COPWATCH

[StillHustlin]

Coroners: The Variations From State to State

More than 1,500 counties operate under a coroner system, where qualifications and expectations vary, according to the National Association of Medical Examiners.

Kansas, Ohio, and Louisiana require coroners to be certified forensic pathologists.

In Nebraska coroners are often also the county attorney.

Indiana and Wyoming require completion of a basic coroner-training course and some additional annual training. An 18-year-old made headlines when she was elected deputy coroner in Jay County, Ind. while still in high school.

Colorado state law encourages its coroners to have training in forensic death investigation methods, but it's not required.

North Dakota requires that coroners be licensed physicians, but only in counties of more than 8,000 people.

Georgia requires that you be at least 25 years old, have no felony convictions, have a high-school education and complete a week's training course in death investigation before you take the job.

In Wisconsin and West Virginia, non-physicians can serve as medical examiners.


Watch:
FRONTLINE: POST-MORTEM
A dysfunctional system in which there are few standards, little oversight, and the mistakes are literally buried.

 

[StillHustlin]

Davis City Council Tells Police To Have Plan For Getting Rid Of MRAP Military Vehicle In Next 60 Days

DAVIS (CBS13) — The Davis City Council has told the police department it must get rid of a military vehicle it received in the next 60 days.

The controversy over the mine-resistant, ambush protected vehicle attracted a large crowd on Tuesday that was largely against it.

The council adopted the resolution to come up with a plan to get rid of the vehicle. A petition is circulating asking the council to press the police to either get rid of or destroy the vehicle.

The vehicle, worth nearly $700,000 didn’t cost the Davis Police Department a dime, as it was acquired through a federal government surplus program. The MRAP was developed by the military for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After Pentagon budget cuts, the vehicle has been making its way to local law enforcement.

The military has essentially handed down equipment to law enforcement for years. That’s how the Sacramento Police Department received its two helicopters, and Vallejo Police received their own military vehicle—complete with bulletproof tires.

 

[StillHustlin]

Video Clears Man (M. Jeter) and Cops are Charged

Evidence from a dashboard camera on a police cruiser ended a nightmare for a New
Jersey man facing false charges of eluding police, resisting arrest and assault. Essex county, NJ Prosecutors dismissed all the criminal charges against Marcus Jeter, 30, of Bloomfield, N.J. and instead indicted two Bloomfield police officers for falsifying reports and one of them for assault after the recording surfaced showing police officers beating Marcus Jeter during a traffic stop. A third police officer has also pleaded guilty to tampering.

 

[StillHustlin]

Attorney States Surveillance Video Confirms John Crawford III Fatally Shot By Police for Simply Shopping at Walmart

UPDATE at Noon: After the press conference, Richard Schulte, one of the Crawford family attorneys, said that LeeCee Johnson was with Crawford's parents the night of the shooting and was on the phone with him when officers shot him. Schulte said Johnson put the call on speaker, and the parents listened as their son was dying.

Johnson is the mother of Crawford's two children.

UPDATE at 11:44 a.m.: The attorney for the family of John Crawford III has finished speaking.

He said: "From what we've seen, John had no opportunity to put the gun down."

UPDATE at 11:30 a.m.: The attorney for the family of John Crawford III is now speaking to the media.

Attorney Michael Wright said: "We need Mike DeWine to refer this case to the Department of Justice. Not to a special prosecutor."

Wright said Crawford did nothing wrong in Walmart. "Nothing more, nothing less than shopping."

Wright, who has seen store surveillance video of the shooting incident, said Crawford was shot while talking on the phone, holding the butt of the gun with the barrel pointed at the floor.

He said Crawford was "shot on sight" in a "militaristic" response.

UPDATE at 11:05 a.m.: Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's news conference has just ended. The attorney for the family of John Crawford III is set to begin a news conference any moment.


UPDATE at 10:55 a.m.: The lead prosecutor in the police shooting that sparked race riots in Cincinnati in 2001 will present to a grand jury the details of the shooting this year of John Crawford in a Beavercreek Walmart, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today.

He said the grand jury will convene on the case on Sept. 22, later than originally planned.

DeWine said Mark Piepmeier, assistant Hamilton County prosecutor, has handled more than 100 officer-involved shooting cases in his long career,

"In some cases, the grand jury has indicted the officer, and in some cases it has not," DeWine said.

Speaking in the Greene County courtroom where the grand jury will meet Sept. 22 to review the shooting of John Crawford, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine listed the evidence his officer has assembled.

This has included working with the FBI to create a "video summarization," linking the more than 200 cameras in Walmart with audio from 911 calls to create a timeline of the shooting.

"The vast majority of it is covered," he said. "This would allow people viewing this to see it from the moment people came into the store all the way to the shooting incident."

The 2001 race riots in Cincinnati were sparked by the shooting of unarmed 19-year-old Timothy Thomas. Piepmeier oversaw the grand jury investigation that returned a charge of negligent homicide against officer Stephen Roach. Roach was later acquitted.

Piepmeier was also involved in investigating the Lucasville prison riots that resulted in 50 indictments.

In announcing that he will oversee the grand jury case of the shooting of John Crawford, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine listed three other cases he investigated that resulted in charges being brought against law enforcement officers.

"Mr. Piepmeier is fair, he is impartial, he calls it like he sees it. He will have total independence in this case."

UPDATE at 10:53 a.m.: Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says he is not sorry he showed the family of John Crawford III a portion of the video surveillance from the shooting.

DeWine said it was "the right thing to do."

UPDATE at 10:44 a.m.: Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's press conference is happening now.

DeWine said Mark Piepmeier of Hamilton County will be assigned as special prosecutor to the case.

EARLIER: Two news conferences will be held today to address the fatal officer-involved shooting at the Beavercreek Walmart.

John Crawford III was shot while holding a BB/pellet air rifle he picked up in the Walmart store on Aug. 5. A Riverside couple called 911 and said that Crawford was "waving it around" and "pointing it at people." Beavercreek police responded, and shot and killed Crawford.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen K. Haller will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. in Xenia, according to their announcement.

The attorney for Crawford's family will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. today in Dayton.

The attorney, Michael Wright, said he will address questions about the video footage from the Walmart store that the family was able to view. That footage covered about five minutes and their news release says it showed Crawford holding the BB gun like a cane, and being shot "on sight, without any warning," according to his announcement.

- See more at: DeWine discusses Walmart shooting investigation | Dayton, OH News | www.whio.com

 

[dirtysanchez]

lol what the fuck is that

 

[ImmortalLowlife]

It's long but it's worth a watch, fuckin laws is getting out of control.

 

[StillHustlin]

No charges for LASD deputy who fatally struck cyclist while typing on computer

Milton Olin Jr., an entertainment attorney and former Napster executive who was killed Dec. 8, 2013 after his bicycle was struck by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's patrol car.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges against a sheriff’s deputy who was apparently distracted by his mobile digital computer when he fatally struck cyclist Milton Olin Jr. in Calabasas in December, officials announced Wednesday.

Olin, a prominent entertainment attorney, was riding his bicycle in the 22400 block of Mulholland Highway when he was struck by L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Wood’s patrol car in the bicycle lane on the afternoon of Dec. 8. The former A&M Records and Napster executive reportedly landed on the windshield and shattered the glass before rolling off the patrol car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wood, a 16-year department veteran, was returning from a fire call at Calabasas High School at the time of the collision.

“Wood entered the bicycle lane as a result of inattention caused by typing into his (Mobile Digital Computer),” according to the declination letter prepared by the Justice System Integrity Division of the District Attorney’s Office and released Wednesday. “He was responding to a deputy who was inquiring whether the fire investigation had been completed. Since Wood was acting within the course and scope of his duties when he began to type his response, under Vehicle Code section 23123.5, he acted lawfully.”

The law does not prohibit officers from using an electronic wireless communications device in the performance of their duties, according to the letter. Furthermore, prosecutors said it was “reasonable” that Wood would have felt that an immediate response was necessary so that a Calabasas deputy wouldn’t unnecessarily respond to the high school.

 

[Defy]

Atlanta police officer killed woman, lit her on fire after ‘romantic encounter’: cops

Tahreem Zeus Rana, 23, was caught Thursday morning trying to board a flight to Mexico, possibly en route to India. The three-year police veteran met Vernicia Woodard, 26, online before kidnapping her, killing her and lighting her on fire, police in suburban Hapeville, Ga., said.

BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, August 29, 2014, 4:51 PM A A A


Tahreem Zeus Rana, 23, had been on the Atlanta police force since 2011 and had a clean disciplinary file.

An Atlanta police officer was busted trying to skip town Thursday, nearly one week after he kidnapped a woman he met online, took her to a secluded suburban area, shot her and then set her dead body on fire, police said.

Tahreem Zeus Rana, 23, was caught around 8:30 a.m. Thursday after he tried to board a flight to Monterey, Mexico, possibly en route to India, WSB-TV reported.

The murder suspect was on the no-fly list, cops said, and has since been fired.

"We are shocked and saddened by these developments,” the department said of the three-year veteran. “The officer has been relieved from duty, and is in a non-enforcement status."

Vernicia Woodard, 26, was killed sometime last Friday after meeting up with Rana, police said.

Rana allegedly used his service weapon to kill the woman, cops said.


Rana met 26-year-old Vernicia Woodard on Backpage.com for a “romantic exchange” in Rana’s hometown of Hapeville, a southern Atlanta suburb, police there said. He took the woman to a rural part of the town, shot her several times, then lit her on fire, police said.

A city worker found the burning body on Elm Street the morning of Aug. 22, the news station reported.

Rana was arrested trying to flee the country Thursday morning. He was considered the prime suspect as of Wednesday.
CBS46
Rana was arrested trying to flee the country Thursday morning. He was considered the prime suspect as of Wednesday.
"He took her to a secluded area to do the crime and then, after killing her, used some kind of fuel to light her body on fire," Hapeville police Detective Stephen Cushing told the station.

Police believe he used his service weapon to kill the Woodard, mother to an 8-year-old. He became the prime suspect after the woman’s phone records led investigators to Backpage.com and eventually Rana, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.


The murder comes as a shock to Hapeville police officers, who recalled watching Rana grow up in the community. He had a clean disciplinary file.

"I've been a police officer in city of Hapeville for 15 years and actually saw this young man grow up and heard him say, 'When I grow up, I want to be a police officer," Det. Cushing told the station.

Rana faces charges of murder, arson, kidnapping and tampering with evidence. He’s next due in court Sept. 12.

"Being someone who works in law enforcement ... it hurts a lot more to know that it was somebody in law enforcement," Woodard's sister, Tashara Gilyard, told WSB as she held back tears.

 

[StillHustlin]

Five Miami Police Caught 'Flashing Emergency Lights' to Get to DONUTSRead more at LiveLeak.com - Busted! Five Miami Police Caught 'Flashing Emergency Lights' to Get to DONUTS!!!!!

 

[StillHustlin]

Tacoma police have been using a device in a car that can trick cell phones into connecting, then transfer all texts, call logs, and data transfers, within a half mile radius

The Tacoma Police Department sent out a press release Wednesday that began: “The Tacoma Police Department has a cell site simulator.”It was a bold statement given where the department was just two days earlier.

On Monday, Police Chief Don Ramsdell refused to talk to us about the existence of such a device, also known as a Stingray.The department’s spokeswoman wouldn’t talk either, requiring us to submit questions in writing so the department could be sure it didn’t break its nondisclosure agreement with the federal government in talking about the Stingray.

A “cell site simulator” is a mobile device that fits inside a car and tricks phones into connecting with it. It can scoop up records of every cellphone call, text message and data transfer within a half-mile radius.People whose records are scooped up don’t know it.

The Police Department says it doesn’t store data about innocent people. But it won’t explain the technology that sorts through data without storing it at least temporarily. The department is consulting with the feds to see what it can say.

 

[accompanied]

No Jail For Oklahoma Cop Who Lied About Beating Motorist
After admitting perjury in cover up of the beating of a motorist, Miami, Oklahoma police officer sentenced to unsupervised probation.

Payne beating Miami, Oklahoma police officer Teresa Lashmet will not spend any time in jail after admitting that she committed perjury to cover up the brutal beating of a motorist that was caught on a dashcam video. Ottawa County Judge Bill Culver on Tuesday imposed a sentence of unsupervised probation for three years, deferred, and a $300 fine after she entered a plea of no contest to a charge of "outraging public decency."

In 2012, Lashmet was hailed as Miami's first female police officer, and she had high hopes of making detective. That hope died after she participated in the brutal beating of Jerry Dean Payne Jr. on May 14, 2013. She claimed that Payne was speeding and driving erratically. The officers signaled Payne's 2004 Ford F-150 pickup truck to pull over. He stopped in the parking lot of the Stables Casino.

"Stop, stop the car right now," Oklahoma Highway Patrol Officer Kenny McKee yelled as Payne's truck came to a rest in a parking spot.

Payne immediately opened the door to his truck and stuck both of his hands out the door so that they were clearly visible in the patrol car's headlights. Officer Lashmet approached with her gun drawn. She then helped McKee yank Payne out of the truck and face first onto the pavement. A third officer, Jeremy Myers, ran up to Payne and kicked him in the face while he was subdued.

No Jail For Oklahoma Cop Who Lied About Beating Motorist

 

[StillHustlin]

US: For-Profit Probation Tramples Rights of Poor

 

[StillHustlin]

Civil Forfeiture Shakedowns

Civil forfeiture cash seizures
Under the federal Equitable Sharing Program, police have seized $2.5 billion since 2001 from people who were not charged with a crime and without a warrant being issued. Police reasoned that the money was crime-related. About $1.7 billion was sent back to law enforcement agencies for their use.

Amount seized by all agencies (in millions)

To examine the scope of asset forfeiture since 9/11, The Post analyzed a database of hundreds of thousands of seizure records at the Justice Department, reviewed hundreds of federal court cases, obtained internal records from training firms and interviewed scores of police officers, prosecutors and motorists.

The Post found:

•There have been 61,998 cash seizures made on highways and elsewhere since 9/11 without search warrants or indictments through the Equitable Sharing Program, totaling more than $2.5 billion. State and local authorities kept more than $1.7 billion of that while Justice, Homeland Security and other federal agencies received $800 million. Half of the seizures were below $8,800.

•Only a sixth of the seizures were legally challenged, in part because of the costs of legal action against the government. But in 41 percent of cases — 4,455 — where there was a challenge, the government agreed to return money. The appeals process took more than a year in 40 percent of those cases and often required owners of the cash to sign agreements not to sue police over the seizures.

•Hundreds of state and local departments and drug task forces appear to rely on seized cash, despite a federal ban on the money to pay salaries or otherwise support budgets. The Post found that 298 departments and 210 task forces have seized the equivalent of 20 percent or more of their annual budgets since 2008.

•Agencies with police known to be participating in the Black Asphalt intelligence network have seen a 32 percent jump in seizures beginning in 2005, three times the rate of other police departments. Desert Snow-trained officers reported more than $427 million in cash seizures during highway stops in just one five-year period, according to company officials. More than 25,000 police have belonged to Black Asphalt, company officials said.

•State law enforcement officials in Iowa and Kansas prohibited the use of the Black Asphalt network because of concerns that it might not be a legal law enforcement tool. A federal prosecutor in Nebraska warned that Black Asphalt reports could violate laws governing civil liberties, the handling of sensitive law enforcement information and the disclosure of pretrial information to defendants. But officials at Justice and Homeland Security continued to use it.

 

[S.SAVAGE]

 

[StillHustlin]

Cops fist-bump after shooting schizophrenic man 80 times over a BB Gun

 

[S.SAVAGE]

I love this type of shit tho, muhfucekrs tryin to be slick & get past constitutional rights n shit ...they love doing that type of shit.



lol
"Black police showin out for the white cop!"

 

[StillHustlin]

LAPD Blames Predictive Software For Misconduct And Abuse, Rather Than Its Own Disinterest In Holding Officers Accountable

As long as we're heading into an age of predictive policing, it's good to know that some police departments are willing to turn the ThoughtCrime scanner on their own employees.

Police departments across the U.S. are using technology to try to identify problem officers before their misbehavior harms innocent people, embarrasses their employer, or invites a costly lawsuit — from citizens or the federal government.

Of course, some of this is just "insider threat" detection that ousts whistleblowers before they can blow the whistle and punishes employees for not adhering to the prevailing mindset. Nothing about this software is anywhere close to perfect, but it's still being used to (hopefully) head off police misconduct before it occurs. But what the system flags doesn't seem to be stopping cops before they do something regrettable.

The systems track factors such as how often officers are involved in shootings, get complaints, use sick days and get into car accidents. When officers hit a specific threshold, they're supposed to be flagged and supervisors notified so appropriate training or counseling can be assigned.

Proponents of the system point out that its largest value is as a deterrent. Even so, it's still relatively worthless.

The Los Angeles Police Department agreed to set up their $33 million early warning systems after the so-called Rampart scandal in which an elite anti-gang unit was found to have beaten and framed suspected gang members. The system was then implemented in 2007.

The LAPD's inspector general found in a recent review that the system was seemingly ineffective in identifying officers who ultimately were fired. The report looked at 748 "alerts" over a four-month period and found the agency took little action in the majority of cases and only required training for 1.3 percent, or 10 alerts, of them.

The LAPD presents this as a software failure -- and some of it is. What's being flagged isn't necessarily indicative of potential misconduct. But beyond the algorithm, there's this integral part which is being ignored.

Even the IG's report notices nothing's being done. 748 "alerts" only resulted in action on 10 of them. The LAPD is trying to portray this as a software failure, most likely in hopes of ditching the system that was forced on it by its own bad behavior. (The irony here is that police departments will argue that predictive policing software doesn't work on cops but does work on citizens.)

read more

 

[StillHustlin]

Texas Cops Brutalize 4'10' 70 Pound Teen Girl For Talking On Cell Phone At School

 

[gimmefreemusic]

Texas Cops Brutalize 4'10' 70 Pound Teen Girl For Talking On Cell Phone At School

lol everyday america looks more and more pathetic.

 

[BUTCHER 206]

LAPD Confuses Black Actress Kissing White Husband for Prostitute


http://m.mic.com/articles/98826/lapd-confuses-black-actress-kissing-white-husband-for-prostitute