High Ranking Police Folk Allegedly Behaving Badly

[CBH99]

Not wtf. But, for readers with an interest in restraint + ketamine.

In today's court room news,

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/20/us/elijah-mcclain-death-trial/index.html

I dunno man, seems pretty wtf to me...

Kid walking home from a convenience store with an iced tea. Not a criminal, nor was he doing anything shady at the time, yet somehow got choked unconscious & then injected with ketamine, and died...

It falls into the "wtf" category in my mind

 

[CBH99]

What a mess.

Holy moly batman...this too falls into the "wtf" category!!

50 cops for a town of 250 residents? 5100 traffic citations in one year, for a town that size?

I'm utterly shocked the cops weren't ran out of town before they got fired. Those citizens must be awfully happy about having to pay those...

 

[brihard]

Holy moly batman...this too falls into the "wtf" category!!

50 cops for a town of 250 residents? 5100 traffic citations in one year, for a town that size?

I'm utterly shocked the cops weren't ran out of town before they got fired. Those citizens must be awfully happy about having to pay those...

They wouldn’t be hitting locals, I suspect, but going after people driving through. A lot of very small town departments in the US fund themselves that way.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Holy moly batman...this too falls into the "wtf" category!!

50 cops for a town of 250 residents? 5100 traffic citations in one year, for a town that size?

I'm utterly shocked the cops weren't ran out of town before they got fired. Those citizens must be awfully happy about having to pay those...

It's unlikely that the "citizens" of Coffee City were the usual targets of that ticket mill. Small town Texas (and some bigger jurisdictions) used to be notorious for speed traps (it probably still is). Over thirty years ago, I was at Fort Sam Houston (San Antonio). One of the items about which we were briefed warned when we reported in was the abundance of speed traps, with one in particular being on a short stretch of road that led to Camp Bullis (the training area, located north of the city - Fort Sam is in the centre of the city). There was only a short stretch of the highway that was in the jurisdiction of a particular town, but there was always a car ready to pounce on someone** just over (debatable?) the speed limit (seems that they kept it up).

I think I drove through Coffee City once, on the way to Shreveport LA but I must have blinked and missed the sights.


** It's been built up considerably since then (1989/90). Back then, there wasn't much past that point except the road leading into the Camp Bullis cantonment area, so most of those nabbed by the speed trap were military. I was stopped once (actually twice on the same evening going each way, but that's another story).

 

[RangerRay]

In another thread the problems with small town American policing was discussed. Attempting to consolidate (as much as possible) discussion about policing WTF moments, I'll put this new twist on the problem here.




Welcome to ****** PD

Though not in the same league as Goodhue, Minn (with a population of 1,250 and formerly with a PD of 2 full-time and 3 part-time officers), Coffee City, Tx (population of 250 249 and 50 full-time and reserve police officers) also finds itself without a police force. Only this time it wasn't the department that quit, it was the City Council firing (suspending?) the entire PD.

Texas town with 50 cops for 250 people just disbanded its entire police force

Coffee City, a small Texas town famous for its speed trap, just disbanded its police force after an investigation found many cops had criminal pasts.

www.insider.com

Some county sheriffs down there can be dodgy AF as well.

Sheriff Glenn Palmer makes his own rules in Grant County

The Oregon standoff brought Palmer into a wider public eye when he sympathized with the protesters who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Controversy has now enveloped him and he faces a state criminal investigation.

www.oregonlive.com

 

[mariomike]

Kid walking home from a convenience store with an iced tea. Not a criminal, nor was he doing anything shady at the time, yet somehow got choked unconscious & then injected with ketamine, and died...

Right...

Originally, the District Attorny declined to bring criminal charges. But, a grand jury indicted the three police officers and two paramedics.

They face 32 counts in total, including reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault. All five have pleaded not guilty.

 

[dapaterson]

"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories."

And then, of course, there are the judges...

Judge shot up cars before road rage incident where he tried to push woman into traffic: Cops

Brian Noel Lovell, a judge in Oklahoma, allegedly shot up several parked cars in Texas before a road rage incident where he rammed a woman's vehicle and tried to push her into traffic.

lawandcrime.com

 

[dapaterson]

If you travel to attend the national memorial in Ottawa, you should probably try to avoid being charged with two counts of assault and one count of assault causing bodily harm while there, especially if you work in professional standards.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/windsor-police-officer-assault-1.6978957

 

[lenaitch]

If you travel to attend the national memorial in Ottawa, you should probably try to avoid being charged with two counts of assault and one count of assault causing bodily harm while there, especially if you work in professional standards.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/windsor-police-officer-assault-1.6978957

Six years in and already off the road into a support unit. Hmmm.

 

[brihard]

Six years in and already off the road into a support unit. Hmmm.

Also a Sgt. Likely he lateraled in from a different service. I’ve been unable to find who he was with before through casual googling.

 

[CBH99]

Right...

Originally, the District Attorny declined to bring criminal charges. But, a grand jury indicted the three police officers and two paramedics.

They face 32 counts in total, including reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault. All five have pleaded not guilty.

It blows my mind sometimes how shady & clearly incompetent (I'd bluntly say corrupt, but also realize there may be something that I've missed that is relevant) some folks are...

Like he didn't die from natural causes, that part has been made clear...

"He died from asphyxiation via choke hold? AND an overdose of ketamine? Golly gee, how did THAT happen!?"

"He was attacked by the police while walking home from the store, and wasn't committing any crimes when doing so?"

"The medics injected him with HOW MUCH KETAMINE!?"

"Nah, I'm not going to pursue any charges against these guys. It's Bob, and Larry!"

"Nothing to see here folks, nothing at all...move along now, go get some KFC or something...."




I'm glad everybody involved ended up charged. Big time. Poor kid...

 

[CBH99]

I know this isn't technically a police misconduct story, but the title of the article suggests it to be so & I'm not sure what other thread to post it to

I know what my opinion is, but am very curious to hear from others what they think

Canadian police won't investigate doctor for sterilizing Indigenous woman

Police in Canada say they will not pursue a criminal investigation into a recent case in which a doctor sterilized an Inuit woman without her consent.

apnews.com

 

[lenaitch]

Also a Sgt. Likely he lateraled in from a different service. I’ve been unable to find who he was with before through casual googling.

Ya, he listed in their 2016 Annual Report as an 'experienced hire'.

I know this isn't technically a police misconduct story, but the title of the article suggests it to be so & I'm not sure what other thread to post it to

I know what my opinion is, but am very curious to hear from others what they think

Canadian police won't investigate doctor for sterilizing Indigenous woman

Police in Canada say they will not pursue a criminal investigation into a recent case in which a doctor sterilized an Inuit woman without her consent.

apnews.com

Mixed. The doctor's defence would obviously be medical necessity. The victim seems to have no interest in participating in a criminal investigation. In Canada, we don't need a victim to 'file a complaint', but when you have an unwilling and uncooperative primary witness, coupled with a credible defence,your case isn't going to go far. Optically and tactically, the RCMP probably should have investigated, even laid a charge, and let the Crown decide on prospects of conviction. This response just seems to feed the ongoing racism allegations.

If nothing else, the doctor's professional regulator should be interested.

This is very similar to Ontario's policy of laying criminal charges in domestic incidents where prime facie evidence exists, regardless of the wishes of the participants.

 

[Booter]

I know this isn't technically a police misconduct story, but the title of the article suggests it to be so & I'm not sure what other thread to post it to

I know what my opinion is, but am very curious to hear from others what they think

Canadian police won't investigate doctor for sterilizing Indigenous woman

Police in Canada say they will not pursue a criminal investigation into a recent case in which a doctor sterilized an Inuit woman without her consent.

apnews.com

How far would you take it? Say they lay the charge because they are investigating now because we have to do SOMETHING- would you support a warrant for a the victim so the police could arrest them and force them to attend trial? Would you support using force to bring her to the court room?

Say now when they force this woman to attend that she kills herself afterwards- as has happened to me with a warrant for a victim in a domestic situation previously- can the police count on the unwavering support of you and the university professor from the story because after all- while you don’t NEED the victim- the defence is going to ask why they aren’t there and everyone kindve knows there is no conviction without her.

His utterance that he sterilized her won’t be admissible. It COULD be but it won’t be.

Should there be a police investigation and a request for a crown prosecutors opinion on whether there should be charges? Just to document all the evidence, if there is any- because again- she isn’t consenting to her medical records being opened up- but maybe they should have a file with everything on it. I would agree to that- I’m a proponent of investigating things until you hit a wall.

Then when crown decides not to pursue the charge it will be a perceived issue with the crown and not the police- will you then support the crown forcing every matter with An uncooperative victim, which is a lot, into the system- already overburdened- where they know there will be no convictions because they have victims and while not necessary it pretty much guarantees that you’re losing the file.

Now you have less time for the files where there are cooperative victims- where it’s already taking years to resolve their files- so you’re more slightly more likely to loose those too.

There are finite resources. The victim doesn’t want a criminal investigation that should be respected- the hospital should be activating internal protocols to examine the doctors previous conduct- to see if there are potentially other victims and if so those should be examined as well- and the victim here also have civil remedy if she decides to to sue.

 

[Booter]

This is very similar to Ontario's policy of laying criminal charges in domestic incidents where prime facie evidence exists, regardless of the wishes of the participants.

That policy took decades and tens of thousands of victims and pressure to create- and it’s still not without massive problems.

It’s also built on necessity from the dynamics of domestic relationships and what we know about the nature of victims and their dependence on the offenders.

None of those things are present in a case like this.

I dont know why they wouldn’t interview and move an investigation along until they hit a wall- because the victim won’t cooperate- so that they have as much evidence as they could recorded in perpetuity AND the victims wishes recorded.

That would be how most places I’m familiar with would do something. Maybe because it’s never actually been “reported” to police- maybe there is a cursory file from when it came to their attention and it’s just the way it looks when passed through a reporters vocabulary.

 

[CBH99]

My thoughts are in line with both of yours.

The optics unfortunately feed into the narrative that her race somehow had something to do with it, from what the doctor had done as well as the lack of a police investigation.

I don't believe that to be the case, and I hope I'm right.

But we have an uncooperative witness/victim, who won't file a complaint because she's 'too traumatized' from the hearing where I'm assuming she gave an account of her perception of what happened. While the complaint is not required, it absolutely helps a file come together when the victim is cooperative. And as pointed out, she refuses to allow access to her medical file.

So we have a client who doesn't want anything to do with a criminal investigation + I would think a credible defense from a surgeon who could quite possibly argue medical necessity.

(I'm not sure how many kids she was planning on having at her age...just an observation)



I suppose they could have done an investigation and left it with the crown to make the call, thereby letting the crown be subject to the pressure of the bad optics. But it wouldn't have changed anything overall.


Cheers lads

 

[Booter]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-doctor-kotaska-statement-of-defense-1.6382469

This news article has some other information in it- like what the doctors defence would have been if it had been criminally investigated.

 

[lenaitch]

That policy took decades and tens of thousands of victims and pressure to create- and it’s still not without massive problems.

It’s also built on necessity from the dynamics of domestic relationships and what we know about the nature of victims and their dependence on the offenders.

For sure (and we are getting way off topic here), but it removed any kind of discretion from the police, particularly those in rural areas who may know the backstories of the players who, for some, a good yelling a screaming match is Friday night. Now, one of parties gets a little out of hand and punches a hole in the wall, breaks a plate (that they are co-owner of) or pushes the other party aside (I know, technically an assault). Cops show up and haul them off. Because it is also policy to oppose bail, s/he is locked up for the night. If it's on a weekend and the area doesn't have a WASH (weekend and statutory holiday) court, they're off to a correctional facility until court on Monday where they will sit, blinking and wondering what the hell just happened. They want to get to work or go back home, so the court offers them an absolute discharge suspended until they make a charitable donation and, oh look, there's a couple of representatives sitting at the back of the courtroom.

Sure, it's enough of a shock to the system that they might not do it again, or the other party is equally shocked that they won't call the cops again, perhaps until it's too late next time, but it is a massive burden on the system and, in many cases, trying to kill a fly with a shotgun.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Meanwhile, on Van Isle ...

'You go very quiet': Central Saanich and Victoria officers among six women alleging on-the-job sexual harassment​

Ann Piper says she was several years into her job as a Central Saanich police officer when she heard two senior male officers — also senior members of her union — debate using a seized rifle to penetrate her.

“You go very quiet,” said Piper.

Piper said she spent years being quiet about the systemic sexual harassment she endured until she found the ability to speak up. She said she reported the harassment to the mayor of Central Saanich, the police board and the deputy chief at the time.

When nothing changed, her mental health started to deteriorate.

Piper is technically still a police officer but has been on medical leave with post-traumatic stress disorder for the past three and a half years. She has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks that are sometimes triggered by seeing a police car, she said.

Piper is one of six B.C. women, all current and former police officers, who have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against 13 B.C. municipalities alleging sexual assault, discrimination, harassment and bullying on the job.

'You go very quiet': Central Saanich and Victoria officers among six women alleging on-the-job sexual harassment

All the women are current or former police officers

www.timescolonist.com

 

[brihard]

Meanwhile, on Van Isle ...

'You go very quiet': Central Saanich and Victoria officers among six women alleging on-the-job sexual harassment​

Ann Piper says she was several years into her job as a Central Saanich police officer when she heard two senior male officers — also senior members of her union — debate using a seized rifle to penetrate her.

“You go very quiet,” said Piper.

Piper said she spent years being quiet about the systemic sexual harassment she endured until she found the ability to speak up. She said she reported the harassment to the mayor of Central Saanich, the police board and the deputy chief at the time.

When nothing changed, her mental health started to deteriorate.

Piper is technically still a police officer but has been on medical leave with post-traumatic stress disorder for the past three and a half years. She has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks that are sometimes triggered by seeing a police car, she said.

Piper is one of six B.C. women, all current and former police officers, who have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against 13 B.C. municipalities alleging sexual assault, discrimination, harassment and bullying on the job.

'You go very quiet': Central Saanich and Victoria officers among six women alleging on-the-job sexual harassment

All the women are current or former police officers

www.timescolonist.com

One of the plaintiffs is married to a good friend of mine. I’ve heard enough going back several years to know there’s quite a bit of truth to the sort of behaviour alleged in this claim.

This is likely to be a very long, expensive, and difficult process for the plaintiffs. I hope that they’re able to effect some change and forward progress within the profession through this, and that each of them are able to get some closure.