COPWATCH
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Life sentence for former cop who admitted 'intentionally' shooting wife and stranger
Posted: Apr 28, 2017 6:55 AM
Updated: Apr 28, 2017 10:02 AM
By Catherine Holland
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -
The former Phoenix police officer who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing his wife and a stranger who tried to help her was sentenced natural life in prison on two counts of first-degree murder Friday.
Christopher Glen Wright, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in late February.
"This plea ensures the defendant will be held accountable for his actions in the unjustified taking of innocent human life,” Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery at the time. “His continuing crass attitude towards the harm he caused to other family members and the loss to our community calls for significant punishment.”
It all started with a fight between the couple at their Mesa home on May 31, 2016.
Nasbah Laverne Wriqht called 911 at about 3 a.m. and told police that she was trying to prevent her husband from taking her vehicle. She wound up getting into the vehicle with Wright.
Wright told police Nasbah again called 911. That’s when he decided to crash the SUV in an attempt to kill her.
It didn’t work. Nasbah got out of the wrecked SUV at Loop 202 and McKellips in Mesa, ran to a parked pickup truck and asked the driver, Tomas Olivas Orneals, for help.
“Christopher said he grabbed his loaded rifle and intentionally shot the male driver and then his wife,” according to the police report.
Those shots were recorded by the second 911 call. Investigators recovered 20 spent shell casings from the scene.
While speaking with detectives, Wright talked about his troubled marriage, calling his wife a “cheating [expletive].”
Wright initially surrendered without incident, but according to the police report, he tried to escape.
“Christopher had been aggressive, kicking at the door and windows, but had complied with initial commands to stop,” the report reads. “Christopher had to be tased and pepper sprayed in an effort to regain control from his attempt to escape from the officers.”
Posted: Apr 28, 2017 6:55 AM
Updated: Apr 28, 2017 10:02 AM
By Catherine Holland
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -
The former Phoenix police officer who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing his wife and a stranger who tried to help her was sentenced natural life in prison on two counts of first-degree murder Friday.
Christopher Glen Wright, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in late February.
"This plea ensures the defendant will be held accountable for his actions in the unjustified taking of innocent human life,” Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery at the time. “His continuing crass attitude towards the harm he caused to other family members and the loss to our community calls for significant punishment.”
It all started with a fight between the couple at their Mesa home on May 31, 2016.
Nasbah Laverne Wriqht called 911 at about 3 a.m. and told police that she was trying to prevent her husband from taking her vehicle. She wound up getting into the vehicle with Wright.
Wright told police Nasbah again called 911. That’s when he decided to crash the SUV in an attempt to kill her.
It didn’t work. Nasbah got out of the wrecked SUV at Loop 202 and McKellips in Mesa, ran to a parked pickup truck and asked the driver, Tomas Olivas Orneals, for help.
“Christopher said he grabbed his loaded rifle and intentionally shot the male driver and then his wife,” according to the police report.
Those shots were recorded by the second 911 call. Investigators recovered 20 spent shell casings from the scene.
While speaking with detectives, Wright talked about his troubled marriage, calling his wife a “cheating [expletive].”
Wright initially surrendered without incident, but according to the police report, he tried to escape.
“Christopher had been aggressive, kicking at the door and windows, but had complied with initial commands to stop,” the report reads. “Christopher had to be tased and pepper sprayed in an effort to regain control from his attempt to escape from the officers.”
Texas police officer who killed black teen could spend rest of his life in prison
A Texas police officer turned himself in on Friday after he was charged with murder in the shooting death of a 15-year-old.
Roy Durwood Oliver, a patrol officer in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs since July 2011, was released on $300,000 bail.
While dispatched on complaints about drunk teenagers at a party last weekend, Oliver fired his rifle at a car full of teenagers who were leaving, according to investigators, killing Jordan Edwards.
The police department fired Oliver on Tuesday.
If convicted of the murder charge, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. In a statement released Friday, Jordan’s family said the charge “brings hope that the justice system will bend against the overwhelming weight of our frustration.”
A funeral for the Mesquite High School freshman is scheduled for Saturday.
Because Jordan*was black, the shooting has thrust the North Texas town of 25,000 into the*ongoing debate about whether police are too quick to use deadly force on blacks and other minorities.
Earlier in the week, activists decried an announcement by federal authorities that they would not prosecute two white Louisiana police officers in the fatal shooting of a black man, Alton Sterling.
The decision in Sterling’s death, which occurred July 2016, shows how difficult it can be to bring charges against officers in such cases. But activists say they are worried that the Department of Justice under the new Trump administration may be especially less aggressive in investigating and pursuing such cases of holding police accountable. Last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that such investigations and edicts aimed at reforming problematic police departments “can reduce morale of the police officers.”
In the age of Trump, activists too have changed their approach to such shootings. In recent years, shootings like the one in Texas have often caused mass protests under the “Black Lives Matter” banner. But activists involved with the movement say they are beginning to shift their focus more toward policy and organizing locally and politically rather than simply on protests.
The Texas teen*is the youngest of the 339 people shot and killed by police so far in 2017, according to a Washington Post database tracking such shootings. At least 10 people shot and killed by police this year were under 18.
On April 29, Oliver and other officers were dispatched to a call about intoxicated teens at a house party. Police say that as officers dispersed the party, they heard gunshots outside. Then when officers went to investigate, they saw a car backing out of a parking spot. As officers approached the vehicle, police say it began to drive away. Oliver opened fire, striking Jordan, who was riding in the passenger seat.
Jordan was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Dallas County Medical Examiners Office said he was killed by a rifle wound to the head. His*family planned to bury him on Saturday.
Oliver was initially placed on administrative leave before he was fired just three days into the investigation. Parallel criminal and internal investigations are ongoing.
“The warrant was issued due to evidence that suggested Mr. Oliver intended to cause serious bodily injury and commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused the death of an individual,” Melinda Urbina, a public information officer with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement.
“The investigation into the death of Jordan Edwards will continue and does not conclude with the arrest of Roy Oliver,” the statement added.
Oliver, the second officer at the scene that night, “violated several department polices,” Balch Springs police spokesman Pedro Gonzalez said, without elaborating.
“After reviewing the findings, I have made the decision to terminate Roy Oliver’s employment with the Balch Springs Police Department,” Police Chief Jonathan Haber told reporters Tuesday evening. “My department will continue to be responsive, transparent and accountable.”
Police initially said that the vehicle reversed “aggressively” at the approaching officers, but they later retracted that statement and said that body camera video showed that the vehicle was driving away from officers when Oliver opened fire.
In the family’s statement, released Friday after a warrant was issued for Oliver’s arrest, attorney Lee Merritt called the charges “appropriate.”
“Although this does not take away the excruciating pain caused by the loss of a son, brother, and friend, the announcement that the appropriate warrant has been issued for the arrest of Roy Oliver on the charge of murder has brought a bit of reprieve in a time of intense [mourning],” the statement said.
As the officer’s murder case moves forward, Oliver has the right to appeal his termination. His attorney, Cindy Stormer, called for patience in a statement provided to the Dallas Morning News.
Texas police officer who killed black teen could spend rest of his life in prison
A Texas police officer turned himself in on Friday after he was charged with murder in the shooting death of a 15-year-old.
Roy Durwood Oliver, a patrol officer in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs since July 2011, was released on $300,000 bail.
While dispatched on complaints about drunk teenagers at a party last weekend, Oliver fired his rifle at a car full of teenagers who were leaving, according to investigators, killing Jordan Edwards.
The police department fired Oliver on Tuesday.
If convicted of the murder charge, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. In a statement released Friday, Jordan’s family said the charge “brings hope that the justice system will bend against the overwhelming weight of our frustration.”
A funeral for the Mesquite High School freshman is scheduled for Saturday.
Because Jordan*was black, the shooting has thrust the North Texas town of 25,000 into the*ongoing debate about whether police are too quick to use deadly force on blacks and other minorities.
Earlier in the week, activists decried an announcement by federal authorities that they would not prosecute two white Louisiana police officers in the fatal shooting of a black man, Alton Sterling.
The decision in Sterling’s death, which occurred July 2016, shows how difficult it can be to bring charges against officers in such cases. But activists say they are worried that the Department of Justice under the new Trump administration may be especially less aggressive in investigating and pursuing such cases of holding police accountable. Last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that such investigations and edicts aimed at reforming problematic police departments “can reduce morale of the police officers.”
In the age of Trump, activists too have changed their approach to such shootings. In recent years, shootings like the one in Texas have often caused mass protests under the “Black Lives Matter” banner. But activists involved with the movement say they are beginning to shift their focus more toward policy and organizing locally and politically rather than simply on protests.
The Texas teen*is the youngest of the 339 people shot and killed by police so far in 2017, according to a Washington Post database tracking such shootings. At least 10 people shot and killed by police this year were under 18.
On April 29, Oliver and other officers were dispatched to a call about intoxicated teens at a house party. Police say that as officers dispersed the party, they heard gunshots outside. Then when officers went to investigate, they saw a car backing out of a parking spot. As officers approached the vehicle, police say it began to drive away. Oliver opened fire, striking Jordan, who was riding in the passenger seat.
Jordan was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Dallas County Medical Examiners Office said he was killed by a rifle wound to the head. His*family planned to bury him on Saturday.
Oliver was initially placed on administrative leave before he was fired just three days into the investigation. Parallel criminal and internal investigations are ongoing.
“The warrant was issued due to evidence that suggested Mr. Oliver intended to cause serious bodily injury and commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused the death of an individual,” Melinda Urbina, a public information officer with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement.
“The investigation into the death of Jordan Edwards will continue and does not conclude with the arrest of Roy Oliver,” the statement added.
Oliver, the second officer at the scene that night, “violated several department polices,” Balch Springs police spokesman Pedro Gonzalez said, without elaborating.
“After reviewing the findings, I have made the decision to terminate Roy Oliver’s employment with the Balch Springs Police Department,” Police Chief Jonathan Haber told reporters Tuesday evening. “My department will continue to be responsive, transparent and accountable.”
Police initially said that the vehicle reversed “aggressively” at the approaching officers, but they later retracted that statement and said that body camera video showed that the vehicle was driving away from officers when Oliver opened fire.
In the family’s statement, released Friday after a warrant was issued for Oliver’s arrest, attorney Lee Merritt called the charges “appropriate.”
“Although this does not take away the excruciating pain caused by the loss of a son, brother, and friend, the announcement that the appropriate warrant has been issued for the arrest of Roy Oliver on the charge of murder has brought a bit of reprieve in a time of intense [mourning],” the statement said.
As the officer’s murder case moves forward, Oliver has the right to appeal his termination. His attorney, Cindy Stormer, called for patience in a statement provided to the Dallas Morning News.
Texas police officer who killed black teen could spend rest of his life in prison
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NotAllThere and NotAllThere
A cop in West Virginia was fired for doing the right thing and trying to talk down a black guy who wanted to die by cop assisted suicide. Another cop showed up and killed the dude. The department said the first cop should have shot him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/...firing-lawsuit.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
Before dawn on May 6, 2016, a white police officer found himself face-to-face with a young black man holding a silver pistol. The officer could have fired a shot, but he didn’t.
That officer, Stephen Mader, now 26, was dismissed weeks later by the Weirton, W.Va., police department. Now he is suing the city, arguing that his show of restraint cost him his job.
According to the complaint filed on Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia on Mr. Mader’s behalf, the officer was responding to a domestic-disturbance call when he found Ronald Williams Jr. brandishing a pistol.
Mr. Mader concluded, according to the complaint, that Mr. Williams was despondent but not aggressive, and appeared to be trying to commit “suicide by cop.” He repeatedly said to Mr. Mader: “Just shoot me.”
Mr. Mader tried to calm him down. But two more officers arrived on the scene within minutes, and one of them, upon seeing Mr. Williams waving the weapon, shot him dead.
Mr. Williams’s pistol was not loaded, it was later reported.
State police investigated the episode, and Mr. Mader, a former United States Marine who had served in Afghanistan, received notice of his termination on June 7. The notice cited his “apparent difficulties in critical incident reasoning.”
At a news conference one day later, a county prosecutor announced that the officer who had shot Mr. Williams was justified in doing so.
Photo
Mr. Mader, with his wife, Kaycie Mader, and their oldest son. Mr. Mader was a Marine, serving in Afghanistan, before joining the police force in Weirton, W.Va. Credit American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia
“Rather than respect Mr. Mader’s informed judgment and experience and his reasonable attempt to de-escalate the situation,” the A.C.L.U. complaint argued, “the City of Weirton, in a flawed effort to buttress the other officer’s use of deadly force, wrongfully terminated Mr. Mader’s employment.”
Mr. Mader had been with the Weirton police for only 11 months and was still a probationary employee when he was fired. His termination letter did not focus solely on the May 6 episode; instead, it said he had failed “to meet probationary standards of an officer.”
But Joseph Cohen, executive director of the A.C.L.U. of West Virginia, said the police were motivated in large part by Mr. Mader’s decision not to shoot Mr. Williams, and rushed the officer out of his position.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/...firing-lawsuit.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
Before dawn on May 6, 2016, a white police officer found himself face-to-face with a young black man holding a silver pistol. The officer could have fired a shot, but he didn’t.
That officer, Stephen Mader, now 26, was dismissed weeks later by the Weirton, W.Va., police department. Now he is suing the city, arguing that his show of restraint cost him his job.
According to the complaint filed on Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia on Mr. Mader’s behalf, the officer was responding to a domestic-disturbance call when he found Ronald Williams Jr. brandishing a pistol.
Mr. Mader concluded, according to the complaint, that Mr. Williams was despondent but not aggressive, and appeared to be trying to commit “suicide by cop.” He repeatedly said to Mr. Mader: “Just shoot me.”
Mr. Mader tried to calm him down. But two more officers arrived on the scene within minutes, and one of them, upon seeing Mr. Williams waving the weapon, shot him dead.
Mr. Williams’s pistol was not loaded, it was later reported.
State police investigated the episode, and Mr. Mader, a former United States Marine who had served in Afghanistan, received notice of his termination on June 7. The notice cited his “apparent difficulties in critical incident reasoning.”
At a news conference one day later, a county prosecutor announced that the officer who had shot Mr. Williams was justified in doing so.
Photo
Mr. Mader, with his wife, Kaycie Mader, and their oldest son. Mr. Mader was a Marine, serving in Afghanistan, before joining the police force in Weirton, W.Va. Credit American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia
“Rather than respect Mr. Mader’s informed judgment and experience and his reasonable attempt to de-escalate the situation,” the A.C.L.U. complaint argued, “the City of Weirton, in a flawed effort to buttress the other officer’s use of deadly force, wrongfully terminated Mr. Mader’s employment.”
Mr. Mader had been with the Weirton police for only 11 months and was still a probationary employee when he was fired. His termination letter did not focus solely on the May 6 episode; instead, it said he had failed “to meet probationary standards of an officer.”
But Joseph Cohen, executive director of the A.C.L.U. of West Virginia, said the police were motivated in large part by Mr. Mader’s decision not to shoot Mr. Williams, and rushed the officer out of his position.
Man dies during fight at motel with Rohnert Park police officers
A man died after he was shot with a Taser during a fight with two police officers attempting to arrest him Friday at a Rohnert Park motel, authorities said.
An attorney representing his family identified the man as Branch Wroth, a Cotati construction worker.
He was the older brother of Esa Wroth, a Forestville man who was paid $1.25 million by Sonoma County last year to settle an excessive force lawsuit after he was shot 23 times with a Taser while being booked into the jail on drunken driving charges.
Attorney Izaak Schwaiger said the similarities of the two incidents is “not lost” on the family.
“I don’t want to call it irony because it’s not the right word,” Schwaiger said. “The significance and the weirdness of having similar events is not lost on them. But it’s not first in their mind.”
Wroth was 41, according to voter registration records, which list a home in Forestville for his address. He had a 16-year-old son who did not live with him, Schwaiger said.
Wroth’s Facebook page said he graduated from El Molino High School.
Rohnert Park Public Safety officers on Friday responded to a call about 3:15 p.m. from a security guard reporting that a man staying at the Budget Inn was “acting strangely,” Sgt. Jeff Justice said in a statement issued late Friday night.
The man, who was alone in the room, was “incoherent and appeared to be in an altered state,” Justice said.
The man had an outstanding arrest warrant. He told the officers he had been poisoned with chemicals but the details were unclear, Justice said.
When the officers attempted to take him into custody, the man became combative, Justice said. One of the officers deployed his Taser and the officers forced him to the floor.
The man at that point stopped resisting and “became unresponsive,” Justice said. The officers immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and called for a fire and ambulance response.
Emergency services personnel were unable to revive the man, Justice said.
Rohnert Park authorities asked the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office to handle the investigation under established law enforcement protocols, Justice said.
Spencer Crum, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman, did not release additional details Saturday, citing the ongoing investigation. He also declined to identify the man who died during the altercation.
But Schwaiger, the family attorney, said Esa Wroth was notified of his brother’s death by sheriff’s deputies who went to Esa’s Forestville home late Friday.
Schwaiger said he did not know why Branch was at the hotel where police found him.
“We know he didn’t have to die, but we don’t know much more than that,” Schwaiger said.
Schwaiger represented Esa Wroth in his lawsuit against the county for excessive force by correctional deputies inside the jail. Esa had been taken into custody on Jan. 2, 2013, following his arrest for drunken driving. He became uncooperative while being booked at the jail and resisted efforts to subdue him, jail officials said. Correctional deputies hit him to gain compliance and shocked him with Tasers during a struggle, they said.
The incident was captured on a 29-minute videotape. On the eve of the trial, prosecutors dismissed resisting and assault charges against Wroth in exchange for his plea to an alcohol-related reckless driving offense.
A man died after he was shot with a Taser during a fight with two police officers attempting to arrest him Friday at a Rohnert Park motel, authorities said.
An attorney representing his family identified the man as Branch Wroth, a Cotati construction worker.
He was the older brother of Esa Wroth, a Forestville man who was paid $1.25 million by Sonoma County last year to settle an excessive force lawsuit after he was shot 23 times with a Taser while being booked into the jail on drunken driving charges.
Attorney Izaak Schwaiger said the similarities of the two incidents is “not lost” on the family.
“I don’t want to call it irony because it’s not the right word,” Schwaiger said. “The significance and the weirdness of having similar events is not lost on them. But it’s not first in their mind.”
Wroth was 41, according to voter registration records, which list a home in Forestville for his address. He had a 16-year-old son who did not live with him, Schwaiger said.
Wroth’s Facebook page said he graduated from El Molino High School.
Rohnert Park Public Safety officers on Friday responded to a call about 3:15 p.m. from a security guard reporting that a man staying at the Budget Inn was “acting strangely,” Sgt. Jeff Justice said in a statement issued late Friday night.
The man, who was alone in the room, was “incoherent and appeared to be in an altered state,” Justice said.
The man had an outstanding arrest warrant. He told the officers he had been poisoned with chemicals but the details were unclear, Justice said.
When the officers attempted to take him into custody, the man became combative, Justice said. One of the officers deployed his Taser and the officers forced him to the floor.
The man at that point stopped resisting and “became unresponsive,” Justice said. The officers immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and called for a fire and ambulance response.
Emergency services personnel were unable to revive the man, Justice said.
Rohnert Park authorities asked the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office to handle the investigation under established law enforcement protocols, Justice said.
Spencer Crum, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman, did not release additional details Saturday, citing the ongoing investigation. He also declined to identify the man who died during the altercation.
But Schwaiger, the family attorney, said Esa Wroth was notified of his brother’s death by sheriff’s deputies who went to Esa’s Forestville home late Friday.
Schwaiger said he did not know why Branch was at the hotel where police found him.
“We know he didn’t have to die, but we don’t know much more than that,” Schwaiger said.
Schwaiger represented Esa Wroth in his lawsuit against the county for excessive force by correctional deputies inside the jail. Esa had been taken into custody on Jan. 2, 2013, following his arrest for drunken driving. He became uncooperative while being booked at the jail and resisted efforts to subdue him, jail officials said. Correctional deputies hit him to gain compliance and shocked him with Tasers during a struggle, they said.
The incident was captured on a 29-minute videotape. On the eve of the trial, prosecutors dismissed resisting and assault charges against Wroth in exchange for his plea to an alcohol-related reckless driving offense.
Error | WFTV
Wowserz, now we charging 8 year olds as felons, way to go Murica
Police: Girl, 8, faces felony charges after vehicle break-ins in Palm Bay
by: Ken Tyndall Updated: May 16, 2017 - 7:02 AM
© 2017 Cox Media Group.
PALM BAY, Fla. - An 8-year-old Jupiter Elementary School student was facing felony charges Monday after car burglaries in Palm Bay, police said.
The girl was walking from the park with two other, older children on May 5 when they allegedly decided to break into several vehicles, a Palm Bay arrest report said.
The three are accused of breaking into four vehicles.
According to the report, one of the victims showed police surveillance video of one of the break-ins.
The girl was identified as a suspect and initially told officers she was not the girl in the video, the report said.
Her mother confirmed to investigators that the girl in the video was her daughter, the report said.
She is facing charges of burglary and attempted theft.
Wowserz, now we charging 8 year olds as felons, way to go Murica
Police: Girl, 8, faces felony charges after vehicle break-ins in Palm Bay
by: Ken Tyndall Updated: May 16, 2017 - 7:02 AM
© 2017 Cox Media Group.
PALM BAY, Fla. - An 8-year-old Jupiter Elementary School student was facing felony charges Monday after car burglaries in Palm Bay, police said.
The girl was walking from the park with two other, older children on May 5 when they allegedly decided to break into several vehicles, a Palm Bay arrest report said.
The three are accused of breaking into four vehicles.
According to the report, one of the victims showed police surveillance video of one of the break-ins.
The girl was identified as a suspect and initially told officers she was not the girl in the video, the report said.
Her mother confirmed to investigators that the girl in the video was her daughter, the report said.
She is facing charges of burglary and attempted theft.
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Southern California D.A. Admits Jailhouse Snitches Are 'Probably' Liars
LOS ANGELES ― Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, whose office faces three investigations over the use of jail informants, told a “60 Minutes” reporter that those informants probably shouldn’t be believed. Yet Rackauckas’ office has been using jailhouse snitches to help secure convictions for decades, presenting them as credible witnesses with credible evidence.
The interview comes from a preview of a “60 Minutes” segment that will air Sunday on CBS about the county’s unfolding jail informant scandal, which HuffPost has been reporting on since it began to explode in 2014. In the segment, “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviews longtime Orange County informant Mark Cleveland about the ways he has helped Rackauckas and his office.
Cleveland tells the news show that for years he has been placed in jail cells with or near defendants whom prosecutors had targeted in attempts to obtain damaging information that could secure convictions.
Cleveland claims in the interview that he worked directly with Rackauckas and would even call him personally about information he’d obtained. Cleveland says Rackauckas expressed his appreciation and helped him obtain reduced sentences for multiple crimes.
Rackauckas reportedly told Alfonsi that there is no jail informant program in the county, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. A recent California appeals court decision found that there is indeed an informant program. The court also wrote, “The magnitude of the systemic problems cannot be overlooked.”
The district attorney told Alfonsi that he remembers Cleveland being “an informant many years ago in a case or two” but that it’s a “fantasy” that he ever called Rackauckas on the phone.
“I think you should assume you’re talking to an informant, and if he’s talking, he’s probably lying,” Rackauckus said.
more here
LOS ANGELES ― Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, whose office faces three investigations over the use of jail informants, told a “60 Minutes” reporter that those informants probably shouldn’t be believed. Yet Rackauckas’ office has been using jailhouse snitches to help secure convictions for decades, presenting them as credible witnesses with credible evidence.
The interview comes from a preview of a “60 Minutes” segment that will air Sunday on CBS about the county’s unfolding jail informant scandal, which HuffPost has been reporting on since it began to explode in 2014. In the segment, “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviews longtime Orange County informant Mark Cleveland about the ways he has helped Rackauckas and his office.
Cleveland tells the news show that for years he has been placed in jail cells with or near defendants whom prosecutors had targeted in attempts to obtain damaging information that could secure convictions.
Cleveland claims in the interview that he worked directly with Rackauckas and would even call him personally about information he’d obtained. Cleveland says Rackauckas expressed his appreciation and helped him obtain reduced sentences for multiple crimes.
Rackauckas reportedly told Alfonsi that there is no jail informant program in the county, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. A recent California appeals court decision found that there is indeed an informant program. The court also wrote, “The magnitude of the systemic problems cannot be overlooked.”
The district attorney told Alfonsi that he remembers Cleveland being “an informant many years ago in a case or two” but that it’s a “fantasy” that he ever called Rackauckas on the phone.
“I think you should assume you’re talking to an informant, and if he’s talking, he’s probably lying,” Rackauckus said.
more here
16-Year-Old Commits Suicide After School Cop Threatens Him with Child Porn Charges
"I think they wanted to scare him straight. Instead, they scared him to death."
It took school and police officials just a few minutes to extinguish 16-year-old Corey Walgren's promising future. All they did was utter two words: child pornography.
Corey, a junior at Naperville North High School in Naperville, Illinois, was a perfectly normal, social, good-looking 16-year-old. He was an honor roll student with dreams of attending a Big Ten college. He had typical interests for a teenager boy: hockey, fishing, and, yes, girls.
Corey committed suicide in January, just hours after a school resource officer confronted him about an alleged illegal item on his cell phone—a recording of Corey having sex with a female classmate. The girl had informed a dean at the school that she believed Corey had played the recording for his friends (it's not clear whether he did), which prompted the authorities to summon Corey to the principal's office. They called his mother and told both of them that Corey was being investigated for possession of child pornography.
Corey left the meeting, headed to a nearby parking garage, and jumped.
That's all according to a heartbreaking story in The Chicago Tribune, which obtained police records of the case and spoke with Corey's parents about his death.
"I think they wanted to scare him straight," Corey's mother, Maureen Walgren, told the Tribune. "Instead, they scared him to death."
read more at link
"I think they wanted to scare him straight. Instead, they scared him to death."
It took school and police officials just a few minutes to extinguish 16-year-old Corey Walgren's promising future. All they did was utter two words: child pornography.
Corey, a junior at Naperville North High School in Naperville, Illinois, was a perfectly normal, social, good-looking 16-year-old. He was an honor roll student with dreams of attending a Big Ten college. He had typical interests for a teenager boy: hockey, fishing, and, yes, girls.
Corey committed suicide in January, just hours after a school resource officer confronted him about an alleged illegal item on his cell phone—a recording of Corey having sex with a female classmate. The girl had informed a dean at the school that she believed Corey had played the recording for his friends (it's not clear whether he did), which prompted the authorities to summon Corey to the principal's office. They called his mother and told both of them that Corey was being investigated for possession of child pornography.
Corey left the meeting, headed to a nearby parking garage, and jumped.
That's all according to a heartbreaking story in The Chicago Tribune, which obtained police records of the case and spoke with Corey's parents about his death.
"I think they wanted to scare him straight," Corey's mother, Maureen Walgren, told the Tribune. "Instead, they scared him to death."
read more at link
Former HISD officer admits to fondling middle school student
A former Houston Independent School District police officer accused of fondling a 14-year-old student at the school where he worked will spend five years on probation after pleading guilty Wednesday to having an improper relationship with a student.
Jacob Ryan Delgadillo, 30, was charged with two felony counts of indecency with a child, accused of having the girl perform oral sex on him and fondling her at Cullen Middle school on Nov. 18, 2015.
Delgadillo said little as he pleaded guilty to state District Judge Marc Carter, but acknowledged that he will have to surrender his law enforcement license as part of the plea deal.
Facing a possible punishment of 20 years in prison, he agreed to spend five years on deferred adjudication, a form of probation that means he will not have a conviction on his record if he successfully completes the probation. He also will not have to register as sex offender.
If he violates the terms, which include not contacting the girl or having any contact with minors, he could be sentenced to the maximum punishment.
His attorney, Paul Aman, declined to comment after the brief hearing.
A former Houston Independent School District police officer accused of fondling a 14-year-old student at the school where he worked will spend five years on probation after pleading guilty Wednesday to having an improper relationship with a student.
Jacob Ryan Delgadillo, 30, was charged with two felony counts of indecency with a child, accused of having the girl perform oral sex on him and fondling her at Cullen Middle school on Nov. 18, 2015.
Delgadillo said little as he pleaded guilty to state District Judge Marc Carter, but acknowledged that he will have to surrender his law enforcement license as part of the plea deal.
Facing a possible punishment of 20 years in prison, he agreed to spend five years on deferred adjudication, a form of probation that means he will not have a conviction on his record if he successfully completes the probation. He also will not have to register as sex offender.
If he violates the terms, which include not contacting the girl or having any contact with minors, he could be sentenced to the maximum punishment.
His attorney, Paul Aman, declined to comment after the brief hearing.
Your Suppose To Be Innocent While Awaiting Trial. I Was In Jail And Them CO's Came And Scoped My Head With Some Buzzers And Trimmed My Shit Funny In The Front While I Was Asleep. I Went To The Big Homies In The Pod The Next Morning, And Fo Shiggidy, They Was At My Cell The Night Before.
And Dudes Had Magazine Pages Of Women (Like King Magazine) Plastered All Over There Walls, I'm Talking 50 Fucking Photos To Each Cell, And CO Comes In My Cell And Rips My Jesus And Israel Map Photos Off The Wall.
They Tried To Make It Hard For Me, But I Was Marquee. So I Done What The Lines Proceeded, And Scurried Out The Mutha Fucka Innocent For Bustin At The Cops.
Edit Mo Cop Shit: When I Fired On Them, They Was In My House. I Had An Automatic And Had Set Up A Barricade Which They Were Trying To Bust Through. They Started To Ram The Door, And I Said "I'll Give You 3 Times Before I Open Up Firing On Your Bitch Asses And That's Number 1" On The Third Time "Click Clack" And All I Hear Is "He's Hit, He's Hit, Pull Him Into The Kitchen, Everybody Out The House." I Had Them Running like Bitches.
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