More rotten cops

Another black eye for the police. These idiots need to lose their jobs and go to jail.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/06/29/37770.htm

DAYTON, Ohio (CN) - Dayton police "mistook" a mentally handicapped teenager's speech impediment for "disrespect," so they Tasered, pepper-sprayed and beat him and called for backup from "upward of 20 police officers" after the boy rode his bicycle home to ask his mother for help, the boy's mom says. Pamela Ford says her "mentally challenged/handicapped" son Jesse Kersey, 17, was riding his bike near his Dayton home when Officer Willie Hooper stopped him and tried to talk to him. The mom says that "Prior to the incident described below, defendant Hooper knew Jesse and was aware that Jesse was mentally challenged/handicapped and a minor child." Nonetheless, Ford says, Hooper "apparently took Jesse's speech impediment for disrespect ... [and] began yelling at Jesse and after Jesse attempted to communicate with him[.] Jesse, being a minor and mentally challenged/handicapped, turned and rode his bike back to his home in an attempt to ask his mother, Ford, to help him communicate with defendant Cooper," according to the complaint in Montgomery County Court. On the way, the mom says, "A neighbor attempted to communicate with Officer Hooper about Jesse's disabilities and was told to go back into his home, or he would be arrested." As Ford opened her front door, she says, Hooper and co-defendant Officer John Howard, "fired their Tasers, striking Jesse in the back with both probes." "Once inside the house, defendant Hooper and defendant Howard began to struggle with Jesse, who was standing against the back door with his hands up in front of his face, saying 'Please quit, please quit.' "On numerous occasions, Ford and a family friend, Christopher Peyton, informed Officer Hooper that Jesse was mentally challenged/handicapped, and that Jesse did not understand what was happening," the complaint states. But the mom says the cops continued their assault: "Officer Howard utilized his Cap-Stun pepper spray and sprayed Jesse ... [and] struck Jesse with a closed fist in the upper chest area. "Officer Howard utilized his ASP and repeatedly struck Jesse in the upper left side of his left thigh. "Back-up units were requested to Jesse's house, wherein upward of 20 police officers from different jurisdictions were present. "At no point, even after being advised of Jesse's mental challenge/handicap by Jesse's family and numerous bystanders, did defendant Hooper, defendant Howard, or any other police officer present, attempt to communicate with Jesse or explain in terms he could understand as to why Jesse was being chased. "Jesse was handcuffed and hogtied before being placed in the back of a police cruiser. "Jesse was charged with assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing official business." However, "Jesse was declared incompetent by the Montgomery County Juvenile Court and the charges against Jesse were dismissed." Jesse and his mom seek damages from the city and the two lead officers, for false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, assault, battery, excessive use of force, infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy. They are represented by Richard Boucher.

how did you get that to cut of like that. Impressive.

I do not know my own abilities apparently. I am sorry for putting that mess up there. It looked fine in the preview.

Respect is not compulsory. They should be dragged from their prison beds in the night, tasered and waterboarded with no explanation.

Wow, what douche bags! I really have a soft spot for mentally challenged people, and all of that extra stuff wasn't necessary. What was the cop stopping him for?

WHAT THE berkeley!!!!!

WTF!? Those cops need to be fired and then stuck in medieval style blocks and publicly humiliated. Frakking ridiculous!

Now that I've been able to read it, id suggest using the "printable version." the academy should have spent more time on patience.

pilotbraden wrote: I do not know my own abilities apparently. I am sorry for putting that mess up there. It looked fine in the preview.

It's because the post started with a tab. That makes the board software go into "red eyed robot" mode on formatting.

Web manager to the rescue.

WTF!! . .

Thank you for the repair.

The infuriating thing is the cop knew the kid, but thought he was being disrepected.

Think he will get any respect now?

And the specific offense for disrespect of an officer is what? Resisting arrest I can see. Fleeing the scene of an accident I can see. But just disrespect? If that is punishable by a beating/tasering, then what's up with this guy?

From: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/30/1310947/trooper-accused-of-false-arrest.html

Trooper accused of false arrest BY MICHAEL BIESECKER - Staff Writer RALEIGH -- The state Highway Patrol is investigating the actions of a trooper accused of falsely arresting a Raleigh mother in Wilmington, mistreating her and then orchestrating an unjustified traffic stop of her husband. The internal affairs probe was triggered after Raleigh attorney Hoyt Tessener sent an eight-page letter on Friday to Gov. Bev Perdue and other officials detailing the experience of his wife, Gina, earlier this month with Senior Trooper Edward S. Wyrick. Patrol spokesman 1st Sgt. Jeff Gordon said Wyrick, 34, was still on the road Wednesday. The agency's internal investigation will be "fair, impartial and thorough," Gordon said in an email. A trooper since 2006, Wyrick was not available for comment. Gina Tessener, 51, said Wednesday she is going public with her experience in the hope she can prevent Wyrick from behaving similarly with other women. "I want him off the road," she said. "I don't want him to have this authority over anyone. I don't trust his judgment. This conduct should not be condoned" The Tesseners traveled to the coast earlier this month for a weeklong conference of the N.C. Advocates for Justice, a trial lawyers group. On the night of June 21, Tessener was driving her 2007 Lexus from a formal dinner ending the conference in Wilmington to a friend's house in Wrightsville Beach, where the couple was staying. Her husband was attending to other business, and she was in the car alone. As she approached the bridge to the island, Tessener, who in college was a head cheerleader at N.C. State University, was passed in the left lane by a Highway Patrol cruiser driven by Wyrick. She said the trooper then hit the brakes, allowing her to pull ahead, before pulling behind her and cutting on his blue lights. She pulled over into a gravel parking lot. Tessener said the trooper told her she had a headlight out. As she flipped the lights on and off to see whether they were working, she said he stuck his head through her open driver's side window and said he could smell alcohol on her breath. Tessener said she told the trooper that she was at a gala but did not drink any alcohol. The trooper ordered her out of the car. Dressed in an evening gown and high heels, Tessener said she felt unsteady on the gravel and politely declined to perform a field sobriety test, which typically requires standing on one leg. She stands on her rights Becoming increasingly concerned about his demeanor and insistence that she was intoxicated, Tessener said she also invoked her right to not take a breathalyzer test without a witness present to document the results. Wyrick arrested Tessener, handcuffing her wrists behind her back and putting her in his Dodge Charger to drive across the bridge to the Wrightsville Beach Police station. Court records show she has one speeding ticket. At the station, Tessener was allowed to call her husband, who hurried to witness her breathalyzer test test. When Tessener blew into the machine and it registered a reading of 0.0, the Tesseners said the trooper became visibly upset. He recalibrated the machine and ordered her to blow again. The machine showed 0.0. Hoyt Tessener provided a copy of the testing machine print out, verifying the results and showing timestamps from shortly before midnight. "When I blew that 0.0, it would have changed everything if he had just said, 'I'm sorry. I thought I smelled alcohol on your breath ... I'm just doing my job,' " Gina Tessener said in an interview Wednesday. Instead, the trooper ordered Hoyt Tessener out of the room and then yelled at Gina Tessener. "It was like he would have been happy if I'd broken the law, but he was angry I hadn't," she said. "He was trying to intimidate us." Was it a setup? Despite the test showing she had not been drinking, Wyrick told them he was taking her "downtown" to appear before a magistrate. Unfamiliar with the area, Hoyt Tessener agreed to follow the trooper's car to downtown Wilmington. Meanwhile, Gina Tessener, back in handcuffs, said she saw Wyrick text someone on his phone. Hoyt Tessener says he followed the trooper's car back over the bridge and into Wilmington. As they stopped at a traffic signal, he said Wyrick sped away. Concerned the trooper was trying to force him to exceed the speed limit, Tessener said he fell behind. He soon saw the blue lights of another trooper in his rearview mirror. Gina Tessener said Wyrick rolled down his window so he could watch her husband being stopped. She said he then laughed and said: "Looks like your husband is getting pulled over." "I asked him: 'Did you just set my husband up?' " she recounted Wednesday. "And he said, 'I'm offended you would even say that.'" Both Tesseners said they became very concerned for each other's safety. "I've been married to my wife for 28 years," Hoyt Tessener said. "When I watched her go with this guy, hands cuffed behind her back, taking her some place, I don't know where, you just feel like a failure, because you're supposed to take care of your family." The second trooper Hoyt Tessener said the trooper who pulled him over ordered him out of the car and to perform a roadside sobriety test. When he asked the trooper his name and attempted to read his nametag , the officer shined a flashlight in his eyes. On Wednesday, the Highway Patrol identified the second officer as Trooper Andrew Smith. After a few minutes, Smith let Tessener go without charge. But by that time, the cruiser containing Wyrick and his wife were no where in sight. Unfamiliar with the area, he headed toward downtown Wilmington. But Wyrick wasn't headed downtown. He was going to the New Hanover County Jail in Castle Hayne, information he did not share with her as they left the city and began driving on increasingly rural and dark roads. Gina Tessener said she was terrified. "I had a very sick feeling," she said. "At this point, I wasn't sure for the safety of my husband. We were on these isolated roads with no cars, and I didn't know where we were going." When they arrived at the jail, Tessener was processed and locked in the "drunk tank." Later she was taken to appear before a magistrate. With Wyrick standing inches away, she said the magistrate lectured her about driving after drinking, despite her insistence she had not, and then ordered her release. But she was not yet free. Gina Tessener said Wyrick, still agitated, ordered her to get back in his car, saying it was late and she wouldn't be safe on her own. Though the trooper still had her purse and cellphone, she refused, telling Wyrick she'd rather walk. By then, Hoyt Tessener said he had found his way to the jail. The couple was reunited at about 1:30 a.m. The following day Hoyt Tessener tested the headlights on his wife's Lexus. He said both worked just fine. Copies of radio calls the troopers made that night, released by the patrol Wednesday following a public records request, confirm the timeline and locations in the Tesseners' account of events. Waiting for state action A personal injury lawyer, Tessener said he has no intent of suing the Highway Patrol - unless the agency's leaders fail to take action. "If this man stays on the road with the Highway Patrol, I will sue," he said. "But not in any way, shape, or form will we ask for any damages ... "I feel like, as an officer of the court, if I don't stand up, who will? When the governor said last year she was going to clean up the Highway Patrol, I took her at her word. What is done in this situation will let me know whether to trust that word." Gina Tessener said she has always taught her children - now adults - to respect troopers. "Now, if they find themselves in a similar situation with a law enforcement officer, they'll know you can't trust them," she said.

pinchvalve wrote: And the specific offense for disrespect of an officer is what? Resisting arrest I can see. Fleeing the scene of an accident I can see. But just disrespect? If that is punishable by a beating/tasering, then what's up with this guy?

IIRC, that photo is from a trooper's dash cam and documented one of the most irrational and disrepectful rants a speeder ever unleashed on a LEO. In that particluar case, the officer was a model of restraint and really sets a standard few, if any, of his peers could achieve.

There's a youtube video of the entire incident out there somewhere.

Dr. Hess wrote: From: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/30/1310947/trooper-accused-of-false-arrest.html

Trooper accused of false arrest BY MICHAEL BIESECKER - Staff Writer RALEIGH -- The state Highway Patrol is investigating the actions of a trooper accused of falsely arresting a Raleigh mother in Wilmington, mistreating her and then orchestrating an unjustified traffic stop of her husband. The internal affairs probe was triggered after Raleigh attorney Hoyt Tessener sent an eight-page letter on Friday to Gov. Bev Perdue and other officials detailing the experience of his wife, Gina, earlier this month with Senior Trooper Edward S. Wyrick. Patrol spokesman 1st Sgt. Jeff Gordon said Wyrick, 34, was still on the road Wednesday. The agency's internal investigation will be "fair, impartial and thorough," Gordon said in an email. A trooper since 2006, Wyrick was not available for comment. Gina Tessener, 51, said Wednesday she is going public with her experience in the hope she can prevent Wyrick from behaving similarly with other women. "I want him off the road," she said. "I don't want him to have this authority over anyone. I don't trust his judgment. This conduct should not be condoned" The Tesseners traveled to the coast earlier this month for a weeklong conference of the N.C. Advocates for Justice, a trial lawyers group. On the night of June 21, Tessener was driving her 2007 Lexus from a formal dinner ending the conference in Wilmington to a friend's house in Wrightsville Beach, where the couple was staying. Her husband was attending to other business, and she was in the car alone. As she approached the bridge to the island, Tessener, who in college was a head cheerleader at N.C. State University, was passed in the left lane by a Highway Patrol cruiser driven by Wyrick. She said the trooper then hit the brakes, allowing her to pull ahead, before pulling behind her and cutting on his blue lights. She pulled over into a gravel parking lot. Tessener said the trooper told her she had a headlight out. As she flipped the lights on and off to see whether they were working, she said he stuck his head through her open driver's side window and said he could smell alcohol on her breath. Tessener said she told the trooper that she was at a gala but did not drink any alcohol. The trooper ordered her out of the car. Dressed in an evening gown and high heels, Tessener said she felt unsteady on the gravel and politely declined to perform a field sobriety test, which typically requires standing on one leg. She stands on her rights Becoming increasingly concerned about his demeanor and insistence that she was intoxicated, Tessener said she also invoked her right to not take a breathalyzer test without a witness present to document the results. Wyrick arrested Tessener, handcuffing her wrists behind her back and putting her in his Dodge Charger to drive across the bridge to the Wrightsville Beach Police station. Court records show she has one speeding ticket. At the station, Tessener was allowed to call her husband, who hurried to witness her breathalyzer test test. When Tessener blew into the machine and it registered a reading of 0.0, the Tesseners said the trooper became visibly upset. He recalibrated the machine and ordered her to blow again. The machine showed 0.0. Hoyt Tessener provided a copy of the testing machine print out, verifying the results and showing timestamps from shortly before midnight. "When I blew that 0.0, it would have changed everything if he had just said, 'I'm sorry. I thought I smelled alcohol on your breath ... I'm just doing my job,' " Gina Tessener said in an interview Wednesday. Instead, the trooper ordered Hoyt Tessener out of the room and then yelled at Gina Tessener. "It was like he would have been happy if I'd broken the law, but he was angry I hadn't," she said. "He was trying to intimidate us." Was it a setup? Despite the test showing she had not been drinking, Wyrick told them he was taking her "downtown" to appear before a magistrate. Unfamiliar with the area, Hoyt Tessener agreed to follow the trooper's car to downtown Wilmington. Meanwhile, Gina Tessener, back in handcuffs, said she saw Wyrick text someone on his phone. Hoyt Tessener says he followed the trooper's car back over the bridge and into Wilmington. As they stopped at a traffic signal, he said Wyrick sped away. Concerned the trooper was trying to force him to exceed the speed limit, Tessener said he fell behind. He soon saw the blue lights of another trooper in his rearview mirror. Gina Tessener said Wyrick rolled down his window so he could watch her husband being stopped. She said he then laughed and said: "Looks like your husband is getting pulled over." "I asked him: 'Did you just set my husband up?' " she recounted Wednesday. "And he said, 'I'm offended you would even say that.'" Both Tesseners said they became very concerned for each other's safety. "I've been married to my wife for 28 years," Hoyt Tessener said. "When I watched her go with this guy, hands cuffed behind her back, taking her some place, I don't know where, you just feel like a failure, because you're supposed to take care of your family." The second trooper Hoyt Tessener said the trooper who pulled him over ordered him out of the car and to perform a roadside sobriety test. When he asked the trooper his name and attempted to read his nametag , the officer shined a flashlight in his eyes. On Wednesday, the Highway Patrol identified the second officer as Trooper Andrew Smith. After a few minutes, Smith let Tessener go without charge. But by that time, the cruiser containing Wyrick and his wife were no where in sight. Unfamiliar with the area, he headed toward downtown Wilmington. But Wyrick wasn't headed downtown. He was going to the New Hanover County Jail in Castle Hayne, information he did not share with her as they left the city and began driving on increasingly rural and dark roads. Gina Tessener said she was terrified. "I had a very sick feeling," she said. "At this point, I wasn't sure for the safety of my husband. We were on these isolated roads with no cars, and I didn't know where we were going." When they arrived at the jail, Tessener was processed and locked in the "drunk tank." Later she was taken to appear before a magistrate. With Wyrick standing inches away, she said the magistrate lectured her about driving after drinking, despite her insistence she had not, and then ordered her release. But she was not yet free. Gina Tessener said Wyrick, still agitated, ordered her to get back in his car, saying it was late and she wouldn't be safe on her own. Though the trooper still had her purse and cellphone, she refused, telling Wyrick she'd rather walk. By then, Hoyt Tessener said he had found his way to the jail. The couple was reunited at about 1:30 a.m. The following day Hoyt Tessener tested the headlights on his wife's Lexus. He said both worked just fine. Copies of radio calls the troopers made that night, released by the patrol Wednesday following a public records request, confirm the timeline and locations in the Tesseners' account of events. Waiting for state action A personal injury lawyer, Tessener said he has no intent of suing the Highway Patrol - unless the agency's leaders fail to take action. "If this man stays on the road with the Highway Patrol, I will sue," he said. "But not in any way, shape, or form will we ask for any damages ... "I feel like, as an officer of the court, if I don't stand up, who will? When the governor said last year she was going to clean up the Highway Patrol, I took her at her word. What is done in this situation will let me know whether to trust that word." Gina Tessener said she has always taught her children - now adults - to respect troopers. "Now, if they find themselves in a similar situation with a law enforcement officer, they'll know you can't trust them," she said.

Link to the attorney's eight-page direct letter to the governor and various/sundry state officials:

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2011/06/29/9799488/letter.pdf

It's an interesting read into the mindset of some wrong-thinking people. And it's enough to make me reconsider any idea of traveling around Wilmington, NC.

Or a simple google search apparently shows that video proof of what really happened was available, and it becomes highly likely that Hoyt here is a trigger happy attorney.

http://www.wwaytv3.com/2011/06/30/first-3-update-video-gives-look-interaction-between-couple-trooper-they-accused

Sounds like normal cop conduct in the good old usa.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Or a simple google search apparently shows that video proof of what really happened was available, and it becomes highly likely that Hoyt here is a trigger happy attorney. http://www.wwaytv3.com/2011/06/30/first-3-update-video-gives-look-interaction-between-couple-trooper-they-accused

One has to use th e video linkat the top of the page to watch it.

Frankly, the video just raises more questions because we don't know happened during the initial stop. The occurrences in the station are at odds with the attorney's and wife's recollection. And the alleged, but suspicious, road harassment of the attorney comes across as retaliatory and douchey, too.

Anyway, seems like there is plenty to investigate.

oldsaw wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Or a simple google search apparently shows that video proof of what really happened was available, and it becomes highly likely that Hoyt here is a trigger happy attorney. http://www.wwaytv3.com/2011/06/30/first-3-update-video-gives-look-interaction-between-couple-trooper-they-accused

One has to use th e video linkat the top of the page to watch it. Frankly, the video just raises more questions because we don't know happened during the initial stop. The occurrences in the station are at odds with the attorney's and wife's recollection. And the alleged, but suspicious, road harassment of the attorney comes across as retaliatory and douchey, too. Anyway, seems like there is plenty to investigate.

The fact that the video at the station doesn't match the scathing description by the attorney would leave me personally to believe that the cop didn't really do anything badly.

She refused the breath test, you're going to get brought in.

Meanwhile in Atlanta Fulton County Jail: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/30/georgia.officers.indicted/

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

In general, I'm in total agreement with you. Right up to the attorney's interception by another officer while driving to pick-up his wife at another location. Everyhing prior to that indicates the officer did everything correctly and professionally.

He seemed visibly agitated after his off-camera exchange with the attorney; that's what makes me question his actions (and the other officer's) after that exchange.

foxtrapper wrote: Sounds like normal cop conduct in the good old usa.

There are a few bad examples out there, but on the whole I've had very positive interactions with the police. I won't go into details (it's personal), but a police officer got me out of a bad situation when I was a kid.

Sure, some traffic stops have been a bit b.s. (no front plate), and I think some cops spend too much time giving out tickets. On the whole, I think the vast majority of LEOs do an excellent job. But those are not the ones we hear about.

But yeah, the guys in the above situation were 100% wrong, need to get kicked off the force, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I like how they are referred to as "Defendent so-and-so", not "officer".

Salanis wrote:

foxtrapper wrote: Sounds like normal cop conduct in the good old usa.

There are a few bad examples out there, but on the whole I've had very positive interactions with the police. I won't go into details (it's personal), but a police officer got me out of a bad situation when I was a kid.

The problem is even the good ones (which I consider the majority in most areas) often show a distinct tendency to close ranks and cover for the other ones. Making them less good than I would like even when I applaud many of their actual actions.

Doing so reinforces the anti-cop attitude and makes the job of all cops both more difficult and more dangerous causing them to close ranks even more and around and around it goes. Using the police as a major revenue stream also greatly contributes to this. The latter isn't the fault of the cops though, it's the fault of the governments using them that way. Their fault or not though, it affects how they can do their job, and the actual safety of both the cops and everyone else at he expense of using them as tax collectors.