Tag: police accountability

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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Cop Who Killed Ashli Babbitt Cleared Without Formal Law Enforcement Interview

According to a report from RealClearInvestigations, U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd was cleared of any wrongdoing following the Ashli Babbitt shooting without being forced to conduct a formal interview with law enforcement.

Byrd made a point to note that he had been investigated by several law enforcement agencies and was exonerated by the federal government for his actions when he appeared on “NBC Nightly News” with Lester Holt.

“There’s an investigative process and I was cleared by the DOJ, and FBI and Metropolitan Police,” he told Holt this past August.

According to several sources and documents reviewed by RealClearInvestigations, Byrd never conducted a formal interview with any law enforcement agency.

Byrd did answer questions about the shooting from Holt, alleging that he gave Babbitt a warning before firing. but these details were likely never shared with investigators because Byrd refused to answer their questions.

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Unarmed Woman Executed by Cop On Her Way to Work Over Alleged Speeding Ticket—Lawsuit

In June of 2020, family and friends of Hannah Fizer, 25, were shocked to learn that their beloved daughter and friend had been killed during a stop over an alleged speeding violation. Then, four months later, they learned there would be no justice and the officer who killed the unarmed woman as she sat in her vehicle — was back on the job.

Since then, Fizer’s father, John Fizer, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Pettis County seeking damages against Pettis County Deputy Jordan Schutte. The lawsuit argues the shooting was an unjustified, an excessive use of force and that Schutte did not follow several standard law enforcement protocols during the stop. When watching the video, it is entirely clear.

This week, PBS aired a minidocumentary (which you can watch below) detailing Fizer’s tragic shooting and it backs up what TFTP has been reporting since her death. As the documentary shows, the department remains unapologetic about killing Fizer.

In October 2020, the Pettis County prosecutor claimed that the officer shooting an unarmed woman during a traffic stop — dumping five rounds into her as she sat in her car — did not violate any policies. The officer “feared for his life.”

“Schutte had the ability and responsibility to prevent the use of deadly force against Ms. Fizer but failed to do so,” the lawsuit reads. “His actions contributed to Ms. Fizer’s avoidable death.”

As the documentary points out, on that fateful night on June 13, 2020, Fizer was on her way to work when she was targeted for extortion by the deputy. Just six minutes after the stop began, Fizer would have five bullet holes in her, still sitting in her car.

After killing Fizer, the deputy would claim the woman — who never made a violent threat in her life — had a gun and threatened to kill him. However, investigators found no such gun and it appears the only thing she was holding was her cellphone after letting the officer know that she was filming the stop.

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Cop Fired for Savagely Beating Handcuffed Pregnant Woman on Video, Hired at New Dept.

Officer Elizabeth Montoya is the latest roaming bad cop to receive a spotlight for her gypsy cop status and every bit of this light it is well deserved. Montoya was fired from the San Antonio police department in 2019 after she savagely beat the hell out of a handcuffed pregnant woman.

The incident was captured on body camera footage and it showed Montoya punch the woman in the breasts before delivering a fury of punches to the handcuffed pregnant woman’s head and face.

That woman, Kimberly Esparza, was six months pregnant when Montoya beat the hell out of her, threw her to the ground on her stomach, dragged her down the pavement and left her sitting in the rain, battered and bruised.

To justify this gross use of force against the pregnant woman, Montoya would charge her with assault of a public servant, resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance – penalty group III, typically used to charge someone who illegally possesses prescription drugs with common medical uses, according to KSAT.

When the evidence was presented, however, Esparza was innocent and all charges were dropped.

For savagely beating a woman who was simply accused of possessing a controlled substance, who was handcuffed and pregnant, Montoya was never charged with a crime. In fact, it would take the department a year to get her fired and that was for muting her body camera — not for brutally beating a pregnant woman in handcuffs.

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