Police earning the hate

[Shyster]

A Kansas sheriff's deputy reportedly "used excessive force multiple times" on a child with special needs, according to an order of reprimand from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards and Training (CPOST), the state's law enforcement credentialing body that issues licenses to peace officers. Eight months later, he still has his license.

The incident involves Matthew Honas, who was employed by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office from August 2006 to March of this year. On February 23, Honas responded to a call regarding an autistic 12-year-old runaway foster child, identified only as L.H. The order indicates that Honas "had dealt with L.H. in the past and was aware that he is autistic." In fact, Honas "had a physical struggle with L.H. prior to February 23, but there was no report or body camera footage of the prior event." Honas also did not wear his body camera on February 23, though his dashcam was recording during the interaction.

During the encounter, Honas "shoved [and] elbowed" L.H. He put the boy in the back of his patrol car "hog tied," meaning he was handcuffed behind the back, his ankles were shackled, and his handcuffs were connected to the ankle shackles. As L.H. sat in the car, restrained and "not actively resisting," Honas pushed pressure points on the boy's jaw, with no direction given for why he was doing it. Minutes later, as L.H. still sat in the car, Honas "deployed his taser," even though L.H. "was not a threat to [Honas] or other officers."

The order calls Honas' actions "punitive in nature," citing his threatening language. At one point, he told L.H., "here's the deal, you do anything you're not supposed to do I will tase you again." He also refused assistance from other officers and did not use any "de-escalation techniques."

According to The Kansas City Star, Honas was fired in March for the use of excessive force. But in its order of reprimand, CPOST stopped short of revoking his certifications. The board contends that he is not currently employed in Kansas law enforcement, but by leaving his license in place, he remains free to work as an officer of the law if he so chooses.

[Shyster]

[MR25]

[Shyster]

[Shyster]

In 2021, three Texas constables that were serving an eviction notice on a tenant entered and rummaged through the tenant's apartment and stole watches, jewelry, headphones, cell phones, laptops, sunglasses, ammunition, perfume, shoes, makeup, antique coins, and $750 in cash, among other items. Oopsie! One of them accidentally turned on her body cam, and she recorded the thefts. All three have now been arrested and charged with theft and official oppression.

[dodint]

I'm pleasantly surprise constables have body cams at all.

[Shyster]

Late last year, a trove of records was obtained by transparency activists Distributed Denial of Secret (DDoS). Those records showed what the Washington DC Metro PD hoped to hide: that the internal disciplinary process was apparently irreparably broken.

The joint report by DCist and The Reveal made sense of the DDoS-liberated data. What it showed was that officers with sustained complaints were often given nothing more than tiny hand slaps (suspensions, write-ups) for severe misconduct, including drunk driving, indecent exposure, sexual solicitation, and theft.

Welcome to Impunityville, USA. Not only were Metro PD officers assured they wouldn’t face criminal charges for criminal acts, they were assured they wouldn’t even need to worry where their next paycheck would come from.

Now there’s more bad news. Every so often, the DC Metro PD actually finds officers worth firing. A report from the DC auditor shows taxpayers are shelling out millions to keep the worst of the PD’s officers on the job, as Mitch Ryals reports for the Washington City Paper.

The full scope of this problem and what it has cost D.C. taxpayers, is detailed in an explosive report released this week from D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson.

From October 2015 to March 2021, the Office of the D.C. Auditor found that MPD fired 49 officers and was forced to rehire 37 officers. The department paid out $14.3 million in back wages to 36 of those officers after their appeals crawled toward a resolution.

Three of the reinstated officers have been determined by the Auditor’s office to be a “threat to safety.” One of those is Jay Hong, who collided with another vehicle while drunk. In his vehicle, investigators found one (1) loaded handgun and one (1) unconscious, partially-nude woman. Hong pleaded guilty to DUI charges and was fired. The woman later accused Hong of sexual assault, but PD investigators cleared Hong of these accusations. Hong re-secured his job through a third-party arbitrator who suggested a 35-day suspension was a more appropriate punishment for driving drunk with a loaded gun and a loaded woman in his car. He received nearly $300,000 in back pay.

He’s not the only fully employed “threat to safety.” There are more:

The other two officers tagged as safety threats, who are still employed with MPD, are Wilberto Flores and Richard Mazloom, according to ODCA.

Flores was convicted in a criminal court of exposing his genitals to women in the parking lot of a grocery store in 2010, according to the report, which cites information from MPD and the Office of Employee Appeals.

Mazloom was the subject of three complaints submitted to the Office of Police Complaints before he went out drinking with friends while off duty and with his service weapon on him in August of 2011…

That night, Mazloom got into a fight on H Street NE, the auditor’s report says. He was later fired, but an arbitrator overturned his termination, in part because they “thought the evidence showed Mazloom was not the aggressor and the other party instigated the fight.”

Both officers were reinstated, taking home more than a half-million in back pay between the two of them. Officer Mazloom has since racked up two more complaints and one sustained instance of misconduct.

According to the City Paper report, nearly 40% of these reinstatements are due to the Metro PD missing administrative deadlines in the disciplinary process. This either means the Metro PD has so many bad cops it can’t keep up with the paperwork or it’s more than willing to slow walk investigations to ensure officers it actually decides to fire can get their jobs back. Neither alternative should be considered acceptable.

This happens frequently enough that even other MPD officers are getting sick of it. Statements made to the Auditor’s office during the preparation of this report show many officers are “demoralized” by the rehiring of bad cops and fully cognizant of the fact that overturned firings emboldens the worst officers in their ranks.

The Auditor’s report closes by recommending the Metro PD (duh) start meeting administrative deadlines to help assure bad cops can’t get their jobs back on a technicality. But the city seems powerless to actually enforce this, which means the PD can pick and choose which officers it will efficiently discipline. And that means taxpayers will still keep paying good money for cops even the Metro PD feels are too terrible to stay employed.

[Shyster]

[Shyster]

Lack of true oversight at the local level has led to federal charges against a (now former) Louisville police officer who abused his access to other people’s personal info to seek sexually explicit material with the apparent goal of blackmailing them. Here’s Josh Wood, reporting for LEO Weekly.

According to a sentencing memorandum, Bryan Wilson used his law enforcement access to Accurint, a powerful data-combing software used by police departments to assist in investigations, to obtain information about potential victims. He would then share that information with a hacker, who would hack into private Snapchat accounts to obtain sexually explicit photos and videos.

If sexually explicit material was obtained, Wilson would then contact the women, threatening to post the photos and videos online and share them with their friends, family, employer and co-workers unless more sexually explicit material was provided to him.

Accurint is a powerful database run by LexisNexis — one that contains millions of public records, court filings, licenses, addresses, phone numbers, and (as is most relevant here) social media data. That last chunk of information was integral to Officer Wilson’s scheme. The DOJ’s sentencing memorandum [PDF] recounts one of Wilson’s conversation with a potential victim.

Wilson: I’m curious which picture you’d prefer me to use as the focal point of a collage im making . . . (pictures were attached)
Victim: Who is this?
. . .
Wilson: You cool with me posting em? Im telling you, everyone will LOVE them!
Victim: How did you get these
. . .
Wilson: . . . I had planned to send your pictures to your parents, brother, grandparents, sisters, friends, facebook, pornhub, employer, etc but I would gladly keep all of this between you and I (and tell you who sent them to me) if you promise to leave me out of the drama and show me a few more pics that way we can both benefit . . .

If he did not receive the response he liked, Wilson would post the hacked content online. He also encouraged others to send him info on other potential targets, providing them with his Kik contact info. If the hack was successful, those providing these tips were rewarded with access to the hacked content. In at least one case (the DOJ has identified 25 hacking victims), the victim’s employer was sent the sexual content, which nearly resulted in the victim’s termination.

[Shyster]

[Shyster]

[Shyster]

Classic "contempt of cop" arrest. After verifying that the cane was not a gun, there was no longer even the possibility of any belief that the man was armed, and therefore no need for identification.

[MR25]

[Shyster]

More on that story:

Good Samaritan's death prompts investigation after witnesses say he was forced to ground
https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/ ... 630703007/

CENTER TWP. – An investigation is underway after witnesses say an off-duty police officer killed a good Samaritan who was assisting the victim of a local shooting.

The incident occurred while 48-year-old Kenneth Vinyard was helping the victim of a shooting in the parking lot of Center Township's Walmart Plaza on Sunday evening. Attorney Joel Sansone, who is representing Vinyard's family, said Tuesday that Vinyard was killed after a plainclothes officer confronted him and forced him to the ground, where he struck his head.

"According to eyewitnesses who we (have) spoken with, who are not (connected) to Mr. Vinyard, this was not a push: it was a takedown," Sansone said. "The officer apparently put his arm across Mr. Vinyard's chest and basically threw him to the ground, landing on top of him and bringing his weight down, which is something we just learned this morning."

State police confirmed via a press release on Monday that they are investigating Vinyard's death. As of Tuesday evening, the officer under investigation has not been publicly identified by state police or the Center Township Police Department.

"The county policy on issues arising from police use of force requires that the investigation be conducted by an outside agency," said Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier. "The state police are conducting that investigation. We also must wait for the autopsy and labs and medical issues before we make any decisions. Those labs and the medical evaluation will take several weeks. We need patience so we can do this right."

The incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. after an Aliquippa man was accused of shooting a male one time after an altercation in the parking lot between Walmart and Staples. Stores were locked down and people were advised to wait inside as authorities looked for the shooter, who police identified as 23-year-old Yeshua Bratcher.

While police searched for Bratcher, later apprehending him near Lowe's in the shopping plaza across Route 18 from Walmart, Sansone said Vinyard heard the shot and rushed to offer first aid to the male victim until first responders arrived.

"The witness I just spoke to told me (Vinyard) was amongst the people that were crowded around the victim," he said. "He had backed off, but he was continuing to try to help. According to the witness, he was in no way belligerent or inappropriate. He was simply a citizen who was attempting to render aid and to continue to be helpful."

Sansone said that as first responders arrived, witnesses saw a man approach Vinyard and ask him to back away from the scene. At the time, Sansone said this man was not in a police uniform and did not immediately identify himself as an officer.

"The police officer said to him 'back off' or something to that effect," he said. "Then he said, 'Backup or I'm going to arrest you,' as he threw him to the ground. So, the first time that Mr. Vinyard would have known that he was a police officer was as he was being thrown to the ground. If he had said 'I'm a police officer,' or 'I'm going to arrest you,' then left him alone, we believe that this would have never happened."

Original reports indicated Vinyard was fatally injured from a push from this man, but Sansone said new evidence being reviewed from witnesses indicates the action was a deliberate effort to send him to the ground.

"It was a takedown, deliberate," he said. "It wasn't just an excessive push, it was a deliberate effort to throw him to the ground. And this, in my view, may take this case from manslaughter to something more serious."

[tifosi77]

In keeping with the spirit of the thread, if not its stated name, this is some good news locally for me from Tuesday night.

Column: If California finally starts cracking down on rogue sheriffs, thank Alex Villanueva

Alex Villanueva is the absolute worst kind of bureaucratic law enforcement s**thead. He was the first Democrat elected County Sheriff in LA in well over a century, on a platform of progressive reforms that the city's law enforcement badly needed. The Sheriff can lead from the top down, and it was hoped by many that his leadership by example would influence PDs down to the municipal level.

Well.............. he spent his first (and it would seem only) term in office finding new and creative ways of abusing the power of his office and openly encouraging transgressions down to the deputy level. Just days before the election he broke the law by disseminating a direct video solicitation of campaign contributions within the LASD; like, he was on camera saying "please donate money to me, your boss". There are myriad examples of his awfulness available via the Google Machine, but such was its scope that he was not only voted out by something that will end up being close to a 2:1 margin when all is said and done, but he motivated the inclusion on the ballot and resounding passage of Measure A, which will give the LA City Council the future ability to remove an elected sheriff from office for cause.

Good riddance, you bloated simple twerp.

[Shyster]

Remember that in many states, an assault on a police dog is punishable the same as an assault on a police officer.

[Shyster]

[Joegap]

He reported that he had 20k, so wouldn't 13k only be unreported?

[Shyster]

He reported that he had 20k, so wouldn't 13k only be unreported?

Yes, yes it would.

[Shyster]

[Shyster]

[AuthorTony]

That video's still one of the worst things I've ever seen. Just horrible to watch. Last I read, the POS cop who shot him was able to take an early retirement for ptsd incurred while he murdered Shaver. Sickening.

edit: I hadn't clicked the link before posting. The article mentions the cop and his pension:

the city cut a special deal that allowed him to be temporarily re-hired so he could retire with medical benefits and a disability pension. Brailsford claimed that killing Shaver and his subsequent prosecution gave him post-traumatic stress disorder. Because of this, he will receive a monthly pension check of $2,569.21 for the rest of his life, courtesy of Mesa taxpayers.

[Ad@m]

5 officers charged after Connecticut man paralyzed in police van incident

https://www.wtaj.com/news/5-officers-ch ... -incident/

The five New Haven, Connecticut police officers involved in the incident that left Richard “Randy” Cox paralyzed in June have been arrested.

On June 19, Cox, 36, was arrested for unlawfully possessing a firearm. He was handcuffed and placed inside a police van that had no seatbelts. When the van stopped abruptly, video released by authorities shows Cox being launched headfirst toward the front of the van’s holding area and smashing his head into the wall. Cox pleaded for help and said he couldn’t move but did not immediately receive medical attention.

Some of the officers instead mocked him and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries. Then, the officers dragged him by his feet from the van and placed him in a holding cell prior to his eventual transfer to a hospital.

The incident left Cox paralyzed from the chest down.

[Shyster]

Denying qualified immunity to law enforcement officers who violate rights is a rarity. It doesn’t mean the sued cops lose. It just means they can’t dismiss the lawsuit. In theory, that means officers alleged to have violated rights will now make their case in front of a jury.

But a cop facing a jury is even more rare than an immunity denial. When government employees are faced with being judged by a jury of their peers, their employers tend to start handing out settlements. What this does is force the people they’re supposed to be serving to buy their way out of lawsuits where government misconduct might become part of the permanent record.

That is what has happened here. In May 2018, Des Moines resident and radio producer Daniel Robbins was recording illegally parked cars near the police station. Some of these illegally parked cars were driven by police officers. Detective Brad Youngblut, on his way towards his (possibly illegally parked) vehicle noticed Robbins and decided to start hassling him.

This hassling continued for about 12 minutes. By the end of it, Robbins was surrounded by police officers and no longer had possession of his cell phone and camera. The excuse given for this seizure was… well, no real excuse was given until the Youngblut and the officers were sued. This is what was said at the time:

Detective Youngblut suggested that the officers “just make a suspicious activity case . . . [and] confiscate the camera until we have a reason for what we’re doing.”

Just making some **** up, basically. Once sued, the detective claimed reported car vandalism in the area, as well as a murder of a couple of cops somewhere else in the country by a person filming them, was all the justification he needed to stop Robbins and seize his recording equipment. Also: loitering.

What was left unexplained to any court’s satisfaction was why Robbins’ property was seized and why it took the Des Moines PD 12 days to return it to him. The Eighth Circuit Appeals Court said Robbins’ Fourth Amendment allegations were credible, reversing the granting of immunity to officers by the lower court.

On remand, the district court issued a ruling aligning with the Appeals Court decision, which meant the next step for the officers would be a jury trial. But, of course, the city of Des Moines isn’t going to let that happen. Instead, it’s going to “allow” residents to pay the tab for the misconduct of these officers. (h/t Michael Vario)

The city of Des Moines is paying a $125,000 settlement to a man who was detained by police for recording video outside the police station, court records show.

The city seems a bit bitter about this, but only appears to think the judicial system is flawed, rather than the officers whose rights violations triggered this lawsuit.

“The city won this case at the district court level, which was ultimately reversed by a panel of Eighth Circuit judges,” City Manager Scott Sanders said in a statement. “While the city disagrees with the panel’s determination, it also respects the judicial process and decided to settle the case and move forward.”

To be extremely, explicitly clear, the city did not “win” at the lower level. All it did was talk a judge into granting immunity to officers who certainly appear to have violated rights. That’s not a “win” on any level. It’s the sort of thing that encourages bad cops to be worse cops and ensures that no matter what happens, it will be the general public forced to pay the bills and suffer the losses.

[Shyster]