What Happened To Protect and Serve?

FBI Has Lowered Their Hiring Standards Allowing in Those Who Have Engaged in Acts of Bestiality

2026-08-29T08:48:53.000-05:00

The FBI previously refused to hire job applicants if they admitted to hiring sex workers or stealing from an employer — or engaging in acts of bestiality.

Today, those acts, which are mostly illegal across the country, are no longer automatic deal breakers for applicants to the nation's top law enforcement agency.

In June, the FBI quietly lowered some of the standards it uses when it conducts background checks on would-be federal agents and other personnel. According to multiple sources briefed on the matter, the FBI did so to facilitate hiring in some cases, even if candidates acknowledged they engaged in sexually deviant activities or stole from an employer.

The move comes as the FBI has lost scores of employees through firings, retirements and resignations since the start of the Trump administration.

Under specific circumstances, the FBI is willing to give candidates a pass on prostitution, as long as they have not hired sex workers three or more times, the sources told CBS News. And the hiring of the sex workers must not have taken place within the last 10 years, several of the sources added.

On this part of the guidance, the FBI spokesperson pointed out that a person may have hired a sex worker in a location where prostitution is legal.

A person who was in a position of "trust" who solicited sex would still be automatically disqualified from FBI employment, one of the sources with direct knowledge of the changes told CBS News.

Examples of positions of trust, according to the FBI's new policy, are those who work in the fields of public safety, education, health, social work, finance or law. Being a member of the military was not among the listed categories, and it was not clear if they would be treated as such.

Under the new eligibility rules, a person who stole from an employer is not automatically disqualified as long as the incident occurred more than three years ago, one of the sources with direct knowledge said.

The new standards also specifically address applicants who have engaged in past acts of bestiality or animal cruelty – saying they may still be considered for the bureau as long as the incidents took place before the age of 18, the sources said.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed that some changes to the eligibility requirements have taken place, but claimed they are limited to a narrow set of circumstances, such as in cases where a person was sexually abused with animals as a child.

"Any polygraph changes reflect a clear difference between a disqualified applicant who has engaged in criminal behavior, versus an applicant who may be subject to further evaluation based on rare exigent circumstances," the spokesperson said.

Sources told CBS News that the new eligibility requirements do not distinguish between candidates who were coerced into sexual activity with animals, as opposed to those who engaged in such acts willingly.

Former FBI agent James Davidson, who now leads the nonprofit FBI Integrity Project, opposes changing this standard.

"Bestiality is clearly a potential indication of a more serious emotional issue, and even in a circumstance where it is not, the pool of candidates should be extensive enough that the criteria should certainly not be eliminated," he said.

Changes communicated in June

The changes to the policy were communicated to FBI personnel who are involved in the background check process in a June 16 internal memo known as an "electronic communication," according to sources with direct knowledge of the memo's contents.

An archived FBI webpage from 2023 on special agent hiring requirements shows that "engagement in prostitution or bestiality" are listed as "automatic disqualifiers" for employment.

A similar version of that document on general eligibility rules currently posted on the FBI's website contains no references to bestiality or prostitution as being disqualifying.

The idea behind some of the new guidelines is to consider the whole person in the application process, as opposed to automatically disqualifying someone based on one factor, one of the sources said.

But current and former FBI employees have concerns the changes could lead the bureau to hire people with questionable backgrounds.

It could raise concerns about the integrity of agents who are tasked with investigating crimes such as human trafficking because those agents often have to testify in court, they said.

The FBI's new policy also runs counter to the views in an April 2015 memo issued to all Justice Department staff that prohibited the solicitation of prostitution. A DOJ spokesperson confirmed the memo remains in effect.

Although the memo does not explicitly address job applicants, the restrictions apply to all employees, contractors and subcontractors.

"This rule applies at all times during an individual's employment, including while off duty or on personal leave, and applies regardless of whether the activity is legal or tolerated in a particular jurisdiction, foreign or domestic," the Holder memo states.

The memo added that soliciting sex not only "invites extortion, blackmail and leaks of sensitive or classified information," but also "undermines the department's efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking."

Broader talent pool concerns

Former FBI agents and attorneys who handle employment issues for agents told CBS News the decision to lower the standards could lead the bureau to hire people with a history of aberrant behavior and points to broader challenges in recruiting qualified applicants.

"If they are lowering standards, it means the pool of candidates has sufficiently shrunk," Davidson said.

Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer who represents FBI agents and is familiar with the bureau's hiring practices, agreed.

"How can this not be reflective of a recruiting problem at the FBI if you are lowering your standards on issues like bestiality and prostitution," he said.

In a statement, an FBI spokesperson denied that the bureau is allowing people who have a history of criminal sexual acts to work there, and said the FBI "has and always will maintain some of the highest suitability standards for its applicants and employees in the U.S. government."

"Over the years, the FBI has had a number of applicants who suffered sexual abuse in their past, causing polygraph questions about prostitution, bestiality, or other similar issues to affect their polygraph through zero fault of their own," the spokesperson said.

But former FBI officials told CBS News that candidates who are survivors of sexual abuse involving bestiality would have the opportunity to address those issues in an interview before they are hooked up to a polygraph.

"Part of the polygraph process is a conversation with the person who is going to be polygraphed and the polygrapher to explore and explain and discuss anything in their background in a private manner that may be concerning to them," said former Supervisory Special Agent Katherine Schweit, whose assignments over the years included serving as a supervisor for human resources.

One of the sources familiar with the changes told CBS News that during the interview process now, applicants are asked questions about whether they have engaged in what is described as sexually deviant behavior.

If they acknowledge hiring prostitutes or engaging in bestiality, they are then asked the additional questions about when the conduct took place or in the case of prostitution, how many times it took place. Even if a candidate technically meets the hiring criteria, it does not guarantee an employment offer.

FBI Director Kash Patel has not publicly acknowledged the changes on prostitution or bestiality, but he has more broadly spoken about his belief that the FBI needed to update its hiring standards in general.

In a video interview with Patel posted on July 27 with former FBI agent John Nantz, Patel discussed some of his efforts to overhaul older hiring standards to entice new recruits.

"We are losing too many qualified candidates to the rigors of the requirements from yesteryear," he said, citing as one example a new and more relaxed rule on hiring people with prior law enforcement experience.

"We've never had recruiting numbers and application numbers this high in the history of the bureau. We're not reducing our standards — we're actually making it harder. You've got to be fit to be an FBI agent."

The polygraph process

The FBI has long used polygraph tests as part of the vetting of new recruits — from agents and analysts to support staff. During the interview process, applicants are screened to ensure they have not committed certain crimes.

Applicants are also asked about other topics, including any history of drug use and any foreign contacts. Over the years, the bureau has changed some of its standards and has, for instance, relaxed some restrictions on the use of recreational drugs like marijuana.

Bestiality is a crime in nearly every state, while prostitution is illegal in most states with a few narrow exceptions. Prostitution is legal or decriminalized in dozens of countries around the world. It is illegal in the United States, with the exception of some counties in Nevada.

Former FBI agents say questions about this type of behavior are also important to ask because having such a history could make an agent more vulnerable to blackmail by criminals or a foreign power.

"I don't think anybody who has been involved with prostitution is trustworthy. You could be compromised," said one retired agent who specialized in polygraphs. "You can be lured in and trapped, and it can be held over your head."

The FBI was rocked by a prostitution scandal after the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General released a two-page report in 2021 saying a handful of officials had solicited sex while overseas in countries including Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand.

A more detailed version of the report was released several years later through public records requests from media outlets.

Last July, the Justice Department inspector general substantiated claims that a supervisory special agent had hired prostitutes while traveling overseas on an assignment and used an FBI-issued mobile device to solicit them for sex. The report did not say whether the agent was disciplined or removed, but it noted that prosecution was declined.

FBI lost over 1,000 special agents in 2025

Former FBI analyst Philip Fields reviewed government personnel data and found that in 2025 alone, the FBI lost 1,139 special agents, with an average tenure of 21.8 years. His review was published by the nonprofit advocacy group Justice Connection. The FBI says it employs around 13,700 agents.

Some of the agents and analysts who have been fired were assigned to cases that the Trump administration disliked, such as those pertaining to the investigations into President Trump's retention of classified documents and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

"After driving out thousands of career employees, DOJ has struggled to fill those positions for many reasons — including the fact that no one wants to be ordered to conduct politically driven investigations that are often unethical, illegal or unconstitutional," said Stacey Young, a former Justice Department attorney who now runs the nonprofit advocacy group Justice Connection.

The Justice Department's Civil Division has started offering signing bonuses to try to attract more lawyers. And last year, the FBI sought to entice retired agents to return to its employ.

FBI lowered other hiring standards last year

The New York Times reported last year that the FBI was lowering other hiring standards, removing a requirement that all agents hold a bachelor's degree and reducing the number of weeks that agents must undergo training at Quantico from 18 weeks to eight weeks.

The FBI's website still states that a college degree is required to be a special agent. However, Patel has since unveiled a few other changes to hiring standards for agents.

Previously, special agent applicants were required to have worked in law enforcement for two years after college. Patel said in the July 27 interview, the FBI will now consider applications from candidates who have worked in law enforcement for just one year.

"If you've been a cop for a year and you have an interest in the FBI, no more two-year requirement window after college," Patel said during his video interview with Nantz. "Come on in. Quantico is going to screen you out if you can't make it. Same with members of the military. We want those folks."

ProPublica previously reported that some of Patel's hires, including his personal assistant, did not clear their polygraph tests and required waivers in order to be able to work at the bureau. The FBI spokesman quoted in that article called the reporting "false" and said the bureau "follows all laws and procedures on personnel security measures."

Officer Robert A. Parks Indicted on Attempted Murder and Related Charges

2026-07-30T08:42:36.387-05:00

Baltimore, Md. (November 12, 2025) – Today, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City’s Public Trust & Police Integrity Unit announced the indictment of Baltimore Police Officer Robert A. Parks on charges of Second-Degree Attempted Murder, First-Degree Assault, Second-Degree Assault, Reckless Driving, and Misconduct in Office. If found guilty of all charges, Officer Parks faces a maximum sentence of 65 years of incarceration. There is no maximum penalty for Misconduct. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial. Chief of the Public Trust and Police Integrity Unit, Steven Trostle, will prosecute this case. “The charges brought forward in this indictment reflect the serious and dangerous nature of the actions we all witnessed in the video of Officer Parks. These are the same charges we would bring forward for anyone operating a vehicle in this manner,” said State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates. “When a police officer threatens the safety of those they are sworn to protect, it erodes the crucial trust between the community and law enforcement that is critical to the historic reductions in violent crime in our city and essential to keeping Baltimore safe.” The indictment alleges that on October 28, 2025, at approximately 5:00 p.m., Officer Robert Parks drove to Wylie Liquors Bar located at 3101 Wylie Avenue, where several individuals were standing on the sidewalk. Officer Parks then exited his vehicle and approached the civilians. He stated, “It’s getting a little hot, guys. I just need you guys to take a lap, you know.” In response, one of the individuals began walking away. As the other individuals walked away, Officer Parks got back into his patrol vehicle and drove a brief distance westbound on Wylie Avenue, stopping along the curb to the right of the first person who had left the liquor store corner. Officer Parks called the individual by name to come over and then got out of his vehicle again. He stated, “Don’t make it worse. I’m going to be straight up with you. I’m going to be straight up with you. You gotta come...” Officer Parks motioned with his index finger to indicate that the individual should walk towards him. The individual said, “No,” and turned and walked away. As the person walked away, Officer Parks yelled out, “All right, I’m gonna call the dogs and come get you.” As the person was walking away on a paved driveway, Officer Parks returned to his patrol vehicle and stated over the radio, “I have one running, adult male...in the alley.” Officer Parks proceeded to drive his police cruiser into a paved driveway directly at the individual and with increasing speed. The person ran to his left into a grassy area to avoid being struck. Officer Parks steered his police vehicle directly at the man and struck him in the grassy area. After being hit, the man ran away from the patrol car and then towards Wylie Avenue. Officer Parks continued to drive at the man, who then ran onto the sidewalk and between a utility pole and a fence. Officer Parks then drove his vehicle onto the sidewalk and between the utility pole and the fence directly at the man. The individual then ran towards an alleyway behind residences and businesses. Officer Parks made a U-turn and drove down the same alley, ploughing through a stationary chain-link fence and into the backyard of 3129 Sumter Avenue, nearly striking the man and causing him to jump over a fence to avoid being hit. At that time, Officer Parks’ vehicle became disabled, and he exited and pursued the man on foot. However, he stopped within seconds of initiating the foot chase to return to his patrol car.

Jamaican police officer charged with murder after woman shot during protest

2026-06-04T19:43:46.575-05:00

Andrew Wilson appears in court over killing of Latoya Bulgin at protest over a police shooting days earlier.

Authorities in Jamaica have taken the rare step of charging a police officer with murder after he was accused of shooting a 45-year-old woman in a case that prompted violent protests.

According to the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), Constable Andrew Wilson appeared in court on Wednesday and was denied bail. Another hearing is scheduled for mid-June.

The killing of Latoya “Buju” Bulgin on 17 May in north-west Jamaica sparked protests after footage circulated on social media showing an officer firing at her vehicle during a demonstration over police violence.

According to Indecom, police were “conducting crowd control duties” during a protest in Granville, St James, against a police shooting days earlier, in which 17-year-old Tjey Edwards, identified by local media as Bulgin’s cousin, was killed.

In the CCTV footage, Bulgin’s minivan is seen stationary at the side of the road as several people climb out. Police officers can be seen standing nearby. With one of the side doors still open, the vehicle starts to pull out into the road.

Apparently without warning, an officer standing a few feet in front of the vehicle pulls a handgun and shoots at the driver, amid screams and cries from people nearby. Some people are seen running.

Police officers are seen dragging Bulgin’s limp body out of the car and on to the ground and putting her in the back of a police pickup truck. The officers do not appear to make any attempt to offer first aid to the injured woman.

Indecom and Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), a human rights group, have been calling for strengthened accountability in police fatal shootings through mechanisms such as body-worn cameras. No body camera was worn by the police officer accused of shooting Bulgin, and JFJ said the incident demonstrated the importance of independent footage.

“Without the availability of that CCTV footage, we would not be in the position to even be having this conversation and we would not perhaps have seen the JCF high command responding,” the group’s executive director, Mickel Jackson, told Radio Jamaica News last month.

In a statement on Wednesday, Indecom said the “prompt collection and analysis of video evidence” during its independent investigation into Bulgin’s death “assisted in establishing an objective understanding of this fatal shooting incident”.

The commission has reported 140 fatal shootings so far this year in the country of 2.8 million people. Last year, JFJ staged a protest against what it described as a “significant and alarming” increase in fatal shootings by police.

The PNP Women’s Movement, a branch of the opposition People’s National party, said the CCTV footage “raises serious questions about the use of lethal force by members of the security forces”.

It also said it was “disturbing” how Bulgin’s body was thrown into the back of a police vehicle after she was shot. “This conduct falls below the respect that should be afforded to our citizens by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force,” the group said.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights denounced Bulgin’s killing and urged a “prompt, independent, impartial and transparent

Officer nearly shoots student playing with water gun in a senior game

2026-06-04T19:41:07.352-05:00

A Michigan officer nearly shot a student playing a "water wars" game, a local school district says.

Body camera footage obtained by ABC News on Thursday shows an officer investigating a report when he came across an individual dressed in a blue hoodie and sweats, seemingly holding a water gun and a cell phone.

What to know about the high school 'senior assassin' water gun game police departments are warning about

A message Davison Community Schools Superintendent Matt Lobban sent to parents, obtained by ABC News, urged students not to play the game, risking catastrophe.

According to the message, the officer was investigating suspicious activity when he came across the student.

This is a screen grab from the bodycam footage released by the Davison Township Police Department.

Davison Township Police Department

"That is when a student jumped out at the officer, whose gun was drawn, and shot his squirt gun, getting the officer wet," read the message.

"We are so very thankful that the officer, in spite of it being dark out, was able to determine that the student was not a threat and no one was hurt," the message continued.

The individual can be heard apologizing, and the officer responding, "you are a very lucky guy."

This is a screen grab from the bodycam footage released by the Davison Township Police Department.

Davison Township Police Department

The message read, "We are reaching out today because we are very concerned that someone is going to get seriously hurt - or worse - as seniors engage in the game of 'water wars' following an incident that occurred last night."

The school said the student was playing the popular water wars game, seemingly similar to "senior assassin," where large groups of classmates track each other down and record a water "attack" in order to advance to the next round.

Senior assassin incidents have already caused quite a stir in neighborhoods across the country, leading to warnings from local police in states across the country, including Louisiana, Indiana and New Jersey.

Officer arrested after allegedly pointing firearm at fellow cop over microwaved fish: Warrant

2026-06-04T19:38:18.439-05:00

The Myrtle Beach Police Department said Michael Debiase is no longer employed.

A now-former South Carolina police officer faces a felony charge after allegedly pointing his department-issued firearm at a fellow officer during a confrontation about microwaved fish, according to authorities and an arrest warrant.

Michael Debiase, 46, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which investigated the incident.

The confrontation allegedly occurred on Saturday in a briefing room at the Myrtle Beach Police Department, authorities said.

Debiase allegedly confronted a fellow officer who was "warming up fish in the microwave, causing an odor in the office," the arrest warrant stated. During the confrontation, the detective allegedly "drew and pointed his department-issued handgun" at the other officer, the arrest warrant stated.

Both officers provided statements, according to the arrest warrant. The other officer was not publicly identified.

Debiase was immediately placed on administrative leave amid investigations by the Myrtle Beach Police Department's Office of Professional Standards and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, police said.

The Myrtle Beach Police Department said in a statement Tuesday that it has "recently separated employment" with Debiase.

"Based on information learned during the Office of Professional Standards investigation, several policy violations were identified," the Myrtle Beach Police Department said in a statement Tuesday.

"This incident does not reflect the values demonstrated by the men and women of the Myrtle Beach Police Department every day," the statement added. "However, it does demonstrate our commitment to accountability and our willingness to address conduct that falls short of our expectations."

It is illegal to point a loaded or unloaded firearm at another person under South Carolina law. Police did not say whether Debiase's firearm was loaded during the alleged confrontation.

Debiase was booked into the detention center in Horry County, police said. His bond was set at $5,000 during a hearing on Tuesday, court records show. His next hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 14.

Online court records do not mention any attorney information. Debiase did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Former Englewood Police Officer Charged in Controversial Traffic Stop

2026-06-04T19:36:07.695-05:00

ARAPAHOE COUNTY —The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has charged former Englewood police officer Ryan Scott Vasina, 30, with multiple criminal offenses stemming from a traffic stop he conducted while on-duty last month.

On the evening of October 8, 2025, Vasina was on patrol near W. Union and S. Broadway when an Audi convertible drove past him while he was stationary. Vasina decided to follow the car, and while following the vehicle, Vasina observed the driver failing to stop at a stop sign. He activated his overhead lights to conduct a traffic stop.

The driver pulled over and rolled down his window. Officer Vasina asked the driver for his license, but there appeared to be a language barrier as the driver did not speak English well. The driver asked why he was stopped, but Vasina did not answer him. Vasina then called for a second patrol unit and asked the driver to turn off his car, which he did. Vasina then walked over to the driver’s side door, opened it, and ordered the driver out of the car.
Vasina then went on his radio and advised dispatch that the driver was fighting. However, a review of the evidence, including the officer’s body-worn camera, did not reveal any evidence of the driver fighting, such as punching, kicking, or striking the officer.

Vasina then pulled out his taser and told the driver in English that he is going to tase him. Approximately 1 second later, Vasina discharged his taser. Vasina then took the driver to the ground in a choke hold maneuver. The driver was arrested and booked into jail on multiple charges, which were dismissed after a thorough review by our office.

“It is evident from the video footage of the interaction between Officer Vasina and the driver that a language barrier existed, and that Vasina responded with visible frustration and anger,” Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley reiterated from the arrest warrant. “The initial nexus of the stop was a car driving by Vasina that changed lanes in a way that appeared ‘suspicious’ to Vasina. The penalty for failing to stop at a stop sign or even refusing to provide identification does not warrant a use of force response that Vasina engaged in, particularly where there was no active resistance, threatening language, furtive movements or attempts to flee or evade.”

The type of chokehold used during this traffic stop is forbidden by state law, and all chokeholds are prohibited under the Englewood Police Department’s Use of Force policy unless deadly force is authorized.

Following a review of this incident, Vasina is facing the following charges:

Second-Degree Assault (F4)
First-Degree Official Misconduct (M1)
Third-Degree Assault (M1)

“State law makes it clear that officers shall apply non-violent means, when possible, before resorting to the use of physical force,” District Attorney Amy Padden said. “The law also directs them to use only a degree of force consistent with the minimization of injury to others. The traffic violations that the driver was allegedly stopped for are not arrestable crimes and the driver did not resist, fight, or fail to comply with lawful orders before force was used against him.”

Vasina was officially terminated from the Englewood Police Department last month.

“The former officer’s conduct does not reflect the values of the Englewood Police Department,” Chief David Jackson said. “Our officers are expected to serve with professionalism, respect, and restraint. We are committed to transparency in addressing any incident that falls short of those expectations.”
Information contained in this release is publicly available in the Arrest Warrant. All public records can be requested and obtained via the Courts. As a reminder, all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

We thank the Englewood Police Department for its full cooperation throughout this investigation. We also acknowledge the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which proactively offered additional support and resources to ensure a thorough review of the facts. All future updates on this case with come from the 18th Judicial District Attorney's public information officer.

Former Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to 12 Years for Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Fleeing Arrestee

2026-06-04T19:33:30.825-05:00

SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Richard Russell was sentenced in federal court today to 12 years in prison for fatally shooting a 36-year-old unarmed man who was struck four times from behind as he tried to run away from authorities.

Russell was convicted by a federal jury in March following a two-week trial and less than seven hours of deliberation. The jury found that the defendant violated the civil rights of the victim, Nicholas Bils, by fatally shooting him in the back as he ran away.

At trial, Russell was found guilty of both counts filed against him. For Count 1 - Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law – he was sentenced to 24 months; For Count 2, he received the mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months for Use and Discharge of a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence. The sentenced are to be served consecutively, for a total of 12 years.

“The Constitution protects every person from the unjustified use of deadly force by law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

“Today's sentence demonstrates the FBI's sworn duty to investigate any potential civil rights violation,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Working closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI will always stand behind our mission of upholding the Constitution and protecting the American people.”

Russell, who has been free on bond, was ordered to report to prison by July 13 at noon.

Before pronouncing sentence, U.S. District Judge Todd Robinson said: “Law enforcement is rightfully held to a higher standard because of the power they’re imbued with to protect the community…It is difficult to imagine offense conduct more aggravated than intentionally taking the life of another person.”

In a statement from the victim’s mother that was read by prosecutors at the hearing, Kathleen Bils said the loss of her son was “excruciating.” She described him as kind, thoughtful and gentle. “No mother should ever be awakened in the middle of the night to hear her child has been killed by law enforcement for running away. To hear that those trained and sworn to protect us have shot and killed one of us for fleeing is egregious.”

The victim’s cousin recalled a happy childhood growing up with Bils, and her grief over his killing. “My faith has been shattered. My family has been shattered . . . I just want Nicky to come home, but he won’t.”

According to evidence presented at trial, on May 1, 2020, the defendant—who at the time was a deputy with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department—fired five shots at the unarmed victim as he attempted to flee from custody while California State Parks Police officers were transporting him to the San Diego Central Jail in downtown San Diego. Four of the rounds fired by the defendant hit Bils, including one that struck Bils squarely in the back and fatally pierced his heart and lung. After being shot, Bils staggered to the northwest corner of Front and B Streets, where he collapsed, his body falling half on the sidewalk and half in a planter next to a tree. Other officers and paramedics tried to save his life, but he was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to the hospital.

The shooting was captured on multiple surveillance cameras along Front Street, as well as on body-worn camera footage from officers who responded to the scene shortly afterward. No other officer on scene at the time of the shooting even pulled their firearm when Bils began running away. At trial, multiple officers testified that it was apparent that Bils was not a threat to anyone, that they never for a moment considered shooting Bils, and that it “wasn’t even a close call.” Other eyewitnesses, including a nurse and a firefighter, testified that they were “shocked” that the defendant shot Bils in the back. Highlighting the extreme danger he unnecessarily created that day, the fifth round fired by the defendant struck a civilian vehicle that was traveling southbound on Front Street at the time.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Askins and Michael Songer and Department of Justice Civil Rights Trial Attorney Lia Wright Tesconi.

DEFENDANT Case Number 24-cr-1015

Aaron Richard Russell Age: 29

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law Using a Dangerous Weapon and Resulting in Death – 18 U.S.C. § 242

Maximum penalty: Life in prison and $500,000 fine

Use and Discharge of a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence – 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)

Maximum penalty: Mandatory Minimum 10 years in prison and $500,000 fine

Police Officer Charged with Child Exploitation Crimes Involving Multiple Minor Victims

2026-06-04T19:32:22.823-05:00

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed in San Diego today charging Brandon McGibbon, a San Diego Police Officer, with five counts of child sexual abuse offenses involving three minor victims.

According to court records, between October 25 and November 6, 2025, McGibbon engaged in the attempted receipt and production of child pornography and the attempted enticement and coercion of the minors to engage in obscene matter and sexual conduct.

Special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the cooperation of the San Diego Police Department, led the investigation. This case is the result of the ongoing efforts of the United States Attorney’s Office Special Victims Unit and was done with the collaboration of the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. Formed in April 2025, the SVU is tasked with leading collaborations between federal and local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving sex trafficking and child exploitation, civil rights, and labor trafficking.

McGibbon is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Brammell and Lyndzie M. Carter.

DEFENDANT Case Number 26cr1939-JO

Brandon McGibbon Age: 33 San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography – 18 USC § 2252(a)(2)

Maximum penalty: Five-year mandatory minimum and up to life

Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor – 18 USC § 2251(a)

Maximum penalty: Ten-year mandatory minimum and up to life

Attempted Enticement of a Minor – 18 USC § 2422(b)

Maximum penalty: Fifteen-year mandatory minimum and up to life

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

*The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Fired North Carolina officer charged after shocking video shows him repeatedly punching woman

2026-06-04T19:31:16.709-05:00

Authorities charged a former North Carolina police officer with assault after video showed him repeatedly punching a woman who said she was experiencing a mental health crisis during an arrest. NBC News' George Solis reports.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBsWaL_Vk3s

N.J. officer charged with stealing journalist’s camera equipment

2026-06-04T19:29:21.989-05:00

Essex County Prosecutor’s Sergeant Darryl Brown was discovered with the missing items after the journalist used a tracking device to trace them to his home, the state’s attorney general alleged.

NEW YORK — A New Jersey police sergeant has been charged with stealing $10,000 worth of cameras and other equipment from a photojournalist who had been injured covering tense protests outside a Newark immigration jail.

Darryl Brown, a sergeant in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, was caught with the missing items after the photojournalist used a geo-tracking device to trace her missing gear to his home, the state’s attorney general said Thursday.

The journalist, Angelina Katsanis, was on assignment for The Associated Press at Delaney Hall on Saturday night when she was struck in the knee by a wood beam during a clash between police and demonstrators.

As she hobbled to a medical tent to seek attention, Katsanis left behind her gear bag, which was marked with her name and contact information. When she was eventually allowed to return to the area — now in a wheelchair — the bag was gone.

As Katsanis sought treatment in a nearby hospital, the Airtag pinged to a home in Sparta, New Jersey, which was listed as belonging to Brown, according to the attorney general’s office. The device was later recovered on the side of a road, miles away from the home where it was initially taken.

A subsequent review of Brown’s body camera footage showed him “interacting” with the bag at the protest location, according to the attorney general’s office. A search warrant executed at his home Wednesday turned up several of the missing items, some bearing Katsanis’ name and phone number, the complaint said.

Information for Brown’s attorney was not immediately available. A message left at a phone number listed for Brown was not immediately returned. He faces charges of third-degree theft. He has been suspended without pay, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Katsanis, who has training in covering hostile environments, said the incident had left her deeply shaken.

“I’ve thought a lot about how the officers are supposed to be there to uphold the law and protect us and protect property — and this is the exact opposite of that,” she said.

The detention center has become a flashpoint for protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, with frequent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.

Those demonstrations intensified in recent weeks as advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility. The federal government has denied allegations of substandard conditions and accused protesters of inflaming tensions.

Katsanis said she suffered swelling and bruising on her leg but did not break any bones.

Bartlett Officer Arrested for Sexual Battery

2025-03-08T20:56:00.001-06:00

BARTLETT, Tenn. - An off-duty Bartlett Police Officer was arrested on Sunday after being accused of sexual battery, according to court records.

Hunter Kissinger, a Bartlett Police Officer, was arrested on February 9 after being accused of inappropriately touching a tattoo artist during a tattoo session on Stage Road.

A past post by the Bartlett Police Department shows Kissinger was sworn in as a police officer in 2019.

The tattoo artist gave FOX13 surveillance showing the incident. You can see Kissinger lying on the table and his move over. Then the artist jumps back, gets up and confronts him.

The victim told police Kissinger touched him on his thigh several times.

"The first weird thing he did, was he touched himself in his private regions and told me not to mind his erection. And he used coarse words, of course — I'm kinda being nice," said Brandon Kenneth, the tattoo artist. "He did that a couple times, and then it turned to him touching me and fondling me."

"I didn't respond to his comment, and it led to him feeling like he was comfortable to do more."

Kenneth told FOX13 how he wasn't going to let this be swept under the rug. He put Kissinger under a citizen's arrest and kept him detained while he was on the phone with dispatch. He had to push Kissinger off of him and struck him in the face.

"...he was just kind of asking why I did that and saying he was sorry," Kenneth said.

When you observe the surveillance video and see Kissinger's mugshot, you can see an injury to his face.

According to BPD, Kissinger has been placed on administrative leave for an indefinite period pending the outcome of the investigation.

BPD released a statement below:

"The alleged actions leading to this officer's arrest directly violate our department's core values. As a result, the officer has been placed on administrative leave for an indefinite period pending the outcome of an Internal Investigation.

The Bartlett Police Department holds its officers to the highest professionalism, integrity, and accountability standards. The community's trust is paramount, and we will take swift action to ensure that those who serve and protect the law are held to the same standards as the public they serve."

Kissinger waived his Miranda Rights and admitted to being involved in an incident with Kenneth but could not recall touching the victim inappropriately, an affidavit read.

"It definitely makes me nervous, especially because I reside in the city that his police district is in. It's definitely intimidating for me," Kenneth said. "I talked about that with every officer I spoke to, whether it's Memphis, Bartlett, or whoever — detectives, everybody -- I brought up the fact that I was worried about the fact that he was a police officer, and all the things that could follow behind that, whether it was his friends or people covering for him, or trying to sweep things under the rug. That's why I'm here with you guys today."

In July 2021, Kissinger was named 'Officer of the Month' and he is also assigned to Bon Lin Elementary as a school resource officer, including this school year.

CBP Officer Arrested in El Paso, Charged with Alien Smuggling and Drug Trafficking

2025-03-08T20:49:00.001-06:00

EL PASO, Texas – A Customs and Border Protection officer was arrested in El Paso on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle undocumented noncitizens for financial gain and alleged drug trafficking activity.

According to court documents, between on or about Dec. 21, 2023 and Feb. 5, 2025, Manuel Perez Jr., 32, of El Paso, allegedly smuggled and attempted to smuggle undocumented noncitizens into the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain. The indictment alleges that, in multiple instances, Perez Jr. admitted a vehicle driven by an undocumented noncitizen at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso as part of human smuggling operations. Additionally, Perez Jr. allegedly conspired to possess a substance containing at least 5kg of cocaine from on or about Nov. 1, 2019 through and including Feb. 5, 2025, to distribute throughout Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina and elsewhere.

Perez Jr. is charged with one count of conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for financial gain, three counts of bringing aliens to the United States for financial gain, and one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute. If convicted, he faces a up to five years in federal prison for the human smuggling conspiracy charge, three to 10 years in prison for each of the three additional human smuggling charges, and 10 years to life for the drug trafficking charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

This investigation was a joint effort by FBI El Paso, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, and Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, which comprise the FBI El Paso West Texas Border Corruption Task Force, along with the assistance of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations, U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector, Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division/Texas Highway Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations El Paso and the Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Johnston is prosecuting the case.

GBI Arrests Quitman Police Officer on Charges of Cruelty to Children

2025-03-08T20:48:00.002-06:00

Quitman, GA (March 7, 2025) - The GBI has arrested and charged Deandre Tucker, age 33, of Quitman, GA, with one count of felony Cruelty to Children in the 1st Degree, and his wife, Micayla Tucker, age 30 of Quitman, GA with one count of felony Cruelty to Children in the 2nd Degree with Negligence. Deandre Tucker is a Quitman Police Officer.

On Sunday, March 2, 2025, the GBI was requested by the Quitman Police Department to investigate an allegation of child abuse against a current Quitman police officer.

Agents responded to collect evidence and conduct interviews. Based on the severity of the visible injuries on the child, the Tuckers were arrested.

Both were booked into the Brooks County Jail.

This case is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI Investigative Office in Thomasville at 229-225-4090. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Inquiries related to Deandre Tucker’s employment status should be directed to the Quitman Police Department.

Sand Springs Police Officer Arrested, Accused of Unauthorized Use of Credit Card

2025-03-08T20:43:00.002-06:00

SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — A Sand Springs Police officer was arrested after allegedly using a credit card that was supposed to be in police custody.

On Dec. 23, 2024, officers responded to a deceased person found at an apartment complex near South Apple Creek Drive and West Wekiwa Road in Sand Springs.

Officers collected safekeeping items that belonged to the victim while processing the scene.

During the investigation, it was determined that a credit card belonging to the victim had been charged multiple times following their death.

While investigating, police learned that someone within their department may have been involved.

After gathering enough evidence to verify their suspicions, Sand Springs Police said the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was brought in within 14 hours to take over the investigation.

Investigators tracked down where the charges had been linked and identified the suspect as Theodore "Ted" Cook who is a Sand Springs Police officer.

Cook was arrested and booked into the Tulsa County jail on Thursday for unauthorized use of a credit card and grand larceny, but has since bonded out.

Cook is on unpaid leave until the district attorney decides whether or not to file charges. Police said Cook will be fired if charges are approved.

Sand Springs Police Deputy Chief Todd Enzbrenner shared the following statement:

“Today is a dark and sad day in the Sand Springs police department. One of our own was arrested for crimes that absolutely damage the trust we share with our community. Our officer’s are devastated and feel betrayed but will continue to serve the citizens with their head held high. They are dedicated men and women and care deeply about their calling. While some will try and tarnish the years and years of honorable service to this community because of the actions of one. We will not let that deter us from continuing to serve our citizens with honor, fairness, and justice, keeping with the oath we all took. I can’t recall any officers ever being arrested while working here in over 40 years. “

Seabrook police officer allegedly shared child sex abuse images on Kik, solicited minors

2025-03-08T20:41:00.002-06:00

SEABROOK — A Seabrook police officer charged with possession of child sex abuse images allegedly uploaded graphic videos on a social media chat app and had explicit conversations with underage girls, according to a police affidavit.

John Giarrusso III, 48, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was arrested this week on felony charges of possession of child pornography, dissemination of visual material of a child in a state of nudity or sexual conduct and disseminating obscene matter to a minor.

Seabrook Police Chief Brett Walker said they were notified of the charges by the Haverhill Police Department Monday and that he was "immediately" placed on administrative leave. Seabrook Town Manager Bill Manzi said Thursday that Giarrusso is on "unpaid leave" and his certification as a NH police officer has been suspended."

Giarrusso was arraigned Monday in Haverhill District Court and was released on $100,000 cash bail.

Attempts to reach Giarrusso were unsuccessful.

Police affidavit: Giarrusso called himself 'Officer Sexy'

According to a police affidavit filed by Haverhill Police Detective Kaylee Sarde, police received a tip on Feb. 11 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding an incident involving the dissemination of child sex abuse material over the internet.

Kik, the messaging and chat app, reported there were five digital files uploaded including ones of naked children between the ages of 6 to 8 years old being molested and raped by adults.

The IP and email address associated with the account led police to Giarrusso.

When police reviewed the Kik account, they discovered the child sex abuse images as well as selfies and videos they believe to be of Giarrusso including one photo of him shirtless and a video where he holds up a law enforcement badge in his hand stating, "I love blue."

Sarde said she also reviewed text messages where Giarrusso allegedly had conversations with other Kik users, in which "he indicates that he wants to have sexual intercourse with their wives, daughters, and also with their wives and daughters at the same time."

In one conversation, Giarrusso allegedly tells another user that "the girls in town call (him) Officer Sexy" and that he is a "New England cop."

NH police officer arrested in Haverhill on child sex abuse material charges

2025-03-08T20:38:00.001-06:00

HAVERHILL, MASS. (WHDH) - A Seabrook, New Hampshire police officer was arrested by Haverhill Police on Monday, officials said.

Officials say John Giarrusso was arrested and arraigned in Haverhill District Court on three counts of child sex abuse material charges.

The Seabrook police department released a statement on social media regarding the arrest, saying, “While the Seabrook Police Department adheres to the principle that those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty, given the nature of the accused crimes, the Department immediately placed Ofc. Giarrusso on administrative leave.”

The Seabrook police department promises to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

BWC: Utah officers disciplined after pressuring rookie to cut deceased man’s body

2025-03-08T15:38:00.002-06:00

The released footage shows Salt Lake City officers laughing as they instructed the rookie cop to assist with moving the deceased man’s body

March 04, 2025 01:41 PM •

Joanna Putman

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Several Salt Lake City police officers have been disciplined after body camera footage revealed they mishandled and mocked the body of a deceased homeless man in the summer of 2024, FOX 13 reported.

The footage, released on Feb. 28, shows officers laughing as a rookie officer was handed a utility knife and directed to help with the deceased man’s body. The officer in training initially thought it was a prank but said he was pressured by senior officers, according to the report.

The department placed seven employees on leave after the incident came to light. Following an internal investigation:

One officer violated eight department policies and resigned.
Another officer violated four policies and received a three-day suspension.
A third officer violated two policies and received a warning.
One employee violated one policy, but no written record of discipline was found.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office conducted a criminal investigation, but prosecutors have not filed charges, according to the report.

Internal investigation findings

The Salt Lake City Police Department’s internal investigation revealed that a contractor with the Office of the Medical Examiner (OME) gave the officer in training a utility knife and authorized him to cut blisters on the deceased man’s right arm.

Under Utah law, the medical examiner assumes jurisdiction over an unattended death and can authorize specific actions regarding the handling of the body. The department’s internal affairs report outlined additional findings:

SLCPD officers responded to the scene and completed tasks including securing the area, interviewing the 9-1-1 caller, attempting to identify the deceased, and notifying supervisors, homicide detectives, and the OME.
OME personnel arrived, documented the scene and were later joined by three contractors from Care Center of Utah Mortuary Services, who were responsible for transporting the body.
Before transport, one contractor asked the OME investigator if the contractors could conduct “controlled popping,” and the investigator authorized it.
Around the same time, the rookie officer, at the direction of senior officers, approached OME personnel to assist with lifting the body.
The contractor handed the rookie officer a utility knife and instructed him to pop blisters on the deceased’s arm.

Body camera footage

The video shows two officers directing the rookie officer to assist with moving the body while making jokes. The rookie appeared hesitant, questioning whether he was being pranked.

“I feel like you’re pranking me,” the rookie said. “Why are you smirking like that?”

Body camera footage then shows the rookie approaching the contracting crew and asks, “Do you need any help lifting him?” The crew responds with laughter and appears surprised by his question. The rookie then remarks that he feels like the other officers are “pranking” him.

As the rookie approaches, a contractor hired to transport the body is on the phone with the medical examiner’s office, asking for approval to perform “controlled popping” before moving the man’s body, according to SLCPD. The man had large blisters on his right forearm.

In the body camera footage, the contracting crew tells the rookie officer that they will “allow” him to assist and hand him a box-cutter-style knife.

“Shield your face, and just go ahead and pop all the blisters,” one contractor instructs him.

The rookie officer makes several small incisions before returning the tool and walking back to the other officers, who are seen smiling.

“You guys suck,” the rookie said.

“We had to do that,” an officer responded.

According to SLCPD, the officers instructed the rookie officer to leave out any mention of the popping from his official police report. Unsubmitted drafts of his report confirmed the rookie did try to document his actions.

Department response

SLCPD Chief Mike Brown condemned the officers’ conduct, calling it “unprofessional, discourteous, disrespectful and offensive.”

“This behavior does not align with the professionalism and integrity we demand as a police department,” Brown stated. “I extend my deepest condolences to Mr. (Jason) Lloyd’s family. Every person we encounter deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Our decorum during death investigations must never again fall short of our core values as it did at times in this case.”

Editor’s note: This article, originally published on March 4, was updated on March 5 with additional information and clarifies that the OME was the one who made the order to cut the blisters, not the senior officers.

20 more Arizona Cops Investigated for Misconduct by State Watchdog

2023-09-04T09:35:00.001-05:00

Excessive force, bungling investigations and domestic violence are the most common allegations against misbehaving Arizona cops.

Arizona's law enforcement watchdog has opened misconduct investigations into 37 cops around the state so far this year, including a trooper who ordered his police dog to bite people and a Tempe officer who tased an unarmed man 13 times.

That's 20 new cases since March, when Phoenix New Times last reviewed misconduct probes from the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.

AZPOST's work provides a rare glimpse into police misconduct in Arizona, much of which is investigated by individual law enforcement agencies. When an officer is terminated for misconduct — or sometimes when a particularly egregious case surfaces in the media — AZPOST steps in. The board considers whether to revoke or suspend the certification of troubled officers.

The 12-member board includes Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Ryan Thornell, director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. The board's most recent meeting was Wednesday.

Earlier this year, AZPOST investigated a former trooper with the Arizona Department of Public Safety for his TikTok videos and a former Phoenix police officer who kept evidence in his closet at home. Now, several new cases have come before the board.

Tempe police tase man 13 times

At the board meeting on Wednesday, AZPOST investigator Richard Bradshaw detailed an incident in Tempe in which three officers repeatedly punched a man in the face and tased him 13 times — all in the span of three minutes. The officers were trying to handcuff a man accused of trespassing,

The board voted to open an investigation into Tempe Sgt. Latasha Hampton, the officer who deployed the taser, after viewing body camera video of the incident. Board members declined to take any action against the other two officers involved.

Tempe police placed Hampton on "restricted duty" pending the outcome of the AZPOST investigation, according to city Communications Director Nikki Ripley. That means the officer is "providing no direct law enforcement services."

According to Bradshaw and body camera video presented to the board, the incident occurred on Sept. 11, 2022, when an unidentified local business called about a man who was refusing to leave. He was in the women's bathroom when Officer Daniel Rodriguez arrived.

The man, identified only as James, "appeared to be slightly delayed in his actions and understanding" and later was found to have had meth in his system that day, according to Bradshaw. James kept asking why Rodriguez was ordering him to leave the bathroom and sit down. He refused to do so and asked to leave.

When Hampton got to the restroom, Rodriguez attempted to handcuff James, who resisted. James tried to evade Rodriguez's attempts to handcuff him, but did not try to hit or kick the officer. Still, Hampton tased James and he fell to the floor screaming.

Over the next two and a half minutes, Hampton tased the man 13 times.

While he was being tased, Rodriguez and a third officer, Alex Kitchens tried to handcuff James. He was still flailing — perhaps because he was being continually tased — and the two officers both repeatedly punched James in the neck and face. Eventually, the three officers managed to handcuff him. James was arrested, although it's unclear whether he faced criminal charges in the incident.

The Tempe Police Department asked the Mesa Police Department to investigate the incident, and Mesa investigators found that all three officers violated Tempe's use of force policy. Tempe police agreed. But since 180 days had passed since the beginning of the investigation, none of the officers received any discipline thanks to a provision in the department's labor agreement with the police union.

It's not clear when the investigation began, or why it took so long for it to be completed. The contract does allow for investigations to take longer than 180 days if proper notice is given, a provision that was not used in this case. Ripley did not answer questions about this.

Rather, Ripley provided a statement that confirmed the incident violated Tempe police policy. "Such incidents simply will not be tolerated in our city, or by our leadership team. Accountability is of paramount importance to maintaining trust with public safety. The city is committed to fully understanding and correcting any mistakes that may have been made in this incident and its investigation, and ensuring that they will be prevented in the future," she said.

Now, though, Hampton may face repercussions from AZPOST.

Although Mesa investigators also found that Kitchens and Rodriguez violated policy by punching James, board members weren't convinced. In a 7-2 vote for Kitchens and a 6-3 vote for Rodriguez, AZPOST declined to open an investigation into their actions.

Excessive force, bungled investigations spur AZPOST probes

Hampton is hardly the only officer this year to be accused of excessive force. Use of force is so far the single most common reason for an AZPOST investigation, New Times' review of months of board meetings shows.

Of the 37 total cases against Arizona police officers opened so far this year, eight involved allegations of excessive use of force.

That force ranged from a former Mesa police officer, Kaylon Hall, who was criminally charged for shooting at a vehicle that drove away from a traffic stop, to Derek Fraser, a former DPS trooper and K9 handler who was fired for ordering his police dog, Igor, to attack people.

In a March 2022 incident, body camera footage showed that Fraser commanded Igor to bite a man who initially had run from officers, but who then got on the ground, put his hands up and allowed himself to be handcuffed. Fraser told DPS investigators that he "felt the dog assisted in getting [the man] into custody," AZPOST investigator Arlene Heckel told the board.

DPS fired Fraser for the misconduct shortly after the incident, Heckel said.

Excessive force was not the only reason for the new AZPOST probes. In six cases, cops are being investigated by AZPOST for mishandling investigations or evidence. Domestic violence and dishonesty also were common, with five cases each.

DUIs and reckless driving together prompted another eight cases.

New Times' count of new cases against Arizona cops does not include the many AZPOST probes of recruits who are still in the police academy. It also does not include the cases that occasionally arise involving former officers who are illegally working off-duty security or traffic control jobs despite not working for an agency.

Ex-Oklahoma judge won't be charged with Sexual Misconduct

2022-08-01T14:24:00.004-05:00

A special prosecutor said he won't bring charges against a former Oklahoma judge accused of sexual misconduct with several women, including two prosecutors who practiced in his court.

District Attorney Jason Hicks confirmed last week there wasn't enough evidence to support criminal charges against former Oklahoma County Judge Tim Henderson, 63, The Oklahoman newspaper reported. Henderson abruptly resigned last year after being accused of sexual misconduct.

"In this investigation, it is crystal clear that Henderson preyed on young women whom he believed would respond in his favor," Hicks said in a statement to the newspaper. "His actions generally started with emails, text messages, and an acknowledgment that he was willing and could help them with their careers.

"It is obvious that he violated the trust of the public, and our profession, and as such should never be allowed to practice law again."

The married judge later acknowledged having a sexual relationship with two prosecutors, but insisted both were consensual. At least five women came forward during the investigation, including a sheriff's deputy.

Hicks was named a special prosecutor in May 2021 after Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater disqualified his office.

Henderson was in good spirits after learning of the decision, his attorney, Tracy Schumacher, told the newspaper.

"This was a very expensive investigation for taxpayers that should have been conducted by the Oklahoma Bar Association," she added.

It's not clear how many criminal cases presided over by Henderson could be affected by the scandal. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals last month granted a new trial in a drug trafficking case, and a decision is expected soon in a murder case.

Henderson has presided over a number of high-profile criminal trials in recent years, including that of ex-Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who Henderson sentenced to life in prison in 2016 after he was convicted of raping and sexually victimizing women while on his beat in Oklahoma City.

California police sergeant resigned after engaging in oral sex on duty

2022-07-28T19:36:00.001-05:00

A Pismo Beach Police Department sergeant resigned last month after engaging in oral sex while on duty, among other violations, according to documents obtained by The Tribune.

Adrian Souza had worked for the agency for about 14 years, and served as a sergeant for about three years.

According to a report by the police department’s Internal Affairs Division, which the Tribune obtained via a public records request , Souza engaged in consensual oral sex at least three times while on duty.

He also sent sexually explicit messages, photos and videos via text and Facebook while on the job, including a photo of his penis sticking outside his police uniform pants and a suggestive video of himself unzipping his pants while in full uniform, the documents show.

According to the Internal Affairs report, Souza began a consensual on-and-off dating relationship with a woman a few weeks after Souza pulled her over for not wearing a seat belt in July 2020.

A few weeks after the traffic stop, the two reportedly ran into each other while the woman, who is identified as a local journalist in the report, was reporting on a water rescue in Shell Beach.

The woman told investigators she sent Souza wine and her personal cell phone number, which was on her business card, to thank him for letting her go with a warning during the traffic stop.

Souza told investigators that he did not receive wine, only a thank you card.

Souza and the woman began texting, then dated on and off until April 2021, according to the report. The two continued to text until June 2021.

While they were dating, the two mostly met while Souza was off-duty, but had some on-duty encounters at Jenkins Middle School in Pismo Beach and the Shell Beach tennis courts, both parties told investigators.

Souza told investigators that he and the woman kissed and chatted briefly during their on-duty meetings. But the woman said they would “make out,” engage in heavy petting and on some occasions Souza would stimulate her with his fingers, according to the report.

The two kept in touch after their break up, despite Souza having a new girlfriend in June 2021, the report said.

The complaint the woman sent to the Pismo Beach Police Department alleges she and Souza met four times between November and January. During those encounters, she said, Souza would receive oral sex while on duty, in full uniform and driving a marked police vehicle.

“While I expect better behavior of myself for doing such a shameful act with a taken man, I know you expect your officers to hold themselves to the highest standard of honor and service,” the woman said in the complaint.

The Internal Affairs investigation found a total of 20 potential violations of the city of Pismo Beach’s personnel rules and regulations and the Pismo Beach Police Department’s policy manual, 13 of which were sustained.

Souza was sent a notice of termination on May 25 after the three-month investigation concluded. He resigned from the department on June 10 before his termination could take effect.

“The city of Pismo Beach has made available redacted records pertaining to former Sergeant Souza, consistent with California law,” Jorge Garcia, Pismo Beach assistant city manager, wrote in an email to The Tribune. “These records and related investigation materials indicate that the former officer engaged in inappropriate conduct while on duty with a consenting adult partner.”

“When first alerted to this conduct, the city took action within hours and proceeded to conduct a lengthy and thorough investigation,” Garcia wrote. “The sergeant is no longer a member of the Pismo Beach Police Department as he chose to resign prior to the conclusion of the disciplinary process.”

As of midday Thursday, Souza had not been charged with a crime related to his on-duty conduct.

The Empowering Internet Safety Guide for Women

2018-09-21T18:16:00.001-05:00

https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/the-empowering-internet-safety-guide-for-women/

How Police Caught Officer Daniel Holtzclaw

2014-11-10T20:06:00.002-06:00

Prosecutors say Officer Daniel Holtzclaw made a mistake after a series of sexual assaults on black women in Oklahoma City — he profiled the wrong woman. His family says he’s a victim of “solicited testimony” from women who have “personal motives” to lie. BuzzFeed News reports from the Oklahoma County courtroom where, Wednesday, prosecutors described a pattern of sexual harassment and assault.

Daniel Holtzclaw made a mistake, an Oklahoma County prosecutor argued on Wednesday: “He messed up.”

Holtzclaw’s mistake was pulling over the wrong person: A woman who, when he allegedly assaulted her, wouldn’t hesitate to call the police.

It happened around 2 a.m. on June 18, when Holtzclaw, a 27-year-old police officer, was ending his shift on the northeast side of Oklahoma City. He switched off his patrol car computer. Then, without calling for assistance or otherwise notifying his station, police said, Holtzclaw made a traffic stop.

The woman — identified in court documents as J.L. and in local media reports as a 57-year-old grandmother — said she was driving home after playing dominos with a friend, according to detective Kim Davis, who recounted J.L.’s story at length during a hearing at the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

When Officer Holtzclaw approached J.L.’s car, she couldn’t roll down her broken driver’s side window, Davis said. So Holtzclaw directed her to the rear passenger side seat of his patrol car. He asked if she had been drinking — he had noticed a Styrofoam cup in her front seat. She said no, according to Davis, and that the drink was Kool-Aid. He continued questioning her, and she suggested he go taste it. He walked over to her car, but J.L. couldn’t see what he was doing. When he came back, Holtzclaw asked if J.L. had anything else on her.

“If you have something on you and you tell me now, then I won’t take you to jail,” he allegedly told J.L., according to Davis. “But if you don’t tell me about it now, and I find something, then I’m gonna take you to jail.” J.L. said no, again. She was still sitting in his patrol car.

“He opens the door and he tells her, ‘I’ve got to check you,’” Davis said. “And he says, ‘Lift your shirt.’”

She lifted her shirt to her stomach, and Davis motioned. “He goes, ‘I can’t see that. There might be something in your bra.’ And so she grabs the bottom of her bra, she said, and just shakes it … And he goes, ‘Nope, that’s not good enough.’”

J.L. lifted her shirt and bra, Davis said, and Holtzclaw shined his flashlight on her exposed breasts.

“She said about that time, she noticed that he started playing with his penis,” Davis said. “Then he tells her to stand up … and he says, ‘Pull down your pants.’”

J.L. lowered her pants but left her underwear up, and Holtzclaw turned his flashlight to her “vaginal area,” Davis said. Holtzclaw then told J.L. to sit back down. She planted her feet on the concrete, sitting sideways in his patrol car.

When J.L. looked up, Davis said, Holtzclaw’s penis was in her face.

“She started begging him, ‘Please don’t do this. You’re not supposed to do this.’ … She kept thinking in her mind, OK, this is a police officer, and if he’s gonna do this, he’s gonna kill me. And I’m not gonna make it out of this alive …”

“And he put it in her mouth, and she pulled away. And she said, ‘Please, please don’t do this.’ And he put it back in her mouth. And she said for about 10 seconds. Then he pulled it out and stopped, and he told her, ‘I’m gonna follow you home.’”

J.L. went back to her car, Davis said. She pulled into what she thought was a driveway, then did a U-turn. Holtzclaw pulled his car around her and unexpectedly took off.

At home, J.L. and her daughter did what middle-class people in Oklahoma City do when they’ve been the victim of crimes: called the local police station. When no one answered, according to Davis, they went to report the alleged assault in person.

Davis was the on-call detective in the Oklahoma City Police Sex Crimes Unit that night and met J.L. at the hospital, where she was receiving a sexual assault medical forensic exam. Two and a half months later, on Wednesday afternoon, Davis and another detective recounted for a district judge how J.L.’s report was similar to an unsolved May 2014 assault report allegedly involving an officer. The connection led the detectives to identify six more women who said they’d been assaulted, raped, or forced to expose themselves to Holtzclaw while he was on duty.

Holtzclaw’s “mistake” — the slip-up that prosecutors said landed him in orange jail scrubs in an unremarkable fluorescent-lit courtroom on Wednesday — was believing J.L. was similar to his other alleged victims: all black middle-aged women, but women of a lower social status and with reason to fear the authorities. They had been caught with active warrants or drug paraphernalia. J.L., Davis said, had no criminal record to be held over her. She was driving through the neighborhood where the other women were confronted, but she didn’t live there.

“He’s stepping out,” Assistant District Attorney Gayland Gieger said Wednesday. “He’s getting bolder.”

J.L.’s report would put Holtzclaw on administrative leave and make up two of the state’s 16 charges against the young cop. But more broadly, it would launch a case that underscores how alleged police abuse of minorities goes far beyond Ferguson, Missouri — but how national attention does not.

Daniel Holtzclaw “vehemently denies each and every” charge brought against him, his lawyer said in a statement Saturday. Holtzclaw didn’t speak at Wednesday’s hearing. He would occasionally whisper to his attorneys, but his expression remained unreadable as he intently watched the witnesses — among them his father, a childhood friend who lived with Holtzclaw while he was at the police academy, and a sports reporter. Many more family members and friends sat in the front rows of the courtroom, including Holtzclaw’s girlfriend of six months, his defense attorney Scott Adams said.

Holtzclaw joined the Oklahoma City Police Department in September 2011, officials said in a press conference after his arrest. A year earlier, he had graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a criminal justice degree and had tried and failed to get drafted into the NFL.

Holtzclaw today looks the same award-winning linebacker he did then: 6-foot-2, 260 pounds, tree-trunk neck, short black hair. When he was arrested, it was outside his gym.

Holtzclaw’s father, Eric, is a 17-year veteran of the Enid Police Department. His mother, Kumiko, is unemployed but does some baking from their home, Eric Holtzclaw said. He has two sisters. One of them, Jenny, has been leading the movement to raise support for him online, selling shirts that say “Free the Claw” — his nickname.

Recently, on the Justice for Daniel Holtzclaw Facebook page she created, Jenny posted a message her father sent her after he passed a Coke machine at work and saw two bottles with their names — Daniel and Eric — side by side. He saw this as a “sign from god” and bought them. “I am determined to help him through these tough [times] for he is my son and I love him dearly!!!”

In a statement, the Holtzclaw family said much of the “witness and officer testimony presented by the prosecution … is based on solicited testimony by the police department of felons, prostitutes and others who would have personal motives beyond the basic truth to fabricate their stories.”

“We ask the public to wait to cast judgment on Daniel as he is entitled to the same rights under the law as any other citizen,” the family said.

AP / Sue Ogrocki

In May, a woman known as T.M. approached a group of officers and reported that an unknown officer had sexually assaulted her, Detective Rocky Gregory testified Wednesday.

Gregory said T.M. — an “admitted drug user, prostitute” — was at an apartment complex “kind of known for drugs,” around 9 p.m. on May 8. She left on foot but was stopped by Holtzclaw, whom she’d allegedly seen at the complex earlier that night.

Holtzclaw put her in the backseat of his patrol car and took her purse, Gregory said. He drove for about two blocks before stopping to check her name for existing warrants. He then went through her purse and allegedly found a crack pipe.

“What are we gonna do about this?” Holtzclaw asked, according to Gregory.

“She says, ‘Why don’t you just stomp out the pipe, we’ll call it good?’” Gregory said. T.M. was still sitting in the backseat, she said, when Holtzclaw got out of the car and exposed his erect penis to her.

“He’s made it very clear it’s basically this or jail,” Gregory said. “She then turns her head, places her mouth on his penis, and performs oral sex for a short period of time.”

Holtzclaw did not ejaculate, Gregory said, but he stopped after about two minutes. He offered to give her a ride, but she said no.

“He says, ‘No, I want to make sure that you’re safe,’” Gregory said. “He was supposed to take her to another location to let her go, but then he goes almost in the exact opposite direction, kind of zigzags through the neighborhood … And then he starts to pull off by an open-field park area. Once he stopped there, she got real worried. She started to scream, thinking that this is not where it’s gonna end.”

But then Holtzclaw drove back around again, taking her to the place she originally wanted to go and letting her out. Later, T.M. showed Gregory in person the route they went. Gregory then referenced the route with Holtzclaw’s automated vehicle locator, a GPS recorder on all patrol cars. It was an exact match, he said.

After connecting T.M. and J.L.’s reports, the Sex Crimes Unit began looking through Holtzclaw’s automatically recorded history of running names through the department’s two databases, looking specifically for people who’d been checked out multiple times. (One system shows information including someone’s arrest record, what kind of contact they’ve had with police, whether they’ve reported a crime, and their address. The other system is used to check for existing warrants.)

Davis and Gregory took two lists of names — created by the unit’s lieutenant through a victimology profile — into northeast Oklahoma City, telling each woman on the list that they had received a tip that she may have been sexually assaulted. An undisclosed “percentage” of the women said yes. By the end of the investigation, six more women joined T.M. — who initially did not want to prosecute — and J.L.

“They all matched up basically in age,” Gregory said. “The earliest one was probably in her thirties. The oldest in the fifties. They all kind of looked like they were in their fifties.”

They were all black women — a majority, he added, had “some kind of drug history, maybe a prostitution history.”

By allegedly focusing on poor black women with criminal records, Holtzclaw kept himself from being caught — until he met J.L., a black woman who was just passing through the neighborhood he patrolled. “Not only is this individual stopping women who fit a profile of members of our society who are confronted rightly or wrongly by police officers all the time,” said the prosecutor, Gieger. “He identifies a vulnerable society that without exception except one have an attitude for ‘What good is it gonna do? He’s a police officer. Who’s going to believe me?’”

There was T.B., a woman who said she was confronted by Holtzclaw while sitting in a parked car in front of her house on Feb. 27, 2014. He ran her name and found existing warrants, Gregory said. He began asking her about drugs in the house and brought up the warrants, telling T.B. he could place her under arrest. He told her he needed to “check her for any drugs,” Gregory said.

“He then tells her to lift her shirt. He lifts her shirt to her belly, says, ‘Now I need to see everything.’ He then makes reference about the warrants and the arrest … She just goes ahead and lifts her bra and shirt according to what he requested.”

Oklahoma City Police Department policy is to call a female officer over to do a complete search when the suspect is required to lift her shirt above her belly. T.B. had been stopped before and knew that was the procedure, Gregory said. But according to court documents, Holtzclaw touched her bare breasts with his hand and without her consent.

Through Holtzclaw’s car GPS record, Gregory confirmed that the officer returned to T.B.’s house multiple times over the following month. In one instance, Holtzclaw allegedly broke into the house without permission, woke T.B.’s sleeping boyfriend — the only person in the house at the time — and told him to go outside, running his name for warrants.

Shortly afterward, T.B. pulled up to the house with her kids in the car, Gregory said, and Holtzclaw told her to step back to his patrol car.

He repeated the same motions, Gregory said — running her name for warrants, asking about drugs, and making “reference to, you know, ‘We can kind of take care of these warrants … Just play by my rules.’”

T.B. said she knew Holtzclaw meant that she could “do sexual favors and the warrants could probably disappear,” according to Gregory.

Holtzclaw told T.B. to lift her shirt again, and T.B. complied, though “it was obvious she did not have a bra on,” Gregory said. Then he looked down her pants; she said she didn’t have any underwear on, according to Gregory.

T.B.’s boyfriend, Terry Williams, testified on Wednesday that Holtzclaw woke him up and “ran me outside,” though he couldn’t recall many specific details — he was “kind of tipsy that day,” he said. But when T.B. later told him about her interactions with Holtzclaw, Williams “got kinda mad, and I just told her just to handle it the best way she can.”

“Afterwards, [Holtzclaw] told [Williams], ‘If I ever see you in this neighborhood or around this area, I’m gonna stop you every time,’” Gregory said. “He made it very clear he was not welcome around there, at this woman’s house.”

The next day, around dinnertime, Gregory said, T.B. saw Holtzclaw walking up to her house. She still didn’t know the officer’s name; she called him “Spike,” because of his hair. “She knew that she was gonna be harassed by him again,” Gregory said, and started to call her mother. Holtzclaw knocked at the door, and T.B. answered.

“She says, ‘I’m making dinner for my kids,’” Gregory said. “He asked to come in. She tells him, ‘No, you can’t.’ He says, ‘Well, I need to check your house for drugs.’” They argued, and Holtzclaw told her that he would be back, according to Gregory, while T.B.’s mother listened on from the phone. T.B.’s mother later allegedly told the detective she could hear Holtzclaw “bullying her daughter.”

T.B.’s allegations make up five of the 16 counts against Holtzclaw, including sexual battery, burglary, two counts of indecent exposure, and stalking.

Prosecutors said they believe that Holtzclaw gradually escalated his behavior; on March 14, one of the earlier instances of misconduct uncovered, he stopped a woman known as C.R. and had her expose her breasts in the same way he allegedly did the others.

“She said she had been stopped several times by officers, but this was the only time she felt like she was forced into doing something that she didn’t feel comfortable with, [and] was inappropriate,” Gregory said.

On Wednesday, the prosecutor asked Gregory why C.R. didn’t report the incident.

“The reason she didn’t is the reason that she would feel [like] a lot of females probably wouldn’t either,” Gregory said. “If they had turned in an officer, the officer would cause a lot more problems for them — maybe tell a drug house they’re a snitch — and then they have a lot of problems in the neighborhood. And she said that that would keep her from ever telling on an officer.”

On April 14, Holtzclaw allegedly stopped a woman known as F.M., following the pattern described by prosecutors: putting her in the backseat, asking about drugs and prostitution, running a check on her through the police systems, and telling her he needed to search her.

“She said that she kind of turned her back to him, because she thought he was going to do a pat search,” Davis said. Holtzclaw allegedly “reached up behind her and grabbed her butt and boobs” over her clothes. Davis added that when she first approached F.M. about the possibility she’d been assaulted, F.M. “immediately bowed her head and started crying.”

On April 24, a woman named R.G. had “just left a crack house,” Davis said, when Holtzclaw pulled his car beside her and asked what she was doing. She allegedly told him she was getting high.

Holtzclaw got out of the car and searched R.G.’s purse, Davis said. He found her pipe and made her break it on the ground in front of him. He put her in the backseat, and she acknowledged that she had been getting “some dates” that night, according to Davis. He offered to give her a ride home.

“Her words were, ‘He pulled up in the driveway like he lived there,’” Davis said. R.G. told Davis she noticed Holtzclaw was following her into the house, but she assumed it was because she was on probation and he was trying to verify her address.

“She kind of was giving him a tour,” Davis said. “She was like, ‘This is the living room, this is the den, this is where I live.’ He doesn’t say anything. He follows her upstairs.”

In her bedroom, Holtzclaw told R.G. to sit down. “He said, ‘This is better than the county,’ unzipped his pants, and, she said, he put his erect penis in her face,” Davis said.

R.G. began performing oral sex, according to Davis. Then “he told her to lay back, and she did, and he climbed on top of her and had vaginal sex with her and he did not use a condom.”

Afterward, R.G. told Holtzclaw she thought she heard the front door, Davis said. “He zipped up his pants and left.”

On May 7, Holtzclaw stopped a woman known as S.E. Like in the other alleged victims’ accounts, he put her in the back of his patrol car and asked her questions about drugs before getting out, standing next to her open door, and unzipping his pants. “His penis was erect, and he forced her to put it in her mouth,” Davis said, but he didn’t ejaculate.

Then he got back into the driver’s seat, Davis said, and headed down a dead-end street. He allegedly drove over a curb and toward an abandoned school.

“He pulled between a building and a tree, got out of the car, opened the back door, made her get out of the car, told her to bend over, and he put his penis in her vagina,” Davis said. “When he let her go, he said, ‘Have a nice night,’ and she walked off.”

The police computer system later showed that Holtzclaw had run S.E.’s name twice on May 7 and twice on May 8, the day after.

“I thought he was running her to see if she reported him,” Davis said.

On May 26, Holtzclaw allegedly stopped a woman known as C.J. and put her in the backseat of his car — asking about drugs, running her name, etc. He’d done this before with C.J., in March, but let her go before any misconduct occurred, Davis said. This time, during the search, “he fondled her boobs and he put his hand down the front of her pants and fingered her vagina,” Davis said.

When C.J. was later interviewed by Davis, the woman, like F.M., began crying.

In court on Wednesday, Davis also revealed that a DNA sample was found on a triangle-shaped flap on the inside of Holtzclaw’s uniform pants, near the zipper. Seven of the eight victims were tested against the sample, along with Holtzclaw’s girlfriend. The DNA did not match any of them.

When he cross-examined Davis, Holtzclaw’s defense attorney Scott Adams said, “it could also be that Mr. Holtzclaw could have cheated on his girlfriend and not wanted to tell anyone.” Davis confirmed this was a possibility. But the prosecutor later redirected the question.

“If that was the case and [he] had cheated on his girlfriend and didn’t want that to be uncovered, certainly he lied to you, because you asked specifically about that,” Assistant DA Gieger said.

“Correct,” Davis said.

In an interview with a local station later on Wednesday, Adams presented an alternate theory:

“It could be as simple as someone at the cleaners grabbing his pants and transferring the skin cells,” he told KOCO. “None of what the detectives said surprised me. They can make anything look sinister, and that’s what they attempt to do.”

“The facts are that there is no DNA linking him to any of these women as far as was presented in the hearing,” the family said in their statement.

In his closing argument at the hearing, Adams suggested that he didn’t have ample time with the prosecution’s discovery materials, and that Holtzclaw — being held in solitary confinement under $5 million — could not adequately defend himself either. The judge reduced Holtzclaw’s bond to $500,000, based largely on Holtzclaw’s lack of criminal record and under the conditions that he stay with his parents under house arrest, wear a GPS tracker, and not contact any of his alleged victims. He left jail on Friday afternoon.

Oklahoma NAACP President Anthony Douglas first learned of the Holtzclaw case on Thursday, Aug. 21 — the day Holtzclaw was arrested — while at a rally showing support for the people of Ferguson, who were still protesting the death of Michael Brown and the Ferguson police’s display of force in response to their protests. Local media began calling for Douglas’ reaction to the Holtzclaw case. On the heels of the Ferguson, Douglas prepared for a storm. But it never came.

“Where’s my media and where’s my women’s groups?” he asked BuzzFeed News on Thursday.

Douglas said Ferguson had no impact on how he approached the Holtzclaw case, but the media spectacle in Missouri made him examine how the media was “not providing the coverage as it should be brought to light.” Douglas’ contribution to the mostly local coverage has been to call for the Department of Justice to “look at whether this fits a pattern of racial profiling.” The president views Holtzclaw’s targeting of black women as a hate crime.

“[People] have not grasped the severity of the case,” Douglas said. “I don’t look at this gentleman as a sex offender or a rapist. I look at him as a racist, because he racially profiled and targeted African-American women.”

Garland Pruitt, NAACP Oklahoma City Branch president, suggested that cases involving abuse simply don’t get the kind of attention that cases involving death do. “How many folks have been beat down […] that didn’t die at the hands of the police officers? That did not get the recognition that’s possibly needed?” he said.

The local NAACP also disagrees with how the neighborhood where Holtzclaw’s alleged attacks occurred has been portrayed. During the Wednesday hearing, a detective said there was an unknown man lying in T.B.’s yard on a day Holtzclaw dropped by her house. The prosecutor asked the detective if that was an “unusual occurrence in this part of the city.” The detective said no. At another point in the hearing, in addressing the victims’ struggle to remember specific dates, the prosecutor said, “These people don’t live by calendars.”

Douglas challenged that assumption, saying the northeast side is a low- to middle-class neighborhood of “hardworking families” and professionals, while acknowledging “every neighborhood has issues with drugs.”

“They attempt to paint this as a depressed area,” he said. “That’s not the truth.”

The neighborhood’s real struggle going forward, Douglas said, will be having trust in the police — something the chief of police himself acknowledged in a press conference last week, when he said he hopes the community “realizes that our officers, 99.9% of them are trustworthy.”

But even outside Oklahoma City, many people are talking about Oklahoma City and Holtzclaw in the same sentence as Ferguson and Darren Wilson.

“The only thing that I can say is that anytime a police officer anywhere in the country makes a mistake or indulges in misconduct, police officers around the country are held in that same light regardless of the circumstances,” Oklahoma City Police Department spokesman Capt. Dexter Nelson said in an email. “OKC is not Ferguson, Missouri and there is no comparison. Our departments are very different in many ways. Our department and community demographics are different, and our working relationship with the community is different.”

This is certainly true — the population of Ferguson is not even 4% that of Oklahoma City. And while black police officers make up only 6% of police forces in both cities, only 15% of Oklahoma City residents are black, compared to 67% of Ferguson residents.

Oklahoma City Police also opened an investigation the day the first report about an unknown officer came in, and closed it within two months of identifying Holtzclaw as a suspect. They kept the investigation quiet for that entire time, in an effort to make sure the women bringing forward allegations weren’t influenced by media reports or neighborhood gossip.

Still, both incidents of violence deeply affect black communities. And with them occurring so close together, the comparisons have been unavoidable, particularly in light of how people have rallied around the alleged offenders.

On Aug. 24, Holtzclaw’s sister, Jenny, created a GoFundMe page for her brother (“JUSTICE FOR DANIEL HOLTZCLAW”) two days after a judge set his initial bond at $5 million in cash. On Aug. 26, GoFundMe verified the page, making it fully visible to the public. On Sept. 2, GoFundMe pulled the campaign, which had raised more than $7,000.

“GoFundMe reviews campaigns that have received a high number of complaints on a case-by-case basis,” a customer service representative wrote in an email to Jenny. “In this particular case, your campaign contains subject matter that GoFundMe would rather not be associated with.”

Jenny was livid. “PEOPLE DO BELIEVE IN DANIEL’S INNOCENCE and not into the media hype that everyone is believing into!!!!” she wrote in a statement. “It looks like clearly they have caved into the media hype and social pressure rather than stand on the principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty.”

GoFundMe is still hosting a campaign to raise funds for the Ferguson officer who shot Michael Brown. When asked what distinction it drew between the two campaigns, GoFundMe did not respond, only saying it conducted “an internal content review.”

In the meantime, Jenny has become the family spokesman on the Facebook page, where she sells T-shirts, deletes negative comments, and shares messages from Holtzclaw’s friends and family. One of the recent messages appears to hint at what’s to come as Holtzclaw’s case inches toward a trial.

Someone claiming to be Holtzclaw’s childhood friend who attended the court hearing Wednesday later wrote about how “disgusted” he or she was by the lack of “physical evidence” presented:

“The media is giving one side of the story and leaving out major details like the fact that all of these women are active drug addicts and prostitutes from the same area of town who ‘happen to not know each other.’”

It appears the prosecutor is prepared for more reactions like this one. At the hearing on Wednesday, Gieger told the judge he could see “what’s coming for these ladies … ‘You’re liars. Look at your lifestyle.’”

Officer Ryan Eric Galliher Arrested for Committing Lewd Act

2014-10-30T20:27:00.000-05:00

An off-duty LAPD officer was arrested for committing a lewd act in Huntington Beach.

Authorities say officers were conducting surveillance on Bolsa Chica Street, south of Los Patos Avenue, because of reports of a man exposing himself to several women over the last several months.

"Some were jogging, some were walking, some walking to school," Huntington Beach police Lt. Mitch O'Brien said.

Detectives observed a suspect, identified as 33-year-old Ryan Eric Galliher of Huntington Beach, committing a lewd act along an open pathway the morning of Oct. 23.

"He was on foot, he was dressed in shorts and he went down to the jogging trails, somebody watched him, and then on a public path committed a lewd act, which I don't want to get into the specifics because again there are still interviews being conducted," O'Brien said.

Galliher was hired by the LAPD in November 2011 and was assigned to the Southwest Division at the time of his arrest. LAPD has been notified of the arrest and is cooperating.

"It is appropriate that I reserve judgment on this matter until all of the facts have been gathered and the investigations have been completed," said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. "However, let me be very clear, I will not tolerate any behavior that reflects negatively upon this Department and tarnishes our relationship with our Communities near or far."

Galliher was released from custody and is on administrative leave. Police say he lives in the area where the crimes took place.

Investigators are working to determine if there are any additional victims. Police have not released Galliher's booking photo because they say they don't want to harm the investigation by showing his picture before other victims have identified him.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Huntington Beach Police Tip Line at (714) 375-5066.

Former Officer Erasmo Mata Jr Headed to Trial for Sexual Assaulting Child

2014-10-28T21:21:00.000-05:00

Trial is set to begin December 1, in the case of former Pharr police officer Erasmo Mata, Jr., accused of repeated first-degree felony sexual assaults of a child.

A federal civil lawsuit filed with Texas Southern District Court back in May accused Mata of assaulting the minor five times, on five separate occasions, all while on duty. The suit alleges that the attacks took place in abandoned houses around the city as other Pharr police officers stood by and watched.

The lawsuit also accused the department of engaging in a cover-up to protect the officers from criminal charges, as well as not conducting a rape kit or immediately testing the evidence.

The lawsuit was filed against the officer, the City of Pharr, the Pharr Police Department and the Pharr police chief.

Claims against the City of Pharr and the Pharr Police Chief Ruben Villescas were dismissed, however the motion to dismiss Mata was denied.

The Pharr Police Department did an internal investigation, but the family claims Chief Villescas told them not to hire an attorney and that he would personally take care of the allegations against the officer, Valley Central reports.

While the officers were terminated, neither Mata, nor the officers who allegedly watched, initially faced any criminal charges for the 2013 attacks.

After the lawsuit was filed, the lawyer for the teen asked the Texas Rangers to conduct their own investigation into the allegations. The Rangers found the accusations to be accurate and turned over the results to prosecutors, who presented the case to a grand jury and indicted Mata on July 30.

Pharr’s city attorneys deny that other officers watched the sexual assaults.

If convicted, Mata faces between five and 99 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $10,000.

Isolated incident? Hardly.

Sexual misconduct is the second highest of all complaints nationwide against police officers, representing 9.3 percent in 2010, according to an unofficial study.

In 2010, 354 of the 618 complaints involved non consensual sexual acts, and over half of those involved were minors.

Earlier this month we reported on an officer in charge of a rape case who is accused of stalking and sexually harassing the victim.

Last month Oklahoma made headlines with three serial rapists in 3 weeks, all officers, as well as one police chief molesting children.

In July, a former New York Police Department officer convicted of planning to kidnap and rape women before killing and eating them was set to go free after a federal judge overturned his conviction.

Officer Jeremy Sweet Arrested for Aggravated Assault

2014-10-28T20:33:00.000-05:00

A Phoenix police officer has been arrested for aggravated assault. Seven-year veteran Jeremy Sweet was arrested and booked Tuesday evening on one count of aggravated assault.

The arrest stems from an investigation that began Monday afternoon. That's when a complaint was brought forward by a Phoenix resident calling 911. Investigators are alleging that while on-duty, Sweet pointed a handgun at the occupants of another vehicle during a traffic altercation on South Central Avenue

"His justification for this was indicating that someone may be trying to ram or cut him off to take a prisoner from his vehicle," says Phoenix Police Sgt. Trent Crump.

"He did not get on his police radio," Crump continued. "He did not ask for assistance. He did not document this in any way. In fact, pulled up next to the vehicle, lectured the driver about their driving behavior while the gun was pointed at him, and continued on his way to the jail to perform his duties."

Sweet was hired by the Phoenix Police Department on July 16, 2007 and was assigned to the Department's Central Booking Detail at the time this incident occurred. Sweet was operating an unmarked police vehicle designed to transport prisoners, some of whom witnessed portions of the incident.

The following is a statement from the Phoenix Police Department:
"The Phoenix Police Department takes this incident very seriously and has taken swift and appropriate action to help ensure public trust remains high. We understand our role in the community of upholding the law and anything less will never be tolerated."