Tag: police accountability

10yo Girl Calls 911 to Report Her Police Officer Dad for Sexually Abusing Her, Fellow Cops Covered It Up

In March, a 10-year-old girl called 911 and told dispatchers that her father, a veteran Chicago cop, had sexually abused her.

“The victim was scared and called 911,” responding officers would later report, according to the Chicago Sun Times, adding that the actions she described “were sexual in nature.”

The officer’s arrest started out normal and it appeared that he would be held accountable. He was taken into custody, according to the arrest report, for “aggravated criminal sexual abuse by family member” — a serious felony charge.

But after spending several hours in jail, he would be released on zero bail with new charges of “domestic battery” — a misdemeanor.

When someone with an actual conscience inside the department learned about the officer’s special treatment, a red flag was raised sparking two separate investigations. An internal investigation is now underway as well as another by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Keep reading

Judge rules cops who arrested man over parody Facebook page have qualified immunity

Free speech and what’s known as “qualified immunity,” as well as “overcriminalization” – expansion of the criminal code in the US to address even minor problems in society – is at the heart of a case that started in 2016 with a short-lived parody page Anthony Novak had set up on Facebook.

Novak was subsequently arrested and spent several days in jail – much longer than the lifespan of his page critical of the police in Parma, Ohio – a page that was up only 12 hours.

In addition, the police confiscated his phone and computer. His “crime” was the humor he was using to express his opinions about the local law enforcement: posts like one “advertising” free abortions performed in a police van, and an “event” under the motto, “Pedophile Reform.”

Some Facebook users complained – about ten of them according to court records – but that was enough for the police to go to the trouble of getting three warrants: to arrest Novak, search his apartment, and deal with Facebook. The charge was “using a computer to hinder police duties,” an accusation based on little-known (and in this case, a court eventually found, invoked incorrectly) state law.

Novak eventually had a jury trial that resulted in his acquittal. But he then went on to sue the officers who arrested him for violating his constitutional rights. However, the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit did not support his claims.

Keep reading

Disgraced Police Union President Pleads Guilty to Raping Children for Decades as Dept. Covered for Him

 Last year, documents were released detailing the abuse and cover-up of said abuse carried out by Patrick M. Rose Sr., the former president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association and Boston PD detective. Rose was charged with molesting children, and the documents prove the department knew, and allowed him to continue to serve in their ranks and even engage with children.

Rose was originally charged with 33 counts in connection with the rape and abuse of at least six children in the 1990s. Some of the charges included statutory rape and indecent assault and battery on a child. This week, Rose pleaded guilty to rape charges involving the horrific and repeated rape of multiple young children.

“Some of these victims describe being sexually assaulted upwards of 200 times,” said Assistant District Attorney Audrey Mark.

Rose’s victims were sometimes 6, 7 or 8 years old, prosecutors said, and he raped the six victims in his West Roxbury home over the course of 30 years until 2020.

“By virtue of his position, he had their trust, and he violated it over and over. He violated their bodies. And these children, and these adult survivors will live with that trauma for the rest of their lives,” Mark said after the court listened to victim impact statements.

“I am so sorry to each and every one of you. Please try to accept that I am solely responsible, and not let your hatred destroy who you are or each other,” the disgraced police union boss said as he was shackled in the courtroom on Monday.

Unfortunately, despite the nature of his charges, Rose was only sentenced to 10-13 years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation.

Keep reading

Supreme Court gives victims of malicious prosecutors new weapon

People who are victimized by malicious prosecutions in America’s court systems have been given a new weapon – confirmation that they no longer have to “prove” their innocence by using the court system’s own documentation.

The Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling in Thompson v. Clark has found that individuals have a Fourth Amendment right to hold police accountable for maliciously arresting and charging them without probable cause.

“At a time when the courts routinely shield police from accountability for misconduct, this ruling is at least an encouraging glimmer in the gloom,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, which joined a friend-of-the-court brief in the case.

“For too long, Americans have been treated as if they have no rights at all when it comes to encounters with police. This is an overdue reminder that freedom is not secondary to security, and the rights of the citizenry are no less important than the authority of the government,” he said.

Keep reading

Police Investigation of Horrifying Child Porn Ring, Leads Back to One of Their Own

Last month, the Daytona Beach Police Department’s Advanced Technology and Cybercrime’s (ATAC) unit launched an investigation after receiving a tip about a child porn distribution ring that was being run on a social media app. After doing some digging, Daytona cops made a disturbing discovery — the perpetrator distributing images of child sexual abuse on the app — was one of their own.

This week, Officer Brandon Fox, 22, was arrested and charged with 7 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography. According to police, they received information regarding an individual sharing child pornography via a social media app that included images and videos of sexual acts involving children under 10.

During the investigation, police tracked the horrifying images and videos back to Fox. Investigators then executed a search warrant at his residence and noted that additional charges may be filed as they continue their investigation.

After discovering that Fox was the culprit, a judge issued an arrest warrant on the seven counts and Fox was brought in without incident. He is currently being held in the Volusia County Jail on a $70,000 bond.

According to police, Fox had been with the department for two years. He was fired immediately after his arrest.

Keep reading

Woman Suing Police for Kidnapping, Stripping, and Forcibly ‘Baptizing’ Her During Traffic Stop, Found Dead

Over the years, the Free Thought Project has reported on some utterly bizarre behavior from law enforcement. From judges stealing women’s underwear to police officers offering homeless people sh*t sandwiches, this behavior never ceases to amaze and infuriate. Adding to this long list of “weird sh*t cops do” was a story out of Chattanooga in 2019, in which a police officer stripped to his underwear and forcibly “baptized” a woman he was arresting for having a marijuana roach.

After this story garnered him national attention, an investigation was launched and Hamilton County Deputy Daniel Wilkey who was arrested last year and has been charged with more than 40 counts ranging from rape and sexual battery to oppression and extortion.

As we reported at the time, the case was swarmed in controversy as it would be revealed that during the investigation, the department magically lost months of dashcam footage containing alleged evidence of this extremely bad cop’s crimes.

Now, however, the controversy has become deadly.

This week, Hamilton County deputies found the body of 42-year-old Shandle Marie Riley — the victim of deputy Wilkey — who had brought a lawsuit against the department for what they did to her.

Wednesday night, the Hamilton County sheriff’s department recused themselves from the investigation, given their contentious ties to the case.

Keep reading

Cops Ruled Justified in Cracking Innocent Elderly Man’s Skull, Leaving Him Hospitalized for a Month

As TFTP reported at the time, a case out of Buffalo, New York received a lot of attention due to the unnecessary and disturbing nature of how it unfolded. A75-year-old man, Martin Gugino was shoved down so hard that his injuries landed him in the hospital for over a month. The two cops who shoved him were suspended and arrested as a result and following their discipline the entire Buffalo Police Department Emergency Response Team resigned in support of those two cops.

In total, 57 officers threw a collective temper tantrum, for their right to attack innocent elderly men with impunity.

And impunity is what they got. Over the weekend, an arbitrator ruled that officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski violated no policies when they shoved the frail 75-year-old man down so hard that he cracked his skull and began bleeding from his ears.

Arbitrator Jeffrey Selchick wrote, “Upon review, there is no evidence to sustain any claim that Respondents [police officers] had any other viable options other than to move Gugino out of the way of their forward movement.”

As TFTP reported, Gugino was on the sidewalk attempting to return one of the officer’s helmets he had found. The officers then walked up to him and shoved him to the ground. The impact of the elderly man’s head was so hard that he immediately began bleeding from the ears and was knocked unconscious.

After the cops shoved him, they looked down, noticed he was bleeding from the ears and kept walking — leaving the elderly man lying there on the pavement, bleeding.

After the assault, according to WBFO, two medics came forward and treated him. They helped put him in an ambulance and he was taken away. He spent the following month in the hospital as he was treated for a severe head injury.

After the incident made it to the news, Buffalo police put out a ridiculous statement claim the elderly man tripped.

A Buffalo Police spokesman issued a statement saying “a 5th person was arrested during a skirmish with other protestors and also charged with disorderly conduct. During that skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped & fell.”

However, after the video was posted online, exactly 23 minutes later by WBFO, department officials changed their tone and said a full Internal Affairs investigation was underway and that Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood had ordered the immediate suspension of the two officers involved, without pay.

Keep reading

State Passes Bill That Could Jail People for 30 Days for Filming the Police

Frequent readers of the Free Thought Project know that filming the cops is not a crime. Despite this being a widely known provision — held up with multiple court precedents — cops continue to violate the First Amendment protected right of citizens to film the police. Last month, the Arizona House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would criminalize filming cops on the job, dealing a massive blow to First Amendment rights. And this month, the Senate passed it.

It now moves to Governor Doug Ducey’s desk for signature, where it will become law.

Republican Representative John Kavanaugh, who is a former police officer, is the lead sponsor of the legislation. According to the bill, it is illegal “for a person to knowingly make a video recording of law enforcement activity, including the handling of an emotionally disturbed person, if the person does not have the permission of the law enforcement officer” and is within 8 feet of the cop.

Kavanaugh originally stipulated a 15 foot radius, however it was later amended after multiple objections. But for many, this is still too far.

As Valera Voce, points out, the law also classifies unlawful video recording of law enforcement activity as a petty offense, unless a person fails to comply with a verbal warning of a violation or has been previously convicted of a violation in which case an offense is a class 3 misdemeanor. A class 3 misdemeanor comes with a minimum of 30 days in jail. Finally, the bill explicitly declares that it “does not establish a right, or authorize any person, to make a video recording of a law enforcement officer.”

“It’s crazy thinking about that for a second. The video that led to the criminal conviction of the police officer who killed George Floyd would itself be a criminal act. And that makes no sense whatsoever,” attorney Dan Barr told FOX 10.

“We believe that this bill stacks the deck against the public check on officer misconduct,” Timothy Sparling, a lawyer and legislative advocate for Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week. Sparling argued that the bill leaves too much up to the discretion of the officers. “When officers have such wide discretion to determine, say, what is lawful conduct or what is unlawful conduct on the ground and that is not properly defined … it’s ultimately up to whatever the officer wants it to be,” Sparling said.

Keep reading

65 Teens, Arrested, Shackled, Jailed Because Cops Found a Small Bag of Weed Outside of a Party

House parties among teenagers and young adults are a part of growing up. When kids experience freedom from their parents for the first time, they will often make poor choices and this is a part of experiencing life so one can learn. Poor choices that cause harm to others are certainly not acceptable but when young people are experimenting with substances and make choices which have no victims, they should never have to worry about their lives being ruined over it. Unfortunately, for 65 young people in Cartersville, Georgia, they had no say in the matter when cops arrested all of them — despite none of them making any poor choices.

The nightmare for these 65 teenagers and young folks started back in 2017 as they gathered at a home to celebrate the New Year. As is common on New Year’s Eve, firecrackers can be heard going off all around town. Thought none of the teens involved in this party were popping fireworks, police used it as a reason to enter the home, without a warrant, claiming they heard gun shots.

When police came to the door that night, they had no evidence of a crime being committed, nor did they have reasonable suspicion. Nevertheless, they barged into the legally rented Airbnb, paid for by 21-year-old Deja Heard, who was celebrating her 21st birthday that night.

Officers had no warrant as the shut down the entire party and searched everyone. The only evidence of a crime — which is not a crime at all — was claimed when police found a small bag of weed in the front yard.

Because no one wanted to go to jail over a plant, no one fessed up, or perhaps the person who dropped it, left the party. Regardless, the solution proposed by the officers that night was to arrest everyone and charge them all with possession of marijuana. And they did exactly that.

These teens and young adults were then hauled off to jail, booked into the Bartow County lockup and shackled — for a small bag of weed found outside on the ground.

Keep reading