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

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

Christy Lou Lindsey Dodge

June 22, 1965 - January 27, 2012

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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

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

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.

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

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."

...[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

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.

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

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

[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

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

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

...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

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

...[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

(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]