Update: Portland, Oregon (First reported 04-12-13): The city will pay $2.3 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed after a police officer wounded a man when he mistakenly fired lethal rounds at him from a beanbag shotgun. The victim is now permanently disabled and narrowly escaped death only because there was a hospital nearby
The proposed settlement was reached after city attorneys and Monroe’s lawyer met Monday in a mediation session with U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken.
It must still go before the City Council for approval. If accepted, it would mark the city’s largest individual settlement in its history.
“Honestly, I think in the grand scheme of things, it’s not an unfair settlement,” Thane Tienson, Monroe’s lawyer, said Tuesday.
Tienson said the money will help pay for Monroe’s ongoing medical costs and lost wages.
Reister’s gunshots fractured Monroe’s pelvis and punctured his bladder, abdomen and colon. The fourth shot, fired from less than 15 feet away, left a “softball-size hole in his left leg” and severed the sciatic nerve, according to Monroe’s suit.
So it took 4 shots for the cop to realize he was shooting lethal rounds? Oh bullshit! That’s attempted murder.
UK Police - Collision Investigation Unit
Memphis Cop Car Ends Up Against Pole, Other Cops at the Scene Ticket Drivers for Going Too Slow
A Memphis police officer was driving too fast as he tried to chase down a driver for not wearing a seatbelt, so his car ended up upright against a telephone pole, prompting other motorists to slow down and take photos of the incident.
That, of course, prompted other officers to ticket those drivers for driving too slow, according to WREG.
No word yet as to whether the first officer will be ticketed for reckless driving.
6 Police Misconduct Settlements Worth Millions
When police abuse their authority everyone loses. Victims may get hurt or even lose their life, police damage their credibility and taxpayers end up shouldering huge payouts to victims and their families.
Last week, the Los Angeles Police Department settled a lawsuit brought against it by two women officers mistakenly shot at during the Dorner manhunt in February. The settlement will cost the city $4.2 million and attorneys called it “a bargain.“
Click to read a list of recent settlements paid out to victims of police misconduct.
(via beatyourselfup)
I received two requests for the FBI fence jump video. Well, here you go.
He also hot wires his car every morning even though he has the keys. He just likes obstacles
‘FBI pumps resources into profiling Americans, ignores real threat’
Legalization of marijuana puts end to searches based solely on possession of small amounts. Mass. court throws out evidence found after drivers searched for possessing legal amount of pot.
The scent of reefer is not enough to justify an automobile search, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules.
In a series of three rulings issued Friday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court cracked down on police who have been using evidence of marijuana possession as a pretext to search automobiles. Just two years ago, justices handed down the Cruz decision making it clear that automobile searches could not be conducted on the basis of finding marijuana (view ruling), but police have continued the practice.
…
“An officer smelling freshly burnt marijuana inside a stopped vehicle, and an occupant surrendering a noncriminal amount of marijuana, did not, without more, support probable cause to believe that a criminal amount of marijuana would be found in the vehicle,” Justice Fernande R.V. Duffly wrote for the court. “Absent articulable facts supporting a belief that any occupant of the vehicle possessed a criminal amount of marijuana, the search was not justified by the need to search for contraband.”
…
“Today’s rulings mean that people who share small amounts of marijuana don’t have to fear criminal prosecution or having police officers use the sharing of marijuana as a reason to search their belongings,” ACLU legal director Matthew R. Segal said in a statement on Friday. “Just as important, hopefully these rulings mean that police officers will focus on serious crimes instead of wasting their time investigating people sharing marijuana.”
Source: Massachusetts v. Pacheco (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 4/5/2013)
Undercover officer starts engaging in sex with prostitute during sting operation. Moments later he announces, "the cops are coming!" [pun intended]
APRIL 3—In the course of an undercover operation targeting a suspected prostitute, a Pennsylvania police officer disrobed, allowed the woman to place a condom on him, and then engaged in sexual activity with her before announcing that, “the cops are coming.”
Only the prostitute was arrested. The cop hasn’t faced any penalties yet.
Excessive force was necessary
Springfield, Illinois police spokesman said this after the incident where they tazered an 8 month pregnant woman and slammed her to the ground. In my opinion, this is a blatant admission of guilt.
I didn’t realize that EXCESSIVE force was ever justified.
(via beatyourselfup)Police gun down 83-year-old woman responding to 911 call she dialed
Delma Towler reported a burglary at her Altavista, Virginia home and attempted to walk to her sister’s house for safety but was “gunned down like she was an animal or a criminal,” according to her daughter.
“If I have to spend every penny, someone’s going to pay,” said Langford. “They took my mama.”
A family got the scare of their lives as drug agents swarmed their property due to report of suspected meth lab -- turns out to be sweet maple syrup
UNION COUNTY, IL (KFVS) -
A Union County family got the scare of their lives on Wednesday morning as drug agents swarmed onto their property.
“I heard the dogs barking. And I knew that meant somebody was outside the house,” said Laura Benson. “And I looked out the windows and I seen a truck coming up the driveway fairly fast. And an Anna police car right behind it.”
At first, Laura says she thought her son had done something wrong. Then she says she couldn’t believe her ears when she heard the drug agents say this.
“They had a report of a meth lab going on on our property. And they wanted to investigate it.”
So the Benson’s gladly showed the officers what they really were doing, which was making their own maple syrup.
“They pointed to the buckets and I told them my husband has a hobby of making maple syrup. Of course they realized it once they seen it,” said Laura. “But I was quite startled this morning.”
The Benson’s want to thank their neighbors for being so alert and notifying the police.
“I think my neighbors on their way to church see the buckets and stuff and think we’ve got a meth lab operation going on here. I just want to put their minds at ease, and let them know it’s maple syrup. And that they’re all welcome for pancakes if they want to come on over.”
The Benson’s have been making their own maple syrup for the past five years. This was the first time they’ve been mistaken for a meth lab.
They even gave the agents a sample of their syrup to take home and enjoy.
End War at Home, End War Abroad
c4ss:
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, at 2:30 am on December 20th, Eric Hill was awoken by his frightened daughter, who had heard knocking near her closet. Then he heard loud banging at his front door.
Frightened at the prospect of a home invasion or burglary, Hill armed himself with a baseball bat and opened the door. Six men in black, armed with assault rifles and tactical weapons, ordered him to drop the bat and placed him in handcuffs. One of the men stated that had Eric had a gun rather than a bat, they would have “blown him away.”
Several of the men entered Hill’s home with their weapons drawn, frightening his wife Melanie Hill and their children. Eric Hill stated, “After the [Newtown, Conn.] shooting that just happened, my [older] kid was already scared to go to school,” and that his children “are just traumatized by this.”
The home invaders that traumatized Hill’s children were from the Ogden Police Department. Yet Hill was not wanted for any crime. He had been mistaken for a different man, charged with “desertion” from the military. …
(via beatyourselfup)
