"

Const Hoy told the authority he was merely seeking to "control" the driver, who was "verbally bullying me". He said he "made a deliberate choice" of those words to "have him (the driver) comply". "I believe (the driver) was rude to me and verbally trying to bully me," the report quotes Const Hoy as saying. "He showed no respect for my position and I believe he was trying to influence my decision by his actions."

The PCA disagreed.

"I find it ironic that Const Hoy should accuse (the driver) of using bullying tactics," its report says.

"This is the very thing that (the driver) and numerous other, quite separate independent members of the public have accused Const Hoy of over the past 18 months.

"I recognise that not all of these complaints have been substantiated, but I also recognise that SA Police management have concerns that there may be a performance problem underlying this series of complaints. "I share those concerns.

"In the past 18 months, Const Hoy has been complained about on 11 occasions ... most, if not all, of these complaints (describe him) as rude, threatening and/or aggressive."

The report is critical of Const Hoy’s handling of the 2008 matter.

"Having considered the evidence, I have formed the view that Const Hoy handled this situation poorly and that his use of the words ‘shut up’ and ‘shut your mouth’ were both unnecessary and unprofessional," it says. "In my assessment, (his) conduct breached Police Regulation 17 in that it was both insulting and disrespectful to this complainant."

The report notes SA Police management had advised Const Hoy would be counselled and receive further training.

"I propose to simply reinforce and support the need for the speedy development and implementation of an appropriate intervention strategy," it says. "In the event he continues to generate complaints of this kind, then any future recommendations I make will be more punitive in nature."

The report seen by The Advertiser was obtained from a complainant to the Authority, not from Mr Shahin, his family nor anyone connected with them or their business interests.

When Const Hoy was approached for comment last week - through the Police Association - his lawyers responded with a letter warning they would sue for defamation. Const Hoy’s legal team then applied for the interim injunction, which prevented publication of the story until today.

The Advertiser has again approached Const Hoy, through his lawyers, requesting his comment on the 2009 PCA report.

In a statement his afternoon, Police Association president Mark Carroll said it was "quite common" for police to receive complaints from motorists. "Drivers who commit traffic offences hardly relish receiving fines for their transgressions ... high emotion often accompanies their reactions," he said.

"For this reason, and in the interests of full transparency, many traffic officers like Const Hoy purchase and use their own body-worn video or audio devices - as he did after he was the subject of complaints to the PCA."

Mr Carroll said the evidence gathered by such devices was "usually compelling", as "was the case" in Const Hoy’s trial. "It was surely a huge reason for the jury’s not guilty verdict," he said.

"Cases like this illustrate why the Police Association has, for many years, lobbied strongly for body-worn video to be standard issue for all frontline police. "We shudder to think what the outcome of this case would have been without Const Hoy’s audio evidence."

Mr Carroll also urged the public keep "perspective" about the matter. "Let’s remember that Const Hoy was shown by the unanimous decision of a District Court jury - and the subsequent comments of Judge Paul Rice - to have conducted himself entirely lawfully in his interaction with Mr Shahin," he said.

Original report here. (Via Australian Politics)

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Police officers who accidentally left foul-mouthed voicemail calling teenage abuse victim a 'f***ing slag' and 'b**ch' could face criminal charges

Two police officers could face criminal charges after being accused of calling a teenage abuse victim a 'f***ing slag' and 'b**ch' in a foul-mouthed voicemail.

Alex Faragher, 19, from Sutton Coldfield said hearing the abuse in a message mistakenly left by the male West Midlands Police officers felt like being assaulted all over again.

In the two-minute recording left while they were trying to contact the victim so she could make a statement, PC Cavan O'Connell, 48, is allegedly heard talking to another officer in his late 20s.

One of the officers said: 'F***ing b**ch, I specifically said, 'You are not going to give us the runaround are you?'. 'No, I want to press charges,' she said. F***ing slag.'

A second officer then referred to falsifying Faragher's witness statement because they couldn't get hold of her.

He could be heard saying: 'Either that or the only other thing we do is go back, f***ing draft the statement ourselves and then just get the b**ch to sign it.'

The force completed an internal investigation into the incident which involved PC O'Connell, 48, and a long-term colleague and shared the findings with Ms Faragher.

But the 19-year-old appealed the decision and took the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission who have upheld her complaint and referred it to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The CPS will now decide if the officers, who remain on restricted duties, should face criminal charges.

Speaking at the time, the wedding caterer said: 'When I heard the voicemail I was shellshocked. 'It is very serious and I can't believe they would consider writing my witness statement for me. It's horrifying. I feel so sick and upset at the thought of it.

'What if this had been a rape victim and these kinds of comments were being used? 'What kind of police practice is this? I have lost all faith completely. What happens if I need the police now? I wouldn't want to ring them.

'They can't be trusted. What the officers said was so hurtful, It was like being assaulted all over again, verbally assaulted, just after I had been through a stressful ordeal.

'The policemen verbally assaulted me. It's disgusting and I feel victimised and humiliated. 'I feel sure if a female officer was in the car I wouldn't have been referred to as a b**ch. It is so disrespectful and the police are meant to be in a position of trust and to help, not cause more harm.

'The voicemail made me feel angry. I only heard a short bit of the conversation but God knows what else they said about me after the recording stopped.

'The police, who are meant to help and make things better have belittled me and made me feel worthless.'

She had called the police at 5.30pm after an altercation with her boyfriend Dean Hannon, 19, and he was arrested.

The caterer said the police told her they would come back at 6pm to take her witness statement and she informed them she was going to her dad's house at 6.30pm.

'I waited for them to turn up but they didn't show. At 6.30pm I went to my dad's and later on I arranged to go to Sutton Coldfield police station to give my statement at 11pm,' she said.

'When I finally gave my statement, I wasn't given a proper chance to look through it. I struggle with dyslexia when they read it back, parts were wrong but they didn't get changed.

'I didn't hear the voicemail until after I had given the statement at 11pm, and it was clear the policemen just wanted to get the job done, that's why they were taking about writing my statement for me.

The allegation of gross misconduct in January last year was originally referred to the IPCC after the complaint was made.

The IPCC then determined that the complaint should be investigated by West Midlands Police Professional Standards Department.

This investigation has now been completed and Ms Faragher has appealed the decision, which has now been passed from the IPCC to the CPS.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said: 'The complaint has been thoroughly investigated by the force's Professional Standards Department and the findings have been shared with the complainant.

'However, some of the findings were subject of an appeal to the IPCC who upheld the appeal and recommended the case be referred to the CPS. The CPS investigation is currently underway. The officers involved remain on restricted duties.'

Original report here

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Man freed 37 years after wrongful conviction

For the third time in less than six months, a North Carolina inmate was exonerated by DNA evidence and freed after spending decades in prison for a wrongful murder conviction.

This time, Joseph Sledge, 70, was set free on Friday after a three-judge panel found that he was innocent of killing a mother and daughter in 1976. The hearing was called after an investigation by the state’s one-of-a kind investigative panel on innocence.

As three judges listened to closing arguments, Sledge wrote down a few words on a Post-it note: "closure," "please" and "exonerated."

A few hours later, carrying his belongings in plastic bags, Sledge emerged from a North Carolina jail, saying he was looking forward to what most people consider the most mundane of things: "Going home. Relaxing. Sleeping in a real bed. Probably get in a pool of water and swim for a little while."

The lawyer who took his case in 2004, Christine Mumma, said she had been on the verge of closing the case in 2012 when court clerks discovered a misplaced envelope containing hair from the crime scene while cleaning out an evidence vault.

The envelope contained hair, found on the victim and believed to be the attacker’s, that turned out to be a key piece of evidence needed to do DNA testing, which wasn’t available when Sledge went on trial in 1978.

"I understand those shelves were very high, but there was a ladder in that room," said Mumma, a lawyer for the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence.

In 2013, the case was referred to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, the only state-run investigative agency of its kind. So far, Sledge is the eighth person exonerated after an investigation by the commission, which started operating in 2007. It has reviewed and closed about 1,500 cases.

Nationwide, The Innocence Project reported there have been 325 post-conviction DNA exonerations.

The North Carolina commission found there was enough evidence of Sledge’s innocence to refer it to a panel of three judges, who were appointed by the state Supreme Court.

The judges considered the commission’s investigative file, and a DNA expert highlighted lab tests in her testimony Friday. Meghan Clement of Cellmark Forensics said none of the evidence collected from the scene — hair, DNA and fingerprints — belonged to Sledge.

The key jailhouse informant, Herman Baker, signed an affidavit in 2013 recanting trial testimony. Baker said he lied at the 1978 trial after being promised leniency in his own drug case and he said he’d been coached by authorities on what to say.

Testimony from another jailhouse informant was inconsistent, according to the commission documents. That informant died in 1991.

The victims, Josephine Davis, 74, and her daughter, Aileen, 57, were stabbed to death in September 1976. Aileen was also sexually assaulted.

They were found in their home in Elizabethtown, a day after Sledge had escaped from a prison work farm where he was serving a four-year sentence for larceny.

Sledge was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Katherine Brown, the granddaughter and niece of the victims, said Friday during the hearing that the women were humble and considerate people who looked after other family members.

During her statement, Brown said the family was "shocked that it will become an unsolved mystery" after years of believing they had some closure. She didn’t directly address Sledge’s innocence in her statement.

After his release, Sledge was headed to Savannah, Ga., to live with family. He told reporters he never doubted he’d be freed someday despite spending more than half his life in prison.

"I had confidence in my own self. The self will and the patience," he said before trailing off and searching for the right word. "Patience is the word."

Original report here

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Leaking cop let off with a slap on the wrist: Officer given 'management advice' after posting information on Twitter about probe into singer Cliff Richard

A police officer suspected of leaking information about an investigation into Sir Cliff Richard has escaped severe punishment.

South Yorkshire Police (SYP) gave the unnamed officer ‘management advice’ – tantamount to a slap on the wrist – after he posted information on Twitter in April last year. Management advice is the lowest sanction given for misconduct.

Referring the incident to the IPCC, the police watchdog, SYP queried whether he or she could be the source of the tip-off that led to SYP agreeing with the BBC to broadcast a raid of the pop star’s home.

Heavily redacted police files, obtained by The Mail on Sunday through a Freedom of Information request, reveal a complaint sent to former crime commissioner Shaun Wright days after the raid on Sir Cliff’s home on August 14 last year. The letter said that in April the unnamed officer tweeted about the arrest of a 73-year-old by Operation Yewtree detectives.

The IPCC handed the case back to SYP, which concluded that the junior officer (who was not part of the investigation into the allegations against Sir Cliff) was not the source of the leak – though it has not said why it came to that conclusion.

The star was in Portugal during the raid on his £3 million Berkshire home. He has denied all allegations that he abused a youth, now in his 40s, at a Christian rally in 1985.

The BBC faced criticism for broadcasting the raid live from a helicopter and stationing reporters at the gates of the property before police arrived.

The uproar led to the Home Affairs Select Committee concluding ‘No citizen should have to see their home raided in this way.’

Last night, Keith Vaz, chairman of the Select Committee, said: ‘People will be puzzled that the officer should be treated so leniently for such a serious matter.’

Sir Cliff declined to comment.

Original report here

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Suppressed evidence got aggressive South Australian cop off the hook

The case was largely one man's word against another so the credibility of the cop was central. We appear to have evidence, however, that he perjured himself. Subsequent to his acquittal, he obtained a legal order to suppress the report below of that evidence -- so he himself knows how crucial the extra evidence is. The case should go to appeal

JURORS in the Norman Hoy trial were never told that, in the moments after Yasser Shahin drove away, the police constable was recorded calling the millionaire businessman "a dick" who "made it big".

The Advertiser can now reveal prosecutors unsuccessfully tried to have another section of Const Hoy's audio recording played to the jury, saying it ran contrary to the evidence he gave under oath.

The legal stoush over the recording - parts of which were listened to by more than 27,000 people on advertiser.com.au - can be reported following Const Hoy's acquittal yesterday.

In his evidence, Const Hoy said he did not know who Mr Shahin was during their abrasive September 2010 encounter, and the businessman's identity only "sunk in" 15 minutes later.

That testimony, on January 19, prompted prosecutor Nick Healy to ask the jury be sent out of court so he could raise an issue with Judge Paul Rice.

He said his concern centred on the extended version of the audio recording Const Hoy had made of the alleged incident, which had been played for the jury numerous times.

"As Your Honour may or may not be aware, the audio that was recorded by Const Hoy was considerably longer," he said after jurors left court. "There is a considerable amount of audio there and, indeed, a conversation with his sergeant that appears to be at the scene immediately after Mr Shahin leaves.

"It's actually Const Hoy who advises his sergeant `it's the Shahin family', the sergeant says `who are they?' and Const Hoy says `they made it big on Smokemart and all this'.

"Then there is considerable conversation talking about `they've got all these houses in Burnside and they want to build a mansion up there'."

Mr Healy asked the jury be played the section but Marie Shaw, QC, for Const Hoy, objected. She said counsel had agreed, prior to the trial, that only the section recounting the incident itself would be played.

Mr Healy said the situation had changed. "That evidence was not to be led on the basis this witness would not get in the box and start denying, if you like, any contemporaneous knowledge of who Mr Shahin is," he said.

"There's a fair bit of evidence to the contrary, and a subsequent conversation with his sergeant includes when Const Hoy says Mr Shahin was `being a dick'."

Ms Shaw insisted that conversation occurred 15 minutes after Mr Shahin left the scene, which Mr Healy said was "news to me". Ms Shaw accused the prosecution of "ambushing" her client.

"What is the Crown seeking to do with this evidence? Pluck out bits and pieces of this conversation to attack Const Hoy on the way he discussed it with his sergeant?" she asked.

Judge Rice upheld Ms Shaw's objection, saying he did not "think it was proper" the additional section of the recording be played to jurors.

Original report here

　

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The Persistence of Policing for Profit

Eric Holder's forfeiture reform is welcome but does not go nearly far enough

Money-hungry cops are angry about the forfeiture reform that Attorney General Eric Holder announced last Friday, which suggests it's a move in the right direction. But contrary to initial press reports, the new policy represents a modest change to the rules governing civil forfeiture, which allows the government to take people's assets without accusing them of a crime.

"Civil forfeiture is fundamentally at odds with our judicial system and notions of fairness," two former directors of the Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture Office observed in a Washington Post op-ed piece last fall. "Civil forfeiture laws presume someone's personal property to be tainted, placing the burden of proving it 'innocent' on the owner."

Holder did not address that central issue, which is beyond his power. Rather, he modified the Justice Department's Equitable Sharing Program, which lets police and prosecutors use federal law to dodge state restrictions on forfeiture.

Holder's order deals only with "adoption" cases, where local agencies seize property on their own and ask the Justice Department to pursue forfeiture under federal law, which requires less evidence and lets cops keep a bigger share of the loot than many state laws do. According to a 2012 report from the Government Accountability Office, "adoptions made up about 17 percent of all equitable sharing payments" in 2010.

During the last six years, the DOJ says, adoptions "accounted for roughly three percent of the value of forfeitures in the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program." The program's reports to Congress indicate that equitable sharing payments to state and local agencies accounted for about 22 percent of deposits during those six years, which means adoptions represented less than 14 percent of equitable sharing.

In other words, the new DOJ policy leaves the Equitable Sharing Program mostly untouched. It explicitly exempts seizures arising from state or local investigations that are assisted by or coordinated with federal agencies, which include seizures by hundreds of federally subsidized multijurisdictional task forces.

"As virtually every drug task force I know of has a federal liaison on call, this means business as usual [for] local law enforcement," says Eapen Thampy, executive director of Americans for Forfeiture Reform. "The exception swallows the rule."

In a recent letter to Holder, four members of Congress, including three conservative Republicans, urged him to eliminate equitable sharing entirely. That is also the approach favored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who plans to reintroduce his forfeiture reform bill soon.

Legislation is necessary not only to prevent cops from evading state reforms but to give property owners more protection under state and federal laws. Ideally, legislators should require a criminal conviction prior to forfeiture and keep cops from getting part of the proceeds, a policy that perverts their priorities and fosters corruption.

It would be unfortunate if such reforms were killed by complacency. That could happen if the overenthusiastic response to Holder's new policy—which some commentators portrayed as putting an end not only to equitable sharing (which will continue) but to civil forfeiture (which extends far beyond this one program)—leaves people with the false impression that the problem has been solved.

That does not mean Holder's move accomplishes nothing. Greedy grumbling by cops suggests it will make legalized theft harder for some of them.

Douglas County, Nebraska, Sheriff Tim Dunning, for instance, complains that the elimination of federal adoptions in drug cases will force him to comply with his state's forfeiture law, which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, as opposed to the much weaker "preponderance of the evidence" standard set by federal law. Nebraska also gives cops a smaller share of the take.

"This benefits nobody but drug dealers," Dunning told the Omaha World-Herald. "Federal law is a tremendously bigger hammer. I don't see what hammer we are going to have over these people now."

Dunning's assumption that only drug dealers need to worry about forfeiture illustrates a familiar principle: When you've got a big hammer, everyone looks like a nail.

Original report here

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Policewoman whose paedophile boyfriend sexually assaulted a schoolgirl at ATC sleepover 'tried to persuade victim's parents not to report the attack'

The father of an abuse victim has told a jury how the sex attacker's policewoman lover tried to talk him out of reporting the assault to the authorities.

PC Sarah Cohen visited the parents just hours after they learned that their 14-year-old daughter had been groped during a sleepover party at an Air Training Corps hut in Devon.

The drunken attack was carried out by Cohen's boyfriend James Reading, who organised the unofficial party in the squadron hut, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Cohen is on trial accused of perverting the course of justice by trying to persuade the parents of the teenaged girl not to report his attack.

The victim's father told the jury she came to his house on the night the allegations came to light and warned them their daughter would have to re-live her ordeal in court if an official complaint was made.

She also told him she would arrange treatment for Reading if they did not report his assault on their daughter to the police.

Cohen, 36, from Lifton, Devon, denies two counts of perverting the course of justice in the two days after Reading sexually assaulted the girl in November 2011.

She was Reading's girlfriend at the time and was also the Flight Lieutenant in charge of the ATC squadron in Devon where he was the Flight Sergeant.

The jury have been told that Sgt Reading, 37, has been convicted and jailed for the sexual assault.

The prosecution allege she intervened to prevent him being arrested after he armed himself with a hunting knife, drove to Meldon Dam on Dartmoor drunk, crashed his car, and threatened to commit suicide.

The jury have been told learned of the girl's complaint the next day and informed her father but the prosecution say she later tried to persuade him and his wife not to report Reading to the police.

The girl's father said he had been at the sleepover party at which the assault happened but had been asleep after going on a pub crawl with Reading and having a glass of spirits-laced punch at the ATC hut.

He was unaware that other male cadets had thrown Reading out of the hut, leading to the incident at Meldon, and his first knowledge of either incident was when Cohen came to the hut on the Sunday morning to send the cadets home.

He saw her again the next evening when the squadron held their weekly parade and she informed him about the assault on his daughter after calling him into her office.

He said: 'I cannot describe how a father feels when his daughter has been sexually assaulted. I was shocked. She was saying 'That's my Jamie. That's my Jamie' but did not seem to be that agitated. She was quite calm.

'I spoke to my daughter in the car on the way home but she did not say a lot. She came in on herself. I told my wife and we did not know whether to report it.'

He said they rang Detective Superintendent Michelle Slevin, who they knew socially, who advised them to report the assault to the police and they were planning to do so the next morning when they were called by Cohen at around 11 pm.

She came to their house and remained for about 90 minutes and told them Reading had made suicide attempts in the past and drawn matchstick pictures of people hanging themselves.

The father said: 'She said she was in a dilemma because she was wearing three hats, her ATC hat, her girlfriend hat and her police hat.

'She said each of the hats had their own piece of advice. She said the easy one was a squadron boss because she had a duty to the cadets so she should report Reading to the police.

'Next came the girlfriend hat. She said if we did not report it she would make sure Jamie got treatment and never worked with cadets or children again. She said she had had him sectioned and taken to hospital.

'The third hat was her police hat. She said we were quite within our rights to report it to the police but we should bear in mind it would be a very difficult and trying time for our daughter.

'She said she would have to go through the courts and make a statement as a witness. She made it clear it would not be a very nice time for her and she would have to relive the assault again.

'She did not tell us to report the matter to the police or say she would report it to the police. I thought at the end we had the conversation so she could deliberately talk us out of reporting it to the police.'

Cohen denies all the allegations. Her case is that she acted properly in going to Meldon to defuse a critical situation and that she could not have tried to influence the girl's parents because they had already reported the matter to another officer.

Original report here

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