Tag: police accountability

Judge Allows Former Deputy Accused of Raping 14-Year-Old Girl to Avoid Prison and Sex Offender Status

After striking a plea deal with prosecutors, a onetime Tennessee sheriff’s deputy who was accused of repeatedly raping a 14-year-old girl over a period of 20 months will serve no time in prison and does not have to register as a sex offender.

Brian O. Beck, 47, pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated assault on Monday, according to court records filed in Shelby County Court. That plea was part of a deal between Beck and prosecutors, a member of the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office confirmed to Law&Crime.

The judge in the case suspended Beck’s nominal four-year prison sentence and said the defendant would instead serve three years probation, a sentencing order provided to Law&Crime by the prosecutor’s office indicates. If Beck fails to live up to the terms of his probation, he could be incarcerated for the aforementioned four-year term, according to the probation order itself and a statement from the prosecutor’s office to a local television station. The order also requires Beck to serve 150 hours of community service, submit to random drug screening, and have no contact with the victim.

The judge’s order, in essence a perfunctory form document with boxes to check and a few blank lines to fill, offers but a glimpse into the reasoning behind the moves.

The document says “the defendant is not likely again to engage in a criminal course of conduct” — at least “to the satisfaction of the Court” — and that “the ends of justice and the welfare of society do not require that the Defendant shall presently suffer the penalty imposed by law by incarceration.”

Judge Lee Coffee signed off on the document.

Beck will also not have to register as a sex offender, according to the order.

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NYPD Police Union President Arrested for Stealing Over $1 Million from Fellow Cops in Lowlife Scheme

Nothing says “culture of corruption” quite like cops committing crimes against their fellow cops. And, perhaps nothing highlights this point better than one of the highest ranking cops in the country waging an elaborate scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from his fellow officers.

This week, Edward Mullins, the former President of the Sergeants Benevolent Association (“SBA”), the union that represents all current and former Sergeants of the New York City Police Department, was charged for fraudulently using union funds for personal gain.

On Wednesday, Mullins turned himself in to the FBI and was charged with one count of wire fraud in connection with his despicable scheme. Mullins’ scheme involved using police union funds to live a lavish lifestyle at the expense of his fellow officers.

After his arrest, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Edward Mullins, the former President of the SBA, abused his position of trust and authority to fund a lavish lifestyle that was paid for by the monthly dues of the thousands of hard-working Sergeants of the NYPD.

“Mullins submitted hundreds of phony expense reports to further his scheme, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the SBA.  This Office is committed to rooting out corruption at all levels of government, and that includes public officials like Mullins who use their positions of power to line their own pockets to the detriment of others.”

According to the Department of Justice, for nearly two decades, from 2002 until October 2021, Mullins served as President of the SBA. As president Mullins was responsible for for promoting the general welfare of the SBA’s membership. Instead of doing that, however, this top cop “orchestrated a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the SBA and its members.”

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An Off-Duty Cop Murdered His Ex-Wife. The California Highway Patrol Ignored the Red Flags.

When law-enforcement officials believe that someone has committed a crime, they often go to great lengths—and can be quite creative—in coming up with charges to file. Criminal codes are voluminous, and it’s common for prosecutors to pile up one charge after another as a way to keep someone potentially dangerous off the streets.

When the accused is a police officer, however, agencies typically find their hands tied. “Nothing to see here,” they say, “so let’s move along.” Their eagerness to protect their own colleagues from accountability can have deadly consequences. A recent lawsuit by the victim of a California Highway Patrol officer’s off-duty shooting brings the problem into view.

The case centers on Brad Wheat, a CHP lieutenant who operated out of the agency’s office in Amador County. On Aug. 3, 2018, Wheat took his CHP-issued service weapon and hollow-point ammunition to confront Philip “Trae” Debeaubien, the boyfriend of Wheat’s estranged wife, Mary. As he later confessed to a fellow officer, Wheat planned more than a verbal confrontation.

“I just learned this evening that Brad confided in an officer…tonight that he drove to a location where he thought his wife and her lover were last night to murder the lover and then commit suicide,” an officer explained in an email, as The Sacramento Bee reported. Fortunately, Debeaubien had left the house by the time that Wheat arrived.

Initially, Wheat’s colleagues convinced him to surrender his CHP firearm and other weapons and they reported it to superiors. Instead of treating this matter with the seriousness it deserved, or showing concern for the dangers that Debeaubien and Mary Wheat faced, CHP officials acted as if it were a case of an officer who had a rough day.

They essentially did nothing. “Faced with a confessed homicidal employee, the CHP conducted no criminal investigation of its own, notified no allied law enforcement agency or prosecutor’s office, and initiated no administrative process,” according to a pleading filed by Debeaubien in federal district court. “Nor did the CHP notify [the] plaintiff that he was the target of a murder-suicide plan that failed only because of a timely escape.”

You read that right—the agency seemed so uninterested in the safety of two potential murder victims that it didn’t even inform them about the planned attack. It sent Wheat to a therapist, who reportedly said he needed a good night’s sleep. It sent him on vacation for two weeks, let him return to work, and returned his firearm and ammunition—something CHP said he needed for his job.

You can probably guess what happened next. Two weeks later, Wheat took the same weapon and ammo and this time found his ex-wife and her boyfriend. He shot Debeaubien in the shoulder, the two struggled and Wheat—a trained CHP officer, after all—retrieved his dislodged weapon, shot to death his ex-wife, and then killed himself.

Now CHP says it has no responsibility for this tragic event and that its decisions did not endanger the plaintiff’s life. This much seems clear from court filings and depositions: CHP’s response centered on what it thought best for its own officer. Any concern about the dangers faced by those outside the agency seemed incidental, at best.

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Police Beating of Unconscious Trump Supporter Was ‘Objectively Reasonable,’ Department Rules

The beating of an unconscious Trump supporter by a DC Metropolitan Police Department officer on January 6 was deemed to be “objectively reasonable” after an investigation by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, The Epoch Times has learned.

The Internal Affairs investigation was opened in September 2021 based on a complaint filed by a Texas man who assembled video evidence of the officer striking an unconscious Rosanne Boyland with a steel baton and a large wooden stick at the entrance to the West Terrace tunnel at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Boyland, 34, of Kennesaw, Ga., was pinned under a pile of protesters who fled the tunnel when police deployed a crowd-control gas. After several minutes of being crushed by the weight of other fallen protesters, Boyland lost consciousness and stopped breathing, witnesses have said.

Boyland traveled to Washington D.C. that day to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally and hear then-President Donald Trump speak at the Ellipse. She became trapped in a crowd that sought entry to the Capitol through the West Terrace tunnel.

As Boyland lay unconscious on the ground DC Metro Police Officer Lila Morris repeatedly struck her with a steel baton and what appeared to be a wooden walking stick, according to a video recording.

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Serial Rapist Cop, Sentenced to 263 Years, Up for Parole After Doing Just 6 Years

A disgraced former Oklahoma City police officer, Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, was sentenced to 263 years in prison in 2016, after being convicted of numerous rapes and sexual assaults while on duty. Holtzclaw was convicted on 18 felony counts — including four counts of first-degree rape in December, 2015.

After serving a portion of this sentence, Holtzclaw appealed, maintaining his innocent since the beginning. In 2019, Holtzclaw tried to appeal the case, however, the evidence against him is so overwhelming, a judge refused to overturn his conviction.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in August 2019 upheld the convictions of Holtzclaw. On Monday, however, Holtzclaw once again tried to get out of jail, getting yet another chance before Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. Luckily for his victims, once again, he was denied in a 5-0 vote.

Holtzclaw and his family have maintained his innocence since day one and claim that because the judge in his case, Oklahoma County District Judge Tim Henderson, was accused of sexual misconduct himself, that Holtzclaw must have been railroaded.

“I hope and pray more people finally see I truly was railroaded and wrongfully convicted,” he said in a statement. “I upheld my oath of office by protecting and serving my community, while Judge Henderson was allegedly abusing women and violating his oath. It’s time to reopen every one of Henderson’s cases, including mine, that was impacted by his sexual misconduct.”

Clearly his family is ignoring all the evidence in the case which is what led to the unprecedented sentence against this serial rapist cop.

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Off-Duty Cop Saving Family from Intruder, Killed by Fellow Cops Who Mistook Him for a Criminal

As TFTP reports all too frequently, defending yourself and others in the land of the free can often be a deadly act thanks to police. In case after case, TFTP has reported on heroic individuals who have defended their families and even complete strangers only to be executed by police who show up — after the hero stopped the villain — only to shoot first and ask questions later.

The family of Vancouver Police Officer Donald Sahota learned this the hard way over the weekend. Sahota attempted to defend his family from an armed intruder and his fellow police would kill him for it.

According to police, officers responded to an armed robbery at the Chevron on Northeast 117th Avenue in Vancouver, Wash. According to a 911 caller, the suspect had entered the store, pointing a gun at the gas station clerk’s chest while demanding cash. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect fled in a stolen dark-colored Mercedes, after robbing the store of several hundred dollars. Police intercepted the suspect traveling northbound on I-205 where a chase began for several miles.

“I was working my till at 8:15 p.m. Dude walks through the door, pulls out a pistol right out of his pocket, aims it at my chest holding his hand over the slide,” the clerk said.

After a miles-long chase, the suspect ditched the vehicle and happened to show up at Sahota’s home. According to police, the suspect banged on the door, claiming he was in a car crash and needed help.

Sahota — bravely protecting his family from an armed robber — grabbed his gun and went outside to confront the suspect.

According to police, a struggle ensued and Sahota was stabbed by the suspect before losing control of his pistol. After knocking the off-duty cop to the ground, the suspect went inside Sahota’s home, where his wife was hiding.

The off-duty cop then picked up his firearm and ran back into the home to stop the suspect. Unfortunately, however, as Sahota ran inside, Clark County officers arrived on the scene to shoot first and ask questions later.

As Sahota tried to save his wife, he was gunned down by responding officers who mistook him for the suspect. Sahota was hit several times and died as medics tried saving him.

The unnamed suspect was taken into custody without incident after police killed the officer who was trying to stop him. According to OPB, the incident is being treated as an officer-involved shooting and is being investigated by the Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team.

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Police Chief Gets No Jail, Allowed to Retire, Gets $72k in Benefits After Guilty Plea in Sex Assault Case

Marshfield, WI — In January of last year, Marshfield Police Chief Rick Gramza was arrested and charged with three counts of misconduct in office, disorderly conduct, and fourth-degree sexual assault against a department employee. However, instead of facing a jury of his peers for these accusations, Gramza received tens of thousands of dollars, months of paid vacation, and no jail time.

Last month, Gramza was given a sweetheart plea deal and all of the above charges were reduced to two disorderly conduct charges — on both of which he was immediately found guilty. After paying a measly $661 fine, Gramza will be free and clear.

According to reports, the former chief Gramza is accused of sexually assaulting a department employee on several occasions, as early as 2014 and as late as this past summer.

WSAW reports the Eau Claire detective sergeant investigating the case shared some specific instances the employee told him, including one in 2015, where she says she went into his office to talk about a promotion and then he sexually assaulted her.

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Over 230 People Freed After a Single NYPD Cop Caught Framing Innocent People for Drug Crimes

Charges against the now-disgraced NYPD detective Joseph Franco are being welcomed by the families of more than 130 more New Yorkers as it is leading to the dismissal of their family members’ charges. Franco was reportedly caught framing innocent individuals last year and this is the second wave of case dismissals tied to his corruption..

Last April, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s Conviction Review Unit asked for the dismissal of 27 felony convictions and 63 misdemeanor convictions based on Franco’s corrupt policing. Now, that number has grown as Bronx Supreme Court Justice David Lewis granted the motion to drop the felony cases against 133 defendants who were indicted between 2011 and 2015.

“We did not want to dismiss or vacate out of hand all cases he was involved in; we investigated those that hinged on his testimony and sworn statements,” Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement.

“[Franco’s] compromised credibility suggests a lack of due process in the prosecution of these defendants, and we cannot stand behind these convictions.”

An addition 250 cases are under review and a total of 500 cases could be dropped.

According to ABC 7, Franco was indicted in Manhattan for perjury, official misconduct and other charges in connection with four incidents whereby he allegedly framed numerous individuals for making narcotics transactions.

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Police Misbehavior Is a Crucial Threat to Liberty

Whenever I write about police abuse and use-of-force issues, I often hear from the “back the badge” crowd to defend whatever it is the police officer did in a given situation. They’re not always wrong, of course, but one recurring theme always sticks in my craw, especially given that these writers typically describe themselves as “conservatives.”

Police defenders instinctively view most situations—and expect the rest of us to do so—from the perspective of the officer. “Well, sure that African American teen was holding a cellphone rather than a gun, but how was the officer to know before he shot him?” “Sure, the SWAT team broke down the door to the wrong apartment, but mistakes happen (note the passive voice).”

One of the stated principles of conservatism is fealty to the constitution, which protects the rights of individuals against the abuses of government. Police are the face of that government. They enforce the rules that lawmakers pass. Having the right to detain or even kill you, officers literally hold all of your “rights” within their grasp.

Therefore, I spend less time worrying about the genuinely difficult challenges of officers than about my fellow citizens’ right to life and liberty. As Charlton Heston says in a Touch of Evil, “Only in a police state is the job of a policeman easy.” Likewise, I worry less about the frustrations of IRS agents than I do about the rights of taxpayers. Tax collectors have a legitimate job, but a true freedom-lover is primarily concerned about protecting individuals from the state.

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Cops Investigated Themselves, Found They Did Nothing Wrong When Dragging Paraplegic Man From Car By His Hair

As TFTP reported in September, Clifford Owensby of Dayton, Ohio, learned the violent and oppressive lengths the American police state will go to enforce window tint extortion laws. Owensby, who had committed no crime, was targeted by police, assaulted, and then sent on his way because of the arbitrary darkness of his window tint. Days later, body camera footage was released released by police, showing just how brutal cops are willing to be over the darkness of a man’s windows — and skin too.

Owensby filed a complaint with the Professional Standards Bureau of the Dayton Police Department (DPD), who launched an investigation in October. Now, after “investigating” themselves for the last three months, police have come to the conclusion that officers did nothing wrong.

The report from the investigation determined Owensby’s allegations that officers threatened violence and mocked him were “unfounded” in spite of their violence captured on video.

The officer’s “pulling of Mr. Owensby’s hair may have been visually offensive to some people, but in reality the hair pulling was on the low end of the force spectrum and did not cause injury,” investigators found. “Mr. Owensby was removed to Grandview Medical Center where it was confirmed he was not injured during the incident.”

The officers faced no discipline in spite of turning off their body cameras and mocking Owensby which was recorded on a supervisor’s body camera. Investigators did, however, recommend more training as there is no policy in place that dealt with “how to best transport a disabled subject,” the review stated.

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