[PA] Officer Hummer allowed to keep gun while under a restraining order

...Forks Township police Chief Greg Dorney said there has been no change in Hummer's status and the PFA filed against him does not require him to turn in his weapons. "I checked with the Northampton County Sheriff's Department and he is fully authorized to carry a weapon"...

SOME EXCERPTS FROM THIS MONTH'S NEWS:

Forks cop, woman face charges after domestic dispute
Posted by Michael Buck
May 04, 2008
A Forks Township police corporal and a woman face charges after they fought with each other early Sunday morning, Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast said. Forks Township police Cpl. Shawn Hummer, 30, of the 1000 block of Cosenza Court was fighting with Jennifer Ann Sam, 24, of Easton shortly before 3 a.m., police said. Officers were called to the scene for a report of a physical altercation... Forks Township Supervisor Erik Chuss, who is chairman of the public safety committee, said Sam filed an emergency protection from abuse order against Hummer after the incident... Police listed Hummer and Sam as both accused and victims in a news release sent Sunday morning. Police said harassment charges will be filed before District Judge Ralph Litzenberger... Hummer was cited in March 2007 for failure to obey traffic control devices when he caused a three-vehicle crash that injured two women on Route 512 and East Main Street in Pen Argyl. Hummer told the officer who investigated the crash he had two alcoholic drinks before the crash. That officer said Hummer passed the field sobriety tests with "flying colors." [Full article here]

Forks cop ordered to give up weapons
pennlive.com
Michael Buck
May 05, 2008
A Forks Township police corporal will have to surrender his weapons following a judge issuing a temporary protection from abuse order Monday against the officer. While Shawn Hummer, 30, of Forks Township, remains on active duty, it is a question how he can serve if he can't carry a gun. "Obviously, if he is not allowed to carry a gun, that's an issue," police Chief Greg Dorney says... Sam's version of the story was available through PFA paperwork. Sam says she returned home early Sunday morning to find Hummer in bed with another woman. "I kept asking him what he was doing," Sam wrote. "I walked around the side of the bed, he got up and grabbed me by (my) throat." They tussled down the stairs, Sam wrote, with her missing the final few. It was Hummer who asked friends to call police, Sam wrote, and state police entered the investigation because it involves a Forks police officer. No charges had been filed as of today, but police said they were going to file harassment charges against both people. [Full article here]

Forks Twp. officer with PFA need not surrender weapons
pennlive.com
Michael Buck
May 06, 2008
A Forks Township police corporal is allowed to keep his weapons pending a ruling Monday by a county judge during a protection from abuse hearing. Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Taschner said she was incorrect when she said Shawn Hummer, a Forks Township police officer, would need to surrender his firearms because a temporary PFA was filed against him... TASCHNER SAID THE COUNTY JUDGE WHO ISSUED THE TEMPORARY PFA DID NOT STIPULATE THE WEAPONS BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HUMMER. She said if the judge finds enough evidence at a hearing on Monday to extend the PFA, Hummer will be unable to possess firearms. A supervisor in the Northampton County protection from abuse office, who declined to give her name, said Hummer will be able to ask the county judge for an exception that allows him to carry a gun for his job... [Full article here]

Forks cop can keep guns pending hearing
Township Cpl. Shawn Hummer facing protection-from-abuse order
The Express-Times
By Michael Buck
May 07, 2008
A TOWNSHIP POLICE CORPORAL IS ALLOWED TO KEEP HIS WEAPONS pending a ruling Monday by a county judge during a protection-from-abuse hearing. Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Taschner said she was incorrect when she said Shawn Hummer, a Forks Township police officer, would have to surrender his firearms because a temporary PFA was filed against him... Forks Township police Chief Greg Dorney said there has been no change in Hummer's status and the PFA filed against him does not require him to turn in his weapons. "I checked with the Northampton County Sheriff's Department and he is fully authorized to carry a weapon"... [Full article here]

Protection order against cop extended
Cpl. Shawn hummer remains on active duty, can keep his weapons.
The Express-Times
By MICHAEL BUCK
May 13, 2008
A Northampton County judge extended a temporary protection-from-abuse order Monday against a Forks Township police corporal but did not force him to turn over his firearms, allowing him to keep working. Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden granted Jennifer Sam's petition to extend the PFA against Shawn D. Hummer, 30, of Forks Township. McFadden granted a 30-day PFA order. She could have extended it as far as three years. McFadden said she "reluctantly" allowed Hummer to keep his weapons, based on past experiences with similar cases "that have turned sour." Had McFadden not given the exception, Hummer would have had to turn in all of his firearms, including his service weapon... Hummer testified Monday that Sam burst into his bedroom about 2 a.m. and began screaming vulgarities and repeatedly saying "What are you doing?" Hummer said he grabbed Sam by the arm to try to get her out of the bedroom. Hummer said the woman in his bed was a childhood friend who needed a place to stay for the night after being out with friends. He said the pair went to bed "with every intention of just sleeping." [Full article here]

Judge orders 30-day PFA against Forks officer
He won't have to cede weapons, which could have jeopardized job.
Allentown Morning Call
By Joe McDonald
May 13, 2008
...Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden could have issued a three-year PFA against officer Shawn Hummer that confiscated his weapons. McFadden ordered Hummer, 30, to stay away from his former girlfriend, Jennifer Ann Sam, 24... Hummer's lawyer, Gary Asteak of Easton, described what happened between Sam and Hummer as a tussle and didn't rise to the level of abuse that would trigger a PFA that could cost Hummer his job... Hummer's boss, Police Chief Greg Dorney watched the testimony from the rear of the courtroom. Outside the courtroom, Dorney said he will pass on what he heard to the township solicitor for his review. [Full article here]

FROM LAST YEAR:

Police: Forks Twp. officer admitted drinking before wreck
pennlive.com.
Douglas B. Brill
April 30, 2007 16:07PM
A Forks Township police officer was drinking before he caused a crash that injured two people, according to police. Days later, the borough officer who investigated the crash resigned. Shawn Hummer, 29, of the 200 block of Cherry Hill Road in Bushkill Township, told police he had two drinks Feb. 25 before he caused a three-car wreck... Hummer, who was not on duty, admitted to the investigating patrolman, Pen Argyl police officer Ryan Vresics, that he had two beers before the 5 p.m. crash. Vresics said Hummer passed a field sobriety test that included "standard balance tests." No other police officers witnessed the test, Pen Argyl police Chief Philip Viglione said. Those who witnessed the crash, including the injured victims, said they did not see the field sobriety test, either... Police Officer Jonathan Hoadley agreed with Vresics that Hummer was not drunk, according to the report. Viglione said Hoadley did not see a field sobriety test... Joel Fetherman, 33, of the 200 block of Park Avenue in Bangor, who said he suffered minor injuries after Hummer's vehicle hit his, said he smelled alcohol on Hummer's breath after the crash... Hummer was charged with failing to obey traffic control devices, a summary offense that includes fines and costs totaling $112.50. The charge means Hummer, who was cited by mail, does not receive points on his license. Vresics resigned March 2 and has since been hired by Bushkill Township police. [Full article here]

Slate Belt Roundup for May 9: Cop crash raised red flags
Posted by Douglas B. Brill
May 08, 2007 19:38PM
...The Shawn Hummer crash was not as extensively investigated - probably because it couldn't be. Officials, who were predictably tight-lipped for the privacy of personnel issues, had reason to wonder if responding Pen Argyl police officer Ryan Vresics covered up a DUI for Hummer. Here's why: Hummer admitted to drinking before the crash. Vresics at some time before the crash said he would be uncomfortable arresting a fellow officer. Vresics resigned less than a week after the crash. Vresics did not test Hummer's blood-alcohol content. Vresics said he administered a field sobriety test. But the Express-Times didn't come across anyone who saw it. Four crash victims and two crash witnesses said they didn't see the test. Police Chief Philip Viglione said no other cops saw it -- not even Jonathan Hoadley, who assisted at the scene. Steven Horvath, the department's top accident scene investigator, said he didn't see it... Vresics has a bad memory. When I asked him about his stated unease for arresting a fellow officer, he said he didn't recall saying that... Vresics said he doesn't remember where Hummer said he was before the crash. He said he doesn't remember where Hummer said he drank. He said he doesn't remember how Hummer left the scene. He said he doesn't remember who Hummer left with. And how's this for conflicted: Vresics' accident report, which Pen Argyl would not release, listed Hummer's physical condition as "apparently normal" and "had been drinking." Does that mean it's normal for Hummer to drink before he drives? When I asked Chief Viglione and DA Morganelli if there was a cover up, neither said that there was not a cover up. They both said they don't know because they weren't at the scene. "We're kind of stuck with the officer's observations," Morganelli said. Fair enough. That's all they could really say without getting sued... [Full article here]

Nazareth Police Ripping Off Taxpayers
Lehigh Valley Ramblings
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
...Skateboarders felt it before anyone else. On Easter weekend, they were outside Schaeffer school. Some were playing ball while others played around with their shredsleds. When two part-time cops drove by, no one paid much attention. But suddenly, the rules had changed. Cops exploded from their cruiser, including a belligerent Officer Shawn Hummer. He screamed that he's "fuckin' tired" of kids skateboarding at Schaeffer, and proceeded to collect 18 skateboards, chipping away at them and laughing in the process. "Oops. Looks like I just chipped another board," Hummer laughed as he tossed boards in the cruiser. He also seized a bicycle and a very dangerous ball... [From "Comments"] ...Nazareth's own Officer Hummer, who also works in Forks, was involved in an accident in May. Drinking was involved. The officer who refused to cite him had to leave the force. Is that helping people? Officer Hummer, a few weeks ago, was ejected from Flurer's after being in a fight. Again, booze was involved. Is that helping people?... [Full article here]