Behind The Blue Wall

Keeping this display of officer-involved domestic violence fatalities on top from now on...

2012-02-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

The Officer-Involved Domestic Violence (OIDV) Fatalities photo presentation that was here has been deleted by ROCKYOU.com, where it had been streamed from. Rockyou was sold. Until the new presentation is rebuilt and updated, a screencaptured copy is here on LaneJudson.com - the site it was originally compiled for.

Email me updates
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The blog has gotten so big, with thousands of posts here, that the search box at the very top of the page sometimes does not find the posts. There is another search box under the heading that can handle it and always works.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence IPV abuse law enforcement public safety cloud writer snx94gvmpt PERPETRATED]

[PA] There's no title for this post. It's just sad. Everyone is standing in the need of prayer.

2012-02-21T06:33:00.000-08:00

TROOPER'S WIFE SECURES PFA ORDER
observer-reporter.com
By Linda Metz
2/11/2012
[Excerpts] The wife of a state trooper accused of being drunk when he crashed into another vehicle Wednesday, killing the driver [Daryl Leroy Nunemaker], has been granted a temporary protection-from-abuse order against her husband. Washington County Judge Gary Gilman Thursday granted the temporary PFA order to [Mrs.] Dalessandro of Canonsburg, who filed for protection from her husband, Jeffrey Michael Dalessandro, following the accident. Jeffrey Dalessandro, 35, who is assigned to Troop B's Pittsburgh station, faces numerous charges, including homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, in connection with the 10:15 p.m. crash that killed Leroy Nunemaker, 21, of Edinboro... [Mrs.] Dalessandro said she's afraid her husband will harm her or their two sons, ages 5 and 7.... A hearing on the permanency of the order is set for 9:30 a.m. Feb. 21 before Gilman... [Full article here]

It hurts to post. What a sad mess all the way around, for everyone involved.
Condolences to the family and friends of Daryl.
Mrs. Nunemaker, you are strong and doing your best for the kids.
Jeffrey please do what you can to hold on and accept help.
Lifting a prayer for all.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities pennyslvania state politics]

[WI] Officer Ferencevich facing domestic charges that include gun use

2012-02-21T03:03:00.001-08:00

Minocqua Police Officer Mark Ferencevich is facing charges of endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct/domestic abuse. Ferencevich, who is now on administrative leave, has been employed at the Minocqua Police Department since 2010. Minocqua Police Chief Andrew Gee isn't sharing details. I'm opting to not post Officer Ferencevich's picture.
[Google him here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal wisconsin state politics]

[AL] Who's the Boss? Sheriff Ana Franklin is. Deputy Fanning can appeal if he wants to, but...

2012-02-19T00:02:00.000-08:00

..."These are serious charges," [Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin] said... [Deputy Donald] Fanning’s termination is final regardless of the outcome of any court case, Franklin said. "He can ask to appeal it, but deputy sheriffs are appointed by the sheriff and they work at the will of the sheriff, and they can be terminated at any time and it’s not subject to appeal," she said....

MORGAN COUNTY DEPUTY ARRESTED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
WAFF
Source: Limestone County Sheriff's Department
Posted: Feb 16, 2012
[Excerpt] A Morgan County Sheriff's deputy was arrested on domestic violence charges. Donald Fanning turned himself in Wednesday night on a warrant charging him with domestic violence and strangulation. Fanning also has two felony domestic violence warrants out on him from the Huntsville Police Department... [Full article here]

MORGAN DEPUTY ARRESTED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The News Courier in Athens, Alabama
Adam Smith
February 17, 2012
[Excerpts] A Morgan County sheriff’s deputy is being held in the Limestone County Jail and is out of a job after being charged with domestic violence... His bail has been set at $30,000. Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin said Fanning has been terminated from the department. “He had not turned in his uniform, but he has been notified (of his termination),” she said... [Full article here]

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGES TO COST DEPUTY: Jailed Morgan officer to be fired
The Decatur Daily
By Seth Burkett
2/17/12
[Excerpts] A Morgan County deputy arrested on domestic violence charges will be terminated from his job, Sheriff Ana Franklin said Thursday... Fanning faces charges of second-degree domestic violence and strangulation. Both are Class B felonies. Franklin said she told Fanning on Thursday afternoon that he was being terminated for conduct unbecoming a law enforcement officer, but the paperwork on his dismissal had not been completed. She said Fanning would be given an official termination letter later. “It was ordered in a protection from abuse order that all weapons be surrendered, so he’s unable to perform the duties of his job, and his conduct relative to this case was such that he needed to be terminated,” Franklin said. “These are serious charges,” she said... Fanning’s termination is final regardless of the outcome of any court case, Franklin said. “He can ask to appeal it, but deputy sheriffs are appointed by the sheriff and they work at the will of the sheriff, and they can be terminated at any time and it’s not subject to appeal,” she said... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal professionalism alabama state politics]

[NY] Officer Walerowicz gets probation after face-punching girlfriend - Niagra Falls PD

2012-02-18T06:17:00.000-08:00

...Niagra Falls Police Officer Henry Walerowicz] had been accused of punching, his then girlfriend in the face during an incident on May 15... Testimony in the case showed Walerowicz was involved in an intimate relationship with the victim at the same time he was seeing another woman that he has a child with, while also divorcing a third woman... Medical records showed the victim suffered a concussion and had a bruise to her face...

PREVIOUS POST:
[NY] Niagara Falls Police Officer Walerowicz's second arrest is for domestic violence. The first arrest is sealed.

FALLS COP GETS PROBATION IN TONAWANDA DOMESTIC CASE
Niagara Gazette
By Michael Regan
February 16, 2012
[Excerpts] A Niagara Falls Police officer avoided jail time at sentencing in Tonawanda City Court on Wednesday morning following a domestic assault conviction. Henry J. Walerowicz, 40, of Niagara Falls, will instead face three years of probation and a five-year order of protection against his former girlfriend, following a conviction last year for striking her in the face in May. He also will not be allowed to possess fire arms... Walerowicz remains on paid administrative leave from the Falls force pending a possible appeal... Walerowicz has a history of criminal charges prior to his tenure with the department, including an incident in Lackawanna that has since been sealed... alerowicz did punch the victim, which was backed up by a photo presented by prosecutors during the trial showing the victim with a bruised eye. [Full article here]

OLDER:

ASSAULT CHARGES FOR FALLS OFFICER
Niagara Gazette
By Neale Gulley and Rick Pfeiffer
May 28, 2011
[Excerpts] A Niagara Falls police officer was arrested in the City of Tonawanda for misdemeanor assault stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident earlier this month. Henry J. Walerowicz, 40, of Niagara Falls, surrendered voluntarily after police in the City of Tonawanda issued a warrant for his arrest... “We were aware of the victim and her complaint,” Falls Police Superintendent John Chella said... “We have consulted with the corporation counsel and the city administrator and they are drawing up suspension papers,” Chella said... If the administrative charges are not resolved in 20 working days, Walerowicz would placed on paid administrative leave pending further hearings. “It was a domestic incident and apparently it got physical. A complaint was made. It was reviewed by detectives. Information and statements were obtained,” City of Tonawanda Police Lt. Fredric Foels said. “Police officers are held to the same standards and mores as everyone else. Because the person is a Niagara Falls police officer we called Niagara Falls police and talked to their professional standards unit. They were apprised of the situation. Within two hours yesterday (Walerowicz) surrendered at our police station,” he said. Sources tell Greater Niagara Newspapers Walerowicz had a criminal arrest around the time he was hired by the Falls Police. The incident took place in Lackawanna and the case was reportedly quickly resolved and then sealed... Walerowicz is the second Falls officer to face domestic violence charges in the last year. In December, veteran Officer Mark Feldhousen was arrested and charged with second-degree assault for an incident involving an estranged girlfriend. On May 3, a Niagara County Court jury found Feldhousen guilty of third-degree assault. He faces sentencing on that conviction in June. [Full article here]

A POLICE MATTER
Niagara Falls Reporter
Oct. 11, 2011
[Excerpts] That there is a serious morale problem in the Niagara Falls Police Department is inarguable. On the heels of former patrolman Ryan Warme's guilty plea to charges of drug dealing, witness intimidation and sex crimes, no fewer than three city police officers have been charged with domestic violence counts over the past 10 months. NFPD Lt. Dave Kinney, eldest son of Department of Public Works Director Dave Kinney, last week joined Mark Feldhausen and Henry Walerowicz on the list of city police officers arrested....Police Chief John Chella told reporters he knew "very little" about the Kinney case. He must be the only one then, because the streets have been buzzing with the story since the end of July. It's an ugly story, and perhaps the ugliest part of it is the special treatment Kinney received because his father is a top appointee of the Dyster administration... [Full article here]

FALLS POLICE OFFICER CONVICTED OF ASSAULTING FEMALE
Niagara Gazette
By Rick Pfeiffer
December 2, 2011
[Excerpts] A Falls cop, accused of assault in a domestic violence incident, has been convicted after a two-day trial in City of Tonawanda Court. Judge Mark Saltarelli found Officer Henry Walerowicz guilty of third-degree assault. He had been accused of punching, his then girlfriend in the face during an incident on May 15... Testimony in the case showed Walerowicz was involved in an intimate relationship with the victim at the same time he was seeing another woman that he has a child with, while also divorcing a third woman... Medical records showed the victim suffered a concussion and had a bruise to her face... The judge said Walerowicz had to be held to a “higher standard” because he is a police officer... The victim originally contacted Falls Police about the assault. “We were aware of the victim and her complaint,” Falls Police Superintendent John Chella said. “We turned the matter over to the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office and they determined it happened in Erie County (and referred it to the DA there)”... “I’ll be meeting with the corporation counsel Monday and we will be exploring termination (of Walerowicz),” Chella said... In October, Feldhousen was accused of violating the terms of his probation for having booze and ammunition in his home during a visit by Niagara County probation officers. [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety repeat hx murder new york state politics]

[NY] Niagara Falls Police Lt. Kinney trial for domestic charges set for April 2nd

2012-02-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

The Buffalo News
A trial date of April 2 was set Tuesday for a suspended Niagara Falls police lieutenant who faces domestic violence misdemeanors. State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. also set a March 20 pretrial appearance for Lt. David W. Kinney, 45, who was suspended from the force following his Oct. 5 arrest. Kinney is charged with two counts of second-degree criminal trespass and one count of third-degree menacing, stemming from purported incidents at his girlfriend’s Niagara Falls home July 23 and Aug. 9. Another man allegedly was present on the latter occasion, leading to the menacing charge. [LINK]

OLDER:

FALLS POLICE LIEUTENANT CHARGED IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE
Niagara Gazette
By Rick Pfeiffer
October 6, 2011
[Excerpts] A Niagara Falls Police lieutenant has been arraigned on domestic violence-related charges. Lt. Dave Kinney, a 16-year veteran of the force was arraigned in State Supreme Court on Wednesday on a Niagara County grand jury indictment that charges him with two counts of third-degree criminal trespass and one count of third-degree menacing. Kinney pleaded not guilty to the charges, all misdemeanors, and was released on his own recognizance... Falls Police Superintendent John Chella said Kinney was placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 10, when the “allegations against him first surfaced”... DA [district attorney] Michael Violante declined to discuss the specifics of the case against Kinney... Chella also said he knew “very little” about the specifics of Kinney’s case. After his arraignment, Kinney was moved from administrative leave to suspension...It’s the third time in less than a year that a Falls police officer has been charged in a domestic violence-related incident. In December, Officer Mark Feldhousen, a 38-year veteran of the force, was arrested on a felony assault charge. He was later convicted on a misdemeanor assault charge, after a jury trial, and sentenced to three years probation in June. In May, Officer Henry Walerowicz, a three-year veteran, was arrested by City of Tonawanda police on a misdemeanor assault charge. That case is still pending in Erie County Court... “Although (Kinney) is only accused, not convicted (of any charges), it does distract from the great work the men and women of the Niagara Falls Police Department are doing.” [Full article here]

A POLICE MATTER
Niagara Falls Reporter
Oct. 11, 2011
[Excerpts] That there is a serious morale problem in the Niagara Falls Police Department is inarguable. On the heels of former patrolman Ryan Warme's guilty plea to charges of drug dealing, witness intimidation and sex crimes, no fewer than three city police officers have been charged with domestic violence counts over the past 10 months. NFPD Lt. Dave Kinney, eldest son of Department of Public Works Director Dave Kinney, last week joined Mark Feldhausen and Henry Walerowicz on the list of city police officers arrested....Police Chief John Chella told reporters he knew "very little" about the Kinney case. He must be the only one then, because the streets have been buzzing with the story since the end of July. It's an ugly story, and perhaps the ugliest part of it is the special treatment Kinney received because his father is a top appointee of the Dyster administration... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety brass new york state politics]

[NYPD] Four New York Police Department suicides since the beginning of the year.

2012-02-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

NYPD Police Officer Matthew Schindler,
married father of three, was driving toward his home on the Long Island Expressway when he pulled over in Nassau County and shot himself. [Mass Of Christian Burial Saturday February 18, 2012, 10:00 A.M. at St. Elizabeth R.C. Church.] Date of death: February 13, 2012.

Schindler is the second NYPD officer to commit suicide in eight days and the fourth since the start of the year.

NYPD Police Officer Brian Saar,
a father of twin five-year-old daughters, shot and killed himself in his house in Suffolk County on Super Bowl Sunday, reportedly after arguing with his wife. Date of death: February 5, 2012.

NYPD Police Officer Patrick Werner,
killed himself at his parents’ home in Yorktown Heights after fleeing from a car accident. Sources told The New York Post he had been arguing with his girlfriend on his cell phone at the time of the accident. Date of death: January 15, 2012.

NYPD Police Officer Terrence Dean,
shot himself with his service pistol while on duty at the scene of a Queens car burglary after getting a phone call from his fiancée, urging him to get help for his severe depression. He had held a gun to his head in front of her little girl earlier that day. DOD January 19, 2012.

Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance
http://www.poppainc.com/

Safe Call Now
http://www.safecallnow.org/
On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/safecallnow

Badge of Life
http://www.badgeoflife.com/
On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Badge-Of-Life-Police-Suicide-Prevention/134416789957929
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder new york state politics]

[US][LA] Wrongful death lawsuit filed against police officer husband of Chanda White Pickney

2012-02-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

...The suit states [4 year old] Ethan was at the family's Timberlake subdivision home while his mother, Chanda Pickney, allegedly was held captive and killed in late October... The language in the suit and evidence in the criminal case being developed against Donald Pickney strongly suggest he tortured Chanda for two to three days before she died Oct. 29

PREVIOUS POST
[US][LA] Chanda White's police officer husband (with past accusations) under arrest for her murder - ...Both of the Pickney's were employed at the Alexandria Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Pineville - Donald as a full-time police officer and Chanda as a physician's assistant... Donald Pickney previously served in the Marines, in the the Louisiana National Guard and in law enforcement with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office and the Opelousas Police Department... Paul N. Gennuso, who is retired from the Opelousas Police Department, said he knew both Pickneys well ... and had praise for the victim... "She had a inner beauty that was unbelievable"..

SUIT SEEKS PAYMENT FOR SON OF SLAIN WOODWORTH WOMAN
Alexandria Town Talk?
Billy Gunn
Feb. 15, 2012
[Excerpts] The mother of a Woodworth woman who died last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Donald Pickney, who is suspected of holding his wife, Chanda Pickney, hostage for days and killing her. The suit filed by Chanda Pickney's mother, Bernadell White, also seeks to collect from two insurance companies Chanda's life insurance proceeds for Ethan Pickney, the 4-year-old son of Chanda and Donald Pickney and the grandson of White. White filed the suit earlier this month in 9th District Court in Alexandria. Bernadell and Andrew White now care for Ethan at their Opelousas home. The suit states Ethan was at the family's Timberlake subdivision home while his mother, Chanda Pickney, allegedly was held captive and killed in late October... The language in the suit and evidence in the criminal case being developed against Donald Pickney strongly suggest he tortured Chanda for two to three days before she died Oct. 29... The lawsuit, which names Donald Pickney as one of the defendants, seeks damages from Pickney. It claims Chanda suffered pain, mental anguish, emotional suffering, shock and grief. It states that before she died, Chanda had a "conscious awareness of her impending death"... Pickney has been charged in a bill of information with manslaughter, but the case will go before a Rapides Parish grand jury where the manslaughter charge could be enhanced and other charges added in an indictment... In a pretrial hearing this month, 9th District Judge Thomas Yeager allowed into evidence crime scene photos taken at the Pickneys' home, including photographs of the couple's bathtub, scratches on the footboard of their bed, blood spots on the bed, a handcuff pouch, bruises behind one of Chanda's ears, injuries in her mouth and on the insides of her calves, according to court records. Chanda Pickney was a physician's assistant at the Alexandria Veterans Administration Medical Center in Pineville, where Donald Pickney was a police officer who patrolled the grounds... Bernadell White seeks damages for Ethan Pickney's loss of a mother's love, guidance, companionship and financial support. White also is pursuing life insurance proceeds from two policies Chanda had at the time of her death. The suit names as defendants the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance Companies, which the lawsuit says have not paid death benefits. The beneficiary in the policy is Donald Pickney... [Donald Pickney] is a military veteran, a former deputy with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office and a former officer with the Opelousas Police Department. [Full article here]

A FEW ITEMS SINCE THE LAST POST:

Judge grants protective order for Woodworth slaying victim's relatives
thetowntalk.com
By Billy Gunn
November 3, 2011
[Excerpts] A Rapides Parish judge has granted a protective order to the parents and 4-year-old child of a homicide victim believed by police to have been killed by her husband. Andrew and Bernadell White this week filed for the protective order against Donald Pickney of Woodworth, who is suspected of killing Chanda White Pickney. Ninth District Judge Thomas Yeager signed the order Wednesday... Writing in the petition for protective order alludes to some of charges against Donald Pickney. "Between Oct. 27 and Oct. 29, 2011, ... the defendant admitted to striking the minor's mother, handcuffing the minor's mother," according to the petition... Rapides Parish Sheriff's Maj. Jasper Bay said Thursday he would not release more information on the investigation... Bay said detectives don't know exactly how Chanda Pickney was killed, and he would not say what investigators believe was the cause of her death. An autopsy was done on the victim's body on Monday. Bay said the report is weeks away and that more information would be released at a later time... [Full article here]

RPSO Charges Husband In Wife's Death
KALB
Posted: Oct 31, 2011 7:38 AM PST
Updated: Nov 14, 2011 8:43 AM PST
[Excerpts] ...On Saturday, Rapides Parish Sheriff's deputies were called to Cabrini Hospital to investigate a "dead on arrival" patient, 33-year-old Chanda Pickney of Woodworth, who was brought to the hospital by her husband, Donald. "Based on the physical nature of it, things on her body, we felt that we had enough probable cause to arrest her husband in the death of Mrs. Pickney," said Major Jasper Bay, with RPSO. Pickney was arrested and booked into the parish jail where he is being held on $265,000 bond. He's being charged with one count each of 2nd degree battery, false imprisonment and 2nd degree murder.... [Full article here]

EXCERPTS FROM

LEGACY GUEST BOOK COMMENTS

...My condolence to the White family. Ms. White was my provider at the VA Center in Alexandria, Louisiana. Ms. White was a bright and caring person. Not only was she my provider, she was my friend. I would ask about her son on every visit, she was so proud of him. She had a way of showing that she cared about you and your life. I feel very lucky to have known Ms. White. You will be truly missed. Be with God...

...I think of you everyday Chanda, along with all of my young cousins who are with you in heaven...

...R.I.P Chanda - miss you and think about you everyday
co-worker VAMC...

...The news of Ms. White's passing was a shock. The light of one of the most caring and thoughtful people I have ever met has been snuffed out before her time. May she walk in the light of God always...

...To my provider at the VA Hospital.
I will miss you so much my dear friend...

...Truly our prayers are being lifted up to the Lord for this family, our hearts have been deeply touched and Chanda is having an impact on the hearts of so many people, even those that may not have known her very well. She will always be remember as a very quiet, meek and humble person...

...What a beautiful and kind woman, gone too soon. A piece of her is left behind in the form of handsome Ethan. I pray that her beautiful presence is alive each day in Ethan. Dear God, shelter him in your arms and rock him to sleep doing difficult times. When our hearts are heavy, catch our tears...

...A prayer of comfort for your family has been sent to GOD. I will truly miss your smiling face here at the VAMC...

...Chanda White was a chosen one, She choose to live her life helping others and honoring the Lord. She was an angel and a helper to me when I was enrolled in LSUE and we met up again when she was at LSUHSC-Shreveport. I was a much older student and was fortunate to have wonderful people around me like Chanda to help me. I have always admirred her beautiful smile and carrying nature. I want her mother and father to know that it was the younger students like Chanda that helped me to understand Trig, Chemistry, Physics, and many more classes to allow me to be where I am today. She is a true blessing to all around her and always willing to lend a helping hand. I am sure she is in heaven and smilling her sweet smile as she looks over he son. God Bless and take care of your family at this very difficult time...

...We send this message with sad hearts. We will miss Chanda living next door. Her smile will light forever...

...A kind & talented professional. A soft voice & touch. She will be missed. I pray for her family that they may feel God's comfort...

...To the family of Chanda White. I am a VA family employee. Our Lord blessed our VA family with a beautiful sister and fellow co-worker for nearly 6 wonderful years. Previous postings can clearly state pure facts regarding Chanda but I know for sure that she had a spiritual soul made of gold and an outer being made of beauty, kindness & respectfulness. She was a loyal employee sister and a wonderful gift to her patients. Helping others was her mission. God loaned you Chanda, in physical form, for only 33 years but her heart and memories will be with you forever. She will be seen each and every day thru her beautiful son, Ethan. I would personally like to "Thank You" for rearing such a beautiful & respectful person. Our VA family chain, as well as the White family chain, has been broken but rest assure that we will see our beautiful Chanda again. Until then, rest in peace Chanda. To the White family and little Ethan, my prayers are with you as you endure this transitional time. God Bless...

...You are in my heart and prayers. I'm going to miss Chanda very much. She was not only my counselor, co-worker, but my friend. God has blessed me to know such a wonderful angel, Chanda. I love you and may you rest in peace...

...To her baby boy, your mother exemplified what a heart of GOLD means, she will forever be in your heart. Chanda, you will NEVER be forgotten....your beautiful smile still shines in the hearts of all who were so blessed to have met you. I love you, I miss you....rest in peace...

...My thoughts and prayers are with the family. I will miss being Ethan's teacher...

...HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY OF MY CO-WORKER AT THE VA. SHE WAS A BLESSING TO US AS WELL AS HER PATIENTS AND WE WILL ALL MISS HER. I WILL TRULY MISS HER WALKING BY MY OFFICE EACH MORNING WITH A CHEERFUL "HI"...

...Chanda White was a beautiful person. She made an impact on my life. I can still remember our converstations and how she made me see things more clearly. It's hard to beleive that she is gone from us so soon. No one can replace her, her role has ended. May you rest peacefully with God now Chanda. We will miss you...

...I worked with Chanda at the VA. She was such a beautiful person, inside and out. She touched so many lives and our lives are the better for it. She will be truly missed and will remain in our hearts. I wish her family a peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray for Ethan everyday...

...We are very sorry for your loss. You have our sympathy. Chanda was a great and caring person who will never be forgotten...

...May God be with her family, especially her son, just 4 years old...

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder united states federal louisiana state politics hx repeat gypsy cop hop]

[PA] Philadelphia Police Officer Carter accused of assaulting his wife

2012-02-16T00:31:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia Police officer Dwayne Carter, accused of assaulting his wife, was arrested on multiple domestic violence assault charges last Friday. After an internal affairs investigation Carter was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey has ordered that Carter be fired.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety professionalism pennsyvania state politics]

[NY] State Police Captain's wife, Cynthia Gavitt, still missing

2012-02-16T00:30:00.000-08:00

NOT FORGETTING CYNTHIA GAVITT

...Cynthia Gavitt, a mom of two, is the wife of Capt. William Gavitt of the State Police’s Troop G in Loudonville... "They know its one of their own, and they are working as hard as they can,” State Police Maj. William Sprague said... [November 1, 2011]

No one appears to still be looking for Cynthia, who was last seen October 28, 2011. The presumption appears to be that the river was the only place to look because her car was found nearby. Another presumption appears to be that police were looking for the victim of a suicide, because the bridge was the center of the search. Unlike famous missing people that get hundreds of articles written about them, Cynthia got a few days in the news - short articles with very little written about her as a human being other than she was sweet, the mom of 2, and a housewife. If she committed suicide, why was she that desolate? If she did not commit suicide, what happened to Cynthia Gavitt?

Below is all there is in the news.

POLICE SEARCHING FOR MISSING HALFMOON WOMAN AFTER FINDING HER VEHICLE ABANDONED IN PARKING LOT
The Saratogian
Michael Cignoli
Saturday, October 29, 2011
New York State Police are searching for a city woman after discovering her abandoned vehicle in a Halfmoon parking lot. State police said Cynthia Gavitt, 48, was last seen Friday morning. She is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds and has hazel eyes and brown hair. Her 2004 silver Toyota Camry was located Saturday in a parking lot off Canal Road in Halfmoon, officers said. Anyone who has seen Gavitt since Friday morning or has information regarding her whereabouts is asked to contact state police at 583-7000. [LINK]

TROOPERS SEEK HELP IN LOCATING SARATOGA WOMAN
timesunion.com
Monday, October 31, 2011
[Excerpt] HALFMOON, N.Y. (AP) — State police are seeking help from the public in locating a 48-year-old Saratoga County woman [Gavitt]... [Full article here]

MISSING WOMAN IS TROOPER’S WIFE
timesunion.com
November 1, 2011
by Dennis Yusko
[Excerpts] State Troopers Wednesday will resume searching around the Mohawk River in Halfmoon for the wife of a State Police captain who is sick and went missing. State Police and its scuba team have been looking since Saturday for Cynthia Gavitt, 48, of Saratoga Springs. On Tuesday, they concentrated their efforts in the river and around Canal Road, where police on Saturday discovered Gavitt’s Toyota Camry parked in a lot. Gavitt, a mom of two, is the wife of Capt. William Gavitt of the State Police’s Troop G in Loudonville. She has experienced severe physical health problems since the start of this year, which has been a major concern for her and her family, State Police Maj. William Sprague said. “There’s no indication she was forcibly taken or there was any crime committed,” Sprague said... She was reported missing Saturday morning. Search efforts have remained around Canal Road, which is located by the river. The scuba team stopped working at dusk. Members will continue their efforts early Wednesday, Sprague said... “They know its one of their own, and they are working as hard as they can,” Sprague said... [Full article here]

STATE POLICE STILL SEARCHING FOR MISSING SARATOGA WOMAN
YNN
Video reporter: Erin Vanella
11/01/2011 10:33 PM
[Excerpts] The search continues for a missing Saratoga woman. State Police say Cynthia Gavitt is married to a captain on the force. She was last seen on Friday. Police have been searching Halfmoon for signs of her disappearance after her car was found there on Saturday. Our Erin Vannella has the details... Police have released more information about a missing Saratoga woman. Cynthia Gavitt is the wife of a State Trooper... Police found her car on Saturday in a parking lot in Halfmoon. Since then, they have been searching the area for any leads. Cynthia Gavitt is married to Administrative Captain William Gavitt, who is stationed out of Troop G. POLICE SAY Cynthia has been suffering from severe physical health problems, medical problems, for the last year, and that has been on her mind... Members of the State Police say both Cynthia and Captain William Gavitt are well loved and respected by friends and family... Crews will resume their search Wednesday morning. [Full article here]

SEARCH CONTINUES FOR STATE TROOPER’S WIFE
YNN
11/02/2011 06:44 AM
[Excerpts] Police are resuming their search for a missing Saratoga County woman, who is the wife of a state trooper... "Our people have doubled their efforts. Captain Gavitt is widely respected. Our investigation has confirmed what many of us already know, that Cynthia Gavitt is well loved by her family, and liked and respected by all her friends and acquaintances," said Major William Sprague, State Police. Police have conducted aerial and ground searches, and divers are searching the Mohawk River with a sidescan sonar. [Full article here]

RIVER SEARCH FOR WOMAN WILL RESUME
timesunion.com
By Dennis Yusko
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
[Excerpts] State troopers Wednesday will resume searching around the Mohawk River for the wife of a State Police captain who is sick and went missing. State Police and their scuba team have been looking since Saturday for Cynthia Gavitt, 48, of Saratoga Springs... She has experienced severe physical health problems since the start of this year, which has been a major concern for her and her family, State Police Maj. William Sprague said... [Full article here]

TROOPERS STEP UP SEARCH FOR MISSING WOMAN
timesunion.com
By Dennis Yusko
Thursday, November 3, 2011
[Excerpts] Additional state troopers were dispatched Wednesday to the Mohawk River near the Crescent Bridge in an effort to find the ill wife of a State Police captain who went missing five days ago. "We haven't made any discoveries," Capt. John McCarthy said around noon Wednesday as he stood in a parking lot by the river just east of Route 9. The lot served as a base for the 25 to 30 troopers who conducted land and water searches on Wednesday for Cynthia Gavitt, 48, of Saratoga Springs. About 20 troopers worked there Tuesday, McCarthy said... The mother of two was reported missing Saturday when police found her vehicle along Canal Road, located just west of the bridge and Route 9. Cynthia Gavitt, a housewife, had experienced major medical problems since the beginning of the year, police said. "By all accounts, she is a very sweet woman," said McCarthy, who works with William Gavitt. State Police scuba teams were diving in the river in groups of four to six. The water is 6 to 25 feet deep in the area, McCarthy said. Other teams conducted ground searches around the bridge. Though the teams were aided by good weather Wednesday, the river water is so murky that divers can hardly see their hands in front of their faces, McCarthy said. The size of the search party was typical for a person who is believed to be missing in water, McCarthy said. "The hope is we find her and give the family some closure," he said. [Full article here]

STATE POLICE CONTINUE SEARCH FOR MISSING WOMAN
timesunion.com
Thursday, November 10, 2011
[Excerpts] State Police continued their search Thursday for a missing woman, Cynthia Gavitt, on the Mohawk River under the Crescent Bridge between Halfmoon and Colonie... According to State Trooper Maureen Tuffey, the search operation has been scaled back, with limited State Police involvement supplemented by area fire department divers. Their efforts, Tuffey said, have been hampered by poor visibility in the water. [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder suicide usur unsolved unresolved new york state politics]

[HI] Retired Honolulu Police Major Yasuhara murder-suicide of wife Julia

2012-02-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Sunday, retired Honolulu Police Major Leighton Yasuhara shot and killed his wife Julia before turning the gun on himself. Their son had gone to check on them after Leighton "unexpectedly" cancelled an appointment.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder suicide hawaii state politics]

[OR] What happened to the January gun domestic violence trial for Officer Botaitis?

2012-02-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

I was going to post what I had gathered on Portland police officer James Botaitis once he went to trial. I've checked the media and there has been no update on the scheduled January 23, 2012 trial. Did it happen? Was there a quiet deal? Was it rescheduled (and why)? Did the ex KNOW that she had a child molester in the house? (Oh my.)

The Portland police officer accused of burglary and assault charges in Clark County pulled a gun on the boyfriend of his estranged wife and ordered the man to get down on the ground, according to court documents. James Botaitis, 38, of Yacolt, appeared in a Clark County courtroom this morning on accusations of first-degree burglary-domestic violence, second-degree assault and felony criminal harassment... Clark County Superior Court Judge Scott Collier set trial for Jan. 23 [2012]...

CHARGES FILED AGAINST PORTLAND POLICE OFFICER
By FOX 12 (KPTV)
Posted: Oct 27, 2011 7:11 PM PST
Updated: Oct 27, 2011 7:38 PM PST
[Excerpts] Clark County prosecutors filed charges Thursday against Officer James Botaitis. The Portland police officer is accused of breaking in to his estranged wife's apartment earlier this week and threatening to kill her boyfriend... Bacus is a registered sex offender who was convicted of raping a child in 1999... [Full article here]

PORTLAND POLICE OFFICER HELD IN CLARK COUNTY JAIL ON MULTIPLE FELONIES
The Oregonian
By Noelle Crombie
October 25, 2011
[Excerpts] A veteran Portland police officer will appear in a Clark County courtroom this morning on accusations of burglary, assault and criminal harassment. James Botaitis was booked into the jail Monday. He is listed this morning on the inmate roster of the Clark County Jail website. He is accused of burglary-domestic violence and unrelated charges of assault and criminal harassment... In 2009, Multnomah County and the city of Portland each paid $5,000 to settle a suit that named Botaitis and Multnomah County Sheriff's Deputy Bret Burton... [Lyudmila] Trivol, a Ukrainian immigrant who spoke almost no English, claimed that the officers put her in a hold, forced her to the ground and snapped a bone in her arm... Trivol claimed the officers stepped on her back and pushed her face to the mud, as seven of her children and grandchildren watched... She was charged in Multnomah County Circuit Court with resisting arrest, harassment, disorderly conduct and assaulting a public safety officer. Prosecutors dropped the case after her attorneys submitted dozens of photographs taken by a neighbor showing her giving police and the driver lots of space as she stood on the sidewalk. [Full article here]

PORTLAND POLICE OFFICER JAMES BOTAITIS CHARGED WITH DV BURGLARY AND ASSAULT IN CLARK COUNTY
The Oregonian
By Kimberly A.C. Wilson
October 25, 2011
[Excerpts] The Portland police officer accused of burglary and assault charges in Clark County pulled a gun on the boyfriend of his estranged wife and ordered the man to get down on the ground, according to court documents. James Botaitis, 38, of Yacolt, appeared in a Clark County courtroom this morning on accusations of first-degree burglary-domestic violence, second-degree assault and felony criminal harassment. He was held on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court again Friday. About 6 p.m. Monday Botaitis went to the apartment of his estranged wife, Danielle Botaitis, 36, according to a probable cause affidavit. When she answered the door of her apartment on Southeast 136th Avenue, Botaitis asked if anyone else was with her. “Danielle tells him it’s none of his business,” according to the probable cause affidavit. “James takes out his pistol and goes past Danielle straight into the master bedroom. Danielle follows James telling him to leave. James comes to the closed master bedroom door and tells Danielle he will ‘shoot’ and ‘kill’ him in the bathroom” ... The felony harassment charge reflects Botaitis allegedly making the threat through his wife... James and Danielle Botaitis, who separated Sept. 1, are in the process of divorcing after an eight-year marriage. They have a 7-year-old son in common. James Botaitis has custody of the bo... "There shall be no contact with David Leroy Bacus who is a registered sex offender," the plan concludes... [Full article here]

PORTLAND POLICE OFFICER PLEADS NOT GUILTY
Columbian
By Paul Suarez
October 28, 2011
[Excerpts] A Portland police officer accused of threatening the boyfriend of his estranged wife with a gun has pleaded not guilty. James Botaitis, 38, of Yacolt was arraigned Friday on charges of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree burglary and harassment. Clark County Superior Court Judge Scott Collier set trial for Jan. 23, with a hearing on Dec. 12... Botaitis and his attorney, Josephine Townsend, declined to comment to reporters before and after the court appearance. John Botaitis, James Botaitis’ brother, said in a voice mail message to The Columbian that he couldn’t comment directly on the case. He did say, though, that “James was trying so hard to protect his child”... Botaitis is a 10-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau. He was placed on paid administrative leave and surrendered his police-related powers. [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal gun pistol oregon state politics]

[OR] Ex-Medford Police Officer Brian Brush gets 88 years for murdering ex-girlfriend, Lisa Bonney

2012-02-12T22:18:00.000-08:00

Lisa Bonney, loving mother of 2

March 3, 1964 - September 11, 2009

Former Oregon police officer Brian Brush was sentenced Thursday to more than 88 years in prison for the 2009 murder of his ex-girlfriend on a busy beach in front of tourists and two police officers...

PREVIOUS POSTS:

[OR] Slain Lisa Bonney feared her former-cop, businessman ex-boyfriend: “I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, he's going to kill me'”... - ...“I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, he's going to kill me,'” [Lisa] Bonney wrote in the petition for a protection order... [Brian Brushes' ex-wife] Tammie Brush wrote that she filed for divorce from Brush when he threatened to kill her... [Lisa Bonney's sister Kim] Klingler said her sister ended her relationship with Brush two months ago. Then, she said, the stalking began and Bonney got a restraining order. "She called me every night; she was scared"...
[OR] Former Medford police officer Brian Brush convicted of murdering ex girlfriend Lisa Bonney - ...A Washington state jury convicted former Medford police officer Brian Brush on Tuesday of aggravated first-degree murder in the shooting of a former girlfriend ...

BRIAN BRUSH, LONG BEACH KILLER, GETS 88 YEARS FOR 2009 MURDER
The Daily News Online
By Tony Lystra
Thursday, February 9
[Excerpts] Former Oregon police officer Brian Brush was sentenced Thursday to more than 88 years in prison for the 2009 murder of his ex-girlfriend on a busy beach in front of tourists and two police officers. "You deserve every single day of this," Pacific County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Sullivan told Brush, citing the "violence, terror, the horror" Brush inflicted on his victim, her family and the people who witnessed the shooting. Brush, 49, shot Lisa G. Bonney, a 45-year-old mother of two, on Sept. 11, 2009, four times with a shotgun... The sentence came at the end of an gut-wrenching, two-hour hearing during which some members of Bonney's family flung coarse language at Brush and condemned him. Nine security officers and Pacific County Sheriff's deputies positioned themselves throughout the courtroom, several of them flanking Brush as a few family members sneered in his direction... Bonney's 19-year-old daughter, Olivia Bonney of Vancouver, demanded repeatedly during a rambling testimony of about 20 minutes that Brush look at her. Brush kept his eyes cast downward. "Hey, you! You murdered her!" Olivia Bonney called out... The shooting happened about two months after Bonney broke up with Brush... "He was losing everything else in his life," [Lisa's ex-husband] Raymon Bonney said. "He snapped." Still, some of Bonney's family members said they could not bring themselves to hate Brush. Bonney's eldest daughter, Elizabeth Bonney, a 20-year-old junior at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, told the court she was overcome with an impulse during the trial to approach Brush and ask how he was holding up. "I don't know — I care," she said, as though she was surprised to hear herself speaking the words. "I just feel that now I'm left with cleaning up a mess — a mess that you created. I feel I need to be so strong. I do it for my mom." [Full article here]

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder oregon state politics]

[CA] LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus left her DNA on the body of murdered Sherri Rasmussen

2012-02-12T18:10:00.000-08:00

SHERRI RAE RASMUSSEN
Murdered
...Rasmussen was a tall, athletic 29-year-old
hospital nursing supervisor with a pretty smile...

...[Los Angeles Police Department scientist Jennifer] Francis said the genetic profile of Lazarus and the bite mark would be expected to be found in one in 402 quadrillion individuals... "Metaphorically speaking, this case is about the new LAPD investigating the old LAPD... There's the old adage that the LAPD would never go after one of its own, but this case flies in the face of that"...

Previous Posts:

[CA] LAPD tricks detective into disarming, then arrests her for murdering her boyfriends wife, Sherri Rasmussen, in '86 - Los Angeles Police Detective Stephanie Ilene Lazarus has been arrested and charged with killing her former boyfriend's wife...
[CA] Parents of Sherri Rae Rasmussen suing LAPD for ignoring clues that LAPD Officer Lazurus killed their daughter - ...In the lawsuit filed in L.A County Superior Court, Nels and Loretta Rasmussen accuse the LAPD officers and supervisors investigating their daughter’s 1986 killing of deliberately ignoring clues that pointed to a fellow officer... The brother of a veteran Los Angeles police detective accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend's wife says the $10 million bail amount is outrageous and wants it lowered...

On trial: Stephanie Lazarus

EX-LAPD DETECTIVE STEPHANIE LAZARUS' DNA MATCHED SAMPLE FROM VAN NUYS MURDER VICTIM'S BITE MARK, TESTIFIES CRIMINALIST
Daily News
By Linda Deutsch
02/10/2012
[Excerpt] DNA taken from the mouth of a former police detective so closely matched saliva from a bite mark on the arm of a murdered woman that no one else could have produced that genetic similarity, a criminalist told jurors Friday. Los Angeles Police Department scientist Jennifer Francis, who analyzed evidence in the 26-year-old murder case, offered a conclusion that bolstered prosecution claims that defendant Stephanie Lazarus murdered her romantic rival. Francis said the DNA of Lazarus was found on the bite mark discovered on victim Sherri Rasmussen's body after she was slain in 1986... Lazarus has pleaded not guilty and her lawyer, Mark Overland, has suggested that the DNA swabs taken at the time of Rasmussen's killing were corrupted over the years and are not reliable evidence. Prosecutors claim that Lazarus was consumed with jealousy when her longtime lover, John Ruetten, announced he had decided to marry Rasmussen, a nursing supervisor at a hospital. When Rasmussen was killed, investigators believed she was the victim of a home invasion robbery. Lazarus' name came up when the case was reopened and new detectives looked at the facts. Other police witnesses have told how they followed Lazarus surreptitiously and collected her DNA from a cup she discarded during a shopping trip... Under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Paul Nunez, Francis said the genetic profile of Lazarus and the bite mark would be expected to be found in one in 402 quadrillion individuals... The trial is in recess until Tuesday. Monday is a court holiday. [Full article here]

2010 Video:

A BITE, BULLET AND BROKEN HEART: FORMER LA COP STANDS TRIAL FOR MURDER
Cable News Network
By Ann O'Neill, CNN
Wed February 8, 2012
[Excerpts] ..."A bite, a bullet, a gun barrel and a broken heart, that's the evidence that will prove to you that defendant Stephanie Lazarus murdered Sherri Rasmussen," Deputy District Attorney Shannon Presby told jurors... The trial promises to tell the story of a decorated female officer who rose through the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department while allegedly hiding a dark secret: She was getting away with murder... Rasmussen was a tall, athletic 29-year-old hospital nursing supervisor with a pretty smile... "Metaphorically speaking, this case is about the new LAPD investigating the old LAPD," said Andrew Blankstein, who has covered the department for the Los Angeles Times since the 1990s... "There's the old adage that the LAPD would never go after one of its own, but this case flies in the face of that."... At the time of the slaying, Lazarus was in her second year with the Los Angeles Police Department. The killing occurred on a Monday. Lazarus had taken the day off; Rasmussen had called in sick that morning. Authorities estimate she died before lunchtime... Lazarus was a newbie patrol officer when [John] Ruetten broke up with her for good... [DNA] Testing in 2005 revealed the assailant was a woman. But still some detectives clung to the burglary theory and focused their inquiries on known female prowlers. From the beginning, the victim's family had pointed to an ex-girlfriend of Ruetten's who was a cop, and as the DNA testing advanced, undercover police followed Lazarus to a Costco store and retrieved a discarded soda from a trash can. Saliva traces from the straw matched the bite mark DNA, and she officially became a suspect... Presby said the chances of the killer being anyone else is "one in 1.7 sextillion." That's a 17 followed by 20 zeroes... As prosecutors set the scene with their first witnesses, the images projected on a large screen... Her father, Nels Rasmussen, occasionally choked back sobs, and one of the victim's sisters teared up at the sight... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder cold case reopened female perp perpetrator california state politics]

[SA] People are praying for Michelle Gilfellow, shot by her South African police officer husband

2012-02-12T01:21:00.000-08:00

Michelle Gilfellow

Works at South African Police Service

Shot by cop husband, Eugene Gilfellow, who has died

Facebook: Michelle prayer page

Please leave all your well wishes prayers and thoughts here When Michelle wakes up she can read all your messages

"Lord, I don't always understand your ways. I don't know why Michelle has to suffer, but I trust you. I ask that you look with mercy and grace toward her. Nourish her spirit and soul in this time of suffering and comfort her with your presence. AMEN!"

"Hemelse Vader, ons kom vanaand na U toe In die kosbare naam van Jesus. Ons stap nou in die geloof na Kuilsrivier Medical Centre, waar ons kollega en vriendin le in ICU, Here ons bid vanaand vir n radikale aanraking uit die genesende hand van van U . Die word se dat deur U wonde het daar vir ons genesing gekom. Here ek pleit by U omdat U Jehova Rava is die God wat gesond maak dat U michelle sal aanraak. U kosbare bloed oor haar. Here ons bid vir haar kinders en die familie dat U hulle vanaand sal kom toevou onder U heilige kombers. Sny die planne van die duiwel in Jesus naam af. Wees met almal gedurende hierdie onbekende nag. Amen!"

Cop who shot wife and self dies
By Megan Baadjies
February 8 2012 at 04:55pm

The Metro police officer who shot his wife before turning the gun on himself has died.

Eugene Gilfellow, 30, was on life support after he shot his wife, Michelle,32, and himself in the head during an argument on Sunday afternoon.

Police found the couple in their main bedroom where it is believed he used his service pistol.

Michelle worked at Nyanga police station and is still clinging on for dear life.

On Tuesday police confirmed Eugene died on Monday afternoon after his life-support machines were turned off.

While the exact details of the incident are still sketchy a source close to the family says the couple were going through a divorce and Michelle had moved out of the house a few weeks earlier.

The woman, who was one of the first people at the scene on Sunday afternoon says Michelle and Eugene were “a happy couple”.

“They have been living in the area just over a year and they were a very happy couple,” she tells the Daily Voice.

“It was very surprising when she suddenly moved out.”

She says on Sunday Michelle arrived at the house with her sister to take her two sons to the beach with them.

“The boys lived with their father,” she explains.

It was during this time that an argument started between them about the children and where they were going to stay.

“They [children] were still inside the house when two shots were fired,” she says.

“The children then ran out of the house into the street and told [a neighbour] their daddy shot their mommy.”

The woman says Michelle told a friend they were getting divorced.

A memorial service will be held for Eugene at Philippi headquarters on Wednesday. - Daily Voice
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities cop on cop attempted murder-suicide afrikaans pretoria sap politics]

[US][CA] Not forgetting FBI Agent Wendy Woskoff (2005)

2012-02-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

Wendy left

January 23, 2005

..."She was the ultimate 'go-to' person at the bureau"... "Wendy would never hear the word 'no'"... "Wendy left a very important legacy of her work"...

TOP FBI AGENT IN L.A. PLACED ON LEAVE: Sources say division chief Jim Sheehan is being transferred to Washington after the suicide of his former girlfriend, a colleague.
Los Angeles Times
By Greg Krikorian And Christine Hanley
February 3, 2005

The head of the FBI's criminal division in Los Angeles has been placed on administrative leave pending a reassignment to the bureau's headquarters, law enforcement sources said Wednesday.

The transfer of veteran FBI Special Agent in Charge Jim Sheehan comes amid an internal investigation into the recent suicide of a longtime agent, Wendy Woskoff, with whom Sheehan had been romantically involved until several months ago, sources said.

Woskoff, 54, died of a self-inflicted gunshot Jan. 23 at her Santa Monica home. A 24-year veteran of the FBI, Woskoff was most recently assigned to an intelligence squad in the Los Angeles division.

Sources said Woskoff left two notes at the scene of her suicide. One was addressed to her immediate supervisor. The other made reference to her relationship with Sheehan.

Because the agent used her FBI-issued weapon in the suicide, sources added, the FBI - as is customary - launched an internal investigation with agents from Los Angeles and bureau headquarters. Five days after the shooting, the FBI also placed a security hold on the coroner's report in the case.

Sheehan, who is single, didn't supervise Woskoff, who was separated from her husband, and their relationship apparently did not violate FBI regulations. But several FBI sources said that bureau officials concluded that it was in the best interest of the office to transfer Sheehan.

"There are a lot of problems in the L.A. office ... and a lot of personnel issues," said one FBI source who spoke on condition of anonymity. "And this shooting unleashed everything in the way of rumors."

Sheehan could not be reached for comment.

Woskoff's mother, Helene, had little comment Wednesday about her daughter's death. "This was a tragedy. She was a beautiful, brilliant young woman. And right now I really don't want to talk about it," she said.

Services for Woskoff will be held today.

Times staff writer Scott Glover contributed to this report. [Original link]

FBI AGENT CONFIRMED DEAD FROM GUNSHOT
By Daily Press staff
WILSHIRE-MONTANA

Authorities on Monday confirmed that an FBI agent committed suicide in Santa Monica over the weekend by firing a single gunshot to her head.

An autopsy report completed Monday showed Wendy I. Woskoff, 55, shot herself with a handgun of an unknown caliber, said LA County Department of Coroner's Lt. Fred Corral, who works in the investigations division.

The Santa Monica Police Department responded to a call at 11:30 a.m. in the 1100 block of 17th Street, between California Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. Officers found Woskoff lying in her apartment, SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega said.

Unnerved residents witnessed authorities combing the streets throughout the day and evening Sunday, raising concerns that the area was a crime scene.

Nick James, 41, a filmmaker who grew up on 17th Street and has lived there nearly 30 years, said for some reason Woskoff s car alarm had been set off frequently in recent days.

He and his neighbors watched as several SMPD squad cars surrounded the scene, with uniformed officers, SMPD detectives and FBI investigators scouring the scene.

"They immediately came and taped it off," said James, who lives with his wife and young son.

"There were two couples out on the street that were just crying...

"First of all, you're thinking, 'Did somebody get attacked?'" James added. "And a lot of the neighbors were concerned. Nobody expected anything like this [suicide] to happen.

They think it was a robbery, and everybody's speculating what it could be.

"There's a lot of single moms around. It was frightening."

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller couldn't confirm or deny the incident, and said the agency declined to comment.

FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES RECALL VETERAN FBI AGENT AT MEMORIAL: Wendy Woskoff is remembered as a valued 'go-to' person. She took
her life two weeks ago.
Los Angeles Times
By Henry Weinstein
February 4, 2005

Veteran FBI agent Wendy Woskoff, who committed suicide two weeks ago, was eulogized Thursday by friends, colleagues and relatives as an intense, highly dedicated, creative agent who saved lives and had a significant impact on improving the agency's technological capability.

"She was the ultimate 'go-to' person at the bureau" in Los Angeles, said Dennis English, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery Homicide Division, during a memorial service at the Skirball Cultural Center.

English, who worked with Woskoff on a variety of cases, told mourners in a packed auditorium how she artfully followed a would-be bomber and then, by posing as a helpless customer in an electronics store, got the man to talk to her. The conversation enabled her to see what he purchased, information that played a role in his arrest and conviction before he could commit another crime. The 54-year-old Woskoff weighed just 90 pounds.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Lisa Feldman and FBI agent Scott Gariola talked about Woskoff's love of the work she did as a technology specialist during the last decade of her 23-year FBI career.

Both remembered how Woskoff, a USC graduate, mastered the techniques of how to trace phone calls to their origin, with the help of phone company employees who initially were reluctant to provide information.

"Wendy would never hear the word 'no,' " Gariola said. He said he often called her late at night during a crisis and that she always came up with information that helped other agents.

"Wendy left a very important legacy of her work," Feldman said.

Woskoff developed specific forms for each of the phone companies, Feldman noted, in order to satisfy them that a law enforcement agency was entitled to get information rapidly. "She made them perfect," Feldman added, and now law enforcement agencies around the country are using the forms Woskoff developed.

On a more personal note, Feldman said she regretted not having talked to Woskoff more in the weeks just before she killed herself. Woskoff's untimely death, Feldman said, is a reminder that "casework will always be there but friends may not be."

The final speaker was John Hoos, who was an FBI agent for 30 years and Woskoff's ex-husband. They were married for more than 20 years. They met in 1980, when Hoos spoke at a class Woskoff taught at University High School in West Los Angeles. Soon after, she telephoned him and asked how she could become an agent. She said she had read an article in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1981 that said FBI work was an up-and-coming career for women.

That story elicited laughter, as did several others Hoos told. He read at length from a memo Woskoff wrote to her FBI supervisor telling him she needed a better car for her surveillance work and that it needed to have a mirror that would hide her wrinkles and say in English, Hebrew and Yiddish, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, Wendy's the fairest agent of them all."

Hoos concluded his remarks by reading "What it takes to be Number 1," the epistle of legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, and telling the crowd that Woskoff personified the traits Lombardi described, even though she watched only one football game a year - rooting for USC to beat UCLA.

"I firmly believe," Lombardi wrote, "that any man's finest hour -his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

Hoos said that Woskoff had done that many times, and as Lombardi had said, "she had what it takes to be number 1, and to number you have to pay the price." [LINK]

MEMORIAL CELEBRATES LIFE OF FBI AGENT: Friends, Colleagues Recall Veteran FBI Agent at Memorial. Wendy Woskoff is remembered as a valued 'go-to' person. She took her life two weeks ago.
The Lookout
By Joyce Tse
February 4, 2005

Wendy Woskoff, an FBI agent who took her life in her Santa Monica apartment last month, was remembered at a memorial service Thursday as a tiny but tough agent with a "wacky" sense of humor.

The 200 fellow officers, family and friends who filled the Skirball Cultural Center auditorium recalled a self-described "Jewish American Princess" who took herself lightly, but was dead serious about a job dedicated to catching the bad guys and saving the victims.

"She was whenever, wherever, whatever," said Scott Garriola, using the first and last letters of Woskoff's name to describe how she was always available. "She was wacky at times, wild at times, warm some of the time and wonderful all the time."

The 5' 2" Woskoff could shoot with the best of them and do more pushups than her larger more muscular colleagues, fellow agents recalled. She was also a mean driver who once tracked down a crazy motorists in three minutes, leading to jokes about her own skills behind the wheel.

Even on her time off, Woskoff was eager to help, sometimes stepping out from a movie showing to call fellow agents and check if they needed help.

"She was the ultimate go-to person in the bureau," said Dennis English, a detective for the robbery homicide division, who described Woskoff as an agent who got information about suspects so quickly she sometimes beat the machines that trace calls.

Although there were some tearful moments, there was mostly laughter, as speakers took turns sharing anecdotes that encapsulated the humor Woskoff exuded.

Woskoff, who loved shopping at Nordstrom's, liked poking fun at her feminine side. She compiled fake Christmas letters touting outrageous accomplishments and adventures, and she once wrote a fake memo requesting a car "that compliments my hair color," which she changed several times, requiring a number of cars to match.

During an especially poignant part of the service, Woskoff's sister was presented with an Award of Excellence by Lisa Feldman on behalf of the United States Attorney's office for all of the contributions that Woskoff made to solving countless cases.

A former special education teacher, Woskoff decided she wanted to become an FBI agent after reading an article in a magazine about top new professions for women. Becoming a female FBI agent was one of them.

In April 1981, Woskoff was sworn in as a new agent to the bureau, where she worked for the last 23 years -- moving from the surveillance team to the tech team.

Many described her as a natural for the job, capable of working faster than others, while still getting results. She was also described as always ready and willing to assist new recruits.

On January 23, Woskoff, 55, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in her Santa Monica apartment.

The Los Angeles Coronor's Office told The Lookout that Woskoff had become depressed and frequently talked about suicide for some time before her death.

Woskoff left two notes behind, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times.

The first note was reportedly addressed to Woskoff's immediate supervisor, while the other note made references to FBI Special Agent in Charge Jim Sheehan, a colleague and an ex-boyfriend.

The memorial comes at a time when the FBI has made plans to reassign Sheehan to the bureau's Washington office, according to the Times. [LINK]

FBI AGENT….STEP-MOM…CRAZY….LOYAL…CARING…..

The world according to Chad blog

By spiralout1976

June 4, 2011

------------------

[Excerpts] ...Dear Wendy,

I’m not even sure where to begin with you. You were the one, besides my mom, that was always there for me. My mom and you were two of the strongest women in my life. Always were and always will be... I was blessed to have a mom that has always loved me unconditionally and a step-mom that also thought of me as her own and loved me unconditionally. You were always the one that was the “buffer” between my dad and I. You always fought for me. You always thought of me as your own son. You looked after me. You always wanted the best for me. You cared. You talked to me. You worried about me. You loved me for who I was and who I became. I could tell you anything. I knew you would always protect me. You kept the things I told you to yourself. You guided me, but never forced your views upon me. You gave me direction towards the path that you thought was best for me. Although I may have never took the path you always wanted I realized that you knew where to point me in life. You made me think. You fought with me. You disagreed with me. You hurt me. You made me accept others. You taught me patience. You gave me strength. You taught me compassion. You always believed in me. You taught me how to feel for others... [Full message here]

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities alleged said suicide federal united states california state politics]

[PA] Deputy Mary Farrell charged with terroristic threatening against her fired former deputy ex

2012-02-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

A Luzerne County deputy sheriff [Mary Jean Farrell] is denying charges that she threatened her former domestic partner [former deputy sheriff Jennifer Roberts]...

PREVIOUS POSTS:

DEPUTY SHERIFF CHARGED WITH TERRORISTIC THREATS
Citizen's Voice
Michael P. Buffer
Published: February 7, 2012
[Excerpts] Luzerne County Deputy Sheriff Mary Jean Farrell has been charged with terroristic threats and harassment, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday by city police. Farrell, 51, of Fairview Township, said Monday she had not been served the complaint and said her former domestic partner, Jennifer M. Roberts, filed the charges against her. "She is lying through her teeth," Farrell said. "I have been a victim from the start." Farrell is a witness in another criminal case against Roberts, who was fired as a deputy sheriff last August... Farrell has been receiving disability pay through the Pennsylvania Heart and Lung Act since October 2010, records show. The state law requires this pay for police, fire and sheriff's office workers injured on the job. County officials are reviewing whether to suspend Farrell... [Full article here]

COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF DENIES CHARGES: Mary Jean Farrell accused by former domestic partner of terroristic threats, harassment.
The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
February 7, 2012
[Excerpts] A Luzerne County deputy sheriff is denying charges that she threatened her former domestic partner at a tavern on Blackman Street. City police on Monday filed charges of terroristic threats and harassment against Mary Jean Farrell... Farrell was charged after her former partner, Jennifer Roberts, a former deputy sheriff, claimed she was threatened on Jan. 24... Farrell strongly denied the allegations. She said she was returning property to Roberts, who works as a bartender at the Pitcher’s Mound. “Jen called me to bring a microwave to her, and I told her I’m not bringing anything to your house,” Farrell said. “She said bring it to my place of work. I thought, great, it’s a public place”... Farrell said she left the tavern and did not threaten Roberts. Roberts told police Farrell threatened her saying, “I’m going to get you, you and your girlfriend. I will (expletive) you so bad, you will pay for everything you have done to cost me my kids for three months and all the money you cost me to get them back”... Vesek, in a written statement to police, said she heard Farrell threatening to “bury” Roberts and Roberts’ girlfriend... Farrell said Sheriff John Gilligan called her Monday to tell her she was suspended and to surrender her badge and weapon pending a termination hearing... Farrell has not worked for nearly a year due to a disability... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal female perp perpetrator cop on cop pennsylvania state

[TX] If it takes so much cop power to safely arrest 1 (allegedly) battering officer, what do the victims endure?

2012-02-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

...Pct. 4 Asst. Chief Tim Cannon confirmed to KHOU 11 News that the use of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task force is a normal precaution when officers are arresting a fellow lawman armed with a badge and gun...

If the heavily armed, fearsome, professional, MIGHTY, tactical and wise Harris County Sheriff's Office - the largest in Texas - pulls in the additional strength of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force as a precaution when arresting one "fellow lawman" accused of domestic violence - and they do - imagine how overwhelmed and in danger the domestic violence victim is in dealing with the abusive officer alone. How scary is that? There really needs to be special forms of protection and access for help. If it's a unique perp then it's a unique victim. BOTH need to be handled with special expertise, precautions, and protocols.

ALDINE ISD OFFICER ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
KHOU 11 News
by Kevin Reece
Posted on February 3, 2012
[Excerpts] Houston - A police officer with the Aldine Independent School District was arrested early Friday and charged with domestic violence in a series of alleged attacks against his wife. Harris County Pct. 4 Constables Domestic Violence unit began investigating Heriberto Morales, 47, after his wife recently filed complaints, admitting that the alleged abuse has been going on for at least the last seven months. She claims that as far back as June of 2011 and as recently as November, December, and again last month, that Morales made repeated physical and verbal assaults including throwing her to the ground, kneeing her in the stomach, punching her, dragging her out of bed and threatening to kill her. Morales was arrested Friday with the help of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task force. He was arrested without incident and ordered held in the Harris County Jail without bond until a scheduled court hearing next Monday. Pct. 4 Asst. Chief Tim Cannon confirmed to KHOU 11 News that the use of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task force is a normal precaution when officers are arresting a fellow lawman armed with a badge and gun... [Full article here]

GULF COAST VIOLENT OFFENDERS TASK FORCE - U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE
Apprehension of United States Marshals Service fugitives and state and local violent offenders... [LINK]

GULF COAST TASK FORCE TACKLES WORST OF THE CRIMINALS: Law agencies work together to capture fugitives, people charged with violent crimes... [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal repeat hx policy houston texas state politics]

[CA] Not forgetting. Michelle King's life stolen in her police officer husband's murder-suicide

2012-02-05T02:19:00.000-08:00

Not Forgetting.
11 years ago today - February 5th, 2001, Anaheim police officer Joseph Bailey fatally shot his wife Michelle King, who was a former Los Angeles police officer, then killed himself. The couple had sought counseling from a Mormon leader at King's church because of "ongoing domestic troubles."

OFFICER KILLS WIFE, COMMITS SUICIDE: Violence: Fountain Valley neighbors say the gunman was an Anaheim policeman. The victim had been with the LAPD.
Los Angeles Times. pg. B.3
Daniel Yi, Phil Willon
Feb 6, 2001
[Excerpts] An Anaheim police officer Monday fatally shot his wife, a former Los Angeles police officer, and then killed himself before SWAT teams stormed their Fountain Valley home. The shootings rattled the quiet residential neighborhood, forcing an elementary school to lock students in classrooms. A distraught man called 911 at 9:40 a.m. and reported he had just shot and killed his wife and wanted to kill himself... He was identified by neighbors, his ex-wife and a police source as Anaheim Police Officer Joseph Bailey, 44. After repeated telephone calls by police negotiators went unanswered, officers stormed the modest home at 11:45 a.m. Inside, they found the bodies of Bailey and Michelle King, 39. King was a Los Angeles police officer who had left the force two years ago... The couple had sought counseling from a Mormon leader at King's church for domestic troubles... King moved to the Fountain Valley home in 1997... According to Riverside County court records, Bailey divorced [P.B.] of Corona, his wife of 17 years, last July. The couple had two children. "He was a man that did not want to be told what to do, or how to do it," [P.B.] said Monday. But, she said, her ex-husband was never abusive and was a loving father...

OFFICER KILLS WIFE, HIMSELF: 911 call from despondent man brings police to his Fountain Valley home. Authorities evacuate neighbors, lock down Cox Elementary. SWAT teams find bodies of an Anaheim policeman and his spouse.
Los Angeles Times
Daniel Yi, Phil Willon and Mai Tran
February 06, 2001
[Excerpts] An Anaheim police officer [Joseph Bailey] on Monday fatally shot his wife [Michelle King] , who was a former Los Angeles police officer, then killed himself before SWAT teams stormed their Fountain Valley home... Neighbors said King had five children, including two who attend Cox Elementary. Police escorted them from class shortly after the bodies were found. The couple had sought counseling from a Mormon leader at King's church because of ongoing domestic troubles. "As late as last night, Joe Bailey called and said they were having some marital difficulties," said Bruce Miller, the regional head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. King moved to the Fountain Valley home in 1997, according to her landlady, Helen Smith, who said she was a model tenant. Smith said she took an instant liking to King, who told her she was a divorced mother trying to get back on her feet. "She was very nice," Smith said. "I didn't even do a check on her. I rented to her, and it turned out she was a good girl." About a year ago she began noticing Joseph Bailey's name on the rent checks. "I just assumed someone was helping her with her finances, or maybe someone was living with her," Smith said. "She had been sick for a while." The couple's neighbors said King had been seriously ill for several months, possibly with cancer, and was not working at the time of the shooting... As of late Monday, police reported only sketchy details of the crime, and did not explain what might have triggered the apparent murder-suicide. Perry declined to release names of the deceased, until coroner's deputies complete their investigation... Bailey was stationed at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, and had worked in the gang unit as well, according to a police source who asked not to be named. "We kind of walked around in a daze all day. It's unbelievable," said the source. "He was a tremendous man. He had the potential for a good career: bright, intelligent and very personable." The news also stunned officers at the Huntington Beach Police Department, where Bailey once worked... Bailey left Huntington Beach to work for the Anaheim Police Department in 1998... Bailey began his career in law enforcement with the California Highway Patrol...

DEATHS OF OFFICERS STILL A MYSTERY SUICIDE: Police nationwide have higher-than-average rate.
Orange County Register
Jeff Collins and Aldrin Brown
Feb 7, 2001
[Excerpts] ...Fountain Valley police confirmed the identities of those killed in Monday's shooting as officer Joseph E. Bailey, 44, and former Anaheim code enforcement officer Michelle E. King, 39. The two were found in their La Marquesa Avenue home... The shootings follow a Dec. 29 suicide in which Long Beach Police Detective Suphada "Sue" Nelson, 32, shot herself in the chest in her Rancho Santa Margarita home. Twelve days before that, disabled La Habra officer Brian Wichman, 30, shot himself in the head after letting himself into a patrol car at the police station. The timing of the three shootings may be an aberration. None of the families has said publicly what might have led to the tragedies, though Nelson's husband, Long Beach Detective Kevin Nelson, said he did not think her suicide was job-related. However, law-enforcement officers nationwide are killing themselves at more than twice the rate at which they're killed in the line of duty. Robert Douglas, director of the National P.O.L.I.C.E. Suicide Foundation, estimated that 418 officers killed themselves in 2000. About 150 officers died on duty last year. "A lot of officers are facing a lot of stress but have nowhere to take their feelings," said Douglas, a retired Baltimore police officer. "You know what happens to an officer who reports he's had suicidal fantasies? ... They take him off the street and put him on administrative duties." A study by the National Fraternal Order of Police found that police have a suicide rate twice the national average... And officers always have a firearm available... Sylvia Banuelos learned quickly the stigma of suicide after her husband, Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Ernest Banuelos, killed himself in March 1997. There were no flowers and no help with funeral arrangements. Benefits were cut off, she said. "I don't want another widow and her kids to be treated the way I was treated," said Banuelos, a mother of four, who helped Douglas start the police suicide foundation. "Unfortunately, when it comes to suicide, a lot of departments treat families the same way (that I was)."

MURDER-SUICIDE CAUSE STILL A MYSTERY
Los Angeles Times
Mai Tran, Jack Leonard
Feb 7, 2001. pg. B.1
[Excerpts] He was known as the cop with the soft touch, a veteran who could bring calm to a crisis. But while Joseph Bailey appeared adroit at handling the hard-charging life of an Anaheim police officer, events at home were slipping beyond his control. Cancer was taking a heavy toll on his new wife, a former Anaheim code enforcement officer. At the same time, the couple was desperately trying to save a relationship that seemed to be running aground... The cause remains a mystery. The couple's colleagues and friends say they never saw signs that might have warned of approaching violence. Bailey had only recently talked about how happy he was in Anaheim, where two months ago he was promoted into the prestigious gang unit. "It just came out of the blue," Anaheim Police Lt. Ray Welch said. "He never said a word or behaved in any way that would have led me to believe that there was anything wrong. It's a tragedy for everybody." Investigators in Fountain Valley, where the couple lived, continue to dig for clues. "We've got the loss of two lives here. I think we still need to get to the core of what happened," Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Jim Perry said. Michelle King, 39, joined the Anaheim Planning Department as a part-time code enforcement officer in November 1997. A former Los Angeles police officer, King quickly made friends in her new work. She was outgoing and a devoted mother, decorating her desk at City Hall with framed pictures of her children. "She was a people person," said Roger Bennion, an Anaheim code enforcement supervisor... Co-workers recalled that King discovered she had health problems... King's health deteriorated. And in October, she resigned... Colleagues were unsure where or when the couple met. But they appeared to have been seeing each other quietly for years, according to Bailey's ex-wife. [P.B.] said she separated from her husband in February 1999 after discovering he was having an affair with King. Leaders from King's Mormon church said the couple married a few months ago. He had two children from his previous marriage, and she had five...

NO SPECIAL BURIAL FOR ANAHEIM OFFICER
Orange County Register
Jeff Collins
Feb 8, 2001. pg. PageB
[Excerpts] A private memorial is being arranged for an Anaheim police officer believed to have killed his girl friend and then taken his own life, but the service won't have any of the pomp associated with on-duty police deaths, officials said Wednesday. Relatives of Joseph E. Bailey, 44, were told that the Anaheim Police Department won't help with his funeral arrangements and won't provide a uniformed honor guard for Bailey's burial, tentatively scheduled for Monday in Riverside County. "This is something worse than a suicide, because he took somebody else's life besides his own," police Capt. Dave Severson said. "That's not something the department would want to honor"... A viewing of King's body is scheduled for 2 to 8 p.m. today at Pierce Brothers Mortuary, 720 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. Her funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 17500 Bushard St., Fountain Valley.

FRIENDS STRUGGLE TO UNDERSTAND KING'S SHOOTING DEATH TRAGEDY: About 300 attend a memorial service to honor the Anaheim code- enforcement officer and mother of five
Orange County Register
Lynn Seeden
Feb 10, 2001
[Excerpts] Jynene Johnson and her friend Michelle King chatted on the phone Sunday night. King was being her normal self: conversational, witty and bright. Twelve hours later, King was shot to death by her live-in boyfriend... King's closest friends are struggling to find a balance between the woman they knew so well and the tragedy of her death. "She was so animated," said Johnson. "Michelle was always at her children's ballgames, cheering and screaming her approval of them." A meticulous housekeeper, King was known to vacuum so no footprints would ever show on her carpet... Bailey was well-liked at the Mormon church he had been attending with King for the past year. "He was very nice," Johnson said. "I knew they argued at home, but for him to do this is completely out of character for him. This doesn't add up"... At Friday's memorial service, Bishop Tim Miller gave perhaps the only hint of something wrong in King's life: "Michelle did not have an easy life. She was hungry for love, help and encouragement." King graduated from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles in 1978 and served in the Navy for six years. She then moved back to California and worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for seven years, Johnson said, and most recently worked as a code-enforcement officer for the city of Anaheim. King was buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier on Friday. "This was just a tragedy," Johnson said. "It was done to the whole community. It was done to us. That's why it was such a shock." A trust account has been set up for Michelle King's children. Contributions may be made to the Beneficial Trust for the Children of Michelle King, P.O. Box 8644, Fountain Valley, CA 92728.

A ZEST FOR LIFE - King-Bailey TRAGEDY: Michelle King and Joe Bailey were both liked by many; friends try to understand what led to their tragic deaths.
Orange County Register
Lynn Seeden
Feb 15, 2001
[Excerpts] ...Jynene Johnson and her friend Michelle King chatted on the phone Sunday night. Michelle was being her normal self: conversational, witty and bright. Twelve hours later, Michelle was shot to death by her husband, Joe Bailey, leaving seven children and hundreds of friends in shock. King and Bailey were married in October. Friday nearly 300 friends, most of them crying before they even signed the guest book, paid tribute to King at a flower-filled memorial service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fountain Valley where she and her family were dedicated parishioners. An American flag draped her coffin. King, 39, was shot Monday morning by Joseph E. Bailey, 44, a respected Anaheim police officer with whom she lived in their La Marquesa Avenue home. Bailey then called 911 in an apparent panic, and sometime between 9:41 and 11:40 a.m., Bailey turned a gun on himself... King was a month shy of her 40th birthday... Joe Bailey had been attending the Fountain Valley Mormon church with King for the last year where he was well liked...
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder suicide cop on cop california state politics]

[NJ] Paterson Police Lt. Papagni in the money during gun domestic violence allegations

2012-02-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

Papagni was charged with fourth degree aggravated assault with a weapon under a statute that covers cases in which the accused "knowingly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life points a firearm…at in the direction of another whether or not the actor believes it to be loaded." City council members expressed concern that several days passed before they received word of Papagni’s arrest. Four members had no knowledge of the case until informed about it by PatersonPress.com... While assigned to desk duty because of criminal charges filed against him, Paterson Police Lt. Patrick Papagni has collected $6,173.38 in overtime... ...[Paterson Police Lieutenant Patrick] Papagni’s former wife, Maura, is an investigator in the prosecutor’s office and his former brother-in-law, J. Patrick McCabe, is an assistant prosecutor...

No big deal?

N.J. COP ARRESTED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE GETS THOUSANDS IN OVERTIME PAY
AOL
By David Schepp
Posted Feb 2nd 2011
[Excerpts] A New Jersey police officer facing domestic-violence charges and placed on desk duty has been paid $6,200 in overtime during the three months after his arrest. Patrick Papagni, a lieutenant with the Paterson Police Department, was placed on desk duty in October after being charged with aggravated assault with a weapon for allegedly pointing his gun at his girlfriend and dragging her out of her house... It isn't clear why Papagni was permitted to keep working and remain on the payroll despite the charges facing him. The report notes that other officers within the department who have faced criminal charges were suspended... [Full article here]

ACCUSED CITY COP GETS $6,173 IN OT WHILE ON DESK DUTY
The Patterson Press
Joe Malinconico
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
[Excerpts] While assigned to desk duty because of criminal charges filed against him, Paterson Police Lt. Patrick Papagni has collected $6,173.38 in overtime, according to city payroll records. During the three months after the charges were filed against him, Papagni also received $1,619.22 in extra pay for being assigned to a night shift, the payroll records show. Papagni was placed on desk duty and required to surrender his police department weapon on October 12 after being charged with aggravated assault with a weapon for allegedly pointing his gun at his girlfriend and dragging her out of her house. The case remains under investigation by the Passaic County prosecutor's office, according to Gina Pfund, the head of that agency's domestic violence unit. The charges have not yet gone to a grand jury. Police Chief James Wittig decided in October to put Papagni, who previously had served as Wittig's chief of staff, on restricted duty instead of suspending him. At the time, city police officials would not say exactly why Papagni was kept on the payroll while other Paterson officers facing criminal offenses, including one accused of possession of child pornography and another charged with official misconduct, were suspended... Between October 15 and January 15, Papagni was paid $26,525.82 in straight time salary for 480 hours, according to payroll records provided to PatersonPress.com through an Open Public Records Act request.. The records show he also received $461.53 in detective pay, $5,397.48 in longevity pay, $7,478.22 in benefits to go along with the night differential and 61 hours in overtime pay. Papagni's total compensation during the three months was $40,177.42... [Full article here]

FROM EARLIER NEWS:

PATERSON POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGES
The Patterson Press
Joe Malinconico
Monday, October 10, 2011
[Excerpts] Paterson Police Lt. Patrick Papagni was arrested over the weekend on domestic violence charges, four city officials confirmed. Authorities have not yet released details of the arrest. Neither the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office nor representatives of Paterson police administration were available for comment on Monday. City officials said the arrest took place in Paterson. They said Papagni is not being held in custody... Papagni works in the police department’s traffic division. He previously had served as chief of staff for Police Chief James Wittig... [Full article here]

NO SUSPENSION FOR ACCUSED COP; PAPAGNI PUT ON DESK DUTY WHILE PROSECUTOR REVIEWS AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CHARGES
The Patterson Press
Joe Malinconico
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
[Excerpts] Police Chief James Wittig has decided not to suspend the city police lieutenant arrested on Saturday on charges he pointed his gun at his girlfriend, officials said. Lt. Patrick Papagni, Wittig’s former chief of staff, will be placed on desk duty, said Deputy Chief Danny Nichols. Papagni also had to turn in his gun, which is standard procedure when officers are charged in domestic violence cases, Nichols said. In the past when city police officers were charged with domestic violence, they had been suspended without pay about half the time and put on paid desk duty the other half, depending on the facts of the particular case... When asked what facts provided the basis for not suspending Papagni, Nichols said he was not involved in making that determination. "The chief made the decision," said Nichols. Wittig was on vacation yesterday and not available for comment. Papagni was charged with fourth degree aggravated assault with a weapon under a statute that covers cases in which the accused "knowingly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life points a firearm…at in the direction of another whether or not the actor believes it to be loaded." City council members expressed concern that several days passed before they received word of Papagni’s arrest. Four members had no knowledge of the case until informed about it by PatersonPress.com... The victim’s name was not released, but authorities said she had a "dating relationship” with Papagni... Papagni’s salary is more than $130,000. The case is being reviewed by the city police department’s Internal Affairs Division. Nichols also said the case has been referred to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office... Papagni’s former wife, Maura, is an investigator in the prosecutor’s office and his former brother-in-law, J. Patrick McCabe, is an assistant prosecutor... [First Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Robert] Holmsen declined to comment on whether a fourth degree aggravated assault charged seemed appropriate in the Papagni case, saying he had not yet reviewed the investigation reports... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal new jersey state politics preferential]

[FL] Hunter Kelli Naffziger (Stenhouse)'s ex-cop estranged husband sentenced to life for killing her

2012-02-04T01:13:00.000-08:00

Hunter Kelli Naffziger (Stenhouse)

PREVIOUS POST:
[FL] Hunter Kelli Stenhouse killed by her ex-police officer estranged husband - ...[Former Bay Pines VA Police Officer Myron] Stenhouse, shot his estranged wife, Hunter Stenhouse, to death at his house... Hunter Stenhouse had moved out of the house about six months ago, and she and her husband were getting a divorce and sharing custody of their daughter...

PINELLAS JURY CONVICTS ST. PETERSBURG MAN OF MURDER IN DEATH OF ESTRANGED WIFE
Tampabay.com
By Kameel Stanley
Friday, February 3, 2012
[Excerpts] A jury on Thursday convicted a St. Petersburg man of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his estranged wife nearly three years ago. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Philip J. Federico immediately sentenced [Former Bay Pines VA Police Officer] Myron Stenhouse, 48, to life in prison. Hunter Kelli Stenhouse, 35, was found dead inside her husband's home on June 19, 2009... Prosecutors suggested Myron Stenhouse had staged the scene... Myron Stenhouse did not take the stand. The jury deliberated for about an hour. The couple's child, now 3, is in the care of her mother's relatives. [Full article here]

FACEBOOK GROUP:
In Memory of Kelli Naffziger Stenhouse - On June 19, 2009 Kelli was killed by her estranged husband while bringing her 14 month old daughter for a visit. Nobody knows why he did this to her. She will be greatly missed...

... Everywhere we went people would ask if we were sisters. There were plans for Disney with Sydney, 2 houses sharing 10 acres with horses, a cow and dogs. I see her and hear her voice everyday and I miss her greatly...

...Kelli was like a sister to me for 23 years, growing up we were always together. We have remained extremely close over all these years (even with all the miles between us) we grew closer as we had children. She was so PROUD to be a MOM and that was EVERYTHING to her. Her precious Sydney will never get the chance to know how much her mother loved her... I am so angry that he stole that from Sydney... I miss her so much already. I keep waiting for her to text or to call me. I still can't believe that she is gone!! I love you Kelli. Goodbye my friend until we meet again...

...I knew Kelli as Hunter. We were classmates at Florida Career College. She would have her daughter there sometimes and she was over-the-top crazy about showing off Sydney. You just saw that sparkle in her eyes when she held that baby girl. She was just as amazing as a friend as a mother...

...Hunter was a beautiful woman who had no problems expressing her opinions. I admired that about her. Hunter made me a better person! Sydney if you ever read this your mama was an amazing woman... I hope you grow up to be just like her. SHE LOVED YOU SO MUCH!!! God Bless you Hunter! Thanks for stepping through my life, even if it was for a short time, you will be incredibly missed...

...I was so caught up in my life tht I didnt see this tradigy comming and now kelli will live on through me. I love u jo wherever u r! Kelli we have alot to sit down and talk about! Il see u in heaven!!!...

...Verdict - first degree murder, GUILTY! Life in prison...

...Without the possibility of parole...

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder staged florida state politics veterans administration]

[OH] North Canton Police Commander to be charged with felonious assault, improperly discharging a firearm and domestic violence

2012-02-03T22:50:00.000-08:00

NORTH CANTON POLICE OFFICER FACES CHARGES
Canton Repository
Posted Feb 03, 2012 @ 06:46 PM
Last update Feb 03, 2012 @ 09:10 PM
[Excerpts] The officer in charge of the city Police Department’s patrol division is facing criminal charges after firing a gun during an off-duty incident last weekend. Police will charge Lt. Scott Denniss with felonious assault and misdemeanors of improperly discharging a firearm and domestic violence. He has been hospitalized since the incident... It appears that before officers arrived, Denniss and his wife were outside the house and Denniss fired two shots toward the ground. His wife went inside. When the officers arrived, they ordered Denniss to put down his weapon. Officers said Denniss fired two more shots toward the ground before putting the weapon down. At that point he was apprehended, then taken to the hospital... Since the incident, Denniss has been on administrative leave. Wilder expects he will be served with the criminal charges early next week and taken to the Stark County Jail. Denniss, 46, began working with the North Canton police in 1989... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal suicidal terroristic ohio state politics]

[IA] Muscatine Police Department wants only honest officers.

2012-02-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

A Muscatine Iowa police officer who was appealing his termination won’t get his job back. He had been fired on Dec. 19, 2011 for “untruthfulness and unbecoming conduct of a peace officer” after “inconsistencies, deception and problems with the phone records” during an investigation into an incident during his "bitter divorce." Investigators are convinced and testified at the appeal hearing that the officer was not truthful during interviews about who threw the brick through a window of his estranged wife's friend. The Muscatine Civil Service Commission chairperson said that officers are held to a higher standard. “Untruthfulness would make the public question officers.”

(Photo intentionally blurred.)
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety honesty professionalism iowa state politics]

[PA] Corrections Officer Washington terroristic threats and domestic violence assault charges

2012-01-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

PRISON GUARD THREATENED WIFE WITH GUN, POLICE SAY
Reading Eagle
Originally Published: 1/30/2012
[Excerpts] A Berks County Prison correctional officer was in prison on charges he put a handgun against his wife's head and threatened to kill her,... Raymond Washington, 50, of Reading, a 26-year prison employee, was jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail following arraignment Saturday before Senior District Judge Richard Beck in Reading Central Court on charges of aggravated and simple assault and making terroristic threats.... Washington has been placed on paid administrative leave... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal jail guard pennsylvania state politics]

[AR] Fund set up after deputy's wife, mother of two, Christy Dodge dies in fire

2012-01-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

Christy Lou Lindsey Dodge

June 22, 1965 - January 27, 2012

View or Send Condolences

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is rallying around one of their deputies after his wife [Christy Dodge] was killed in an early morning house fire Friday... She loved helping others and would do anything she could in ones time of need... The Sheriff's Office has set up the Christy Lindsey Dodge Memorial Fund for the Dodge family at Simmons Bank in Ozark... Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, February 1, 2012... Arkansas State Police are investigating the case, but they do not suspect foul play...

WIFE OF OZARK DEPUTY DIES IN HOUSE FIRE: Fund Established To Help Family
4029tv.com
January 27, 2012
[Excerpts] An overnight fire in Ozark claims the life of a Franklin County deputy's wife. Deputy Dave Dodge returned to his home on Hattie's Lane after work and saw flames coming out of a bedroom. "He busted out a window and called for his wife, and she didn't answer. He went to the patio door and opened it and found her unresponsive," Franklin County Sheriff Anthony Boen said. Dodge went inside and found his wife, Christy Dodge, unconscious. She later died at a local hospital. Arkansas State Police are investigating the case, but they do not suspect foul play. The deputy is staying with a fellow Franklin County dispatcher. Coworkers said they'll do all they can to help him. "It's a tough day to be at work, and when it's one of your own, it's especially so," dispatcher Rick Colvert said. An account has been set up at Simmons Bank to assist with funeral costs and other costs to the family. [LINK]

FIRE KILLS DEPUTY’S WIFE
The Times Record
By Jordan Grummer
January 28, 2012
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is rallying around one of their deputies after his wife was killed in an early morning house fire Friday. "We're going to do whatever we have to do to give him the time off he needs," said Franklin County Sheriff Anthony Boen. "We're a small department, but everyone's pulling together to make it work. Whatever we can do for him." After finishing his shift at about 2 a.m. Friday, Deputy Dave Dodge noticed smoke and flames coming from his home on Hatties Lane near Ozark, Boen said. Dodge entered the home through the back door to found his home filled with smoke and his wife, Christy Dodge, 46, unconscious on the floor, Boen said. Still in his uniform with his radio attached, Dodge then radioed for help. The Altus Rural Fire Department arrived to fight the fire and Franklin County Emergency Medical Services arrived to assist with Christy Dodge, Boen said. She was transported to Mercy Hospital Turner Memorial in Ozark where she was pronounced dead, Boen said. "It's a very close department and even community; we've been through a lot, the whole county," Boen said. "But everyone pulls together and takes care of each other. ... It keeps us all going." Boen said he is close friends with the Dodge family. "She was just a real outgoing person, always smiling," Boen said. "She always was involved with any of the kids in the family if they had ball games or anything; she was just very involved and very well-liked." The fire was contained to one room, but the entire home sustained smoke and water damage, Boen said. Arkansas State Police were called to help investigate the cause of the fire, but an official cause has not been determined at this time, Boen said. The Sheriff's Office has set up a memorial fund for the Dodge family at Simmons Bank in Ozark. [LINK]

CHRISTY DODGE
Shaffer Funeral Home
Service:
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
2:00 PM
West Park Baptist Church
Ozark, AR 72949
[Excerpts] Christy Lou Lindsey Dodge, 46, of Ozark, Arkansas, died in her home Friday, January 27, 2012 in Ozark. She was Baptist. She was a huge supporter of The Ozark Football Club and enjoyed the Ozark Country Club. She enjoyed watching her nieces and nephews play sports and loved spending time with her sons and grandsons. She was an avid reader. She loved helping others and would do anything she could in ones time of need. She was born June 22, 1965 in West Memphis, Arkansas to Jerry and the late Mary Ann Ramsey Lindsey. She was preceded in death by her mother. Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at West Park Baptist Church with Reverend Ted Darling and Brother Troy Vaughn officiating with burial at Highland Cemetery in Ozark, under the direction of Shaffer Funeral Home. She is survived by her husband... two sons... her parents... two sisters... two brothers... and two grandsons... [LINK]
[police officer law enforcement family accidental public safety lethal fatality fatalities usur death arkansas state politics]

[PA] Patricia Oliver "not guilty" of murdering ex-Niagra Police Officer husband Anthony

2012-01-29T09:39:00.000-08:00

A Conneautville-area woman [Patricia Oliver] won't go to jail for the shotgun slaying of her husband, ex-Niagara Falls police officer Anthony Oliver... "As he was coming through the door, he was calling me a (expletive), and told me to get up," she said. "He said he was going to teach me a lesson." Mrs. Oliver said she then stood up with a 12-gauge shotgun that her husband kept under the bed... Under the general charge of criminal homicide, the jury was to decide if Mrs. Oliver was guilty of either first-degree murder, third-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. The jury found Mrs. Oliver not guilty of any of those degrees of criminal homicide...

NEWS EXCERPTS FROM
OCTOBER 5, 2010 THROUGH JANUARY 27, 2012

WOMAN IN CUSTODY AFTER ALLEGEDLY KILLING HUSBAND
Meadville Tribune
October 5, 2010
[Excerpts] A Hayfield Township woman [Patricia M. Oliver] was charged by Pennsylvania State Police after allegedly shooting and killing her husband Tuesday morning... She is accused by state police of shooting and killing her 63-year-old husband, Anthony D. Oliver, at their home shortly before 10 a.m.
Authorities were tight-lipped about the incident Tuesday releasing few details. It "stemmed from what appeared to be a domestic dispute ... (that) escalated into her discharging a firearm and killing him"... [Full article here]

EX-COP FROM NIAGARA FALLS KILLED IN PENNSYLVANIA
Niagara Gazette
By Rick Pfeiffer
October 6, 2010
[Excerpts] Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the murder of a former Niagara Falls police officer in what is being described as a "domestic violence incident."... [Anthony "Tony"] Oliver had been shot once in the chest by a blast from a shotgun. Neighbors reported hearing a single shot coming from Oliver's home just before police received the call of the shooting. Pennsylvania State Police investigators arrested and charged Oliver's wife, Patricia, 53, with one count of criminal homicide... A judge ordered her jailed without bail... "During his tenure as a Niagara Falls police officer, he was a good street cop who worked hard to ensure the safety of the public," Falls Police Superintendent John Chella said... After retiring from the Falls force, Oliver took a management position with Modern Corporation. In 2004, he was fired from there following reports of sexual improprieties. In July 2004, in a deal with Niagara County prosecutors, Oliver pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual abuse stemming from the employment incident. As a result of that plea, Oliver became a registered sex offender... [Full article here]

VICTIM IN HAYFIELD TOWNSHIP HOMICIDE DIED OF GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE CHEST
timesnews.com
By Tim Hahn
October 7, 2010
[Excerpts] A Hayfield Township couple got into a heated argument inside their tan, ranch-style home Tuesday morning. Police say the argument ended when 53-year-old Patricia M. Oliver grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun and fired it into the chest of her 63-year-old husband, Anthony D. Oliver. Patricia Oliver remained in the Crawford County Correctional Facility without bond Wednesday on a count of criminal homicide... State police Troop E spokesman Sgt. Mark Zaleski said Anthony and Patricia Oliver had no history of domestic disputes "that we are aware of"... [Full article here]

TRIAL FOR WOMAN ACCUSED IN SHOTGUN DEATH OF HUSBAND
Meadville Tribune
By Keith Gushard
December 8, 2010
[Excerpts] "I can't go on," a tearful Patricia M. Oliver sobbed to family members after she was ordered held for trial in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas on a charge of criminal homicide. Oliver, 53, of 16782 S. Norrisville Road, Conneautville, was bound over to county court following Tuesday's preliminary hearing... Before onlookers that included several family members, she continued her emotional outburst for several minutes after the conclusion of the proceeding, before being led back to her jail cell... Oliver, who's been held at the jail since her Oct. 5 arrest, spent much of the one-hour and 15-minute hearing sobbing softly... [Police criminal investigator Trooper Eric] Mallory testified that in an interview with Mrs. Oliver after her arrest, she said the couple had awakened ... Mrs. Oliver said she was awakened later after her husband yelled out an expletive statement while he was doing bills in the kitchen... Mrs. Oliver said Mr. Oliver threw a chair or stool at the bedroom door, and called her a name as he entered the bedroom, Mallory said. Mr. Oliver then called her another name that Mrs. Oliver said she "absolutely despises"... Mrs. Oliver said that her husband yelled he was going "to teach her a lesson." Mrs. Oliver said she then rolled off the bed and reached for a shotgun her husband kept under it, Mallory said. Mrs. Oliver then came up off the floor, shot her husband once, put the gun on the bed and called 911, Mallory said... Mrs. Oliver said Mr. Oliver didn't have anything in his hands when he came at her... She also was familiar with how the gun worked, and she had a .410-gauge shotgun of her own... Under cross-examination by Jeff Misko, an assistant county public defender, Mallory testified Mrs. Oliver said she hadn't been abused by her husband. "She said they were soul-mates and had been through everything together," Mallory said... [Full article here]

DEFENSE: TOSS OUT MURDER SUSPECT'S ALLEGED CONFESSION
Meadville Tribune
By Keith Gushard
October 19, 2011
[Excerpts] The homicide trial of a Conneautville area woman accused by Pennsylvania State Police of the shotgun slaying of her husband last October now is scheduled for January in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas. However, Judge John Spataro, who will preside over the upcoming trial, must rule on whether Patricia Oliver's alleged confession to state police should be suppressed from being entered into evidence... [Full article here]

DISPUTED CONFESSION TO BE PART OF ACCUSED KILLER'S TRIAL
Meadville Tribune
By Keith Gushard
January 4, 2012
[Excerpts] ...Judge John Spataro, who will preside over the upcoming trial, has denied a defense motion to suppress a video-taped police interview of Oliver in which she allegedly confessed... Spataro in December found Oliver did knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently waive her rights and fully comprehended the nature of her actions, "despite her extreme emotional state." "At the time of Defendant's (Oliver's) waiver, she was coherent and appropriately responsive in expressing her understanding of her Miranda rights and her voluntary waiver of those rights"... [Full article here]

DEATH SCENE PHOTOS MAY BE KEPT FROM JURY IN OLIVER TRIAL
Meadville Tribune
By Keith Gushard
January 19, 2012
[Excerpts] A judge will decide if color photographs of a local man shotgunned to death in his home are too graphic for a jury to see... Jeff Misko, an assistant county public defender representing Oliver, argued the admission of photographs were irrelevant and the admission of color photographs of Mr. Oliver at the scene would "inflame the passions of the jury," prejudicing the jury against his client... Doug Ferguson, the assistant district attorney who will prosecute the case, argued the photos are relevant, and not inflammatory since they show nearly no blood and only the final position of the victim... [Full article here]

JUDGE TO ALLOW PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE AT OLIVER HOMICIDE TRIAL
Meadville Tribune
January 20, 2012
[Excerpt] A Crawford County jury will be able to see photographs of a local man allegedly shotgunned to death in his home by his wife... [Full article here]

ALLEGED CONFESSION OF OLIVER HOMICIDE EXPECTED
Meadville Tribune
By Keith Gushard
January 24, 2012
[Excerpts] The alleged videotaped confession of a Conneautville area woman accused in the shotgun slaying of her husband 15 months ago is expected to be played today in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas... Jeff Misko, an assistant public defender who is one of Mrs. Oliver's defense attorneys, said in his opening statement that while a lot of the evidence is not in dispute, there was legal justification for the shooting. "Patricia Oliver acted in self-defense," Misko said, saying evidence would show Mrs. Oliver was in threat of immediate serious bodily injury that day. "It was a life or death decision on what she's going to do," Misko said of why the gun was fired.... [Full article here]

WIFE FOUND NOT GUILTY IN SLAYING OF EX-NIAGARA FALLS POLICE OFFICER
The Meadville Tribune
By Keith Gushard
January 27, 2012
[Excerpts] A Conneautville-area woman won't go to jail for the shotgun slaying of her husband, ex-Niagara Falls police officer Anthony Oliver, at their home more than 15 months ago. The not-guilty verdict in the criminal homicide trial of Patricia Oliver, 54, in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas brought gasps from supporters on both sides in attendance... Under the general charge of criminal homicide, the jury was to decide if Mrs. Oliver was guilty of either first-degree murder, third-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. The jury found Mrs. Oliver not guilty of any of those degrees of criminal homicide... Mrs. Oliver testified she sat on the bed, looked toward the kitchen, saw her husband get up from his chair and heard a chair bang into a kitchen cupboard. She then saw Mr. Oliver come toward the bedroom, cursing her loudly, she testified. She said she rolled off the bed, landing between it and the doorway in an attempt to hide from her husband. "As he was coming through the door, he was calling me a (expletive), and told me to get up," she said. "He said he was going to teach me a lesson." Mrs. Oliver said she then stood up with a 12-gauge shotgun that her husband kept under the bed. "I was scared he was going to kill me," she said. "I thought he was going to beat the crap out of me or beat me senseless."... After the verdict was announced Friday, wept when she realized the jury was setting her free. Then, through tears, she hugged and thanked her attorneys Jeff Misko, an assistant public defender for Crawford County, and Robert Trambley, the county public defender...http://niagara-gazette.com/local/x1456433208/Wife-found-innocent-in-slaying-of-ex-Niagara-Falls-police-officer

OLIVER HOMICIDE VERDICT: NOT GUILTY [Longer version of above article]
CNHI News Service
By Keith Gushard
January 27, 2012
[Excerpts] A Conneautville-area woman won't go to jail for the shotgun slaying of her husband at their home more than 15 months ago... Following the verdict, Misko said Mrs. Oliver was declining to speak with reporters. Family members from both sides of the Oliver family also declined to speak with reporters following the verdict... Mrs. Oliver was expected to live with relatives following her release... Crawford County District Attorney Francis Schultz said he was extremely disappointed by the jury's verdict. "Our office, Doug Ferguson especially, put a lot of time into the case," Schultz said. "Pennsylvania State Police, likewise, they did a thorough investigation. Unfortunately it wasn't enough in the eyes of the jury." Schultz said he feels for Mr. Oliver's family members. "It's bad enough he was shot and killed, but the person who we and the family believe as responsible, won't be punished." [Full article here]

ANTHONY D. OLIVER
Niagara Gazette
October 7, 2010
[Excerpts] Anthony D. "Tony" Oliver, 63, of Conneautville, PA, formerly of Lewiston, NY, died suddenly on Tuesday October 5, 2010 in Conneautville, PA. Born in Niagara Falls, NY, he was the son of Mary (Fantrazzo) Oliver of Lewiston, NY, and the late Tony Oliver. During the 1960's he served in the United States Army. He was employed as a police officer for the City of Niagara Falls, NY and after his retirement worked with the Lewiston, NY Police Department. Tony enjoyed spending time with his family and visiting with his mother. In addition to his mother, Tony is survived by three children... his granddaughter... two sisters... and his best friend... There will be no prior visitation. Family and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, October 9th at 10 AM in St. Peter's Church... [Full obituary here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder homicide pennsylvania state politics female perp perpetrator]

[LA] NOPD Officer Lacour convicted of shooting gun outside ex's house

2012-01-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas has made it clear that the department has no tolerance for officers convicted of felonies - and that's a good policy. It should go without saying, then, that Officer Jermaine Lacour needs to be removed from the force... District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office lauded the conviction and said it will continue to go after people who use weapons illegally. That's even more important when the offender is a law enforcement officer who's supposed to uphold the law... NOPD spokeswoman Remi Braden said Lacour was suspended without pay following the jury verdict convicting him of illegally discharging a firearm... He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 15 and could face from zero to two years in prison...

PREVIOUS POSTS:

[LA] Officer Lacour booked on domestic. Top cop says NOPD has zero tolerance for misconduct. - In a prepared statement, Superintendent Ronal Serpas said the NOPD has "zero tolerance for misconduct. Criminal allegations are serious and each individual will have their day in court. When an officer betrays the public's trust, swift and decisive actions will be taken. We will continue to build the public's trust with accountability, transparency and integrity."
[LA] NOPD Officer Lacour's retrial for shooting gun at ex's house scheduled for September - ...[New Orleans police officer Jermaine] Lacour, who remains free on $5,000 bond, also was arrested June 7 for violating a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting [ex-girlfriend]... A ballistics expert tied three bullet casings on the ground to the 9mm police handgun that Lacour kept... "He's a man who doesn't like to be ignored. He's a man who's not used to being ignored," the prosecutor said...

ORLEANS PARISH JURY CONVICTS NOPD COP FOR FIRING GUN
The Times-Picayune
By John Simerman,
January 25, 2012
[Excerpts] An Orleans Parish jury convicted a New Orleans police officer of a felony weapons charge on Wednesday for firing a handgun outside his former girlfriend's home in late 2010. Jermaine Lacour, 38, who was suspended by NOPD following the incident, is expected to be fired after his conviction on a charge of illegal use of a weapon. He could be sentenced to as much as two years in prison, or as little as probation... Prosecutors said the four-year NOPD officer drove to the house of [K.A.], his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his young child ... on Dec. 29, 2010. While he was there, the ex-girfriend and a friend, Tulane University policeman [J.V.], got out of a car and headed to the door. Lacour demanded to see the toddler. Adams told him to wait. As she entered the house, [K.A.] testified, she heard three shots... A ballistics expert tied three bullet casings on the ground to the 9mm police handgun that Lacour kept... "The district attorneys office takes gun crimes very seriously and this conviction should be a sign that we will do everything in our power to take people off the streets who are illegally using weapons," said Christopher Bowman, spokesman for Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office... "I just think that verdict, it was wrong," Lacour said. "I admit I shot my gun, but I was fired upon. I've never been arrested, never been in trouble in my life." [Full article here]

NOPD SUSPENDS POLICE OFFICER CONVICTED OF FIRING GUN
The Times-Picayune
By John Simerman,
January 26, 2012
[Excerpts] The New Orleans Police Department has suspended Officer Jermaine Lacour after his conviction Wednesday in a shooting incident outside his ex-girlfriend's home in late 2010. NOPD spokeswoman Remi Braden said Lacour, 38, was suspended without pay following the jury verdict convicting him of illegally discharging a firearm. Detectives with the NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau found that Lacour fired the weapon to threaten the woman and her boyfriend. The PIB is continuing its review of the incident for a final decision by NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas on terminating Lacour... He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 15 and could face from zero to two years in prison... Following the shooting, a judge instructed Lacour to stay away from the couple and to stop all communications with them, but Lacour called the woman several times and also sent her an e-mail... After she reported it, police notified the District Attorney's Office. Lacour turned himself in last June 7. A charge against Lacour of violating a protective order is still pending... In an October interview, Serpas laid out his policy for cops who get in trouble. "If you make a bad choice or decision unintentionally, your chances of surviving are pretty good, " Serpas said. "But if you make a decision that's purposefully bad, immoral or unethical, your chances of being employed are very slim. If you're going to be convicted of a felony, there's no room in the department for you"... [Full article here]

GUILTY OFFICER WARRANTS FIRING FROM NOPD: AN EDITORIAL
The Times-Picayune
By Editorial page staff
Saturday, January 28, 2012
[Excerpts] New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas has made it clear that the department has no tolerance for officers convicted of felonies - and that's a good policy. It should go without saying, then, that Officer Jermaine Lacour needs to be removed from the force... District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office lauded the conviction and said it will continue to go after people who use weapons illegally. That's even more important when the offender is a law enforcement officer who's supposed to uphold the law. After the verdict, Officer Lacour said his conviction "was wrong." He said, "I've never been arrested, never been in trouble in my life." That's not how jurors saw it. And Officer Lacour appears to be brushing aside his separate arrest in June, for violating a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting Ms. Adams. Office Lacour clearly believes that the law doesn't apply to him -- and he shouldn't be empowered with enforcing it. Indeed, his conviction makes him incompatible with the policy Superintendent Serpas has set regarding officers who get in trouble... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal repeat hx louisiana state politics professionalism]

[VA] Officer's wife, Gail Ann Epps Winston, is said to have jumped into the river.

2012-01-28T05:53:00.000-08:00

On January 15th Gail Ann Epps Winston, wife of a Virginia Beach police officer, was found in the North Carolina Perquimans River.

A day earlier police say that a driver reported seeing a woman jump into the river from the U.S. Highway 17 bridge's guard rail - "falling about 50 feet into water that is approximately 8 feet deep." A car registered to her husband was at the foot of the bridge.

Gail's family described her to searchers as an African American female, 5 feet 6 inches tall, short hair, wearing a black top, burgundy pants, and white sneakers. "Several agencies helped with the two day search including the Perquimans Sheriff’s Office, EMS, the water rescue team, Hertford Police, the North Carolina Wildlife Commission and the Sidney Dive Team from Beaufort County."

Gail was from Clarksdale, Mississippi and currently lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
[African American police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities said suicide north carolina state politics black woman]

[NC] 1994: Hope Mills Police Officer Yeazel shot and killed by his wife Barbara

2012-01-28T02:02:00.000-08:00

September 26, 1994 - Hope Mills North Carolina Police Sgt. Ronald Lee Yeazel was found behind a KFC restaurant in his idling cruiser, slumped against the door, with a shot in the back of the head. From news: "The officer's mother was seen leaning on Mrs. Yeazel as they were led to her pew at the funeral."

Officer Yeazel's wife, Barbara Yeasel, was charged with first·degree murder and sentenced to 15 years. The motive was never made public.

Star News, Oct. 2 1994

The Mount Airy News, Nov 21, 1996

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder north carolina state politics female perp perpetrator]

[FL] Police Lieutenant's ex: "I live every day in fear."

2012-01-26T02:29:00.000-08:00

...[Sarasota Police] Lt. Steven Breakstone also could soon face a criminal stalking charge for what a Sarasota County Sheriff's Office investigator called "escalating bizarre behavior" since his divorce became final in July... "Steve's obsession has become terrifying, 'specially now that I have reported him and knowing how unpredictable he is, I live every day in fear"... He said he is most worried about how the restraining order petition and its contents will affect his three children... "It's private matters that should have been dealt with within the family... I still love my ex-wife and I love my children, and I forgive her"...

Write SPD

SARASOTA POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF STALKING EX-WIFE
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
By Todd Ruger
Published: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 9:41 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 9:41 a.m.

SARASOTA - A longtime Sarasota Police lieutenant has been put on administrative leave amid allegations that he is stalking his ex-wife, entering her home when she was not there and sending her numerous explicit text messages.

Lt. Steven Breakstone also could soon face a criminal stalking charge for what a Sarasota County Sheriff's Office investigator called "escalating bizarre behavior" since his divorce became final in July.

The Sarasota Police Department put Breakstone on administrative leave Saturday, two days after his ex-wife Angela filed a restraining order petition that includes what she says are nude photos of himself he sent to her.

A sheriff's office detective who investigated the matter said in a memo that he found probable cause that Breakstone had committed a misdemeanor, and said he will file the charge with the State Attorney's Office in the near future. Prosecutors would then decide if charges should be filed.

But Breakstone, who has had several contentious disciplinary battles in his 25-year career at the department, said he intends to clear his name and get back on the job after a hearing Friday where he insists the full story will come out.

He even invited the sheriff's office detective who investigated the claims, Detective Mark LeFebvre, to a hearing on the petition Friday.

"I'm going to go the hearing, and give my version of what happened, and there's been no violence," Breakstone said.

Angela Breakstone said in her petition that her fear of her ex-husband — who lives only about three houses away — has escalated since the divorce, claiming he has tracked her movement, threatened her and badgered people around her.

This is her second petition for protection; she said the first one in December 2010 was not granted because Steve Breakstone has been friends with the judge for more than 20 years. This time, two judges who were former prosecutors have recused themselves from hearing the case.

"Steve's obsession has become terrifying, specially (sic) now that I have reported him and knowing how unpredictable he is, I live everyday in fear," Angela Breakstone wrote.

Steve Breakstone, one of four shift commanders who oversee three sergeants and all patrol operations, has told sheriff's investigators that he has strong religious beliefs that are guiding him to try to reunite with his ex-wife.

He said he is most worried about how the restraining order petition and its contents will affect his three children, ages 10 to 14.

"It's private matters that should have been dealt with within the family," Steve Breakstone said. "I still love my ex-wife and I love my children, and I forgive her."

According to Angela Breakstone, her ex-husband's continued feelings for her are the root of the problem. He has appeared unannounced at her home, watering plants on her porch and bringing plates of food, according to the petition.

Just like any domestic dispute, however, there are two sides to these stories.

In her petition, Angela Breakstone submitted text messages from her ex-husband in which he asks for sex, including messages that include a photo of his genitals and him naked in the bathtub. Steve Breakstone says that is because she has invited him into her house twice to have sex.

In a Dec. 30 incident, Angela Breakstone says her daughter caught Steve Breakstone inside her home, going through drawers. He told the girl the front door had been open and he wanted to make sure a burglar was not inside.

On Jan. 14, Angela Breakstone said he came to her home uninvited and questioned her, insulting her guests in the driveway. Steve Breakstone says his son saw the guests start the whole thing.

On Jan. 15, she says he saw her driving in traffic with a male friend, so he pulled a U-turn to pull up next to her car and yell at her.

"Again, Mr. Breakstone seems to not remember that we are divorced," she wrote.

Steve Breakstone also said that it was Angela Breakstone who hit him in the face on several occasions during their 14-year marriage. "I've never raised a hand, ever," he said.

The past year at work has been problematic for Steve Breakstone, with three internal affairs investigations conducted into his behavior.

Police Chief Mikel Hollaway suspended Breakstone for three days on Jan. 17 for allegations he misused police databases to find someone who wrote a bad check to an acquaintance, an internal affairs report states.

Breakstone then visited the check writer while in uniform and encouraged him to pay to avoid criminal charges. Breakstone is appealing that suspension to the civil service board.

In April, the state attorney's office declined to file a battery charge against Breakstone after a complaint was filed against him that he slapped the face of a jogger who confronted him about his dog's behavior. [LINK]

UPDATE:

INJUNCTION FILED AGAINST SARASOTA POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF STALKING
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
By Todd Ruger
Friday, January 27, 2012

Sarasota police Lt. Steven Breakstone testifies in court Friday in Sarasota. A judge granted a protective injunction against Breakstone; his ex-wife accuses him of stalking her. (SNN Local News 6 photo)

SARASOTA COUNTY - A judge granted a protective injunction against a veteran Sarasota police lieutenant Friday, a ruling that threatens to end his 25-year career on the force.

At a two-hour hearing, Lt. Steven Breakstone's ex-wife showed the judge sexual text messages he sent her and testified about how his relentless pursuit of her since their July divorce has taken on overt religious overtones and caused her fear.

Angela Breakstone told the judge she even keeps a gun near her at night. "I'm afraid he'll come into my home, rape me, because I'm not responding to him," she said on the stand.

Senior Judge Nancy Donnellan found that Steven Breakstone, 47, had stalked and cyberstalked his ex-wife, even though she found no acts of physical violence and he promised the judge he would no longer bother his ex-wife.

"You have willfully harassed her, and you've been doing it for several months, despite her asking you repeatedly to stop," Donnellan told Steven Breakstone.

Breakstone, paid $94,794 annually as one of four shift commanders who oversee three sergeants and all patrol operations, shook his head in disbelief when he heard the ruling. "I may not be employed after this," he told the judge.

The problem for Steven Breakstone is that the one-year injunction prohibits him from possessing a firearm, a key tool for a law enforcement officer both on and off duty. He fears Sarasota police officials may now try to fire him for conduct unbecoming an officer.

Steven Breakstone is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the stalking allegations, including an investigation by the Sarasota Sheriff's Office in which a detective who investigated has recommended criminal charges be filed against Steven Breakstone. Prosecutors will ultimately decide if charges are warranted.

The sheriff's investigator wrote in a memo to the State Attorney's Office about Steven Breakstone's "escalating bizarre behavior" since his divorce.

Steven Breakstone is also currently appealing a three-day suspension in another internal affairs case.

After the Friday morning hearing, Angela Breakstone embraced several people who attended the hearing with her.

Steven Breakstone said he would "live a quiet life" and leave her alone.

But the lieutenant remained emphatic his ex-wife lied in the courtroom about the nature of their contact, specifically that she was not always telling him to leave him alone.

Angela Breakstone — who moved only three houses away after the split — admitted to having sex with her ex-husband since the divorce. Steven Breakstone says it happened twice.

And several of the racy text messages sent by Breakstone appear to be responses to text messages from his wife.

"I thought there was still a part of her that cared," Breakstone said after the hearing.

This is her second petition for protection; she said the first one in December 2010 was not granted because Steven Breakstone has been friends with the judge for more than 20 years. This time, two judges who were former prosecutors have recused themselves from hearing the case.

Angela Breakston's petition claims he harassed her in traffic, went into her house without her permission, appears unannounced at her home, brought her plates of food and baked her cookies.

In her petition, Angela Breakstone submitted text messages from her ex-husband in which he asks for sex, including messages that include a photo of his genitals and him naked in the bathtub.

The petition requires Steven Breakstone to stay 200 feet from her home and 50 feet from her employer. The custody and visitation schedule for their three children remains the same. [LINK]

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal florida state politics]

[KS] Another delay for Erin's people

2012-01-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

Erin LeeAnn (Wade) Jones

(March 2, 1976 - May 5, 2007)

TAHAH TRIAL DELAYED
Dodge City Daily Globe
Jan 17, 2012
DODGE CITY - The second trial for a former Dodge City policeman charged with killing his girlfriend has been postponed until this summer. Christopher Tahah's trial was originally slated for this week, but it has been delayed until July 31, Ford County Attorney Terry Malone said Tuesday. A pretrial conference is set for March 28. Malone said Tahah has a new attorney, who needs more time to prepare for the trial. Tahah was convicted in 2008 of shooting and killing his former girlfriend, Erin Jones, the year before. But the Kansas Supreme Court reversed Tahah's conviction in October 2011 and ordered a new trial. The ruling added instructions that would allow the jury to consider lesser included offenses of second-degree reckless murder or involuntary manslaughter, based on Tahah's testimony that his rifle accidentally went off while he was pointing it at Jones from her back yard.

PREVIOUS POSTS:

[KS] Goodbye Erin - 31-year-old mother of two, beloved by many, Erin LeeAnn Wade Jones was murdered earlier this month...
[KS] Slain Erin's deputy ex-boyfriend facing 1st degree murder - "I was telling myself this was no good. As I was lowering the gun, a round went off," Tahah said. Tahah also told Kendrick that he was upset with Jones because she did not give him a good reason for breaking up with him...
[KS] Today fired Officer Tahah was convicted of murdering his ex, Erin - ... He said he drove out to the scenic overlook near the Dodge City Regional Airport to watch a lightning storm, fell asleep and didn't wake up until about 3:35 a.m. After waking, Tahah said he drove by Jones' house again and saw that her friend had left, so he went back to his apartment. The next day, he learned that Jones was dead. "How did you react?" said Tahah's attorney, Peter Orsi. "I was shocked," Tahah replied. "I broke down and started crying"...
[KS] Police Officer Tahah killed his ex-girlfriend Erin Jones - and now gets a new trial offering him lesser charges - ...The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the jury should have been told to consider lesser offenses including second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter...

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder kansas state politics]

[CA] Guilty of murdering Marcus Lemons: Officer Tomieka Johnson's story didn't match the evidence.

2012-01-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

Marcus Lavar Lemons, killed February 21, 2009.

California Highway Patrol Officer Tomiekia Johnson is the first law enforcement officer to be convicted of 1st degree murder in Los Angeles County.

...She said she started running away from the car and then stopped, worrying that he might get a gun out of her purse and shoot her. "I saw the gun on the ground. I made the decision to go run and get it," Johnson said, adding her husband seemed to be looking for the weapon. "I was scared. I didn't want to die ... When I grabbed it tight, it fired"...

..."The victim sustained what appeared to be a contact wound to the right side of his forehead," [Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Detective Louis Aguilera] said. "It showed that he was actually seated in the vehicle at the time he was shot"...

...Paramedics were summoned to the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles when Tomiekia Johnson, 32, crumpled in the courtroom after a clerk read the jury's verdict...

VIDEO: KTLA ELIZABETH ESPINOSA'S REPORT:
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Detective Louis Aguilera interviewed Officer Johnson the night it happened. He interviewed the witnesses too and they described Marcus Lemons and Tomiekia Johnson exactly, except the witnesses said that Marcus had on a baseball cap. Detective Aguilera: "The baseball hat was later recovered by detectives and it showed that there was a bullet hole on top of the bill of the cap, which shows she was actually standing over him. He's six feet tall and she's only about five foot four, five foot five... In this two year investigation we interviewed over a hundred people. We talked to people about her past, we talked to people about his past, and we couldn't find one person that said, hey, this victim is a bad guy."

PREVIOUS POSTS:

[CA] Unnamed Chp Officer (Johnson) shot & killed her husband Marcus Lavar Lemons - One homicide detective working the case said the off-duty officer shot her husband near Central Avenue and the 91 Freeway before driving into the residential area and calling authorities... Darian Milow, the man's former fiancee, questioned Lemons' aggressiveness. "We were together for [10] years, and he's never touched me in any way; so for them to portray him as this monster is unbelievable"...
[CA] [$$$] CHP Officer Tomiekia Johnson who killed her husband was not held accountable for ditching anger-management? - ...The California Highway Patrol officer [Tomiekia Johnson] charged last week with killing her husband [Marcus Lemons] is being sued by his teenage stepson, who alleged that she had earlier been assigned to anger-management classes... [Attorney Leon] Gilbert alleges that Johnson was ordered to take anger-management classes but did not attend. The suit says no action was taken by the CHP... Law enforcement sources told The Times that Johnson was outside the car when she fired the shot...

EXCERPTS FROM THE NEWS ON TRIAL AND CONVICTION, CHRONOLOGICALLY:

TRIAL BEGINS IN FORMER CHP OFFICER'S SLAYING OF HUSBAND: At Tomiekia Johnson's murder trial, the prosecution says the 2009 killing on the side of a road in Compton was intentional. The defense says it was self-defense.
Los Angeles Times
By Rosanna Xia
January 11, 2012
[Excerpts] No one disputes that former California Highway Patrol Officer Tomiekia Johnson had a tumultuous relationship with her husband. What's in question is whether she fatally shot him in the head two years ago by accident or in cold blood. On the opening day of trial Tuesday for Johnson, 32, who is charged with murder in the death of her husband, Marcus Lemons, attorneys presented jurors two differing versions of what happened on the side of a road in Compton the night of Feb. 21, 2009... In her opening statement, Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Natalie Adomian led the jury through a 40-minute outline of the case, focusing on forensic evidence - vomit and blood patterns, gunshot residue - that prosecutors said would prove that Johnson fired an intentional contact shot. Prosecutors also noted that Johnson had received extensive weapons training as a CHP officer... For more than a year, sheriff's investigators reconstructed the events that led to Lemons' death. Johnson, who had worked for the CHP since 2002, was placed in an administrative position after the killing. She was arrested in January 2011 but has been free on $2-million bail... [Defense attorney Darryl] Stallworth said Johnson wanted to get off the freeway the night of the shooting because Lemons was starting to "choke her out." Johnson told her husband to get out of the car and walk home, Stallworth said. A fight ensued, then Lemons took Johnson's purse and pulled out the gun, the attorney told the jury. The couple struggled over the weapon and when Johnson was finally able to pick it up off the ground, Stallworth said, "the gun went off"... [Full article here]

CHP OFFICER TESTIFIES IN TRIAL: 'I WAS NOT TRYING TO KILL MARCUS'
Los Angeles Times
January 13, 2012
[Excerpts] California Highway Patrol officer Tomiekia Johnson, charged with murdering her husband more than two years ago, tearfully testified Friday that she and Marcus Lemons were struggling over her gun when it accidentally went off. “I was not trying to kill Marcus. I would never try to hurt him,” she said in court, weeping. “He always hit me”... Forensic evidence and testimonies from crime-scene experts show that Johnson fired an intentional contact shot, prosecutors said... [Full article here]

FORMER CHP OFFICER ACCUSED IN HUSBAND'S DEATH REENACTS STRUGGLE FOR GUN: Tomiekia Johnson testifies that the shooting occurred during an argument at the side of the road on the way home from a restaurant.
Los Angeles Times
By Rosanna Xia
January 14, 2012
[Excerpts] ...During Johnson's testimony, her attorney, Darryl A. Stallworth, asked [former California Highway Patrol Officer Tomiekia Johnson] to step down from the witness stand and reenact the scene. Stallworth sat in a chair, playing the role of Lemons in the passenger seat. Johnson positioned herself where she was standing that night, fighting for the gun on the ground. Both hands gripping tightly to the edges of her gray suit blazer while Stallworth explained the scene, Johnson told the jury: "I just got down, picked up the gun, came up really fast — holding it tight because I thought he was going to take it from me. "And it just fired," she said through tears. She said she didn't feel the gun go off, that she didn't even know she had shot him at first. "I saw his body, just like he was having a seizure, and then he threw up," she said, sobbing. "I couldn't believe it. I just stood there frozen for a second. I couldn't think"... She began to cry when Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Natalie Adomian started reading back journal entries Johnson had written after her husband's death, entries that were shared with a post-traumatic stress therapist Johnson was seeing. Prosecutors noted inconsistencies in what Johnson wrote and her testimony... [Full article here]

CHP OFFICER CONVICTED OF KILLING HUSBAND, COLLAPSES IN COURT: Tomiekia Johnson, 31, convicted of shooting her husband while off-duty
VIDEO: Watch Elizabeth Espinosa's Report
KTLA News
January 23, 2012
[Excerpts] A jury convicted a former California Highway Patrol officer Monday of shooting and killing her husband Marcus Lemons three years ago in Compton. Tomekia Johnson collapsed in court when the verdict was read... Paramedics took her from the courtroom on a stretcher. Authorities have not disclosed her current medical condition... Los Angeles County Sheriff's homicide detective Louis Aguilera worked as lead investigator on the case. He interviewed Johnson the night of the fatal shooting. "The victim sustained what appeared to be a contact wound to the right side of his forehead," he said. "It showed that he was actually seated in the vehicle at the time he was shot." Johnson told investigators Lemons became verbally and physically abusive and that she shot him in self-defense... Johnson and Lemmons had a 4-year-old daughter and a teenage son from a previous relationship... [Full article here]

CALIFORNIA PATROL OFFICER COLLAPSES AFTER FOUND GUILTY OF MURDERING HUSBAND
ABC News
By Lauren Effron
Jan. 23, 2012
[Excerpts] A former California Highway Patrol officer [Tomiekia Johnson] collapsed onto the floor just moments after being found guilty of murdering her husband [Marcus Lemons] three years ago near a freeway off-ramp... For several moments, no one in the court moved and Judge Robert Perry seemed unfazed by Johnson's actions as the court clerk continued to read the verdict... Prosecutors argued that Johnson intentionally shot her husband in Feb. 21, 2009, then drove to her parents' home in Compton with Lemons' body in the passenger seat. She called police, telling them she had shot her husband in self-defense when an argument between them became heated... [Full article here]

EX-CHP OFFICER COLLAPSES AFTER GUILTY VERDICT
myfoxla.com
Monday, 23 Jan 2012
[Excerpts] ...Paramedics were summoned to the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles when Tomiekia Johnson, 32, crumpled in the courtroom after a clerk read the jury's verdict... Johnson - who was off-duty at the time of the shooting - told jurors that she pulled off the Riverside (91) Freeway at the Central Avenue offramp when her husband threatened to kill her and began choking her after berating her for speaking to a male childhood friend at a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant in Compton. She said she told him to get out of her BMW and he responded by telling her that she could walk home and grabbed the keys out of the ignition. She said she started running away from the car and then stopped, worrying that he might get a gun out of her purse and shoot her. "I saw the gun on the ground. I made the decision to go run and get it," Johnson said, adding her husband seemed to be looking for the weapon. "I was scared. I didn't want to die... When I grabbed it tight, it fired"... When the prosecutor asked about whether she had used tactics she had learned through the CHP to try to subdue her husband, she responded, "Ma'am, my husband wasn't a suspect... I wasn't thinking about tactics from work... I was scared." [Full article here]

CHP OFFICER FOUND GUILTY IN HUSBAND'S SHOOTING DEATH: Tomiekia Johnson faces 50 years to life in prison in the 2009 death of her husband, Marcus Lemons. Johnson collapsed after the verdict was read and was taken to L.A. County/USC Hospital.
Los Angeles Times
By Richard Winton
January 24, 2012
[Excerpts] ...In a case filled with allegations of anger management and domestic violence, the verdict in the rare prosecution of a law enforcement officer on murder charges proved to be dramatic. As the guilty verdict was read, veteran CHP Officer Tomiekia Johnson shook, then slid under the table... Court proceedings continued as L.A. County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry polled the jurors to confirm the verdict. Johnson, 32, could face 50 years to life in prison after a jury of eight men and four women found her guilty on first-degree murder in the death of her husband, Marcus Lemons, 31... Prosecutors Natalie Adomian and Stephanie Sparagna presented evidence that on their way home, Johnson put a gun against her husband's head and shot him. She then drove a few miles to her parents' home with the body in the car and called 911. During the trial, the prosecution put on witnesses who portrayed Johnson as a someone with an aggressive personality and a tendency to drink excessively... She said she pulled off the 91 Freeway and told him to walk home. He "snatched" the keys out of the ignition, she said, and a struggle over her purse ensued. "I think he wanted my purse for the gun in the purse," said Johnson, whose defense attorney tried to present her as the victim of domestic violence. "I was not trying to kill Marcus. I would never try to hurt him," she said, weeping. "He always hit me"... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder state politics]

[NYPD] Officer Dean killed himself while arguing with his girlfriend

2012-01-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

ON-DUTY NYPD POLICE OFFICER COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER ARGUING WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND ON THE PHONE
New York Daily News
January 20 2012
[Excerpts] ...An on-duty New York City police officer committed suicide Thursday night by shooting himself in the face on a Queens street after arguing with his girlfriend on the phone, police sources said... “He got out of his [patrol] car and he’s on the phone with somebody,” a police source said... The block was cordoned off while dozens of investigators scoured the scene... [Full article here]

UPDATE:

DESPERATE CALL: Gal pal phoned pct. before cop killed self
The New York Post
By Jamie Schram, Jennifer Bain and Bill Sanderson
January 21, 2012
[Excerpts] The fiancée of an NYPD cop who fatally shot himself at a crime scene called his Queens station house just minutes earlier with a cryptic warning that one of its officers was suicidal. But the woman never mentioned Terrence Dean by name - and only asked vague questions about what happens to a cop who wants to kill himself and if he would lose his gun or be suspended. The 111th Precinct cop who fielded the anonymous call guessed that she was talking about Dean and told a supervisor — but they allowed him to respond to a car break-in before calling him in”... [Full article here]

I TRIED TO STOP COP SUICIDE
The New York Post
By Laurel Babcock and Bob Fredericks
January 23, 2012

The devastated fiancée of the suicidal cop who blew his brains out on the job last week revealed to The Post yesterday how she had desperately tried to talk him out of it in a phone call only seconds before he pulled the trigger.

“We weren’t fighting,” insisted Maria Stuart, 28, who was planning to marry NYPD Officer Terrence Dean, 28, on Aug. 18. “All I was trying to do was tell Terrence he needs help.”

Stuart said she had admitted to Dean during the frantic Thursday-night call that she had just phoned his Queens precinct house and made vague warnings about a suicidal officer.

“Fine, I’m going to kill myself,” Dean replied and hung up, she said.

The cop then pointed his service gun at his head and fired while at the Queens scene of a car burglary — in front of his partner and the car’s owner.

Stuart spoke to The Post after Suffolk cops forced her to leave Dean’s home in Medford, where she had lived with him, after his parents objected to her being there.

Stuart said Dean had been deeply depressed at least partly because he had felt pressured by people around him to become a cop when he really wanted to be a firefighter.

His family declined repeated requests for comment.

Alarmed by Dean’s increasingly erratic behavior in days before his suicide — and fearing for her and her 5-year-old daughter’s lives — Stuart had fled the house with the girl after he refused to seek professional help, she said.

Dean, she said, had put his gun in his mouth and threatened to kill himself Wednesday morning, the day before his suicide.

Later, he went to the driveway and shot out the windows of his car after an argument over her leaving her engagement ring at work, she said.

Stuart said Dean’s father came over later Wednesday and he and Terrence went into the garage, where the officer again put the gun in his mouth.

She and the dad screamed at him not to shoot, and he left with his father, she said.

Stuart said she pulled up to the home at about noon yesterday only to be confronted by a friend of Dean’s family, who called Dean’s father, Avery Dean, to the house.

The father called Suffolk cops.

Stuart said she produced a driver’s license and mail indicating she lived there.
But “we don’t know who lived here. This will have to be done through the courts,” Suffolk Police Sgt. Tom O’Shea said.

rfredericks@nypost.com [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities suicide new york state politics]

[CA] Long Beach Police Officer Preciado 5-hour stand-off, tools of torture, and 21 domestic violence felonies - with injury to spouse

2012-01-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

[Long Beach Police Officer] Brandon Preciado was charged Tuesday morning with a total of 21 counts, including nine felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and making a criminal threat, all felonies... Weapons allegedly used in the beatings included a flashlight, belt, hammer, broom handle and baton... A protective order requiring Preciado to stay away from his wife was issued by the court, but the court didn't issue a stay-away order for the couple's children...

The news is still all about him.
Who is helping her through this?

Was that a Long Beach Police issued flashlight and baton?

LONG BEACH OFFICER CHARGED IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE
Los Angeles Times
January 17, 2012
[Excerpt] A Long Beach police officer was charged with multiple counts of domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with nearly half a dozen incidents, authorities said Tuesday afternoon. Brandon Preciado, 29, was charged with 21 counts in five incidents dating back to Sept. 18, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. They include 10 counts of corporal injury to a spouse, nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of making a criminal threat. He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest stemming from a five-hour standoff...

LONG BEACH POLICE OFFICER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ALLEGATIONS: Brandon Preciado arrested following five-hour stand-off with Sheriff's deputies
Press-Telegram
By Tracy Manzer
01/17/2012
[Excerpts] LOS ANGELES — A 29-year-old Long Beach Police Department patrol officer pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 20 felony counts of domestic violence, including 10 counts of corporal injury to a spouse, for alleged ongoing abuse. Brandon Preciado was charged Tuesday morning with a total of 21 counts, including nine felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and making a criminal threat, all felonies. The charge includes one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest, said Deputy District Attorney Jason Lustig with the Justice System Integrity Division... Weapons allegedly used in the beatings included a flashlight, belt, hammer, broom handle and baton, according to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday. Preciado was arrested Thursday following a five-hour standoff with Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies... His bail was hiked to $450,000, and if he makes bond he must attend three Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week and wear a bracelet that detects alcohol use... A protective order requiring Preciado to stay away from his wife was issued by the court, but the court didn't issue a stay-away order for the couple's children, Gibbons said. The officer, who is on administrative leave from his job at the LBPD, must also surrender all firearms within 24 hours of his release. Preciado was also ordered to return to court on Jan. 27 for a preliminary hearing setting... He has been temporarily relieved of his duties... "We are conducting an administrative review and will take the appropriate course of action" ... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal brutal repeat hx monster alcohol california state politics]

[IL] Farmington Officer Whitlow allowed to resign after alleged assault, threats, order violation

2012-01-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

Farmington Police Officer Michael Whitlow resigns - so there's no department investigation.

So now if he gets the charges dropped there's nothing to sully his record or keep him from

another cop job.

FARMINGTON OFFICER ARRESTED TWICE IN TWO DAYS: Part-time officer booked twice in two days amid domestic dispute
Journal Star
By Justin Glawe
Posted Jan 16, 2012 @ 09:56 PM
Last update Jan 17, 2012 @ 11:03 AM
[Excerpts] A part-time Farmington police officer was arrested twice in less than 36 hours in what authorities are calling a case of domestic violence. Michael S. Whitlow, 37, of rural Farmington was arrested at 2 a.m. Friday at his home and booked on charges of domestic battery and interfering with a report of domestic violence. After he was released from the Peoria County Jail, he was arrested again, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and booked on a charge of violating an order of protection. Deputies from the Peoria County Sheriff's Department responded at about 9 p.m. Thursday to a report of a domestic dispute at Whitlow's home. The caller said a gun was involved earlier but was now hidden from Whitlow... The caller told police Whitlow put his loaded pistol on the bed. The caller then hid the gun when Whitlow went outside to his vehicle, telling police in the past when drunk, Whitlow had threatened to shoot her. The argument escalated... The report also said Whitlow pushed and tried to choke the caller and tried to wrestle a phone away but fled to an upstairs bedroom once he discovered police had been called. Whitlow told police he had been attacked but didn't call police because he didn't want the caller to go to jail. He had a visibly bloody nose, according to police. Police arrested Whitlow and took two guns from the home at the request of the caller... The nature of the second incident is unclear... [Full article here]

FARMINGTON POLICE OFFICER RESIGNS AFTER TWO ARRESTS IN TWO DAYS
Journal Star
By Terry Bibo
Posted Jan 17, 2012 @ 10:13 PM
Last update Jan 18, 2012 @ 07:53 AM
[Excerpts] Part-time officer Michael S. Whitlow will no longer serve with the Farmington Police Department. "We have accepted a letter of resignation," City Administrator Rollen Wright said Tuesday. "It was submitted, and we accepted"... Whitlow was released [from jail] Tuesday on a notice to appear in court on Feb. 22 on the charge of violation of an order of protection. He has not been formally charged in Peoria County Circuit Court... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal repeat hx terroristic threatening threats illinois state politics]

[FL] Officer Sidders arrested by fellow officers after girlfriend with cuts and bruises reports him

2012-01-18T01:10:00.000-08:00

ORLANDO POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
WFTV
Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012
Orlando Police arrested Officer Danny Sidders on Saturday on domestic violence charges. Sidders is accused of beating up his girlfriend. A police report states Sidders and his girlfriend were arguing and he took her cell phone. Sidders allegedly then pushed her to the floor. The report states that when she went to bed, Sidders pulled her out of the bed and shoved her down the hallway and she hit the walls and doors. Officers stated the victim was bruised and cut. Sidders has been a police officer for more than 15 years. He was booked into the Orange County jail. Sidders posted a $500 bond and was released. [Full article here]

OPD OFFICER ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF ABUSING GIRLFRIEND: Officer Danny Sidders was arrested Saturday and charged with battery.
Orlando Sentinel
By Bianca Prieto
January 17, 2012
An Orlando police officer was arrested this weekend after his girlfriend accused him of beating her up and locking her out of their home. Officer Danny Sidders was arrested by his fellow officers Saturday after his live-in girlfriend called police to report the alleged abuse. She claims it was not the first time he abused her... The victim called to report the violence the following day and officers noted the woman had several cuts and bruises. While officers were taking the report, Sidders arrived at the home and was arrested. He was charged with battery and transported to the Orange County Jail. He was booked into the jail just before midnight Saturday and bonded out Sunday after paying $500 bail... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety professionalism florida politics]

[UT] Washington Co. Sheriff’s deputy thought he'd die in domestic violence attack

2012-01-17T23:58:00.000-08:00

...The deputy eventually lost consciousness. “I thought, ‘I’m dead. This is it. I’m going to go out because some idiot came after me and killed me”...

TRIAL DATE SET FOR SUSPECT IN BEATING OF EX-GIRLFRIEND, SHERIFF'S DEPUTY
St. George Daily Spectrum
1:11 PM, Jan. 17, 2012
[Excerpts] A trial date has been scheduled for a St. George resident accused of beating his ex-girlfriend and a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy with a shovel handle during a brutal fit of jealousy. Cameron Aaron Carson, 26, is on the schedule for a three-to-five-day trial in 5th District Court beginning April 30 on felony charges of aggravated burglary and two counts of aggravated assault... [His attorney, Douglas] Terry said he believed bail was set at more than a quarter of a million dollars, cash, because one of the alleged victims is a police officer... The officer and Carson’s ex-girlfriend both testified they were afraid of a possible threat to themselves and the community if Carson should be released. The woman testified Carson knew the other victim was a deputy... The deputy testified that on the night of the assualt, he had fallen asleep on his bed after watching a video with the woman, when he heard his bedroom door being kicked inward. He thought it might be his roommate coming home, he said, but after seeing a man wearing a ski mask and carrying what appeared to be a baseball bat in the half-light of the room, he began to realize there was a threat involved. The deputy was able to shield the woman from the initial blows, he said, and ultimately got the “bat” away from the alleged intruder, but in the process the deputy found himself in a chokehold with the intruder behind him. “I was grabbing anything I could — a fan — anything I could to fight back,” he said, adding he was unable to reach his gun. The deputy eventually lost consciousness. “I thought, ‘I’m dead. This is it. I’m going to go out because some idiot came after me and killed me,” he said. Carson’s ex-girlfriend called 911 while the attack was going on, and then fled outside after believing Carson had killed the deputy, she testified. There, Carson caught her while she was hiding behind a vehicle and “bashed” her head onto the corner of a brick wall, she said. The suspect then allegedly began hitting her with the stick, which arresting officers later determined was a shovel handle. The violent incident came to an end when a neighbor responded to the woman’s cries for help, pointing a gun at Carson and ordering him to step away from her and wait until police arrived... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal utah state politics]

[PA] Court on hold as Pennsylvania Trooper tries to shake the root cause problem again

2012-01-17T22:09:00.000-08:00

Murrysville District Judge Charles Conway approved a continuance for the domestic assault, harassment, and resisting arrest charges against Pennsylvania State Trooper George Walters. "Good luck," Conway told Walters. "Taking it one day at a time is all you can do"...

... His wife called emergency management to report that her husband was intoxicated... that her husband had just kicked her in the leg, and was "out of control and yelling and screaming"... Police reportedly had been summoned to the home about five hours earlier... Police reported that Walters refused to comply with police commands... "He's attempted rehab several times in the past... Each time, he does progress. We're hoping this time will really assist him with his problem"... His hearing is scheduled for March 20... Walters is awaiting trial in Common Pleas Court on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol...

Some of the questions I asked while reading: How long has this been going on? How has he been monitored? What warranted the past rehabs? Were any of the rehabs proactive rather than reactive to an incident? What is the support system for the families of Pennsylvania law enforcement families? When is it no longer the right job for someone?

STATE TROOPER JAILED FOR ALLEGED ASSAULT OF WIFE IN DELMONT
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Paul Peirce
Saturday, December 24, 2011
[Excerpts] A state trooper was jailed on Friday in Westmoreland County because he allegedly assaulted his wife in their home in Delmont and then resisted arrest. Delmont police used a Taser to apprehend George J. Walters, 49, inside his home... Walters was being held in the county jail in lieu of a $10,000 bond after his arraignment on charges of simple assault, harassment and resisting arrest... his wife called county emergency management to report that her husband was intoxicated and had kicked her in the leg. Police reportedly had been summoned to the home about five hours earlier... Walters' wife told them that her husband had just kicked her in the leg, and was "out of control and yelling and screaming"... Police reported that Walters refused to comply with police commands, and [Borough Patrolman Charles] Madden used the stun gun to take him into custody. Murrysville police were called as backup to assist... [State police spokesman, Sgt. Anthony Manetta in Harrisburg, confirmed that Walters remains "actively employed" as a trooper at Troop A at Greensburg. However, he said the agency's internal affairs department is reviewing yesterday's arrest "and our internal personnel policies regarding these type of matters will be followed."... [Full article here]

DELMONT STATE TROOPER ACCUSED OF ASSAULT TO ENTER ALCOHOL REHAB PROGRAM
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Jennifer Reeger
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Last updated: 4:20 pm
[Excerpts] A state trooper, jailed last week for allegedly assaulting his wife and resisting arrest, will enter an alcohol rehabilitation program, his attorney said today... Walters works out of state police Troop A in Greensburg. He was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing this morning before Murrysville District Judge Charles Conway. However, Walters' attorney, Fran Murrman, asked for a continuance so that Walters could enter a rehabilitation facility for alcohol addiction. Walters is awaiting trial in Common Pleas Court on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol that was filed by Murrysville police after a traffic stop on Sept. 28, according to court records. Last month, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Conway on that charge. Conway agreed to the continuance and ordered that Walters be released from the Westmoreland County Prison as soon as Murrman could secure a bed for Walters at a rehab facility... [Full article here]

STATE TROOPER ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING WIFE ENTERS REHAB PROGRAM
pittsburghlive.com
By Jennifer Reeger
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
[Excerpts] A state trooper jailed last week for allegedly assaulting his wife and resisting arrest will enter an alcohol rehabilitation program while his court case is temporarily put on hold... In granting the continuance yesterday, Conway said he would authorize Walters' release from the Westmoreland County Prison as soon as Murrman could confirm he had a spot in a rehabilitation facility. His hearing is scheduled for March 20. "Good luck," Conway told Walters. "Taking it one day at a time is all you can do." While Walters awaited paperwork to sign, he told Murrman, a friend for more than 30 years, that he would work out some way to pay him for his assistance. Murrman said he just wants to see him get better and return to being the man he knew in high school. The friends attended Hempfield Area High School. "I know you can do it, George," Murrman told Walters. After Walters headed back to jail, Murrman said his longtime friend has struggled with alcoholism in recent years. "He's attempted rehab several times in the past," Murrman said. "Each time, he does progress. We're hoping this time will really assist him with his problem." As far as his status with the state police, Murrman said Walters had been discussing a retirement agreement with his employer for "quite some time." He has been a trooper for about 24 years, Murrman said. "He was a stellar trooper," Murrman said... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety teflon pennsylvania state politics]

[SC] Trooper Owens domestic violence SWAT standoff

2012-01-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

...[South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Robert Keith] Owens bond was set at 5 thousand dollars on Sunday. He is no longer in the detention center...

Where is he?

SC TROOPER ARRESTED AFTER 3-HOUR STANDOFF
Associated Press
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
[Excerpts] Authorities say a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper has been arrested after a standoff at his Simpsonville home. Greenville County sheriff’s deputies say they were called to a home at 5:30 p.m. Saturday because of a domestic disturbance. A woman said she had been involved in a fight with her husband.... The woman was able to escape safely. Authorities made contact with Owens, who came out of the home around three hours later and was arrested and charged with domestic violence... Owens had been on medical leave for several months after he was injured while on duty... [Full article here]

UPDATE: SIMPSONVILLE STANDOFF SUSPECT IS A SCHP TROOPER
WSPA
January 17, 2012
[Excerpts] ...A SWAT team has now left an upstate neighborhood after a standoff there ended peacefully... It happened Saturday night at a home in on Waxwing Court in the Adam's Run subdivision in Simpsonville... They say the woman got out of the home okay, but the man refused to come out for deputies for several hours. The SWAT team responded and law enforcement was able to take Robert Keith Owens into custody around 8:30pm. No one was hurt. Owens is charged with one count of Criminal Domestic Violence. Owens bond was set at 5 thousand dollars on Sunday. He is no longer in the detention center. [Full article here]

SC TROOPER ARRESTED DURING STANDOFF SATURDAY
FOX Carolina
By Casey Vaughn, Dana Wachter
Jan 16, 2012
[Excerpts] State officials said the man who was arrested during a standoff in Simpsonville on Saturday is a South Carolina Highway Patrol officer. Greenville County deputies were called to the Waxwing Court home at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, where they met with a female victim who said she had been in a fight with her husband and he pushed her several times. While the suspect was inside the home, deputies said he made threats to harm a family pet and had a weapon, but they did not believe he pointed a firearm at the victim... The SWAT team was called to help make contact with the man... Sheriff's officials had nearby streets blocked off for three hours... "Our SWAT team is very highly trained to handle situations like this, they're very good at what they do," said Greenville Co. Sheriff's spokesman, Zach Hinton. "This is the norm, a peaceful resolution to a situation like this. And this is obviously what we want to see happen and what did happen tonight"... [spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety Sid] Gaulden said Owens is assigned to Troop 3, which includes Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties. [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal suicidal south carolina state politics]

[WI] Girlfriend-Choking Milwaukee Police Officer Cates Evolved Into A Federal Rapist

2012-01-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

(See the Journal Sentinel's amazing database, Both Sides of the Law)

Milwaukee Police Officer Ladmarald Cates should have been fired 12 years ago instead of last year after his most recent crime. Choking a woman is - to me - attempted murder and should not qualify for a diversion program designed to preserve the criminal cop's career. It's not a boys-will-be boys kind of crime. When MPD did finally fire him, it was for "idling and loafing" - which sounds nothing like "aggravated rape." Seems his police department and the too-often officer-coddling legal system created a monster who thought he could do what he wants. One of the the multi-million dollar questions is how much pain, suffering, torment and human violation would not have occurred if Cates' criminal career had been nipped in the bud?

....The first was a domestic violence battery in 2000. Cates' then-girlfriend said he shoved and choked her. Prosecutors offered Cates a diversion agreement which allowed him to avoid charges... Ladmarald Cates faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison if convicted of the two federal felonies, which include violating the woman's civil rights while acting under the color of law and using a firearm in the commission of an act of violence... "Both the District Attorney's office and Milwaukee Police Department have admitted they knew of prior accusations," [the victim's attorney, Robin] Shellow said. "They ought to be ashamed of themselves"...

As I read, I behold the beauty of federal intervention, wondering how many officer-involved crimes should be handled by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office.

...The U.S. attorney's office and FBI began investigating Cates after the Milwaukee County district attorney's office declined to charge him...

FEDERAL JURY FINDS FIRED POLICE OFFICER GUILTY IN ASSAULT CASE: Officer had responded to victim's 911 call
Journal Sentinel, Both Sides of the Law
By Gina Barton
Jan. 11, 2012
[Excerpts] A jury on Wednesday found fired Milwaukee police officer Ladmarald Cates guilty of violating a woman's civil rights by raping her after he responded to her 911 call in July 2010. Despite being acquitted on a second count, Cates, 44, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced April 11. He will likely serve far less time under federal sentencing guidelines. The victim in the case cried as the verdict was announced. Afterward, she said she was glad her ordeal had ended. "I really appreciate the federal government helping me," she said. "It means a whole lot to me that I don't have to deal with it anymore, and no other women will have to deal with it. I'm happy he won't hurt anybody else"... The trial, which began Monday, came down to who was more credible: Cates or the victim... Cates had told an internal affairs detective three different stories... Cates was fired from the Police Department in December 2010 for lying and for "idling and loafing" because having sex on duty is against department rules... Last year, a Journal Sentinel investigation revealed Cates had been accused of breaking the law five times before. Three of the previous allegations involved sexual misconduct - two with female prisoners and one with a 16-year-old girl. The alleged incidents date to 2000, three years after he was hired by the department. Internal investigators referred Cates to the district attorney's office for possible charges in two of the previous cases. The first was a domestic violence battery in 2000. Cates' then-girlfriend said he shoved and choked her. Prosecutors offered Cates a diversion agreement, which allowed him to avoid charges by refraining from criminal activity, avoiding violent contact with the victim and undergoing counseling. A conviction on a domestic violence charge would have prevented Cates from carrying a gun under federal law and resulted in his removal from the force. Police also referred Cates to the district attorney's office on allegations of having sex with the 16-year-old in 2007. Prosecutors declined to charge him. Due to the rules of evidence, the jury was not allowed to hear testimony about any of the previous allegations. Attorney Robin Shellow, who was retained by the victim to help her bring the case to prosecutors, said she was proud her client had not given up. "It's humbling to have a client who went out and actively attempted to save the lives of other women," Shellow said. "It was a crime against her civil rights, and it was violence against women. . . . She has achieved justice on behalf of women in Milwaukee, and that doesn't happen very often." [Full article here]

EARLIER NEWS:

...Cates was interviewed on two occasions, and he lied both times...

VETERAN MPD OFFICER FIRED: HE IS ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING 19-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
WISN
December 8, 2010
[Excerpts] A longtime Milwaukee police officer is fired after an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman while he was on duty. The case dates to July, when the 13-year veteran was responding to a report of a fight in the street and wound-up accused of sexually assaulting a young woman. Officers were called in July to a neighborhood around 15th and Center Streets to break up a fight in the street. After they restored order, a 19-year-old woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by 42-year-old Ladmarald Cates, a police officer, while inside her home. The district attorney's office investigated the sexual assault claim and decided against charging Cates, stating that they did not feel they could meet the burden of proof. But the city has decided to fire Cates for his behavior that night and for lying about it later. According to the Fire and Police Commission order upholding Cates' firing by Milwaukee Police, Cates was fired for two counts of untruthfulness, and one count of idling and loafing. That order dated Friday indicates Cates was interviewed on two occasions, and he lied both times. 12 News has learned this is not Cates' first discipline. Prior to this internal investigation, Cates had been suspended on four prior occasions... [Full article here]

FIRED MILWAUKEE POLICE OFFICER CHARGED IN RAPE CASE: He's accused of sexually assaulting woman after she called 911
Journal Sentinel, Both Sides of the Law
By Gina Barton and John Diedrich
Sept. 20, 2011
[Excerpts] A fired Milwaukee police officer was charged Tuesday with raping a woman after he responded to her 911 call in July. Ladmarald Cates faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison if convicted of the two federal felonies, which include violating the woman's civil rights while acting under the color of law and using a firearm in the commission of an act of violence, the indictment says. The first count includes enhancers for causing bodily injury and aggravated sexual abuse, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mel Johnson, who is handling the case. Attorney Robin Shellow, who represents the victim, called Johnson "my hero." "With a kind and gentle hand he has made my client's cry in the dark the beam of justice in the future," she said. "On behalf of my client, I want to thank the U.S. attorney's office and those who worked with them for treating her with respect and dignity"... In an earlier interview with the Journal Sentinel, the woman said numerous officers - on the scene and at the police station - accused her of lying when she begged for help and asked them to take her to the hospital. She spent about 12 hours in jail before being interviewed by internal affairs... Only after that was she taken to the hospital for treatment and evidence collection.... The U.S. attorney's office and FBI began investigating Cates after the Milwaukee County district attorney's office declined to charge him. In a letter to Flynn, Assistant District Attorney Aaron E. Hall said he believed the woman's account but didn't think he would be able to prove a sexual assault case in court... Federal investigators believe the woman's allegations are both true and provable, Johnson said Tuesday. "It seemed to us from the very beginning to be credible and serious enough to be worth investigating," he said. "We got to the point, after further investigation, where we felt we could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt."... In February, a Journal Sentinel investigation revealed Cates had been accused of breaking the law five times before... [Full article here]

FORMER MILWAUKEE OFFICER FACES FEDERAL SEXUAL ABUSE CHARGE: Attorney Calls On Police Chief, DA To Resign
WISN 12 News
Brendan Conway
September 21, 201
[Excerpts] A former Milwaukee police officer has been federally indicted and charged with sexually assaulting a woman while on duty... Well known and outspoken attorney Robin Shellow is representing the victim, she praised the U.S. Attorney's office for filing charges after the district attorney declined last year. During a phone interview she had harsh words for Police Chief Ed Flynn, District Attorney John Chisholm and Deputy DA Kent Lovern. She is calling on all three men to resign. "They have blood on their hands," Shellow said. Shellow said Cates had a history of sexual assault that top officials should have known about... "Both the District Attorney's office and Milwaukee Police Department have admitted they knew of prior accusations," Shellow said. "They ought to be ashamed of themselves." Chisholm and Lovern declined to comment on Shellow's words... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety repeat hx wisconsin state politics]

[CA] POLICE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE NEARLY TWICE AVERAGE RATE

2012-01-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

FROM THE

POLICE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE NEARLY TWICE AVERAGE RATE
San Fransico Chronicle
Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, January 15, 2012

Law enforcement officers beat their wives or girlfriends at nearly double the rate of the rest of the population, and trying to control that is not only difficult for the victims but potentially deadly, experts say.

The trouble lies in the very nature of police work.

One of the hallmarks of a good cop is to radiate authority and control, and in the wrong hands, those characteristics can be misused, domestic violence counselors say.

When that misuse happens, it's hard to report it because the victim has to go up against a man - and it is almost always a man - and his agency, both seen by society as paragons of protection.

Ross Mirkarimi, the San Francisco sheriff charged Friday with three misdemeanor counts connected with accusations that he abused his wife, is new to the badge. But he graduated from the city police academy in 1996 and spent nine years as an armed investigator for the district attorney's office.

Between 2004 and November, when he was elected sheriff, Mirkarimi was best known as a city supervisor. He has maintained his innocence and promised to fight the charges.

Terrified

Even advocates for battered women are reluctant to dive into domestic violence cases involving police for fear of alienating the agencies they rely upon for help in other abuse cases. Several local advocates declined to be interviewed for this article because of that concern, although more than a dozen publicly called Thursday for Mirkarimi to step aside temporarily while the case against him is resolved.

"The biggest problem for a woman reporting that she's been abused by her police officer husband or boyfriend is that nobody believes you," said Diane Wetendorf of Chicago, who wrote a nationally used victim handbook, "Police Domestic Violence."

"If you do speak up, the police are very good at turning the accusations around," Wetendorf said. "The women get terrified, too, so the crime is very under-reported. There is a legitimate fear of retaliation."

Perhaps the most notorious case of domestic violence involving a law enforcement officer happened in 2003, when the police chief of Tacoma, Wash., shot his wife to death in front of their two children after she complained to officers that he had abused her. He then killed himself.

In November, San Jose police Officer Chris Shimek strangled his wife and then killed himself. Last month, a former police officer in Cambridge, Mass., shot three of his family members and himself to death.

"A lot of women abused by police who call battered women's shelters say, 'We're not going to report it because it won't be taken seriously and we're afraid,' " said Kim Gandy, vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation in Virginia.

High percentage

Several studies, according to Gandy and Wetendorf, indicate that women suffer domestic abuse in at least 40 percent of police officer families. For American women overall, the figure is 25 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"There are a lot of good cops who go into the work for the right reasons, to help people," Wetendorf said. "But then you have these others who are more interested in the authority, in the badge and the gun."

She said officers who abuse their wives or partners often are perverting the "continuum of force" used in policing.

"They start out with command presence and voice to gain and maintain control, and if that doesn't work, they go up the scale with an increasing amount of force until they get compliance," Wetendorf said. "Unfortunately, these guys use the same technique with their wives and girlfriends. And some of them go from 0 to 60 right away."

'Code of silence'

Aside from the fear of violent retaliation, women abused by police can also have trepidation about costing their husbands their jobs and jeopardizing their own economic future, Wetendorf said. Often, they also encounter skepticism from the same law enforcement system they are complaining to.

"A big part of police culture is the code of silence," she said. "The prosecutors depend on police for their cases, the police depend on each other - it's a very insulated system."

Michael Runner, director of legal programs for Futures Without Violence in San Francisco, said statements made so far by Mirkarimi indicate that perhaps even he, as sheriff, has a limited understanding of domestic violence.

"He characterized this incident as 'a family matter,' when it is actually not only that," said Runner, who trains judges on how to handle domestic violence cases. "And the fact that he joked about it at his swearing-in ceremony suggests that he's not necessarily aware of how serious an issue it is."

No tolerance

San Francisco police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said his department is as intolerant of domestic violence as anyone in the city.

High-profile cases of deputies or officers in San Francisco accused of abusing their spouses or girlfriends are rare. The last one came in 2008 when Officer James Tacchini, son of a deputy chief, was accused of pushing his girlfriend. The girlfriend later denied the incident happened, and Tacchini was not charged.

"When you are sworn to protect and serve, you are held to a higher standard than the general public," Esparza said. "If you are accused of domestic violence, you not only get your case in court, but you get an internal affairs investigation.

"Whether it involves an officer from our agency or another agency, we take these accusations very seriously," Esparza said. "You cannot change the way you do your job just because it's another officer."

E-mail Kevin Fagan at kfagan@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 12 of the San Francisco Chronicle
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder suicide california state politics]

[NYPD] New York Police Officer Kimberly Cassas - "She died of domestic violence - period"

2012-01-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

16 Years ago today, January 13th 1996, Brooklyn Police Officer Kimberly Cassas, was fatally shot and wounded in the midst of an argument with her estranged husband John Rivera. Prosecutors said Rivera shot her and put the gun in Kim's hand to make it look like suicide. He was convicted of murder. Recently, on appeal, the murder conviction has been thrown out. Brooklyn District Attorney Joe Hynes said his office is "reviewing the decision and considering our options."

...Kim Cassas died of a gunshot wound to her head at about 1 a.m. on January 14, surrounded by her real family and her cop family from the 68th. The medical examiner's report shows that Cassas's mouth and nose were bruised from being punched. Cassas's fellow officers placed a big stuffed heart on her chest, held her hand, and watched her die. Said Officer Patti Testaverde, "She died of domestic violence - period"...

...Detective Stephanie Rich, head of the Policewomen's Endowment Association, said the incident highlighted the department's inability to cope with domestic violence against female officers. "Whether it was suicide or something else, this was definitely a case of domestic violence," she said. "It's a serious problem, and it needs immediate attention"...

...Words cannot describe how I felt when I read that the so-called person who killed my friend Kim Cassas would be released on a technicality ("Conviction KOd in '96 slay of his NYPD wife," Aug. 10). The judge felt there was not enough evidence to prove the defendant showed depraved indifference to human life. What do you call holding a gun to someone's head and pulling the trigger?...

EXCERPTS FROM THE NEWS: 1996 THROUGH 2011

BRONX OFFICER DIES IN APPARENT SUICIDE
New York Times
January 14, 1996
[Excerpts] An off-duty police officer died last night in the Bronx of a gunshot wound to the head, which the police said appeared to be suicide. The shooting occurred at 6:40 P.M. inside a private residence on City Island... The police did not immediately release the officer's name... In the last two years, the Police Department has instituted a number of measures, including offering psychological counseling, to combat suicide among police officers. In 1994, 11 officers committed suicide, the most ever in the city

DETECTIVES SEARCH FOR CLUES IN OFF-DUTY OFFICER'S DEATH
New York Times
By David Kocieniewski
January 16, 1996
[Excerpts] Detectives used metal detectors and police dogs yesterday to search for clues in the shooting death of an off-duty police officer in Brooklyn on Saturday night and said they still had not determined whether the death was a suicide, a homicide or an accident. The officer, Kimberly Rivera, 28, was shot once in the head about 10 P.M. Saturday outside the Bensonhurst home of her estranged husband, John. The couple's 8-month-old son, Michael John, was buckled in a car seat a few feet from the shooting... Mr. Rivera, 35, told the police his wife shot herself, after screaming, "I can't take it anymore," said detectives, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Neighbors told the police that they saw a struggle between the Riveras... Mr. Rivera had been arrested last September and charged with beating Officer Rivera and stealing her gun... The charges were reduced to misdemeanors, and a court hearing was pending. Ms. Rivera had obtained an order of protection that expired on Friday... Black bunting was draped over the entrance to the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge,... Detective Stephanie Rich, head of the Policewomen's Endowment Association, said the incident highlighted the department's inability to cope with domestic violence against female officers. "Whether it was suicide or something else, this was definitely a case of domestic violence," she said. "It's a serious problem, and it needs immediate attention."

DEAD COP'S HUSBAND WON'T TALK
New York Daily News
By Tara George, Alice Mcquillan, Jane Furse
Tuesday, January 16 1996
[Excerpts] Police Commissioner William Bratton says that Officer Kimberly Rivera's estranged husband is not cooperating with investigators... "We have a lot of witnesses to talk to. The husband in this matter has retained the services of a lawyer and is no longer talking to us, so that is a very active investigation at this time"... Officer Rivera, 28, whom grief-stricken fellow officers have said would never have taken her own life, was shot in the head Saturday night outside her husband's Bath Beach, Brooklyn, apartment... John Rivera, 36, told officers a 9-mm. handgun went off during a struggle when he tried to stop his wife from firing the weapon into her temple. The couple had separated shortly after the birth of their son. On Sunday, cops got a warrant to search John Rivera's apartment, but [John Rivera's attorney, Peter] Antioco refused to allow investigators to test his client's clothes for gunpowder residue, saying the test would "serve no purpose" because Rivera had already said he was near his wife when the gun fired. A neighbor also told police he heard a man pleading, "Don't do it! Don't do it!... John Rivera, a construction worker, had been ordered by the courts to stay away from his wife. He also had been charged earlier with stealing the gun that fired the fatal shot, but those charges were later reduced. Meanwhile, grieving officers paid their respects to their slain colleague's family at her Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, home, where she lived with her mother and sister. At the 68th Precinct, former co-workers seemed numbed by shock and grief at the death. "It's never like this," said Sgt. Scott Nicholls, about the sadness that filled the stationhouse. "You've heard of the cop mentality? We only have each other," said Nicholls, who served in the same unit with Rivera. "She was the only woman in the unit, but she was one of the guys. She took ribbings, she took jokes. When we had the snowstorm, she was out there shoveling more than the guys"...

FAREWELL TO SLAIN COP HUBBY IS SPIT AT IN CHURCH
New York Daily News
By TARA GEORGE
Friday, January 19th 1996
[Excerpts] Hundreds of uniformed police officers packed a Brooklyn church yesterday to bid a solemn farewell to Officer Kimberly Rivera... Some spit at John Rivera, who is under investigation in his wife's death and who sat quietly apart from the other mourners, wearing sunglasses. Many of the officers from the slain cop's precinct wept as pallbearers carried the flagged-draped coffin into St. Mary Mother of Jesus church. "If you knew Kim, you knew she loved life," said the Rev. James Collins. "She had a big heart, which makes her violent death harder to understand." The officer's mother, Marlene Cassas, and sister Stephanie clung to each other for support as Collins talked of Rivera's love of animals and her dedication to her job, her family and her 8-month-old son, Michael. Officer Howard Carswell, a close friend, choked back tears as he read a speech he penned the day after Officer Rivera died. "On Jan 13, 1996, during a cold winter's night, New York City lost one of its Finest," he said. "The angels called for her much sooner than was planned" Rivera, 28, was shot in the head outside her husband's Bath Beach, Brooklyn, apartment last Saturday... Family members did not speak to John Rivera during yesterday's ceremony, and he left quickly when it was over.

COP KILLED HERSELF, SEZ LAWYER
Marlene Cassas
January 23rd 1996
[Excerpts] Brooklyn cop Kimberly Rivera died with her own 9-mm. gun in her hand, her estranged husband's attorney charged yesterday. "She committed suicide," Peter Antioco told Criminal Court Judge Joseph Bruno at a hearing for John Rivera... He has not been charged in her death, and he has insisted that she killed herself. But Police Commissioner William Bratton complained last week that Rivera was uncooperative with investigators and police sources say they remain troubled by several aspects of the case... The misdemeanor charges he faced yesterday include criminal weapons possession, possession of a forged instrument, criminal contempt, menacing and petty larceny, dating back to a complaint his wife made last year. But his lawyer maintained the gun used in the shooting had never left Kimberly Rivera's possession. Antioco told Bruno that he had been told by police after the shooting "that the weapon was recovered in her hand." Antioco also said photographs of Kimberly Rivera's body show her holding the weapon.

OFFICER'S DEATH RULED A HOMICIDE
New York Times
By Garry Pierre-Pierre
February 4, 1996
[Excerpts] The New York City Medical Examiner's office ruled yesterday that the shooting death last month of an off-duty police officer [Kimberly Rivera,] was a homicide... Her death had baffled detectives, who had not determined whether the death was a suicide, a homicide or an accident... Yesterday, the police would not say whether Mr. Rivera was a suspect... Officer Rivera joined the police force on June 30, 1990, and was assigned to the 68th Precinct. Neighbors said that Mr. Rivera, a former city bus driver, had been honored by the city in 1992 for rescuing 10 people from a burning building on his route in Bensonhurst.

HUSBAND CHARGED IN OFFICER'S DEATH
New York Times
Published: February 29, 1996
[Excerpts] Saying in court that he wanted to commit suicide, a Brooklyn man was charged yesterday with murdering his estranged wife, a police officer, in a case in which he had repeatedly insisted she had shot herself as he tried to stop her... District Attorney Charles J. Hynes of Brooklyn said the location of the wound -- not in the temple but above and behind the ear helped determine that "the fatal wound was not consistent" with Mr. Rivera's account that his 28-year-old wife shot herself. Mr. Rivera, 36, was arrested Tuesday night on the second-degree murder charges. He has been ordered held without bail.

DA: HUBBY KILLED 'SUICIDE COP'
New York Times
By Austin Evans Fenner, Al Baker, Don Gentile
February 29th 1996
[Excerpts] Brooklyn Police Officer Kimberly Rivera was murdered in cold blood by her estranged husband, who tried to make the death look like a suicide, prosecutors charged yesterday. "The evidence excludes that the wound was self-inflicted," said District Attorney Charles Hynes after the arraignment of John Rivera... "We say he put the gun in the victim's hand," said Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Taub. "The evidence will show he shot and killed his wife and tried to make it look like suicide." Hynes noted that the fatal wound, 2 inches above and behind the right ear, "is inconsistent with suicide." Sources added that gunpowder residue found on the officer's knuckle indicated she was trying to deflect the gun... Rivera told police his wife shouted, "I can't take it anymore" and used a 9-mm. Beretta to end her life falling to the ground with the gun still in her hand. The baby was strapped in a car seat inside the vehicle at the time. Rivera told police he tried to stop his wife. But investigators were suspicious... In September he was charged with menacing, criminal harassment and stealing the gun that eventually took her life. Those charges are still pending. Rivera, arrested Tuesday night, was held without bail and placed on a suicide watch. His lawyer, Peter Antioco, called the case politically motivated. Antioco said the officer had emotional problems over "an abortion, a miscarriage and a lesbian relationship." He would not elaborate.

[I left those accusations in just to show what happens.]

PARK TO BE NAMED FOR SLAIN OFFICER
New York Daily News
By Bill Farrell
June 04, 1996
[Excerpts] A triangular park on 86th St., near the Dyker Beach Golf Course in Bay Ridge, is slated to be named for a local police officer who was slain allegedly by her ex-husband during a domestic dispute. According to Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, it will be the first city park named for a police officer not killed in the line of duty, and the first park named for a victim of domestic violence. The naming of the park for Officer Kimberly Rivera has been spearheaded by her fellow officers at the 68th Precinct... "Kim was a fixture at the park," said Police Officer Mike Emitt, one of the organizers of the dedication effort. "Even when off duty she would walk her dogs there. This is fitting tribute," he said...

WHO KILLED KIMBERLY CASSAS?
The Village Voice
Linda Stasi
19 Nov 1996
[Excerpts] ...[Kimberly] Cassas died without an NYPD funeral. Instead, her peers from the force paid for her funeral themselves. The mayor, who hasn't missed a cop funeral since Jesus was a baby, skipped it. [Police Commissioner William[ Bratton skipped, too. Kimberly Cassas Rivera, a dedicated cop and mother, was buried in a cloud of shame... Officer Kimberly Cassas believed everything that handsome John Rivera said at first. Friends say she believed him when be said he scabbed for the Green Bay Packers... She believed him when he said he was an ex-NYPD officer. After all, he had the shield, he had the uniform... She believed him, too, when he told her that he was from a family of 11 brothers and sisters and that his mom had been killed in a carjacking... She eloped with him. But on their honeymoon, her cop instincts took over. She felt that something was wrong with the guy. After their honeymoon, she moved right back home with her mother and sister... Her friends say the couple never lived together. By the time she knew she'd made a mistake by marrying him, she was pregnant, and wanted out of the marriage. But it wasn't until much later that Kimberly discovered that she'd married a man who didn't exist. Friends of the couple said Rivera went so far as to party with "fellow officers" while in full uniform at the Washington, D.C., debacle last year. They say he showed up at a Memorial Day event decked out again like the cop he wasn't. "Cops of 15 years believed him" said Officer Margo McKenzie. "He had the lingo down pat" He'd shared stories with cops of collars and heroic feats"... [Her pal, Officer Maryrose Demetrio:] "Monday nights we'd all go bowling, I remember she was seven months pregnant-he'd show up-and be so annoying. He'd be all over her, `My Kimmy, my Kimmy.' She'd deal with him very kindly; she felt bad for him. That's the way she was" After the baby was born, things became unbearable. Kim's gun was stolen out of her home. She told her friends that Rivera admitted that he had it, and that he'd threatened to use it on her. She reported the gun missing, and named him as the thief In late August, Cassas filed divorce papers; Rivera was served on September 2, 1995. Six days later, she went to Dyker Park with the baby. According to court papers filed by Cassas, Rivera showed up and pushed her to the ground with the baby in her arms. Cops from the 62nd Precinct were called. Rivera told them he was a cop, and showed them his ID. The responding officers dismissed this as a domestic dispute between two cops. Nonetheless, Kimberly filed charges-and Rivera spent three days in jail. He was charged with five counts, including grand larceny for allegedly stealing her gun and violating an order of protection. In a search of Rivera's apartment, police found equipment for making official badges. Rivera was charged with forgery. But it wasn't until Cassas filed the criminal charges that any background check was done on "ex-police officer" John Rivera. And that's when-nearly two years after Rivera and Cassas met - both the NYPD and Kimberly Cassas discovered that John Rivera had never been a cop. Nothing he'd told her, it seemed, was true... Rivera was a hero alright, but a hero bus driver... A confidential source says Cassas later discovered that Rivera had been caught with an altered TA identification badge-one that made him look like a TA cop... According to her estranged husband, Cassas killed herself because she was depressed over their impending divorce, saying that her gun went off while he was trying to wrest it from her hand. Kim Cassas died of a gunshot wound to her head at about 1 a.m. on January 14, surrounded by her real family and her cop family from the 68th. The medical examiner's report shows that Cassas's mouth and nose were bruised from being punched. Cassas's fellow officers placed a big stuffed heart on her chest, held her hand, and watched her die. Said Officer Patti Testaverde, "She died of domestic violence-period"... [John] Rivera's then-defense attorney, Peter Antioco, blasted the dead policewoman, saying the case was politically motivated and "there are reports that she had one abortion, one miscarriage, she was using steroids, and she may have been have been having a lesbian relationship." "How does a dead woman defend these charges?" asked Maryrose Demetrio. Shortly after taking on the case, Antioco dismissed himself as Rivera's attorney, saying he was too close to the defendant...

MAN CONVICTED OF KILLING HIS WIFE, A POLICE OFFICER
New York Times
July 16, 1997
[Excerpts] An unemployed city bus driver charged with fatally shooting his estranged wife, a police officer, in January was convicted yesterday by a Brooklyn jury. The defendant, John Rivera, 37, was convicted of second-degree murder with depraved indifference for human life in the shooting of Officer Kimberly Rivera, 28, during an argument outside his apartment in Bath Beach, Brooklyn. Four of the victim's former patrol partners, who had come every day to the four-and-a-half-week trial, sat in court with her family as the sentence was read... In convicting him, the jury of nine women and three men concluded that while he might not have done so intentionally, it was Mr. Rivera who pulled the trigger.

B'KLYN MAN GUILTY IN SLAY OF COP WIFE
New York Daily News
BY MAUREEN FAN
July 16, 1997
A Brooklyn jury yesterday convicted a Bath Beach man of murdering his city police officer wife, rejecting his claim that she committed suicide. "I'll be back down on appeal," John Rivera shouted amid obscenities. Jurors found Rivera fired an illegal 9-mm. Beretta pistol into Kimberly Rivera's head at point-blank range on Jan. 13, 1996, then put the gun in her hand and told cops, "That's my wife, she shot herself." But prosecutors Ken Taub and Kyle Reeves said a single soot mark found on Kimberly Rivera's thumb showed she was deflecting the pistol, not firing it. A five-year police veteran, Kimberly Rivera, 28, filed for divorce four months before the slaying outside her husband's apartment. She also had an order of protection directing him to stay away except during supervised visits with their son, Michael, now 2. Deliberations before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Hall took 15 hours over three days. One juror was hospitalized for high blood pressure. Yesterday, more than 20 of Kimberly Rivera's friends and relatives said the wait had been excruciating as they cried and hugged each other tightly after the verdict. "I'm so happy it's over. They did the right thing," said Kimberly Rivera's sister, Stephanie Cassas, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can't wait to go home and hug Michael," said her mother, Marlene Cassas. Defense attorney Lynn Stewart had argued that two witnesses saw the gun in the victim's hand and heard her say, "I'm gonna do it this time."

MAN GETS 23 YEARS TO LIFE FOR KILLING OFFICER-WIFE
New York Times
Sep 20, 1997
[Excerpts] After spitting at his victim's police colleagues, a Brooklyn man was sentenced yesterday to 23 years to life for fatally shooting his estranged wife, a New York City police officer. The man, John Rivera, 38, was sentenced in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn in a courtroom packed with relatives and colleagues of the victim, Kimberly Rivera. She was off duty when she was shot... Seeing the many police officers in the gallery yesterday as he entered the courtroom, Mr. Rivera said, "All this for me?" and spat toward the spectators. Later, as he was led away after being sentenced, the audience applauded loudly.

N.Y. PATHOLOGIST SOUGHT FOR D.C. MORGUE
Washington Post
By Peter Slevin
Feb. 23, 1998
[Excerpts] The D.C. financial control board is working intensely to hire a highly respected New York City pathologist -- a specialist in the way children die -- to rebuild the District's woeful medical examiner's office. Jonathan L. Arden, who runs the Brooklyn morgue and serves as top deputy to New York City's chief medical examiner, would become the city's highest-paid employee if he accepted the job... In another case, Arden concluded last year that off-duty New York police officer Kimberly Rivera could not have committed suicide, although she was found in a pool of blood, gripping the pistol that fired the fatal bullets. "This is not a self-inflicted gunshot," Arden testified. "When one shoots oneself, one cannot continue to hold the gun in one's hand." A jury convicted John Rivera, her husband, of murder. He is serving 23 years to life.

NYPD ANGEL

Name : Cassas, Kim

[Excerpts] Officers in the 68th Pct received word that Kim Cassas had allegedly killed herself off duty, in front of her estranged husband's house with her newborn baby a few feet away. Over 1,000 police officers and civilians that knew her, off duty paid their respects at her funeral. She was not entitled to the Inspectors Funeral her friends felt she deserved due to the circumstances surrounding her death. Those that knew her, knew that she would never take her own life. She was too full of life and loved life, especially with her new born baby boy... After many months of painstaking investigation Kim's estranged husband was arrested, tried and convicted of her murder. One of her fellow officers would like everyone to know that though she did not die LOD, there is a another true "Angel" out there that deserves our respect and admiration for being one of the Finest of the Finest. There is a walkway in Dyker Park Golf Course named after Officer Cassas [Kimberly Cassas Walk Dyker Beach Park, 86th St. and 10th Ave., Brooklyn]. For the last eight years the 68th Pct has been running the Kim Cassas Memorial Golf Day to raise money for the care of her son. [Full article here]

COP-SLAY CONVICTION TOSSED
New York Post
By Bruce Golding
August 10, 2011
[Excerpts] A federal appeals court yesterday ordered the release of a Brooklyn man imprisoned for the 1996 slaying of his police-officer wife during a custody fight... The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a judge should have previously overturned John Rivera's conviction for "depraved indifference" murder in the fatal shooting of Kimberly Rivera. The unanimous decision noted that jurors had acquitted Rivera of "intentional murder." Two state appellate-court decrees since the verdict have changed the law so that the "point-blank shooting" of Kimberly Rivera "could not support a depraved-indifference murder conviction," Judge Joseph McLaughlin wrote. Those decisions were both handed down before Rivera's conviction "became final" following denial of his last state appeal in 2004, McLaughlin said...

MAN FOUND GUILTY OF SHOOTING NYPD COP WIFE TO DEATH IN 1997 CLEARED FOR RELEASE BY COURT
New York Daily News
By Scott Shifrel, Kerry Wills And Larry Mcshane
August 9 2011, 5:13 PM
[Excerpts] ...The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals also ordered a lower court to spring the longtime inmate, although the timetable for his release was unclear. The ruling infuriated the family of NYPD scooter cop Kimberly Rivera... "We're very upset, obviously," said her 40-year-old sister, Stephanie Cassas. "This shouldn't be happening. He's guilty, so he shouldn't be getting out in the first place. "I love my sister," the Brooklyn woman said through tears. "I miss her so much." Rivera, now 52, spewed obscenities and vowed to beat the case after his July 1997 conviction. "I'll be back down on appeal!" he shouted after the verdict was read. He taunted and spat at the 70 cops who turned out two months later to watch him receive a jail term of 23 years to life. Brooklyn District Attorney Joe Hynes said his office was "reviewing the decision and considering our options."...

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
New York Daily News
Letters To The Editor
Sunday, August 14, 2011
[Excerpt] Unspeakable
Brooklyn: Words cannot describe how I felt when I read that the so-called person who killed my friend Kim Cassas would be released on a technicality ("Conviction KOd in '96 slay of his NYPD wife," Aug. 10). The judge felt there was not enough evidence to prove the defendant showed depraved indifference to human life. What do you call holding a gun to someone's head and pulling the trigger?... [LINK]

EXCERPTS FROM NYPD ANGELS
FIDELIS AD MORTEM... FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH:

...She always put cocoa butter on, so of course I didn't let a day go by when I didn't ask her if she rubbed chocolate bars under her arms, my sister who was no better always told her that she had something in her ear knowing very well that it was this little flower tatoo that kim had in her ear. She would just laugh at us, and that's what we wanted cause it was all in fun.I never saw her mad, raise her voice or be petty about anything. She took everything in stride. She always had that smile on her face and was ready to help you if you needed it. I really am sorry that she is gone, she is missed alot by the many people...

...I just want every one to know that kim was a very special person to all of us at the 68 who had the sincere pleasure of working with her she was a beautiful person and there is no way that she would ever take her life...

...When I received that phone call on the evening of January 13th from another officer from the 68th Pct, I just knew that it wasn't good news. He told me that Kim was shot, I was just devastated and my immediate response was,cwho did it, John. There was never a doubt. She was such a vibrant girl and loved her son Michael too much to ever take her own life. I was the PAA in the CPU Office and Kim was assigned there. She was always there whenever I needed her to do anything within the confines of the 68 Pct. Kim was always a ray of sunshine. She will always be in my heart and I will always miss her...

...I have a picture of her with her son sitting on my mantle, so I see her and think of her every single day. She was one of the most wonderful friends a girl could ask for. I love her and miss her smiling face...

...I smile thinking of the many times we worked on patrol and laughed so hard together. Her eyes would tear and there would be mascarra all over the place. The only positive thing to come of this tradgedy is I still get to sense part of her when I see her Mom, Sister and Son. They are all wonderful people and Kim- like. Her son is a very happy boy and is a constant reminder of Kims innocence and goodness. Kimberly, you are so missed...

...Thank You for all the support you've given Kim's son Michael over these past 15 years if you've met him you would know he has my sister's spirit all the way through. Our family is forever grateful and thankful to her friends, her second family from the 68pct. Thank You for recognizing my sis Kimberly as an "NYPD angel"...

...To the best friend I ever had. I still remember the first day I met you when you walked into Bishop Kearney HS with your perfect eyelashes and pink lip gloss. It was a horrible night when Mike had to tell me you were gone. I couldn't believe I wasted so much time and then you were gone. I never met another friend that I know truly loved me like I know you did. Although I am crying like a baby right now I can still laugh outloud anytime I think of our days driving your mothers rabbit. Well we both have sons named Michael the same age and when I saw your son when he was little he melted my heart at just the site of him. Kim, I have told you in my prayers but I want the world to know that I named one of my daughters after you and she is as beautiful and mischevious and tough as you ever where. When I yell out her name (and God knows how many times I do) I sometimes feel like I am calling to you. I hope Mom, Steph and Michael are doing well. NYPD never had better. I love you and miss you and Kimberly Patricia Masullo is honored to have you as her guardian angel. God help the person that ever crosses her... I have seen you protect anything from a stray cat or dog to your closest friends. Until we laugh together again...
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder new york state politics alleged said suicide]

[WA] Brutal wife-beater, Corrections Officer Dallen Brown, is where he needs to stay

2012-01-11T03:08:00.000-08:00

An emergency room nurse told Monroe police officers it was one of the worst abuse cases he'd ever seen... bruised from "her nose to her toes"... The woman told officers that her husband, Dallen Brown, had punched her in the face and jabbed her in the ribs with his handgun. She told officers the abuse had been going on for years. She detailed incidents when she was choked, kneed in the stomach, kicked and punched. The woman told officers that Brown had held a gun to her and told her "shape up"...

I just found these articles from July and August last year, but I see that Monroe Corrections Officer Dallen Brown is still sitting in the Snohomish County Jail, so for the purposes of this blog I'll consider it current. He's so bad he has to be here.

MONROE CORRECTIONS OFFICER JAILED IN ALLEGED ASSAULT ON WIFE
By Eric Stevick, Herald Writer
Wednesday, July 27, 2011

EVERETT - A corrections officer at the prison in Monroe found himself behind bars Tuesday after he was arrested for investigation of assaulting his wife.

Medical records described more than 75 bruises to the woman's body, according to court records. A nurse from Valley General Hospital in Monroe told police that bruising was found from the woman's head to her feet.

Emergency room staff also told police that it appeared to be one of the worst cases of ongoing assaults they could remember, according to court records.

"It's so tragic when you see families so affected by this type of abuse," Monroe Police Department spokeswoman Debbie Willis said.

The correctional officer was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of three counts of assault.

A judge set bail at $50,000 Tuesday and ordered that the officer have no contact with his wife.

That's the bail amount Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson was seeking. He argued that a high bail was warranted because the allegations describe "a series of severe beatings."

A defense attorney asked for $10,000 bail.

The correctional officer, 29, works in the special offender unit for mentally ill prisoners at Monroe, state Department of Corrections spokesman Chad Lewis said. The officer started working at the prison in 2007.

Monroe Correctional Complex Superintendent Scott Frakes will determine what action to take once the officer is released from custody, Lewis said.

In an interview with police, the woman described an abusive nine-year relationship. She said her husband would strike her with fists, elbows and knees and use a stranglehold on her. She said he struck her with a gun once and pressed a gun to her body and made verbal threats on another occasion.

She told police he hit her in the stomach and pelvis July 20.

She alleged that he choked her during an assault at their home on Monday.

She said she grabbed her two young daughters and left the house and hid in an alley until a relative could pick them up.

On Tuesday, the corrections officer walked into the Monroe Police Department and said he wanted to give his side of the story, according to court records.

He said his wife held the barrel of a gun to his face and threatened him during an April altercation.

He said he used different arm holds to control her when there were physical disputes.

He told police his wife instigated a fight July 20 by striking him with a dog collar while he "balled up" on the floor. He said he eventually put her in a headlock until she would stop fighting.

He also said he used self-defense on Monday when he struck her in the face, using a "hammer fist" strike technique he learned in defensive tactics training, according to court papers.

"We are continuing to investigate," Willis said. [Full article here]

MONROE CORRECTIONS OFFICER CHARGED WITH ASSAULTS AGAINST WIFE
By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer
Friday, August 12, 2011

MONROE - An emergency room nurse told Monroe police officers it was one of the worst abuse cases he'd ever seen.

The patient, the wife of a Monroe corrections officer, was bruised from "her nose to her toes" when police brought her to the hospital last month.

The woman told officers that her husband, Dallen Brown, had punched her in the face and jabbed her in the ribs with his handgun. She told officers the abuse had been going on for years. She detailed incidents when she was choked, kneed in the stomach, kicked and punched. The woman told officers that Brown had held a gun to her and told her "shape up," court papers said.

Brown, 27, was arrested last month. His wife had called a relative to ask that she come pick up the couple's children. The woman and her children were found hiding in an alley down the street.

The woman had a black eye and bruises along her stomach. The relative called 911.

Brown was charged Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court with three counts of second-degree domestic violence assault. Prosecutors allege that the assaults were committed under aggravating circumstances because they happened in front of the couple's children and over a prolonged period of time.

That opens the door for more prison time if Brown is convicted.

Brown is locked up in the county jail, his bail set at $50,000. He remains an employee of the state Department of Corrections, spokesman Chad Lewis said. Superintendent Scott Frakes will make a decision on what action to take when Brown reports to work, Lewis wrote in an e-mail earlier this month.

Brown came into the Monroe Police Department asking about his wife and children the day after she was taken to the hospital.

He reportedly said he and his wife had been in some fights. His said his wife attacked him first in each instance.

Brown allegedly told officers that he punched his wife in the face in self-defense.

"He said that he used a 'hammer-fist' strike in keeping with his defense tactics training from the prison, and that it was 'just a natural, instinctive thing,' " according to court papers.

Brown reportedly told investigators that he usually used a choke-hold to get his wife to calm down.

He told police that his wife was to blame for the violence in their relationship. He allegedly explained that she insulted him and "knew how to push his buttons," Baldock wrote in charging documents.

Investigators spoke with the couple's children who said they'd seen their parents fighting. They also collected a voice mail message the 6-year-old left with a relative last month.

"My mom and dad are fighting. My mom is going to get killed if you don't answer so please call. They're fighting right now," the girl said. [Full article here]

EXCERPTS FROM ARTICLE'S COMMENTS:

...Mr. Brown you are an embarresment to the men and women you worked with...

...To this narcissitic, poor excuse for a man, he has done nothing wrong and it's all her fault for "starting it"...

...Was he on meth or something? How can anyone be so stupid! To do it, to think he'd get away with it, and to try to justify it is just mind blowing...

...The voicemail recording from the 6 year old says it all...

...If he should recieve bail and reports back to work he will be automatically place on administrative leave with full pay and benies. But while in the county lockup awaiting trial he is placed on regular annual leave if he has any drawing hios full pay and benies. Once that annual leave is gone then he gets nothing until bailed out or released on PR. If and when he is convicted then he will be terminated that is the union agreement. So far he hasn't gotten bail and I don't see anyone running to his defense to bail him now...

...what a coward, just shameful!...

...If this coward is convicted he will be shipped out of state to do his time, but it won't take long for the inmates at the out of state prisons learn he is an ex prison gaurd, and then they will pounce on him, so he will most likley live in solitary...

...Way to go, blame the person you are kicking the crap out of... and then do it in front of your children...

...coward...
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety brutal washington state politics terroristic threats threatening hx repeat]

[GA] Not forgotten. Dougherty County Sheriff's Jail Officer Tasha George

2012-01-08T02:27:00.000-08:00

Dougherty County Georgia Sheriff's Jail Officer Tasha George was shot and killed by the boyfriend of 7 years that she was breaking up with. She had left work early to change the locks and have a security system installed when Travis Smith surprised her and fatally shot her. The media doesn't give hint whether Tasha feared for her life or was just trying to keep him out.

"...'My baby! My baby!' a woman shouted as she collapsed, sobbing, on the driveway... Another woman fell to her knees on the driveway and curled up on the ground face down. Law enforcement officials, including Dougherty County Sheriff Jamil Saba, surrounded the women, loved ones of slain Dougherty County Sheriff's Office employee Tasha George..."

There had been prior documented domestic violence. After shooting Tasha, Travis then carjacked someone to get away and was quickly apprehended. He was sentenced to life in prison and 10 years for a gun charge, to be served consecutively.

Date that Tasha's life was stolen: June 16, 2006.

DOUGHERTY COUNTY JAIL DETENTION OFFICER SHOT TO DEATH
WALB News 10
June 16, 2006
[Excerpts] New information tonight in a shooting that claimed the life of a detention officer with the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office. 25-year-old Tasha George may have been the victim of domestic violence. Less than a month ago, Albany Police arrested her boyfriend for battery. He's one of two men in custody in connection with her murder. At about 5 Friday evening, law enforcement responded to this normally quiet neighborhood... "We did get a call in reference to shots fired," says Chief James Younger of Albany Police. There they found Tasha George dead in a yard... They're now trying to piece together exactly what happened but police reports from May 19th show a history of domestic violence at the home. After 8 that night, police arrested live-in boyfriend Travis Smith. Records show Smith pushed George through a glass table. She had an abrasion to her right eye and a deep cut on her stomach... [Sheriff Jamil] Saba says George was a hard worker at the Dougherty County Jail for about 4 years. He's shocked that this happened especially since George just left work a short time before the shooting... We're told George was trying to end things with Smith. Just today she had the locks changed on her house and a security company was installing a burglar alarm. Unfortunately, it wasn't soon enough...

COUNTY JAILER SHOT, KILLED NEAR HER HOME: An Albany woman shot and killed Friday had worked for the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office for about four years.
The Albany Herald
Heather Darenberg & Joshua Brown
Saturday, June 17, 2006
[Excerpts] Screams of desperation echoed down tree-lined Temple Avenue Friday evening. "My baby! My baby!" a woman shouted as she collapsed, sobbing, on the driveway of a red brick house at 2404 Temple Avenue, which was surrounded by yellow crime scene tape. Another woman fell to her knees on the driveway and curled up on the ground face down. Law enforcement officials, including Dougherty County Sheriff Jamil Saba, surrounded the women, loved ones of slain Dougherty County Sheriff's Office employee Tasha George... Saba said the victim had been an employee of the Sheriff's Office for about four years... For the two hours following the shooting, the intersection of Temple and Stuart avenues was taped off as members of the Albany Police Department, Dougherty County Sheriff's Office, Georgia State Patrol, Dougherty County School System Police Department, Albany State University Police Department, Georgia Department of Corrections, the Dougherty County District Attorney's Office, the Albany Fire Department and Dougherty County Emergency Medical Services worked at the crime scene. About an hour after the shooting, several law enforcement vehicles peeled off, with lights flashing. A few minutes later, Dougherty County Jail spokesman Lt. Lance Montgerard said in a telephone interview that two people had been captured in Worth County in connection with the shooting. Younger confirmed Friday evening that the police department was questioning two "suspects," who he later said were "persons of interest"... Sylvester police caught two men, one white and one black, who appeared to be in their early 20s at about 6:30 p.m. in a McDonald's parking lot in Sylvester, Sylvester Police Chief Tony Strenth said. Strenth said the black man tried to run, but was apprehended a short distance away in front of a Subway restaurant. The white man did not run... Sylvester police left the car as it was so Albany police could search it, Strenth said. Strenth said the only thing found in the car that he knew of was a pistol... Saba said at about 10:30 p.m. Friday that the two men were not being held in the Dougherty County Jail. Saba described George as "a good officer." "She was a great worker," he said. "If you needed her there, she would be there. "Our heart and our sympathy goes out to the family... We're going to help the family and see what we can do for them."

SUSPECT NABBED IN JAILER SLAYING: A man arrested on a murder charge in connection with a detention officer's death was also arrested last month on a domestic violence charge.
Albany Herald
Heather Darenberg
6/18/2006
[Excerpts] Albany police arrested an Albany man on a murder charge Friday evening in connection with the slaying of a Dougherty County Sheriff's Office employee, jail records show. Travis Smith, 28, of 2404 Temple Avenue was booked into the Dougherty County Jail at 8:26 p.m. Friday, records show. Smith was released from the jail at 9:30 p.m. Friday... Lee County Jail officials confirmed Saturday they are housing Smith for Dougherty County authorities. Dougherty County Jail spokesman Lt. Lance Montgerard said Smith was not being held in Dougherty County "for his safety and security." Smith is suspected of fatally shooting his longtime girlfriend, Dougherty County detention officer Tasha George... An Albany Police Department Family Violence Incident Report from May shows that Smith was arrested in May on a charge of battery (domestic violence). Albany police Maj. Wilma Griffin and Dougherty County Jail officials confirmed Saturday that it was the same Smith that was arrested on the murder charge. The report, dated May 19, indicates that Smith was arrested in connection with an incident involving his girlfriend of seven years. The victim's name had been redacted from the report, but the report shows the victim was a 25-year-old employed by the Dougherty County Jail... The report states that Smith told police that he and his girlfriend were involved in "a severe pushing match" and "he struck (deleted) on the face"... Police noted that the woman had "an abrasion next to her right eye which caused visible swelling" and a "deep cut to (deleted) stomach area, which she said was caused when Travis pushed her on to a glass table top that was leaned against the kitchen wall," the report shows... Dougherty County Jail employees said Saturday they were not allowed to talk about George to the media...

MURDER SUSPECT INDICTED
WALB-TV
Jun 23, 2006
[Excerpts] The man accused of killing a Dougherty County jailer has been indicted. Twenty-eight-year old Travis Smith is charged with murdering twenty-five-year old Tasha George... Interestingly, the indictment also accuses him of battery and stalking, crimes that happened one month before Tasha George was killed. Smith and George were a couple at one time and Smith was arrested May 19th and charged with throwing George through a glass table. He was then let out of jail on bond and had not even been indicted when George was shot and killed June 16th. Now that he's charged with murder, prosecutors are speeding things up... Even though Albany police never reported it, Travis Smith is also accused of kidnapping and carjacking the man who was with him when he was caught in Sylvester last Friday.

LOVED ONES REMEMBER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM
walb.com
July 28, 2006
[Excerpts] A young Dougherty County jailer [Tasha George] murdered outside her home last month was remembered by her loved ones tonight... "Officer Tasha George, In Memory of, on August 26, 2002 to June 16, 2006. We Love You." Tasha George gave four years of service to the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office. Her mother and sister graciously took the flag of appreciation from Tasha's co-workers. For younger sister Denise Moffett, Tasha was a role model. "She played as a good role. She was helping me through school, prom, everything," said Denise Moffett. Tasha's friends from the Dougherty County Jail hosted a memorial celebration for her family. Wendy Griffin and Danny Brown met Tasha four years ago when they started jail school together. "She was always trying to stay on top of things, trying to better herself, her career, just always trying to move towards advancement," said Wendy Griffin. The three shared many experiences. Danny remembers joking with Tasha often... With laughter aside, Tasha was also a serious and spiritual person. Good friend and minister Terry Whitaker remembers the role God played in Tasha's life. "We know she was saved, we know she loved the Lord. When the Lord calls, it's time for you to go home. We can't go back and ask why the Lord made those decisions. We just want everyone to know that we loved her and we know that she's in a better place," said Terry Whitaker. A better place for this life cut short here on Earth, but a life that will be remembered by many for years to come...

DEFENDANT IS MENTALLY COMPETENT
walb.com
Jim Wallace
February 20, 2007
[Excerpts] A Judge rules an Albany man is mentally competent to stand trial for murder. Travis Smith's trial for killing Dougherty County Tasha George is set to begin in less than one month. Twenty-eight-year-old Travis Smith was brought into the courtroom at the Dougherty County Jail under heavy guard. Wearing handcuffs and leg irons, four deputies and bailiffs stood within feet of him throughout the competency hearing... A Dougherty County jailer, George had gone home from work early that day to have the locks changed on her house, and a security system installed. Prosecutors say Smith surprised her and shot her twice in the shoulder and the neck. On May 19th Smith was arrested for hitting George. He was released on bond the next day, but was ordered by the court to stay away from George. Smith is also charged with kidnapping, carjacking, and aggravated assault on Eric Griggs, a man prosecutors say Smith forced to go with him after George's murder... Smith was examined by two psychologists to determine if he was mentally able to be tried for murder. In the hearing, one psychologist testified that Smith said he had been treated at Southwestern State Hospital in Thomasville in June, after threatening George. Both psychologists testified that Smith appeared to be depressed, but was capable of understanding right from wrong... The Judge set a trial date of March 19th... Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. If found guilty, Smith would face life in prison. Travis Smith is being held at Coastal State Prison near Savannah. Officials did not want to have him held at the Dougherty County jail, since he is charged with killing one of it's employees. Judge Goss today ordered that Smith be held either at the Lee County Jail or Lee State Prison during his trial...

TRIAL ENDS WITH GUILTY PLEA
walb.com
Nicole Johnson
March 1, 2007
[Excerpts] A surprise guilty plea today from an Albany man charged with killing his ex-girlfriend. 28-year old Travis Smith shocked prosecutors by telling them he wanted to plead guilty to the murder of Dougherty county jailer Tasha George... After Smith agreed to plea, a Dougherty Superior Court judge immediately sentenced him to life in prison. He was also sentenced to ten years on a firearms charge.

MAN GETS LIFE IN SLAYING OF DOUGHERTY COUNTY JAILER
By The Associated Press
March 2nd 2007
A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a Dougherty County jailer. Travis Smith pleaded guilty Thursday to felony murder and two related firearms charges, Dougherty County Assistant District Attorney Greg Edwards said. Superior Court Judge Stephen Goss sentenced Smith to life in prison plus 10 years, to be served consecutively...
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder georgia state politics]

[MA] Ex-Brockton Police Lt. Lincoln jailed for not paying alimony

2012-01-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

Jan 06, 2012
Retired Brockton Massachusetts Police Lt. Charles Lincoln "who amassed the largest pension in Plymouth County history [$140,000 a year] is sitting in the Barnstable County jail after failing to pay support to his ex-wife... Brockton Probate Court issued an order for Lincoln to be jailed for failure to pay $13,700 in support... The order says that Lincoln 'neglected and refused to obey' the order to pay, and he was being held in contempt. Lincoln is to be held for 30 days or until he pays the money..." [LINK]

[AR] Shots fired. Fayetteville Officer Davis arrested on 1st degree felony battery, aggravated assault, burglary

2012-01-05T10:13:00.000-08:00

FAYETTEVILLE OFFICER ARRESTED, PLACED ON LEAVE
By Kate Ward
Posted: January 3, 2012
Washington County deputies arrested a Fayetteville police officer on Tuesday after he reportedly held his ex-wife’s boyfriend at gunpoint, according to a preliminary arrest report. Cpl. Terry Davis, 46, of 11859 Longstate Road in Elkins was arrested Tuesday in connection with felony first-degree battery and aggravated assault. He has been placed on paid administrative leave while the Fayetteville Police Department conducts an internal investigation. [LINK]

FAYETTEVILLE POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED IN DOMESTIC DISPUTE INVOLVING GUN, EX-WIFE'S BOYFRIEND
Associated Press
January 03, 2012
[Excerpts] A Fayetteville police officer faces charges over a domestic dispute in which he allegedly threatened his ex-wife's boyfriend with a gun and a knife. Washington County sheriff's deputies say 46-year-old Terry Davis of Elkins was arrested Tuesday for felony first-degree battery and aggravated assault... Davis, a Fayetteville police corporal, is on paid leave pending an internal investigation. The arrest report says he entered the home of his ex-wife's boyfriend and first threatened him with a knife... Davis allegedly fired at least one shot into the man's bed and threatened to kill him and take his own life... Davis was held without bond Tuesday pending a court appearance... [Full article here]

FAYETTEVILLE POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED: Corporal Terry Davis Placed On Administrative Leave
4029tv.com
January 3, 2012
[Excerpts] ...According to the Washington County website, Corp. Terry Davis was arrested by Washington County deputies on suspicion of aggravated residential burglary and first-degree battery... In court documents, investigators said police got a call from a woman who said an intruder was assaulting her boyfriend at her home... When officers arrived, the victim said that he was asleep when he heard someone trying to get into his home. He said he opened the door to see who it was and the man rushed inside and threatened him with a knife. The victim said that the intruder, who he identifed as Davis, also pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot him with it. The man said Davis fired two shots into his bed. The victim suffered cuts to his forehead and right hand during the incident.... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal arkansas state politics]

[CA] HELP FIND MISSING California dog, Shiba. Looks like red fox. Lost after murder-suicide.

2012-01-05T04:14:00.000-08:00

REWARD FOR THE RETURN OF LOVED SHIBA

Friends of Lynn and Chris Shimek, the Gilroy couple who died Nov. 28 in an apparent murder-suicide, are seeking help in recovering one of the Shimek's family pets after it ran away Dec. 1 in Hollister...

PLEASE ADD AND SHARE FACEBOOK PAGE:
BRING SHIBA HOME

MISSING 2 YR OLD SHIBA INU ~ 408.805.0184 ~ FEMALE ~ INTACT ~ SHY ~ PLEASE DO NOT CHASE!!!!

PREVIOUS POST:
[CA] Lynn Shimek only wanted to be free. - ...Condolences to all who loved them...

The community is trying to find Shiba for he children who lost their parents. Please help.

Most complete recent article:

SHIMEK’S FAMILY DOG SIGHTED; STILL MISSING
Morgan Hill Times
by Blair Tellers
December 20, 2011

Friends of Lynn and Chris Shimek, the Gilroy couple who died Nov. 28 in an apparent murder-suicide, are seeking help in recovering one of the Shimek's family pets after it ran away Dec. 1 in Hollister.

The Shimeks have two dogs - a German Shepherd named Scarlet and a full-blooded Shiba Inu named Shiba.

Shiba went missing Dec. 1 after Julie Nagel, a close friend of the Shimeks who lives in Gilroy and was temporarily watching the two pets, brought Shiba to work Dec. 1 because the un-neutered dog was in heat and restless. Nagel works as a dental hygenist in Hollister.

Later that day, someone in the office took Shiba outside for a bathroom break and let the dog off the leash, at which point the dog ran away. Shiba is 7 years old and weighs about 20 pounds.

According to the Shimek's family pet sitter Trudi Souza, Shiba is still on the loose but there have been many confirmed sightings in the Hollister and Tres Pinos areas; specifically in front of the Tres Pinos Inn at 6991 Airline Highway.

Souza said Shiba has been spotted traveling along the riverbed in Tres Pinos with a black, male Labrador Retriever. Friends of the Shimeks believe Shiba - described as resembling a "little red fox" - could be pregnant and will likely become desperate for food in the coming weeks.

The plan is for both dogs to be returned to the Shimek's sons, 19-year-old Forest and his younger brother, 13, when permanent arrangements are made for the boys to move back to Gilroy. The siblings are currently staying with a paternal aunt in San Jose.

The other dog, Scarlet, is temporarily staying at a training/boarding facility called K9 Ambassadors in Hollister.

Call: (408) 966-8877

About the Shimeks

The bodies of Lynn, 43, and Chris, 51- a San Jose police sergeant of 16 years - were found by Gilroy police officers around 9:39 p.m. Nov. 28 inside the couples' two-story home on the 9400 block of Rodeo Drive in Gilroy.

Circulating reports from various media outlets cite "anonymous" sources who allege Lynn may have been strangled; that the couple was found lying side-by-side in the master bedroom with her hand in his; and that there were signs of a struggle.

When asked if he could confirm any of these claims, Capt. Jim Gillio with the Gilroy Police Department reiterated the GPD "absolutely has not" released any official information related to the cause of Lynn's death, or details of the crime scene.

According to the GPD, Chris died "from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound." Gillio said he did not know if the gun was Chris's personal property, nor if he used a police-issued gun to kill himself.

The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office does not have a projected timeline for releasing the Shimek's autopsy reports. It could take up to 12 weeks before Lynn's cause of death is released, the spokesman said.

Click picture to see larger

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities state politics]

[AL] Goodbye to loved Randolph County Reserves Sheriff's Cpt. Brenda Sims

2012-01-05T02:22:00.000-08:00

Brenda Joyce Sims

Funeral services - Thursday January 5, at 1pm

Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel.

Burial: Randolph Memory Gardens.

...Because Mr. and Mrs. Sims worked with RCSO, Sheriff David Cofield called the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to work the case, which is under investigation but at this time appears to have been an accident...

RESERVE DEPUTY DIES WHEN GUN DISCHARGES
The Randolph Leader
Vanessa Sorrell Burnside
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 9:20 am
[Excerpts] WEHADKEE - A Randolph County Sheriff's Office reserve deputy was accidentally killed while preparing to shoot at targets in her back yard on New Year's Eve afternoon. According to the report, Brenda H. Sims, 59, of 3552 County Rd. 30 wanted to practice shooting in order to qualify for her pistol permit. Her husband, Robert Gary Sims Jr., 45, also a reserve deputy, set up the targets in the back yard and then brought out the bags in which the couple stored their guns. When Mr. Sims set the bags on the truck, he heard a pop, looked over at his wife and saw her slumping down. One of the guns had apparently fired from within the bag... He then put her in his reserve deputy car and drove to Corner One in Roanoke to meet the ambulance there.... Mrs. Sims was pronounced dead in the parking lot of Randolph Plaza. Because Mr. and Mrs. Sims worked with RCSO, Sheriff David Cofield called the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to work the case, which is under investigation but at this time appears to have been an accident... Mrs. Sims was a captain in the reserves and Mr. Sims is a major... [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities unsolved unresolved usur alabama state politics said alleged suicide]

[AL] Kathy Lowe will be tried 3rd time in shooting death of her Sheriff's Investigator husband, David Lowe

2012-01-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

Kathy Lowe will face a third trial in November for the November 11, 2008 death of her husband David Lowe. David, a former Marshall County Sheriff's Office deputy and investigator for the Marshall County District Attorney's office, was found shot twice in the back and side, at the Horton home the couple shared.

PREVIOUS POSTS:

[AL] Slain at home, Investigator Lowe had a pending domestic violence charge - ...WAFF 48 News has uncovered nine pages of court documents, including this arrest report dated for March 28, 2008 in which David Lowe was charged with domestic violence... Local judges and the staffers from the Marshall County district attorney’s office had recused themselves from the case...
[AL] Kathy Morgan Lowe arrested for murdering her dv-charged husband, former Sheriff's Investigator David Lowe- The Alabama Bureau of Investigation has charged Kathy Morgan Lowe with murder in the November shooting death of her husband, former Marshall County Sheriff's investigator David Lowe. Authorities said Lowe was arrested about 30 minutes ago...
[AL] Jury hung in murder trial - Investigator's wife Kathy Lowe will be retried - ...Wednesday, in [Lead ABI investigator Bradley] Renfroe's testimony, he said there appeared to be a romantic relationship between Kathy Lowe and a former firefighter. In his investigation, Renfroe testified there were 55 calls to the man's cell phone, totaling approximately 14 hours in use time. There were also 329 text messages from Lowe to him. Renfroe also testified he was informed by three insurance carriers of a total of 120,000 dollars in life insurance on David Lowe...

NEW DATE SET FOR KATHY LOWE RE-TRIAL
WAFF.com
Jan 04, 2011
Kathy Lowe will not go to trial as planned January 10th. Lowe is accused of killing her husband David Lowe, a former investigator for the Marshall County District Attorney's office. Her first trial in August ended in a mistrial when the jury could not reach a verdict. Her new trial date is scheduled for November 14th. [LINK]

EXCERPTS FROM RETRIAL NEWS ARTICLES:

LOWE MURDER RETRIAL CONTINUES
WAFF.com
By Stephen McLamb
Dec 15, 2011
[Excerpts] The retrial of a Marshall County woman charged with the murder of her husband was underway Thursday in Guntersville. An ABI computer forensics expert took the stand as prosecutors hope to show Kathy Lowe wasn't even at home during some of the time she claimed she was being held hostage by her husband... She's charged with the November 2008 murder of David Lowe who was shot twice in the lower left side of his back outside the couple's rural home in Marshall County. Investigators testified Wednesday Lowe claimed she had been held hostage by David that day... they questioned Lowe about more than a dozen cell phone calls made and received during the early to late evening hours that she failed to tell investigators about. An ABI computer forensics expert testified some of those calls were made nearly nine miles away from the family's home, saying it was unlikely those calls could have been made that far away from the family home... [Full article here]

KATHY LOWE TAKES STAND IN MURDER TRIAL
WAFF.com
Dec 16, 2011
[Excerpts] Prosecutors rested their case in Kathy Lowe's murder trial Friday and she was the first person her lawyers called to the stand... The first trial ended in a mistrial. Lowe claimed her husband held her hostage the day of his death, but investigators showed that her cell phone was used nearly 20 times that day... Lowe told jurors about abuse that went back some 20 years ago... Lowe also testified to abuse David allegedly did on their son and daughter including a domestic Incident with her, in which he was arrested just months before the shooting. But on the night in question just before she shot her husband she said, "He had a cold look on his face I had never seen before." She said she pulled up her gun and shot. [Full article here]

KATHY LOWE MURDER TRIAL COULD GO TO JURY BY TUESDAY
WAFF.com
By Stephen McLamb
Dec 19, 2011
[Excerpts] ...The defense in Kathy Lowe's murder trial started presenting some of their final witnesses Monday afternoon in Guntersville. Lowe's attorney hoped to portray the victim in the case as a domestic abuser to substantiate claims that Kathy Lowe was only trying to defend herself the night she shot her husband [David]... Prosecutors claim she shot him twice in the back while she claims she was only defending herself. In testimony, Bynam Turner testified he knew the Lowes through their work at the auctions. Turner said in the last three years of his life, David became not as friendly, not as nice. Turner also testified he saw Kathy with a black eye... [Full article here]

KATHY LOWE'S DAUGHTER: 'THINGS WERE NOT GOOD AT HOME'
Sand Mountain Reporter
By Elizabeth Summers
Posted: December 20, 2011 1:30 pm
Updated: Wed Dec 21, 2011.
[Excerpts] The daughter of Kathy Lowe testified Tuesday morning for the first time ever, saying she was afraid of her father and spent part of the night he was murdered hiding behind a tree with her brother Brian. Kathy Lowe is on trial for the second time in the shooting death of her husband, David Lowe on Nov. 11, 2008... Amanda Lowe testified she and her older brother, Brian, left their grandmother's home next door to the Lowe home after Kathy Lowe called Brian telling him not to let Amanda return to the home because "things were not good at home." At that point, Amanda said, Brian grabbed a gun and the pair ran across the yard, lying in a ditch near the tree that afforded them a view of the home, carport and pool. "I saw a figure sitting on the pool steps," Amanda said. "We heard two gunshots. I saw the sparks fly from the gun"... After calling 911, she and Brian heard three more shots and ran to the house... Amanda also testified she had been afraid of her father for many years and would come home from school, get off the school bus and lock herself in her room, "sitting behind the door." She would only come out after Kathy Lowe returned home from work. "I felt a little more safe with her there," Amanda testified. "She protected us." Following Amanda's testimony, her uncle Darryl Thacker took the stand... He also testified that David Lowe had a poor relationship with his son, Brian Lowe, and often called him names, many of which included explicatives. "Brian would call me and I would come over here from my home in the Madison/Huntsville area and take him back to my house"... [Full article here]

MISTRIAL DECLARED IN KATHY LOWE'S MURDER RETRIAL
Sand Mountain Reporter
By Elizabeth Summers
December 22, 2011
Kathy Lowe will stand trial for a third time in April for the shooting death of her husband. Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict following two days of deliberations Thursday. According to Judge Tim Jolley, the five-woman, seven-man jury was split five to seven over the question of guilt and innocence... David, a former Marshall County Sheriff's Office deputy and investigator for the Marshall County District Attorney's office, was found shot twice in the back and side, at the Horton home the couple shared. Kathy Lowe admitted shooting David following a day-long argument, and alleged she had been held hostage by David most of the day at gunpoint. Prosecutors countered Kathy Lowe had plotted to kill David Lowe over several months. Special Prosecutor and Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said following the mistrial declaration she would try the case again... Kathy Lowe, holding her head in her hands, was heard saying "I can't believe this happened again"... [Full article here]

JUDGE DECLARES MISTRIAL FOR KATHY LOWE; JURY SPLIT
Judge sets a third trial for Lowe in April 2012
WHNT NEWS 19, Sand Mountain News
Carson Clark
WHNT News 19 Reporter
December 22, 2011
[Excerpts] A Marshall County woman will face a third trial for the death of her husband [David Lowe]. Thursday afternoon, the judge declared Kathy Lowe's second trial to be a mistrial. The jury was split. The jury told the judge on Thursday morning they were stuck, and could not reach a unanimous decision. After hearing that, the judge urged the jury to keep deliberating. They came out with a question after 2:30 p.m. The mistrial declaration came shortly after 3:15 p.m. After Judge Tim Jolley declared the mistrial, he scheduled Lowe's third trial for April 2012. Lowe is accused of shooting her husband, David, at their home in November of 2008 so she could collect insurance money.... In closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors said Kathy Lowe was thinking about one topic a lot during the summer and fall of 2008: the death of her husband David. Pamela Casey, lead prosecutor, presented evidence of the things Lowe did during that summer that involved her husband's eventual death. Casey said Lowe first took a 'Do Not Resuscitate' order to the local fire department. However, her husband had not signed off on it. The prosecutor also says Lowe spent a lot of time shopping for insurance and got one policy on her husband just a month before his death... But in the defense attorney's arguments, John Burleson told jurors the evidence shows Kathy Lowe was an abused and battered woman... Burleson also told jurors that yes, Lowe had bought insurance policies on David Lowe, but that they shouldn't read anymore into that than a woman who was trying to plan for her family's future. Lowe herself testified that she did pull the trigger that night, but it was in self defense to keep David Lowe from shooting her first. [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder female perp perpetrator alabama state politics]

[TX] After domestic assaults, Dallas Officer Davis fired for positive drug test, policy violations, and non-cooperation

2012-01-04T01:27:00.000-08:00

...[Dalas Police] Officer Rashad Davis was arrested in December and accused of beating his live-in girlfriend. He went missing after a second domestic disturbance... a police report says Davis attacked his girlfriend once more... Results came back on Dec. 13 and showed that Davis tested positive for using marijuana... According to a release issued Tuesday, Davis had also violated the conditions of the department’s Administrative Leave Policy and was insubordinate after he refused to cooperate in the internal investigation...

[CONTINUE TO TAKE ALL PRECAUTIONS.]

PREVIOUS POST:
[TX] BOLO for Dallas Police Officer Rashad Davis. His girlfriend has "additional protection" - ...Results came back on Dec. 13 and showed that Davis tested positive for using marijuana, a department statement said. According to a release issued Tuesday, Davis had also violated the conditions of the department’s Administrative Leave Policy and was insubordinate after he refused to cooperate in the internal investigation...

DALLAS COP FIRED FOR ILLEGAL DRUG USE
WFAA
January 3, 2012 at 4:34 PM
A Dallas police officer was fired by Chief David Brown on Tuesday after failing a drug test. In a written statement, police said Officer Rashad Davis tested positive for marijuana use last month. Davis also allegedly violated the department's administrative leave policy and failed to cooperate in an internal affairs investigation. Police said there were three additional investigations pending against Davis. The terminated officer had been on the force for four years and was assigned to the South Central Patrol Division. Police said Davis has a right to appeal for his job. [LINK]

DALLAS OFFICER ACCUSED IN BEATING FIRED
myFOXdfw.com
Adapted for Web by Tracy DeLatte
Tuesday, 03 Jan 2012
The Dallas police officer who disappeared after allegedly attacking his girlfriend has been fired from the department for multiple infractions. Officer Rashad Davis was arrested in December and accused of beating his live-in girlfriend. He went missing after a second domestic disturbance that resulted in additional assault charges. Police were unable to find him for days. Davis must now wear an ankle monitor until his case goes to court. Police said the four-year veteran was fired because he tested positive for marijuana, violated administrative leave policies and refused to cooperate in an internal affairs investigation. [LINK]

DPD FIRES OFFICER WHO FACES ASSAULT CHARGES, FAILED DRUG TEST
CBSDFW.com
By Matt Goodman
January 3, 2012 4:23 PM
An officer facing multiple charges for assaulting his girlfriend and who later tested positive for using marijuana has been fired following an internal investigation, a police department spokesman said Tuesday. Officer Rashad Davis, 32, was arrested Dec. 6 on an Assault (Family Violence) charge for attacking his live-in girlfriend. She alleged he grabbed her by the throat and threw her onto a bed. Davis was placed on administrative leave after he was released from jail. While on leave, a police report says Davis attacked his girlfriend once more, throwing her to the cement ground outside their apartment. This resulted in a second Class A Misdemeanor Assault (Family Violence) charge. According to police, as their investigation progressed, Davis’s girlfriend said he pointed a gun at her head in November. Police then filed a third charge of Aggravated Assault (Family Violence) and issued a warrant for his arrest. Police raided Davis’s apartment on Dec. 13, but he was not home. He turned himself in on Dec. 16 without incident, the department reported on its Facebook page. On Dec. 8, after being arrested the first time and placed on leave, police had Davis take a drug test. Results came back on Dec. 13 and showed that Davis tested positive for using marijuana, a department statement said. According to a release issued Tuesday, Davis had also violated the conditions of the department’s Administrative Leave Policy and was insubordinate after he refused to cooperate in the internal investigation. Davis, a four-year veteran of the force, was assigned to the South Central Patrol Division. He has the right to appeal the firing, the release notes. [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal terroristic threatening texas state terminated politics]

[WV] Paden Police Chief Billiter pleads guilty to downgraded domestic charge(s) then resigns

2012-01-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

...[Chief Michael] Billiter, who was arrested back in September after getting into a fight with his wife and in-laws originally faced three counts of domestic battery.

But the charges changed to just one count of domestic battery and one count of destruction of property...

PREVIOUS POST:
[WV] When Paden Police Chief allegedly assaulted his wife and her parents no formal protection order was issued? - When Paden City Police Chief Michael Billiter allegedly assaulted his wife and both of her parents, the law enforcement agencies that responded to the house... Billiter was "ordered" by the judge to stay away from the alleged victims but no formal order of protection appears to have been issued. THAT would have prevented him from keeping his weapons - and operating as chief...

PADEN CITY POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS
WTOV9
By Philip Stahl
Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011
Paden City police chief Michael Billiter has resigned his position as chief following his guilty plea in court last week. This is according to Paden City mayor Bill Fox. Billiter had been on unpaid leave since September when he was arrested for domestic battery, police said. Billiter pleaded guilty last week to one count of domestic battery and one count of destruction of property following a September incident, according to court documents. [LINK]

DAYS EARLIER:

POLICE CHIEF PLEADS IN COURT, SENTENCED
WTOV9
By Philip Stahl
Friday, Dec. 23, 2011
TYLER COUNTY, W.Va. - Paden City Police Chief Michael Billter pleaded guilty to two charges he faced in Tyler County Magistrate Court Thursday. Billiter, who was arrested back in September after getting into a fight with his wife and in-laws originally faced three counts of domestic battery. But, on Thursday, the charges changed to just one count of domestic battery and one count of destruction of property. Billiter has been on unpaid leave from the Paden City Police Department since the incident in September. Magistrate Mike Griffin sentenced Billiter to six months home confinement for the domestic battery charge, and one year probation for the destruction of property charge. However, should Billiter violate the probation, he will spend 30 days in jail. Special Prosecutor Jason Wharton tells NEWS9, now that Billiter has been convicted of domestic battery; he is prohibited from possessing a firearm. NEWS9 tried to contact the Paden City Mayor’s Office on the matter, but all personnel had left for the Christmas holiday weekend. [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety west virgina state politics brass]

[WA] Special treatment for Seattle Police Domestic Violence Detective Sgt. Murray who assaulted his girlfriend in public

2011-12-31T00:13:00.000-08:00

Seattle Police Detective Ronald Lee Murray, the Domestic Violence Unit Sgt. who was witnessed by other officers assaulting his girlfriend in public, got a sweet deal:

...“I don’t know the last time, if ever, we’ve done a deferred prosecution on a domestic violence case,” [Judge Nancy] Harmon said...

Previous Post:
[WA] Police say they saw SPD Domestic Violence Unit Sgt. Murray assault girlfriend in public - ...A few of our officers saw Mr. Murray dragging the female victim by the upper part of her jacket and hair through the gravel parking lot," [Chelan County Det. Sgt. Jerry Moore] told seattlepi.com. "Numerous witnesses as well as officers saw the assault take place"... Deputies noted the woman was intoxicated but did not indicate whether Murray was believed to be intoxicated. The arresting deputy noted that Murray said he knew he was wrong and had no excuse for his behavior... Police sources say the victim in this case also works for the department... "She was literally being dragged"...

The message to other abusive officers: Relax.

COP'S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE DEFERRED FOR TREATMENT
Wenatchee World
By Jefferson Robbins
Friday, December 30, 2011
[Excerpts] The Seattle police detective charged with domestic violence after a Leavenworth Oktoberfest scuffle will avoid prosecution if he carries out a program of alcoholism treatment and probation. Ronald Lee Murray, 55, admitted to a history of alcoholism Thursday in Chelan County District Court, telling Judge Nancy Harmon he would undergo two years of treatment followed by three years of court supervision. State law allows such deferred prosecution in some cases involving alcoholism, drug dependency or mental illness. Eligible defendants must meet court-ordered conditions to qualify for dismissal of charges.... “I don’t know the last time, if ever, we’ve done a deferred prosecution on a domestic violence case,” Harmon said... Murray, at the time a detective sergeant with the Seattle Police Department’s Domestic Violence Unit, was arrested Oct. 15 after Chelan County sheriff’s deputies saw him dragging his girlfriend by her hair and coat across a gravel parking lot near the Oktoberfest venue... Deputies said Murray’s victim, identified as his 44-year-old live-in girlfriend, pleaded with them to release Murray and refused to give a statement about the incident... SPD spokesman Det. Jeff Kappel said now that Murray’s criminal case is closed, the department’s Office of Professional Accountability will begin an internal investigation. Murray was transferred out of the domestic violence unit after his arrest, although he remains on duty with the Seattle police. His girlfriend was also a Seattle police administrative employee at the time of the arrest... [Full article here]

In Chelan County Courts it appears that there is no higher standard for an officer of the law who has knowingly been concealing his alcoholism while being entrusted with a department issued firearm weapon and exercising his sworn powers of arrest over others who break the same law(s). There is no higher nature of offense or hypocrisy noted for a domestic violence unit sergeant assaulting his girlfriend in a publicly flagrant manner.

Teflon. No stick.

Deferred prosecution means if he fulfills the requirements being put on him, the charge for "4th degree assault" will likely be dismissed. It appears he admitted to alcoholism, but not to domestic violence. Slick. Admitting what you've done is a part of the requirements to be allowed to defer - so he was allowed to admit to something other than what he was there for. I don't see any indication that he has to enter domestic violence treatment of any kind. There's no indication in his sweet deal that dragging a woman across the rocks by her hair was a bad thing to do.

Smoke and mirrors.

Murray should at least resign.

AFTER THE INVESTIGATION INTO TACOMA WASHINGTON POLICE CHIEF DAVID BRAME COMMITTING MURDER-SUICIDE ON HIS WIFE CRYSTAL, OUR THEN ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND NOW GOVERNOR, CHRISTINE GREGOIRE SAID:
..."We have to get tough. I'm telling law enforcement, 'Either you do something about it or it will be done to you'. We must take a no-nonsense attitude. If there is a confirmed domestic violence incident, this person should not be an officer any more. There are plenty of jobs that don't require you carrying a gun"...
Source: Clean up your act, police told: 'We have to get tough' with abusive cops, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, By Ruth Teichroeb and Julie Davidow, July 25, 2003.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety teflon preferential treatment cop on cop washington state politics]

[FL] DOC Corrections Officer Tucker attacked his wife on side of the road, witnesses say

2011-12-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

2 Witnesses say they saw Florida Department of Corrections Officer Johnny Tucker attack his screaming wife on the side of the road, sitting on her, pressing his forearm into her neck, snatching her up by her hair. Thanks to the professionalism of the responding Polk County Deputies, despite Tucker and his wife telling them that nothing physical happened, Tucker was arrested and charged with battery domestic violence.

Protect the wife.
Protect the prisoners he has control over.
Protect him from himself.

POLK CITY CORRECTIONS OFFICER CHARGED WITH DOMESTIC BATTERY
baynews9.com
December 28, 2011
[Excerpts] A Florida Department of Corrections officer employed at the Polk City state prison was arrested on domestic battery charges. Johnny Tucker, 28, was taken into custody Monday by Polk County Sheriff's deputies. He posted bond and was released from the Polk County jail Tuesday. According to the sheriff's office, witnesses said they saw a man, later identified as Tucker, assaulting a woman next to a white Jeep Cherokee parked on the roadside. One of the witnesses stopped and approached the couple, but the couple got back into the Jeep and left, deputies said... Tucker was arrested based on the accounts of the witnesses and the statements of Tucker and his wife, the sheriff's office said. He was charged with one count of battery domestic violence... [Full article here]

CORRECTIONS OFFICER CHARGED WITH DOMESTIC BATTERY IN POLK
Tbo.com
By Julio Ochoa
December 28, 2011
[Excerpts] A corrections officer for a state prison in Polk County was charged Monday with assaulting a woman after a witness saw the couple fighting on the side of a road, deputies said. Johnny Tucker, 28, a Florida Department of Corrections officer who works at the Polk Correctional Institute, was charged with battery domestic violence... A man and his wife were driving south on North Combee Road when they saw a woman fall out of the passenger side of a white Jeep Cherokee that was parked on the side of the road... Tucker came out of the passenger door and fell on top of the victim, deputies said. The witnesses pulled over and saw Tucker sit on top of the woman with his forearm on her neck... When the witness got out of his vehicle and confronted Tucker, he grabbed the victim by her hair and pushed her into the Jeep... The tag led a deputy to Tucker's home, where he confronted Tucker and the victim, who both said they had an argument but it was not physical, the affidavit said. The deputy got sworn statements from the witnesses and returned to Tucker's home and arrested him... [Full article here]

POLK DEPUTIES ARREST STATE CORRECTIONS OFFICER, CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING WIFE
The Ledger
By Chase Purdy
December 28, 2011
[Excerpts] Polk County deputies Monday arrested a state correctional officer on a charge he assaulted his wife during a roadside argument. An arrest affidavit states that Johnny Tucker, 28, of Lakeland, had pulled his white Jeep Cherokee to the side of Combee Road, and assaulted his screaming wife on the pavement... Two witnesses notified the Sheriff's Office upon driving up and watching as the dispute occurred, Deputy Stephen Harris wrote in the affidavit... The pair told authorities [they] saw Tucker push his forearm against the woman's neck. When one of the witnesses approached the quarreling couple,... When approached by a deputy at his house, Tucker denied assaulting his wife, authorities said. But when the pair was asked to fill out written statements, authorities found enough probable cause to make an arrest... This report will be updated. [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal choking strangulatin florida state politics]

[MA] Guilty plea of State Police Cpt. McCarthy rejected in anticipation of more charges

2011-12-30T05:34:00.000-08:00

Massachusetts State Police Cpt. Thomas McCarthy

...On Nov. 18, Saugus police responded to a woman’s home for an alarm sounding and reports of an argument. Police arrived to find the woman standing in the garage and McCarthy, in an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser, driving away...

FROM UPDATE BELOW:
A veteran state trooper avoided a drunken-driving charge in court today despite claims by Saugus police that he smelled of booze and had an open beer bottle in his car... “The court issued what it saw fit, but we certainly have our opinion on the facts of that evening,” said state police spokesman David Procopio... McCarthy is due back in court March 9...

PREVIOUS POST:
[MA] Lawbreaking State Police Cpt. McCarthy gets to call the shots. - Massachusetts State Police /Trooper Cpt. Thomas "Tom" McCarthy - the evening shift commander for Troop C based in Holden - is charged only with failing to stop and failing to stay right of center. Amazing, but not surprising... The officer smells liquor, sees two unopened cans of beer, an empty can in the backseat, as well as McCarthy's service weapon - but can't get McCarthy to agree to turn off and step out of the vehicle.

TROOPER ACCUSED IN CHASE IN COURT: Officer reported smelling alcohol on his breath
FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com
Updated: Thursday, 29 Dec 2011
Published : Wednesday, 28 Dec 2011
[Excerpts] A Massachusetts State Police captain who was arrested in November after allegedly leading local police on a chase appeared in court on Wednesday. Thomas McCarthy, 47, faces charges of failure to stop and a marked lane violation on Nov. 19. His attorney entered a guilty plea for those charges. The judge would not accept the plea because more charges could be filed against McCarthy... The veteran state police captain has been suspended without pay... Saugus police say they were called for complaints about an argument at McCarthy's girlfriend's home and saw him driving away in an unmarked cruiser... The officer reported smelling alcohol on his breath and saw opened and unopened beers in McCarthy's car. But the state police captain took off again down Route 1 and was eventually arrested... Another hearing is set for Jan. 19. [Full article here]

STATE POLICE CAPTAIN COULD FACE OUI CHARGES AFTER NOVEMBER ARREST
cbslocal.com
December 28, 2011
[Excerpts] Massachusetts State Police Captain Thomas McCarthy expected plead guilty to some minor motor vehicle charges on Wednesday, but instead he may face more serious charges in the future... According to court documents, McCarthy was spotted committing a marked lanes violation a short time later. An officer pulled McCarthy over and allegedly smelled alcohol on his breath. Instead of getting out of the car, McCarthy allegedly sped away. Several Saugus police officers chased him down Route 1... McCarthy was originally supposed to face a judge last month, but he never showed up in court. His attorney said McCarthy was at a treatment center in Florida. [Full article here]

JUDGE REJECTS GUILTY PLEA FROM STATE POLICE CAPTAIN FOR DRIVING VIOLATIONS; MORE CHARGES MAY BE FILED
Boston Globe
By Brian R. Ballou
12/28/2011 3:25 PM
[Excerpts] The arraignment of a Massachusetts State Police captain [Thomas McCarthy] cited last month for traffic offenses was postponed this morning at the request of prosecutors who are seeking additional charges against him, including operating under the influence of alcohol... Essex Assistant District Attorney Susan Dolhun told Judge Albert Conlon that additional charges may be filed after a clerk’s hearing on Jan. 19... [His lawyer Daniel] O’Malley had tendered a guilty plea, but Conlon didn’t accept it, and instead continued the case until the hearing. Failure to stop is a criminal offense, punishable by a $100 fine. The marked lanes violation is a civil offense that also carries a maximum $100 fine. McCarthy works out of Troop C in Central Massachusetts and serves as an evening shift commander. State police captains earn about $110,000 per year, plus overtime. On Nov. 18, Saugus police responded to a woman’s home for an alarm sounding and reports of an argument. Police arrived to find the woman standing in the garage and McCarthy, in an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser, driving away... [Full article here]

UPDATED:

COURT: NO DRUNK DRIVING CHARGE FOR STATIE CAPTAIN
Boston Herald
By Matt Stout
Thursday, January 19, 2012
[Excerpts] A veteran state trooper avoided a drunken-driving charge in court today despite claims by Saugus police that he smelled of booze and had an open beer bottle in his car during a chase down Route 1, but state police say he’s not off the hook with them yet. Clerk Magistrate Jane Stirgwolt struck down a potential OUI rap against state police Capt. Thomas McCarthy, 47, today during a closed hearing in Lynn District Court, but allowed prosecutors to add a negligent operation charge to counts of failing to stop for police and committing a marked-lanes violation stemming from his November arrest. Stirgwolt said there was “insufficient evidence” in charging McCarthy with drunken driving, confirming Saugus police didn’t have him take field sobriety or Breathalyzer tests. But state police said observations by Saugus cops and a state police commander, who reported McCarthy showed signs of intoxication when he met him at the police station that night, will still play into their internal investigation. “The court issued what it saw fit, but we certainly have our opinion on the facts of that evening,” said state police spokesman David Procopio... McCarthy entered a plea of not guilty during an arraignment on the new moving violation, and is due back in court March 9.... [Full article here]
[Tom police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety professionalism accountability massachusetts state politics trooper]

[CA] 1948. Temple City Sheriff's Deputy Eggers was executed for the murder of his wife Dorothy

2011-12-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

Deputy Arthur Eggers changed his story enough that nothing he says or tells us about Dorothy Rosmond Eggers is worth believing. I've tried to find anything personal about Dorothy written by others. I wasn't successful.

EGGERS ADMITS HE SLEW WIFE: Coast Sheriff's Deputy
The Milwaukee Journal
Jan 27, 1946
[Excerpts]
Los Angeles. Calif. - Arthur Eggers. 52. has signed a confession admitting the slaying of his wife. Dorothy. 42... The woman's nude, headless and handless body was found near a mountain highway East Jan. 2... Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz, accompanied by several deputies and [Capt. Gordon] Bowers, left Saturday night with Eggers to renew a search for the missing parts of the body... Eggers, a sheriff's deputy in near-by Temple City for 22 years, was arrested last Tuesday. A charge of suspicion of murder was then filed against him, but he had steadfastly denied any knowledge of the woman's death. He reported his wife missing Jan. 2„ the day her torso was found in a ravine near the Rim of the World highway, east of San Bernardino.

CALIFORNIAN DEPUTY SHERIFF IS HELD IN MUTILATION SLAYING OF HIS WIFE, The Niagara Falls Gazette, Wednesday, January 23, 1946, Page 22

(More at above link)

PEOPLE V. EGGERS , 30 CAL.2D 676
Oct. 3, 1947.
OPINION
[Excerpts] Arthur R. Eggers has been convicted of the crime of murder of the first degree and sentenced to death. The proceedings to be reviewed include not only the trial upon the merits, but also the hearing in regard to the issue presented by his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and the motion for a new trial... the jury found that Eggers was sane at the time of the commission of the crime. The judgment is challenged upon four grounds... The judgment and the order denying a new trial are affirmed... [Full article here]

OCT 15, 1948: A MURDEROUS HUSBAND IS EXECUTED
HISTORY.COM
Arthur Eggers, who was convicted of killing his wife, Dorothy, because of her alleged promiscuity, is executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin Prison. He probably would have gotten away with the crime had the investigators not received a few lucky breaks...

DOROTHY ROSMOND EGGERS
Los Angeles County, California Death Certificate Transcription
Dorothy Rosmond Eggers d. 1/1/1946
Female Cauc. b. 3/23/1903 ND
Age: 42 yrs 9mos 9dys
Residence/Deathplace: 202 N Rosemead Blvd, Temple City, Los Angeles County, California
SS# unknown
Lived in community 10 years and state 23 years
Occupation: Housewife
Married Spouse: Arthur Eggers, 52 years of age
Father. Percy David Lee, England
Mother. Mary Couch, Buffalo, NY
Burial: 8/5/1946 Valhalla Cemetery
Funeral Director: Mater & Simone, 2814 N Broadway, Los Angeles
Cause: Gunshot wound of the heart
Other condition: Post-mortem desmemberment of body
Coroner Investigation
Homicide 1/1/1946 Temple City, Los Angeles County, CA; @ home as above

ARTHUR AND DOROTHY EGGERS
in
The Casebook of Forensic Detection

By Colin Evans

THE SEXUAL CRIMINAL: A PSYCHOANALYTICAL STUDY
[First published in 1949 as a criminology/sexology textbook for law enforcement personnel]
[Excerpts] ...Two of Arthur Eggers’ friends – Robert Z. Jones, a retired deputy sheriff, and John C. Rotchford, his attorney – visited Eggers in jail on the morning of January 26. Jones told Eggers during their visit, “Art, I believe you are guilty. I believe you will have a better chance if you confess. Get it off your chest and lay it on the line.” Eggers waited a beat and then replied, “All right, I did it.” Deputy D.A. Barnes and Captain Gordon Bowers, chief of the sheriff’s bureau of investigation, were immediately brought in to take down Eggers’ confession, in which he said: "I killed her at 1 a.m. December 30. I was coming home from work and..." The next day Eggers changed his story again and stated: "It all happened on Friday, December 28, about 9 o’clock at night. Dorothy told me she was going to leave me for a man named Bob..." His new story wasn’t believed either... The Evening Herald and Express published an article by de River on February 12 in which the “noted psychiatrist and Los Angeles Police Department alienist” applied the technique of “depth psychology” to analyze the face of Eggers... Eggers’ murder trial began on May 5, 1946. He entered a double plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity, and a jury of ten women... Eggers took the witness stand on May 21 and offered yet another story of his wife’s murder... Eggers resigned from his job in a letter to Sheriff Biscailuz on May 29, and the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder on May 30. A trial to judge Eggers’ sanity started shortly afterward with a new jury of eleven women and one man... It was also reported by the newspaper that Eggers’ sister testified during the sanity hearing about “how their father, Frederick Eggers, former Sheriff of San Francisco County, had hallucinations that the late Gov. Friend Richardson was about to appoint him Warden of San Quentin Prison. Eggers leaped to his feet and shouted, ‘Let his spirit rest...The witness then told how Arthur had suffered several bad falls as a child, one of them leaving him unconscious for seven or eight hours.” The new jury found Eggers sane on June 28. On July 10, 1946, Eggers was sentenced to die in San Quentin’s gas chamber. Eggers told reporters as he was being led away from the courtroom, “Someday, somewhere, she’ll show up and make fools of all the prosecutors. She’s probably waiting to hear what happens to me and is probably laughing at my predicament.” After his appeals and a rejected appeal for clemency by Governor Earl Warren, Eggers received a stay of execution on February 5, 1948, less than one hour before his planned execution.... After a new series of stays, reprieves and sanity hearings, Eggers was executed on October 15, 1948...

A WARDEN ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
MANAS
Volume XV, No. 41
October 10,1962
[Excerpts] ...Most of the condemned individuals were known to [former warden of San Quentin prison, Clinton] Duffy — known, as we discover from the tone of his text, without negative bias and without maudlin sympathy. Particularly effective are the author's arguments that "the deterrent theory" of the threat of death for capital crime does not work. A good example is Duffy's account of one Arthur Eggers, who killed his wife while serving as a deputy sheriff. Eggers had seen several men condemned to death. After Duffy had gotten to know Eggers well, he asked him the crucial question. The conversation began:
"Arthur," I said, "what in the world ever made you think you could get away with this? You must have known that anyone who commits murder, even a cop, might end up here."
"I didn't think about it until after it was all over," he said.
"Why didn't the possibility of the gas chamber stop you from grabbing the gun in the first place?" I asked.
"That wouldn't stop anyone if he was mad enough," Eggers said. "And I blew my top completely. I caught my wife cheating, and I was going to kill her so she could never cheat again. I didn't have another thought."
"Including the gas chamber?"
"The gas chamber!" Eggers spat the words contemptuously as he looked through the bars of his cell. Then he said, "Why hell, warden, the gas chamber does only one thing—it kills people. But I'll bet it never prevented a murder. I used to believe in capital punishment because I figured if a guy killed a cop, for example, he ought to be executed to keep other guys from killing cops. But it doesn't work that way. Gas chamber or no gas chamber, guys will always be killing cops. People will always he killing people. You can't control anger, or passion, or greed, or jealousy, or fright, and that's what causes most murders. Only crackpots and the state kill in cold blood. Everybody else has a reason."
"Are you sorry you killed your wife?" I asked.
"Sure I'm sorry," he said, "I loved her."
"Would you kill her again under the same circumstances, even if you knew you'd go to the gas chamber for it?"
Eggers looked earnestly at me.
"Warden," he said, "the gas chamber would have nothing to do with it"...
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder california state politics]

[OH] Lorain Officer Lachner accused of hitting web editor for The Chronicle-Telegram in the head multiple times

2011-12-26T17:06:00.000-08:00

The incident report on Lorain police officer William "Bill" Lachner's domestic violence arrest was not publicly available as is the practice, and Lachner was released from jail without seeing a judge - also not the way things are done. The Chronicle-Telegram’s web editor, Rona Proudfoot, called from her locked bathroom for help. She said he had assaulted her, punching her multiple times in the head. She did not sign an arrest affadavit against him and he would not fill out a written statement. The responding police sgt. did sign the arrest warrant. Lachner has been put on desk duty, disarmed, and due to a temporary restraining order, not supposed to go near his web editor girlfriend, Rona Proudfoot.

Updates:

12/28/2011 - At Proudfoot’s request, Judge Mark Mihok lifted a temporary protection order against Lachner. Proudfoot said she was not in fear of him...
12/29/2011 - Mihok said he was lifting the order based on Proudfoot’s request to do so and because Lachner was reportedly seeking counseling...

LORAIN POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
chronicle.northcoastnow.com
Filed by Evan Goodenow
December 24th, 2011
[Excerpts] ...Police reports are usually left out at the police department for the public for 48 hours after they are released, but the report was not available until it was requested. However, Police Chief Cel Rivera said Saturday there was no attempt to conceal the incident and the department takes domestic violence charges against officers seriously. “These guys are human beings. They have the same frailties as everybody else... There’s consequences to that, and that’s something he’s going to have to deal with if it’s true.” Rivera said Lachner is innocent until proven guilty and has no history of violence, but the department will conduct an internal investigation of Lachner in addition to the criminal investigation... [Full article here]

LORAIN POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Morning Journal
Saturday, December 24, 2011
[Excerpts] Lorain Police Officer William Lachner, 44, was arrested for domestic violence early Friday after his girlfriend reported that he had assaulted her during an argument. Lachner allegedly struck 32-year-old Rona Proudfoot of Lorain in the head multiple times, according to the police report. Proudfoot had no visible injuries, police noted. She told police she was not hurt, and she declined to press charges, stating that she just wanted Lachner gone for the night... However, charges were filed on her behalf by police... Proudfoot stated that Lachner shoved her around the house “and struck her several times in her head with his fist”... While officers were conducting their interview with Proudfoot, Lachner called her phone and spoke to Sgt. Kenneth Zapolski. He agreed to meet police at the station. Lachner told police the argument was strictly verbal and he left the scene so it would not escalate. In the police report, Sgt. Michael Hendershot states, “William advised me that he did not push or assault Proudfoot and that there was no physical violence between the two of them.” Lachner declined to fill out a written statement... Officers arrested Lachner at the police station and took him to the city jail. He was released several hours later on $2,500 bond. Proudfoot works as the Web Editor for The Chronicle-Telegram in Elyria. [Full article here]

UPDATE:
POLICE OFFICER PLEADS INNOCENT TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Morning Journal
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
[Excerpts] Lorain police officer William Lachner pleaded innocent to a domestic violence charge during his arraignment yesterday in Lorain Municipal Court... Lorain attorney Michael J. Kinlin entered the plea on Lachner’s behalf. Lachner and [Rona] Proudfoot appeared in court during the arraignment. At Proudfoot’s request, Judge Mark Mihok lifted a temporary protection order against Lachner. Proudfoot said she was not in fear of him... Proudfoot, an editor at the Chronicle Telegram, told police Lachner shoved her around the house and struck her several times in the head. She called police shortly around 2 a.m. after locking herself in the bathroom, according to the report. Lachner told police he did not push or assault her, and there was no physical evidence of violence between them... Lachner’s pretrial is scheduled for Feb. 1 at 10:30 a.m... [Full article here]

UPDATE:

PROTECTION ORDER LIFTED AGAINST LORAIN COP

Chronicle-Telegram

by Steve Fogarty

December 29th, 2011

[Excerpts] A temporary protection order was lifted Wednesday against a Lorain police officer accused of assaulting his girlfriend last week. Lorain Municipal Court Judge Mark Mihok agreed to lift the protection order after the alleged victim, Chronicle-Telegram Web Editor Rona Proudfoot, told the judge during a hearing Wednesday that she was no longer afraid of William Lachner... Mihok said he was lifting the order based on Proudfoot’s request to do so and because Lachner was reportedly seeking counseling... Lachner has denied attacking the 32-year-old Proudfoot, who told police he assaulted her inside her vehicle after becoming angry... The argument continued at Proudfoot’s home, where Lachner is accused of punching her several times in the head... Proudfoot also told police there had been previous incidents involving Lachner. Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera has said the department is conducting its own investigation into Lachner... [Full article here]

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder state politics]