for life and liberty

Lawsuit settled accusing former police officer of stalking in uniform

"The city of Roseville has settled a lawsuit accusing a former police officer of stalking and harassing a married Roseville woman while he was on duty and in full uniform. The lawsuit, filed in July, accuses former Roseville police officer Tom Cabral of using his authority to stalk a woman he was sexually obsessed with. Court documents describe the story from the perspective of plaintiffs Victoria Guthrie and her husband Matthew Tullgren. They claim Cabral committed a series of major ethical violations while attempting to establish a sexual relationship with Guthrie. When she filed a complaint with the department, the couple said Roseville police officers ransacked their apartment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawsuit settled accusing former police officer of stalking in uniform

Veteran Sacramento Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested For Child Molestation

"A Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested on lewd acts with a child charges, authorities confirmed Tuesday evening. Deputy Donald Black – a 23-year veteran of the department – was arrested by Nevada County deputies Tuesday and booked into Nevada County Jail, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office says. He faces five counts of lewd acts with a child under 14 charges. The case was a Nevada County investigation. Sacramento Sheriff’s say they are cooperating fully with the case. So far there is only one known victim, but investigators are looking if there are more. Black is on paid administrative leave." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVeteran Sacramento Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested For Child Molestation

$3.4M settlement in deadly 2011 SWAT raid near Tucson

"The family of a man killed in a barrage of gunfire during a SWAT raid at a home southwest of Tucson has settled a lawsuit with four police agencies involved in the operation. Guerena, 26, was shot and killed by SWAT team members on May 5, 2011, when they raided his house. The former Marine had been asleep after working a night shift and was awakened by his wife, who thought intruders were in the yard. He was holding an AR-15 rifle when he was shot. A spokeswoman for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department disagreed with the decision to settle, but hinted a prolonged trial could wind up costing taxpayers even more." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$3.4M settlement in deadly 2011 SWAT raid near Tucson

Red Light Camera Case Goes To Illinois Supreme Court

"In the class action filing, the plaintiffs claimed all Chicago claimed all red light camera tickets between 2003 and 2006 were invalid because they were issued before state law authorized camera enforcement in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, Will, McHenry and St. Clair counties. The lawsuit also challenges every red light camera ticket issued after 2006 because Chicago never drafted a new ordinance after the state enacted its red light camera law in 2006. Chicago's 384 cameras posted at 191 separate intersections generated close to $70 million a year in revenue in 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRed Light Camera Case Goes To Illinois Supreme Court

Mahoning County sheriff’s deputy sentenced for drunk driving

"A Mahoning County sheriff's deputy is sentenced after being convicted of drunk driving. A judge in county court on Tuesday found 53-year old Kenneth O'Rourke of Canfield guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence. O'Rourke was fined $500 and placed on probation for five years. O'Rourke, a six-year veteran of the department, was arrested in May at Raccoon and Mellinger Roads in Canfield after his car hit an unoccupied vehicle. O'Rourke was off duty at the time. His blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. At the time, Sheriff Jerry Greene placed O'Rourke on paid administrative leave." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMahoning County sheriff’s deputy sentenced for drunk driving

Police in Peel Region using city buses to nab distracted drivers

"Did you hear Peel Regional Police officers are sitting on Mississauga buses and spying on would-be distracted drivers in cars below? Sound like something out of East Berlin when they were behind the wall. But it’s true. Be warned, if you are talking or texting while driving in Mississauga look up and smile if you notice a MiWay bus driving by you. Or quickly hide that smartphone, iPad, burrito, coffee or burger. But if you are soon pulled over by Peel copper and get a ticket you will know it was too late. Gotchya. Big Brother at work with a little help from public transit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice in Peel Region using city buses to nab distracted drivers

Charges reduced for officer who ran over teens while fiddling with phone

"Felony hit-and-run charges against fired Manchester police sergeant Stephen Coco have been reduced to misdemeanors, charges that would allow the 17-year police veteran to avoid a state prison sentence in the high-profile case. Last Thursday, the special prosecutor in the case filed Class A misdemeanor charges of vehicular assault against Coco, claiming he was fiddling with a cell phone last March when he hit two Bedford teenagers outside their Harrod Lane homes. He was driving an unmarked Manchester police vehicle at the time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCharges reduced for officer who ran over teens while fiddling with phone

Aide To Mentally Handicapped Man Murdered By Police Speaks Out

"It happened after three deputies removed him from a Frederick movie theater for not having a $12 ticket. Ethan's aide who was with him that night shared her story only with WUSA9's, Debra Alfarone. She says when she heard that Ethan had died, 'I just started crying.' She says she's done so many more times since that fateful January night. She asked that we not identify her, nor show her face on camera. She is 18, and was Ethan Saylor's aide for the last 3 months of his life. Now, hers will never be the same. Today, she joined the Saylor family as they delivered 340,000 signatures to Governor Martin O'Malley, asking for an independent investigation into his death," Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAide To Mentally Handicapped Man Murdered By Police Speaks Out

Cop Beaten Up on Camera While Bystanders Watch; No One Calls 911

"When a Philadelphia transit officer attempted to detain a ticket-scam suspect near a train station platform last week, surveillance video records the suspect turning on the cop and wrestling him to the ground, pinning him between a glass barrier and a bench. But the video also shows a crowd of at least seven transit customers observing the fight, including one who pulled out her phone to record the incident. Notably a similar incident happened at the same train station last week, WTXF reported. And again video captured two plain-clothes officers getting beaten up in front of a much larger crowd at Cecil B. Moore station in north Philadelphia." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop Beaten Up on Camera While Bystanders Watch; No One Calls 911

“For Their Own Protection”: Children in Long-Term Solitary Confinement

"Solitary confinement was once a punishment reserved for the most-hardened, incorrigible criminals. Today, it is standard practice for tens of thousands of juveniles in prisons and jails across America. Far from being limited to the most violent offenders, solitary confinement is now used against perpetrators of minor crimes and children who are forced to await their trials in total isolation. Often, these stays are prolonged, lasting months or even years at a time. How can a practice be both widespread and hidden? State and federal governments have two effective ways to prevent the public from knowing how deep the problem goes." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“For Their Own Protection”: Children in Long-Term Solitary Confinement