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PINNED POST. CLICK HERE: Keeping these 3 videos of officer-involved domestic violence fatalities on top from now on...

Officer-Involved Domestic Fatalities - 1 Officer-Involved Domestic Fatalities - 2 [WA] Tragedy Will Occur If They Don't Have ...

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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

[AZ] Strong, beautiful, proud Tiffany wants the world to know...

...Tiffany said she arrived at the St. Joseph's Hospital to find a room full of officers. "I was crying. I started screaming where is he? Is he alive?" she said. "The doctor started crying." Cortez had already been pronounced dead. Tiffany said she asked to be taken to her husband. "I just laid there on his body," she said. "I just kissed him all over, just the smell of him. I just wanted to take him home. It was the hardest thing to leave the hospital. I felt like I was abandoning him."
The days since her husband's death, Tiffany said, have been spent with family and friends remembering Cortez. "I just want people to know he was a great father. He loved his boys. I called him Mr. Mom," she said. "Everybody should know he was a great officer, a great son, a great husband." "We met when we we're 16. His world revolved around me and our family," she said. " I will never fall in love with anybody again. I will never love anyone like I love George."

Source: Fallen police officer mourned,
The Arizona Republic, Dianna M. Náñez, Jul. 29, 2007
See more on Officer Cortez here.


A memorial account has been set up at Bank of America.

Police Officer George Cortez Jr.
Phoenix Police Department, Arizona
End of Watch: Friday, July 27, 2007
Age: 23
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: 8232

Monday, July 30, 2007

[NC] Misty sentenced for the murder of husband, Officer Witherspoon

This month Misty Witherspoon was sentenced to life in prison for killing her husband Concord, North Carolina Police Officer Quinn Jackson Witherspoon. He was killed bya single gunshot wound to the head with his own 40 caliber Beretta service weapon while laying on the couch of their home - most likely sleeping. Misty said it was an accident but gave completely different accounts of how the accident happened.
It came down to money.
It was murder.
Witherspoon sentenced to life for fatally shooting husband
By Donna Swicegood
Media General News Service
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
...Judge Kim Taylor sentenced Witherspoon to life in prison without parole and 14 to 16 months in prison on each of three counts of identity theft and six to eight months on 37 counts of embezzlement. Those sentences will be served at the same time as the murder sentence. Witherspoon was immediately handcuffed and escorted from the courtroom to the Iredell County Detention Center. She will be transported to a state prison facility to begin serving her time...
...Concord Police Department Deputy Chief Guy Smith, along with a number of officers, attended the trial every day... "We lost a good friend, and the department lost a great officer," he said. "Quinn cared about people. I worked with him for 11 years, and there wasn’t a better officer out there"...

[CA] "I never thought I could survive something this hard"

...For [Angela] McConville, the most important powers A Woman's Place bestowed were information and validation...

In May of 2006 Los Banos, California Police Sgt. Condon McConville beat his wife Angela, racked himself up some felony charges, and somewhere between then and now - by his own actions - lost his wife, his job (he "resigned"), and lost the felonies someplace too. He recently walked out of court guilty of misdemeanors and Angela still has to work out being safe - from his felony capacity to harm. It's a lethal-level fear but kudos to Angela's network. She feels real support from the one-stop domestic violence shelter she has tucked under the wings of - A Woman's Place. She's still in danger, but she's not alone. That means a lot. If you have time, click the title & read the whole article. If the link becomes dead, email me and I'll share mine.

Abuse victims find sanctuary in shelter
A Sun-Star Special Report
By CORINNE REILLY creilly@mercedsun-star.com
July 28, 2007
...McConville has moved three times. Her house was foreclosed on and her car was repossessed. Two weeks ago she spent three days on the witness stand testifying against her former husband, an ex-Los Banos police sergeant... McConville counts A Woman's Place among the life rafts that have kept her afloat in a sea of troubles... For McConville, the most important powers A Woman's Place bestowed were information and validation.... In the months after McConville's ex-husband was released on bail, she began seeing him again and thought about trying to work things out. "When I was starting to let him back in... But last September, when he called her more than 50 times in one day, A Woman's Place lobbied to lock him up again... "I knew that if I called the police he'd lose his job, we'd lose the house, and that would be it"...
On the afternoon that the McConville jury came back, Almanza hurried to the courthouse. She arrived a few minutes after McConville had learned that her ex-husband would be out of jail within a few hours. The two women hugged in the hallway... Almanza asked McConville if she planned to leave the state. "I don't know yet," she replied. "We can help you change your name and your social security number if it gets to that point," said Almanza...

Thursday, July 26, 2007

[NYPD] Officer Maselli kills Shirley Fontanez and himself

Bronx: Officer Involved in Suspected Murder-Suicide
New York Times
By Stephen Heyman
July 24, 2007

A 40-year-old off-duty police officer and his 18-year-old companion were found shot to death in the officer's Bronx apartment yesterday afternoon in what is being investigated as a possible murder-suicide, the police said. The woman's body was found in the officer's bed with gunshot wounds to the head and torso. The officer, Fred Maselli, was found shot in the head on the floor of the apartment... A gun was found near his body... Officer Maselli was a seven-year veteran of the force who worked at the 34th Precinct, the police said. Eddie Fishbaum, a neighbor, said that Officer Maselli was the father of two. The woman was identified by family members as Shirley Fontanez of Washington Heights, the mother of a 3-year-old girl. Ms. Fontanez's mother, Maria Espinoza, 40, said that the couple had been dating for more than two years. Friends said Ms. Fontanez often complained that Mr. Maselli was threatening and abusive. "I was like,'Why are you still with this guy?'" said Monica Pinedu, a friend. She said that Ms. Fontanez responded, "Because he will kill me."

SCAM TWIST IN 'SUICIDE & SLAY'
COP, GAL PAL EYED FOR CHECK SCHEME

New York Post, NY
By Lorena Mongell and Leonard Greene
July 25, 2007
A city cop who gunned down his teenage girlfriend in a murder-suicide may have been involved in an illegal check-cashing scheme and was in danger of being exposed, sources said. Freder Maselli, 40, who was assigned to the 34th Precinct, allegedly supplied stolen checks to his girlfriend, Shirley Fontanez, 19, who cashed them... According to a friend, Fontanez was planning to confront Maselli over the check scheme and demand that he return a Rolex watch she bought him with the illegal proceeds... Maselli had threatened Fontanez, said her mother, Maria Espinoza. "He used to text-message her, 'I'm going to kill you,' " Espinoza said. "He threatened to kill her and her daughter if she left them." Both Espinoza and Pineda said Fontanez came home with choke marks on her neck four months ago. Fontanez, who lived with her mom and her 3-year-old daughter in the Washington Heights neighborhood where Maselli worked, had been trying to break up with the cop for about three weeks, Espinoza said... "He kept telling her he was going to kill himself, but he wasn't going to go alone, that he was going to take someone with him," Espinoza said...

Excerpt From the blog
Columbian Cokane

Tuesday, July 24, 2007
...The pair have been dating for two years, meaning they have been together since Fontanez was 16 years old, a year below the legal age of consent in New York State... According to Fontanez's mother, 40 year-old Maria Espinoza, Fontanez would go to the precinct with Maselli and everyone there knew about the illicit relationship. What is more mind-boggling is that Fontanez, again according to her mother, dated another cop from the same precinct before even meeting Maselli...

Suicide cop eyed in '04 slaying plot
Note tells of plan to kill self & ex, or her lover

New York Daily News, NY - Jul 26, 2007
BY Nick Reisman and Tina Moore
July 26th 2007, 4:00 AM
He may have killed before. Cops are investigating whether the NYPD officer who fatally shot his teen lover before killing himself murdered the boyfriend of a past lover, police sources said yesterday. Detectives launched the probe after cops searching Fred Maselli's Bronx apartment following Sunday's murder-suicide found an old suicide note among his personal papers, a police source said... Shirley Fontanez's mother, Maria Espinoza, said Maselli, who worked out of Manhattan's 34th Precinct stationhouse, threatened her daughter before her death. Espinoza was shocked when a reporter told her about the 2004 suicide note. "Oh my God," Espinoza said in Spanish. "How is that possible? How could the 34th Precinct not know about him?"... She said her daughter met him when she was 16 and sold sunglasses from a cart in Washington Heights. Espinoza said other cops knew about the illicit relationship but did nothing to stop it. "All of the cops knew that she was underage," Espinoza said... Fontanez's relative Kenia Granodeoro, 39, said Maselli would handcuff the teen during sex and aim a gun at her. Fontanez told her he would then do "psycho stuff" to her...

Monday, July 23, 2007

[FL] Deputy Greer's wife "did sustain a visible injury"

Off-duty deputy charged with domestic battery
WTSP - Tampa Bay's 10 News
Jul 23 2007
Largo, Florida - An off-duty deputy has been arrested for allegedly harming his wife during an argument in their home, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Offiice announced Monday night. Charged with one count of domestic battery is Deputy Gerard R. Greer, 39. He has been with the sheriff's office since February of 1990 and has most recently been assigned to the Patrol Operations Bureau. The sheriff's office said deputies were sent to his residence Monday afternoon and determined an argument he had with his wife the night before became physical, and that he had committed a battery. "No weapons were involved in the dispute however the victim did sustain a visible injury for which she later sought treatment at a local walk-in medical clinic," the sheriff's office said. Greer was taken to the Pinellas County jail and held without bond pending a court hearing expected Tuesday.

Update:

I couldn't find any follow-up, so if you know...
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public safety florida state]

COMPLICITY OF ABUSE IN MEDIA'S FAILURE TO ASK


OPEN LETTER TO OHIO AND PENNSYLVANIA MEDIA.

I AM WRITING YOU FROM TACOMA WASHINGTON WHERE OUR POLICE CHIEF DAVID BRAME FATALLY SHOT HIS WIFE CRYSTAL AND HIMSELF, IN A PUBLIC PARKING LOT WITH THEIR SMALL CHILDREN RUNNING TO THE SCENE.

IN THE AFTERMATH THERE WAS COMMUNITY GRIEF, OUTRAGE AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, CHANGES. TACOMA POLICE CREATED AN OFFICER-INVOLVED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE POLICY. A WASHINGTON STATE LAW WAS ENACTED TO MANDATE THAT EACH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IN OUR STATE HAVE A SPECIFIC LIKE-POLICY IN PLACE. AND FEDERAL LEGISLATION WAS PASSED EXTENDING THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT TO INCLUDE MILLIONS IN GRANT MONEY FOR DEPARTMENTS WANTING TO BE PROACTIVE FOR POLICE FAMILY'S FACING DOMESTIC ISSUES.

OUR NEWS MEDIA, THE TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE - AND THE NEARBY PRESS - SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER NEVER LET UP THROUGHOUT. FROM DAY ONE THEY ASKED THE HARD QUESTIONS AND PRINTED THE ANSWERS. THEY FORCED THE FACTS INTO PUBLIC VIEW.

THE MORE PAINFUL FACTS WE RECEIVED FROM THE MEDIA, THE MORE PEOPLE HERE WERE COMMITTED TO MAKING THINGS BETTER FOR THE LIVING.

THAT IS WHY I AM WRITING YOU.

WATCHING THE MEDIA FLURRY AROUND THE DISAPPEARANCE AND EVENTUALLY THE MURDER OF OHIO'S JESSIE DAVIS - MOTHER OF CANTON POLICE OFFICER BOBBY CUTTS' SON - THERE WAS A CLEAR OMISSION. NOT ONE OF THE ARTICLES WAS ADDRESSING JESSIE AS A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - NOT EVEN IN HER DEATH. NOT EVEN AS OFFICER CUTTS' PRE-EMPLOYMENT DV ACCUSATIONS AROSE. NOT EVEN AS ANOTHER MOTHER OF ANOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN WENT PUBLIC WITH HER ACCUSATIONS OF HIS ABUSE. NIKKI GIAVASIS MADE HER PUBLIC STATEMENTS ABOUT DOMESTIC ABUSE ISSUES WITH OFFICER CUTTS THAT SPANNED THE YEARS, INCLUDING SHE SAID, A PROTECTION ORDER AGAINST HIM IN 2007.

DID JESSIE NEED OR TRY TO GET HELP? SHARE FEARS WITH SOMEONE CLOSE TO HER? NEITHER HAS ANY OHIO REPORTER CLEARED THE AIR BY SAYING THAT JESSIE NEVER SAW IT COMING. FOR THIS READER IT'S A GAPING, SUSPICIOUS OMISSION.

OHIO MEDIA ALSO DIDN'T ASK HOW CUTTS COULD HAVE BECOME A POLICE OFFICER WITH PRIOR DV ON HIS RECORD OR HOW HE COULD KEEP HIS GUN AND BADGE WITH CURRENT DV PROTECTION ORDERS.

WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE IN CANTON POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR IGNORING THE BEHAVIORS, THAT UNCHECKED, ULTIMATELY CREATED A COP THAT THOUGHT HE COULD GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING? WHO WERE THE PARTIES THAT TOGETHER REINFORCED OFFICER CUTTS' DELUSIONS OF INVINCIBILITY, LEADING UP TO THIS ULTIMATE AND IRREVERSIBLE HARM?

YOU MUST ASK THE QUESTION: WHERE WERE THE POINTS OF POSSIBLE INTERVENTION?

ANOTHER QUESTION THAT MUST BE ASKED: JUST HOW MUCH OF THE DOMESTIC ABUSE IN THE LIFE OF OFFICER CUTTS, NIKKI GIAVASIS, JESSIE DAVIS, AND OTHER WOMEN WAS KNOWN BY THE CANTON POLICE DEPARTMENT?

AS JESSIE'S STORY EMERGED PITTSBURGH ALREADY HAD IT'S OWN HIGH PROFILE COP DOMESTIC ABUSE TURMOIL IN PROGRESS PUBLICLY. THE PITTSBURGH POLICE DEPARTMENT AND MAYOR WERE MAKING NATIONAL NEWS FOR THEIR COLLABORATIVE PROMOTIONS OF 3 OFFICERS WHO HAD DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THEIR RECORDS - EITHER PAST OR PENDING. PASSING OVER OFFICERS WITH CLEAN RECORDS TO LIFT THESE THREE IN PAY AND PRESTIGE CAUSED BOTH COMMUNITY OUTRAGE AND MEDIA INVESTIGATION.

A FEW PENNSYLVANIA ARTICLES INITIALLY PROVIDED HOPE TO VICTIMS OF OFFICER-INVOLVED DOMESTIC ABUSE WHO WERE WATCHING THIS ALL CLOSELY. THOSE ARTICLES STEPPED BEYOND THE BORDERS OF THEIR LOCAL PROBLEM AND IN A FEW ARTICLES TIED PITTSBURGH 'S POLICE SCANDAL - OF COPS WHO COMMIT CRIMES - TO OHIO'S OFFICER CUTTS AND OTHER NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY WORKERS.

BUT THE HOPE WAS SHORT LIVED. NOT ONE ARTICLE DELVED INTO FEARFUL LIFE VICTIMS EXPERIENCE - OR THE ENHANCED FEARS THAT THE VICTIMS OF OFFICER-INVOLVED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS FACE. INSTEAD, THOSE FEW ARTICLES WERE ABOUT THE OFFICER'S STRESS, OFFICER SUICIDES, OFFICERS RISK OF LOSING THEIR JOBS. ONLY TWO SENTENCES ACKNOWLEDGED HARM TO THOSE WHO WERE THEIR VICTIMS:
..."MURDER-SUICIDES AMONG POLICE OFFICERS ARE ON THE RISE, DOUGLAS SAID. IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, HE KNOWS OF 22 CASES NATIONWIDE." (1.)

THE CONCEPT OF POLICE DOMESTIC CRIMES HAVING VICTIMS WITH FACES, NAMES, OR NIGHTMARES NEVER DEVELOPED.

NO REPORTER IN PENNSYLVANIA STEPPED OUT TO CONCEPTUALIZE THE "STRESS" OF LIVING WITH AN ARMED ABUSIVE OFFICER.

WHEN ONE OF PITTSBURGH'S NEWLY-PROMOTED OFFICERS HAD HIS KNOWN VICTIM [DAUGHTER] AND WIFE COME INTO COURT - BEFORE HIS CRIMINAL HEARING BEGAN - TO PLEAD WITH THE JUDGE TO DROP THE CHARGES, THE NEWS WAS PRESENTED ONLY MATTER-OF-FACTLY. SEEMS IT WAS ENOUGH FOR THE PRESS THAT A YOUNG GIRL WHO HAD BEEN PUNCHED IN THE STOMACH, SLAPPED SEVERAL TIMES BY HER FATHER, AND WHO ENDED UP AT THE HOSPITAL SEEKING RELIEF FROM HER PAIN, WOULD - OF HER OWN FREE WILL - ASK THE JUDGE TO LIFT THE ABUSE CHARGE OFF OF HER FATHER.

THE JUDGE GRANTED THIS TO HER AND HER MOTHER.

YOU HAVE THE PEN IN YOUR HAND.

DID ANYONE EVEN EDITORIALIZE TO ASK
- HOW DID HIS DAUGHTER ARRIVE AT HER DECISION?
- HOW MANY VICTIMS LIKE HER ARE THERE?
- WHERE CAN SHE TURN FOR HELP OR SAFETY?

NO ONE COULD PICK IT UP FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THE DAUGHTERS LIKE HER WHO CAN'T SAY A WORD? -- ALL THE VICTIMS LIKE HER - MALE, FEMALE, INCLUDING SOME WHO ARE OFFICERS THEMSELVES - WHO ALL FOLLOWED THE PITTSBURGH NEWS OF A DAUGHTER'S SELF-DEVALUING RECANT?

OFFICER-INVOLVED DOMESTIC ABUSE IS NOT A VICTIMLESS CRIME.

VICTIMS ARE NOT BACKDROP INCIDENTALS TO OFFICERS' LIVES. THEY ARE PEOPLE WITH FEW IF ANY OPTIONS, TRAPPED IN A CALDRON NO ONE DARES TO LIFT THE LID FROM.

THEY ARE ABANDONED.

IS THERE NO COMPLICITY OF ABUSE IN THE MEDIA'S FAILURE TO ASK? HOW IRRESPONSIBLE IS IT OF THE PRESS TO DELIBERATELY BE SILENT IN THE FACE OF THE OBVIOUS? DON'T REPORTERS HAVE DAUGHTERS? DON'T THEY HAVE SOME SORT OF RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR COMMUNITY'S VOICELESS IN HARMS WAY?

AREN'T WE OUR SISTER'S KEEPERS?

AS TIMIDLY EVASIVE, SHALLOW, AND UNSYMPATHETIC AS PITTSBURGH MEDIA WAS TO THE [ALLEGED] VICTIMS OF THEIR PROMOTED OFFICERS, STILL THEY DID BETTER THAN OHIO. THE OHIO REPORTER WHO HAS PERHAPS WRITTEN THE MOST LOCALLY ON JESSIE DAVIS WROTE THE FOLLOWING IN WHAT APPEARS TO BE CLOSURE, AFTER THE ASSIGNED NATIONAL REPORTERS PACKED UP TO GO HOME:

"...LAST WEEK, I WAS READY TO TURN THE PAGE ON THIS WHOLE SITUATION BECAUSE IT HAS HAD A PROFOUND EFFECT ON ME. BUT THERE WERE TWO FAIRLY LARGE BOXES ADDRESSED TO ME FROM THE VERMONT TEDDY BEAR COMPANY... THERE ARE REAL PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WILL NEVER BE THE SAME BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO JESSIE DAVIS. AS SAD AS THIS WHOLE STORY HAS BEEN, THERE'S HOPE HERE, TOO... MAYBE WHAT I'VE LEARNED MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, BASED ON THE HUNDREDS OF E-MAILS SENT TO MY INBOX, IS PEOPLE, LOTS OF THEM, ARE GENERALLY GOOD AND CARING..." (2.)

IT'S A WRAP, SUMMARIZED IN A BOX OF TEDDY BEARS.

YOU ARE YOUR SISTER'S KEEPER.

PLEASE FORGIVE WHAT MAY APPEAR HERE TO BE ANGER. IT IS ACTUALLY DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT, A SOCIAL SORROW THAT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO VALIDATE AND SAVE LIVES WAS NOT DRAWN FROM JESSIE'S MURDER. IT COULD HAVE MADE HER DEATH MEAN SOMETHING MORE THAN A PASSING STORY.

DEON GATES
TACOMA, WASHINGTON

TWO LISTS: COP DV IN PA & OH

THESE TWO LISTS BELOW ONLY REPRESENT CASES I HAVE FOUND IN THE PENNSYLVANIA AND OHIO NEWS.
I'M JUST A LADY IN AN APARTMENT WITH A COMPUTER. WHAT I FIND I SAVE, BUT SURELY I HAVE MISSED MANY. SURELY MANY CASES NEVER MADE IT INTO THE NEWS. SURELY MANY INSTANCES WERE NEVER REPORTED. SURELY MANY ATTEMPTS TO REPORT WERE REBUFFED. SO READ THE LIST, BUT READ ALSO ALL THE FACES BETWEEN THE LINES. THESE ARE NOT JUST WORDS. THEY ARE LIVES.


PENNSYLVANIA

1. PA BRUTAL DV RAPIST OFFICER DOWLING KILLS HIMSELF

2. PA CHIEF CURRAN SHOOTS KILLS WIFE_MANHUNT

3. PA CHIEF MCNEILLY ACCUSED_CLEARED OF DV_2003

4. PA CMDR FRONTFUNNER TROSKY DV_DUI_EXCESSIVE FORCE_2007

5. PA COP BALBERN USED COP PUTER TO TRACK EX WIFE_GIRLFRIEND

6. PA COP COMMENDED BY OFFICIAL KARCHNER FOR TICKETING EX

7. PA CPT SARNICKY PUNCHED WIFE REBECCA IN HEAD_2007

8. PA DEPUTY JIMENEZ_DONT DRINK AND DATE HIM

9. PA DEPUTY REINHARDT CHARGE THREAT TO KILL WIFE_2007

10. PA DEPUTY TORRES THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE_DV_2007

11. PA DEPUTY WHITE DV_SUSPENDED WITH INTENT TO FIRE_2007

12. PA DET PETERS HURT AT DV INCIDENT AT HIS HOME

13. PA DETECTIVE PEARSON ATTEMPTED TO KILL LESONYA_DV

14. PA DV_EX COP GARONZIK GETTING OFF EASY HURTING WOMEN

15. PA ERIE COP DICKENS ARRESTED_ASSAULT_GUN TERROR

16. PA EX COP PETROSKY BREAK UP_TORCHES HOME_FIGHTS OFFICERS

17. PA EX OFFICER BROCKENBOROUGH KILLED BY COP EX GFS SON

18. PA GYPSY OFFICER FLUCK GUN AT GF_WORKING ELSEWHERE

19. PA JAIL OFFICER HENDERSON DV ON GIRLFRIEND_2006

20. PA LT RODRIGUEZ_PROMOTED DESPITE OPEN DV CASE_2007

21. PA MAJOR PEACOCK_PENNSYVANIA STATE POLICE_DV

22. PA MAJOR WILLIAM DIXON PA STATE TROOPERS_RAPIST

23. PA OFFICER ARMOR DV_HORSE FARM FOR COP SEX

24. PA OFFICER BROWN_DRUNK_MAD AT EX-GF_DESTRUCTION

25. PA OFFICER CHISTONS MATTER IS PERSONNEL ISSUE_HX

26. PA OFFICER DELUCIAS ABUSED WIFE TURNED HIM IN FOR DRUGS

27. PA OFFICER GAUDELI FIRED FOR SAYING DV AT CHIEFS HOUSE

28. PA OFFICER HOOPER CHARGED WITH DV ON WIFE_CHARGES DROPPED

29. PA OFFICER HOROS PLEADS GUILTY_DV_2007

30. PA OFFICER HOWARD SHOOTS EX WIFES BF_THREATENING CALLS

31. PA OFFICER HUDAKS DV_HAS HISTORY

32. PA OFFICER JODY NELSON AND HUSBAND ARRESTED FOR DOMESTIC_2007

33. PA OFFICER KENNETH ECKERT DV_2006

34. PA OFFICER M HOUSER ARRESTED AGAIN_DV_2007

35. PA OFFICER MAYER ARRESTED_SUSPENDED FOR DV_2006

36. PA OFFICER MAYKUTH SUICIDE_SUICIDE RULING OF WIFE TAMI_2007

37. PA OFFICER MCBRIDE BEAT WIFE ANNETTES FACE W CLOSED FIST 2006

38. PA OFFICER MICHELLE MCHENRY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

39. PA OFFICER OAKS TRIES RACE CARD TO GET OUT OF DV CHARGE

40. PA OFFICER PIPERATO AND EX FILE DV CHARGES ON EACH OTHER_2007

41. PA OFFICER POLSINELLI ARRESTED PD SECR FOR PERSONAL REASONS_2006

42. PA OFFICER REYNOLDS INVOLVED W WOMAN WHO KILLED BR_07

43. PA OFFICER RICE AND WIFE CHARGED WITH DV_2006

44. PA OFFICER RYAN SCHNEIDERLOCHNER GETS JOB BACK_2006

45. PA OFFICER SHEPULSKI THREATENS TO KILL WIFE

46. PA OFFICER TYRONE TALINGTON KILLED BY 13YO DAUGHTER

47. PA OFFICER YOUNG AFFAIR W GIRLFRIENDS 14YO_2007

48. PA PUNCHING_GUN THREATENING DETECTIVE DICKENS DV

49. PA RET OFFICER SERGE CLAIMED KILLING WIFE SELF DEFENSE

50. PA RETIRED COP YOUNG FAMILY 120 POLICE VISITS IN 8 YRS_2006

51. PA SGT HLAVAC PROMOTED DESPITE DOMESTIC INCIDENTS_2007

52. PA SGT TIETSWORTH DOMESTIC INJURY INSURANCE FRAUD_2007

53. PA TANYA TERRY FILES SUIT ON HER EX_TROOPER TERRY

54. PA THE FIRING OF CHIEF FLORENTINO_COVINGTON 2004

55. PA TROOPER DEFFIBAUGH_ASSAULT_STALKING_TROOPER_2007

56. PA TROOPER EISENHART CHARGED WITH STALKING EX_RESIGNED_2007

57. PA TROOPER FISHERS DNA ON ENVELOPE BUSTS HIM

58. PA TROOPER GEBHART DV

59. PA TROOPER HELLER_LETHAL_PUTS EX SEXUALLY ON THE WEB_2006

60. PA TROOPER MYERS BEATS_BREAKS GFS NOSE_2007

61. PA TROOPER PERKINS WIFE JAILED FOR HARRASSMENT_2006

62. PA TROOPER SCHELL STALKING CHARGE_2007

63. PA TROOPER WHITNEY CLEARED OF BREAK IN_BEATING WIFES LOVER

64. PA WAS OFFICER EICHELBERGER DEFENDING HIMSELF

65. PA WIFE OF OFFICER DENNIS_CARLI_FOUND DEAD

66. PA WIFE SHOT POLICE SGT SABATELLO


OHIO

1. OH CHIEF GRAALMAN GETS TO KEEP WEAPONS AFTER DV

2. OH CHIEF IRVINES WIFE FLEES FEARING FOR SAFETY

3. OH CHIEF KAISER COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER TELLING WIFE_2006

4. OH CHIEF KELLER CHARGED WITH DV ON WIFE_DV HISTORY

5. OH CHIEF KIM NUESSE GETS PROT ORDER AGAINST HUSBAND_2007

6. OH CHIEF MASON OBSTRUCTS DV CHARGE PROCESSING_NAMECALLS

7. OH CHIEF MORELLI WIFE DROPS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGE_2007

8. OH CHIEF ROOSA DRUNK WITH GUN_NOT ARRESTED

9. OH CHIEF SEDERAT AND THE PRIMARY AGGRESSOR_MANY CHARGES_2007

10. OH CINCINNATI CHIEF TOM STREICHER DV

11. OH CINCINNATI OFFICER ROBERT HILL_DV

12. OH CPT AND RET. SGT MCANDREW_COP ON COP DV_2007

13. OH CPT ED MORRISON IS A MEAN MAN_DV

14. OH CPT PRADE KILLED EX WIFE MARGO

15. OH DEPUTY BRANDENBURG ARRESTED FOR DV AGAIN_2006

16. OH DEPUTY BURDEN CRITICALLY INJURED INFANT DAUGHTER

17. OH DEPUTY COBB_DV_MENACING_ABDUCTION

18. OH DEPUTY COLEMAN DV ATTACK ON WIFE

19. OH DEPUTY COTTON CHOKED WIFE_2 YEAR OLD ALSO HURT

20. OH DEPUTY LOWE INCEST APPEAL REJECTED BY TOP COURT_2007

21. OH DEPUTY SHERIFF BURNS CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING WIFE_2006

22. OH DEPUTY SLOUGH DV AND 40G OF GUNS

23. OH DEPUTY WOLFE_1ST DEGREE MURDER OF GF

24. OH DETECTIVE COMPTON_WIFE AND DAUGHTER INJURED_RESIGNS

25. OH DETECTIVE TEAGUE ASKED TO RESIGN OVER DOMESTIC INCIDENT

26. OH EX-DEPUTY MOSKETTI WITH DV HX GETS HIRED BY COUNTY

27. OH EX CHIEF OF POLICE SWARTOUT IN CUSTODY FOR DV

28. OH EX DEPUTY BAILEY MURDER SUICIDE OF LORI_2006

29. OH EX OFFICER HARTON STABBED SHOT WIFE ELIZABETH

30. OH EX POLICE CHIEF THOMAS KEENAN DV

31. OH EX POLICE UNION PREZ LIGAS ARRESTED FOR DV_2007

32. OH FACE-PUNCHED WIFE SAYS COP ROUSH CAN KEEP GUN

33. OH KIM LOCCIASSANO AND UNCOOPERATIVE OFFICER

34. OH LIEUTENANT STEVE NOFTZ DV

35. OH LORAIN OFFICER GEREK INDICTED FOR RAPE AND DV

36. OH LT BARTON KILLED VICKIE BARTON

37. OH LT EZERSKI BREAKS IN EX-WIFES_SWAT STANDOFF_2007

38. OH LT OSWALD DV PATERNITY MURDER_MANSFIELD PD

39. OH LT VARVEL ARRESTED AFTER OPEN-AIR 911 CALL FROM WIFE_2007

40. OH LT WALLACE CHOKED WIFE

41. OH MARION COUNTY DEPUTY DENNIS POTTS DV_2005

42. OH NEWLYWEDS OFFICER BONI AND WIFE ARRESTED FOR DV

43. OH OFFICER BALLENGER SHOT BY EX NICOLE_SAYS RAPED_2007

44. OH OFFICER BARNHARDT ALLOWED TO STALK WOMEN_CHIEF SILENT

45. OH OFFICER BEITKO DV AND DEATH BY BROTHER-IN-LAW

46. OH OFFICER BERTRAM CHARGED IN 2 DV INCIDENTS

47. OH OFFICER BROWNS DV ON WIFE NOT CARRIED ONLINE_2006

48. OH OFFICER BRUNSWICK ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING GIRLFRIEND

49. OH OFFICER COLLINS COP ON COP DV

50. OH OFFICER CRAWFORD 43 CNTS SEX ABUSE OF HIS KIDS_2007

51. OH OFFICER CUTTS GF JESSIE DAVIS MISSING_2007

52. OH OFFICER DIELS DV ON WIFE_BACK TO ANGER MGMNT_2006

53. OH OFFICER FERN ASSAULTS 15YO SON_2006

54. OH OFFICER FLYNN FIRED FOR DV_REHIRED_ARRESTED FOR DV AGAIN_2007

55. OH OFFICER FORD ARRESTED FOR RUNNING OVER GFS FOOT

56. OH OFFICER GRZYWACZEWSKI MURDER SUICIDE OF MARY LYONS_2007

57. OH OFFICER HENSLEY DV

58. OH OFFICER HOUSER_CHIEFS SONS DV_A PERSONAL MATTER_2006

59. OH OFFICER JAMES KIEFFER RESIGNS FACING DV CHARGES_2001

60. OH OFFICER JAMESON ARRESTED FOR STRANGLING GIRLFRIEND_2006

61. OH OFFICER JESUS SANCHEZ ARMED STALKING _2006-2007

62. OH OFFICER JOE EICHHORN DV

63. OH OFFICER JONES PLEA BARGAINS DEADLY DV TO A LESSER_2007

64. OH OFFICER KESSLER SHOT COP GIRLFRIENDS HUSBAND_2006

65. OH OFFICER KOWALEWSKIS DV_NOTHING HAPPENED_2004

66. OH OFFICER KRISTA ADAMS ATTACKED BY SGT BULMAN_DV_2006

67. OH OFFICER LAURO USING COMPUTER TO HARM WIFE 2004

68. OH OFFICER LOVELESS CHARGED WITH HITTING WIFE_2004

69. OH OFFICER MEEKS GF SAYS HE BROKE HER FACE BY ACCIDENT_2006

70. OH OFFICER OLEARY DV_LICENSE HORDING_AND_CLASSIC CHIEF

71. OH OFFICER OVERMYER OUSTED AFTER VICTIM OF DV

72. OH OFFICER PARRA DV ACCUSED_HONORED BY HIS PD_KEPT WRKING

73. OH OFFICER PATTONS GUN AND BADGE REMOVED_DV CHARGES

74. OH OFFICER PHILLIPS HELD WIFE AT GUNPOINT

75. OH OFFICER PORTENTOSO TO JAIL FOR STALKING WIFE

76. OH OFFICER REBECA KRATZ CHARGED WITH DV ON EX_2007

77. OH OFFICER SCHMIDT REPEAT DV_WIFE COERCED TO RECANT

78. OH OFFICER SOLETHER INDICTED_FIRED FOR COP-ON-COP RAPE_2006

79. OH OFFICER SONYA NEWTON-BUTLER DV

80. OH OFFICER TRIGGS DV_CHARGED AND DISMISSED_2004

81. OH OFFICER WILHELM DV_OFFICER ASSAULT_AND PLEA BARGAIN_06-07

82. OH OFFICER WILLIAMS AND PAMELA DV

83. OH OFFICER WORTHY WIFE REFUSED TO SIGN DV PAPERWORK

84. OH OFFICER WYATTS YEARS OF INCESTUOUS SEX WITH MINOR

85. OH POLICE CHAPLAIN WARD CHOKED WIFE WITH CORD_2005

86. OH RETIRED COP AYERS KILLED WHILE BEATING WIFE

87. OH SGT BANKS PLEADS GUILTY TO DV BUT

88. OH SGT BOOHER_DANGER TO WIFE AND OFFICERS

89. OH SGT MEHAFFEY SHOOTS WIFE MICHELLE_SELF_2007

90. OH SGT MITCHELL DV_HARASSMENT_NOT GUILTY

91. OH STALKING OFFICER BRAME KILLED BY UNKNOWN SHOOTER

92. OH TINA LOVEJOY KILLED BY EX TROOPER JONES_2006

93. OH TOO SENSITVE TO PUT ON FOLDER TITLE

94. OH TROOPER CORY HARRIS DV ON WIFE

95. OH TROOPER MICHAEL EVANS_PA STATE POLICE

96. OH TROOPER OAKS DV_HANDCUFFED_ESCAPED_JAILED

97. OH TROOPER SGT DAREN JOHNSON DV ON GF MENGERINK

98. OH UNION PREZ MARQUIZ DV

99. OH UNNAMED AUSTINTOWN POLICE OFFICER DV ASSAULT

100. OH WIFE NIEMA BLAKE SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES_COP HUSBAND NOT
CHARGED


1. Source: Police, firefighters at risk for suicide, violence due to stress, Plain Dealer, Gabriel Baird, July 12, 2007. (And "Douglas" referred to in the quote is Robert Douglas, executive director of the National Police Suicide Foundation.)
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1184229574289000.xml&coll=

2 Source: A face everywhere, Canton Repository, TODD PORTER, July 8, 2007.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=363828&Category=17&subCategoryID=0

Saturday, July 21, 2007

[FL] How did Sgt. Lumarque get ahold of ex-wife's text messages?

Miami-Dade cop accused of raping ex-wife
Miami Herald, - July 21, 2007
BY DAVID OVALLE
[Excerpts] Miami-Dade Sgt. Raymond Richard Lumarque forced his ex-wife to perform oral sex on him because he was angry after he hacked into her cellphone and read sexually explicit text messages she had sent to another man, authorities said Friday... Lumarque paid a visit to his ex-wife's home... Nervous and breathing hard, he held a pair of black gloves in one hand... As the woman tried calling her father, Lumarque knocked the phone from her hand and pushed her into the master bedroom. He showed her his cellphone and text messages, some she had sent to a ''male friend.'' Lumarque said a friend had managed to obtain every one she had sent since August 2006, ``which included sexually explicit text messages''... He beat and choked his ex-wife and smothered her with a pillow... ''Someone has to die for this,'' he told her, putting on the black gloves... Then, he forced her to perform oral sex... They are still trying to figure out how Lumarque obtained the text messages...

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

[IA] Officer Piercy on his girlfriend's face (What a man!)

Today's news out of Iowa:
A five-year veteran of the Osceola Police Department was arrested this week on domestic assault charges. Judd Piercy, 34, of Osceola, is accused of assaulting his 35-year-old girlfriend during an argument, causing injuries to her eyes and nose... Piercy is charged with domestic abuse assault. The event was reported on the morning of July 12, almost a month after it occurred at Piercy’s home...

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

[NH] Stalking kidde-porn ex-trooper Plunkett released early from jail


A little over a year ago the news on Michael Plunkett looked like this:

Former trooper charged with stalking ex-girlfriend
Union Leader
By ROGER AMSDEN
June 23, 2006
A former New Hampshire state trooper who is charged with possession of child pornography, witness tampering and falsifying evidence was arrested this week on charges of stalking his former girlfriend, who is a key witness against him...


I don't know whatever happened to the STALKING charges - but for the rest of it Plunkett was sent to jail for a year. Sort of. He was released this month for good behavior after serving 2/3 of his sentence. From this month's news:
...Lt. Edmond White of the Belknap County Department of Corrections said that Plunkett used his "exemplary skills as a professional painter and craftsmen" while serving his sentence. Plunkett was credited with painting the bulk of the interior of the Sheriff's Department, building a new nursing station and painting many housing units at the jail. White also cited Plunkett for rebuilding a hand-carved sign at the entrance to the County Complex and mounting it near the main entrance...
Because the jail doesn't have a sex offender program, Plunkett was released without the ordered treatment. The Assistant Grafton County Attorney Melissa Pierce told the judge Plunkett had accepted responsibility for the crimes, but I wonder how that can be when PLUNKETT'S attorney Michael Icapino told the court that Plunkett blackouts and wakes up at his computer. And about Plunkett's release, Lt. White wrote to Plunkett's ex-girlfriend (and stalking victim) Patty Coates, "Mike was always polite and respectful to staff and handled this extremely tough situation very well for 8 months."

Patty asks:
How do others deal with the nightmares? How do you make it through the tough days? How do you continue to be a productive adult? I am still trying to grasp all of these concepts. It has been over a year now but still have a hard time. Will things get better? Will I sleep a full night?

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

[OH] Not Michelle's day to die

This spot is to say to Michelle in Ohio that I have been praising God all day that you are alive.

Yesterday morning I read in the news about the terrifying car chase, and that you had been shot in the head before the police officer husband you were divorcing fatally turned the weapon on himself. The accounts of what happened are still new so I'm not sure how accurate that is, but by evening news time it was being reported that you have been treated and RELEASED from the hospital. My hands went up in the air. I emailed my friends and I told my kids, "Michelle lives."

He did not succeed in what it appears he intended.
It wasn't your day to die.

I read this too:
"...Fellow officers, who did not want to be named, said that [he] frequently talked about his wife and how much he loved her..."

The story of what has happened is sad no matter which way you turn it. I am so sorry for the undeserved harm you have lived through, and praying for your life and spirit to be made new.

Much love.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

[OK] Charges dropped against former sheriff's wife Candyce Woodruff

On the afternoon of Sunday, June 18th 2007, Candyce Woodruff called 911 in Delaware County Oklahoma where her husband had been the Sheriff until 2004. She told the dispatcher that her husband was drunk, yelling at her, and that he hit her. ("Authorities say the couple has a HISTORY of domestic violence.") At least that's how much of it we know from the media. The Deputies came to her house didn't see an injury, they said (although a news article says the next day in court that "she appeared to have a bruise on her left cheek"). They say they even scraped together $20 + $10 together between them to give to Candyce so she could leave and go somewhere else. Obviously that isn't what she wanted because she didn't go. MAYBE she wanted them to arrest him for assault or take him to a drunk tank to sober up. Or maybe, just maybe, her husband didn't let her leave? We don't know. But they didn't take him. Instead, they drove away. We don't know what time that happened except that it was in the afternoon. Then around 5 p.m Candyce called back to say that her husband had shot himself. When deputies arrived, the bloody chested (still intoxicated or sober now?) Lenden said his wife shot him. She said he shot himself. They believed him, not her. She was arrested and taken to jail, "Held in an isolation cell at the Delaware County Jail" on a quarter of million dollar bail.
This past week the charges were dismissed after the scripts of what happened last month changed. District Attorney Eddie Wyant:
"Mr. Woodruff was released from the hospital a few weeks ago but has refused several requests by law enforcement to provide a statement as to the facts surrounding the shooting. As the District Attorney's Office must rely on the evidence obtained from each crime in order to make the appropriate prosecutorial decisions, the only evidence we have at this time are the witnesses who claim that Mrs. Woodruff admitted to shooting Mr. Woodruff and Mr. Woodruff making a statement that the shooting was accidental. Therefore, I do not believe the State of Oklahoma should proceed any longer with the current charges against Mrs. Woodruff."
I'm left wondering many things, some of which are did they let her out of her isolation cell? Where can she go? What is this "history of domestic violence" about? Was it while he was the sheriff? Continuously? Is it mutual or an identified victim between the two of them? Where did the bruise on her face come from if she wasn't assaulted? Who can Candyce call to get help if she needs it when the deputies are her husband's eternal comrades? What made her husband's story believable and hers not credible the day of the shooting? Nobody asks. Nobody tells. What's her email address?

(Excerpt from the news:
"He resigned on March 9, 2004, after being arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, resisting an officer, transporting an open container of liquor and carrying a firearm while under the influence of intoxicants. In a plea agreement struck with prosecutors, Lenden Woodruff pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and carrying an open container. As part of the agreement, the other charges were dismissed and all counts were expunged after he completed one year of probation, paid fines of $1,200 and court costs of $450, court records indicate."
)

Sources:
Wife of former sheriff accused of attempting to kill husband, The Joplin Globe, Sheila Stogsdill, June 18, 2007
Prosecutor plans to pursue case against wife of ex-sheriff, The Joplin Globe, Sheila Stogsdill, June 19, 2007
Woodruff In Court, fourstateshomepage.com, Jennifer Adkins, Jun 20, 2007
Authorities drop charge filed in shooting of ex-sheriff, The Joplin Globe, Jeff Lehr, July 05, 2007
Charges dismissed against sheriff's wife, Miami News-Record, Shelly Baugh-Schultz, Jul 6, 2007

Saturday, July 7, 2007

[PA] DV charges DROPPED against Newly promoted Lt. Charles Rodriguez


Pittsburgh has been in the media the last month because Mayor Luke Ravenstahl recently approved 3 promotions of officers with domestic violence in their past or present list of things to consider, bypassing a long list of officers that have clean records. (Why?) We've watched activists rising to challenge the outrageousness, the city considering publicly if they should take the promotions away to get the activists to shut up, and then the Mayor saying that although his hands are tied on what's already been done, and it's really Police Chief Nate Harper's fault - not his, that it will be zero-tolerance on cop dv from now on. So, the 3 are keepers!
One of controversial officers is the newly promoted to Lt. Charles Rodriguez. His teenage daughter was taken to the hospital with facial redness and swelling, as well as pain in her abdomen after she said her father slapped her SEVERAL times and PUNCHED her in the stomach. (Pause and imagine that.)

But I'm posting to tell you that l
uckily for Lt. Rodriguez, there's more than one way to avoid having the truth confirmed, and more than one place to abuse family members. Court! His domestic violence just legally became a non-issue because the daughter AND HIS WIFE expressed to the court this week - before his hearing began - that they would like to... (Wanna guess?)
DROP
THE
CHARGES! POOF!

Wanna guess what influenced them? We will never know for sure, but those who have gasped for safety behind the blue wall have a good guess.

Defense Attorney Lee Rothman, quoted in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

..."I was prepared to defend my client, but now we don't have to address that because there are no charges pending against him... They've been withdrawn, and he can get on with his life... It's not a case. That's my characterization of it. It's not a criminal act"...

Nikki Giavasis on why she spoke out on Officer Cutts

Prayers and Best Wishes
Hello everyone,

I know it's been a heartbreaking week for a lot of people. A beautiful and amazing woman, Jessie Marie Davis lost her life and the life of her baby Chloe due to the senseless violence of a heartless murderer.

I did not have the honor of knowing Jessie but my friends and family did. She was a wonderful mother with a heart of gold.

I had the displeasure of knowing the man who was arrested for her murder.

I spoke out about this man last Tuesday, June 19th because I knew he was capable of extreme acts of violence and I felt that the only way to help in the investigation was for people to know that this man is the suspect because at the time, no one was willing to believe or say that it could be him. After I spoke out, Mr. Cutts did an interview claiming to have nothing to do with Jessie's disappearance. But by Saturday, he confessed.

I know that despite speculation, I did the right thing speaking out against this horrible person. I pray that my courage in speaking out gives other women who are enduring any time of abuse or domestic violence to get help and get out. Domestic violence that goes unchecked only gets worse as the abuse only escalates and can escalate to murder.

If you or someone you know if a victim of domestic violence, call 1-800-799-SAFE. They can tell you where to go or who to call for assistance.

I pray for the best for all of you and I wish everyone abundant blessings and harmonic wealth.

Thank you to all of you who have sent amazing messages and well wishes for my speaking out. The only reason I did it was to help in the case and to help other women who need to get away from abusive situations.

All the best.
God bless,

Nikki Giavasis

[Reposted here with permission. Original date, June 28, 2007]

Friday, July 6, 2007

[OH] Judge Russo's domestic violence is a personal matter.

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO

[EXCERPTS FROM THE NEWS]
For the second time in 10 months, police picked up the head judge of Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court after they said he fought with his girlfriend. Administrative Judge Joseph F. Russo is charged with domestic violence... [The woman friend he lives with] told police that Russo assaulted her... Police photographed [her] injuries, according to the report, but did not describe the injuries. It wasn't the first time... Westlake police officers took him and [his woman friend] into custody last summer after a disturbance at a gas station... She told the officers that Russo called her a "whore" and slapped her... Russo, who earns $110,000 as a judge, will take today off and return to work Monday, Juvenile Court spokeswoman Patricia Oakar said... The case has not affected his status as a judge...

It is personal
and does not involve the court or children, she said...

As if domestic violence isn't a part of the cases involving children and their troubled families! Russo is the HEAD JUDGE. Lives are in his hands. HE BENEFITS from an Ohio court system that is willing to see a man's battery of of his intimate partner as "personal." THAT is the wisdom and fairness a person might receive instead in this Ohio county after struggling their difficult family lives all the way to a court of law... a judge WHO BENEFITS FROM a court system that believes domestic violence is nobody's business.

[NM] Officer Barela's aggravated battery charges expanded

News Excerpts from June:
A Las Cruces Police officer charged with aggravated battery against a household member and false imprisonment has bonded out of jail... Loren Barela was charged for allegedly grabbing the hair of his girlfriend of five years and pushing her face into a toilet June 1... [She said] Barela put his hands on her neck and squeezed so that she could not scream. She said he struck her several times on her body and left her with bruises. She reported that he told her "she did not deserve to live" and that she feared for her life. The girlfriend claimed she tried to leave their apartment but he blocked the door and would not allow her to leave and threw her cell phone so she could not call police...

News from this week:
.... Barela was originally charged with aggravated battery against a household member and false imprisonment. The grand jury added charges of aggravated battery against a household member with a deadly weapon, interference with communications, two counts of battery against a household member, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. "The allegation is he pointed a pistol at his girlfriend," Doña Ana County Assistant District Attorney James Dickens said. He added that the alleged controlled substance was steroids... Police spokesman Dan Trujillo said Barela left the force June 12... He could not say if Barela was fired or resigned...

(Which means there will be no finding from an internal investigation on his police career record and he may be eligible for another law enforcement position.)

[PA] Trooper Schell charged with stalking

Pennsylvania State Trooper Cpl. Timothy Schell is charged with stalking and harassing a woman who turned him down for a lunch date. He sent her text messages that haven't been made public, and went into the law enforcement database to look her up. He's also facing a charge at the same time of indecent assault from contact he had with a 15 year old youth.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Ohio media could give life from Jessie's death, but sleep.

There have been literally thousands of articles pouring over us - led by the various Ohio publications - regarding the death of Jessie Marie Davis & the arrest of her man-friend Canton Police Officer Bobby Cutts. Reporters flocked to Canton from around the country for the story from the time Jessie came up missing - stepping over stories in their own backyards to get a piece of this media sensation. Women are missing every day, but this one had all the elements necessary to distract America from politics, starting with Jessie's 2 year old son telling his grandmother that mommy is in the rug, clues like bleach spread on the bedroom floor, the house ransacked, a married-cop boyfriend, interracial intrigue, and Jessie's unborn full-term baby who already had a name - Chloe. Internet forum boards overflowed with both web crime sleuths & concerned caring people - pooled to worry, pray, or solve the new whodunnit together.

The news articles did their duty informing on the progress of the search for Jessie, the news conferences, did cameo pieces on the players, etc. They clamored like paparazzi after Jessie's family and presented the twists and turns as they arose, by the hour. I won't recall those here.

When Nikki Giavasis emerged as Bobby's ex to say that he was abusive to both her and their daughter I saw hope that the attention may turn to work good for those still living. Nikki said that BEFORE BOBBY CUTTS WAS A POLICE OFFICER he had a domestic violence incident on record. Reporters though did not ask how he was hired if that was true. Nikki said that she has had protection orders against him - with the most recent THIS YEAR. Reporters did not ask how did he continue to wear a badge and carry a gun? In her most recent court battle with Cutts earlier this year a psychiatrist who had interviewed their daughter decreed Cutts as "abusive" but no reporters asked aloud how that had no impact on his position of having armed authority over others.

Jessie was found. Bobby led folks to the hole in the woods where he and his friend had put her body. Now that he was proven to be connected to Jessie's death I waited for the subject of officer-involved domestic violence to be addressed, but instead it turned to - who was this who helped him move the body, reports of racist flyers being distributed in their town, memorial flowers on Jessie's lawn, the Canton Police Chief on how well they pre-screen their officers, and that Bobby Cutts was hired over higher-scoring Caucasian recruits because Canton needed to attain a ratio of African American officers. Articles flowed on the high risk of death-by-violence to pregnant women. It was a race issue, a pregnant issue, a cover yo ass issue.

For Jessie's family it was and will always be a Jessie is gone issue.

After Jessie was laid to rest it was certain the media was failing it's opportunity to save other Jessie's - those still living. NOW was the time to address how Bobby Cutts - enforcer of the law - came to believe that he was above the law. (Who puffed him up?) He not only had domestic violence on his record before he was hired, but had been FIRED for LYING, arbitrated back ONTO the force, and stayed - in the courts view - dangerous enough to have protection orders against. NOW was the time to ask why he was an officer at all, and whether Jessie would have been his girlfriend if he had been a fired-for-lying EX police officer. Would the baby that she was probably killed for carrying have even been conceived if she knew Bobby Cutts was criminal? NOW was the time to ask if Jessie felt she couldn't reach for HELP from his police department - or whether she tried to but was hampered by his co-workers. Or as many abusive officers do, was she threatened what would happen if she said anything to risk his career. Now was the time to ask - who could Jessie call when Canton allowed a criminal to don the authority and power of it's arresting arm? Or if she felt no fear - was it because Canton trusted him, so he must be trust WORTHY? How many other Canton officers came on board with dv in their history? How many more have protection orders against them? What is Canton's policy on officer involved domestic violence? (MY bet, is that they don't HAVE one!) Questions that will continue to kill if they are not asked and addressed.

What about Jessie's being a "wrongful death" that perhaps could have been avoided if liable parties had maintained professional standards? No reporter has touched the "L" word. People will say, as they said here in Tacoma when our police chief David Brame committed murder-suicide on his wife Crystal, that "only one person is responsible for her death." But after a $75M lawsuit here against our city government and police department, it turns out that that is not true. CITIES AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS ARE LEGALLY AT-RISK WHEN THEY KNOWINGLY KEEP POLICE OFFICERS WHO COMMIT CRIMES. Ask Tacoma. Are there possibly prior unprocessed complaints by Jessie, or calls to the chief informally for help? No one has ruled it out because no one has asked the question. It's time to ask those questions... for the sake of all the Jessie's & Crystal's who are still alive - in Ohio and across the nation.

I have tales to tell about Ohio. Here is a list of the folders on my computer that I have collected in just the last 3 years of officer-involved domestic violence cases in Ohio. As you look it over, keep in mind that most cases don't go to the news - and even more cases are never made known to anyone at all - because of fear.

1. OH CHIEF GRAALMAN GETS TO KEEP WEAPONS AFTER DV
2. OH Chief Irvines wife flees fearing for safety
3. OH Chief Kaiser commits suicide after telling wife_2006
4. OH Chief Keller charged with DV on wife_dv history
5. OH Chief Kim Nuesse gets prot order against husband_2007
6. OH Chief Mason obstructs dv charge processing_namecalls
7. OH Chief Morelli wife drops domestic violence charge_2007
8. OH Chief Roosa drunk with gun_not arrested
9. OH Chief Sederat and the primary aggressor_many charges_2007
10. OH Cincinnati Chief Tom Streicher DV
11. OH Cincinnati Officer Robert Hill_dv
12. OH Cpt Ed Morrison is a mean man_dv
13. OH Cpt Prade killed ex wife Margo
14. OH Deputy Brandenburg arrested for dv again_2006
15. OH Deputy Burden critically injured infant daughter
16. OH Deputy Cobb_dv_menacing_abduction
17. OH Deputy Coleman dv attack on wife
18. OH Deputy Cotton choked wife_2 year old also hurt
19. OH Deputy Lowe incest appeal rejected by top court_2007
20. OH Deputy Sheriff Burns charged with assaulting wife_2006
21. OH Deputy Slough dv and 40G of guns
22. OH Deputy Wolfe_1st degree murder of GF
23. OH Detective Compton_wife and daughter injured_resigns
24. OH Detective Teague asked to resign over domestic incident
25. OH Ex-Deputy Mosketti with dv hx gets hired by county
26. OH Ex chief of police Swartout in custody for dv
27. OH Ex Deputy Bailey murder suicide of Lori_2006
28. OH Ex Officer Harton stabbed shot wife Elizabeth
29. OH Ex Police Chief Thomas Keenan dv
30. OH Ex Police union prez Ligas arrested for dv_2007
31. OH Face-punched wife says Cop Roush can keep gun
32. OH Kim Locciassano and uncooperative officer
33. OH Lieutenant Steve Noftz dv
34. OH Lorain Officer Gerek indicted for rape and DV
35. OH Lt Barton killed Vickie Barton
36. OH Lt Ezerski breaks in ex-wifes_SWAT standoff_2007
37. OH Lt Oswald dv paternity murder_Mansfield PD
38. OH Lt Varvel arrested after open-air 911 call from wife_2007
39. OH Lt Wallace choked wife
40. OH Marion County Deputy Dennis Potts DV_2005
41. OH Newlyweds Officer Boni and wife arrested for dv
42. OH Officer Ballenger shot by ex Nicole_says raped_2007
43. OH Officer Barnhardt allowed to stalk women_Chief silent
44. OH Officer Beitko dv and death by brother-in-law
45. OH Officer Bertram charged in 2 dv incidents
46. OH Officer Browns dv on wife not carried online_2006
47. OH Officer Brunswick Accused Of Assaulting Girlfriend
48. OH Officer Collins cop on cop dv
49. OH Officer Crawford 43 cnts sex abuse of his kids_2007
50. OH OFFICER Cutts Gf Jessie Davis Missing_2007
51. OH Officer Diels dv on wife_back to anger mgmnt_2006
52. OH Officer Fern assaults 15yo son_2006
53. OH Officer Flynn fired for dv_rehired_arrested for dv again_2007
54. OH Officer Ford arrested for running over GFs foot
55. OH Officer Grzywaczewski murder suicide of Mary Lyons_2007
56. OH Officer Hensley dv
57. OH Officer Houser_Chiefs sons dv_a PERSONAL matter_2006
58. OH Officer James Kieffer resigns facing DV charges_2001
59. OH Officer Jameson arrested for strangling girlfriend_2006
60. OH Officer Jesus Sanchez armed stalking _2006-2007
61. OH Officer Joe Eichhorn dv
62. OH Officer Jones plea bargains deadly dv to a lesser_2007
63. OH Officer Kessler shot cop girlfriends husband_2006
64. OH Officer Kowalewskis dv_Nothing happened_2004
65. OH Officer Krista Adams attacked by Sgt Bulman_dv_2006
66. OH Officer Lauro using computer to harm wife 2004
67. OH Officer Loveless charged with hitting wife_2004
68. OH Officer Meeks gf says he broke her face by accident_2006
69. OH Officer OLeary dv_license hording_and_classic chief
70. OH Officer Overmyer ousted after victim of dv
71. OH Officer Parra DV accused_honored by his pd_kept wrking
72. OH Officer Pattons gun and badge removed_dv charges
73. OH Officer Phillips held wife at gunpoint
74. OH OFFICER PORTENTOSO TO JAIL FOR STALKING WIFE
75. OH Officer Rebeca Kratz charged with dv on ex_2007
76. OH Officer Schmidt repeat dv_wife coerced to recant
77. OH Officer Solether indicted_fired for cop-on-cop rape_2006
78. OH OFFICER SONYA NEWTON-BUTLER dv
79. OH Officer Triggs dv_charged and dismissed_2004
80. OH Officer Wilhelm dv_officer assault_and plea bargain_06-07
81. OH Officer Williams and Pamela dv
82. OH Officer Worthy wife refused to sign dv paperwork
83. OH Officer Wyatts years of incestuous sex with minor
84. OH Police Chaplain Ward choked wife with cord_2005
85. OH Retired cop Ayers killed while beating wife
86. OH Sgt Banks pleads guilty to dv BUT
87. OH Sgt Booher_danger to wife and officers
88. OH Sgt Mitchell dv_harassment_not guilty
89. OH Stalking Officer Brame killed by unknown shooter
90. OH Tina Lovejoy killed by ex Trooper Jones_2006
91. OH TOO SENSITVE TO PUT ON FOLDER TITLE
92. OH Trooper Cory Harris dv on wife
93. OH Trooper Michael Evans_PA State Police
94. OH Trooper Oaks DV_handcuffed_escaped_jailed
95. OH Trooper Sgt Daren Johnson DV on gf Mengerink
96. OH Union Prez Marquiz DV
97. OH Unnamed Austintown police officer dv assault
98. OH WIFE NIEMA BLAKE SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES_Cop husband NOT CHARGED

Ohio, you have a problem - and Ohio reporters - you have a social responsibility that you are comfortably overlooking. The thousands of articles that poured out of Tacoma's very high-profile case here in Washington State FOCUSED on the PROBLEMS, fortified the efforts that successfully changed our state laws, helped pressure the MANDATORY creation of specific officer-involved dv policies in every law enforcement agency in our state, and drew LIGHT onto the efforts that sparked federal legislation - now making funds available to law enforcement agencies ready to take this on beFORE deaths happen. People resigned, lawsuits avalanched, victims came up out of the cracks - and we were a MESS for the duration - but now we have shiny things to show and share.

Media, don't just sell papers with Jessie's blood. Make it mean life & quality of life for others. Give her that, because you can. Start asking who knew what when, and what did they do about it? The rest will flow.

Study Tacoma, learn from our mistakes and our attempts to make things better.

Monday, July 2, 2007

In honor of Joan McHugh (murdered by NYPD Lt. Bouillon)

Previous blog post:
NYC Lt. Bouillon kills companion of 22 years, Joan McHugh, & himself

Institute for the Future of Aging Services is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the 2nd Annual Joan Anne McHugh Award for Leadership in Long-term Care Nursing. This award recognizes nurses who provide excellent clinical care, while demonstrating leadership and a commitment to the field of long-term care nursing. Nurses working for AAHSA member organizations and meeting other eligibility criteria may be nominated. All entries must be postmarked by July 13, 2007. Download the McHugh Award Brochure for complete details.

[FL] If I was Fire Lt. Brandy Hall I would want someone living to ask


Fire Lt. Brandy Hall has been missing for almost a year. (See earlier post here.) The last day anyone saw her was the day before she was supposed to testify at her husband's trial - reportedly, in his behalf, as he faced charges and possible prison for a pot-growing operation. Here's an excerpt from an article about what the former Osceola County Fire Chief Jeff Hall said to the court:
...On Friday, Jeff Hall asked the court for mercy and talked about how he was a family man and needed to help care for his wife, who had a skull fracture. He did not give details about the fracture, such as when or how it happened. Jeff Hall's attorney also told the judge that Hall's wife was supposed to testify but he couldn't reach her that day...
(Source:
Police search for Brevard firefighter, Orlando Sentinel, Denise-Marie Balona, August 20, 2006. The full article is no longer online but ask me for it and I'll send it.)
His cracked-skull comment is floating unconnected to anything I've read about him in the last ten months since it appeared in that article. As a mom myself, I have to ask here how he can say that in court to a judge, and there be never another mention of it? Jeff Hall has been back in view again, with news video that includes him emotionally reading their young daughter's letter to her missing mom. He says the children want her to come home. He's all choked up. He hopes, he says, that someone will come forward with information.