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Home My WebLink About01-21-2003 ArticlesMan wants settlement after police scuffle The Associated Press according to a copyright story in After a verbal standoff lasting The Gasetle on Saturday. almost 90 seconds, Welch sprays An Iowa City man who claims After he was stopped in the Brooks in the face with pepper a police videotape shows him parking lot of an apartment build- spray, prompting Brooks to being assaulted by Iowa City Lng, Brooks left his car. He was scream, "l don't believe you pohce officers says he wants to ordered to get back in the car by sprayed me' and to pound both negotiate a settlement with the Welch, but failed to comply, hisfistsagalnsttheroofofhiscar city instead of file a lawsuit. "The defendant was given fivetimes. Robert M. Brooks, 50, was numerous ordem to get in iris "I want a wimeas,' Brooks tells stopped by Officer William Welch vehicle and refused," Welch said Welch. "I have not done anything on Oct. 10 for a turn signal viola- in kis report. ~The (defendant) to you~' fion and failure to yield to an had to be physically restrained The tape shows Welch stfildng emergency veblcle when Welch and Maced during the arrest." Brooks with his knee and tried to pull him over. The 13-minute police car wrestling him to the ground, but q~ckets on those two charges videotape shows Welch repeated- Brooks gets back up. have been filed in Johnson ly ordering Brooks to "have a seat Three other officers, Colin County Magistrate's Court. ~ in your vehicle," at one point Fowler, Steve Kivi and Andy A police report filed that adding, "for your sa.fety as well as Martin, arrive and Brooks is evening also alleges interference mine." punched, handcuffed and placed with official acts causing injury Breoks doesn't do what Welch in a police car. but that charge has not been filed commands, repeatedly asking: He was released without bond in Johnson County District Court, "What are you charging me with'?" after spending the night in jail. Police video 'blood-chilling' Letters policy It hurts to watch the Letters longer than opinion@press- video showing a man being pepper sprayed by an Iowa 200 words may be edit- cifizen.com, fax to City police officer. The ed for length. Lettem (319) 834-1083, mail screaras of agony from the must include a daytime to Press-Citizen, 1725 ~ured man are blo~d-ct~U- telephone number. N. DOdge St., Iowa Cil7 ing. If the officer in question E-mail to 52245. followed policy that night, then I would like to suggest a policy change that would prevent other decent citi- less, of course, being a rath- serves to know why he or zens from the kind of pain erlargeblackmanisofitself she is being detained, andin the driver of the car endured something that threataned this case the officer refused that night, the officer at a gut level that to state the reason(s). Though it is ~ue that the he wouldn't want to admit to Small changes in policy driver of the car was told in public, would include a nmadatbry manytimestogethackinbis The driver asked the explanation to a driver as to car or else he would be pep- same questions over and why he or she had been per sprayed, it is also tree over: What was he being stopped, as well as a requim- that he said and did nothing stopped for, what had he ment that an officer talk that could have been con- done wrong?. Any citizen pleasantly to a person in- strued as threatening, un- stopped by the police d~- stead of simply barking~ The Gazette, Sun., Dec, 29, 2002 3~ I~ II I III IIIIIIII1~ No complaint blt Maced man Review board cites ~r. Welch did not and queSz tioned why he had been pullet[ litigation as over. "The driver exited his ca~ possible reason ~a became confrontationai5 with the officer. Subject refused5. By Zack Kucha~skl to get back into his vehicle,"- The Gazette the police reported itl its Octo~ ' IOWA CITY -- Members of her use-of-force report. the city's Police Citizens Re- "The subject was agitate~i view Board have not received a and oppositional and was ex,~' complaint from the man claim- posed to chemical agent (pep~~! ing a police videotape shows per spray). Subject continu~i him being unnecessarily Maced to resist and was directed ~} and assaulted by po[ice during the ground, and officer a traffic stop. active countermeasures to But the absence of a corn- fect the arrest." plaint by Robert Brooks fol- Brooks continually asked the' lowing the Oct. 10 stop doesn't officer why he's appreachin~ surprise to some members of him. The officer did not tell the board, established in 1997 Brooks why he was stopped as citizen's watchdog group, until after Brooks was hand: "Generally when they are cuffed. litigating, they will want us to Tickets on the traffic charge~ wait," said John Stratton, were fried in Johnson County chairman of the five-member Ma~-,istmte's Court but hearing board. "In the case of Mr. dates haven't been set. Brooks~ Brooks, no complaint has been has not been formally charged ~eO. ff we found police had, with interference with official acted properly, it could pose a acts. Police Chief R.J. Winkel-' problem to the case," hake, and other officials, were Brooks' attorney, Davis Fos- unavailable for comment Satur- ter, told The Gazette on Friday day. his client is currently negotiat- Because a person can frle a ing an out,f-court settlement complaint with the department as an alternative to filing a or the citizen review board lawsuit against the city. following resolution of a legal Brooks, 50, of 445 Highway 1 case, it is not uncommon for a West, Apt. 15, was named in a person to wait before mak/ng a~ criminal complaint accusing complaint, Stratton said. him of interference with offi- No board members have cial acts musing i~0ury, seen the arrest video, released Iowa City patrol Officer Wfl- at The Gazette's request on liam Welch stopped Brooks in Friday, Stratton said. the parking lot of Brooks' If the group, which could apartment building for what conduct an independent inves- started as a traffic stop over tigation if a complaint were improper use of a turn signal, fried, found police acted iv_ap: After Brooks was stopped, he propriately, the group could got out of his car. Welch or- recommend procedural changes dered him to get back into the to City Council members. Police can't legitimize action Policies show hearing for this injmmfion, it Would the outcome have ~[~lllOll~Jl~ I~1l~11~ was obvious that the h~ter- The been dMferent had the citizen flxibility estsofthepolicetookprece- ~a~ been white as opposed to in e dence as noted by the re- black? I believe it would On Oct. 10, officers of the {~11~$[ 0~i]]iO]] sponse of the city attorney. · 0Il Oct. ].0, Iowa City have, sm~ply for the fact that When Foster's client took the POI[~ 0ffiCei' Bill Welch lack of diversity on the Iowa Iowa City Police Depart- stand and stated Ids masons stopped city te$idt~lt City police force contributes mentmaced and arrested an for not wanting the tape to conthmed ignorance of Iowa City citizen. Subse- dupe. Captain Jotuw, on stat- released to the public, the R0bt~rt I~. BroOks, for a and sensitivity to issues that quent to this incident, a ed in the a~icle that police city attorney's response was trafl]~ ¥iol~lt[oII. pertain to Afl'icm~-Americans minor court battle ensued investigators found no viola- merely to state to the court, · Brooks got out of the at~d other non-whites h~ this over the public's right to tion of procedttre or policy. "I have no questions." The ¢~1~, ~llld ~lftei' asking him conununity. view the police videotape of That fmdlng is hardly sup- city attorney, h~ her quest to 16 times to get back in, the arrest of the aforemen- prish-,g given that Iowa City tioned citizen. On Dec. 18, Police Department invest- appease the police depart- ment, poorly served the ~q~lCh tl$8d p~ppor spray The race of the citizen District Court Judge Larry tops rarely, if ever, f'md interests of the citizens of Off h[m. ¥¥~1~h warned he arrested in this circrm~ance Corm~ey mled that the police wrongdoingwheninvestigat- IowaCity. w011ld used the spray, aside, it is apparent that the video was a public record lng one of their ow~. Even The police videotape · Pepper spray was lack of effective communica- and as such could be dis- when the very ineffectual, showsOfficerWelchotili~ng tion sldlls on the part of the semmated, and dare 1 say impotent, extremely peer judgment in tl$od twio~ 0~1 Brooks, who arresting officer was very Upon viewing, it is obvi- Police Citizen's Review what he characterized as a then was wtostled to the evident. If the only tool you ous why the arrested citizen Board finds instances of mit~ororrouth~etmfficstop, gr0undalld ha~ldeu~od, have is a hammer, you'lllook and the Iowa City Police did excessive use of force bY Instead of taldng the time to · lhe incident was at every problem as though it not want the tape viewed by police officers, department adequately explain to the cit- the public. It is embarrass- investigators virtually al- izen why he (the cifizen) was ~¢0rded by a ¥ideo c, amera is a na~ It is incumbent upon ing, both to the arrestee and ways clear the office~s), being detained, the officer itl WelCh'S squad car. us as a corrmmnity to de- mm~d that our law enforce- to the arrestors. The tape I]~llgtll~qll~.]~ll lockedinonthefactthatthis mentpersonnel, peoplewith shows a man openly ex- citizen was not immediately the discretion to kill us if pressing lfis fear m~d that Iowa City City Attorney obeying him. I agree, for the Another officer can be heard they so detemfine, have com- fear not only being discom~t- Eleanor Dilkes went on to most part, with the state~ to say in the background, "He munication skills far ex- ed but sarcastically mini- say in the same article that, ment in the Dec. 30 article, must be wanted," providing ceeding those of an angry mized by the arresting offi- "This type of claim is an in- attributed to Penny Westphal his assessment of the citizen's child when confronted with cer(s), frequent occurrence." Again, of the Iowa Law Enforce- behavior, situations that don't fit neatly Clearly, there were mis- not a revelation. If numerous ment Academy, pertaining to Welch also repeat]edly dis- h~to the department manual. takes made by both pat~es complaints of bad treatment the need to comply with offi- missed and sarcastically min- It is unlikely, however, that in this incident: the arrested at the hands of the police cer's orders. The problem imized the citizen's assertion fids lack of communication citizen failed to realize tl~e have been fded but no actlon here is not so simply con- that he was afraid of the skills on tt~e part of some police officer's resolve in taken and officers consis- densed into a need to obey police officer. Anyone--pax- ICPD officem will effectively forch~g him (the citizen) tently cleared, who but that officer's ordem, in spite of ticularly an officer of the law be addressed as long as the back into Iris vehicle when rare individual is going to fei- attempts of those in law -- sensitive to the history of depart~nent takes the po.si- ordered. The officer failed to low through with acom- enforcement to characterize African-Americans and the fi. on that it has no problem realize that tiffs particular plaint in a system that has it that way. police in America would not m~d continues with "bush~ess citizen felt he had a fight to shown itself to be that unto- ¥~rl~! h~rll.~lllzllt? have been so quickly dismis~ as usual." stand outside of his vehicle sponsive? sive of such a serious asset- Reliance on 'standard op- and to question the officer's Ms. Dilkes' comments True, Officer Welch re- tion by a person of color fac- erating procedures' as a actions. The citizen's actions further beg the question, peatedly instructed the citi- lng imminent arrest, foundation for officer behav- were bom of ignorance; ig- "For whom does the city zen to get back in his car, but Most glaring is the appar- ior is an acceptable approach norance of police policy and att. omey work?" Obviously that repeated order fairly ent lack of consideration on to policing: inflexibility of procedure a~enda~t to rou- in fids instance, it is the Iowa stnmnanZes the extent of his the part of the police that the thought and rigidity of behav- thee tmlfic stops. Uixfortu- City Police Department. But communication to the citi- citizen's non-conforn~ing be- ior in all situations ttmt may hate as this may be, it still what happens when the zen. Further, once the sub- havior could have been be faced by officem is not. It does not excuse the actions interest of the public, the cit- ject was subdued by the caused by virtue of h~s being is long past time for our m~d behaviors of the police, izens of Iowa City, butt up addition of more officers on a law-abiding citizen. In police department to stop which were is tiffs instance against the interests of the the scene, Welch can be shop[, people who never have workh~g so hard on legitirrtiz- inappropriate to the situa- police department? When heard yellh~g and berating been arrested or hadnegative ing and defenditg abhorrent [ion. Davis Foster, counsel for the the now arrested citizen in a contact with the police fre- officer behavior and take Thc police ate purported arrested citizen at issue here, sarcastic and condescending quently do not know how to positive steps to improve the to be professionals, andcon- filed an injm~cfion against tone. At various points, behave when faced with the qualityofpolicinginourcity. trary to the comments in tl~e city to prevent pub]ic dis- Welch states that he (thecit- prospect of arrest or at the Antt~ny A. Haughton is Dec. 30's Press-Citizen by semination of the police izen) was irresponsible, least, hostile, non-commu- p,esident of the Robert police administrator Matt videotape, the public inte~: caused the problem and that nicative police officers. A Charies Foundcttion and a Jolmson, they are sub3ect to est ran head-on into the he (Welch) hoped the citizen quick check would have re- Ph.D. (history) and JD a standard that tra~scends h~terestofthepo]icetokeep had a good lawyer "cause he vealed tiffs citizen had no (law) candidate at the mere stated policy or proce- the tape suppressed. At the was going to need one." record. University of Iowa. Sunday, Belinda Stewart. managing editor Phone: 337-3/8:L ext. 680 Rob Bignell, editorial page editor E-mail: opinion~ January 5, Daniel W. Brown, market development director pre~en.com Tricla DeWall, assistant managing editor Fax: 834-1083 · - * ' Cheryl L Taylor, account executive Iowa City Press Cittzen 2003 Lucille Hernandez Gregory, community member Our view Consensus of the Press-Citizen editorial boaYd Review board must examine Mace incident Last week, an Iowa City impa~ally invesUgate and declined to send the matter stop plac~ themselves in adjusted would go a long ~cord and could be' police video of an incident take action on what has to the.review board the spotlight, way h~ prevenUng similar released not just to the! in which an African-Ameri- become a significant con- Such rulings very well Despite having seen the incident~ media but to any ci~zer. can accuses an officer of Iwoversy in [owa Cit~. Do may invalidate a process video, this it is not the 0me We hope that police But there is more to this ~ excessive use of force was police use force too fie- intended to improve police ~o judge Officer Welch's already are considerhg the case than jus~ a 13-minute: released to the public, quently, and then too exces- relations and policies wi~ actions or Brooks' allega- case along those line~ As video of the arrest~ The. ThecSp, shot by a dash- sively, when dealing with thepublic, lndeed, thisisan' ~Jons. Thatraustbelef~toa forfl~ereviewboar6 offer- review board -- not an, board camera in the offi- arresmes? In the video, offi- oppommity for fl~e review cotux of law and the review lng such an impagdal analy- internal invesfi~aUon done, cer's squad car, is a public cer Bill Welch twice pepper board to assert itseff as a board, sis -- besides determining by one side or the hagglingI record and rightfully should sprayed 50-year-old Robert potent government body. Cleariy, however, the guilt or innocence -- would between lawyers in an out-. be available to afl Who want Brooks after Brooks failed Though complaints of incident escalated to a state be a significant mov~ of-court deal -- is the to see it. However, the fail- to follow repeated orders to excessive force are rare in that neither Welch nor And wtfile t~e discussion appropriate place to ferret: ute of the Police C'~izens get back into his car, which Iowa City, a board bxgely Brooks wanted, of the case will go on in the out those facts. Review Board to examine was stopped for a Iraffic seen as ineffectual lnadver- Determining why a man court of public opinion, Anydthg less than l the allegaUons likely means violaUol~ tentiy may be deraUing the stopped for a simple traffic suchajurymmosteffecUve involvement by the mviewl public opinion about local An internalpolice invesU- filing of such mpor~. When vio]aUon behaved as he di& when all facts are unveiled, board only rinses questions ] law enforcement will go un- gaUon determined that a city government gains a why the officer responded For that reason, we applaud about the legitimacy of such] heeded. Welch di~' not violate de- reputation as uncaring as he did, and as to how District Court Judge Larry a board and of public faithl The much-criticized parm~ent policies. In No- about public concerns, police public relations and Conmey's Dec. 14 ruling in city government's inten-I board has m~ opporttmity to vember, the City Council wronged citizens generalty policy might accordingly be that the video was a public Uons. ' Marian Karr From: Hector. W.Soto~phila.gov Sent: Fdday, December 06, 2002 8:03 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NYT[mes.com Article: Shaming the Shield SRFC822.eml This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by hector.w.soto@phila.gov. Shaming the Shield December 5, 2002 By BOB HERBERT Michael Silvestri is a veteran New York City police detective who is on trial in federal court in Manhattan for his alleged association with a Mafia crime family. The trial will determine if the allegations are true. But I'm not surprised that Detective Silvestri is entangled in this mess. The guy's no genius. One of his misadventures, an especially dangerous one, occurred last year when he was the lead detective investigating a holdup and attempted murder in Brooklyn. A man was shot during the holdup and almost died. Although cops nabbed what law enforcement sources came to believe were the "guilty parties" a few hours after the shooting, Detective Silvestri focused the investigation on someone else. That resulted in the arrest, months later, of an innocent man. The thugs who actually pulled the holdup and shot the victim were never prosecuted. The crime occurred on Jan. 12, 2001. A pair of gunmen confronted two men, Bryant Gonzalez and Bart Kuczewski, at a construction site in the Red Hook neighborhood. The holdup was botched but one of the gunmen shot Mr. Gonzalez in the abdomen. The gunmen then fled. Soon after the shooting the police found a stolen car that had been abandoned a few blocks from the crime scene. Later that night officers arrested two men in a different stolen car. A handgun matching the caliber of the gun used to shoot Mr. Gonzalez was seized during that arrest. I have no idea what Detective Silvestri knew about the stolen car incidents. What I know is that his investigation went in a different direction, one that led to the arrest of a hapless 24-year-old named Edward Bussey. Mr. Bussey swore he knew nothing about the crime. He had been at home playing a video game, he said. But Mr. Gonzalez, still in very bad shape from the bullet wound, identified Mr. Bussey as the man who had shot him. Mr. Bussey was indicted and held on Rikers Island pending trial. The cops continued to look for the second gunman, who, according to the victims, had a large scar on the right side of his face. After several months, the case against Mr. Bussey began falling apart. A cigarette butt had been found in the stolen car that was abandoned a few blocks from the crime scene. A DNA test ordered by the office of the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles Hynes, connected the butt to an ex-convict named Frederick Williams. Mr. Williams just happened to be one of the men arrested in the stolen car on the night of the crime with the gun that is believed to have been used in the holdup. The man arrested with him had a large scar on the right side of his face. Meanwhile, Mr. Gonzalez was having doubts about his identification of Edward Bussey. He told investigators he couldn't be sure. It turned out that Detective Silvestri, in a violation of proper investigative procedure, had given Mr. Gonzalez a photograph of Edward Bussey before Mr. Gonzalez picked Mr. Bussey out of a lineup. Ail of this took a year or more to unfold. By the time investigators had come around to the idea that Mr. Williams and an accomplice should be charged with the holdup and attempted murder, it had become very difficult to put together a successful prosecution. Mr. Gonzalez was unable to identify Mr. Williams. And while the DNA evidence on the cigarette suggested that Mr. Williams had been in the stolen car found near the scene of the crime, it did not put him at the crime scene itself. The charges against Mr. Bussey, who had spent several months in jail, were dropped. His lawyer, a former Legal Aid attorney named Jose Rios, told me, in an understatement, "We were lucky that guy left a cigarette butt behind." But Mr. Williams was never charged with the crime. Nor was the man with the scar. It wasn't long, however, before Mr. Williams was arrested in another case and pleaded guilty to robbery in the first degree. He would not have been able to com~it that crime if he had been nailed in the construction site case. Mr. Williams faced up to 25 years in that case and was supposed to have been sentenced yesterday. But his lawyer succeeded in getting an adjournment to allow Mr. Williams to reconsider his guilty plea. As for Detective Silvestri, his trial on charges that he worked for a mob family and helped cover up a cousin's role in a fatal shooting continues. http://www.nytimes.com/2OO2/12/O5/opinion/O5HERB.html?ex 1040093669&ei=l&en= 3b5acc5667791da7 HOW TO ADVERTISE For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The 2 New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company *~ eSafe scanned this email for malicious content ~*~ *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders Marian Karr From: P[ttinger, Beth [Beth. Pittinger@city.pittsburgh.pa.us] Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 $:21 AM To: 'NACOLE Update' Subject: [NACOLE Update] CPRB Flashpoint for Confrontation Councilmen O'Connor, Udin exchange vitriolic accusations Friday, December 06, 2002 -- Mike Bucsko (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) City Councilmen Bob O'Connor and Sala Udin yesterday engaged in a heated exchange over the role of race in police department hiring. The encounter occurred during a budget hearing in City Council Chambers when council members ostensibly discussed the upcoming budget of the Citizens Police Review Board. However, there was little discussion of the board's budget, but extensive questioning by O'Connor of board Executive Director Elizabeth Pittinger over police hiring procedure. At one point, O'Connor said to Pittinger, "You stereotype everybody. No wonder the cops have so many problems with you." At the end of O'Connor's questions, Udin apologized to Pittinger for O'Connor's "unfair and unscrupulous attacks" and then chastised O'Connor for finally discovering the issue of civil rights. O'Connor cursed at Udin and complained that Udin did not criticize the police when 120 new officers were hired without any blacks. "Ail you ever brought up was opposition," Udin shot back. "Now you're a'civil rights advocate." "If we had some African-American leaders, maybe we could do something," O'Connor said. "Maybe you'll be our African-American leader," Udin replied as he left the room. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 12:04 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: IN^COLE Update] CA- Police false complaint law upheld Police complaint law upheld By Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs Writer Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, December 6, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court Thursday upheld a state law making it a crime to knowingly file a false complaint against a peace officer. Another state law covers false reports accusing anyone of a misdemeanor or felony. But only police are protected against milder complaints under a provision enacted a decade ago in response to mounting reports of police misconduct, including many perceived to be false. The state Court of Appeal in Ventura had struck down the law, saying the constitution doesn't allow a ban on speech against police but not, for example, firefighters or teachers. The Supreme Court said the distinction was justified because state law also requires investigation and record-keeping only when police are the subjects of complaints. "No one has a constitutional right to make a complaint of misconduct knowing both that the complaint must be investigated and that it is false," Justice Ming Chin wrote for the unanimous court. The defendants, Shaun Stanistreet and Barbara Atkinson, were convicted of falsely accusing an Oxnard police officer of lewd conduct at a gathering for at-risk youths. Their American Civil Liberties Union lawyer, Dan Tokaji, said, "The decision if allowed to stand will chill truthful citizen complaints of police abuse." He said the decision conflicts with federal court rulings and will be appealed to a federal court. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 12:10 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] IN - Cameras protect both cops&citizens police car monitoring Video cameras secure evidence 40 additional squad cars to be equipped with devices By Tom Spalding tom.spalding@indystar.com December 06, 2002 More than 40 new police car cameras will soon be on the roads in Indiana and Marion County -- an increase that authorities say will protect officers and the public. The video cameras provide an "unambiguous record" of what transpires when a car is stopped, one expert said, a record that keeps officers accountable while preventing false claims of police misconduct -- and providing key evidence in court. Nationwide, incidents of white police officers beating black suspects this summer -- in Inglewood, Calif., and Oklahoma City -- put more urgency behind the drive for police car cameras. Indiana hasn't had such high-profile incidents but capitalized on grants awarded in November by the U.S. Department of Justice. The agency's Community Oriented Policing Services handed out $3 million for 747 in-car video cameras. That money went to 21 state police agencies -- including the Indiana State Police. Since 1995, the program has spent $18.2 million for more than 4,300 in-car video cameras nationwide. The price of a camera system -- $4,600 or more -- remains high enough to make it difficult for police departments to outfit entire fleets, even with federal help. "I think if we all had video cameras, you could reduce internal affairs complaints over 90 percent, because some of them are unfounded," said Deputy Chief Bart McAtee of the Marion County Sheriff's Department, "and the officers are going to pay attention to what they are saying and doing." He'd love to have cameras in all of the department's 225 patrol cars. As it is, the department will expand from six cameras to as many as 11 by year's end. About half of the state trooper fleet of 600 cars already have the devices, with the federal grant to equip 32 more. The Indianapolis Police Department has 20 of its roughly 1,000 cars equipped with cameras, mostly for drunken-driving patrols and traffic enforcement. Four more will be coming to the drug interdiction unit, to combat drug trafficking in and out of the city. Typically, the systems involve a camera mounted on the inside of the front windshield that is connected to a videocassette recorder in the trunk. It begins recording automatically when an officer turns on the car's emergency lights or sirens. It also can be activated at any other time the officer wants. While few oppose the increase in cameras, some worry the cameras could be left 1 off when film could raise questions about police conduct or investigations. There have to be "very clear rules" as to the videotaping -- when and how long the recorder stays on, the sound quality, and who has access to it. In some cases, it may be the officer who can open the machine, but many departments keep the recorders locked, and only supervisors have keys. Even then, the images may leave some questions unanswered. Because the cameras usually are activated only after sirens or lights come on, recordings may not show what caused an officer to suspect a problem to begin with. That's one reason agencies need to become better at using the cameras, according to Indianapolis defense lawyer Tom Shirley. He had a client who pleaded guilty in a drunken-driving case that involved a videotape. Shirley obtained the arrest video but said it was little help. The conversation between the suspect and a law enforcement officer was inaudible because music played in the background. "I'd like to have them on all cases," Shirley said. "It tells the story." Marion County Chief Public Defender Dave Cook agrees; the cameras are backed by civil rights leaders, too. "I think it's a public safety issue for everybody's protection," said Joseph A. Slash, CEO of the Indianapolis Urban League. "It provides some degree of safety of the officers; the people know there's a recording made during a stop." Patrolman Phil Halicoat of the Indianapolis Police Department used his camera Tuesday as he followed and then stopped a driver, eventually writing a $110 traffic ticket. He believed the motorist drove the wrong way on 30th Street near Meridian Street. Had something gone wrong during the incident, the images were recorded for later review. "Not a lot to it," Malicoat said. But he likes the certainty the camera provides. Otherwise, if the motorist "wanted to take me to court and fight it, it'd be my word against him," said Malicoat, 50, who has been using a camera since the spring. "It's you capturing the after-effects of the major incident you just had." Which is exactly what watchdog groups like about the cameras. "It's an objective way of resolving citizens' complaints and something in addition to the 'he-said, she-said' scenario," said Merrick Bobb, executive director of the Police Assessment Resource Center in Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization that advises local governments on ways to improve police accountability. "Cameras in the car will be like computers in the car," predicts Indianapolis Public Safety Director Robert Turner. "I think it's just a trend that's going to increase." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 12:41 PM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] PA - UPenn civilian review debate continues Civilian review board debated Council representatives brought the issue of civilian review of police back into the spotlight. By Anna Haigh December 05, 2002 The debate over creating a civilian review board was revisited by students and administrators at a University Council meeting last night. The call for a board to consider civilian complaints against Penn Police began last January after the alleged racial profiling against then-College senior Dimitri Dube. Three students were then appointed to the Division of Public Safety Advisory Board, which some minority coalition leaders believed would create a civilian review board, said Shaun Gonzales, the political chairman for the United Minorities Council. Gonzales said the coalitions were then told that creating a civilian review board "wasn't possible" because of stipulations in the labor contract between Penn and police that prevented civilians from interviewing police officers, an act necessary for potential reviews by a civilian review board. UMC member and Advisory Board appointee Alex Breland resigned last month, because the UMC did not want to give "a false impression that the Advisory Board is a solution to the problem," Gonzales said. UMC and Asian Pacific Student Coalition representatives brought the issue to the Council hoping it would reconsider the need for a civilian review board. Minority coalitions were also concerned that because the advisory board met annually, there was not as much "frequent access to the complaints" as students expected, Gonzales said. The coalitions hope to see a copy of the contract between Penn and police and hear Penn's position on the issue again. They will renew meetings with Division of Public Safety Advisory Board Chairman Dennis Culhane and Division of Public Safety Vice President Maureen Rush. The Council steering committee also plans to consider the issue. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: Malvina Monteiro [mmonteiro@Spike. CI.Cambridge. MA. US] Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 3:15 PM To: NACOLE Update (E:mail) Subject: [NACOLE Update] Former US attorney denies protecting FBI informants By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff, 12/6/2002 During a day of blistering questioning by a skeptical congressional committee yesterday, a former US attorney insisted that he did not protect FBI informants James ''Whitey'' Bulger and Stephen ''The Rifleman'' Flemmi from a sweeping race-fixing indictment in the 1970s. Speaking publicly for the first time on the case, Jeremiah T. O'Sullivan, former chief of the New England Organized Crime Strike Force, said he didn't believe he had enough evidence to charge the pair, even though he suspected they were killers. The decision allowed them to rise in the local underworld while their cohorts in the Winter Hill gang went to prison. O'Sullivan testified before the House Con~ittee on Government Reform, which is holding hearings in Boston to investigate the FBI's mishandling of informants dating back to the 1960s. Although he was called to testify in 1988 at federal court hearings that exposed the FBI's corrupt relationship with Bulger and Flemmi, he never appeared. O'Sullivan suffered a heart attack and two strokes in 1998 that he says have left him with permanent memory loss and unable to practice law. Insisting that he did not protect Bulger and Fle~hmi, O'Sullivan said he later teamed up with the State Police to target the pair in an organized crime case and was ''berated'' by the agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office for going after their informants. O'Sullivan admitted that he had confided to a State Police official that it might be ''political suicide'' for him to have sided with local law enforcement against the FBI. O'Sullivan told the committee, ''With the FBI, if you go against them they'll try to get you. They'll wage war on you. They'll cause major administrative problems for you as prosecutors.'' Indiana Republican Daniel Burton, who chairs the committee, and virtually all of the members who grilled O'Sullivan at the Suffolk County Courthouse said they found it hard to believe O'Sullivan's contention that he didn't have enough evidence to indict Bulger and Fle~i in the race-fixing case. The case, built with the cooperation of master race-fixer Anthony Ciulla, resulted in convictions against 20 of the 21 men charged, and sent the hierarchy of the Winter Hill Gang to prison. ''I can't understand why you'd let them off the hook,'' said Burton, noting that Ciulla's uncorrorborated testimony had convicted another high-ranking Winter Hill Gang member. O'Sullivan's testimony also contradicts sworn testimony in federal court hearings by disgraced FBI supervisor John Morris, who testified under immunity. Morris said that he and FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. persuaded O'Sullivan to drop Bulger and Fle~uni from the race-fixing case because they were informants. Yet O'Sullivan contended that he had decided that he didn't have enough evidence to indict the pair before the agents approached him. He also suggested the agents wanted Bulger and Flemmi to believe they had protected them. O'Sullivan said he'd tried to pursue Bulger and Flemmi, and even asked the FBI to remove their longtime handler, Connolly, from his position as the FBI's liaison to the prosecutor's office. Connolly was convicted of racketeering in May for colluding with Bulger and Flemmi in crimes and is serving a 10-year prison term. ! Fellow committee members Stephen Lynch of South Boston and John Tierney of Salem, both Democrats, and Republican Christopher Shays of Connecticut also voiced skepticism about O'Sullivan's testimony. So did Democratic US representatives William Delahunt of Quincy and Martin Meehan of Lowell, who were invited to participate in the session. O'Sullivan was also grilled about a federal investigation he oversaw that cleared Bulger's brother, University of Massachusetts president William Bulger, of any wrongdoing in a 1991 real estate deal involving the development of 75 State Street in Boston. A real estate developer had accused William Bulger's former law partner of extorting $500,000 from him. While William Bulger received some of the money, he later returned it and said it was a loan. O'Sullivan, who was then acting US attorney, testified that he was asked to review the case after Bulger had already been cleared following state and federal investigations. Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 12/6/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Malvina Monteiro [mmonteiro@Spike. CI.Cambridge. MA. US] Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 3:21 PM To: NACOLE Update (E-mail) Subject: [NACOLE Update] Bulger to appear - but may not talk Legal bids fail; he seeks delay to pursue appeal By Thanassis Cambanis, Globe Staff, 12/6/2002 After a flurry of unsuccessful legal moves on the eve of his required appearance before a congressional committee investigating FBI wrongdoing, University of Massachusetts president William Bulger yesterday agreed to attend the hearing this morning, if only to reiterate a request for postponement while he asks a federal appeals court for immunity. It appeared unlikely last night that Bulger will answer any questions before the committee. ''I have concerns about letting my client go under oath in two different forums to answer the same questions, thereby putting him unfairly in harm's way~'' said Bulger's lawyer, Thomas R. Kiley, in a statement lest night. In April 2001, Bulger testified before a federal grand jury about a contact with his fugitive brother, James ''Whitey'' Bulger. Any discrepancy between that testimony and what he might tell the congressional committee could lead to perjury charges. Bulger's lawyers spent yesterday in a swirl of efforts to protect the former state Senate president, who has been subpoenaed to testify before the congressional committee scrutinizing the Boston FBI office's handling of top-echelon organized crime informants, including Whitey Bulger. The lawyers were rebuffed at every turn. Kiley asked in a letter to the US House Co~nittee on Government Reform to postpone Bulger's appearance or let him testify in private. Meanwhile, in US District Court, Bulger's lawyers asked a federal judge to release the secret minutes of Bulger's grand jury testimony last year. They also asked US District Judge Douglas Woodlock to extend to Bulger the immunity from prosecution he had before that federal grand jury. Both requests were denied. Woodlock ruled that the congressional committee hearing today is separate and unrelated to the criminal grand jury proceedings last year, and so Bulger's immunity agreement with federal prosecutors did not apply to the congressional investigation. The committee chairman~ US Representative Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican, said yesterday that the members had voted to deny Bulger's request for a closed hearing. ''I think this is an issue that needs to be illuminated for the people of Massachusetts,'' Burton said. ''We've decided that this issue ought to be discussed before a public hearing.'' In opening remarks at yesterday's hearing, Burton said he had not made the decision lightly to call Bulger and the committee doesn't plan to make unfair allegations. ''Our purpose is not to embarrass him,'' Burton said. ''I think there are a number of fair and legitimate questions that ought to be asked, and that's what we plan to do.'' Through spokesmen, Bulger promised to attend the hearings, but his spokesman Doug Bailey, when asked whether Bulger would answer questions or assert his Fifth Amendment right not 1 to testify, said, ''We don't know what's going to happen.'' If the congressional committee doesn't postpone its hearing pending Bulger's appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Bailey added, ''He's going to exert all his rights and privileges.'' ''It appears he's tryimg to delay his appearance,'' said Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for the committee. The Globe reported this week that Bulger testified for two hours before a federal grand jury in 2001 about contact he had with his gangster brother after Whitey Bulger fled a federal indictment in January 1995. Bulger told the grand jury that he did not urge his brother to surrender to face a federal racketeering indictment, that he did not know where his brother is now, and that he felt no obligation to help authorities bring him in. William Bulger was subpoenaed to testify today before the committee after he indicated he would not appear voluntarily. In addition, Rethmeier said, ''The committee will not grant Mr. Bulger any immunity for tomorrow's hearings. The committee intends to ask Mr. Bulger any questions it has.'' Whitey Bulger is wanted for 19 murders on racketeering charges, but has eluded federal authorities for seven years. He is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. William Bulger told the grand jury he spoke to his brother only once, early in 1995, and advised him not to turn himself in. Bulger, a lawyer, said he was giving his brother legal advice - a statement that might invoke attorney-client privilege. If William Bulger's testimony under oath today differs from his previous statements, federal prosecutors could bring him back before a grand jury and possibly even charge him with perjury. Federal prosecutors already have charged another Bulger brother, John, with perjury for allegedly lying about his contact with Whitey Bulger since he's been a fugitive. In a three-hour emergency hearing in federal court yesterday, Bulger's attorney argued for the immediate release of the 2001 testimony, contents of which have been reported in the Globe. Bulger is ''figuratively between a rock and a hard place,'' Kiley wrote in his petition to Woodlock. ''If his testimony before the Congressional Committee, although truthful, differs from the transcription of his testimony before the grand jury, the United States Attorney's Office can prosecute [Bulger] for perjury,'' Kiley wrote. Furthermore, Kiley argued, Bulger must have access to the transcript in the interest of fairness, especially if the congressional committee intends to base questions on that testimony. In denying the motion, Woodlock said there was no compelling reason to violate the secrecy of the grand jury, even though the transcript has already been leaked to the media. Oames Wilson, chief counsel to the committee, attended the court hearing but took no position on release of the transcript. Burton already had criticized the leak, however, and Wilson said the committee was not in possession of the grand jury testimony. ''We don't have it, we haven't seen it, and we've already gone on record saying this isn't the way we think business should be done,'' Wilson said In a letter to the congressional committee received yesterday afternoon, Kiley told the co~uuittee Bulger would request a closed hearing in order to preserve ''all rights and 2 privileges available to him,'' but intended no disrespect to the inquiry. Shelley Murphy of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 12/6/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Malvina Monteiro [mmonteiro@Spike. Cl. Cambridge. MA. US] Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 3:30 PM To: NACOLE Update (E-mail) Subject: [NACOLE Update] Officer, victim's son blast the FBI THE WHEELER MURDER By Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff, 12/6/2002 The son of a slain Oklahoma businessman and the detective who was frustrated for 20 years in his quest to solve the murder told a congressional committee yesterday that they suffered profoundly from the FBI's misconduct in handling James ''WhiteyTM Bulger and Stephen Flemmi. David Wheeler and Tulsa Police Detective Sergeant Michael Huff, who were brought together by the 1981 execution-style murder of Roger Wheeler Sr., testified before the House Committee on Government Reform in a special session in Boston. ''I am deeply concerned that to date, little has changed at the FBI,'' Wheeler testified. ''I speak for my family and other families of people who were murdered or falsely imprisoned and who have come forward with claims against the government - we want the truth to come out. ''We encourage Congress to continue this investigation into the next session,'' he said. ''No one else will take this issue up and it is too important to let die.'' Wheeler's father was shot between the eyes as he got into his Cadillac at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa in May 1981. Bulger and Flemmi have been charged with ordering the killing after the confessed hit man, John Martorano, became a government witness. But in the two decades preceding those indictments, the FBI and Justice Department officials stonewalled and sabotaged the murder investigation to protect Bulger and Flemmi, who were valued members of the FBI's Top Echelon Informant Program, said Wheeler and Huff. Wheeler said his father had great faith in the FBI. In fact, Wheeler said his father had doubts about buying a stake in World Jai Alai, from which Bulger and Flemmi's gang was skimming funds, until he learned that several of the executives of the Miami gaming company were former FBI agents. Wheeler was killed to prevent him from discovering the skimming, prosecutors say. Several panel members appeared sympathetic to Wheeler's story. Committee chairman Daniel Burton, an Indiana Republican, put his face in his hands as Wheeler recounted how he and his family dealt with the murder's aftermath. ''I found myself having to be an intermediary between my mother and the funeral home. She kept wanting to see him and they kept asking for more time,'' Wheeler said. ''Finally they said to me: 'Do you realize where he was shot?' That's when I started to lose control.'' In his testimony, Huff recounted two decades of trying to solve the crime He said one episode - a July 1982 meeting with former New England Organized Crime Strike Force chief Jeremiah O'Sullivan - rocked his faith in federal law enforcement. Huff said O'Sullivan told him that FBI agent John Connolly had financial dealings with Bulger and that former agent H. Paul Rico - one of the executives at World Jai Alai - frequently socialized with members of the gang Huff was so upset by the remarks that when he returned to Tulsa, he wrote a report listing both Connolly and Rico as associates of Bulger's Winter Hill gang. ''I couldn't imagine law enforcement using cold-blooded killers like that, letting them run loose like vicious animals,'' Huff said. ''That July meeting was an ending of innocence in my career in law enforcement. I had never seen such a cesspool of corruption.'' 1 O'Sullivan, in a separate appearance before the committee yesterday, denied making such statements to Huff. Connolly was later convicted of racketeering conspiracy for his relationship with Bulger and Flemmi. Huff said the FBI and the pair worked together to plant false leads in the Wheeler case. ''So much time was wasted; they had us off chasing ghosts,'' he said. ''This has been 21 years of my life.'' Wheeler and Huff faced a receptive audience yesterday. The six US congressmen at the hearing thanked them for their testimony, and Burton pledged the committee's help in the Wheeler family's $800 million wrongful death suit against the US government. Ralph Ranalli can be reached at ranalli@globe.com. This story ran on page B7 of the Boston Globe on 12/6/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of 4 Marian Karr From: Marilyn Head [corpus@evl.net] Sent: Sunday, December 08, 2002 2:11 PM To: Amnesty International, Martin Baer; C-Cubed Institute - New Directions in Corrections Conf.; Common Cause Texas, CCHolt; Keys of Hope; Moratorium 2000; NOW- Houston area; Physicians for Social Responsibility, Wayne Shandera; ProTex list serve; Rainbow Houston; NACOLE; NAACP, Yolanda Smith; ACLU Houston Chapter; Stehanie D. Weber; UH Students United for Peace Subject: Addressing civilian concerns-police accountabiliy HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www. HoustonChronicle.com I Section: Viewpoints, Outlook Sunday, Dec. 8, 2002 Missing in action: HPD Crisis Intervention Team By MARILYN HEAD and ARLENE KELLY On Nov. 23, Rachel Michelle Taylor, 28, planned to commit "suicide by cop." According to the newspaper report, she called police to her home about 3 p.m. that Saturday pretending to be her mother, complaining of problems with her daughter. Houston Police Department officers who responded to the call sought the assistance of a supervisor. However, a rookie officer with only 11 months experience on the police force granted Taylor her death wish. According to the report, "when Taylor aimed the weapon at them, officer R.R. Lara fired one shot that hit the woman in the abdomen. She died later at Ben Taub Hospital." So, where was HPD's Crisis Intervention Team? The history of the evolution of the Crisis Intervention Team dates back to 1993. Articles in the Houston Chronicle addressed the necessity and praised the growth of the CIT when it was begun in June 1999. The program has been called a valuable tool for patrol officers in the handling of individuals experiencing a mental crisis. HPD refers to CIT as "an example of policing for the 21 st century." On March 1, 2000, HPD Chief C.O. Bradford announced the CIT program would be expanded throughout the city. Betsy Schwartz, executive director of the Mental Health Association, praised the day. Dr. Greg Riede, director of psychological services for HPD, called it "a revolution" for folks who suffer mental illness. Prior to the announcement, it was not uncommon to see articles by Houston Chronicle columnist Thom Marshall asking some tough questions. After a knife-wielding psychiatric patient was shot and killed by a patrol officer in January 1999, the headline on Marshall's column read, "So where were the sergeants?" He was referring to approximately 450 patrol sergeants who had received 16 hours of training in how to identify and interact with people in mental-health crises. Police department policy requires a sergeant, as well as two patrol officers, to respond to such situations. In an earlier column relating to the same incident, Marshall asked the question of whether a police officer was justified in shooting someone. "Were any policies not followed? Are policy changes needed? Would additions or changes in training possibly make a difference next time?" He said 12/9/02 Page 2 of 4 those questions "must be asked and answered every time it happens." About one month later, Bradford announced the formation of a Critical Incident Review Group to study some past police shootings and recommend changes in policy, training or departmental philosophy that could improve police handling of similar calls. HPD chose not to include civilians or non-police members in the review group. In another column, referring to the group's purpose, Bradford grandly stated, "The big picture is how police are deploying deadly force in America and a piece of that puzzle is what are we doing as police officers when we're confronted with people we know are mentally ill or they are distressed. I believe police officers are going to have to remember that our job is to protect and preserve life." Mayor Lee P. Brown said, "I support Chief Bradford's formation of a Critical Incident Review Group ... Our outreach programs such as these are ongoing as we continue to try to educate ourselves and those we serve." City Council backed the CIT program, a 40-hour curriculum and spent tax money to purchase nonlethal weapons of control. In 2000, all HPD officers attended an eight-hour de-escalation course, which is now required of all police cadets. According to Bradford, by December 2001, the training had included 712 HPD officers and 203 peace officers from around Harris County. By May 2002, the Houston Police Department had the largest CIT program in the nation. This training reportedly has helped save lives and resulted in officers persuading hundreds of people to seek mental health assistance. Newspaper articles relating to the successful use of beanbag shotguns, taser guns and other less-lethal weapons replaced negative publicity previously associated with police killings of mentally ill persons. Calls for civilian oversight of the HPD and civilian input into the Critical Incident Review Group were muffled by the mayor, City Council, the chief of police and the news media in Houston. However, known encounters between HPD and mentally ill persons do not indicate that CIT is the success it is reported to be when life-threatening situations develop. In a survey of news stories on such shootings, in the three years prior to starting the CIT program, HPD officers killed four, injured two and resolved one incident without injury. In the three years since the CIT program was started, according to news stories, HPD officers have killed six, injured one and resolved three incidents without injury. Now there are more questions that need to be asked. Why is the mortality rate for police encounters with the mentally ill higher today than it was before CIT was formed? Was the rookie officer who used lethal force justified in shooting Rachel Taylor? Did he receive the eight-hour de-escalation course and CIT training? Were policies not followed? Are policy changes needed again? Would additions or changes in dispatch practices and CIT training t 2/9/02 Page 3 of 4 possibly make a difference the next time? How do we hold HPD accountable? Would civilian input into the Critical Incident Review Group and civilian oversight of the HPD have made a difference? Should we expect the best from our police department, hold them acountable or settle for less? Head is the president of Corpus Justice, a nonprofit organization working for civilian oversight of police departments, www.corpusjustice.org Kelly is a founder and member of Civilians Down, a support group for families who have had a loved one killed by police, www.civiliansdown.org Both live in Houston. NOTE: I met Belinda Taylor, mother of Rachael Taylor and Mrs. Jan Rencmer, wife of the man recently shot by another rookie officer in November (who has survived) yesterday. Both women had called the police for HELP with a distraught family member. I think it is time to take the idealistic "protect and serve" sign down and replace it with a more accurate motto many police officers seem to uphold...."intimidate, dominate, control." You would not believe the civil rights violations and practices of police officers after the shooting incidents occurred. How the mother and wife were removed from the presence of their loved one as they lay dying on the ground, held for questioning, ordered around, and denied information on the condition of their loved one as the police conducted their "investigation" for hours and hours. Mrs, Rencmer was locked in a police car for over four hours, separated from her children, a daughter just turned 18 and a son 16. Both children saw the shooting of their father. They were placed in separate patrol cars and questioned without the guidance or comfort of their mother. Later, Ms. Taylor and Mrs. Rencmer were required to "make a statement" at police locations without legal council before being released from police custody. Ms. Taylor's daughter was dead by this time, and Mrs. Rencmer was not allowed to visit her husband in the hospital because he was considered an "inmate." She was given the phone number of another officer who could give such permission, but he denied it when she called. Later-on, after her lawyer was able to contact the officer the permission for a visit was finally granted. I have been told by a co-worker who visited the family of Rodney Ali Baldwin that the same type of events occurred when Deputy Luis Figueroa shot Rodney to death on the 11-04-02. By the way, Deputy Figueroa is the same officer who shot Ralph Reiner Myers in the police chase reported yesterday. Arlene Kelly tells me her info from HPD shows he shot someone around Aug-Sept 2000 as well. Deputy Luis Figueroa has shot three civilians as a four year Sheriff's Department veteran. Actually, "where was the CIT" question, etc. is just the tip of the iceberg. We have to investigate what happens after a shooting incident occurs? How are family members treated? Do police officers follow expected policies and procedures? What are those policies and procedures? Why are the police so intent on keeping everything secret? Why are witnesses treated like criminals and their civil rights denied? Can we really depend on the investigations of police officers to be unbiased and truthful considering their attitudes and actions at the scene of an incident? Are we all susceptible to continued patterns and practices of civil rights violations that exceed our 12/9/02 Page 4 of 4 worst nightmaire...in parking lots of Kmart, city streets, and our own front yards? So, what will it take for the general public and legislators to realize that independent civilian investigations into similar incidents would help provide a check and balance non-existent in our justice system at this time? Do we let the police "rule" ...or shall we consider... Establishment of a statewide Commission or Ombudsman Office to facilitate police accountability.independent of city government offices, police departments, or other policing bodies. The commission or ombudsman could be appointed by the governor ... with requirements on experience, advice, and consent by the Senate. Legislation would include (along with the powers listed in Rep. Wilson's House Bill 712) the power to receive complaints, to perform investigations (including those on Civil Service Commission rulings, the District Attorney's office, Grand Jury proceedings), and make recommendations. To be equitable, the commission must have the law enforcement power to make arrests. Employees of the Commission would serve under the direction of the Board or Ombudsman Reports and recommendations would be to the Governor, Senate, municipal offices, law enforcement departments, and general public. Let's restore "protect and serve." Democracy, based on liberty and justice for all, depends on an active civilian invovement in our criminal justice processes supported by represenatives who will address our concerns. There are many issues we must deal with. This is one we must not let slip by because of our involvement elsewhere. Please, take the time to respond to a survey we will be sending out soon. Sincerely, Marilyn Head 12/9/02 Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Sunday, December 08, 2002 3:01 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] LA Officers Linked to Death of Teen; Dropped Him In Rival Gang Tug December 8, 2002 LATimes Officers Linked to Death of Teen [] LAPD patrolmen failed to report dropping off a gang member near rivals' turf shortly before he was killed, D.A. report states. Prosecution ruled out. By Matt Lair and Scott Glover, Times Staff Writers Two Los Angeles police officers sought to cover up their contact with a 16-year-old gang member who was shot to death on the border of a rival gang's territory just minutes after the officers released him from their patrol car, according to a district attorney's review of the case. Neither officer, one of whom was accused of dropping off the same youth in rival gang territory as punishment a month earlier, documented the encounter with the victim on the day he was killed. "It appears, based on this investigation, that [the officers] intentionally withheld information from the homicide detectives, internal affairs investigators and their chain of command,'! wrote Deputy Dist. Atty. Laura L. Laesecke, who investigated the officers as part of the Rampart scandal. "Not only does their lie obstruct justice, but it also calls into question the veracity of the rest of their ... statements" about the case. Ultimately, Laesecke concluded that the officers could not be prosecuted for obstructing justice because the best evidence against them came from so-called compelled statements in which they were ordered to cooperate with authorities or face termination from the Los Angeles Police Department. Such statements cannot be used in court against those who made them. Additionally, Laesecke wrote, the statute of limitations on such a charge had expired. Both officers, Marlo Rios and Michael Montoya, deny any wrongdoing and remain on the job. Montoya, now assigned to the community relations office in Northeast Division, seemed resigned to the criticism he and other officers have faced in the wake of the Rampart scandal. "This is not the first bad thing that's been said about me. They're not true," Montoya said in a recent interview. "But what can be done about it?" Montoya and Rios, now assigned to Southeast Division, were charged administratively by LAPD officials with making false statements about the case during an internal affairs investigation. They were cleared of wrongdoing after they presented a declaration from a retired homicide detective who said he recalled Montoya mentioning that he knew the victim as a police informant, but did not remember whether the officer acknowledged having any contact with him on the day he was killed. The detective refused to testify at the officers' hearing. In a recent interview with The Times, he declined to comment at length, saying only that he could not recall what the officers told him about their interaction with Eric Vega, known on the streets as "Baby Happy." The incident, which was documented along with more than 80 other cases recently rejected for prosecution by the district attorney, came to light as part of the investigation into the Rampart scandal, launched in 1999 following the admissions and allegations of corrupt ex-cop Rafael Perez. The Vega case itself, however, was never mentioned by Perez. Instead, investigators came upon it as they looked into allegations of officer misconduct in another Rampart case. According to police reports, Montoya and Rios were working an "observation post" in the 1200 block of South Lake Street on Nov. 5, 1996, looking for suspicious gang or drug activity, when they spotted Eva Garcia dealing drugs. Based on their ! 2/9/02 Page 2 of 3 observations, other officers from the Rampart anti-gang CRASH unit swooped in and arrested her. What the police reports do not state -- and what officers admitted years later during compelled interviews with detectives - - was that while Garcia was being arrested, Vega arso was handcuffed and put in the back of Montoya and Rios' squad car. The officers said later that Vega was not arrested but actually was a police informant who wanted to pass on information to them. He was handcuffed, the officers said, only so that his fellow gang members would not become suspicious of his cooperation. After a few minutes of driving around with Vega in the car, the officers said, they concluded that Vega did not have any significant information and asked him where he wanted to be dropped off. Vega, they said, asked to be let out near a gang hangout known as El Castillo, where his mother was staying. The officers said they dropped him off there. Moments later, at 4:39 p.m., Montoya and Rios received a radio call about a shooting. Within a minute, they were at the scene -- the first officers to arrive. The victim, they discovered, was Vega. The killing occurred on the border of a rival gang's territory and was a couple of blocks from where the officers allegedly released Vega. Witnesses later implicated a rival gang member in the killing, but no arrests have been made. Montoya said he told a sergeant and the lead homicide detective that night about their contact with the shooting victim. Like the detective, the sergeant said in a recent interview that he had no recollection of any such conversation. Unaware of Vega's death, his mother and girlfriend went to South Lake Street looking for him about 6 p.m. that day. A neighborhood resident told them Vega had been arrested. They then went to the Rampart station, but were told there was no record of his arrest. The next day Vega's mother went to Juvenile Hall to find her son, but there was no record of him being there either. When she returned home, she later told police, she learned that her son had been killed shortly after he was taken away by officers the previous day. Suspicious of the timing, Vega's mother and his girlfriend returned to the police station and claimed that officers were somehow connected to the youth's death. It was at that point that Vega's girlfriend also said she was with her boyfriend about a month earlier when Rios and another officer put Vega in the back of their squad car and drove off. She said she saw her boyfriend about two hours later, his shirt torn and a frightened look on his face. She said Vega told her the officers gave him a choice: get dropped off in territory of the Mara Salvatrucha gang or the Rockwood gang, both rivals of his 18th Street gang. He said he chose Rockwood. After Vega got out of the car, he allegedly said, the officers shouted to two of his rivals that Vega was from 18th Street. He told his girlfriend that the gang members chased him and managed to rip his shirt but did not catch him. In her analysis of the events surrounding Vega's murder, prosecutor Laesecke raised a series of questions about the officers' accounts. If they dropped off Vega at El Castillo, where his mother was, why did he then walk from there toward Pice Boulevard, a well-known border between his gang's territory and that of a rival? And how was it that he found himself in a life- threatening struggle "within five minutes" of being dropped off by the police? The prosecutor also noted that the two officers did not document their contact with Vega in any of the reports they generated that day, a violation of department policy. "Montoya and Rios completed their [daily report], Eva Garcia's arrest report and their report as first officers on the murder scene afterVega was killed and, therefore, were aware at the time the reports were written of the significance of their contact with him," she wrote. "Nevertheless, they omitted his name and any reference to any contact with him from each of those reports." Finally, the prosecutor was skeptical of the officers' claim that they told a supervisor. For one thing, Laesecke noted, there is no mention of the officers' contact with Vega in the homicide report prepared by Det. John Curiel. And on the day after Vega's killing, in a tape-recorded interview with the victim's girlfriend, Curiel can be heard asking the young woman for basic information, such as the location of the arrest, a description of the officers involved and the reason for the arrest. "If [Curiel] was already aware of Montoya's and Rios' involvement, it seems logical that he would have also asked Garcia 12/9/02 Page 3 of 3 some questions based on the information given to him by the officers or at least tried to reassure her that the officers were not involved in Vega's death," she continued. Gary Wigodsky, an alternate public defender who has been specializing in Rampart cases, said the officers' conduct described in the district attorney's memo is "outrageous." He noted that most of the officers interviewed during the investigation had very little recollection of the incident. "That's a telltale sign," he said. "You know something fishy happened when they can't remember anything." 12/9/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 7:11 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] More on Calif Sup Ct Upholding Police Complaint Law Calif Supreme Court upholds police complaint law DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer Friday, December 6, 2002 ©2002 Associated Press SF GATE (12-06) 00:19 PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The California Supreme Court unanimously upheld a state law that makes it a crime for citizens to knowingly lodge false accusations against police officers. The seven-member court said Thursday the law, enacted after a flood of complaints against officers following Rodney King's 1991 taped beating, does not violate free speech guarantees under the Constitution. Civil rights groups said the ruling could chill people from making legitimate complaints against officers because they may fear police, who investigate themselves, would retaliate and press prosecutors to file criminal charges. "1 have no doubt it would have this effect," said Alan Schlosser, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which urged the court to strike down the 1995 law. Ventura County prosecutor Michael Schwadz., who asked the court to uphold the law, said the decision should not hinder people from making legitimate complaints. "It only prohibits deliberate lies," Schwartz said. "Before a person can be convicted, the prosecutor would have to be convinced that the person was not only wrong but was lying." The court's decision from Justice Ming W. Chin reinstates the misdemeanor conviction of a Ventura County couple prosecuted in 1998 for falsely accusing an Oxnard police officer of exposing himself to about 50 at-risk teenagers at an awards banquet run by the department's Activities League. The Oxnard Police Department said it investigated the couple's allegations and could not corroborate them. The Ventura County district attorney charged Barbara Atkinson and Shaun Stanistreet for filing a false complaint. The two were convicted by a jury of a law carrying a maximum six-month jail term. They served a 30-day sentence and appealed. They have vigorously maintained the allegations against the officer were true and are being covered up. "Just because they're the California Supreme Court, they cannot throw out the First Amendment to protect corrupt police officers," said Atkinson, who will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. A state appeals court had reversed the conviction on grounds the couple had a guaranteed right of speech. The lower court ruled that barring speech against police officers was unconstitutional because false accusations targeting firefighters, elected officials or most anybody else is not a criminal violation. But the state Supreme Court said free speech guarantees take a back seat when it comes to police officers. The potential harm to them from false reports could damage an officer's credibility and even waste police resources investigating the complaints, the court said. The damage that could be done to police officers, the court added, is akin to the potential harm of a terrorist threat against the nation's president, which is a violation of federal law. "Just as the government may criminalize only threats of violence against a specific victim, the president, so too may the Legislature criminalize only knowingly false accusations against a class of victims -- peace officers," Chin wrote. 12/9/02 Page 2 of 2 The court's decision, meanwhile, may revive charges in a related Solano County case. Last year, a judge dismissed charges against two women who complained about a California Highway Patrol officer. The women were driving to Reno, Ney., and were stopped by an officer on suspicion of speeding. They complained the officer was discourteous. After reviewing a tape recording of the stop, the CHP said the officer had acted professionally and deemed the complaint false. The case decided Thursday is People v. Stanistreet, S102722. ©2002 Associated Press 12/9/02 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2002 8:45 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] America Under Surveillance December 10, 2002 New Tools for Domestic Spying, and Qualms By MICHAEL MOSS and FORD FESSENDEN hen the Federal Bureau of Investigation grew concerned this spring that terrorists might attack using scuba gear, it set out to identify every person who had taken diving lessons in the previous three years. Hundreds of dive shops and organizations gladly turned over their records, giving agents contact information for several million people. "It certainly made sense to help them out," said Alison Matherly, marketing manager for the National Association of Underwater Instructors Worldwide. "We're all in this together." But just as the effort was wrapping up in July, the F.B.I. ran into a two-man revolt. The owners of the Reef Seekers Dive Company in Beverly Hills, Calif., balked at turning over the records of their clients, who include Tom Cruise and Tommy Lee Jones even when officials came back with a subpoena asking for "any and all documents and other records relating to all noncertified divers and referrals from July 1, 1999, through July 16, 2002." Faced with defending the request before a judge, the prosecutor handling the matter notified Reef Seekers' lawyer that he was withdrawing the subpoena. The company's records stayed put. "We're just a small business trying to make a living, and I do not relish the idea of standing up against the F.B.I.," said Ken Kurtis, one of the owners of Reef Seekers. "But I think somebody's got to do it." In this case, the government took a tiny step back. But across the country, sometimes to the dismay of civil libertarians, law enforcement officials are maneuvering to seize the information-gathering weapons they say they desperately need to thwart terrorist attacks. From New York City to Seattle, police officials are looking to do away with rules that block them from spying on people and groups without evidence that a crime has been committed. They say these rules, forced on them in the 1970's and 80's to halt abuses, now prevent them from infiltrating mosques and other settings where terrorists might plot. At the same time, federal and local police agencies are looking for systematic, high-tech ways to root out terrorists before they strike. In a sense, the scuba dragnet was cu~uersome, old-fashloned police work, albeit on a vast scale. Now officials are hatching elaborate plans for dumping gigabytes of delicate information into big computers, where it would be blended with public records and stirred with sophisticated software. In recent days, federal law enforcement officials have spoken ambitiously and often about their plans to remake the F.B.I. as a domestic counterterrorism agency. But the spy story has been unfolding, quietly and sometimes haltingly, for more than a year now, since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Some people in law enforcement remain unconvinced that all these new tools are needed, and some experts are skeptical that high-tech data mining will bring ! much of value to light. Still, civil libertarians increasingly worry about how law enforcement might wield its new powers. They say the nation is putting at risk the very thing it is fighting for: the personal freedoms and rights embodied in the Constitution. Moreover, they say, authorities with powerful technology will inevitably blunder, as became evident in October when an audit revealed that the Navy had lost nearly two dozen computers authorized to process classified information. What perhaps angers the privacy advocates most is that so much of this revolution in police work is taking place in secret, said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which represented Reef Seekers. "If we are going to decide as a country that because of our worry about terrorism that we are willing to give up our basic privacy, we need an open and full debate on whether we want to make such a fundamental change," Ms. Cohn said. But some intelligence experts say that in a changed world, the game is already up for those who would value civil liberties over the war on terrorism. "It's the end of a nice, comfortable set of assumptions that allowed us to keep ourselves protected from some kinds of intrusions," said Stewart A. Baker, the National Security Agency's general counsel under President Bill Clinton. Tearing Down a Wall The most aggressive effort to give local police departments unfettered spying powers is taking place in New York City. It was there 22 years ago that the police, stung by revelations of widespread abuse, agreed to stop spying on people not suspected of a crime. The agreement was part of a containment wall of laws, regulations, court decisions and ordinances erected federally and in many parts of the country in the 70's and 80's. The F.B.I.'s spying authority w6s restricted, and the United States' foreign intelligence agencies got out of the business of domestic spying altogether. States passed their own laws. On the local level, ordinances and consent decrees were enacted not just in New York but also in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle. In the years since, these strictures have "become part of the culture," Mr. Baker said. But the wall is under attack. Last month, a special appeals court ruled that the sweeping antiterrorism legislation known as the U.S.A. Patriot Act, enacted shortly after the September 2001 attacks to give the government expanded terror-fighting capacity, freed federal prosecutors to seek wiretap and surveillance authority in the absence of criminal activity. In Chicago last year, a federal appeals court threw out the agreement that restricted police surveillance. Some officials in Seattle would like to follow suit, saying they are effectively sidelined in the terrorism war. In New York, the Police Department has sued in federal court in Manhattan to end the consent decree the department signed in 1980 to end a civil rights lawsuit over the infiltration of political groups. Attorney General John Ashcroft and New York's police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, say the wall is a relic -- unnecessary and, worse, dangerous. David Cohen, the former deputy director of central intelligence who is now the Police Department's deputy commissioner for intelligence, argues that the consent decree's requirement of a suspicion of criminal activity prevents officers from infiltrating mosques. "In the last decade, we have seen how the mosque and Islamic institutes have been used to shield the work of terrorists from law enforcement scrutiny by taking advantage of restrictions on the investigation of First Amendment activity," Mr. Cohen said in an affidavit. 2 The police in other cities cite the same need. "We're prohibited from collecting things that will make us a safer city," said Lt. Ron Leavell, commander of the criminal intelligence division of the Seattle police. Mr. Cohen did not argue in his affidavit that the authorities, if unshackled, could have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks. But he did suggest that the F.B.I.'s failure to dig more deeply into the information it had before the attacks turned on agents' fears that they could not climb the wall. "The recent disclosure that F.B.I. field agents were blocked from pursuing an investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui because officials in Washington did not believe there was sufficient evidence of criminal activity to support a warrant points out how one person's judgment in applying an imprecise test may result in the costly loss of critical intelligence," Mr. Cohen said. Mr. Cohen has also asked that his testimony before the federal court be given in secret, unheard even by opposing lawyers. Last week, a judge told New York City that it needed to present better arguments to justify such extraordinary secrecy. Civil libertarians, frustrated that they cannot draw the other side into a debate, argue that questions about the need for such expanded powers are critical, and far from answered. "Who said you have to destroy a village in order to save it?" asked Jethro Eisenstein, one of the lawyers who negotiated the original consent decree. "We're protecting freedom and democracy, but unfortunately freedom and democracy have to be sacrificed." Even the police are far from unanimous about how intrusive they must be. The Chicago police, who have been free from their consent decree for nearly two years, say they have yet to use the new power. The Los Angeles police have made no effort to change their guidelines. "I have not heard complaints that the antiterrorist division has been inhibited in its work," said Joe Gunn, executive director of the Los Angeles Police Commission. A joint Congressional inquiry into intelligence failures before Sept. 11 concluded that the failures had less to do with the inability of authorities to gather information than with their inability to analyze, understand, share and act on it. "The lesson of Moussaoui was that F.B.I. headquarters was telling the field office the wrong advice," said Eleanor Hill, staff director of the inquiry. "Fixing what happened in this case is not inconsistent with preserving civil liberties." 'It Smacks of Big Brother' The Congressional inquiry's lingering criticism has added impetus to a movement within government to equip terror fighters with better computer technology. If humans missed the clues, the reasoning goes, perhaps a computer will not. Clearly, the F.B.I. is operating in the dark ages of technology. For instance, when agents in San Diego want to check out new leads, they walk across the street to the Joint Terrorism Task Force offices, where suspect names must be run through two dozen federal and local databases. Using filters from the Navy's space warfare project, Spawar, the agents are now dumping all that data into one big computer so that with one mouse click they can find everything from traffic fines to immigration law violations. A test run is expected early next year. Similar efforts to consolidate and share information are under way in Baltimore; Seattle; St. Louis; Portland, Ore.; and Norfolk, Va. "It smacks of Big Brother, and I understand people's concern," said William D. Gore, a special agent in charge at the San Diego office. "But somehow I'd 3 rather have the F.B.I. have access to this data than some telemarketer who is intent on ripping you off." Civil libertarians worry that centralized data will be more susceptible to theft. But they are scared even more by the next step officials want to take: mining that data to divine the next terrorist strike. The Defense Department has embarked on a five-year effort to create a superprogram called Total Information Awareness, led by Adm. John M. Poindexter, who was national security adviser in the Reagan administration. But as soon as next year, the new Transportation Security Administration hopes to begin using a more sophisticated system of profiling airline passengers to identify high-risk fliers. The system in place on Sept. 11, 2001, flagged only a handful of unusual behaviors, like buying one-way tickets with cash. Like Admiral Poindexter, the transportation agency is drawing from companies that help private industry better market their products. Among them is the Acxiom Corporation of Little Rock, Ark., whose tool, Personicx, sorts consumers into 70 categories like Group 16M, or "Aging Upscale" -- based on an array of financial data and behavioral factors. Experts on consumer profiling say law enforcement officials face two big problems. Some commercial databases have high error rates, and so little is known about terrorists that it could be very difficult to distinguish them from other people. "The idea that data mining of some vast collection of databases of consumer activity is going to deliver usable alerts of terrorist activities is sheer credulity on a massive scale," said Jason Catlett of the Junkbusters Corporation, a privacy advocacy business. The data mining companies, Mr. Catlett added, are "mostly selling good old-fashioned snake oil." Libraries and Scuba Schools As it waits for the future, the F.B.I. is being pressed to gather and share much more intelligence, and that has left some potential informants uneasy and confused about their legal rights and obligations. Just how far the F.B.I. has gone is not clear. The Justice Department told a House panel in June that it had used its new antiterrorism powers in 40 instances to share terror information from grand jury investigations with other government authorities. It said it had twice handed over terror leads from wiretaps. But that was as far as Justice officials were willing to go, declining to answer publicly most of the committee's questions about terror-related inquiries. Civil libertarians have sued under the Freedom of Information Act to get the withheld information, including how often prosecutors have used Section 215 of the 2001 antiterror law to require bookstores or librarians to turn over patron records. The secrecy enshrouding the counterterrorism campaign runs so deep that Section 215 makes it a crime for people merely to divulge whether the F.B.I. has demanded their records, deepening the mystery -- and the uheasiness among groups that could be required to turn over information they had considered private. "I've been on panel discussions since the Patriot Act, and I don't think I've been to one without someone willing to stand up and say, 'Isn't the F.B.I. checking up on everything we do?' "said John A. Danaher III, deputy United States attorney in Connecticut. Several weeks ago, the F.B.I. in Connecticut took the unusual step of revealing information about an investigation to dispute a newspaper report that it had "bugged" the Hartford Public Library's computers. Michael J. Wolf, the special agent in charge, said the agency had taken only 4 information from the hard drive of a computer at the library that had been used to hack into a California business. "The computer was never removed from the library, nor was any software installed on this or any other computer in the Hartford Public Library by the F.B.I. to monitor computer use," Mr. Wolf said in a letter to The Hartford Courant, which retracted its report. Nevertheless, Connecticut librarians have been in an uproar over the possibility that their computers with Internet access would be monitored without their being able to say anything. They have considered posting signs warning patrons that the F.B.I. could be snooping on their keystrokes. "I want people to know under what legal provisions they are living," said Louise Blalock, the chief librarian in Hartford. In Fairfield, the town librarian, Tom Geoffino, turned over computer log-in sheets to the F.B.I. last January after information emerged that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers had visited the area, but he said he would demand a court order before turning over anything else. Agents have not been back asking for more, Mr. Geoffino said. "We're not just librarians, we're A~ericans, and we want to see the people who did this caught," he said. "But we also have a role in protecting the institution and the attitudes people have about it." The F.B.I.'s interest in scuba divers began shortly before Memorial Day, when United States officials received information from Afghan war detainees that suggested an interest in underwater attacks. An F.B.I. spokesman said the agency would not confirm even that it had sought any diver names, and would not say how it might use any such information. The owners of Reef Seekers say they had lots of reasons to turn down the F.B.I. The name-gathering made little sense to begin with, they say, because terrorists would need training far beyond recreational scuba lessons. They also worried that the new law would allow the F.B.I. to pass its client records to other agencies. When word of their revolt got around, said Bill Wright, one of the owners, one man called Reef Seekers to applaud it, saying, "My 15-year-old daughter has taken diving lessons, and I don't want her records going to the F.B.I." He was in a distinct minority, Mr. Wright said. Several other callers said they hoped the shop would be the next target of a terrorist bombing. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/Zistinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 5 From: Paul Uyehara <PUyehara@clsphila.org> To: Soto, Hector <Hector. W. Soto@phila.gov> Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2002 12:57 PM Subject: FW: NYTimes.com Article: With Video Games, Researchers Link Guns to Stereotypes ..... Original Message ..... From: Mary Yee [mailto:myee@phila.k12.pa.us] Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2002 12:03 PM To: PUyehara@clsphila,org; Kazzie1997@ao!~com; oliviaha@sas, upenn.edu; spitwad910@ao!,com; jmcnamar@mail,phi!a~k12,pa~ us; jtedesco@mai!~phi!a~k12,pa,us; basbury@mai!~phi!a,k12.pa,us; myee@mail.pbila.k12.pa.us Subject: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: With Video Games, Researchers Link Guns to Stereotypes >Sender: articles-email@~ 1.!ga2.nytimes.com >Reply-To: m~y~e@phila, k12.pa.us >From: myee@phila~k 12.~)a. us >To: myee@phila.k12,pa~us >Subject: NYTimes.com Article: With Video Games, Researchers Link >Guns to Stereotypes >Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 11:43:20-0500 (EST) >X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.15 >Status: > >This article from NYTimes.com >has been sent to you by myee@phila.k12.pa.us. > > > >With Video Games, Researchers Link Guns to Stereotypes >December 10, 2002 >By ERICA GOODE > > > > >Asked to make split-second decisions about whether black or >white male figures in a video game were holding guns, >people were more likely to conclude mistakenly that the >black men were armed and to shoot them, a series of new >studies reports. > >The subjects in the studies, who were instructed to shoot 12/10/02 Page 2 of 5 >only when the human targets in the game were armed, made >more errors when confronted by images of black men carrying >objects like cellphones or cameras than when faced with >similarly unarmed white men. The participants, who in all >but one study were primarily white, were also quicker to >fire on black men with guns than on white men with guns. > >"The threshold to decide to shoot is set lower for >African-Americans than for whites," said Dr. Bernadette >Park, a professor of psychology at the University of >Colorado at Boulder and an author of a report on the >studies to be published today in The Journal of Personality >and Social Psychology. > >The difference was not large. But the findings mesh with >other research indicating that unconscious biases, possibly >instilled by the news media, advertising or other cultural >influences, can shape behavior, even when people do not >consciously endorse such biases. Studies suggest that those >hidden stereotypes or attitudes are often activated in >situations where people are forced to respond quickly and >automatically. > >In the video game, photographs of men standing or crouching >against a variety of backgrounds appeared suddenly on the >screen. Some men held guns. Others held objects like >cellphones, cameras, wallets and aluminum cans. The >participants had to press one button quickly to "shoot" or >another button if they decided that the man was not >dangerous. > >"We wanted to ask a very basic question," Dr. Park said. >"Does the normal public show a differential association of >violence with blacks as opposed to whites?" > >The study involved college students and adults recruited at >shopping malls, bus stations and food courts in Denver. > >Dr. Park said she and her colleagues had decided to >undertake the study because of the 1999 shooting of Amadou >Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant who was killed in >the doorway of his apartment building in the Bronx by >police officers who mistook his wallet for a gun. > >But Dr. Park said that it was not possible to conclude from >the studies' findings that unconscious bias was at play in >the Diallo shooting or other cases like it. > >Research inspired by controversial events has a long >history in social psychology. For example, the murder in >1964 of Kitty Genovese, stabbed to death in Queens while 38 >witnesses disregarded her cries, gave rise to many studies 12/10/02 Page 3 of 5 >of behavior by bystanders. >Dr. Park said police officers might be less likely than the >studies' subjects to show unconscious bias, because of >their training. But it may also be true, she added, that >police officers are no less vulnerable than the population >at large. >Dr. Anthony G. Greenwald, a professor of psychology at the >University of Washington, and two colleagues will publish >findings next year in The Journal of Experimental Social >Psychology that confirm and extend the findings of Dr. Park >and her colleagues. > >In that study, college students took the role of police >officers in a virtual reality game in which armed or >unarmed men emerged from behind a trash bin. The students >were told that some of the men were "criminals," that >others were fellow officers and that still others were >"citizens." They were instructed to shoot the armed >criminals, to press a button to "save" the officers and to >do nothing when they saw citizens, who held harmless >objects like flashlights or beer bottles. The study imposed >a strict time limit. >As in the Colorado study, the subjects were more likely to >shoot black men incorrectly than white men and less likely >to distinguish guns from other objects when held by blacks >rather than whites. >Numerous studies over the last 30 years have found that in >ambiguous situations, blacks are more likely to be >perceived as violent than whites performing the same >actions. In one study, the subjects saw two men engaged in >a discussion in the course of which one man lightly pushed >the other's shoulder. When a black man pushed a white man, >the action was described by the subjects as violent. When >the situation was reversed, the push was perceived as >"playing." >Dr. Greenwald and Dr. Park said their findings did not >necessarily reflect conscious prejudice. > >"We live in a sea of associations," Dr. Greenwald said. >"Lots of people have the automatic race stereotypes, but >far fewer people are what we would call prejudiced, if we >understand prejudice as intentional discrimination against >some group." >In recent years, Dr. Greenwald and Dr. Mahzarin R. Banaji, >a professor of psychology formerly at Yale and now at >Harvard, have studied hidden biases about race, age and sex 12/10/02 Page 4 of 5 >using an "implicit association test" that appears to tap >such unconscious stereotypes and attitudes. > >In the tests, they have found that most people are quicker >to press computer keys in response to words and pictures >that go together in a cultural stereotype than they are in >response to words and pictures that go against a cultural >stereotype. > >People taking the test on race, Dr. Greenwald and Dr. >Banaji said, are often upset at having displayed biases >that they neither agreed with nor approved of. > >Some researchers have said there might be alternative >explanations for the findings. The researchers have a Web >site, www.tolerance.org/hidden_bias/, that lets visitors >take a series of online tests of hidden biases. > >In the Colorado studies, the researchers found that >subjects' scores on a measure of racial prejudice were not >linked with their performance in the shooting task. In one >study, black participants were also more likely mistakenly >to shoot unarmed black targets and were quicker to shoot >black targets holding guns. > >Dr. Park said those secondary findings were preliminary and >needed to be confirmed by further research. > >Unlike Dr. Park, Dr. Greenwald said he thought that results >of both studies might have a bearing on police officers' >actions. > >"1 don't think police have to be prejudiced in order for >them to show these kinds of false alarms," he said. > >He added that officers might "need training to prevent them >from allowing these automatic processes to get in the way >when they have to act in a hurry." >But in the journal article, Dr. Park and her colleagues, >Joshua Correll, a graduate student, and Dr. Charles Judd, >both of the University of Colorado, and Dr. Bernd >Wittenbrink of the University of Chicago, noted that >officers might be less likely to act on automatic >associations, because they were often trained to >distinguish quickly whether someone was holding a gun >rather or another object. > >"It is not yet clear that shooter bias actually exists >among police officers," they wrote. "Examining these sorts >of effects in a sample of police officers is of the utmost >importance." 12/10/02 Page 5 of 5 > >http:llwww.nytimes.com120021121101health/psychology110RACE.html?ex=10405386 00&el= 1 &en=2fa0f37c81 b8a149 > > > >HOW TO ADVERTISE >For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters >or other creative advertising opportunities with The >New York Times on the Web, please contact >onlinesales@nytirnes.com or visit our online media >kit at http://www, nytimes.com/adinfo > >For 9eneral information about NYTimes.com, write to >help@nytimes.com. > >Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company Mary Yee Office of Compliance, Research and Policy 21st Street and the Parkway, Rm. 408 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-299-7375 215-299-7487 (fax) 12/10/02 Marian Karr From: Hector. W.Soto@phila.gov Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2002 3:20 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Stamp to mark 'noncitizen' on photo IDs for foreigners This Story has been sent to you by : hector.w.soto@phila.gov Stamp to mark 'noncitizen' on photo IDs for foreigners Ail Pennsylvania driver's licenses or photo identification cards issued to foreigners will be stamped "noncitizen" and will be timed to expire with entry visas, according to antiterrorism provisions of a law signed yesterday by Gov. Schweiker. The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/4705133.htm(c) 2001 inquirer and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 8:48 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Oakland CA misconduct trial continues 'Riders' trial still weeks from end testifies in police abuse case> By Glenn Chapman STAFF WRITER Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - OAKLAND -- The four-month long misconduct trial of three Oakland police officers dubbed "The Riders" likely will stretch into early next year. On Tuesday, the last of several men allegedly abused by the officers told his story. A slew of other witnesses, some of them police officers, have yet to be called to the stand by Assistant District Attorney David Hollister in the case against fired Oakland cops Clarence "Chuck" Mabanag, Jude Siapno and Matthew Hornung. The legal team representing the accused officers lists about 60 potential witnesses, including Police Chief Richard Word, who could be summoned. Mabanag, 37, Siapno, 34, and Hornung, 31, face a litany of criminal charges, including allegations they falsified reports to frame suspected drug dealers or justify injuries they caused through heavy-handed tactics. Siapno and a purported Riders leader, Francisco Vazquez, also are accused of carting two handcuffed prisoners to isolated spots and beating them up. Vazquez is being sought by authorities, who believe he fled the country to avoid trial. Shumar Dorners testified Tuesday that he was in a night dice game outside a church at loth and Center streets July 3, 2000 when police converged on him and his companions. Dice players dispersed as the officers bounded from unmarked cars, Dorners said. Vazquez, now 46, ordered a fleeing player to the ground, then got astride the man and punched him in the face, Dorners said. Vazquez then smacked Dorners and shoved his head into a wall, the witness said. Vazquez told me since I'm bigger, he would do me worse," Dorners said. Vazquez turned on another detainee and announced "(Joe) Samuels isn't chief any more," then kicked the man in the ribs, Dorners said. The men corralled by police were herded along 10th Street to a spot near an iron fence. Vazquez found a cache of crack cocaine in a bush at the base of a tree near where the handcuffed men were sitting, Dorners said. Vazquez and other officers discussed who to arrest for possessing the drugs, Dorners said. Rodney Mack, 21, testified Tuesday he was the hapless dice player fingered to take the fall for the drugs. Mack said he was carrying marijuana and $591 that night, but not the rock of crack cocaine Vazquez allegedly feigned plucking from Mack's jacket pocket. Defense attorney Mike Rains, his voice rising at times, charged that Mack was peddling rock cocaine at the drug hot spot and tried to run from police. Mack denied the accusation, and said he was safeguarding the wad of cash for 1 his sister, who had a boyfriend she didn't trust. Vazquez played a game with Mack, offering to free Mack if he knew how much the 56 bills of currency totalled. Mack guessed wrong, he said. Neither Mack nor Dorners identified Mabanag, Siapno or Hornung as being among the officers with Vazquez. Mack spent about a month in jail before agreeing to a deal in which he pleaded guilty and was released from custody. During cross-examination, Rains brought out Mack modified his version of events over time and had a criminal history that includes being caught with 25 rocks of cocaine. I just had it," Mack said when Rains asked him whether he was selling crack at that time. "I found it. I wasn't selling it." Tuesday's testimony was the last the jury will hear until proceedings resume Dec. 17. Dorado has informed jurors court will not be in session Christmas week. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 8:51 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Ticonderoga NY - 2 Officers Arrested, suspended 12/10/02 Ticonderoga Town Police officers suspended following their arrest By LOHR McKINSTRY, Staff Writer TICONDEROGA Two Ticonderoga Town Police officers were suspended from duty Sunday after their arrests for allegedly giving alcohol to a 17-year-old girl in Glens Falls. Daniel J. Charlton, 36, and Robert W. King, 28, both of Ticonderoga, were each charged with unlawfully dealing with a child, a misdemeanor. They were issued appearance tickets for Glens Fails City Court in Warren County and will be arraigned this afternoon. The two men are alleged to have gone to Glens Falls while off-duty in early July, met a 17-year-old girl with whom they were acquainted and allegedly purchased alcoholic beverages for her. The girl told her mother the police officers bought her alcohol, and her mother recently called State Police. The arrests were made by Investigator Phillip Arsenault of State Police at Westport. Ticonderoga Town Police Chief Jeffre~ Cook said Charlton and King were immediately suspended from duty pending a departmental investigation. Under State Civil Service law, they were suspended with pay for up to 30 days. Ticonderoga Town Supervisor Robert Dedrick said the town has commenced Civil Service disciplinary proceedings against the two officers. A disciplinary hearing is set for Wednesday afternoon, Dedrick said, but will be closed to the public. "There are two possibilities we could pursue: to either suspend them from duty for a period of time or dismiss them," Dedrick said. "If they are found guilty, I couldn't support keeping them on the force." Dedrick said he and town officials are conferring with North Country Labor Relations Associates of Lake Placid on how to proceed. King started with the Ticonderoga force in 2000 and Charlton in 1997. Both formerly worked for the Essex County Sheriff's Department. Neither Charlton nor King has a listed telephone number. They could not be reached for comment Monday. It's not the first time the department has been involved in accusations of misconduct. The town fired its previous chief of police in 1998 and a veteran patrolman in 1996 after sexual-harassment charges were brought against them in separate incidents. Both have maintained their innocence. Two other officers were suspended for three days in 1999 after they admitted using their personal handguns to shoot a fish they caught while off-duty. Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k. net Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 8:54 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NorwichCT - Policy changes to address misconduct Saturday, December 7, 2002 Cop policy aims to prevent misconduct By JENNY BONE MILLER Norwich Bulletin NORWICH -- One year after a police scandal involving photos of nude women, improper overtime documentation and drinking on the job, city police have adopted policies to prevent similar occurrences. A 19-page city police department report obtained by the Norwich Bulletin Friday calls for caution when police recruit minors, specifically for special operations such as underage drinking stings. The recommendations, compiled by Deputy Chief Warren Mocek, also include stricter bookkeeping for overtime and special investigation accounts and more oversight in the detective division. "The police department adopted some of the recommendations immediately after it happened," City Attorney Hal Calmar said. "This document ia a codification of those recommendations and a few other things. Like wine and good violins, these things take time." After allegations surfaced a year ago, the Norwich Police Department launched an internal investigation that found Lt. James F. Daigle took nude and seminude photos of young women whom he recruited for underage, undercover drinking stings. The investigation also determined that Daigle and other officers purchased and sometimes drank alcohol during the stings, and that Daigle improperly documented overtime for himself and others. Daigle, who had been on paid leave since Dec. 7, 2001, eventually was fired in June. Three other officers were suspended for violating police department policies and procedures. The procedural recommendations, approved by the police department, city officials and city attorneys, include: Guidelines for use of minors in underage liquor operations, including the methods and procedures for recruiting them. The policy specifically states minors should not be recruited from the Norwich area. One of the women who accused Daigle of taking nude pictures of her, Kristen Ejchorszt, lives in Norwich. Body microphones should be used only outside clothing of those participating in undercover operations. Only officers of the same sex as civilians should take photos before or after undercover operations. More complete and accurate overtime reporting, including a new overtime form. Better record keeping involving the special investigations fund, including annual audits. Review and retraining of officers, specifically with the departments sexual harassment and substance abuse policies. 1 "Familiarization with the sexual harassment policy and the simple exercise of co~non sense should eliminate any further issues regarding the taking, display, discussion or possession of photographs of nude, semi-nude or scantily clad persons while on duty and/or on department premises," the report states. "Likewise, review of the Substance Abuse Policy within the Collective Bargaining Agreement reinforces the practical concepts that officers must not purchase, possess, drink and/or distribute alcohol while on duty." In the future, police also will use a "Special Operations Planning Form," a checklist that police supervisors can use when operating stings with minors. It requires a supervisor to generate paperwork about every operation, writing down the start and end times and a schedule. It is intended to promote accountability. The document also calls for a revised overtime form. Daigle was accused of submitting overtime hours for himself and other officers in July 2001 for an operation at Dodd Stadium, even though he was elsewhere at the time. The new form will require two supervisors to review and sign the form. The form also recommends that access to the Special Investigations Fund be limited to the commander of the detective division and that the fund be audited annually. Three young women, who do not know each other, complained to police that Daigle took nude photos of them last year. He told them that topless photos were required as part of their participation in an undercover, underage drinking sting he was conducting, they alleged. Police started a six-month investigation after the Ejchorszt's initial complaint. The discipline issued at the end of that investigation led to three labor disputes that are still pending. In addition, the three women have filed lawsuits against Daigle and the city. The ongoing litigation has so far cost Norwich $121,482 in legal fees and wages paid to suspended officers, according to City Comptroller Joe Ruffo. Daigle and Detective Mark Lounsbury took their cases to the national division of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers union Oct. 13 after the local chapter voted not to support them in their grievances. Daigle said he would fight to clear his name in a response to the union vote. He is appealing to the national board of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers. Daigle still is waiting on a decision from the national union as to whether he can count on its support. There were five breach of contract claims filed against the city by Lounsbury, Daigle, Albert Costa, Scott Smith and Peter Camp, all the officers disciplined by the police department as a result of the investigation. Lounsbury, withdrew his claim. The ~nerican Arbitration Association will hear the claims by the other officers. No dates have been set for the hearings. Calmar expects that they will be heard within the next year. The civil lawsuits filed by the three women allegedly photographed by Daigle are pending. They are stymied because of the city's insurance company's financial troubles. Legion Insurance Co. might be facing bankruptcy. Ail legal action involving the company has been put on hold by the courts while Legion's financial status is evaluated, including Kristin Ejchorszt vs. Daigle, Melanie Wilson vs. Daigle and Melanie Wilson vs. Norwich. Those suits could be heard in 2003. "I think she just feels terribly violated and she just wants redress," said Linda Mariani, Wilson's attorney. "It's up to a jury to decide culpability." Teresa Earl, a third alleged victim, has filed notice with the city that she intends to sue, but has not filed her suit in either the New Londo~ Superior Court or the Norwich Superior Court as of Friday. The underage drinking sting operation, funded by a federal grant through the 2 state Office of Policy and Management, was suspended in the days following the scandal. It was never re-instituted. Funding for the program expired June 30, City Manager Richard Podurgiel said. Norwich Police Chief Louis Fusaro declined to comment because of the pending litigation. Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 8:58 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San FranciscoCA - The other cop scandals The other cop scandals Not all of the SFPD's problems make the front page of the Chron. By A.C. Thompson BY NOW YOU'RE probably familiar with the broad outline of San Francisco's latest police scandal - after all, the Alex Fagan Jr. saga has been big news for the past three weeks, with the San Francisco Chronicle alone devoting at least 15 stories to the subject. Fagan Jr. - the son of San Francisco Police Department deputy chief Alex Fagan and two other off-duty cops are accused of attacking two guys in front of a Union Street bar in the early-morning hours of Nov. 20. Police accountability activists have charged top police officials with trying to cover up the beat-down and derail investigations into the crime. Obviously, it's an important and compelling story. The brawl and the department's blue-wall-of-silence-type response could trigger a major shakeup at police headquarters and will almost certainly lead to another costly lawsuit against the city. But let's be real: this alleged assault, while not the norm, isn't exactly an isolated incident. Black folks in Bayview-Hunters Point have been complaining about getting the Rodney King treatment for years. And when African Americans - or working-class Latinos - get jacked up by the cops, they rarely find their grievances splashed across the front page of the major daily paper or broadcast on the six o'clock news. "The police attitude and approach is very much 'I'm gonna go out to Bayview-Hunters Point and get those people in line,' "said Ishmael Tarikh, director of Bay Area Police Watch. "There are things that go on out there that rival or surpass [the Fagan Jr. incident]." Backing up Tarikh's claim is a oolor photo of Jerome Brown's swollen and blood-covered face. Hunting for four masked men transporting firearms Jan. 21, an SFPD detachment came across Brown, 14, and three other African American teenagers sitting in a parked car listening to music. Guns drawn, the cops ordered the kids out of the car, which was parked on the 700 block of Kirkwood Avenue in Hunters Point. The teens had nothing to do with the gun-running report; still, the situation turned ugly, according to witnesses. "They took Jerome and threw him down on the ground," said Susie McAllister, whose daughter, 13-year-old Alema Hoskins, was one of the kids in the auto. "When they picked him up, he was unconscious and bleeding profusely from his head." The SFPD is investigating the matter. McAllister says she witnessed a male officer performing a pat-down search on her daughter. "I looked over, and there was a male cop grabbing my daughter's breasts, rubbing on her butt, and grabbing her crotch," she said. McAllister and the other parents have taken their outrage to the Office of Citizen Complaints, the city's police watchdog agency, and are a planning a civil suit. So far, the Chron has done just one piece focusing on the incident. The story of Vilda Curry, a 39-year-old African American woman accidentally shot in the stomach in March by cops pursuing a knife-wielding man, made the paper twice. The paper devoted two short pieces to the February shooting of Gregory Hooper, an African American ex-con slain by an off-duty officer after a fist fight. And in April, Chron reporter Henry K. Lee wrote a story touching on all three incidents. 1 Chron assistant managing editors John Curley and Wemdy Miller, who are responsible for local news coverage, did not return calls seeking comment. Police spokesperson Jim Delgnan says the department doesn't go soft on crooked cops. "Any type of excessive force or wrongdoing is taken extremely seriously," Deigna~ told us. "We have people getting suspended for six or nine months, getting terminated." But even cops officially charged with malfeasance often elude journalistic scrutiny. At this moment 25 SFPD officers are facing discipl±nary action by the San Francisco Police Commission for purported misconduct, and most of these guys are way off the media radar. So as a public service, the Bay Guardian offers the following snapshots of a few of the city's lesser-known problem officers. Damon Keeve Keeve, a sergeant, is charged by the department with attempting to bribe a Brisbane patrol officer this February. According to police documents, Keeve tried to get out of a traffic ticket by offering the Brisbane cop SWAT team T-shirts, tickets to North Beach strip clubs, and alcohol. When that didn't work he allegedly called Brisbane police chief Thomas R. Hitchcock, seeking some "professional courtesy." Laurence Barker A definite overachiever, Officer Barker is dealing with 12 different charges, including theft, falsifying police reports, taking high doses of Vicodin while on duty, and impersonating a New York City cop. According to a departmental report, a week after Sept. 11, 2001, Barker set up shop at Fisherman's Wharf, posing as a cop who'd survived the World Trade Center attacks and soliciting donations with a three-by-two-foot sign. A few months later he allegedly left work repeatedly, without permission, in order to scam six DVDs (titles included Seven and Nurse Betty) from a Target store in San Bruno. James Zerga Inspector Zerga is currently fighting two separate disciplinary cases. The more serious charges stem from the fatal 1998 shooting of 17-year-old Sheila Detoy during a drug bust gone wrong. This could be a blockbuster story: In police reports and testimony, Zerga allegedly lied about the circumstances leading up to Detoy's death. In police documents, Zerga's account of the incident is contradicted by an FBI agent who participated in the raid, as well as by civilian witnesses - suggesting the shooting may not have been justified. (Sgt. Greg Breslin has also been charged with lying in the Detoy case.) More recently, in September 2001, Zerga was accused of falsely imprisoning a 71-year-old woman with whom he was having a neighborly dispute over property lines. Here again, Zerga allegedly deceived his fellow officers convincing them to take the lady into custody by insisting that an arrest warrant had been approved by the district attorney and signed by a judge. In fact, there was no warrant, and the department is now claiming the inspector was attempting to "annoy and intimidate an elderly female neighbor." E-mail A.C. Thompson at ac_thompson@sfbg.com. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 4 Marian Karr From: Pieme Murphy [LPMurphy@cityofboise.org] Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 9:24 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Oversight Commissioner Praises Northern Ireland Police Subject: Northern Ireland: Oversight commissioner praises police ombudsman online.ie, 10 Dec 2002: Report slams slow pace of change in Special Branch The Police Oversight Commissioner in the North has criticised the slow pace of change in Special Branch. In an 86-page report launched this morning, Tom Constantine, a retired New York senior police officer, says however that progress is being made. The mammoth and politically sensitive task of ensuring the Patten Report is implemented falls to Tom Constantine who has not been backward in pointing out problems in the past. In today's report, he repeats his concern about the slow pace of reform in Special Branch. Without naming any individual or party, he says not everyone is doing enough to encourage recruitment to the new service and he criticises paramilitary threats to new recruits. He is also concerned about selective implementation of some of the proposed reforms and says there is room for improvement on community and training. There are positives however and he has praised the work of the Police Board and the Police Ombudsman. online.ie, 10 Dec 2002: Young Catholics 'frightened off police service - report Republicans faced new pressure today to end intimidation of young Catholics bidding to join Northern Ireland's police service. Tom Constantine, the US police chief monitoring an unprecedented programme of reform within the force, claimed potential recruits have 12/11/02 Page 2 of 4 been frightened off. $inn F=E9in has refused to endorse the revised policing arrangements because it argues that powers to hold Chief Constable Hugh Orde to account are not strong enough. But Mr Constantine expressed concern that political leaders have tried to steer supporters away from considering careers as police officers. "This recommendation has not been fulfilled as there is evidence of a lack of encouragement and some cases reports of actual intimidation," he said. The Oversight Commissioner's sixth independent assessment of moves to implement the Patten blueprint for overhauling the Police Service of Northern Ireland found substantial progress. But alongside fears that many top candidates may have been threatened out of joining, his report flagged up several other areas of concern. These include: :: moves to ease a manpower crisis by employing civilians and releasing hundreds more desk-bound officers have made little progress :: the amalgamation of Special Branch with CID is moving so slowly that the Oversight Commissioner's remit could run out before the new system is in place :: new district command structures are not functioning properly because administrative posts have yet to be filled · : the highest sick leave levels in the UK have yet to be tackled :' limited progress in removing the trappings of conflict from "fortress-like" police stations ;: failure to develop an early-warning system to identify problem police officers :: work has yet to begin on a police college :: demands for officers to receive class-room training on new policing and human rights legislation have yet to be met. Mr Constantine's latest and most comprehensive report yet has studied overall progress towards achieving Patten since Autumn last year. 12/11/02 Page 3 of 4 Although it could take up to seven more years to complete all of the recommendations, he reckoned the critical areas will be completed by late 2004. His cause for optimism was partly based on big moves to get the Policing Board watchdog and Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's complaints office up and running. Their performance has been excellent, he noted. Efforts to plug the holes in police strength after regular officer numbers plunged to 6,900 compared to Patten's recommendation for a 7,500 operational force have also been boosted by new recruits of "outstanding quality". This has been in spite of the failure of all sides to promote the PSN! as a career path, the commissioner claimed. "Large numbers of courageous and dedicated young people from every community are volunteering for the police service, in an effort to make Northern Ireland a safer place to live," he said. Under the new policing bill the British government has offered Sinn =46=E9in the prospect of letting ex-paramilitary prisoners sit on the 29 local policing boards if the IRA signals its campaign is over. Regardless of any move by republicans, Mr Constantine insisted these scrutinising bodies urgently need to be up and running with full community support. Patten's recommendation that the chief constable's district commanders should be given greater autonomy has also been plunged into doubt because of staffing problems. Mr Constantine said: "Devolution of authority is currently on hold for lack of progress in filling a number of administrative positions within District Command Units, including those of business managers and personnel managers." And following Mr Orde's disclosure that efforts to recruit more civilian staff and get more officers on the beat have been hit by a dismal response from Catholics~ the commissioner's report dealt another blow to hopes. He said: "Although this aspect of the civilianisation programme would release hundreds of officers for patrol duties, there has been very limited progress." 12/11/02 Page 4 of 4 The thorny issue of re-structuring the controversial Special Branch to make it operate closer with Crime Branch has still to be grasped, IVlr Constantine added. Even though a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary calling for major changes to the anti-terrorist unit has been accepted by the Policing Board, progress has remained painfully slow. "It has become increasingly obvious that the co-ordination between Special Branch and other units of the Police Service has yet to occur in the manner envisioned," the commissioner said. He noted that a probe by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens into allegations of Special Branch collusion with loyalist paramilitary killers will not now be finalised until next April, with his own oversight assessment then delayed until the Autumn. But the current term of the Oversight Commissioner is due to finish on May 31, next year. Mr Constantine said: "This effectively means that there could be no oversight review of the plans and strategies of the Police Service to implement the Independent Commission (Patten)'s recommendations for Special Branch." 12/11/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 10:02 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Kansas City: Integrity in Handling Complaints __ Posted on Tue, Dec. 10,2002L i I ~__ lntegrity in handling complaints By MARY SANCHEZ Columnist VVhen the Mayor's Task Force on Bias Incidents/Hate Crimes released its report last week, a good portion of Kansas City snoozed. Yet another report. Yet another treatise on race. Yet another new commission appointed to address city ills. But changes are underway that actually might have an impact. And they affect everyone, so no one should be checking out under the misguided perception that "it doesn't affect me." Many of the task force's more heated discussions involved how to file complaints about police. The task force had both citizen and police members. In its final report, the task force recommended there be changes to how complaints are dealt with. Kansas City uses a process that's more than 30 years old called the Office of Citizen Complaints. It works independently of police. It is even housed separately, at 635 Woodland Ave. Police, however, do the investigating. Here is where the anguished cries of "police policing themselves" chime in. The Police Department's internal affairs staff does the fact-finding on complaints. The information is sent back to the Office of Citizen Complaints. The office can ask for more work to be done. Or it can make its recommendation to the police chief, who is in charge of discipline. For the last year there has been tension between the Office of Citizen Complaints and the Police Department. For the most part, that suggests that things are working well, rather than that a problem exists. There should be some ffiction, like a good debate, with different opinions gnashing it out -- as long as some consensus is reached. Police have the access and knowledge of police work necessary to assess police actions. They know police policy and training, and can tell whether officers broke protocol. But the Office of Citizen Complaints can be the perception police, helping officers see how their actions are judged by the public, ensuring that police camaraderie doesn't stymie the impartial work of internal affairs. Beginning next week, internal affairs shifts to a slot directly under the police chief. Chief Rick Easley ordered the re- arrangement to make the process more streamlined, Deputy Chief Kevin Masters said. Also, the Board of Police Commissioners will vote soon on policy changes covering how the whole process works. The changes are expected to more concretely outline the work of internal affairs, leaving less leeway for officer opinion. Finally, the Office of Citizen Complaints is developing a Web site, perhaps one of the best ways to educate more people. The mayor's task force highlighted another problem area: People cannot find out what discipline was ordered. They only hear whether complaints were substantiated. There are legal reasons for this; discipline is a personnel matter. But it sure doesn't help community relations to shield the mistakes or exonerations of public servants. In 2001, 2.6 percent of the 286 complaints internal affairs worked were substantiated. Does that mean officers are doing a good job and largely do not deserve the vast majority of the complaints lodged? Or does it mean that internal affairs is too lenient? Like most things, the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. Mayor Kay Barnes is on the Board of Police Commissioners, holding the only seat not appointed by the governor. As mayor, she should continue to push this issue. She can force her newly formed Mayor's Commission on Race to really 12/11/02 Page 2 0£2 engage people, not simply preach to the choir. Policing experts say there is no one best system for policing police. Rather, what is necessary is that "the community and its leadership have the integrity and political will to make civilian oversight work." That is the advice of Sue Quinn, president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. Whether Kansas City has that integrity and will remains to be seen. To reach Mary Sanchez, call (816) 234-4800 and enter4752 or send e-marl to msanchez@kcstarcom. 12/11/02 Marian Karr From: Stewart, Lauri [lauri,stewar~@ci.portland.or. us] Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 4:20 PM To: 'Update@NACOLE.org' Subject: [NACOLE Update] Response to awarding of medals to officers in shootings This follow up article appeared in The Oregonian Latinos, African Americans demand that Kroeker resign 11/27/02 STEVE SUO A week after the Portland Police Bureau honored two officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Mexican man, some of Portland's most prominent Latinos and African American leaders for the first time demanded that Chief Mark Kroeker resign. "The heart of community policing has been ripped out by the chief's action, and he cannot repair the damage," Sen. Avel Gordly, D-Portland, told more than 100 protesters Tuesday at City Hall. Clara Padilla Andrews, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Kroeker's contrition was not enough. "How many times does our city have to endure apology after apology before finally, we can all say that it is time for a change?" Andrews said. And Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz, who initially asked the community to work with Kroeker after the April 2001 shooting, said, "I was wrong. It is time for us to call for this resignation." The shooting of Jose Santos Victor Mejia Poor has been one of the biggest controversies Kroeker has faced since arriving in 1999. A grand jury cleared officers Jeffrey M. Bell and Christopher A. Davis after the shooting, which occurred at a psychiatric hospital where the 29-year-old Mexican national was being detained. State investigators later found doctors had misdiagnosed Mejia with schizophrenia and that he was suffering uncontrolled epileptic seizures when he advanced on officers, wielding a metal bar. An outpouring of community anger last year helped prompt the bureau to improve Spanish training and expand use of less lethal weapons such as taser stun guns. Then, on Nov. 19, the bureau awarded Bell and Davis the Police Medal for "selflessness, personal courage and devotion to duty" in connection with the shooting. Factors for receiving the award include whether the officers had to use deadly force when their lives were threatened. On Monday, Kroeker told reporters he regretted the award had "opened up a wound that has not really closed yet." Kroeker said the bureau honored the officers for making the right decision, not for taking a life. The awards have prompted about 100 letters, e-mails and phone calls to Mayor Vera Katz, said Elise Marshall, the mayor's police liaison. Katz is on vacation but was in City Hall on Tuesday to attend Randy Leonard's swearing in as a city commissioner. Her spokeswoman, Sarah Bott, said the mayor remains "firm" in saying she will not ask the chief to resign but wants to meet with Latino leaders. "She knows there's a great deal of hurt in that community," Bott said. Protesters gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square at 11 a.m. and marched to City Hall, then on to police headquarters. The group carried signs that said "Death Squad Commander" beside Kroeker's photograph and, "Mayor Katz, fire Kroeker before he fires on us again." Mexican consul general Martha Ortiz de Rosas stopped short of demanding Kroeker's ouster, but she called for a public apology and said the awards should be rescinded. Martin Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Latino Network, said the community always understood that the officers were following procedure. "We contend that the procedure was wrong," Gonzalez said. Gonzalez read an open letter from Mejia's brother, who said he was "sad and offended" that "the death of my brother only served as earning points for ! the police officers that were given awards." Kroeker was not at police headquarters when protesters arrived to deliver a framed "Two Dimes Award." Mejia could not afford seizure medication and was 20 cents short on bus fare the day he first tussled with police, leading to his incarceration, hospitalization and finally, his confrontation with officers. Assistant Chief Greg Clark, hemmed in by the crowd, said Kroeker would be willing to meet at another time. "There's a lot of work to be done," Clark said. "I also believe there's a basis for a solid relationship." It is not the first time Kroeker has faced calls for his resignation or has had to apologize to minority groups he has offended. In 2000, he publicly apologized for disparaging remarks he made about gays and women in the 1980s. Some gay activists called on Mayor Vera Katz to fire Kroeker at the time, but she declined. Gordly, whose own mentally ill son was fired upon after allegedly pointing a pellet gun at Portland police, said it has become impossible to improve relations with the police under Kroeker. "I really do believe that he is a good man, a good person," said Gordly. "It's just the wrong match for this city, and we need to deal with that fact." Steve Suo: 503-221-8288; stevesuo@news.oregonian.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Elizabeth. Pugliese@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 9:54 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Houston: Ranking Officers Appear in Court Dec. 13, 2002, 12:33AM Ranking officers appear in court 2 face charges in Kmart raid By LISA TEACHEY Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Two Houston police officers accused of unlawfully arresting patrons at a westside store and restaurant made their first court appearance Thursday on charges of official oppression. Lawyers for Capt. Mark Aguirre and Sgt. Ken Wenzel waived the officers' rights to an arraignment, a formality in which the charges against them would have been read aloud in court. The indictments could affect pending cases in which the officers made arrests and may be called as witnesses. Prosecutor Tommy LaFon said the indictments could be used to impeach the officers' credibility if they were to testify in another case. But LaFon said it is unlikely the ranking officers would be involved in many other cases because they are supervisors. Normally supervisors are not called as witnesses if they did not make the arrest. If the officers are involved in any other cases, those cases would have to be evaluated, LaFon said. If the officers refused to testify because information obtained from them on the stand could be used against them in their own cases, the cases in which they may be witnesses might have to be dismissed. Aguirre is at the center of a case involving the indictment of Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford. Bradford is charged with having committed aggravated perjury during a May grievance hearing regarding Aguirre's alleged use of profanity. The incident was referred to the grand jury after Aguirre filed a sworn complaint against the chief. Bradford's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said he did not know whether Aguirre's indictment would affect the Bradford case. "I would hope it will out of fundamental fairness because Aguirre is at the heart of this whole travesty that has happened to Bradford," Hardin said. Prosecutor Don Smyth, who is handling the Bradford case, was out of the office Thursday afternoon and could not be reached for comment. Both Aguirre and Wenzel face five charges of official oppression in an Aug. 18 raid at a Kmart and Sonic Drive-In in which more than 270 people were arrested, most of them teenagers. 12/13/02 Page 2 of 2 The arrests were heavily criticized by parents and community leaders, which led to the investigation of several officers. Aguirre orchestrated the raid that originally was planned to target drag racers on Westheimer. No racers were out that night, but hundreds of teens and young adults were hanging out in the store's parking lot adjacent to the restaurant in the 8400 block of Westheimer. Although many told officers they were customers at the Kmart or the restaurant, they were arrested for trespassing and curfew violations. The charges later were dropped and 13 police supervisors were suspended with pay as the Police Department launched the largest internal investigation in its history. Several lawsuits have been filed against the department Last week, a grand jury indicted Aguirre and Wenzel for their roles in the raid. Charges were not leveled against 11 of the supervisors. The I 1 remain suspended with pay from the force until a police internal investigation is completed. Aguirre and Wenzel are suspended with pay until their court cases are settled. Their next court date is scheduled for Jan. 17 in state District Judge Carol Davies' court. Michael R. Levy Founder & Publisher TEXAS MONTHLY Post Office Box 1569 Austin, Texas 78767-1569 direct dial: 512-320-6906 main:512-320-6900 fax:512-320-7350 cell & truck fone: 512-917-6935 digital pager (Texas): 512-606-0629 (or alpha/numeric via metrocall.com) mlevy@texasmonthly.com assistant: Pam Keller (512-320-6902) pkeller@texasmonthly.emmis.com http J/www.texasmonthly.corn TEXAS MONTHLY: If you want to be big in Texas. 12/13/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 10:02 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Feds: No Charges in Killing of Tyisha Miller http;//www~!atimes~com/news/!ocal/la-me-tyishal 3dec13001447,0,7781412. story?co!!=!a%2Dhead!!nes%2 Dca!ifomia No Charges in Killing of Tyisha Miller The Justice Department says it finds insufficient evidence to prosecute four white Riverside police officers who shot the black woman in car. By David Rosenzweig LA Times Staff Writer December 13 2002 The Justice Department's civil rights division said Thursday it had found insufficient evidence to prosecute four white Riverside police officers involved in the 1998 shooting death of a 19-year-old black woman who passed out in her car with a gun in her lap. "Tyisha Miller's death was a terrible tragedy," said Assistant U.S. Atty. Gen. Gerald Boyd. "Our decision to close this investigation does not signal approval of the conduct of these officers, or indeed any official opinion concerning their conduct, but the bottom line is that our investigation, which was conducted conscientiously, has not revealed enough evidence to support federal criminal prosecution." Boyd said any negligence, poor judgment or mistake by the officers was not enough to warrant criminal charges Debra W. Yang, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, met with Miller's family to convey the Justice Department's findings, a spokesman said. Some relatives and family supporters reacted with anger and disappointment. Miller's death created an uproar among many African Americans in Riverside, exposing a deep racial divide. It also led to intervention by state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, who ordered the Police Department to adopt a sweeping reform plan designed to root out any racism. Lockyer's office also declined to prosecute on grounds of insufficient evidence. However, the four officers were fired. Two are fighting to be reinstated. Boyd said federal investigators reviewed the results of the local investigation and then began their own probe, interviewing witnesses to the shooting. Miller was killed Dec. 28, 1998, when the four officers were summoned to a service station where she had locked herself in her disabled car, and then passed out while a friend had gone for help. The officers said they tried unsuccessfully to rouse her. One then broke a side window, according to the police account, causing Miller to sit bolt upright. Fearing for their lives, they said, they opened fire. Miller did not fire her gun. Officers fired 24 times, striking her with 12 bullets. "Our investigation did not reveal evidence disproving the officers' claim that they subsequently shot out of fear for their safety," Boyd said. "All eyewitnesses confirm that Ms. Miller had a gun in her lap and the forensic evidence corroborates the claim that she sat up - a perceived movement toward the gun -- when one of the officers shattered the window of the locked car to gain entrance and render aid to Ms. Miller." He said the federal investigation revealed that the first shots were fired while the officer who had shattered the window was leaning inside the car trying to reach for the gun in Miller's lap. 12/13/02 The fact that the officers admit firing even while their colleague was leaning into the car is strong evidence that th~.. out of fear rather than with any malicious intent, Boyd said. The Justice Department is still conducting a civil investigation into the policies and practices of the Riverside Police Department, Boyd said, including an analysis of its dealings with minorities. Despite the decision not to prosecute, U.S. Atty. Yang said her office remains committed to prosecuting civil rights violations whenever the evidence supports criminal charges. The mayor of Riverside, Ronald Loveridge, said Thursday night that "this is another chapter, among the last to be closed. The city has moved forward. We've increased the professionalism and community policing. There is widespread community support for the Riverside Police Department." He also said the city respects "the legal skills and values and research that led to the Department of Justice's decision." But the decision was criticized by some in the community who had been involved with the family or the case. It also rekindled a bitter disagreement within the community over the Miller family's decision to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit with the city for $3 million. The Rev. Bernetl Butler, a preacher and Miller's cousin, said he disagreed with the decision to settle but backed the rest of the family at the time. Now, he said, he believes the settlement is coming back to haunt Miller's relatives. "When they settled, it gave the federal government an out to sweep this thing under the carpet, It took away the drive and motivation for justice," Butler said. "These guys murdered her with malice, prejudice and bigotry. She was murdered. And she was a good girl." Carolyn B. Murray, a member of the Tyisha Miller Steering Committee and a professor of psychology and ethnic studies at UC Riverside, said she was disappointed with the decision, but not shocked. "They don't prosecute white, mate police officers. They just don't -- even when the evidence is overwhelming," Murray said. "That's the American way. People say we live Jn a democracy. It's a facade, it's a democracy for a few." Murray agreed with those who found the government's explanations lame at best. "They had enough evidence to try those officers, if not on the count of murder, then on manslaughter or violating her civil rights," Murray said. "The officers that were involved all told different stories about what happened. But they all agreed on one thing: The first bullet was fired from outside the car." Larry Halstead of Highland, a friend of Miller's family and an original member of the Steering Committee, said civil rights activists worked for weeks after the shooting to persuade angry youths not to take to the streets with violence. "We kept all that from happening," Halstead said. "And this is how you repay us. This is what I told [federal prosecutors]: 'You undermined our credibility. You treated us like a bunch of thugs.' They are sending a message that is the wrong message. They are sendin9 a message to the citizens of the United States that cops are going to get away with this." 12/13/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 10:23 AM To: Update@NACOLF.or9 Subject: [NACOLE Update] Why Innocent People Confess Why Innocent People Confess It's not a breakdown of American justice. It's American justice workin§ as designed. By Michael Kinsley Posted Thursday, December 12, 2002, at 9:09 AM PT SLATE.corn DNA evidence unavailable at the time has now proven conclusively that five teenage boys sent to prison 12 years ago for raping and almost killing a young woman jogger in New York's Central Park were not guilty of that crime (whatever else they may have been up to that evening). What's most shocking is that the boys' convictions were not the result of perjured testimony by racist cops, or manufactured evidence, or jurors addled by some prosecutor's demagogic brilliance. The convictions were based almost entirely on the boys' own confessions. Why would anyone confess to a crime he didn't commit? DNA testing, which can identify a person indisputably (or indisputably rule that person out) based on a single strand of hair or tiny scrap of skin, has taught us that there are people in prison, including some on death row, who are not just undeserving of their punishment for some legal or political or psychological reason, but plain-and-simple, Perry-Mason not guilty. The Innocence Project at Cardozo Law School, led by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, has achieved a steady stream of murder-conviction reversals. As intended, this has given many people pause about an irreversible sanction like the death penalty. The emphasis on capital crimes is misleading in a couple of ways, though. Crimes like murder and rape are amenable to reversal by DNA testing, but there is no reason to assume that wrongful convictions are more common in DNA-friendly crimes than in others. In fact, there is good reason to assume the opposite. Murder and rape convictions, especially those with a prospect of capital punishment, generally follow a full-dress trial with all its elaborate rights and protections for the defendant. A false confession under these circumstances is highly unusual and highly suggestive that something improper went on at the police station. Even a true confession, for that matter, is a good indication that someone had a lousy lawyer But for every one criminal conviction that comes after a trial, 19 other cases are settled by plea bargain. And when, as part of a plea bargain, innocent people confess to a crime they did not commit, that isn't a breakdown of the system. It is the system working exactly as it is supposed to. If you're the suspect, sometimes this means agreeing with the prosecutor that you will confess to jaywalking when you're really guilty of armed robbery. Sometimes, though, it means confessing to armed robbery when you're not guilty of anything at all. In 1978 Professor John Langbein, now of Yale Law School, wrote a dazzling and soon-famous article in the Public Interest called "Torture and Plea Bargaining." Langbein compared the modern American system of plea bargaining to the system of extracting confessions by torture in medieval Europe In both cases, the controversial practice arose not because standards of justice were too Iow, but because they were too high. In medieval Europe, a conviction for murder required either two 12/13/02 Page2of2 eyewitnesses or a confession by the perpetrator.. This made it almost impossible to punish the crime of murder, which was an intolerable situation. So, torture developed as a way to extract the necessary confessions. Plea bargaining evolved the same way, Langbein explained. As our official system of justice became larded with more and more protections for the accused, actually going through the process of catching, prosecuting, and convicting a criminal the official way became impossibly burdensome. So, the government offered the accused a deal: You get a lighter sentence if you save us the trouble of a trial. Or, to put it in a more sinister way: You get a heavier sentence if you insist on asserting your constitutional rights to a trial, to confront your accusers, to privacy from searches without probable cause, to avoid incriminating yourself, etc. Essentially, 95 percent of American criminal defendants are tried under a system entirely different from the one we learn about in school and argue about in politics (liberals celebrating its noble protections, conservatives bemoaning its coddling of criminals). In this real American justice system, your constitutional rights are worth, at most, a few years off your sentence. Plea bargaining might also be thought of as an insurance policy. Insurance is a way of trading the risk of a large bad outcome (your house burns down and you're out $100,000) for the certainty of a smaller bad outcome (a bill arrives and you're out $850). Plea bargaining is a way of trading the risk of 20-years-to-life for the certainty of five-seven. But by creating this choice, and ratcheting up the odds to make it nearly irresistible, American justice virtually guarantees that innocent people are being punished. The five mistaken Central Park jogger convictions weren't officially plea bargains, but unofficial offers of lighter sentences are among the more pleasant theories about how American justice got these teenagers to fabricate confessions. Then in prison, four of the five got stung by the parole system, which is like plea bargaining, Round 2. Their time behind bars was extended because they "declined to accept responsibility" for the rape they didn't commit, as reported in the New York Times. Constitutional protections like the right against self-incrimination don't apply to parole hearings, either. You don't have to confess, but extra years of prison are the price if you don't. Article URL: http;lls!a~,msn,coml?!d=2075319 if (window.print) { window.print0 } else alert('To print his page press Ctrl-P on your keyboard \nor choose print from your browser or device after clicking OK'); 12/13/02 Marian Karr From: Ernesto Aguilar [may19@pdq.net] Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 1:20 AM To: Update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Texas police report, calls online Copwatch investigation reveals significant local law enforcement problems; puts its telephone calls and documentation online If a civilian calls a local police station and asks to get a complaint form, most citizens would presume a friendly officer will get materials to the civilian in a prompt and professional manner. But an investigation by area police-monitoring group Copwatch has revealed Houston and Harris County cops who were argumentative, unaware of where to find complaint forms and some who denied requests outright. Its findings are presented in "Dodging A Bullet: Copwatch Investigates Police Response to Civilian Complaints," a report released today. In its investigation, Houston Copwatch found half of 50 area police agencies fail to meet minimum standards for public requests for complaint forms. Houston and Harris County are riddled with agencies that claim they have no forms, they cannot send forms, or officers who simply do not know how to handle complaints. While Copwatch found many agencies to be helpful, investigators found many more officers to be evasive and all-too-willing to deliver a slap in the face to public accountability. Ail documentation, including recorded telephone calls with officers and all letters and forms, are posted on the group's Web site: www.houstoncopwatch.org. The purpose of placing material online is not to embarrass or shed a negative light on law enforcement officers, but to give the public a glimpse at the obstacles occasionally faced by a civilian seeking to do something most of us take for granted: to make a complaint. "Access to the grievance system is a gateway issue, and of concern for all Texans," said Ernesto Aguilar of Copwatch. "Our research indicates many agencies don't feel the same way, and may obstruct access to the process through ignorance or defensive action." Copwatch is a nonviolent, grassroots citizens' group that uses video cameras, notebooks and knowledge of the law to monitor law enforcement agencies. Copwatch's objective is to observe the activities of police to prevent abuse of power and misconduct. Copwatch is available online at www.houstoncopwatch.org. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 4:43 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] PhiladelphiaPA - Woman says two officers raped her Posted on Sat, Dec. 14, 2002 Philadelphia Inquirer Woman says two officers raped her The attack occurred Thursday in their patrol car, the woman said. Police are investigating. By Barbara Boyer and Mark Fazlollah Inquirer Staff Writers Two 15th Police District patrolmen have been pulled off street duty after a 25-year-old woman from Northeast Philadelphia accused the officers of sexually assaulted her in their patrol car early Thursday, police said. Rape squad investigators have taken the officers' patrol car as a crime scene and searched the home of at least one of the officers, seizing his uniform as evidence, said a supervisor familiar with the case. Police spokesman Cpl. Jim Pauley declined to release the names of the officers but said the rape complaint was being investigated by the Special Victims Unit and Internal Affairs. According to the supervisor, the woman told investigators that the two officers initially stopped her shortly after midnight for using drugs in the 6400 block of Frankford Avenue. According to the supervisor, the woman, a dancer at a Northeast Philadelphia club, said the officers ordered her into their patrol car, where one raped her and the other forced her to perform oral sex. After the attack, the two officers allowed her to leave, the woman told police. From there, the woman said, she went to see a friend, who told her to report the matter. She initially reported it to 26th Police District early Thursday morning. The 26th District called for a night commander, and the woman was taken to the Special Victims Unit, which investigates rape complaints. Both officers have been assigned to desk duty until the investigation is completed. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 5:33 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Suisun CityCA-Besieged chief says he's gay Besieged Suisun City chief says he's gay Disclosure comes amid allegations of misconduct Ray Delgado, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, December 14, 2002 ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file-/c/a/2002/12/14/MN191167.DTL Small-town police chiefs normally don't spend much time in the spotlight, but Suisun City's Ron Forsythe has gotten more than his share lately. Although credited with buffing up the tarnished reputation of a city plagued by crime, he recently has seen his department's morale plummet. Several officers have left, blaming working conditions. Allegations surfaced that Forsythe used employees to work on a side computer business on city time, resulting in an investigation. To top it off, Suisun City police officers voted that they didn't want Forsythe as their chief if he were found guilty of wrongdoing. With all that swirling around him, Forsythe announced Thursday that he is gay, making him the first openly gay police chief in the country. It is a distinction that will almost surely focus more attention on the relatively tiny, 28-officer department to see what happens in the macho bastion of law enforcement when a gay man is leading the way. "I did this to protect myself from rumors and people responding to rumors," said Forsythe, 45, who began his career as a police department dispatcher in 1977 and held every position until becoming chief in 1993. "It was time to get the facts out in public. I don't want to be the topic of graveyard (shift) coffee chat." SILENT TREATMENT He already has felt the heat of the rumors that ran through the department after his 30-year-old partner, Matt Holder, moved into his home in March. Forsythe claims that many officers stopped asking him out to lunch and that silence greeted him when he walked into the daily briefings. He also said the misconduct charges against him surfaced about the same time~ Some even accuse the chief of coming out as gay as part of a politically savvy effort to affect the outcome of the pending charges being considered by the City Council. Forsythe's staff initially greeted his announcement Thursday with silence, then with various comments of support and relief that they could put the rumors behind them. "I think a sigh of relief was let out by everyone in the department simply because it's not a whisper in the hallway anymore," said Officer Gall Hill, a 15-month rookie on the staff. "It's out there, and we can deal with it. We're a smaller department, and we're a family. We are able to overlook people's downfalls and shortcomings and treat people the way they should be treated." How the community will react remains to be seen, and it's something that ! Forsythe worries about. Prior to the misconduct allegations and his disclosure of being gay, Forsythe had a sterling reputation as a successful chief whose aggressive community policing policy helped the city shake its dubious distinction of being the worst city in the Bay Area to live in, according to a 1988 Chronicle story. But now he thinks many residents in the working class suburban enclave of 28,000 people will have a problem with his sexuality and may even go so far as to ask the City Council to appoint a new police chief. Suisun may be located less than 50 miles away from San Francisco, but it can be worlds away in terms of its acceptance of homosexuality. EFFECT ON MORALE Suisun City Fire Chief Mike O'Brien, who said he had heard the gossip before the police chief's announcement, believes the rumors about his sexuality already have had a serious impact on the department's morale and the chief's credibility. "I know that there's a lot of problems at the Police Department right now, and I've heard that this is at the base of it," O'Brien said. "The fire chief and the police chief have to set the example. Now here's the top cop saying at some point that he hasn't been telling the truth (about his sexuality)." City Manager Steven Baker said Forsythe's disclosure should have no impact on how he performs his job and praised the chief's community policing philosophy for helping turn the city around. "He took that opportunity to create a community policing philosophy where we focused on solving problems rather than ticketing crimes," Baker said. "He's been very successful at that and at gathering funds for the department." But Forsythe's disclosure also prompted Baker to go into damage control mode, asking the chief to personally notify the four City Council members and his staff. Baker also refused to discuss the internal charges against Forsythe, calling them a personnel matter. According to Forsythe, not long after his partner moved in with him, a series of claims surfaced accusing him of improperly using officers for personal matters and giving his partner a police identification card. Most of the allegations were investigated and dismissed by the city manager, Forsythe said, although one charge may result in him being cited for "poor judgment." If controversy erupts or officers start to leave the department, "the city's going to feel like they need to do something," Forsythe said. "Sometimes good people make bad decisions." A 'CLEVER' STRATEGY But Councilwoman Sharon Ventura said the charge against Forsythe was serious enough to merit removing him from his position. She accused him of making his announcement to place pressure on council members to avoid firing him. "I think that strategy was pretty clever," Ventura said. "Activists would come down so hard on us. "I think he did this on purpose to pull the attention off of the other stuff," Ventura said. "I'm sorry to say that, because I don't have anything against him being gay." Councilman Pete Sanchez bristled at Ventura's accusations, saying that the majority of the five-member council is awaiting the results of an independent investigation into the charge and that the chief would have no reason to make his announcement to protect himself. 2 "I wouldn't be in the line of thinking that this might be good leverage for him against whatever might come out of the investigation," Sanchez said. "There is ne rationale in three people having made up their minds without seeing the findings." Whatever the outcome of the charges against the chief or a possible public outcry, the chief is also being hailed by many for coming forward about his sexuality. "It really shows the entering of a new age," said Jon Davidsen, senier counsel at Lambda Legal, a national gay rights organization that counseled Forsythe after he asked for legal advice prier to coming cut. "Just 20 years ago, the Internatienal Associatien of Chiefs of Police had an official no-hire policy for homosexuals in law enforcement." Forsythe has been in the department for 27 years hut said that he gave no one any reason to suspect that he was gay er straight, in part because he always believed that being gay was part of a personal life that didn't need to be brought inte the workplace. He never dated women or used female friends as his teken dates, and he never had a relatienship serieus eneugh to consider introducing a male partner to his staff. But now, Forsythe plans to bring his partner to various department functions, such as tonight's holiday party and maybe even place a photo of him on his desk. "I lock forward to deing that," Forsythe said. "At this point, I'm just so relieved that I can be who I am." E-mail Ray Delgado at rdelgado@sfchronicle.com. ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. Page A - 1 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 5:36 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] MmneapolisMN-Inquiry follows Minneapolis officers fight Posted on Fri, Dec. 13, 2002 Inquiry follows Minneapolis officer's fight BY Ph~Y MAYRON Pioneer Press An off-duty Minneapolis police officer is now facing an internal affairs investigation for possible misconduct relating to a fight with a man after leaving a police Christmas party earlier this week. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Department and the Minnesota State Patrol are investigating whether officer Matthew Olson had been driving drunk before the incident and whether he drew his gun on 27-year-old Willie Lee Cash on a downtown Minneapolis street. "There are reports that the officer did have a gun during the incident," said Minneapolis police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington, adding that the reports have not been confirmed. Olson was found unconscious shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday at Fifth Street and Nicollet Mall after fighting with another man. Cash, of St. Louis Park, walked up to a Minneapolis police squad car afterward and told officers that he had been in a fight with another officer. They arrested him on suspicion of second-degree assault. But Cash has since been released from jail, has not been charged and told police Friday that he was the victim of the assault. Police would not release details of the circumstances leading up to the fight, but Olson apparently had been at a Christmas party for the 5th Precinct at the Lone Tree Bar & Grill, at Fifth Street and Hennepin Avenue, in downtown. Lone Tree owner Rob Rankin said about 100 people, including patrol officers and their superiors, attended the Tuesday evening party, which ran from about 8 p.m. to after 11:30 p.m. Olson, a five-year veteran of the department, works in the 5th Precinct. He has never been disciplined for any wrongdoing. Because of reports that Olson may have been driving drunk, police asked the State Patrol to investigate. Olson did not crash his car before the fight, said State Patrol spokesman Kevin Smith. He did not have any other details of the incident. Police asked the sheriff's office to investigate the assault so there wouldn't be a conflict of interest. Spokeswoman Roseann Campagnoli said her agency had just received the case late Friday and could not provide any details. The Police Department's internal affairs unit is looking into possible misconduct by Olson. Sgt. John Delmonico, president of the Police Officers Federation, said because Olson was off duty, the union is not involved in the case. Delmonico said a union representative talked with Olson's family and was told Olson would be seeking legal counsel. Olson spent about a half day at Hennepin County Medical Center on Wednesday getting treated for facial fractures and bruises. On Wednesday, he told ! investigators he had no memory of the incident. Olson was home recovering from his injuries this week, and it was unclear Friday whether he would return to work, Barrington said. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 5:39 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] ChattanoogaTN-Officer Jailed Second Time This Month Chattanooga Police Officer Jailed Second Time This Month Story by John Pless on Fri, Dec 13th 2002 (5:33 PM) Officer Cornelius T. Moss was booked on criminal charges Friday after a Hamilton County Grand Jury indicted him in connection with an incident two months ago. Moss was on bond after being charged in connection with a bar room brawl nearly two weeks ago. Officer Cornelius T. Moss went to the Hamilton County Jail Friday morning and was charged with two counts of theft and official misconduct . Moss was first arrested December 3, and charged with aggravated assault and felony vandalism. Chattanooga Police Officer Rodney Thompson says at 1:42 a.m. the morning of November 30, he went to the Side Pockets Bar and Grill on Highway 58. He says patrons there told him Officer Moss started a fight and began tearing up the inside of the bar. Other witnesses told Officer Thompson that Moss struck Jeremy Booth in the head with a beer bottle, causing a large cut on his forehead that needed 28 stitches to close. Warrants were issued for Officer Moss's arrest, and he turned himself in at the Hamilton County jail three days later. Back on September 13, Chattanooga investigators say Officer Moss was involved with a traffic stop on Main Street. The events then led to an investigation headed by detective Tim Mathis. "It came to our attention initially when a citizen said during a traffic stop an officer took money from him. As soon as we learned about this we im~nediately took the officer off the street and began an internal affairs investigation. As a part of the internal affairs investigation, our own major crimes detectives built a case, and have presented it against him to the grand jury," according to Police Information Officer Craig Joel. That grand jury indicted Moss on theft and official misconduct charges. Because of these two separate criminal cases, Moss has been placed on leave without pay. While Officer Moss will have hearings in court for both cases, he faces additional discipline within the police department, up to and including termination according department information officer Craig Joel. Update mailing list gpdate@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 5:43 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] MilwaukeeWI-Ex-officer to serve time in jail Ex-officer to serve time in jail Concocted story led to charges By DAVID DOEGE ddoege@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: Dec. 13, 2002 A former Milwaukee police officer who beat a woman after she resisted his sexual advances, and then concocted a story that he was attacked by two black men, was sentenced Friday to four years of probation and seven months in jail. John Joseph Marek, whose bogus broadcast prompted police to flood a neighborhood with officers in search of assailants who didn't exist, was rebuked by a judge for besmirching law enforcement and subjecting innocent people to suspicion. "I have to admit that I was extremely saddened and troubled," Milwaukee County Circuit Judge M. Joseph Donald told Marek, 28, who lost his job over the episode and saddled himself with four criminal convictions. In a vain attempt to cover his crime with a lie, Marek "betrayed the trust and responsibility" he was given as a police officer and victimized a north side neighborhood, according to Donald. "I can only imagine that the neighborhood was saturated and that every black male who resembled the description you broadcast was stopped and questioned," Donald said. Marek, who followed his father - a highly regarded detective - onto the police force, was sentenced by Donald on a felony count of misconduct in public office and three misdemeanor counts: criminal damage to property; obstructing an officer; and battery. He pleaded no contest to the battery charge and guilty to the other counts in August. Although the woman contended that Marek attempted to force a sex act in his squad car and later in her home, he was not charged with sexual assault. "The reason he was not charged with sexual assault was because the state didn't feel we could prove it," Deputy District Attorney Jon N. Reddin reminded Donald Friday. During Marek's plea hearing in August, Reddin offered a less vague explanation: that on the night of the incident, an investigating officer failed to collect the kind of evidence necessary for authorities to discern whether a sexual assault might have occurred. The case against Marek, 28, dates back to Feb. 20, when the woman encountered him after leaving a bar on N. Old World 3rd St. Marek, who was in uniform, offered to drive her home in his squad car. On the way to her home, Marek twice stopped the car and attempted to force oral sex and once touched the woman beneath her clothing, according to a criminal complaint. When the car reached the woman's home, Marek forced her into the apartment, exposed himself and again demanded sex, something that prompted a fight and a 911 call by the woman, according to the complaint. Marek then left but forgot a key to his squad car, the complaint says. After breaking a window on the car with his baton, Marek was able to get the car started and drove off. He subsequently made the bogus report about being attacked by two black men, according to the complaint. 1 He contended that one of the men broke the window to his squad car and the other punched him in the face, leaving him with a gash, the complaint says. When he was first questioned about his encounter with the woman, Marek said she approached him and asked for a ride and that she was in the back seat when he drove her home, the complaint says. Marek "then changed his story," according to the complaint, said the woman sat in front on the way home and that after he escorted her inside her apartment, she fell asleep. When he grabbed her shoulders to wake her, Marek claimed, the woman awoke "and accused him of raping her," the complaint says. "Whatever started the whole thing that night, I don't think we'll ever know," said defense attorney Martin E. Kohler, who said Marek's actions that night were the result of "one bad judgment after another in a panic situation." Marek, who joined the department in June 1999 and now works as a landscaper, wept as he apologized to his wife and family, the Police Department, the black community, the city of Milwaukee and the victim, who was not in court. "Every day it is on my mind," he said. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 5:45 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] FairfieldOH-Cop reinstated after sex charges Saturday, December 14, 2002 Cop gets job back after sex charges Dismissal not justified, board rules By Sue Kiesewetter Enquirer contributor FAIRFIELD - A fired Fairfield police officer accused of sexual misconduct with an underage girl has his job back. The Fairfield Service Cor~mission on Thursday ordered the city to immediately re-instate Thomas E. Dickey as a police officer, along with restoring his seniority and giving him back pay, minus deductions and interim earnings. In its six-page ruling, the commission concluded the city failed to sustain its charges against the officer. "We're going to abide by the ruling. We are not going to appeal it,'' said Dennis Stuckey, Fairfield's assistant city manager. "The (police) chief is working out a schedule so he can put him back to work.'' Officer Lucas was put on paid administrative leave in April after the girl, now 14, told a school counselor Officer Lucas had fondled her on two separate occasions. A Butler County grand jury, however, declined to indict him. Police Chief Michael Dickey later accused Officer Lucas of violating the Police Department's rules of conduct in four areas: · Unbecoming conduct. Immoral conduct. Insubordination. · Truthfulness. Officer Lucas was fired in August and filed an appeal with the civil service commission. He had been a Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer at Fairfield Intermediate School when the allegations surfaced. Chief Dickey said Friday he had not yet talked to Officer Lucas, who would be assigned to the operations division. He said it was too early to say whether he would return to the DARE program. Officer Lucas has been with the Fairfield Police Department since 1988 and had no prior disciplinary action. In March 2001, he was named one of the city's employees of the quarter. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 9:39 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Black Leaders Caution Chief http://www !atimes.com/news/Ioca!/!a-me-bratton 14dec 14,0,1899360,story?co!!=!a%2Dhead!ines%2 Dcalifornia Black Leaders Caution Chief They back Bratton on the need to stem gangs, but fear a poor choice of words will alienate South-Central. By Beth Shuster and Megan Garvey LA Times Staff Writers December 14 2002 Prominent African American leaders are raising concerns over what they view as overly harsh language used by Police Chief William J. Bratton regarding gang violence in the city. Since taking the reins of the LAPD, Bratton, long known for being outspoken, has called criminals "mental nitwits"; said of a suspect who fled from police, "hang 'em high"; and termed the city's gang members domestic terrorists. Statements such as these have led several black leaders to express criticism at a meeting with Mayor James K. Hahn, and in conversations with Bratton. The admonishments, the first that Bratton has faced in nearly two months on the job, serve as an indication of the fragile sensitivities that underlie the LAPD's relations with minority communities. What has most upset some in the African American community is the pemeption that the department has declared a war on gangs, a characterization Hahn and Bratton say they have sought to avoid. Urban League President John Mack and Ken Lombard, the president of Earvin "Magic" Johnson's development company, voiced their dismay in their recent meeting with the mayor. They took issue with the militaristic terms the chief has used to outline his department's efforts to combat gangs. Liberal leaders, including former state Sen. Tom Hayden and Father Gregory J. Boyle, have also expressed concerns about the more fiery aspects of Bratton's rhetoric, which they say is counterproductive. At a news conference early this month in South Los Angeles in which Bratton and Hahn announced new anti-gang initiatives, Bratton told reporters that the federal government should help stem gang activity, which he termed "homeland terrorism." Asked if the war on terrorism might make it difficult to get the attention of the federal government, Bratton responded: "They need to get preoccupied with the internal war on terrorism as well." Mack said that while he has no problem with the concept of waging battle against gangs, he fears that excessively tough talk from the chief may lead to overzealous officers on the street. "The admonishment I shared with [Bratton] and Mayor Hahn in my meetings with them is that it is very important that in the process of making the case against crime in South-Central the case is not over-made," Mack said. Other leaders have expressed similar concerns. "We are not against the police. We are with the police," said Tony Muhammad, Western regional minister of the Nation of Islam. "But watch your language." Muhammad said he has yet to hear an adequate definition of a gang member from top city officials, leading him to believe that they are applying the tag only to "blacks and browns." "We are with the police chief when he says: 'Get angry.' We are angry," Muhammad said. "But how do you differentiate between a gang-banger and my brother?" Bratton, who spent Friday morning at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels being blessed by a cross-section of the 12/16/02 Page 2 of 3 city's religious leaders, said after the service that he takes exception to anyone who says that he has not taken care with his choice of words. "1 think we have been very careful with our language in terms of reaching out to the community," said Bratton, who plans to meet with Muhammad next week. "We are not going in as they did in the 1980s with Operation Hammer.... The idea that we're going to go in and fight to the death, we're not going to do that at all." Mayor Hahn, who got a bounce in his approval rating after he selected Bratton, said Friday that he has intentionally not used words such as "war" or "battle" to describe the city's efforts to stem rising violence. At the appearance with Bratton in South Los Angeles earlier this month, Hahn said, "We cannot and will not let gang members control the streets." Hahn said Friday that when he talks about the toll of gang crime, he has repeatedly stressed the loss of those killed or hurt and those imprisoned. Hahn said he and Bratton have talked about this issue. "You learn over the years -- and people let you know -- that sometimes what you say is heard differently based on the context and experience of the listener," the mayor said in an interview. "Simplistic sound bite phrases like 'war on gangs' do not adequately reflect the multi-pronged effort that we have to be very involved in and can be counterproductive." Bratton said Friday that he would not "raise gang members to the level of going to war with them." In his address to religious and political leaders, Bratton noted that "Gandhi, the great leader of the nonviolence movement, said that to create change, you must become the change. We must all find a way to become part of the change." Mack said that much of the message from the new chief has been right on target. "Some of us in the past have tiptoed around the problem of violence in our community, worried that racists and white supremacists would seize on it and use it against us," Mack said. "But I think we have to face up to the fact that violence is a serious problem in our community." Still, he cautioned the mayor and Bratton that anything said about South-Central Los Angeles will be viewed by residents there through the perspective of history, particularly the long-standing tensions between the African American community and LAPD. And Mack said he has warned Bratton to be careful not to alienate individuals in the community, such as Muhammad, who have long-standing track records of working with gang members. Lombard, who was with Mack for the meeting with Hahn, said "everybody still thinks [Bratton is] the right guy for the job." "We just need to recognize the differences in language that we're using.... It's not what you say, it's how you say it," said Lombard, who also serves as president of the Department of Water and Power Commission. Muhammad said he and others who work to prevent gang involvement are gearing up to do more. He plans to gather 100,000 African American men in Los Angeles for a march for peace this spring, with smaller marches scheduled in the meantime. Muhammad said he also has asked for 30,000 men in South-Central Los Angeles to step forward, get out on the streets and ask gang members to "settle theJr differences and lay down their guns." Bratton said Friday that he welcomes such help from the community and looks forward to sitting down with Muhammad next week. "1 think he can be a very significant force for change," Bratton said. "Perhaps we can agree to disagree on a term here and there." Hahn said he has been adamant that the department not repeat mistakes that led to the LAPD's Rampart corruption scandal, which he believes occurred in part when officers broke the law believing they had a mandate to rid the area of crime and gangs. 12/16/02 Page 3 of 3 Hahn also said he believes Bmtton understands that he cannot alienate the people he is trying to protect and serve. Still, the mayor said, it's easy to get mad. "You're standing there looking at a photo of a 14-year-old who's been killed and holding hands with a mother whose tears are still fresh, you do get angry," Hahn said, "We have to be careful about our choice of words here..., That is the bottom line." 12/16/02 Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 5:35 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] LouisvilleKY~ Conyers seeks US probe of police Conyers to seek U.S. probe of police Michigan lawmaker says man's shooting warrants inquiry Dec. 15, 2002 By Mark Yost myost@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal U.S. Rep. John Conyers will take a letter to the U.S. Justice Department asking for a federal investigation of the fatal shooting of a handcuffed man and several other alleged brutality cases involving Louisville police in recent years. Conyers, a Michigan Democrat who was the keynote speaker last night at the Unity Dinner 2002, said he thinks there is enough evidence to warrant a preliminary investigation. ''Quite likely there will be sufficient reason for the Department of Justice to look into this incident,'' said Conyers, the ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Con~ittee, who was given the letter by the Rev. Louis Coleman of the Justice Resource Center. On Dec. 5, James Edward Taylor was shot 11 times by a police detective while he was handcuffed. Police allege that he pulled out a box cutter and was threatening officers when he was shot. The death of Taylor, who was black, has spurred a series of protests in Louisville and is starting to draw national attention. Coleman said he has received calls from civil-rights activists around the country, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Coleman said he is seeking help from the Justice Department because he has received no assistance from the state attorney general's office or the Louisville police department's internal-affairs division. Neither office was immediately available for comment. ''This is the worst police state in the U.S.,'' Coleman said. Taylor's ''civil rights were violated in a way that they never were in places like South Africa.'' He said relations between the minority community and police are worse here than in Cincinnati, where riots were touched off last year after a white police officer fatally shot an unarmed black man. During his 20-minute speech, Conyers said he plans to introduce a bill to hold police accountable when suspects are injured or die while in custody. The bill will focus on better police training in the use of nonlethal weapons, civilian review boards and training to help police deal better with suspects who are impaired by alcohol or drugs. ' 'I think that would have helped Louisville over the past five years,'' he said. He'll also propose legislation to end racial profiling and institute hatecrimes legislation, he said. ''We have the votes to pass a hatecrimes bill,'' he said, ''but the Republicans have bottled it up in conTmittee.'' He told the audience of more than 600 that they need to elect local, state and federal officials who will support his legislation. 1 ''This place is a wreck,'' he said of Kentucky, ''from the governor on down.'' Conyers also took issue with President Bush's war on terrorism and the possible invasion of Iraq. ''The war on terrorism is going to backfire Conyers said. ''Bush will reinstitute the draft and this country will blow up.'' Conyers also charged that the economy is doing poorly because of tax cuts enacted by Bush, which he said favor only the wealthiest taxpayers. ''The states are bankrupt because we cut taxes,'' Conyers said. He also said that Republicans are using the war on terrorism to consolidate their power. ''People are not below using the war on terrorism to stay in power,'' Conyers said. The annual Unity Dinner, sponsored by the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, is meant to celebrate diversity and gains by the civil-rights community. But with the dinner occurring so close to Taylor's death, the shooting was the topic of the evening. ''The bullets of the past week are merely a taste of things to come,'' said Kentucky Alliance board member Ira Grupper. ''Many people say they're not prejudiced, but events occur that show that they are,'' said the Rev. Don Hurst, associate pastor of the Quinn Chapel AiME Church. ''And when they do, they erupt.'' Among those honored at the dinner was Louisville Alderman Bill Allison, who was cited for his efforts to form a civilian police review board and pass a ''living wage'' law setting a minimum pay of $8.50 an hour for employees of what will be the new merged government. The wage measure was vetoed by Mayor Dave Armstrong, but the Board of Aldermen might override that veto Tuesday. Raoul Cunningham was honored for a lifetime of civil-rights work here and in Washington. He admonished the audience to hold Kentucky's members of Congress accountable for their voting record on civil rights. ''Kentucky has been screwed by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party,'' he said. He also said that since Taylor's death, ''not one of Kentucky's elected officials has come forward.'' Also honored at the dinner was Laquetta Shepard, who helped bring a Bowling Green Ku Klux Klan rally to an early end in August by standing silently in an area set aside for Klan supporters. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink. net] Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 5:41 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Key West FL - Key West Looks at Community Policing Key West Police Department looks at community policing (This story published on Sun, Dec 15, 2002) BY J.J. HYSELL keysnews.com KEY WEST -- He was the guru of everything police, so much so that an impressive speech he gave prompted the creation of the Metropolitan Police Force in London. Sir Robert Peel's philosophy of modern policing, detailed in nine main points, emphasized defining and solving problems, embracing the civilian side of the police, and working in union with the cormmunity as one monitoring force. Peel's ideas are taught in nearly every police institute and employed in many departments across the country. They have been since Peel wrote them -- in 1829. So when Bill Cameron of the Lee County Sheriff's Office plopped a sheet onto the projector screen outlining how Peel's concepts intertwined with the principles of co~mx~unity policing, the 30 or so officers in attendance at Wednesday's edition of the Community Policing Seminar weren't surprised. Peel's strategies have been integral throughout their work, and many said that although the views are over 170 years old, they remain applicable in today's crime-ridden world. "A lot of what they are taking about are things we've been doing all along," Sgt. David Smith of the Key West Police Department said. "These are interesting topics. There are good points being brought up here." The focus of the three-day seminar, organized by the Florida Regional Community Policing Institute at St. Petersburg College and held at the Marriott on Roosevelt Avenue earlier this week, centered on the theory of community policing -- as Cameron said, the idea of "the comm[unity policing itself with the help of its police agency, not the other way around." The daily portion of the class catered to police and officials; a separate course in the evenings invited the public to join members of the force and local leaders in an open discussion about getting the community involved. Officers from all levels of rank, as well as city officials, rotated attending the nine- hour class, offered over three days to accommodate schedules. A myriad of activities ranging from group exercises to question-and-answer sessions were designed to give officers from KWPD and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, as well as other municipal groups, an idea of how police and the public it serves can form a beneficial partnership. "It's long-term problem solving instead of putting a Band-Aid on individual incidents or problems," Cameron said. One exercise featured groups at a table, each assembling lists of 'proactive' and 'reactive' call duties that police officers perform during a typical day. The lists were compiled into one, and Cameron asked officers to analyze how their time was spent. Groups then brainstormed to devise ways of improving time management and developed a one-year plan aimed at implementing changes. Other topics included community relations, dealing with the media and developing roles within neighborhoods. The subjects that drew the most attention? How to work with other agencies to improve service and the importance of response times on calls. "For certain agencies to pick up particular calls, that's a good idea," Officer Eric Biskup said. "The ideal would be to have a specialized, trained person to show up where they're needed." 1 Key West police currently elevate calls to priority after 15 minutes, which means any call being held for that long immediately moves to the top and becomes the next request for response. Biskup said a move to the national average -- one hour -- could be a step backward. The fact that nearly the entire KWPD force attended, from the chief on down as well as top-level city officials, impressed Cameron. "It's the first time I've seen that," he said. A long time in coming Key West City Manager Julio Avael was a frequent visitor to each seminar, often pulling up a chair or listening intently as a quiet observer. He had wanted this training for KWPD five years ago, instructing his staff to research who would be best to conduct it, at what cost, and when. But, as Avael said, the city demanded attention from other areas; more pressing issues beckoned, and the official implementation of a community policing philosophy that he envisioned was forced to the backburner. Several meetings and one substantial Department of Justice grant later, the first wave of community policing under Avael's tenure is underway. His expectations include a "collaborative effort between the people of the community, working together with the police department to resolve issues and address concerns." As he spoke, Avael motioned toward the meeting room, where civilians began taking their seats at several round tables. "It's a cross-section of the city," he said, noting that people from all neighborhoods of Key West were being represented. He said attendance continued to rise from about 10 participants the first day to a packed house on Wednesday, the final session. Plans were being implemented to continue the public discussions beyond the scope of the three-hour meetings. "We're hoping for a domino effect," Avael said. "We hope this will evolve and branch out into the entire community." A community speaks out In regards to city perception, the timing of a public meeting couldn't have been more fitting. With the hullabaloo surrounding the recent passing of a Civilian Review Board measure spinning throughout a divided community, the opportunity for the public to speak out -- and the police to reach out -- knocked on a door that was nearly shut. It was evident in the flickering tension in the room during Wednesday night's public session. "Look, the Civilian Review Board has passed. We have to put that behind us if we're going to move forward," one woman said as she turned and spoke from the front of the room. A resident of Bahama Village brought up his concerns about what he deemed an "open-air drug market" powered by out-of-towners that is poisoning his neighborhood. A woman stood up abruptly during a discussion and requested a more pronounced definition of "homeless." One police officer, in response to a man's comments, said he should "try to understand" what it's like to be in his shoes, to do his job everyday. "It's not my job to do that, it's your job," the man said. Toussaint E. Summers, Jr., chief of police in Herndon, Va., was orchestrating an enthusiastic dialogue that occasionally veered from its original issue -- but never went off-course. Summers instructed the group -- which included city officials, Police Chief Bur Dillon, 2 business leaders and everyday people -- on the basic fundamentals of community policing as well as the SARA method for resolving problems: Scanning (identifying), Analyzing (collecting information), Response (initiate solutions), and Assessment (evaluate effectiveness). When the group was asked to identify the main overwhelming problem facing the city, several topics emerged, including homelessness, drugs and affordable housing. The dilemma voted most pressing, however, was communication between police and the community. "If you have that, the other problems have a better chance of getting solved," one man said. With the cardinal matter of contention defined, the next step is to analyze. The group set Jan. 2 as a tentative date for its next meeting, at a location to be announced later. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 6:10 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] WilmingtonDE - Benefit held for fired Wilmington officer Posted on Men, Dec. 16, 2002 Benefit held for fired Wilmington officer Internal probe faults handling of arrest of black councilwoman Associated Press WILMINGTON - A fund-raiser for a fired police officer drew about 300 people Saturday, even as the city seeks a Justice Department probe to investigate possible police misconduct. "There's not words to describe it," said Paul Nevitt, referring to support he's received from the public, former co-workers and other city employees since he lost his job Dec. 3. That support continued as more than 300 people showed up at a pig picking in his honor. Nevitt was fired and former Sgt. Lisa Kittrell was demoted to officer after an internal police investigation into events leading to the DWI arrest last month of city council member Katherine Bell Moore. "He arrested an innocent person," Moore said Saturday. Nevitt, a 22-year veteran, and Kittrell appealed the punishments with the city's Civil Service Commission, which has 60 days to hear the appeals. Moore was arrested Nov. 6 and charged with driving while impaired even though she blew .00 on a breath-alcohol test. District Attorney John Carriker dismissed the charges because of a lack of evidence. Moore, who is black, has accused the department of harassing her, her family and black elected officials as well as beating black people. The City Council censured her in January for berating a police officer who cited her daughter for driving in reverse on a one-way street. Moore was charged after police, acting on a tip from an off-duty Wrightsville Beach police officer, left a restaurant. She was given a field sobriety test and taken to the magistrate's office where she scored a .00 on a breath-alcohol test. Recordings of police radio conversations revealed that the officers knew who they were preparing to stop, where she lived and that they had all but determined she was impaired. A day later, Moore said her arrest confirmed her long-held belief that the police department targeted her and her family. Nevitt and Kittrell violated a string of department policies and procedures, according to the results of the internal investigation made public last week by the city council. City Manager Sterling Cheatham asked the Justice Department for a civil rights investigation into the incident as well as other encounters Moore has had with the police. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 12:41 PM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] WilmingtonDE - More on request for federal intervention Article published Dec 15, 2002 Investigating the Investigation Process Justice Department mulls request to look into WPD conduct By Bettie Fennell Staff Writer bettie.fennell@wilmingtonstar.com A written request to the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to investigate possible misconduct by the Wilmington Police Department does not mean an investigation is automatic, a spokeswoman for the department said. Casey Stavropoulos, spokeswoman for the Justice Department, said the Special Litigation Division has received a request from the city of Wilmington to investigate the department. The Justice Department will review the request and decide if it will open an investigation to determine whether a pattern or practice of discrimination exists in the police department, Miss Stavropoulos said Friday. City Manager Sterling Cheatham asked for a civil rights investigation into a Nov. 6 incident involving Mayor Pro Tem Katherine Bell Moore as well as other encounters she has had with the police. Mr. Cheatham said Friday that he hoped the Justice Department would respond to the request i~m~ediately. Because of the holidays, however, he said he may not get an answer until early next year. "I have been working closely with the police chief and the city attorney and considered a number of options," Mr. Cheatham said. As a result of those discussions with City Attorney Tom Pollard and Police Chief John Cease, he said he decided to seek a federal investigation. Mr. Cheatham also discussed the issue with Robert Higdon, chief of the criminal division with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Mr. Cheatham's letter said Mr. Higdon also recommended the investigation. Ms. Moore was arrested Nov. 6 and charged with driving while impaired even though she blew .00 on a breath-alcohol test. District Attorney John Carriker dismissed the charges because of a lack of evidence. Two police officers were disciplined for their parts in the arrest. Ms. Moore, who has had other encounters with police officers, has accused the department of harassing her, her family and black elected officials as well as beating black people. The City Council censured her in January for berating a police officer who cited her daughter for driving in reverse on a one-way street. Special Litigation Section The Civil Rights Division's Special Litigation Section investigates complaints filed by individuals or municipalities. If an investigation reveals a pattern or practice of discrimination, the Special Litigation Section can enter into agreements with local police departments to correct the problems. The section also investigates other problems involving law enforcement agencies, including the use of excessive force, false arrests, discriminatory harassment and retaliation against people who allege misconduct by the agency. In 1997, for example, the Justice Department reached agreements with police departments in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Steubenville, Ohio, "to remedy systemic misconduct," according to a report on the Justice Department's Web site. The agreements required the police departments to establish widespread reforms. The departments, for example, were required to provide adequate training and supervision for officers. They were also required to develop a system to receive, investigate and respond to individual complaints and discipline officers for misconduct. 1 Gary Repella, city attorney in Steubenville, said the Justice Department spent about a year there examining arrest records for the past five or six years and interviewing people who had filed complaints after being arrested. Steubenville has a population of about 19,000, according to the 2000 census. More than 15,100 are white and 3,200 are black. "There were certain citizens in our city that felt that their rights had been violated for a number of years," Mr. Repella said. The group was made up of blacks as well as whites, he said. "We still get complaints and one difference is we now have an Internal Affairs Division, which investigates each and every complaint that is received," Mr. Repella said. The division makes recommendations to the police chief and the city manager, who decide what action to take, he said. "That is the biggest difference." Unlike Steubenville prior to the Justice Department investigation, the Wilmington Police Department has an Internal Affairs Unit, which is part of the department's Professional Standards Division. The Internal Affairs Unit conducted the investigation into the Nov. 6 incident involving Ms. Moore. As a result of the investigation, Officer Paul Nevitt was fired and Officer Lisa Kittrell was demoted from sergeant to officer. Her pay was also cut from $40,287 to $36,312. Chief Cease said both officers were disciplined because they violated a string of department policies and procedures. Mr. Nevitt and Officer Kittrell have appealed the disciplinary action to the city's Civil Service Commission. A sign that the reforms have worked in the Steubenville Police Department, Mr. Repella said, is that no lawsuits have been filed against the department since it signed the consent agreement in 1997. Prior to that, 54 lawsuits were filed against the city from 1974 to about 1996, and more than $1 million in judgments and settlements were paid, he said. "What happened was our police officers realized that they were going to be held to a higher standard and that their actions were going to be monitored," Mr. Repella said. "Our policies were outdated. Our supervision was lacking," he said, adding that the Justice Department looked for a pattern of discrimination. The city agreed to 117 separate tasks, including training officers in how to use force and how to handle unruly suspects. The Wilmington Police Department has been sued three times since April 1997, when Chief Cease was hired. None of the cases involved police misconduct, he said. One case involved a police dog that bit someone and another involved damage to personal property. He couldn't recall the third case. The city prevailed in all three court cases, he said. International Association of Chiefs of Police Mr. Cheatham, Wilmington's city manager, also recon~lended last week that at some point the City Council might want to get the International Association of Chiefs of Police to examine the Police Department's policies and procedures. The IACP is the foremost authority on contemporary police practices, Mr. Cheatham said Friday. The agency has models on how police department operations should be handled, he said. "I think you will find they have been used in a number of progressive cities," he said. The city, he said, would have to pay the IACP for its assistance. The amount would depend on the types of services the city requested, he said. The association would bring in its staff and police experts to review department policies and procedures, he said. Before the council considers hiring the association, Mr. Cheatham wants a response from the Justice Department. He doesn't want two separate agencies stumbling over each other as they evaluate the Police Department. Chief Cease, an IACP member, said the department updates its practices and policies every two years. "We set that up so we don't get caught with policies that are outdated by law, technology or social structure," the chief said. The department, he said, looks to law enforcement think tanks for the latest policies and practices to adopt. The think tanks are the Police's National Model Policy Center of the IACP, the Police Executive Research Forum and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. After working with the research forum, Chief Cease said the department decided not to use the words "racial profiling" in its policies because people could be targeted for characteristics other than race. The department, he said, uses 2 the word "bias-based" profiling or targeting. Legislative reform Mr. Cheatham recommended last week thet the council seek legislation that would allow the Police Department to release certain information to people who have complained about officers of the department. Cities are prohibited from releasing information in employees' personnel files unless the city manager, with council approval, decides the information needs to be released to maintain public confidence in the city. Mr. Cheatham said Virginia law allows cities to acknowledge to people who have complained about the police whether disciplinary action was taken. Virginia cities, he said, couldn't provide details of that action. But people were told whether their complaints had merit and whether the officers were disciplined. Last year, Ms. Moore filed a complaint with the Police Department about an officer who cited her daughter for illegally parking in a fire zone. A witness and a police officer said Ms. Moore called the officer, J.W. Fish, "poor white trash." Ms. Moore denied the allegation. Officer Fish has since left the department. As a result of her complaint, the Police Department sent Ms. Moore a letter that said: "The investigation has been completed and the appropriate action has been taken. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention." The letter does not explain what action was taken because it would have violated the state's personnel laws. In other recon~uendations last week, Mr. Cheatham suggested the city buy about 100 video cameras for all police cars. Only traffic patrol cars have cameras now. Cameras cost about $8,000 each. City Council member Frank Conlon said last week that the council should discuss the issue when it begins developing the next budget. For more information, visit the Department of Justice Web site at www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/index.html; or the International Association of Chiefs of Police Web site at www.theiacp.org. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn.Anderson@phila,gov Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 1:09 PM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San FranciscoCA DA see holes in Police probe D.A. sees holes in probe of cops Chief delivers SFPD's report Jaxon Van Derbeken, Susan Sward, Chronicle Staff Writers Thursday, December 12, 2002 ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/12/BA35435.DTL After three weeks of controversy over whether San Francisco police mishandled the probe into an alleged street beating by three off-duty officers, Chief Earl Sanders and SFPD investigators handed over a 2 1/2-inch-thick binder of their findings to prosecutors Wednesday. "The case is now in the hands of the district attorney," Sanders said after meeting with prosecutors for an hour and a half about the investigation involving the officers, including the son of Assistant Chief Alex Fagan. "We're looking forward to some adjudication soon.." District Attorney Terence Hallinan and his office now must decide whether to file charges against Officers Alex Fagan Jr. and David Lee, both 23, and Matthew Tonsing, 27, in connection with an incident on Union Street early Nov. 20. Two San Francisco men, Adam Snyder, 23, and Jade Santoro, 25, have said the off-duty officers attacked them without provocation after Snyder refused to hand over a bag of steak fajitas. Santoro suffered a broken nose and laceration on his head.. Questions have been raised about why the first officers handling the investigation did not collect key evidence or give Snyder and Santoro a chance to identify their alleged assailants. Some members of the department have balked at giving statements to criminal investigators. It's highly unusual for the chief of police to hand-deliver an investigative report to Hallinan's Hall of Justice office, and Sanders' decision to do so Wednesday underscored how the Union Street incident and its aftermath have preoccupied the department. Sanders' few words were his first public comment on the incident since Nov. 22, when he compared criticism of the department's initial investigation to criticism of Jesus Christ. The elder Fagan, the department's second-in-command behind Sanders, has recused himself from the case and was not at Wednesday's meeting because he was on a trip out of state, department officials said. 1 Capt. Paul Chignell, who oversaw the investigation and was at the session, would not comment on the report's contents. Hallinan said after receiving the report that there are still many unanswered questions and that the case is "not yet complete." "They did many of the things that we requested they do, but they did not do all the things that we requested they do," he said, pointing to a list of 20 areas that his office wanted covered. Most were dealt with, he said. "Some that we felt were very important were not done," Hallinan said. One of the areas that investigators addressed, Hallinan said, was the initial police failure to seize the three officers' clothes for possible blood evidence. Police have now provided blood samples, Hallinan said, though the source of those samples was unclear. "We recognize that the public wants this case to move ahead," Hallinan said. "They want some resolution brought to it .... We intend to do that as rapidly as we can." "It is what it is," Hallinan said of the probe. "Certain things were not done on the scene that were unusual in a police investigation. On the other hand, there was not really an issue as to who the suspects were. "We do feel that when certain things are not done in the initial stages, it presents a problem," Hallinan said. The report went to prosecutors a few hours before the Police Commission met at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the Mission District. It was the panel's first meeting since shortly after the Union Street incident. ~nong those addressing the panel was Capt. Greg Corrales, commander of the department's Mission Station and supervisor for Lee and Tonsing. Corrales was the senior officer on hand during the early hours of the probe, and he previously branded some of the accusations by Snyder and Santoro as "ludicrous. " Wednesday night Corrales told commissioners, "Unfortunately, in the last couple of weeks, we have seen two of our own vilified, tried and convicted in the press." He called it a "very painful situation . .. for me and others" in the department. After the commission meeting Corrales elaborated, saying that one of the three officers involved in the incident, Lee, wasn't present when the fracas started and it is undisputed that when he arrived he told 2 the other two, "Let's get out of here." He added he remains convinced the encounter was net "as it is being portrayed" in the news. Several people from the audience who testified before the commission criticized press coverage of the Union Street incident and spoke glowingly of Corrales, praising his fight against prostitution and drug dealing in the Mission District. But Daniel Paiz, 45, spoke critically about the incident and the department. "There's an entrenched belief within the force to protect their own at almost any cost," he said. The Union Street incident could one day reach the commission, since the city's civilian-run Office of Citizen Complaints is conducting its own investigation. Any findings by the police watchdog agency on suggested disciplinary charges could be forwarded to the panel. None of the officers involved in the Union Street incident has commented on the investigation. E-mail the writers at jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com and ssward@sfchronicle.com. ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. Page A - 25 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson @earthlin k net Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 5:34 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] WashingtonTWP NJ - Cop uses patrol car to buy drugs NBC10.com Cop Accused Of Buying Drugs In Patrol Car Officer Had Called In Sick POSTED: 6:32 p.m. EST December 16, 2002 UPDATED: 10:00 p.m. EST December 16, 2002 A South Jersey police officer has been busted for allegedly using his patrol car to buy drugs. Authorities in Washington Township said township police officer Araalio Gurcsik, 25, drove his marked police car to buy drugs after he called in sick on a work day. Gurcsik has been charged with second-degree misconduct and suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation, officials said. The incident happened Sunday night in the parking lot of the King of Pizza Restaurant on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, N.J. Police said Gurcsik attempted to buy cocaine from underdover police officers and was arrested at the scene. He is now free on his own recognizance, officials said. Officials said Gurcslk, a three year veteran of the force, had been under investigation for a month. He was also charged with attempting to purchase drugs, as well as official police misconduct. NBC 10 tried to reach Gurcsik at his apartment, but there was no answer. Police said another Washington Township officer was also involved and has been suspended with pay. His name was not released because he has not been charged. "It just boggles the mind why he would take a police vehicle and drive it to make a drug buy," said one police official interviewed by NBC 10. Copyright 2002 by NBC10.com. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 7:51 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San Mateo CA ~ Suit likely in Pepper-Spray Death San Mateo County Times Suit likely in pepper-spray death By Suzanne Zalev STAFF WRITER Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - Amy Yarbrough REDWOOD CITY -- The case of a Redwood City man who died in police custody last month may end up in civil court. Family members of Rick Escobedo, who died Nov. 17 after being pepper-sprayed and restrained, have hired an attorney and say they may file a wrongful death suit against the city. The City Council met in closed session Monday to discuss anticipated litigation, a measure City Attorney Stan Yamamoto said was just precautionary. Escobedo, 39, stopped breathing after Redwood City officers pepper-sprayed, restrained him and placed him in the back of a patrol car. Police, who were responding to a report of a dispute at Escobedo's girlfriend's apartment, allege he became violent when officers tried to search him. "We really do suspect wrongdoing, some police misconduct and some excessive force," said Escobedo's cousin Armando Olvera. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be dead." "You have an unarmed, handcuffed man who's being arrested on a noise complaint, in essence, who winds up dead," added San Francisco Attorney Randolph Daar, who has been retained by the family. The San Mateo County Coroner has not released Escobedo's cause of death, but Daar said there were serious, unexplained injuries on his body. The District Attorney's office is investigating the incident. The eight officers involved were initially placed on paid administrative leave, but returned to duty last week after an internal investigation found they hadn't violated any department policies. Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said his office has completed its interviews but is waiting for the coroner, who is hoping to interview the officers before ruling on the cause of death. Wagstaffe said he expects the investigation to be completed next week. Escobedo's family says they're waiting until the District Attorney's office completes its investigation to decide whether to file a lawsuit against the city. "It's kind of in limbo right now," said Robert Escobedo, the oldest of Escobedo's 10 siblings. "The family doesn't really know what to do at this point." Robert Escobedo said he's angry that the officers were allowed to come back to work when the District Attorney's investigation hasn't been completed. "This is outrageous, and I don't understand why ... these guys are out on the street," he said. He and several other family members addressed the City Council on Monday, asking why the officers are back on the street and why questions have not been answered. Yamamoto said the council has no jurisdiction over administrative functions of the Police Department. Under the city charter, the police chief is appointed by the city manager, who is a council appointee. Wagstaffe said he's sympathetic to the family, but the investigation is moving as quickly as possible. "They are concerned about this, clearly, but it takes time to do it right," he said. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 7:57 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami/Dade FL - DEA Whistleblower targeted, files suit San Antonio Business Journal From the December 13, 2002 print edition DEA supervisor claims he is a target of reprisal, discrimination Bill Conroy Sandalio Gonzalez is a 30-year-plus veteran of law enforcement who has put his job on the line for what he deems a just cause. For most of his career, a quarter of a century, Gonzalez has been with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) . With his appointment in September 1998 to Associate Special Agent in Charge in Miami, Fla., Gonzalez became the highest-ranking Cuban-~nerican in DEA and the second in command of the Miami Field Division. Over the course of his career with the DEA, Gonzalez has taken on a number of domestic and foreign assignments, including a stint as chief of South American Operations in Washington, D.C., just prior to coming to Miami. But Gonzalez' move to Miami would prove to be career altering. It was there that he ran head first into a suspected cover-up that thrust him into a major legal battle with the DEA that is still ongoing. In the wake of a November 1998 search of a suburban Miami house, a joint DEA/Miami-Dade Police team came up short on a stash of cocaine. Prior surveillance of the house had indicated there should have been about 32 kilograms ef cocaine on the premises, but the total amount accounted for after the search fell 10 kilos short of that mark. Enrique Borer and his wife, Gisel, both of whom had prior drug convictions, were the targets of the raid. After their arrest, the Borers agreed to become confidential informants in a play for leniency in their case. Their cooperation did lead to several arrests The Borers assert that they informed DEA agents about the missing cocaine immediately after their arrest and that the information was ignored. Honths later, the Borers found themselves being accused of taking the 10 kilos of coke. Genzalez, though, suspected a set-up. He was clued into the potential corruption after receiving a memo from one of his agents outlining "apparent official misconduct ... and violations of federal law," according to a discrimination lawsuit Gonzalez has pending in federal court in Hiami. "It was alleged that police officers may have taken the cocaine," Gonzalez asserts in the lawsuit. However, the fix was in, according to Gonzalez, who claims in his lawsuit that the "good o1' boys" within the DEA and the U.S. Attorney's Office closed ranks to protect the "non-Hispanic/non-minority" DEA agents involved in the Borer raid. Specifically, Gonzalez claims in his litigation, the goal of the alleged cover-up was to prevent "any type of scrutiny regarding the Borer allegations" of police misconduct as well as to ward off scrutiny of the DEA agent's "association with the Hiami-Dade Police Department squad" that was involved in the Borer raid. 1 "The Bovers were deactivated as ... informants in January 1999, following the arrest of Enrique Bover," Gonzalez's lawsuit states. "This arrest was based on what was clearly questionable information and evidence produced by a Miami-Dade detective who worked closely with (the suspect DEA agents and) who Gonzalez subsequently learned was under investigation by his own police department's Internal Affairs Office, as well as by the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office. The January 1999 case against Enrique Bover was consequently dismissed for lack of evidence." However, Gonzalez's problems were only beginning. "I took a stand on the missing 10 kilos of cocaine, and insisted that they (DEA) do an investigation," Gonzalez says. "And that was it." In the wake of seeking to launch that investigation into the missing drugs, Gonzalez found himself the target of a series of actions by his superiors that he claims were designed to intimidate, embarrass and ultimately silence him. Gonzalez filed Equal Employment Opportunity claims against his superiors for their actions and ultimately took his case into federal district court in Miami. In addition to suffering retaliation and discrimination designed to "harass and humiliate {him) and slander his character and damage his reputation," Gonzalez asserts in his lawsuit that in January 2001 he was transferred involuntarily to the less prestigious post of Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's E1 Paso, Texas, Field Division. "The prohibited actions cited ... were undertaken by the Department of Justice-Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida personnel, all sanctioned and encouraged by management officials of the DEA, who also participated in the prohibited actions, and furthered an entrenched DEA policy or philosophy of racial profiling and retaliatory actions against minorities, specifically Hispanics," Gonzalez alleges in his lawsuit. The Department of Justice, the defendant in Gonzalez' lawsuit, contends the charges made in the case are without merit. Gonzalez, though, says his career did not merit being turned upside down for blowing the whistle on suspected corruption within the DEA. "The missing cocaine is definitely the catalyst of my problems," he says. "The cover-up {since then) has been amazing. They (my superiors) look at you blank face and then look the other way." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 9:36 AM To: Update@NACOLEorg Subject: [NACOLE Update] LA May Pay $2.5M to Woman Who Lost Eye in Out-of-Policy Beanbag Shooting httpJIwwwJatimes~comlnewslloca!l!a-me-sett!el 7dec17,0,7022628,story?co!!=!a%2Dhead!!nes%2 Dca!ifornia City May Pay $2.5 Million to Woman Who Lost Eye By Scoff Glover and Matt Lair Times Staff Writers December 17 2002 The Los Angeles city attorney's office has tentatively agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who lost an eye after a police officer shot her with a beanbag projectile because he mistakenly believed she was reaching for a weapon. The proposed settlement with Annette Amoroso, 40, comes amid allegations by her attorneys that police investigators withheld a videotape from the evening she was shot that might have been key evidence in the case. Additionally, they alleged, the officer's claim that he shot Amoroso after she put her hands in her pockets near the bottom of her jacket was undermined by the jacket itself: There were no outside pockets near the bottom of the jacket. Amoroso was shot on Nov. 27, 2000, by Officer Craig Marquez during an investigation to determine whether the sport utility vehicle she was a passenger in was stolen. Although the SUV had been reported stolen by the owner, it was, in fact, the owner's husband who had the vehicle. An internal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department concluded that the officer did not have sufficient reason to shoot at Amoroso. Marquez, who had previous excessive force complaints against him, including unnecessarily pointing his gun at another motorist's head, was suspended for 22 days as a result. He has requested a disciplinary hearing to fight the suspension. The City Council is expected to vote on the proposed settlement today. Amoroso's attorneys declined to comment on the case, pending the council's vote. But court documents they filed allege that the LAPD covered up the true facts of the incident. Special Assistant City Atty. Josh Perttula, a spokesman for the office, said attorneys are recommending settling the case for a number of reasons, including "the out-of-policy finding in the shooting, the plaintiffs injuries, which were severe, as well as some very difficult evidentiary hurdles that had to be overcome." The evidentiary problems included the missing videotape and the fact that the jacket's design did not appear to square with the officer's description of the incident, a city official said. The officer's previous complaint history also posed potential problems for the trial, the official said. SUV Reported Stolen According to police reports, Marquez and his partner were on patrol when they became suspicious of a brown Toyota Land Cruiser, which had pulled out of a motel parking lot near 3rd and AIvarado streets. When they checked the vehicle's license plate number, they learned that it had been reported stolen. The officers called for help and continued following the SUV as it pulled into a nearby gas station and parked. Amoroso then exited the vehicle's right rear passenger door. Believing that she was a possible car thief, the officers got out of their car, drew their weapons and ordered Amoroso to 12/17/02 Page 2 of 3 put her hands on her head and kneel on the ground. Amoroso, who was wearing a short leather jacket and miniskirt, and who said later that she had been drinking, did not do as she was told. A male passenger, identified as Kevin Patrick, also got out of the vehicle. He too refused the officers' commands to get down on his knees. As the confrontation escalated, other patrol officers responded to the scene. Police said Amoroso yelled profanities at the officers, and told them she was going to go into the gas station's mini-mart to buy some water. Marquez said he felt threatened by Amoroso's conduct and retrieved a beanbag shotgun, a weapon that police sometimes use to subdue a violent or uncooperative suspect when the situation does not call for use of a normal gun. Amoroso, with her hands allegedly inside her jacket pockets, continued to swear at the officers and took a couple of steps toward them, police reports state. In response, Marquez fired one beanbag round at her, which apparently missed. Amoroso then started to walk toward the mini-mart. Marquez, who said he thought Amoroso might take hostages inside the mini-mart, fired another round, this time striking her in the torso. "1 can't believe you just shot me," Amoroso cried as she fell to her knees and then laid in a fetal position, according to the police report. "Moments later, Amoroso sat back up on her knees," the police report states. "Amoroso then leaned forward, placed her hands in her jacket pockets and began to rise, simultaneously turning clockwise toward Officer Marquez. Believing Amoroso may be armed and was possibly about to draw a weapon from her jacket or waist, Officer Marquez fired a third beanbag round." That one struck Amoroso directly in her right eye. The force of the blow obliterated her eyeball, broke bones around her eye-socket and caused bleeding in a layer of her brain. According to the police report, the entire incident occurred within two minutes. "Based on the totality of the situation, it was not reasonable for Officer Marquez to conclude Amoroso was armed or presented an immediate threat," then-Chief Bernard C. Parks said in finding the officer's actions "out of policy." In the end, it turned out that the vehicle was reported stolen by Patrick's wife, apparently because they had been fighting, and he failed to pick her up at the airport as he had promised. As a result of the injury, Amoroso had to have surgery to remove the remnants of her eye. She is undergoing reconstructive surgery around her eye. Amoroso, a onetime hairdresser and mother of four from Westlake Village, has since moved to Hawaii and could not be reached for comment. in an interview with The Times shortly after the shooting, Amoroso said she had been out to the Viper Room nightclub with friends that evening to see a friend's band perform and did not want to kneel on oily pavement because she was wearing nice clothes. Findings Questioned Amoroso's attorneys - lan Herzog, Amy Ardell and Richard PIotin -- were critical of the department's investigation. According to court papers, they alleged that physical evidence and witness testimony refuted the police account. They contended that Amoroso was on her knees with her hands in the air the first time she was struck by a beanbag, and was shot in the eye when she turned around. The lawyers also argued that Amoroso's jacket has no pockets in which she could have hidden her hands. The only three pockets on the outside of the garment are small ones near the breast and shoulder areas, they said. Finally, when they asked for any photographs and videotape during the discovery process before a trial, they were told by lawyers for the city that no video existed. However, during the deposition of one officer who was at the scene that evening, a security tape from the gas station was discovered. According to that officer, who viewed the tape for only a few moments, the video depicted Amoroso just prior to her being shot and may have shown more of the encounter. The city attorney in the case initially denied that any videotape had been recovered from the gas station. Later, the city 12/17/02 Page 3 of 3 attorney acknowledged that a tape had been seized, but that it did not show anything relevant and ultimately was returned to the gas station owner, who taped over it. 12/17/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 9:30 AM To: Update@NACOLEorg Subject: [NACOLE Update] LA Chief Proposes Ban on Majority of Police Pursuits http J/www~!atimes~com/news/!oca!/!a-me-chaselTdec 17.story L.A. Chief Proposes Ban on Majority of Police Pursuits By Andrew Blankstein Times Staff Writer December 17 2002 Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton has proposed banning a majority of police pursuits under a new policy that would also require greater supervision of chases in progress. Bratton's proposal, to be considered by the Los Angeles Police Commission today, follows a series of high-profile chases and collisions that resulted in a death and many injuries this year, the latest coming Dec. 3 in Sylmar when fleeing suspects crashed into a minivan, severing the arm of an infant. "The chief of police is recommending substantial adjustments in the department's pursuit policy," said Deputy Chief George Gascon, whose responsibilities include oversight of training and policy development. "It's a policy we will continue to refine and evaluate." The plan would ban the use of infractions -- minor offenses such as broken taillights, missing license plates or minor traffic violations -- to justify a pursuit. Such offenses now prompt at least 60% of all pursuits by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to a review by the Police Commission, which must approve policy decisions for the department under the city charter. The proposed change was applauded by the American Civil Liberties Union, which has favored restricting high-speed pursuits since 1996. "If the Police Commission adopts the new policy, it would be doing what some departments throughout Southern California have already done," said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California. "Some of these high-speed pursuits have resulted in harm and even death to innocent bystanders. It's an ongoing problem and it's about time the Police Commission changed its policy." In choosing a policy for Los Angeles, Gascon said the commission must balance the competing interests of keeping the public safe from pursuits while also keeping it safe from the criminals who might remain free if police don't chase them. "It's a delicate balancing act, so we want to look at where can we adjust the policy to enhance public safety without the unintended consequence of increasing the danger to the community and officers, which is a big concern of Chief Bratton's," he said, noting that the Syrmar chase was initiated after a report of a felony stabbing. The department has proposed tracking fleeing suspects preferably by air, rather than chasing them on the ground, when possible. Bratton also wants to give supervisors, such as watch commanders, control over chases. Now, LAPD patrol officers have wide discretion on whether to pursue suspects who commit everything from a traffic infraction to a felony. The senior officer involved in the chase has the responsibility to decide whether and when to terminate a pursuit. Bratton's proposal would not change the existing policy requiring officers to weigh the potential threat to bystanders against the need to make an arrest1 taking into account traffic, pedestrians and the danger posed by the suspect. Rising pursuit-ralated accidents, many of which have involved injuries and deaths, have caused the department to 12/17/02 Page 2 of 2 reconsider its policy. In March, a driver fleeing police struck pedestrians Anna Polivoda, 76, and her husband, Henry, 79, near the Beverly Center. They suffered broken bones and head injuries. The chase began as the result of a traffic infraction. A 4-year-old girl was killed in June when an auto-theft suspect being pursued by Los Angeles police ran a red light on a busy downtown street, causing a chain-reaction accident that knocked over a traffic light, crushing the gid. Then a 2 1/2-week-old boy lost an arm Dec. 3 after his parents' sport utility vehicle was broadsided by a car occupied by four men fleeing police during a short, high-speed pursuit in Sylmar. Police chases and injuries among pedestrians resulting from them increased significantly last year, according to Police Commission statistics. Pursuits rose to 781 in 2001 from 597 the previous year. Pedestrian injuries resulting from chases in 2001 were nearly double those of 1998. A study by the California Highway Patrol showed that LAPD pursuits decreased 36% from 1995 to 2000. Statewide, the five-year decrease was 32%, according to the CHP. Bratton, in considering the policy change, also will draw on a study that compares LAPD pursuit statistics and tactics with those of 20 police agencies across the nation. A study by the Police Commission of chases in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and St. Louis found that the LAPD had the highest total -- 781 pursuits, 283 collisions and 139 injuries in 2001. Only Dallas and Las Vegas experienced a higher percentage of pursuits that resulted in collisions. As in Los Angeles, officers in Dallas and Las Vegas are allowed to pursue suspects for traffic violations. Some of the chases have been costly. According to the Los Angeles city attorney, the amount paid out in liability claims stemming from police pursuits from July 2000 to 2001 was $1.32 million. From July 2001 to September 2002, the city paid out approximately $196,400 in claims. That legal exposure as well as the perceived danger to the public have caused other departments to apply more conservative policies. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department requires deputies who initiate a pursuit to give watch commanders specific information from the field concerning their speed, location and the reason for the chase, including what type of law was violated. The watch commander then determines whether to chase or not. Sheriff's Department spokesman Darren Harris said reasons to terminate a pursuit include unreasonable danger to the deputy, motorists or pedestrians. The department's policy is to track suspects with air units whenever they are available. In Orange County, the Sheriff's Department does not allow pursuits based on infractions. That policy resulted in eight pursuits in 2001 and just one collision. 12/17/02 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 1:28 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NYPD wants surveillance power Nation's Largest Law Enforcement Agency Vies for Total Spying Power The NYPD Wants to Watch You by Chisun Lee (Village Voice) December 18 - 24, 2002 The enemy could be anywhere. So the authorities say they must look everywhere. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks a vast network of government agencies, from federal to local, has amassed extraordinary powers to inspect what ordinary Americans say, do, and believe in the course of their daily lives. As the nation's largest law enforcement agency--nearly twice the size of the Federal Bureau of Investigation--the New York City Police Department could be the biggest Big Brother of all. Yet it faces quite a stumbling block. A long-standing federal order, imposed after a landmark lawsuit revealed rampant surveillance abuses of political activists, prevents the NYPD from spying on whomever it wants. Now the NYPD is fighting to gut the order and get its old powers back. Police currently cannot investigate people who are exercising their constitutional rights, no matter how unpopular the cause, unless there is some indication of a crime. Street protesters are the most obvious beneficiaries. But also covered are those who pray, attend community meetings, write editorials, or express their views in almost any other way. The police department insists it needs broader authority to hunt terrorists, who may masquerade as regular law-abiding folks until the moment they strike. But if police win this bid, the followers of "extremist Muslim fundamentalism" they have mentioned won't be the only ones in their sights. Everyone becomes fair game. The NYPD relinquished its spying autonomy as a result of a 1971 class-action suit filed by a diverse group of activists who accused police of using dossiers and undercover agents to chill and punish lawful dissent. Officials eventually admitted as much. In a historic settlement over a decade later, police promised to heed certain guidelines and be monitored by an oversight body when investigating constitutionally protected activity. Federal Judge Charles Haight signed the settlement--known as the Handschu agreement after one of the plaintiffs into effect in 1985. This September the Bloomberg administration submitted a request to Haight that he strike nearly every aspect of the Handschu agreement-especially the core requirement that police establish some trace of criminal activity before surveilling someone. The NYPD's intelligence commissioner, former CIA operations director David Cohen, argues in court papers, "It is difficult to imagine a state of affairs more outdated by the events of September llth." The Handschu agreement, he warns, "dangerously limits the ability of the NYPD to protect the people . . . in this changed world." But setting investigators loose on law-abiding people will hardly protect them, counters Paul Chevigny, a New York University law professor and part of the group of lawyers who filed the 1971 class-action suit and are back battling the city again. "If the police win," he warns, civil liberties will slide "back to the 1950s. Police will have the power to infiltrate and monitor groups just because they're curious. They'll be able to keep dossiers on people and disseminate the information to anyone they want, whether it hurts somebody or not." The sides have traded paper arguments and will face off in court in the next month or so. One point on which they agree: the outcome could impact every New Yorker. The police department declined repeated requests from the Voice to discuss its surveillance bid, expressing reluctance to comment on pending litigation. David Cohen, the department's head of intelligence, did not respond to a letter seeking an interview about his vision for a safer city. But the NYPD's court papers trumpet a clear theme: Meeting the mammoth task of preventing more terrorism will require infiltrating innocent lives. "Terrorists engage in a prolonged period of often lawful activity in preparation for their criminal acts. They escape detection by blending into American society. They may own homes, live in communities with families, belong to religious or social organizations and attend educational institutions," Cohen maintains. The department wishes--without having to establish any evidence of a crime--to record names from organizations' mailing lists and petitions, photograph and videotape protesters, and plant undercover agents inside groups and events, according to its court filings. Among the requirements police want wiped from the Handschu agreement: routine oversight; paper records of surveillance; internal reviews of investigations; and publicly available summaries of basic information, such as the number of new probes opened in a year. Another key target for extinction is the rule that all political investigations be confined to one unit, the Public Security Section. Meant to simplify police accountability, the requirement now poses a critical manpower problem, the city claims. "The NYPD cannot leave it to federal agencies alone to investigate terrorist activity," argues Cohen in his papers. Indeed, the NYPD's potential reach as a spy network is enormous. The department employs approximately 53,000 people, with some 37,500 armed officers--more than triple the 11,400 noncivilian agents who work nationwide for the FBI, which has approximately 27,800 employees in total and operates a New York bureau of about 1500. The Immigration and Naturalization Service staffs about 36,000. {The Central Intelligence Agency's size is confidential.) Former mayor Edward Koch, for one, is convinced that circumstances warrant a more powerful police. A fierce critic of political surveillance in his congressional days, his was the first mayoralty to fall under the 1985 Handschu agreement. "Anytime you have cops monitoring, it means that someone who would like to be here [at a protest] . is going to think twice. That's not what the United States is all about. I think it's an outrage that the federal government is collecting these political files . . and that the city government is doing it. We gotta end it," he said in 1970. September 11 changed his mind. "I believe a greater liberty has to be given to law enforcement," he says now. "I believe absolutely there will be occasions that go too far. That's the necessary cost of protecting the public in these times where we're dealing with terrorism." But "terrorism is nothing new," says Chevigny. The lawyers opposing the city point out that police have long known New York City is a prime target for horrific attacks. They acknowledge that September 11 was uniquely tragic but deny that it created a reason to grant police free access to lawful people's 2 private information. They would consider amending the Handschu agreement only to reflect technological changes in interagency information-sharing. Says Ellen Schrecker, a leading historian of ~erican anti-Communism who teaches at Yeshiva University, "During the McCarthy era, almost everything was labeled as an 'unprecedented crisis.' The threat of communism was seen like terrorism today--there were these people who were connected to an international network, and if ordered by their masters in Moscow, would immediately blow up the George Washington Bridge. Things are different now, obviously. Terrorists blew up buildings. "But the question is, are the restrictions on intelligence-gathering so onerous that the MYPD needs to destroy the [Handschu] restrictions?" So far the city has done almost nothing to answer that question. It has submitted grave warnings to the court of the unparalleled threats posed by today's terrorists. "IT]he counterproductive restrictions imposed on the NYPD by the Handschu Guidelines in this changed world hamper our efforts every day," Cohen claims. But the city has yet to provide a single piece of proof that this claim is true. At one point the NYPD asked to submit, for the judge's eyes only, secret evidence from Cohen giving "specific factual references . . neither hypothetical nor theoretical" about how the Handschu agreement has posed a serious obstacle. Last week, it abruptly withdrew that request. When the other side moved to question Cohen directly in a deposition, the city's lawyers asked the judge to excuse him. Haight has yet to decide if he will. Nor would the city immediately release records to the Voice that might provide some insight into the Handschu agreement's restrictiveness. The 1985 order mandates the compiling of annual reports, "available to public view," that list among various data the number of surveillance requests made by the NYPD and the number approved. Several past members of the Handschu oversight committee, however, told the Voice that surveillance requests at the time they served were almost never rejected. Indeed, the Handschu oversight body is hardly structured to be anti-police. The 1985 order mandates that the three-member committee will always include two top police officials and a civilian appointed by the mayor in consultation with the police commissioner. Decisions are made by majority. And police have 48 hours before and 30 days after filing a request to investigate without formal approval. When Fordham law professor Bruce Green was on the committee from July 1994 to November 1995, requests that were not immediately approved "were not necessarily formally rejected," he recalls. "If discussion raised doubts about whether an investigative request ought to be approved, the police department could go back to the drawing board." Another former appointee, Harold Tyler, who as Gerald Ford's deputy U.S. attorney general had helped craft restrictions to cure abuses in the FBI's counter-intelligence program, COINTELPRO, says, "The Handschu order was much more limited." The former federal judge explains that the order simply insured "that you couldn't go off on a frolic of your own--law enforcement, that is." When the settlement was first announced, many staunch civil libertarians dismissed it for heavily favoring the police. Its only utility, they argued, was in creating a paper trail that could be produced by the Handschu committee if someone complained after the fact. It is unclear how the ultimate penalty for a violation-to be found in contempt by the judge--would impact the NYPD, since no complaint has ever resulted in a contempt ruling. There have been informal reprimands, recommendations for further training, or no repercussion at all. It is difficult to imagine that the Handschu committee would block any remotely legitimate terrorism investigation. But it could not permit the kind of surveillance police currently covet, which is banned outright by the 3 guidelines namely the routine monitoring of people's constitutionally protected acfivities without the slightest evidence of a crime. Police intelligence commissioner Cohen has vowed in court papers, "The decision to seek modification of the Handschu Guidelines was not an effort to grab power so that the NYPD could 'spy' on political activity." Yet without the Handschu agreement, there would be no formal mechanism to stop police snoops with a repressive agenda. Certainly times have changed, but history provides a troubling wealth of evidence about how an NYPD, unfettered and unwatched, has used its surveillance powers against dissenters. The 1971 class-action suit that resulted in the Handschu agreement arose from the famous trial of the Panther 21. Two years after the Black Panthers were jailed in a supposed plot to blow up department stores and police stations, a jury took just 90 minutes to decide they were not guilty on all 156 counts. Undercover police agents, it turned out, had manipulated the defendants with ideas and encouragement and then greatly exaggerated their misdeeds to police superiors. "I don't think any of us had a clue until we were brought on trial that we were infiltrated to the extent that we were," recalls Shaba Om, one of the 21 and an original plaintiff in the Handschu case. "They had agents deep undercover, whom I counted as my closest friends. I was facing 375 consecutive years in prison. But I got nothing. The terrorists and murderers they described didn't exist." Radicals were not the only ones spied on, Om recalls. "They were surveilling church groups, civic groups, social organizations." Indeed, police reported during the Handschu case that their intelligence files dated back to 1904 and included some 1 million records on over 200,000 individuals and groups. The trove was so vast, an official informed the court in 1981, that it would take "approximately 41.5 man-years" to organize the files for public viewing, as the plaintiffs' lawyers were asking at the time. In a 1971 affidavit in the Handschu case, then police commissioner Patrick Murphy admitted to "infiltrations and informers, and telephone wiretapping, electronic eavesdropping, surreptitious recording of conversations, covert photography of individuals attending demonstrations, and recording speeches at demonstrations," according to the judge's written summary. Murphy said targets did not have to be linked with a crime but could merely be political "malcontents." The malcontents of the time included Vietnam War protesters, gay rights activists, health and housing advocates, education reform groups, and civil rights activists. Among them were Steven Fischler and his friends, NYU film students in the early 1970s. They belonged to such groups as the anarchist "Transcendental Students" and were regulars at protests. But their real problems with the NYPD Red Squad, as the political intelligence unit was nicknamed then, began when they started shooting a film called Red Squad about police surveillance. "In some respects, we were outsmarting them," Fischler remembers. The students used wireless microphones and hidden cameras, for instance, to record plainclothes police interrogating them. As the Voice's Nat Hentoff reported in June 1971, officers visited one student's parents unannounced and questioned neighbors. Records Fischler later obtained show that agents questioned their professors. His message for students today: "Police now might be after some Middle Eastern organization you might not be a member of, but who knows in the future where they might go." Fischler and fellow student filmmaker Joel Sucher signed on as original plaintiffs in the Handschu case. Aggressive tactics were far from uncommon. Red Squad detectives would question the teachers, neighbors, landlords, family members, and employers of their 4 targets. The NYPD intelligence unit sometimes supplied political information to public and private employers, costing applicants jobs. At the city Department of Welfare in the 1950s, police acted even more directly to punish dissent, says Joshua Freeman, a labor historian at Queens College. Considering the agency to be "a hotbed of unionism," the "militantly anti-Communist" coulmissioner, Raymond Hilliard, "sent in 24 rookie patrolmen posing as workers to be spies. They just set out to smash this thing." By the end of Hilliard's tenure, Freeman says, 191 workers had lost their jobs. "The context was McCarthyism, but the impact was really to delay unionization." By the 1970s, between the operations of COINTELPRO end the NYPD's BOSS--or Bureau of Special Services, as the political intelligence unit was officially titled at one point--New York activist groups were spooked and crumbling. Iris Morales joined the Young Lords Party, a Puerto Rican rights network, in 1969, after years of organizing tenants where she lived in East Harlem. The mix of global anti-colonization work and local community service--free breakfast and youth education, for instance--drew her in. But as undercover police contact with the group seemed to grow, "the organization started to disintegrate," she says. The paranoia and fingerpointing among friends exhausted her and eventually pushed her away. The Handschu Agreement was not a perfect cure. There have been numerous complaints of violations since 1985. Still, activists have benefited, if only in enjoying an official standard by which to assert their rights. In the order's sole contempt proceeding in court, ultimately decided in the NYPD's favor, police admitted to taping black activists who spoke on radio station WLIB in 1987. They claimed to be listening for event planning information about protests, but it turned out they had mostly recorded speakers' political views. Police had not asked permission from the Handschu committee. The NYPD's actions were found to be "inappropriate," but not in formal violation of the court decree. Still the complaint wrung an apology from the police commissioner and generated wide media exposure of what investigators had inappropriately done to some of the city's most prominent blacks. A complaint about improper photography at rallies for Cuba in April 1990 similarly yielded no punishment of cops. Neither did a complaint 10 years later about visual surveillance of protesters after the February 2000 acquittal of the cops who shot A~nadou Diallo to death. Each case, however, gave the activists and more broadly the Handschu guidelines a platform in the press-alleged violations typically make the news-and ended in recommendations for improved police procedure. But the Handschu rules are most useful as a tool for protesters on the ground, says Leslie Brody, a National Lawyers Guild attorney who has supervised dozens of New York demonstrations. "The police know what it is, and when we talk to them in the street, they know we're watching them." At an anti-police-brutality march several years ago, she says, she got cops who were wrongly videotaping protesters to stop and actually hand her the cassette by citing the Handschu order. Such skirmishes seem quaint compared to the kind of surveillance David Cohen proposes. The city has never seen a commissioner of intelligence like him, a 35-year veteran of the CIA whose career specialty was international counterintelligence and whose greatest personal disclosure to date has been his age (60, as of August 2002). His much-touted appointment by Police 5 Commissioner Raymond Kelly was intended literally to save the city. If the NYPD succeeds in ending Handschu oversight of police surveillance, then Cohen will call the shots. But his CIA experience is precisely what troubles Chevigny, one of the lawyers opposing the NYPD. "The CIA is dedicated to collecting intelligence purely for the sake of collecting intelligence," says Chevigny, pointing out that conforming with the U.S. Constitution is not a routine concern for the largely international agency. Moreover, Chevigny and colleagues claim Cohen's court statements rely on sources known for promoting biased views about Muslims. They maintain that he lifted language in his affidavit directly from a published essay, "The Danger Within: Militant Islam in America," by New York Post columnist and think tank pundit Daniel Pipes, who espouses conservative--some say anti-Arab-politics regarding the Middle East. Pipes founded the McCarthy-esque Web site campuswatch.org, which encourages the monitoring of college professors and others who criticize U.S. policy in the Middle East and posts their names. Another source Cohen cites as reporting that "extremist ideology has taken over more than 80 percent" of U.S. mosques is actually untrustworthy and ideologically motivated himself, opposing lawyers argue. Politics can be a tremendous factor in police intelligence decisions, judging from history old and new. In past decades police extensively surveilled a wide spectrum of lawful, but antiestablishment, dissent. And contemporary police surveillance, according to what has been made public, most often targets people of color, critics of police misconduct, and leftists. Even well-intentioned agents can make mistakes. A number of activists and attorneys showed the Voice old surveillance files they had obtained from the NYPD that have basic facts wrong. A former Black Panther's file lists people as associates of his when they were not. Morales, the former Young Lord, has records that show investigators had misidentified her home address. In 1987, when he was executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, lawyer Norman Siegel obtained documents through a Handschu complaint that show not only that undercover cops infiltrated half a dozen meetings of civil rights activists, but also that they were not reliably observant. One memo identifies Siegel as a representative of the "Chinese Progressive Association." Says Siegel, "Up until that time I had joked about this stuff, saying, 'I don't care if the cops keep a scrapbook on me. I can give it to my grandchildren and they'll know granddaddy was a troublemaker.' But sometimes they don't get it right. They may not get the nuances, and in your dossier there's information on you that's inaccurate." Inaccuracies today could have disastrous results. Police have argued they need greater latitude in surveillance so they can send undercover informants into mosques and Muslim groups to root out terrorists. Such information-gathering has high stakes in a time when the U.S. president has the power--and proven willingness--unilaterally to label U.S. citizens "enemy combatants," based on secret information, and order them imprisoned indefinitely. And the White House recently said that the president can also unilaterally authorize the CIA to assassinate U.S. citizens if they are deemed to be agents of A1 Qaeda. A more predictable consequence, should the NYPD succeed in erasing restrictions on spying, is the icy effect it will have on legal protest. "It's been hard enough to bring out community members who've been affected" by post-September 11 policies targeting Middle Eastern immigrants, says Monami Maulik of Desis Rising Up and Moving, a Queens-based group organizing for South Asian immigrant rights. If police can legitimately investigate protesters, "it's going to get much more difficult for them to go public," she says, claiming that two immigrant rights activists she knows have already been detained by the INS. 6 More mainstream activists would have reason to fear as well, says Michael Ratner, vice president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. As a student organizer at Columbia University in the 196©s, he recalls, "If I wanted to get a wider circle of people out to a protest, I wasn't going to get the law students if there was a Red Squad there. We had one guy who was kept from the bar for a year. And if you were applying for a municipal job, there wasn't going to be a wall between the Red Squad and the municipal offices." The price of uncontrolled police surveillance is not just stifled activism but the losses in social progress that activism achieves, says Morales, the former Young Lord. "It wasn't just the Lords" who lost ground, she says, but "a whole movement that was beginning to be able to impact policy in a lot of areas--from civil rights to war to power for women." ONE OF THE BLOCKBUSTER CASES OF Red Squad abuse involved Robert Collier, a Black Panther who weathered two sensational trials in the 1960s during which extensive police infiltration was revealed. But it wasn't until a still later trial that Collier's life became an enduring illustration of how freewheeling police surveillance can skewer the innocent. Collier had moved to the Lower East Side and embraced health care advocacy, earning a spot on the board of Bellevue Hospital and the esteem of such figures as the president of the city's public hospital system. In 1973, however, he was arrested on weapons possession and conspiracy charges. It turned out an undercover cop, Detective Oswaldo Alvarez, had been tailing Collier for two years. "He was associated with a friend of mine," Collier recently recalled. "He appeared to be a co--unity person who was distressed. I tried to get him a job, get him to go back to school. He would come and have dinner with me. He had free rein in my house." During the trial it emerged that Alvarez had spied not only on Collier but on countless neighbors and colleagues Collier had contact with. Alvarez never had any criminal evidence to begin surveillance on Collier. And even after he had filed upward of 500 reports, his NYPD superiors still had to manufacture information to obtain the search warrant that cemented Collier's arrest. "[P]olice officials falsely informed the press that defendant was the head of a named terrorist group," noted New York Supreme Court Judge Peter McQuillan in his 1975 ruling. He dismissed all the charges against Collier and issued a scathing denouncement of the NYPD that would be cited into the future, by the judge who signed the Handschu order as well. "Unwarranted police surveillance . . intimidates, demoralizes, and frightens the co--unity into silence," McQuillan wrote. "Arbitrary and protracted police surveillance of community groups is the hallmark of every closed society. · A good faith claim by a police agency to control crime in an efficient and effective manner does not justify every infiltration effort. You need not be an overheated civil libertarian to fear limitless police surveillance and infiltration." Reached this month in retirement in Florida, McQuillan said of the NYPD's current effort to shed oversight, "Obviously, there are terrorists about. But how can these proposed changes help the city? I'm skeptical. Here we go again." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 1:31 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Cincinnati OH - Review Panel has no director or staff Citizen panel: No director, no staff By Craig Garretson Post staff reporter 12/17/2002 With just two weeks to go before its official startup Jan. 6, the new Citizen Complaint Authority is still waiting for City Manager Valerie Lemmie to name its executive director, to hire its staff of professional investigators and define the scope of its authority. "How do we function on Jan. 6 without final policies and procedures? -- How are we going to operate on Jan. 6?" asked acting chairwoman Nancy J. Minson, after board members spent 2~ hours Monday debating and defining its operating procedures. The seven-member board, which replaces both the Office of Municipal Investigation and the Citizens Police Review Panel, will have broad powers to investigate allegations of police misconduct. It is one of the most visible manifestations of police reforms enacted by the city, a result of the collaborative agreement which ended a racial profiling lawsuit against the city and the settlement with the Justice Department that ended a probe into the police department's use of force policies. But it has taken so long to get up and running that the board asked the city's executive manager of police relations, S. Gregory Baker, to ask City Council to change the office terms for its members. The terms began on July 1, 2002, but some board members -- including Minson -- were appointed to one-year terms, so they could be out of office after just six months. Baker said he would ask City Council to set the terms to begin on Jan. 1, 2003, to give its founding members full terms on the board. The agreements specified that the authority was to begin operations Aug. 9. But Baker said all the parties to the collaborative had agreed to extend the deadlines to iron out key details of the board's procedures and powers. "Rather than adhering to time schedules and trying to rush through, we're adhering to the concerns and the needs that were expressed by the DOJ and the parties to the lawsuit to get this structured in a manner that is acceptable to everyone involved," he said. Baker said there were at least two candidates for the position of executive director, but the search is continuing. The authority will take over the police investigations function of the Office of Municipal Investigation and replace the Citizens Police Review Panel. Unlike its predecessor, the Citizen Complaint Authority can independently investigate allegations of police misconduct with a full-time executive director and a five-person team of professional investigators. The authority also has the power to compel police or other city employees to testify, and can request non-city employees to appear before it by requesting a subpoena from City Council. The authority also can make disciplinary recommendations to the police chief 1 and city manager, another power denied to the Citizen Police Review Panel. The city manager doesn't have to follow the authority's recommendations, but must notify the board in writing if there is disagreement. The board will meet on the first and third Monday of every month at 6 p.m. in Conference Room B, third floor, City Hall. The meetings will be televised on city cable. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson @earthlin k. net Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 8:21 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Louisville KY - Detective who shot handcuffed man sued in another case Detective who shot handcuffed man is sued in another case Prisoner claims O'Neil hit bicycle, then assaulted him By Andrew Wolfson awolfson~courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal The Louisville police detective who fatally shot a handcuffed man Dec. 5 is accused in a federal lawsuit of knocking a suspect off a bicycle with his cruiser last year, then assaulting and choking him on the ground. The lawsuit was filed Aug. 8 in U.S. District Court by Timothy J. Lewis, 32, who now is serving a 10-year sentence for writing bad checks, receiving stolen property and being a persistent felon. Detective Michael O'Neil denies the lawsuit's allegations, said his lawyer, Steve Schroering. He said O'Neil hadn't been served with the suit and didn't know it had been filed. Lewis, who is at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex near La Grange, contends that he made the same allegations in a complaint to the Louisville police department's Office of Professional Standards. He also claims he sent the department four other complaints that name O'Neil or his partner, Detective Brian Luckett, but the department refused to acknowledge or investigate them. Police spokeswoman Helene Kramer said yesterday that the department has no record of receiving any of the complaints. She said such complaints may be filed by mail if they are signed and sworn in the form of an affidavit. If they aren't, the chief may order an investigation anyway, if a crime or serious misconduct is alleged, Kramer said, but generally he refers such complaints to the commander of the accused officer. She said Maj. Danny Assef, commander of the 5th District, where O'Neil and Luckett have worked, said he didn't recall receiving any complaints filed by Lewis. Lewis did not return telephone messages left for him at the prison. O'Neil and Luckett were suspended with pay pending criminal and internal investigations on Dec. 5, after O'Neil shot and killed a handcuffed James Edward Taylor, 50, in his apartment at 709 E. St. Catherine St. Chief Greg Smith has said that after being handcuffed, Taylor came at the detectives with a razor type box-cutter knife that he was able to twist around to his side. Word of the lawsuit against O'Neil -- as well as other complaints that Lewis alleges he made against the two detectives -- emerged this week, after Lewis mentioned them in a letter to the lawyer for Taylor's estate, Aubrey Williams. Personnel files released by the police department after Taylor's death indicated that O'Neil has an unblemished disciplinary record and that Luckett, who last year was named the department's rookie of the year for his work in 1 2000, has had one letter of reprimand, for making a sexual oomment to a trainee. Both began their police training in 1999 and have received numerous commendations. In the federal lawsuit, which Lewis filed without an attorney, he claims he was riding his bike home at 3 a.m. on Sept. 17, 2001, when he was hit from behind by a patrol car with no emergency lights on. Lewis contends that he was thrown into a telephone pole and that O'Neil got out and began assaulting, choking and cursing him, stopping only when Lewis screamed for help and a neighbor turned on his porch light. Lewis also alleges in the lawsuit that O'Neil threatened his life on the way to jail after accusing him of breaking into the officer's sister's car on Delor Avenue. In a citation charging Lewis with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, assaulting a police officer and possession of burglary tools, O'Neil alleged that he began pursuing Lewis, who was westbound on Texas Street, after recognizing him as the suspect in numerous area car break-ins. O'Neil said Lewis ran into the telephone pole when he turned to look back at the cruiser and took off on foot after crashing the bike. O'Neil also said in the citation that he found in Lewis' backpack a multipurpose tool often used for car burglaries. The citation doesn't mention whether Lewis or O'Neil required medical attention. Lewis' lawyer in that case, Robert J. Stauble, said that his client alleged at the time that he was ''roughed up,'' although the allegation didn't figure in his defense, and no proof of his contention was presented in court. In a plea agreement, the charges of assault, resisting arrest and possessing a burglary tool were dismissed, and Lewis pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, conditionally discharged for two years. Along with his letter to Williams, Lewis enclosed a sworn affidavit, dated Dec. 10, in which he claims he has sent five complaints about the detectives to the department. In another document dated April 18 that is notarized but not sworn, Lewis contends that Luckett seized cash from him when the detective arrested him last year on marijuana charges, and that Luckett consistently refused to return it. Lewis says that he had cashed a $1,000 check from his mother on the morning of the arrest and that $300 was missing after his arrest. In the Dec. 10 statement, Lewis said that Luckett kept the money in the property room for more than a year and that Lewis didn't get it back until the detectives were suspended. Court records show that after conducting a search of Lewis' residence on Sept. 2, 2001, in the 800 block of Milton Street, Luckett charged him with possession of marijuana and tampering with physical evidence, for allegedly trying to hide a plastic bag containing a marijuana cigarette butt -- or roach -- in his pants. The latter charge was dismissed and Lewis pleaded guilty to marijuana possession. He was given a 30-day sentence that was conditionally discharged for two years. Lewis was convicted Jan. 11 of criminal possession of a forged instrument, receiving stolen property over $300 and being a persistent felony offender. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson @earthlin k. net Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 11:23 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Gloucester County NJ - Third Officer Suspended in Drug Probe Posted on Wed, Dec. 18, 2002 Third officer is suspended in drug probe The Gloucester County patrolman's lawyer denies any criminality. The two others are Washington Twp. officers. By Jake Wagman Inquirer Suburban Staff A third Gloucester County police offioer, Harrison Township Patrolman Michael J. Thiel, has been suspended in a widening investigation of possible police involvement with drugs. Thiel's lawyer, Stuart J. Alterman, confirmed the suspension last night but said Thiel, 32, had "engaged in no criminality." Details of the allegations that led to Thiel's suspension were not available. Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton said his office would not stop in the investigation "until every officer involved has been held responsible." The probe surfaced Sunday night after Washington Township Officer Amalio S. Gurcsik was arrested in a drug sting. Gurcsik, who was suspended without pay, is accused of driving his patrol car to Cherry Hill to buy two $20 bags of cocaine. State records also show that he has been driving illegally for more than a month. According to the Division of Motor Vehicles, Gurcsik's driving privileges were suspended Nov. 4 after he failed to renew insurance on his personal vehicle. A second Washington Township patrolman, John S. Lombardo, also has been suspended, with pay, as part of the drug probe. He could face dismissal pending the results of a drug test conducted by the New Jersey State Police toxicology laboratory. Lombardo, 30, has been on the force since 1998. He is part of the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Narcotics Task Force, a special detail of local police officers involved in long-range drug investigations. Lombardo's lawyer, John Eastlack, did not return calls seeking comment. Gurcsik, 25, has been charged with attempted drug possession and official misconduct for using a police vehicle for "personal reasons." The three-year police veteran was scheduled to work 3 to 11 p.m. Sunday. Instead, authorities said, he called in sick and drove his police cruiser from his Washington Township condominium to the King of Pizza on Route 70 in Cherry Hill. Gurcsik is accused of arranging to buy, in the parking lot, $40 worth of cocaine from a man he later learned was an undercover investigator from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, court documents state. Authorities have a taped statement "in which he admitted his attempt to purchase cocaine," according to court documents. Reached at the home of his brother Frank, also a Washington Township police officer, Gurcsik said, "I really don't have an official comment." His lawyer, Jeffrey C. Zucker, did not return a call seeking Comment. Washington Township Police Chief Francis V. Burke Jr. said county investigators called him about 11 p.m. Sunday after Gurcsik was arrested. Burke was contacted again at 4 a.m. Monday after investigators approached Lombardo. Burke said he also learned Sunday that Gurcsik had been driving a township vehicle while his license was suspended. Gurcsik used the patrol car while off duty under a department policy that allows officers who live in the township to take their vehicles home. The DMV was alerted in May that the insurance on Gurcsik's personal vehicle had expired. The state sent Gurcsik warnings in September and October before suspending his license. Driving with a suspended license carries a fine of $500 for the first offense. If the person is involved in an accident that injures someone else, the penalty is up to 180 days in prison. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 2 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 11:31 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Sarasota FL - Ex-Officer gets House Arrest for interfering with FBI Probe Posted on Wed, Dec. 18, 2002 Ex-Sarasota officer gets house arrest for trading cocaine for sex Associated Press SARASOTA, Fla. - A police officer who traded crack cocaine for sex with a woman he met on the job was sentenced to house arrest and probation for interfering with an FBI investigation. District Court Judge Steven Merryday sentenced former Sarasota police Officer Alberto Gutierrez on Tuesday to three months of house arrest and three years of probation. Gutierrez, 27, was investigated by the FBI last year after Michelle Goetz, 31, told agents Gutierrez gave her crack cocaine in exchange for sex. Goetz was one of three women who complained about Gutierrez' sexual misconduct while he was on the job. She had met him when she reported her car stolen, and their relationship lasted about six months. While a federal grand jury was meeting to hear the evidence against him, Gutierrez was offering her gifts and trips if she would keep quiet. The FBI, with her permission, listened to their conversations. He was arrested in April on charges of drug distribution and witness tampering. In exchange for his guilty plea, the U.S. attorney's office dropped the drug charge. Gutierrez served 95 days in jail before he was released on bail. At Tuesday's hearing, Gutierrez said he's seeing a counselor and is active in his church. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Sarasota with their 2-year-old twin daughters and Lisa's two sons from a previous marriage. "I'll never do anything again to cause dishonor, embarrassment and mainly disappointment to my family," Gutierrez said. Gutierrez was a Sarasota police officer for seven months. He resigned from the department in November 2000 amid an internal affairs investigation of sexual misconduct with two other women. Both said he asked them for sex while he was on duty. Information from: Sarasota Herald-Tribune Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Vera Institute Webmaster [Webmaster@Vera,org] Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 3:07 PM To: Vera Institute Webmaster Subject: WHAT'S NEW IN POLICING at the Vera Institute of Justice - Winter 2002 WHAT'S NEW IN POLICING at the Vera Institute of Justice http://www.vera.org/policing Winter 2002 CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF POLICE A new Vera Institute project Advocates of fair and effective policing can learn from the experiences of like-minded people in other countries. In Civilian Oversight of Police, a new project on Vera's web site, representatives from 10 nations, including Brazil, Nigeria, and the Czech Republic, report on efforts to extend civilian oversight of police in their countries. Their accounts were first reported at the third in a series of global meetings on policing in democratic societies, which Vera co-hosted in Los Angeles in May. http://www.vera.org/project/projectl_l.asp?section id-2&project_id-50 PREVENTING UNNECESSARY USE OF FORCE While police carry firearms to protect the public and themselves, use of these weapons should be a last resort. Controlling use of force is difficult for every department. Law enforcement leaders in Portland, Oregon, recently hired Vera's Police Assessment Resource Center (PARC) to help them do just that. After reviewing officer-involved shootings and deaths that occur in police custody and the department's own investigation of these incidents, PARC will compare Portland with other jurisdictions and recommend how police there can prevent unnecessary use of force. http://www.vera.org/project/projectl_l.asp?section_id 2&project id=7 SHARING EXPERIENCE IN POLICING IN DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES AROUND THE WORLD How can citizen surveys, computerized crime mapping, and civilian oversight mechanisms positively influence policing? These topics, which were the focus of the first three global meetings on policing in democratic societies, are featured in Democratic Policing Exchange, a semi-annual newsletter on public safety and police accountability. The newsletter is produced by the Vera Institute of Justice for the Ford Foundation. http://www.vera.org/publications/publications 5.asp?publication_id 184 MAPPING CRIME ACROSS NEW YORK STATE 1 Mere access to crime mapping doesn't ensure the best use of this technology. New York state officials and Vera are helping the new police chief and commissioner of public safety in Schenectady, NY, learn how the state's new crime mapping system can help them assess and respond to local crime. http://www.vera.org/project/projectl_l.asp?section_id-2&project_id=6 NEW PUBLICATIONS at Vera http://www.vera.org/section2/section2 4.asp TURNING NECESSITY INTO VIRTUE: PITTSBURGH'S EXPERIENCE WITH A FEDERAL CONSENT DECREE by Robert C. Davis, Christopher W. Ortiz, Nicole J. Henderson, Joel Miller, and Michelle K. Massie The Justice Department recently reached an agreement with Pittsburgh to release the city's Police Bureau from the consent decree it has been under since 1997. Federal officials said the department is now "a model for good police practices" in nearly all areas, but found the city's civilian complaint investigation process still needs work. In "Turning Necessity Into Virtue," Vera researchers examine what helped bring the department into compliance. The consent decree will not be lifted until a judge reviews and ratifies the agreement between the Justice Department and the city. Read the Executive Summary: http://www.vera.org/publications/publications 2c.asp?publication_id~lS0 Read this publication: http://www.vera.org/publication_pdf/180 326.pdf [1,065 KB/81 pages] BUILDING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN POLICE THROUGH CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT by Emma Phillips and Jennifer Trone In both new and more mature democratic societies, citizens are putting increased pressure on police not only to control crime but also to treat everyone they contact fairly and with respect. This paper explores the different ways that citizens can monitor and shape law enlorcement practices, and the challenges of that work. It captures issues discussed at an international meeting on civilian oversight of police held in Los Angeles in May 2002. That meeting brought together police officials from Brazil, the Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, Russia, South Africa, and the United States and those who oversee their work from elsewhere within government and from non-governmental organizations. The paper begins with a look at why civilian oversight arises, moves on to consider some of the tensions and competing interests related to crafting an appropriate role for civilian overseers, and ends with discussions about how overseers can maintain independence and objectivity while collaborating with police and the need to hold themselves accountable Read this publication: http://www.vera.org/publication pdf/177_336.pdf [186 KB/16 pages] 2 CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF THE POLICE IN DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES by Christopher Stone and Merrick Bobb In democratic societies, the police are accountable for many things and to many different people. Most prominently, police are accountable for the effectiveness with which they deal with crime and disorder, as well as for the legality, professionalism, and respect with which they treat people. While authoritarian police are accountable only to their superiors, democratic police are accountable to a multiplicity of bodies. In addition to their superiors, democratic police are accountable to the legislature, to the courts, to members of the public who seek their assistance, and to society as a whole through the press and organizations of citizens. The creation of mechanisms for the routine oversight of police conduct on behalf of the public, mechanisms that curb or correct abuses of power, is a common project of democratic societies. Prepared for the third global meeting on Policing in Democratic Societies, this short framework paper reviews some of the common dilemmas that arise in the design of such police oversight authorities. Read this publication: http://www.vera.org/publication_pdf/179 325.pdf [143 KB/6 pages] CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF POLICING: LESSONS FROM THE LITEPJITURE by Joel Miller, with assistance from Cybele Merrick This paper reviews the English language literature on the civilian oversight of police. It was prepared for the third global meeting on Policing in Democratic Societies, which took place in Los Angeles in May 2002. Read the Executive Summary: http://www.vera.org/publications/publications_2c.asp?publication_id-178 Read this publication: http://www.vera.org/publication pdf/178_338.pdf [359 KB/23 pages] WHAT'S NEW IN POLICING at the Vera Institute of Justice is published quarterly. Readers are encouraged to redistribute this e-mail to interested colleagues. To subscribe or unsubscrihe, please use our online form at: http://www.vera.org/subscribe/subscribe.asp. Using that form, you may also subscribe to updates on Vera's work on Crime and Victimization, The Judicial Process, Sentencing and Corrections, and Institutions for Youth, as well as updates on our new publications and international programs. ABOUT the Vera Institute of Justice A private nonprofit organization, Vera works closely with government to improve the services people rely on for safety and justice. The Institute develops innovative, affordable programs that often grow into self-sustaining organizations, studies social problems and current responses, and provides practical assistance to government officials in New York and around the world. 3 To send ns feedback about this update, write an e-mail to Vera's webmaster at <webmaster@vera.org>. Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Ids. Jones@ci.austin.tx. us Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2002 9:05 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Baytown patrolman is cleared for excessive force Baytown patrolman is cleared Had been suspended for excessive force By CINDY HORSWELL Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Baytown patrolman Bert Dillow, cleared of wrongdoing in the death of Luis Torres while in police custody, has now had a disciplinary action involving excessive force in a subsequent arrest removed from his record. Dillow, 31, was suspended for four days without pay in August after a Baytown internal affairs investigation concluded he had used excessive force and illegally seized Derrick Monroe on Feb. 18 in connection with a traffic violation. A hearing examiner reversed the four-day suspension and ordered Dillow to receive back pay because the letter from the police chief notifying him of the suspension had failed to tell him that he had the right to appeal to an arbitrator. "It is being thrown out on a technicality," said Baytown Police Chief Byron Jones. "We'll work hard to see that something like this does not happen again. It was an honest mistake made by our legal staff." Burt Springer, Dillow's attorney, said Dillow is glad to have a clean record again. "We won on a technical reason, but we could also have won on the merits," Springer said. "There was no excessive force. You can see in the video that (Monroe) was trying to get Dillow's gun and you can hear his friend who is already in custody screaming for him to quit fighting." Monroe, 21, of Baytown has since pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 18 months in jail for attempting to take guns from Dillow and another Baytown officer, Shawn Fischer. A month before the Monroe incident, Dillow was one of four officers investigated in connection with the death of Torres, a resident alien from Mexico. Torres' death was ruled a homicide resulting from mechanical asphyxiation or compression of his airways. A Harris County grand jury and a Baytown police review later found the officers had done nothing wrong during an eight-minute struggle to restrain Torres with handcuffs. In the second case, Dillow told Monroe that he was "not arresting him but handcuffing him for officer safety" as he looked into his car's open door, the Baytown Internal Affairs report concluded. A violent scuffle began as the officers tried to handcuff Monroe who in mm tried to grab both officers' guns, the report said. Dillow at one point yelled for Fischer to "shoot him" although no shots were fired, the report said. In finding Dillow used excessive force, the report stated that he failed to "de-escalate" or stop striking Monroe 12/19/02 Page 2 of 2 with his baton after he was flailing on the ground and no longer trying to assault the officers. The report also criticized Dillow for not allowing enough time for the pepper spray to work before using his baton and violating department policy by making two of 13 blows overhead rather than lateral strikes. Overhead blows are considered a deadly force, police said. Finally, the report found Dillow had illegally detained Monroe using a vague traffic complaim. Dillow first said the car was stopped for making an illegal turn and later for making an unsafe lane change, the report said. Fischer, who was given a one-day suspension for using excessive force on Monroe, could not be reached for comment. His appeal is still pending before a hearing examiner. 12/19/02 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k.net Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2002 9:31 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Concord NH - Court rules police critic was within her rights Court rules police critic was within her rights Woman was convicted of lying to officers By SARAH C. VOS Monitor staff Thursday, December 19, 2002 Two years ago, the Concord police criminally charged Yvonne Allard for lying to investigators about how much force officers had used on her boyfriend. A district court judge convicted her. But yesterday the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that Allard was within her rights to criticize the police - even if she wasn't telling the truth. If the law, which forbids giving false information to officers, were interpreted literally in this case, it might stifle free speech, the court said. The ruling, according to Jon Meyer, Allard's lawyer, offers protection to those who complain about police brutality. "It talks in terms of interpreting criminal statutes in a more narrow way when they infringe on free speech," said Meyer, an attorney at Backus, Meyer, Solomon, Rood & Branch in Manchester. Essentially, the three majority justices have placed an extra burden on prosecutors who seek to convict a person who has lied to officers about police misconduct. Now, prosecutors must prove not only that the person lied but also that the person intended to start a criminal investigation. In Allard's case, the court ruled that, at most, she wanted to start an internal investigation that would lead to the officers being fired. Allard, now 34, said she was ecstatic upon learning that her name had been cleared, even if the Supreme Court didn't find that she had told the truth. Concord police Chief Jerry Madden, on the other hand, found the ruling disappointing. "We don't charge people with crimes because we don't like what they say," Madden said. "If they didn't tell the truth, that's a different matter." Yesterday's majority opinion, which was written by Justice James Duggan, cited U.S. Supreme Court cases to support its finding. In 1987, in Houston v. Hill, the court found that the freedom to challenge police action without risking arrest distinguished free nations from police states. Chief Justice David Brock and Justice Joseph Nadeau concurred with Duggan. Justice Linda Dalianis dissented. In her dissent, Dalianis argued that the majority justices had rewritten the law, creating something that was not there before. Dalianis wrote that where the law is plain and unambiguous, the justices should not look beyond it for guidance. In addition, she said that the majority opinion does not give further protection to those who would criticize police officers or report police misconduct that they believe is truthful. Allard's case began in early hours of Aug. 6, 2000, when the Concord police were called to Jennings Drive. Neighbors had complained about noise at the apartment Allard shared with her boyfriend, Charles Anzaldi. Officers took 1 Anzaldi into custody on charges of disorderly conduct, but he resisted arrest and struggled with the officers. When they first placed him inside the cruiser, he kicked a backseat window until the glass shattered. A few days after the arrest, Allard called the Monitor and told a reporter that the officers had used excessive force when arresting Anzaldi. The Monitor, using information gathered from police reports and Allard, printed a story. Soon aftemward, Lt. George Pangakis and Sgt. Mike Cross went to Allard's apartment, unannounced, to question her about what she had told the reporter. Allard answered the officers' questions, but she did not accuse any police officer by name. When Pangakis asked her why she had complained to the newspaper rather than the police, Allard told him that she did not trust the police. After a three-month investigation in which officers interviewed neighbors, medical workers, those involved in the arrest and jail employees, the police charged Allard with making a false report to law enforcement. They said she had lied to investigators about what had happened. In the news release announcing Allard's arrest, Pangakis warned those complaining to the police to tell the truth. "If it is determined that a citizen has misled police officials or has not been truthful," he wrote, "they potentially expose themselves to the risk of prosecution." When Meyer first read about Allard's arrest, he wondered, especially because of the publicity surrounding it, if it would stop people from complaining about police brutality. "The deterrence factor could very well affect cases that were valid, as well as cases that were invalid," Meyer said. When Allard was convicted, Concord District Judge Arthur Robbins gave her the maximum sentence, a fine of $1,200. Allard, who now lives in Daytona Beach, Fla., said she had no idea she could be charged for her statements. Getting arrested was a shock. "When I was convicted, it was an even bigger shock to me," she said. The irony, Meyer said, is that throughout her boyfriend's arrest and the subsequent investigation into her actions, Allard was very cooperative. Had she never talked to investigators when they came to her apartment, she would not have been charged, he said. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2002 9:49 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Philadelphia PA - Clue backs par~ of rape claim against officers Posted on Thu, Dec. 19, 2002 Clue backs part of rape claim A dancer said she was attacked by two on-duty Phila. officers. Police won't say if it proves she was raped. By Barbara Boyer and Mark Fazlollah Inquirer Staff Writers Forensic evidence from an investigation into a woman's accusation that she was raped by two on-duty Philadelphia police officers has substantiated part of the woman's claim, officials said yesterday. Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson stopped short of saying whether the evidence proves the woman was raped or whether there was misconduct on the part of the officers. The two officers, who are assigned to the 15th Police District, have not been identified. But they have been removed from street duty and placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of investigations by the Internal Affairs Bureau and the Special Victims Unit, the squad that investigates rape. Although one of the officers is the son of a retired police captain, Johnson said the rape allegations are being handled like any other report. "They are not getting any sort of special treatment," the commissioner said. "Acousations of any police wrongdoing, especially wrongdoing like this, jars public confidence in police," said Carol Tracy, executive director of the Women's Law Project. "This has to be investigated immediately and thoroughly." The alleged victim, a 25-year-old dancer at Daydreams gentlemen's club in Northeast Philadelphia, reported to police that the assault occurred on Dec. 11. About 3:15 a.m., she was in a car with two men at a convenience store in the 6400 block of Frankford Avenue in the Mayfair section of the city when the two officers approached. The officers asked her to get out of the car because she was suspected of intoxication and they wanted her to answer some question~. She was placed in the back of their cruiser and the men whom she was with were told to meet the officers at another location, she reported. The woman told police she was driven to a remote location and sexually assaulted. One of the officers, she said, forced her to have intercourse while the other officer forced bet to have oral sex. Afterward, the woman was driven to Frankford Avenue at Clearfield Street, where her two friends were waiting. Shortly before 6 a.m., the woman filed a complaint with a patrol officer, who contacted his supervisor, Johnson said. The matter was then referred to Internal Affairs and Special Victims. The woman identified the two officers and the police cruiser, Johnson said. The cruiser and one of the officer's uniforms were processed for evidence. Additionally, the woman was taken to a hospital for examination. Attempts to reach the woman have been unsuccessful. One of the officers under investigation said he had been unfairly accused. 1 "I've never had a problem before," the officer said. "... I have a wife and three kids." Johnson said yesterday that investigators had obtained some evidence, but he would not detail what it was. He said not all the tests have been completed. As of yesterday, no charges had been filed. "I have handled over 100 rape cases at the preliminary hearing level," said Bradley Bridge, a senior public defender. "If a woman has alleged she has been raped, that would be enough evidence to put it before a judge to decide whether it should go to trial." Police refused to say whether the officers under investigation had been working in that area that night or whether they have provided documentation of any interaction with the woman. When asked what the officers have said about the matter, Johnson said they are saying "nothing." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2002 9:54 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Cathedral City CA - Officer Accused of Misconduct Cathedral City Police Officer accused of misconduct KESO Channel 3 News 12-18-2002 There are new allegations tonight of abuse in the Cathedral City Police Department. An officer is accused of misconduct and the department responds. A veteran Cathedral City police officer is answering a complaint by other officers. It alleges Lt. A1 Reshaw ordered a group of officers to intimidate a local man and tonight Reshaw is firing back. The man at the center of storm denies everything. In a complaint that was just filed Reshaw was accused by fellow officers of misconduct. The alleged incident took place earlier this month after a Cathedral City PD secretary received a number of disturbing calls. Reshaw allegedly ordered Officer Glen Haas and others to intimidate the man making these calls and get him to stop. But Reshaw denies he did anything wrong. Reshaw had not even seen the official complaint until Newschannel Three showed him a copy. Haas and the other officers supposedly told to strong arm the caller refused Reshaw's orders, and Haas along with the police officers association filed the official complaint. The complaint was sent to the city managers office and we are still waiting for a response from the city. The Cathedral City chief of police says he has to wait to hear from the city manager before be takes any action or disciplines any of his officers. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2002 10:13 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Torrance CA - Case of accused MB officer goes to jury Case of accused MB officer goes to jury DELIBERATION: The panel must decide whether Eric Eccles' or his colleagues' testimony was more credible in the assault trial. By Denise Nix DAILY BREEZE Publish Date:December 19, 2002 Did three Manhattan Beach police officers see a colleague beat a suspect as they testified in court, or was their testimony based on lies or misconceptions? That question is at the crux of a jury's decision as to whether officer Eric Eccles, 27, is guilty of assault under the color of authority and filing a false police report. The Torrance Superior Court jury began deliberating late Wednesday in what the prosecutor told them was an "extraordinary' police misconduct case that could land the officer in prison for more than three years if he is convicted. An officer and two sergeants were willing to make themselves "pariahs in the law enforcement community' and take the unusual step of reporting and testifying about a colleague's alleged use of excessive force," Deputy District Attorney John Gilligan said during closing arguments. "They came in and they told you the truth," Gilligan said. Eccles has said from the witness stand that his colleagues and the alleged victim, Daniel Wayne Chance, 21, lied when they said Eccles repeatedly struck Chance with a flashlight following a foot pursuit on Dec. 29. However, Eccles' attorney, Bill Seki, told the jury he could not say that the other witnesses are liars. But, he did try to show how individuals' perceptions and judgments could be affected by a number of circumstances. Officer Joe Guzman testified Eccles had told him he was going to make Chance "tap dance" while they were searching for him, and then, once Eccles found him, he hit Chance repeatedly with a flashlight. Guzman said he could not see Chance perfectly from where he was standing during the first part of the arrest, which lasted no more than 15 seconds, and therefore could not say if he was resisting. However, by the time he'd moved to a different vantage point, he said he could see Chance was not resisting. Sgt. Robert Cochran, who said he arrived in the back yard at about the same time Guzman said he moved his position, testified he saw Chance's hands and he was not resisting, but Eccles delivered two to three strikes with his flashlight anyway. Sgt. Mark Mason said he arrived right after Cochran, and did not see any resistance by Chance or blows from Eccles. When asked by Seki, though, Mason testified he was not surprised an excessive force allegation was made against Eccles because it was consistent with his character. ! Guzman, Cochran and Mason all said they did not hear Eccles tell Chance to stop resisting until it was obvious the two sergeants were in the same back yard. "The people out there, they all corroborate each other's versions of these events and yet Mr. Eccles gets on the stand and he says they're all lying," Gilligan said. Eccles maintains he struck Chance once on the knee after pulling the board under which he was hiding off of him and Chance grabbed his leg. Chance, a former high school wrestler, pulled Eccles down and the two struggled. Eccles said he struck Chance with his elbows in an effort to get away. Ail the while, Eccles feared Chance could get to his weapons and he wondered why Guzman, who was nearby, was not helping. Seki said such things as intoxication, lighting, locations, stress and motives affected Chance, Guzman, Cochran and Mason's perceptions of the struggle. Chance, who was underage, drunk and fearful of getting in trouble, has admitted he doesn't remember some of what happened that night, Seki noted. Chance mostly complained of pain to his right knee, which is consistent with Eccles' testimony that he only hit Chance once on the knee, Seki said. A videotaped interview about six hours after the chase and doctor's records show Chance had some other injuries, but they were mostly scrapes and bruises that Chance admitted he could have received while running through yards and jumping fences, Seki said. In addition, Chance has a motive to make it look like he'was wronged by Eccles, since he has a federal civil rights lawsuit pending against the officer, the city and the department. Meanwhile, the evidence has shown that there was friction between Guzman and Eccles before the incident, Seki told jurors, adding that Guzman may have reported Eccles either to get him in trouble or cover up his own failure to aid a fellow officer during a struggle. In addition, Guzman, Cochran and Mason did not corroborate some aspects of each other's stories, such as the position Chance and Eccles were in and Guzman's testimony that Eccles told him he was going to make Chance "tap dance" when he found him. Despite being nearby, neither of the sergeants said they heard Eccles say that, Seki said. "They're not lying," Seki said. '~The question is, are they misperceiving things and do they have a motive?" Gilligan urged the jurors to deliver justice to Eccles just like his colleagues did by turning him in and testifying against him. The trial, which lasted a week before Judge Francis J. Hourigan, has illustrated the rift in the department where officers are pitted against each other. For example, a homosexual sergeant claims in a pending lawsuit that some officers, including Eccles, have made anti-gay remarks. In another case several years ago, officers testified against each other in court when three of them were accused of giving preferential treatment to a Los Angeles Lakers trainer during a domestic violence call. During Eccles' trial, friends, family and colleagues have come to court to support him, and the tension was palpable while Guzman, Mason and Cochran testified, and again during closing arguments. Hourigan took the unusual step of telling spectators to stop talking and 2 making faces during the arguments or he would stop the trial. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of l Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 1'1:18 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Timoney to Take Over Miami Police Dept Timoney To Take Over Miami Police Dept. c The Associated Press MIAMI (AP) - Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney will take over Miami's troubled police department next month, city officials said. "Chief Timoney is the real thing, a cop's cop and a true professional," City Manager Carlos Gimenez said Thursday. Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley also announced Thursday that the city would get a new chief. Miami's outgoing chief, Raul Martinez, announced last month he would resign amid the fallout from a series of questionable shootings of civilians by police. Before becoming Miami's chief in May 2000, Martinez was chairman of a board that cleared at least 18 of the officers involved in those shootings. Eleven officers face trial on charges of planting guns, manipulating evidence or covering up crimes by others in the shootings. Timoney began his career in the New York Police Department and rose to second in command under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. He was credited with bringing increased respect to Philadelphia's police depadment and was a runner-up for the Los Angeles chief's job in October. In Baltimore, O'Malley announced that city Police Commissioner Edward Norris was leaving the force to take over Maryland's state police force. Norris also had served as a commander of New York's police force. 12/20/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 11:37 AM To: Update@NACOLEorg Subject: [NACOLE Update] Shedding Light on Officers Who Help Prosecute http:llwww.!at!mes comlnewsllocallla-me-onthelaw20dec20,O,4177058,story?co!!=!a%2Dheadlines%2 Dcalifornia ON THE LAW Shedding Light on Officers Who Help Prosecute With cases overturned in the Rampart scandal in mind, the D.A.'s office now tells jurors of any misconduct in a testifying officer's past. By Kristina Sauerwein LA Times Staff Writer December 20 2002 With the Rampart police scandal costing taxpayers millions of dollars, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley earlier this month implemented a long-awaited policy aimed at ensuring that jurors know the background of officers scheduled to testify in court. More than 100 cases have been overturned since problems were uncovered in the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division, where officers in an anti-gang unit were caught lying in court, planting evidence, stealing drugs, beating suspects and covering up unjustified shootings. Cooley's policy "may have brought some of the [Rampart] issues to light a lot sooner," said Lael Rubin, special counsel to Cooley. "1 wouldn't be so bold to say it would have prevented Rampart, but it would have raised some red flags." By making it easier for lawyers to obtain disciplinary records of law enforcement witnesses, Cooley hopes his policy will reduce the time and money wasted on cases that were later overturned, as well as leave no doubt in jurors' minds about officer credibility. But legal experts differ over whether the plan goes far enough. Prosecutors are required to give the defense information that could be used to impeach a government witness, such as a police officer or coroner, under federal law. California law, however, protects most police personnel records from being made public. Throughout the years, confusion resulted because neither prosecutors nor defenders understood their roles, attorneys say. "This is really the first time in this office's history that there has been a comprehensive, uniform and widespread policy," Rubin said of Cooley's office, which is the state's largest prosecutorial agency." ... It's not an easy task." Rubin said the policy explains lawyers' obligations and rights as well as the procedural methods for obtaining disciplinary records. The D.A.'s office has worked closely with law enforcement agencies in deciding which information -- prior convictions, evidence of racial bias, established patterns of using excessive force -- should be disclosed. Under the policy, the district attorney's office established a computer system for lawyers seeking records of police misconduct. The D.A.'s new computerized "Brady Alert System," named after the U.S. Supreme Court decision which requires disclosure, is a secure but small database that contains court records on officer convictions, as well as information that a judge deems pertinent after reviewing files from a law enforcement agency. 2/20/02 Page 2 of 2 "The amount of information in there is, frankly, pretty small," Rubin said. Many criminal defense lawyers argue that Cooley's policy is too limited to be effective. "Nothing has changed whatsoever," said Gigi Gordon, a defense lawyer who served on Cooley's committee but quit, dissatisfied. "It's business as usual." Cooley acknowledged that the topic can be confounding. "Hardly anyone understands it, even lawyers," he said with a laugh. "But we think we got it down.... It is a model for the state of California." And for the nation. Even if the D.A.'s computer system lacks enough relevant data, the fact that it exists is "quite laudable," said Lawrence Goldman, a criminal defense lawyer in New York City and president of the Washington, D.C.- based National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers. For years, prosecutors have claimed ignorance rather than turn over relevant material that the defense was not aware of, Goldman said. "If there's a database, prosecutors can't claim ignorance," he said. In California, the burden is on the defense to seek information from an officer's personnel files if lawyers suspect those records contain material that would raise questions about the officer's credibility. In such cases, police are required to submit the records to the judge, who determines what should be disclosed. That still occurs under Cooley's policy. What changes is that prosecutors assume the lead role. Cooley's policy requires prosecutors who become suspicious of an officer called to testify in coud to request a review of law enforcement personnel files. When an officer with a history of misconduct is summoned to court, a judge then decides what information will be disclosed to the defense. Authorities have determined that part of the disciplinary record of Rafael Perez, the convicted drug thief at the center of the Rampart scandal, had not been disclosed and was not used to impeach him when he testified in cases before the controversy. In November, Cooley announced that his office had rejected prosecution in 82 Rampart cases partly because it would require testimony from police witnesses who lack credibility, including Perez and Nino Durden, another main player in the scandal. Rampart also prompted Cooley's predecessor, Gil Garcetti, during his last few months in office, to propose a similar data bank. The Police Protective League responded by filing a lawsuit claiming that the action violated police privacy rights. Cooley killed Garcetti's data bank soon after he took office in December 2000. He formed a committee of prosecutors, police officers and a representative of defense lawyers to devise a new policy. Defense lawyers have accused the district attorney's office of bowing to political pressure from police unions. During the last several years, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties have restricted access to police disciplinary records, a move considered necessary to comply with state laws protecting officers' rights. "Cooley's policy provides a good balance," said Elizabeth Tourgeman, a Santa Monica attorney who represents local police unions and state legal defense fund for peace officers. "At this point, I don't see any need to litigate." The policy was well received when it was presented last summer to prosecutors from the state's 58 counties, said Larry Brown, executive director of the California District Attorneys Assn. They're studying how L.A. County fares before starting their own Brady policies, he said. They were impressed that Cooley's office "attempted to grapple, which is by all accounts, a difficult issue," Brown said. But L.A. County Deputy Public Defender Mark Harvis said there are too many problems with the system. He cited a requirement that prosecutors ask a judge to issue orders forbidding the defense from sharing any disclosed information with other lawyers, or using it in any other case. "1 think Steve Cooley's heart is in the right place," he said. "But [the policy] doesn't breed fairness or confidence in the system." 12/20/02 Marian Karr From: Malvina Monteiro [monteiro@diplomats.com] Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 1:52 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] 18 face charges in Mafia drug ring By Douglas Belkin, Globe Staff, 12/20/2002 A predawn raid netted 18 alleged members of a drug ring that police say funneled profits to the New England Mafia, including two convicted traffickers who apparently have changed teams from James ''Whitey~ Bulger's gang to the traditional Italian mob, authorities said. Those arrested include the Medford homeowner who opened his doors to La Cosa Nostra for the 1989 induction ceremony, taped by the FBI, and a Suffolk County prison guard, said Attorney General Thomas Reilly. The ring, which allegedly has been operating for about a decade, was headed by Anthony Rizzo, 40, a reputed made member of the New England family. He is a part owner of Amici, a restaurant in the North End, authorities said. ~'We~re talking La Cosa Nostra,TM said Kurt Schwartz, chief of the attorney general's criminal bureau. ''La Cosa Nostra still exists in much the same structure that it has for years.TM Ail 18 defendants appeared for arraignment in several district courts, pleading not guilty to the charges, including drug trafficking and conspiracy. The Drug Enforcement Administration and State Police said they used cutting-edge surveillance techniques including satellite tracking of automobiles used by the alleged dealers. ''Hopefully, the word goes out that that type of technology and co~itment is there and law enforcement will work together to take down criminals,'' said Boston Police Commissioner Paul Evans said. Reilly said evidence gleaned from phone taps and extensive surveillance in the 15-month inquiry also links the ring to loan-sharking and gambling. At 6 a.m., a force of 130 officers burst into 17 homes around the city and suburbs, rousting many of the defendants from bed, according to State Police. Officers seized 13 guns, 62 pounds of marijuana, 245 pounds of cocaine, prescription drugs, and $32,500 in cash. Authorities characterized all 16 men amd two women arrested as ~career criminals,'' representing the top tiers of a crime ring that moved 150 to 200 pounds of marijuana a week, along with 10 pounds of cocaine. Arrested along with Rizzo, a well-known personality in his North End neighborhood, was Anthony Cardillo of Somerville, who is already awaiting trial on cocaine trafficking charges stemming from his arrest in August 2000 by State Police. State Police Lieutenant Stephen Matthews said the bulk of the marijuana seized in the raids yesterday was found in a closet in the bedroom of Richard Moretto, 38, of Stoneham. In 1990, Moretto and Scott Lindberg, 36, of South Boston, were among 51 people indicted by a federal grand jury in a massive sweep of a South Boston-baaed ring that ferried cocaine from Florida to Boston. Moretto was sentenced to 171/2 years and was released after serving a portion of the term. Lindberg was released in February 1993 after serving a lesser sentence for street-level dealing. Both were arrested in yesterday's raid. In Stoneham, authorities arrested Stephen DiStefano, 50, who gained notoriety as the Medford homeowner who lent his house to a group of mobsters for the first-ever Mafia baptism ceremony captured on tape by the FBI. On Oct. 29, 1989, after DiStefano left town for the weekend, 21 mobsters from around New England converged at his house on Guild Street. DiStefano's brother-in-law, Vincent Federico, was among the four new mob soldiers welcomed into the Mafia family after they pricked their trigger fingers, swore lifelong allegiance, and promised to kill for the Mafia. The tape of the induction ceremony was a key piece of evidence in the convictions of the hierarchy of the New England mob, including then-boss Raymond ''Junior'' Patriarca. After his arrest yesterday, Suffolk County correctional officer Dean Rosati, 31, was suspended with pay from his $45,000-a-year job as a guard at South Bay House of Correction. Rosati has worked for the sheriff's department for seven years and will likely be suspended without pay next week after a hearing, a spokesman for the department said. An employee of a Boston dentist, Christina Gaudin, 36, also was arrested yesterday and charged with acting as the ring's prescription-drug connection, forging prescriptions for painkillers. Also arrested were Wilberto Pagan, 28, of Medford; Robert Alex, 34, of Revere; Ray Mondello, 55, of Boston; Pasquale Regneta, 73, and Mark Anthony Regneta, 73 and 46, both of Boston; Norge Olivero, 36 of Medford; Frank Coscarelli, 50, of Medford; Julie Pirelli, 33, of Medford; Louis Carpinto, 43 of Peabody; Paulo Tizzano, 33, of Boston; and William Meehan, 31, of Revere. Shelley Murphy of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Douglas Belkin can be reached at dbelkin@globe.com. This story ran on page BI of the Boston Globe on 12/20/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr-signup Meet Singles http://corp.mail.com/lavalife Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Kart From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 3:13 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Gloucester County NJ - Officer excelled before arrest Officer excelled before arrest Friday, December 20, 2002 By Jim Six jimsix@sjnewsco.com HARRISON TWP. -- Ptl. Michael Thiel's first year as a D.A.R.E. officer here was last year, and he was pretty good at it. The township police department's head Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, Sgt. Edward Selb, said Thiel taught three D.A.R.E. classes. One officer said the kids and their parents liked him enough to buy him a Christmas present. "He was actually an excellent D.A.R.E. instructor. The kids related to him and they enjoyed having him in class," Selb said. Thiel taught approximately 70 students last year. The D.A.R.E. instruction hasn't started for this school year yet. Thiel was arrested Wednesday, charged with official misconduct for allegedly having and using drugs. The arrest was part of a case opened Sunday night, when Ptl. ~alio S. Gurcsik of Washington Township was arrested in the parking lot of a Cherry Hill pizzeria, off duty but in his patrol car, allegedly trying to buy two bags of powdered cocaine from a Camden County Prosecutor's Office undercover officer. Someone had tipped off authorities about a month ago that Gurcsik might be buying cocaine for personal use. The investigation led to Gurcsik arranging to purchase cocaine that night and, when he offered the undercover officer the $40 for the two bags, investigators from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, the Camden County Sheriff's Department, Camden City, Cherry Hill and the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office pounced and made the arrest. When Gurcsik's arrest was announced on Monday, authorities said a second Washington Township officer had been suspended pending the results of a urine test for drug use. That officer, Ptl. John Lombardo, was arrested Wednesday at the same time Thiel was arrested, on the same charge of official misconduct, according to Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton. Lombardo had been serving a six-month stint on the Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Strike Force that started in June. Officers from municipal police departments are temporarily assigned to the strike force for six-month tours to help the county's law enforcement efforts and to bring narcotics enforcement experience back to their departments. Ail three officers have been released on their own recognizance and suspended without pay. Harrison Township School Superintendent Dr. Patricia Hoey said no special response was being prepared to address with the students the issue of their D.A.R.E. officer being arrested on drug charges. "Just like any other situation, we couldn't ignore it," Hoey said Thursday morning. 1 "We will speak directly to children if questions are asked," she said, but school staff members "will not initiate conversations because the D.A.R.E. program hasn't started yet this year." "We're decertifying him as a D.A.R.E. officer," said Selb, who is a D.A.R.E. mentor. "Even if everything comes back clear, I don't want any indication of an officer being involved in that kind of stuff." Selb said that if he sees a problem, "if parents or kids want us to do something, D.A.R.E. New Jersey will do something." The township has two other D.A.R.E. officers besides Selb -- Sgt. Brian Bartholomew and Ptl. Christine Kemp -- and all three volunteered on Monday night to be the first to take drug tests, so as to offer a good example. Bartholomew is a major in the Army Reserve and is tested often, Rodgers said. He welcomed yet another test, Rodgers said. Rodgers said many concerned parents called the police station Thursday to see if Thiel's arrest will curtail the D.A.R.E. program here. "I told them it would continue without a doubt," Rodgers said. Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 3:17 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Rensselaer NY - Rensselaer cop cleared of sex crime Rensselaer cop cleared By: Shawn Charniga The (Troy, NY) Record December 20, 2002 RENSSELAER - One of the city force's 22 officers was recently exonerated after being accused of a sex crime by an area woman, Police Chief Frederick M. Fusco announced Thursday. He did not identify the officer by name. The crime was said to have occurred Nov. 1. The officer was placed on administrative leave Nov. 7 but was cleared of charges after the State Police's Albany crime lab returned evidence. But Fusco said the officer, who has been on the city's police force for almost two years, would be suspended for 30 days after a "very minor" personnel issue. He declined to elaborate. The officer would not have been caught on the personnel issue if he was not under investigation for the "unfounded, unrelated" sex crime allegation, Fusco said. Only the first few moments of the 45-minute press conference focused on the suspended officer. Assembled reporters bombarded Fusco with queries on the hostile relationship between the force and city government soon after the press conference began. The chief responded with a prepared statement and a packet of photocopied news articles, painting himself as the lone sheriff cleaning up the town. The chief said he has the support of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, who tell him he is on the right path and should proceed, according to Fusco. Fusco also released the following statistics for 2002: n The police force employs 22 officers. It is permitted to operate at a maximum strength of 27. n Nine, perhaps 10, have of late been suspended. Fusco was unsure just how many. Three have been disciplined and returned to active duty, though others face arbitration or have retired to avoid it. One officer admitted his guilt and was disciplined. Another claimed innocence but was found guilty during arbitration and was suspended for 60 days without pay. This was reportedly the officer caught sleeping on duty, catching 40 winks while racking up overtime pay. Terri Hansen, Rensselaer's first female officer, filed sexual harassment charges against two male officers. An officer was suspended for allegedly beating a suspect. Another officer was killed in an auto accident. His partner was driving under the influence while on duty. Sources have alleged that police, including the chief, have shown up at public meetings and crime scenes with liquor on their breath. n Two officers, whom Fusco would not name, were sent to Internal Affairs school to learn how to investigate their own, the chief said. n The department received 69 applications during a recent round of police exams, Fusco said, claiming strong interest in the city police force. The near-constant turmoil has made the department a tantalizing target for the media, the chief said. Suspensions happen in other departments but the public never hears about those personnel issues, he added. Most of the "bad apples" are out of the department, but two individuals are now under investigation for allegedly leaking information to the press, he said. When enough information is amassed, they are expected to be charged with official misconduct, he said. Though it would seem this charge would be ! applied to a police officer, Fusco would not confirm if these staffers were officers. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k.net Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 3:21 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Inglewood CA - Judge denies bid to dismiss charges against cop in violent arrest Judge denies bid to dismiss charges against cop in violent arrest KESO CH3 12-20-2002 Los Angeles-AP -- Two white suburban Los Angeles police officers involved in a videotaped and violent arrest of a black teen-ager will go on trial March third. A judge today rejected a defense request to dismiss charges of assault under color of authority against former Inglewood, California, officer Jeremy Morse. The other officer, Bijan Darvish, is charged with falsifying a police report. A bystander's videotape shows that Morse picked up a limp and handcuffed 16 year-old Donovan Jackson from the ground, slammed him down on a car trunk, then punched him. The defense says Jackson had grabbed the officer's testicles. Both sides agree the case may turn on whether Jackson, who may initially have resisted arrest, was conscious or not when Morse hauled him to his feet and dragged him to the car trunk. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 3:26 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Cathedral City CA - Officer says 3rd party should investigate complaint KESO CH3 12-20-2002 Last night we told you about a complaint filed against Cathedral City Police Lieutenant A1 Reshaw, charging him with ordering a group of cops to intimidate a civilian. These new allegations stem from an incident earlier this month when Lieutenant Reshaw allegedly asked a group of his officers to go as, what one Cathedral City Police Officer called a goon squad and intimidate a local man. The officers refused the order, and filed an official complaint which the city says they are now reviewing. Claims of misconduct by a lieutenant have been sent to the city, and the acting City Manager says they have the situation under control. But we spoke with a Cathedral City officer who said he doubts the city will take action. He says officer complaints have been stonewalled before by the police department and the city, and Glen Haas says he doesn't think a city investigation into the matter will be enough. "We want a third party to look into this and when the truth is revealed, we'll see that these actions were illegal." While the city says they are reviewing this latest complaint against Lieutenant Reshaw, news of these latest allegations of police misconduct has reached the streets of Cathedral City and here people say they aren't surprised. But the officers involved, including Glenn Haas, who filed the complaint, say they want to change that perception, and the only way to do that is with an outside investigation into the complaint against Reshaw. In the meantime, Lieutenant Reshaw remains on duty, although he was not at work today. The Cathedral City Manager is on vacation until Monday. When he returns he'll begin the city's official investigation into these latest allegations. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page I of 1 Marian Karr From: John Murphy [jemurphy909@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 6:59 PM To: Sue Quinn Subject: Question for Distribution To: NACOLE Members: From: John Murphy Claremont, CA Subj: Reaction to USA Patriot Act There appears to be a growing negative reaction to the Patriot Act by several California cities. Claremont is talking about a city council resolution opposing the Act. My question is: what role, if any, have police oversight commissions or boards played in this issue? (I believe Berkeley has passed a resolution of "non-cooperation" and has directed this to the police department.) I would welcome any observations about this issue. Thanks. John Murphy jem u rph~L909@earthlink,net 909/624-5751 12/23/02 Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, December 21,2002 2:09 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Millville, NJ - Millville cop faces sex charge December 21, 2002 Millville cop faces sex charge By EILEEN BENNETT Staff Writer, (856) 794-5110, E-Mail BRIDGETON - A Millville police officer waived his right to an arraignment Friday after he was arrested Thursday for allegedly having sex with at least two underage girls, including one instance while he was on duty. Angel M. Rodriquez, 30, of Brown Road in the Cedarville section of Lawrence Township, entered a plea of not guilty, although he did not appear in court Friday for his arraignment. He is being held in the Salem County Jail - for his own safety - in lieu of $200,000 bail, according to Cumberland County Prosecutor Arthur Marchand. Marchand said Rodriquez faces four charges: two counts of sexual assault, a first-degree crime, and two counts of official misconduct. Marchand said his office received a tip regarding Rodriquez several weeks ago, and that detectives John Berry and Heather McManus immediately began an investigation. The prosecutor said the investigation showed that Rodriquez was having sex with at least two underage girls - at least once while on duty. Marchand said Rodriquez "coerced" the girls into having sex. The prosecutor declined to give the ages of the girls, but emphasized that the investigation is continuing because there may be more girls involved. Rodriquez's no-show at his arraignment was a surprise both to Marchand and attorney Kendall Collins, who had been appointed to represent Rodriquez by Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 213 attorney Stuart Alterman. But minutes before the arraignment, Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez said he had been faxed a letter from attorney Ron Helmer stating that Helmer would be representing Rodriquez. Contacted by phone Friday, Helmet said, "I intend to defend Mr. Rodriquez, who is presumed innocent, vigorously. I will do whatever is necessary to defend him." Rodriquez joined the force in March 1998, according to Millville Police Chief Ronald Harvey. "This is very unfortunate for the police, as well as everyone involved," Harvey said after the arraignment in a telephone interview. He said Rodriquez is suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. Meanwhile, the chief said, the Millville Police Department would conduct its own internal investigation of the Rodriquez case. "We will continue to do our jobs and serve the co~unity," Harvey said. "We've been through turmoil before. We have an outstanding group of men and women and I would not like to see an isolated incident tarnish the entire Police Department." To e-mail Eileen Bennett at The Press: EBennett@pressofac.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 2:16 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami FL - More on Timoney Appointment This message uses a character set that is not supported by the Internet Service. To view the original message content, open the attached message. If the text doesn't display correctly, save the attachment to disk, and then open it using a rnessage txt viewer that can display the original character set. message.txt Received: from wall.iowa-city.org (wall.civic.iowa-city.org [192.168.1 6.2]) by bart.civic.iowa-city.org with SMTP (Microsoft Exchange Intern et Mail Service Version 5.5.2653.13) id Z2PVH383; Sat, 21 Dec 2002 05:31:52 -0600 Received: through eSafe SMTP Relay 1040425500; Sat Dec 21 05:33:47 200 2 Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=gamma.jumpserver.net) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18PhqT-0003gR-00; Sat, 21 Dec 2002 05:31:05 -0600 Received: from conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.54]) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 %1) id 18Phal-0003Iw-00 for update@nacole.org; Sat, 21 Dec 2002 05:14:05 -0600 Received: from dewey.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.150] helo=de wey.psp.pas.earthlink.net) by conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 18PhaI-00070x-00 for update@nacole.org; Sat, 21 Dec 2002 03:14:22 -0800 Received: from [207.217.78.14] by EarthlinkWAM via HTTP; Sat Dec 21 03 :14:21 PST 2002 Message-ID: <l104597.1040469261974.JavaMail.nobody@dewey.psp.pas.earth link.net> From: Kelvyn Anderson <kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net> To: update@nacole.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=646 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mailer: Earthlink Web Access Mail version 3.0 Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami FL - More on Timoney Appointment Sender: Update-admin@nacole.org Errors-To: Update-admin@nacole.org X-BeenThere: Update@nacole.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.13 Precedence: bulk List-Help: <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=help> List-Post: <mailto:Update@nacole.org> List-Subscribe: <http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org> <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=subscribe> List-Id: NACOLE Update List <update_nacole.org.nacole.org> List-Unsubscribe: <http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.or g>, <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=unsubscribe> List-Archive: <http://nacole.org/pipermail/update_nacole.org/> Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 03:15:31 -0500 (EST) X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it w ith any abuse report X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - gamma.jumpserver.net Page 1 message.txt X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - iowa-city.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [0 0] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - nacole.org Next Miami Police Chief Faces Challenges By JOHN PAIN Associated Press Writer December 21, 2002, 5:21 AM EST MIAMI -- The man once described as the nation's best police officer ma yn= eed all his skills to lead Miami's troubled department, where police h eve been accused of unjustified shootings and evidence planting.=20 John Timoney would not speculate at a news conference Friday on the ex act= changes he will make until thoroughly reviewing the department's pers el and procedures. He was selected Thursday to replace outgoing Miami pol= ice chief Raul Martinez, and begins work Jan. 2.=20 Timoney will earn a $173,000 annual salary, the highest of any city of fic- ial, to run the department of about 1,100 officers.=20 City Manager Carlos Gimenez said Timoney has told Miami officials he e xpe= cts to make most of his changes to the department within three to six ths.=20 But Timoney will be under scrutiny immediately, as 11 city police offi s face trial set to begin Jan. 6 on federal charges of planting guns, ipulating evidence or covering up crimes by others in a series of ques tio= nable shootings.=20 Martinez created stricter procedures for the use of deadly force by of fic= ers, but some community leaders have said he didn't go far enough. Tim y said he would review the policy, but thought it was hasty to commit to Page 2 message.txt changing it.=20 "Chief Martinez has already tightened up shooting policies and he need s c= redit for that," Timoney said.=20 As a veteran manager of beleaguered police departments in Philadelphia d New York -- he was hailed as "America's best cop" by Esquire magazin ei= n June 2000 -- Timoney said the accusations against those 11 officers sho= uldn't be taken as an example of the whole department.-20 "Like every other police department, there are always a few that taint th= e lot," he said.=20 Timoney has been a critic of civilian review boards that investigate c omp laints of police misconduct, which could be another one of his early p rob= lems in Miami. 20 Voters and city officials have approved such a panel to investigate co mpl= aints of police misconduct that will be able to subpoena officers. The bo= ard's members have not been chosen and are not expected to be in place un= til early next year. The 13-member Civilian Investigative Panel is the fi= rst panel for public review of police in the state and one of only fiv ei= n the nation with subpoena power. 20 Philadelphia has a similar board and Timoney was accused of telling of fic= ers not to cooperate with the panel. He called it an ineffective group th= at often made recommendations after officers had already been punished by- internal affairs.-20 "It's not in my best interest or any other chief's best interest to ha ve an oversight investigative body that doesn't function," he said. "If t he - Page 3 message.txt system that is set up is dysfunctional, don't come crying to me."=20 Timoney said he would work with Miami's minority communities to improv et= he department's image, as he did in Philadelphia.=20 "If I don't improve those relations ... if I don't leave this departme ut - in better shape, I should be fired," he said.=20 While Philadelphia's police force did not escape criticism of police m isc= onduct during his tenure, Timoney's reputation is as someone who balan ced- carrying out police duties with keeping in mind civilians' concerns.- 2O "He was far and away the best police commissioner in understanding the im= portance of protecting civil liberties," said Larry Frankel, legislati ve = director for American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.=20 Under Timoney, the department successfully complied with a federal cou rt settlement stemming from police misconduct cases, said Paul Messing, a na= ttorney who has monitored the department under the settlement.=20 Copyright =C2=A9 2002, The Associated Press=20 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 4 Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 2:19 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Pleasant View TN - Job Offer withdrawn due to Sexual Harrassmet allegations This message uses a character set that is not supported by the Internet Service. To view the original message content, open the attached message. If the text doesn't display correctly, save the attachment to disk, and then open it using a message.txt viewer that can display the original character set. message.txt Received: from wall.iowa-city.org {wall.civic.iowa-city.org [192.168.1 6.2]) by bart.civic.iowa-city.org with SMTP (Microsoft Exchange Intern et Mail Service Version 5.5.2653.13) id Z2PVH38M; Sat, 21 Dec 2002 05:31:52 -0600 Received: through eSafe SMTP Relay 1040425500; Sat Dec 21 05:33:46 200 2 Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=gamma.jumpserver.net) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18PhqV-0003gZ-00; Sat, 21 Dec 2002 05:31:07 -0600 Received: from conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.54]) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18Phdq-0003NL-00 for update@nacole.erg; Sat, 21 Dec 2002 05:18:02 -0600 Received: from dewey.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.150] hele-de wey.psp.pas.earthlink.net) by conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net with esmtp {Exim 3.33 #1} id 18Phe6-0001K6-00 fer update@nacole.erg; Sat, 21 Dec 2002 03:18:18 -0800 Received: from [207.217.78.14] by EarthlinkWAH via HTTP; Sat Dec 21 03 :18:18 PST 2002 Hessage-ID: <3662718.1040469498741.JavaHail.nebody@dewey.psp.pas.earth link.net> From: Kelvyn Anderson <kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net> To: update@nacole.erg Hime-Version: 1.0 Centent-Type: text/plain; charset=646 Content-Transfer-Enceding: quoted-printable X-Hailer: Earthlink Web Access Hail versien 3.0 Subject: [NACOLE Update] Pleasant View TN Jeb Offer withdrawn due to Sexual Harrassmet allegations Sender: Update-admin@nacole.org Errors-To: Update-admin@nacole.org X-BeenThere: Update@nacole.org X-Mailman-Versien: 2.0.13 Precedence: bulk List-Help: <mailte:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=help> List-Post: <mailto:Update@nacele.org> List-Subscribe: <http://nacele.erg/mailman/listinfe/update_nacele.org> <mailte:Update-request@nacele.org?subject=subscribe> List-Id: NACOLE Update List <update_nacele.erg.nacole.org> List-Unsubscribe: <http://nacole.erg/mailman/listinfo/update_nacele.or g>, <mailto:Update-request@nacele.org?subject=unsubscribe> List-Archive: <http://nacole.org/pipermail/update_nacele.org/> Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 03:19:28 -0500 (EST) X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it w ith any abuse repert Page 1 message.txt X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - gamma.jumpserver.net X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - iowa-city.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [0 0] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - nacole.org Saturday, 12/21/02=20 Pleasant View withdraws offer of police chief job-20 =20 By JAMES EVANS The Ashland City Times PLEASANT VIEW =E2=80=94 City officials here rescinded their offer of t he = police chief's job to a Metro policeman after learning he had been acc use d of misconduct in Metro, including making a sexual advance toward a w oma= n at a traffic stop. Derek Wright, 29, of 4693 Bull Run Road in Davidson County, was offere dr= he job Tuesday as chief of Pleasant View's new police department. Pleasant View officials say they did not know Wright had resigned from th= e Metro force Monday pending disciplinary action stemming from an inve sti= gation into allegations of misconduct. When reached by telephone at his home yesterday morning, Wright said h eh= ad no idea why the job had been taken away from him. After learning ye ste- rday afternoon of the accusations against Wright, a reporter attempted to= contact Wright again at home for additional corament. Those calls were t returned. The job offer was withdrawn yesterday by Pleasant View Mayor Shane Ray ~ W~ ho said Wright did not disclose those allegations during the interview pr= ocess. Ray said he did not know what the specific allegations against Wright wer e and revoked the job offer simply on principle. Page 2 message.txt A look at Wright's Metro personnel file shows that he had been accused of- filing a report with inaccurate information, lying during an investig ati- on, not following procedure during a traffic stop and sexually harassi ng - a suspect during the traffic stop. The allegations arose after a Madison woman came forward to report a m urd= er she claims she had witnessed. While discussing the incident with Me tro= homicide detectives, she informed the detectives she had been stopped by= Wright and informed him of what she had seen. She also alleged that d uri= ng the stop, Wright made sexual advances toward her. In place of Wright, Ray named Michael Douglas, 31, of Coopertown, as t he = new chief. Douglas is a sheriff's deputy in Robertson County and will begin as P1 eas= ant View's chief Jan. 16. James Evans is the editor of The Ashland City Times. He can be reached at= 792-0036 or at actimes@mtcngroup.com.=20 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 3 Marian Karr From: KeIvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 2:25 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Athens TX - Henderson County Sheriff indicted on drug charge HENDERSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S INVES?IGATOR INDICTED By: CASEY KNAUPP, Staff Writer December 20, 2002 ATHENS - Investigator Brian Nutt, Henderson County Sheriff's Department narcotics division, was indicted this week and charged with fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. Nutt, 33, Murchison, resigned from his post Wednesday, Henderson County Sheriff Ronny Brownlow said. He surrendered with his attorney Friday, was booked, processed and released on $1,000 bond set by Judge Jim Parsons of the 3rd District Court. Nutt had been suspended with pay since August for "misconduct related to prescription medicine," public information Officer Pat McWilliams said in an earlier interview. Brownlow said Nutt was a 12-year veteran with the sheriff's department and was a highly decorated officer with many awards. He has also had prior experience with the Athens Police Department. "He is one of the most naturally-talented investigators I~ve ever been around," Brownlow said. "I~ve known him for years. This is a tough blow to our department." Brownlow said the situation shows no one is exempt from mistakes or exempt from the law. "This type of crime knows no professional boundaries," he said. "I hate that it came to this. I hate to lose him." Brownlow said the Henderson County Sheriff's Department is a close-knit staff with about 100 employees. They plan to stick together and pray for Nutt and his family. Resident Texas Ranger Steve Foster was assigned to head the investigation. "I asked for an outside investigation to protect our department," Brownlow said. Nutt's father, Ray Nutt, is an investigator for the district attorney's office. Since Henderson County District Attorney Donna Bennett works closely with Bryan and Ray Nutt, Judge Jack Holland of the 173rd District Court asked Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe to handle the case. "We wanted to protect the integrity of the judicial system," Brownlow said. Nutt was investigated for prescription fraud to acquire pain pills for personal use. "Bryan has had a back problem for a long time," Brownlow said. "Although I'm not trying to make excuses /for him). The substance involved was pain medication." Nutt has been charged with a third-degree felony and faces two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. McWilliams and Foster did not immediately return telephone calls Friday night and Nutt could not be reached for comment. Ray Nutt refused to comment on his son's indictment. Casey Knaupp covers Henderson and Van Zandt counties. She can be reached at 903.596.6289. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 5:45 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Detroit MI - Detroit cop is charged in shooting Detroit cop is charged in shooting 3 other officers are cleared after fatal incident on 1-94 December 21, 2002 BY BEN SCHMITT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER A 25-year-old Detroit police officer was charged Friday with reckless discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor, for allegedly shooting a Detroit woman in the arm during an August raid of a suspected drug house. Jason Skoczylas of the 4th (Fort-Green) Precinct will be arraigned today on the charge, prosecutors said. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail. Michelle Sormmerville, 36, of Detroit was shot in the left arm and hand during the Aug. 15 raid on the house in the 5800 block of Florida in southwest Detroit. Skoczylas reported that as he and other officers approached the door, Sommerville unexpectedly opened it and came at him with a hammer, Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan said Friday. Skoczylas said he opened fire in self defense, Duggan said. Duggan said his office believes that Skoczylas falsified his report. "The splinters on the door indicated that the door was kicked in." There was a hammer hanging on the wall of the house that did not have Sommerville's fingerprints on it, Duggan said. Skocylas, who has been on the force for two years, did not return a phone call seeking his comment. Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown of the department's professional accountability bureau said he will recommend Skoczylas be suspended without pay after his arraignment. Duggan also announced that two Detroit officers and a Harper Woods sergeant will not face criminal charges in connection with the Aug. 22 fatal shooting of a 25-year-old Detroit man on 1-94. Harper Woods Sgt. James Burke and Detroit officers George Pajor and Jennifer Pajor, a married couple, will not be charged for fatally shooting Ryan Earle, after Earle pointed a plastic gun at them following a police chase. Earle had robbed TJ's Cafe in Harper Woods before the chase. Duggan said all three officers acted appropriately and his investigation is closed. Contact BEN SCHMITT at 313-222-6597 or schmitt@freepress.com. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k. net Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 5:47 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Cincinnati OH - Detroiter to lead Cincinnati police task force Detroiter to lead Cincinnati police task force Appointment of ex-U.S, attorney in inquiry is praised December 19, 2002 BY ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Saul Green, who was the U.S. attorney in Detroit when a federal investigation of the Detroit Police began in 2000, has been named to lead a task force investigating police brutality allegations and monitoring reforms in Cincinnati. The task force oversees a U.S. Justice Department agreement with Cincinnati that requires federally recommended changes in police policies, including those on use of force. Cincinnati has had a long history of racial problems. Most recently, it was the center of racial violence stemming from the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer in early 2001. The shooting led to hundreds of arrests, and Ohio Gov. Bob Taft declared a state of emergency. News of Green's appointment on Tuesday was applauded by lawyers and activists in Detroit. "I think Saul Green would be the perfect professional for that position," Juan Mateo, a Detroit civil rights attorney, said Wednesday. "He won't tolerate police corruption or misconduct, and in my opinion, he was extremely effective in the pursuit of rogue police officers in Detroit." Green replaces Alan Kalmanoff, who was appointed to the Cincinnati post in October by U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott. Kalmanoff resigned in November when city officials complained that he billed too much for his services. Green was the U.S. Attorney for Michigan's Eastern District for seven years. He joined the law firm Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone last year. During his tenure as chief prosecutor, the Justice Department began investigating the Detroit Police Department for alleged misconduct. The probe, which began in 2000, focused on fatal shootings by officers and claims of prisoner mistreatment. The investigation was requested by then-Mayor Dennis Archer. Current Police Chief Jerry Oliver, who was hired this year by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, has pledged to rid the department of corrupt cops. The federal investigation continues. Gerald Evelyn, a criminal defense attorney in Detroit, noted that Green "has a diligent and contemplative approach to problem solving, which doesn't necessarily make everyone happy, but I believe the problems Cincinnati is facing will require those kinds of skills." In early 2001, when a series of reports in the Free Press found that the Detroit Police had a long history of conducting dragnet-style investigations, some activists suggested that Green had been slow to act. Civil rights experts called the dragnets unconstitutional. The practice involved arresting potential witnesses to crimes and detaining them until they answered officers' questions. In the fall of 2000, Green had contacted then-Police Chief Benny Napoleon about the practice. But the Free Press report showed that dragnets were still being used by the department a year later and the U.S. Attorney's Office had done little to get the practice stopped. However, even some who questioned Green's actions said he is committed to ridding big-city departments of problem cops. "In terms of what happened with the Detroit Police investigation, I think Saul Green was a man of high integrity," said Ron Scott, a spokesman for the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality. "The bottom line is that federal officials like Green don't ultimately provide resolutions for combatting police brutality. They merely set up the framework upon which it can be challenged." Contact ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA at 313-222-5008. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org 2 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k. net Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 6:03 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Central Ohio - Clyde Cop suspended during criminal probe Clyde cop suspended during criminal probe (Originally published Thursday, December 19, 2002) News-Messenger reports A Clyde police officer was suspended from the city's police force on Oct. 21 pending the completion of a criminal investigation, according to documents in the officer's personnel file. Gary W. Enderle, a Clyde police officer since 1984, was told of the suspension in a letter signed by City Manager Dan Weaver. The News-Messenger reviewed Enderle's personnel file Wednesday after requesting it from Clyde officials. Besides the letter from Weaver, the file also contains a letter regarding the suspension from a representative from Ohio Council 8 of the ]kmerican Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents Clyde police officers. The letter requests that any administrative hearings or disciplinary actions be postponed until after the criminal investigation is complete or after criminal charges, if any, are resolved. Previously, Clyde Police Chief Bruce Gower reported that a theft occurred at a Clyde business the morning of Oct. 21 and that a Clyde police officer is a suspect. Gower refused to release more information about the theft, including the name of the business, despite formal freedom of information requests from The News-Messenger. He also would not name the officer who was considered the suspect. A special prosecutor, Assistant Lucas County Prosecutor Timothy Braun, has been appointed to try the case involving the theft at the business. No other information about the status of the case was available. Braun was not available this morning for comment. As part of the letter of suspension, Weaver required Enderle to surrender his police badges, firearm and magazines, cell phone and portable radio. He also was told to have no contact with the parties involved in the criminal investigation. The letter of suspension is the only mention of possible misconduct in Enderle's personnel file, however. The file does contain praise for the officer. Shortly after being hired, a resident sent a letter to the department, citing Enderle's expert, courteous, understanding, impressive and efficient job performance, according to a letter in his personnel file. In 1985, Sandusky County Sheriff Dave Gangwer commended Enderle and other officers for their alertness and a job well done in the apprehension of a suspect. On a 1994 evaluation, Enderle received 89 out of 92 possible points. Earlier this year, Enderle was named acting sergeant when the position became available; he was not promoted to fill that position permanently. Enderle was hired by the Clyde Police Department in 1984. Two years later, he was promoted from officer class B to officer class A. The promotion means a 1 change in salary. The AFSCHE Ohio Council 8 staff representative handling the case was not available Wednesday. A staff member said that representative, William Fegle, was the only person who could respond to questions involving this matter. Enderle was also not available for comment. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_a nderson@earthlin k. net Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 6:09 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] South Jersey - Policy Changes suggested in Gloucester County Drug Scandal Thursday, December 19, 2002 Two more officers charged in Glouce drug investigation By JASON LAUGHLIN Courier-Post Staff WASHINGTON TWP. Two more officers were charged Wednesday in an investigation into drug abuse in Gloucester County police departments. Harrison patrolman Hichael Thiel and Washington Township patrolman John Lombarde were charged with official misconduct. They are accused of abusing and possessing drugs while on duty. Three officers in two departments have now been charged. Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said the investigation is continuing. Officers suspected of using drugs have already been administered drug tests, and results of those tests will likely be available within seven to 14 days, Dalton said. Dalton would not say what kind ef drugs the officers are accused of abusing. The charges against Thiel, 32, and Lombardo, 30, stemmed from an ±nvestigatien ef Washington Township patrolman Amalio Steven Gurcsik, he said. Salton plans to start a mandatory drug testing program. Beginning Jan. 1, each police department in the county will be required to conduct random drug tests at least twice a year. Dalton said personnel from his own office would be tested first. Random drug tests are recommended but not required by the state Attorney General's Office, said spokesman John Hagerty. He was not sure how many counties conduct random tests. Dalton emphasized the three officers charged are not representative of the county's law enforcement. "It's not rampant throughout our police community," he said, adding later that "these officers are the exception to the rule." Camden and Burlington counties already conduct random tests. Under the attorney general's guidelines, 20 percent of the county's law enforcement personnel should be tested between the two testing periods. These counties have a policy that requires officers who test positive for drugs to immediately be dismissed, officials said. Gurcsik and Lombardo are members of Fraternal Order of Police Regional Lodge 86. Tom Cushane, president of that lodge, said drug testing had not come up as an issue for the county's police departments in the past. He didn't want to address the union's position on drug testing, he said. "That's an issue for the state office of the Fraternal Office of Police to debate with the New Jersey Legislature and the Attorney General's Office," Cushane said. Gurcsik, Thiel and Lombardo have been suspended and had their badges and sidearms confiscated, authorities said. Ail were released on their own recognizance. Gurcsik's police car was confiscated by his department. The drug probe began with an investigation into the activities of Gurcsik, 25. He was arrested Sunday night when he drove his township police cruiser to King of Pizza on Route 70 in Cherry Hill to buy cocaine, authorities said. The dealer turned out to be an undercover officer for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. Gurcsik was charged with trying to buy drugs and official misconduct. Gurcsik, Thiel, of Blackwood, and Lombardo, of Turnersville, are accused only of drug abuse, Dalton said. The three were friends who spent time together off duty, according to a police source. Thiel is a four-year veteran of his department, while Lombardo has served for five years. Authorities would not say how the three men were connected, though Washington Township Deputy Chief James Murphy said Lombardo and Gurcsik could have worked the same shifts from time to time. Initially, authorities had said Lombardo would not likely be charged, but Dalton said new information came forward that made clear that he and Thiel possessed and used drugs. There was no evidence any of these officers were under the influence of drugs while on duty, Dalton said. Lombardo was also a member of the Gloucester County ~arcotics Strike Force, authorities said. He began serving on the unit in late June and would have finished his tour with it in January, Dalton said. Of£icers selected for the task force go through an interview and evaluation before joining, Dalton said. He didn't believe there was a loophole in the system that allowed Lombardo to join the task force. But the officer's work with the task force will be reviewed as part of the investigation, Dalton said. There was no prior evidence any of the officers had a drug problem, police chiefs from Washington Township and Harrison said. Lawyers for the three suspects did not return calls Wednesday. Reach Jason Laughlin at (856) 486-2476 or jlaughlin@courierpostonline.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page I of 1 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 11:50 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] LA Area: Officer Not Guilty of Assault; Fellow Cops Had Testified Against Him http:~/www`~atimes`c~m~news~ca!/!a~me~ecc~es21dec21'~6189~2~st~ry?c~=la%2Dhead~ines%2Dca~if~rnia LOS ANGELES Manhattan Beach Officer Not Guilty of Assault By Steve Berry LA Times Staff Writer December 21 2002 A Superior Court jury in Torrance acquitted a veteran Manhattan Beach police officer Friday of charges he assaulted a 20- year-old man during a traffic stop and filed a false police report. After an eight-day trial in which two officers testified against their colleague, the jury deliberated 1 1/2 days before finding Eric Eccles, 27, not guilty of charges related to allegations that he repeatedly struck 20-year-old Daniel Wayne Chance after Chance ran away from him during a routine traffic stop last December. The defense argued that Chance had resisted arrest and that Eccles had used proper force to subdue the man. Deputy Dist. Atty. John Gilligan said he accepted the jury's decision. He said the jury apparently saw it as an "officer- versus-officer" case, and that there was not sufficient proof beyond a reasonable doubt. He said jurors from Torrance and Redondo Beach are "very supportive of their own police departments, and it's hard for them to conceptualize that police would engage in misconduct." Defense lawyer Bill Seki said Eccles is still on paid administrative leave, but he hopes he can resume his job soon. Eccles and another officer pulled Chance over on Rosecrans Avenue on Dec. 29, 2001, for flshtailing his car while speeding. Chance ran after he was given a ticket. Chance testified before a grand jury that he was afraid he would lose his job as a heavy equipment operator trainer because he had been drinking and was younger than 21. Eccles chased him and found Chance hiding under the deck of a house. Eccles, who testified in the trial, said he hit Chance only once in the knee because Chance was resisting. Seki said two Manhattan Beach police officers testified that they saw Eccles strike Chance two or three times with a flashlight. Seki raised questions about the officers' credibility and their ability to see whether Chance was resisting arrest. He also argued that Chance's injuries were not consistent with those that would have been suffered by someone hit repeatedly. 12/23/02 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k. net Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 1:58 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] THE PEOPLE OF FRESNO DEMAND POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center Original article is at http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2002/12/1552921.php. Print conmlents. THE PEOPLE OF FRESNO DEHAND POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY by Hike Rhodes · Saturday December 21, 2002 at 08:30 AH AllianceEditor@attbi.com (559) 226-0477 The citizens of Fresno are working to bring accountability to the Police Department. This is the draft proposal from the Central California Criminal Justice Cemmittee. 000justice not murder.jpg, JPG image, 500x588 THE PEOPLE OF FRESNO DEMAND POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY Introduction by Mike Rhodes Editor of the Community Alliance magazine http://www.fresnoalliance.com/home Something is wrong when a young man is shot dead by the police for the (alleged) crime of stealing beer. The Fresno Police shot and seriously injured a motorist who made an illegal turn, killed a woman who was hitting cars with a hatchet, and shot to kill citizens with severe mental disabilities. They often use deadly force when it is not necessary and the subsequent Internal Affairs investigation (almost) never finds that the police are at fault. The endless lawsuits for wrongful death against the City would suggest otherwise. This barbaric system of unmonitored and unchecked police violence against this community is about to come to an end. In December the mayor of Fresno finally appointed a Blue Ribbon Committee to look into setting up a police auditor system. An Independent Police Auditor is similar to the system they have in San Jose which has dramatically reduced the incidence of police involved shootings in that community. The combination of police education and independent monitoring has reduced police violence San Jose. It can work here too! The Co~mmunity Alliance magazine is pleased to present the report (below) from the Central California Criminal Justice Co~m~ittee {CCCJC) . CCCJC is the grassroots community group that has been diligently working on this issue and this is the proposal they believe should be implemented. It is imperative that the proposal of the Blue Ribbon Committee is not watered down, that the IPA be totally independent from the Police Department and be given the power to fully investigate complaints and make recommendations. We encourage our readers to support the Central California Criminal Justice Committee in this effort. Their next meeting will be held Wednesday, January 15 at 6 PM. They meet in the Sarah McCardle Room of the downtown library. For more information call Deb Reyes at (559) 485-7884. INDEPENDENT AUDITOR and INDEPENDENT REVIEW BOARD Objective The goal of the auditor working with the review panel is &%63568; to insure the integrity of investigation of police misconduct, to enhance the community confidence in the Fresno Police Department, thus reducinc judicial and liability expenses &%63568 to make public reports &%63568 to make policy recommendations to the police department and the 1 public  to insure the thoroughness of internal affairs investigations by having the power, by recommendations and hy direct subpoena, to require the presence and consideration of witnesses and documents at specific internal affairs investigations Independent Auditor  Purpose  The Independent Police Auditor (IPA) will have authority to 1) review investigations, 2) conduct investigations and 3) oversee investigations; conducted by the internal affairs unit of the police department in order to maintain the credibility of the investigation process against the Fresno Police Department &~63568; The IPA shall meet with the Civilian Review Board each month to go over cases handled and shall report to the mayor or his designee. Recruitment of the IPA &~63568; Auditor to be hired by the Civilian Review Board from applications forwarded through city personnel.  The IPA shall have some knowledge of law enforcement policies and procedures and / or have extensive legal background such as an attorney. &%63568; The IPA shall maintain a Fresno residence during his/her term. Staffing and Funding The Independent Police Auditor will have an assistant auditor who can handle computer analysis and record keeping and can also act as administrator for the Civilian Review Board. Staffing and funding of the Office of the IPA should be in conformance with other similar city departments to insure it meets its duties and obligations as designated. Independence of the Police Auditor  The office shall be totally independent from the police department. &%63568; The IPA is objective and neutral. The IPA shall not act as an advocate or a partisan for either the complainant or the police department.  Requests for further recommendations and reports shall reflect the views of the police auditor alone after consultation with the Civilian Review Board. &~63568; No person shall attempt to undermine the independence of the auditor in the performance of the duties and responsibilities.  Neither the IPA nor its staff can have a parent, step-parent, spouse, child, step-child, sibling, step-sibling or registered domestic partner as defined by law who is currently employed by the Fresno Police Department. The IPA and all employees and personnel are bound by all state, and local conflict of interest laws and rules and by the City Charter's Nepotism Section, 807. Confidentiality of the IPA &%63568; The IPA shall comply with all state laws requiring the confidentiality of police department records as well as the privacy rights of all individuals involved in the process.  Said information shall not be disclosed to any member of the public, except in accordance with applicable law. Duties and Responsibilities Investigation Review The office shall:  Audit complaints alleging excessive or unnecessary force by police department officers.  Audit all officer involved shootings; and  Police profiling incidents/complaints.  Serve as a liaison for individuals for all of the residents of the city.  Be granted the authority to subpoena all records including all police files, confidential personnel files, interview records and recordings, and police policy and procedures.  Review police professional standards and conduct investigation of complaints against police department to determine if investigation is complete, thorough, objective and fair &~63568; Audit, administer oaths and affirmations, hold public hearings, interview civilian witnesses, complainants, and attend the interviews of police officers during the police department internal affairs investigation. 2  Provide timely updates on the Fresno Police Department Internal Affairs to the complainants. &%63568; Request further investigation to be conducted if not satisfied with the Fresno Police Department Internal Affairs findings to the city manager. &~63568; Conduct unannounced inspections of the files at Fresno Police Department Internal Affairs to insure that the files are complete and that no information has been withheld  Insure access to all police department information that is relevant to citizens complaint/ issue, said information shall not be disclosed to any member of the public except in accordance with applicable law. &%63568; Observe, analyze, monitor and make specific reco~nmendations for training, changes in policies, practices and procedures manuals including, but no~ limited to, the maintenance of such records and statistics as necessary to evaluate reporting of crimes victims with disabilities. Reporting functions of the IPA &~63568; File quarterly annual reports to Mayor, City Council, City Manager and City Attorney, Chief of Police and the City Clerk for filing as a public record. The report shall contain but not be limited to the following;  analyzing trends and patterns,  recommending improvement to the process, training needs and other preventive measures. &~63568; Providing Public information including; printed literature, radio, television and public presentation at community meetings. &~63568; Communications should be sensitive to our diverse conlmunity and shall be presented as linguistically appropriate.  Preparing as part of the quarterly report, a statistical breakdown, categorically documenting the number of complaints filed, the numbers sustained and any action taken. Community Function of the Independent Police Auditor The Independent Police Auditor shall:  Work with a volunteer Civilian Review Board for providing civilian review of the investigations of alleged police misconduct and citizens' complaints.  Establish different sites throughout the city where the public can obtain information on how to file a compliant and to encourage citizens to file their complaints with the Office of the Independent Police Auditor and/or the Civilian Review Board. &%63568; Meet regularly with community boards and organizations to conduct presentations to inform the public about the Office of the Independent Police Auditor, explain their role in the complaint process; and to provide the memberships an opportunity to voice their concerns, to help bridge the gap between the Fresno Police Department and the community.  Participate in town-hall meetings and panel discussions on high profile incidents of civil rights violations, police accountability, police misconduct and other issues raised by community concerns. Civilian Review Board Purpose To provide for community participation in setting and reviewing police department policies, practices and procedures and provide a means for prompt, impartial and fair investigations, and complaints against the Fresno Police Department. Composition of Civilian Review Board &%63568; The Civilian Review Board shall consist of seven members. &~63568; The Mayor with the approval of the City Council shall appoint members in a manner that is broadly representative of the City of Fresno and in a manner used by other City cormmissions. &%63568; Terms of the Board shall be for four years. &%63568; Ail volunteer members shall be residents of the City of Fresno. &%63568; No member of the Civilian Review Board can have a parent, step-parent, spouse, child, step child, sibling, step-sibling or registered domestic partner as defined by law who is currently employed by the Fresno Police Department.  The Independent Police Auditor's Administrative Assistant shall assist the Civilian Review Board. 3 Duties and Responsibilities of the Civilian Review board The Civilian Review Board shall:  Advise and make recommendations to the Fresno City Council, Mayor, City Manager Chief of Police and the Independent Police Auditor. &%63568; Work with the city administration to establish the goals and structure of the auditing and evaluation program, as well as the criteria and qualifications of the Internal Police Auditor.  Work with the Independent Police Auditor for providing civilian review investigations of alleged police misconduot and citizen complaints.  Review and make recommendations concerning all written and unwritten policies , practices and procedures of whatever kind and without limitations, in relation to the Fresno Police Department and other law enforcement and military agencies and other agencies' intelligence operations working within the City of Fresno and law enforcement generally. &~63568; Such review and recommendations to extend to, but not be limited to, the following:  Complaints alleging excessive or unnecessary force by police department officers &%63568; Officer involved shootings procedures  Treatment of Rape victims &~63568; Services and procedures designed to improve reporting and resolution of crime victims with disabilities and other special communities  Police relationship with minority co~nunity &%63568; Use of weapons and equipment training &~63568; Priority for policing and patrolling  Budget development  And other concerns from time to time from the independent auditor, the public and the city council. &%63568; Request and receive promptly, written and unwritten documents as it may deem necessary in carrying out its responsibilities-- from the Mayor's Office, City Council, the Independent Police Auditor, City Manager, Police Department Internal Affairs and City Attorney, and any other city department, provided that the disclosure of information would not impair the right of privacy of specific individuals or prejudice pending litigation &%63568; Receive complaints directed against Fresno Police Department, any of its officers and employees.  Fully and completely investigate complaints and make recommendations and give advice without limitation including disciplinary actions and related departmental policies and procedures to City Council, Independent Police Auditor and City Manager &%63568; Adopt rules and regulations and develop such procedures for its own activities and investigations as may be necessary to publish and file same with office of the city clerk. Reporting Function The Civilian Report Board shall: &%63568; Comply with the open meetings regulations and laws. &%63568; File semi annual reports to Mayor, City Council, City Manager, City Attorney, Chief of Police and the City Clerk for filing as a public record.  The report shall contain, but not be limited to, specific recommendations and complaints.  Provide Public information including printed literature, radio, television and public presentations. &~63568; Communications should be sensitive to our diverse community and shall be presented as linguistically appropriate . Community Function of the Civilian Review Board The Civilian Review Board shall work with the Office of the Independent Police Auditor to provide civilian review of the investigations of alleged police misconduct and c±tizens' complaints. The Civilian Review Board shall:  Assist the Office of the Independent Police Auditor in the establishment of different sites throughout the city where the public can obtain information on how to file a compliant and encourage citizens to file their complaints.  The Civilian Review Board shall also accept said complaints. 4 &%63568; Meet regularly with community boards and organizations to conduct presentations informing the public about the Office of the Independent Police Auditor and its role in the complaint process. &~63568; Provide the memberships with an opportunity to voice their concerns and help bridge the gap between the Fresno Police Department and the co~nunity. &%63568; Participate in town-hall meetings and panel discussions on high profile incidents of civil rights violations, police accountability, police misconduct and other issues raised by community concerns. The following apply to beth the Civilian Review board (CRB) and the Independent Police Auditor (IPA):  Funding includes both personnel, office space and office equipment and whatever is needed te provide the infra-structure needed to maintain its independence from the Police Department. &%63568; Funding should include an adequate allowance for training and for communications with IPA and Beards in ether cities, counties or states and on a limited basis, internationally.  A standard Severability clause shall be cemented.  A resident of Fresno can file a complaint directly with the police department, with the IPA, with the CRB, er with any combination of them. The department, agency or board receiving the complaint shall provide copies of the complaint to the other two agencies upon receipt from the complainant. Submitted as Draft Proposal by the Central California Criminal Justice Committee P.O. Box 4555 Fresno Ca 93744 www.fresnoalliance.com/home add your comments We need more options! by Mike Rhodes · 001we_need more_options.jpg, JPG image, 297x565 Ail photos by Hike Rhodes add your comments 3 Shootings in 6 Days by Mike Rhodes · 002_rebeca.jpg, JPG image, 409x525 add your comments We need a Police Review Board by Mike Rhodes · 003we need_a_police_review_board.jpg, JPG image, 500x375 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink net Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 2:00 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Prince George's County MD - Rights investigation Of Police Continues washingtonpost.com Rights Investigation Of Police Continues Pace of Pr. George's Inquiry Angers Some By Jamie Stockwell Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 22, 2002; Page C06 More than two years after federal authorities began a civil rights investigation into the Prince George's County Police Department, no reports or recommendations have been made, and officials will say very little about its status except to confirm that it remains open. Casey Stravopoulos, a U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman, said last week that there have been no developments and did not say when the investigation might end. Meanwhile, many within the 1,400-member police department have come to question the effectiveness of the intense federal scrutiny and openly wonder whether the cloud of suspicion ever will disappear. "There's always going to be a cloud over them," said Anthony Walker, head of the county police union. "It's going to be that way for the next 20 years. People will always refer to the 1990s when they say we led the nation in police shootings. Whoever has this false sense of hope that it will all magically be lifted with [the findings of] this investigation is wrong." The pace of the federal investigation has contributed to frustration among the rank and file. "If we were as bad as we were made out to be," asked one patrol officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, "then why hasn't something been done yet?" Criminologists who have studied such investigations, in which federal officials search for a "pattern or practice" of abuse and misconduct, said the probes can take years as investigators wade through piles of internal records and personnel files. And community leaders, many of whom aggressively supported federal intervention, have said they are in no hurry to see an end to the probe. "From the perspective of [residents], we need to be sure there's a fair and impartial investigation done of our department," said Eugene Grant, who lives in Seat Pleasant and sits on a police advisory committee. "The department didn't rush to clean up its act, and so I don't want the Department of Justice to rush either and overlook something." When the investigation began in November 2000 after a troubling string of officer shootings and in-custody deaths, Prince George's joined just 13 other police departments nationwide, from Los Angeles to Montgomery County, to face such a full-scale inquiry. At the time, law enforcement experts and officers whose agencies had undergone such probes predicted that it could produce lasting reform. Indeed, a lot of what the Justice Department often recor~mends at the 1 conclusion of a department investigation already has been implemented in Prince George's. For example, the county now uses an early identification program that helps identify problem officers. A computer produces a monthly list of officers who have had two complaints or forcible arrests in the past 60 days or three transgressions in the past three months. Those officers receive a warning and review the incidents with their commander. The system doesn't count older cases or those more than a month apart, so theoretically, an officer could kill six people in one year and not be flagged. Law enforcement experts have said that for the system to work, however, it must track officers' conduct for years. Early warning systems have become a favored tool in law enforcement circles as a way to reform agencies hobbled by brutality allegations. Since 1998, they've been adopted by police departments in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and other places under federal investigation for civil rights violations. "It's far more complicated than anyone ever realized, but also has far more benefits than anyone realized," said Samuel Walker, a University of Nebraska criminologist who has studied such systems. In one case, for example, the system flagged an officer who hadn't made a single arrest, field observation or traffic stop in months, Walker said: "He had no complaints filed against him because he had been doing no work. The potential uses run on and on." Another, more visible change came with the elevation of Gerald M. Wilson to the rank of chief. Wilson, who climbed through the ranks to replace a chief who had come from Florida, has been more visible and more open in discussing department operations. Wilson, 39, said last week that the agency has made notable changes, from creating a special response team charged with investigating police shootings and in-custody deaths to the hiring of a statistician whose responsibilities include analyzing the complaints filed against officers as well as their personnel records. "The fact that we had only one shooting [by a police officer] until the last month of the year indicates we've come a long way," Wilson said. "It shows we've made significant strides but also shows we still have further to go." After a year without a fatal shooting of a civilian by a police officer -- a year in which just one non-fatal shooting occurred -- the police this month have shot four people, one of them fatally. The FBI said Monday that it would review the fatal shooting, in which police who responded to a call from distraught family members said they shot a man as he held a knife to his mother's throat. When about a dozen people protested what they called a "trigger-happy" police force outside the county administration department, Wilson stopped by to introduce himself and handed out business cards so protesters could contact him. It was a contrast to his predecessor as chief, John S. Farrell, who rarely responded to such situations. © 2002 The Washington Post Company Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 2:14 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami FL - Spotlight on False Confessions Posted on Sun, Dec. 22, 2002 SPOTLIGHT ON FALSE CONFESSIONS Zealous grilling by police tainted 38 murder cases By WANDA J. DeMARZO AND DANIEL de VISE ddevise@herald.com At least 38 false or questionable murder confessions have been thrown out by Broward County courts, rejected by juries or abandoned by police or prosecutors since 1990, The Herald has found. In the first comprehensive review of murder confessions in South Florida, The Herald found repeated examples of illegal interrogation, coercive questioning and flawed fact-checking. In at least six cases, innocent people languished in jail while likely killers escaped detection. The review comes as a federal judge weighs the case for releasing Timothy Brown, imprisoned since 1991 in the murder of a Broward sheriff's deputy, convicted solely on the strength of a confession that may be false. In case after case revisited by The Herald, Broward homicide detectives: · Jailed people for confessions that were wrong on such basic facts as the year of the crime, the city, the name of the victim or the weapon used. Among them: Antwoin Ricks, who confessed in 1997 to killing a man in Pompano Beach. Broward sheriff's detectives charged him and a codefendant, Lamonda Giles, with a murder in Dania Beach. The men were cleared a few days later. · Took illegal confessions from people who had asked for attorneys or had invoked their right of silence. In 1998, murder suspect Pul Kei Wong told Hollywood detectives through an interpreter, '~I don't want to talk.TM Detectives continued to question him. A judge threw out the confession. · Gained confessions from suspects who were in no condition to confess. When Moshe Bitoun confessed to the Fort Lauderdale police in 1997, he was high on morphine and didn't know what day it was. A jury acquitted Bitoun. · Took questionable murder confessions from the homeless, from boys as young as 15 and from men with a mental age as iow as 7. Jerry Frank Townsend, with an IQ of 58, confessed falsely to murders in Broward, Miami-Dade, Tampa and San Francisco. Although Miami detectives were involved in the Townsend confessions, there have been fewer highly publicized false-confession cases in Miami-Dade County. NATIONAL REPUTATION Broward, however, has attracted a national reputation for questionable confessions. DNA testing in 2000 and 2001 exonerated Townsend, whose confessions mostly involved Broward murders, and Frank Lee Smith, who had spent years on Death Row for a murder conviction built upon a purported confession. Smith died in prison. Prosecutors and law enforcement leaders concede the reality of false confessions but point to the vast majority of Broward murder confessions that stand up to scrutiny. ''I think most detectives are honorable and decent human beings,~ said Brian Cavanagh, a veteran Broward homicide prosecutor. ''They are not, in any way, shape or manner, seeking to have somebody confess to something they did not do. Ever.'' CENTRAL PARK JOGGER False confessions captured national headlines last week with the DNA exoneration of five teens imprisoned for the notorious 1989 rape of an investment banker who was attacked while jogging in New York City's Central Park. In Chicago, Detroit, San Diego and elsewhere, bad confessions also have been exposed. Confessions are among the most potent tools in police work, a virtual guarantee of conviction in murder trials. Prosecutors point to layers of constitutional safeguards that are meant to protect defendants against confessing falsely. But the newfound ability to match bodily fluids or hair to a suspect's unique genetic code, known as DNA testing, has exposed false confessions around the nation, freeing dozens of inmates previously thought to be guilty beyond question. ''Interrogation is about getting confessions, not about solving the crime,'' said Richard Ofshe, a false-confession expert at the University of California, Berkeley. ''It's very simple why people falsely confess: because of police misconduct.'' The 38 tainted or questionable confessions found by The Herald include: · Fourteen confessions rejected by police or prosecutors because of evidence that pointed to a different killer. Six of those confessions to different slayings came from a single man, Townsend. · Nine confessions rejected by juries, which acquitted murder defendants after reading or hearing incriminating statements. · Fifteen confessions overturned by judges because of constitutional violations by detectives, ranging from illegal arrests to ignored requests for attorneys. At least a half-dozen confessed killers who were charged with murder have been determined to be unquestionably innocent. John ''Woody'' Wood confessed twice to the murder of Christopher Morris in 1990 before detectives released him and arrested three other people: the victim's parents and a hired hit man. Wood contends that detectives terrified him into confessing and then taught him details only the killer could know. Jennifer Wilkinson gave a confession implicating herself and her boyfriend -- the father of her unborn child -- in a 1998 home-invasion murder. Almost a year later, prosecutors cleared them and charged a different person. When the murder confession of Peter Dallas was proved false, a special prosecutor turned around and charged him with perjury for the tainted statement. MURKIER CASES Innocence or guilt is less clear in most of the other cases reviewed by The Herald. In some instances, a suppressed or overturned confession spared an innocent man from prison. In others, tainted confessions spoiled legitimate cases against murderers. Some confessions collapsed because of rudimentary factual errors. 2 Antoine Gilliam confessed in 1998 to strangling a girl in a polka-dot dress. The victim wore a blue denim jumpsuit. Townsend confessed to murdering a white girl in a black dress at night in 1973. Prosecutors charged him with the murder of a black girl in sky-blue shorts in broad daylight in 1979. George ''Stet~ ~ Blancett confessed in 1994 to firing his gun from the window of a Century Village work truck years earlier. Prosecutors charged him with a 1980 murder. Records subsequently showed Blancett wasn't working at Century Village at that time. Some confessions fell apart because detectives violated the most basic constitutional protections against self-incrimination, the standards enshrined in the Miranda rights. Osvaldo Almeida, 20, confessed to murder after asking detectives, ''What good is an attorney going to do?'' Detectives didn't reply. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the question deserved an answer. MANY EXPLANATIONS Police and prosecutors offer myriad explanations for the rejected confessions, conceding error in some cases, blaming unsympathetic judges or juries in others and claiming that some so-called confessions weren't really confessions at all. One ''confession'' reviewed by The Herald, that of Frank Lee Smith, turned out to be nothing more than an oblique admission of guilt -- at best. Detectives claimed Smith blurted out that a witness couldn't have seen him at the crime scene because it was dark. He never told police he was the killer. But court papers characterized the outburst as a confession, and the statement helped put an innocent man on Death Row for 14 years. Smith died of cancer months before his exoneration. But in at least two cases -- the false confessions of Antwoin Ricks and John Wood -- detectives say it was their efforts that freed the innocent men. Investigators contend it was they who determined that the statements were not credible. A few South Florida law enforcement agencies have embraced a possible solution to the problem of false confessions: taping interviews with murder suspects in their entirety. Broward State Attorney Michael Satz is a vocal proponent of taping. At least one department -- Miramar police -- edopted a new policy last fall of taping all interviews from start to finish in direct response to appeals by Satz. OPPORTUNITIES FEW ''We may only get one shot at a particular person. And we've got to do it right, and we've got to do it legally,'' said Lt. Mark Smith, who leads the Hollywood police homicide squad, which tapes most -- though not all -- interrogation-room conversations. While two states -- Minnesota and Alaska -- require police to record every word spoken in an interrogation room, Florida law does not require detectives to capture even the final version of confessions on tape. In court, it is the detective's word against that of the person accused of a killing. The accused seldom prevails. Police and prosecutors consider confessions an indicator of guilt as potent as DNA evidence. ''When a man says he committed a crime voluntarily and freely, I don't know of any better evidence that you're going to get in a case,'' prosecutor Thomas 3 Kern told jurors at the 2001 murder trial of Durrell Leo Smith. Yet, at least nine Broward juries have acquitted murder defendants who had confessed. ~nong them: Durrell Smith, who was acquitted even after two BSO detectives took the stand and said Smith had confessed to the murder. The jury didn't buy their testimony, defense attorneys said. Broward County is only one flash point in a nationwide false-confession debate. In Chicago, the center of a false-confession maelstrom that led to a moratorium on executions, The Chicago Tribune last year found at least 247 murder cases with incriminating statements that were thrown out by courts or which failed to secure convictions. Chicago reported 666 homicides in 2001. Broward County, in contrast, reported 90 homicides last year. SURPRISED BY DATA Police, prosecutors and defense attorneys all said they were surprised at the number of rejected confessions uncovered by The Herald. Conventional wisdom suggests that trial judges almost never suppress murder confessions, juries seldom ignore them, and Florida's conservative appellate panels rarely overturn them. ''Some of the judges, they are so afraid of the political consequences of going against police officers,'' said Johnny McCray, a defense attorney based in Pompano Beach. ''Nobody wants to be seen as anti-law enforcement, or pro-crime.'' © 2001 miamiherald and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. http://www.miami.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 2:18 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Baytown TX - Police watchdog group gives Baytown high mark Police watchdog group gives Baytown high mark By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS The Baytown Sun Published December 22, 2002 Complaint forms used by citizens to report police misconduct either don't exist or are not being made available at some police departments in Southeast Texas and a Houston law enforcement watchdog group is calling for change. Houston Copwatch conducted an investigation between Nov. 16 and Dec. 6 that found 25 area police departments either ignored or denied a written request to mail a complaint form. Personnel in some of the departments that failed said a citizen must complain in-person to an officer, a stance that Copwatch said public servants should not take with the taxpayers they serve. "In our perspective, access to forms is a gateway for the process," said Ernesto Aguilar, a Houston Copwatch spokesman. Complaints can be minimized or even ignored when such documentation doesn't exist, he said. Letters were sent under the assumed name, John Smith, to internal affairs at 50 law enforcement agencies in Harris, Montgomery, Galveston and Jefferson counties. A post office box was given as the return address. Departments were given more than 10 days to reply to the letter and phoned with an additional request if they did not respond. Departments received a grade of A-F based on their response to the letter and telephone call. An A was given to departments that promptly returned a complaint form and enclosed a letter acknowledging the request. Departments that didn't send letters, were slow to respond or sent other information besides a complaint form were given a B, C or D based on how little they provided. An F was given to departments that denied requests, or ignored the original letter and a second certified letter. Agencies such as the Harris County Sheriff's Department were given an F despite explanations that they did not have a form to send. Baytown police were given an A for promptly providing a complaint form and an acknowledgment letter. The sheriff's department asks that those with complaints issue them in person and under oath, a policy that Copwatch disagrees with. "In order for us to get a form, we have to go in and basically give a deposition or give personal information," Aguilar said. Capt. Robert Van Pelt with department media relations said sworn testimony allows the department to better investigate complaints. ! "By making a sworn statement, they are saying it's the truth," Van Pelt said. "As far as a complaint form, one that you fill out and send in, we don't have that." Citizens are asked to come into the internal affairs office and make a sworn statement so that their complaints are admissible in court and the deputy in question is compelled to give a sworn statement of their own. "In essence it's fair to both sides," he said. Since internal affairs is located off the West Loop in Houston and separate from other departments located downtown, people who feel victimized by an officer won't have to fear running into them again, he said. "When people come in, they are not seeing a jail officer or patrol officer," he said. As a further convenience, those unable to travel to internal affairs' Galleria-area offices can request that detectives be sent to take a sworn statement. Investigators are trained to be impartial and treat each complaint with respect, he said. "I have a lot of faith in our personnel and the sheriff does too," Outside the department, defense attorneys who often take up cases of police misconduct and oppression said giving a sworn affidavit could work against those with complaints and that the department is wrong for not having forms. Houston defense attorney Randall Kallinen said that sworn affidavits are a deterrent for those with complaints and that the sheriff's department has too few avenues for receiving complaints. "It's just a method for avoiding complaints against deputies," Kallinen said. Kallinen represents 60 of the 270 people who were arrested in an Aug. 18 Houston police raid that targeted drag racers in a Kmart and Sonic Drive-In parking lot on Westheimer Road. Houston Police Capt. Mark Aguirre and Sgt. Ken Wenzel were indicted with official oppression because of the raid. People who think they have a criminal complaint against the police should talk with a criminal defense or civil rights attorney before giving a statement, Kallinen said. "I'd ask them what they're going to say and read their affidavit before they sign it," he said. The same holds true in a civil case where the object is financial restitution. An attorney wouldn't want their client making a sworn statement until a trial so that minor discrepancies cannot be used against them to show inconsistency, he said. Anahuac defense attorney Ed Lieck said having an attorney review an affidavit before it's signed helps eliminate instances where words are misconstrued or testimony appears inconsistent. "You want to make sure you're consistent from the time you give a statement through an appearance before a grand jury," Lieck said. Lieck said that it is sometimes better to take complaints to a state or federal law enforcement agency because they don't have the same ties to officers that those within a department have. In his dealings with law enforcement, Lieck said he has run up against a "blue wall" that keeps officers from investigating one another. "They don't want to permeate that wall," Lieck said. "There's a brotherhood between police officers which is a good thing," he said. Police share an occupation that is dangerous and requires them to trust other officers with their lives, he said. However, even when complaints are lodged with supervisors, Lieck has trouble. "I have found through my own experience that when you go back to a supervisor, the investigation dies right there," Lieck said. "They hope it goes away with time." Aguilar said that it has been difficult for Copwatch to determine how many complaints suffer this fate. "It's kind ef interesting because if a cop pulls over a citizen they can look up information, past warrants," he said. "But we can't even find out how often this officer has shot someone te death er had a complaint filed against them." Baytown was the only other area agency reviewed besides the sheriff's department, and in contrast te the county, it earned an A. The department is receptive to complaints which can be submitted in person, on-line and over the telephone, Police Chief Byron Jones said. However, complaints made in person are still the best since they yield more detail and allow investigators to ask follow-up questions, Jones said. "By the officers taking it down it may be more detailed than if citizens did," Jones said. "If it's just a an anonymous letter, it's hard to follow up on." Chambers County law enforcement agencies were not contacted for this Copwatch study, though officials in the sheriff's department and Mont Belvieu Police Department said citizens can request forms by mail. However, many citizens still prefer to talk tea person when making a complaint. Sheriff Henroe Kreuzer said in a county with a small population like Chambers, an explanation from someone you know goes a long way to smoothing out conflicts. "They can write and get it, but most of the complaints are verbal," Kreuzer said. "Most people want to talk to someone." Complaints are made through the chief deputy, who is chief supervisor of sergeants. Mont Belvieu Police Chief Jerry Whitman said residents can file complaints with officers, at the station or request forms by mail. What makes the system work is the good policy behind it, Whitman said. "It's OK to have a complaint form but you need a policy to back it up," he said. Under the policy, class one complaints are civil rights violations or alleged instances of excessive force such as being hit, kicked er slapped. Class two complaints are minor infractions that can involve how an officer handles his or her self. The chief reviews complaints and can investigate them himself, assign them to 3 a supervisor or transfer them to city administration. Complaints are unfounded when an action never took place, exonerated when an action took place but was justified, not sustained when evidence is insufficient and sustained when evidence is supported. Recent history has taught that any department that is not open and fair will face criticism and be doubted, Whitman said. "If we haven't learned anything since Rodney King in L.A., then we deserve it," he said. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 4 Marian Karr From: keIvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 6:18 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Indianapolis IN - Confessions rarely questioned by courts Confessions rarely questioned by courts Doubt about the truth of admissions could be erased if interrogations were taped, some say. By Shannon Tan shannon.tan@indystar.com December 22, 2002 False confessions have upended high-profile cases in Indianapolis and New York recently, but central Indiana judges and jurors rarely eye confessions with suspicion. It was an unusual move this month when a Marion County judge threw out the confession of Charles Daugherty. His admission never matched the facts of the case, and the mentally retarded man walked free. He had told police he raped and killed il-year-old LaShonna Bates in 1994. And last week, the New York Supreme Court threw out the convictions of the five men who confessed and were found guilty of raping a Central Park jogger in 1989 after DNA evidence fingered a serial rapist. Yet suppression in court of formal confessions given to police is rare, said Richard Ofshe, a University of California, Berkeley professor and a national expert in police interrogations and false confessions. Those few suppressions likely could be avoided, many say, by requiring all interrogations to be recorded in full. Indiana, like most states, does not require police officers to tape record or videotape formal interrogations. No one tracks how often false admissions occur. According to the Marion County public defender's office, in at least four murder and drug trafficking cases in the past two years, confessions were thrown out by a judge, a defendant who confessed was acquitted or the charges were dropped despite a confession. In the past few years, Indiana appellate courts have affirmed confessions by defendants who were told lies by police before confessing. The courts tolerated the use of deception in cases where police told suspects they had ballistic information, fingerprints, DNA evidence and eyewitness identifications when there were none. Sticking points arise, however, if courts determine the confession was involuntary or given by someone unaware of their rights. Experts say the mentally retarded and children are especially susceptible to making false admissions of guilt. They are more easily manipulated by skilled interrogators and may not fully understand the implications of a confession. Police agencies send detectives to interrogation seminars in part to avoid such situations but also to learn psychological forms of interrogation that have proven to be extremely effective. "Interrogations are designed to result in a confession," said Steve Schutte, a state public defender. "People are falsely incriminating themselves because the techniques work." But trying to guard against that by taping all confessions, critics worry, would make extracting confessions tougher. "The majority ef criminal (suspects) are uncomfortable with having a tape recorder going," said Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner, a former police officer. "If you say before I talk, 'I want te turn on the tape recorder,' they won't say a word." Because the sessions take place behind closed deers, ceurtr©em battles ever the validity ef unrecorded confessions often come down to believing the police er the suspect. Indianapolis police sometimes videotape or record confessions but not always the entire interrogation. "(Taping} would eliminate a lot of miscarriages of justice, a let of frivolous claims of police misconduct," said Ofshe. "False confessions are a major contributor to miscarriages of justice and . . probably the most easily fixed problem in the criminal justice system." Such precautions might have headed off the dismissal of murder charges against Daugherty. After being questioned by the police for 13 hours, Daugherty gave two taped statements. The suppresslen of these statements may taint the case forever, leaving attorneys for any other suspect in the killing able to use Daugherty~s confession to raise doubts with a jury. Only two states require the taping of interrogations. In Alaska, interviews of suspects in custody are both audiotaped and videotaped, while in Minnesota the statements are audiotaped. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 8:40 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Philadelphia PA - Captain Honored for Protecting Muslims Posted on Sun, Dec. 22, 2002 Police captain honored for protecting Huslims By Thomas J. Gibbons Jr. Inquirer Staff Writer In the hours after Sept. 11, H00I, as retaliatory attacks on American Huslims broke out around the country, Philadelphia police quickly moved to protect members of the Arab community as well as their mosques and businesses. The city police official calling the shots was Capt. William Fisher, commander ef the Civil Affairs unit. He ordered his plainclothes force into action, bolstered by uniformed district officers. Their mission was plain: Stop any reprisals. Friday, Fisher, 56, at the request of Harwan Kreidie, executive director of the Arab-American Community Development Corp., drove his unmarked car to one of the area's biggest mosques - North Philadelphia's A1-Aqsa Islamic Society at Germantown Avenue and Jefferson Street - for what he thought would be a routine weekly meeting. Instead, he received an award for a job well done and an ovation from more than 600 Muslims at the end of the regular Friday communal prayer service. "This is quite a surprise. I just stopped by to say hello to everyone," a stunned Fisher told worshipers after Amin Elarbl, president of the society, handed him a handsome plaque in the shape of a police badge. An inscription thanked Fisher for his "sensitivity" to the needs of the Arab and Muslim communities. "We commend your exemplary effort, care and understanding," it read. Steve Cousins, who operates several grocery stores in North Philadelphia, was one of those who just minutes earlier had been kneeling on the soft green carpet. He stood and greeted Fisher warmly. "We appreciate everything you've done for us," Cousins said. Then, turning to an observer, Cousins remarked: "He's really a friend. He did protect our businesses." One of the ways Fisher did that was to try to get a list of every Arab business in the city so that patrols could be notified. He met resistance at first from skeptical members of the Arab community. But the big, friendly officer, a 1975 graduate of Notre Dame University, won them over. "This guy went out of his way beyond the line of duty," Kreidie said. "After Sept. 11, I talked to him more than my wife." Later, from his headquarters on Spring Garden Street, Fisher, a 26-year police veteran, said the award meant a lot. "I was really shocked when I went out there and that happened," he said. "I didn't expect it. It just made me feel good. 1 "It was very kind of them. It was good for the Police Department, too, that they felt that comfortable with the police that they honored a police officer." Contact staff writer Thomas J. Gibbons Jr. at 215-854-2642 or tgibbons@phillynews.com. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of 6 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 10:12 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] 1. Seasons Greetings: 2. Copies of NACOLE Conference Keynote Speeches Dear NACQLE Friends, May your days be peaceful, your lives calm, hour health sturdy, and your weather both as cold and warm as you like it during this holiday season. Debra Livingston is editing her NACOLE Conference Keynote talk so we can post it to the nacole.org website. Some of you may be able to use the 4-part framework she outlined regarding the value of oversight in your Annual Reports, and/or in your board and community outreach & trainings. We will also include it in a listserv mailing when it is edited. Nuala O'Loan's talk is posted to the web and is included below. Take care, Sue Quinn MRS NUALA O'LOAN POLICE OMBUDSMAN FOR NORTHERN IRELAND INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO POLICE CONDUCT IN AN ENVIRONMENT OF TERRORISM THE EIGHTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF NACOLE CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSSETS, USA 1 NOVEMBER 2002 For those of us living in Northern Ireland the impact of our thirty years of "Troubles" has diminished somewhat. Northern Ireland is a very beautiful country, populated by a very good people. It sometimes seems to me that it is important to remember this. Terrorism has been part of life in Northern Ireland for over thirty yearshe security forces were murdered, of whom 302 were police officers. In addition to this some 48,000 people have been injured, of whom 11,587 are members of the police service. These are the raw statistics of suffering in a country of 1.6 million people - the size perhaps of your own city of Philadelphia. They do not include the suicides, the other related deaths, and the number of people who struggle to keep living lives which are blighted beyond repair by loss and injury and death. I do not think that I need to articulate to you the other effects of terrorism - the damage to the economy because of reluctance to establish business lest that business be bombed, its executives kidnapped or murdered; the loss of revenue from tourism because tourists are afraid to go to a place which their televisions depict as being dangerous; the loss of self-confidence and self esteem among those who cannot get jobs; the ghettoising of communities which live in fear of each other; the suspicion and hatred which is the inevitable result of generations who grow up fearing that those who walk down the street, go to school with them, work with them, may be the people who emerge to bomb, to shoot and to kill. It is a terrible catalogue of death, pain, fear, horror, agony... It has had an incalculable effect on our people, especially our young people. You too have seen your own horror and pain, most terribly on September 11 last, when that which had 12/23/02 Page 2 of 6 seemed unthinkable occurred. More recently in Bali we have seen carnage on a massive scale. Just last weekend we saw the terrible suffering in Moscow. We remember at this time all those who have suffered and lost and who go on suffering. Qne of the inevitable consequences of living day to day in a terrorist situation is that policing is affected. Normal community policing involves ready and open interactions between the police and those who are policed. In the United Kingdom there is a long tradition that police officers are not routinely armed. That is not the case in Northern Ireland. Police officers are armed primarily to enable them to protect themselves against the threat of murder. Our police stations are heavily fortified to resist bomb and bullet. They are intimidating in appearance. They are not suggestive of the welcoming and protective arm of the law with which I grew up. But it is not just the physical appearance of policing which is modified in a terrorist situation. The way of policing must evolve to meet the challenges of anti-terrorism Police officers in this situation do their job day in, day out in dangerous circumstances. I wish to pay tribute now to those many brave officers of the RUC, 302 of them, who lost their lives, to those who suffered and continue to suffer and to their wives, children and families who grieved and suffer also. So many officers of the RUC, now the Police Service of Northern Ireland, have done their job as best they can in the most difficult of circumstances. It is right that their bravery and their sacrifice should be acknowledged.. One of the consequences of the style of policing required in a terrorist situation is that the policing family becomes inward looking and instinctively protective. Energies are focused on the anti-terrorist situation. Officers have learned to protect one another and to make survival the priority. This is understandable but the consequence is that the delivery of the policing service to the public is primarily qualified by the need to be alert to the threat to life. In addition to this we had, in Northern Ireland the situation in which for many years the police were perceived by one part of the population as "their police". Just as Stormont was at one time described (by Sir James Craig, later Lord Craigavon) as "a Protestant government for a Protestant people", so there was, among many people, a perception that the RUC was a Protestant police force, a fact which became a reality as 93% of the police force was Protestant. A further factor is that in Northern Ireland, because we live in an ongoing terrorist situation, the role of Special Branch, the anti-terrorist intelligence arm of the police, has developed very significantly. Infiltration of terrorist organisations, the recruitment and management of informants, the gathering and assessment of intelligence, the protection of vital sources, have all been critical issues. In addition to this the years since the ceasefire of 1994 have seen a significant increase in the volume of organised serious crime. Paramilitaries have turned their attention to the lucrative businesses of drugs, smuggling, highly organised protection rackets, fraud and money laundering. Sectarian murders and attacks are still occurring, and there are allegations that paramilitary murderers, both republican and loyalist, who are alleged to be informants are walking the streets unhindered. We have also seen the conviction of both police officers and military personnel for murders committed with loyalist paramilitaries. These convictions were few, by comparison with the total number of officers who have served, but they are of the utmost importance. It was into this situation that Parliament legislated for the creation of my office. I am charged to receive and investigate all allegations, criminal or disciplinary against police officers. All complaints in relation to police conduct must come to me. Matters can be referred to me by the Chief Constable, Secretary of State and Policing Board. All the investigation is done by my office. The PSNI play no part in these investigations. Unlike the situation in which many of you find yourself we are not simply an oversight body. We are a primary investigation body. I can not emphasise this too strongly. It is key to an understanding of what I want to say now. The complaints for which I am responsible range from allegations of incivility to allegations of murder. In discussing the operation of an independent police complaints system in the context of terrorism, I want to concentrate on the investigation of serious crime, and the extent of the powers and responsibilities which necessarily attach to such investigations. I will refer also to the need for intelligence led anti-terrorist policing to be an integral part of the policing process, and to the significance of my independence for the contribution which my office can make to the future of policing. When carrying out an investigation my investigators have all the powers of a constable under the law. This means that we can, and have, arrested police officers, we preserve and forensicate crime scenes, we carry out searches, and seize documentation and other materials. I have the right to be given any material or documentation which I require from the police. Nothing can be withheld from me. This is a very necessary power. I have made use of all the powers which I have available to me. My Office is independent of the police, the government and political parties.. It is evidence driven. I have the power to initiate an investigation without a complaint if I believe that an officer may have committed a criminal or disciplinary offence. I have used that power. We will make every effort to secure evidence, and having gathered that evidence I will use it. I will not and do not allow my office to be used for political purposes. We offer an equal service to all the people of Northern Ireland. 12/23/02 Page 3 of 6 My job is to provide a service which independently investigates allegations against the police. Nothing more, but nothing less. In the exercise of my powers I will where necessary make recommendations against any officer, of any rank. The Office monitors and reports on trends and patterns in complaints. I have a power to research police practice and policy. Under the Weston Park Agreements in relation to the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, I am to receive enhanced power to investigate policy and practice. I report to Parliament through the Secretary of State, to the Policing Board, to the Chief Constable and to the people. My first Annual Report is available on the web at www. policeombudsman.org and copies are available today to those who are interested. I think that it demonstrates clearly the extent of the responsibilities which I carry, and the opportunities for improved policing which derive from this new and unique system of dealing with police complaints. Our most recent statistics, collected by an independent agency soon affer my Omagh Report, show that 86% of the population believe that I am independent, that 79% of the population believe that I will be fair if they complain and that 72% think that my office will make a contribution to improved policing in Northern Ireland. We have worked very hard during the last two years to establish procedures and structures and quality assurance mechanisms which will ensure, as best we can, that we deliver a fair and effective service to everyone. Many of the allegations which we receive relate in some form or other to the terrorist context. For example, on Monday last I was addressing the Northern Ireland Women's Aid Federation, a group which exists to help those who are subject to domestic violence. It was said to me, and it caused a ripple of agreement from the audience, that security force informants who commit crimes of domestic violence are not being dealt with properly; that even when they have committed a very serious assault on a woman, they are simply taken out of the matrimonial home, told to behave and then released a little time later. It was said that they then return to their terrified wives and partners who say that, because of this situation, they are sometimes too afraid to call the police. It just makes things worse. Again, I have been told by both sides of the community that identifiable and known drug dealers operate with impunity because they are informants. We have also received a few allegations that police officers are engaged in drug dealing. Perhaps most sinister of all are the allegations that police officers are or have been involved in sectarian murder or have failed to investigate murder or very serious crime. Those allegations form only a small number of our total complaints. They are not, generally, matters which will be investigated or solved quickly or easily. They are matters which demand the most serious of attention. Some of these investigations of allegations of failure to investigate by the police, have disclosed adequate investigations. The deficiency lay in the failure to communicate to families the extent of the police investigation. In investigating such allegations we do need, and very largely get, the support and co-operation of individual officers, the police service and of the people. We have worked hard to secure the confidence of the Police service. The first comments made by the recently appointed Chief Constable, Hugh Orde referred in very positive terms to my office. I welcomed those comments, and his commitment to work to ensure the best possible police service. We, in our turn, must provide a service which cares equally for those who complain and those against whom complaints are made. In all our actions we seek to respect and recognise the human rights of police officers and civilians. We receive information from whistle-blowers within the police service, both serving and retired I want to talk about a few cases, particularly my Omagh investigation, because I think that they will illustrate graphically the importance of my independence, and also the difficulties of the work which we do. On 15 August 1998 at 3.05 pm a massive car bomb exploded in the little county town of Omagh. It was a warm Saturday affernoon. People were out shopping - getting children ready to go back to school, buying an outfit for a special occasion, a pair of shoes for a two year old bridesmaid - the ordinary things that people do on Saturday afternoon. At 2.29 a warning was received that a bomb was going to explode. As police cleared the streets the bomb exploded. 29 people and two unborn children died in the explosion. 259 people were injured, some of them suffering terrible injury. There was massive damage to property. All this in a town with a population of some 20,000 people.. The pictures of the devastation of Omagh were beamed across the world. The Chief Constable said that "those responsible would be brought to justice" and that all necessary resources would be dedicated to the investigation, that "no stone would be left unturned". No person has been charged in relation to the Omagh bomb since that day by the RUC/PSNI. Responsibility was claimed by RIRA. Last week RIRA announced that they had been assisted by ClRA in carrying out the bomb attack. The Omagh bomb was the 8th explosion in Northern Ireland in 1998 - previous explosions had occurred in Enniskillen, Moira, Lisburn, Beleek, Newry and Banbridge. It was a bad year. On 29th July 2001 a newspaper reported that a police informant claimed that he had told the police three days before the Omagh bomb exploded that a republican terrorist was planning something. The inference was that the Omagh bomb could have been prevented. This caused widespread concern. The police response was that no such warning had been received. I decided that we must examine this allegation, expecting that there could be no truth to what was said, but nonetheless determined that we must establish the truth. The rest is history. We found that there had been a warning, not specific to Omagh. We also found that on 04 August eleven days before the bomb exploded another warning was received, which 12/23/02 Page 4 of 6 was very specific and which named persons who would be involved in "an attack on police in Omagh on 15 August". Limited action had been taken, and the warning had been dismissed as being of no consequence. It was subsequently marked "does not refer to Omagh". The District Commander was not told. No preventative action was considered or taken that day in Omagh. Action clearly should have been taken and th e District Commander should have been told. We also found that those named in the 04 August information had not been investigated. We do not know, to this day, whether those individuals had any part in the Omagh bomb. Any role that they may have had had not been examined as I reported. We examined a vast amount of the intelligence available during a one year period in relation to the 1998 bombings to create a picture of dissident republican activity. Over 75% of that intelligence had not been made available to those investigating the Omagh bomb or the other RIRA bombs that year. We examined the police investigation to see whether there had been any misconduct in relation to these warnings. I want to state clearly, as I have done before, that "the persons responsible for the Omagh Bombing are the terrorists who planned and executed the atrocity. This is a clear and unequivocal fact." Following publication of my Report and consideration thereof the Policing Board has, in effect, acted on the main substance of my recommendation§. There is now a new Omagh Senior Investigating Officer dedicated full time to the investigation, who has no other responsibilities. The Policing Board has appointed two senior officers from England to ensure that the investigation is properly resourced and conducted. A review of Special Branch procedures is under way. The sad fact is that four years on much investigative opportunity has been lost. It is to be hoped that the apparently robust new investigation team, which now has full senior officer involvement, will continue to be properly resourced and will be effective. I thought it might be helpful to articulate the way in Which we approach these investigations. Effectively the critical questions are: What is alleged that the officers did wrongly or failed to do? What does the evidence, if any, show in relation to these allegations? What was the context of the matter complained about? Did anyone authorise the conduct complained of? How do we measure that conduct? What are the relevant bench marks - procedures, law or policies? Is the action consistent with the law, the policy and the authorisation? Has the officer committed a breach of the law or of the discipline code? The answers to these questions may be complex enough even when considered in relation to non-terrorist matters. They are complicated by the terrorist situation. In that context we must deal with all police action including crime investigators and Special Branch. In Northern Ireland investigation of crime is carried out by CID officerson-terrorist crime. This is a pattern repeated across the world. They have no direct involvement in anti-terrorist intelligence gathering and where such intelligence does come to their attention they must hand it over immediately to Special Branch who are responsible for such intelligence. I wish to state unequivocally at this point that we need to have a unit dedicated to gathering intelligence, and that police officers, including Special Branch officers, have done a very courageous job in preventing terrorist atrocities. What is also required is the establishment of clear and unequivocal systems to translate intelligence gathered into evidence against terrorists when a terrorist crime has been committed. There are many ways of gathering intelligence. I do not think I need to spell them out. They range from technical devices to informants. In Northern Ireland now we have legislation, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which regulates how informants are managed and provides for a system of consents to be obtained where technical devices are to be used to secure evidence. Evidence secured in accordance with the law is then admissible in court in the prosecution of alleged offenders. The management of sources, particularly by Special Branch, is a complex business. Those who are capable of providing information which may enable the police to intercept a bomb, or to prevent a sectarian murder necessarily operate very close to those who bomb and shoot. They may be exposed by a successful police action which prevents an atrocity. The finger may be pointed by the terrorists at them. They may be perceived to be the conduit through which the police found out what was going on. If that happens they run the very real risk of being murdered themselves. There was a point when 12/23/02 Page 5 of 6 the discovery of a mutilated body on a lonely country road was a regular occurrence. Very often the allegation was that the person had been a "tout". The management of sources therefore requires great care. Sources can be and are authorised to take a minor part in a planned crime, although at a Iow level. At its simplest the source may be authorised to provide a car for an armed robbery, and the police can then arrange to intercept the car and prevent the robbery. There is a fine line between the legitimate authorisafion of an individual to act as a participating informant in the commission of a crime, and a situation in which the informant is permitted to become involved in those crimes which can not be authorised under the law. That line is certainly crossed when the crime would not have occurred but for the involvement of the informant. Our newspapers carry allegations that police were advised of the names of murderers, but that those people were not investigated because to do so would upset the intelligence gathering function. They suggest that people have been arrested, questioned and released in relation to a number of murders, where forensic evidence, which might have contributed to their prosecution, was not sought. There are allegations that Special Branch's "running" of informants, included allowing those informants to access bomb-making equipment, to make bombs and to commit murder. I do not know whether the individual allegations which have been made are true. Such allegations, however, clearly contribute to loss of confidence in the police on all sides of the community. If true th ey may amount to the commission of criminal offences. In order to deal with such allegations, and with allegations of police failure to act properly and lawfully in relation to informants, my office must be able to examine the systems which exist in relation to intelligence gathering and the utilisation and the management of sources. It needs, therefore, access to the heart of the most sensitive operations carried out by the police, when there is an investigation relating to those operations. We have such access. It carries with it enormous responsibilities in relation to the security of information and material. Special provision must be made in a body which has such responsibilities for maximum possible security. The possibility of an attack on anyone in possession of sensitive information can never be underestimated. The break-in at PSNI Special Branch Headquarters, Castlereagh, tells us that. Also the alleged level of gathering of information which might be of use to terrorists, at the heart of government in the Northern Ireland Office, must cause all those involved in the handling of sensitive information to be acutely aware of the responsibilities inherent in such a function. I am aware of my responsibilities in this context. The access which I have is vital to the exercise of my function and to the protection of the common good. If no-one has such access, what can happen is that those in the Special Branch become separate from the rest of the police service. Special Branch in Northern Ireland was described by serving police officers to members of the Patten Commission, as a "force within a force". It became effectively accountable only to the Chief Constable. This is not adequate accountability. There is also the risk that, operating as Special Branch does in a very secretive way, information is not shared with those who need the information to investigate crime. Proper systems of accountability must be able to identify the existence of such a situation, draw attention to it and ensure that action is taken to bring the Special Branch officers concerned back within the accountable po licing structure. What we have found is that the relationship between Special Branch and the rest of the Police Service in Northern Ireland evolved in an unbalanced and, to say the least, inappropriate way. There is a deficiency in current Special Branch arrangements for the management and dissemination of information. There were no detailed written force policies for the management and dissemination of information and intelligence from Special Branch to the rest of the force. There was very little proper analysis of such intelligence as was available. The consequence of this was that investigators of crime, both terrorist and non-terrorist, were often not informed of the existence of intelligence which might be relevant to their investigations. Those investigations wou Id in many cases have been enhanced and facilitated by the provision to the Senior Investigating Officer of available and relevant intelligence. It may have had the potential to be translated from intelligence into evidence, through the evidential opportunities which it would have provided, which could then be used against terrorists. This was a foreseeable consequence of the arrangements which existed in Special Branch. It caused great frustration among officers investigating crime. Special Branch undoubtedly had a supremacy which was not in the interests of the common good. An operation like this is neither efficient nor effective. I am not the first person to make these observations. Sir John Stevens in 1991 and the Patten Commission in 1997 made similar comment. My independence and my statutory authority have enabled me to do things which were not possible previously. Some previous reports were not made public. Access, such as I have by virtue of my powers, was often not made available to those conducting investigations in the past. Change is now very much in the wind. Following my Omagh Report the Northern Ireland Policing Board appointed Mr Dan Crompton, former Chief Constable and Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary to carry out a review of the role and function of Special Branch. Mr Crompton will report to the Policing Board on 06 November, next Wednesday. We await his findings with great interest. The issues which I have attempted to articulate in this short paper are but a few of those which have come to my attention 12/23/02 Page 6 of 6 in my role as Police Ombudsman. The work which we do in my Office is critical to police effectiveness and to public confidence in the police. Fundamental to any success which we may have had is our independence. We are and must be evidence driven. It is important to say to you that there is no inherent contradiction between effective policing, even in the context of ongoing terrorism, and effective independent investigation of complaints against the police. The outcome of rigorous independent professional investigation can only contribute to an enhanced policing service and to enhanced confidence in the police. The existence of independent scrutiny in Northern Ireland has not caused any difficulty to those responsible for investigating terrorist acts. It has concentrated minds and led to better investigative procedures. The fight against terrorism should never be used as a reason to deny independent investigation of police complaints. My Omagh Report and some of the policy findings and recommendations contained in my Annual Report, all of which were transmitted in advance to the PSNI, have undoubtedly been the cause of some tension. However my independence has permitted me to say what had to be said as a consequence of the evidence which we uncovered. I am accountable to the courts, to the public accounts mechanism for my spending, and to Parliament for the exercise of my powers. My office has been the subject of huge media and political interest~ Let no-one underestimate the effectiveness of that additional scrutiny. What is vitally important to me as I, and my staff, do this difficult and dangerous job, is that neither my powers nor my independence is compromised in any way and that my accountability to the law and the legislature remains undiminished. 12/2 3/0 2 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 6:44 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] 1: Re-Post Query on Patriot Act 2 NY Times Articles on Internet Monitoring NACOLE List Members: I want to make sure John Murphy's question from this weekend re: the Civilian Review/Oversight community's response te the Patriot Act didn't get lest in the soup: To: NACOLE Members: From: John Hurphy Claremont, CA Subj: Reaction to USA Patriot Act There appears to be a growing negative reaction to the Patriot Act by several California cities. Claremont is talking about a city council resolution opposing the Act. My question is: what role, if any, have police oversight commissions or boards played in this issue? (I believe Berkeley has passed a resolution of "non-cooperation" and has directed this to the police department.) I would welcome any observations about this issue. Thanks. John Murphy jemurphy909@earthlink.net 909/624-5751 .................................................. John has raised a critical issue. What is our role in this debate? I believe we need to have answers when fhe public begins to ask questions about this unprecedented expansion of law enforcement powers. While there will always be a great deal ef traffic en the list regarding the actions/policies of individual officers in jurisdictions large and small all over the country, we need to chew on these larger questions as well. I'm sure we'd all agree that, whatever our opinion regarding the usefulness or constitutionality of the Patriot Act, it represents a fundamental shift ef law enforcement power that has great impact on police oversight. As the Justice Department steps up its enforcement actions, its only a matter of time before these issues move from abstract "what ifs" to real complaints and issues for police auditors in local jurisdictions. Last week I posted a piece on the NYPDs attempts to broaden political surveillance; below are two articles on 1)Bush proposal for Internet monitoring, and 2) The tools for monitoring are already in place. I'm putting together a hackgrounder en the recent reactions te the Patriot Act John spoke of, which I'll post later. Happy Holidays to Ail! -Kelvyn December 20, 2002 Bush Administration te Propose System for Monitoring Internet By JOHN MARKOFF and JOHN SCHWARTZ The Bush administration is planning to propose requiring Internet service providers to help build a centralized system to enable broad monitoring of the Internet and, potentially, surveillance of its users. The proposal is part of a final version of a report, "The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace," set for release early next year, according to several people who have been briefed on the report. It is a component of the effort to increase national security after the Sept. 11 attacks. The President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board is preparing the report, and it is intended to create public and private cooperation to regulate and defend the national computer networks, not only from everyday hazards like viruses but also from terrorist attack. Ultimately the report is intended to provide an Internet strategy for the new Department of Homeland Security. Such a proposal, which would be subject to Congressional and regulatory approval, would be a technical challenge because the Internet has thousands of independent service providers, from garage operations to giant corporations like American Online, AT&T, Microsoft and Worldcom. The report does not detail specific operational requirements, locations for the centralized system or costs, people who were briefed on the document said. While the proposal is meant to gauge the overall state of the worldwide network, some officials of Internet companies who have been briefed on the proposal say they worry that such a system could be used to cross the indistinct border between broad monitoring and wiretap. Stewart Baker, a Washington lawyer who represents some of the nation's largest Internet providers, said, "Internet service providers are concerned about the privacy implications of this as well as liability," since providing access to live feeds of network activity could be interpreted as a wiretap or as the "pen register" and "trap and trace" systems used on phones without a judicial order. Mr. Baker said the issue would need to be resolved before the proposal could move forward. Tiffany Olson, the deputy chief of staff for the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, said yesterday that the proposal, which includes a national network operations center, was still in flux. She said the proposed methods did not necessarily require gathering data that would allow monitoring at an individual user level. But the need for a large-scale operations center is real, Ms. Olson said, because Internet service providers and security companies and other online companies only have a view of the part of the Internet that is under their control. "We don't have anybody that is able to look at the entire picture," she said. "When something is happening, we don't know it's happening until it's too late." The government report was first released in draft form in September, and described the monitoring center, but it suggested it would likely be controlled by industry. The current draft sets the stage for the government to have a leadership role. The new proposal is labeled in the report as an "early-warning center" that the board says is required to offer early detection of Internet-based attacks as well as defense against viruses and worms. But Internet service providers argue that its data-monitoring functions could be used to track the activities of individuals using the network. An official with a major data services company who has been briefed on several 2 aspects of the government's plans said it was hard to see how such capabilities could be provided to government without the potential for real-time monitoring, even of individuals. "Part of monitoring the Internet and doing real-time analysis is to be able to track incidents while they are occurring," the official said. The official compared the system to Carnivore, the Internet wiretap system used by the F.B.I., saying: "Am I analogizing this to Carnivore? Absolutely. But in fact, it's 10 times worse. Carnivore was working on much smaller feeds and could not scale. This is looking at the whole Internet." One former federal Internet security official cautioned against drawing conclusions from the information that is available so far about the Securing Cyberspace report's conclusions. Michael Vatis, the founding director of the National Critical Infrastructure Protection Center and now the director of the Institute for Security Technology Studies at Dartmouth, said it was co~on for proposals to be cast in the worst possible light before anything is actually known about the technology that will be used or the legal framework within which it will function. "You get a firestorm created before anybody knows what, concretely, is being proposed," Mr. Vatis said. A technology that is deployed without the proper legal controls "could be used to violate privacy," he said, and should be considered carefully. But at the other end of the spectrum of reaction, Mr. Vatis warned, "You end up without technology that could be very useful to combat terrorism, information warfare or some other harmful act." December 23, 2002 Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running By JOHN MARKOFF and JOHN SCHWARTZ In the Pentagon research effort to detect terrorism by electronically monitoring the civilian population, the most remarkable detail may be this: Most of the pieces of the system are already in place. Because of the inroads the Internet and other digital network technologies have made into everyday life over the last decade, it is increasingly possible to amass Big Brother-like surveillance powers through Little Brother means. The basic components include everyday digital technologies like e-mail, online shopping and travel booking, A.T.M. systems, cellphone networks, electronic toll-collection systems and credit-card payment terminals. In essence, the Pentagon's main job would be to spin strands of software technology that would weave these sources of data into a vast electronic dragnet. Technologists say the types of computerized data sifting and pattern matching that might flag suspicious activities to government agencies and coordinate their surveillance are not much different from programs already in use by private companies. Such programs spot unusual credit card activity, for example, or let people at multiple locations collaborate on a project. The civilian population, in other words, has willingly embraced the technical prerequisites for a national surveillance system that Pentagon planners are calling Total Information Awareness. The development has a certain historical resonance because it was the Pentagon's research agency that in the 1960's financed the technology that led directly to the modern Internet. Now the same agency -- the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa is relying on commercial technology that has evolved from the network it pioneered. 3 The first generation of the Internet - called the Arpanet -- consisted of electronic mail and file transfer software that connected people to people. The second generation connected people to databases and other information via the World Wide Web. Now a new generation of software connects computers directly to computers. And that is the key to the Total Information Awareness project, which is overseen by John M. Poindexter, the former national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan. Dr. Poindexter was convicted in 1990 of a felony for his role in the Iran-contra affair, but that conviction was overturned by a federal appeals court because he had been granted immunity for his testimony before Congress about the case. Although Dr. Poindexter's system has come under widespread criticism from Congress and civil liberties groups, a prototype is already in place and has been used in tests by military intelligence organizations. Total Information Awareness could link for the first time such different electronic sources as video feeds from airport surveillance cameras, credit card transactions, airline reservations and telephone calling records. The data would be filtered through software that would constantly look for suspicious patterns of behavior. The idea is for law enforcement or intelligence agencies to be alerted imm~ediately to patterns in otherwise unremarkable sets of data that might indicate threats, allowing rapid reviews by human analysts. For example, a cluster of foreign visitors who all took flying lessons in separate parts of the country might not attract attention. Nor would it necessarily raise red flags if all those people reserved airline tickets for the same day. But a system that could detect both sets of actions might raise suspicions. Some computer scientists wonder whether the system can work. "This wouldn't have been possible without the modern Internet, and even now it's a daunting task," said Dorothy Denning, a professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Part of the challenge, she said, is knowing what to look for. "Do we really know enough about the precursors to terrorist activity?" she said. "I don't think we're there yet." The early version of the Total Information Awareness system employs a commercial software collaboration program called Groove. It was developed in 2000 by Ray Ozzie, a well-known software designer who is the inventor of Lotus Notes. Groove makes it possible for analysts at many different government agencies to share intelligence data instantly, and it links specialized programs that are designed to look for patterns of suspicious behavior. Total Information Awareness also takes advantage of a simple and fundamental software technology called Extended Markup Language, or XML, that is at the heart of the third generation of Internet software. It was created by software designers at companies like Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and I.B.M., as well as independent Silicon Valley programmers. The markup language allows data that has long been locked in isolated databases, known in the industry as silos, to be translated into a kind of universal language that can be read and used by many different systems. Information made compatible in this way can be shared among thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of computers in ways that all of them can understand. It is XML, a refinement of the Internet's original World Wide Web scheme, that has made it possible to consider welding thousands of databases together without centralizing the information. Computer scientists said that without such new third-generation Web technologies, it would have never been possible to conceive of the Total Information Awareness system, which is intended to ferret out the suspicious intentions of a handful of potential terrorists from the humdrum everyday electronic comings and goings of millions of average Civil libertarians have questioned whether the government has the legal or 4 constitutienal grounds to conduct such electrenic searches. And other critics have called it an outlandishly futuristic and ultimately unworkable scheme on technical grounds. 8ut en the latter point, technologists disagree. "It's well grounded in the best current theory abeut scalable systems," said Ramano Rae, chief technelegy efficer at Inx±ght, a Sunnyvale, Calif., cempany that develops text-searching software. "It uses all the right buzzwords." People close to the Pentagon's research program said Dr. Poindexter was acutely aware ef the pewer and the invasiveness of his experimental surveillance system. In private conversations this summer, according to several Department of Defense contractors, he raised the possibility that the centrel of the Total Informatien Awareness system sheuld be placed under the jurisdictien of an independent, nongovernmental organization like the Red Cross because of the potential for abuse. Dr. Poinde×ter declined to be interviewed for this article. A Darpa spokeswoman, Jan Walker, wrote in an e-mail reply to questions that "we don't recall ever talking about" having a nongovernmental organization operate the Total Information Awareness program and that "we've not held any discussions with" such an organizatien. The idea of using an independent organization to control a technology that has a high potential for abuse has been raised by previeus administrations. An abortive plan to create a backdoor surveillance capability in encrypted communications, known as Clipper, was introduced by the Clinton administration in 1993. It called for keys te the cede to be held by an erganization independent of the F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies. Speaking of Dr. Peindexter, John Arquilla, an expert at the Naval Postgraduate Scheel in Menterey en uncenventional warfare, said, "The admiral is very concerned about the tension between security and civil liberties." He added that because of the changing nature of warfare and the threat of terrorism, the United States would be ferced to make trade-ells between individuals' privacy and natienal security. "In an age of terrer wars, we have to learn the middle path te craft the security we need without incurring toe great a cost en our civil liberties," he said. Computer scientists who work with Darpa said that Dr. Peindexter was an enthusiastic backer of a Darpa-sp©nsored advisory group that had been initiated by a Microsoft researcher, Eric Horvifz, in October 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrerist attacks. The group, which was composed of 41 computer scientists, policy experts and gevernment officials, met three times to explore whether it was possible to employ sophisticated data-mining technolegies against potential terrorist attacks while protecting individuals' privacy. A number of the scientists proposed "black box" surveillance systems that weuld alert human intelligence analysts about suspicieus patterns. Once the alerts were issued in such a system, they suggested, legal processes like those used fer wiretapping could be employed. But a number ef the scientists and policy experts whe attended the meetings were skeptical that technical safeguards would be adequate to ensure that such a system would not be abused. The debate is a healthy one, said Don Upson, who is senior vice president of the government business unit efa seftware company in Fairfax, Va., webHethods, and the former secretary of technology for Virginia. "I'm glad Darpa is doing this because semebedy has to start defining what the rules are going te be" about how and when to use data, he said. "I believe we're headed down the path of setting the parameters of hew we're going to use information." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthl[nk.net Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 9:02 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Riviera Beach FL - 6 Officer records show problems Six Riviera officers' records show problems By Joe Brogan, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Monday, December 23, 2002 RIVIERA BEACH -- Ten months after Clarence Williams was tapped to clean up a police department that has been wracked by officer violence and misconduct, some of the new chief's first round of recruits come armed with arrest records ranging from aggravated assault to domestic violence. A Palm Beach Post review of the department's own background reports of six officers who were hired in August showed: Four have arrest records. Of those, two have been arrested for alleged domestic violence. One was fired by the West Palm Beach Police Department for allegedly lying. One was rejected by the Palm Beach Police Department because his 1999 arrest on charges of auto burglary and petty theft was too recent. Four have had financial problems, including one who said he was filing for bankruptcy. Two have driving records that violate the department's standards. Two were given high-risk ratings by polygraph examiners who question recruits to determine their suitability for police work. Three others were rated medium-high risks, in.cluding one who admitted he sold marijuana in 1995 but was never caught. Agents for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who review the files of all new police officers hired in the state, said the records of the six officers aren't necessarily a cause for concern. "You can be a police officer and have an arrest record," said Kathy McLaughlin, a field specialist for the state agency. "The only thing that would prevent it would be a perjury conviction, felony conviction or if adjudication is withheld on a felony." Chief Williams, a former Cincinnati police lieutenant, stands by the officers and insists background investigations tell only part of a person's story. "We try to look at the total picture," he said. "I try to determine whether ! they've learned from those indiscretions. Am I talking to the same person in 2002 who was involved in drug use in 19957" After interviewing the candidates, he said he decided they are different people today than they were when they had domestic strife, financial ills or run-ins with the law, some as recently as three years ago. The six officers are: Tina Hall, already a certified police officer, and Steven S. Thomas, Travis J. Walker, Nathan Gordon, Elsworth Jones and Reginald Bush, all of whom will graduate Jan. 23 from the police academy, schooling that is costing city taxpayers $13,000. None responded to requests for comment that were placed through the police chief. Chief: Race isn't a factor Ail six of the officers are black. Williams, who in the 1970s won a landmark case that opened Cincinnati's police department to women and minorities, said race isn't a factor when he decides who to hire to patrol the city where 67 percent of the residents are black. The six were among about 20 eligible applicants for 11 jobs that were filled in August and September. Five others, hired about the same time and now patrolling city streets, are certified police officers and had clean records, according to background investigations. Four of those five are white. The fifth is black. However, four whites with far fewer blots on their records than the six black officers, were passed over. None had an arrest record except one, who was convicted of being an accomplice to shoplifting in 1985 when he was a teenager. Ail four met departmental driving standards. Polygraph examiners rated two as medium risks, one as low to medium risk and one as low risk, according to the reports. Rejected applicants included a retired New York City police homicide detective whose previous bosses described him as an outstanding employee, the reports show. His polygraph deemed him low risk. Williams said one of the four was rejected because he is related to someone who works for the agency and department nepotism rules prohibit hiring family members. He didn't return several phone calls to discuss why the other three were rejected. Disservice to the public? McLaughlin, of the FDLE, says the agency doesn't get involved in local hiring decisions. But other police chiefs said hiring people with criminal histories, financial problems or bad driving records is risky. "As a police chief, you don't want to be self-destructive," said West Palm Beach Police Chief Ric Bradshaw. "Why put someone in a position of responsibility who doesn't have a good track record? It's a disservice to the department and the public." Narcotics use, other than casual experimentation, violent crimes or any type of criminal activity, such as theft, would disqualify someone from working for his agency, he said. Lantana Police Chief Rick Lincoln, who served as interim chief in Delray Beach and director of law enforcement at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, said he wouldn't hire someone with a theft conviction because it raises questions of trust. A bad credit history would reflect strongly against an applicant because it shows a lack of responsibility, he said. While neither chief would talk specifically about Williams' decision to hire the six officers, Bradshaw has had contact with one of them: He fired her two years ago. 2 'Honesty, integrity~ expected Tina Hall, 27, was fired in 2000 for being absent without leave and lying during an internal affairs investigation, the background reports show. According to the reports, West Palm Beach police investigators said she left headquarters before finishing her shift because she had a doctor's appointment, but a check with the doctor revealed it wasn't true. Investigators said she asked another officer to tell them she finished her shift with him, but he told them she didn't, reports show. "The city of West Palm Beach did an unfair assessment of character and my selfless service," she said in her application to Riviera Beach, where she is now working as a patrol officer. Bradshaw disagreed. "Ail she had to do was say it was a mistake and a lack of judgment," Bradshaw said. "We expect people to be honest. Honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of what we do." Polygraph examiners gave her a high-risk rating because of the circumstances surrounding her termination from West Palm Beach, according to the reports. Unlike four of her fellow new officers, Hall hasn't been arrested as an adult. She was charged with shoplifting when she was 16 years old, reports show. The charge was dismissed after she performed community service as part of a youth diversionary program. Steven S. Thomas, 29, faced the most serious charges. In 1995, he was arrested by Lake Park police and charged with aggravated assault with a shotgun and carrying a concealed weapon, reports show. He took advantage of a program that allows people charged with crimes to avoid trial by completing a set of conditions, such as making restitution or performing conu~unity service. In return, charges are dropped. At his request, the case was sealed by court order so no information about the circumstances surrounding his arrest or the conditions he satisfied are available. In his application, Thomas, a licensed funeral director, said, "Although I have made some mistakes in my past, I have taken those instances and used them as learning experiences." Polygraph examiners weren't convinced. They classified him as high risk because of his arrest record and his admission to them that he'd stolen cable service and purchased a stolen compact disc player, reports show. Travis J. Walker, 24, has the most recent arrest. In fact, the 1999 arrest was so recent that it disqualified him for a job with the Palm Beach Police Department and earned him a medium to high risk rating from Riviera Beach polygraph examiners, according to the reports. He was charged with auto burglary, a felony, and petty theft by Tallahassee police after he broke into a car and stole a purse. He later told police he was intoxicated at the time, reports say. He ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing and petty larceny. He was placed on probation for six months and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service and pay $295 in court costs and $7.62 of restitution to the victim. 2 tied to domestic violence Two of the other rookies -- Elsworth Jones and Reginald Bush -- have been arrested in connection with domestic disturbances, the reports say. Jones, 32, was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge in 1997 in Miami-Dado County but the case was dismissed by prosecutors. Polygraph examiners rated him as a medium-high risk because of "reactions to violence" and a psychological evaluation classified him as a serious risk, according to 3 reports that offered no further explanation. Bush, 37, was charged by Belle Glade police in 1995 with simple domestic battery, but the charge was dropped after he completed anger management classes, reports say. Although Nathan Gordon, 23, has no arrest record, he was classified as medium to high risk by polygraph examiners after he revealed he had last used marijuana in 1998 and had sold "nickel bags" of marijuana in 1995 but had never been caught, according to the background reports. A former city recreation department worker, he also wrote in his March application that his car had been repossessed because he owed $7,000. Hall and Bush also have had financial problems. Credit checks revealed two of Hall~s unpaid bills and seven of Bush's were in the hands of collection agents. Jones, who has a bachelor's degree in finance and banking from Palm Beach Atlantic University, has the most serious financial problems. He noted in his application that he was in debt and filing for bankruptcy. Both Lincoln and Bradshaw said they avoid applicants with bad driving records because of liability problems that come with police spending so much time in city-owned patrol cars. Neither Thomas nor Walker met departmental driving record standards, according to the background reports. Records show Thomas has been cited six times for speeding since 1994, with the latest ticket in Palm Beach County in 2000. In that case, he was charged with speeding 84 mph in a 65 mph zone, but adjudication was withheld by the traffic court. Walker was cited for a traffic crash in 1999 in Leon County but adjudication was withheld on a charge of careless driving. He was also charged three times with speeding between 1998 and 2001, but adjudication was withheld in two of the cases. Both men attended driving school and each completed a substance abuse course -- Thomas in 1990 and Walker in 1993. Chance to prove themselves Williams said perfect records aren't required for hiring, and that weeding out, if needed, can take place during the year officers are on probation. He said he can waive department rules to hire people with poor driving records, but doesn't recall doing so for either Walker or Thomas. He said he is willing to give the fledgling officers the chance to prove themselves and wouldn't have hired them if he wasn't convinced they would be good additions to the 102-member force. "If they are not stellar performers, they fail, especially in areas flagged as potential problems," Williams said. And the FDLE's McLaughlin said that if any of the officers get in serious trouble, their certification can be yanked. If an officer fails to maintain good moral character or is convicted of serious charges, FDLE can strip them of their police licenses, she said. "Our authority comes in on the back end," McLaughlin said. "They {individual police chiefs) set their own standards on who they are going to hire." joe_brogan@pbpost.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org 4 http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 4:46 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Albany NY - Police officer sues Cohoes NACOLE list: Cohoes is about 10 miles north of Albany, NY -kelvyn Police officer sues Cohoes By: James V. Franco, The Record December 24, 2002 COHOES - Police officer Gary Ethier has filed a $4 million civil suit against the city and three of its highest ranking police officers for charges that they violated his civil rights. The suit, filed against the city, Capt. James Ward, Lt. Patrick Abrams and then Sgt. Jeffrey Guzy, claims department brass tried to oust Ethier when he wanted to arrest then city corporation counsel John Doherty for driving while intoxicated in 1999. According to the suit, after Doherty failed the field sobriety test, Abrams did not allow Ethier to arrest him. Doherty was taken to the Cohoes Police Department and was given a ride home in a taxi cab. At the time, Doherty claimed he was being stalked by police officers for anti-cop legislation he supported, but later retracted that statement. Since then, according to Ethier's attorney Brian Brickman, the three police brass have conspired to get Ethier ousted from the force. "It is clear it involves a scandal that goes to the upper levels of the department," said the Albany-based attorney. "They were angry over something he did on the job because it was going to create a political problem, and they felt Gary should have known better." Twice Ethier, a 12-year veteran known as a "proactive police officer," was in front of an administrative law panel defending his job. He spent months on paid administrative leave but was reinstated to active duty earlier this year. The first hearing was to determine allegations of improprieties during a drug bust. The second addressed allegations he lied during the first hearing and during another, unrelated trial. The suit alleges both hearings were driven by the continued desire of the three defendants to get Ethier tossed off the force. Mayor John McDonald said the charges filed by Ethier are without merit, and the city will defend them "vigorously." McDonald said the two hearings were based on valid charges and pointed to the fact that Ethier was suspended for 60 days without pay by an administrative judge. The suit claims that because of the "incident with the corporation council," the city launched an investigation into a 2000 arrest Ethier made of Hani Khalil. Ethier was slapped with 21 counts of misconduct, 18 of which related to the arrest of Khalil. He was exonerated of all but two charges and was penalized 60 days without pay. Khalil was paid $6,000 by the city prior to Ethier's hearing. Brickman, however, said the case is not based on "he said/she said" evidence, but rather on what the commanding officers testified to during the hearings end how Ethier was treated since the traffic stop. "These are all admissions from the named defendants at officer Ethier's disciplinary proceeding," Brickman said. "This is not Gary saying that this is what they were doing, this is them saying what they are doing to him." For example, the suit quotes Guzy, now an officer in the town of Colonie, as saying he was told to write a report to "rebut what Gary said," during the second administrative hearing. The suit also contends Ethier was relegated to "special training," which, according to the suit, equated to desk duty unless Ethier was on patrol in the company of a fellow officer. He was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, which was against union contract. Also, on Dec. 21, 2000 Ethier was at a local restaurant with his wife when a man shoved him into a wall. Ethier went to the Police Department to file a complaint, but was told by Sgt. James Meeker that he could not because "it's Gary Ethier, and when it comes to Gary Ethier, you know that there is special circumstances that we have to follow." Ethier's father, Albany County Legislator Gil Ethier said the Police Department is engaging in a "witch hunt based on a personal vendetta without truth or merit." "And in an effort to pursue that witch hunt, they trampled over Gary's civil rights," he said. "If they can do this to one of their own, imagine what they can do the average citizen." Gary Ethier has had his share of problems since joining the force. In 1996 he hosted a party for five on-duty officers to watch a boxing match at his house. That same year, the city reached a $15,000 settlement with a motorist Ethier arrested in 1994. ©The Record 2002 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 4:57 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San Francisco CA - 3rd complaint against SFPD officer Source: HTVU/Fox2 and Bay City News SFPD Officer Hit With Another Complaint 12/23/02 SAN FgANCISCO -- San Francisco's City Attorney today released a new complaint involving Alex Fagan Jr., a rookie police officer who has already been linked te an off-duty fight and two allegations of on-duty misconduct. In the latest development, an attorney for Orlandos Bacon filed papers claiming that en Aug. 19 Bacon was beaten, threatened and harassed with racial insults during an arrest by Fagan and several other officers. Bacon, a black man who suffers from sickle cell anemia, says he experienced not only cuts but internal injuries because of the treatment he received. Police say Bacon, 35~ was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and other charges that day and is in custody in lieu of $250,000 hail. Fagan, whose father is the department's second-in-command, has already made headlines for his involvement in an off-duty street fight on Union Street. Two young men called 911 early in the morning on Nov. 20 te report several men had attacked them, apparently not aware that the other parties were police officers. Fagan's attorney Jim Collins has maintained since then that his client will be exonerated once all the facts come to light and has questioned the accuracy of accusers' rendition of events. Collins said he is also suspicious that the civil complaints ef Bacon and two other men who say they were roughed up this year by Fagan all emerged since the off-duty case put him in a public spotlight. Fagan and Officers Matt Tonsing and David Lee, his companions on Nov. 20, have all be kept off street duty pending the outcome of an investigation that has been handed over to the District Attorney's Office. A spokesman there says no decision as to possible charges is likely to be reached before Christmas. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nac01e.0rg/mailman/listinf0/update_nacole.erg Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 6:28 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: IN^COLE Update] Wilmington DE - City considering Citizen Review Board Article published Dec 23, 2002 Wilmington Star City considers releasing police secrets Wilmington may start a citizens' review board Wilmington officials may follow the lead of several other North Carolina cities that got the state's permission to release information regarding complaints of police misconduct. Wilmington City Manager Sterling Cheatham suggested recently that the City Council consider having a local amendment introduced to allow certain information to be released following complaints of police misconduct. The suggestion was one of several made by Mr. Cheatham in response to the arrest of Mayor Pro Tem Katherine Bell Moore, who was charged Nov. 6 with driving while impaired. Ms. Moore, who has for years accused the Police Department of harassing her and her family, was charged last month with driving while impaired even though she later blew a .00 on a breath-alcohol test. The charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Mayor Harper Paterson said the City Council plans to discuss the possibility of forming a citizens' review con~ittee during its retreat Jan. 10-11. Because it is such an important issue, Mr. Paterson said, the council needs to develop a consensus before a resolution is introduced. "The goal is to develop a better relationship with the community and the police," Mr. Peterson said. State Rep. Danny McComas, R-New Hanover, said no one has contacted him about introducing legislation that would allow the city to create a citizens' review board or to release certain information about employees. "I do think certain things should be in the public arena" as long as the information isn't detrimental to those involved, Rep. McComas said. He said he needs to study the issue more before reaching any conclusions. Mr. Peterson had planned nearly a year ago to introduce a resolution to form an ad hoc cormmittee to listen to people's couunents and complaints about the Police Department. But he backed away from that proposal, which itself stenuned from Ms. Moore's accusations that the police harass her and beat black people. The council censured Ms. Moore in January after a videotape in a police car showed her berating an officer who cited her daughter for driving in reverse on a one-way street. "It was such an acute emotional period," Hr. Paterson said, adding that introducing a resolution te form an ad hoc committee could have sent the wrong message at that time. He said he wanted to engage the Police Department in productive discussions to attack the city's crime and drug problems. He believes the Police Department needs an ombudsman, someone who could objectively handle complaints about police officers. Hr. Paterson said hiring an ombudsman was eno recommendation of a 1998 report by an Il-member task force assigned to evaluate the department for its effectiveness, fairness and objectivity. Mr. Peterson is also interested in Mr. Cheatham's recommendations. The city manager told the council recently that Durham, Greensboro and Charlotte got local amendments to the state personnel act that allow certain information released to the public. Mr. Paterson said he has net evaluated the action taken by those cities, but he plans to. "We should look outside our city for success stories." Greensboro Maurice Cawn, Greensboro's police attorney, said the amendment was effective in April 2001. The amendment allows the city's Citizens Review Board to hear complaints about its police officers. "There was just a move afoot nationwide to have citizen review boards,'' and the Greensboro City Council decided to consider it, Mr. Cawn said. 1 Without an amendment, the state personnel act allows cities to release only limited information about police officers as well as other public employees. The state law, for example, doesn't allow cities to reveal the results of complaints involving police misconduct. The amendment now allows the Greensboro Citizens~ Review Board to tell people who complain about officers whether their complaints have merit and whether officers were disciplined, Mr. Cawn said. The law doesn't allow the review board to reveal the disciplinary action taken, he said. Greensboro, a city of about 227,000 people, has about 510 sworn police officers plus about 175 civilian employees. Reports by the police department's internal affairs division are also sent to a subcommittee of the city's Human Relations Commission, should people reject the results of the Citizens' Review Board, Mr. Cawn said. The subcommittee, he said, can't share details of the investigation. Its members can say whether they agree or disagree with the findings. "It is a second hearing, for lack of a better word," Mr. Cawn said. "We haven't had many people appeal to the Human Relations Commission," Mr. Cawn said. Durham Durham also had the state personnel law amended in 1998 to allow a citizens review board to review reports by the police department's internal affairs division. Such reports contain confidential information about city employees. The review board gets copies of investigations by the police department's internal affairs section, said Durham's Assistant City Attorney Patrick Baker. The action was taken after a lawsuit revealed that two internal affairs reports had been written involving an arrest and whether there was probable cause to arrest two people. During the trial, it was learned that a report was released that said the police didn't use excessive force. But the initial report, which hadn't been released, said just the opposite, Mr. Baker said. "It made it sound like we were cooking the books,'' Mr. Baker said. It also appeared that the internal affairs section was not the independent panel it was designed to be, he said. If the review board sees flaws in an internal affairs investigation, it can call for a hearing in which the internal affairs investigators are effectively on trial, he said. Since the legislation was approved in 1998, Mr. Baker estimated that the review board has examined less than 20 internal affairs reports, and only two resulted in hearings. As a result, he said, the review board was unable to determine whether flaws in the investigations affected the outcome of the cases involved. The review board, he said, can tell people who complain about officers whether their complaints have merit. But the board doesn't tell them whether action was taken. Mr. Baker said Durham's legislation is "still a work in progress on how to convey information" involving police officers who have been investigated for misconduct. Charlotte officials were not contacted for this story to discuss how that city handles the release of information about complaints against the police. A state law says cities must provide the public with the most recent promotion, demotion, transfer, suspension, separation, or other change in the position of employees. Current salary, date and amount of most recent increase or decrease in salary is also available to the public. Even without special legislation, city managers - with approval from city councils - may release the reasons for disciplinary action if the officials believe it is necessary to maintain public confidence in the city. That was the case earlier this month, when the Wilmington City Council made public the report of the investigation involving Ms. Moore's arrest. The report evaluated the circumstances surrounding her arrest. As a result of the investigation, Officer Paul Nevitt was fired and Sgt. Lisa Kittrell was demoted to officer for failing to follow a string of policies and procedures. Releasing the information sent a clear signal that the City Council expects the Police Department to use the best methods of carrying out its task, said Mr. Peterson. He believes most complaints about police misconduct, however, should be handled internally. Mr. Peterson said he does not believe there is a general mistrust of the city's police officers. Most officers, he said, behave professionally. Berrie Fennell: 343-2377 bettie.fennell@wilmingtonstar.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 6:31 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Key West FL - Op-Ed on Community Policing Community Policing, better late than never -- Part 2 On the first night of the "Community Engagement for Community Policing" course, we were more than 40 strong as we filed into the reserved room at the Radisson. There was no assigned seating and by sheer coincidence, each group had its fair share of private citizens and public servants sitting six or seven to a table. Getting acquainted with the facilitators and each other was our first step. Bill Hyman, Toussaint Summers and Pete Davila from The Community Policing Consortium introduced themselves, followed by Andrew Morabito and Nancy Stein from the Police Executive Forum. Next, it was our turn. One by one, we stood and introduced ourselves, sharing tidbits about who we were. As I listened to the introductions around the room, I realized that several of the officers whose names had been prominently featured in news stories about police misconduct were in attendance. I shared a table and some very enlightening conversation with one of them for the entire three days. I thought to myself, "Always two sides to every story, and then there's the truth." At the end of each day, I briefly continued my conversations with as many of those officers as I could, trying to get a sense of who they were. I also had questions of my own that I'd never taken the chance to ask them directly and I wanted to hear the answers in their own words -- something I should have done long ago. Introductions over, our first task was a consensus-building exercise in which seven of us had been anonymously chosen to take part. We were told to check under our seats for a piece of paper we'd find taped there. And yes, yours truly was one of the lucky ones. I reached under my seat and ripped of the laminated card that said, "Millionaire." I turned to Donna and said, "See, that's what I get for sitting with you at the front of the class." The seven of us were asked to come to the front of room with a chair and form a circle. Pete proceeded to thread a lightweight rope through the backs of each chair, effectively joining the seven of us together in a makeshift lifeboat. Everyone else in the room was asked to come up front so they could see and hear what was going on. With the seven of us in this fish bowl, he presented the scenario which included a problem for which we only had six minutes to find a solution: "Ail of you were on a cruise ship that wrecked and the seven of you are on the last, leaking lifeboat floating in possibly shark-infested waters. The survival decision must involve and include all of you." In order to understand the depth of this simple exercise, you must first know the other shipmates with whom this Millionaire shared the lifeboat. We had a Grandmother, the Ship's Purser, a Lawyer, an Unwed Mother, a Teen with AIDS and a Law Enforcement Officer of some type, I don't remember exactly which. As our six minutes ticked loudly away, we all discussed how to solve this dilemma and include everyone in the survival. Space does not permit my going into the details but let me just tell you that when the time was up and Pete asked for our decision, there was NO consensus as our lifeboat slowly filled with water. At the end of the scenario, Pete said there were a few more lines he had to read, "Right after you made your decision, a helicopter and a ship showed up to rescue all of the survivors." The lesson of the exercise spoke volumes about how communities and police departments need to understand and accept that we're all in the same boat together and it is only together that we will ensure the survival of our We closed out the course with a final exercise in which we would use all that we'd learned up to that point. Our mission -- for all of us in the room to come to an agreement on the most important problem facing us here in Key West. Once chosen, we would use the SARA method to work toward resolving it. SARA stands for Scanning -- identifying the problem; Analyzing -- collecting information; Response -- initiating solutions and Assessment -- evaluating effectiveness. Keeping the outcome of the consensus building scenario above in mind, I'm sure you can imagine how much work it was to reach an agreement on the most important problem. It took a lot longer than the facilitators anticipated, but we finally did choose just one. What was it? The lack of communication between the community and public servants with the term public servants encompassing all elected officials, appointed and hired members of city government and the police department. Once we got to that point though, we'd run out of time for SARA. The facilitators urged us to get together again at some point in the very near future to continue the good work that we had begun. Oddly, deciding when to do it came very quickly. Dr. Hyman, you're reading this, you were right. If you make that horse thirsty enough along the way, you can make him drink when he's led to the water. The next workshop is scheduled for the evening of Jan. 2, 2003. At the end of day two, we were shown a brief video of quotations and asked to remember which one was our favorite for the following day. Mine was, "We must be the difference we want to see." Join us in being that difference on Jan. 2. Come and take your seat in the boat with the rest of us and help this cou~munity survive -- together. Deborah Capraro is executive assistant to the editor and writes this column weekly for The Citizen. She can be reached at dcapraro@keysnews.com. This story published on Sat, Dec 21, 2002 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k.net Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 6:36 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] North Bergen NJ - Appeals Judge says Officer gets Prison Appellate court judge rules Corso must serve prison sentence for failing to act when he allegedly saw drug deal Jim Hague North Bergen Reporter staff writer December 22, 2002 In a bizarre turn of events, a New Jersey state Appellate Court judge has ruled that a former North Bergen police officer must serve a state prison term for failing to arrest a man he allegedly observed selling drugs, while the officer was off-duty. State Appellate Division Judge Harvey Weissbard ruled that former North Bergen officer Mark Corso should have acted in a professional manner when he allegedly watched another man deal the designer drug Ecstasy in a Fairview night club three years ago and arrested the man, even if he was off-duty at the time, instead of allowing the transaction to take place. In April of 1999, Corso was arrested and charged with possession and intent to distribute that same narcotic, but was acquitted last year of those charges. Corso was found guilty on one count of official misconduct, which in turn cost the 29-year-old officer his job on the police force. Once someone is convicted of any crime, they are no longer eligible to serve as a law enforcement officer. Corso was off-duty and a patron when he was nabbed as part of an alleged undercover sting operation at the nightclub. As part of his conviction, Corso was originally sentenced to serve probation, but the state appealed the sentence, seeking prison time. Corso's attorney, John Young of Jersey City, then appealed that ruling, alleging that the jury had not received the necessary information or proper instructions. Young especially was adamantly against the jury's instruction that stated "the duties of a police officer include the mandate to arrest persons committing crimes observed by the officer." "The police officer has a duty to report that he witnessed someone committing a crime, but to actually make an arrest is a stretch," Young said. "How is an officer supposed to make an arrest, without a gun, without police equipment, in a town that is outside his jurisdiction? It's ridiculous." Weissbard wrote in his decision, "If our system is to be and appear to be evenhanded, police officers convicted of serious crimes cannot be treated any more indulgently than any other similarly situated individual." Young believes that Weissbard is setting a "terrible precedent" with this ruling. "The precedent is disturbing, not just to Mark Corso, but to all police officers," Young said. "The judge is saying that regardless of circumstances, an officer is supposed to make an arrest as soon as he 1 witnesses a crime taking place. Well, what happens when a guy is driving down the street, with his children in the car, and he sees a drug transaction happening? Is he supposed to pull over and try to make an arrest, jeopardizing his family by acting on it?" While Weissbard has not made a determination about a jail sentence as of yet, Young is taking the case to the Supreme Court. "I've already sent a notice of petition to the Supreme Court and we'll pray that they take the case and hear it," Young said. "This was a gross misinterpretation of the law." Weissbard also ruled that the first sentencing judge "erred" in offering probation to Corso. "There was no proof that imprisonment would create a serious injustice," Weissbard ruled. Weissbard also believed that the sentencing judge thought that Corso could face "peculiar hardships" in prison, being a former police officer, which might have been the reasoning behind the apparently lenient sentence. Young said that Corso has handled the decision fairly well. "Mark's a pretty level headed guy and deals with situations appropriately," Young said. "We're certainly not going to let this end this way, not at all, both for Mark's sake and for all police officers in general. The Supreme Court has to review this case and exercise some discretion. Right now, as it stands, the Appellate Division has reinvented the law." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k.net Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 8:32 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phila PA - Ex-Officer cleared of cover-up charges Posted on Tue, Dec. 24, 2002 Ex-officer is cleared of charges Former Police Capt. Joseph J. DiLacqua was found not guilty of trying to cover up a co~mander~s accident. By Jacqueline Soteropoulos Inquirer Staff Writer As supporters who filled a Philadelphia courtroom cheered, former Police Capt. Joseph J. DiLacqua was found not guilty yesterday of staging a cover-up of a homicide commander's drunken-driving accident. At the conclusion of a daylong, nonjury trial, Municipal Court Judge William A. Meehan found the 54-year-old DiLacqua not guilty of four misdemeanor charges, including obstruction and records tampering. Meehan did not explain his verdict. DiLacqua, who was fired after his arrest in January, is likely to seek reinstatement to the department, said his attorney, F. Emmett Fitzpatrick. Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said through a police spokesman yesterday that he would not oppose DiLacqua's reinstatement, and may not even require the ousted police captain to go through the usual, lengthy arbitration process to regain his job. "As far as Comznissioner Johnson is concerned, Joe DiLacqua was already disciplined for [this] incident and he received a 20-day suspension, and then he was arrested and lost his position," said spokesman William Colarulo. "The commissioner believes in due process." If DiLacqua is reinstated, he could demand back pay (he was earning $63,840 a year) and promotion to inspector. Assistant District Attorney David Augenbraun expressed disappointment with the judge's verdict. "Obviously, we thought the evidence was sufficient to convict," he said. Prosecutors argued that on Feb. 12, 1998, DiLacqua and former Homicide Capt. James J. Brady conspired to stage an accident scene after Brady spent the night drinking beer with other homicide detectives at Finnigan's Wake bar on Spring Garden Street and then smashed his unmarked police car. Two officers testified they were ordered to move the damaged 1989 Plymouth Grand Fury into a Market-Frankford E1 pillar on the 1900 block of North Front Street and report that Brady had been forced off the road by an oncoming driver. But DiLacqua testified yesterday that he only wanted to get the car out of the roadway and just repeated what Brady told him had happened. "I pretty much went with what Capt. Brady was telling me at the time," DiLacqua testified. "I was satisfied with what Capt. Brady was telling me... It didn't seem to be inconsistent to me." But under rigorous cross-examination by Augenbraun, DiLacqua said he did not look to see whether there was accident debris on the road indicating a crash; 1 did not check to see whether the undamaged front fender could have hit an E1 pillar, as he said Brady claimed; and did not notice a dark trail of fluids leaking from the crippled car - plainly visible in numerous photographs of the scene taken by accident investigators and displayed during the trial. To each of those questions, DiLacqua responded by saying: "I'm not trained in that area," or "I'm not versed in accident training," or "I'm not trained that way." DiLacqua also said he never asked Brady whether he had been drinking, although he knew Brady had been at a bar because the pair drove together to Finnigan's Wake to look for Brady's missing briefcase - which contained open homicide-case files and his .38-caliber revolver. "He didn't appear to be intoxicated to me," testified DiLacqua, who when he first took the stand yesterday reported that he had placed third on the police captains' exam and first on the inspectors' test. After the crash, DiLacqua ordered a rookie officer to drive Brady home without administering a sobriety test. In a prior incident, DiLacqua sent a stripper home after a fatal accident in 1996 instead of ordering testing for intoxication, even though she told officers at the scene she had been drinking. DiLacqua was given a three-day suspension in that case. Prosecutors sought to introduce evidence from that prior incident at trial yesterday, but the judge did not allow it. Meehan did hear from 19 police officers and supervisors yesterday, who attested to DiLacqua's good character. One inspector, seven captains, two lieutenants, two sergeants, four detectives and three officers stood up in court to vouch for DiLacqua and later applauded his acquittal. During DiLacqua's 25 years on the force, he acquired a checkered disciplinary history, including six suspensions and two reprimands. DiLacqua declined to comment after the verdict, and was surrounded by a group of female supporters who protected the former captain - elbowing, pushing and yelling at reporters as DiLacqua left the courthouse. Yesterday's verdict caps all legal action in the five-year-old incident, which was initially treated as an in-house transgression by then-Police Commissioner John F. Timoney. His decision, to suspend both Brady and DiLacqua for 20 days, came after the District Attorney's Office failed to follow up on the preliminary police reports of a cover-up. Last year, however, the District Attorney's Office reopened its investigation into the case after The Inquirer reported details of the incident, and charged DiLacqua and Brady with felonies and misdemeanors. Brady, the blunt and telegenic head of the prestigious homicide unit, resigned in January, before charges were filed. In May, Municipal Court Senior Judge Francis P. Cosgrove threw out all criminal charges against Brady and all felonies counts against DiLacqua. Prosecutors effectively appealed that decision to Common Pleas Court Judge Joyce S. Kean, who last month issued an identical ruling, setting up yesterday's misdemeanor trial. Contact staff writer Jacqueline Soteropoulos at 215-854-4497 or jsoteropoulos@phillynews.com. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 8:25 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phoenixville PA - Police demand stop to Racial Profiling allegations Police demand stop to man's allegations of racial profiling Dennis J. Wright and Tony Roberts, Special to The Pottstown Mercury December 26, 2002 PHOENIXVILLE -- After several months of racial profiling accusations at Borough Council meetings, a lawyer for the Phoenixville Police Association sent a letter to council demanding these allegations step immediately. The letter, sent Dec. 20 by lawyer Joseph W. Chupein Jr., states that "the Association has reported that since October, Council has allowed borough resident Helvin Hampton to publicly slander the reputation ef nearly every member of the Pheenixville Police Department." The allegations began at the Oct. 15, Borough Cou-ncil meeting when representatives ef the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, along with 35 members ef the community, showed up to cemplaln about a series of incidents they allege occurred over the past year. Hampton, chairman of Direct Action, a local NAACP group, said at the time that residents had "respect" for many of the veteran police officers on the force, but said several of the "younger" officers displayed a pattern of misconduct ever the past year. The police group lawyer's letter says, "I am advised that Hr. Hampton has specifically named officers in acts of wrongdoing, including alleged criminality, without being required to support his baseless accusations with a shred of factual content of proof. Hr. Hampton's vicious attacks on the officers' character and morality will result in legal action which will involve both Hr. Hampton and the Borough unless this unlawful activity ceases immediately." Officer Hichael Barrett, the president of the Phoenixville Police Association, said the department has been dealing with these allegations for toe long. "We don't want our reputation tarnished within the community due to these allegations," he said. "We welcome any complaints te the chief ef police or any other governing body. However, there are certain procedures that need to be followed instead of just showing up month after month and just making claims.These allegations are false, plain and simple." The letter further states, "The Borough has failed to enforce its policies and practices which require the complaints against individual officers be submitted in writing te the Chief of Police. The Pheenixville Police Association demands that Council deny Hr. Hampton any further opportunity te use valuable time at the public meeting to engage in his reckless and unlawful attacks on its membership." Phoenixville Police Chief John Kalavik said since these allegations began, ne formal complaints have been filed. "With all ef the allegations that we've heard during this time, there hasn't been a single formal complaint made to me," he said. The letter concludes with, "Mr. Hampton has access, as does any citizen, to the investigative resources of the Chief of Police, the Chester County District Attorney's Office or other agencies who are required by law to promptly and fully investigate any allegation of police misconduct. The association has concluded that Mr. Hampton refuses to avail himself of those resources because there is no substance to his accusations. Council must insist that he utilize proper procedure and not permit him to use Council as a forum to further defame the members of the Department or risk a finding of complicity in his unlawful conduct." Upon receiving the letter, council member Louis Amici (R-West) said the letter is totally appropriate. "My difficulty with what's been going on is, you give respect, you get respect," he said. "It's a two-way street. I really resent the fact that we haven't been given respect. ~lici voiced vocal opposition to the complainants during a Dec. 9 meeting, when Hampton complained about an officer by name. "I will not be a party to a lawsuit," Amici said during public comment of that meeting. A~ici explained that council President Bob Tigro is in the process of setting up a coim~ittee of four council people to receive complaints from residents who said they did not feel comfortable submitting those complaints directly to the police department. Tigro could not be reached for comment Tuesday. ©The Mercury 2002 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 8:29 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Norwich CT - Cop misconduct is the ticket to new procedures Thursday, December 26, 2002 Cop misconduct is the ticket to new procedures By DOUGLAS P. GUARINO Norwich Bulletin NORWICH -- One year ago, Kristen Ejchorszt came forward, the first of three young women to complain that then-Norwich police Lt. James F. Daigle had taken topless photos of her during undercover sting operations aimed at curbing underage drinking. The allegations led to a six-month investigation that ultimately resulted in Daigle's termination this past June. Three other officers were suspended for violating police department policies and procedures. One year later, the scandal, which also involved drinking on the job and improper overtime documentation, has prompted city police to adopt new polices in the hopes of preventing similar incidents from happening again. Some of the policies, which include stricter guidelines pertaining to the use of minors in underage liquor operations and more detailed overtime reporting, already have been implemented, City Manager Richard Podurgiel said in an interview Monday. "The department will continue to serve the people of this city at a very high caliber," Podurgiel said. "We should not let this incident continue to tarnish the image of the department." Podurgiel said that, overall, he was satisfied with how the case was handled, noting that the report generated by the investigation was made available to the public. "From my perspective, we opened the books on this one -- we shared as much information with the public as we could," Podurgiel said. "Nothing was swept under the carpet." The 139-page report, which at one point appeared in its entirety on the Norwich Bulletin's Web site, showed that Daigle had taken nude or seminude photos of the three women. Ejchorszt, who does not know the other two women, said Daigle asked her to remove her shirt so he could document that she was not hiding a fake ID and that she was properly wired for the sting. The report also said that Daigle and other officers purchased and sometimes drank alcohol during the stings and that Daigle improperly documented overtime for himself and others. The discipline issued to Daigle and the other officers at the investigation's conclusion led to three labor disputes that are pending. Additionally, three of the women have filed lawsuits against Daigle and the city. To date, the ongoing litigation has cost Norwich $121,482 in legal fees and wages paid to suspended officers. Reco~nendations The procedural recon~endations, approved by the police department, city officials and city attorneys, include: Guidelines for use of minors in underage liquor operations, including methods ! and procedures for recruiting them. The policy specifically states minors should not be recruited from the Norwich area. More complete and accurate overtime reporting, including a new overtime form. Body microphones should be used only outside clothing of those participating in undercover operations. Only officers of the same sex as civilians should take photos before or after undercover operations. Better recordkeeping involving the Special Investigations Fund, including annual au- dits. Review and retraining of officers, specifically with the departments sexual harassment and substance abuse policies. dguarino@norwichbulletin.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@eadhlink.net Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 8:32 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Nashville TN - Cop denies charges that cost him job Wednesday, 12/25/02 Former Metro police officer denies charges that cost him job By JAMES EVANS The Ashland City Times A former Nashville police officer says he is not guilty of the misconduct allegations against him that cost him the police chief's job in Pleasant View, which include accusations that he made a sexual advance toward a woman at a traffic stop. ''The allegations against me were false, but I could not prove myself innocent,'' Derek Wright said in a prepared statement. ''I was told that I might be terminated (from Metro), and I felt that by resigning I was protecting my future.'' Derek Wright, 29, of Bull Run Road in Davidson County, initially was offered the job Dec. 17 as chief of Pleasant View's new Police Department. The offer was withdrawn Dec. 20 by Pleasant View Mayor Shane Ray, who said Wright did not disclose those allegations during the interview process. Wright said he was never asked. Pleasant View officials say they did not know Wright had resigned from the Metro Police Department Dec. 16, pending disciplinary action stemming from an investigation into allegations of misconduct. ''I was told the internal investigation (in Metro) was confidential and would not be released,' ~ Wright said in his statement. ''I was fully prepared to tell the mayor of Pleasant View if he asked me, but he never did.'' Ray said legally he wasn't allowed to do a background check on a potential new employee until a job offer had been made. Ray said that after offering the job to Wright, he had planned to conduct a polygraph test on him and interview Wright's former co-workers. Wright had been accused of filing a report with inaccurate information, lying during an investigation, not following procedure during a traffic stop and sexually harassing a suspect during the traffic stop, according to his employee personnel file. The allegations arose after a Madison woman came forward to report a murder she claims she had witnessed. While discussing the incident with Metro homicide detectives, she informed the detectives she had been stopped by Wright and informed him of what she had seen. She also alleged that during the stop, Wright made sexual advances toward her. No criminal charges are pending against Wright, and Metro officials said the situation was dropped with Wright's resignation. Metro Personnel Capt. Honey Pike said Wright had always been well-liked by his co-workers and was a self-starter while working in Metro. But, she said, Wright was not eligible for rehire. Besides the allegations from the Madison woman, Wright had a relatively clean record during his six years of service with Metro. His only other disciplinary record was a verbal reprimand for missing a gun-qualifying session, his records show. Wright said he has no specific plans for the future. ''I really wanted to be the police chief of Pleasant View,'' he said in his statement, ''but God has something else in store for me.'' Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 8:42 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phila PA - Men wrongly arrested in mass murder case sue city Posted on Thu, Dec. 26, 2002 Lex Street group will sue Lawyer says wrongful arrests 'ruined' their lives By ROSE DeWOLF dewolfr@phillynews.com Tell me you're sorry, or... Three weeks ago, Sacon Youk, one of the four men recently cleared of charges of in the Lex Street mass-murder case, asked Mayor Street and the Police Department to apologize for arresting him and keeping him in jail for 18 months awaiting trial. They didn't. Now, his lawyer Stephen T. Saltz, says Youk and the other three men are tired of waiting for apologies and won't feel sorry about filing suit against the city for damages. "There will be a lawsuit," said Saltz. "I really think the city should have done something to help these men. Their lives have been ruined." He and the attorneys representing the other former defendants are still talking about the form the suit will take, said Saltz, but he added that it will be filed by Jan. 12, the second anniversary of the arrests. Two years from the date of arrest is the deadline set for such a lawsuit by State statute-of-limitations rules. Saltz did not specify how much the men might seek in damages. Authorities dropped all charges against Youk, 22, Jermel Lewis, 25, Hezekiah Thomas, 25, and Quiante Perrin, 21, in July - just days after insisting the case against the four for shooting seven people to death in a West Philadelphia rowhouse was airtight. Last month, four new defendants were charged with the crime. But no one has said "sorry about that" to the original four. "I would think that any human being would deserve an apology after something like this," Youk said in a recent talk with reporters at his lawyer's office. "People still view me as a killer." Street has not commented on the case. But his spokesman, Frank Keel, earlier this month said, "We believe the justice system works, that the justice system did what it was supposed to do." Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said investigators handled the case properly - therefore, no apology is needed. "The con~issioner is not going to apologize," his spokesman, William Colarulo, said. "The detectives involved acted in good faith." District Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference that it was "regrettable" that the wrong men had been accused, but did not apologize. 1 Lex Street became the scene of the worst mass murder in Philadelphia's modern history on Dec. 28, 2000, when four masked men burst into a crumbling rowhouse that had been taken over by squatters, ordered its 10 occupants to lie down on a floor and then shot them, killing seven. Within two weeks, police had arrested four suspects. They believed the shooting was a turf war between rival drug gangs. Police also allegedly obtained a confession from Lewis, who later said his statement had been coerced. The case ran into trouble when another man, Shihean Black, 20, allegedly confessed to involvement in the killings and fingered a different set of shooters. Police at first dismissed his statements as fabrications, but finally charged Black and three other men last month. Black's detailed confession in July was videotaped by investigators, according to a police affidavit. One of the men he named, Bruce "Snoop" Veney, 26, has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify in the case. Veney has said he drove the other three men to the Lex Street house for a planned robbery. In exchange for his testimony, he is to be sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. A preliminary hearing for Black is scheduled for Jan. 8. A preliminary hearing for Dawid Faruqi, 27, and his brother, Khalid, 26, is scheduled for Jan. 15. Prosecutors now believe the killings stemmed from a dispute over a car with a bad clutch. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 2:28 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Birmingham AL Chief dies Moore, Birmingham police chief during 1960s, dead at 96 The Associated Press December 26. 2002 i:09AM Jamie Moore, the Birmingham police chief who often clashed with Bull Conner during the turbulent 1960s, died Tuesday. He was 96. The former chief died of congestive heart failure, said his son, Leon Moore. He was Birmingham's longest-serving chief, serving from 1956 to 1972, but Leon Moore said his father is often linked with Conner, the controversial public safety commissioner who ordered fire hoses turned on civil rights demonstrators downtown. In 1957, Conner tried to have Moore fired on 47 charges of misconduct and failure to perform duties. But 10 of the charges were dropped, and the Jefferson County Personnel Board acquitted him of the rest. Leon Moore said Conner didn't like the chief because "he felt my dad had worked against his re-election." Moore began as a Birmingham police patrolman in 1936 and worked his way up to chief in time to lead the department through the civil rights protests in the city, including the 1963 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four black girls. Moore once called the bombing "the most heinous and useless thing I ever saw." After retiring as police chief, Moore became an investigator for the attorney general's office. On March 23, 1976, a few weeks after he conducted interviews for the reopened investigation of the church bombing, Moore's car was fired on as it sat outside his home. Moore, who was home with his wife when he heard the shots, said he didn't know whether the shooting was related to the church bombing case. But he said nothing like that had happened to him during his 40 years of police work. Former Police Chief Bill Myers worked under Moore from 1951 to 1972. He told The Birmingham News that Moore was a supportive chief who promoted him several times. "He was a compassionate chief who was concerned about officers being treated fairly," said Myers, Birmingham police chief from 1978-81. Myers, former Police Chief Johnnie Johnson and current Police Chief Mike Coppage are to serve as pallbearers at Moore's funeral, set for 11 a.m. Monday at Ridout~s Brown Services Roebuck chapel. Information from: The Birmingham News, Birmingham Post-Herald Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of 5 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 9:10 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] US Decries Abuse but Defends Interrogations U.S. Decries Abuse but Defends Interrogations 'Stress and Duress' Tactics Used on Terrorism Suspects Held in Secret Overseas Facilities By Dana Priest and Barton Gellman Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, December 26, 2002; Page A01 Deep inside the forbidden zone at the U.S.-occupied Bagram air base in Afghanistan, around the corner from the detention center and beyond the segregated clandestine military units, sits a cluster of metal shipping containers protected by a triple layer of concertina wire. The containers hold the most valuable prizes in the war on terrorism -- captured al Qaeda operatives and Taliban commanders. Those who refuse to cooperate inside this secret CIA interrogation center are sometimes kept standing or kneeling for hours, in black hoods or spray-painted goggles, according to intelligence specialists familiar with CIA interrogation methods. At times they are held in awkward, painful positions and deprived of sleep with a 24-hour bombardment of lights -- subject to what are known as "stress and duress" techniques. Those who cooperate are rewarded with creature comforts, interrogators whose methods include feigned friendship, respect, cultural sensitivity and, in some cases, money. Some who do not cooperate are turned over -- "rendered," in official parlance -- to foreign intelligence services whose practice of torture has been documented by the U.S. government and human rights organizations. In the multifaceted global war on terrorism waged by the Bush administration, one of the most opaque -- yet vital -- fronts is the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects. U.S. officials have said little publicly about the captives' names, numbers or whereabouts, and virtually nothing about interrogation methods. But interviews with several former intelligence officials and 10 current U.S. national security officials -- including several people who witnessed the handling of prisoners -- provide insight into how the U..S. government is prosecuting this part of the war. The picture that emerges is of a brass-knuckled quest for information, often in concert with allies of dubious human rights reputation, in which the traditional lines between right and wrong, legal and inhumane, are evolving and blurred. While the U.S. government publicly denounces the use of torture, each of the current national security officials interviewed for this article defended the use of violence against captives as just and necessary. They expressed confidence that the American public would back their view. The CIA, which has primary responsibility for interrogations, declined to comment. "If you don't violate someone's human rights some of the time, you probably aren't doing your job," said one official who has supervised the capture and transfer of accused terrorists. "1 don't think we want to be promoting a view of zero tolerance on this. That was the whole problem for a long time 12/27/02 Page 2 of 5 with the CIA." The off-limits patch of ground at Bagram is one of a number of secret detention centers overseas where U.S. due process does not apply, according to several U.S. and European national security officials, where the CIA undertakes or manages the interrogation of suspected terrorists. Another is Diego Garcia, a somewhat horseshoe-shaped island in the Indian Ocean that the United States leases from Britain. U.S. officials oversee most of the interrogations, especially those of the most senior captives. In some cases, highly trained CIA officers question captives through interpreters. In others, the intelligence agency undertakes a "false flag" operation using fake decor and disguises meant to deceive a captive into thinking he is imprisoned in a country with a reputation for brutality, when, in reality, he is still in CIA hands. Sometimes, female officers conduct interrogations, a psychologically jarring experience for men reared in a conservative Muslim culture where women are never in control. In other cases, usually involving lower-level captives, the CIA hands them to foreign intelligence services -- notably those of Jordan, Egypt and Morocco -- with a list of questions the agency wants answered. These "extraordinary renditions" are done without resort to legal process and usually involve countries with security services known for using brutal means. According to U.S. officials, nearly 3,000 suspected al Qaeda members and their supporters have been detained worldwide since Sept. 11,2001. About 625 are at the U.S. military's confinement facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Some officials estimated that fewer than 100 captives have been rendered to third countries. Thousands have been arrested and held with U.S. assistance in countries known for brutal treatment of prisoners, the officials said. At a Sept. 26 joint hearing of the House and Senate intelligence committees, Cofer Black, then head of the CIA Counterterrorist Center, spoke cryptically about the agency's new forms of "operational flexibility" in dealing with suspected terrorists. "This is a very highly classified area, but I have to say that all you need to know: There was a before 9/11, and there was an after 9/11 ," Black said. "After 9/11 the gloves come off." According to one official who has been directly involved in rendering captives into foreign hands, the understanding is, "We don't kick the [expletive] out of them. We send them to other countries so they can kick the [expletive] out of them." Some countries are known to use mind-altering drugs such as sodium pentathol, said other officials involved in the process. Abu Zubaida, who is believed to be the most important al Qaeda member in detention, was shot in the groin during his apprehension in Pakistan in March. National security officials suggested that Zubaida's painkillers were used selectively in the beginning of his captivity. He is now said to be cooperating, and his information has led to the apprehension of other al Qaeda members. U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack declined to comment earlier this week on CIA or intelligence-related matters. But, he said: "The United States is treating enemy combatants in U.S. government control, wherever held, humanely and in a manner consistent with the principles of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949." The convention outlined the standards for treatment of prisoners of war. Suspected terrorists in CIA hands have not been accorded POW status. Other U.S. government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that interrogators deprive some captives of sleep, a practice with ambiguous status in international law. 12/27/02 Page 3 of 5 The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, the authoritative interpreter of the international Convention Against Torture, has ruled that lengthy interrogation may incidentally and legitimately cost a prisoner sleep. But when employed for the purpose of breaking a prisoner's will, sleep deprivation "may in some cases constitute torture." The State Department's annual human rights report routinely denounces sleep deprivation as an interrogation method. In its 2001 report on Turkey, Israel and Jordan, all U.S. allies, the department listed sleep deprivation among often-used alleged torture techniques. U.S. officials who defend the renditions say the prisoners are sent to these third countries not because of their coercive questioning techniques, but because of their cultural affinity with the captives. Besides being illegal, they said, torture produces unreliable information from people who are desperate to stop the pain. They look to foreign allies more because their intelligence services can develop a culture of intimacy that Americans cannot. They may use interrogators who speak the captive's Arabic dialect and often use the prospects of shame and the reputation of the captive's family to goad the captive into talking. "Very Clever Guys' In a speech on Dec. 11, CIA director George J. Tenet said that interrogations overseas have yielded significant returns recently. He calculated that worldwide efforts to capture or kill terrorists had eliminated about one-third of the al Qaeda leadership. "Almost half of our successes against senior al Qaeda members has come in recent months," he said. Many of these successes have come as a result of information gained during interrogations. The capture of al Qaeda leaders Ramzi Binalshibh in Pakistan, Omar al-Faruq in Indonesia, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in Kuwait and Muhammad al Darbi in Yemen were all partly the result of information gained during interrogations, according to U.S. intelligence and national security officials.. All four remain under CIA control. Time, rather than technique, has produced the most helpful information, several national security and intelligence officials said. Using its global computer database, the CIA is able to quickly check leads from captives in one country with information divulged by captives in another. "We know so much more about them now than we did a year ago -- the personalities, how the networks are established, what they think are important targets, how they think we will react," said retired Army general Wayne Downing, the Bush administration's deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism until he resigned in June. "The interrogations of Abu Zubaida drove me nuts at times," Downing said. "He and some of the others are very clever guys. At times I felt we were in a classic counter-interrogation class: They were telling us what they think we already knew. Then, what they thought we wanted to know. As they did that, they fabricated and weaved in threads that went nowhere. But, even with these ploys, we still get valuable information and they are off the street, unable to plot and coordinate future attacks." In contrast to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, where military lawyers, news reporters and the Red Cross received occasional access to monitor prisoner conditions and treatment, the CiA's overseas interrogation facilities are off-limits to outsiders, and often even to other government agencies. In addition to Bagram and Diego Garcia, the CIA has other secret detention centers overseas, and often uses the facilities of foreign intelligence services. Free from the scrutiny of military lawyers steeped in the international laws of war, the CIA and its intelligence service allies have the leeway to exert physically and psychologically aggressive techniques, said national security officials and U.S. and European intelligence officers. 12/27/02 Page 4 of 5 Although no direct evidence of mistreatment of prisoners in U.S. custody has come to light, the prisoners are denied access to lawyers or organizations, such as the Red Cross, that could independently assess their treatment. Even their names are secret. This month, the U.S. military announced that it had begun a criminal investigation into the handling of two prisoners who died in U.S. custody at the Bagram base. A base spokesman said autopsies found one of the detainees died of a pulmonary embolism, the other of a heart attack. Al Qaeda suspects are seldom taken without force, and some suspects have been wounded during their capture. After apprehending suspects, U.S. take-down teams -- a mix of military special forces, FBI agents, CIA case officers and local allies - aim to disorient and intimidate them on the way to detention facilities. According to Americans with direct knowledge and others who have witnessed the treatment, captives are often "softened up" by MPs and U.S. Army Special Forces troops who beat them up and confine them in tiny rooms. The alleged terrorists are commonly blindfolded and thrown into walls, bound in painful positions, subjected to loud noises and deprived of sleep. The tone of intimidation and fear is the beginning, they said, of a process of piercing a prisoner's resistance. The take-down teams often "package" prisoners for transport, fitting them with hoods and gags, and binding them to stretchers with duct tape. Bush administration appointees and career national security officials acknowledged that, as one of them put it, "our guys may kick them around a little bit in the adrenaline of the immediate aftermath." Another said U.S personnel are scrupulous in providing medical care to captives, adding in a deadpan voice, that "pain control [in wounded patients] is a very subjective thing." 'We're Not Aware' The CIA's participation in the interrogation of rendered terrorist suspects varies from country to country. "In some cases [involving interrogations in Saudi Arabia], we're able to observe through one-way mirrors the live investigations," said a senior U S. official involved in Middle East security issues. "In others, we usually get summaries. We will feed questions to their investigators. They're still very much in control." The official added: "We're not aware of any torture or even physical abuse." Tenet acknowledged the Saudis' role in his Dec. 11 speech. "The Saudis are proving increasingly important support to our counterterrorism efforts -- from making arrests to sharing debriefing results," he said. But Saudi Arabia is also said to withhold information that might lead the U.S. government to conclusions or policies that the Saudi royal family fears. U.S. teams, for that reason, have sometimes sent Saudi nationals to Egypt instead. Jordan is a favored country for renditions, several U.S. officials said. The Jordanians are considered "highly professional" interrogators, which some officials said meant that they do not use torture. But the State Department's 2001 human rights report criticized Jordan and its General Intelligence Directorate for arbitrary and unlawful detentions and abuse. "The most frequently alleged methods of torture include sleep deprivation, beatings on the soles of the feet, prolonged suspension with ropes in contorted positions and extended solitary confinement," the 2001 report noted. Jordan also is known to use prisoners' family members to induce suspects to talk.. Another significant destination for rendered suspects is Morocco, whose general intelligence service has sharply stepped up cooperation with the United States. Morocco has a documented history of torture, as well as longstanding ties to the CIA.. The State Department's human rights report says Moroccan law "prohibits torture, and the government claims that the use of torture has been discontinued; however, some members of the security forces still tortured or otherwise abused 12/27/02 Page 5 of 5 detainees." In at least one case, U.S. operatives led the capture and transfer of an al Qaeda suspect to Syria, which for years has been near the top of U.S. lists of human rights violators and sponsors of terrorism. The German government strongly protested the move. The suspect, Mohammed Haydar Zammar, holds joint German and Syrian citizenship. It could not be learned how much of Zammar's interrogation record Syria has provided the CIA. The Bush administration maintains a legal distance from any mistreatment that occurs overseas, officials said, by denying that torture is the intended result of its rendition policy. American teams, officials said, do no more than assist in the transfer of suspects who are wanted on criminal charges by friendly countries. But five officials acknowledged, as one of them put it, "that sometimes a friendly country can be invited to 'want' someone we grab." Then, other officials said, the foreign government will charge him with a crime of some sort. One official who has had direct involvement in renditions said he knew they were likely to be tortured. 'I... do it with my eyes open," he said According to present and former officials with firsthand knowledge, the CIA's authoritative Directorate of Operations instructions, drafted in cooperation with the general counsel, tells case officers in the field that they may not engage in, provide advice about or encourage the use of torture by cooperating intelligence services from other countries. "Based largely on the Central American human rights experience," said Fred Hitz, former CIA inspector general, "we don't do torture, and we can't countenance torture in terms of we can't know of it." But ifa country offers information gleaned from interrogations, "we can use the fruits of it." Bush administration officials said the CIA, in practice, is using a narrow definition of what counts as "knowing" that a suspect has been tortured "If we're not there in the room, who is to say?" said one official conversant with recent reports of renditions. The Clinton administration pioneered the use of extraordinary rendition after the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. But it also pressed allied intelligence services to respect lawful boundaries in interrogations. After years of fruitless talks in Egypt, President Bill Clinton cut off funding and cooperation with the directorate of Egypt's general intelligence service, whose torture of suspects has been a perennial theme in State Department human rights reports. "You can be sure," one Bush administration official said, "that we are not spending a lot of time on that now." Staff writers Bob Woodward, Susan Schmidt and Douglas Farah, and correspondent Peter Finn in Berlin, contributed to this report. © 2002 The Washington Post Company 12/27/02 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, December 27, 2002 7:45 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phila PA - Commissioner will re-hire acquitted officers Posted on Fri, Dec. 27, 2002 Johnson would give Brady 2d chance The police commissioner cited his new policy, which allows acquitted police officers to be reinstated without delay. By Mark Fazlollah Inquirer Staff Writer Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said yesterday that he was willing to rehire former homicide commander James J. Brady, reflecting Johnson's new policy to permit the quick rehiring of officers acquitted of criminal charges. Johnson had said earlier this week that he would not oppose the immediate reinstatement of former Capt. Joseph J. DiLacqua. Both DiLacqua and Brady have now been acquitted of covering up Brady's car accident after a night of beer drinking. "Why would I treat Brady any different if he wants to come back?" Johnson said. "I will accept him back." Johnson's predecessors had at times aggressively fought to bar acquitted officers from returning to the force, arguing that the high level of proof required in criminal trials should not be the standard applied for hiring. But Johnson said in an interview yesterday that the department almost invariably failed to prevail when it tried to keep such officers from rejoining the force. He said arbitrators typically ordered the department to rehire in such cases. Brady and DiLacqua have not yet asked for their jobs back, Johnson said. Neither former officer could be reached for comment. A police Internal Affairs Division investigation found that DiLacqua and Brady staged an accident on Feb. 12, 1998, after Brady spent the night drinking, slammed his command car into a parked vehicle, and drove off. In the internal inquiry, a rookie patrol officer testified he stopped Brady after seeing the homicide commander's unmarked police car weaving on Front Street under the Market-Frankford El. Steam was pouring out of the front of the damage car, and Brady was driving despite an inflated air hag. When Brady got out of his damaged 1989 Plymouth Grand Fury, the officer saw that he was wobbly on his feet. The patrol officer and another street officer told investigators that when DiLacqua arrived, he ordered them to move Brady's car into an E1 pillar. They said DiLacqua told them to report that Brady had been forced off the road by an oncoming driver. Internal Affairs learned of the episode after one of the officers came forward. At his trial Monday, DiLacqua testified that he only wanted to get Brady's car out of the roadway. DiLacqua testified that he was just repeating in the accident report what Brady had told him. Brady has said he hurt his head in the crash and could not remember what happened. ! Brady resigned in January, before felony charges were filed against him. He later was acquitted of all charges. "Brady and DiLacqua have been punished," Johnson said, noting that former Commissioner John F. Timoney had ordered the two suspended for 20 days. "We don't punish them and punish them and punish them. "I can't in true conscience punish them again for something they've already been acquitted of and punished for by the Police Department," Johnson said. "That's what made our system better than other systems." Johnson said that since he has been commissioner, 30 officers had resigned from the department and were allow to return to their old jobs when they reapplied in less than a year. If Brady requests reinstatement within one year of his resignation, Johnson said, he would get "the same consideration." He said that if Brady returned, he would not go back to the homicide command. As part of his past punishment, Johnson said, Brady was banished to night duty in the department's Command Inspection Bureau and would probably be returned there. "I think that was part of the punishment that he received. He would probably go back to the Command Inspection Bureau. He has never been in trouble before," he said. Johnson said his announcement earlier this week that DiLacqua would be eligible for reinstatement after acquittal also was consistent with a practice he had implemented. The cor~missioner said two officers had been reinstated after they were acquitted of summary offenses in Wildwood, N.J., and a lieutenant was immediately given her job back after she was acquitted of charges sten~ming from a domestic dispute. Johnson's new policy toward reinstatements has troubled some on the force, who say the shift has demoralized officers concerned about ensuring high standards among police. But Johnson said there was a practical aspect to the new policy of immediate reinstatement. Before, he said, fired officers usually had to get their jobs back through labor arbitration - a process that often took up to 18 months. Labor arbitrators also generally give police back pay - often for up to 18 months, he said. "I've brought three people back" without requiring them to go to arbitration, Johnson said. "Ninety-eight percent that are acquitted get their jobs back. We have to pay back pay." Johnson said the department would save money by simply accepting the reality that arbitrators return fired officers. If DiLacqua is reinstated by an arbitrator, for example, he might get back pay. He was earning $63,840 a year and was in line for promotion to inspector before his arrest. "I believe in due process, and we went through due process," Johnson said. James B. Jordan, the department's former integrity officer, said Johnson was probably correct that an arbitrator would order DiLacqua reinstated if the department did not voluntarily allow him to return. "In my experience, they always win that issue at arbitration," said Jordan, 2 now an attorney for SEPTA. "The one question is whether he will get back pay as well. The arbitraters in every case I can recall returned the person to his jeb." While police management often loses arbitratien disputes, it has won on eccasien. In ene key case, Police Officer Christopher DiPasquale was fired after he shot and killed a motorist in 1998. He was acquitted of murder charges, but an arbitrator refused to order him rehired. Jordan said the key question remaining for him is what would happen to the twe patrol officers who testified against DiLacqua and Brady if the two captains returned te duty. "That's the most important question," he said. Deputy Commissioner John Norris, conmlander ef Internal Affairs, said in an interview yesterday that both officers would be protected. "We try to take care of everybody who helps us. Ail the commissioners have been very goed en that," Norris said. "People that ceme forward truthfully and honestly are protected," Norris said. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, December 27, 2002 8:12 AM To: update@nacore.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Austin TX - Iris Jones becomes Austin's first police monitor Iris Jones becomes Austin's first police monitor Updated: 12/26/2002 9:48:52 PM By: Erica Riggins Austin hired Iris Jones in February 2002 as its first police monitor so citizens can voice their police complaints to objective eyes and ears. The city moved police oversight beyond internal affairs to a civilian office. Jones, a former city attorney, says her position provides the community with an outlet "to vent" or ask questions relating to police misconduct. The number of questionable actions (such as police shootings) by policeman or while in custody raises a lot of questions in people's minds, says Clint Smith of Charter Revision Committee. "We had nothing to fear from police oversight. We felt that a regulated, clearly spelled out process would be a benefit to the community as well as to the department," said APD Chief Stan Knee. After 10 months in office, 220 complaints were filed, ranging from rudeness, failure to respond timely to 911 call or 311 calls, and excessive force. The bridge between police and citizens was tested just four months after Jones accepted the position when officer John Coffey shot and killed 23-year old Sopia King in East Austin on June 11. An internal police department review and grand jury probe cleared Coffey of wrongdoing, but the city later approved an independent investigation. The panel voted 7-0 to recommend that Chief Knee have an independent investigation. Knee approved the panel's recommendation and the Austin Police Association responded in court. In November, a Travis County judge ruled to postpone the investigation until the city irons out a contract dispute with the police union. APA President Mike Sheffield is concerned that the investigation will come to involve family members "and become a political football to be batted around by the different special interest in this city." Copyright © 2002 TWEAN d.h.a. News 8 Austin Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Friday, December 27, 2002 8:15 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Slinger WI - Officer under misconduct probe resigns NACOLE LIST: Slinger is a town about 30 miles north of Milwaukee, WI -Kelvyn Slinger police officer under probe in misconduct charges resigns By PETER MALLER pmaller@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: Dec. 26, 2002 Slinger - A village police officer who was being investigated by a special prosecutor in connection with allegations of misconduct in office has resigned from his job, the village administrator said Thursday. The village has reached a resignation agreement with Richard A. Cohn, who was suspended from his job after Police Chief Steven Braun accused him of making "inconsistent statements" in police reports, Patrick DeGrave said. DeGrave refused to release details of the agreement - even though it's already been approved by the Village Board in closed session - before consulting Luis Arroyo, the attorney who represented the village in negotiations that led to Cohn's resignation. Arroyo is on vacation and will not return to his office until Monday, DeGrave said. "Because we have a written agreement between the village and Officer Cohn, I'm not going to release the agreement without Luis looking over my shoulder," DeGrave said. "We have (legal) counsel, and I will take advice from the Cohn was suspended with pay in November, a year after being suspended in another case that cast doubts over whether he had told the truth about a tussle with a drunken driver. Special prosecutor Paul Bucher said he will decide next week whether to bring charges against Cohn. "The case is pending and is still being reviewed," said Bucher, who also is the Waukesha County district attorney. "We were waiting to see his {future) employment status" with the village before making a decision, he said. Cobh, who has an unpublished phone number, could not be reached for comment. He was not home when a reporter visited his house in Slinger on Thursday. Washington County District Attorney Todd Martens called for a special prosecutor to consider the case after he reviewed an investigative report prepared by the county Sheriff's Department. Martens said then that criminal charges against Cohn should be considered in connection with "things that Mr. Cohn did and did not do while on duty." Cohn has been the subject of three disciplinary investigations while a Slinger police officer. His six-day suspension in March 2001, stemming from the tussle with the drunken driver, came after a felony charge was dismissed against the driver, a Hales Corners man. Cohn stopped him just north of Highway 60 on Feb. 15, 2001, on suspicion of drunken driving. 1 The man was charged with battering an officer, a felony, after Cehn teld an assistant district atterney that the driver punched him in the face. Cohn has maintained that he never said the driver hit him, but that the driver did attack him. Accerding to police records, the man got out ef his car and confronted Cohn. The pair ended up on the ground, and Cohn used pepper spray against the man, records say. Both men were taken to a hospital for treatment. Cohn's cenduct in the case prempted Hartens to say that he would stop charging suspects in Cohn~s cases unless his statements were "independently corroborated." In another matter, 8faun charged Oohn earlier this year with misappropriating village property and disobeying a direct order. 8ut on Hay 2 - when Cohn was scheduled te appear at a Village Police Commission hearing on these charges - he t©ok a 90-day leave of absence, and the charges were dropped. Cehn then told reperters that his temporary departure was just a ceincidence, not part of a deal for dropping charges. Upset by Cohn's statement, Braun considered bringing new charges against Cohn, this time for violating the settlement agreement. But Braun said he finally decided against pursuing the matter because he didn't want the village to incur additienal legal fees. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Iris. Jones@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Friday, December 27, 2002 11:28 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Police Oversight bill proposed in Texas HOME: VOL.22 NO.17: NEWS: NAKED CITY ,[] Police Oversight at the Lege Naked City BY JORDAN SMITH December 27, 2002: Considering the hullabaloo this year over the application of Austin's new police oversight system, it's interesting to note that Rep. Paul Moreno, D-E1 Paso, has filed a bill seeking to mandate some form of police oversight in all Texas municipalities with populations of over 200,000. Moreno's HB 279 -- which languished in committee during the 2001 session -- would create in each qualifying city a "community relations board" that would "receive and dispose of" complaints filed against police officers. These boards, made up of seven appointed members -- including one police officer with a rank of captain or above, one attorney, and one doctor -- would accept appeals of decisions by police internal-affairs investigations. Complaints could also be filed directly with an oversight board if the city's police department lacks an internal affairs division or its equivalent. The disciplinary decisions of the boards would be final and would trump even the decisions of local civil service commissions. "If [a civil service] commission issues a decision that is inconsistent with a community relations board's disposition of a complaint based on the same act, the board's decision prevails," the bill reads. "This would basically address the problem of rogue police officers being slapped on the hand for serious offenses," said Moreno spokesman Robert Grijalva. While Grijalva says that "99.9%" of police officers are good and responsible, this bill would weed out bad apples and take the role of ultimate disciplinarian "outside the realm of a city protecting its police officers." Moreno's bill is a somewhat pared-down version of an oversight bill perennially filed by Houston Democrat Ron Wilson. Wilson's plan -- which has languished at the legislative wayside four times running -- would 0nly apply to counties with a population of 2.8 million or more (that is, to Harris Co.), but would give the oversight board subpoena power. Oversight champions in Austin argue that subpoena is the true way to give teeth to the process. Predictably, the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas do not particularly favor Moreno's bill. "This thing has been filed so many times it's old enough to have a driver's license," said Charley Wilkison, director of C.L.E.A.T.'s political and legislative division. To Wilkison, police oversight already exists in the form of checks and balances throughout the criminal justice system. "We believe sincerely that ... it exists in Texas, and we think it should," he said. "Through the power of democracy, when you vote in City Council members and commissioners. This includes the district attorney and the Texas Rangers and the attorney general -- they are all part of that structure." 12/27/02 Page 2 of 2 But Grijalva says Moreno is confident the bill will gather steam this session. "We intend to pack some additional pistols," he says -- hinting that the bill may find support from some of the Lege's more moderate Republicans. "This is not intended to put law enforcement under the microscope," he said. "Police associations are very powerful and it stands to reason that lay people would have power on their side too." *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 12/27/02 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Ids. Jones@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Friday, December 27, 2002 11:29 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Instant photos Capture crimes Instant photos capture crimes New tools help Dallas police increase arrests, prosecutions of abusers 12/27/2002 By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News The women in the photos look straight ahead, caught mostly expressionless in the camera's flash. The bruises, busted lips and torn clothing say plenty, and that's the idea for police and prosecutors. The impromptu portraits speak volumes even after the black eyes fade and - more often than not - the victims return to their attackers and lose any desire to prosecute, authorities say. Using simple instant cameras and a new detailed series of questions for domestic violence victims, Dallas police are dramatically increasing their ability to arrest and prosecute abusers. With such strong evidence, they can increasingly prosecute even when victims recant and testify on the defendants' behalf. The difficulties in the cases were apparent last year, officials said. Dallas police were filing charges against only half the people they arrested for family abuse because of insufficient evidence, and prosecutors were accepting only about 80 percent of the cases they received from officers. "You see jury members look at the pictures. Sometimes you see them gasp at the injuries; their eyes kind of get wide. They accept them. It just helps the case," said Senior Cpl. Jenny Nance, who has a call to use her Polaroid camera nearly every work shift. (KIM RITZENTHALER / DMN) injuries at the time that they happened," Dallas police Sgt. Andrea Perez said. "It's not to prove why it happened, it's to prove that a crime did occur." Now, after stopping the violence and taking reports using the new questions, patrol officers use a Polaroid camera to make a visual record of the abuse. A close-up lens attachment allows officers to take detailed photos of injuries. The results document the faces of domestic violence in Dallas. The images capture the faces of victims - different socioeconomic levels and scattered across the city - as well as close-ups of bruised arms, scratches and bloody eyes. 12/27/02 Page 2 of 2 One woman looks out from a photo, the whites of her eyes turned red. That's an indication that she was choked, Sgt. Perez said. "No matter what the injury is, we can prove it when they come to court three months or six later," she said. Most of the cameras were purchased in the summer using money from a federal block grant. They're only now being fully implemented because police had to wait to purchase film until the new budget year began Oct. 1. Prosecutors say they're just starting to see the photo evidence in Dallas cases because of the lag of several months between an arrest and a trial. The delay averages about five months in Dallas County. The cameras and more-detailed domestic violence reporting are dramatically improving the cases that police file. Now, police are filing charges against nearly 70 percent of those they arrest, and the district attorney's office is prosecuting about 90 percent of the cases it receives. Officers are bolstering their cases by carefully documenting their reports and noting the victims' "excited utterances." Such utterances immediately after incidents are considered hearsay in other crimes but are allowed under domestic violence laws. Even ifa victim refuses to testify against her attacker, an officer can tell a jury what the victim said at the time of the offense. Cindy Dyer, the chief prosecutor in the district attorney's family violence section, said the detailed reports help build a case and the photographs make them stronger. "Nowadays jurors watch TV, and they expect to see photographs if there are injuries," she said. Senior Cpl. Jenny Nance said she has seen the effect the photos have on a jury. "You see jury members look at the pictures," she said. "Sometimes you see them gasp at the injuries; their eyes kind of get wide. They accept them. It just helps the case." Senior Cpl. Nance, an officer in the northeast Dallas patrol district, says she has a call to use her camera nearly every work shift. "You see love-and-hate relationships," she said. "They're probably physically and emotionally abused. Months down the road when we go to court, these people have fallen back in love. They don't want to prosecute, but we go anyway." E-mail rtharp~dallasnews.com Online at: http:l/www.clallasnews.com/Iocalnewslstories/1222702dnmetcameracop$_.lafSg.html *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IMPORTANT: Do not epen attachments frem unrecegnized senders 12/27/02 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 8:04 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Reply to query on Patriot Act NACOLE LIST: Mark Iris from the Chicago Police Board describes their oversight role in a case involving police surveillance The Chicago Police Board has not been directly involved in this issue, but is active in a related matter. In a prior era, the Chicago police were accused of widespread infiltration and surveillance of numerous activist/protest groups, with no actual or foreseable criminal action alleged to justify such surveillance. These allegations surfaced in litigation in U.S. District Court in approximately 1974. There were many dozens of individual and organizational plaintiffs. The litigation led to a Consent Decree and Judgment Order, which sharply restricted the authority of both the police and all other City of Chicago agencies to investigate individuals and groups lawfully exercising their First Amendment protected rights. Under the terms of this Consent Decree, the Police Board was obligated and authorized to monitor the City's compliance with the terms of that Consent Decree. This oversight incuded, among other factors, court-mandated periodic internal audits, reinforced at intervals by indepedent external audits. That Consent Decree underwent significant modifications about two years ago, but the Police Board retains an oversight role under the revised court order, which is currently in effect. I hope this helps. If you have follow up comments or questions, please call me at 312-742-4194, or e mail me at: mark.iris@chicagopolice.org Sincerely, Mark Iris Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 8:08 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Editorial/Letters on Denver Police Spying case Denver Post editorial Try spy case in court Tuesday, December 24, 2002 - Things seem to have gotten badly out of hand lately concerning an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against the city of Denver over the issue of intelligence files. The ACLU has made available selected information to local reporters with an obvious eye to trying some aspects of this case in the news media. And just the other day, Ari Zavaras, a former chief of police and manager of public safety, fired back with his own version of history that contradicts what's being told by the plaintiffs in the case. We'd like to suggest that there are good and valid reasons why complex issues need to be sorted out in court. Witnesses can be cross-examined. Evidence can be weighed and compared and, in the end, an impartial jury can make the crucial judgment about whether the plaintiffs have been injured and whether they are entitled to compensation. What is being offered these days is a very pale substitute for that deliberative process. Zavaras was, in our view, simply responding to the earlier selective news accounts when he said, "I will no longer sit by silently while an assault is waged on our law-enforcement community. Anyone who attempts to compromise the police department while this matter is before the U.S. District Court does a disservice to efforts on behalf of the safety and well-being of the people of Denver." This newspaper has previously applauded the city for its use of an impartial three-judge panel, the members of which spent weeks examining the intelligence files and making recommendations. We think that examination and the panel's recommendations should have gone a long way toward assuring the public that appropriate policies are now in place. The ACLU court case is about the past, not the future, the past. The plaintiffs will have to demonstrate that they were injured as the result of prior policies. That means there will be appropriate judicial focus on what those policies were. Zavaras said that, while he was chief from 1987 to 1991, the police operated on a policy that information would be gathered only on people or groups that either advocated criminal conduct or threatened criminal acts. That is pretty much a distillation of what existing federal and local policy is today. We are more than willing to leave it to the court to sort out the issues of whether this policy was in writing or passed on verbally, whether it was in memo form or part of the police manual and whether it was widely communicated or ignored. Those are factual findings that will have a significant bearing on the outcome of this case. But we know this for sure: It is no longer useful for the parties to this lawsuit to try this case in the media. ! Letters, 12/30 Monday, December 30, 2002 - Not about the past Re: "Try spy case in court," Dec. 24 editorial. The Post made some serious factual errors in its editorial about the ACLU's spy files lawsuit. The editorial accuses the ACLU of providing reporters with only "selected information" about the lawsuit. On the contrary, after a request from The New York Times, then The Denver Post, and then the Rocky Mountain News, the ACLU made available all portions of the depositions that Denver's lawyers have not designated as "confidential." The editorial was wrong again when it stated that the ACLU's lawsuit is about the past and focuses on whether the plaintiffs have sustained injuries that deserve compensation. The lawsuit seeks no compensation. Instead, it focuses on the future, asking the coUrt to set limits that will prevent police from compiling dossiers that detail how law-abiding Denver residents exercise their First Amendment rights. The fact that a lawsuit is pending should not be cited as an excuse for limiting public discussion of important policy issues. Nor is it a valid reason to stall an internal administrative investigation within the police department. Contrary to The Post's editorial suggestion, public discussion about political spying and the management of the police department will not interfere with the federal court's ability to resolve the issues on the basis of the law and the evidence. MARK SILVERSTEIN Denver The writer is legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. Diverting the issue Thank goodness for Post writers Amy Herdy and Carol Kreck exposing the spy files police scandal. And yet, I was perplexed over why The Post's editorial attempted to divert the public from the real issue: police and government violation of our constitutional and human rights. Claiming, as The Post editorial did, that these abuses can be remedied by a single court case with only six plaintiffs blinks at reality. Thousands of people and hundreds of organizations have been affected by the DPD's flagrant abuse of power. I have a spy file, and the nonviolent peace organization I've worked hard to build, the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace, also has a spy file, as do two other nonviolent organizations with which I work. Our names have been slandered, and this "intelligence" has been shared with untold numbers of other law-enforcement agencies to unknown ends. Ordinary people involved with CCMEP live in fear that government will watch and slander them and worry how this "intelligence" will be used against them and legitimate causes they support. The solution is simple and doesn't require a prolonged court battle costing Denver taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. Ail Denver officials who are accomplices to this mass abuse of authority should publicly apologize and step down from their positions. If they won't, they should be fired. A fully funded Public Safety Review Commission should be empowered to investigate and hold accountable police officers who engage in misconduct. Finally, all the files must be made public, a testament to the history of 2 local and national police and FBI abuse of activists going back more than 100 years. MARK SCHNEIDER Denver Tip of the iceberg The Denver Post says the spy files case should not be "tried in the media." Yet this is a political issue. Policies governing police behavior are formulated by elected officials, subject to the political process. If information about police behavior is restricted to one court, how will citizens be informed of their responsibilities concerning such matters? Where is the possibility of vital public discourse, if not through the media? I create posters for the anti-war movement, a constitutionally protected free- speech endeavor. I expect that a possible file on my activities might directly affect my future in graphic design. But we should all be concerned that police officers recorded license-plate numbers of vehicles in the vicinity of protests. Which of us may yet be turned down for jobs due to erroneous Denver Police records? In making the argument that media should not cover this issue, The Post dutifully takes the side of wrongdoers (or, more charitably, bunglers) in the Denver Police Department. The Post would serve its readership better by encouraging reporters to dig deeper. RICHARD MYERS Thornton {Editor's note: The Post editorial was in error in saying a jury will decide the federal spy-files case. The case will be tried to the court, with U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham presiding.) Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 8:13 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Plant City FL - No End In Sight For Federal Investigation Of Plant City Police Dec 28, 2002 No End In Sight For Federal Investigation Of Plant City Police KARLAYNE R. PARKER kparker@tampatrib.com Tampa Tribune SENTENCINGS OF CONVICTED OFFICERS HAVE BEEN POSTPONED PLANT CITY - Any hopes for an end to the three-year federal probe of the Plant City Police Department were dashed last week. The sentencings of former police officers Armand Cotnoir and David Dixon, who are cooperating with authorities, have been postponed because the investigation continues. Dixon was to be sentenced Monday; Cotnoir's sentencing was slated for Jan. 10. City Commissioner John Dicks said he was surprised by the latest delay. ''I can't imagine what is going on,'' Dicks said. ''I think all of us are wanting to see it [the case] come to an end.'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Downing last week filed a motion to postpone the sentencings of the two former officers. ''The investigation in which Mr. Dixon agreed to cooperate is ongoing, and it is not expected that [his] cooperation will be completed by the current sentencing date,'' Downing wrote in his motion. On Jan. 9 there will be a status hearing in the Cotnoir case, records show. Dixon's sentencing has been postponed until March 13, court records show. Downing became the lead prosecutor on the case last month after Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Del Fuoco was transferred off the case. He moved from the special investigations unit to the general crimes unit. The U.S. attorney's office would not comment on why Del Fuoco was taken off the investigation. City officials have complained that Del Fuoco was too aggressive and had muddied the city's good name. Del Fuoco was the subject of a January misconduct complaint filed with the U.S. attorney's office earlier this year by two lawyers representing Plant City police officers. That same month, Del Fuoco filed his own misconduct complaint against the defense lawyers, Ed Page and Ron Cacciatore, with the Florida Bar. A Florida Bar grievance committee in September found no probable cause for the misconduct complaints filed by Del Fuoco. Page and Cacciatore allege in their complaint that Del Fuoco used unethical tactics and procedures to gain information from Plant City police officers and other city officials. 1 The lead Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigator in the case, agent Scott Peterka, is going to be transferred next month but he will remain an investigator in the Plant City case, said FDLE spokesman Rick Morera. The agency expects to move Peterka by mid-January from the unit that examines white collar crimes to a general investigations unit, Morera said. Peterka was alleged to have committed some unethical practices in the complaint against Del Fuoco, records show. However, Morera said the move ''had nothing to do with the complaint.'' Morera said the Peterka's move was part of changes made by the agency, which is under new leadership. ''It was just a matter of the new director making some changes to keep agents from getting stale,'' Morera said. Federal and state officials have said members of the Plant City Police Department's special investigations unit used false warrants, stole property from suspects including pornographic tapes, and used other illegal tactics to make cases against suspects. They also allege that other police and city officials knew of the problems but did nothing to stop it. Three former officers who were members of the special investigations unit have reached plea agreements with federal prosecutors. Former officer Shawn Corgan pleaded guilty to perjury and was sentenced to six months probation. Dixon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate civil rights. Cotnoir pleaded guilty to eight charges, including conspiracy to violate citizens' civil rights. This story can be found at: http://tampatrib.com/News/MGAXF2XQ9AD.html Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 11:50 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] St Paul MN - Family mourns man shot by St. Paul police Family mourns man shot by St. Paul police Chris Graves Star Tribune Published 12/30/2002 Walter Dochniak's family can't understand why the young man they knew as a smart, aspiring musician would point a handgun at police officers. Police had followed Dochniak, 22, for several blocks Saturday night after a report that he had threatened to shoot his mother. At Marion St. and University Av. in St. Paul, he stepped from the passenger seat of a car driven by a friend and without uttering a word, he pointed the gun at officers. Seconds later, he fell fatally wounded. St. Paul officers Cort Baumgart, Ann Anderson and Shawn Shanley all fired. Dochniak died from multiple gunshot wounds at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, said police spokesman Michael Jordan. Minutes earlier, Dochniak's mother had called police to say that her son had threatened her with a rifle at the residence they shared in the 500 block of Park St., Jordan said. He said officers found the rifle there later. Walter Dochniak Courtesy Dochniak Family Dochniak's older brother, Justin Dochniak, said Sunday that his brother threatened their mother with a 9-millimeter handgun. He said he does not believe anyone in his family owns a rifle. "We don't know what he was thinking. He was really intelligent," said dustin Dochniak, 23, who is studying law enforcement at the University of Minnesota and plans to become a police officer. An aunt, Pat Young, struggled to make sense of what happened. "Everyone knows you don't get out of the car with a gun," said Young, whose daughter is a police officer and whose son is studying to become an officer. Marge Dochniak, grandmother of Walter Dochniak David Brewster Star Tribune State records show that Dochniak was convicted in 1999 for financial fraud. He rarely drank and never used drugs, family members said Sunday. They also said he wasn't a violent man. His family said they had not talked to police investigators and declined to discuss what led to the shooting. "We wish we knew. It's a total shock to all of us," Young said. "I'm not saying he was an angel, but we never expected anything like this. "It's completely out of character. It doesn't make sense," she said. 1 Justin Docniak, Walter Dochniak's brother David Brewster Star Tribune Jordan said that the mother "felt she was in some degree of danger" Saturday night. He said she and her son had been involved in other disputes. "They loved each other dearly," Young said. "They just butted heads. They are both strong-willed." When officers arrived at the Dochniaks' home, they saw a car speed away. They followed it for several blocks until the driver stopped at Marion and University, near the State Capitol. The officers, two armed with shotguns and the other with a handgun, ordered the driver and passenger out of the car. The driver of the car, whom Jordan would not identify, complied. But Walter Dochniak, the passenger, continued talking on a cellular phone and reached for something under the front seat. Jordan said Dochniak was talking to his father. Dochniak's family members declined to confirm that. When Dochniak left the car, he pointed the handgun at officers, who fired at him. Neither Dochniak nor the officers said anything before the shooting, Jordan said. The driver, who was interviewed by investigators and released Sunday, was Dochniak's friend, Jordan said. Justin Dochniak said his brother attended Arlington High School and had earned his GED two years ago. He had worked installing carpeting and as a supervisor at a hotel, but recently quit or was fired. "He liked to be the center of attention. He was a big talker, a big yapper," his brother said. "He always had a problem with authority; with anyone telling him what to do." Dochniak loved to sketch people and designs, and play video games, family members said. "He was a good kid," said Marge Dochniak, his grandmother. "I used to have a whole mess of his sketches upstairs." Recently he had been working on recording a CD of rap and rhythm and blues. "It's a huge loss to our family. A huge blow," Justin Dochniak said. "We'll be grieving for a long time." The police department's Jordan said it appeared that the officers followed police policy. They are on routine, paid administrative leave. The Police-Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission will investigate the shooting. Justin Dochniak and his aunt said that if the police version of events is accurate, they too, don't see what else officers could have done. "From what it seems like, they did what they were supposed to do," Justin Dochniak said. "We just wish we knew why he did what he did." -- Chris Graves is at cgraves@startribune.com. © Copyright 2002 Star Tribune. Ail rights reserved. 2 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 11:58 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Boise ID - Feds OK needed for ombudsman to review files Feds' OK needed for ombudsman to review files December 29, 2002 Patrick Orr The Idaho Statesman Since March, Boise city officials have waited to hear whether the federal government would approve their request to allow Community Ombudsman Pierce Murphy to review files from the new police Criminal Intelligence Unit. Eight months later, they finally got an answer from the feds that basically said, "what request?" U.S. Department of Justice officials say they never got the letter asking for a waiver a development that astounds critics of the CIU who believe Murphy needs to be able to review unit files to protect civil rights. The critics question whether city officials were serious about pursuing the waiver in the first place. "I'm just baffled," said Jack Van Valkenburg, executive director of the Idaho American Civil Liberties Union. "I don't know who is not communicating with who, but it's bad. It's one thing for the DOJ not to receive it, but on top of that, how long did (city officials) know whether it wasn't received?" City administrators, who sent a new request to the Department of Justice earlier this month, say they aren't sure what happened to the original letter. But they insist it was sent in good faith and say they didn't learn of its disappearance until mid-November. "The best explanation we have heard is that it had something to do with that whole anthrax scare and confusion," said Tod McKay, spokesman for Boise Mayor Brent Coles, who composed and sent the original letter and latest request to the Department of Justice. "They just never got it. Clearly, it was sent in a timely matter. "The only thing we could have done different was drive it down there ourselves. There was a national crisis going on at the time," McKay said. "It wasn't just us. There was loads of mail that didn't go through." McKay said Coles and other city officials fully support the waiver request and urge patience. "We sent the package FedEx. We tracked it and know it was received," he said. "It is just going to take longer than we thought." Murphy said he was not disappointed in the delay but was glad DOJ officials finally got the letter. The ombudsman said he has not received any complaints or inquiries about the CIU since it began operating, but if he does, he would look at the files. "The city ordinance clearly gives me complete and unfettered access to police files," he said. The CIU, set up in early July, was created partly to help Boise better protect itself from domestic terrorism. Murphy said he hopes the waiver will eventually go through despite a previous ! legal analysis from Boise City Attorney Susan Mimura's office that characterizes the waiver as "highly unlikely." Ail four members of Idaho's congressional delegation and Tom Moss, U.S. attorney for the district of Idaho, sent letters of support for the waiver in spring which ultimately led to city officials discovering that the feds never got the request. Moss got a letter Nov. 12 from the U.S. Justice Department thanking him for his support of the city's request but saying the original request was never received. At that point, Moss informed city officials. Coles sent another formal request Dec. 9. In January, the Boise City Council approved the unit, a three-member team that gathers information about domestic terrorists and law-breaking groups such as theft rings and drug trafficking networks, at an annual cost of $165,900. Local political groups protested formation of the unit, fearing it could violate civil rights. Boise Police Chief Don Pierce said the unit was set up not to investigate political groups but to create a central gathering place for information about crime. Critics, including members of the ACLU, the Idaho Media Project and the Green Party, worry that the unit will target legitimate political groups. They want Murphy to be able to monitor the CIU, as he does the rest of the police department, to ensure that doesn't happen. But federal guidelines to set up a CIU do not allow civilian access to case files. So the waiver request, endorsed by Pierce after a series of public meetings last winter, asks that Murphy be allowed access to the files so he can continue to maintain unrestricted access to all police records to ensure "thorough, unbiased investigations of police activity." Boise's request comes at a time when the Colorado chapter of the ACLU has filed a class action lawsuit against the Denver Police Department, claiming that the Denver CIU had been compiling intelligence files on non-violent and social activist political groups. According to the Colorado ACLU, the Denver Police Department has kept 3,400 secret files on the activities of political protesters, including members of Amnesty International, the Quaker group American Friends Service Committee, and End the Politics of Cruelty, a Denver human-rights group that focuses on police accountability. Denver Mayor Wellington Webb has since ordered an end to the practice, saying it amounted to a civil rights violation, and appointed a three-judge panel to determine which files should be kept, according to the Rocky Mountain News. To offer story ideas or comments, contact Patrick Orr porr@idahostatesman.com or 373-6619 Edition Date: 12-29-2002 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 12:00 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] St Louis MI - County Police Board rejects civilian review County Police Board rejects call to create civilian review panel By Michael D. Sorkin 12/29/2002 St. Louis appears headed toward creating some sort of police review board, but St. Louis County officials again have rejected the idea. That has led the head of the Urban League here to blast a year-and-a-half-long investigation into police shootings as "a sham and a smokescreen to quiet people down." "We have gained absolutely nothing," Urban League President James Buford said of the investigation. He was referring to a committee appointed by County Executive George R. "Buzz" Westfall and the County Council to examine police practices. After months of hearings, committee members concluded that county police are doing an outstanding job. They rejected the idea of a citizens review board. Their findings went to members of the county Police Board, which this month replied that the County Charter puts them in charge of complaints against police. "The citizens of St. Louis County already have a review board - the members of the Police Board are citizens of St. Louis County," said board Chairman Robert W. Flagg. "We get a copy of every complaint from any citizen and we review those." Flagg said he and the four other board members appointed by the county executive (and approved by the County Council) are so "low-profile" that in 22 years on the board, he'd never been interviewed by the Post-Dispatch. Buford had testified in favor of creating a civilian review board, and now he's infuriated at the lack of results. "The public has been treated like fools," he said. "We've been sitting back, for months, waiting for recommendations. And the recommendations never came." The county began its investigation after two high-profile police shootings: On Feb. 6 of last year, county police shot and killed Annette Green as she descended a dark staircase in her home in Wellston with what police thought was a gun or knife in her hand. On June 12, 2000, an undercover detective with a county police drug unit and an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration fired 21 shots, killing two men in a car on the parking lot of a Jack in the Box restaurant. Neither man had a gun; the driver was a drug suspect, the passenger a friend unlucky enough to be along for the ride. For 14 months, authorities kept most details secret, including the shooters' names. Today, critics say questions remain: The detectives testified they fired because the car was coming toward them; but a federal expert later determined that the car was backing away. After his grand jury investigation cleared the detectives, county Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch claimed that all 13 detectives on the parking lot had testified that the car moved forward. But grand jury tapes examined by the ! Post-Dispatch show that only three detectives testified the car moved forward. Two were the shooters; the third was a detective whose account McCulloch says was "so completely wrong" that he considered charging him with perjury. In the end, no one was charged. Rejected suggestions The county named zoning attorney John King to head a 10-person committee to investigate the three deaths. The co~mittee held 13 hearings and heard testimony from Buford, police and a variety of other people. "I was very pleased with what we did," King said. "We found that the St. Louis County Police Department is well run and the Police Board does an excellent job. That's basically our results, and for that I make no apology." The Police Board rejected the few recommendations that King's panel came up with - that police should serve warrants in daylight and re-evaluate use of automatic settings on weapons that allow multiple bullets to fire with one squeeze of the trigger. King's panel never tried to get into the details of the shootings, concentrating instead on police procedures. The rest, he said, was up to experts like the Justice Department and the county prosecutor. King said he had complete faith in county prosecutors, whose grand jury investigations absolved police in all three deaths. The panel voted not to recommend establishment of a citizens review board. County Police Chief Ron Battelle said the shootings had been investigated so thoroughly, there is nothing left to examine. "The review panel recognized that." Buford says the chief, the prosecutor, the review panel and the Police Board are ignoring how minorities and the poor feel about needing an independent agency to examine police controversies. Right now, he said, it's the police investigating themselves, aided by prosecutors who often try to protect the police. "There is no mechanism in place for checks and balances," Buford saidt "Ninety-five percent of the time, police do things correctly. The rest of the time, you need a mechanism - an independent review board with teeth and subpoena power." Fight shifts to county Buford said it took threats of convention boycotts to persuade St. Louis officials to get serious about a police review board. Now, he says, rights activists are turning their attention to the county. Unlike their county counterparts, St. Louis' mayor and police chief both are on record supporting some kind of oversight. A bill to create an oversight panel is before the Board of Aldermen~ but there is no consensus on how much authority it should have. County Executive Westfall was unavailable for comment and his spokesman was on vacation, according to Walt Nelson, an aide. Flagg says most county residents don~t want a police review board: "Some people criticize police for various reasons. And those reasons aren't always objective." Buford said his father was a police officer in the city for 25 years, "so I respect police." But~ he adds, "you can't respect every cop." Reporter Michael D. Sorkin: E-mail: msorkin@post-dispatch.com 2 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin k. net Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 12:53 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Portland OR - Prosecutor faults police handling of officer's domestic violence case Prosecutor faults police handling of officer's domestic violence case 12/i8/02 ROBIN FRANZEN Portland Oregonian The girlfriend of a Portland police officer prosecuted for domestic violence said at his sentencing Tuesday that she never wanted to see him prosecuted or lose his job -- calling it "a grave injustice .... and that she wanted their relationship to survive. But Stacy Heyworth, a senior Multnomah County deputy district attorney, said she could not turn "a blind eye" to the situation involving Southeast Precinct Officer Michael Pimentel simply because it involved police and a victim who later decided not to cooperate. Not only were there documented bruises, Heyworth said, but the victim's initial statements to police showed she had a real fear that Pimentel would physically harm her. Heyworth castigated members of the Police Bureau for failing to intervene in the rocky, sometimes violent relationship between Pimentel, then a popular 10-year veteran, and his girlfriend after an altercation involving the couple was documented in an August 2001 Portland police report. Had someone done something earlier, Pimentel might still have his job, she said. "This man, who I consider an exceptional police officer, made a very grave error in his life," Heyworth said. "People around him, in August 2001, had a chance to stop this, and they failed to do that .... They set him up and they set his victim up for a situation that was intolerable for both of them." Under pressure from a police sergeant, and Pimentel, the August 2001 report was later reclassified by the bureau's records manager from a domestic violence incident -- which can spell trouble for an officer's career -- to a noise disturbance, according to police reports obtained by The Oregonian. Heyworth characterized three bureau employees' handling of the situation as a series of "mistakes," a misguided "attempt to sweep some dirty laundry under the rug" and an "anomaly" that didn't represent the Police Bureau overall. Though she didn't detect "nefarious intent" by those involved, she said, they didn't follow their own protocols simply because "they didn't think it was that big a deal." Assistant Portland Police Chief Andrew Kirkland said Tuesday that he couldn't respond to Heyworth's assertions until an ongoing internal affairs investigation is finished. On July 2 of this year, Pimentel was arrested at work by fellow officers for a second incident involving his girlfriend, a bureau desk clerk, just days before. He was indicted by a grand jury on more than a dozen charges, including fourth-degree assault, harassment and official misconduct. Pimentel pleaded guilty last month to a single count of coercion. As part of a plea bargain, the sentence imposed on him Tuesday by Judge Nely Johnson includes resigning his police job -- which he has done -- three years' 1 probation, 300 hours of community service, and anger-management counseling. William Aring Meyer, Pimentel's lawyer, praised Heyworth's handling of the case but said he thought a diversion program would have been more appropriate than a conviction for a Class C felony. "I'm not saying there weren't problems," he said of Pimentel's personal relationship, "but it bothers me that there are other cases with worse injuries where the person gets diversion." Meyer also said there were indications that the girlfriend had "dramatized" certain aspects of her relationship with Pimentel. In court Tuesday, the girlfriend's lawyer, Clayton Lance, said his client "has never been afraid (of Pimentel) and she is not afraid of him today." However, in police reports the girlfriend characterized Pimentel's behavior as controlling, suspicious and jealous, escalating over the course of their 21/2-year relationship. She described him as having a violent temper that she said could be triggered by the smallest things. After an August 2001 wedding, the girlfriend and Pimentel got into an argument, with Pimentel "yelling, screaming and pounding" the steering wheel as they drove home. When she tried to get out of her car, he grabbed her, then blocked her from outside the passenger door until bystanders intervened and called police, the reports say. Pimentel flashed his badge at the bystanders, she said. Officers wrote a special report on the incident, later reclassified by the records manager to a noise disturbance. The woman reported alleged abuse had occurred on June 26-27 of this year. Pimentel -- driving a sergeant's rig -- pulled her car over without legal cause and berated and intimidated her, she said. The next day, she said, he showed up at her apartment and refused to leave, slamming her finger in a window. According to an affidavit, he put his hands on her biceps, wrists, shoulder and breast, bruising her biceps. When she ran to her bedroom and locked the door, he allegedly forced it open, breaking the frame, and got into bed with her. She also said he later tried to block her car with his body to prevent her from driving away and then followed her in his car until she drove to Southeast Precinct. At more than one point, the woman said, Pimentel told her he could lose his job over this, the reports say. Although the woman is now downplaying what occurred, Heyworth said, statements she made to police show that the dynamics of their relationship were typical of the domestic violence cases police officers respond to every day. Victims, she said, often "feel responsible, and they want to shield (their abuser) from harm. I understand that's part of the psyche of someone who has been abused." Robin Franzen: 503-221-8133; robinfranzen@news.oregonian.com Copyright 2002 Oregon Live. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 2 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 12:55 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Carson City NV - Firing of officers upheld December 27, 2002 Firing of officers upheld By Cy Ryan <cy@lasvegassun.com> SUN CAPITAL BUREAU CARSON CITY -- A state hearing officer has ruled there was sufficient evidence and reason to fire two UNLV police officers who falsified their time records to show they were on the job when they were absent. In a decision made public Thursday, hearing officer Daniel Hussey upheld the dismissal of Sgt. Brian Keith Dias and Officer William Lee Mason Sr. "If an officer is dishonest and not credible he is no longer effective," Hussey said. "He is of no use to the department and in fact becomes a burden, disgracing not only himself but (bringing) into disrepute the department and other officers. "If one could not trust law enforcement, the American system of justice would break down." While working the night shift at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the two campus police officers took turns covering for each other so that they could leave work early and still get paid for that time, officials alleged. Concerns arose at UNLV after a campus rape was reported on Aug. 30, 2001, and only one officer was available to respond. "When officers are not on the job, they are not protecting fellow employees or the public from danger," Hussey said. Dias was charged with 23 violations and Mason with 11. Both denied any misconduct at the personnel hearing but admitted there were discrepancies in the records. The two officers said they were not dishonest and were just making up for other hours of work that they had not recorded because of limits on overtime. Hussey said the two recorded the largest amount of overtime in their department. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 7:51 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Philadelphia PA - Crime falls 11%, Safe Streets program credited Posted on Tue, Dec. 31, 2002 Crime fell in Phila. by 11% in '02 Operation Safe Streets was cited in part for the largest reduction in four years. By Joseph Tanfani and Craig R. McCoy Inquirer Staff Writers With murder and gunplay falling dramatically, major crime in Philadelphia fell a striking 11 percent in 2002 - the largest reduction in at least four years, the Police Department says. Barring a New Year's Eve bloodbath, Philadelphia will end the year today with its lowest number of murders in 17 years. Police comm~anders give some of the credit to their expensive Operation Safe Streets program, which puts extra officers on the city's worst drug corners. "Some of them you can't stop, but the fact that our officers are on the street stops a lot of the outdoor shooting," Con~aissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said yesterday. "In a lot of the shootings, they're fighting over the [drug] corners, but the corners are ours. There's no reason to fight over these corners anymore." The program is expected to cost $35 million this year, mostly in overtime. Local and national experts in crime rates say Safe Streets might have helped reduce murders and other violent crimes simply by taking guns and shooters out of circulation. But they say the rate also may be dropping for other reasons: better trauma care that saves lives of more gunshot victims, the record number of Philadelphians in prison, the petering out of the crack epidemic. As of yesterday, the city had 286 murders in 2002 - 20 deaths fewer than the total through Dec. 30 last year, or a 7 percent reduction. That means 2002 is on track to be the least lethal year on Philadelphia streets since Ronald Reagan was president, W. Wilson Goode was mayor, and crack cocaine had yet to become a plague. In 1985, there were 271 murders in Philadelphia. And the crime reduction in 2002 was not limited to murder, according to department crime statistics. Every major category of crime fell, paced by a 15 percent fall in stolen cars, a 14 percent decline in thefts, and a 11 percent drop in gunpoint robberies. Last year, 1,480 Philadelphians were shot through Dec. 26. This year, there were 1,320 shooting victims, a decrease of 11 percent. Overall, serious crime in Philadelphia fell 11 percent in 2002, according to preliminary figures released yesterday. Crimes had fallen in 2001, but at less than half that rate. This was the fourth straight year that crime has fallen in Philadelphia. The number of serious offenses last rose in 1998, when the department reformed its record-keeping. That year it acknowledged that commanders for decades had altered crime reports to make the city look safer than it was. Killings in the city have generally declined since 1990, the height of the crack epidemic, when 504 people were murdered. The continuing falloff here is counter to a trend in some other major cities, such as Los Angeles and Boston, where murders jumped again this year. Independent figures kept by emergency rooms seem to confirm the slackening of Philadelphia's gun violence. The Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation, a nonprofit organization that oversees trauma centers at major hospitals, said yesterday that the centers in Philadelphia treated 21 percent fewer gunshot cases in the first nine months of this year than during the same period last year. Homicide detectives also solved more slayings this year, the department said. The "clearance rate" for murders is 80 percent, up from 70 percent in 2001. Police officials say they have strengthened special investigations and fugitive squads. "We've also got a lot more assistance from narcotics," said Homicide Police Capt. Charles Bloom. "We're sharing information, and it's paying off." As usual, most of the deaths came from handguns. There were 227 handgun murders in Philadelphia in 2002, about 80 percent of the total. Philadelphia continues to have one of the nation's highest rates for the use of guns in homicides. One crime researcher says other programs, such as the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership that saddles young violent criminals in North Philadelphia with super-strict probation, are starting to pay off. "Typically, these are guys who have serious drug crimes, and frequently have guns," said Wendy McClanahan, senior policy researcher at Public/Private Ventures, a local group that participates in the partnership program. Jens Ludwig, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University, says research shows that criminals are more deterred by the fear of getting arrested in the first place than by the chance of a long prison sentence. Contact staff writer Joseph Tanfani at 215-854-2684 or jtanfani@phillynews.com. © 2001 inquirer and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. http://www.philly.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 11:09 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Wayne NJ - Judge backs firing for officer in beating case http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--policebeating- pun1231dec31,O,1788043.story Judge backs firing for officer in beating case December 31, 2002, 11:19 AM EST WAYNE, N.J. -- A William Paterson University police officer who presided over the beating of a handcuffed suspect should have been fired, a state administrative law judge said. But the university believes it punished the officer enough by demoting him and suspending him for a month. Three years after the beating, Lourens Latona continues to patrol the campus. "We didn't believe that it warranted termination," university spokesman Stuart Goldstein told The Record of Bergen County for Tuesday's editions. In an opinion written last month, Judge Ken R. Springer said he considers Latona unfit to be a police officer. "Such gross misconduct is so serious as to strike at the very heart of an officer's capacity to perform his duties," Springer wrote. Latona, who was in charge of the campus police the night of the beating, declined to comment when contacted by the newspaper on Monday. Latona and another officer, Carlos Sanchez, encountered a drunk and rowdy Mustafa Thomas around 1:45 a.m. on Dec. 17, 1999, at Heritage Hall, one of WPU's dormitories, according to Springer's recounting of the episode. Thomas was visiting his brother, Mufeed, a star player on the university's basketball team. To subdue him, Sanchez sprayed pepper spray in Thomas' face. University administrators said they don't believe the officers used excessive force during the arrest. Thomas was handcuffed and taken to a detention room at police headquarters, where he was handcuffed to the arms of a chair, according to Fawn Ross, a trainee on duty that night. Ross, who was watching the room through closed-circuit video, testified that Sanchez punched Thomas in the face while Latona and another officer, Albert Clark,. were in the room. Clark then shot pepper spray into Thomas' face, even though he remained handcuffed and could not wipe his face, according to Ross. With Thomas screaming in pain, she said, all three officers left the room. Latona denied that he saw Sanchez strike Thomas or that Clark used the pepper spray. Later, Ross testified, she witnessed from the monitor Sanchez banging Thomas' head into a plastic window several times and repeatedly "jerking Thomas' face forward to Sanchez's knee." Thomas was screaming, vomiting, and spitting blood. 1 Sanchez was fired, and Clark was suspended for five days. The university initially tried to fire Latona as well, claiming he failed to control his subordinates, failed to notify the police director about the incident and omitted crucial facts in a report he later wrote. But he appealed the punishment, claiming it was too severe. Springer not only rejected Latona's claims that the punishment was unfair, but said the university hadn't gone far enough. Springer said Latona, a WPU graduate who has been an officer at the school for 12 years, should have been fired. Lacking the power to do that, the judge said the suspension should be increased to six months. The state's Merit System Board, a five-member panel that rules on employer-employee disputes in state and municipal agencies, must accept or reject the judge's recommendation. The board has yet to act in the case. Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_a nderson@ear~hlin k. net Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 5:56 AM To: update@naco]e.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San Francisco CA - ACLU calls for ban on SFPD consent searches ACLU calls for ban on SFPD 'consent' searches 12-31-2002 by Hark Schlosberg Three months ago, the ~nerican Civil Liberties Union released a report examining the San Francisco Police Departments' three-year failure to adequately address the issue of racial profiling. The report documented, with data collected by the police department, significant disparities in how African American and Latino motorists are treated when compared with whites and called for a series of reforms aimed at stopping racial profiling. In November, the Police Cen~llissien required the Police Department to enact some significant reforms and on Jan. 8, the Cor~ission will consider additional measures. The reforms adopted at the November hearing represented an important initial step towards ste~ning the problem of racial profiling. At that hearing, the Police Commission heard from numerous members of the community, including civil rights activists, students, commissioners and cor~nunity leaders. The testimony at the hearing was truly compelling and led to action by the Police Con%mission. The Co~nission directed the department to adept a tough new policy prohibiting racial profiling. The new policy must make it clear that race should never be relied on by San Francisco police officers in determining whom te stop, search or interrogate unless there is a specific suspect description that describes someone, in part, by race. This follows language used by the United States Justice Department in its settlements over racial profiling cases in New Jersey and Los Angeles. The commission also is now requiring the department to report data monthly and will consider an independent auditor te oversee the program should data collection not be fully implemented. While these actions are significant, they will net fully alleviate the problem because they do not address the tactics involved in racial profiling - the high discretion police practices where racial bias is most likely to infect an officer's actions. One of these techniques is the consent search - the practice of asking an individual for permission to search him or his property without probable cause te believe that contraband will be found. Data collected by the department demonstrated that over a yearlong period, African American motorists were twice as likely to be subjected to requests for consent searches as whites and, despite this large disparity, officers were no more likely to find evidence as a result of these searches. In fact, the data showed that such searches were extremely ineffective, with evidence being found less than 10 percent of the time. While the racial disparities in consent searches are disturbing, the practice becomes even mere troubling considering the inherently involuntary nature ef such "voluntary' requests. Hany people do net know of their right not to consent to searches requested by police officers and many ethers "consent" te such searches simply to avoid conflict with the police - especially in communities with significant police misconduct problems. Last year, in response to search rate disparities, the California Highway Patrol took the pro-active measure of issuing a moratorium on consent searches in order to address the problems inherent in such searches. The San Francisco Police Cer~lission should follow the CHP's lead and ban the practice entirely. A ban on consent searches has been endorsed by numerous organizations 1 including the San Francisco Youth Commission, the ACLU, the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights, La Raza Centro Legal and this newspaper. The issue will be considered at the Jan. 8 Police Co~nission hearing at 5:30. The meeting is at the San Francisco Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant St., fifth floor. Mark Schlosberg is police practices policy director for the ACLU of Northern California. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 6:05 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Chatanooga TN - East Ridge Officer Investigated For "Official Misconduct" East Ridge Officer Investigated For "Official Misconduct" posted December 31, 2002 The Chatanoogan An East Ridge Police Officer has been placed on administrative leave "pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation." Officer Keith Maynard was placed on administrative leave on Monday. East Ridge Public Safety Director Chief Eddie Phillips declined to say what the internal affairs investigation concerns. He said, "The investigation centers on allegations of official misconduct. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, I can make no further cormment at this time. We will update you as soon as possible." The TBI was asked to handle the case in connection with the officer who had been with East Ridge for two and a half years. WTVC CH9 Serious Allegations Against East Ridge Officer Story by John Madewell on Tue, Dec 31st 2002 (4:49 PM) Officer for two and a half years. But this morning, hKeith Maynard has worked with the East Ridge police departmeht turned his badge, car and gun in. He's been placed on administrative leave Serious allegations have surfaced against East Ridge, Tennessee police officer Keith Maynard. Early this morning, Chief Eddie Phillips placed officer Maynard on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. Chief Phillips would only confirm the allegations come from a 15 year old girl involved in the Explorer program and center on official misconduct. NewsChannel 9 learned the girl lives in Catoosa County, Georgia and her mother says the allegations are sexual in nature. She declined to comment on camera. Chief Phillips said, "This is a shock to us, we want to protect his interest and rights and also protect the victim's, the alleged victim's interest and rights and take care of her." Chief Phillips says the TBI is leading the probe. If the allegations prove true, Chief Phillips says officer Maynard will be terminated and criminally prosecuted. Update mailing list Update0nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: keIvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 6:08 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Monterey County CA - NAACP, police work to heal tension Posted on Wed, Jan. 01, 2003 Tale of two stories Monterey Herald Sylvia Moore It was a story that started earlier but stretched through 2002. It began with J.J. Sherrill's arrest and ended, perhaps, with the NAACP and the Seaside Police Department working through their tensions. The minor-league baseball player was stopped by Seaside police in November 2001 for driving a car with overly tinted windows. When his father, well-known coach James Sherrill, shewed up at the scene, the Sherrills scuffled with officers. The Sherrills, who are black, alleged racial profiling and police misconduct. The police alleged obstruction and resisting arrest. In Hay, J.J. Sherrill pleaded ne contest to obstruction and disturbing the peace. He was ordered to perform community service and obtain anger-management counseling. His father was acquitted of obstruction and resisting charges in September but was fined $100 for disturbing the peace. The Honterey Peninsula branch of the NAACP loudly denounced the police early on, but is now taking a more conciliatory approach, said Mol Hason, who replaced Helen Rucker as the group's president in November. Mason and Seaside police are meeting monthly te discuss community relations. Hason says they are making progress. ~long ether things, the department is considering reviving its police internship program and expanding its Police Action League youth program. As for the Sherrills, J.J. Sherrill continues to volunteer with young people and is hoping to move up in the Cleveland Indians organization this year. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 8:48 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami FL - Sunrise cop at odds with PBA quits Posted on Wed, Jan. 01, 2003 Sunrise cop at odds with PBA quits BY WANDA J. DeMARZO wdemarze@herald.com A high-ranking Sunrise police officer under investigation over charges of sexual misconduct has handed in his resignation. The resignation of Maj. Thomas M. Jahn took affect Friday. Allegations surfaced in October after the Police Benevolent Association filed an official complaint charging Jahn with inappropriate conduct. The complaint alleged that Jahn exposed himself to a fellow officer and danced naked in the locker room, causing officers to avoid the room; made inappropriate sexual comments to probationary officers; and allegedly asked a policeman if he'd be willing to be Jahn's date at the department's Christmas party if the policeman could not find a way to get himself and his friends into the party, and if Jahn's date canceled. Jahn denied any wrongdoings at the time of the complaint. ''Major Jahn resigned for personal reasons,'' said Sunrise police spokesman Lt. Charles Vitale. ''The investigation into allegations of misconduct has not been completed at this time.'' In his letter of resignation, Jahn wrote: ''I have cooperated fully with the investigation, taken proactive steps to mitigate the issues raised in vicious, anonymous complaints to you [Chief David Boyett] and others and kept my upward chain of command completely informed of actions I've taken in reference to this ongoing situation.'' Jahn wrote that the attacks on his character will continue as long as he takes an active role in the administration and disciplinary processes of the police department. ''I choose not to subject myself to further abuse at the hands of a vicious labor organization whose only agenda is to undermine the effectiveness of a department that is seeking higher professional and ethical standards,'' he stated. ''This does not define him,'' said his attorney, Pam Terranova. ''He is a gentleman and a highly decorated and good police officer.'' Jahn is not the first high-ranking officer to be in a conflict with the PBA. Officers bristled under the heavy discipline of former Hollywood Police Chief Rick Stone. The final result was Stone resigning in 1998 after a nasty public battle. Stone filed a lawsuit in April 200 against two former Hollywood officers and the PBA, accusing them of racketeering, invasion of privacy, slander and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit is still pending. © 2001 miamiherald and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. http://www.miami.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 8:51 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Medford OR - Talent Police Chief Kammel resigns December 31, 2002 Talent Police Chief Kammel resigns Part-time officer leaves department without explanation after 'a situation' By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune TALENT Police Chief Elmer Kammel resigned his post Monday, but city officials would not explain the circumstances surrounding his resignation. Karamel notified Talent Mayor Marian Telerski of his resignation on Sunday. City officials would say only that the police chief left his job voluntarily. "A situation occurred and he chose to resign," said City Councilman Brian Roberts. The police department's second-in-con, and, Lt. Kevin Kriz, would not comment on the reason for Ka~ael's retirement. Kriz said he will serve as the acting chief until the city hires an interim chief. City officials are hoping to hire an interim chief sometime in January, one who would serve through June, said Talent City Manager Betty Wheeler. Kammel officially retired from the Talent Police Department in 1997 but returned as the part-time police chief in 2000. He was collecting benefits under the Public Employees Retirement System while working three days a week. "The guy's got 34 years of law enforcement, and it's probably time to move on," said C.W. Smith, a former Talent police chief. Kammel served as a patrol officer for the Talent Police Department from 1994 to 1997. He was then asked to return to the department when Smith was hired as chief later that year. Smith and Ka~nel had served together at Medford Police Department before Smith was elected sheriff of Jackson County. An 18-year veteran of Medford's police force, Kammel left the department in 1993 while facing allegations of sexual misconduct. He admitted having sex while on duty but denied a rape accusation. The district attorney concluded there was insufficient evidence to file charges. Under a settlement with the city of Medford, Kan~el was allowed to resign rather than being fired. Kammel told the Mail Tribune in 1993 that his actions didn't interfere with his job. His firing was unfair, the result of a department run on a system of favoritism rather than merit, he said. Calls to Kammel's home were not returned Monday night. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail slemon@mailtribune.com. Mail Tribune reporter Meg Landers contributed to this story. You can find this story online at: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2002/1231/local/stories/O41ocal.htm C©pyrigNt © Hail Tribune. Ail rights reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Pittinger, Beth [Beth. Pittinger@city. pittsbur§h.pa.u$] Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 8:56 AM To: 'NACOLE Update' Subject: [NACOLE Update] 12 year old boy shot by PA Trooper (Occurred in Uniontown, outside of Pittsburgh, on 12/24/02; boy was buried on 12/31/02) Police still mum en fatal shooting ef 12-year-old boy Attorney for boy's family says race may be an issue Saturday, December 28, 2002 By Jonathan D. Silver, Pest-Gazette Staff Writer An attorney representing the family of a 12-year-old black boy who was fatally shot in the back while being chased by state police in Uniontown suggested yesterday that a white trooper fired the fatal bullet after his black partner slipped on ice and accidentally discharged his weapon. "We understand that two troopers may have been involved with firing shots. It may be that a black trooper pursuing this child may have fired accidentally," said Pittsburgh civil rights attorney Joel Sansone, who has been retained by the family ef Hichael Ellerbe. "We believe, based en the facts we've been given, that a white trooper may have fired the fatal shot." Troopers have said the boy was shot Tuesday afternoon during a foot chase after he wrecked and then abandoned a stolen sport utility vehicle. State police declined te address Sansone's version ef events. Sansone's intimation is that the white trooper, a rookie named Samuel Nassan, discharged his gun directly in response to his partner's weapon going off. The partner, Juan Curry, has been a trooper for eight years. Sansone would not identify the source ef his information, and he did net speculate on whether the second trooper shot because he panicked, believed his partner had been hit or thought he was under fire. However, Sansone said his evidence indicates 1 that both troopers were running after the unarmed Ellerbe through a residential neighborhood with their guns drawn when the boy was brought down by a single shot. An autopsy showed that a bullet passed through Ellerbe's heart from back to front. "Why are these troopers' guns drawn? For what reason would they have those guns drawn against a child who is fleeing from them?" Sansone asked. "As we understand it, the boy was unarmed and shot in the back at close range." Sansone also suggested that the shooting had racial overtones. "Based on 20 years of experience, if this had been a white child running away from police, we would not have this problem." Sansone's comm~ents came during a news conference at Uniontown's Community Service Center. Sitting at a conference table, Sansone was flanked by Ellerbe's father~ Michael Hickenbottom, the boy's stepmother, an uncle, and two grandparents from New Jersey who had originally driven in to spend Christmas with the family. The family did not speak during the news conference. Hickenbottom maintained his composure until asked a question by one reporter about his son. His face contorted in grief, he was unable to answer. Ellerbe, who had three brothers, a sister and a stepsister, attended the New Directions school in Perryopolis. Sansone declined to give details about the boy's activities in the hours leading up to the shooting. "It was a normal day for a normal 12-year-old looking forward to his presents under a tree and looking for Santa Claus coming," Sansone said, "Michael was a loving son and a delightful child. On behalf of the family, I can say he was a spirited boy who loved life." A few hours earlier, the Fayette County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People met in the same room with reporters to express concerns about the incident and asked for contributions to help pay for Ellerbe's funeral. NAACP officials also said they may ask federal authorities to get involved. Later in the day at another news conference, Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon said she did not have a problem with the state police's internal affairs division conducting the investigation. 2 When asked, state police would not confirm that the bullet that killed Ellerbe was fired by a trooper, saying they were still awaiting forensic results and would not discuss the specifics of an ongoing investigation. Both Curry and Nassan have been put on desk duty for an indefinite time, which is standard procedure for troopers involved in a shooting. Top brass were coy about ruling out other suspects in the shooting and refused to release state police guidelines for troopers to draw their weapons. "This is a very serious situation," Vernon said. "We must be cognizant that police officers are forced to make split-second judgments in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving." Vernon then went on to give an example in which an officer uses deadly force in the belief that his partner is down. Vernon insisted the example was hypothetical and not necessarily pertinent to the Ellerbe case. Also yesterday, state police Capt. Roger Waters, the head of Troop B, which includes Uniontown, and barracks commander Lt. Harvey Cole Jr. -- both of whom are black -- met with Ellerbe's family to express sympathy. Waters said he did not apologize for the actions of Curry and Nassan, which brought a rebuke from Sansone. "I'm a little disappointed because the state police didn't even offer an apology other than to say they were sorry there was a loss of life," Sansone said. On the day of the shooting, Uniontown Police Chief Kyle Sneddon said his department was alerted by state police to be on the lookout for a stolen sport utility vehicle. According to state police, the vehicle was stolen from the Uniontown home of Wade Allen Friend Jr. on Dec. 24 between midnight and la.m. Later that day, the Uniontown police dispatcher received a 911 call from someone who had spotted the vehicle. Sneddon said his officers were dispatched but could not locate the vehicle, so they notified state police and called off the hunt. After that, Sneddon said, state troopers sent cars into the city and found the vehicle on their own. Uniontown police officers were not involved in the chase. 3 Sneddon said his officers did not get involved again until after Ellerbe had been shot around 2:30 p.m. in a back yard between Cleveland and Murray avenues. Sneddon said he and his officers rendered aid to Ellerbe, who was lying on his side, unconscious and clearly wounded. State police have declined to release a timeline of the chase or say whether there were other people in the sport utility vehicle with Ellerbe, who they claim was the driver. Sansone also would not speculate on whether there were others in the vehicle. He acknowledged that Ellerbe was inside, but would not say how the boy ended up there. "He never operated a vehicle prior to this, as far as we know," Sansone said. State police said the vehicle crashed into a house and a tree in an alley between Edgemont Drive and Propsect Street. Ellerbe then jumped out and ran. Ellerbe was shot after running down a broad driveway between two houses on Cleveland Avenue. People in the neighborhood said the boy managed to scale a iow fence before collapsing in a back yard. He died a short time later at Uniontown Hospital. Fayette County Coroner Phillip E. Reilly said Thursday that an autopsy showed that Ellerbe was shot in the back. Because the bullet was not recovered from Ellerbe's body, Reilly said he could not identify the gun from which it was fired. Reilly has scheduled an inquest on Jan. 29. Sansone said he was contemplating contacting the U.S. attorney's office to open an investigation, but so far has not done so. "The family is shocked at Michael's death," Sansone said. "There can be no explanation that we can conceive for him to die under these circumstances." Jonathan D. Silver can be reached at jsilver@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1962. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 4 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_a nderson@ear~hlin k. net Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 9:01 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phila PA - Edit: Officers' return is a sorry sequel Posted on Thu, Jan. 02, 2003 Monica Yant Kinney I Officers' return is a sorry sequel By Monica Yant Kinney Inquirer Columnist So you spent your holidays stuffing your face and singing carols. Big deal. Disgraced cops James J. Brady and Joseph J. DiLacqua spent theirs preparing for a triumphant return to the Philadelphia Police Department. Both were facing felony charges and now stand to get back pay. One may wind up with a big, fat promotion. Talk about Christmas miracles. Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson may not wear a red suit, but his gift of redemption and reinstatement was the work of an understanding, if reluctant, Santa. Sure, Johnson knew they wanted their jobs back more than a Harry Potter book or Chicken Dance Elmo. But he did not reward the big boys just for being nice all year. Johnson relented because he had no other choice. He knew they'd wind up back on the force anyway, after an arduous arbitration process that would cost time and money he'd rather spend fighting crime. Brady, the former golden-boy homicide chief who crashed his cop car after a night on a bar stool, could get his badge back within a week. DiLacqua was the loyal subordinate who investigators said choreographed the cover up. He hasn't yet asked to com~ back, but probably will soon. A real reality show From the start, after a rookie cop raised an eyebrow over the handling of Brady's 1998 accident, District Attorney Lynne Abraham smelled a stinker of a case. Perhaps because D.A.s generally prefer not to prosecute cops, the very folks they need to make cases in court. Perhaps because Abraham knew that all she had was a guy plowing a Plymouth into a parked car, injuring only himself and his reputation. No witnesses. No confession. No Breathalyzer test. Virtually no chance of a win. So she passed on prosecution. Years later, when ah6 had no choice but to try the case, she blamed the media. Sure enough, two judges saw what Abraham had: A woeful lack of evidence of anything beyond poor judgment and motor skills. ! Problem is, the only way Internal Affairs got to the bottom of the proverbial pint glass was by comparing the stories of Brady and DiLacqua - who spoke only under the threat of being fired. Solid sleuthing, but Abraham couldn't use their tall tales in court. No conspirators, no conspiracy. No case. No conviction. No conviction, no way to keep two career cops who got off the hook from getting back on the public payroll. Back in the saddle again Brady - a star on the force before he fell - reapplied on New Year's Eve. Johnson told my colleague Mark Fazlollah that we could start calling Brady Captain again within a week. DiLacqua is another story. He has the distinction of being one of the most investigated cops on the force, with six suspensions and two reprimands in a 25-year career. He's also a brain, earning the top score on the inspector's exam before he was arrested and fired last year. His lawyer has said DiLacqua wants to go back to work. Why wouldn't he? The captain could demand back pay and a promotion. Inspector DiLacqua has a nice ring to it, eh? James B. Jordan is a lawyer and the former integrity officer for the Police Department, where he monitored misconduct. He can't help but see mixed messages in this supposedly blessed event. To other would-be whistleblowers on the police force: Don't bother. To members of the Internal Affairs Department: Don't bother. You'll never find glory going after your own. To rank-and-file police officers: Your suspicions that commanders who break the rules get off easier than you would are probably correct. To the public: Your suspicions that cops who break the rules get off easier than you would are also correct. To the D.A.: Your fears that cops will blame you for some of this mess are probably right on the mark. "At the end of the day, it's stupidity compounded by stupidity," Jordan said, sighing. Not that Brady and DiLacqua should be applauded for their victory. The way Jordan sees it, "there are no winners here." Monica Yant Kinney writes Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at 856-779-3914 or myant@phillynews.com. 2 © 2001 inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.philly.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page I o£ 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 'i2:06 PM To: Update@NACOLE.or9 Subject: [NACOLE Update] Cities Look to NYPD Veterans for Help Cities Look to NYPD Veterans for Help By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN c The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - New York's former police commissioner is talking tough on gangs by day and chatting up the A-list by night as Los Angeles' new chief. His former deputy is taking over Miami's troubled department this week. From homicide-plagued Baltimore to suburban Newton, Mass., several cities have hired former NYPD brass in recent years to duplicate New York's fight against crime. The New Yorkers have met with qualified success - dashing, at times, with the culture of their transplanted homes, but helping drive down crime in many cases. "They just like to take the players from a winning team," said Edward Norris, an NYPD veteran who was named Baltimore's police commissioner two years ago. Recruiting from the NYPD is nothing new. But as violence and poor discipline bedevil large departments, politicians are turning from homegrown leaders to the small circle of cops who helped reduce crime in New York. "It's politically expedient to bring in somebody from the outside," said Edward Tully, former executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, who noted the intense pressure big-city mayors face over crime. "To relieve some of the heat, they bring in somebody who has a reputation for doing well in that kind of environment." Along with NYPD veterans, cities such as New Orleans, Philadelphia and Baltimore also have imported versions of Compstat, New York's innovative crime-mapping system that analyzes reams of data to focus enforcement on high-crime areas. Former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton is putting it in place in Los Angeles. The system was conceived by New York transit police Lt. Jack Maple, who rose to deputy commissioner under Bratton. Maple, Bratton and deputy John Timoney left after a fight witt~ Mayor Rudolph Giuliani over credit for New York's remarkable battle against crime, which has declined for more than a decade. "If I were running a police department, I'd certainly look to these kind of folks," said Michael Jacobson, a former New York corrections commissioner and a criminology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "They come from a very disciplined, data-driven department. The level of their sophistication is pretty unusual." Maple took his show on the road as a highly paid consultant for cities such as New Orleans, where he got credit for a headline-grabbing drop in crime. He died in 2001. Bratton took over the LAPD in October. He's pledged to change everything from gang enforcement to the high number of police chases, a staple of TV news. But gang violence remains high and some are skeptical Bratton's tough talk will change that. Bratton may have won praise in New York for his zero-tolerance approach to minor crimes, and intense focus on troubled neighborhoods, but such an approach is ill-suited to Los Angeles, said City Councilman Nate Holden. "What he did in New York he cannot do here," Holden said. "Angelenos have more compassion for the disadvantaged." Timoney, after serving four years as Philadelphia's police commissioner, takes the reins in Miami on Thursday. The Miami department has been recked by scandals: Eleven officers face trial on charges of planting guns, manipulating evidence or covering up crimes in a series of questionable shootings. Many in Florida are optimistic about Timoney, who won praise in Philadelphia for a deft political touch and a steady drop in homicides. 1/6/03 Page 2 of 2 Civil libertarians had fought previous Philadelphia police commissioners over discipline and racial profiling. Timoney trained officers not to question suspects on the basis of race, and he computerized police records, allowing better public scrutiny of the department. "Given the history of police commissioners in Philadelphia, we were very pleased," said Larry Frankel, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. In Newton, a Boston suburb, former New York police inspector Jose Cordero credits a drop in home burglaries and car break-ins to Compstat. And crime dropped more than 25 percent on the watch of Norris, a hard-driving, sharp-dressing former NYPD deputy commissioner. But a spate of high-profile killings in Baltimore, and Norris' personal use of an off-the-books department fund, also attracted notice. He agreed to pay back $6,000 to an expense account used for perks for himself and his staff, and recently announced his departure to head the Maryland state police. Norris said this week that he was least prepared by his time in New York for tensions between black and white Baltimoreans. "The racial politics are incredibly tough," he said. "It's still a very Southern town." 01/01/03 21:16 EST 1/6/03 Page 1 o£7 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 10:40 PM To: Update@NACOLEorg Subject: [NACOLE Update] NACOLE Keynote: Citizen Review of Police: 4 Dimensions of Value. Part 1 NACOLE Update Subscribers: As you requested, below is a copy of Professor Debra Livingston's important Keynote Speech from the NACOLE Conference. It is also available on our website, at NACOLE. org To those of you who work with oversight agencies, please consider using this paper in any of the foflowing ways: 1. Use it as a training£mformational document for your Boards, prospective Board members, media, Subject Departments, community leaders, general citizenry and students who are reseamhing citizen oversight; 2. address Prof Livingston's 4 dimensions of value in your Annual Reports, discussing how your oversight process provides them, or could provide them in the future. Happy New Year! We look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles next fall. Debra Livingston, Professor of Law, Columbia University, and Member of New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board Keynote Address: Citizen Review of Police Complaints: Four Critical Dimensions of Value Eighth Annual Conference of NACOLE Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA summary: With the growth of citizen participation in reviewing complaints about police, communities must recognize what value citizen oversight provides. Ms. Livingston defines four critical dimensions of oversight, explains their interdependence, and shows how they are being provided in the citizen oversight of New York City, the largest police force in the U.S. The dimensions are the following: Holding officers accountable for misconduct; 2. Keeping a record; recognizing complaints as vital sources of information about a department; 3. Identifying patterns and problems related to policies or supe~/ision rather than misconduct; and 4. Building pubfic trust and community cohesion through patient listening to all complaint parties, and letting them know they have been heard. Every citizen oversight body can assess ff it is clearly providing these components, educating its law enforcement agencies, its leaders, its media and the entire community regarding these dimensions. I'm happy to be here today and I'm extremely happy to have the opportunity to speak to you on the subject of citizen review and how we might get value from it. Why is that, you might ask? Well, we are at an interesting moment in the history of citizen review. Citizen review - meaning, broadly, the idea that citizens should participate in the administrative review of complaints about police conduct - was a highly controversial idea when the citizen review movement began in earnest in this country, back in the 1960s. As Professor Walker has documented, the concept was "dismissed as radical and dangerous by virtually everyone outside the civil rights and civil liberties communities."[1] That has changed Today, citizen review processes of one type or another can be found in about 80 percent of our largest cities. There are about 100 separate oversight agencies in this country and that number has been growing steadily for some time. J2] Citizen participation in complaint review, many scholars say, is becoming the norm in local policing. But at the same time, at the very moment that this is the case, there are those who are asking, "What can citizen review achieve? Can it accomplish all that reformers hoped it might? Can citizen review of complaints really do much to improve local policing and the relationship between communities and police?" "[T]here is a serious lack of research on the activities and effectiveness of oversight agencies," said Walker, the most consistent academic observer of citizen review mechanisms, just last year.[3] And "[t]he spread of citizen review," he said a few years earlier, "has not brought complete joy [to the people who advocated for it]. In fact, there is a pervasive uneasy feeling that citizen re view is not the panacea 1/6/03 Page 2 of 7 many expected it to be."[4] So there's a sense of success, and also a worry that success might elude us. You can see this with regard to my own agency, in New York. New York's CCRB is in many respects doing rather well. There's an effort afoot in New York to give the agency responsibility not only for investigating, but prosecuting substantiated cases. There's a growing recognition, in many places, that the agency has made big strides since it was established in 1993. The New York media has acknowledged this - at least on occasion. So has the City's Comptroller, who after a recent audit praised the agency for its progress, noting that "citizens can be assured that the CCRB is working diligently to ensure that complaints of police misconduct [are] handled res ponsibly." On the other hand, if you did a computer search of the New York newspapers for CCRB within 45 words of "ineffective," you would get more than a handful of hits - and not all of them would be all that dated. The agency certainly has its share of vocal critics. And some of them have raised disturbing questions. At the end of the day, is there any persuasive evidence that the New York CCRB has been an effective instrument for improving policing in New York? Is there evidence that it has helped to build positive police-community relations? So it's a time of success for citizen review, but maybe also a time in which we are taking stock, trying to ensure that success does not elude us. It's an interesting time, and an important time, to be thinking about this question, "How do we get value from citizen review?" So I'm going to talk about that today. And I'm going to talk about it from the perspective of New York's CCRB, with an eye to the general lessons that the New York experience might suggest. And I expect that I'm going to be calling on my New York colleagues for some help in all this, so I thought I might introduce them here. Or better yet, ask them to introduce themselves. FIo, do you want to start? FIo Finkle, Executive Director Ray Patterson, Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Communications Andrew Case, Member of the Research, Report Writing, and Communications Outreach Staff Here's the road map for the talk. First, I'm going to describe New York's citizen review agency, so you have a sense of how it compares with the citizen review process that you are most familiar with. Then I'm going to talk about four ways in which a citizen review mechanism might offer value - might contribute to the improvement of policing, and to the bettering of relations between communities and police. I'll talk a little bit about how New York City's CCRB has done, along each of these four dimensions of value. And I'll conclude by arguing that in order to get real value out of citizen review - at least in New York, and maybe elsewhere - there's a need to recognize all four aspects of value that I'm ident ifTing today. You can't focus on one to the exclusion of the other, because they are all mutually supportive.. Okay, that's the roadmap. Let me introduce New York's CCRB. New York's Civilian Complaint Review Board is a 13-member board, though it presently has only 12 members. Of these, five are appointed directly by the mayor; five are appointed by the mayor, but nominated by New York's City Council, one to represent each of New York's five boroughs, and three Board members are nominated by the Police Commissioner. Only the three Board members nominated by the Commissioner are permitted to have prior law enforcement experience (which in the statute creating the agency doesn't include prior service as a prosecutor, but does include prior service with the NYPD, or any other police agency). The law creating New York's CCRB specifies that appointments to the Board shall be made "so that the board's membership reflects the diversity of the city's population." The law professor in me can't resist pointing out -with a smile - that in New York, that means having only nine lawyers on a board of 12! We also have a college admissions director, a veteran - all sorts of capable and distinguished people. And we do have a diverse group of people, along race, ethnicity, and gender lines. Okay. New York's CCRB is charged with investigating citizen complaints made against NYPD officers and involving one of four things: use of force, discourtesy, offensive language (which is defined to mean some type of racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, or gender-based slur), or abuse of authority. Abuse of authority commonly includes things like improper street stops, retaliatory summonses, and unwarranted threats of arrest. And here you see an outline of the Board's jurisdiction. Now, the Board members themselves are part-timers. When the Board receives a complaint, it is actually investigated by our staff, which is composed entirely of civilian employees. As of June 30 of this year, the CCRB had on staff 173 full- time civilian employees. Of these about 125 were investigators of one type or another. CCRB has nine teams of 1/6/03 Page 3 of 7 investigators, each composed of over a dozen people. Each investigative team has supervisors. The lead supervisors for the teams generally have at least 15 years of law enforcement or other investigative experience and come from a range of agencies - like the IRS, the DEA, the INS, or a Federal Defenders Service. The line investigators, in contrast, are often recent college graduates, and this is sometimes their first job after college. As you might expect, we have relatively high turnover among this second group; many leave after two to four years for graduate education.. Again, however, I would characterize our staff as having a great deal of talent. As well as substantial legal authority. The agency is armed with subpoena power, and investigators can and do issue subpoenas in the course of an investigation, as necessary, to obtain documents and secure testimony. The Board reviews investigative files prepared by the staff and decides cases, generally in panels of three - one mayoral appointee, one City Council representative, and one Police Commissioner designee. Most of the time - the great majority of the time - the panels are unanimous. The Board's substantiated dispositions are forwarded to the Police Commissioner, usually with a recommendation regarding the level of discipline that the Board feels the officer should receive. The Commissioner retains the ultimate authority to impose discipline and to accept or reject Board recommendations. In terms of complaint activity, the agency generally receives about 4000 to 5000 complaints each year, about half of which are fully investigated. The remainder are closed as "truncated" - because a complainant chooses not to pursue the complaint or is unavailable, in most of these cases. Since its inception in 1993, the CCRB has substantiated between 8 and 14% of its fully investigated cases. The Board reaches an affirmative finding of some sort - substantiated, exonerated, or unfounded - in around 65% of the cases it fully investigates, with the rest being closed generally as unsubstantiated or officer unidentified. (What you see here are the dispositions most commonly used to close fully investigated cases.) Since 1993, the NYPD has come to accept CCRB substantiated findings and to impose discipline in substantiated cases at ever increasing rates, but still not invariably. The NYPD imposed discipline in over 75% of the cases that the CCRB substantiated in 2000, the most recent year for which we have fully reliable data. I can give you some specifics about the first six months of 2002, just to give you a flavor for our caseload. During that period, we received 2,265 complaints. We closed 2571. Of the complaints closed during this period, about 46% were fully investigated. Filly-two percent were truncated. From January to June, the CCRB substantiated 280 allegations of misconduct, distributed over 112 cases. More than half of these substantiated allegations involved abuse of authority - most commonly, allegations of improper frisk or search, or allegations that an officer refused properly to identify himself or herself upon request. The next most frequent type of substantiated allegation was use of unnecessary force. So that's a brief outline of New York's CCRB.. What about this question of value? This fiscal year, the CCRB's budget is just over $11.2 million. Now, that's a small fraction of the budget of the NYPD - which stood at $3.4 billion at the end of this last fiscal year. You have to remember that the NYPD is enormous - with well over 37,000 uniformed personnel. Our ratio of investigators to police personnel is actually quite large - about one CCRB investigator for every 310 officers. Still, with a budget of over $10 million, with a staff of highly dedicated and capable employees, and with an administration that supports and wants to see good results from citizen review, it's perfectly proper to ask what the City of New York gets for its money. And that brings us to the four dimensions of value that I alluded to at the start. What should we expect from citizen review? Number one. The first way in which a citizen review agency might offer value - might help improve policing and the relations between police and communities - is by holding officers to account for misconduct. This is the "holding officers to account" dimension of value. And it is certainly important, if you look at citizen review from an historical perspective. Citizen review was pushed by civil rights leaders in the 1950s and 1960s as one way of dealing with police abuse and the inattention of police departments to charges of abuse, particularly involving minority communities. The early argument for citizen review was an argument about police hostility to complaints and police bias in their investigation and disposition. Professor Walker has usefully described the argument that supported involving individuals who are not sworn officers in the processing of complaints.[5] Citizen involvement, the theory went, would improve the fairness with which complaints were handled. Fair treatment of complaints, it was also believed, would lead to more discipline of officers, and to greater deterrence of police misconduct. It's this aspect of value that New York's CCRB has emphasized the most, I think, since 1993. Our current executive director, and our preceding one, are both former prosecutors with sterling records. (They are used to holding people to account.) Each executive director has focused on assembling a staff of intelligent, capable, and committed investigators - investigators with the experience, drive and analytic capability to really investigate citizen complaints. And in the period 1/6/03 Page 4 of 7 since 1993, you can see the payoff, in our investigations. As I mentioned before, of the cases the agency investigates fully, over 65% are closed with an affirmative finding - substantiated, exonerated, unfounded. NYPD officials, high- ranking city officials, includ lng the mayor, and even media figures, on occasion, have publicly stated that CCRB investigations are thorough and complete - that Board investigations have integrity. Now, no one could argue that this is not important - that thorough complaint investigation for the purpose of identifying and punishing misconduct is not an important part of the value of citizen review. Indeed, for serious, but comparatively minor abuses of force - like an unnecessary punch leaving no permanent injury - the complaint review process may be the only process to which victims can turn. Same for unlawful searches - of cars, homes, and people on the street. Establishing high quality investigative practices was absolutely the first priority for our agency, once it came into being. And there was good reason for this. If police are to comply with both law and internal police policies, there must be a way of identifying those occasions when officers fail to do so. There must be accountability - and complaints are a vital part of the means by which we identify those officers who must be held to account. At the same time, though, an exclusive focus on this aspect of value is not, I think, the way to maximize the value of citizen review - to ensure that the citizen review process is contributing all it can to the improvement of policing and the bettering of relations between communities and police. Why is this? Well, first, as all of you know from your own experiences with the complaint process, not all complaints are well suited to the investigative paradigm. Some partake of legitimate misunderstandings, sometimes in ongoing relationships, between an officer and an individual. The question in these cases is not so much misconduct, as getting the parties to work out their problems. There are also limits on our ability to hold officers accountable. Many cases may involve minor rudeness or discourtesy on the officer's part, but conduct that is not extremely serious, and that will in any event be near impossible to prove - even assuming the full cooperation of the complainant. As one scholar has observed, "[M]ost police encounters occur under isolated conditions... [and] even the giving of a traffic citation on a crowded street is often unobserved."[6] The facts cannot always be determined in such encounters - whether they are investigated independently, by citizens, or by police. In fact, citizen review agencies have not necessarily substantiated more complaints than the inter nal police department procedures that preceded them. J7] I've said that New York's CCRB investigations are really top notch. But even with top notch investigation, there are many cases where the facts cannot be determined. The Board completed 2418 full investigations in 2000, for instance. In about a third of these cases, the Board came to no affirmative finding on any of the allegations in the complaint. Add to these the large percentage of truncated cases - about half of our caseload - where we make no factual determinations at all. If the value of citizen review flows entirely from holding individual officers to account so as to deter misconduct, the high percentage of cases in which we just can't tell whether misconduct occurred may be a problem. Are we getting enough accountability? Enough deterrence? Particularly in light of the fact that not every instance of police misconduct will become the subject of a complaint. In some contexts, very serious misconduct (even widespread police corruption) may not be reflected in complaints at all. This has certainly been the experience in New York. All this relates to a broader point. Holding officers to account through the after-the-fact investigation of complaints is only a part of the project of police reform. Efforts at improving police and improving the relations between police and communities ultimately involve change within the police organization. That's what community policing is all about! To paraphrase, police reform efforts will be most effective when the police organization itself is involved in the process and when change involves not simply adhering to rules in the face of punitive sanctions - not simply holding individual officers to account - but a change in the values and systems to which both managers and line officers adhere. J8] Okay. One might conclude from all I've said thus far that we should simply lower expectations for citizen review. The thorough and complete investigation of complaints is important. But we shouldn't be surprised that it isn't enough, at least in many circumstances, to fundamentally reform bad police departments, to enhance the quality of police services, or to improve the relations bet~veen communities and police. It's still important to hold individual officers to account where we know they have acted improperly. And that's enough of an aspiration for citizen review. I think, though, that we shouldn't let ourselves off the hook quite so easily - at least if our aspiration is to get all the value we can out of the complaint review process. Because the problem with the investigative paradigm as applied to citizen complaints is not simply that it, alone, may not be enough to deal with issues concerning police performance and the relations between communities and police. The problem with an exclusive focus on holding individual officers to account is that this approach does not maximize the value to be gotten out of looking at complaints. 1/6/03 Page 5 of 7 Let me say this slowly and distinctly. It is sometimes lawful police practices - not police misconduct - that can set a community or an individual at odds with the police. Think of those complaints that I alluded to already, involving legitimate misunderstandings between an officer and an individual in an ongoing relationship. Think about a perfectly proper no-knock warrant, signed by a judge on proper evidence, that happens to be executed at the home of an individual who is not involved in crime. Or a decision to place more officers in a high crime neighborhood, and to encourage them aggressively to police Iow-level infractions, regardless whether community residents support this style of policing. Such police practices can cause problems between communities and police, even in the absence of misconduct by any officer. And these problems will likely be reflected in citizen complaints - but not dealt with, if we focus exclusively on holding individual officers to account. Okay. So thorough and complete complaint investigation is extremely important, but does not maximize the value of citizen review. So how might we go about maximizing value? That brings us to the remaining three dimensions of value that I want to outline today. There are undoubtedly others, but I want to talk about these three today, just briefly, before I open it up. A citizen-involved review process can offer value by keeping a record, by noting patterns and problems, and by caring about the experiences of participants in the complaint review system. First, keeping a record. I said before that in the nature of things, there will be a significant number of complaints in which the facts cannot be determined definitively. Perhaps there was misconduct, but at the end of the day, the complaint will be closed as unsubstantiated. One of the ways in which a citizen review agency offers value (even in cases like this) is by keeping a record of this complaint - by ensuring that it remains on an officer's history, so that it is there - so that if it becomes one of a pattern of such complaints, the citizen review agency and the officer's supervisors are alerted to a problem. You all know this. That the existence of a complaint is an important piece of info~'mation, even if the facts of that complaint cannot be determined fully. Let me generalize a little from this common sense observation, to talk about how "keeping a record" is one way in which we might maximize value from citizen review. Complaints are a vital source of information about police conduct and the ways in which police and police practices are viewed in the broader community.[9] This is one proposition on which every scholar of the police - left, right, old, young - agrees. So if a citizen review agency wants to maximize its value to the people it serves, it should treat complaints this way - as a source of vital information. The complaint agency should seek to obtain as much information as possible out of the complaint system. And it should seek to ensure that the information in complaints is accessible, that it is used fully, to improve policing and to improve the relation between police and communities. In short, the complaint agency should "keep a record." How does it do this? First, a citizen review agency should be visible to the community. People in the community should know how and where to register their complaints. If complaints contain valuable information that can be used to improve policing, a complaint agency should be very interested in making sure that it is easy to make a complaint. Notice that this helps maximize the agency's ability to hold officers to account - even before you get to other aspects of value. Again citing Professor Walker, one clear benefit that can be claimed for citizen review processes, as opposed to internal complaint review processes, is that they make the complaint process more visible, often more accessible, and perhaps more legitimate - and so they tend to receive more complaints.[10] So even if the substantiation rate remains the same in a citizen-involved process, the overall discipline rate may well be higher.[11] But the information in complaints serves other purposes as well. It should become part of early warning systems, that use information from complaints, civil actions, stop and frisk records, and the like to try to identify problem officers and problem situations, before clear violations of law or policy have emerged.[12] 1/6/03 Page 6 of 7 Complaints can also signal organizational problems. Think about the complaint that I alluded to, of a type that many of you may have seen - the complaint of some homeowner whose home has been invaded by police and whose belongings have been ransacked pumuant to the legal authorization afforded by a no-knock search warrant. In a case like this, the officers who entered the home may have had probable cause that evidence would be found and reason to fear for their own safety if their presence was announced in advance. But the information on which they relied proved to be in error. Assuming that the officers acted with no unnecessary violence or disrespect, discipline in such a case would be inappropriate: no "rules" were broken and the individu al officers acted on the authority of a judge. But repeated complaints of this type could reflect serious managerial problems - like inadequate controls over the use of confidential informants or decisions to seek warrants. By keeping a record, the citizen review agency makes it possible for information like this to come to the surface, and be acted upon. In New York, complaints against a police officer can be made in the precincts, but also directly to CCRB. The agency has a 24-hour 800 number for lodging complaints - a number that is periodically featured in public service announcements on radio and television in the City. New York's CCRB has an active outreach unit, that conducts presentations at high schools and that places literature in hospitals. Since September 11, the unit has focused particular attention on the Islamic, Arabic, and South Asian populations in New York. Fie appeared on the Arabic Channel last summer. We have also had staff visit local mosques and Hindu temples. There's a natural tendency, I think, to think of all this as "window dressing" - as some other stuff the agency needs to do, in addition to its core task of investigating complaints. But once you start to look at complaints as sources of vital information, you realize how important visibility is to maximizing value from citizen review. You also realize that it's important to be able to use the information in complaints. That this information - whether complaints are substantiated or not - needs to be maintained in a user-friendly way, so that it can be accessed now and in the future, and for a variety of purposes. Say there is concern about the late night shift in one particular precinct in the City. Can we pull up the complaints received by everyone who has worked that shift for the last five years? Some of those complaints weren't fully investigated at the time, because the complainants opted not to pursue them. Did we get and maintain a reasonable amount of information from the complainants during their initial calls? Or think back to my no-knock warrant example. Can we pull up all complaints involving search warrants to see if there are other complaints, like this one? Could we pull together all the complaints in which officers have used a baton, to see if they reveal any training or supervision problems that need to be addressed? Many police departments - though certainly not all - look very carefully at incidents in which police officers have fired a weapon. But scholars who write about other types of force - like baton use or the discharge of pepper spray - often bemoan that incidents involving these types of force are not followed as closely by police. In New York, until CCRB recommended some changes to NYPD practice in the use of pepper spray, the NYPD kept no record at all of use of pepper spray, unless an arrest took place. In circumstances like this, the information in citizen complaints may constitute the most reliable - even the only available - information about significant police practices. For those of you from smaller agencies, dealing with smaller departments, information flow may occur with relative ease. You may not even have to think about how the information in complaints is managed and used. For CCRB, the management of the information in complaints is itself a major responsibility. Okay. The next aspect of value flows from the last. Citizen review agencies can maximize value by noting patterns and problems.[13] I said that citizen review agencies should ensure that the information in complaints is used to better policing and to improve relations between police and communities. Sometimes this boils down to alerting the police department and the community to patterns and problems that demand attention. New York's CCRB has done some of this, but not as much as some other places. We have semi-annual reports, and they seem to get better each year. We report on the basic things: what happens to our substantiated cases once they are sent to the Police Department; the nature of complaint activity, precinct by precinct. We provide comprehensive information about the age, race, ethnicity, and gender of both complainants and officers. We also routinely publish information about the nature of the complaints we receive. In addition, we've done some special reports. In 200t we published a major study on complaints involving stop and frisk. We've done two reports on the use of pepper spray and have made recommendations in this area that 1/6/03 Page 7 of 7 have been implemented by the NYPD. In the "no-knock" warrants area, we persuaded the NYPD to adopt a policy pursuant to which police help citizens fix their broken doors, before leaving the site where a no-knock warrant has been executed, but no contraband has been recovered. We also raised the visibility of warrants issued on erroneous information by informing the judges of our concern with the number of such cases that had found their way to CCRB. Continued in Email #2 1/6/03 Page 1 of 4 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 11:02 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NACOLE Keynote: Citizen Review of Police: 4 Dimensions of Value. Part 2 As our agency matures, I think it will be doing more of this business of noting patterns and problems. This is an area where our current structure, the NYPD's size, and also our independence from them, ironically, may work against us. We receive a lot of complaints each month, potentially involving hundreds of different commands. We are one centralized office, located in downtown Manhattan. We have no presence in the Bronx, in Staten Island, in Brooklyn, or in Queens. And no current police officers serve on CCRB, either as Board members or among our investigators. In practice, this means that our investigators and our Board don't necessarily read complaints with a lot of background understanding of local conditions in the City's 76 precinct s. We may know less than we should about the operations of the NYPD - making it more difficult to intervene to note problematic practices or patterns touching the many neighborhoods of New York. But as we mature, we are developing more sophisticated ways of reading complaints and noting relevant information. We are educating ourselves about police information keeping systems and police operations, so that we can recognize the significance of the problems presented in complaints. The academic in me feels strongly that this is something that needs to be done. Complaints alert us to cases where officers should be disciplined. But they can also shed light on broader organizational concerns. Let me give you just one illustration. I mentioned that New York's CCRB did a study last year on stop and frisk. The final report was based in large part on 641 fully investigated complaints involving the street stop of an individual. The report showed, among other things, that in over half of these complaints, the officer or officers involved failed to fill out a form that is required by the Police Department for such encounters. Now, the CCRB's jurisdiction doesn't extend to the failure to fill out internal NYPD forms, and this finding of widespread failure only emerged as a result of this study. But this illustrates, I think, how the information in complaints can shed light on broader police management issues - in this case, on line officers' failure to comply with an organizational policy designed in part to facilitate managerial control over stop and frisk. Okay. One last way in which a citizen review agency can offer value -can help improve policing and the relation between police and communities. The citizen review agency can offer value by caring about the experiences of participants in the complaint review process. What do I mean by this? There is a substantial amount of social science research that indicates that "encouraging and maintaining public trust in the character and motives of legal authorities" is an important way of ensuring that citizens want to abide by the law and want to cooperate with police and other law enforcement agencies. II4] It takes no great extrapolation from this work to argue that the manner in which complainants are treated within a complaint review process is important - important for complainants' view of police and the broader legal system and, ultimately, for their trust in these institutions. Complainants who perceive that they have been treated fairly and with respect are more likely to view the system, brea dly, as legitimate, and worthy of reciprocal respect. It's also important how police feel they have been treated. There's a simple reason for this. Police officers who feel that the disciplinary system is arbitrary and unfair are less likely to feel any commitment to the rules that this system seeks to enforce. I tell my students that much could be improved in the average complaint review process if the complaint agency borrowed some lessons from private industry. When Reebok gets a complaint about its sneakers (if Reebok wants to remain profitable) it's concerned to learn from that complaint, to improve the sneaker. It's also concerned that complainants, as a group, feel that the company has treated them well - that this is a company with which they want to continue to do business. These concerns are as important - in their case, more important - than holding individual Reebok emproyees to account for bad manufacturing practices. So what lessons does this hold for citizen review? Think about the substantial number of cases in which the facts can't be determined conclusively. A complainant says that the officer swore at her, provoking tears. The officer denies it, and we just can't tell. How do we deal with that complaint in a responsible way - in a way that might leave the complainant believing that she has been treated fairly and with respect, even though her com ~laint cannot be definitively resolved? Or 1/6/03 Page 2 of 4 take the case of the homeowner whose door was lawfully broken down by police pursuant to a no-knock warrant. It's not enough to say that no misconduct occurred - and to send that homeowner a letter saying the police action has been exonerated. How do we responsibly deal with that complaint, so that the complainant feels that his legitimate problem with the police department has been handled appropriately? Complainants need to understand, as they participate in the process, that their side of the story is being heard. They sometimes need to understand the limitations of fact-finding in processes like ours. They need to understand that even if their individual complaint is not substantiated, they have made a record which in itself is valuable to bettering police. And agencies need to provide complainants with the means of understanding the disposition of their complaints and offering feedback to the agency..[15] On the flip side, police should perceive that the process is thorough - even aggressive - but fair. We should afford both police and complainants timely resolution of their complaints. It has taken CCRB, on average, 279 days to complete a full investigation over the last five years. I'd like to see that number go down dramatically - not only because more timely investigations are more likely to be successful, but also because prompt investigations better serve the needs of both the complainant and the police. For those complaints that are really badly suited to the investigative process, we also need to offer alternatives. At CCRB, that means mediation. New York's CCRB is working very hard to develop and expand its ongoing mediation program. I think Board members have concluded that for a range of misconduct allegations, mediation offers a superior way to deal with complaints - a way that will enhance learning by the officer, and that will produce greater satisfaction on the part of both the complainant and the officer involved. We think of our program as very small and in need of nurturing - though in absolute terms, I'm told we now have one of the largest mediation programs of this kind in the country. Fifty-seven cases have been mediated successfully this year. We've brought 185 cases to the table, and have successfully mediated 176. What you see on the screen now are the categories of cases that we deem eligible for mediation. We have 27 trained mediators who conduct the mediations for us, for a small fee. I'll let Ray provide you with some more details during the question and answer period, if you're interested. But from what we've seen thus far, there seem to be relatively high levels of satisfaction among those complainants and police who have opted fo r this program - higher levels of satisfaction than we think exist among participants in the normal investigative process. Okay. So that's my pitch. To maximize value from citizen review, we should think deeply and clearly about at least four aspects of what we do: holding officers to account; keeping a record; noting patterns and problems; and caring about the experience of participants in the complaint review system. Historically, we have tended to focus on the first of these functions, and for good reason In a city like New York, with a large police department, the disciplinary system cannot be permitted to atrophy, lest discipline itself break down. Complaints are a big part of the disciplinary system. We have an obligation to do thorough and complete investigations for the purpose of identifying and rooting out misconduct. But at this moment in history - this moment when people are asking, "Just what can citizen review achieve?" - I think it would be wrong to focus too narrowly on holding individual officers to account - no matter how important this function might be. It is also vitally important that we use the information in complaints to improve the ways in which police offer services. It is extremely important that the complaint review system contribute, by its good operations, to the legitimacy of the broader criminal justice system - something that requires paying attention to the experiences of participants in the complaint review system, and to the way in which the citizen review mechanism is perceived in the broader community. At this moment in my personal history, as I contemplate finishing up my service on CCRB, it strikes me that all of you in this room have a challenging and exciting job to perform. You must have the skills of aggressive investigators (or the capability to oversee and provoke aggressive investigation by others). You need information management skills to ensure that the information in complaints is used, to the max. You need analytic skills, to notice patterns, to recognize problems. You need communication skills - to bring those problems and patterns to the attention of others. You even need empathy - if you are really interested in building relations between communities and police. Organizationally, that's a challenging group of skills to br lng together. But I think by bringing those skills to bear - and not one to the exclusion of others - you will help to maximize the value of citizen review and to secure its place in the history of police reform. Selected Bibliography David H. Bayley, Preface, in Complaints Against the Police (Andrew Goldsmith, ed., 1991); 1/6/03 Page 3 of 4 David H. Bayley (1983), "Accountability and Control of Police; Lessons for Britain," in Trevor Bennett (ed.), The Future of Policing, Cropwood Conference Series 15, Cambridge: University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology, pp. 146-62, reprinted in Robert Reiner (ed.), 2 Policing, AIdershot: Dartmouth, pp. 439-455 (1996); Paul Chevigny, Edge of the Knife: Police Violence in the Americas (1995); David Dixon, Law in Policing: Legal Regulation and Police Practices (1997); Herman Goldstein, Policing a Free Society (1977); Jerome Skolnick and James J. Fyfe, Above the Law (1993); Tom R. Tyler, Trust and Law Abidingness: A Proactive Model of Social Regulation, 81 B.U.L. Rev 361 (2001); Samuel Walker, Police Accountability (2001); Samuel Walker, Achieving Police Accountability, 3 Research Brief (Center on Crime, Communities~ and Culture, New York, New York), Sept. 1998. [1]Samuel Walker, Police Accountability 6 (2001). [2]See id. [3]Id. at 184. [4]Samuel Walker, Achieving Police Accountability, 3 Research Brief (Center on Crime, Communities & Culture, New York, New York), Sept. 1998, at 2. [5]Walker, supra note 1, at 55-56. [6]Herman Goldstein, Policing a Free Society 161 (1977). [7]See Walker, supra note 1, at 120. [8]See Jerome H. Skolnick & James J. Fyfe, Above the Law 187 (1993). See also David Dixon, Law in Policing: Legal Regulation and Police Practices 157, 308 (1997). [9]See Paul Chevigny, Edge of the Knife: Police Violence in the Americas 96 (1995). [10]Walker, supra note 1, at 123. [11]1d. [12]See Walker, supra note 1, at 111. See also Walker, supra note 4, at 7. [131For discussion along similar lines, see Walker, supra note 1, at 93, 104; Chevigny, supra note 13, at 97-98. 1/6/03 Page 4 of 4 [14]Tom R. Tyler, Trust and Law Abidingness: A Proactive Model of Social Regulation, 81 B.U.L. Rev. 361,362 (2001). [15]Professor Walker has argued this point very powerfully. See Walker, supra note 1 at 135. 1/6/03 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: hector.w.soto@phila.gov Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 7:57 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Men United praised for helping save young This Story has been sent to you by: hector.w.soto~phila.gov Men United praised for helping save young men True to their credo - "Let us use our arms to embrace each other, not erase each other!" The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time: http!//www.phlllz_com/mld/dailynews/news/local/4864641, btm {c) 2001 dailynews and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org 1/6/03 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 9:55 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] New Philadelphia OH - Twice-fired cop returned to force 1-3-03 Cimperman returns to Phila police: City officials undecided on appeal By BENJAMIN DUER, T-R Staff Writer A twice-fired former New Philadelphia police officer has won an arbitrator's ruling to return to the police force. The decision was delivered to city officials Dec. 24. David Cimperman, 38, also has retained his captain's position and officially will resume his duties Tuesday, police Chief Jeff Urban said Thursday. He was fired for the second time - for untruthful testimony in a drug-related case on Aug. 24, 2001, two weeks after an arbitrator ordered his reinstatement after a previous incident. As of Thursday, city officials had made no decision to appeal the latest arbitrator's decision. "Right now it's pretty much in the lawyer's hands," said Mayor Ronald Brodzinski. In addition to his job, Cimperman was awarded back pay and benefits from Aug. 22, 2001, to the present, minus overtime and income he earned elsewhere during that period. Brodzinski said the back pay was about $50,000. However, he said that amount could be reduced depending on the income Cimperman has earned since August 2001. Cimperman also will not need to be re-certified, Urban said. "I just got a letter today from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission and no, he does not," the chief said when asked if Cimperman required any certification. "They do not consider that a break in service." But Cimperman will work alongside a field training officer, Traffic Officer Aaron Fulton, until he becomes reacquainted with the department and is brought up to speed, Urban said. Cimperman's reinstatement has raised the number of police force personnel to 22 one more than allowed by city ordinance - which means another officer most likely will be dismissed. "It may very well mean that we have to reduce the size of the department - much to my disappointment," Urban said. When asked if he would support expansion of the department to keep the other officer, Brodzinski said he would not. "I really hate to lose anybody," the mayor said, "but at this time I don't think council or the administration would support (it) because of economic reasons." Urban said because Cimperman will retain his captain's rank and thus become the department's sixth - one more than allowed - one of the other captains will be demoted. 1 In July Cimperman pleaded no contest to a felony count of unauthorized use of telecommunications property in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court. Judge Edward O'Farrell ordered Cimperman to complete the court's diversion program, which is a way for first-time, non-violent offenders to avoid a felony conviction. It also allowed Cimperman to remain a peace officer. He was indicted in 2001 after being accused of illegally tampering with department radios between July 27 and Aug. 14, 2000, while he was a captain. The accusation, among others that later were dismissed, resulted in Cimperman's first dismissal. Brodzinski said it will be up to Cimperman to restore credibility with his colleagues, the public and the court system lost during the two-year saga. "If he handles it well, puts his nose to the grindstone and does his job, I'm sure as time goes by this lack of credibility will lessen," the mayor said. Urban said he does not anticipate a fallout between other officers and Cimperman, but he also said, "That's always hard to say. I cannot say 100 percent (there won't be). "But we have a good group of guys here that understand the situation, and I think we'll be fine. This is a very professional police department. We've come a long way in the last year." He also said cases handled by Cimperman will not receive more attention than other officers'. "That's almost discrimination," Urban said. "He'll come back as a supervisor, and he'll be doing the same work he's supposed to be doing. We're not going to scrutinize him any closer on his cases than anyone else." While city officials ponder appealing the arbitrator's ruling, Cimperman already has filed a lawsuit against the city and the police department in federal district court. Law Director Michael Johnson said the suit was filed in August, but the city just received notification of it this past month. He said Cimperman sought reinstatement and back pay wages - which the arbitrator has awarded - and damages. This page was created January 3, 2003 Copyright ©2003 The Times Reporter Have a question and/or comment about this site? E-mail the webmaster at: newsroom~timesreporter.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 9:58 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Maryland State Police Reach Deal On Profiling washingtonpost.com Maryland State Police Reach Deal On Profiling Agreement Targets Race-Based Searches By Jo Becker Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, January 3, 2003; Page A01 The Maryland State Police have reached a partial settlement in the nation's longest-running racial-profiling lawsuit, agreeing to far-reaching changes aimed at preventing troopers from singling out minority motorists for harassment. The agreement, developed over months of intense negotiations, comes a decade after the legal battle began with a Harvard University-educated public defender's refusal to consent to a police search. The class action filed in federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union now includes the Maryland chapter of the NAACP and scores of minority drivers who said they were victims of racial bias. The settlement will go before the state's Board of Public Works for approval next week, the board's final meeting before a new governor and state police superintendent take office. The deal includes $325,000 for the plaintiffs' attorney fees but does not include monetary damages. Those will be sought in separate lawsuits to be filed in the future, said William J. Mertens, the ACLU's lead outside counsel. In reaching the agreement, the state police did not admit to engaging in systematic racial profiling, though data have shown that Maryland troopers stop and search minority drivers at disproportionate rates. Mertens said the state police's agreement to abide by a federal court order to institute policy changes represents a significant step forward. "It requires that they make use of information they currently collect, identify red flags, investigate them further and take the appropriate action," Hertens said. " The problem has been that there was all this data gathered but nobody did anything about it: No one took any heat, no one paid attention." State Police Superintendent David B. Mitchell, who will step down when Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is sworn in as governor Jan. 15, was not available for comment. His spokesman, Lt. Bud Frank, said the agency "was not permitted to discuss this in any manner right now." Frank said most rank-and-file troopers are still in the dark about the partial settlement. Jim Wobbleton, president of the State Law Enforcement Officers Labor Alliance, was furious yesterday that the agreement was struck without the troopers' input. "I see a tremendous amount of problems with this," Wobbleton said. "You get frustrated as a police officer when you are just trying to do your job and you get accused of being racist." Particularly vexing is a requirement that the state police prepare a brochure on how to file racial-profiling complaints and make copies available to ! drivers, said Nick Paros, acting president of the Maryland Troopers Association. "When you are pulling people over, it's not the best of circumstances. You're usually writing them a ticket," said Paros, who learned of the settlement from a Washington Post reporter yesterday. "Now you are going to have to invite them to file a complaint against you for doing your job." Gary Thorpe, the assistant comptroller who reviews Board of Public Works agenda items, cast the settlement as a pragmatic one. "The courts have ruled against them. Sometimes it's a question of cutting your losses," Thorpe said. Ehrlich spokesman Paul E. Schurick said the incoming governor would reserve judgment on the consent decree. "We've just learned about this, too, and I believe it's best that we not comment until we have a chance to review it, assess how much it will cost to implement, and evaluate its potential effectiveness," Schurick said. The 20-page agreement would require that the brochure be stocked at rest stops, state police barracks and Motor Vehicle Administration offices. The agreement also calls for setting up an 800 number for complaints. Troopers would be required to keep copies of the brochure in their cars and to offer the information to any motorist ticketed unless the situation -- in keeping with preset standards -- made it impractical to do so. The state police would be required to provide training aimed at encouraging troopers to embrace the process. The state police also would have to develop what Mertens called an "early warning system" to identify trouble spots or officers. Management would be held responsible for reviewing data, and a system would be put in place to review videotape shot by troopers whose cars are equipped with cameras. A police-citizen panel would be established to hear police and citizen concerns about racial-profiling policies and make recommendations. When state troopers asked for consent to search cars, they would have to inform drivers that they have a right to refuse and have them waive that right in writing, a practice many troopers already follow. The legal battle began in May 1992 when Robert L. Wilkins was stopped in Cumberland while driving home from Chicago to the District. Wilkins, a defense lawyer, refused to consent to a police search, and he and relatives with him were held for almost an hour while a state trooper called in a police dog to sniff the car for drugs. Wilkins contended that the trooper stopped the car because his family is black. He contacted the ACLU and filed suit in 1993 in federal court in Baltimore. The state police quickly offered to settle for $50,000, but Wilkins held out for a promise that police would track traffic stops to determine whether troopers were targeting people for "driving while black." A settlement was signed in 1995, when Maryland troopers became the first major police agency forced to collect traffic data on racial profiling. When the figures were reviewed the next year, they suggested that troopers were disproportionately targeting blacks. In 1997, a federal judge found a "pattern and practice of discrimination." In 1998, the ACLU filed a new suit backed by testimony from 14 additional plaintiffs and more than 125 people allegedly victimized by racial profiling. A breakthrough in the legal dispute came in late October or early November, Mertens said. It took additional time to agree on attorneys' fees. "By the time we had the agreement together and signed, and there were some last-minute issues, it was too late to get it on agenda before the election," he said. One of the lead plaintiffs, Gary D. Rodwell of Philadelphia, said, "It got caught up in the elections, I think, because it has political and monetary ramifications." Wilkins said he was happy that at long last an agreement had been reached. "I've been involved with this for over 10 years now," he said. "I believe that this will help ensure that the state police enforce the law effectively but in a colorblind way." © 2003 The Washington Post Company Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 10:01 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Maryland - Police Abuse Suits Cost Pr. George's $7.9 Million washingtonpost.com Police Abuse Suits Cost Pr. George's $7.9 Million By Ruben Castaneda Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, January 3, 2003; Page A01 Prince George's County has paid $7.9 million in jury awards and out-of-court settlements since July 2000 in lawsuits alleging excessive force and other misconduct by police officers, County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) said yesterday. In announcing the figure, Johnson went beyond the requirements of a new Maryland law that forces Prince George's to disclose each year's total cost of out-of-court settlements in police misconduct lawsuits. Johnson, who campaigned for county executive on a promise to reform the county police force, released the total cost for a 2 1/2-year period and included the cost of jury awards. "I do not believe the [new] law went far enough," Johnson said in a statement. "I feel the public has a right to know the amount of money being spent on settlements and judgments on lawsuits filed against law enforcement officers." In Johnson's eight years as state's attorney before he was sworn in as county executive last month, his office prosecuted 11 police officers in seven cases for various types of alleged criminal wrongdoing, but it gained no convictions. Supporters of the officers accused Johnson of pursuing the cases for political gain, which he denied. Yesterday, he vowed to continue holding the police force to public account. "Full disclosure gives taxpayers a better picture of these costs," Johnson said. "I will put this information out this year, next year and the year after because the public has the right to know." The Prince George's police force has been a frequent target of brutality allegations. During the 1990s, the department led the nation in fatal shootings per officer, and a federal investigation of alleged systemic abuse by the department has been going on since 1999. The law requiring disclosure of the total cost of out-of-court settlements was written by state Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Prince George's} in response to concerns about the county's long-standing policy of secrecy in such lawsuits. Most police misconduct lawsuits allege excessive force, including beatings, shootings and canine bites. Jury awards in lawsuits are announced in open court. But out-of-court settlements often require that neither side disclose the terms. Such nondisclosure clauses usually are included in settlements at the behest of defendants. Under the administration of County Executive Wayne K. Curry (D}, lawyers for the county routinely required plaintiffs to agree in writing not to disclose the amount of money they were receiving. The agreements said payment could be withheld from people who violated the secrecy agreement. Curry's predecessor as county executive, Parris N. Glendening (D), had a similar policy. ! Johnson said he will not require plaintiffs in police misconduct cases to promise to keep their settlements secret. Advocates for county police reform and more accountability said they welcomed Johnson's disclosure and his new policy. "I think complete disclosure is necessary," said Edythe Flemings Hall, president of the county NAACP. The $7.9 million is "a staggering amount and a tremendous price for the county to have to pay," Flemings Hall said. "You know that money could have been put to better use. We could have hired many more officers, purchased better equipment, invested in more training." Anthony M. Walker, president of the union that represents most county police officers, said Johnson's policy will not affect the way officers do their jobs. But he said, "I think it will encourage more lawsuits" filed by lawyers "who will see the county as a cash cow." In releasing the amount of money that allegations of county police misconduct have cost taxpayers, Johnson did not itemize how much particular cases were settled for. Because confidentiality agreements negotiated by county lawyers under Curry are still in effect, Johnson said he could not provide such details. Since July 1, 2000, the county has paid $4.8 million to settle 63 lawsuits against the police department, said Jim Keary, Johnson's spokesman. During the same period, the county paid $3.1 million as a result of 12 jury verdicts, Keary said. Both figures include attorney's fees for the plaintiffs. Lawyers who have represented plaintiffs in police misconduct lawsuits said county attorneys were once reluctant to settle such cases, preferring to go to trial. But in recent years, the number of settlements has increased. In the two most recent fiscal years, county attorneys settled 42 misconduct lawsuits. From July 1 to this week, the county settled 21 such cases for $672,152, Keary said. Several jury awards and settlements account for a significant percentage of the total. In July 2001, according to sources familiar with the case, the county agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Jeffrey C. Gilbert. In 1995, Gilbert was severely beaten by county officers who considered him a suspect in the fatal shooting of a police officer. A murder charge against him was later dropped when a different suspect emerged. Of the $7.9 million that the county has paid in settlements and jury awards, about $400,000, or roughly 5 percent, stemmed from traffic accidents involving county officers, Keary said. © 2003 The Washington Post Company Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org 2 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 10:06 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Salt Lake City UT - SLC police sergeant demoted: Did he bilk the system or save lives? City Beat - January 2, 2003 White Out:SLC pelice sergeant demeted: Did he bilk the system er save lives? hy Kristy Davis Holiday hype of DUI crackdowns are as reliable as Sick Clark on New Year's Eve. But in spite ef the official promises, this year the Utah Legislature said less is more: Not a dime of the $10.6 million beer-tax money cellected in 2002 will go to lecal DUI enfercement. DUI Arrests are down for 2002, and budgetary pressures may be to blame. But some believe that the Salt Lake City pelice department brass are putting budgets ahead of public safety by making a scapegoat of ene officer who has dene a let to keep drunks off the roads. Former police Sgt. Scett White takes DUIs seriously. His mother once drove under the influence with his kids in the car, then two days later did it again--minus the kids--and wrecked her car in Hurray. She skipped town to avoid DUI prosecutien. So when White took over the Liberty patrol area graveyard shift in 2001, he turned it into a preactive squad. The result was net simply more DUI presecutiens, but saved lives. According te pelice department records, frem 2000 te 2001, 8UI arrests jumped almost 25 percent, from 1,144 to 1,424. In the same peried, DUI deaths in Utah drepped almest a third, from 90 to 61, according to the Deseret News. Not only did White and his squad bust a let ef people, they made a point of handing out hearing request forms to encourage offenders to show up in court and not skip tewn like Whitefs mom. But White's besses tell a different story. Te them he was a difficult employee trying te bilk the system. Host drunks drive at night, but judges don't keep those kind of hours. By making so many arrests, enceuraging court appearances and motivating others in his squad to do the same, White was spending a lot of overtime during the day in ceurt. When the department brass noticed that White had earned almost $25,000 in overtime in 2001, they suspected he was arresting drunk drivers, handing out hearing-appeal forms and having his guys de the same in erder to earn extra money. Officers Scott Gardiner and Hike Hatch, both subordinates in White's squad, earned $23,000 and $17,000 respectivel~all overtime earned in ceurt while prosecuting DUI cases. The budgetary math goes like this: Of White's 130 DUI-arrest cases in 2001, only three resulted in acquittals. If each guilty verdict resulted in the minimum DUI fine of $1,000, the city weuld have brought in $121,000. Ne one, except White's lawyer, weuld speak to City Weekly on the record for this story, which is largely breught to you by a yellow binder the size efa small child: It is the casehook containing the Police Department's Internal Affairs investigation ef White. That investigation resulted in Capt. Carroll Hays (White's superviser's boss) charging White with "engineering court time," as well as failing te fill out the proper forms when releasing drunk drivers to a third party and encouraging his officers to do the same. White's immediate superior, Lt. Bob Linton, also accused White of violating shift guidelines. Chief of Police Charles "Rick" Dinse eventually sustained some of the charges against White, including insubordination and failure to supervise. Dinse demoted White to patrolman. The insubordination part of Dinse's case relies upon his assertion that supervisors told White, more than once, to cut down on his DUI activity. The failure to supervise charge arose out of White's failure to have his squad fill out the proper forms when releasing a DUI offender to a third party. In the Civil Service appeal hearing that ensued, Dinse said that while he believed White to be a valuable member of the department, he didn't trust White to supervise other officers. "Following of orders and directions is paramount in law enforcement ... and is an officer's primary responsibility," Dinse said. White countered that no one ever told him he was doing anything wrong until two months after the investigation had begun. To demonstrate how White felt that he had received conflicting information, White's attorney Ed Brass pointed to Linton's shift guidelines, which said in part: "If something happens in front of you, you should take care of it" a green light not to ignore obvious DUI incidents. White also received praise from the chief. About the same time as Linton's guidelines came out, Dinse wrote a commendation letter praising White for his DUI activity. When White requested a clarification meeting with the chief, Dinse said he referred White to Assistant Chief William Shelton, who told White to concentrate on supervisory responsibilities. White maintains that he tried to speak with Linton regarding the DUI issue, but that Linton's responses were unclear. "He really wasn't insubordinate," Brass told City Weekly. "What he was being told was so vague that it was difficult to distinguish between someone discouraging him from doing something and someone ordering him not to do something." Brass is also concerned with the lack of progressive discipline apparent in White's personnel file, which contains 21 commendation letters and only one negative performance evaluation-written four months after the IA investigation had begun. As for the failure to issue proper release forms Dinse's only evidence of White's supervisory misconduct White admits he failed to fill them out and failed to ensure that others did so. But to White's subordinates, the release-form issue looks like a smoke screen. In the Internal Affairs investigation, Gardiner said that he hadn't used the forms for 10 to 12 years, and during that time, he had worked for seven different sergeants. In the same investigation, Hatch said that he had released people without filling out the form in front of Linton several times. "This is a policy that, while is clearly still in the books, seems to have lapsed," Brass said during the hearing. At the Civil Service hearing, no one in White's former squad testified against him, although many testified on his behalf. Officers are getting the message to cut back on traffic stops and arrests. DUI arrests are down. This year, since the IA investigation began in January, only 900 (through November) such arrests have been made, putting the department on a pace to make some 980 arrests for the year--down about 440 from the previous year. 2 Brass says there's another reason officers won't speak up publicly. "They'll get you," he told City Weekly. "While they may not come right out and fire you, certainly they have the ability to make your life miserable." Just ask White. He's waiting for a Civil Service Commission verdict that could make or break his career. Salt Lake City Weekly and slweekly.com ©1996-2002 Copperfield Publishing, Inc.. Ail rights reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 10:09 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: IN^COLE Update] Jacksonville FL -Family, officer still waiting for justice Posted on Fri, Jan. 03, 2003 Family, officer still waiting for justice Decades after slaying, new details arise By Ron Word THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JACKSONVILLE - A photograph of his mother's body in the morgue is a constant reminder for Shelton Chappell of her shooting death in 1964 during a period of racial unrest. The photo, published in Jet magazine, is the only picture Chappell has of Johnnie Mae Chappell, who was gunned down on March 23, 1964, while race riots rocked this Southern city. A jury found the killing of the black woman by a carload of white men was accidental. The shooter was convicted on a reduced charge of manslaughter. Three other suspects in the car were never tried. Until six years ago, when former sheriff's detective C. Lee Cody showed up at a Chappell family reunion, the family thought justice had been served. Cody, who had helped crack the case back in the 1960s that had gone unsolved for months, told the family a tale of police cover-up in Johnnie Mae Chappell's killing. He alleges the initial investigation was shoddy and that evidence, including the gun used in the ~illing, had disappeared from police custody. "We didn't know it was a cover-up," said Shelton Chappell, who was 4 months old when his mother was killed. 'Deep, dark, nasty story' Over the years, new investigations have led to whites being convicted of killing blacks in the 1960s. In a recent example, three men were tried in York, Pa., for the shotgun slaying in 1969 of a preacher's daughter, who was killed by a white mob. Two were convicted of second-degree murder and one was acquitted. The Johnnie Mae Chappell case could also get some new life after almost four decades of stubborn persistence by Cody. In response to a letter from Cody, President Bush recently asked the Justice Department to review the killing and the police investigation that followed. "It's a deep, dark, nasty story," said Cody, 72. Johnnie Mae Chappell, the mother of five boys and five girls, cleaned houses for wealthy white people. Her husband, Willie, worked two jobs to help put food on the table. The 35-year-old woman was walking along a Jacksonville road looking for her wallet, which had apparently fallen out of a grocery bag when she crossed paths with four young white men who were out cruising in a blue Plymouth. As the Plymouth drove by, a .22-caliber bullet fired by someone in the car tore into Johnnie Mae Chappell's stomach. "I've been shot," she screamed. "All she was trying to do was to raise her children and have a normal life," Shelton Chappell said. Time of turmoil At the time, Jacksonville, like many of the cities in the South, was embroiled in deadly racial turmoil, partially fueled by segregationist Mayor Hayden Burns, who was running for governor. As word of her death spread, cars and stores were burned and hundreds of blacks were arrested. From the beginning, the shooting death of a poor black housekeeper was not a high priority among Duval County deputies. After the initial investigation, no further action was taken for almost five months. But on Aug. 10, 1964, Cody and his partner, Donald R. Coleman, who were investigating an unrelated crime, were approached by a young man who said he knew something about Johnnie Mae Chappell's death. Under questioning, he acknowledged his involvement, and implicated his three friends. They were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. From the start, Cody and Coleman began running into roadblocks. First, they discovered that no one was investigating the case and then found the case file hidden under a desk chair pad. When they began pressing their superiors, they were transferred to another department and eventually fired in December 1965. Their work, however, resulted in a grand jury indictment on Sept. 25, 1964, charging J.W. Rich, Wayne Chessman, James Alex Davis and Elmer Kato with the killing. Rich was charged with firing the weapon that killed Johnnie Mae Chappell. The other three were charged with "aiding and abetting." After a one-day trial on Dec. 2, 1964, an all-white jury found Rich guilty of manslaughter. Neither the gun nor any other evidence was presented to the jury. Rich was paroled after serving three years of a 10-year sentence. On Jan. 18, 1965, the state dropped charges against the other three, citing "insufficient evidence." "I think it was just a bunch of boys horsing around at night," James P. Loos, one of the jurors, told reporters. "They were out harassing blacks and accidentally killed a woman." Attempts to reach the four were unsuccessful. There was no answer at one of the homes, another telephone had been disconnected, and current numbers for the other two men are not listed. "That trial was a legal buffoonery, a travesty of justice," said Cody, who added that detectives had obtained confessions from some of the men. A family reunites The murder tore the family apart. The children were scattered among foster homes and placed with relatives from Georgia to Miami. In 1996, Shelton Chappell worked to reunite his brothers and sisters. He announced the reunion in The Florida Times-Union. Cody also saw the 2 At the end of a memorial service at a local cemetery, he approached Shelton Chappell. Until then, Chappell had always thought that the police had done everything they could to bring their mother's killer to justice. They were told there are no existing police reports, no incident reports, and no crime scene photographs. The gun, which was recovered by Coleman and Cody, had disappeared from a police property room. Two years ago, on the 36th anniversary of the slaying, Johnnie Mae Chappell's nine surviving children filed a civil rights lawsuit, demanding accountability from the four men and the Sheriff's Office for their mother's death and hoping to expose what they now believe is the truth. None of the four men hired a lawyer to contest the lawsuit, but three of them wrote out their responses and filed them with the court. "There was not a conspiracy," Rich wrote. Chessman and Kato denied any wrongdoing. Suit to be heard this month The lawsuit was dismissed last December by U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger, who said the four-year statute of limitations had run out. Now on appeal with the llth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, it is scheduled to be heard in January. Earlier this year Cody wrote Bush, who promised the Justice Department review. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the department's civil rights division investigates thousands of cases of misconduct by law enforcement each year. The FBI generally begins the investigation and tries to determine whether a person's civil rights were violated, he said. Any evidence of violations is then taken to the Justice Department, which makes the decision of whether to prosecute. Jeff Westcott, an FBI spokesman in Jacksonville, would not confirm whether the bureau had started an investigation. Cody would like to see a grand jury investigation. Johnnie Mae Chappell was honored two years ago as a civil rights martyr by the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. Jacksonville, Shelton Chappell said, turned down a request to rename the street where the family lived in honor of his mother. "We have not gotten justice because of the color of our skin," he said. "They took everything I ever had from me." Everything but that tattered photograph of his mother in the morgue. © 2001 democrat and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. http://www.tallahassee.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 10:17 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Lawrenceburg IN - Cop faces hearing; possible dismissal Cop faces hearing; possible dismissal By Bill Robinson, Assistant Editor January 02, 2003 A Dearborn County Sheriff's Merit board hearing into whether deputy Michael D. Fogle should be dismissed from the department has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 7, and Wednesday, Jan. 8. The hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 18, but was continued at Fogle's request, said Sheriff Dave Wismann. The rescheduled hearing is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m. each day at the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center, 301 W. High St., Lawrenceburg. The departmental violation charges brought by Wismann allege Fogle committed official misconduct and sexual battery last March against a 15-year-old girl. Fogle's attorney, Jay Hoffman, Franklin, said Fogle has said from the beginning that the alleged violations never occurred. Fogle has been a member of the sheriff's department since 1995. The case was investigated in October by the Dearborn County grand jury. No indictment was returned. Before the grand jury considered the case, it was investigated by Indiana State Police. "We were told that if the grand jury took action and indicted him that the sheriff's department would seek Fogle's dismissal," said Hoffman. "We were also led to believe that if the grand jury did not indict that the witch-hunt would end there. However, that obviously hasn't happened because the grand jury has exonerated Fogle and the sheriff's department is still trying to dismiss him." Wismann contends Fogle committed official misconduct "by seeking and/or soliciting sexual favors and/or sexual gratification form a minor child (aged 15) in his custody while in his Dearborn County Sheriff's Department vehicle on or about March 19, 2002, in a matter that violates the laws of the State of Indiana." The allegations also contend that Fogle comsnitted "sexual battery' by "fondling and rudely touching" a minor child in his custody with the intent to arouse or satisfy his own sexual desires. The departmental charges contend that Fogle "knowingly committed" one or more other acts of misconduct in violation of merit board and department rules and regulations, including: malfeasance, conduct unbecoming an officer while on duty, violation of law, neglect of duty, violation of department rules and regulations regarding transportation of minor passengers, use of law enforcement authority for personal ends, and knowingly making false statements in his reports pertaining to the alleged March 19, violations. The charges also allege that on Nov. 22, Fogle refused to obey or cooperate with a direct order from the department's chief deputy to answer questions narrowly related to the alleged March 19 violations. Wismann contends Fogle impaired "the orderly operations" of the sheriff's department. He also contends Fogle subjected fellow officers to ridicule, and damaged the professional reputation of the department. ©Journal Press 2003 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org ! Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2003 12:47 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] 4 Police Lethal Force Incidents in NYC since New Years January 3, 2003 NYT Commissioner Calls 3 of 4 Recent Police Shootings Justified By SAMUEL KING iQ ew York City's police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, said today that three recent fatal shootings by police officers appeared to be justified and that investigators had not gathered enough information in a fourth shooting. Using charts, graphs and evidence culled from the scenes of the shootings, Commissioner Kelly presented the findings thus far of the police investigation during a news conference this afternoon at One Police Plaza. "In all of these cases, a final determination is a ways down the road," he said. "We will get as much information as we can and then we will decide whether discipline is warranted, or retraining or no action at all." Earlier today, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has appealed to the public to withhold judgment until the investigations are completed, called the shootings "a great tragedy." "The public has to be assured they are well protected, as do the police," the mayor said during his weekly appearance on WABC radio." Since the new year began, New York City police officers have shot and killed four people, three of them who officers said were suspected of being armed, and a fourth was killed after officers said he tried to flee in a stolen vehicle. "It appears that the first three shootings are justified," Commissioner Kelly said, "but this begins a lengthy investigation including presentations to the grand jury and our Firearms Review Board." "We do not have enough information to on the fourth shooting to make a determination, even preliminarily," he said. According to police records, there were 37 people shot by New York City police officers in 2002, including 12 fatalities. The first police shooting of this year occurred minutes into the New Year when police officials said that Jamal Nixon, 19, was shooting into the air outside a housing project in Brooklyn and was confronted by officers. The officers said they shouted at Mr. Nixon to put his gun down and he refused and then pointed the weapon at them. The officers fired five shots. In the second shooting on New Year's Day, which occurred about three hours later, three officers fired 18 times at Anthony Reid, 21, during a shootout outside a bar on Livonia Avenue in Brooklyn, 1/6/03 Page 2 of 2 the police said. The officers said that that Reid had been shooting at a car after he had been thrown out of the bar. The city's medical examiner ruled Thursday that both Mr. Nixon, who was hit by two bullets, and Mr. Reid, who was struck four times, died of gunshot wounds to the back. Commissioner Kelly said today that one possible explanation for the bullet wounds to the back was that both men might had been twisting and turning while being shot. At an earlier news conference today, the family of Mr. Nixon questioned the police version of the events leading up to his death because of the gunshot wounds to his back, and said that Mr. Nixon was the victim of excessive force. "Proper police procedure was not observed in the conduct of the officers involved," the family said in a statement. Councilman Charles Barren, who represents Brooklyn and has been a spokesman for Mr. Nixon's family, criticized officials who he said "have rushed to judgment calling this shooting justified before all the facts are in." Mr. Barren also questioned the police report on the case, the idea that Mr. Nixon went from celebrating the New Year at one moment to a confrontation with police the next moment. "How can he go from celebratory to suicide?" the councilman said. The third and fourth shooting both occurred on Thursday. Police officers shot and killed Alan Newsome, 17, in Harlem after they said he held what looked like a 9-millimeter pistol to the head of a detective. The pistol turned out to be a pellet gun. The incident began after police officers, one of them posing as a delivery man, went to Mr. Newsome's apartment as part of an investigation into the robberies of three fastfood delivery men since Saturday. The police responded after workers at a fastfood restaurant said that a man who sounded like the person who had ordered food to be delivered to that apartment building before the three robberies. In the fourth case, John Lagatutta was shot in Bensonhurst just about 6 p.m.Thursday, in what police said was a stolen minivan. Commissioner Kelly said the van, with Mr. Lagatutta behind the wheel, became stalled in traffic and an officer approached the vehicle and smashed the driver's side window with his pistol and the weapon discharged. The commissioner said that investigators are still trying to determine whether the shooting was accidental or intentional. 1/6/03 Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Sunday, Januar~ 05, 2003 12:53 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] St Louis Post Dispatch on Oversight Minneapolis' once-shining example of a civilian review board has bred opponents By JEREMY KOHLER 01/04/2003 NEWS: St. Louis' city and police officials expect to announce in the months to come the formation of a civilian review process to investigate complaints of police abuses. ANALYSIS: The process is expected to be similar in some ways to one formed a decade ago in Minneapolis - a system long held up as a national example. But that city's mayor drastically cut funding for the program last year and says it is ineffective, raising questions about the future of civilian review boards. MINNEAPOLIS - Empowering civilians to police the police seemed, to politicians here, the way to bring order to this city of frozen lakes and icy relations between cops and blacks. It started in 1989. The city seethed after an elderly black couple died in a fire during a police raid. And again when seven black college students at a party alleged that police used excessive force to arrest them for disorderly conduct. A year later, the Civilian Police Review Authority was born. The city council chartered it as an independent agency to investigate allegations of police misconduct - once the exclusive realm of police internal affairs investigators. "Finally there was some fairness," said longtime civil rights activist Ron Edwards. "Cops wouldn't be investigating themselves." In St. Louis, city and police officials expect to announce in the months to come a civilian review process that may be similar in some ways to that of Minneapolis, a city often cited as a national model. St. Louis would be one of the last major U.S. cities to enact some form of civilian oversight. In St. Louis County, a committee appointed by County Executive George R. "Buzz" Westfall and the County Council to examine police practices has rejected the idea of a citizens review board. Judging from the experiences of other cities, giving civilians the power to pass judgment on police is far from a panacea. Some cities, like New York, have backlogs of hundreds or even thousands of cases. In Cincinnati, the city struggles to persuade volunteers to sit on the board. Minneapolis seems a tragic case. Its vaunted review system has blown up just as one for St. Louis enters final planning. As in St. Louis, activists in Minneapolis hoped civilian review - which they had sought for three decades - would reduce what they perceived as incidents of police brutality by making cops answer to the people. And as in St. Louis, the police union feared public scrutiny would hamper their work. In fact, the opposite came to pass. Minneapolis' civilian panel actually sustained fewer misconduct allegations than the police internal affairs division. Meanwhile, clashes between police and the couununity escalated. In a twist, civilian review gradually lost popular support and police gradually warmed to 1 it. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak all but abolished civilian review in February, slashing its budget by two-thirds, deriding it as costly and ineffective. The agency now runs on bare bones and is no longer independent: Rybak moved it under the city's civil rights department. A committee of officials and city residents gathered throughout the year to develop a better system. "If it was working," said Rybak, a former police reporter for the Minneapolis Star- Tribune, the police "wouldn't have the behavior problems we're having." At the drawing board Exactly how public oversight would take shape in St. Louis is not yet clear. In St. Louis, the police already report to a five-member Police Board consisting of four civilians and the mayor. The board sets policy for the police, but does not handle civilian complaints. Police Chief Joe Mokwa, Police Board President Mark Smith, representatives for Mayor Francis Slay and city aldermen have held closed-door talks with guidance from a federal mediator and guest appearances by members of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression. Alderman Terry Kennedy, who in April introduced a police oversight bill to the Board of Aldermen, said negotiators have agreed on a seven-member civilian review authority - like that in Minneapolis - which would be independent from the police department and would not report to the Police Board. Creating an independent board could convince witnesses, who often hesitate to give statements to police, to come forward, he said. Sam Walker, a national expert in police oversight, said that's important. "Having a police (officer) on there would compromise the perception of independence," said Walker, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and coordinator of the Police Professionalism Initiative. By the same token, "You wouldn't want to have on there an attorney that has represented clients in civil rights cases. You want some people who are fair-minded and as neutral as you can find." But while the civilian review authority in Minneapolis once had a staff of five full-time investigators, a different plan is taking shape in St. Louis that is dictated by our city's unique political structure. In Minneapolis, the city council enacted an ordinance requiring police and other city employees to cooperate with the review board or be accused of misconduct. The board was not granted subpoena power, however, and was never able to compel people not employed by the city to testify. But Missouri law, which governs the St. Louis police, provides scant investigative power to civilians. Civilian investigators in St. Louis, therefore, would not have the power to compel anyone to testify - police or civilian - unless the state Legislature were to change the law. As a compromise, Slay and Mokwa have offered to allow civilian reviewers to monitor internal affairs officers' investigations, according to Kennedy and Jeff Rainford, Slay's chief of staff. Without much of an alternative, Kennedy and others pushing for oversight have agreed in principle. Kennedy ultimately hopes to build up statewide support to change Missouri law to allow the civilian review board to independently investigate police misconduct cases. In the interim, civilian reviewers would have access to police files to determine for themselves whether a complaint has merit. The board then could then recommend action to 2 the chief. Walker, the police accountability expert, said the civilian review proposal in St. Louis somewhat mirrors the one in Los Angeles, where an independent auditor monitors police internal affairs investigations. That system works well for L.A., he says, but requires a full-time professional staff. "If they're not talking about a paid, professional staff in St. Louis, then I think it's doomed to failure," Walker said. "I feel very strongly about that. This requires full-time work and someone who brings some experience to the job. "If people think they're going te get by en the cheap, then they're wrong," Walker said. Negotiators in St. Louis so far haven't agreed on who specifically - the mayor, the aldermen or the voters- would select the civilian reviewers. Rainford said Slay would seek to choose "reasonable-minded people" to sit on the civilian review board, those who are neither anti-police nor blind to the possibility that civilian complaints might have merit. Rainford said Slay thinks the police already do a good job investigating misconduct. Letting civilians watch might silence their critics. "We want people to feel good about the police department," Rainford said. "We want people to trust the police department." System under fire Civilian review certainly has not led to tra~quillity in Minneapolis, a city that enjoys a crime rate of half that of St. Louis, despite having a slightly larger population. What is perplexing about the demise of civilian review in Hinneapolis is that many who used the system seemed fairly satisfied. In 2000, 91 percent of officers coming before the civilian review authority felt that the outcome was fair. Just 49 percent of complainants felt the same way, but 83 percent said they had been treated with respect and 86 percent said they had a chance to tell their side of the story, surveys said. Walker says the Hinneapolis board simply failed to advertise its success. "When an oversight agency does a good job, it stays out of the news," Walker said. "They didn't see headlines or news so they thought it wasn't doing anything." For whatever reason, police-community relations in Hinneapolis are as strained today as they were in 1989. Black leaders are angry over several police-involved killings last year. About 100 people rioted en the city's north side in August after an officer accidentally shot a boy while serving a search warrant. Earlier this month, Hinneapolls city and police officials and activists held a closed-door meeting, the first of several planned, with a federal mediator. Hayor Rybak, among many critics of civilian review, says the review authority spent a let of money without getting results. Of the 1,373 signed civilian complaints against Hinneapolis police officers over the decade ended Dec. 31, 2000, the civilian review board sustained just under 5 percent - 68. Eighty-three others were mediated successfully. In its final full year, 2001, the civilian review authority spent $457,000. It fielded 114 complaints from the community and found probable cause te take action in four. All of the cases remain pending. "I'm sorry, but everyone in town knows we didn't have just four people a year getting beat up by the cops," said Hichelle Gross, founder of Communities United Against Police Brutality. Rybak agrees. If civilian review worked, the process would have identified "problem officers," he said. But with so few complaints sustained, it's hard to tell which officers to take action against, he said. 3 Robert Olson, who has been police chief in Minneapolis since March 1995, points out he has demoted and fired several officers. Internal affairs investigators still handle allegations made within the department for which officers could be criminally charged or fired; he estimates he's sustained more than a third of those. Despite the spate of police-involved shootings and the increased tension between the community and his 919 sworn officers, Olson isn't asking the rank and file to back down. On the contrary, Olson and Rybak hosted a series of meetings last month in which they promised to crack down on gangs. When il-year-old Tyesha Edwards was fatally shot Nov. 22 as she sat at her dining room table doing her homework, police logged more than 1,000 man-hours to solve the crime. Three men were behind bars four days later. The investigation opened a window into the pervasiveness of gangs, Olson told about 100 city residents gathered at an elementary school. "We're going to drive a truck through that window," he intoned to hearty applause. Olson had the support of John Turnipseed, a reformed black gang member and felon who now heads the Center for Fathering. Police need to be more aggressive to stop urban gangs, he said. "But let them make a mistake, we burn them at the stake," he said. Olson says tough police work is what the people want. "The city is safer than it has been in 30 years," he said. Indeed, Minneapolis had 1,716 assaults in 2001 compared to the 4,256 in St. Louis. And more people were murdered in 2001 in the city of St. Louis - population 350,000 - than in the entire state of Minnesota, population 5 million. Clear and convincing Critics of civilian oversight in Minneapolis say the authority's downfall was the high burden of proof - "clear and convincing" evidence - necessary to bring an allegation of misconduct to a hearing. Gross, the anti-brutality activist, said her group pushed for the authority to give some more leeway to complainants. Even investigators for the review authority were frustrated by the paltry number of cases sustained. "A lot of times it was the officer's word versus the complainant's word," said Robin Lolar, an investigator with the civilian review authority. "Without any strong evidence the case is not going to be heard. The burden of proof, the 'clear and convincing,' is too much. We'd like to change it to 'preponderance of evidence.' That way there would be more complaints that could be heard by the board." Daryl Lynn was one of the first investigators hired by the Minneapolis civilian review authority and later served as an appointed board member until he resigned recently. "People were saying it's no good," Lynn said. "It just takes one person who tells all their friends, 'Don't go to the (civilian review authority). They don't do a thing for you. They didn't do a thing for me and I had a good case.' "Maybe it's that we couldn't find the evidence. If you got a ruling from the (authority) that says we found no probable cause, it's not that we didn't believe you. We believed you, but we couldn't prove it. "People thought you could have a civilian review authority, that you could find police guilty of misconduct and you could get them fired. People were dissatisfied when that didn't occur." Reporter Jeremy Kohler covers crime and law enforcement for the Post-Dispatch. Reporter Jeremy Kohler: 4 E-mail: jkohler@post-dispatch.com Phone: 314-241-9435 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 12:56 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Mansfield OH- Editorial urges citizens to join Review Board Residents should join review board EDITORIAL Originally published Sunday, January 5, 2003 Newspaper Network of Central Ohio The Issue: Mansfield City Council members are having a hard time attracting volunteers to help design a citizen's police review board. Our Opinion: It's puzzling to hear Mansfield City Council members are having difficulty finding volunteers to help design a citizens' police review board. The formation of such a group has been the subject of debate in this community for at least two years. It even was the subject of a ballot issue defeated in November. Ail of this indicates some level of public interest -- enough that Mayor Lydia Reid announced before the election she was going to form such a board no matter what happened with the ballot issue. The mayor is keeping her promise -- but now no one wants to join the group that will help organize and structure it? The group the mayor and council are trying to put together would not be the board to review police activities. But it would be a task force that would determine how this board would be formed and operated. Each of the nine representatives of council is to appoint a voting member, while the mayor can select three nonvoting members. But Mike Hill, chairman of council's safety committee, said early last week he and other council representatives were having trouble finding residents interested in serving. No one was stepping forward, he said. The formation of this citizens' review board is important, not because we think there is a lot of misconduct in the police department, but because there is a need to draw the department closer to the community -- particularly minority segments of the community. We urge those who placed a review board on the November ballot and other residents to volunteer for this important task. There clearly are differing views on how such a board should be built and operated. The task force the city is putting together is the place where those differences should be discussed and resolved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@ear~hlink.net] Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 1:02 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Milwaukee WI - Ex-officer committed no crime Former officer committed no crime, prosecutor says By PETER MALLER pmaller@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: Jan. 3, 2003 Slinger - A village police officer who resigned from his job while being investigated by a special prosecutor "did nothing that remotely resembled misconduct in office," the prosecutor said Friday. Paul Bucher said his investigation found no factual basis for charging Richard A. Cohn with any crime related to his job performance with the Slinger Police Department. The event that prompted the investigation involved just "sloppy record-keeping in a case involving a stolen cell phone," said Bucher, who also is the Waukesha County district attorney. Cohn's "resignation, in my opinion, serves the ends of justice in this case," Bucher said, noting that he told Todd Martens, the Washington County district attorney who called for the investigation, that the case is closed. Martens decided to request appointment of a special prosecutor after reviewing an investigative report prepared by the Washington County Sheriff's Department. It called into question certain things that "Mr. Cohn did and did not do while on duty," Martens has said. Cohn, who was suspended from his job with pay in November, has an unpublished phone number and could not be reached for comment. Village officials have said they plan to make public the contents of Cohn's resignation agreement, approved by the Village Board last month, on Jan. 14. The latest episode marks Cohn's third problem with the Police Department in less than two years. He received a six-day suspension without pay following a tussle with a drunken driver in 2001. The problem developed after Cohn reportedly told an assistant district attorney that the driver, a Hales Corners man, had punched him in the face. Cohn later said that although the driver attacked him, he was never punched. A felony charge against the driver, battery to an officer, was dismissed. Martins said afterward he would not prosecute any other charges sought by Cohn without independent corroboration of the facts. In another disciplinary matter, Cohn faced a Police Commission hearing May 2 into allegations by village Police Chief Steven Braun of department rule violations involving alleged misappropriation of village property and disobeying a direct order. Cohn took a 90-day leave of absence the same day the hearing was to be held, and Braun dropped the case. Cohn said his temporary departure was just a coincidence, not part of a deal for the dropping of charges. That made the police chief so angry he considered bringing new proceedings against Cohn alleging violation of the settlement agreement. Braun said he changed his mind because he didn't want the village to have to pay legal fees. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 1:04 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Texas - More from Copwatch report Watchdog group rates local law enforcement By:HEATH HIXSON, Villager staff January 02, 2003 Lodging a complaint about police misconduct may be tougher in Montgomery County than other areas, according to a report recently released by Copwatch, a Houston-based anti-police brutality group. At least two different county law enforcement agency heads, however, questioned the group's findings, casting doubt about how the group conducted the survey of their agencies' response and said their departments respond promptly to allegations of officer misconduct. Copwatch, a nonprofit anti-police brutality group, recently released its findings from a monthlong investigation into how nearly 50 Houston-area law enforcement agencies respond to civilian complaints of police misconduct. In the report, the group rated the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, Conroe Police Department and Conroe Independent School District as agencies that barely passed or received a failing grade for their response to the group's request for information about how a person can file a complaint alleging police misconduct. Personnel agencies either said the forms were not available, a civilian must come to the department office to file the complaint or did not send Copwatch the information needed for a person to lodge a complaint. "In our opinion, that type of response is not the type that the public should be receiving," said Ernesto Aguilar, a Houston Copwatch spokesman. "If you walk into a restaurant and got that response, you would never come back. But with the police department, they are the only game in town, essentially." Copwatch sent a generic letter from a "John Smith" to the "Internal Affairs Department" of each agency. The letter had a Houston P.O. box as a return address. The group set up the box and used the fake name specifically for the survey. The letter requested a police misconduct complaint form and asked for it to be returned by Dec. 1. The group than called each agency Nov. 29, if the information had not been returned. And the group called once again Dec. 6 asking for the information, calling attention to the letter. No phone number was printed on the letter. The Conroe Police Department received an "F" for not providing information. Police Department personnel told a member of Copwatch a person would have to come to the department's office to file a complaint. Aguilar said this policy infringes on the ability of a person to file a complaint on his or her own terms. Conroe Police Chief John Lindon, however, said his department's policy is to require individual interviews with every complainant to help a person understand the legitimacy of a claim. "I imagine what it is, is that if they called and asked for a form to be sent to them. It wouldn't be sent to them, as a matter of a rule," Lindon said. "We police our own pretty well. We have to make contact with the individuals." Lindon said his department's policy helps cut down on claims that may not be legitimate, such as a dispute over whether an officer was justified in issuing a ticket to a person. And, he said, his department's policy of small interviews and one-on-one conduct helps analyze the problem. Additionally, he said, his department's policy would not allow anonymous complaints, unless certain circumstances warranted anonymity of the person making the claim. But he said the policy was in accordance with state law, which requires a signed complaint form. Aguilar said there should be no concern over the anonymous nature of a complaint. He said a person would become known once a form is filed. Montgomery County Sheriff Guy Williams said his department does have a defined complaint process that civilians are able to access. He questioned the report's findings. "I think we have a very excellent Internal Affairs investigative team," Williams said. "We find a lot of people do not really want to file a report, they just want to get it off their chest. We look into every single complaint, maybe not as timely as people would like." The Sheriff's Department received a "D" for sending some information to file a complaint, but it failed to include all the information needed for a civilian to complete a misconduct allegation through the mail, according to Copwatch findings. Although a Sheriff's deputy did send Copwatch a letter about the complaint form request and an affidavit for the complaint, the group still said it wanted more information. Aguilar said the department should have provided information on how to file a complaint and a actual complaint form. Williams said the affidavit serves as a complaint form and what constitutes a complaint form is in the "eye of the beholder." The Conroe Independent School District Police Department received an "F" in the report. The group alleges a CISD employee was unsure who dealt with such complaints. CISD officials were unavailable for comment. Williams and Lindon said their departments previously received high marks from a similar investigation done in 2001 by The Police Complaint Center, a Florida-based nonprofit group that does hidden-camera investigations for national news media and trains police on matters of racial discrimination, police brutality and police complaints. Diop Kamau, executive director of the center, said the Conroe Police Department rated very high on the group's test and department personnel were very helpful. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Department performance on the center's survey was unavailable. Nonetheless, Williams also called attention to the time period that the Copwatch survey was conducted. He said the Thanksgiving Day holiday period might have contributed to the lack of quick response from his department and others. Aguilar, though, said the Copwatch report shows a larger problem of police departments not having a clear policy when it comes to citizen complaints. He said a uniform policy was needed in the state and in the area. "If you have to file a complaint in Galveston County, Harris County or Montgomery County, depending upon the agency, you might be treated differently," Aguilar said. Copwatch's grading scale for the survey was: * A grade of A is designated for departments that promptly returned a complaint form and enclosed a letter acknowledging the request. * A grade of B is designated for departments that promptly returned a complaint form and a designation, such as a business card or Post-it, but not a letter acknowledging the request. * A grade of C is designated for departments that returned a complaint form but did not enclose a letter acknowledging the request. * A grade of D is designated for departments that enclosed a brochure or material on the complaint process, but did not include a form. * A grade of F is designated for departments that denied the request for a form, either after the initial letter or after receiving a certified letter, or that ignored the initial request as well as a certified letter requesting a form. Fifty greater Houston area law enforcement officers were contacted for the survey. Copwatch reported more than half of the agencies failed to meet minimum standards for public requests for complaint forms. The Texas Department of Public Safety, Harris County Sheriff's Department and Houston ISD Police Department each received an "F" and the Houston Police Department a "C." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 8:14 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Corruption Trial Set for 11 Miami Cops Corruption Trial Set for 11 Miami Cops By CATHERINE WILSON c The Associated Press MIAMI (AP) - The late 1990s in Miami was marked by high violent crime rates, with roving gangs that stalked tourists, but prosecutors say the violence also included acts committed by the police. Based on information from two retired officers who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in September 2001, 11 other officers were indicted on federal corruption charges alleging cover-ups in four police shootings in which three men were killed. The 11 were scheduled to go on trial Monday on charges of planting guns, manipulating evidence or covering up crimes by others in a series of questionable shootings. The two who pleaded guilty are slated as the prosecution's star witnesses. The case was the city's worst police scandal since the 1980s, when the so-called "Miami River Cops" stole cocaine from drug traffickers and sold the drug themselves. More than 100 officers were arrested, fired or disciplined in that case. "The history of Miami has been characterized by ugly police-community relations," said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. "There is a loss of confidence, if not outright hostility, by the minority community because of the great number of shootings of typically unarmed black young men." Miami is not alone. In Los Angeles, about 100 criminal cases were overturned after investigators heard allegations of police abuses in the police department's Rampart Division that included evidence tampering, unjustified shootings and thefts. The numbers of police shootings in New York City have declined markedly but have been highlighted by cases such as the 1999 death of immigrant Amadou Diallo, shot 19 times by four white officers when he reached for his wallet. The four Miami shootings involved the deaths of three black men and the wounding of a fourth, plus one in which a man escaped injury. In all of the cases, prosecutors say, guns were planted to make it look as if the three robbery suspects, a drug suspect and a homeless man were armed. An attorney for two of the indicted officers said the shootings were justified. "The justifiable use of force and deadly force laws have been in existence for years," said attorney Richard Sharpstein. "All of these shootings were well within those parameters." The federal trial is expected to last three to five months. No state charges were filed. In the past, police killings in Miami have intensified already strained race relations in a city beset by political corruption, economic woes and other problems. The deaths of black and Hispanic men and the subsequent acquittals of officers triggered riots or smaller street clashes six times from 1980 to 1995. Voters have approved a civilian oversight board for the police and members are about to be named. Police Chief Raul Martinez created stricter procedures for the use of deadly force by officers, allowing them to fire their weapons only when facing an imminent deadly threat, but some community leaders said he didn't go far enough. Martinez quit in November and former Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney took over the department. 1/6/03 Page 2 of 2 Brad Brown, president of the Miami-Dade County chapter of the NAACP, blames the shootings on a mentality among some officers that they're above the law. "Once you start stepping over the line on what's acceptable, it's only a little bit further and they become involved in the criminality themselves," Brown said. 0'1/05/03 18:51 EST 1/6/03 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 6:20 AM To: update@nacore.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] King rll Speaks on police brutality Monday, January 6, 2003 King speaks out on 'police brutality' The Associated Press LOUISVILLE - Martin Luther King III visited this Ohio river town for the second time since a handcuffed black man was fatally shot by police last month. Almost 35 years after his father was killed, Mr. King said Saturday that much more progress is needed in the area of civil rights before the nation can do more than just "observe" his father's birthday. "We cannot celebrate when police officers - some - are treating citizens the way that the citizens of Louisville, the citizens of Cincinnati and even in my community of Atlanta, and all over this nation are being treated," said Mr. King, son of the late civil-rights leader. "In 2003 we're still talking about police brutality and misconduct." Mr. King, who heads the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, spoke at the Justice Resource Center's 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Service. It was Mr. King's second visit in less than a month. Last month, he took part in a demonstration outside police headquarters to protest the Dec. 5 shooting death of James Taylor, who was shot 11 times by a police detective. Police say Mr. Taylor, who had his hands cuffed behind his back at the time, was threatening two detectives with a box-cutter-type knife. He was the fifth black man to be fatally shot by Louisville police since 2000. Mr. King attended another protest outside police headquarters Saturday before the Justice Resource Center event. He is one of several national civil-rights activists, including the Rev. A1 Sharpton, who have visited the city and spoken out against Mr. Taylor's shooting. During his speech at First Congregational Methodist Church, Mr. King commended local activists for their efforts to end police brutality through nonviolent demonstrations and a boycott of local businesses. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 08, 2003 9:28 AM To: update@nacore,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Baytown TX - Editorial on Torres Investigation Torres investigation By Wanda Garner Cash The Baytown Sun Published January 05, 2003 The U.S. Department of Justice will not pursue federal charges against the Baytown police officers who were implicated when Luis Torres died last January. The FBI report repeats findings of the grand jury and investigations by the Baytown police department and the district attorney's office that cleared the officers of wrongdoing. Now that the criminal investigation is officially over, we hope the cor0munity can begin to heal. While we do not believe racism caused Torres' death, we do believe his death increased our community's awareness of the sad reality of the lingering remnants of racism in our society. Perhaps we have learned something that will unify us. Since Torres' death a year ago, the incident has been painted with racial undertones. It divided our com/nunity, causing tension and hostility as citizens marched and rallied protesting police brutality and irresponsiveness and judicial inequity for minorities. Police stopped Torres, a Mexican national who lived in Baytown, on Jan. 20, 2002. The incident, ending with his death, was recorded on a dash-mounted video camera in a police patrol car at the scene. The medical examiner's autopsy report labeled it a homicide, saying Torres suffocated from force applied to his throat. In the angry days that followed release of the videotape, autopsy report and the grand jury's later decision not to indict the officers, community members leveled harsh accusations against the police and judicial system. They said Torres' death was part of an established pattern of unnecessary force against minorities and just one more example that cops could get away with murder. An emotional tide of racist rhetoric continued and in July the dead man's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the policemen, the police chief and the city. While state and federal authorities gave the standard "no comment" to the allegations, Baytown city leaders and police officials responded positively, first by authorizing the internal affairs review and then by meeting with concerned citizens. Throughout the year, the mayor and police chief continued to meet with groups and individuals and began the process of establishing a police advisory committee to improve communication between police and the co~unity. Not everyone is convinced that such a committee will help. But it is a beginning and it is also a pledge that our leaders place equal value on the health and safety of all Baytown residents. We can hold them accountable to follow through in good faith. Today's editorial was written by Wanda Garner Cash, editor and publisher of The Baytown Sun, on behalf of the newspaper's editorial board. http://baytownsun.com/story.lasso?WCD=10171 1 Copyright © 2003 Baytown Sun Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 9:35 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Riverside CA: City Considers Deal w Fired Cops [in Tyisha Miller Death] http://www, latimes.com/news/Ioca!/la-me-riverside6ja n 06001441,0,3210104.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia Deal Considered With Fired Officers Fatal police shooting in 1998 divided Riverside. The possibility of a settlement is still a matter of controversy. By Paul Pringle LA Times Staff Writer January 6 2003 RIVERSIDE -- The criminal investigations have run their course, the grieving family has received a $3-million setUement and the Police Department has adopted state-mandated reforms. Civic leaders say it is finally time for Riverside to move on from the racially divisive tragedy of Tyisha Miller, the young black woman shot to death by four white police officers in December 1998. Moving on may entail a concession that few could have foreseen in the turbulent aftermath of Miller's death. The city is considering paying settlements to the former officers, who were fired for their conduct in the shooting. The four have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, most recently by the U.S. Justice Department. They are pressing numerous lawsuits and disability claims against the city, demanding reinstatement with back pay or, at minimum, immediate pensions. All are in their late 20s or early 30s. The city continues to fight them in court filings, but it is also in settlement talks with their lawyers. The City Council already has offered two of the former officers, Wayne Stewart and Michael Alagna, $2,000 a month, tax- free, for life. "It's so bizarre," said school teacher Bill Peterson, 47, who was eating a pizza lunch in an outdoor mall across from Riverside's historic Mission Inn. "The city needed to fire the cops to keep the lid on.... But maybe it's time to make them whole and let them get on with their lives." There is disagreement about that. To many people here, especially African Americans, the Miller shooting was Riverside's Rodney G. King scandal and O.J. Simpson case rolled into one. Black activists wanted the officers tried for murder. They led weekly demonstrations in the months after the shooting. The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton flew in to join the protests. And when the city fired the officers in 1999 and paid the $3 million to Miller's family the following year, the assignment of blame was apparent. Now, some say, giving money to the former officers would leave the impression that they were victims as well. "They shouldn't get any money," said Howard Smith, 48, a black security guard in Rubidoux, the neighborhood where Miller lived. He was watching a Stater Bros. parking lot. "People are still too upset. They want to see justice served. Those cops should just go away." Preacher and body shop owner Bernell Butler, Miller's second cousin, served as the family spokesman after the shooting. "Why should the city give these guys any money for killing this girl?" he said outside his Rubidoux shop. Inside, Miller's high school prom photograph hung on a wall. "The cops belong in jail," Butler said, his eyes tearing. 1/6/03 Page 2 of 3 The matter of a possible settlement with the former officers is plainly sensitive at City Hall. Several calls to Mayor Ron Loveridge and City Council members went unreturned. Police Chief Russ Leach also did not respond to requests for interviews. City Atty. Gregory Priamos would not discuss the legal disputes in detail. "We're talking," he said, referring to the settlement negotiations. On Dec. 28, 1998, shortly after 2 a.m., Stewart, Alagna, Paul Bugar and Daniel Hotard fired 24 rounds at Miller, hitting her with half of them. They had found her sleeping in a locked car at a gas station, a handgun in her lap. After failing to rouse her by shaking the car and shouting, they decided to break a window to grab the gun. Miller, 19, woke with a start as the glass shattered. The officers shot her because, they said later, she appeared to be going for her gun. The officers were fired on grounds that they had employed dangerous tactics. Their sergeant also was fired. Last month, the U.S. Justice Department declined to prosecute the former officers, citing a lack of evidence that they had behaved criminally. Similar conclusions had been reached earlier by the Riverside County district attorney and California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer. Lockyer's office did order the Police Department to impose a range of reforms to improve the training and supervision of officers. The measures are spelled out in a consent decree. The Police Department's labor union embraced the decree, but its leadership is convinced that the fired officers got railroaded. "They didn't do anything wrong," said Patrick McCartney, president of the Riverside Police Officers' Assn. After the firings, many of the association's members shaved their heads in a show of support for the four. The former officers declined through their attorneys to be interviewed. Their lawsuits allege that they were fired because of their race. "The city gives medals of valor" for "the same kind of thing these guys did," said Bill Hadden, an attorney for Stewart and Alagna. Hadden's clients rejected the pension offers because the terms would have classified them as psychologically disabled. "These guys are not psychologically disabled," Hadden said. The city has denied pension applications by Bugar and Hotard, who were probationary employees. Last year, an arbitrator who reviewed the Stewart and Alagna firings found that the Miller shooting had not been racially motivated, that the former officers had made only minor and "understandable" mistakes and that their terminations had been "an abuse of administrative discretion" by then-Police Chief Jerry Carroll. The arbitrator, Robert Steinberg of Culver City, ruled that Stewart and Alagna must be placed back on the payroll, but that the city would be free to fire them six months later. Steinberg wrote that the city would have difficulty rehiring them permanently because blacks and other minorities "may not be so understanding or forgiving" of them. The city is appealing the decision to reinstate Stewart and Alagna even temporarily. The former officers also are appealing. Hadden called Steinberg's sprit verdict "incomprehensible." He accused the arbitrator of overstepping his bounds in considering the reaction of African Americans. Steinberg said in an interview that, because of the threat of racial discord, he came up with an "untraditional remedy" for Stewart and Alagna -- one that would keep them out of the Police Department even if their firings were unjust. Hotard and Bugar did not qualify for arbitration because they were on probation. They are pursuing reinstatement or cash settlements through their lawsuits. Stewart has started a home-improvement business and Alagna is working in security, Hadden said. A lawyer for Hotard and Bugar would not discuss their lawsuits or anything else about them. 1/6/03 Page 3 of 3 The fired sergeant, Greg Preece, the senior officer at the shooting scene, won reinstatement through arbitration, although with a demotion and 30-day suspension. The city is appealing his reinstatement. Preece remains off the force and is appealing the demotion and suspension, Priamos said. Preece could not be reached, and his lawyer did not return phone calls. At the place where the Miller tragedy unfolded -- a brightly lighted Unocal 76 station on Brockton Avenue -- clerk Lucky Tran said he had no opinion on whether the city should settle with the former officers. "1 don't know how it all escalated, but it's sad," said Tran, 32. He looked out the cashier's window to the shadowed spot where Miller died, near the coin-operated tire pump. "It's sad for both sides." 1/6/03 Page 1 of 10 Marian Karr From: Iris. Jones@ci.austin.tx. us Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 9:37 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] 3 Police officers still in hospital, two in critical condition 3 officers still in hospital, two in critical condition By Ihosvani Rodriguez San Antonio Express-News Web Posted: 01/05/2003 12:00 AM Three of the four San Antonio police officers wounded during a shootout at a Northeast Side diner remained hospitalized late Saturday, one communicating only through notes, another with nods of his head. More coverage The fourth, Detective John Bocko, 34, was released from · Ex:girlfriend say~ ~ack~[ 'snapped' University Hospital on Saturday. · Police cadets taught how to win these · Parole system blamed in aftermath Officer Nathan Murray, 33, could be released from University as early as today. The other two, Officer David Evans, 51, and the police rookie lauded as a hero, 22-year-old Michael Mufiiz, were still listed in critical condition at Brooke Army Medical Center, but hospital officials said their conditions seemed to be improving steadily. Of the four, Evans seemed to be in the gravest condition. A hospital official said Evans has been slipping in and out of heavy sedation and has been able to communicate with family members and doctors only during short intervals, mostly by nodding his head. "He does know what happened and understands what's going on," said Norma Guerra, chief public affairs officer at Brooke Army Medical Center. "He still has a long way to go, though." Evans underwent hours of surgery to repair three gunshot wounds that pierced his elbow, chest, and abdomen. In a nearby bed, Mufiiz woke up early Saturday and has been alert and awake. Mufiiz was credited with putting an end to the violence by shooting and killing gunman Jamie Lichtenwalter, who collapsed and died on top of Mufiiz. Mufiiz sustained four gunshot wounds to his jaw, neck, left thigh, upper chest and right buttock. Still attached to tubes and a ventilator to help him breathe, he has not been able to speak. Instead, friends and family members spent much of the day exchanging notes. Among his visitors was a high 1/6/03 Page 2 of 10 school chum who wrote that he was worried about him. Mufiiz "sent him back a note that said, 'Don't worry about me. I am not going to die. I am too good-looking,'" the hospital spokeswoman said. "The fi'iend wrote back, 'Have you seen yourself in a mirror yet?'" Late Saturday, a woman at Bocko's home in Helotes emerged just long enough to say he didn't want to talk to the media. She then went back inside. Earlier, Bocko's mother, Betty Weinman, said she had spoken to her son Friday night but was asked by police officials not to ask him about the gunfight. Bocko had a bullet graze his back and was severely beaten by Lichtenwalter, who broke the detective's jaw and eye-socket with his fist and the butt of a police service pistol, the mother said. "We talked about everything but the shooting and we were joking around," Weinman said. "He looks pretty beat up. He still needs some surgery done, but it's going to be done as an outpatient." Murray, after undergoing extensive surgery for the gunshot wound to his face, was upgraded to fair but guarded condition, officials said. His family spent most of Saturday by his University Hospital bedside and could not be reached for comment. irodrig~express-news, net 01/05/2003 Click here to return Police cadets are supposed to learn how to win these By John Tedesco San Antonio Express-News Web Posted: 01/05/2003 12:00 AM Instructors at the San Antonio police academy preach about the dangers of people like Jamie Lichtenwalter. I~ photo ! San Antonio Police Department Chaplains James Carey (left) and Richard Hobbs (second from left) speak with police officers and other officials outside University Hospital. Joshua Trujillo/Express-News More coverage · Ex-girlfHen d says attacker !snapped' · 3 officers sti!! in hospital, two cri!ica! 1/6/03 Page 3 of 10 · Parole system blamed in aftermath type of attacker cadets are lectured about, a violent man who could grab an officer's gun and turn it against poli Early Friday morning, Lichtenwalter was no abstract assailant. After an argument with his ex-girlfriend at a Northeast Side restaurant, he fought a San Antonio police detective and three officers. In less than five minutes, the policemen were nearly killed with their own .40-caliber Glock pistols in a nightmarish firefight that Police Chief Albert Ortiz compared to the OK Corral. For one man to brutalize four policemen and successfully disarm two officers seems unbelievable, especially tc the department's own. Police cadets practice protecting their firearms, and officers are issued holsters with multiple safety locks. "If you had told me before today that something like this could happen in San Antonio, I wouldn't have believe it," said Rene Rodriguez, president of the police union. The San Antonio Police Department announced it plans to review its training procedures, even as police officia defended the program. "That's a very big part of police training, gun retention," said Sgt. Gabriel Trevino, a police spokesman. "It's extremely important." Police say Lichtenwalter shot Officer Nathan Murray in the cheek, with the bullet exiting through Murray's jaw Officer David Evans was shot in the arm, stomach and chest. Detective John Bocko was grazed by a bullet and severely beaten. And Officer Michael Mufiiz suffered bullet wounds to his neck, chest, buttock and thigh. Lichtenwalter finally was killed in an exchange of desperate, close-range gunfire with Mufiiz, who had graduat from the police academy five months ago. Trevino said he wasn't going to play "Monday morning quarterback" and second-guess the actions of the four policemen, nor would his public information office allow the San Antonio Express-News to interview personnt the department's training academy. Trevino said the newspaper was creating controversy by asking questions about how the department's training program works and how the violent circumstances unfolded Friday morning. What is clear from the police version of events is four officers walked into a deadly situation for which they ha, spent countless hours training, and they almost didn't survive. A violent struggle Like most police calls, the situation early Friday looked routine on the surface. Evans, 51, and Bocko, 34, arrived at a Denny's on Northeast Loop 410 where Lichtenwalter had been arguing x his girlfriend and another man. They could tell Lichtenwalter, 26, liked to lift weights. They didn't know about his rap sheet. In March 1993, when he was 16, Lichtenwalter opened fire on a group of teenagers standing outside a food ma: 1/6/03 Page 4 of 10 in Universal City. A bullet lodged in the base of the skull of Edward Lee Escobedo, 18, who was paralyzed and died several years later. Lichtenwalter was convicted of attempted murder and given a 12-year sentence. He was released on parole in July 2001, after serving seven years in prison. Liehtenwalter got jobs as a bouncer at local topless bars and in March began dating a performer, Julie Housos, 20, of New Braunfels. Early Friday morning, Lichtenwalter was in the parking lot at Far West Rodeo, keeping tabs on his on-again, off-again girlfriend. She walked out with a female friend and another man. Jealous, Lichtenwalter trailed them when they drove off, but he lost them in traffic He called Housos on her cell phone, saying he lost the keys to his parents' house, where he lived, and told her to come see him. When she arrived, Lichtenwalter brandished a shotgun and demanded to see the man from the country- western club. She drove him to the Denny's on Loop 410. Lichtenwalter left the shotgun in the car and walked into the restaurant with Housos to confront the stranger. She asked the Denny's manager to call police, who were dispatched at 3:30 a.m. Three minutes later, Bocko and Evans arrived. Domestic disputes are among the most dangerous calls officers respond to. Although the setting was a restaurant and the couple wasn't married, emotions can still run high. "Preservation of the peace in family disturbances is perhaps the most sensitive area of law enforcement and presents the greatest challenge and risk to officers," states the department's procedure manual, which has six pages devoted to domestic disputes. "To be effective, officers must not only be cautious, but also be firm in their actions and courteous as well as tactful in their manner," according to the manual. A surveillance video in the restaurant shows Bocko entering the diner, followed by Evans about a minute later, according to police. "The suspect greets Evans at the door," Trevino said. "You know, like, 'Hey, what's going on?' It looks like they talk to each other for a minute." They walk out of the camera's view. According to the police chronology of events, Bocko and Evans appeared to defuse the quarrel within minutes in the restaurant. Appearing calm, Lichtenwalter handed over the car keys and officers allowed him to leave. As he turned to go, Housos whispered that her boyfriend might have a gun. Suddenly, Lichtenwalter spun and hit Bocko, who fell to the ground with a broken jaw. The bodybuilder pounced on Evans and the two men struggled near the restaurant's cash register, within view of the security camera. The video shows Lichtenwalter subduing Evans, who joined the force in December 1977 and until recently had been assigned to the department's traffic control unit. 1/6/03 Page 5 of 10 Lichtenwalter appears to grab Evans' gun, stand over the grounded officer and shoot him at least three times with the Glock pistol, Trevino said. Lichtenwalter turns and fires shots across the restaurant, apparently at Bocko. An officer-in-trouble call went out at 3:36 a.m., three minutes after Bocko and Evans arrived. Holsters and training Police said the security video does not reveal whether Evans had pulled his gun or if Lichtenwalter managed to grab it from the officer's holster. Such situations can quickly turn deadly, and San Antonio officers are trained to deal with assailants who grab their weapon. In the academy, each cadet must hold off colleagues who attempt to snatch a holstered firearm. Such drills have been staged for at least 15 years, Trevino said, and weapon retention is periodically taught in annual refresher courses that all police officers are required to attend. The Police Department requires applicants to pass physical tests to become cadets. For example, under the current standards men younger than 29 must be able to do 26 push-ups within a minute. "Those standards are just to get you (into the academy)," said Jerry Clancy, a retired president of the police union who believes training requirements have grown more stringent over the years. "After you're there, you have to do a hell of a lot more." Once on the force, officers are encouraged -- but not required -- to maintain good physical condition. Rodriguez said a proposed union contract with the city includes a clause that offers 3-5 days of administrative leave to officers if they pass fitness tests. Despite Evans' age, Rodriguez said, the stocky officer was no slouch. "David Evans is actually a pretty tough cookie," Rodriguez said. "He's 51 years old, but David is one heck of a police officer. He's a pretty big guy, and he has a good way with people." The department issues modem police holsters that have evolved beyond the simple one-button strap that keeps firearms in place. The holsters have special locking mechanisms and straps that require training to operate. Different models are available from the maker, Safariland Ltd, including the new Raptor style that is billed by the company as "the safest holster ever made." The Police Department uses "Level III" holsters, which means three steps must be taken to remove the firearm. With practice, an officer can learn to quickly draw the weapon. The gun locks into place as soon as the officer re-holsters it. But while many police departments use modern holsters, they aren't foolproof, and other jurisdictions rely on simpler holsters that are easier to foil. Experts say losing a gun to an attacker is still all too common. "It happens a lot," said Deputy Chief Craig Campbell, who oversees the curriculum for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement in Austin. "We have over 60,000 peace officers in Texas. If they're all carrying guns and 1/6/03 Page 6 of 10 they're talking to people every day, the potential's always there." Lichtenwalter fired at Evans at close range. The officer was shot in the arm, stomach and right chest. Department procedures recommend but don't require officers to wear bulletproof vests. Evans had opted not to wear his. Other victims A stunned Bocko had gotten up and begun wandering the restaurant in a daze. Police say Lichtenwalter emptied the rest of his clip shooting at Bocko, then beat and pistol-whipped the detective, incapacitating him, as Evans stumbled outside to get help. In the parking lot, backup officers Murray and Mufiiz encountered Evans and tended to him, while inside Lichtenwalter was probably grabbing Bocko's weapon, police say. "You definitely want to make a clear threat assessment first," Rodriguez said of the officers who arrived later. "You can sit there and say you should do this, this and this first. Fact of the matter is, they saw their fellow officer hurt. I don't see how anybody could hold that against them." The restaurant video shows Lichtenwalter's girlfriend running outside, followed quickly by the man who was with her. A firefight erupted in the parking lot. Both backup officers were hit -- Murray in the face, Mufiiz in the neck, chest, buttock and thigh. Mufiiz, a rookie, pulled his Glock and exchanged fire with Lichtenwalter, who was only a few feet away. The gunman collapsed on top of Mufiiz, who was too weak from his injuries to move. Lichtenwalter died there. With empty shells and casualties scattered on the ground, the parking lot looked like a small war zone. Chief Ortiz described the fight as an ambush by an attacker whom officers "weren't quite prepared" to deal with. Police instructors will review the Denny's security video to review the academy's policies, Ortiz said. In hindsight, will it be a video that teaches officers what not to do? Rodriguez, the union president, saw one lesson in the carnage: The officer who stopped the violent gunman was Mufiiz, a rookie who had only his guts and training to guide him. "With his lack of experience, the training that was freshly engraved in his mind had to kick in," Rodriguez said. jtedesco~express-news, net Slaff Writer Elaine Aradillas contributed to this report 01/05/2003 1/6/03 Page 7 of 10 Click here to return Ex-girlfriend says attacker must have 'snapped' By Lisa Sandberg San Antonio Express-News Web Posted: 01/05/2003 12:00 AM She thinks he lost his mind. More coverage That's the only explanation Julie Housos can offer to account for · 3 officers still in hospital, two cdtica! her ex-boyfriend's rampage that had her looking into the barrel of a · Police cadets taught how to win these shotgun and left four San Antonio police officers with bullet · Parole system b!amed in aftermath wounds. Jamie Lichtenwalter must have snapped, Housos said, because he wasn't prone to jealous outbursts. it's as good an explanation as any. And it has helped this shell-shocked 20-year-old exotic dancer restore some sense to a life that has been turned wrong side up. "He wasn't violent," she said. "He wasn't jealous. He never put his hand on me. He wasn't like that." Until he abducted her at gunpoint early Friday morning and fomed her to drive to the Northeast Side Denny's, where he turned his fury against the officers, she had no indication of the extent of his jealous rage. Now, she feels bewildering grief, but not anger. Though she considers herself lucky to be alive, she still can't be angry with the man she knows as James "because it wasn't James," she said. "It wasn't the man I know." Though fearful of any publicity, Housos agreed to be interviewed Saturday in an attempt to dispel the image of Lichtenwalter as a cold-blooded felon. Looking fragile, pale and at times visibly nervous, the petite dancer spoke of her grief over Lichtenwalter's death and the discomfort at being a central character in a bloody attack on police officers who were coming to her aid. "Will you thank them for me?" she asked in a barely audible voice while nursing a Dr Pepper at a McDonald's by her house north of San Antonio. She paused, and added: "Thank them for saving my life, not for killing James." Housos said she met the muscular Lichtenwalter at a topless club in San Antonio in March 2002, eight months after he was paroled on an attempted-murder conviction. He was a bouncer, she a dancer. The two hit it off and began dating right away. It was great for the first few months, she said. The two enjoyed 1/6/03 Page 8 of 10 going to the movies and often went out on the town with friends. By July, the couple began fighting about "petty stuff," she said, and from there she described the relationship as a "rough" one that was on-again, off-again. Though she was reluctant to reveal their specific conflicts, Housos said Lichtenwalter had no problem with her working in a topless club and did not inquire about her past or present boyfriends. "It's just one of those things we didn't discuss," she said. As for his felony record -- Lichtenwalter served seven years of a 12-year sentence for gunning down Edward Escobedo, 18, rendering him a quadriplegic -- Housos said it wasn't an issue. He told her of his past several months into their relationship, she said. "When you fall for someone, you can't change your feelings because someone made a mistake when they were 16," Housos said. Thursday night began normally enough, Housos said. It was her day off and she went dancing at the Far West Rodeo with two friends, a man and a woman. When the dance hall closed, the trio headed to Denny's for an early breakfast. Housos later would learn Lichtenwalter had seen her with the pair at the club and shadowed them as they drove to the diner. After Lichtenwalter headed back to the house he shared with his parents in eastern Bexar County, he called Housos on her cell phone and asked her to come deliver a house key. When she arrived, Housos knew something was amiss. The front door was ajar and the lights were out. Tiptoeing inside, she called ont to Lichtenwalter. He responded from somewhere inside the darkened house. She asked him to come to where she could see him. He emerged from the shadows carrying a shotgun. He pressed it to her chest. "I thought I was going to die," she recalled, near tears. "He threw me on the couch and told me to tell him about what was going on or he was going to kill me. He said I was lying to him and I better tell him the truth." He ordered her into her car and he got in the front passenger seat. He said he wanted to meet the man she was with. So they drove to Denny's. Contrary to police speculation, Housos doesn't believe Lichtenwalter overheard her telling a police officer her ex-boyfriend was armed, and so she can't imagine what set him off. But she did remember Lichtenwalter's frequent assertions that he would never again be returned to prison. Housos is not sure if she could have done something to prevent the attack on the officers and wonders if she is in some way to blame. Police have said they do not consider Housos an accomplice in Friday's shootings. She said Lichtenwalter's mother, in a telephone conversation Friday night, blamed her for Lichtenwalter's death, saying he snapped when she told the officers he was armed. Housos broke down recalling the conversation. 1/6/03 Page 9 of 10 Attempts to contact Lichtenwalter's family were unsuccessful Saturday. For now, Housos said she is planning to leave town as soon as possible. "I don't want to talk. I don't want pictures taken of me," Housos said, her voice for once solid and determined. "I want to go where people don't know everything." lsandberg~express-news, net 01/05/2003 Click here to return Parole system blamed in aftermath of gunbattle By Elaine Aradillas San Antonio Express-News Web Posted: 01/05/2003 12:00 AM The ex-convict who brought down four officers before he was fatally shot in front of a Denny's restaurant early Friday served seven years ora 12-year sentence on an attempted murder conviction -- and his early release on parole is bringing strong condemnation from law enforcers and victims. More coverage Jamie Lichtenwalter was released from prison in July 2001 after · 3 officers still in hospital, two critical serving more than half his sentence, a standard practice in Texas for · Police cadets taught how to win these inmates who earn "good time" for their behavior behind bars. · Ex-girlfriend says attacker'snapped' But San Antonio Police Chief Albert Ortiz, in the hours after Lichtenwalter wounded four of his officers, cast blame on the parole board for putting him back on the streets before his sentence was completed. Ortiz called such parole "ridiculous" and "reprehensible." Recent state legislation requires prisoners convicted of aggravated crimes to serve at least half their terms before they're eligible for parole. Before the law changed in the mid-1990s, criminals had to serve only a quarter of their sentences. Margaret Espinoza said a man who killed her 23-year-old daughter in a July 1992 drive-by shooting was released from prison after serving only four years of a 20-year sentence. 1/6/03 Page 10 of 10 "I have no respect for the parole board," said Espinoza, director of the victims support group Parents of Murdered Children. "They turn the real killers loose without thinking about the victims." Officials representing the prison system said the laws were followed. Mac Stringfellow, chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, said his department acts as a keeper and watches over the rules established by the Board of Pardons and Paroles. "We're the supervisors. We make sure they adhere to the rules or provisions of their parole," he said. Under conditions of his parole, Lichtenwalter was required to pay restitution, meet each month with his parole officer and keep a job. He was employed as a bouncer at a Northeast Side gentlemen's club, which he reported to his parole officer, officials said. Texas prison officials said the specific terms of Lichtenwalter's parole did not preclude him from working in topless clubs where alcohol is served. "While it might not be the type of job we'd like parolees to have, at least (Lichtenwalter) was working," Texas prison spokesman Larry Todd said. earadillas~express-news, net Staff' Writer Lisa Sandberg contributed to this report. 01/05/2003 Click here to return *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders 1/6/03 Page 1 of 1 file://C:\TEMP\ATT344230.jpg 1/6/03 Marian Karr From: Iris. Jones@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 9:41 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] FW: Officer shot by mistake []: 01/04/2003 By LAURIE FOX / The Dallas Morning News FORT WORTH - Police on Friday changed their account of the shooting of an undercover narcotics officer, saying the officer had her head covered, had her weapon drawn and was not wearing a bulletproof vest when she was wounded by a convenience store owner's son. Police initially said narcotics officers bought $20 of crack cocaine inside the E-Z Food Store in East Fort Worth in a sting operation. They said the officer entered the store, clearly identified herself as a police officer and had not concealed her face before she was shot. They also said she was wearing a bulletproof vest. Bao Nguyen, son of the owner of E-Z Food Store in Fort Worth, said he thought an undercover officer was a robber when he fired a handgun, striking the officer once. (LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN) shop owners were not involved in the sting, that the officer apparently was shot by mistake and that the drug purchase happened outside the store. "This may very well have been a tragic accident," said Lt. Jesse Hernandez, the Fort Worth police public information officer. "I want to make it clear that the store was not involved. If we made a mistake, we will correct it, but it was very confusing out there. "There were some assumptions made that we were later able to clarify." Lt. Hernandez said patrol officers who arrived on the scene just after 5 p.m. Thursday originally thought the drug suspect and the shooter were the same person. And because the wounded officer had been transported to a hospital, they did not know she had her face concealed when she entered the store. Police said she was wearing a jacket embroidered with a police badge and patch. Bao Nguyen, the shop owner's son, said he thought the concealed figure was robbing his parents' store when he fired a .380-caliber handgun, striking the officer once. Lt. Hernandez said the department is reviewing the procedures used in the raid. He said that wearing bulletproof vests is generally optional for officers and that he did not know the protocol undercover and narcotics officers I/6/03 Page 2 of 3 follow in concealing their identity when they're making drug arrests. REVISED ACCOUNT OF SHOOTING Fort Worth I~olice revised their account of Thursday's shooting ofa p*~lice officer: Thursday Police said an undercover officer purchased $20 worth of crack cocaine tbom a man inside the E-Z Food Store at New York and Elmwood avenues at 5;20 pm. Police said a female officer went back into the store, identified herself as a police officer and was shot in the shoulder by the 28-year-old son of the store owner The store owner's son told police he did not know she was a police officer and thought she was a robber. He and his father were taken into custody, questioned and released Police said the officer was wearing a bulletproof vest Police arrested James Crenshaw, 27, o1' Fort Worth He was charged with delivery of a controlled substance The wounded officer was transported to John Peter Smitb Hospital Friday Police revised their report to say the drug purchase happened outside the store and the suspected seller went into the store to buy chips Police said the officer had her head covered and had her gun drawn when she entered the store Police said the officer was wearing a jacket embroidered with a police badge and patch The officer's condition was upgraded to serious to make some adjustments in the future." The officer, whose name was not being released because she works undercover, was upgraded Friday afternoon to serious condition. Police said Friday that they may refer the case to a Tarrant County grand jury for further investigation. Police said James Crenshaw, 27, of Fort Worth was arrested on a charge of delivering a controlled substance to the undercover officers. He remained in the Mansfield Law Enforcement Center. Bail had not been set Friday evening. Although Nguyen family members were relieved that the officer appears to be recovering and that police have said the store was not involved, they said they remain shaken and confused. Mr. Nguyen said he feared for his family's safety when a white pickup truck swiftly pulled up to the store's front door Thursday evening and a shrouded figure entered with a gun. He said the suspect who sold the police the drugs had just purchased some snacks and was the only customer in the store. The officer did not identify herself, he said. "In my mind, I know ifI don't shoot, this person is going to shoot me and then shoot my dad," said Mr. Nguyen, 28. "I looked up and there was the ski mask. I didn't know what to do." He said he didn't realize that he had injured a police officer until the other officers entered the store. "They asked who fired the shot, and I held up my hands and said, 'I did,'" he said. Mr. Nguyen and his father, Vincent, were taken into custody and questioned before being released. 1/6/03 Page 3 of 3 The Nguyens began running the small convenience store in the Morningside neighborhood two years ago. Vincent Nguyen came to the United States from Vietnam in 1975. Also Online [] i []/ . Vincent Nguyen said that though he and his son were handcuffed and ]Video.. Kann Kelly reports· questioned for hours, he harbors no ill will toward police. "I'm not mad at anybody. They were just doing their job," he said. Bao Nguyen said that when the family opened the nondescript brick store, police advised them to keep a gun around for their own safety. "They said this is a rough neighborhood and that we should protect ourselves," he said. "You have to be alert all the time." On Friday, neighbors and other well-wishers visited the family and bought their usual supply of groceries. Some lamented that Thursday's events would give people the wrong impression of the Nguyens. "We come here all the time. They're a good family," said Janice Curtis, who lives down the street and who worked with Vincent Nguyen's wife at Nokia. Bao Nguyen said he remains concerned about the officer and wants to visit her in the hospital. "I told ... [police] that I want to see her later on if they will let me," he said. "I'd say that I am very sorry. I am filled with remorse. "I just want to go back to my business. I just want to go back to my life." Staff writer Selwyn Crawford contributed to this report. E-mail !fox~dallasnews.com Online at: http:~~www.da~~asnews.c~m~~atestn~ws/st~ries~~1~4~3dnmetfwsh~~ting.559a4f94.htm~ *** eSafe scanned this email for raalicious content *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 1/6/03 Page 1 of 14 Marian Karr From: Iris. Jones@ci.austin.tx. us Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 9:42 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] FW: multiple San Antonio Express-News stories re: 4 officers recovering after shooting spree 4 officers recovering after shooting spree By Karisa King, Elaine Aradillas and Jesse Bogan Express-News Staff Writers Web Posted: 01/04/2003 12:00 AM In one of the most vicious attacks on police in recent years, a burly ex-convict turned a romantic dispute at a N, diner into a shooting rampage that left four officers wounded with their own guns. [[] photo ~ [An evidence technician picks up a police officer's gun beltoutside a Denny's restaurant after four police officers were wounded in a shooting spree with a domestic disturbance suspect. VVitlia m Luther/Express-News More coverage · Rookie Muniz turns pro the hard way · Bocko has served 7 years with force · FunguyEvans a!so serious · Murrayls passion is history · Officers call in as shootings hit close to home · Levelheaded bouncer, ex-convict is recalled man, was killed outside the Denny's restaurant on Northeast Loop 410 by a rookie officer who had been shot fc "He ambushed all the officers, who weren't quite prepared for somebody quite that violent," Police Chief Alber a morning news conference. "You never know when an explosion is going to occur. It changes not just from ca from second to second." The four policemen wounded by Lichtenwalter -- Officers David Evans, Michael Mufiiz and Nathan Murray a John Bocko -- are recovering at two area hospitals. The shootings faintly reawakened some of the same questions about police safety and training surrounding the two officers two years ago. "We will review again to see if anything needs to change in terms of tactics and strategies," Ortiz said. Evans and Bocko arrived separately at the restaurant about 3:30 a.m. after Lichtenwalter's girlfriend told a man police. 1/6/03 Page 2 of 14 Evans, a 51-year-old patrolman with 25 years of experience, and Bocko, an evidence detective who happened to be nearby when the call came, believed they had quickly defused the argument. Lichtenwalter had voluntarily handed over his girlfriend's car keys. But as the officers allowed him to leave the restaurant, his girlfriend whispered to one of the officers that Lichtenwalter, a former bouncer at several area strip clubs, might have a gun, police said. At that point and without warning, Lichtenwalter whirled and punched Bocko in the jaw, breaking it in several places. Witnesses told police Bocko fell to the floor "like a sack of potatoes," Ortiz said at the news conference. Lichtenwalter, described by police as having arms as thick as tree trunks, then turned on Evans, knocked him to the ground and wrested the veteran officer's .40-caliber Glock. As Evans lay on the ground without his bullet-proof vest, Lichtenwalter stood and shot him three times -- in the chest, stomach and arm, police spokesman Gabriel Trevino said. The dozen or so diners in the restaurant ducked underneath tables. As several called 911, the police switchboard flashed with green and red lights. By that time, Bocko was back on his feet, but he was dazed and stumbled through the restaurant. The gunman then started firing at him, and he was grazed by a bullet across his back. "Wherever Bocko was bleeding, you could see the trail of gunfire following him," Ortiz said. When Lichtenwalter ran out of bullets, he kicked and pistol-whipped Bocko with the empty Glock, Ortiz said. Meanwhile, Evans staggered out of the restaurant. But Lichtenwalter was close behind -- and now armed with Bocko's gun. A desk clerk at the adjacent Econo Lodge said he was in the hotel lobby when Evans began banging on the front glass window. "I could hear him pounding, just 'Bam, barn, bam,'" said Eric Detloff, the clerk. Trevino said they were unsure when Lichtenwalter grabbed Bocko's gun. "We feel he had already unloaded Evans' gun by the time he got to Bocko's gun," Trevino said. Mufiiz, 22 and fresh out of the training academy five months ago, and Murray, a North Side patrolman with eight years on the force, were next to arrive. They spotted Evans in the parking lot and began helping him when Lichtenwalter opened fire. A bullet pierced Murray's cheek. Mufiiz was shot in the neck and three times in the leg. He managed to exchange gunfire with Lichtenwalter at close range. Lichtenwalter, who was shot at least six times, collapsed on top of Mufiiz and died, authorities sai& When a group of backup officers arrived, Mufiiz, too weakened to move, was still lying underneath the gunman. 1/6/03 Page 3 of 14 "It would have been understandable if (Mu~iz) had backed up and hesitated, but he didn't," Ortiz said. "I certainly have to admire that individual." From start to finish, the shootout lasted about five minutes, with Lichtenwalter firing more than two dozen rounds. It was not his first brush with violence. In March 1993, Lichtenwalter, then 16, fired a semiautomatic pistol at a group of youths milling around an E- Z Food Mart in Universal City. Edward Lee Escobedo, 18, was left paralyzed from his neck down and died several years later. Universal City police Lt. Charles Dewey called that act a "cold-blooded random act of violence" and said Lichtenwalter did not know any of the victims. Prosecuted as an adult, Lichtenwalter pleaded no contest to attempted murder and received a 12-year prison term. He was paroled in July 2001 after serving seven years. "He showed no remorse whatsoever," Dewey recalled. He lashed out at the decision to parole him. "It's shocking they would let someone like that out of prison," Dewey said. Since his release from prison, Lichtenwalter had been meeting regularly with his parole officer and abiding by the terms of his parole, said Bryan Collier, director of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice parole division. Police said Lichtenwalter met his girlfriend, a 20-year-old stripper police did not name, while he worked as a bouncer at a local club. The two started dating in March. Though trouble soon surfaced in the relationship and Lichtenwalter erupted with periodic bouts of jealousy, his girlfriend told police he had never been violent with her. About an hour before the shootout, Lichtenwalter spotted his girlfriend leaving the Far West Rodeo dance club with a female friend and another man. He followed the three for a short time, but lost them and returned to his North Side home on Foster Road, where he lived with his parents. Under the pretense of needing a house key, Lichtenwalter called his girlfriend on her cell phone and lured her to his home, where he confronted her with a shotgun. He forced her at gunpoint to return to the Denny's restaurant, where he began arguing with the man. At an afternoon news conference, police officials seemed to anticipate the scrutiny and second-guessing that might come. Police trainers will scrutinize the video captured by a surveillance camera at Denny's, Ortiz said at the news conference. "They did the best they could with what was presented to them, and we just thank God that they're alive," Sgt. Andy Hernandez added. At the San Antonio Police Academy, cadets practice protecting their holstered firearm in training exercises. 1/6/03 Page 4 of 14 "It's a pretty grueling course they put them through," said retired police union president Jerry Clancy. "They put another man on you, and you have to keep your gun on you for two minutes." He described the drill as a drag-out fight. Trevino said weapon retention is taught throughout the 27-week training course for cadets. Periodically, the topic is taught in annual refresher courses for all officers. After the night shift roll call around 3 p.m. at the North Side substation, 20-year police veteran Frank San Miguel said there was a somber mood among the ranks. He said supervisors urged the officers to wear their bullet resistant vests and to stay alert. "A lot of the officers do get complacent, but this brings them back to reality," he said. The incident, he said, will make him tell himself at routine calls, "Hey, this is not just another call." The 2001 killings of SWAT Officer John "Rocky" Riojas and Police Officer Hector Garza, who were alone when they were shot, prompted union officials to claim that a staffing shortage was endangering officers. Friday's shootout returned police administrators and union leaders to the issue. "Anybody who says backup assures the safety of the officer doesn't know street police work at ali," Ortiz said. But police union President Rene Rodriguez repeated the argument. "I think you can always claim that there's going to be certain isolated incidents where it doesn't really matter how many individuals you have, bad things are going to happen," Rodriguez said. "I think as a general rule, there is safety in numbers." Cynthia Murray, the wife of Nathan Murray, said officers drove her to University Hospital, where her husband was being treated for his injuries. She talked to reporters outside the hospital, wearing her husband's wedding ring and a miniature badge with his number, 1290, on a chain around her neck. As of late Friday afternoon, Nathan Murray was not speaking, but he acknowledged the presence of his family by wiggling his feet and hands. At one point, Cynthia Murray said, Jo Ann Murray, the officer's mother, told her son she loved him. In response, he held up his fingers in the American Sign Language sign for "I love yOU." To donate to a benefit fund for the four officers, send donations to City Employees Federal Credit Union, Account #75 1800-S1. kking~express-news, net Staff Writers Elaine Aradillas, John Tedesco, Jesse Bogan, Lisa Sandberg and Rebeca Rodriguez contributed to this report. 01/04/2003 Click here to return I/6/03 Page 5 of 14 Rookie cop tums pro the hard way By Rebeca Rodriguez San Antonio Express-News Web Posted: 01/04/2003 12:00 AM Sometimes, experience comes quickly, in the blink of an eye. ~ ~!°t°~officer Michael Mu fliz's kin -- stepfather Dan Elizondo, sister Angela Muffiz and mother Denise Elizondo -- wait outside Brooke Army Medical Center. Joshua Trujillo/Express-News More coverage · 4 officers recovering after shoot!rig spree · Bockohasserved 7~ears with force · Fun guy Evans a!so serious · Murray's passion is history · Officers call in as shootin§s hit close to home · Leve!headed bouncer, ex-convict is reca!!ed Friday morning shootout, it came in the space of minutes. "As far as I'm concerned, he's not a rookie anymore," said Officer Robert Wilson, who works at Mufiiz's substa "He's got more experience than a lot of guys." Mufiiz, 22, and three other officers were shot Friday while responding to a domestic dispute at a Northeast Side Hit four times, Mufiiz still managed to fire the shots that killed gumnan Jamie Lichtenwalter, ending the ordeal Mufiiz was in critical but stable condition Friday night at Brooke Army Medical Center after hours of surgery t~ gunshot wounds in his jaw, neck, left thigh, upper chest and right buttock, a BAMC spokeswoman said. Doctors are not sure whether Mufiiz has sustained any nerve damage that could permanently affect his right leg Mufiiz's family members called him a hero Friday. "We're very, very proud of him," said Dan Elizondo, Mufiiz's stepfather. "He really, really loves his job and tha his calling is." Elizondo said he and Mufiiz's mother, Denise Elizondo, got "the call" about 4:45 a.m. Friday. "Shocked," Elizondo said, describing their emotions at that moment. "You never expect a call like that." Mufiiz graduated from Clemens High School in 1998. He worked as a lab technician at an EyeMasters optical s 1/6/03 Page 6 of 14 Elizondo was clutching his stepson's badge No. 1525 -- that was still attached to a swatch of Mufiiz's dark blue uniform. Mufiiz's sister Angela Mufiiz, 19, stood by her parents, her eyes swollen and red. Dan Elizondo said the family always worried about Mufiiz getting injured in the line of duty, but this incident won't end his law enforcement ambitions. "This is not going to deter him at all," Dan Elizondo said. "He's going to make it." Added his wife: "If you know my son, you'd know he doesn't give up." rrodriguez~express-news, net 01/04/2003 Click here to return Bocko has served 7 years with force By Amy Dorsett and Rebeca Rodriguez Express-News Staff Writers Web Posted: 01/04/2003 12:00 AM Detective John Bocko's career progression can be traced through his uniforms. More coverage Before joining the San Antonio Police Department, he was a · 4 officers recovering after shooting spree member of the Air Force and served in the Persian Gulf War. · Rookie Mun!z turns pro the hard way There, he was stationed in Saudi Arabia and guarded · Fun gu~/Evans also serious weapons. After six years in the service, he came back to · Murray's passion is history Texas and worked at a jail in Kyle. · Officers call in as shootings hit close to home · Levelheaded bouncer, ex-convict is recalled Bocko, an evidence technician and seven-year veteran with the San Antonio police, was one of four officers injured in Friday morning's violent shootout at a Northeast Side diner. 1/6/03 Page 7 of 14 Late Friday, he remained at University Hospital in undetermined condition, recovering from a graze wound to his back from a bullet and injuries sustained when he was badly beaten. Bocko regained consciousness Friday evening, said his mother, Betty Weinman. She said her son was "quiet, not talking much" when she visited him. Born in San Antonio, Bocko, 34, moved to San Marcos when he was a child. Bocko, his wife and four children -- who range in age from 1 to 8 -- have lived in a three-bedroom home in Helotes for about five years, neighbors said. George Gasbard, who lives across the street from Bocko, said his neighbor is a "very devoted" husband and family man. "He seems to care much about his kids. I see them playing all the time out in the yard," Gasbard said. "When they miss the bus in the morning, he takes them to school." Gasbard said he doesn't visit with Bocko often because the officer works nights. Recently, though, Gasbard helped his neighbor trim some trees in his yard. When not working, Bocko enjoys spending time with motorcycles, computers, and playing games and touch football, his mother said. adorsett~express-news, net Staff Writers Karen Adler and LeO? Laurel contributed to this report. 01/04/2003 Click here to return Fun guy Evans also serious By Rebeca Rodriguez San Antonio Express-News Web Posted: 01/04/2003 12:00 AM For a quarter of a century, David Evans has protected and served San Antonio as a member of the police force. ] photo ;Family members of wounded Police Officer David Evans, including his son Jeff (at microphones), a state trooper, speak to the media. 1/6/03 Page 8 of 14 They were in front of Brooke Army Medical Center on Friday. Joshua Trujillo/Express-News More coverage · 4officers recover!ngafter shooting spree · Rookie Muniz turns pro the hard way · Bocko has served 7 gears wi!h force · Murray's passion is history · Officers cai! in as shootings hitclose to home · Leve!headed bouncer, ex-convict is recalled injured Friday in an early morning restaurant shootout. After hours of surgery to repair three gunshot wounds to his elbow, chest and abdomen, Evans, 51, was in criti( stable condition at Brooke Army Medical Center late Friday, with tubes in his chest and part of his intestines g~ At an afternoon news conference at the hospital, Evans' son Jeff praised his father's years of service and said he inspiration for his career choice -- Department of Public Safety trooper. "He loves what he does, and because of what he does, I've always wanted to be in law enforcement," Jeff Evan: flanked by his grandmother, sister, two uncles and his wife. Jeff Evans, who is stationed in Cotulla, said his father has been in some incidents, but this is the first time he's 1 shot. The two had talked in the past about the risks of being an officer, and both accept the stakes. "It's part of the job," he said. As for how one man, James Lichtenwalter, was able to wrest guns away from two policemen and wound four b was fatally shot, Jeff Evans said he would not second-guess the officers' judgment. "They did what they were trained to do," he said. "(Lichtenwalter's) obviously a violent person and you can see actions (Friday) morning that he didn't deserve to be on the streets." At the North Side police substation where Evans is based, fellow officers portrayed him as a fun guy serious al: job. "He's real happy-go-lucky," said Sgt. J. Salvaggio. "He goes the extra mile for everybody." Bexar County sheriff's Deputy R.R. Buchanan showed up at the station about 2 p.m. to donate blood. He said h doing it to honor Evans. "He's just a real stand-up guy," Buchanan said. "I've had David back me up, and I've backed him up." Evans' radiant personality has brought him many friends, according to Sgt. Tom Fulcher of the San Antonio Po Department's vice unit. "He's out there writing traffic tickets, people would thank him before he walked away," Fulcher said. "They jus couldn't get mad at him." rrodriguez~express-news, net ,~ta££Writ~,r.la~a t~oan t'r)ntrit~t~,r] t~ tbi~' ranr)rt 1/6/03 Page 9 of 14 01/04/2003 Click here to return Murray's passion is history By Amy Dorsett San Antonio Express-News Web Posted: 01/04/2003 12:00 AM At first glance, Police Officer Nathan Murray appears to be the outdoors type. The eight-year veteran of the Sm Antonio Police Department loves hunting and the shooting range. i [] photo : I ' , Cynthia Murray (right), the wife of injured Police Officer Nathan Murray, demonstrates her husband's cheek wound. At left is his mother, JoAnn. Karen L. Shaw/Express-News More coverage · 4 officers recovering after shooting spree · Rookie Muniz turns pro the hard way · Bocko has served 7 years with force · Officers ca!! in as shootings hit close to home · Levelheaded bouncer, ex-convict is recalled passion is history, especially World War II and its heroes, and he has interests in photography and animals. Inside the West Side house he shares with his wife, Cynthia, are four dogs and a cat. A host of neighborhood c~ linger outside the front door. "He loves animals just as much as I do," Cynthia Murray said. "That's where his tender side comes through." Murray, 33, was one of four officers shot early Friday during a disturbance at a Northeast Side diner. Late Friday, he remained in the intensive care unit at University Hospital recovering from a gunshot wound to ~ face. There, he communicated with his family by nodding his head and squeezing hands. The Murrays, who met at a local Baptist church, married eight years ago. 1/6/03 Page 10 of 14 "I was with him through the whole academy," said Cynthia Murray, at home briefly between hospital visiting hours. Nathan Murray, who graduated in May from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a bachelor's degree in history, was studying to take the department's detective test in February, his wife said. He works an overnight shift out of the north patrol substation, a job that helps him keep his cool in the summertime. "He likes it because the heat is so hot in San Antonio," Cynthia Murray said. Jo Ann Murray, the officer's mother, flew to San Antonio from her Dallas home Friday. She describes her son as easygoing. "He's pretty laid back," she said. "He doesn't let things get him bent out of shape like the rest of us." Cynthia Murray, who is studying to become an elementary physical education teacher, said she's confident her husband will make a full recovery and return to the force. "He's going to stick with it," she said of her husband's job. "It's a place where there are still good guys out there that can still make a difference." adorsett~express-news, net 01/04/2003 Click here to return Officers call in as shootings hit close to home By Jesse Bogan San Antonio Express-News Web Posted: 01/04/2003 12:00 AM They called on their day off. I[~ Dan Elizondo, stepfather of San Antonio Police Officer Michael Mufiiz, holds the officer's badge. It had been torn from Mufiiz's photo uniform Friday. Joshua Trujillo/Exp ress-News More coverage · ~officers recovering after sbooting~pree · Rookie Muniz turns pro the hard way 1/6/03 Page 11 of 14 · Bocko has served 7 years with force · Murray's passion is history · Levelheaded bouncer~ ex-convict is recalled shooting frenzy that left four comrades bleeding at a local restaurant. Of the officers wounded when they responded to a disturbance at Denny's, three worked out of the San Antonio Police North Side substation, and there, Friday afternoon, the front desk telephones rang continuously. "It's like it took a piece from everybody," 20-year-police veteran Frank San Miguel said after a dayshift roll call at the station at 13030 Jones Maltsberger Road. "It's like the brotherhood here," he said. "You're working day in and day out with these officers and they become like family. When something happens to one officer, everybody feels the pain and anguish. It could happen to any one of us. It's too close to home." Officer Robert W. Wilson gaped at the numbers. "One is bad enough, but four in a matter of minutes? That's substantial," Wilson said. "This guy, in my opinion, wanted to kill them all." Wilson went to the scene of the crime three hours after the first bullet was fired and said the short-term war zone still had a "chaotic" feel to it. His wife seemed to believe the same could be said of her husband's job. "My wife wants me to retire already. Today," Wilson said, who has 16 years under his police belt. "She said, 'You need to hurry up and leave.' Like any wife, she's upset. She's watching the news conference crying, and she doesn't even know these guys." Several other officers who stopped by this home-base station mentioned calls home to loved ones and days turned upside-down. Hill Country Village Police Officer Ben Richard, who stopped by the station for a planned blood drive, said all officers share at least one common goal: A safe return home at the end of the day. "Ask any police officer," he said. "That's what we all want to do." jbogan~express-news, net 01/04/2003 Click here to return 1/6/03 Page 12 of 14 Levelheaded bouncer, ex-convict is recalled By Lisa Sandberg and Sonja Garza Express-News Staff Writers Web Posted: 01/04/2003 12:00 AM Jamie Lichtenwalter's adult life began and ended with bursts of gunfire. L ngela Rivas, 15, is comforted by her mother, Hope Rivas, as Sara Escobsdo, 10, looks on. The three learned Friday that the gunman who paralyzed family member Eddie Escobedo 10 years ago was the same man who wounded four police officers earlier Friday. William Luther/Express-News More coverage · ~ officers recovering.gaffer shooting~pree · Rookie Muniz turns pro the hard way · Bocko has served 7 years with force · Fun guy Evans also serious · Myrray'~ Passion is history · Qffi~rs ca!! in as shootings hit close to horn~ At 16, he fired indiscriminately at a group of teens, leaving one paralyzed from his "earlobes to his toes," as the lead detective in the 1992 case recalled. Sentenced as an adult to a 12-year prison term, the muscle-bound youth and one-time suspected gang member maintained a spotless prison record. In July 2001 he was granted early release after seven years. On the street, he maintained the conditions of his parole, keeping a job, paying restitution and meeting each month with his parole officer. "He was not a problem inmate and he wasn't a problem parolee," said Larry Todd, a Texas prison spokesman. Early Friday, Lichtenwalter shot four San Antonio police officers after sucker-punching a detective and eventually seizing two of the officers' pistols. That afternoon, an angry Charles Dewey, the Universal City lieutenant who arrested Lichtenwalter in 1992, joined the San Antonio police chief in attacking a system that enabled violent felons such as Lichtenwalter to leave prison early. "This guy caused a lot of people a lot of grief. He showed no remorse whatsoever. It's shocking they would let someone like that out of prison." After his release from prison, Lichtenwalter simply wanted a second chance and a job, said one former employer. 1/6/03 Page 13 of 14 Jamle Lichtenwalter had been relea Courtesy photo him as a "wonderful, reliable and dependable employee" when he worked for her from April until October as a "Something must have pushed him to the living brink last night," she said. At Sugar's, the last of several topless clubs where Lichtenwalter worked as a bouncer, he was described as a de, problem customers. "Jade," one of the club's dancers, recalled how he calmly talked a rowdy client into leaving peacefully. That wasn't the man Dewey knew. Dewey remembered Lichtenwalter as a 16-year-old who drove past a group of teens outside an E-Z Mart and s1 indicate the 1992 incident left 18-year-old Edward Escobedo a quadriplegic. "He opened fire with a .380 semi-automatic pistol. He fired between six and nine times, not aiming at anyone i~ blooded random act of violence. The young men were unarmed and not doing a thing." The news of Friday's shootout was bittersweet for the Escobedos, ~vho said they are sad for the injured policem Ester Escobedo said her son, who was 18 at the time of the shooting in 1992, endured five years of agony after died in November 1997. "If he hadn't been shot, he wouldn't be dead today," Escobedo's sister Hope Rivas said. In the years Lichtenwalter spent in jail, the Escobedo relatives said they sent repeated letters to the parole boar( "We said, if you let him out, there's going to be more people who are going to suffer," Rivas said. "And now there are four more families," Edward's mother added. Jim Greenfield, who represented Lichtenwalter in the 1993 case, described his former client on Friday as a nice Lichtenwalter moved around a lot, stopping in Tennessee before settling in Texas. "He was a person who had some promise," Greenfield said. He called the shootings "a tragedy for everybody." Greenfield contended that, before the drive-by shooting, Lichtenwalter had been threatened and shot at the teen and feared for his safety. "In his mindset, (these people) posed a threat to him," Greenfield said. The decision to grant Lichtenwalter an early release rested with Alvin Shaw and Paddy Burwell, two San Anto] Pardons and Parole. On Friday, with even San Antonio's normally mild-mannered police' chief calling the decision "reprehensible," "We probably make 50 to 60 decisions in a week," Shaw said. "We based this one on a clean disciplinary recor 1/6/03 Page 14 of 14 As a former policeman, Shaw said he understood the chiel's anger but added: "Prison is about retribution but it's also about rehabilitation. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't get it right." lsandberg~express-news, net Staff Writer lhosvani Rodriguez contributed to this report. 01/04/2003 Click here to return *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 1/6/03 Marian Karr From: Malvina Monteiro [monteiro@diplomats.com] Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 11:28 AM To: update@nacole.or§ Subject: [NACOLE Update] BOSTON - Traffic citations reveal disparity Traffic citations reveal disparity in police searches First of two parts By Bill Dedman, Globe Correspondent, and Francie Latour, Globe Staff, 1/6/2003 When a police officer in Massachusetts pulls over a car and writes a routine traffic ticket, the officer is far more likely to search the car of a black or Hispanic driver than that of a white driver. Nearly two years after the state began collecting information on traffic citations to measure possible racial profiling by police, a Boston Globe analysis of more than 750,000 tickets, from every police department in the state, shows a wide racial disparity in traffic tickets and vehicle searches. Although blacks and Hispanics are more likely to be searched, whites are more likely than any other racial group to face drug charges following a search - supporting a claim by minorities that they are searched with less reason. Statewide, black and Hispanic drivers received traffic tickets at a rate twice their share of the population. Once ticketed, they were 50 percent more likely than whites to have their cars searched, a disparity affecting 1,040 blacks and Hispanics in the 20 months studied. Police are allowed to ''profile'' - to use what they know about a crime to search for a suspect. But ''racial profiling'' refers to allegations that police single out minorities, such as stopping them for minor traffic offenses to search their cars under an assumption that drug couriers are most often minorities. Following a national furor over racial profiling - often derided as ''driving while black'' - Massachusetts in 2000 followed more than 20 states and hundreds of local police forces by ordering the collection of information on all traffic tickets. High-profile incidents in the state included one case that will be heard next week in federal court: A black agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration said police in Reading harassed and detained him for an expired license plate, even though he was driving an unmarked cruiser and showed his badge. Although the state's data collection was intended to move the debate over profiling beyond anecdotes - and although the disparities in Massachusetts, as in other states, appear to be large - researchers say that no records can prove whether disparities are caused by bias. Under the law, however, discrimination does not have to be intentional to have an effect or to be illegal. And though state public safety officials tout the antiprofiling law as one of the most extensive in the country, specialists say the effort in Massachusetts is actually one of the least detailed. For example, in Rhode Island and many states and cities, police agencies have tracked many details of every police stop, whether or not it results in a ticket, revealing wide racial disparities. In Massachusetts, there is no way to know, for example, whether a search was based on probable cause or a driver's consent, or whether contraband other than drugs was found. And because the Registry of Motor Vehicles doesn't type written warnings into its 1 database, for lack of funds, and because oral warnings aren't recorded at all, it is impossible to say when the racial disparity develops. Perhaps minorities are stopped more often by police, or perhaps minorities who are stopped are more likely than whites to get a ticket, or perhaps both are true. Still, specialists in the study of policing said that the higher share of whites charged with drug crimes after a search - the ''hit rate'' - suggests an unequal pattern in deciding whom to search. Lorie A. Fridell, a criminologist and director of research at the Police Executive Research Forum, a national group of police executives, said that the state's traffic citation forms collect very little information, but can raise a warning. ''If minority hit rates are significantly lower than majority hit rates, this is a strong red flag,'' said Fridell, who is writing a guide for the US Department of Justice on how to measure bias in policing. ''The implication is that the threshold for police is different in searching the two groups.'' Even though the records add weight to the emotional stories of racial disparity, specialists say, they leave the state among the least equipped in the nation to address, or even describe, what plays out in the often tense encounter between citizen and police officer. Although the data have limitations, the sponsor of the state law said they demand an explanation from police. ''What we now know,'' said the sponsor, state Senator Dianne Wilkerson, a Roxbury Democrat, ''is that blacks and Hispanics who get ticketed are more likely to get searched, but less likely to have drugs. What else does a police chief in this state need to know to at least be concerned?'' Wilkerson said she is eagerly awaiting the results of a state-sponsored study of the same tickets by researchers at Northeastern University. The state's police chiefs association says that racial bias, or even a racial disparity, can't be proven by looking at traffic tickets because so little information was collected on each ticket. But the chiefs also say they oppose collecting more detailed information, as other states have done. ''If you want to change the culture, we'll help you,'' said John M. Collins, general counsel for the Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association. ''Our association took a vote to say, let's acknowledge that racial profiling is a problem in A~erica, without spending time and money studying whether it's happening in Massachusetts. Let's study what other states did wrong. Some people just wanted to prove that police are bigots.'' The decision on how to respond to the racial disparities rests with Governor Mitt Romney's secretary of public safety, Edward A. Flynn, a former chief of police in Chelsea. Under the antiprofiling law, Flynn may order police departments with large disparities to collect more data on every stop. In his most recent post as police chief in Arlington, Va., Flynn said he believed that racial profiling can be a Catch-22 for police: Crime-plagued urban com/nunities often plead for more aggressive police patrols, but civil rights groups accuse police of disproportionately stopping or arresting minorities in those neighborhoods. The Globe found wide racial disparities in all kinds of communities: urban, suburban, and rural. But how great a disparity is too great? The law doesn't say. A spokesman for Flynn said that the department would wait for the results of the Northeastern study, expected this spring, before taking action. The Globe obtained the database of 764,065 traffic tickets from the Registry of Motor Vehicles under the state's open-records law including tickets from 367 police departments from April 2001 through November 2002. ~r~ong the findings were: Blacks and Hispanics are ticketed at about twice their share of the population. Although 2 blacks account for 4.6 percent of the state's driving-age population, they receive 10.0 percent of tickets to state residents. Hispanics make up 5.6 percent of the population, but get 9.6 percent of tickets. Once a driver gets a ticket, a vehicle search is rare, occurring only every 60 tickets. But the search rate for black and Hispanic drivers is about 1 out of 40 tickets. Hispanics are searched the most often, 2.4 percent of tickets, followed by blacks (2.3 percent); ~kmerican Indians (2.2); whites (1.6); Asians (0.8); and Middle Easterners (0.7). Blacks and Hispanics driving a new car are especially more often searched than whites in new cars. Once searched, more of the whites were apparently found with drugs. Officers are required to report drug charges on tickets, so the Registry can suspend driving privileges. In all, 16 percent of whites searched were charged with a drug offense, compared with 12 percent of blacks, 10 percent of Hispanics, 7 percent of Asians, 6 percent of ~sa~rican Indians, and 4 percent of Middle Easterners. The tickets don't detail what officers were looking for, or whether they found it, but they do show whether there was a drug charge. Although the terrorist attacks on the United States shifted the public debate on racial profiling to targeting of Arabs, the search rate for Middle Easterners was lower than for whites before Sept. 11, 2001, and remained lower after. Middle Eastern men were searched in 1 out of every 142 traffic tickets, compared with 1 of every 37 black men. Minorities face greater policing even at home. In more than half the state's communities, minorities get a greater share of tickets in the town where they live from the town police than their share of the town's driving-age population. Among larger communities, five police departments ticket their minority residents at least twice as often as their share of the population: Marlborough, Fitchburg, Leominster, Methuen, and Salem. Black drivers especially receive more tickets, even in their hometowns. Forty-five communities ticket their black residents at least four times as often as their share of the census. The largest towns with such a disparity are Wareham, Falmouth, Yarmouth, New Bedford, and Melrose. And in 19 communities, minorities who are ticketed are searched twice as often as whites: suburbs Brookline, Canton, Newton, Southborough, Wilbraham, and Wilmington; shore towns Barnstable and Wareham; rural Amesbury; and urban centers Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Northampton, Salem, Springfield, and Worcester. Some who have experienced tense encounters with police say the records vindicate their belief that police stop, ticket, and search them because of their race. Damien Mahaffey, a 28-year-old black man from Waltham, said he was pulled over by Belmont police three times in three months in 1999. In that same span, his wife, who is also black, was pulled over twice. Neither was issued a ticket. ''If the rates at which people are pulled over and searched shows a disparity against minorities, and yet pulling over whites is more likely to yield drugs, I hope that is really digested by the community in general, not just by the police,'' said Mahaffey~ a housing counselor at Bentley College in Waltham. ''It's important because the justification for racial profiling is that in the course of their actual duty police are dealing with blacks and Hispanics who are more likely to be in violation ef the law,'' Mahaffey said. ''These statistics really put a different perspective on that notion.'' In the debate surrounding racial profiling, police officials have often argued that age accounts for most of the disparity, with young black and Hispanic males driving in areas that get the most police attention. But the records show that the racial disparity in searches only gets larger among older men. Although drivers who are older are searched less among all races, the chances of being searched falls much more sharply for whites than for minorities, widening the racial gap. Under age 30, black men are searched 48 percent more than whites, but the rate rises to 74 percent when only men ages 50 and up are compared. Likewise, younger Hispanic men are 3 searched 31 percent more than whites, while older Hispanic men are searched 47 percent more than whites. A police officer in Massachusetts is allowed by law to search a vehicle for contraband without a warrant, but only if the driver gives consent, or if the officer sees, hears, or smells something that would cause a reasonable person to believe there is probable cause that there is evidence of a crime - not a hunch or intuition, according to police training manuals. The totals for searches by police are inflated, some police chiefs said, because many officers don't understand how to fill out the traffic ticket. They're supposed to check ''yes'' for a search only if it's a ''non-inventory'' search, such as for contraband, not a search to inventory the contents of a vehicle when it is towed, or when the driver is arrested. But the racial disparity in searches persists when the only charge is speeding, which doesn't usually result in a tow or an arrest. Among drivers who are ticketed only for speeding, and who are not in an accident, blacks are searched nearly 50 percent more than whites, and Hispanics are searched nearly twice as often as whites. Police chiefs say that the tickets alone can't prove anything. Collins pointed out that police may do more traffic enforcement in higher-crime areas, which may happen to be more heavily minority. Or, he suggested, police may ask drivers of all races for consent to search their vehicles, but if more of the white drivers refuse, then the search rate for minorities would rise. ''We are clearly opposed to racial profiling,'' Collins said. ''We don't condone it. We don't teach it. And when we find it, we discipline for it. ''Given that, we find that the best way to cure the problem is not just by doing studies.'' Wilkerson calls that a circular argument. ''They don't support the collection of any more data, but of the data we have, they say it's not conclusive, because more data wasn't collected,'' Wilkerson said. ''To those who don't want to see or hear this, I'm not sure there's anything we could produce that would convince them that there might be some kind of a problem.'' Next: ''Are they black, or are they white?'' Bill Dedman can be reached at dedman@globe.com. Francie Latent can be reached at f_latour@globe.com. Rankings of Massachusetts police departments by disparities in tickets and searches are on www. Boston.com. This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 1/6/2003. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup Meet Singles http://corp.mail.com/lavalife Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 4 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 11:33 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Pittsburgh PA - Death raises question about police training Article published Jan 6, 2003 Death raises question about police training ASSOCIATED PRESS PITTSBURGH -- Pennsylvania state police appear to receive less training than officers in neighboring Ohio and less instruction than what some experts reconunend. Questions about state police training have been raised since two troopers, Juan Curry and Samuel Nassan, were involved in the Dec. 24 shooting death of 12-year-old Michael Ellerbe in Uniontown, Fayette County. An autopsy showed Ellerbe was shot in the back. An investigation involving state police, the Fayette County District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Attorney's office in Pittsburgh is ongoing. A state police spokeswoman said the agency isn't considering any changes in the way it trains troopers on the use of deadly force. But a police expert said the state should address a lack of firearms training. "This is such an important area," said Tom Dempsey, who heads a police training facility at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. "I would establish training standards amounting to four hours every quarter." Pennsylvania state police are required te practice on stationary targets twice a year. But Dempsey said that only forms the foundation of what police should know about when to fire their weapons. Officers in Ohio are required to receive hands-on training on shoot-don't sheet scenarios twice a year, whereas Pennsylvania requires no such outdoor or video simulation instruction. Officers annually report to the classroom for a four-hour refresher on the legal, moral and ethical ramifications of the use ef deadly force, according te state police spokesman Dave Lewis. State police cadets receive 12 hours ef training, most of it in the classroom, Lewis said. Officers are told to aim at the upper terse to "stop," not kill, the suspect, Lewis said. Pennsylvania troopers can request time on one ef two state police video simulators that offer different scenarios for when to pull their weapons and fire. West Virginia state police impose no mandatory requirements for veteran officers, and training en the use ef deadly force is offered en an "as needed basis," said Lt. Jess Gundy, assistant director of training. A decision to shoot can be made in seconds, depending en the officer's perception of danger te himself and others, said Bruce Edwards, president of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association. "Frequently, you have to decide right then whether you want te ge home at the end of the day," Edwards said. Before officers are sent out on the street, officials should limit officer 1 discretion on the use of deadly force, said Michael Brave, a law enforcement trainer and litigation consultant and attorney from Wisconsin. "An agency's first step in providing competent guidance, direction and training to its officers in the use of deadly force is to provide a sound, unambiguous written deadly-force policy," Brave said. So far, state police have been unwilling to say whether troopers Curry and Nassan believed Ellerbe was armed or how he was shot. A coroner's inquest was scheduled for Jan. 29. Curry and Nassan are on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. AP-ES-01-05-03 1355EST Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlin~<.net Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 11:41 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Ticonderoga NY - Fired Ti police seek reinstatement 01/04/03 Fired Ti police seek reinstatement By LOHR HcKINSTRY Staff Writer TICONDEROGA -- An attorney for two fired Ticonderoga Town Police officers says he'll work te reinstate them te the force. Thomas Halley of Poughkeepsie is the union attorney for Daniel J. Charlton, 36, and Robert W. King, 28, beth of The Portage, Ticonderoga, who were charged in early December by State Police at Westport with unlawfully dealing with a child, a misdemeanor. King and Charlton had been suspended with pay until they were fired by the Ticonderoga Town Council on Dec. 26 for misconduct and insubordination. Halley said he plans to file a contractual grievance on their behalf, plus lawsuits in state and federal courts. Town officials say they believe the town acted properly and had expected an appeal of the firing to he filed. type of hearing at issue The town held what it has characterized as an internal hearing for King and Charlten on Dec. 20, but the police officers would not answer questions about the incident put te them by Daniel HcKillip of North Country Labor Relations Associates. However, Halley says the proceeding held by the town for the two suspended officers was not an Article 75 Civil Service hearing, which they requested. It was instead an investigative interview under the police contract, he said. "There was never a Civil Service hearing," Halley said. "We said we deny it (the charges). We want a public hearing. They said no." State Police allege the officers accompanied Hichelle Frances Perron, 17, of Ticonderoga to Club 22 in Glens Falls, Warren County, while off-duty the first week in July and purchased alcoholic drinks for her there. King and Charlton are free on their own recognizance on the criminal charges in Glens Fall City Court. McKillip said the United Federation of Police contract with the town includes a provision for an alternative procedure to a Civil Service hearing, and that was what was held. "We going to file a grievance," Halley said. "The contract says you can't discipline someone if it happened more than 30 days beforehand. We're bringing an action in State Supreme Court to compel them to give us a Civil Service hearing." "We anticipated that the union representative (Halley) would file a grievance against the town for terminating the officers," Town Supervisor Robert C. Dedrick said. "We're following the advice of our consultants, the McKillips. They've dealt with this matter." immunity sought 1 Halley said he will also file a suit in U.S. District Court in Albany, citing Fifth P~nendment concerns about the officers incriminating themselves. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution says individuals do not have to give testimony against themselves. Halley said he asked Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan to give them immunity from anything they might say to the town about the case, but he hasn't gotten a reply. internal complaints Halley said the officers' troubles began after they made some unspecified internal complaints at the Police Department. "We're filing a claim in Supreme Court to compel a hearing, and we're asking for relief in federal court because a lot of this is about exercising First Amendment rights," Halley said. "They complained about some people, and this happened to them." Halley wouldn't disclose what the complaints were, and town officials said they're not aware of them. hearing officer Dedrick said the town is trying to do the right thing and that King and Charlton were given an opportunity to present their side of the issue. "We asked the police officers and Halley to be present at the town board meeting, which is a public meeting, if they wanted to state their version of this," Dedrick said. "I would want to hear from both officers. We gave them an opportunity. They opted not to show at all." He said the next step will be the contract's provision for a hearing before a neutral hearing officer, who will issue a binding decision. "I think eventually this will go to a hearing officer, and we'll plead our case and they'll plead their case," Dedrick said. "I feel very confident we have right on our side, and we terminated them justly." Dedrick said the town had written testimony of witnesses to the alleged purchase of alcohol. "We believe we've crossed our Ts and dotted our Is. The town board feels very confident we've done everything we have to do. I feel very confident with our position." double shifts Police Chief Jeffrey Cook said he's running the department using double and extra shifts for the remaining six officers, including a sergeant who was on administrative duty now doing road patrols. "Despite that, morale is not bad," he said. "Everyone is helping." Lohr McKinstry can be reached by e-mail: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com http://www.pressrepublican.com/Archive/2003/01 2003/010420034.btm Copyright 2002 Press-Republican, a division of Ottaway Newspapers Inc., all rights reserved. 2 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: ke[vyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 11:53 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] New York Times - Police DNA Dragnets draw controversy January 4, 2003 Police Dragnets for DNA Tests Draw Criticism By DAVID M. HALBFINGER New York Times ATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 3 Recently, the police asked Shannon F. Kohler if they could swab the inside of his mouth to analyze his DNA. It was a request they made of 800 men in southern Louisiana as they searched for the serial killer who has slain four young women, leaving behind genetic material in each case. It was his choice, Mr. Kohler said the officers told him, but if he refused, they would get a court order and that would get in the newspapers and then everyone would know he was not cooperating. The approach was heavy-handed and foolish, he said, especially since he has feet much bigger than the prints left by the killer and had phone bills that show he was at home when the murders took place. The questions Mr. Kohler is raising about DNA testing are also being asked by lawyers and other experts around the country who say the growing use of DNA dragnets like the one here, already one of the largest in American history, is troubling. The tests, supposedly voluntary, can still be coercive, critics say, not only harassing innocent people but also potentially violating suspects~ constitutional protections against compelled self-incrimination and unreasonable search and seizure. Future prosecutions could be undermined, some legal scholars, defense lawyers and even some prosecutors say. Some question whether the dragnets' limited success justifies the effort and expense. And even those who endorse the idea of DNA sweeps argue over whether and why -- the government should keep on file the genetic profiles of those who are proved to be innocent. The tests trouble some for the very reason that police find them attractive: they offer the most incontrovertible proof of identity. The idea for a DNA dragnet - sampling people who are not suspects but merely live or work near a crime scene emerged in Britain. In 1987, the police tested 4,000 men in Leicestershire before the rapist and killer of two girls was caught after he got another man to take the DNA test for him. One of the first dragnets in which DNA actually identified a killer was in Wales; a neighbor of a slain rape victim was caught in a DNA sweep of 2,000 men. By 1998, dragnets had taken hold in northern Germany, where 16,400 people were tested - believed to be the most yet - before a mechanic was matched to a rape-murder. In the United States, mass screenings have had less success and stirred up far more controversy. In 1994 and 1995, the Metro-Dade police in the Miami suburbs took more than 2,000 DNA samples in search of the strangler of six prostitutes, and initially focused on three possible matches before each man was ruled out. Still, the killer was caught only after neighbors found a prostitute bound and gagged in his apartment while he appeared in court on an unrelated robbery charge. In 1998, the police in Prince George's County, Md., sought DNA samples from 400 male workers at a county hospital where an administrator had been raped and strangled. Union members complained that the police were bullying employees into agreeing and were singling out maintenance workers. No match was made, and the killing remains unsolved. The chief of the county's police force at the time, John Farrell, defended the DNA tests to USA Today in 1998 as analogous to fingerprinting everyone who worked or shopped in a store that was burglarized, to eliminate potential suspects as well as to catch the criminal. But mass fingerprint gathering is all but unheard of in criminal cases, said James Alan Fox, a professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University, precisely because of the probability that a print obtained from a crime scene will turn out to be someone's other than the criminal's. DNA is different, Professor Fox said, which accounts for its allure: "If you have a rape and murder, and there's semen recovered, it's highly unlikely that it was innocently left there." Not surprisingly, DNA screenings have been much more successful, if no less provocative, when the police have narrowed their focus to smaller groups -- generally those with opportunity, if not motive. In Lawrence, Mass., in 1999, the police drew blood from 32 men at a nursing home where a resident had been raped and impregnated. A nurse's aide was linked to the crime and pleaded guilty. In Los Angeles that year, detectives who reopened the case of a 1985 killing of a sheriff's deputy set about sampling 165 potential suspects. They had finished 12 when a former colleague of the victim refused to comply; detectives won a court order, matched his DNA to the crime, and were about to arrest him when he killed himself. Professor Fox, an expert on serial killers who wrote a book on the murders of five University of Florida students in Gainesville in 1990, said investigators in that case, with whom he worked as a consultant, checked the DNA of hundreds of people identified as possible suspects, often surreptitiously. "We'd follow people as they went through Burger King, and pick up a straw they used, for saliva," he said. "We'd go through their trash on the sidewalk. Not everybody we got DNA on even knew it." The police were far less quiet about their DNA testing in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1994, after 13 women in a predominantly white community were raped by a black man. Investigators identified more than 700 suspects and took 160 DNA samples from black men, relying on tips that often proved specious. The strategy caused a racial furor, with blacks saying they were being randomly singled out, and the rapist was caught only after a cab driver spotted him with blood on his clothes. Some legal experts are now calling for an even more controversial use of genetic forensics: a national databank of DNA taken from every Pmlerican at birth, solely for the purpose of criminal identifications. Michael E. Smith, a University of Wisconsin law professor who led a working group for the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence, said such a databank would remove the danger of racial discrimination in DNA testing, as well as the risk that law enforcement agents seeking genetic information would turn to hospitals and medical laboratories, eroding medical privacy rights. Even better, Professor Smith said, it would make DNA a true deterrent to crime, which it cannot be so long as the DNA databanks contain only information on known criminals and suspects. The federal government's existing DNA database, by law, includes only material taken from convicted criminals and crime scenes. Increasingly, states including Louisiana and Virginia have authorized the collection of DNA from people arrested for rape, murder and other violent crimes, and in some states even for burglary and lesser charges. The law in most states is much less clear when it comes to the DNA of people merely suspected of a crime but not 2 charged. Yet it is being tested. In New York City, for example, the medical examiner's office maintains a citywide database of DNA obtained from crime scenes and from suspects in major crimes, either with their consent or with a warrant, said Dr. Howard J. Baum, deputy director of forensic biology. But in November, a defendant in a Brooklyn rape case who was compelled to give a DNA blood sample won a court order barring the medical examiner from placing it in the citywide DNA database, known to medical examiners as Linkage. The defendant, Carlos Rodriguez, argued that a 1994 state law preventing DNA test results from being disclosed without the subject's consent also barred officials from entering those results into the city database. Justice John M. Leventhal of the State Supreme Court even wrote that the mere existence of the database might constitute a felony under the 1994 law. The medical examiner's office is appealing the ruling. Mr. Kohler, the Baton Rouge man who demanded a court order before giving a DNA sample, says he, too, plans to sue to get it, and his genetic information, back from the police. Mr. Kohler, a 44-year-old welder, said he resented the way the police relied on a pair of sketchy tips and seemingly irrelevant evidence as their probable cause, though it was enough to persuade a local judge to issue a warrant. Mr. Kohler said the police cited his 20-year-old burglary conviotion, but not his full pardon and restitution in 1996. Mr. Kohler said he felt that the police violated the Constitution by leaning on him for the DNA sample. "These rights are what makes America America, to me," he said, adding that he felt he could afford to protest while many others could not. "My friends know me, and I know me, and other people really don't matter," he said. "I'm not running a business, and I don't have any kids. So I had the freedom to take a stand and not hurt the people around me." In the end, Mr. Kohler, alone among 15 people who refused the DNA test, was indeed identified in public court documents, and hours later a local television reporter appeared at his front door. The police called the court filing a good-faith clerical mistake. The DNA test later cleared Mr. Kohler. And the killer is still at large. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company I Permissions I Privacy Policy Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: battard@ci, berkeley, ca. us Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 1:55 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NYTimes.com Article: Sterilization Offer to Addicts Reopens Ethics Issue This article f~om NYTimes.com has been sent to you by battard@ci.berkeley.ca.us. Sterilization Offer to Addicts Reopens Ethics Issue January 6, 2003 By CECILIA M. VEGA A flier hanging on a pole in Brooklyn looks, at first glance, as if it might offer a room for rent or a job. There are phone numbers, dollar signs and tabs for people to tear off and take with them. But the offer is intended for a specific group: drug-addicted men and women. "Get birth control, get cash," the flier reads. "If you are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol then this offer is for you." While offers of birth control to drug addicts are common - distribution of condoms in particular, as a means not only for birth control but also to stem the spread of AIDS - this offer is much more radical. It offers men and women $200 to be sterilized or put on long-term birth control. The group making the offer, Children Requiring a Caring Konm~unity, or Crack, contends that the program is a humane effort to keep children from being born to women ill-equipped to raise them. Critics counter that it is little more than a bribe to women to make an irreversible decision, and argue that counseling is the best method for both ending drug use and promoting responsible parenthood. So far, the presence of the group in New York is minimal; it is based in California, and its only chapter here consists of a 27-year-old office worker from Brooklyn, who with the help of her husband and another volunteer has posted fliers across the city and held meetings with hospitals and community groups. But if Crack's reception in other cities is any indication, there is likely to be heated debate about the efficacy and the ethics of its offer. "The program is fundamentally incompatible with a health care policy that respects a woman's right to choose," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. "It certainly raises policy concerns for government entities to be providing referrals to this 1 program or endorsing it in any way." The organization was started in Orange County, Calif., in 1997 by Barbara Harris, a housewife and former waitress, after she adopted four children from the same drug-addicted mother. Children born to drug addicts regularly suffer emotional scars and medical disabilities and end up in foster care at taxpayers' expense, she said. "It's common sense," she said. "Why should a drug or alcohol addict get pregnant? I watched how my children suffered when I brought them home from the hospital, and no child should go through that." Critics, however, say that Crack's stance is aimed not at helping children but at selective breeding. They point to comments like those Mrs. Harris made in 1998, when she was quoted in the British edition of Marie Claire magazine saying: "We don't allow dogs to breed. We spay them. We neuter them. We try to keep them from having unwanted puppies, and yet these women are literally having litters of children." The organization has softened its message, and now refers to itself as Project Prevention as often as it calls itself Crack. But opponents say Crack's $200 offer misses the real issue, which is helping people get treatment for their addiction. "What she's doing is suggesting there are certain neighborhoods where it is dangerous for some people to be reproducing," said Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women. "It suggests they are not worthy of reproducing. It is very much like the eugenics history in America. The Nazis said if you just sterilized the sick people and Jews you would improve the economy." When it first started, Crack offered payments on a sliding scale, giving more money to women who chose tubal ligations and men who chose vasectomies than to those who chose long-term birth control like intrauterine devices, Norplant or Depo-Provera. But the criticism was so harsh that the group changed its policy and began offering a flat payment of $200. Women submit such documents as an arrest report or doctor's letter to prove they use drugs. They have the procedure done, usually paid for with government assistance, and then they send Crack written proof. Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn has plans to refer patients recovering in the psychiatric emergency room to Crack, officials there said. The director of chemical dependency services at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn said he was reviewing the program. Dr. Attilio Rizzo Jr., a social worker in Brookdale's psychiatric emergency room, said that the program was "a godsend" and that he had already referred one woman, who did not respond to his offer. "A lot of them are homeless and have H.I.V. and are on drugs and they don't want to have any more babies," Dr. Rizzo said. "I believe it's up to the individual to make that decision." The program was introduced to the hospital by Asia Tepper, 27, a Brooklyn resident who heard about Crack on a radio 2 program two years ago and volunteered to run its fledgling local chapter. She spends many evenings and weekends carrying a black bag filled with rolls of tape for the fliers and handouts on the organization and scouting out what she calls "prostitution-infected areas." "To me it's about the children. That's it," she said. "It's about preventing a child from being born in what is not the best environment." She said she had received favorable comments at police precinct stations and hospitals and from social workers. "They're being very, very helpful," she said. But not everyone is lining up to support the program. Dr. Van Dunn, the chief medical officer of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which oversees hospitals in all five boroughs, said no hospital in his organization would have anything to do with Crack. "It raises a lot of ethical questions about trying to pay women for sterilization," he said. "Reproductive choice should always be an option, and people shouldn't be paid. You provide family planning counseling and let them make their decision." Across the country, reaction also has been mixed. In the San Francisco area, opponents tore down Crack's signs; in Kansas City, billboard companies took down the group's messages after a public outcry. But since May, Crack volunteers in Albuquerque have met weekly with female inmates in the county jail, said Matthew Elwell, programs director for the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center. And last spring about 30 Crack billboards stood in Detroit, where Mrs. Harris was invited to speak to a predominately black church congregation of 5,000 people. "I don't see the controversy," said the Rev. Charles H. Ellis III of the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, where Mrs. Harris spoke. "People in the Betty Ford Clinic have some kind of support. In urban Detroit, a lot of time there is no support system." Of the 833 women and 21 men nationwide who have been paid by Crack since its inception, 369 have been sterilized and the others have had long-term birth control, Mrs. Harris said. Theresa Prautzsch, 24, an alcoholic who lives in a drug rehabilitation home in Niagara Falls, N.Y., accepted Crack's offer to get Depo-Provera birth control injections last year. "When you're using you don't think about a condom," she said. "The women are under the influence. I've seen the children that have been born on drugs, and I'd rather have them have their tubes tied than have those babies. If anything, it's the smartest thing they can do." http://www.nytimes.com/2OO3/O1/O6/nyregion/O6CRAC.html?ex 1042882879&ei=l&en= 7ec13914f9c626e8 HOW TO ADVERTISE For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 9:25 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Cincinnati OH - Review Panel Officers Installed 2 stories... Tuesday, January l, 2003 New police oversight agency meets By Gregory Kerte The Cincinnati Enquirer Monday morning, city workers changed the sign outside suite 150 of the Centennial Two office building, from "Office of Municipal Investigation" to "Citizen Complaint Authority." The name change for Cincinnati's new police watchdog agency isn't just semantic, city officials said. "We are engaged in an experiment that we hope will be a model for the city, and we hope for the country," Mayor Charlie Luken told members of the authority's board, which held its first formal meeting Monday night. But he also added a slight note of apprehension, saying, "We don't know how all this is going to play out." City Council created the Citizen Complaint Authority as part of a package of police reforms following the shooting of Timothy Thomas by a police officer in Over-the-Rhine in 2001. A U.S. Justice Department investigation and the settlement of a racial profiling lawsuit, known as the collaborative agreement, recommended a stronger, more independent police oversight agency. Mr. Luken called the CCA the "cornerstone of the collaborative." Civil rights activists, too, have high hopes in the agency's ability to restore public confidence in the city's capacity to police its officers. "There will be another police shooting. It will happen," said Scott Greenwood, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Cincinnati Black United Front. "I will judge success - and the community will judge success - when there is a justified shooting and this panel will say so." The panel will have jurisdiction over all serious allegations of police misconduct, including discrimination, excessive use of force, unlawful searches and improper use of firearms. City officials hope the Citizen Complaint Authority will combine the best features of two previous agencies - the Office of Municipal Investigation and the Citizens Police Review Panel. Many viewed the former as lacking independence, and the latter as lacking the investigative muscle to probe complaints of police misconduct. A seven-member board, chaired by mental health advocate Nancy Minson, will oversee the agency and make final recommendations on police discipline and policy changes. An executive director - to be named by City Manager Valerie Le~nie - will oversee a staff of professional investigators. The panel will have access to all city records and may interview city employees. Subpoena power to compel nonemployee witnesses will come from City Council. Unlike other cities, where police have resisted civilian oversight, police in Cincinnati pledged their "full cooperation" with the new agency. "Part of the role the Police Department will have here will be to educate you about what officers do and why they do what they do," Police Chief Tom Streicher told the CCA board Monday night. "Police officers are human beings, and as human beings they make mistakes. But we feel that the overwhelming majority of the time, they've got their hearts in the right place. "Ail we ask is that you be fair and honest with us, and in return, we'll be fair and honest with you," the chief said. The police union also signed off on the structure of the new agency. The new agency will follow up on 15 allegations of police misconduct investigated by OMI. Beginning Monday, new complaints may be submitted to the Citizen Complaint Authority, 805 Central Ave., suite 150, Cincinnati, OH 45202. E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com Review panel officers installed Choosing director now top priority By Craig Garretson and Kevin Eigelbach Cincinnati Post staff reporters The Citizen Complaint Authority elected its officers and received the good wishes of the parties to the collaborative agreement that created it Monday night, but it still needs an executive director and investigative staff before it can carry out its mandate to investigate allegations of police misconduct. S. Gregory Baker, the city's executive manager of police relations, said his goal is to name an executive director within the next two weeks, and for that person to get to work by the end of January. In the meantime, the seven-member board, which replaces both the Office of Municipal Investigation and the Citizens Police Review Panel, will investigate allegations against police officers under an interim director and staff. One of the reasons the board doesn't have a director yet is that the city is trying to give all the parties involved a say in who that will be, Mayor Charlie Luken told the board. "So that, as you start your work, that executive director can come to you with the confidence of the parties," he said. "That will make your work that much easier." He called the board one of the cornerstones of the collaborative agreement<243>reached last April by the city, the police union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Black United Front that settled a racial profiling lawsuit against the city. ACLU General Counsel Scott Greenwood, one of the parties to the agreement, said that he would judge its success by what happens when the city has another shooting by police. If the board decides it was justified, and everyone agrees that was a fair and accurate decision, Greenwood told the board, "then we will know we really are on our way." City Police Chief Tom Streicher Jr. pledged the board the full support of his department "in every aspect of every endeavor that you choose to take on." Ail he asked in return was for the board to be fair and honest in its dealings with police. He said he would demand that the department be "very, very fair and honest" with the board. 2 "One of the things that I think all of you will find out is that we're not necessarily dealing with choirboys when the officers go out into the street to address some of the people," he said. Policing is a difficult job that's getting more complicated all the time, he said. "Criminals are as good at what they do as all of us are at what we do," he said, and they work at getting better all the time. Nancy J. Minson, a former member of the Citizens Police Review Panel, was elected chairwoman of the board after serving as acting chairwoman for two months while the board was creating its policies and procedures. Minson, a Walnut Hills resident who serves as executive director of the Mental Health Association of the Cincinnati Area, said she and the other board members are eager to get to work. "I'm really looking forward to the possibilities that this new group has," she said. "We're going to have considerably more authority, our own investigators and our own staff, which are things that the Citizens Police Review Panel had been lobbying for throughout its entire existence. "There will be some growing pains, and there are many issues that still need to be resolved, but this is a wonderful opportunity to increase citizen confidence in the police and to establish more positive relations between the police and the community." The expanded powers of the board come with responsibility, said Don Hardin, an attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police, the police officers' union. He also asked the board for fairness, and said he hoped the staff would have a high level of expertise that will do a credible job investigating allegations against police. There have been some questions about the quality of previous investigations, he said. Before its first official meeting, the Citizen Complaint Authority formally took over the role of investigating accusations of misuse of force and other misconduct against police officers from the Office of Municipal Investigation. That office will continue to investigate allegations of misconduct against other city employees and departments. Until the authority gets its own staff, about a dozen active investigations and any future allegations will still be investigated by OMI, but investigators will send their reports to the Citizen Complaint Authority's acting executive director, Dan Baker. "The pivotal thing is having a director named," Minson said. "Once we have a director, he or she will be able to hire investigators, and then we'll really be able to get going." "It's our first order of business," Gregory Baker said. -- It's taken some time, but we do want to make sure that we get the very best person for the j ob." Authority members Other members of the new Citizens Complaint Authority are: John Eby, a Westwood electrical engineer, who was elected vice chairman Monday. Dr. Walter T. Bowers II, a Clifton obstetrician/gynecologist. Sandra A. Butler of Oakley, a former nurse who is now a real estate agent. Marta Camille Anderson Haamid, a retired Hamilton County probation officer from Clifton. Richard Siegel, a Clifton attorney. Justin Wolterman, a University of Cincinnati student living in University 3 Heights. The group's next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. in City Hall. Publication Date: 01-07-2003 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 4 Marian Karr From: ke[vyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 9:27 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami FL - Timoney sworn in as corruption trial begins Article published Jan 7, 2003 Miami's Police Chief Sworn In As Corruption Trial Begins By CATHERINE WILSON The Associated Press MIAMI -- Attitudes toward police officers drove jury selection Monday in the trial of 11 Miami officers accused of planting guns at the scene of police shootings or covering up their actions. The selection began the same day John Timoney was sworn in as police chief. The former Philadelphia chief, who was once called America's best police officer by Esquire magazine, drew a distinction between good and bad officers. "It is critically important that a police chief support his officers when they are out there doing the right thing," he said. "However, when an officer con, its a wrong act with . . evil intent, then there must be no safe harbor for such an individual." The 11 officers are charged as a group with a federal conspiracy to obstruct justice for allegedly planting guns after four police shootings that left three men dead, one wounded and one uninjured. Prosecutors say they intended to cover up police misconduct by planting guns and lying about it afterward to protect themselves and fellow office[s. Ail 11 defendants are Hispanic. Two retired white officers who pleaded guilty to conspiracy will be the star witnesses against them. Some black officers on the same special units as the defendants were not indicted and plan to testify for the defense. During individual questioning of prospective jurors, a black truck driver was excused after he said he was "more or less" afraid of retribution if he voted to convict and were stopped later by a Miami officer. A white pharmaceuticals buyer whose best friend was an officer killed on duty thought he would side with the defendants because "dishonest, honest, they put their lives on the line every day." He was dismissed. Another white man was also dropped after he said police were probably guilty in the shooting of a homeless man armed only with a cassette radio. Two blacks cleared an initial round of questioning. Jury candidates answered more than 80 questions in advance and were asked in court about their dealings with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Questionnaires were sent to 1,606 people. Of those, 211 qualified to come to court, and 39 were brought in Monday. Twenty people in the initial pool are black. Killings of black and Hispanic men by Miami police and the subsequent acquittals of the officers involved triggered riots or street clashes six times from 1980 to 1995. Many in Miami's minority communities are hostile to or suspicious of police "because of the great number of shootings of typically unarmed black young 1 men," said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. The jury candidate who was aware of the homeless man~s shooting said he thought officers might be less believable than civilian witnesses. Three-quarters of the 96 potential witnesses listed by prosecutors are in law enforcement, and 44 are with the Miami department. The latest police scandal is the city's worst since the 1980s, when rogue officers stole cocaine from drug traffickers to resell. Eventually, more than 100 officers were arrested, fired or disciplined. Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org 2 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Suelqq@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 9:29 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] LAPD Offers 1st Data on Traffic Stops http:llwww,!atimes.comlnewsl!ocal/la-me-!apd7jan07,0,6131549.story?coll=la%2Dhome%2Dhead!!nes LAPD Offers 1st Data on Traffic Stops Study finds blacks and Latinos were more likely to be searched when pulled over by police. By Tina Daunt and Jill Leovy LA Times Staff Writers January 7 2003 The Los Angeles Police Department stops members of different racial groups in numbe[s roughly proportional to their share of the population, but blacks and Latinos are far more likely than whites to be removed from their cars, patted down or searched, according to a study released Monday. The data, from July through November of last year, were the first statistics publicly released as part of a federal consent decree that requires the department to collect information to determine whether officers engage in racial discrimination. Among the findings: Thirty-eight percent of drivers stopped by police were recorded as Latino, 33% were white and 18% black. According to the 2000 Census, the city's population is 46.5% Latino, 29.7% white and 10.9% African American. Of those pulled over, 7% of whites were asked to step out of their cars, compared with 22% of Latinos and 22% of blacks. Once out of their cars, 67% of the blacks were patted down and 85% were subjected to a search of their person, car, residence or belongings, while 55% of Latinos were frisked and 84% were searched. Meanwhile, 50% of whites were frisked and 71% were searched. Information on pedestrian stops revealed a similar pattern of blacks and Latinos being patted down and subjected to searches more often than whites. Though city officials caution that the figures must be studied further, Mayor James K. Hahn said the statistics trouble him. "Some of the data we have had a chance to look at does raise some concerns for me," Hahn said at a news conference. "African Americans and Latinos are asked to exit their vehicles and are searched on a higher percentage than those of other races. At this point, we can't tell all the factors that contributed to that disparity, but it's a question we need answered." The LAPD is among scores of police departments across the nation collecting data on stops. Civil rights advocates say the process is important because it may reveal patterns of racial bias in law enforcement. But many police officials and researchers question whether the data are useful when many variables can affect in routine traffic stops. Though the consent decree does not require the LAPD to analyze the data, the department nonetheless will seek a consultant to study the findings. "We will fulfill our commitment to the citizens, to the police officers and to the consent decree, to the best of our ability, to try to understand what this information means," Police Chief William J. Bratton said. "It is quite clear in this city that many members of the minority community believe that the department does indeed engage in racial profiling. That's the perception. We have to deal with that." Indeed, the American Civil Liberties Union was quick to seize the data released Monday as evidence of racial profiling. "It's been our expectation based on our experience that racial profiling exists," said Catherine Lhamon, staff attorney with the ACLU in L.A. "The data released today confirm that belief.... If you look at what happens after people have been stopped, there is no question that there is differential treatment based on skin color." 1/7/03 Page 2 of 2 Bratton said Monday that that there is no clear consensus on how to analyze the information on stops. "Nobody has figured out what to do with this data at this time," he said. Jack Riley, director of the Rand Institute's public safety and justice program, concurred. "It's easy to measure the number of people who have been stopped and ticketed," Riley said. "But what's harder ... is then drawing conclusions about when police behavior is disproportionate." Researchers have struggled to determine the baseline against which to compare data on traffic stops, Riley said. Population statistics are not enough, he said. Researchers must consider not just how many motorists live in an area, but also when and where they drive. "It is very hard to get good information on people's driving habits and patterns without enormous investment in measuring," Riley said. "There are literally tens of thousands of intersections in L.A., not to mention miles of streets. All those people driving on them are potentially committing driving violations. You have to got to understand what they are doing." In addition, he said, analyzing the data properly requires adjusting for factors such as the level of crime in a given area and the number of calls for service, which may affect how many officers are deployed there. The racial makeup of people on parole and probation also matters, Riley said, because "if you are on probation or parole, police have a presumptive right to stop and search you and question you. That's part of appropriate, proactive policing." Given the difficulties, said Riley, who is helping to analyze data for the Oakland Police Department, 'Tm not convinced that looking at this kind of stuff is very useful. I don't think it gives a police department a strong tool for understanding how to do their job better." LAPD officers have been filling out a form for every traffic or pedestrian stop they have initiated for more than a year. They must record gender, age and "apparent descent" of each person, checking a box for white, black, Latino, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, American Indian or other. The requirement is widely resented by LAPD officers. Many say they do not stop people merely because of their race, and that they often cannot tell the race of people they are tailing, particularly at night. On Monday, police union officials criticized the release of the data. "There is no practical approach to this nonscientific approach to publicizing the data," according to a statement issued by the Los Angeles Police Protective League. "Without any qualifiers or parameters on the use of this information, no one -- whether the Justice Department, the LAPD or the community at large -- can utilize this data for any purpose, specifically to make intelligent decision concerning public safety procedures." 1/7/03 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 9:33 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami FL - Potential jurors quizzed on attitudes toward police Posted on Tue, Jan. 07, 2003 Potential jurors quizzed on attitudes toward police By Catherine Wilson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MIAMI - Attitudes toward police officers drove jury selection Monday in the trial of 11 Miami officers accused of planting guns at the scene of police shootings or covering up their actions. The trial began on the same day John Timoney was sworn in as police chief. The former Philadelphia chief, who was once called Pu~erica's best police officer by Esquire magazine, drew a distinction between good and bad officers. "It is critically important that a police chief support his officers when they are out there doing the right thing," he said. "However, when an officer commits a wrong act with...evil intent, then there must be no safe harbor for such an individual." The 11 officers are charged as a group with a federal conspiracy to obstruct justice for allegedly planting guns after four police shootings that left three men dead and one wounded. Prosecutors say they intended to cover up police misconduct by planting guns and lying about it afterward to protect themselves and fellow officers. Ail 11 defendants are Hispanic. Two retired white officers who pleaded guilty to conspiracy will be star witnesses against them. Some black officers on the same special units as the defendants weren't indicted and plan to testify for the defense. During individual questioning of prospective jurors, a black truck driver was excused after he said he was "more or less" afraid of retribution if he voted to convict and was stopped later by a Miami officer. A white pharmaceuticals buyer whose best friend was an officer killed on duty thought he would side with the defendants because "dishonest, honest, they put their lives on the line every day." He was dismissed. Four blacks cleared an initial round of questioning. One was a school administrative worker who said three of her brothers have been imprisoned, but she felt she could put her own mother in jail. © 2001 democrat and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. http://www.tallahassee.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 9:52 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phila PA - Commission declines discipline in case involving gay male Police board declines action By Timothy Cwiek Philadelphia Gay News Contributing Writer © 2003 Timothy Cwiek The Police Advisory Commission has declined to recommend disciplinary action against five officers who allegedly mistreated a gay man because of his sexual orientation during an arrest two years ago. Marlon Brandon says he was physically and verbally assaulted by police officers, and wrongfully arrested Nov. 9, 2000 after a dispute over a taxi fare. The officers under investigation are: Sgt. Michael J. Dougherty, Officer Norman Harrison, Officer Twanda Thomas, Sgt. Anthony Samarco and Officer Charlene Walton-Richardson. Brandon wanted the officers suspended temporarily for their alleged actions. Harrison allegedly punched Brandon while placing him in a holding cell, knocked him to the ground, and referred to him as a "faggot." Samarco allegedly threatened to break Brandon's fingers and said, "I'm sick of those faggots." After Brandon filed complaints, one or more of the officers allegedly retaliated by having Brandon's car towed and crushed, without warning Brandon, according to his complaint. But in a 17-page decision issued last month, the commission stated that insufficient evidence exists to support Brandon's allegations. The police department's Internal Affairs Division also has cleared the officers of any wrongdoing. Brandon, 35, blasted the commission's findings, stating that the commission did not push hard enough to discover the truth. He called his arrest "three hours of torturous hell," and said he has medical documentation to prove his injuries. "They [commissioners] just went through the motions, and rubber-stamped the Internal Affairs investigation," he told PGN. "They didn't really do any work on it. If they just want to rubber stamp the police investigation, why do we even have a comsaission?" Hector Soto, executive director of the commission, defended the investigation as "fair, thorough and independent." "Mr. Brandon was given the opportunity, as were the police officers, to come in and explain the events of the evening in question," Soto told PGN. "It [final report] was based on the testimony that was given, and the credibility of the witnesses." The comm~issioners recommended additional diversity training for the police department. "The con~ission would take this opportunity to generally recommend and encourage the implementation of more sensitivity awareness and training, particularly regarding the processing and detainment of members of Philadelphia's gay, lesbian, transsexual and transgender communities, from whom the co~ission has received a number of complaints in recent years," the report states. Police Inspector William Colarulo, a spokesman for Commissioner Sylvester Johnson, said Johnson is willing to institute more sensitivity training. "He [Johnson] is always open to suggestions regarding training, because he's aware that training is a constant in police work," Colarulo told PGN this week. Only one of the targeted officers, Dougherty, could be reached for comment. He said room for improvement exists on both sides, during arrests in 1 Philadelphia. "People [under arrest] have to realize that we have a job to do," Dougherty told PGN. "But we [police] could maybe be more understanding, and explain the process better." Dougherty stressed that he never mistreated Brandon, nor referred to him in a biased manner. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Kart From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 10:49 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Audio Conference re Profiling NACOLE List: FYI, The Quinlan Publishing group publishes a series of pro-police legal newsletters through the policecenter.com site. -Kelvyn Quinlan Publishing Group presents: Audio Conference: "Courage in Profiling: Post-9/ll Policing in America" When: January 16, 2003; 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time With the problems and controversies in profiling today, police agencies must remain on the cutting edge. The first order of business is the development of a coherent and effective approach to profiling by law enforcement, which will help America meet the challenges that lie ahead. The second step is for law enforcement administrators to seize the initiative and make sure they have clear guidelines and policies on the issue. Finally, ongoing analysis and evaluation of profiling related issues has become and will remain a necessity. Please join Quinlan Publishing Group on Jan. 16 for a 90-minute profiling audio conference "Courage in Profiling: Post-Attack Policing in America" hosted by expert Max T. Raterman, Esq. In this seminar, we will discuss: Profiling and roadside stops Existing policies for patrol and specialty units, such as counter-terrorist and narcotics Defining what constitutes illegal profiling Local controversies and resulting political developments and Homeland Security Our society is changing. The law is changing. Don't be left behind. Sign up today and get the profiling information police agencies need to perform at their best. Our Host: Max T. Raterman is a long-time writer and police expert for Quinlan Publishing. He is the director of employee relations and a special assistant county attorney for Broome County, N.Y. He is a former special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and is currently a police officer in two upstate New York jurisdictions. He has written extensively on profiling, internal investigations, and police discipline issues Cost: $149.00 for those who participate, or for those who wish to obtain a tape/CD copy of the conference. $159.00 for those who both participate and receive the tape/CD. What is an audio conference? An audio conference is similar to a large conference call, however it is carried out in a more formalized manner, with a host and/or moderator. There is a toll-free number and a pin code, provided after registration, 1 which will allow you to dial into the audio conference. The last 30 of the 90 minutes are dedicated to an interactive question and answer session. While the audio conference is a live event, phone lines will be muted until it is your time to ask a question. There is no live web component and no special software or equipment is necessary. Ail needed materials will be available through www.policecenter.com, one week prior to the conference. The $149.00 fee is per phone line. Ail you need is a speakerphone and any number of people from your organization can participate for just one registration price! About Quinlan Publishing Group Quinlan Publishing Group is a leading publisher of legal and business-to-business services for professionals in local governments, human resources, unions, law enforcement, public safety, education, property management and land use, and has reporting on such topics since 1953. Quinlan's mission is to provide legal and grant information in an easy-to-read format to assist professionals in performing their duties. Our plain english court case summaries keep our subscribers up to dates on changes in the law. How to register for this audio conference: It's easy. http://www.quinlan.com/20030116audio-order.html Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_a nderson@earthlin k. net Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 11:36 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] New York Daily News Edit on recent Police Shootings New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com Shooting reactions show a mature city Monday, January 6th, 2003 Where headlines are concerned, cops and blacks are often in conflict. In reality, the relationship is more complex. That's why reaction to the police killing of four black men in the first two days of 2003 is instructive. Maybe after all the years of charges of police brutality, and of blacks and Latinos suffering through crime in the ghettos to which they are often confined, and of attempts to bridge gaps, maybe, just maybe, we've grown up. Mayor Bloomberg, unlike Rudy Giuliani, did not sing the praises of "the very best Police Department" in the U.S. or condemn the families of the slain suspects while dismissing criticism as evidence of "a vicious form of anti-police bias, which leads to entertaining every doubt possible against the police." Bloomberg struck the right tone, noting that the deaths were "a great tragedy, no matter what happened," while giving police the benefit of the doubt. As significantly, A1 Sharpton didn't berate cops and threaten civil disobedience. Instead, he said of the shootings: "If it's just, we'll say it's just. If it's not, we'll say that, too." He even acknowledged that not all who die at the hands of cops are innocents. Eric Adams, who heads 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, offered a more nuanced response, mindful of the dangers of the job as well as the frustrations of people stuck in crime-ridden neighborhoods. Sometimes, he said, cops have to make judgments in a matter of seconds: shoot or risk being shot. In fact, he sounded like Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who said, "We ask the men and women of this department to go out and protect the citizens of this city. There are times when officers are forced to make life and death decisions in a matter of seconds." The four men who were killed by cops in less than 48 hours were not, if police and witnesses are to be believed, engaged in exemplary behavior. And all had records of misbehavior, even criminality. Reckless gunplay in the streets. Car theft. Sticking up deliverymen from a neighborhood restaurant. Though they seemed to care little for the lives of others, one can understand the grief of their families. Our cops are some of the most restrained in the nation when it comes to the use of deadly force. They don't shoot whenever the spirit moves them as cops in places like Washington have been wont to do. They shoot - or should - only because life is endangered and, having determined that, they shoot to kill. The bottom line is that all New Yorkers want to live in safe communities. And in Harlem, where I dwell, we want to be able to order a hamburger from Wimpie's and not fear that we or the delivery person will be robbed or killed. We want cops who understand that. And we want our neighbors more prone to protest now and think later to do so, too. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 6 Marian Karr From: Pierce Murphy [LPMurphy@cityofboise.org] Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 11:46 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Australia: Ombudsman To Investigate 1988 Police Subject: Australia: Ombudsman reinvestigating 1988 police shooting The Age, January 4 2003: Police accused of planting gun in 1988 shooting By John Silvester The Ombudsman is reinvestigating the 1988 police shooting of armed robbery suspect Graeme Jensen after new claims by a suspended detective that crucial evidence was planted at the scene. Jensen was shot dead by police in Narre Warren on October 11, 1988. The day after, two police were shot dead in Walsh Street, allegedly as a payback over Jensen's death. Police maintained they fired on Jensen in self-defence when he threatened them with a rifle as he tried to escape in his Commodore station wagon. An unloaded sawn-off .22 rifle was later found at the feet of Jensen inside his car after he was shot dead. A coronial inquest found that Jensen had possession of the gun when he was shot. But a policeman facing serious drug charges, Detective Sergeant IVlalcolm Rosenes, now claims the gun was planted by police. Detective Sergeant Rosenes was in charge of the surveillance unit following .lensen when the suspect was shot. He was a serving drug squad detective when he was arrested in July, 2001, and charged with drug offences. Tt is believed Detective Sergeant Rosenes has made a statement over the ~lensen shooting to the Ceja taskforce - a police Ethical Standards Department team investigating allegations of drug squad corruption. But Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon has handed the new claims on _lensen's death to the Ombudsman, Barry Perry. 1/7/03 Page 2 of 6 When asked by The Age if he was reviewing the case Dr Perry said: "I couldn't comment." Ms Nixon also refused to comment on the investigation. Eight armed robbery squad detectives were charged with murdering Jensen but the charges were later dropped against all but one. The detective who fired the fatal shot stood trial in the Supreme Court but was acquitted in 1995 when the prosecution failed to establish a strong enough case. Copyright =A9 2003 The Age Company Ltd The Age, January 4 2003: =46atally flawed: the death of Graeme Jensen By John Silvester By the time Detective Sergeant Malcolm Rosenes reported for duty, on October 11, 1988, Operation No-Name had been under way for nearly six hours. Under surveillance was armed robbery suspect Graeme Jensen at a house in Moray Court, Narre Warren. Eight armed robbery squad detectives had been in position from about 7.30am - but they could not act until they were sure the man in the house was their target. What they needed was for the suspect to come out so they could confirm his identity. That was the job of the surveillance police. They decided to use a textbook "box intercept" - when Jensen drove off, the detectives would use three cars to snare him. A car would pull up on each side, their noses slightly across the suspect's vehicle. The third car would block the rear. That was the plan. Jensen was no early riser - career criminals rarely are. He had breakfast in bed then rose about midday to watch a movie, The Postman Always Rings Twice. Rosenes knew the target well; he was one of a gang of suspected armed robbers, including Jedd Houghton and Victor George Peirce, whom police had been watching since May. 1/7/03 Page 3 of 6 But the police waiting in Narre Warren were chasing an innocent man. They intended to arrest him over the armed robbery of a Brunswick supermarket on July 11, 1988, where security guard Dominic Hefti was shot dead. Jensen was not even there. But while Jensen did not kill Hefti, he was still capable of the most extreme violence. Born in 1955, the youngest of five children, Graeme Russell Jensen lived with his parents until they split when he was seven. He was 11 when charged with stealing from taxis. A policeman who dealt with Jensen in the early years wrote: "He is inclined to be smart and is apparently a show-off." But at his Children's Court hearing a welfare officer gave evidence that he was an outstanding athlete and a good student. Jensen left school in third form. One of his few legitimate jobs was at a broom factory. He lasted only two weeks. Jensen saw his long-term career in crime. At 14, he and four others used coat hangers to pull six fur coats, valued at the $2468, through a letter opening in the door of a Melbourne shop. At 15 Jensen became one of Australia's youngest bank robbers when he relieved the National Bank in Fitzroy of $1363. The arresting officer this time left a cryptic note: "This lad, in my opinion, will in the future become a very active criminal. He requires firm handling." In 1977 Jensen was arrested in Canberra over three armed robberies totalling $70,000. The arresting officer observed: "Offender is a very dangerous type of person who, according to his girlfriends and other persons, always slept with his shotgun loaded under his bed. "When arrested also had the weapon fully loaded in his possession. Warning, will finish shooting a policeman or some other person he has a dislike to if given an opportunity. Treat with caution." _lensen was sentenced to 10 years, six months, with a minimum of eight for the armed robberies. According to underworld figure Lindsay Rountree, Jensen and his friend Victor Peirce were convinced police had embarked on a policy of systematically culling career bandits. Rountree claimed the two decided to fight back, vowing to kill two police every time a known criminal was killed by police. Perhaps 1/7/03 Page 4 of 6 Victor would not have been so staunch had he known that his wife, Wendy, had an affair with .]ensen. Rosenes was sitting in a silver Nissan sedan reading his paper when Jensen finally surfaced at 3.20pm. Even professional gangsters have to attend to mundane chores: .]ensen needed a new spark plug for his lawn mower. It took him only three minutes to drive 2.4 kilometres to the nearby shop. Two surveillance detectives then wandered into the shop to confirm the suspect was Jensen. Three unmarked police cars containing the eight armed robbery detectives cars barrelled in. But the third car, slowed by passing traffic, was a few seconds late. This enabled .]ensen to gun the motor and hit reverse. Police later gave sworn evidence that they saw Jensen had a firearm on his lap. They yelled at him to stop. He clipped a car as he reversed out of the Webb Street shopping strip, then flung the automatic into forward. One detective yelled: "He's got a gun." _lensen was then shot dead. His car crashed into a light pole. What happened then remained a matter of conjecture for years. An armed robbery squad detective went to the boot of his car and grabbed a towel. He gave it to a second detective, who said he found a sawn-off bolt action .22 rifle next to _]ensen's legs. It was not cocked, not loaded and the magazine was upside down. Two bullets were also found on the floor. It was later claimed the towel was used to hide the gun taken from the police car to plant in Jensen's station wagon. Police said it was to cover .lensen's body from public view. The towel was later destroyed without being tested for gunshot residue. In his findings, Coroner Hal Hallenstein said: "There was suspicion and assertion expressed in inquest that the sawn-off .22 calibre rifle and two .22 calibre bullets had been planted there by police." But ultimately Mr Hallenstein rejected the allegation. "... It is hard to envisage anything like those events unless Jensen had possession of a gun which had been seen by police members," he said. "By considering .]ensen's criminal history involving firearms and armed robbery and in the absence of any evidence of the firearm being seized, retained and planted as alleged, it is concluded in inquest that the firearm was in Jensen's possession prior to and at the time 1/7/03 Page 5 of 6 of intercept and prior to his fatal injury with resulting vehicle collision." Rosenes would later admit that when he heard shots, "I froze in my position instead of hightailing it quickly and seeing if Jensen was making a getaway". But he soon gathered his composure. Rosenes ordered his surveillance team to a meeting. He instructed them to write notes on what they had seen so they would have records for the subsequent investigations. But those notes went missing. They were never found. When Rosenes gave evidence in the Coroner's Court in March, 1990, he was unable to explain what happened to the missing notes. At no stage did Rosenes indicate he had seen anything questionable on the day _lensen was shot. He didn't seem overly curious. Next day, two police constables, Steven Tynan, 22, and Damian Eyre, 20, were gunned down in Walsh Street, South Yarra, in what detectives maintain was a payback for .]ensen's death. Victor Peirce, Trevor Pettingill, Anthony Farrell and Peter McEvoy were charged with the Walsh Street murders. They were acquitted. The eight armed robbery squad detectives involved in the Narre Warren raid were later charged with murder. The prosecution made a series of claims, including that the detectives involved "sought to impede their prosecution, conviction and punishment by falsely asserting that Jensen brandished a gun threatening one or more of them as he drove off in his car, and by placing a sawn-off rifle at his feet in the car to add credibility to the pretend justification". The policeman who investigated the Jensen shooting, Detective Senior Sergeant .lohn Hill, committed suicide two months after he was charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder in that he allegedly concealed evidence suggesting police were criminally liable. He always maintained his innocence and felt his integrity had been destroyed when he was charged. The charges against seven of the police were dropped. The detective who fired the fatal shots was acquitted in the Supreme Court on August 9, 1995. It took the jury 18 minutes to decide the prosecution had not established a strong enough case for the trial to continue. It was 2494 days since Graeme _lensen left home to buy a spark plug. 1/7/03 Page 6 of 6 The cost for the investigation, prosecution and inquest on .lensen was $4 million. Freedom of information documents show the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions paid 11 barristers a total of $1 million in fees. Police later reviewed training procedures and launched Operation Beacon, a plan to try to avoid police being involved in fatal confrontations. Rosenes was considered a plodder. He later moved to the drug squad and was arrested in July, 2001, for drug trafficking. Now he has made a statement calling into doubt the official version of events surrounding the death of Jensen. The matter has been handed to the Ombudsman, Dr Barry Perry, for re-examination. Copyright =A9 2003 The Age Company Ltd 1/7/03 Page l of 2 Marian Karr From: Pierce Murphy [LPMurphy@cityofboise.org] Sent: Tuesday. January 07.2003 11:49 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Discusses Personal Impact of Position Subject: Northern Ireland: Ombudsman tells of private torment, criticism Belfast Telegraph, Dec 16, 2002: Ombudsman tells of private torment Criticism over Omagh report led to tears BY HELEN BRUCE NORTHERN Ireland Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan hid in her office, broke open a box of tissues and sobbed her heart out after coming under fierce political fire for the Omagh bombing report. Mrs O'Loan had been subjected to a series of vicious personal attacks, following her office's claim that the police investigation of the fatal bombing was flawed. Retiring RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan declared himself outraged, adding if he had called the report fair and rigorous, he would not only resign, he would commit suicide in public. Ulster Unionist party spokesman Lord IVlaginnis also launched a sharp assault. Mrs O'Loan, a mother and wife, has now admitted for the first time how the criticism hurt her deeply. She said: "Having these things said about me, T was enormously distressed. ! wanted to go and say my piece, but instead ! shut the door to my office, sat down with a box of handkerchiefs and just started crying. It was tough. "I suppose everyone goes through difficult times in life, times when you think you can't pick yourself up and do it again, but out of that darkness can come a great understanding." The ombudsman was speaking on an RTE programme called Would You Believe, to be broadcast on Thursday. Looking back at the difficult experience, she said: "If my office is to have credibility, it has to say things which are difficult, but difficult things are not welcome." She added: "You have to tread softly, because you are treading on 1/7/03 Page 2 of 2 people's ideals, but I am not afraid of it. That's not the word." The Omagh fall-out was not the first or the worst emotional experience Mrs O'Loan had experienced in her life, as she also revealed. An enduringly painful memory was the loss of her unborn baby following a bomb attack. Then a lecturer at the former Ulster Polytechnic, she had been placed next to an invited guest, a former Lord Chief Justice, in a crowded lecture theatre. She moved to attend to someone across the room when a bomb exploded beneath the desk and her intended seat. No one was killed, but several people were seriously injured. "Where the chair was, there was just nothing there. We were fortunate in that the explosion went up, not out into the room, but it was enough. "I was pregnant and I lost the child. It was very hard to cope with, very hard. I was so happy to be pregnant, and so thrilled. I loved this baby already." The staunch Catholic said the experience had taught her, 18 years later, to allow God to forgive. "I have huge difficulty understanding how someone could plant a bomb in a lecture theatre full of young people from all sides of the community. It has left me with flashbacks, nightmares and I still don't like loud noises. It leaves its mark." 1/7/03 Marian Karr From: Elizabeth. Pugliese@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 1:11 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Detroit officer severs woman's finger Detroit officer severs woman's finger Cop says he was cutting coat to cuff her January 7, 2003 BY JIM SCHAEFER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER A Detroit police officer with a knife cut off the finger of a 45-year-old woman he was trying to handcuff in.a parking lot on 8 Mile. The police, who were in plainclothes, said she was resisting arrest. The woman, Joni Gullas of Detroit, said Monday that she thought she was being carjacked. According to police reports obtained by the Free Press, Officer Anthony Johnson pulled out a knife Sunday morning to cut off the sleeve of Gullas' oversized coat so he could put her left hand in the handcuffs. Johnson, of the 9th (Gratiot) Precinct, has been placed on desk duty, a typical move after officers use force during arrests. Gullas has not been charged with a crime. Cmdr. Ralph Godbee Jr. said only that internal affairs was investigating the officer's behavior during the incident, which happened about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Though the department does not issue knives, many officers carry them for, among other things, cutting seat belts to free accident victims. Johnson and two other officers were riding in an unmarked car on a special burglary patrol when they noticed Gullas' van in a parking lot near the Huddle Lounge near 8 Mile and Gratiot. Gullas said she had just left the bar and was waiting for others to come out so they could go together to breakfast when a car pulled up and someone shined a spotlight in her face. A man approached, said he was the police and demanded her identification. Gullas said she could make out only a silhouette and asked the man for police identification. "I just thought I was getting hijacked right then and there," she said. After some heated give-and-take between the two over IDs, Johnson approached the window and demanded Gullas' license. He wrote in his report that Gullas smelled of alcohol but refused to produce her license, saying she wasn't doing anything wrong. She shifted the car into reverse and began to back up, he wrote. Gullas denies that she moved the car. ! Johnson wrote that he reached inside to open the door, and Gullas pinned his hand with her knee and began moving the car backward again. Johnson wrote that he hit her in the face, opened the door and pulled her outside onto the pavement. He said she was pulling and pushing away from him violently. He cuffed her right hand, but couldn't get to her left hand, which she had tucked under her body. He pulled on her coat sleeve and she pulled her hand inside, he wrote. Gullas denied doing that and said the sleeves on the coat normally hang over her hands. Concerned that she might be reaching for a weapon, Johnson pulled out a pocket knife and cut the sleeve off "to speed up cuffing process," he wrote. He severed her left ring finger at the top knuckle and deeply cut her middle finger, she said. Police at the scene recovered the fingertip, but it could not be reattached. At her east side home Monday, Gullas nursed her bandaged hand, which required surgery at Detroit Receiving Hospital. "I wasn't fighting. I just didn't know what the hock was going on," she said. "Oh, my God, it hurts. I might as well have cut the whole hand off." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Iris. Jones@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 1:13 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] POLICE: Stun gun used as last resort Police: Stun gun used as last resort Man 'never stopped threatening to jump~' Arlington officer says 01/07/2003 By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News Arlington police used an electrical stun gun on a Grand Prairie man on New Year's Eve in what they thought was the last resort to prevent him from jumping from a highway overpass, a police spokesman said Monday. Police had declined until Monday to say whether they used such a device on Ronald E. Wright, who jumped to his death seconds after a police officer fired the stun gun. Police had said disclosing police tactics could endanger officers or the public. Mr. Wright fell about 100 feet after a three-hour standoff with police negotiators. Also Online Sgt. Will Johnson, an Arlington police spokesman, said [~] Stun gun shot preceded man's suicide negotiations had broken down with Mr. Wright, 35, just before the officer fired the stun gun. [] ] Graphic: How it happened "We believed that the use of the ... [stun gun] was going to be the last option to bring this standoff to a successful resolution," Sgt. Johnson said. "Mr. Wright never stopped threatening to jump off the bridge." A photographer for The Dallas Morning News recorded the events in the moments leading up to Mr. Wright's suicide. The photos show an officer pointing a stun gun at Mr. Wright. Electrical wires extend from the device's barrel and drape across the 1 O-foot distance between the officer and Mr. Wright. A police investigator will conduct a "critical incident review" on the use of the stun gun, Sgt. Johnson said. He said he did not know how long the review would take. He declined to comment on whether the device worked properly. Department officials said police bought 20 stun guns and related equipment for about $15,500 last year. The weapons are used only by the tactical squad, Sgt. Johnson said. A spokesman for a stun-gun manufacturer said that if the stun gun had properly deployed, it would have instantly incapacitated the man and prevented him from jumping. 1/7/03 Page 2 of 2 "It sounds like they missed with one probe," said Steve Tuttle, director of government affairs for Taser International, a Scottsdale, Ariz., company that has sold the devices to more than 1,900 police departments nationwide. "You need both of them to make contact with the body." Mr. Tuttle said the company's research shows that the device has had a 95 percent success rate when it was used on people who are suicidal. "If they were trying to stop someone who was suicidal, it's an appropriate use as far as the weapon goes," Mr. Turtle said. "The weapon is designed to stop someone who is intent on hurting themselves or others." The incident began when police received several 911 calls from residents who saw Mr. Wright running in and out of traffic. When police arrived, he was sitting on a concrete retaining wall atop the highway overpass at State Highway 360 and Interstate 20. Police blocked off traffic in all directions as they tried to persuade him not to jump. A police negotiator eventually managed to get within a few feet of Mr. Wright. Throughout the incident, Mr. Wright repeatedly climbed on and offthe railing. Toward the end of the standoff, Mr. Wright straddled the wall. Police said he was agitated after he saw a television news van. Police decided to use the stun gun after negotiations with Mr. Wright broke down. After he jumped, Mr. Wright was pronounced dead at the scene. The Tarrant County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide and found that he died of blunt trauma. Sgt. Elizabeth Smith, a negotiator with the Naperville, Ilk, Police Department and a consultant with the Carrollton-based Law Enforcement Television Network, said that what Arlington police did does not sound like an inappropriate use of the weapon. "It sounds like they were trying to end that situation with nobody getting hurt," Sgt. Smith said. "The guy's decision to jump was his own." Margerett Roberts, supervisor of the crisis line for Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County, said: "If a person has their mind set on killing themselves, there's really nothing that you can about it except delay it. ... I think the police handled it to the best of their abilities with the information that they had." E-mail teiserer~dallasnews.com Online at: http;//www,dallasnews,com/Iocalnews/stories/O10703dnmetstungun.559b4.html *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 1/7/03 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthl[nk.net Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 9:10 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Oakland CA - Fired cop sued for misconduct Alameda Times-Star Fired undercover narcotics officer sued in misconduct case By Mike Martinez STAFF WRITER Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - OAKLAND -- An Oakland attorney has filed a federal lawsuit against an undercover narcotics officer who was fired for alleged misconduct in a 2001 case involving cocaine. Lawyer John Burris' suit, filed in Oakland, claims officer John Gutierrez violated the civil rights of Uhuru Cooper of Oakland following a car stop nearly two years ago. The suit alleges Cooper was subjected to false arrest, unreasonable search and seizure, kidnapping, intimidation and falsifying reports, among other things. The city of Oakland and Police Chief Richard Word were named as defendants in the suit, which requests damages for pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of liberty. It also asks for attorneys' fees, bail expenses, court costs, and tow and storage charges. Gutierrez's attorney, Rocky Lucia of the Pleasant Hill firm of Rains, Lucia and Wilkinson, said Tuesday that he had not seen the suit and could not Gutierrez was fired after an investigation into a March 2001 case in which he prepared a search warrant and later wrote the report about the seizure of a few ounces of cocaine and money. Investigators said the narcotics and money were not found until after a second defendant was allegedly false. Burris said he believes there may be more cases involving Gutierrez. The suit, filed on Christmas Eve, alleges Cooper was pulled over while traveling west on Interstate 580 near Coolidge Avenue. Gutierrez allegedly told Cooper he had a warrant, although he never showed it, court documents show. Gutierrez allegedly threatened to take Cooper's daughter and place her in foster care. Gutierrez allegedly led a search of Cooper's 1998 Buick Park Avenue before taking Cooper into custody and searching a house in the 2400 block of East 21st Street. Nothing was found in the car or the house, the lawsuit says. Cooper allegedly watched Gutierrez take a bag of cocaine from his police vehicle before claiming he found it in the back yard of the house. Cooper appeared in court several times before his charges were dismissed on Jan. 2, 2002, because of insufficient evidence. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 9:14 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NJ - County to test cops for drugs County to test police for drugs Wednesday, January 08, 2003 By Shawn Menzies smenzies@sjnewsco.com WOODBURY -- Because three policemen were arrested on drug charges in December, all Gloucester County police officers will face random during testing starting in March. The guidelines were implemented by the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office effective Jan. 3 and will require all police departments adopt some type of drug screening process by no later than March 4, said Ed Sholinsky, spokesman for the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office. Sholinsky said all county police chiefs and top police administrators are being asked by Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton to attend a Jan. 16 workshop to iron out the guidelines. The guidelines mandate that all members of the law enforcement community be given a random drug test. Testing of the assistant prosecutors and investigators -- the lawyers and detectives who work for Dalton -- will be ordered when there is reasonable suspicion to believe a person is illegally using drugs. The testing will be done with urine samples that will be sent to the New Jersey State Police toxicology laboratory, the guidelines state. A positive result for illegal drug use could result in the police officer being terminated and barred from future law enforcement jobs in the state. Positive results will mean a report with the Central Drug Registry maintained by the Division of State Police. Testing will also be done on those who are applying for jobs and those entering the Gloucester County Police Academy. Officers who refuse a drug test could face suspension. The new policy stems from the arrests of three officers for alleged narcotics-related charges. On Dec. 15, Washington Township Ptl. Amalio Steven Gurcsik, 25, a three-year veteran of the department, was arrested in the parking lot of a Cherry Hill pizzeria, off duty but in his patrol car, allegedly trying to buy two bags of powdered cocaine from an undercover officer from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. Gurcsik was charged with attempting to purchase a controlled dangerous substance and official misconduct because he drove his patrol car to allegedly buy the drugs. He has been suspended without pay. Three days later, on Dec. 18, Harrison Township Ptl. Michael Thiel, 32, of Blackwood and Washington Township Ptl. John Lombardo, 30, of Turnersville were charged with official misconduct. Lombardo, a five-year veteran of the force, was serving a six-month stint with the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Strike Force that would 1 have ended in June. He hasn't been charged and the matter is being handled administratively for now. Thiel was also suspended without pay and his future with his department is uncertain. Asked if the Prosecutor's Office anticipates objections to the testing by any police unions or members of any Fraternal Order of Police, Sholinsky said, "We have not heard anything yet, and I can't say if we will." Washington Township Ptl. Paul Martin, president of Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 318, said the local will be meeting today. He anticipates the issue will be discussed. "So far, everyone has been positive and for it," Martin said. Washington Township Ptl. Tom Cushane, president of Washington Township Regional Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 86, said as long as the new drug testing policy "mirrors the New Jersey Attorney General's policy, the FOP will welcome it with open arms." "Since the FOP leadership has not yet seen a copy of Prosecutor Dalton's impending new policy, the FOP obviously is not in a position to comment on its specifics," Cushane said. "Generally speaking, however, the police officers who comprise the FOP membership have always embraced reasonable efforts to demonstrate to the public they serve that they are drug-free. In fact, it was the New Jersey State Fraternal Order of Police that just four years ago helped the New Jersey Attorney General's Office draft the current statewide guidelines on law enforcement drug testing. "The FOP challenges Prosecutor Dalton to continue to show good faith by applying his new policy to all sworn law enforcement officials in Gloucester County, from foot patrolman to police chief -- and even the prosecutor himself, who is the chief law enforcement officer of Gloucester County." Copyright 2003 NJ.com. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: keivyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 9:16 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NJ - State pays 12 motorists $775,000 for traffic stops Early suits on racial profiling are settled State pays 12 motorists $775,000 for traffic stops Wednesday, January 08, 2003 BY KATHY BARRETT CARTER AND JONATHAN SCHUPPE Star-Ledger Staff Before racial profiling was a household word, before the State Police fell under the watch of federal monitors, two New York lawyers went public with claims that two troopers assaulted them during a routine traffic stop. They filed a lawsuit in 1997, later joined by other minority motorists who said they were victims of discriminatory policing. Their allegations helped galvanize the public against racial profiling and helped inspire lawmakers to reform the way the State Police patrol New Jersey highways. Try Our Classifieds Now their case is closed. Last month, the state agreed to pay a dozen motorists more than $775,000, putting to rest some of its most infamous racial-profiling cases. The payments include $200,000 each to lawyers Felix Morka and Laila Maher, whose allegations of assault during a 1996 traffic stop led to changes in the way the State Police handle citizen complaints of trooper misconduct. Elmo Randolph, an East Orange dentist who says he's been pulled over by police about 100 times over the years because he was black and drove a luxury car, will receive $75,000. Despite the payments, Randolph does not believe the settlement will help eradicate racial profiling. If anything, he said, it will quiet critics' voices. "Ultimately, they never offered an apology to anyone," said Randolph, who has testified often about his experiences with State Police troopers, in court and in legislative hearings. "The idea was, 'We'll pay you this, and go away.' By settling these cases, the discussion stops. They pay, the discussion stops, they go on." Ail told, the agreement brings to nearly $19 million the amount New Jersey has paid to settle racial-profiling lawsuits since the state acknowledged the practice in the late 1990s. The largest by far was the $12.9 million the state agreed to pay in February 2001 to four minority men, three of whom were wounded by troopers in the April 1998 Turnpike shooting that triggered a public uproar over racial profiling. Morka and Maher originally filed suit in 1997. They, Randolph and nine other minorities joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey in 2000, combining their individual claims into one racial-profiling lawsuit. 1 They tried unsuccessfully to have the case certified as a class-action lawsuit, which would have opened the door for more plaintiffs and larger payments. Instead, last month they settled on payments ranging from $25,000 to $200,000, which will be paid by the state and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. As part of the settlement, the state admitted no wrongdoing. The agreement was negotiated by Douglas Wolfson, director of the Civil Division in the Attorney General's Office, and Nell Mullin and William Buckman, attorneys who represented the plaintiffs. The ACLU plans a Monday news conference at its office in Newark to announce the settlement. The payment figures do not include lawyers' fees, which still have to be determined in arbitration hearings before retired Appellate Division Judge John E. Keefe. The ACLU has agreed with the state to keep those fees private. State officials say just a handful of racial-profiling lawsuits are pending. But many critics expect more claims to be filed as a result of a decision by the Attorney General's Office last year to dismiss dozens of criminal complaints in cases weakened by racially motivated policing. "New Jersey is the racial profiling state, and making amends to its victims is an important step to reform," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey. "But until we can address police culture, policies and practices to the extent that people are no longer victimized based on their skin color on New Jersey roads, there will be more litigation and more publicity around this issue." First Assistant Attorney General Peter Harvey disagreed, saying many of the old cases would be weak. And, thanks to successful reforms, new claims are negligible, he said. "The State Police is a much different organization on the road today than it was in 1999," Harvey said. Since the Attorney General's Office admitted that year that racial profiling was "real, not imagined," it has come under a federal consent decree and the scrutiny of state lawmakers to change the way the State Police operate. The result was new procedures for handling traffic stops, civilian complaints, recruitment of new members and professional training. Morka and Maher were influential voices in the call for those changes. They were traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York on Jan. 16, 1996, when they were stopped by Troopers Scott Jiras and Leonard Nerbetski just north of Interchange 8A. A Nigerian national who serves as executive director of Social and Economic Rights Action Center in Takoma Park, Md., Morka alleged that the troopers pounded his head against the steering wheel and dragged him from his car. Maher, an Egyptian-American, practices poverty law in New York City. She said the officers hollered at her and held a gun to her head. The two filed a complaint against the troopers but said they encountered a hopelessly confusing complaint process. Months later, they received a letter saying the charges were unsubstantiated. So they sued. They also became key witnesses in legislative hearings that probed racial profiling by the State Police and led to a new law requiring the State Police to file an annual public report on citizen complaints against troopers. Both troopers are still with the State Police. Jiras is now a sergeant; Nerbetski is a detective. Neither Morka nor Maher could be reached for comment yesterday. 2 Randolph said his story began soon after he bought his first BMW. Over the course of a decade, he estimated he was pulled over on North Jersey roads 50 to 100 times. "Do I have faith that things will move forward? I don't know," Randolph said. "I have to say that's a big question mark. It takes a very long time." The other plaintiffs and their settlement amounts are Herbert Morton, $50,000; Kane Bragg, $25,000; James Coffee, $34,650; Pompeii Conover, $30,800; William Eason, $34,650; Christopher Good, $30,800; John Okoli, $25,000; Lloyd Permaul $25,025, and Avery Woods, $44,402. Copyright 2003 NJ.com. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthl[nk.net Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 9:32 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Smithville GA - Chief resigns amid misconduct charges Smithville police chief resigns amid charges of misconduct By SAMANTHA SLATER ~nericus Times Reporter 8Jan2003 SMITHVILLE - Smithville Police Chief Walt Causey was recently suspended from duty. According to City Attorney Tommy Coleman, Causey was suspended for altering time cards not his own, altering police reports, personal use of confiscated alcohol, and harassing other employees. Causey was suspended with pay Saturday. He received a charge letter Tuesday and had three days to request a hearing before the Smithville City Council. Instead, Causey met with Smithville Mayor Jerry Myrick Tuesday afternoon and resigned. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: HECTOR.W.SOTO@phila.gov Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 9:38 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NYTimes.com Article: Metro Briefing: New York ...................... Forwarded by on 01/08/2003 10:29 AM cc: Subject: NYTimes.com Article: Metro Briefing: New York This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by hector.w.soto@phila.gov. Metro Briefing: New York January 8, 2003 MANHATTAN: POLICE COMPLAINT BOARD WINS CASE A state appeals court ruled yesterday that the independent city agency that investigates police misconduct complaints can also prosecute the cases. The ruling by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, in a lawsuit brought by the city's five police unions, is a victory for the agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board. The court also ruled that complaints substantiated by the agency must be heard in police administrative hearings, rather than at the city's independent Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. The police officers' union said it was weighing an appeal. William K. Rashbaum (NYT) Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 9:47 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Smithville GA - longer piece on Chief's resignation Chief of Smithville resigns his post Chief Walter L. Causey is the second Smithville police chief to be accused of misuse of a city computer in less than two years. TIM WESSELMAN STAFF WRITER SMITHVILLE Smithville Police Chief Walter L. Causey resigned late Tuesday amid allegations that he altered police reports and kept sexually explicit e-mail on a city computer. Causey, 59, did not state his reason for resigning. However, he had been placed on suspension pending termination on Jan. 17, according to Tommy Coleman, Sm±thville city attorney. Causey did not return several telephone calls to his Lee County home Tuesday. Causey was suspended following complaints that he altered police incident reports, altered other employees' pay records, put confiscated alcoholic beverages to personal use and kept "inappropriate material of a sexual nature," including e-mail, on a city police computer, Coleman said. Smithville authorities do not know whether the allegations are true and do not intend to investigate them further, Coleman said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation or district attorney would be the appropriate party to investigate the charges, he said. "What we are talking about are minor violations," Coleman said. "It is hard for me to imagine it will rise to a level of a criminal act." A patrol officer, Joy Saunders, is serving as Smithville's acting police chief until a permanent replacement is named, Coleman said. District Attorney Cecilia Cooper said she was unaware of any complaints against Causey. A citizen or agency would have to bring allegations, along with specific information, to her office before she could investigate the matter, she said. Coleman said a disagreement between Causey and other city employees led Mayor Jerry Myrick to announce this past Saturday that the city planned to fire Causey. Causey's predecessor in the job, former Police Chief James Smith, was terminated by the city in June 2001. Smith, a former Lee County sheriff's deputy, was accused of poor management and using a city police computer to make personal 900 number toll calls, according to previous reports. Causey began as a police officer with the Smithville Police Department in July 2001, after a two-year stint with the Lee County Sheriff's Department. He was first oertified as a Georgia law enforcement officer in 1976, according to state records. Causey also has worked for several police agencies in Texas, including agencies in the Houston, Midland and Bastrop areas. Georgia Police Officer Standards and Training Council records show he has worked for five Southwest Georgia law enforcement agencies since 1997, with stints ranging from a couple of months to two years. Tim Wesselman can be reached at (229) 888-9351 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 10:26 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Las Cruces NM - Brutality case to be retried Las Cruces Sun-News Brutality case to be retried By Gabriela C. Guzman Henday, January 06, 2003 - Sun-News Reporter A case of alleged police brutality, which ended in a mistrial last month in Federal Court, will be heard again in court this week. After two days of deliberations in December, the jury could not reach a verdict on the claims brought against two Las Cruces police officers. Grover Pettes, 56, claims he was manhandled by a Las Cruces Police officer during an arrest in January 2000. Pettes said he was forced face-down on the hoed of a car, handcuffed for an excessive period of time and suffered a fractured left wrist. On Dec. 23, U.S. Judge William P. Johnson ordered the case to be heard again this week, with a jury being selected todaytuesday and the trial to be held Wednesday. This time, only one officer will stand trial. Las Cruces Police Officer Tom Massad, a defendant in the original trial, has been dismissed by the court as a defendant in the retrial. The court ruled that there was no evidence directly connecting Hassad to the alleged mistreatment. Last month, the case was given two days for opening and closing arguments and witness testimony. After jurors were deadlocked at the close of the second day, Johnson gave them an additional day to reach a decision, but to no avail. On Dec. 20, the jury of five women and three men said they were "hopelessly deadlocked." Last week, Pettes' attorney requested a delay in the start ef the second trial, claiming short notice and the unavailability of some witnesses. Johnson denied the request on Honday. Gloria Pettes, the defendant's wife and a key witness for his case, is ill, according te the request for a continuance. A letter from her physician indicated that recent surgery ena leg ulceration would prevent her from appearing in court. In the court's refusal to grant mere time, Gloria Pettes is described as a "witness and not a party." If she cannot take the stand, "her previous testimony can be read to the jury," the judge ruled. Grover Pettes was pulled over in January 2000 by Las Cruces Police Officer Lawrence Archuleta for failure to use a left-turn signal. Later, he was arrested on a Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear in court on a citation from October 2000 for parking inoperable cars on his property. Pettes claimed his arms were pulled up behind him while he was handcuffed and that he was handcuffed for mere then three hours. Pettes, who has cerebral palsy, has received Social Security disability benefits for about 30 years. He said, because ef his wrist injury, he is no longer able te perform manual labor at his father's water company. The new jury will have to decide whether police used excessive force in arresting Pettes and if he was restrained for an excessive period ef time. Pettes is seeking $25,000 in medical bills and loss of past and future wages. He is also seeking an amount for pain and suffering. Gabriela C. Guzman can be reached at gguzman@lcsun-news.com . Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org 2 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:15 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phila PA - New FOP chief pays attention to diversity Posted on Thu, Jan. 09, 2003 New FOP chief pays attention to diversity Minority officers feel they belong By JOSEPH R. DAUGHEN Philadelphia Daily News daughej@phillynews.com MOTOWN NIGHT at the Fraternal Order of Police. It wasn't so long ago that such an idea would have been laughed at as ridiculous. That was back when FOP headquarters at 1336 Spring Garden St. was viewed as a refuge for whites only. But Motown Night at the FOP is a reality, and it happens every other Thursday. The music played and the food served in the lounge are designed to appeal to African-An~erican officers. "A lot of minority officers didn't feel comfortable going to the FOP lounge because it was viewed as a place just for whites," said Willie L. Williams 3rd, president of the Guardian Civic League, the association of black officers. "Bob Eddis went to work on that, and Rich Costello supported him, and we got it done. We no longer feel that the FOP is just for white officers," Eddis is Robert V. Eddis, 49, who was elected president of FOP Lodge 5 in October, succeeding his mentor, Costello. The two men remain close and share the same goals, but their styles are opposites. "Bob's personality is different from Rich's," said Williams, son of the former police cor~issioner. "He's a different type of leader. Rich has a kind of sternness and a look that Bobby doesn't have. Bobby gives you a different feel and some people feel more confident with him because he's less threatening. They both have the best interests of the police officer at heart." Eddis was opposed in the election by an African-A~erican officer, but Williams said he supported Eddis. "Bobby worked with us on a program where officers visit schools and talk to the kids," said Williams. "Everybody is represented. White, African-American, Hispanic, uniformed and plainclothes, male and female. He and Rich worked together to unify the Police Department. Bobby's my friend. He~s a good guy." Where Costello used thunderous rhetoric in defending cops, and was described as having a "tongue as sharp as a ripsaw," Eddis is quieter and more restrained. He has five-plus years of post-high school education, but hasn't accumulated enough credits for a bachelor's degree. "In the 1994 FOP election, Rich called me and said he wanted me on his ticket," said Eddis. "I thought he wanted me to be the lodge chaplain because I go to Mass two or three times a week." In fact, Costello asked Eddis to run for recording secretary, the FOP~s number two job, and their ticket was elected. "We worked at making sure the ticket represented every ethnic and racial group," said Eddis. "We wanted our team to look like the Police Department looked, and I'm very proud of that." Five of the 17 members of the FOP executive board are African-~enerican, two of them women. And the union's pension fund representative, Serena Tenant, is black. "I'm a member of the Guardian Civic League," said Eddis, whose grandparents came from Ireland. "Why wouldn't I be?" According to Police Department records, almost 40 percent of the city's 6,800 officers are African-American. The 2000 census found that about 43 percent of city residents were black. Eddis said he was "proud" to be sworn in as FOP president by City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. "She was the first black legislator to swear in an FOP president," said Eddis. "She is a dear friend." And when Eddis came up with an idea three years ago to pay bonuses to retired city workers when the pension fund's investments did well, he took it to Councilman Michael Nutter, an African American. "We call the pension bill the Nutter bill, because he worked so hard to get it passed," Eddis said. "It passed on May 1, 1999, and over the first three years $150 million in bonuses was paid out to pensioners at no cost to the city." Eddis said he talks to Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson virtually every day about his ideas for improving the lot of police officers. Johnson, he said, is "a great commissioner" and the first one in decades "who has the courage to act on his convictions." "We have an excellent working relationship," said Johnson. "Bobby is a good man, he's good for the officers and good for the department. I have his home and beeper numbers and he has mine. I had that relationship with Rich Costello and Bobby has enhanced it." As head of the FOP, Eddis said, he is preoccupied with the "practical" aspects of a police officer's life: Safety, salary and security. "My job is to see salaries increased to match those of our brothers in the suburbs," he said. "We would like to get what the state police got in 1973, lifetime medical coverage and 100 percent of salary upon retirement after 30 years." Currently, retirees get five years medical coverage and must work 40 years to get 100 percent of salary on leaving. Eddis, bespectacled with thinning brown hair and weighing 198 pounds, was a skinny 5 feet 10 inches when he became a cop in 1974, three years after graduating from Frankford High School. "I got kicked out of North Catholic in 1969 for cutting classes and not going to school, not studying," said Eddis. "But I was lucky. My family didn't give up on me. I was 14 and my wife [Mary] was my girlfriend then. She stuck by me, too." Eddis said he uses himself as "an example" when he meets with students, telling them they don't have to be perfect to succeed in life. He was the first in his family to wear the uniform. After 25 years service, Eddis retired as a sergeant in 1999 to work full-time at the FOP. He spent time as an officer in the Transit Unit, where he devised a system of tracking crimes similar to the Compstat system now used in the Police Department for the same purpose. For three of those years, Eddis worked as a decoy whose job it was to appear 2 drunk or disoriented in hopes of nabbing muggers who preyed on such people. During that time, he never carried his gun, he said. "I wasn't that big and I was always afraid somebody might get the gun away from me and use it against my backups," he said. "In all my years on the job, nobody ever shot at me and I never shot at anybody." Eddis described himself as "a city rowhouse kid" from the Northeast who does all the cooking for his family and will never move out of Philadelphia. "I have my priorities in order," he said. "God, then family, then work." Eddis and his wife, a nurse at Jefferson University Hospital for the last 27 years, have a son and three daughters. He is a baseball fan and he said one of the accomplishments he most admires is Tim McCarver's playing in the major leagues in four decades. "I wanted to be the Tim McCarver of parenting," he said, with a straight face. "My son was born in 1979 and my daughters were born in 1982, '84 and '90. I wanted to be a four-decade man, but my wife said no, and she was pretty firm about it." Eddis believes in aphorisms. On his office wall hangs a sign stating, "Your attitude will determine your altitude." "You have to be willing to die to go to heaven," he told a visitor. "Never forget where you came from." Eddis said his religious beliefs at times complicate his handling of secular matters. "I personally find it very hard to reconcile being a Catholic and pro-life while being in support of the death penalty," he said. "It's a very hard personal issue for me. Am I pro-life or just partial pro-life? It's troubling." But doubt vanishes when the victim is a police officer. "I think anyone who kills a police officer should be put to death," he said. "There is no way I could support not frying Mumia Abu-Jamal when I look at Maureen Faulkner. Police officers pray every night they don't have to take a life, and their lives shouldn't be taken from them, either." e 2001 dailynews and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. http://www.philly.com Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@ea~thlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 $:2'i AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Prince George Cry MD - Exec: No change in law shielding police washingtonpost.com Johnson Won't Seek Overhaul Of Law Shielding Police Officers By Paul Schwartzman Washington Pest Staff Writer Thursday, January 9, 2003; Page B01 Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson, who promised during his campaign to reform the police force, said yesterday that he has no plans to seek to weaken a state law that protects officers accused of misconduct. Unveiling his first legislative agenda in Annapolis, Johnson said his priorities include obtaining mere state funding for school construction and residential and commercial development projects in the county's poorer communities. But missing from Johnson's nine-point wish list was an item that had been a mainstay of predecessor Wayne K. Curry's agenda for the past two years: an overhaul of the state law that protects officers from talking to investigators for up te 10 days when they are accused of misconduct or involved in a sheeting. Advocates of police reform have criticized the law, known as the state Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, for shielding officers from scrutiny and bolstering the so-called "blue wall ef silence" -- the traditional reluctance of police te cooperate with investigations into the conduct of fellow officers. But Curry's attempts to breach the wall by changing state law failed, and Johnson said he will focus his energy on changes within the department. "No one can regulate ethics and goodwill," Johnson said after a news conference in Annapolis at which he laid out his agenda. "I'm going te focus on the internal reforms we need. We will have a new, better police department." He has hired former New York City police commissioner Patrick V. Murphy to conduct a review ef the police force, which has been the target of federal civil rights investigations for the last two years. After Johnson was asked at the news conference why he had not included a change in the law in his list ef priorities, state Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Prince George's), an ally of Johnson's, stepped forward to say that he would introduce a bill seeking to reduce from 10 to three the number of days that officers can wait before answering questions. At that point, Johnson said he would support Exum's legislation. Johnson's iow-key support for any such legislative initiative appeared at odds with his posture as state's attorney, when he accused officers of perpetuating the culture of silence. During his campaign for county executive, Johnson set police reform as one of his top priorities. Since his victory in November, Johnson has gone out of his way to praise the police force and mend his frayed relations with the leaders of the county's police union, with whom he has long had testy dealings. The union has vigorously opposed any changes to the Law Enforcement Officers~ Bill of Rights. 1 Advocates for police reform in Prince George's said they hope that Johnson will include an overhaul of the bill of rights on his list of priorities. "You can't be serious about police reform unless you deal with" the bill of rights, said Redmond Barnes, a coordinator of the Peoples Coalition for Police Accountability. "The people who elected Jack are expecting reform." Jonathan Hutto, a program director for ~nnesty International, which monitors police brutality, called the bill of rights "the codification of the blue wall of silence." "Until it's abolished, or radically reformed, nothing will change as far as accountability," Hutto said. "It's a mistake for the county administration not to seek serious reform." The Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, which was enacted in 1974, offers a range of protections fo police officers in addition to the 10-day rule. It shields officers, for example, from being required to testify before citizen review panels that investigate brutality complaints if their statements could be used against them in a criminal investigation. Two years ago, the Prince George's Citizen Complaint Oversight Panel, a county board that investigates complaints filed against the police, said in a report that the 10-day rule "invites abuse . and raises serious concerns about collusion and the code of silence among officers." Curry, who declined to cor~ment yesterday, first sought to change the 10-day rule two years ago but the bill died in a House committee. Curry sought reforms again last year, including legislation that would have changed the 10-day rule only in Prince George's. But Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (D-Prince George's), the head of the House Judiciary Committee, opposed the measure because it singled out Prince George's. Michael Arrington, Johnson's chief lobbyist in Annapolis, said the administration is awaiting the results of Murphy's review of the police force before deciding what initiatives -- if any -- to pursue in Annapolis. "It would preempt Commissioner Murphy's duties if we started singularly implementing one step that we might think is progress that he doesn't think is progress at the end of the day," Arrington said. "To put a bill in for the sake of putting it in, and not getting it passed, doesn't serve the citizens." Murphy said he is aware of the police bill of rights but has not studied it in depth. "It's very restrictive," he said. "On the face of it, as a chief, I wouldn't want it. We'll have to look very closely at it and see how it works out in practice." © 2003 The Washington Post Company Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:25 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] New York, NY - CCRB gets the OK to prosecute New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com CCRB gets the OK to prosecute By ALICE MCQUILLAN DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU Thursday, January 9th, 2003 A Manhattan appeals court has ruled that the civilian agency that investigates misconduct complaints against police officers has the right to prosecute those cops. However, the unanimous ruling mandates that any trials of police officers conducted by the Civilian Complaint Review Board - whether or not they could result in dismissal - must be monitored by Police Department officials. NYPD and CCRB officials said both agencies were studying whether the decision gives the review board the go-ahead to take over the role of prosecuting cops for misconduct - a role currently performed by the NYPD's deputy cormmissioner of trials. "The CCRB is still studying the meaning of the decision and weighing its impact," said CCRB director Florence Finkle. In 2001, an agreement was reached between the city and the CCRB under which the review board would hire lawyers to prosecute police misconduct cases. The agreement called for CCRB trials to be held under the supervision of the independent Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. The appellate court's decision means CCRB prosecutions of misconduct cases will be presided over by NYPD trial judges, not OATH tribunals. Sources said it's unclear if this violates the prior 2001 agreement. Another potential roadblock to a CCRB takeover of police misconduct prosecutions is the city's austerity budget, which could preclude the hiring of lawyers. The ruling is seen as a setback in efforts by police unions to derail the expansion of the CCRB's powers. Leaders of one of those unions, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, will meet with their lawyers to see if another appeal is possible, said PBA spokesman A10'Leary. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:37 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Pekin IL - Ex Deputy Charged with theft from department Former Police Chief Charged Pekin Steve Nicoles After three months of investigating, Wednesday the Tazewell County state's attorney charged a former Pekin police chief with stealing from the department. Deputy Police Chief Charles Bassett reportedly stole $1,800 over 12 months. The department placed him on administrative leave in October. Attorneys in the case said Bassett's high position makes the crime more than mere theft. "What makes this official misconduct is the fact that he has authority as a police officer and he used that authority to commit the theft," said Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz. "Not only did you have the theft of money which is criminal, but the nature of an official misconduct charge is that he's violated the public trust." Bassett is scheduled to appear in court next week. Top deputy accused of misconduct Former Pekin Officer Bassett charged in probe of missing $1,800 January 9, 2003 By JOHN SHARP of the Journal Star PEKIN - The former second-in-come, and of the Pekin Police Department was charged Wednesday for allegedly stealing more than $1,800 from two police funds he monitored. Former Deputy Chief Charles W. Bassett, 53, 107 Salem Court, faces a possible prison sentence of up to five years if convicted on the single charge of felony official misconduct. He is also eligible for probation. "I feel bad for Chuck personally," said Pekin Police Chief Tim Gillespie, who had worked with Bassett for 29 years before the embattled deputy chief officially retired from the department early last month. "He was a good friend." But "friendship aside, my responsibility is to the Pekin police department and its citizens," Gillespie said. Said Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz: "It's a tragedy for all of us in law enforcement. . . It's very important to the public to understand that every time a public official engages in criminal conduct that they'll be held accountable." Wednesday's charge comes after the completion of a nearly three-month-long Illinois State Police investigation into the alleged misuse of funds within the department. The investigation, described as "thorough" by city and police officials, 1 revealed that $625 was missing from seized funds and $1,235.71 was missing from the department's petty cash vault. Umholtz said the theft of funds occurred "over a period of one year." And while Umholtz declined to discuss a reason why Bassett would steal the money, he said the former deputy chief acted alone, based on the state police's investigation. Gillespie said he never had a discussion with Bassett as to why the money was taken. "I never really questioned him when I informed him he would be put on (paid) administrative leave," Gillespie said. The investigation began in early October, after Pekin police alerted Umholtz's office concerning at least $600 missing from seized funds discovered in a monthly audit. One day later, the Illinois State Police were called to investigate. "Everything we did was proper, above board and im~ediate," Gillespie said. The investigation's start also followed the issuance of a Tazewell County court order against Bassett and the city of Pekin, which garnished Bassett's wages until $3,709 and other fees were paid to the First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Pekin. That complaint was issued in April and accused Bassett of failing to pay back a $4,654 personal loan from a bank. Before he retired, Bassett was earning an annual salary of $67,000. Bassett's attorney, Brian Addy of Pekin, declined to comment. As word of Bassett's charge circulated through City Hall on Wednesday afternoon, Mayor David Tebben said it would be "unfortunate and inappropriate" for the public to look down on the city's Police Department based on Bassett's actions. "There are over 200 employees in the city and they work hard every day to gain the public's confidence and trust," Tebben said. "This is a gentleman who gave 29 years of dedicated service to the public and that entire career could be tarnished by one or two acts of poor judgment." Bassett is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Jan. 16. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:40 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Chicago IL - Family wants stiff sentence for ex-cop http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-beckerO9.html Family wants stiff sentence for former cop January 9, 2003 ,BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN STAFF REPORTER Chicago Sun-Times Joseph "Carl" Gould's family bets if the tables had been turned, the story would have played out differently. "If my son had shot Gregory Becker, he would have been given a life sentence," read Barbara Gould's statement entered into court records Wednesday. The Gould family asked Cook County Judge Fred G. Suria Jr. to sentence Becker, a former Chicago police officer, to the maximum 10 years for the 1995 shooting death of the homeless StreetWise vendor. Becker pleaded guilty to a charge of armed violence relating to the incident. Gwendolyn Gould, Joseph's sister, said she lost her favorite brother when Becket, now 42, shot the 37-year-old outside a River North bar July 30, 1995. "Even though justice is blind, I wonder if she is peeking through .... Give us justice for the murder of my brother," she said in court, looking at Becket, who wore a navy blue sweater and gray slacks for Wednesday's hearing. Becket, who had been awaiting retrial after his 1997 conviction was overturned on appeal, is expected to be sentenced today. A jury convicted Becket of armed violence, involuntary manslaughter and three counts of official misconduct. But Becket was released on bond in January 2001 after the Illinois Appellate Court found inconsistencies in the jury's verdict. Becket's attorney, Patrick O'Brien, argued that the married father of two has already been punished enough. The only mistake Becket made was leaving the scene of the incident at Huron and Franklin, he said, adding that Becker never intended to kill Joseph Gould. "The time that Greg Becket has served is a sufficient amount," O'Brien said. "He didn't sit and feel sorry for himself while incarcerated. He took advantage to fix his problems. He assisted teaching classes. He reconnected with his wife and two daughters." Becket and his then-girlfriend, Joey Preston, were leaving a tavern when they got into an altercation with Joseph Gould, who was holding a bucket and rag, according to prosecutors. Witnesses testified they saw Becker go to the trunk of his car and emerge with a black object, striking Joseph Gould once on the head before he and Preston jumped into a black Thunderbird, leaving Gould bleeding te death on the street. "Because of the crime Gregory Becker committed, I haven't been able to sleep properly, and it has affected my job performance," said Gould's father, also named Joseph. He said the last words his son said to him were, "I love you, Dad." "Mr. Becker should have known better because he was a police officer who was trained to defuse such situations," said Gwendolyn Gould. Becker, who was sentenced to 15 years on the prior charges, decided the plea was his best option, O'Brien said. He did not want to go through another "long, arduous" trial, 0'Brien said. Becker refused comment. Copyright © The Sun-Times Company Ail rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 2 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:43 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Maryland - Critics say settlement disclosures encourage police reforms Critics say settlement disclosures could spur county police reforms by Greg Johnson Staff Writer Gazette.net Jan. 9, 2003 Critics of Prince George's County police responded optimistically to news that county attorneys would no longer conceal the amount of money used to settle lawsuits resulting from officer misconduct. "That's much to be applauded," said Stephen Block, an attorney with the national-capital area chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It is terribly important, because it gives the citizens a sense of what this problem with police abuse is costing them." County Executive Jack Johnson announced Jan. 2 that the county has paid more than $7.9 million since July 1, 2000, to cover court judgements and settlement agreements stemming from abuse'complaints. The cost of individual lawsuits could not be released, Johnson said, because county attorneys handling those cases sought non-disclosure agreements that kept such information confidential. However, Johnson said in a statement that he would release the results of civil cases brought against county police. "I feel the public has a right to know the amount of money being spent on settlements and judgements on lawsuits filed against law enforcement officers," Johnson said. "Full disclosure gives taxpayers a better picture of these costs. "I will put this information out this year, next year and the year after, because the public has the right to know." James Keary, spokesman for Johnson, said state law only requires the county executive to inform members of the County Council and delegates to the General Assembly about the court costs related to settlements in 2002. But Johnson's administration sought information about cases going back to July 2000, in order to demonstrate its commitment to reform, Keary said. "[Johnson] wants to find out just how much money this costs," Keary said. According to Johnson's report, the county paid $4.8 million for cases settled since July 2000, and $3.1 million for cases where court judgements were imposed during that time period. During the 2002 fiscal year, 23 lawsuits were settled for a total of $943,040. According to Peter Lavallee, spokesman for the District government, the capital city paid out $2 million in 2001, and $1.4 million in 2002 for lawsuits filed against the Metropolitan Police Department. But these figures, Lavallee said, do not include damages related to traffic accidents. Jonathan Hutto, spokesman for the mid-Atlantic chapter of Amnesty International, said Johnson's decision to disclose court costs should motivate residents to call for improvements within the department. ! "Hopefully, that will raise the consciousness, raise the frustration and raise the demand by the citizens to hold these brutal officers accountable," Hutto said. "That is how you really start getting at this thing." Block said public awareness is an essential element for citizens to exercise control over county agencies. "They can respond in a political way to insist that this problem of police abuse be brought under control," Block said. Attorney Steve Sunday, who represents members of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said police officers have not tried to cover up court costs in the past. Sunday said he has not been involved in lawsuits against the county, but he said the officers themselves are not involved in settlement or disclosure agreements. "It really would not come from the officer, it would come from the county's Office of Law," Sunday said. "The officer really has zero input in those decisions." The court costs released last week were incurred during the tenure of former County Executive Wayne Curry, whose term ended Dec. 2. E-mail Greg Johnson at gjohnson@gazette.net. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:47 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Brookline MA Court rejects cop's case on appeal http://www~t~wn~n~ine~c~m/br~~k~ine/news/~~ca~-regi~na~/bt-c~vbrdirrane~~~82~~3~htm Court rejects cop's case on appeal By Brock Parker / Staff Writer Wednesday, January 8, 2003 A three-year-old "whistleblower" lawsuit by a Brookine police officer against the Brookline Police department has finally come to an end, as a federal appeals court upheld a U.S. District Court's decision to dismiss the suit. But, John Dirrane, a 22-year veteran of the Brookline Police department, said he is still standing by the claims he made against Brookline Police Chief Daniel O'Leary, Capt. Thomas Keaveny and Sgt. Thomas Heavey in the lawsuit that originated in1999. "Disappointed would be an understatement," Dirrane told the TAB on Monday in a telephone interview, of the court's decision. "It's been a long, painful process. With the affirmation of the dismissal it kind of hits home. It has shaken my core beliefs to the foundation on truth, integrity and justice. Those are meaningless to me now. It has really shaken me." The lawsuit claiming misconduct at the Brookline Police Department was dismissed by a United States Court of Appeals on Dec. 31. In the suit, Dirrane, who worked in the department's identification unit as a fingerprint specialist, claimed that he had been ordered to destroy evidence and lie to prosecutors and that when he reported the allegations he was demoted to a patrolman. Although Dirrane and his attorney Eric Maxwell have not "definitively determined against" appealing the federal appeals court's decision, Maxwell said appeals to the Supreme Court are "rare." But the appeals court's decision was a relief to O'Leary, Keaveney and Heavey, who had lost a defamation counter-suit against Dirrane in 1999. "I'm glad to see it's resolved," O'Leary said. "It's been going on for too long a time. Each step of the way we went through the process and at each step I feel we were vindicated," O'Leary said. "The case didn't even merit being brought to court," Heavey said. "There was a lot of money spent to defend a case that was really viscous and had very little truthfulness in it." In its decision, the federal appeals court said that the police department had not retaliated against Dirrane's complaints by transferring him to another unit because he had requested the patrolman slot as a "alternate position." Because Dirrane did not provide written notice of his complaints with the department before he filed a lawsuit, the federal appeals court also found that he had not complied with the state's whistleblower statute. Attorney Paul Kelley, who represented individual suits against O'Leary, Keaveney and Heavey by Dirrane that were thrown out by a U.S. District Court in 2000, said the appeals court dismissal was the right decision. ! Town Counsel David Turner and Associate Town Counsel Jennifer Dopazo represented the town and the police department as a whole and argued the department's case in front of the federal appeals court in August. "Our view from the outset is that the thing didn't have merit," Kelley said. The decision "is a good thing for the department and the town." But Maxwell said that the dismissal of the case was only a procedural victory for the police department, not a substantive win. "As to the statutory claim- the whistleblower claim- frankly, I was quite shocked by the decision of this court," Maxwell said. "This court came to the conclusion that unless you give notice, you can't file suit." Dirrane had made verbal complaints to his superiors, Maxwell said. Dirrane had not, however, submitted written notice of his intent to sue the department. O'Leary said the first he heard of the suit was by looking at Maxwell's website and seeing it in the papers. "When this thing first hit the papers, a pretty picture wasn't painted," O'Leary said. "But I'll let the court decision speak for herself." Dirrane, who has been out on injury leave from the department for the past two years, but is still on the town's payroll, said it was only a technical matter that prevented him from pursuing the whistleblower suit. "I don't see it as a vindication," Dirrane said of the court's decision. "I stand by everything that was in the complaint. "I was just trying to stand up for what I thought was right," Dirrane said. "It cost me a lot not just in terms of money, but in terms of friendships." Dirrane would not say if he plans to return to the police department. Heavey said he is wondering what Dirrane will do. "I can't say that I'd run over and give him a hug if I saw him," Heavey said. "I don't hate him." "I don't hold hard feelings for him," O'Leary said. "I've known him for a lot of years." Brock Parker can be reached at bparker@cnc.com. http://www.townonline.com/brookline/news/local regional/bt covbrdirrane01082003.htm Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:50 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Lewiston ME - Somalis complain of mistreatment by Lewiston police Somalis complain of mistreatment by Lewiston police Thursday, January9, 2003, 7:00 AM LEWISTON (AP) -- Many Somali residents of Lewiston are voicing complaints about their treatment by the city's police department. The comments came Tuesday night at a public meeting held to advise Somalis of their rights if they feel harassed in the coming days. A white-supremacist group plans to hold a rally in Lewiston on Saturday. Many Somalis at the meeting complained that police have disregarded harassment complaints and pose a serious threat themselves. One woman said her brother was arrested and beaten. Police say that case is now under investigation. Police were not allowed to hear the complaints at the meeting. But Attorney General Steven Rowe and other officials from his office were present. The head of the civil rights division, Tom Harnett, says the testimony was troubling and that the preception of misconduct must be investigated. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:53 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Haltom City TX - Rangers end Abuse Inquiry, police face suits http://www.caller.com/ccct/state texas_news/article/0,1641,CCCT 876 1661755,00.html Rangers end abuse inquiry Haltom City police face suits over alleged abuse By Associated Press January 9, 2003 HALTOM CITY - The Texas Rangers have closed their investigation into alleged sexual misconduct at the Haltom City Police Department. The department still faces a deluge of lawsuits by women claiming they were sexually abused by jail workers. Former jailer Clint Wade Weaver, 22, of Azle, was arrested and charged in October with sexual assault and two counts of improper sexual activity with a person in custody. Before his arrest, Weaver had been on probation after pleading guilty earlier in March to a criminal charge of official oppression of a female inmate. The Texas Rangers and Haltom City police presented cases against another police officer and jailer, but the Tarrant County district attorney's office did not pursue charges because of a lack of evidence, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its Wednesday editions. The three-month investigation started shortly after the first of 12 federal civil rights lawsuits was filed by female inmates. They allege that female inmates at the Haltom City Jail were sexually harassed and abused by workers. The lawsuits claim jailers verbally harassed female inmates and videotaped them in the showers and that Weaver coerced inmates into having sex with him. In one of the lawsuits, a woman who was 17 at the time alleges she was forced to strip in front of a male guard. Like other female inmates, she had to wear a one-piece jumpsuit without underwear. Because of the jumpsuit~s design, her breasts were exposed when she used the toilet. Haltom City officials have maintained that Weaver is the only jailer who abused inmates. Copyright 2003, Caller.com. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: hector.w.soto@phila.gov Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 8:58 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] NYTimes,com Article: Police May Order Layoffs to Meet New Budget Goal This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by hector.w.soto@phila.gov. Police May Order Layoffs to Meet New Budget Goal January 9, 2003 By KEVIN FLYNN Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday that he might have to order the first layoffs of police officers in nearly three decades to achieve the additional budget cuts being sought by the Bloomberg administration. The Police Department has been told by city budget officials to devise a plan by Monday to trim its $3.4 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins in July by an additional $94 million. At a news conference at Police Headquarters, Mr. Kelly declined to specify exactly how the department would meet the savings target. But he said that 95 percent of his budget was for personnel and that it would be difficult to achieve that level of savings without reducing the size of the force through a combination of layoffs and attrition. The department is already reducing the size of the force by 1,900 officers through attrition; the goal is to be reached by July. Based on average salaries for incoming officers, the department would have to trim the force by an additional 1,450 officers to achieve the $94 million in savings through personnel reductions alone. "We have to continue to provide services," Mr. Kelly said, "so obviously nobody would want to lay off police officers. But we have to examine all the ramifications of the $94 million reduction." Asked whether the department could find the savings without layoffs, Mr. Kelly said, "It would be very difficult." The Police Department has not laid off officers since the city's fiscal crisis in 1975. But the department has been shrinking since 2001, when the number of officers peaked at 40,710. By July, through attrition, the department is to shrink to 37,210 officers, roughly the same number it had in 1996. With the reduction of 1,900 officer positions and other measures, the police budget for the fiscal year that begins in July has already been reduced 5.7 percent, police officials said. ! Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg had often praised Mr. Kelly for presiding over continuing declines in crime despite being saddled with diminishing resources. Yesterday, a mayoral aide took a similar tack when asked to respond to Mr. Kelly's con~ents. "If any commissioner in any department in this city has shown how you can do more with less," said Edward Skyler, the mayor's spokesman, "it is Ray Kelly and the Police Department, and for that they deserve tremendous credit." But those close to Hr. Kelly have not tried to conceal that the commissioner is no fan of a smaller department, especially as the heightened threat of terrorism has required the police to take on new responsibilities. Asked yesterday if the department's success at reducing crime was evidence that a leaner force might be mere efficient, Mr. Kelly said pointedly, "I'm net going there." Earlier this week, mayoral aides said additional budget reductions became necessary because the 18 percent property tax enacted last fall by the City Council fell short of the 25 percent increase sought by the administration. Host city agencies have been asked for 6 percent budget cuts. Uniformed services and the Department of Education have been asked for 3 percent reductions. A spokesman for Gilford Hiller, the City Council speaker, said that lawmakers were not about to apologize for the smaller tax increase er to second-guess the city's request for additional cuts. But the spokesman, Christopher Policano, said the Council believed the police could realize additional savings through measures like paying the officers who work at parades en straight time, not overtime. "We believe the department can explore ways to achieve cost savings before resorting to layoffs," he said. Patrick J. Lynch, the president of the police officers' union, the Patrelmen's Benevolent Association, said layoffs should not be considered under any circumstances. "The N.Y.P.D. must be exempt from any additional cuts," he said, "because without an adequate number of police officers this city is net viable for business or people. Our streets must be safe for anything else to matter." Hr. Kelly said he believed Hr. Bleemberg remained sensitive to the impact that a reduction in the size of the force would have on fighting crime. "Your question is," he said, "is there some give in the number in the negotiations? And the answer is yes." http://www.nytimes.cem/2003/O1/O9/nyregion/OgPOLI.html?ex-lO43124273&ei-1 &en=c412e35885004da6 HOW TO ADVERTISE For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media 2 kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Elizabeth. Pugliese@ci.austin.tx. us Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 12:29 PM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Police monitor says 1st year was success, despite early challenge Police monitor says 1st year was success, despite early challenge By Tony Plohetski AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, January 9, 2003 Austin's police monitor said Wednesday that she has fought distractions from lawsuits and criticism from the police union to meet goals during her inaugural year. Iris Jones told City Council members that she anticipated challenges during . her office's infancy, but that the usual struggles in setting up the oversight agency intensified after a police shooting last summer that divided much of the city. "I knew it wasn't going to be a piece of cake, a walk in the park," Jones said during a one-hour council presentation. "But this was a very unique situation." Months after beginning their efforts, Jones and her seven-member citizens review panel faced wide criticism after calling for an independent investigation into the shooting death of Sophia King, a 23-year-old mentally ill woman shot by an officer outside her East Austin home in June. The officer said he fired because King was about to stab her apartment manager. One of the main jobs of the monitor's office is to review investigations of police shootings in which a person was seriously injured or killed. The office, which has no investigative authority, also accepts complaints from people who contend they were mistreated by police and refers them to the department's internal affairs division. Jones said police oversight groups in other cities have generally had several months to get organized and build trust in the community before becoming involved in highly publicized cases. The King shooting happened before the citizens panel members had finished training. "We were all caught off guard," Jones said. "There was no crystal ball to know we were going to have to review an incident that basically tore the community apart." Acrimony between the monitor and police deepened in November after a dispute about how the independent inquiry would be conducted. The city gave a Dallas law firm wide investigative authority, but the police association sued the city, contending that officers would be forced to answer questions they had already addressed in previous investigations. The investigation was suspended until both sides could settle the matter in arbitration later this month or during a trial, scheduled for February. Mayor Gus Garcia told Jones he was disappointed by the strong opposition to her efforts. "You were tested very early on," he said. "I suspect all systems are going to have these sorts of things happen." 1 Still, Jones said her office has been effective during its first year. By last week, the office had taken in 239 complaints, which are roufed to internal affairs. The police monitor panel will also review the incidents to learn whether they should recommend changes in police training to Chief Stan Knee. Jones said she also wants to continue educating residents and police officers about her agency's role. Many residents still don't understand why her office was established, and police officers have negative perceptions about her role, Jones said. "Any time you have a brand-spanking-new process, it is difficult to clarify the process for the masses," she said. "It's not an 'us versus them' situation. It's about all of us working together." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 2:22 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Los Angeles CA - Alleged Racial Profile Victims Tell of Stops http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los angeles metro/la-me-profile8jan08,0,7781911.story? coll=la%2Dcommun%2Dlos%5Fangeles%5Fmetro Alleged Racial Profile Victims Tell of Stops Some who have been pulled over say they understand why, but most deem it unfair. By Kishan Kumar Putta, Errin Haines and Akilah Johnson Times Staff Writers January 8 2003 Miguel Cooper was out driving with friends one night in 1998 on Adams Avenue when a police car flagged him to pull over. As he recalls it, the officers ordered the men out of the 1990 Chevy Super Sport and shone flashlights in their eyes. Cooper started to put his keys in his pocket when one of the officers barked that he would shoot. Then he was patted down. "Can you believe that?" said Cooper, 33, still incredulous as he related this tale over lunch in the food court of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Tuesday. As far as Cooper could tell, it didn't matter to the cops that night that he is a professional man, and it wouldn't matter to them now that he is a patient resource worker for the L.A. County Health Services Department. "Ail that matters to them," said Cooper, who drives a vintage Oldsmobile, "is that I am a young black male in an old Cutlass -- that's their profile." A day after the LAPD released a study of traffic stops in the latter part of 2002 broken down according to race, residents across Los Angeles offered up their own stories of personal encounters with police officers. The study showed that although officers stopped drivers of different racial groups in numbers roughly proportional to their share of the population, officers were more likely to order blacks and Latinos out of their cars and to search the cars as well as the drivers. It took little more than random strolling around the city to elicit frustrated confirmation of those statistics. At the Hair World Salon, three blocks from the LAPD Southwest Division station on Martin Luther King Boulevard, all six barbers and patrons complained of harassment for no other reason than their race. While having his head shaved, James Cowen, 20, told of being pulled over last month and accused of burglary by the police. He said that his 1987 Cadillac makes him a target for police stops. "Cutlasses, Caprices, Monte Carlos, Regals, basically anything you can put 'dub' [20-inch] rims on" are profiled by police, he said. Though many blacks and Latinos had stories of being treated unfairly by police officers during traffic stops, some speculated that the study didn't tell the whole story of why cops stop people. For one thing, some said stops could be attributed to more than racial profiling. Wrongly or not, clothing, hairstyle, car make and model, attitude can all attract police attention, some residents said. ! "Black people get in trouble for being loud and ghetto," said Tasha Williams, 33, a lifelong resident of the Nickerson Gardens housing project. "But Hispanics know how to act accordingly when the police come around .... They know which role to play." Raul Torres, 29, probably would not agree with that. Torres had just left the Numero Uno market on Alvarado Street near Pico Boulevard when police stopped him in his 2000 black Ford Expedition two months ago. Torres said he was ordered out of the car and searched. "They went through my whole car, asked how much I made, and how I could afford a car like that," he recalled. The officers told him that his car fit the description of a car that had been stolen. Torres, it turns out, is a manager at the market. Other men recalled stops that didn't seem to have any credible explanation. Sergio Diaz, 34, a UPS sorter and the father of three who came here from Guatemala two decades ago, was driving in the San Fernando Valley when he was pulled over. "I was with the kids. They put the light on me. It made me feel really bad. If I was with friends, I would understand," he said. "But I had the kids." To Lee Johnson, a 50-year-old black administrator with a federal government office, the reason for many stops is clear enough -- so clear there is no point in doing studies like the one released Monday. "It's nonsense to go around debating this and debating that," he said. "These are racist maneuvers. And the cops know that. I haven't been stopped in five years. But I've been stopped. I live in LA. I'll bet [former Police Chief] Bernie Parks, himself, has been stopped." Of course, other people recalled perfectly pleasant encounters with the police. "The officers who pulled me over were quite nice," said Veronique Diallo, who is 32 and black and lives in Hollywood. "That's not to say it can't happen to me, that's not to say racial profiling is a myth. Because it's definitely not." LAPD Det. Bernie Pulliam, 53, is black and a veteran detective in domestic violence in Van Nuys. He sympathizes with the fear of people who are stopped -- even as he says that police officers are not racially profiling. "No one wants to get stopped by the police," Pulliam said. "We all get that feeling. But when a Hispanic or black gets stopped, they think, 'Oh, man.' Cops don't have time to stop someone -- when you get stopped there's probably a good reason." Raul Sandoval, 32, a UPS worker in Boyle Heights, said he believes most officers stop people for either infractions of the law or because they look like gang members. And he understands it. "You have to put yourself in the shoes of the police officer," said Sandoval. "Are you going to pull over someone who looks regular or someone who looks like a gangbanger? It's sad to say, but it's true." But what about the experience of Luveyo Phama of Sherman Oaks? Phama, a 22-year-old South African native who is black and has been living in Sherman Oaks for three years, has been stopped twice. Once he was driving with friends in Studio City. The other time he was standing in front of his house in Sherman Oaks late one night last year, talking with friends when police pulled up and told him to move along. "I live here," he told them. When the police officer said his friend would have to leave, Phama and the friend refused. "If it's a weekend, if it's late, if you're four black guys in 2 a car, you're going to get pulled over and you're going to get pulled out," said Phama, a student at Valley College. Anthony Hunter, 43, who works for the U.S. Postal Service, is a light-skinned African Ym~erican who said his skin color "creates a benefit of doubt." When alone, he never has run-ins with police. "I'm just as African American as the next black man, but I don't appear to be," he said. But while riding with his darker-skinned brother, he was pulled over by the LAPD, who ordered the two out of the car, searched the car and patted down his brother, the driver. As befitting a diverse city, not everyone's story of encounters with police followed predictable lines. Melissa Glass, 31, a visiting nurse who works at Centinela Hospital in southeast Los Angeles, could empathize with blacks and Latinos who felt stopped unfairly by police. She herself was stopped -- wrongly she says -- early one evening as she drove by Manchester and Vermont "Some officers pulled me over and asked me what I was doing over there," she recalled, saying she was on her way to visit a patienf. "It kind of surprised me, but it made me understand [the police] have preconceived ideas about how things should he." Glass is white. And the officers who stopped her are black. Some people look at getting stopped by the police as simply a way of life -- triggered by clothing and location, not just race. Patrick Ramos of Alhambra said he had become accustomed to the stops. Once, driving his cousin's Chevrolet Blazer, he Has pulled over and taken out of the truck while the police "tore the car apart -- glove compartment, speakers, side panels," says Ramos, now 22, who thinks his shaved head and clothing singled him out for scrutiny. But things have changed for Rsmos: "I stopped getting stopped about three or for years ago," he says. "I grew my hair and stopped dressing like an idiot. You know -- baggy pants, tank tops, sneaker warm-ups." Times staff writers Carla Hall, Hanah Cho, Hilda Munoz, Zeke Minaya, Denise Bonilla, Jia-Rui Chong contributed to this report. If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives. For information about reprinting this article, go to www.lats.com/rights. Copyright 2003 Los Angeles Times Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 2:36 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San Francisco CA - Alleged Abuse victims speak out Bad cops must be stopped by Samuel James Vaughn San Francisco - As a young Black entrepreneur, selling cars and working as a paralegal assistant, I have been a victim of racist police officers for over 10 years. My mother is Leboriae P. Smoore, who is well known for protesting police abuse, especially the murder of Aaron Williams and other Black men by San Francisco police. Four officers were taken off of the police force behind her protests. I've been set up by Officers Danker, Constantine, J. Babbs, Bart Johnson, Jamison, Lieu and C. Ferrell, known as Robocop. These cops beat me and towed away my cars. The police also tried to plant drugs on me and lied on me. They tried to send me to prison, but, although I was innocent, I took probation instead, because these officers know the system a lot better than I do. When my case went to court, we fought in Department 22 at 850 Bryant St. against five police officers. The police tried to make me look bad to the judge, but the six witnesses who came to testify had seen everything, and they changed the judge's point of view. My witnesses got on the stand and told the judge about the racist cops, and the judge - really for the first time - found out about what the police were doing. When my fifth witness stepped forward, the judge covered her ears, saying that she did not want to hear any more, and released me from custody. I was also almost shot in the head. The police officers were the suspected shooters. My wrist and right hand were almost blown off. According to law, the police should be made to pay for the suffering thy have caused me, for the time spent in jail and thus lost with my children, for medical bills, bails posted, fraud, pain and suffering, and for the violation of my constitutional rights. Bad Cop Stoppers The Bad Cop Stoppers Non-violent Cor~munity Development program is designed to help stop the police from beating up and planting false evidence, such as drugs, guns and stolen cars, on citizens in our community. The way Bad Cop Stoppers works is by protesting and helping public defenders get our children out of jail with evidence of wrongdoing by bad cops. We then file lawsuits against them and the police department. The police have a tendency to manipulate our youth, calling their friends and even their family members snitches. This is exploiting our community's weak spots, causing friction and murder. Bad cops target our youth as soon as they turn 18 years old. They take our children to jail, and their lies can lock up your child forever if you don't object. Fellow citizens, don't be misled by bad cops. I've been selling cars for over 10 years, spending my honest dollar at police auctions. Many times, the police report cars stolen just to gain money for a resale or to lock up our people. So be careful and check all vehicle identification numbers at police auctions. In my neighborhood, a Black tourist from Atlanta was arrested and booked at the same time I was, both of us for driving tickets. The tourist said he had never seen so many police harassing people. He had taken the wrong exit off the freeway while sightseeing with h~s family. He took the Third Street exit and ended up in jail. I could hear his wife screaming and crying from inside the Bayview Police Station. The Bad Cop Stoppers Non-violent Community Development program is here to stop the violence and educate our younger generation. We want to push them back into school and let them know about our elders who are homeless, having lost their freedom, memory, good health and property. We want to let them know about those whose lives have been stolen by bad cops. We cannot continue to let bad cops take our property and freedom and violate our constitutional rights. I am ready to do anything I can to stop this violence. Will you help too? Call Brother Vaughn and the Bad Cops Hotline at (415) 756-0973. A mother's testimony My son, Samuel James Vaughn, is simply trying to take care of his family, but he is always being attacked by the police. They won't even allow him to get his driver's license. On Aug. 19, 2002, two officers planted drugs on him so that he would be locked up. There were witnesses who saw them do it, and it was reported to the Office of Citizen's Complaints. On Oct. 6, Samuel was on his way to McDonald's on Bayshore, and two Black police officers beat him up and put him in the hospital. They kicked him all in his ribs and beat him on his head, shoulders, arms and legs, and after they took him to the hospital, they took him to jail. They wouldn't let me, his mother, see him. On Dec. 20, I went to 850 Bryant St. to attend a hearing for someone I know, and it was then I saw my son passing out fliers concerning the Bad Cop Stoppers program. Later that day, my son was arrested, and his friend who was with him was arrested, too. On Dec. 25, at approximately 11:40 p.m., my son was beaten up by the police again and put in San Francisco General Hospital. The police said he was driving without a license. This time a White police officer beat him up. Now my son has scars on his body from police beatings. Many of the young men in my community are continually chased and beaten up by the police, as if they are some kind of rabbit or dog. Most of the young men I talk with concerning this abuse tell me that they run from the police because they don't want the police to beat them up. They say they are just afraid. Leboriae P. Smoore Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 2:52 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Guilford CT - Police Face negligence Lawsuit In Murder Case http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/sr/hc-gc-lawsuitOlOg,0,4325408.story Police Face Lawsuit In Mills Murder Case By GARY CHRISTOPHER January 9 2003 GUILFORD -- Jonathan Mills of Guilford is charged with the murders of Katherine "Kitty" Kleinkauf, her son, Kyle Redway, 6, and her daughter, Rachael Crum, 4. And, while the details of the police investigation will not be revealed until the criminal case against Mills, a new lawsuit alleges that the police's handling of the case leaves them responsible for the slayings. Connecticut courts recognize a two year statute of limitations for bringing a civil suit against the authorities, a time frame that often leads victim's families to file suit long before any actual information about a case is available--if evidence of police negligence were to arise after the two-year period but no lawsuit had been filed, the families would have no legal recourse. While it is not unusual for suits to be filed in the absence of clear police negligence, legal observers have noted that the allegation made by this suit is striking for its premise and specificity. Norman Pattis and lawyers representing the estates of the two children filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court contending that police put Kleinkauf and her two children in harms way by using her as an informant in the murder of his ex-girlfriend Mindy Leigh, 20, that Mills is charged with committing. "We have good reason to believe that that police used [Kleinkauf] to try to develop evidence in the case and [took] no steps to insure the safety of the kids," Pattis claimed but would not elaborate on the "good reasons" for the belief. "We can produce evidence to support [the charges] but given the sensitivity of the case and what's at stake for Mr. Mills we'll make our case in court and not in the press," Pattis said while conceding that they are not entirely sure that police used Kleinkauf as an informant at all. The statute of limitations weighed heavily in the decision to file the case. Kleinkauf and her two children were killed two years ago in their Field Road home; Leigh's body was not found until after the slayings of the mother and children. "If, as we believe to be the case, Guilford Police made [the slayings] possible, we certainly do not want to lose any of the children's rights while the criminal case plays its way out," Pattis explained. Pattis believes the case may also be a way to do something about what he sees as an abuse of power. "I think there is tremendous abuse of the confidential informant system by law enforcement officers statewide and perhaps nationwide," Pattis said. "This case is an opportunity to do something about it." ! The defendants have been served and a judge has been assigned to the case but Pattis expects that's about as far as things will proceed until the conclusion of Mills' murder trial. He expects a stay will be entered which means that the civil case will not proceed till the conclusion of the criminal matter. Town Attorney Judith Ravel was not available before press time and Police Chief Thomas Terribile declined to comment on the case, except for stating, "When we can finally talk about the case, people will see we did the right things." As far as what the plaintiff's want is concerned, "that's really up to a jury," Pattis stated; "but I can tell you one thing. If one of my children were murdered I wouldn't think that $10 million would be too much to ask for." Copyright © 2003, Guilford Courier Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink. net] Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 9:11 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] New York NY - Poi pushing for police videotape New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com Pol pushing cops to go to the videotape By FRANK LOMBARDI DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU Friday, January 10th, 2003 In more fallout from the Central Park jogger case, Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell 4th launched a push yesterday for a state law mandating videotaping of interrogations. "We need to lift the veil of secrecy," the East Harlem Democrat said of a bill he proposed Wednesday in Albany. "We need to start recording at the moment of the interrogation, not at the moment of the confession." A similar measure covering the city was introduced last year in the City Council and was expected to come to a hearing in the next few months. Videotaping of suspects by police is largely optional in the state. The two bills drew fire yesterday from Thomas Scotto, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, who said such laws would be "another handcuff around the wrist of law enforcement." "They're talking about laying off cops now," he grumbled. "Imagine how much it would cost. You'd tie up the whole Police Department in videotaping. It makes no common sense." Powell touted his bill at a press conference outside City Hall, where he was joined by several supporters. They included Sharonne Salaam, the mother of Yusef Salaam, one of the five young Harlem men convicted and imprisoned in the 1989 beating and rape of the Central Park Jogger. Their convictions were vacated last month by a Manhattan judge, months after an imprisoned murderer and rapist, Matias Reyes, confessed he cor~mitted the crime alone. Total taping Videotaped confessions figured prominently in the case, but defenders of the five said they were coerced by police. Powell said videotaping of police interrogations, as well as confessions, would protect defendants against forced confessions and guard police against unfounded accusations of misconduct. "We [all] pay when people who are supposed to be protecting us ... step out of line and do things of their own prerogative just because they want to solve a case," Salaam said. Powell's bill would require videotaping in all felony cases from the point a "person being interrogated is not free to leave." Although he said he was optimistic his bill will pass the Democratic Assembly and Republican state Senate, the measure is likely to face opposition in the Senate, where law enforcement groups have lots of clout. A spokesman for state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer) said, "We'll look at the issue." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 9:13 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] South Gate CA - ©fficiars calr for committee to examine alleged abuses; critics say moves are politi Long Beach Press Telegram Police report controversial South Gate: Officials call for committee to examine alleged abuses; critics say moves are political. By Karen Robes Staff writer Thursday, January 09, 2003 - SOUTH GATE A report detailing alleged police brutality and abuse of power prompted two top city officials Thursday to announce that they are pushing for a police oversight committee made up of residents. Mayor Xochilt Ruvalcaba and acting Police Chief Rick Lopez said they will ask the City Council on Henday te consider forming a "Community Review Panel for Police Accountability.' Lopez said creating a citizen review panel "is an important step in getting rid of threat and making things right for our citizens. ' Lopez, who was hired in June against the wishes of the police union, confirmed that about five te 10 officers in the 82-member South Gate Police Department are under investigation for alleged harassment. He hopes to forward the cases to the district attorney's office by February. "This press conference is absolutely about public safety and accountability for all officials, especially police officers,' Ruvalcaba said. According to a statement released by the city of South Gate, the department review found: "A pattern ef repeated officer misconduct and a blatant lack of discipline to punish and deter such misconductS; "The harassment of citizens by police following the filing of complaints against the depart ment or a particular officer'; "A tendency to sustain citizen complaints against police officers at a rate "far below the national average of 10 percent'; "Complaints ef officer misconduct, with investigating officers minimizing complaints er dismissing charges at will'; "Incomplete and inadequate Internal Affairs investigations.' Police supporters say the action was merely a ploy meant to deflect ongoing efforts to recall the mayer and two City Council members. Sylvia Kellisen, an attorney for the South Gate Police Hanagement Association and the South Gate Police Officers Association, called the announcement "strictly political' and its timing "massively suspicious.' "I have absolutely no confidence that the audit has any accuracy,' Kellison said. "Some ef these same people who are claiming to have been subjected te abuses are relatives of the three majority City Council members or related to their campaign.' Ruvalcaba said she believes "the police union does not like the new public safety policies 1 that the new chief of police has put in place,' but said the report on officer behavior was not influenced by politics. Police union representatives say the announcement is an act of desperation to offset a Jan. 28 recall against Ruvalcaba and council members Maria Benavides and Raul Moriel, who have clashed with the police department in the past. "This is a last-ditch effort to save their political careers,' said acting Sgt. A1 Lopez, president of the 65-member South Gate Police Officers Association. "They're trying to fool the citizens of South Gate and it's not working.' About 8,500 people who signed a petition to oust Ruvalcaba, Benavides and Moriel claimed that they misused tax dollars and fired several city employees to hire those who support their interests. Araceli G. Dominguez, spokeswoman for local activist group Community in Action, said she's not convinced. "Why do this now? It's all retaliation for the recall,' she said. "They say it's all about safety, but they lower the qualifications to hire a police chief and took away the gang units and other services.' A community forum will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at the new police station, 2525 Firestone Blvd. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 9:15 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Inverness FL: Police chief defends his own:FDLE looks into allegations This message uses a character set that is not supported by the Internet Service. To view the original message content, open the attached message. If the text doesn't display correctly, save the attachment to disk, and then open it using a message.txt viewer that can display the original character set. message.txt Received: from wall.iowa-city.org (wall.civic.iowa-city.org [192.168.1 6.2]) by bart.civic.iowa-city.org with SMTP (Microsoft Exchange Intern et Mail Service Version 5.5.2653.13) id CHBBACPD; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:32:08 -0600 Received: through eSafe SMTP Relay 1042152141; Fri Jan 10 12:34:11 200 3 Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=gamma.jumpserver.net) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18X3vt-0004rV-00; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:31:05 -0600 Received: from conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.54]) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18X3bk-00040u-00 for update@nacole.org; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:10:16 -0600 Received: from dewey.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.150] helo=de wey.psp.pas.earthlink.net) by conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 18X3cU-0000FP-00 for update@nacole.org; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 10:11:02 -0800 Received: from [207.217.78.15] by EarthlinkWAM via HTTP; Fri Jan 10 10 :11:02 PST 2003 Message-ID: <1886054.1042222262436.JavaMail.nobody@dewey.psp.pas.earth link.net> From: Kelvyn Anderson <kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net> To: update@nacole.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset 646 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mailer: Earthlink Web Access Mail version 3.0 Subject: [NACOLE Update] Inverness FL: Police chief defends his own:FD LE looks into allegations Sender: Update-admin@nacole.org Errors-To: Update-admin@nacole.org X-BeenThere: Update@nacole.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.13 Precedence: bulk List-Help: <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=help> List-Post: <mailto:Update@nacole.org> List-Subscribe: <http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org> <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=subscribe> List-Id: NACOLE Update List <update_nacole.org.nacole.org> List-Unsubscribe: <http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.or g>, <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject-unsubscribe> List-Archive: <http://nacole.org/pipermail/update_nacole.org/> Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 10:15:19 -0500 (EST) X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it w ith any abuse report Page 1 message.txt X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - gamma.jumpserver.net X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - iowa-city.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [0 0] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - nacole.org Police chief defends his own=20 =20 FDLE looks into allegations=20 01/10/03 Christi Stevens=20 Respond to this story Email this story to a friend The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been called upon to dete rmi- ne whether an Inverness police detective is guilty of misconduct in hi s nterrogation of a rape suspect.=20 The suspect=E2-80-99s lawyer, Charles Vaughn, has said that he learned in= depositions that IPD Detective Michael Erb may have tampered with evi den- ce. =20 Vaughn said last week that Erb violated the rights of his client, 26-y ear= -old Jessie Ward, by not reading Ward his Miranda rights during an iht erv- iew in July. Vaughn also said that Erb might have destreyed videetape of = the interview after realizing his mistake.=20 Ward, of 4895 E. Harvard Drive, is charged in the June rape of a 13-ye ar- eld acquaintance. =20 Vaughn brought his suspiciens te the attentien ef the State Attorney=E 2=8O= =99s Office, which requested a copy of a deposition Vaughn said would sup- port his allegation. The deposition was of sheriff=E2=80=99s Detective Mi= chael Baute, who witnessed Ward-E2=80=99s interrogation.=20 Assistant State Attorney Bill Catto said the case has since been turne d o= Page 2 message.txt ver to FDLE investigators.=20 =E2=80=9CThey=E2=80-99re the ones that normally investigate these type f allegations against law enforcement,-E2=80=gD Catto said.=20 FDLE Brooksville office supervisor Ray Velboom confirmed his agency=E2 =80- =99s involvement, but said the investigation is in its infancy. He=E2= 80=99= s just beginning to schedule interviews with Erb, Baute and others. He sa= id he hopes to have made progress by next week.-20 =E2=80 9CI haven=E2=80=99t even called Chief Alexander yet,=E2=80=gD h e s= aid. IPD Chief Lee Alexander said Thursday that he had no idea FDLE wa sn= ow involved, but he was happy to hear it.=20 =E2=80=gCI=E2=80=99m more than happy to have FDLE come down and review th- is situation to clear it up, both for the defense and the prosecution, =80=9D Alexander said.-20 =E2=80=gCI=E2=80=99m sure that they will find that this incident simpl yi= nvolved either a simple misunderstanding or a misquote.=E2=80-gD=20 Vaughn has said Erb began questioning his client before reading him hi sM= iranda rights. When he realized it, he came outside and asked Baute E 2=80- ~-94 who was observing =E2=80=% what he should do, Vaughn said. Vaughn sa= id that in his deposition, Baute recalled that Erb suggested getting r id = of the videotape and starting over. 20 Neither Erb nor Baute have co~amented on the matter.-20 The tape, it turned out, never recorded the ±nterview.=20 Vaughn has publicly wondered whether it was intentionally erased or de str= oyed. 20 ?age 3 message.txt Alexander said Thursday that it was an innocent, technical error. He s aid= that video equipment is old and routinely malfunctions. He said agra nt = the department is receiving would pay for replacement equipment.=20 =E2=80-9CIt=E2=80-99S not exactly state of the art,-E2=80=9D he said.= 20 As for the suggestion that Erb wanted to destroy evidence, Alexander s aid= Erb was simply asking Baute whether he needed to restart the tape or con= tinue once he read Ward his rights.=20 =E2=80-9CNothing of evidentiary value had been said prior to that time ,=E2- =80=9D Alexander said. E2=80=9CSo, therefore, deliberate destruction of = the tape would not have benefited the case or Detective Erb.=E2-80=9D= 2O Erb remains on duty as Vaughn=E2-80=99s allegations are investigated. Ale= xander said he has total confidence in his detective.=20 =E2=80=9CDetective Erb is the most honest person that I know,=E2=80 9D he= said. =E2=80=9C... For someone to say that he made a comment about th e d= estruction of evidence is totally absurd.=20 -E2=80-9CI=E2=80=99m glad that FDLE will look into this matter.-20 I have no doubt they will find there were no improprieties.=E2 80=9D=2 0 =20 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 4 Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 9:20 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: IN^COLE Update] New York NY -'Justified' Shootings Spotlight Police Policy Issues This message uses a character set that is not supported by the Internet Service. 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If the text doesn't display correctly, save the attachment to disk, and then open it using a viewer that can display the original character set. message.txt Received: from wall.iowa-city.erg (wall.civic.iowa-city.erg [192.168.1 6.2]) by bart.civic.iowa-city.org with SMTP (Microsoft Exchange Intern et Mail Service Version 5.5.2653.13) id CHBBACP2; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:32:12 -0600 Received: through eSafe SMTP Relay 1042152141; Fri Jan 10 12:34:14 200 3 Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] hole gamma.jumpserver.net) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18X3vv-0004re-00; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:31:07 -0600 Received: from conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.54]) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18X3gC-0004DI-00 for update@nacole.org; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:14:52 -0600 Received: from dewey.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.150] helo de wey.psp.pas.earthlink.net) by conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 18X3gx-0007A3-00 for update@nacole.org; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 10:15:39 -0800 Received: from [207.217.78.15] by EarthlinkWAM via HTTP; Fri Jan 10 10 :15:39 PST 2003 Message-ID: <6232763.1042222539121.JavaMail.nobody@dewey.psp.pas.earth link.net> From: Kelvyn Anderson <kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net> To: update@nacole.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset-646 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mailer: Earthlink Web Access Mail version 3.0 Subject: [NACOLE Update] New York NY - 'Justified' Shootings Spotlight Police Policy Issues Sender: Update-admin@nacole.org Errors-To: Update-admin@nacole.org X-BeenThere: Update@nacole.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.13 Precedence: bulk List-Help: <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject-help> List-Post: <mailto:Update@nacole.org> List-Subscribe: <http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org> <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=subscribe> List-Id: NACOLE Update List <update_nacole.org.nacole.org> List-Unsubscribe: <http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.or g>, <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject-unsubscribe> List-Archive: <http://nacole.org/pipermail/update_nacole.org/> Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 10:19:55 -0500 (EST) X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it w ith any abuse report Page 1 message.txt X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - gamma.jumpserver.net X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - iowa-eity.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [0 0] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - nacole.org 'Justified' Shootings Spotlight Police Policy Issues New Year's Grief by Dasun Allah January 8 - 14, 2003 Village Voice Within 48 hours of police banging in the first two days of the New Yea r ith the fatal shootings of four civilians=E2=80=94the same amount of t ime= officers can avoid questioning after such an incident=E2=80=94the sto ry disappeared from the headlines. The reasonable call from the victims' fam= ilies that no one rush to judgment appears unworthy of news slots rese rve= d for the finger-pointing protests and fiery rhetoric that often accom pan= y police shootings. But this week some activists and politicians are q ues= tioning police procedure and calling for law enforcement reforms.=20 "No one here is saying you're dealing with saints or a situation that doe= sn't have questions," said Reverend A1 Sharpton at a Saturday press co nfo- fence with City Council member Charles Barton and the families of two of = the civilians fatally shot last week. "But we want all the answers. Th e i- ssue here, even if the situations are as [the police] said, is the use of= deadly force and why the police use the force, where and how they use it= =2E Particularly if someone was shot in the back. Particularly if thor e w= as multiple shots. Particularly if there were delays in hospital servi ces= =2E There are many issues."-20 Preliminarily, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has called the shooti ngs= justified despite not having interviewed the officers who fired the s hot= Page 2 message.txt s due to a department protocol that temporarily shields them from scru tin= y. In an elaborate press conference, Kelly defended police actions wit ha= dazzling display of charts and maps based on secondary sources that c lea fly explained the circumstances of the shootings so far as is now know n.-20 The first shooting occurred minutes into the new year in the Brownsvil le = section of Brooklyn. A sergeant and captain shot Jamal Nixon, 19, afte rh- e had apparently engaged in celebratory gunfire. Nixon was shot twice in = the back. Later that morning, also in Brownsville, police fatally shot An= thony Reid, 21, after observing him allegedly shooting at a car outsid ea club. He was shot twice in both the back and legs. On January 2, in H ami- lton Heights, Allen Newsome, 17, was shot after allegedly pulling a fa ke = gun on undercover officers. That evening in Bensonhurst, John Lagattut 35, was shot as cops attempted to arrest him on suspicion of car theft .-20 Barton, an adviser to two of the families and the primary elected offi cia= 1 pursuing an independent inquiry into the incidents, thinks there is a s= olid basis for an inquiry. "There's a lot of conflicting stories about wh= at has happened and even the police account alone doesn't make sense. Fir- st of all, I spoke to commanding officer Miller at the 73rd Precinct a bou= t both [the Nixon and Reid] shootings .... There was no trading shot s w= ith [Nixon]," said Barton. "I asked him did Jamal shoot his weapon; he sa- id, 'No.' "-20 Barton is also curious as to how Kelly arrived at a "justified" conclu sio= n. "Number one, who told you all of this?" asked Barton. "You didn't t alk= Page 3 message, txt to the officers. You're not sure where [Nixon's] entry wounds are, ex it - wounds are, locations of the wounds. You got two eyewitnesses that wer e o= n the 13th, 14th floor, [at] midnight and 200 feet away=E2=80=94how ca n y= ou say even preliminarily that this is justified?"=20 The National Action Network (NAN) has launched a private investigation ov= erseen by Barton and Kelvin Alexander, a former sergeant and 20-year v ere= ran of the NYPD. The fact that ranking officers and detectives were in vol= ved doesn't shake their certainty that they'll get to the truth. "We w oul- d hope that the city and the police department would cooperate with wh ate= ver investigation the family wants so that we can come to a final and jus= t and fair conclusion," said Sharpton.=20 In addition to the investigation, Sharpton and Barron are again callin g f or the 48-hour rule to be eliminated and residency requirements for co This week there has been considerable criticism of the deadly force p oli= cy and calls to review that aspect of the training. Critics are specul ati= ng as to whether police objectives are to apprehend suspects or shoot the- m. Councilmember James Davis called for retraining in the use of deadl y f= orce. An NYPD spokesman said that retraining is not necessary. In a ne w wist, Sharpton and Barton are also calling for reform of the secret gr and= jury process to allow attorneys for victim's families to assist the D in presenting evidence to the jurors.=20 Although the NYPD releases the criminal records, if any, of its shooti ng = victims with their official statements, they do not always release inf orm ation on the officers involved. "They're always asking the family abou t t= Page 4 message.txt he victims. . Who are these officers? Do they have any priors? Did th- ey shoot before? Do they have any civilian complaints?" said Barton. W bil- e the recent victims' records were published immediately, it wasn't un til= the January 5 New York Post reported that one officer involved in the Re= id shooting had also shot and killed another young man while off duty las= t summer, that any real coverage was given to police backgrounds. The cas= e is still under review.=20 As the investigations continue, both official and independent, four fa mil ies are opening the new year with funeral arrangements and the NYPD ha s a= lready accrued a number of deaths that equals a third of last year~s t ota 1. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 5 Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 9:33 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] New York NY - Ex-cop/ACLU member turned poi plays both ends This message uses a character set that is not supported by the Internet Service. To view the original message content, open the attached message. If the text doesn't display correctly, save the attachment to disk, and then open it using a viewer that can display the original character set. message.txt Received: from wall.iowa-city.org (wall.civic.iowa-city.org [192.168.1 6.2]) by bart.civic.iowa-city.org with SMTP (Microsoft Exchange Intern et Mail Service Version 5.5.2653.13) id CHBBACPG; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:32:12 -0600 Received: through eSafe SMTP Relay 1042152141; Fri Jan 10 12:34:13 200 3 Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=gamma.jumpserver.net) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18X3vx-0004rp-00; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:31:09 -0600 Received: from conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.54]) by gamma.jumpserver.net with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1) id 18X3t2-0004iL-00 for update@nacole.org; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 12:28:09 -0600 Received: from dewey.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.150] bolo=de wey.psp.pas.earthlink.net) by conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 18X3tn-0004WA-00 for update@nacole.org; Fri, 10 Jan 2003 10:28:55 -0800 Received: from [207.217.78.12] by EarthlinkWAM via HTTP; Fri Jan 10 10 :28:55 PST 2003 Message-ID: <4103859.1042223335254.JavaMail.nobody@dewey.psp.pas.earth link.net> From: Kelvyn Anderson <kelvyn anderson@earthlink.net> To: update@nacole.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=646 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mailer: Earthlink Web Access Mail version 3.0 Subject: [NACOLE Update] New York NY - Ex-cop/ACLU member turned pol p lays both ends Sender: Update-admin@nacole.org Errors-To: Update-admin@nacole.org X-BeenThere: Update@nacole.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.13 Precedence: bulk List-Help: <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=help> List-Post: <mailto:Update@nacole.org> List-Subscribe: <http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org> <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject=subscribe> List-Id: NACOLE Update List <update_nacole.org.nacole.org> List-Unsubscribe: <http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.or g>, <mailto:Update-request@nacole.org?subject unsubscribe> List-Archive: <http://nacole.org/pipermail/update_nacole.org/> Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 10:33:12 -0500 {EST) X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it w ith any abuse report Page 1 message.txt X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname gamma.jumpserver.net X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - iowa-city.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [0 0] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - nacole.org A ~Pragmatic Progressive' Emerges from Queens Privacy Meets Public Safety by Chisun Lee January 8 14, 2003 Since the September 11 attacks, law enforcement authorities have been bic= kering with civil libertarians over how much access to people's privat ei= nformation they need to maintain national security. The debate usually pi ts public safety against principle. But one local pol, who is both an cop and a former board member of the New York Civil Liberties Union, s ays= the two priorities are inseparable.=20 Hiram Monserrate of Queens, one of a historic influx of newcomers elec ted- to the City Council in November 2001 after a term limits law booted o ut = some two-thirds of the old body, calls himself a "pragmatic progressiv who advocates both law and order and individual rights. Recently he de ded that more cops come out to his streets, claiming that the cheery h ead- lines about lessening crime did not re?ect the reality in all neighbor hoe= ds. Yet he is also spearheading an ambitious piece of legislation to r rict the police and other city agencies from funneling New Yorkers' pr iva= te information to federal authorities like the FBI and INS.=20 Last Friday Monserrate announced a 90-day agreement he had helped to w in = from the police department to assign a late-night force of 40 extra of fic- ers to a crime-ridden stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in his district, Cor , Queens. In that region of the city, which trails off into LaGuardia Air= Page 2 message.txt port and Flushing Bay, major felonies boomed even as the NYPD publicly bo= asted that crime had plummeted citywide.=20 Police statistics from the last week of December show that in one of t he = district's two precincts, the ll0th, burglary shot up 30 percent in 20 02,= and rapes, while down 18 percent in 2002, had actually increased 24 p erc ent from the 2000 rate. In the llSth, rapes were up 42 percent and mur der= an astonishing 75 percent from 2001. Corona needs more cops on a perm ane- nt basis, said Monserrate in an interview last week at his storefront dis= trict office, set among the auto-body repair shops on one stretch of N oft= bern Boulevard..=20 Twice in the past three months, "people tried to sell me narcotics whe hi- walked down Roosevelt Avenue=E2=80=94me, a councilman," he says. "If I'm= seeing it, I know other people are seeing it." 20 But those people are not reporting drug trafficking or other major cfi mes= , he says, because since September 11 many of his constituents have be afraid that cops will report them to the INS. "This district has one o ft= he highest concentrations of immigrants in this city," he says. "Many peo= ple won't report crimes or testify even if they're witnesses." His Sou th Asian constituents especially "have concerns about detentions" he says iven the widely reported acceleration of INS enforcement against peopl rom Muslim nations.-20 Residents have reported serious incidents to his office E2=80-94where the= small staff reflects the area's 70 percent Latino and 15 percent Asia akeup=E2=80=94rather than go to the police, he says. Those complaints hay Page 3 message.txt e included "a couple cases of young girls raped by managers at work," ,,de= livery guys being robbed," and domestic violence, according to Monserr ate= =2E "We have a huge domestic violence problem in this district," he sa id. "We Nave te deal with it ena community education level, but it's a p eli= ce issue, tee."=20 A spekespersen fer the NYPD disputed that there was a preblem with wha tH= enserrate calls "unreported crime." Chief Hichael Collins said pelice cem= manders in Queens told him, "They've never heard the complaint that pe opl= e in that community have been afraid to report crimes because of their im= migration status."-20 Collins showed the Voice written department rules citing a 1989 mayora 1 o= rder that prohibited city employees from disclosing to federal authori tie= s the status of an immigrant seeking city services. He said, "There is a = misconception out there. We don't inquire on or report the possible Ii rarai= gration] violations of victims or others seeking assistance."=20 But the 1989 order, originally issued by Mayor Edward Koch, was invali dat= ed by the passage of federal welfare and immigration laws in 1996. May Rudolph Giuliani fought the feds in court=E2=80=94concerned that frigh ten= ed immigrants would fail to seek police, medical, and economic service s a= nd thereby jeopardize the health and safety of their neighbors as well =80=94and lost.=20 Still, Collins insisted, the NYPD follows an internal policy of non-re per= ting.=20 Such policy is best made official through enforceable legislation, Men set Page 4 message.txt rate says. Without it, he says, "you just can't give people reassuranc es ~ that they can't get deported if they deal with the city." He stresses tha= t the lack of privacy guarantees also keeps constituents other than im mig= rants from seeking vital services as well, including HIV patients, gay an= d lesbian hate-crime victims, and the disabled.-20 With the aid of such nonprofit groups as the New York Immigration Coal itl= on and Legal Aid Society, Monserrate crafted a measure .to circumvent t he = court ruling against the Giuliani administration and introduced it in the= City Council last month. The bill seeks to preserve the confidentiali ty = of a broad range of information that constituents might reveal in the cou-- rse of routine contact with the city, except when there is suspicion o f a= crime. Supporters believe the proposal's careful wording and broader pro- tections=E2=80=94applying not only to immigration status but also to a re= nge of health and financial information=E2=80=94will hold up.=20 It is an ambitious measure that, if it passes, could become the first enf= orceable law in the country to block local participation in aspects of th= e post-September 11 federal information-gathering efforts that have al arm= ed civil liberties watchdogs.=20 In fact, Monserrate has been a vocal civil liberties activist over the ye= ars. He joined the Marines in 1984 and the NYPD in 1988, serving in th e 1= llth police precinct in Queens. But he became a law enforcement pariah wh- en he began to speak out against police brutality beginning with the 1 994= choking of Anthony Baez, who died, by officer Francis Livoti. Over th e y- ears Monserrate made complaints against the police department for disc rim= Page 5 message.txt ination, harassment, and retaliatory discipline. In 1999 he won a $107 ,97= 3 settlement in a harassment suit against the city and soon after took ea= fly retirement after 12 years on the force.=20 His outspokenness earned him a spot, which he no longer occupies, on t he = NYCLU board.=20 But while he speaks with pride about his past rabble-rousing, Monserra te = has been more measured in his positions regarding police since taking off= ice in 2001. In his most forceful act, he brokered a meeting between P oli- ce Commissioner Raymond Kelly himself and constituent Altagracia Mayi= E2=80= =94who has for years criticized police efforts in her son's unsolved 1 991= murder, which she insists was a bias beating by white youths. But he dec- lined to support a recent proposal requiring that police videotape the fu= 11 duration of all interrogations. (Councilmember Bill Perkins had lau nch= ed the idea following speculation that police had coerced the confessi OhS= that resulted in the now overturned convictions in the 1989 Central P ark- jogger rape case.) Monserrate says the me asure is too broad and would create a major "administrative burden."=2 0 Monserrate's politioal care has paid off in the past. To great fanfare ,h= e became the first Latino official ever elected in Queens, a distincti on = his staff is glad to reiterate all the time. Under the co-chairmanship of= Monserrate and Helen Foster of the Bronx, the council's Black, Latino , a= nd Asian Caucus has captured press attention and won a budget, if quit mall, to hire permanent staff.=20 His privacy measure, which he calls the "Access Without Fear" bill, ha Page 6 message.txt sd= fawn 30 co-sponsors to date, a voting majority of the 51-member legisl atu= re. His practical message=E2=80-94ensuring vital services to all New Y ork= ers=E2=80=94has won over union UNITE and the politically in?uential Ce ntr= al Labor Council. Monserrate is optimistic he will also convince healt hc= are workers union 1199, which has many immigrant members, and other gr oup= s with relevant memberships.=20 To win passage, however, the bill will need support from Mayor Bloombe rg,= whose office told the Voice in May that the administration would expl federally compliant options for reinstating the purposes of the 1989 cutive order. But it has yet to announce any action, and a spokesperso aid Monday that it was still too early in the legislative process for the= mayor to weigh in on Monserrate's bill.=20 Monserrate admits he and Bloomberg have "different perspectives" on so issues, but he hopes his pragmatic arguments on privacy will sway the wed pragmatist who heads City Hall.=20 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 7 Marian Karr From: Attard, Barbara [B^ttard @ci. berkeley.ca, us] Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 2:27 PM To: 'kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net'; 'update@nacole.org' Subject: FW: [NACOLE Update] 1: Re-Post Query on Patriot Act 2 NY Times A rticJes on Internet Monitoring ..... Original Message ..... From: Attard, Barbara Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 9:48 AM To: 'kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net'; 'update@nacole.org' Subject: RE: [NACOLE Update] 1: Re-Post Query on Patriot Act 2 NY Times Articles on Internet Monitoring Hi all-- The Berkeley PRC is planning to put together a policy on intelligence gathering, but it's a few months away. The action that the Council took was not as strong as "non-cooperation." It was basically not allowing them to take any non-Constitutional action. Barbara ..... Original Message ..... From: kelvyn anderson@earthlink.net [mailto:kelvyn anderson@earthlink.net] Sent: Monday, ~ecember 23, 2002 4:44 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] 1: Re-Post Query on Patriot Act 2 NY Times Articles on Internet Monitoring NACOLE List Members: I want to make sure John Murphy's question from this weekend re: the Civilian Review/Oversight community's response to the Patriot Act didn't get lost in the soup: To: NACOLE Members: From: John Murphy Claremont, CA Subj: Reaction to USA Patriot Act There appears to be a growing negative reaction to the Patriot Act by several California cities. Claremont is talking about a city council resolution opposing the Act. My question is: what role, if any, have police oversight cor~issions or boards played in this issue? {I believe Berkeley has passed a resolution of "non-cooperation" and has directed this to the police department.) I would welcome any observations about this issue. Thanks. John Murphy jemurphyg09@earthlink.net 909/624-5751 .................................................. John has raised a critical 1 issue. What is our role in this debate? I believe we need to have answers when the public begins to ask questions about this unprecedented expansion of law enforcement powers. While there will always be a great deal of traffic on the list regarding the actions/policies of individual officers in jurisdictions large and small all over the country, we need to chew on these larger questions as well. I'm sure we'd all agree that, whatever our opinion regarding the usefulness or constitutionality of the Patriot Act, it represents a fundamental shift of law enforcement power that has great impact on police oversight. As the Justice Department steps up its enforcement actions, its only a matter of time before these issues move from abstract "what ifs" to real complaints and issues for police auditors in local jurisdictions. Last week I posted a piece on the NYPDs attempts to broaden political surveillance; below are two articles on 1)Bush proposal for Internet monitoring, and 2) The tools for monitoring are already in place. I'm putting together a backgrounder on the recent reactions to the Patriot Act John spoke of, which I'll post later. Happy Holidays to Ail! -Kelvyn December 20, 2002 Bush Administration to Propose System for Monitoring Internet By JOHN MARKOFF and JOHN SCHWARTZ The Bush administration is planning to propose requiring Internet service providers to help build a centralized system to enable broad monitoring of the Internet and, potentiallyf surveillance of its users. The proposal is part of a final version of a report, "The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace," set for release early next year, according to several people who have been briefed on the report. It is a component of the effort to increase national security after the Sept. 11 attacks. The President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board is preparing the report, and it is intended to create public and private cooperation to regulate and defend the national computer networks, not only from everyday hazards like viruses but also from terrorist attack. Ultimately the report is intended to provide an Internet strategy for the new Department of Homeland Security. Such a proposal, which would be subject to Congressional and regulatory approval, would be a technical challenge because the Internet has thousands of independent service providers, from garage operations to giant corporations like ~nerican Online, AT&T, Microsoft and Worldcom. The report does not detail specific operational requirements, locations for the centralized system or costs, people who were briefed on the document said. 2 While the proposal is meant to gauge the overall state of the worldwide network, some officials of Internet companies who have been briefed on the proposal say they worry that such a system could be used to cross the indistinct border between broad monitoring and wiretap. Stewart Baker, a Washington lawyer who represents some of the nation's largest Internet providers, said, "Internet service providers are concerned about the privacy implications of this as well as liability," since providing access to live feeds of network activity could be interpreted as a wiretap or as the "pen register" and "trap and trace" systems used on phones without a judicial order. Mr. Baker said the issue would need to be resolved before the proposal could move forward. Tiffany Olson, the deputy chief of staff for the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, said yesterday that the proposal, which includes a national network operations center, was still in flux. She said the proposed methods did not necessarily require gathering data that would allow monitoring at an individual user level. But the need for a large-scale operations center is real, Ms. Olson said, because Internet service providers and security companies and other online companies only have a view of the part of the Internet that is under their control. "We don't have anybody that is able to look at the entire picture," she said. "When something is happening, we don't know it's happening until it's too late." The government report was first released in draft form in September, and described the monitoring center, but it suggested it would likely be controlled by industry. The current draft sets the stage for the government to have a leadership role. The new proposal is labeled in the report as an "early-warning center" that the board says is required to offer early detection of Internet-based attacks as well as defense against viruses and worms. But Internet service providers argue that its data-monitoring functions could be used to track the activities of individuals using the network. An official with a major data services company who has been briefed on several aspects of the government's plans said it was hard to see how such capabilities could be provided to government without the potential for real-time monitoring, even of individuals. "Part of monitoring the Internet and doing real-time analysis is to be able to track incidents while they are occurring," the official said. The official compared the system to Carnivore, the Internet wiretap system used by the F.B.I., saying: "Am I analogizing this to Carnivore? Absolutely. But in fact, it's 10 times worse. Carnivore was working on much smaller feeds and could not scale. This is looking at the whole Internet." One former federal Internet security official cautioned against drawihg conclusions from the information that is available so far about the Securing Cyberspace report's conclusions. Michael Vatis, the founding director of the National Critical Infrastructure Protection Center and now the director of the Institute for Security Technology Studies at Dartmouth, said it was common for proposals to be cast in the worst possible light before anything is actually known about the technology that will be used or the legal framework within which it will function. "You get a firestorm created before anybody knows what, concretely, is being proposed," Mr. Vatis said. A technology that is deployed without the proper legal controls "could be used to violate privacy," he said, and should be considered carefully. But at the other end of the spectrum of reaction, Mr. Vatis warned, "You end up without technology that could be very useful to combat terrorism, information warfare or some other harmful act." December 23, 2002 Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running By JOHN MARKOFF and JOHN SCHWARTZ In the Pentagon research effort to detect terrorism by electronically monitoring the civilian population, the most remarkable detail may be this: Host of the pieces of the system are already in place. Because of the inroads the Internet and other digital network technologies have made into everyday life over the last decade, it is increasingly possible to amass Big Brother-like surveillance powers through Little Brother means. The basic components include everyday digital technologies like e-mail, online shopping and travel booking, A.T.M. systems, cellphone networks, electronic toll-collection systems and credit-card payment terminals. In essence, the Pentagon's main job would be to spin strands of software technology that would weave these sources of data into a vast electronic dragnet. Technologists say the types of computerized data sifting and pattern matching that might flag suspicious activities to government agencies and coordinate their surveillance are not much different from programs already in use by private companies. Such programs spot unusual credit card activity, for example, or let people at multiple locations collaborate on a project. The civilian population, in other words, has willingly embraced the technical prerequisites for a national surveillance system that Pentagon planners are calling Total Information Awareness. The development has a certain historical resonance because it was the Pentagon's research agency that in the 1960's financed the technology that led directly to the modern Internet. Now the same agency - the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa - is relying on commercial technology that has evolved from the network it pioneered. The first generation of the Internet - called the Arpanet - consisted of electronic mail and file transfer software that connected people to people. The second generation connected people to databases and other information 4 via the World Wide Web. Now a new generation of software connects computers directly to computers. And that is the key to the Total Information Awareness project, which is overseen by John M. Poindexter, the former national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan. Dr. Poindexter was convicted in 1990 of a felony for his role in the Iran-contra affair, but that conviction was overturned by a federal appeals court because he had been granted immunity for his testimony before Congress about the case. Although Dr. Poindexter's system has come under widespread criticism from Congress and civil liberties groups, a prototype is already in place and has been used in tests by military intelligence organizations. Total Information Awareness could link for the first time such different electronic sources as video feeds from airport surveillance cameras, credit card transactions, airline reservations and telephone calling records. The data would he filtered through software that would constantly look for suspicious patterns of behavior. The idea is for law enforcement or intelligence agencies to be alerted irm~ediately to patterns in otherwise unremarkable sets of data that might indicate threats, allowing rapid reviews by human analysts. For example, a cluster of foreign visitors who all took flying lessons in separate parts of the country might not attract attention. Nor would it necessarily raise red flags if all those people reserved airline tickets for the same day. But a system that could detect both sets of actions might raise suspicions. Some computer scientists wonder whether the system can work. "This wouldn't have been possible without the modern Internet, and even now it's a daunting task," said Dorothy Denning, a professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Part of the challenge, she said, is knowing what to look for. "Do we really know enough about the precursors to terrorist activity?" she said. "I don't think we're there yet." The early version of the Total Information Awareness system employs a commercial software collaboration program called Groove. It was developed in 2000 by Ray Ozzie, a well-known software designer who is the inventor of Lotus Notes. Groove makes it possible for analysts at many different government agencies to share intelligence data instantly, and it links specialized programs that are designed to look for patterns of suspicious behavior. Total Information Awareness also takes advantage of a simple and fundamental software technology called Extended Markup Language, or XML, that is at the heart of the third generation of Internet software. It was created by software designers at companies like Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and I.B.M., as well as independent Silicon Valley programmers. The markup language allows data that has long been locked in isolated databases, known in the industry as silos, to be translated into a kind of universal language that can be read and used by many different systems. Information made compatible in this way can be shared among thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of computers in ways that all of them can understand. It is XML, a refinement of the Internet's original World Wide Web scheme, that has made it possible to consider welding thousands of databases together without centralizing the information. Computer scientists said that without such new third-generation Web technologies, it would have never been $ possible to conceive of the Total Information Awareness system, which is intended to ferret out the suspicious intentions of a handful of potential terrorists from the humdrum everyday electronic comings and goings of millions of average A~ericans. Civil libertarians have questioned whether the government has the legal or constitutional grounds to conduct such electronic searches. And other critics have called it an outlandishly futuristic and ultimately unworkable scheme on technical grounds. But on the latter point, technologists disagree. "It's well grounded in the best current theory about scalable systems," said Ramano Rao, chief technology officer at Inxight, a Sunnyvale, Calif., company that develops text-searching software. "It uses all the right buzzwords." People close to the Pentagon's researoh program said Dr. Poindexter was acutely aware of the power and the invasiveness of his experimental surveillance system. In private conversations this summer, according to several Department of Defense contractors, he raised the possibility that the control of the Total Information Awareness system should be placed under the jurisdiction of an independent, nongovernmental organization like the Red Cross because of the potential for abuse. Dr. Poindexter declined to be interviewed for this article. A Darpa spokeswoman, Jan Walker, wrote in an e-mail reply to questions that "we don't recall ever talking about" having a nongovernmental organization operate the Total Information Awareness program and that "we've not held any discussions with" such an organization. The idea of using an independent organization to control a technology that has a high potential for abuse has been raised by previous administrations. An abortive plan to create a backdoor surveillance capability in enorypted con~unications, known as Clipper, was introduced by the Clinton administration in 1993. It called for keys to the code to be held by an organization independent of the F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies. Speaking of Dr. Poindexter, John Arquilla, an expert at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey on unconventional warfare, said, "The admiral is very concerned about the tension between security and civil liberties." He added that because of the changing nature of warfare and the threat of terrorism, the United States would be forced to make trade-offs between individuals' privacy and national security. "In an age of terror wars, we have to learn the middle path to craft the security we need without incurring too great a cost on our civil liberties," he said. Computer scientists who work with Darpa said that Dr. Poindexter was an enthusiastic backer of a Darpa-sponsored advisory group that had been initiated by a Microsoft researcher, Eric Horvitz, in October 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The group, which was composed of 41 computer scientists, policy experts and government officials, met three times to explore whether it was possible to employ sophisticated data-mining technologies against potential terrorist 6 attacks while protecting individuals' privacy. A number of the scientists proposed "black box" surveillance systems that would alert human intelligence analysts about suspicious patterns. Once the alerts were issued in such a system, they suggested, legal processes like those used for wiretapping could be employed. But a number of the scientists and policy experts who attended the meetings were skeptical that technical safeguards would be adequate to ensure that such a system would not be abused. The debate is a healthy one, said Don Upson, who is senior vice president of the government business unit of a software company in Fairfax, Va., webMethods, and the former secretary of technology for Virginia. "I'm glad Darpa is doing this because somebody has to start defining what the rules are going to be" about how and when to use data, he said. "I believe we're headed down the path of setting the parameters of how we're going to use information." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Karl Zabel [kmzabel2000@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 7:11 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] find and bark Hello. I work at the Police Assessment Resource Center. We presented at the NACOLE conference this year. I am ~vriting to inquire whether any of your agencies have a "find and bark" canine policy (also known as "bark and hold") or if you know of other agencies outside your jurisdiction. I am aware that agencies under consent decrees with the Justice Department, such as the LAPD and DC Police Department, have adopted such policies, but am interested in finding other agencies. I can be reached via email at karizabel@parc.info and by telephone by 213-797-1105. Thank you. Sincerely, Kari Zabel Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. ~n up now~ 1/13/03 Marian Karr From: marie [rd justice@monitor, net] Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2003 12:00 PM To: rd justice@monitor, net Subject: [NACOLE Update] Form for Evaluating Police Response to Domestic Violence Form for Evaluating Police Response to Domestic Violence For Use by Victims and Advocates http://www.justicewomen.com/help_police evaluation.html Formulario para evaluar la respuesta de la policia a la violencia domestica. para que sea utilizado pot las victimasy sus defensoras/es http://www.justicewomen.com/help_police_evaluation sp.html Marie De Santis Women's Justice Center Centro de Justicia Para Mujeres Bilingual (Spanish) Website: www.justicewomen.com 250 Sebastopol Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95407 Tel. (707) 575-3150 Email rdjustice@monitor.net Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: SamFeldmanl@aol.com Sent: Saturday, Januar~ 11, 2003 4:26 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Miami Police Chief John Timoney at his swearing-in this week _ ib%w ' BH)L_DBX;Zq QYIK4= d id CI3]<<~.rS4# Posted on Sat, Jan. 11, 20031 l~%w 'BH)L_DBX;ZqQYIK4=E~idCf~i<(2rS4#.~%w 'BH) L_DBX;ZqQYIK4= [] idCl~i<<2.rS4# _ I~%w ' BH)L_DBX;ZqQYIK4= [] idCr~i [~%w ' BH)L_DBX;ZqQYIK4= []idCB]<<;:'rS4# To serve and protect VERBATIM Following are excerpts from remarks by Miami Police Chief John Timoney at his swearing-in this week. Today I begin an exciting new chapter in my police career, a career that spans 35 years. I began my career right out of high school in 1967. It was the height of the anti-Vietnam War protests that rocked many college campuses across America and when many cities were engulfed in flames from race riots. You couldn't blame a young idealist for despairing. For feeling and believing that Armageddon was at hand. That American society was in ruin, ready to collapse, to be replaced by -- who knows what? But I was wrong. American society did not collapse. In fact, it has gotten better. It is now more just and more fair; it is now more inclusive and less segregated. There is more diversity and a greater tolerance for such diversity. Millions of African Americans have moved from poverty into a strong middle class. Millions of immigrants populate our cities, and our cities are better as a result. You will notice I said better. Not perfect but certainly better. Perfection is the ideal that we strive for, but in reality we work and pray to make things better, and we have. · American policing today often appears to be a troubled, contentious, explosive profession. From time to time and from city to city, police and the citizens they service seem to be at odds. (That's putting it mildly.) Charges and counter charges fly: Police brutality, corruption, incompetence, insensitivity, callous are just some of the terms used to describe this or that police department. While some of the charges may be true, I can tell you that the police profession is better now than itwas 35 years ago when I signed on. Police departments are less brutal than they were then. They are less corrupt and more professional. They are more diverse and more closely reflect the populations that they serve. But they are not perfect. Far from it. Every now and again, police departments bring shame and embarrassment on their city. They bring unwanted attention, which can be decisive when a person chooses where to live or work. Businesses will make location decisions based upon, among other things, the reputation of a city and its police force. This policing business is important, and it's important that it's done right. The job of doing it right falls on the shoulders of the police chief. He or she must develop and institute progressive policies that minimize and mitigate notorious incidents. The chief must be committed to the professional development of everyone in the department and to training his officers to deliver police services in a professional and humane manner. He also must train and support police officers to deal more effectively with crime and quality-of-life issues. 1/13/03 Page 2 of 2 It is important that a police chief support his officers when they are doing the right thing but make a mistake. Sometimes discipline will be required to address a mistake, but that discipline should be judicious and purposeful with an eye toward correction and redemption. However, when an officer commits a wrongful act with mens rea -- evil intent -- there must be no safe harbor for such an individual. He or she must be rooted out of the profession. I am committed to do all of the above and more. This policing business is very important, important that it be done right for the city and its residents, but also for the free, open democratic society we cherish. We must strive to regain and maintain public trust so that the average citizen can point to the Miami Police and proclaim proudly, "These are our police officers; this is our police department." 1/13/03 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 5:39 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Louisville KY - Police Curruption Trial Begins Police-corruption trial opens tomorrow Two ex-detectives face hundreds of allegations By Gregory A. Hall ghall@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal Monday Jan 13, 2003 Two former narcotics detectives who were relatively unknown a year ago will go on trial tomorrow in one of the largest and most publicized police-corruption cases ever in Jefferson County. Mark A. Watson and Christie Richardson, who have resigned from the county police, are charged with creating bogus search warrants with photocopied judges' signatures, with obtaining warrants through the use of fraudulent affidavits, and with obtaining payments for informants who say they never got the money. Watson faces 472 counts and Richardson 467. Because of the accusations against Watson and Richardson, the Metro Narcotics division has altered its policies, drug convictions have been overturned and dozens of drug charges have been dropped. ''I've never been in the position where I'm walking around making motions to dismiss cases -- at this volume at least,'' Alex Dathorne, chief narcotics prosecutor in the con~monwealth's attorney's office, said. Russell Weaver, a University of Louisville law professor, said the allegations in the case point to ~'a major breakdown'' in the criminal justice system and involve one of the biggest police-corruption cases he's seen since coming to Louisville in 1982. If convicted, Watson and Richardson each could be sentenced to as long as 70 years in prison for burglary, possession of a forged instrument, tampering with public records, bribing a witness, theft, perjury and official misconduct. In addition, Watson faces one count of harassing a witness. Their alleged misdeeds occurred over 13 months, starting in January 2001, and the two are accused in connection with 133 separate incidents of wrongdoing, according to court records. Watson, 39, and Richardson, 36, have pleaded innocent and are free on bail. Neither could be reached for comment. Mary Sharp, an attorney for Watson, said he is employed but would not say what he is doing or where he is working. Steve Schroering, Richardson's attorney, would not comment on her status. Watson, a former Atlanta police officer, joined the Jefferson County department in 1992, moving to Metro Narcotics in 1995. Richardson, a former Georgetown, Ky., officer, joined the county force in 1994 and was teamed with Watson after joining the narcotics division in 1998. Metro Narcotics is staffed by both Jefferson County and Louisville police officers; the unit was under the command of the county in 2002. Defense plan for Watson ! Schroering declined to discuss his client's defense, but said, ''She absolutely maintains her innocence of any criminal conduct.'' He would not say whether Richardson will testify. Sharp said her client's statement to investigators reveals part of his defense. In the statement, Watson said money he was to pay confidential informants did go to them, and when he signed informants' names, he did so only with their permission. Sharp declined to reveal other aspects of his defense. ''I think that there are a lot of problems with the commonwealth's case -- specifically, counts of the indictment that we don't believe have sufficient evidence which support them -- certainly not beyond a reasonable doubt,~' Sharp said. She indicated there may be problems with the burglary counts but declined to elaborate. Sharp said she doesn't believe referring to the case as one of the largest examples of alleged police corruption is fair. Watson's ''prime motivation in being a narcotics detective was to clean our streets up and to remove the drugs from them,'' she said. It has not been decided whether Watson will testify, Sharp said. ''I'll tell you he wants to testify, but I'm just not sure if I'm going to recommend that Prosecutor Scott Davis would not comment about the case. Trial could move to Bowling Green The publicity the case has generated locally prompted attorneys for both Watson and Richardson to ask Jefferson Circuit Judge Steve Mershon to move the trial outside Jefferson County. Prosecutors Davis and Jonathan Dyar objected, and Mershon kept the trial in Jefferson County -- at least to start. But Mershon said that if enough potential jurors who haven't prejudged the case can't be found in the pool of 120 brought to the courtroom tomorrow, he would move the trial to Bowling Green. A courtroom there will be on standby, he said. The trial is expected to last from three to six weeks. Pay discrepancy started the probe The investigation of Watson and Richardson began early last February when Watson's supervisors started looking into discrepancies in pay Watson was allegedly receiving for court appearances. Since he and Richardson were first suspended in February, many of the cases they worked have been called into question. Eight convictions involving seven defendants have been overturned. Charges against 32 defendants have been dismissed in 19 cases that were pending in Jefferson Circuit Court. Prosecutors have also stopped pursuing allegations that were pending before the grand jury. Those involved 17 defendants in nine In 15 cases in District Court, charges have been dismissed or convictions have been set aside, said Bill Patteson, a spokesman for the county attorney's office. Dathorne said he plans to present a motion today to set aside a ninth 2 conviction in Circuit Court. Ail narcotics cases where either Watson or Richardson was the lead detective are being re-evaluated, a process that could take years, Dathorne said. ''Ultimately, I think we're taking wrongs and we're making rights,'~ he said. Watson and Richardson are also at the heart of a class-action lawsuit naming as defendants the detectives, the city of Louisville and two former Jefferson County police chiefs. The suit, filed on behalf of those investigated by the detectives, accuses Watson and Richardson of violating the constitutional rights of people they investigated and accuses other government officials of condoning police misconduct. The suit is on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case. Maury Kommor, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said, ~'The scariest thing that you could ever have is a police officer enter your home and say you've done something wrong when you haven't.'' Metro Narcotics undergoes changes In October, the Jefferson County police received a report on a $60,000 review of Metro Narcotics done by the Washington-based Police Executive Research Forum. The review said supervisors missed or ignored warning signs that might have more quickly revealed allegations that Watson and Richardson were taking informants~ pay and fabricating search warrants. Changes were recouunended, at least some of which were adopted by former county police Chief William Carcara, who retired at the end of 2002 in preparation for the merger of the city and county departments under Chief Robert White. Helene Kramer, a spokeswoman for Louisville Metro Police, the merged department, said White, who took over last Monday, is aware of the situation but has not been fully briefed on Metro Narcotics. The unit will be included in a review of all divisions. A~ong the changes Carcara made: Adopting an evaluation process that weighs the quality of arrests and whether they result in convictions; encouraging detectives to pursue larger cases involving higher-level dealers; and requiring commanding officers to witness payments to informants. Another change that affected the entire county police department is the adoption of a system that proves officers are in court to testify and therefore are eligible for court overtime pay. The Courier-Journal reported in March that 21 of Watson's 41 cases in 2001 were dropped because he didn't appear in court but that he nonetheless collected court pay in 10 of the dropped cases. Carcara said he would leave broader changes recommended in the report up to the new chief, who is dealing with merging the city and county departments. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: ke[vyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 5:43 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Roslyn NY - Abuse charged in Nassau County CH12 NEWS 01/12/03) ROSLYN - A day after Nassau County cops clashed with residents in Roslyn comes allegations of police misconduct. A group of people had gathered at the local community center in Roslyn Heights for a baby shower Saturday night, when things got out of control. Police officers were called in to break up a fight in front of the building caught in the middle of a contentious conflict with partygoers. In all, three people were maced. A necessary move to control the crowd says authorities. But residents say it was the wrong reaction and some say the police are unfairly targeting the area because most of the residents are black. Nassau County's top cop insists his men acted appropriately. Commissioner James Lawrence denies allegations of racial profiling. Video : http://ondemandl.cv.net/newsl2/7TSTLIROSLYN5V.asx Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 5:45 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] St Augustine Beach FL - Officer wrote residents name on bullet latest update: Saturday, January 11, 2003 at 08:28 AM EST Officer says he wrote resident's name on bullet Internal report probes St. Augustine Beach Police Department By PETER GUINTA Senior Writer ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH -- Police internal affairs documents released this week said Dot. Terry Prescott admitted writing the name of a Beach resident on a bullet. In the report, Prescott also admitted "it's entirely possible" that he pointed his service revolver at a television set, but denied pointing it at any person. The flap began when then-St. Augustine Beach Commissioner-elect Frank Charles on Dec. 20 sent a list ef issues and complaints about the police department to City Attorney Geoffrey Dobson. Charles was elected mayor on Jan. 6. Hany allegations against Prescott started in Hay 2002 as part of a larger complaint against Assistant Chief Tom Bradley and police Officer J.D. Beaudoin by other Beach police officers, including Officer Gary Hartshorne. These complaints of misconduct were written down in a notebook now in the hands of Chief Arnold Bandy, the report said. These include accusations of harassment by Bradley and insubordination by Hartshorne. Bandy looked into the charges, met with the officers involved and concluded that several issues had already been corrected. "According to my evaluation and observance, some things could have been taken out ef context (or) misperceived," Bandy said. "Bad judgment, poor taste and personalities could be a huge factor involving these employees." The entire report was kept under wraps until Beach resident Barry Tuttle, attempting to help Hartsherne, sought out the advice ef then-Commissioner Gene Reineke, who advised Turtle to speak to Dobson. "Hy intention was not te have the report be public," Turtle said. "The city attorney said it was confidential, but then said I had a right to see it. I tried to get it and was denied access. I called Dobson and it was available the next day." At the Dec. 16 City Commission meeting, Bradley denied knowing anything about the report. However, Bandy delivered it to his door the next day, Turtle said. It was then issued te the commission and became a public record. Beach homeowner Bruce Wright, whose name was written on a bullet by Prescott, said Friday that he had already spoken te the State Attorney's Office about the incident. "I want the guy te stay away from me," Wright said. "I want it on the record." ! Wright, 60, said he also wrote a letter to City Hall. Wright said he often makes complaints to the police about excessive noise from bars in his neighborhood. The bullet incident happened, he said, after he called in a complaint about cars parked illegally on his street. At the same time, police officers were watching a football game. Other officers said Prescott wrote Wright's name on a bullet and inserted it into his revolver. Prescott said he meant it as a joke. "I harbor no malice towards Bruce Wright nor any other citizen," he said. Prescott was unavailable for comment Friday night. He was present at Monday's commission meeting, where he represented the department in lieu of the police chief and assistant chief. A police spokeswoman said, "The City Commission on Monday adopted a policy of allowing no city employees but Mayor Charles or Vice Mayor Grace Guido to speak to the media." Charles had moved to demote Bradley from assistant chief Jan. 6, but that motion died for a lack of a second. "I've got to have somebody there I can trust to give me good information," Charles said. He's already met with Bandy, who announced recently that he plans to retire in June. "I'm going to sit down with him and the various officers and assist them in working this out," Charles said. "Selecting a new police chief when he retires will also solve a lot of problems. In the meantime, I've got assurances from Chief Bandy that he will get to the bottom of it." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 9:34 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Oklahoma City OK - Decision for police angers attorney Decision for police angers attorney 2003-01-11 By Ken Raymond The Oklahoman An attorney for Donald Reed Pete, wNose controversial arrest was captured on videotape July 8, said Friday that Oklahoma City police are "out of control." At a news conference, Roland V. Combs III denounced the decision by federal authorities Wednesday not to prosecute two officers involved in Pete's arrest. "If Pete were white and the officers black," Combs said, "it's possible the outcome would've been different." On the videotape, officers Greg Driskill and Eddy Dyer appear to strike Pete at least 27 times with police tactical batons while attempting to arrest him on suspicion of drug possession and having sex with a prostitute in a church parking lot. Pete was charged with two felonies. On Oct. 18, as part of a plea agreement with the Oklahoma County district attorney's office, he pleaded to three misdemeanor charges and was fined $700. He has filed a tort claim against the city seeking $7.7 million damages. Wednesday, Robert G. McCampbell, U.S. attorney for the state's western federal judicial district, announced his office would not pursue federal criminal charges against Driskill and Dyer. He said there was no evidence they "willfully violated" Pete's civil rights. Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane could still file state charges against the officers, who have been on restricted duty since the incident. Lane said Friday he will make his decision after receiving further information from federal authorities. Combs responded Friday to McCampbell's decision by saying "race played a big part" in the case. He said since the Pete tape surfaced, he has been approached by five to 10 other people, all but one of them black, who believe they were abused by white officers. Combs said "there is a real problem with police brutality in this city." "These officers are out of control," Combs said. "There's no control out there for these officers to come out and just beat someone." Police Chief M.T. Berry was unavailable for comment Friday, but Marty Stupka, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter, denied Combs' accusations. "We don~t have any rogue officers out there beating people up for the sake of beating them," Stupka said. "We have one of the strictest policies and procedures on use of force in the United States, and we review them constantly." Stupka also denied the allegations that white officers have abused black suspects. "I haven't had a single black officer come to me and say they thought there was too much force used on this man," Stupka said. "They thought it was perfectly within the limits of our training and procedures. The only thing they're wondering is why it's taking the district attorney so long to make a decision. "The DA has all the evidence we have. He has all the information we have. There's no new evidence. If there was, we'd know about it, and we'd investigate it." Lane said he has not yet received all the case information from the U.S. Justice Department. "Up until now, the U.S. attorney's office is the only prosecutorial agency to have all of the investigative materials," Lane said. Lane said he has told federal authorities all he needs to reach a decision on whether to file charges against the officers is their assurance they did not turn up any information during their investigation that conflicts with evidence in the police case file. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink, net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 9:38 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Cleveland OH - Officer once again on the firing line Officer once again on the firing line 01/11/03 Hike Tobin Plain Dealer Reporter Cleveland police officer Jim Simone has never shrunk from danger. He was hit by shrapnel in Vietnam, has been shot three times - including once in the face - and has been involved in at least a dozen shootings, at least four of which ended with the deaths of suspects. He has won the department's medal of valor award and is known to many by his nickname, "Supercop." But his frequent brushes with bullets have prompted some to ask if he has a death wish. "Absolutely not," said retired Cleveland police officer Phil Smith, who has heard the question many times. "The Jimmy Simone I know loves life and adores his children." Simone, 54, was in the middle of the action again Thursday night. As a despondent Michael Ciacchi stood by his car and held a gun to his own chin, Simone walked up to Ciacchi and tried to blast him with pepper spray. Police say that Ciacchi pointed his gun at officers, who opened fire. Ciacchi was killed and Simone was injured when, authorities believe, a police bullet ricocheted and hit him in the chest. Simone was wearing a bulletproof vest and suffered only bruises. "He's the toughest man in the history of the Cleveland Police Department," said Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Tim McGinty, a longtime prosecutor. "If we had 1,800 more of him, the bad guys would be taking the bus to Beachwood to commit their crimes." Most mornings, Simone can be found eating breakfast in the cafeteria of the Justice Center, where almost everyone has a Jimmy Simone story. Like the one about arresting a deputy chief's son for drunken driving. Or the one about giving a ticket to the Cleveland city councilman. Or about the time former Indians owner Dick Jacobs tried to get his secretary out of a jam and asked, "Do you know who I am?" Simone responded: "Do you know who I am?" Some colleagues complain privately that Simone is a publicity hound who takes unnecessary risks. Dr. Andy Ryan, chairman of the psychological services section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said most police officers go through their entire careers without drawing a gun. "There's no profile for the thrill-seeking cop," Ryan said. "Often they're in a position that puts them in the front of the line. They're the first ones through the door, like a point man in a platoon." ! Friends and colleagues note that Simone has turned down promotions and desk jobs to keep walking the beat. He left the department's high-profile homicide unit because there wasn't enough action, Smith said. He could have retired years ago, but he refuses to go. "The streets are like an addiction to him," Smith said. "Of all the police I've known, there's never been another one like him. His goal is to be the best, the guy writing the most tickets, making the most felony arrests." Even lawyer Terry Gilbert, who has filed dozens of police brutality lawsuits and is generally reviled by the Cleveland police, has kind words for Simone. "I know he's tough and can get a little rough with people, but I think he really believes in what he does, in protecting the community," Gilbert said. "He plays it by the book. Being a cop is just in his blood." To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mtobin@plaind.com, 216-999-5079 © 2003 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. Copyright 2003 cleveland.com. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 9:40 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San Francisco CA - FBI Jooks into brutality claims FBI looks into brutality claims in S.F. Preliminary probe of cases involving son of city's No. 2 cop Jaxon Van Derbeken, Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writers Saturday, January 11, 2003 ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle I Feedback URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/O1/ll/BA209863.DTL San Francisco -- The FBI has started a preliminary investigation into potential civil rights violations stemming from incidents of alleged brutality involving Officer Alex Fagan Jr., sen of the San Francisco Police Department's second-in- cormmand, authorities said Friday. Fagan, son of Assistant Chief Alex Fagan Sr., is one of three officers under investigation for an incident Nov. 20 in which two men accused the off- duty officers of assaulting them on Union Street, near a bar where one of the men worked. Fagan, 23, was also named in three earlier incidents ef alleged police brutality last year. The brutality allegations are under investigation by the district attorney's office. The younger Fagan, who joined the force in January 2001, had his rookie probationary status extended through March for an act of alleged insubordination and was ordered to undergo anger-management training, authorities say. He has been reassigned from the Park police station to the department's records room. When questioned about the matter, Hark Hershon, special agent in charge of the FBI's Northern California office, confirmed that the bureau was in the beginning stages of a preliminary inquiry. Hershon declined te say what exactly the investigation covered. The law specifies that the bureau can investigate only incidents in which officers act under the color of authority and their conduct results in serious injury or death. Mershon said that the assessment could take as long as a month and that agents would send their findings to the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department in Washington. Those officials will then decide whether to conduct a full investigation. Sgt. Neville Gittens, a police spokesman, said the department "welcomes the FBI to look into this situation, and we will cooperate with them fully." The younger Fagan's attorney, Jim Collins, was not available for comment. Three men have filed claims with the city alleging that Fagan Jr. and other officers roughed them up during arrests, and at least two claim to have suffered serious injury. Such claims are often precursors Eo lawsuits. In one of the claims, filed in July, James Washburn said he had been simply crossing the street with a drum and sunflower hat in January 2002 when Fagan and other officers tackled him, beat him and demanded to know what drugs he was using. WashburR did not suffer ! serious injuries, and the city rejected his claim. A second man, Kevin Jordan, filed a claim in December saying Fagan and Officer Jason Kristal had punctured his lung and broken two ribs while arresting him in July in the Toys R Us parking lot on Geary Boulevard. Jordan said police had no grounds to handcuff him, but the officers said they feared something he carried in a bag might endanger them. Kristal wrote in his police report that Jordan had tried to grab Fagan's gun. Jordan's claim is still pending. Harriet Ross, Jordan's civil attorney, said an FBI agent contacted her about two weeks ago and asked her for information about what happened to her client. "He just wanted to get a copy of the police report, and I let him have copies of the pictures of Jordan's injuries," she said. She said she is happy the FBI is looking into the matter. "Fagan has been involved in so many things now, the FBI is interested -- we'll see what happens," she said. In a third claim, Orlando Bacon, 35, said he was roughed up during a robbery arrest by Fagan and other officers in August and went to the hospital for his injuries. Bacon's attorney, Joe O'Sullivan, said the FBI has not contacted his office. Bacon said in his claim that Fagan threatened to shoot Bacon's "black brains all over the sidewalk," while an officer whose name he didn't know held a gun to Bacon's head. According to the claim, Fagan and five other officers beat Bacon and caused internal bleeding after he was arrested on suspicion of a purse snatching on Steiner Street. The police report makes no mention of officers using force against Bacon, but he ended up with broken ribs and a punctured lung, his attorneys said. His claim says he suffered lacerations, contusions and internal bleeding. Bacon's claim says Fagan threatened to kill him if he didn't identify his alleged partner in the purse snatching. The claim is still pending. E-mail the writers at jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com and sfinz@sfchronicle.com. ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle I Feedback Page A - 13 Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 10:05 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] South Bend IN - Black cop says he was victim of excessive force New prosecutor wants results of Ivory investigation Updated: 2003-01-13 09:46:27-05 http://www.wndu.com/news/012003/news 18168.php Roderick Ivory is a police officer in Columbus, Indiana For almost four months, authorities have looked into a case of possible police brutality in South Bend involving Officer Roderick Ivory of Columbus, Indiana. New St. Joseph County Prosecutor, Mike Dvorak, says it's time to hand over the results of that investigation. Dvorak wants to know if a South Bend police officer used excessive force against Officer Ivory. Dvorak plans to meet with State Police about the Ivory case next week. Ivory claims South Bend Police used excessive force on him in September when he was visiting family in South Bend. State police took over the investigation. Dvorak says he wants those results to see if any charges need to be filed. Officer speaks out on police brutality; Investigation underway Updated: 2002-10-11 16:51:55-05 http://www.wndu.com/news/102002/news 16609.php Officer Ivory South Bend native Roderick Ivory, who alleges South Bend police used excessive force against him, is speaking out through his attorney. Ivory is a patrolman with the Columbus, Indiana police department which is located south of Indianapolis. Ivory attended today's NAACP meeting with his lawyer to address the allegations he's making against local police. Columbus investigation complete According to the Columbus Police Department, their investigation is complete. Columbus officials say Officer Ivory didn't violate any departmental rules or requirements. In light of this, Officer Ivory is back on duty. A press release says the chief and members of the department fully support Officer Ivory. Local members of the NAACP also say they support Ivory. They also allege that this most recent incident isn't the first time police abuse has happened in South Bend. NAACP members plan to take a petition to the mayor encouraging him to turn this investigation over the Indiana State Police. The South Bend Police continue their internal investigation on the allegations of police brutality that date back to the end of September. Ivory was in town with family when he reported a hit-and-run accident on North Chicago Street involving his nephew. While on the scene, words were exchanged and Officer Ivory says he was thrown to the ground and handcuffed. He suffered a stiff neck and two chipped teeth as a result of the incident. Ivory's faith in law enforcement shaken 1 Ivory's lawyer, Douglas Grimes, says it has been a very emotional time for his client. "His ideals about law enforcement have been shaken by this particular event. We want him to regain the confidence he has with the justice system." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson~earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 10:07 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Calumet City IN - Resident alleges police abuse Resident alleges police brutality Monday Jan 13, 2003 BY LAURI HARVEY Times Staff Writer CALUMET CITY -- A Calumet City man is claiming he was the victim of police brutality at the hands of two Calumet City police officers. Sporting a black eye, Andre Manning, 29, 6 Warren St., told the City Council during the public forum prior to the council meeting Thursday night that he was, "personally attacked by two of your officers while observing them doing their duty next door to me. "...A statement was made to be by a police officer that he can do what he wants whenever he wants," Manning said. But police are telling a different story. In a statement released by the Calumet City Police Department on Friday, authorities said Manning was charged with battery to a police officer and resisting arrest as officers from the department's tactical unit were executing a narcotics search warrant at his home. "The search warrant was a result of a narcotics investigation initiated by the department after receiving numerous complaints of drug activity at that location," police said. "During the execution of the search warrant, officers recovered a quantity of illegal drugs found inside the residence and in a vehicle at the rear of 6 Warren." Donte Manning, 22, of 15034 S. Irving Ave. , Dolton also was arrested in the incident and charged with possession of a controlled substance. Andre Manning said Donte is his cousin and lives in the townhouse connected to his. "Although no type of complaint has been made to the Calumet City Police Department, the department takes allegations of inappropriate police conduct very seriously and will not tolerate police misconduct by its officers," the statement said. "The department also takes illegal drug sales and possession very seriously and will use all legal means to investigate and prosecute these crimes." Andre Manning alleges the incident occurred around 8 p.m. Monday after he returned home with Tanya Neal, his fiancee, Ramona Stampley and Adenyi Oshin. The two couples were at Oshin's home in South Holland and were going to Manning's for the evening, Manning said. Manning said when he arrived at his home, he saw 10 to 15 police officers at the unit attached to his -- where he said his cousin, Donte Manning, and brother, Marvin, live -- and asked them what was going on. "They said a burglary alarm went off on the house, but I told them there isn't an alarm on that house," Manning said. "The police got agitated with me." Manning alleges an officer told him, "You need to get the f - - - away from here." "They didn't want me in my house, but I said I had nowhere else to go," Manning said. ! Manning said he was standing on his porch a while later when a police officer allegedly said, "Is that black f - - - er still on that porch?" He alleges he was then hit in the head with what he believes was a police baton. "Another police officer grabbed me and before I knew it, I was dazed," he said. "There was blood all over the porch." Manning did not name the officers he alleges assaulted him. Manning claims he never physically assaulted or threatened the police officers and that he was handcuffed and placed in a squad car while bleeding from the head. He alleges police drove him past St. Margaret Mercy Medical Center in Hammond, but refused to take him to the emergency room and refused him medical treatment at the station. After being released on a $100 bond, Manning said he drove himself to the emergency room at St. Margaret's, where he was treated for contusions, cuts to the inside of his mouth and bruises on his side and leg. Manning said he has has been "harassed by the police a lot," and admits to "having some problems with police" in Chicago when he was 17, but did not elaborate on the issue. Manning said he believes the alleged beating took place, "because I didn't listen to them at first. I refused to do exactly what they were telling me to do." Manning said he called Interim Mayor Dominick Gigliotti's office on Tuesday to discuss the matter and was directed to contact the Police Department if he was interested in filing a complaint. He told the City Council Thursday night he'd taken steps to file the complaint, but on Friday, said he tried to file the complaint after the council meeting but was told he'd have to return the next day. On Friday, Manning said he still had not filed a complaint about the matter and was waiting for his attorney -- whom he has yet to retain -- to handle the matter. He also said he is considering legal action against the city. First Ward Alderman Ed Gonzalez, who serves as chairman of the Public Safety Con~ittee and himself is an Illinois State Police officer in the division of internal affairs, told Manning Thursday night, "if there is police brutality, there are proper venues and areas for those (issues) to be addressed. "...I'm not aware of any police brutality complaints that have been filed," Gonzalez said. Interim Mayor Dominick Gigliotti asked if Manning was involved with a group advertising plans to picket City Hall in protest of police brutality. Manning and Romona Stampley, who listed the same address as Manning and also addressed the issue before the City Council, said they were not aware of any planned pickets. But after the public forum, Stampley distributed a press release to men,bors of the media advertising a Friday afternoon march on City Hall to protest police brutality. Stampley said the press release had already been sent to broadcast media outlets in Chicago. When the time came for the march Friday afternoon, just two people joined Stampley and Manning. The four decided to simply drive to City Hall and hold signs saying, "Stop police brutality" and "Justice for Andre Manning's beating" along Pulaski Road. The protest lasted about 15 minutes in the bitter cold winds, when Manning decided to go to Gigliotti's office in City Hall to discuss the matter with him. Gigliotti's secretary said he was gone for the day, and the protest was over. 2 At the meeting the night before, Manning called on Gigliotti to investigate the alleged incident. "I just only hope, mayor, that you hold police accountable like you hold citizens accountable when they break the law," Manning said. "...I do believe that police work hard and I don't want to live in a society where there are no police." Gonzalez stressed that the Public Safety Committee does not hear police brutality complaints and will not address the issue. "The next step is to sit down with the CEO of this city -- and that's Dominick Gigliotti -- and the city attorney," Gonzalez told Manning Thursday night. Tim Murphy, a sergeant in the police department who serves as president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge Mo. 1, said Friday that he had, "no knowledge of anything that occurred or allegedly occurred. "Procedures (for filing complaints) are set and very accurate and they're welcome to speak to whoever they need to," Murphy said. "Our union has a long history of good, professional public service and I find it to be disheartening." Lauri Harvey can be reached at harvey@nwitimes.com or {219) 933-4169. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 10:31 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Steubenville OH - Editorial re police consent decree Sunday, January 12, 2003 -- Time: 12:22:47 AM EST It's time Steubenville gets police answers Does the U.S. Department of Justice think the Steuhenville Police cannot or will not meet the terms of a 5-year-old consent decree? Or is the decree merely self-perpetuating regulation, leaving some mid-level bureaucrats somewhere with the ability to justify their own existence? The city of Steubenville wants, needs and deserves the answers. So does acting Police Chief Bill McCafferty. It has been about 15 months since McCafferty was placed in charge of the department, though he is not yet the chief and it's not yet really entirely his department to control. Rather, there is the ongoing interim chief arrangement and scrutiny by the Justice Department. While no one from the public shows up at the annual federally required complaint filing seminar, the decree continues to hang over the department's head. While allegations against officers have decreased, the decree continues to hang over the department's head. While the much larger departments in Pittsburgh and Columbus were able to satisfy the Justice Department and the federal call for improvements, the decree continues to hang over the Steubenville Police Department's head. We are in absolute agreement that the Steubenville Police Department needed something, some catalyst, to improve its relationship with the public. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements were paid during decades in lawsuit after lawsuit alleging police misconduct of a variety of kinds. Hardly a month would seem to go by without the phones ringing and a new set of allegations being made against the police, usually ending up with some lawsuit being filed federally. That has stopped, thankfully. And it either means the police department has improved or people are so distrustful of the system the lawsuits and complaints aren't being made anymore. We find the latter hard to believe, given that a cash payout seemed to be the order of the day in the police lawsuits, many of which had absolute merit and deserved to be filed, heard in court and compensated. The Justice Department postponed a meeting with city officials on Wednesday, claiming scheduling conflicts. That meeting must be held, and soon. The decree has dragged on for five years and it must be noted that Steubenville's police must be found to be in compliance with the more than 160 items in the decree for two years before the Justice Department returns the police department to local control. ! The only beneficiary of going on as the decree now exists is the independent auditor who makes quarterly and annual reports on the city's efforts to comply with the consent decree. The people of the city and its acting police chief and its police officers on patrol deserve some answers. Is the city failing to meet the decree? If so, what must be done to make it possible to finish the job that started five years ago? Is there something substantially wrong with the department, even after five years of federal oversight? If so, then something must be done that is more effective than quarterly audits and requirements regulating everything from filing a speeding ticket to handling complaints against officers. And if the latter is the case, the Justice Department must make some sort of public reckoning, to keep the people of the city aware that the job is not just one of paperwork but real change. And if things really are better and the city is headed toward compliance, then the Justice Department owes the department, its personnel and its leadership a public statement to that effect. Either way, the ball is in the hands of the federal government, as it has been for half a decade. The people of Steubenville and its police are waiting for answers. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Hector. W. Soto@phila.gov Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 10:45 AM To: Update@NACOLE.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Police find payoff in higher education This Story has been sent to you by: Hector. W.Soto~phila.gov Police find payoff in higher education By day, Amy Koenig, 30, attended lectures, studied torts, wrote papers. By night, she chas The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time: http://www.philli~com/mld/inquirer/4932945.htm (c) 2001 inquirer and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update~nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 1/13/03 Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Iris. Jones@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Monday, January '13, 2003 11:49 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] More police turning to Tasers More police turning to Tasers Weapon relied on for nonlethal force; critics warn of overuse 01/12/2003 By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News The 32-year-old man had tackled his wife and was holding a knife to her throat as White Settlement police officers arrived. The February 2001 domestic disturbance call could have ended in tragedy, police said, but for two Tasers used to zap the man and incapacitate him. He was taken into custody, and his wife was not seriously injured. "She was grateful to be alive," said White Settlement police Capt. Kevin Gregory. "I think afterward the suspect was grateful." Police looking to use nonlethal force have an arsenal from which to choose: pepper spray, batons, beanbag rounds, stun guns, pepper-gas pellets. But law enforcement agencies these days are increasingly looking to Tasers to temporarily immobilize people who pose a threat to themselves or others. Some critics worry that the shocking devices may be used overzealously and that the medical and health risks have not been adequately studied, but police swear by the devices. Tasers are similar to stun guns in that they use electrical current to temporarily disable someone. But while stun guns must be held against a person to work, Tasers can shoot probes as far as 21 feet. In Texas, at least 70 law enforcement agencies, including Fort Worth, Hurst, Irving, Plano and Denton County, have purchased Tasers. Several departments, including Richardson, Grand Prairie and Duncanville, are considering buying them. The Dallas Police Department has tested the technology but has not decided whether to use it. Airlines have also looked to Tasers as a way to disable anyone attempting to take over a cockpit. United Airlines has purchased Tasers and trained its pilots and flight attendants but has not yet received approval from the federal government to use them, an airline spokesman said. The weapon recently garnered public attention when Arlington police officers used it Dec. 31 in an unsuccessful effort to prevent a suicide on a highway overpass. Ronald Wright, 35, of Grand Prairie jumped to his death moments after the Taser was fired. The department is reviewing the incident. 1/13/03 Page 2 of 3 5-second charge Taser is an acronym for Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle, a reference to inventor John Cover's favorite book. The gun-shaped, battery-powered weapon shoots two wires attached to what resembles quarter-inch straightened fish hooks that are electrically charged - one positive, one negative, said Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for Taser International. The Scottsdale, Ariz., company is one of the weapon's leading suppliers. The probes, which can attach to clothing or skin, deliver a 26-watt, 50,000-volt charge for five seconds. "We can interfere with communication between the brain and muscles and prevent any coordinated action," Mr. Tuttle said. Irving police Sgt. David Blasingame described the experience as akin to being hit repeatedly with a sledgehammer. "The second that the voltage stops, the discomfort is over," he said, noting that Irving officers have been using the weapons for about 15 years. The device's stopping power impressed E1 Paso Deputy Chief Greg Brickey. "We haven't found anyone in our training that it was unsuccessful in stopping ... in their tracks," he said. His department recently purchased 10 of the devices and plans to eventually buy more to put in patrol cars. Police-grade Tasers cost about $400 each. Tasers are legal for public use in 43 states, including Texas. Taser International's research indicates the weapons are more than 90 percent effective. Failures usually result from bad batteries or from one or both probes missing the target, Mr. Tuttle said. Police officials and Mr. Tuttle credit the shocking devices with reducing officers' and suspects' injuries. "It ends the fight so much quicker," said Seattle police Officer Chris Myers, who coordinates his department's Taser training. About 600 Tasers have been issued to officers and supervisors in Sacramento, Calif. "We seem to be using them less because the people have figured out what they are, and they don't want anything to do with them," said Sacramento police Sgt. Rick Guilbault. "When the yellow guns come out, it's time to stop messing around." Safety questioned Mr. Tuttle said no deaths or serious injuries have been linked to the Tasers, whose low amperage keeps them from causing heart problems. But Gerald Le Melle, deputy executive director for Amnesty International USA, said he didn't think the company could make such claims. His organization is calling for a temporary moratorium on the sale of Tasers and stun guns until more testing is done on the devices' effects on the body. "We would like to see proper testing ... and strict guidelines," he said. Law enforcement officials said they like the fact that information is recorded in a Taser's data port each time it 1/13/03 Page 3 of 3 is fired. "It keeps everybody honest," Mr. Tuttle said, noting at least six cases in which the data showed suspects had lied about being hit. Mr. Le Melle said his organization fears the shocking device will be used gratuitously or as an instrument of torture. "There have been a number of incidents where people who died in custody ... had more than a requisite number of stun-gun injuries inflicted upon them," he said. "Any incidents where it is not used in self-defense, not to subdue someone but rather to inflict severe pain as a result of anger or frustration, then yes, it is torture." Ken Cooper, a Taser instructor and director of the Tactical Handgun Training academy in Kingston, N.Y., said, "Anything can be used as a torture device, including a cigarette .... The more [Tasers] are being used, you're going to find many more people surviving potentially lethal force encounters with law enforcement." E-mail teiserer~dallasnews.com Online at: http:llwww.dallasnews.comllocalnewslstoriesl011203dnmetstungun.ab7de.html *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 1/13/03 Marian Karr From: HECTOR,W.SOTO@phila.§ov Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 'i2:22 PM To: update@nacole.or~l Subject: [NACOLE Update] More on Philadelphia's Safe Streets Pro§ram ...................... Forwarded by HECTOR W SOTO/PCHR/Phila on 01/13/2003 01:14 PM ........................... This Story has been sent to you by : hwsa@aol.com Since the start of Safe Streets, gardeners find that theirs aren't A mother of five, Markita Zellars fears for the safety of her children in drug-ridden West Philadelphia. What does she dread most? The mayor's Safe Streets anticrime program. The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time: http://www.phi~~y.c~m/m~d/inquirer/news/~~ca~/states/pennsy~vania/cities-neighb~rh~~ds/phi ladelphia/4932918.htm (c) 2001 inquirer and wire service sources. Ail Rights Reserved. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kwa357@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 8:01 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Notice from Volunteer Board in Teaneck NJ TEANECK - The Civilian Complaint Review Board is looking for new members. The board of volunteers, which meets once every few months or more often depending on need, formed in December 1991. Its purpose is to give residents an opportunity to file complaints about township police to an independent body of residents rather than to address the police chief or township manager directly. Complaint forms are available at the township clerk's office and must be filed within 10 days of the alleged act of police misconduct. For more information about the board or to request a form, call the township clerk's office at (201) 837-4806. - Michelle Hah Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: Kelvyn Anderson [kwa357@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 8:04 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Woodbury NJ - Former chief on trial Tuesday, January 14, 2003 Former Deptford chief to face trial on molestation charges By BERNIE WEISENFELD Courier-Post Staff WOODBURY A former Deptford police chief turned down a plea-bargain offer Monday and will stand trial on charges he molested two 16-year-old girls while a teacher at Gloucester County Institute of Technology. Raymond A. Milligan, 54, of Sewell, was suspended from his job as a law enforcement teacher at the institute in October 2001 after two students made allegations that he inappropriately touched them. He's also charged with official misconduct. His lawyer, Robert Agre, on Monday told Superior Court Judge John Tomasello that Milligan didn't want to enter into a plea agreement with the Gloucester County Prosecutor' s Office. A trial is set for March 10. Assistant Prosecutor Paul Colangelo said his office offered Milligan a five-year sentence of unsupervised probation in return for guilty pleas to the charges. Milligan also would have had to comply with Megan's Law community notification provisions, he said. Consecutive sentences on the second-degree charges could result in a 20-year prison term. Milligan would not be eligible for parole for 10 years if convicted, Tomasello said. Monday was the cutoff date for plea agreements in the case. Milligan taught law enforcement at the vocational school for five years. He became a police officer in 1969, was named Deptford's chief in 1991 and retired from the force in 1995. Agre said Milligan remains on suspension from the institute. Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_ander$on@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, January 'i4, 2003 8:30 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phila PA - Cop attacks commander during hearin9 2 stories: Police injured after a fight breaks out at headquarters By Thomas J. Gibbons Jr. Inquirer Staff Writer Tue, Jan. 14, 2003 A city police officer who recently wrote a letter to the Philadelphia Daily News complaining about crooked officers found himself in handcuffs yesterday after assaulting several police commanders, including an inspector, authorities said. The fracas occurred about 11:45 a.m. at Police Headquarters, and it left blood spattered on the linoleum floor outside the police trial board office. The officer, Charles Bucceroni, who is assigned to the Sixth District, was immediately seized. "He was going before the Police Board of Inquiry on an Internal Affairs investigation," and the board upheld numerous departmental charges against him, said Deputy Commissioner John Norris, head of Internal Affairs. Norris declined to specify the charges that brought Bucceroni, a nine-year veteran, before the trial board. A police commander said the charges involved Bucceroni making "false accusations" against other officers. Bucceroni was being held last night. In the scrap, Inspector Joseph Sullivan of the Narcotics Bureau was injured; he was treated at a city hospital and then returned to duty. Also assaulted were two captains and two lieutenants, who Norris said "came to the assistance of the inspector." Bucceroni also received hospital treatment. "This officer's had many instances of contact with Internal Affairs, and what set him off this morning I cannot tell you until the investigation is completed," said Norris, speaking at a news conference in the lobby of the headquarters later in the day. The fight broke out as Bucceroni chased an officer from the court who had testified against him, police said. Norris said he could not recall another incident where an officer attacked a ranking officer. "It's not a common occurrence with police officers and their commanders," he said. Bucceroni has been known to telephone police con~manders and make accusations about other police, investigators said. Last month, in a letter to the opinion section of the Daily News, he discussed "crooked cops." "Philadelphia is known for many things - like cheesesteaks, pretzels, sports teams, and, yes, 'crooked cops,' too," he wrote. "I won't criticize any member of the public for making comments about crooked cops in Philly - instead I get disgusted with the dirty cops who give us this image." Contact staff writer Thomas J. Gibbons Jr. at 215-854-2642 or tgibbons@phillynews.com. 1 Cop held in attack on police at inquiry By CATHERINE LUCEY luceyc@phillynews.com A cop sucker-punched an inspector and attacked four other police officials yesterday, right before he was supposed to have a hearing before the Police Board of Inquiry, police said. The officer was taken into custody, but no charges have been filed yet, said Sgt. Roland Lee. Sources said he was Charles Bucceroni, of the 6th District, headquartered at llth and Winter streets in Center City. Police said they were investigating and would give their findings to the district attorney. "It's not a common occurrence with police officers," Deputy Police Commissioner John Norris said. He apparently hit Inspector Joseph Sullivan, knocking him to the ground, and then lashed out at two captains and two lieutenants. Sullivan was at the hearing to testify about Bucceroni, cops said. Bucceroni had been an officer for nine years. Sources said he had a history of disciplinary problems and had been on restricted duty. He had also been required to undergo a psychological examination, they said. Last month, Bucceroni told the Daily News that he was being forced out because he had testified against cops in a recent legal case. Internal Affairs would not say why Bucceroni was up in front of the Board of Inquiry. Fraternal Order of Police President Robert Eddis said he could not comment on the case last night because no charges had been filed. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org 2 Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Iris. Jones@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 9:34 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] How Two People Researching a TV show Got in a Gunfight How Two People Researching A TV Show Got in a Gunfight By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL LOS ANGELES -- There are a million stories in this town, and any one of them could end up as a screenplay. On a cool night last summer, Todd Kessler and Jan Oxenberg -- both screenwriters -- found themselves in the middle of their own script. The idea was to spend a few hours patrolling with the Los Angeles Police Department gang unit, meet actual gang members and add an air of verisimilitude to the new TV series they were writing, CBS's "Robbery Homicide Division." Instead, after one car ride, the writers ended up targets, witnesses and accident victims. The police ended up as actors. The story began at sundown on Tuesday, June 18. Mr. Kessler, 30 years old, and Ms. Oxenberg, who won't talk about her age, teamed up with officers Bob Deamer, a wisecracking 40-year-old Bostonian, and Floyd Curry, a movie-star handsome 33-year-old from a Georgia military family. The four piled into the officers' police cruiser and headed through East L.A. At first, things were quiet. The officers stopped gang members and asked whether they'd mind talking to the TV writers about their lives, their nicknames, their tattoos. Then, just before 9 p.m., the cruiser turned right onto North Mission Road, a palm-lined, four-lane street. Officer Deamer was behind the wheel. The writers were in the back seat, with a tape recorder running. l ~ [Jan Oxenberg] i "Have you been in any gun battles?" Ms. Oxenberg asked Officer Curry. "No. He has," Officer Curry responded, gesturing toward his partner. "I haven't." Officer Deamer then noticed Mark Castillo, an alleged member of the Happy Valley street gang, standing by a bus bench that read, "Keep Our City Clean & Safe." The intersection was Eastlake gang turf, and Officer Deamer wondered why Mr. Castillo, a two-time felon, was several blocks into rival territory. The cops made a U-turn and drove toward him. At that moment, the officers say, Mr. Castillo, who was 35 at the time, stepped into the street, reached behind his back and drew an East German Ernst Thaelmann semiautomatic pistol. "Dude, dude! He's got a gun!" Officer Deamer shouted. "He's got a gun!" The dull pop-pop-pop of gunfire can be heard on Ms. Oxenberg's tape, as Officer Deamer ordered his passengers to take cover in the back seat. 1/14/03 Page 2 of 3 Racing to return fire, Officer Curry jumped out of the squad car. In the process, he broke off parts of a herniated disk in his spine. At the time, he felt no pain, and he ran behind a palm tree, firing several shots with his .45- caliber Smith & Wesson. ! [] [Todd Kessrer]I Meantime, Mr. Kessler was curled up on the floor behind the passenger seat, remembering how the cops call their cars "coffins," because it's easy to get trapped inside during a gunfight. Ms. Oxenberg was thinking about how confusing the shootout was without a narrator, and wondering why events weren't unfolding the way they do on TV. "When the bad guys shoot -- bang, bang, bang -- the police are supposed to hit them and kill them," she says now. While Officer Curry fired, Officer Deamer drove the cruiser toward Mr. Castillo, got out and took aim from behind the driver's door. He fired several shots with his 9mm Beretta at Mr. Castillo, who was weaving his way across the road. "Got him!" Officer Deamer said triumphantly, as he watched Mr. Castillo fall. In fact, he had missed, and Mr. Castillo got up again and headed away at a run. Officer Curry ran after him but soon saw more muzzle flashes from Mr. Castillo's gun. The officer shot his way across the street and took cover behind a telephone pole. Officer Curry then advanced to another palm tree as Mr. Castillo headed back toward him, turning to fire at Officer Deamer, the officers say. Officer Deamer decided his best weapon was the black-and-white Ford Crown Victoria cruiser. He got back in the driver's seat, shouted once more at his passengers to get down, hunched to avoid the gunshots, and, tires squealing, accelerated into the suspect's legs. Mr. Castillo's chest hit the hood of the car, and he bounced off in a complete flip before landing on his back on Mission Road. After the impact, Officer Deamer lost control of the vehicle and wrapped it around a small tree. Just 29 seconds had elapsed from the first "Dude!" to the moment the crash shut off the tape recorder. Mr. Kessler barreled into the back of the front passenger seat, knocking it into the dashboard. Ms. Oxenberg slammed into the back of Officer Deamer's seat, breaking a rib and injuring her neck. The inflating air bag ripped Officer Deamer's lip, and he broke a rib and injured his sciatic nerve. i [~] [FIoydCurry] [ Officers Deamer and Curry thought Mr. Castillo was down for the count. He wasn't. The impact had knocked the pistol from his hand, but he quickly got back on his feet, yelling, "I'm not going back to the Bay" -- an evident reference to Pelican Bay state prison. "You're going to have to kill me," Officer Curry heard him say. Mr. Castilio then reached for his rear waistband, as if to draw another weapon as he advanced on Officer Curry behind the palm tree, the police say. Officer Curry quickly dropped his empty clip and reloaded. "Get down on the ground," he remembers shouting. Officer Deamer's pistol was tangled up in the air bag and the team's shotgun was stuck in its holder by the front seat. So he got out and put himself between Mr. Castillo and the TV people, holding his fingers as if they were a gun and aiming at the suspect, who continued to demand to be shot. "It became what's known as the suicide-by-cop scenario," says Mr. Kessler. Officer Curry, however, didn't see a gun and held his fire. Mr. Castillo, who actually had no second gun, finally 1/14/03 Page 3 of 3 surrendered about eight feet from Officer Curry. The officers handcuffed him but couldn't find the weapon he had been firing. Staggering out of the car, Mr. Kessler found the pistol at his feet. Twenty-one shots had been fired, and nobody was hit. The LAPD ruled last month that the officers acted correctly. Afterward, police officers took dark pleasure in the fact that a couple of fancy TV people got a taste of what it's like to be a cop. The writers, who earlier had interviewed robbery-homicide detectives about their work, found themselves answering questions asked by the same detectives. Rookie cops approached them to find out what it's like to be under fire. Mr. Castillo faces two counts of attempted murder on a peace officer, and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He pleaded innocent to all the charges. Given his past convictions, Mr. Castillo faces a possible life sentence under California's three-strikes law. (Police speculate that Mr. Castillo opened fire because a conviction for simply possessing a firearm would have triggered the three-strikes law.) A judge Monday ordered the case to go to trial next month. Mr. Castillo's lawyer declined to discuss the case. After the shooting, the studio sent Ms. Oxenberg to Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Ariz., to recuperate. Mr. Kessler had to get busy writing an episode. Inspired by the incident, the plot concerns a two-strike felon who believes the police are after him and commits suicide-by-cop to avoid arrest. The producers hired as extras real police officers and real gang members. Officer Curry -- at least the back of his head -- appeared in one show, and Officer Deamer had a small speaking part. He's thinking of joining the Screen Actors Guild and is mulling an idea for a screenplay. The show ran, but CBS yanked the series in December, after just 10 episodes. Officer Deamer is again patrolling East L.A.; Officer Curry has undergone back surgery and hopes to be back on the job soon. Mr. Kessler and Ms. Oxenberg sent a letter to the police commissioner, commending Officers Deamer and Curry for their courage and restraint. Both writers, however, found the incident left them deeply troubled, and both are seeing trauma therapists. Even now, Ms. Oxenberg breaks down upon revisiting the crime scene. "Life and gun battles are a hell ora lot more chaotic than they're portrayed in our pathetic profession," she says. Write to Michael M. Phillips at michael.phillips~wsj.com *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IHPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders 1/14/03 Page 1 of 3 Marian Karr From: Iris. Jones@ci.austin.tx.us Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 9:35 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Trading front-row seat for Center Ring The NewYork Times 1 Sponsored by-Starbucks 1 January 14, 2003 Trading Front-Row Seat for Center Ring By CHARLIE LeDUFF i[~] lOS ANGELES, Dec. 13 -- John Miller, former co-host of the ABC news program "20/20," reported for L his first day of work this morning as a special assistant to the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. The reason for the change and the million-dollar pay cut that goes with it is simple, Mr. Miller said. Although sitting across the desk from Barbara Walters is an attractive proposition, he craves action. "When you work in the media, you've got a front-row seat to the greatest show on earth," he said this afternoon in his new office at police headquarters. There was dust on his desk and no nameplate on the door. "But when you cross the line into a job like this," he added, "you're in the center ring. At the end of the day, it's not the professional critics who count." Mr. Miller will head the new Homeland Security Office. Chief William J. Bratton, who began in November, said Mr. Miller, 44, would not only be responsible for building a domestic security team from scratch, but would also be involved in nearly every aspect of policing. This is not the first time that Mr. Miller has left a lucrative position in journalism to work for Mr. Bratton, whom experts rank as one of the most innovative crime fighters since J. Edgar Hoover. In 1993, Mr. Miller left ABC News to work for Mr. Bratton when he was police commissioner in New York City, as deputy commissioner of public information. In their time there, they oversaw a historic and precipitous drop in crime. Today, New York is generally considered the safest big city in America. "I'm very excited to have him on board," Chief Bratton said this afternoon in a hall at headquarters. "He brings an outside and informed opinion. I have a lot of confidence in him and in the job he'll do." Remaking the department will be a monumental task. The City of Angels earned the ignominious title last year as the Murder Capital of America, topping the nation's cities in homicides with 660. Gang warfare has erupted 1/14/03 Page 2 of 3 after years of relative quiet. The 9,000-member department is scandal plagued and demoralized. Black and immigrant communities in the city are convinced that racial profiling is the rule. Then there is the constant threat of terrorism. Mr. Miller, a reporter by training, said he believed that he was up to creating and commanding an antiterrorism office. He pointed to his experience in New York and his training with the F.B.I. Mr. Miller is the co-author of a recent best-seller, "The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot and Why the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. Failed to Stop It" (Hyperion). Mr. Miller's Rolodex is extensive. He had a face-to-face interview with Osama bin Laden in 1998. "Los Angeles is in the mind of terrorists," Mr. Miller said. "I've read the A1 Qaeda handbook cover to cover. I know how they think. I'm prepared for this job." But his appointment is not being made without critics. "Is he qualified to be in charge of homeland security?" asked Joe Domanick, a professor at the Institute for Justice and Journalism at the USC Annenberg School of Cormnunication. "I can't see how a reporter would be. On the other hand, he's a really smart guy. I think Bratton's found a spot for a man he trusts and whose opinion he values." Their relationship is the stuff on near legend. They worked long hard hours in New York, with Mr. Miller as his boss's second pair of eyes. He often sped around New York to different crime scenes, sometimes against traffic on one-way streets with the siren screaming. They played hard, too, and they were well-known fixtures at some premiere watering holes like Elaine's on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. There they sat late into the evenings, scratching out policing strategies on cocktail napkins. Then there was the unforgettable scene in 1995, when Mr. Miller fell on his sword for Mr. Bratton, resigning rather than dismissing his entire staff at the demand of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who felt that the commissioner was receiving too much publicity. At his news conference, Mr. Miller choked back tears, saying: "I'm loyal to the police commissioner and loyal to the mayor. But there were loyal Nazis, too." Today was a happier day. Mr. Miller awoke in a borrowed bed, showered and put on his blue suit. He left early to beat notorious traffic. At a quarter past seven, he arrived at headquarters, where he ran into Chief Bratton, who had already read the morning newspapers. Mr. Miller filled out his pension papers, obtained an employee ID, attended a news conference and had a brown bag lunch with the mayor. Asked his impressions of sprawling Los Angeles, Mr. Miller said, "I guess I'm going to look kind of silly for a while pulling up in a black-and-white and asking for directions." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Comp~ ] Permissions I Privacy Policy *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content 1/14/03 Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 8:17 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Phila PA - 2 cops jailed for rape Posted on Wed, Jan. 15, 2003 2 officers jailed, awaiting arraignment in rape case By Thomas J. Gibbons Jr. Inquirer Staff Writer The two Philadelphia police officers accused of raping an exotic dancer last month in their patrol car were behind bars last night, awaiting arraignment at Police Headquarters on a lengthy list of offenses. Officers James Fallon Jr., 32, a six-year police veteran, and Timothy Carre, 28, who has been on the force for seven years, surrendered within hours of each other yesterday morning at Internal Affairs headquarters in Northeast Philadelphia. They were immediately suspended and will be fired after 30 days on orders of Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson. Fallon and Carte were handcuffed, placed in a patrol van, and taken downtown. Deputy Police Com~issioner John Norris listed the charges against the pair as rape, sexual assault, indecent assault, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, official oppression, robbery, theft, and criminal conspiracy. "We think we have enough information to say they committed these acts," said Norris, who heads Internal Affairs. "We have a lot of evidence that we'll be using at the trial. We will not bring it out at this time." Warrants in the case were approved late last week by the District Attorney's Office. The woman, a dancer at Daydreams, a club in the Northeast, told police the assault occurred Dec. 11. Police said they had gathered some important evidence in the case. "They assaulted her, raped her, then they robbed her," Norris said. The incident began about 3:15 a.m. as the woman was in a car with two men at a convenience store in the 6400 block of Frankford Avenue, police said. Fallon and Carte approached the car. The woman told police the officers asked her to get out of the car because they suspected she was intoxicated and wanted to ask her some questions. She was placed in the rear seat of their marked 15th District car, and the other men were told to meet the officers at another place. She told police she was then driven to a remote spot and sexually assaulted. One of the officers forced her to have intercourse while the other forced her to perform oral sex, she reported. Afterward, she was driven to Frankford Avenue and Clearfield Street, where she met up with her two friends. Several hours later, she filed a complaint with a patrol officer, who contacted a supervisor. Police collected evidence with a rape kit at the hospital where the woman was taken. They also impounded the police car and processed one of the officer's uniforms for evidence. ! Fortunato Perri Jr., Fallen's attorney, has said his client is not guilty. If was unclear last night who is representing Carre. Fallon is the son of an active-duty city Fire Department lieutenant, authorities said. Carre is the son of a recently retired city police captain. Contact staff writer Thomas J. Gibbons Jr. at 215-854-2642 or tgibbons@phillynews.com. The Associated Press contributed to this article. 2 cops charged with rape, robbery of exotic dancer By SCOTT FLANDER flander@phillynews.com Daily News Two Philadelphia cops, accused of raping and robbing an exotic dancer while on duty in their patrol car last month, surrendered to authorities yesterday. They were formally charged with rape and other crimes, suspended from the department and will be fired in 30 days. Officers James Fallon Jr. and Timothy Carre, of the 15th District in the Northeast, surrendered at police Internal Affairs Division headquarters yesterday morning. An attorney for one of the officers said that his client "denies any criminal wrongdoing." "We've only been presented at this point with a brief allegation of what happened," said Fortunato Perri Jr., who represents Fallon. "But from what we've been provided with so far, the woman's story on its face is absurd." ?erri said he wasn't yet in a position to provide the officers' version of events. But he said the allegations weren't true, and added, "It's unfortunate that they're being put in a position where they have to defend themselves from these allegations." Carre's attorney could not be reached for comment. The woman, who was a dancer at Daydreams, a club in the Northeast, told investigators the rape occurred on Dec. 11. She said that about 3:15 a.m., she and two men were in a car parked at a convenience store on Frankford Avenue in Mayfair. She told investigators that the officers told her to get out of the car because they suspected she was drunk, and wanted to ask her some questions. She said the officers put her in the back of their patrol car, and told the men to meet her later at another location. The woman told investigators that she was then driven to a remote place where one officer forced her to have sexual intercourse, and the other forced her to perform oral sex. She said the officers later dropped her off at Frankford Avenue and Clearfield Street, where her two friends were waiting. The officers have been charged with rape, sexual assault, indecent assault, false imprisonment, robbery, criminal conspiracy and other counts. The date for their preliminary hearing has not yet been set. Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 8:20 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Illinois- Ex-Trooper must register as sex offender Ex-officer must register as sex offender By Christy Gutowski Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer Posted on January 15, 2003 A former Illinois State Police trooper admitted Tuesday exposing himself to a 16-year-old girl walking in a DuPage County forest preserve. Alfredo Ibanez, 47, received probation after pleading guilty to public indecency charges. He also must register as a convicted sex offender and undergo counseling if it is deemed appropriate. He exposed himself to the girl the afternoon of May 2, 2000, while he was on duty in the Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville, prosecutor Roberta O'Leary said. Ibanez fled without physically injuring the girl. The teen was able to get a description of the unmarked squad car. She also wrote down the license plate number. Authorities later traced the license plate back to the Illinois State Police. The car had been assigned to Ibanez. Prosecutors announced the indictment in May 2001 following yearlong investigations by both state police and prosecutors. Ibanez, formerly of Warrenville, was reassigned to desk duties after state police learned of the allegations. He later was suspended without pay and, eventually, lost his job after an administrative hearing in which he continued to profess his innocence. The former trooper worked as part of an investigative unit assigned to the state's northern district. Though the crime occurred while Ibanez was on duty, officials said, he was not assigned to the forest preserve and had no reason to be there. Ibanez, an officer for more than 20 years, faced up to five years in prison for a more serious offense of official misconduct. Prosecutors agreed to drop that charge, however, in exchange for his guilty plea for the public indecency offense. He had no prior criminal history. DuPage County Circuit Judge Robert Anderson presided over the plea. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 8:21 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Louisville KY - Trial: Counts consolidated against ex-detectives Counts consolidated against ex-detectives 2 still face 300 felony charges; selection of jurors under way By Gregory A. Hall ghall@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal Wednesday January 15, 2003 Although more than 150 misdemeanor charges have been combined into two counts against two former narcotics detectives, the pair still face about 300 felony charges as jury selection proceeds in their trial. Mark A. Watson and Christie Richardson are accused of creating bogus search warrants with photocopied judges' signatures, with obtaining warrants through the use of fraudulent affidavits, and with obtaining payments for informants who say they never got the money. They are charged with burglary, possession of a forged instrument, tampering with public records, bribing a witness, theft, perjury and official misconduct. Watson also faces one count of harassing a witness. Both detectives resigned from the Jefferson County Police Department last year and have pleaded innocent to all the charges. Prosecutor Scott Davis said consolidating most of the misdemeanor charges would not add significantly to any sentence. Ail the combined charges are either theft by deception or official misconduct. Also yesterday, potential jurors were questioned as a group about such issues as their knowledge of the participants in the case. Beginning today, they will return to the courtroom for individual questioning about the pretrial publicity. Jefferson Circuit Judge Steve Mershon told them the trial could last a month. Publicity generated by the case prompted attorneys for both Watson and Richardson to ask Mershon to move the trial outside Jefferson County; the judge declined. But if enough potential jurors who haven't prejudged the case can't be found, he has said the trial would be held in Bowling Green. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: keIvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 8:29 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Minneapolis MN - Council candidates duck queries on Review Board NACOLE List: see comments on review board in last 2 paragraphs -kelvyn Who's on Third? Faith versus meat-and-potatoes politics in the city council race to replace Joe Biernat by Britt Robson The Third Ward of Minneapolis is in the midst of a city council election in which the candidates reflect the ward's bifurcated demographics. East of the Mississippi River, the ward contains predominantly white, working-class neighborhoods that make up the bosom of blue-collar northeast Minneapolis. On the other side of the water, in north Minneapolis, the ward's predominantly black and immigrant communities struggle to surmount one of the city's most entrenched cycles of crime and poverty. Until very recently, the Third Ward was represented by Joe Biernat, a moderate, DFL council member who, after being caught making an under-the-table deal for union plumbing work done on his home, had to be dragged kicking and screaming from office. Biernat resigned his post on November 21, shortly after being convicted of aiding and abetting theft, mail fraud, and making false statements to a federal agent. Twenty candidates ran in the December 30 primary. The top two vote-getters will now square off in a special election on February 3: DFL endorsee Olin Moore, a 32-year-old Northeast resident who has spent nearly all of his adult life as an aide to U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo; and Don Samuels, a 53-year-old toy designer and community activist from North's besieged Jordan neighborhood. On paper, the two candidates have nearly indistinguishable agendas. Both cite the need to reduce crime and enhance public safety as a top priority. Both say they want to promote economic development along the commercial corridors of West Broadway and Central Avenue Northeast, establish better con~unication with constituents, and deliver better value for basic city services. In terms of personal style and life experience, however, the two first-time candidates present a compelling contrast. Samuels is a Jamaican immigrant and former corporate executive who moved into Jordan five years ago. As a member of the Jordan Livability Forum, he began working to stabilize the community. He first gained citywide notoriety in the wake of this summer's riot in the neighborhood, when he criticized police and city leaders for trying to quell tensions by soliciting outside help from members of the City Inc. and the Urban League rather than relying on grassroots groups in Jordan. Six months later, his campaign is fueled by an unabashed, almost religious belief that he has been chosen to lead. "My presence in this race is not just an aberration of circumstances; it is a convergence of history and faith," he says, sitting at his dining room table. "I feel that fate has conspired for me to be here: as an African American, as an immigrant, as a husband and father of two children, and as a former single father who raised a child from three years old to 18 by himself. I have contemplated racial issues while existing in a mostly white world, and my neighbors are inspired by what I bring to the table. "I never thought I would be saying something that could be framed by a cynic as being egotistical. But I see the problems we struggle with, and feel in my heart I have the answers." Acknowledging the city's gaping budget deficit, Samuels says he'll argue that the Third Ward has needs that can't be ignored or shortchanged. He maintains, however, that his vision is as much about attitude and morality as economics. He talks about how three new houses have been built near his home because residents worked to rid the area of drug dealing and other crime; and how he just received a letter and a $100 contribution from a lawyer in Burnsville who is moving to the neighborhood. "That is a spiritual reaction, moving here. People want to do the greater thing. I think that I have the ability to reframe the context in such a way that people won't have to be forced to do the right thing. Fairness and justice will exist along with economic stimulation and balance." While emphasizing that he "won't be parochial and leave the Northeast out," Samuels says that a similar sense of spiritual goodwill will spur residents east of the river to understand and endorse the need to make the revitalizing of north Minneapolis neighborhoods a priority. He also believes an attitude of mutual respect can go a long way toward alleviating police-community tensions in Jordan and other impoverished neighborhoods. "We have to have strong policing and we have to have justice. And so at the same time I am saying to the guys on the corner, 'You will not sell drugs in my neighborhood. I have a cell phone and I am calling 911 right now,' I take the same position with the police. I say, 'You will not treat these boys as if they are not human beings.' And I'm not saying it in a nicer way; I am saying it in the same way I talk to the guys on the corner, with a respect and acknowledgment of their humanity." Whether you regard Samuels's message as boldly inspirational, hopelessly naive, or something in-between, the tenor of his candidacy almost ensures a visceral reaction. By contrast, Olin Moore is running the sort of orthodox, meat-and-potatoes DFL campaign that has traditionally kicked up more votes than emotions in the Third Ward. Moore quickly demonstrates an ability to stay "on message" regarding his priorities for the ward. "We can have grand ideas, but I think the basic things people expect and want are safe and clean streets, redevelopment that involves community input, and leaders who responsibly manage the city budget," he says over java at the Mill City Coffee Shop, located east of the river. Over the course of a 40-minute interview, he manages to restate that three-pronged platform eight times, never forgetting to add that the streets should be clean as well as safe. Boyish and soft-spoken, Moore is self-aware enough to know the limitations of his style. "What it will take [to win] is being compassionate about a set of ideas and having a commitment to co~unity. I have that commitment," he says, then grins shyly. "And I am trying to convince people I have that passion." Moore is a party animal politically if not socially, the epitome of a DFL loyalist. State party chair Mike Erlandson was the best man at his wedding and hosted a fundraiser for him. At the Third Ward DFL convention in December, Moore, a relative unknown to the general populace, bested Kari Dziedzic, who herself owns a gold-standard last name among party regulars, for the council endorsement. Last fall, Moore briefly left Sabo and went to work on Janet Robert's campaign for U.S. Congress against Mark Kennedy in the Sixth District. It was a brutal, nasty race, with Robert launching a series of specious allegations against Kennedy that prompted the Pioneer Press to dub her "The State's Premier Mudslinger." But, given a chance to criticize Robert's tactics, Moore is unrepentant. "I am not going to second-guess what we did. We came up with a game plan and we stuck with it. I think Janet was a good candidate running in a very difficult district that leaned Republican. I think that that district represents a lot 2 of work we need to do as a party to talk to a lot of folks who I believe are Democrats in their heart but have stopped voting Democrat because they may not like everything they see coming from our party." Moore, who emphasizes that he grew up in a labor household and also had a grandmother who was a union steward, is similarly steadfast in his support of the often maligned city labor force. "I have a problem with the bashing of city employees. I think they are not always understood or appreciated. The reality is that there are thousands of city employees who every single day go to work and do nothing more than try to do their job to the best of their ability." This is music to the ears of many voters in northeast Minneapolis, where fidelity to unions is still an electoral plus. Indeed, Moore's primary victory was due to his strength in precincts east of the river, which typically produce twice as many voters as the north Minneapolis neighborhoods that are Samuels's stronghold. Samuels's supporters have sought to capitalize on the impression that Moore is simply a tool of the DFL "machine" by dubbing their candidate "the authentic community voice." Samuels has also received plenty of support from volunteers outside the Third Ward, though, who helped him engineer an ingenious plan to include absentee ballots as part of their door-knocking, which generated nearly half of his primary vote total. Both candidates are vulnerable to charges that they will not work to serve the entire ward: Samuels because he is so fixated on the problems and priorities of north Minneapolis, and Moore because his political lens frequently extends beyond the ward to broader city, state, and federal frames of reference. But perhaps the biggest disappointment in the race thus far has been the unwillingness of either candidate to take specific positions on issues relevant to the ward as a whole. Both Samuels and Moore gave vague answers in response to how they would have voted on the city council's decision last fall to cap property taxes at eight percent a year over the next decade. Asked whether the Civilian Review Authority investigating allegations of police misconduct should be granted subpoena power--perhaps the most contentious issue facing the candidates--both men ducked the question. "I don't know. That is my answer. I'd want to talk to the community a lot more about that and get more input," Moore replied. Samuels, who has made police-con, unity relations a centerpiece of his campaign, simply grimaced, laughed uncomfortably, and said, "Aaarrgghh. Don't ask me that yet." Voters deserve more specific answers before February 3. News · Vol 24 . Issue 1154 · PUBLISHED 1/15/03 URL: www.citypages.com/databank/24/l154/article10996.asp HOME: www.citypages.com Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 8:31 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Santa Fe TX - Former police chief indicted TEXAS CITY SUN http://texascitysun.com Copyright © 2003 Texas City Sun Former police chief indicted By Kristy Gillentine Texas City Sun Published January 15, 2003 SANTA FE -- Jeff Chernosky, former police chief for Santa Fe Independent School District, has been indicted for a crime he allegedly committed last year and is now facing a possible fine of up to $4,000 and could spend up to one year behind bars. A female SFISD police officer went to the Texas Rangers and pressed charges on Chernosky after she said she was sexually harassed and threatened by her superior, who also reportedly pointed a gun at her. Kurt Sistrunk, Criminal District Attorney for Galveston County, prepared a statement for the Texas City Sun about the case. "A joint investigation was conducted by our office and the Texas Ranger Joe Harrelson, after which a charge of Official Oppression was presented to the Grand Jury," Sistrunk said. "The Grand Jury true billed Mr. Chernosky on the charge and an indictment was returned in December." According to Sistrunk, Chernosky committed a class A misdemeanor and, although the case is a misdemeanor, it is set in the 122nd district court with Judge John Ellisor "because it involves official misconduct and sexual harassment," Sistrunk said. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 8:38 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: IN^COLE Update] Brookfield WI - Officer who may lose job has been suspended twice Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/janO3/llO729.asp Officer who may lose job has been suspended twice before, chief says By MIKE JOHNSON mikejohnson@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: Jan. 14, 2003 Brookfield - The officer Police Chief Daniel Tushaus wants to fire has a poor work history that culminated in "serious misconduct" involving the sale of abandoned vehicles towed by the city, according to administrative charges. Officer Russ Prusak has been suspended twice before for violations and has been "untruthful" in those matters and in the abandoned cars case, Tushaus wrote in the administrative charges. Tushaus has asked the Police and Fire Commission to fire Prusak. Prusak's attorney, Gordon McQuillen, said Tuesday that he was reluctant to comment on the merits of any specific charge until the hearing before the commission. McQuillen said he would challenge the charges. "I am aware that there are elements of untruthfulness associated with the present charges, but Officer Prusak will deny all of those rather vigorously," McQuillen said. According the statement of charges: Prusak was suspended for 12 days in 1998 for rules violations, including unbecoming conduct, unsatisfactory performance and not being truthful in connection with an accident involving two cars and a deer. Tushaus said that Prusak provided false information to a driver who wanted to claim the deer carcass and that the carcass instead was given to the relative of another department employee. Prusak was suspended for 60 days after a 1999 incident in which he discovered damage to the front bumper of his squad car. He repaired the damage himself and failed to report the damage, Tushaus wrote. The matter was investigated, and Prusak gave "false and inconsistent versions" of the incident, according to the report. Tushaus has said he cannot comment about the case because it is a personnel matter. In the abandoned cars case, Tushaus wrote that Prusak failed to properly fill out the necessary forms when Prusak or his friends purchased the vehicles. On dozens of forms, Prusak omitted information concerning the identity of the person who bought the car and the sale price, according to the administrative charges. When Prusak was personally involved, the forms contained "a variety of false, misleading and contradictory information," the charges said. Prusak has been on paid administrative leave since Dec. 19, when Tushaus began investigating whether administrative charges could be filed against the officer. 1 He also was on administrative leave from May 24 through Aug. 30 while Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher reviewed accusations against Prusak. Prusak was accused of having sold - and profited - from abandoned cars that officers had given tickets and eventually towed from city streets and parking lots. Bucher said the investigation turned up no evidence that the officer profited from the sale of any cars and there was no criminal wrongdoing. The towing company is allowed to sell the cars and keep whatever proceeds are earned to offset the cost of towing and storage, Bucher said. Bucher suggested that the matter be handled internally for possible discipline. Tushaus has charged Prusak with violating department rules including unbecoming conduct, unsatisfactory performance, abuse of position and failure to file accurate reports. Tushaus said the "untruthfulness" is the "most serious act of misconduct" an officer can engage in. In the charges, Tushaus said the judicial system, fellow officers and the public would not be able to "trust" Prusak's "word or police work." The co~ission's hearing on the matter will be held within 30 days. A version of this story appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jan. 15, 2003. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 8:40 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Slinger WI - Officer's severance costs Slinger $15,651 Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/janO3/llO721.asp Officer's severance costs Slinger $15,651 He quit police after three accusations of discipline problems By PETER MALLER pmaller@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: Jan. 14, 2003 Slinger - The village will pay a police officer who resigned under fire a severance package worth $15,651 in cash and benefits, according to a resignation agreement released Tuesday. Richard A. Cohn, who quit after being suspended from the police department in November, also will receive $4,473 for unused hours of paid vacation and other compensation for time spent on the job, the agreement says. Cohn, who earned $22.71 an hour, will get the payments in amounts equal to his wages, paid every two weeks from Dec. 17 to March 4, the agreement says. "Mr. Cohn's employment with the village was amicably resolved," Village Administrator Patrick DeGrave says in a statement released Tuesday. "The village is satisfied with the outcome." A village attorney advised DeGrave against making any additional comments, he said. The agreement stipulates that the village can say only that Cohn's term of employment with the village was "amicably resolved." Both Cohn and the village will "not make any disparaging, negative or derogatory remarks about the other party," the agreement says. Slinger released the agreement - which the Village Board approved after meeting in a closed session last month - in response to an open records request filed by the Journal Sentinel. Cohn could not be reached for comment. A special prosecutor considered filing charges of misconduct in office against Cohn but dropped the case earlier this month, saying there was no factual basis for such allegations. Paul Bucher, who also is the Waukesha County district attorney, said then that Cohn's mistake stemmed from "sloppy record-keeping in a case involving a stolen cell phone." The severance agreement includes payments for all of Cohn's health, dental and disability benefits until the severance period ends in March, the agreement says. Cohn also cannot collect unemployment compensation until the period ends. Deal bars lawsuits In exchange for receiving the compensation, Cohn agreed generally not to bring any lawsuits against the village ster~ning from his employment there, the agreement says. This is the second time in less than two years that Slinger has negotiated a settlement agreement with a village employee. Gregory Knowles, the former ! village administrator, received a severance package worth almost $29,000 last year. Knowles quit his post after negative reviews of his job performance were released to the media. Cohn has faced three disciplinary problems with the Police Department in less than two years. Specific reasons for the latest suspension were never made public. Cohn's attorney, Aaron Hurvitz, said only that his client received a letter from Police Chief Steven Braun saying that Cohn was being suspended "pending an investigation regarding inconsistent statements in police reports filed by Washington County District Attorney Todd Martens then asked that a special prosecutor be appointed to consider bringing criminal charges against Cobh. Martens' decision came after reviewing an investigative report prepared by the Washington County Sheriff's Department that called into question certain things that "Mr. Cohn did and did not do while on duty," Martens has said. Cohn first suspension followed a tussle with a drunken driver in 2001. Cohn was suspended for six days after he reportedly told an assistant district attorney that the driver had punched him in the face. Cohn has maintained that he never said that the driver hit him but that the driver did attack him. A felony charge against the driver, battery to an officer, was dismissed. In another disciplinary matter, Cohn faced a Police Commission hearing May 2 into allegations by Braun, the chief, of department rule violations involving alleged misappropriation of village property and disobeying a direct order. The same day the hearing was scheduled, Cohn took a 90-day leave of absence, and Braun dropped the case. A version of this story appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jan. 15, 2003. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 9:13 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Chillicothe MI - No misconduct Sheriff says NACOLE List: Chillicothe MI (pop: 9,000, about 90 miles NE of Kansas City, MI) is considering a review board (see second story from Nov2002). -kelvyn Sheriff: Report of CPD violations unfounded, Cox gives report to city council in regular meeting Monday night By LAURA SCHULER January 15, 2003 C T City Editor During brief remarks to city council members during a regular meeting in council chambers last night (Monday), Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox reported that the allegations of alleged misconduct by the Chillicothe Police Department proved to be unfounded after an investigation by the Livingston County Sheriff's Department (LCSD). In his 10-minute presentation, Cox reported that that the LCSD chased down several complaints -- all of which he said, proved to be unfounded or based on hearsay. And as a result of lack of evidence, the investigation is now inactive. On another note, Cox also told council members, that he would be concerned about any complaint system concerning law enforcement personnel, that would allow a person to make accusations against an officer anonymously. "I've read of some places where after a number of complaints, (unfounded or not), an officer would be disciplined," Cox said. Todd Rodenberg, 4th Ward councilman, assured Cox that the citizens oversight board currently being formed would not include that stipulation. Also during Cox's remarks, some discussion was held on just who is considered to be a mandated reporter (someone mandated by law to report a crime of abuse or neglect against a juvenile to the Division of Family Services). City Attorney Tim Bosler told those gathered that certified teachers, doctors, nurses, child care providers, and law enforcement personnel are all considered to be mandated reporters. City officials, according to Bosler, are not considered by law to be mandated reporters. Two representatives of the Chillicothe Lumberjacks, an eight-man football team coming to Chillicothe in 2003, also spoke to city officials Monday evening. Benton native Chet Lake, and Richard Gatt, (originally from Cameron and a half-owner of the Chillicothe Lumberjacks), both said that they are excited to bring a team to Chillicothe. "We know that this is a big football town and we're looking forward to bringing a team to Chillicothe," Garr said. He added that the team was looking to acquire a lot of local and area talent to fill about 20 positions. Tryouts will be held Saturday, Jan. 18, in Danner Park. During brief remarks to city council members during a regular meeting in council chambers last night (Monday), Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox reported that the allegations of alleged misconduct by the Chillicothe Police Department proved to be unfounded after an investigation by the Livingston ! County Sheriff's Department (LCSD) . In his 10-minute presentation, Cox reported that that the LCSD chased down several complaints -- all of which he said, proved to be unfounded or based on hearsay. And as a result of lack of evidence, the investigation is now inactive. On another note, Cox also told council members, that he would be concerned about any complaint system concerning law enforcement personnel, that would allow a person to make accusations against an officer anonymously. "I've read of some places where after a number of complaints, (unfounded or not), an officer would be disciplined," Cox said. Todd Rodenberg, 4th Ward councilman, assured Cox that the citizens oversight board currently being formed would not include that stipulation. Also during Cox's remarks, some discussion was held on just who is considered to be a mandated reporter (someone mandated by law to report a crime of abuse or neglect against a juvenile to the Division of Family Services). .... For the rest of this story, subscribe to the Constitution-Tribune. Call 800-373-0256 or local dial 646-2411. November 13, 2002 City Council still considering oversight board By CATHERINE STORTZ RIPLEY C-T News Editor Chillicothe City Council members continued discussions about a proposed citizens oversight board but took no action during their regular meeting held Tuesday evening at City Hall. Councilmen Tom Douglas and Todd Rodenberg related information they had gathered about citizens oversight boards during a visit to Kansas City last week. They reported on the meeting during the council's open workshop, held at 6 p.m., Tuesday and more discussion took place during the regular council meeting which began at 7 p.m. The council met Tuesday night due to Veterans Day falling on Monday, the regular day for council meetings. Councilman-at-Large Chuck Haney presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Jeff Foli, who had a prior commitment. Councilmen present were Earle Teegarden Jr., Maurice Zion and Tom Douglas. Councilman Todd Rodenberg was present for part of the open workshop and was absent from the regular meeting. The city had been considering the establishment of a citizens oversight board for a few months at the request of Christopher Cross, a Chillicothe resident. Cross had organized a meeting for any of the city officials to visit with representatives from the Kansas City office of citizen complaints to learn more about citizens oversight boards. Both Douglas and Rodenberg said the meeting was informative and some aspects of the Kansas City model could be considered for Chillicothe. Douglas said it was important, though, for the city to review the current complaint process before implementing something new. Police Chief Rick Knouse provided council members with photocopies of the current complaint procedure. The procedure calls for filing the complaint with the police department. It states that complaints will be accepted from anonymous sources, juveniles and persons under arrest in police custody, so long as the complaint contains sufficient information to warrant a review. The procedure also calls for an officer to assist the complainant in completing the form against any police department employee. Complainants are asked to identify themselves unless they insist on remaining anonymous and then give specific details about their complaints. The complaints are then investigated. The complainant may be contacted again and asked for additional information about the complaint. The process also calls for notifying the complainant if the investigation would take more than five days. After the investigation is the complete, the process calls for the chief of police to review the investigation and then contact the complainant explaining the findings. Rodenberg said it was important to make the process easy for people to complain without feeling threatened by police retaliation. "In my view, we don't have a system in place that effectively and impartially resolves citizens' complaints and that is why I am searching with an open mind and I am educating myself on possible solutions to this problem," Rodenberg said. "I'm definitely not anti-cop and shouldn't be viewed that way just because I find the citizens oversight board concept an interesting idea." Cross, attending both the open workshop as well as the regular council meeting, emphasized his belief that something needs to be done regarding the citizen complaint process. "We have a problem with the complaint system, not with the police department," he said. Several officials stated that it was necessary that the public be aware that there is a complaint process in place. It was mentioned that citizens need to be asked what they think could be done to enhance confidence that there would not be retaliation by police. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink,net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 9:43 AM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Westerly RI - Mother seeks review panel in daughters case BRADFORD MOTHER SEEKS CITIZENS' PANEL AFTER DAUGHTER'S ARREST CHALLENGE By Gloria Russell and Tim Ryan - The Sun Staff January 15, 2003 WESTERLY - A Bradford woman told the Town Council Monday night she plans to form a group to ensure the police treat people fairly after her daughter filed a complaint against local police over the 18-year-old's recent arrest. Mary Ann Parker-Almeida said she hopes to form "Citizens for Justice," a group that would include a lawyer, a social worker, and a four-member board that will take up cases in which there are concerns of police misconduct. Parker-Almeida's daughter, Jennifer Ann Parker, has lodged a formal complaint with Westerly police charging false arrest, and violation of civil rights in an incident last Tuesday that allegedly caused her to have a miscarriage. Parker was treated and released from The Westerly Hospital, according to a hospital spokesman. Parker claims in a notarized statement filed at police headquarters last week that, when she was arrested and handcuffed Jan. 6 by Cpl. Michael Gulluscio on charges of domestic assault and domestic disorderly conduct, she was ill, treated rudely, made to stand outside in the cold with no jacket and received no response when she called to police for help from her jail cell. She also said she was gagging and vomiting and fell to her knees twice because of lightheadedness on the way to the police cruiser. Parker is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in Fourth District Court Jan. 24. In a companion case, Michael L. Smith of Bradford was arraigned on a charge of domestic disorderly conduct and later for the violation of a no-contact order against his wife. He is being held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston until court appearances slated for Wednesday and for Jan. 24. Parker has also filed an assault claim against Smith's wife. Westerly Police Chief Stephen N. Baker said Lt. Lauren Matarese, court officer for the department, would turn the matter over to the state attorney general's office for a decision about whether "we have the basis to make an arrest." Baker said he could not go into the specifics of Parker's complaint against police and was following policy "by the book" in not discussing the investigation. "It also involves a pending court matter," he said. "With a civilian complaint against a police officer we have the Law Enforcement Bill of Rights to consider, too," he said. Baker declined to release a copy of the police report because the matter is still under investigation and is headed for the courts. Parker-Almeida told the council of the situation, but some council members, and Town Solicitor Joseph Turo said they would prefer she talk to the chief and Town Manager Pamela Nolan first, which she plans to do. "I think it would serve you better to follow those steps," Turo said. "We are concerned," said Councilor Christopher Duhamel. "I just don't think a public forum is the place to start." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@ea~hlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 11:41 AM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Austin TX - Police Monitor meets with Public 01/14/03 - 11:00 pm KXAN-36 News Police Monitor Meets With Public Austin's police monitor held a public forum Tuesday night to talk about preventing racial profiling. More than 100 people showed up at the Millennium Youth Center in East Austin. They all watched a video made by the monitor's office illustrating the problems caused by racial profiling. Then, the monitor held an open public discussion with Police Chief Stan Knee on her panel. Many who attended the public forum thought it was effective. "People in the community have to work together and stick together because of a situation that's going on. It has to be dealt with. Everybody has to work together, and come together and make sure everything works out, so that it doesn't happen again," forum attendee Mark Felder said. The police monitor plans to hold more open forums to talk about racial profiling and other issues. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 3:46 PM To: update@nacole,org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Wyoming MN ~ Wyoming police chief faces discipJine Posted: 1/15/03 Wyoming police chief faces discipline Alice Picketing Wyoming Area Reporter Wyoming City Council members, polled one by one Monday, voted 4-1 in support of some form of discipline for Police Chief Mike Temte. The "no" was cast by CM Ted Phillips. Before the vote, Mayor Vern Haag suggested any further action be taken at the meeting Jan. 21st. That date conflicts with a scheduled vacation for Temte and his family, so the request was made by Temte that this take place at the following meeting on Feb. 3. Council members unanimously agreed to the postponement. Monday's meeting was to clarify issues between city council and Temte and Dean Tharp, AFSME union representative. City Attorney Tom Miller had reviewed tapes of the meeting Jan. 6, and offered legal opinions about the laws referenced Jan. 6. Miller said he was serving in an advisory capacity and not advocating a particular path of action. Miller said, "There is no disagreement as to the stated purposes for which the funds may be spent," for police department expenses. But the forfeiture laws "cannot reasonably be read to provide that such funds are not subject to the controls of the Wyoming City Council and its policies and procedures," Miller said. Taking a normal approach to statutory reading Miller said, "Operating funds of the police department are controlled by the city council; funds supplementing the operating fund must also be controlled by the city council." Because, "other state statutes place the responsibility and the liability for the receipt and management of the funds on the city council, the forfeiture statutes must not be read to abridge the responsibility to allow the funds, whether or not tax payer dollars, to be spent without pre-approval and control by the city council" as set forth in their policies and procedures. Miller did not view this as a legal issue, but "whether the forfeiture statue overrides the policies and procedures." In his view, "The city council is ultimately responsible for how the money is spent." Miller said the statutes must be read to "operate in concert with state statutory framework and the city's policies and procedures." If there was to be separate accounting and oversight of the forfeiture funds, he said it would have been addressed in the statute. The fact that it is not, is further evidence the funds are to be "managed and controlled by the city council." He concluded that "none of the cities that I represent, none of the cities in the surrounding area, have interpreted or applied the forfeiture statutes in the manner argued by Chief Temte." Other issue When Miller addressed the "whistle blower act" as it applies to the dispute between the city and Temte, he focused on the applicable part of the law that says that an employee cannot be disciplined for refusal to obey an order when there is an objective basis for the refusal (i.e. violation state or federal ! law) and he informs supervisor(s) of the reason for refusal to obey. In Miller's opinion, neither of these elements was present in Temte's refusal to turn over the control of forfeiture funds. He said use of the word "objective" is deliberate in the law. Chief Temte, who has been charged with insubordination, admits he did not seek out the advice of the city attorney or other legal counsel or enquire how other cities handled funds, but relied on his own opinion about the matter. Other than a clarification request in Temte's letter of August 1, Miller was unaware if the position taken by the chief was ever "actually articulated." Miller said Tharp mistakenly applied the requirements of the whistle blower statute. Since council had determined disciplinary action was appropriate, the Jan. 6 meeting had to be open. A written summary of Miller's opinions was given to Tharp, Temte's representative. Tharp had a written summary of Miller's comments. Auditor reports Auditor Steve McDonald reported on his letter to the council May 2, 2002. In the 2001 audit letter he noted the bank accounts outside city council control. According to the tests of legal compliance, state statute 412.27, no disbursements are to be made except by order of council. The bank account should be maintained by the city, though never combined with general funds, he said. Temte was present at the meeting with McDonald and City Administrator Dennis Coryell. A remedy was provided at that time for Temte to comply with all parts of the purchase policy, including pre-approval for larger purchases. A management letter was sent in early July. McDonald was asked for his opinion about a transaction for a vehicle purchase, in November 2002, and judged it not in compliance with rules regarding forfeiture funds. The money spent out of the account must be pre-approved, he said. In answer to CM Lynn Koalska's question, McDonald said he was not recommending anything unusual about handling the account. Other cities, with which he works, including many local ones, have accounts governed by councils. Further, the state auditor would review or investigate anything irregular. Responding to Haag, McDonald said the consequence of non-compliance could be financial penalty for the city up to and including loss of local government aid. For Wyoming in 2002, this amounted to $110,000. Haag said this is an "incentive for the council to gain control (of the forfeiture fund) irmmediately." Letters to department heads in July 1, "not a penny is to be spent without council approval." Council concluded that a clear order was given. Tharp asked why there was no response from council when Temte sought clarification in his letter to them Aug. 1, 2002, for specific directions about the account. Responding to Phillips, McDonald said all city funds are to be overseen by council because there is no other mechanism for accountability. Supplemental funds also fall into this category. Phillips said he did not see a written order to surrender the account. The order to surrender the account was given in December because Temte continued to disregard the purchase policy, McDonald said. Koalska said the letter was in the packet of his monthly report. She believed 2 council had dealt with it. She questioned why, if the issue was so important, he did not attend the meeting. According to the city's purchase policy, purchases under $100 are permissible without prior approval. Larger purchases must be bid or pre-approved by the city council. Council members review the bills at the end of each meeting. The chief financial officer, Coryell, represents council. Haag spoke to Tharp saying in his work experience, when there is occasion for disagreement, the plan is to obey orders, then bring the grievance. Haag said there should be a working relationship between employees and employers. Referring to the July 18 letter, Tharp confronted council that if control of the account was "such a vital issue, he should have been disciplined immediately." Haag said council was "trying to do the right thing," by fallowing proper procedures. Asked by Phillips how he felt now about the situation, Temte said, "I feel I've been wronged." "We weren't asking you to give up the account, only to place it under our accountability," Koalska said. She has checked with police chiefs and financial officers in other local cities, was shown the books in Forest Lake and Lindstrom, and found all have policies of accountability similar to those in Wyoming. Phillips had done the same thing and got the same answers. Temte said he supplied copies of the ledger and activity in the account as requested. Koalska said the third part of the directive, providing pre-approval requests for purchases, "you've never done that." Haag said this question came after the letters from council. Temte had two alternatives, one of which was to walk across the hall and speak directly with the Coryell, or to speak with police liaison, Ed Andler. "He had resources available and did not use them," Haag said. concluded. Temte acknowledged that he answers to the city council. Koalska said she never heard Temte say he thought obeying a directive would be illegal until this meeting. She said because most council members have other jobs, the best time to ask about council business or seek clarification is at council meetings. CM Martin English was puzzled because Temte did not address the problem. "The city can't be held accountable because you disregard what you're being told to do," he said. Council decision Council members were polled by Haag about whether a direct order was given to the chief. The vote was 5-0 that he was given an order. But Phillips said he did not believe Temte was given a direct order to turn over control of the account until Dec. 2. Other council members said yes and specified a letter sent to Temte dated July 18, 2002; Standridge and Haag also specified a letter July 11, 2002. Standridge further specified the meeting, December 2, 2002. Further, council members were asked if one or more of those orders was refused, with the result a 4-1 vote. In Phillips' opinion none were refused. Ail other council members specified at least one date when an order was refused, all referencing letters from council dated July 11 or July 18, or both. With regard to a legal reason for Temte to refuse an order, the vote was 4-1. 3 Phillips said Temte had several reasons for the refusal. Because of legal advice given the council, Standridge did not believe Temte had a legal reason to refuse orders. English said Temte had no legal reason to refuse the orders and Koalska said she thinks Temte believes he had a legal reason to refuse, but she does not. Haag, based on the legal advice given council, said Temte had no reason to refuse the order to turn over control of the passbook. Mitigating factors to be considered before a final decision is made about disciplinary action, are likely to include tenure, record of accomplishments, prior misconduct if any, and severity of present misconduct on role of employers. Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_a nderson@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 3:47 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] East Ridge TN - Criminal Charges Filed Against East Ridge Officer Criminal Charges Filed Against East Ridge Officer posted January 15, 2003 An East Ridge Police officer has been charged with statutory rape and child molestation. Officials said Officer Keith Maynard was charged by the Catoosa County, Ga., Sheriff's Office with two counts of aggravated child molestation, two counts of child molestation and two counts of statutory rape. John Sentell of the East Ridge Police Department said, "When allegations of misconduct with a female member of the Explorer program arose against Officer Keith Maynard two weeks ago, the East Ridge Police Department immediately placed him on administrative leave and asked the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to perform an independent, thorough and impartial investigation. "The investigation revealed that most of the alleged incidents took place in Georgia and the Catoosa County District Attorney's Office and the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office were included in a joint investigation." He said the investigation has resulted in the charges being brought against the officer. Mr. Sentell also said, "Any additional charges in Tennessee by the TBI and the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office are still pending. "The East Ridge Police Department will now begin an internal affairs investigation to determine Mr. Maynard's future status with this department." Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@ear~hlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 2:37 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] From Pittsburgh CPRB From Beth Pittinger: The CPRB Findings & Recommendations on the COP Reorganization AND the Chief's Response are now available on our Website. The direct link: http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/cprb/html/board_action.html Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_anderson@earthlink.net Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 2:47 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] San Diego CA - Jury is chosen in wrongful death suit Former NFL player's killing by police will be aired in trial Jury is chosen in wrongful death suit By Marisa Taylor UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER January 16, 2003 More than three years ago, former NFL player Demetrius DuBose was shot to death during a confrontation with San Diego police. The District Attorney's Office and the FBI reviewed the shooting and concluded there was no police misconduct. But DuBose's mother insisted there was. Jacqueline DuBose-Wright sued the city and the two officers involved, contending they used excessive force. The shooting July 24, 1999, angered many African-Americans, who said it was race-related. It also sparked demands for reforming police procedures. Now, the case will be examined again, this time by a federal jury. Yesterday, attorneys selected 10 jurors in the wrongful death case filed by DuBose's mother. Attorneys from both sides warned jurors that the civil case would be polarizing. It's also expected to be long. The first phase to determine whether the officers and the city should be held liableis expected to last at least six weeks. If they are found liable, jurors would then determine damages. "It's going to be a long, difficult, emotional trial," said Francis Devaney, the deputy city attorney representing the city and the officers. "We need your assurances . . that you can put all your sympathy aside." The jurors will consider whether the officers used excessive force and violated DuBose's constitutional rights. The plaintiff's attorney is not permitted to argue that the officers treated DuBose differently because he was black. DuBose, 28, an All-American football star at Notre Dame who spent four seasons with the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was shot 12 times, including at least five times in the back, according to an autopsy report. The officers, Timothy Keating and Robert Wills, declined to comment yesterday. They have denied any wrongdoing and are expected to testify. They have said they were merely responding to what they thought was a burglary. On that July night, the officers arrived at a Mission Beach apartment after the resident had come home and found DuBose asleep on a bed. The officers say DuBose became confrontational when they tried to handcuff him. He fled toward Mission Boulevard, where the officers caught up. Witnesses said DuBose wrested some of the officers' equipment from them and stepped or lunged toward them, prompting the officers to fire. A toxicology report found cocaine, alcohol and the drug Ecstasy in his system. 1 Months later, then-District Attorney Paul Pfingst ruled that the shooting was justified, and the FBI found no civil rights violations. But attorneys for DuBose~s mother say their own witnesses describe DuBose as calm and cooperative. The lawyers say they have proof that DuBose was bent over and defenseless when he was first shot. The judge is not permitting jurors to hear about the toxicology results because of arguments that the test was actually inconclusive. Outside the courtroom yesterday, DuBose-Wright said the evidence shows that the officers overreacted. "They should have never shot my baby," she said. The officers' attorney plans to counter with his own ballistic evidence, which he has said shows that the officers fired the first four shots when DuBose was facing them. According to the attorney, DuBose~s posture couldn't be determined when he was hit with the other shots. "The officers tried everything they could to subdue him," Devaney said. "He was turning on them. They will testify that they thought he was going to kill them." Jurors are expected to hear both sides' arguments beginning tomorrow. Marisa Taylor: (619) 293-1020; marisa.taylor@uniontrib.com Find this article at: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20030116-9999 2ml6dubose.html Update mailing list Update@nacole.org http://nacole.org/mailman/listinfo/update_nacole.org Marian Karr From: kelvyn_a nderson@earthlin k.net Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 2:41 PM To: update@nacole.org Subject: [NACOLE Update] Gainsville FL Former Chief accused of diverting city property Brought to you by:Gainsville Sun January 14. 2003 6:30AM State's case vs. ex-chief closed By KAREN VOYLES Sun staff writer CHIEFLAND - State Attorney Bill Cervone presented city commissioners with the results of an investigation Tuesday night into how a former police chief handled department property. "This should end our involvement here with the city," Cervone said. In the criminal investigation, former Chief Eddie Levitzke, 49, was accused of diverting city property for his personal use, including two vehicles donated by larger agencies. Levitzke maintained that both vehicles had been given to him for his personal use. He resigned in November 2001 as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the situation. FDLE agents wanted to know why one vehicle ended up in the possession of Kelby Andrews, who was a city commissioner when he accepted the vehicle. Levitzke said he gave one of the vehicles to Andrews in return for some land-clearing Andrews had done for Levitzke, work Andrews estimated was worth about $250. The other vehicle was sold at an auction for $1,100, with Levitzke receiving the money, according to the FDLE investigation. On Tuesday, Cervone told commissioners Levitzke had accepted a deferred prosecution agreement that included the former chief paying the city $1,350 in restitution for the vehicles as well as surrendering his certification as a Florida police officer. Andrews was not charged because there was no indication he had any reason to believe the vehicle was illegally being transferred, Cervone said. Levitzke did not attend the meeting. When reached at his home, the former chief said he did not agree with how the situation was settled. "But I don't have the money to fight it," Levitzke said. "I don't have any other comment on it." Levitzke spent 17 years on the police force, working his way up from patrolman to chief of the small department that patrolled the approximately 3-square-mile city. As chief, Levitzke was paid $38,762 a year to supervise eight full-time employees and one part-timer in a city of just under 2,000 residents that serves as the retail hub for Levy, Gilchrist and Dixie counties. Other cases that Cervone's office was asked to look at it were all resolved in noncriminal venues before Tuesday's meeting. An allegation of open-meeting law violations was settled by a civil court late last year. And claims that one police officer pocketed money instead of transferring it from one account to another two years ago could not be substantiated. Karen Voyles can be reached at (352) 486-5058 or voylesk@gvillesun.com. 1