[CA] Police Chief's wife Brinda McCoy on trial for shooting at police officers

TRIAL IN PROGRESS:

People vs. Brinda Sue McCoy, Case Number 10CF3399.

PREVIOUS POST:
[CA] Police Chief McCoy's wife Brinda to face trial for shooting towards officers - Brinda Sue McCoy, 47, who is married to Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy, called 911 and said she needed help... When the Cypress Police Dept. arrived at her home, she refused to come out and put the gun to her head. According to the District Attorney's Office she then fired the gun twice at officers...

Brinda is the wife of Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy Jr. and the photo above is her current Facebook profile picture. The articles don't mention the presence or absence of her husband in court (?) but it would seem they may be trying to get through this - and that the media is trying to leave him out of it (?) - but he's clearly an influencing factor of how things have gone so far.

In public comments online of course folks are noticing a double standard - that a regular citizen would have been killed instead of bean-bagged like Brinda. Most of us would like to see equal compassion for others in distress. So what is the formula and what's next? (Remember Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Franklin Adderley 's wife Eleanor Adderley?) We will have to see how this works out in the end.

"It all begins on Dec. 16, 2010, with the defendant's decision to call 911," Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri said. [Brinda] McCoy allegedly "test fired" her husband's duty weapon about 7:10 p.m., prompting her neighbor Diana Orr to call McCoy, Olivieri said. McCoy responded, "Why the (expletive) are you calling me? What the (expletive) do you want? I've had it"... McCoy also allegedly told her neighbor she "would fire at police to have them gun her down"... McCoy refused to leave her house and pointed a firearm at her head and the ceiling before pointing it directly at the officers. "I don't care," was her response when warned if she fired the weapon she could injure officers, Olivieri said... In her last exchange with a police dispatcher McCoy said: "You know what? Don't f------ call me anymore," Olivieri said. Moments after that, McCoy fired another shot at officers positioned behind vehicles outside her home... Brinda Sue McCoy came out the front door but did not show her hands when officers asked her to, saying instead "f------ shoot me"...

Brinda's defense attorney presented that she was depressed after a family argument about their son, her husband left with their son but left his Semiautomatic Sig Sauer .45-caliber, she took a newly prescribed anti-depressant, had dinner and a martini and never "in a million years" intended to hurt any officers. "She exercised very poor judgment," he said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WOMAN FACES TRIAL FOR SHOOTING AT POLICE OFFICERS AFTER CALLING 911 FOR HELP AND INITIATING STAND-OFF
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Tony Rackauckas, District Attorney
Case # 10CF3399
May 24, 2012

SANTA ANA – A woman faces trial today for shooting at responding police officers after calling 911 and initiating stand-off. Brinda Sue McCoy, 49, Cypress, is charged with six felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm on a peace officer and one felony count of discharging a firearm with gross negligence with sentencing enhancements for the personal discharge of a firearm. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 61 years and eight months in state prison. Opening statements are expected to begin today, Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. in Department C-45, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on Dec. 16, 2010, McCoy is accused of calling 911 and stating she needed police assistance. Cypress Police Department officers responded to the defendant’s home and attempted to get McCoy to come out of her residence.

McCoy is accused of refusing to leave her house, pointing a firearm at her head and the ceiling before pointing it directly at the police officers outside. The officers warned the defendant that, if she fired her weapon, she could hurt one of the officers positioned behind vehicles in front of her house. Despite this warning, McCoy is accused of firing the gun twice from inside her home at police officers who were stationed behind two parked vehicles outside.

Special Weapons and Tactics officers used less-than lethal force to subdue and arrest the defendant.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case. [LINK]

OCEANSIDE: ASSAULT TRIAL BEGINS FOR POLICE CHIEF'S WIFE
North County Times
By Paul Anderson
May 24, 2012
[Excerpts] The wife of Oceanside police chief and former Cypress City Councilman Frank McCoy threatened suicide by cop several times and fired her husband's service weapon at Cypress police twice during a standoff that lasted hours in December 2010, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday. But Brinda Sue McCoy's attorney told jurors in the opening statements for her trial Thursday that while she is guilty of shooting the gun, the evidence will show she did not intend to hurt any of the police officers... McCoy allegedly "test fired" her husband's duty weapon about 7:10 p.m., prompting her neighbor Diana Orr to call McCoy, [Special Prosecutions Unit Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca] Olivieri said. McCoy responded, "Why the (expletive) are you calling me? What the (expletive) do you want? I've had it," according to Olivieri. McCoy also allegedly told her neighbor she "would fire at police to have them gun her down"... McCoy called 911 and told the dispatcher "she wants to be taken out of her misery"... McCoy paced through the house and at times pointed the gun out the window of her home... Several times, McCoy demanded police move her son's pickup truck, behind which some officers had taken position... McCoy eventually fired the gun at the truck... One officer, who was a friend of the family, tried to talk McCoy into surrendering and warned her that officers were behind the truck she was threatening to shoot at... "I don't care. Move the truck or I will shoot," McCoy responded, according to Olivieri... Defense attorney Lew Rosenblum told jurors that McCoy had been suffering from depression and had a prescription for Wellbutrin, but it was not working, so her physician put her on Klonopin... McCoy, who was a nurse and knew many of the officers who responded, threatened to shoot the gun at the truck because she wanted her other son, who is an adult and a Long Beach police officer, to leave the area so he wouldn't see her get shot by police, Rosenblum said... [Full article here]

BRINDA SUE MCCOY, WIFE OF TOP OCEANSIDE COP AND FORMER CYPRESS MAYOR, FACES 61 YEARS AS ARMED STAND-OFF TRIAL BEGINS
Orange County / OCWeekly
By Matt Coker
Thu., May 24 2012 at 10:45 AM
[Excerpts] The wife of Oceanside's police chief (and Cypress' former mayor) is scheduled to face a trial - heck, right now -for calling 9-1-1 and initiating an armed stand-off with Cypress police in December 2010... ... Refusing to leave her house, Ms. McCoy allegedly pointed a semi-automatic firearm at her head and the ceiling before pointing it directly at the police officers outside. Unlike, say, everyone else in the world, the cops did not immediately take her out but instead warned her that if she fired her weapon, she could hurt one of the officers. McCoy is accused of responding by firing the gun twice from inside her home at police officers who were stationed behind two parked vehicles outside. Unlike, say, every breathing being in the universe, McCoy was subdued through the use of "less-than lethal force" by Special Weapons and Tactics officers. [Full article here]

POLICE CHIEF’S WIFE ACCUSED OF SHOOTING AT CYPRESS OFFICERS DURING TRIAL’S OPENING STATEMENTS
89.3 KPCC
By Don Frances
May 24, 2012
[Excerpts] On an evening in late 2010 in the town of Cypress, one person was causing major trouble for law enforcement: the police chief’s wife... In their opening statement this morning, prosecutors told an Orange County jury that Ms. [Brinda Sue] McCoy called 911 for help, then fired at officers when they arrived, told the dispatcher not to call her anymore, then squeezed off another round at the police outside, the Orange County Register reports... Frank McCoy’s bio on the Oceanside Police Department website states that he has served eight years on the Cypress City Council. It also states that “Chief McCoy is married to his wife Brinda and has five children.” The trial is sparking controversy over the way police handle dangerous or unstable people in standoff situations, with some seeing a double standard... [Full article here]

PROSECUTOR: CHIEF'S WIFE SHOT TWICE AT COPS
The Orange County Register
By Vik Jolly
Published: May 24, 2012
[Excerpts] A woman used her police chief husband's semiautomatic handgun to test-fire a shot and later fired twice at Cypress police officers responding to her 911 telephone call for help, a prosecutor told an Orange County jury Thursday. More than 1½ hour after the call, with numerous officers outside her home on the evening of Dec. 16, 2010, Brinda Sue McCoy came out the front door but did not show her hands when officers asked her to, saying instead "f------ shoot me," Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri said in her opening statement... In her last exchange with a police dispatcher McCoy said: "You know what? Don't f------ call me anymore," Olivieri said. Moments after that, McCoy fired another shot at officers positioned behind vehicles outside her home despite being told repeatedly not to shoot because officers could get hurt, the prosecutor told jurors in Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno's courtroom. [Defense attorney Lew] Rosenblum said his client should be convicted of discharging a firearm with gross negligence but the two shots she fired 20 minutes apart through a window were not "in a million years" intended to injure any officers. "She exercised very poor judgment," he said. Authorities made a bad situation worse by lying to McCoy, who wanted her Long Beach police officer son's truck moved from in front of her house, Rosenblum contended... That afternoon, McCoy argued with her teenage son for having excused himself from school by calling there pretending to be his father, the defense attorney said. Already having emotional problems and battling severe depression, she despaired when her husband sided with their 16-year-old and left with him, Rosenblum said... She dialed 911, but later told police to never mind... A neighbor who is expected to testify heard a test shot McCoy fired and called McCoy to make sure she was safe, the prosecutor said. McCoy told the neighbor she was waiting for police to come shoot her, saying she would fire so they would shoot her down. "I'm f------ tired of this," she said to the neighbor, Olivieri said. She asked responding officers to get their lights off her house and threatened to fire out of a house window, the prosecutor said. McCoy moved about the house and at one point opened a patio door, let her dogs in, drew the blinds, put the lights down in the living room and sat with the gun in her hand at the kitchen table, the prosecutor said. McCoy refused to leave her house and pointed a firearm at her head and the ceiling before pointing it directly at the officers. "I don't care," was her response when warned if she fired the weapon she could injure officers, Olivieri said... [Full article here]

SINCE LAST POST - FROM JANUARY 2011:

[UPDATED] BRINDA SUE MCCOY IN DEEP DOODOO AND LUCKY TO BE ALIVE: WIFE OF OCEANSIDE POLICE CHIEF AND FORMER CYPRESS MAYOR ACCUSED OF SHOOTING AT COPS
By Matt Coker
Mon., Jan. 31 2011
[Excerpts] ...As officers pleaded with her to surrender, she paced inside the home between the window and the front door, at times pointing the gun at her head and, at other times, at officers. She eventually fired a shot at a Long Beach Police Department truck in her driveway that officers had taken cover behind, reports the Times, which notes her son is a Long Beach officer and her husband was a commander there before coming to Oceanside. Officers fearing for their lives retreated to find better cover, and McCoy is accused of later firing a second round that struck a Toyota Prius, shattering its front passenger window. Hours after it began, the standoff ended when the woman stepped outside, and SWAT officers shot her in the chest with a beanbag shotgun. She was immediately arrested, then taken to a local hospital for evaluation before being moved to a psychiatric hospital. The order to remove all guns from the McCoy home came over the objections of defense attorney David Diamond, according to the Times. They are next due in court March 18 for a pretrial hearing. One often hears about guns stolen from gun owners eventually being used against cops. Whoever imagined a cop's gun would be used against them? By a cop's wife? Allegedly. [Full article here]

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal female perp perpetrator california state preferential treatment politics]

[GA] Atlanta Police did Officer Stanley Street no favors by letting him stay a cop

Atlanta Police Officer Stanley Street committed 3 armed bank robberies in 2004 while he was on administrative leave related to "domestic problems" and for those robberies was sentenced to 64 years in federal prison with no opportunity for parole. He shouldn't have been a cop robbing banks and probably couldn't have robbed them without being all dressed up in a uniform that bank security trusted. Just some of the priors:

• In 1989 he had put a gun to someone's head. 
• In 1990 he was suspended a total of 31 days.
• In 1994 he refused to cooperate with an internal investigation about a domestic violence call to his home. 
• In 2003 he lied to internal investigators about leaving ominous messages on the answering machine of his ex wife, a police officer who had taken out a protective order against him.

What do you get when you keep an officer that commits crimes? You get a criminal cop. And as he continued to get away with domestic /gun crimes his ego must have swelled about what he could do. "Stanley Street, used his status to get bank workers to discuss security procedures and then robbed the banks later."

Atlanta Police were complicit in creating the bad guy - allowing him to have a gun and uniform, appearing as someone people could trust. Bank security would not have confided in him if he had not still appeared to be worthy of a badge. But only Stanley is doing the time.

A department does not do a "favor" for a law-breaking cop by helping him keep his law enforcement career. And it's a gross misjudgment to consider domestic violence in some separate not-that-bad category.

He should have been allowed to fall. Now he will die in prison and has no life to save.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal repeat hx teflon brotherhood cop on cop georgia state politics]

[GA] Who would beat the wife of a DeKalb County Police Sgt, leave her for dead, and why?

[Updates below]

...[DeKalb County Police Sgt. Jerry] Banks' wife was beaten so badly she had to be taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition. Police do not know who did it or why, but they are looking at the possibility she may have been targeted... Officers on the scene said that a white paint can with what appeared to have been blood inside was found inside the house near the kitchen door... Banks was investigated for domestic violence in 1998 involving his ex-wife. Although he says he was cleared, POST [Police Officer Standard Training], the agency that certifies police officers in Georgia, put him on probation for 24 months following an independent investigation...

Hopefully that was red paint in the can.

DEKALB POLICE OFFICER'S WIFE ATTACKED
wsbradio.com
By Amanda Moyer
Sunday, May 13, 2012
[Excerpts] A DeKalb County police officer's wife is in critical condition following a brutal attack at her home. Police say the unidentified woman was found beaten and unconscious near the couple's garage in Lithonia... The woman is at Grady Hospital, with police officers posted near her room.  According to Channel 2 Action News, her husband is at her bedside... [Full article here]

DEKALB COP'S WIFE ATTACKED IN APPARENT ROBBERY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Fran Jeffries and Marcus K. Garner
Monday, May 14, 2012
[Excerpts] A DeKalb County police officer's wife remained in critical condition Monday afternoon at Grady Memorial Hospital after being attacked early Sunday morning outside her home. Investigators have determined that she was attacked during what appears to have been a robbery, police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said... Police say she suffered several head injuries... No suspects have been identified, and investigators don't know how long the victim had been lying in front of the house. But the three people inside the home told police they didn't hear anything outside, and the woman the victim took home said she arrived there around 2 a.m. Officers on the scene said that a white paint can with what appeared to have been blood inside was found inside the house near the kitchen door... [Full article here]

BEATING OF COP'S WIFE MAY HAVE BEEN ROBBERY
wsbradio.com
By Jennifer Griffies and Amanda Moyer
Monday, May 14, 2012
[Excerpts] A DeKalb County police officer's wife is in critical condition... Police say Sgt. Jerry Banks and his wife lived in the home together... "I understand that some personal items were taken from the victim but I'm not sure what those items are," said [Public Safety Director Wiz] Miller. Banks was investigated for domestic violence in 1998 involving his ex-wife.  Although he says he was cleared, POST, the agency that certifies police officers in Georgia, put him on probation for 24 months following an independent investigation. Miller says finding the person responsible is their top priority... [Full article here]

MOTIVE FOR BEATING OF GEORGIA COPS WIFE WAS ROBBERY, INVESTIGATORS SAY
myfoxdfw.com
Posted: May 14, 2012
[Excerpts] A robber badly beat the wife of a Georgia police officer who was found unconscious outside her home, investigators said Monday. The unidentified woman's condition was reportedly improving Monday after she was hospitalized early Sunday in critical condition. Her husband is DeKalb County Police Sgt. Jerry Banks... DeKalb Public Safety Director William Z. Miller said police had no suspects or witnesses, adding that Banks was not a suspect in his wife's beating... "We do not know if she was targeted, if it was a crime of opportunity, if someone followed her home from where she had been previously," Miller said. [Full article here]

DEKALB OFFICER'S WIFE RECOVERS AS POLICE SEARCH FOR ATTACKERS
CBS Atlanta
By Christopher King
Updated: May 15, 2012
[Excerpts] The wife of a DeKalb County police officer is recovering after she was severely beaten and left for dead outside her home. The victim's condition is improving, but they still don't know who attacked her, police said. The wife of Sgt. Jerry Banks was coming home early Sunday morning when someone attacked and robbed her outside her own home on English Loop, police said.... Banks was inside the house at the time and is not a suspect, police said. Banks' wife was beaten so badly she had to be taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition. Police do not know who did it or why, but they are looking at the possibility she may have been targeted. "Items were taken, so this could have been a robbery. We're investigating all angles at this time," said William Miller, Director of DeKalb County's department of Public Safety... "We're like a family. We're going to throw everything into this investigation... It gives us energy to find whoever did this and get the person off the street so they won't hurt anyone else  in DeKalb County or any other member of our law enforcement family... At times like this, as a family, we come together"... Miller said the victim is alert and has talked to investigators. [Full article here]

UPDATES:

DEKALB COP CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION IN WIFE'S BEATING
wsbradio.com
By Andrew Spencer
Friday, May 25, 2012
[Excerpts] A Dekalb County Police officer whose wife is hospitalized after a horrific beating is now himself in trouble with the law. Dekalb Police Sgt. Jerry Banks, 42, was arrested at the home of another woman Friday morning on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing law officers... The home belongs to a woman described by authorities as Banks' companion: Cherise McMoore, 33, suspected of making terrorist threats and committing terrorist acts. Details on this case are vague and police were unwilling to respond to reporter questions... [LINK]

RECORDS: OFFICER'S ARREST HAS TIES TO WIFE'S BEATING
WSBTV.com
By Erica Byfield
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
[Excerpts] An officer's wife was attacked and then he was arrested at another woman's home. Now we're learning his arrest has ties to what happened to his wife... Banks' arrest warrant said he was "loud, boisterous, and refusing to comply with verbal commands to leave the property while a search warrant was being executed on his girlfriend's residence." A DeKalb County police spokesperson told Byfield following his arrest Banks was put on paid leave. [LINK]

POLICE: DEKALB SERGEANT ‘BOISTEROUS' BEFORE ARREST
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Marcus K. Garner
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
[Excerpts] DeKalb County police Sgt. Jerry Banks was boisterous and disobedient last week when police detectives told him to leave the home of a woman they called his girlfriend, according to police reports. DeKalb detectives were at the home of Cherise McMoore after she waved a gun and threatened to beat up a neighbor when Banks arrived with McMoore and tried to prevent their investigation, police said. “[Banks] did knowingly and willfully obstruct or hinder … a law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of the officer’s official duties,” said a warrant for the police sergeant's arrest... He was released early Friday evening on $500 bond... According to jail and court records, Banks was arrested in 1997 on simple and family battery allegations, but the charges were dismissed... [LINK]

DEKALB POLICE SERGEANT FIRED AFTER OBSTRUCTION ARREST
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Marcus K. Garner
Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012
[Excerpt] A DeKalb County police sergeant arrested in May for obstructing the investigation of fellow DeKalb police was fired Tuesday... [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal attempted murder georgia state politics lithonia]

[CA] Retired LAPD Detective DeJarnette arrested again about the homicide of his wife Yu

Retired Los Angeles Police Detective Daniel DeJarnette was first arrested as a suspect in his wife Yu's death back in 2006 shortly after she was found to be mortally wounded with extensive head injuries. I couldn't find anything on Yu, except as a victim of this crime. I hoped to find something on her as a woman, mother, friend, and daughter - as someone who lived.

Thank you to the law enforcement officers involved in reviving this case and seeking charges. I pray that you will be successful in proving whatever it is that is true.

RETIRED LAPD DETECTIVE ARRESTED IN DEATH OF WIFE SIX YEARS AGO
Los Angeles Times
By Andrew Blankstein
May 17, 2012
[Excerpts] A retired LAPD homicide detective was arrested this week in the fatal beating of his wife in Hawaii six years ago. He had been a suspect since her death. Dan DeJarnette, 59, was taken into custody without incident Monday night at his home on the Big Island in connection with the slaying of his wife, Yu Dejarnette. He appeared in a Hawaii courtroom Tuesday to face formal charges. He said at the time of her November 2006 death that he had awakened and found her lying on a lava embankment about 20 feet from the couple's home in Ka'u on the southern end of the island. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. DeJarnette told patrol officers that his 56-year-old wife had been hurt in an accident. But an autopsy determined that she died from head trauma. DeJarnette was booked on suspicion of murder — and then released because of lack of evidence. But authorities took another look at the case in January. After additional investigation that included testing of DNA evidence, prosecutors secured an indictment against DeJarnette from a Hawaii grand jury... He is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail... [Full article here]

FROM 2006

KA'U MAN ARRESTED FOLLOWING WIFE'S DEATH
Honolulu Advertiser
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
[Excerpts] KEALAKEHE, Hawai'i - A 53-year-old Ka''u man was arrested yesterday as a suspect in his wife's alleged murder. Yu Dejarnette, 56, was found Sunday on the side of an embankment... Her husband has not been charged but remains in custody at the Kona police cellblock. Anyone with information on the case should call detective Jefferson Grantz of the West Hawai'i Criminal Investigation Section... [Full article here]

BIG ISLAND POLICE RELEASE MURDER SUSPECT
Honolulu Advertiser
Nov 17, 2006
[Excerpts] Big Island detectives released Daniel Dejarnette, 53, of Ka'u, last night after he was arrested Tuesday as a murder suspect in the death of his wife Yu Dejarnette, 56. Daniel Dejarnette's release came at 8:30 p.m... An autopsy conducted on the victim indicated that the cause of death was due to the extensive head injuries that she sustained... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder california hawaii state politics]

[SC] "Emotions running high over billboards criticizing Iva Police"

EMOTIONS RUNNING HIGH OVER BILLBOARDS CRITICIZING IVA POLICE
Anderson Independent Mail
By Kirk Brown
Posted May 17, 2012
[Excerpts] Tempers are flaring in this feisty mill town over a pair of eye-catching billboards bashing the Iva Police Department. “Chief of police is a thief and town clerk and mayor know it” is one of the billboard messages. Another message refers to domestic violence, “underage children” and sex in police cars... The Holleys say the domestic violence portion of the message pertains to [Iva Police] Officer [Tim] Richey, who previously worked at the Calhoun Falls Police Department. Records show that the Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office responded to three calls involving Richey and his estranged wife between Feb. 15, 2008 and April 25, 2008. No one was arrested or charged as a result of those calls... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety preferential teflon south carolina state politics]

[PA] Philadelphia Police Officer Gonzalez arrested for domestic assault and terroristic threatening

Philadelphia Police Officer Ricardo Gonzalez has been arrested - accused of a domestic violence assault on his wife after the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and Internal Affairs Bureau conducted an investigation. Gonzalez is charged with simple assault, TERRORISTIC THREATS and "related offenses" (???).
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal pennsylvania state politics]

[SC] Sheriff's Cpl. Winningham fired and charged after reportedly pistol whipping, punching, kicking, shooting towards wife

The wife of 45-year-old OCSO [Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office] Cpl. Kenneth Winningham told investigators she was beaten with a pistol and punched over much of her body She said the man kicked her several times when she fell during the assault... The victim said her husband struck her several times with closed fists to her arms and left side. She told deputies that she also fell to the floor where the suspect kicked her several times... “She reported he told her he was going to ‘slit her throat, causing her to bleed out’ and ‘threatened to shoot her in the feet to disable her,’” the report states... Investigators say the woman had injuries including bruising and complained of tenderness to her side, knee, arms and face... The woman reportedly slipped out as her husband slept. She met Elloree Police Chief Preston Avinger, a relative, at a convenience store and called police... Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said the officer was terminated on Thursday... He was charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature... If he’s convicted of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, Winningham is facing a maximum sentence of 10 years...

Video: [SC] Sheriff's Deputy Winningham's bond set at $50,000 on aggravated criminal domestic violence

WIFE SAYS DEPUTY BEAT, THREATENED HER
The Times and Democrat
By Richard Walker
Friday, May 4, 2012
[Excerpts] Authorities are looking for an Orangeburg County Sheriff’s deputy after his wife claimed he pistol-whipped her and threatened her life during a domestic argument. The wife of 45-year-old OCSO Cpl. Kenneth Winningham told investigators she was beaten with a pistol and punched over much of her body... Elloree Police Chief Preston Avinger, who is related to the woman, and others met with the woman Wednesday night... Avinger then called Dorchester County authorities... She said the man kicked her several times when she fell during the assault. According to the report, the subject showed the woman a .45-caliber Springfield handgun at one point and fired two rounds, one going into the bed beside where the woman was seated. The subject then forced the woman to accompany him to a convenience store... “She reported he told her he was going to ‘slit her throat, causing her to bleed out’ and ‘threatened to shoot her in the feet to disable her,’” the report states. With the subject still unaccounted for, Dorchester County authorities took the woman to a different location while they went to her house to find the subject and search her house for evidence. Finding the house locked, investigators were let into the home by the subject’s father. Inside, authorities found a fired .45-caliber bullet beside a bed. They also took photographs of what appeared to be a bullet hole in the bed. The woman signed a statement asking for an order of protection and also agreed she would pursue charges against the man, the report indicates. The subject’s father was told to contact his son and tell him to contact the DCSO. Authorities say that as of late Thursday, he had not done that... [Full article here]

ORANGEBURG DEPUTY TURNS SELF IN TO DORCHESTER AUTHORITIES ON CHARGE
OF BEATING WIFE
The Charleston Post Courier
Friday, May 4, 2012
[Excerpts] An Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office deputy accused of beating his wife and shooting at her during an argument at the couple’s Ridgeville home turned himself in this afternoon. Kenneth Winningham, 42, of Ridgeville faces a charge of high and aggravated criminal domestic violence... A Dorchester County sheriff’s deputy on patrol near Carter’s Fast Stop on U.S. Highway 78 was flagged down about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday by a man who asked the deputy to speak with a woman who was being consoled by family members in the lot at the gas station.... [KSW] said her husband woke her up about 12:30 a.m. and accused her of infidelity... punched and kicked her and fired a .45-caliber handgun in her direction twice... [KSW] also said he took her cellphone, so she was unable to call 911. Dorchester deputies later searched the couple’s home and found evidence that shots had been fired in the bedroom... [Full article here]

BOND SET AT $50K FOR DEPUTY ACCUSED OF SHOOTING AT WIFE
WCSC
By Ray Rivera
May 04, 2012
[Excerpts] Bond was set at $50,000 for a former sheriff's deputy accused of beating and shooting at his wife. Authorities charged 42-year-old Kenneth R. Winnigham with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature after he surrendered to the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office on Friday... Investigators say the woman had injuries including bruising and complained of tenderness to her side, knee, arms and face. The woman told deputies that she wanted to file a report... According to the victim, her husband began punching her body while she was sleeping... The victim said her husband struck her several times with closed fists to her arms and left side. She told deputies that she also fell to the floor where the suspect kicked her several times... According to deputies, the victim was seated on the edge of the bed when the suspect shot two rounds within close proximity of her. The victim told deputies that one round was discharged into the bed, a short distance from where she sat. She said she was unsure where the second round went... She said she was unable to contact 911 immediately because the suspect took her cell phone... The victim gave a written statement to officers and was escorted to the Hess Gas station in Jedburg after she consented to a search of the home. She was then left at the station with a detective for her own safety as officers went to the house... [Full article here]

DEPUTY FIRED, CHARGED WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Times and Democrat
By Richard Walker
Saturday, May 5, 2012
[Excerpts] An Orangeburg County Sheriff’s deputy is facing a domestic violence charge after his wife claimed he beat and shot at her during an argument early Wednesday. Kenneth Winningham of 171 Winningham Road, Summerville, turned himself in to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office around 1 p.m. Friday. He was charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature. The 42-year-old Winningham was a corporal with the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office. However, Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said the officer was terminated on Thursday. “Based on the investigation of an off-duty incident involving Kenneth Winningham by the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, as of May 3 Winningham is no longer an employee of this agency and we have retrieved all county-owned equipment from his residence,” Ravenell said in a release... The woman reportedly slipped out as her husband slept. She met Elloree Police Chief Preston Avinger, a relative, at a convenience store and called police. Investigators found a fired .45-caliber bullet beside a bed in the house. They also took photographs of what appeared to be a bullet hole in the bed. If he’s convicted of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, Winningham is facing a maximum sentence of 10 years... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal weapon gun pistol service weapon Dorchester County South Carolina state politics]

[CT] Arrested again for domestic violence, Officer Grant resigns - so keeps pension

...Before January, [Naugatuck Police Officer Thomas] Grant found himself being scrutinized after he was arrested following a domestic disturbance in 2007. He was also subjected to a 20-day suspension in 2009 after an internal investigation into inappropriate conduct at a bar...

FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES, NAUGATUCK POLICE OFFICER RESIGNS: Officer Thomas Grant submitted a letter of resignation to the police department on Thursday, effective immediately, the police chief said.
Naugatuck Patch
By Ronald DeRosa
May 4, 2012
A Naugatuck police officer who was arrested in January on charges stemming from a domestic dispute resigned from the Naugatuck Police Department Thursday... The borough Police Commission was set to discuss whether to terminate 10-year veteran Officer Thomas Grant but, instead, Grant submitted his resignation letter which comes about three months after he was charged with assault and other charges stemming from a domestic violence case with his girlfriend. Police Chief Christopher Edson said he accepted Grant's letter, which means the resignation is immediate... Grant, 38, was arrested after police investigated a report filed by his girlfriend claiming Grant hit her and grabbed her by the hair during an argument. The girlfriend also alleged Grant made comments to harm her further, Naugatuck police said. After a three-day internal affairs investigation, Naugatuck officers arrested Grant on charges of third-degree assault, disorderly conduct and threatening... Because Grant resigned he is entitled to a pension that he vested in during his 10 years with the Naugatuck PD, first as a dispatcher and then as an officer... Before January, Grant found himself being scrutinized after he was arrested following a domestic disturbance in 2007. He was also subjected to a 20-day suspension in 2009 after an internal investigation into inappropriate conduct at a bar. Following that 2009 investigation, Edson told Grant he would be fired if he violated department substance abuse policies again. Grant remains free on a $25,000 bond issued by Waterbury Superior Court. Following the arraignment in court in January, a judge issued a protective order barring him from contact with his girlfriend. Grant is due back in Waterbury Court on May 8. [Full article here]

Opted to not post his mugshot.

ABOUT THE NAUGATUCK POLICE DEPARTMENT
"...Integrity: Requires each police officer to exemplify the highest standards in ethical, moral and legal conduct. Integrity is born out of honesty and is the foundation of the trust the public places in us as police officers. Each officer must adhere to an uncompromising code of personal conduct, accountable for their actions and holding others accountable for theirs. Integrity mandates that a police officer always applies the law in a fair and just manner..."
http://naugatuckpd.org/about.html
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety repeat hx connecticut state politics]

[CO] Did risk factors in Boulder police officer's domestic stalking / threat case start in the Middle East?

...[Boulder police officer Christian Dale McCracken] also told her he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after a tour in the Middle East while in the Marine Corps...

What is Boulder Police Department's policy for screening, employing, and monitoring individuals wih post traumatic stress disorder - recruits with combat history or officers who deploy and come home? What is the department's liabilty? What priority does public safety have in the equation?

Of course, PTSD is not an excuse for calculated, repeated, and ominous criminal behavior. And serving in the Middle East is not a waiver on being unfit for duty.

Excerpts from recent news: 
"The Boulder police officer facing felony stalking and harassment charges is accused of retrieving two of his own guns from work while on medical leave, then threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend and one of her friends - both police dispatchers - before shooting himself... When the victim called police, they told her he had checked out his guns and that she was in imminent danger. They instructed her to go to the Broomfield police department immediately for her own protection... McCracken then told his roommate -- a fellow Boulder police officer -- that he was going to shoot the male dispatcher in front of his ex-girlfriend, kill her and then go up into the mountains to commit suicide. The roommate convinced McCracken to go to Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette to be evaluated... The woman informed investigators that McCracken told her that he had stalked and plotted to kill his ex-wife after their break-up several years earlier..."

KUDOS for the interventions by police,
the roommate, and in this instance,
McCracken himself - by his agreeing
to go to the hospital instead of
kill people.
Yet worrisome.
Still lethal.

Hopefully police would have also notified
a non-dispatcher victim to take refuge
in a near-by police station too.

Prayers are lifted

for EVERYone's safety.

Note:
Differing media spell the officer's name as McCracken and McKracken. His Facebook page shows McCracken.

RECENT NEWS:

POLICE: BOULDER COP CHRISTIAN MCCRACKEN THREATENED TO KILL EX-GIRLFRIEND, 2ND DISPATCHER, SELF: Officer on medical leave being held on $100,000 bond in stalking case [LINK]
The Denver Post
By Mitchell Byars
05/01/2012

The Boulder police officer facing felony stalking and harassment charges is accused of retrieving two of his own guns from work while on medical leave, then threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend and one of her friends - both police dispatchers - before shooting himself, according to a police report released today.

Broomfield police arrested Officer Christian Dale McCracken, 32, of Frederick, on suspicion of stalking, a class 5 felony, and harassment, a class 3 misdemeanor, just after midnight Saturday after being alerted by the Boulder Police Department.

The ex-girlfriend, a 27-year-old Boulder police dispatcher who lives in Broomfield, also went to investigators Friday. She and McCracken had been friends for several years and occasionally dated during that time. More recently, she helped care for McCracken while he was on inactive duty due to a head injury.

According to the report, she told police McCracken recently began to behave erratically and appeared "disconnected from reality."

Reached this afternoon, the woman declined to comment.

Last August, McCracken suffered a concussion after being assaulted by a suspect he was trying to apprehend on the University Hill. Treven Hunter, 23, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault on a peace officer, and is scheduled to be sentenced in Boulder on Thursday.

In March, the dispatcher told police she received a call from McCracken asking to end their relationship. A short time later, though, he began calling her to try and get back together. Despite telling him she did not want to resume the relationship, the woman told investigators she received five to six phone calls or 10 to 20 text messages a day from McCracken, as well as Facebook posts.

In April, she began receiving messages from McCracken that led her to believe he was following her, according to the report. He would make comments about where she had been with a friend -- also a Boulder police dispatcher -- and the nature of their relationship.

Last Thursday, the woman said, McCracken began pounding on her door while she and the other dispatcher were inside after going out to dinner. He accused her of cheating on him with the other dispatcher, and later called her and told her that her friend "better watch his back," according to the report.

Several other Boulder police dispatchers and officers then began telling the woman that McCracken often would ask them questions about her whereabouts and that they saw him hanging around the police station. Several also said McCracken accused them of conspiring against him.

On Friday, Boulder police called the woman to tell her that McCracken had retrieved two of his own guns that he kept at the police station while on medical leave, according to the report. McCracken then told his roommate -- a fellow Boulder police officer -- that he was going to shoot the male dispatcher in front of his ex-girlfriend, kill her and then go up into the mountains to commit suicide.

The roommate convinced McCracken to go to Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette to be evaluated. Broomfield police, having been contacted both by Boulder police and the ex-girlfriend, arrived at the hospital to arrest McCracken on Friday night.

The woman informed investigators that McCracken told her that he had stalked and plotted to kill his ex-wife after their break-up several years earlier. He also told her he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after a tour in the Middle East while in the Marine Corps.

She said he told her both these things before his head injury.

Speaking generally, Melissa Wolack, a speech and language pathologist at Boulder Community Hospital's Mapleton Rehabilitation Center, said concussions can cause changes in mood and behavior. They also can cause people to misjudge situations and fail to see the consequences of their actions.

"It can also impair their problem-solving ability," she said. "They misconstrue situations or fail to properly assess situations. They can be impulsive, and they don't behave rationally."

Boulder police Chief Mark Beckner on Monday said Boulder police conduct internal investigations whenever an officer is charged criminally. Internal discipline is not dependent on a criminal conviction. McCracken is on suspension, but he has not been on active duty as a police officer since his injury last summer.

Beckner had declined to discuss the allegations against McCracken.

McCracken remains in custody in Broomfield on $100,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Mitchell Byars at 303-473-1329 or by email.

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BOULDER POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR STALKING FORMER GIRLFRIEND [LINK]
KWGN.com
May 1, 2012

Boulder Police Officer Christian Dale McKracken was under arrest Tuesday accused of stalking his former girlfriend.

The woman lives in a condo complex in Broomfield and told police last Thursday he was banging on her front door making threats.

The next day he checked both of guns out of the Boulder Police Department.

The woman’s windows are covered in cardboard at her home. She told police McKracken had been watching her and her new boyfriend inside her home shortly before he was arrested.

According to the affidavit for his arrest, McKracken admitted to following his former girlfriend that night to a dispatcher at Boulder 911 where the victim works.

The victim told police the relationship began to unravel after McKracken was assaulted at a popular Boulder restaurant last year while he was on duty. She told police he suffered a “traumatic brain injury” and that he was “disconnected from reality.”

When reached for comment, Boulder police confirm McKracken was on medical disability for the restaurant incident.

The victim says McKracken became violent and threatening in the following months and that when she tried to end the relationship he began to harass her by phone and text.

She claims when she started dating, McKracken then began following her and threatening her and her new boyfriend.

The threats culminated last week when he showed up at her home and peered inside her window. When the victim called police, they told her he had checked out his guns and that she was in imminent danger.

They instructed her to go to the Broomfield police department immediately for her own protection.

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BOULDER POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR STALKING FORMER GIRLFRIEND [LINK]
KDVR
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012,

BOULDER, Colo. – Boulder Police Officer Christian Dale McKracken was under arrest Tuesday accused of stalking his former girlfriend.

The woman lives in a condo complex in Broomfield and told police last Thursday he was banging on her front door making threats.

The next day he checked both of guns out of the Boulder Police Department.

The woman’s windows are covered in cardboard at her home. She told police McKracken had been watching her and her new boyfriend inside her home shortly before he was arrested.

According to the affidavit for his arrest, McKracken admitted to following his former girlfriend that night to a dispatcher at Boulder 911 where the victim works.

The victim told police the relationship began to unravel after McKracken was assaulted at a popular Boulder restaurant last year while he was on duty. She told police he suffered a “traumatic brain injury” and that he was “disconnected from reality.”

When reached for comment, Boulder police confirm McKracken was on medical disability for the restaurant incident.

The victim says McKracken became violent and threatening in the following months and that when she tried to end the relationship he began to harass her by phone and text.

She claims when she started dating, McKracken then began following her and threatening her and her new boyfriend.

The threats culminated last week when he showed up at her home and peered inside her window. When the victim called police, they told her he had checked out his guns and that she was in imminent danger.

They instructed her to go to the Broomfield police department immediately for her own protection.

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EXCERTPS FROM NEWS ON TREVEN HUNTER, ASSAILANT OF OFFICER MCCRACKEN

BOULDER POLICE: MAN ASSAULTED COP AFTER REFUSING TO PAY $3 BAR TAB
Boulder Daily Camera
By Mitchell Byars
08/10/2011
[Excerpts] A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a Boulder police officer after the suspect got into a fight with a University Hill restaurant manager over a $3 bar tab... [Full article here]

BOULDER DA SEEKS RE-ARREST OF COP-ASSAULT SUSPECT RELEASED ON $500 BOND
By Erica Meltzer
08/11/2011
[Excerpts] The Boulder County District Attorney's Office is seeking to re-arrest a man who was accused of assaulting a police officer and then released on a $500 bond, now that prosecutors have learned he already was on probation for another alcohol-related offense and appears to have left the state... [Treven] Hunter faces charges of second-degree assault, third-degree assault, resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer in connection with a Friday night incident that left Officer Christian McCracken hospitalized for several days... Officer McCracken tried to take Hunter into custody on the street, but Hunter was uncooperative, according to police, and began assaulting McCracken, hitting him several times in the head, causing him to black out. According to court records, McCracken reported a headache and nausea shortly after the fight and was having trouble remembering parts of the incident. Fellow officers noticed McCracken was responding strangely to their questions and was not making sense. McCracken was hospitalized with what appears to be a serious head injury. "He has suffered a brain injury that has caused him to not remember the events from that evening and has caused other memory loss," prosecutors wrote in a motion filed Tuesday objecting to the $500 bond. "Officer McCracken is not oriented to time, place or his personal circumstances." By Thursday afternoon, McCracken had been released from the hospital. Boulder police spokeswoman Kim Kobel said McCracken has asked for privacy, and the department is honoring that request. According to court records, prosecutors did not learn how serious McCracken's injuries were until Monday morning. By that time, Hunter already had bonded out of jail... [Full article here]

ARREST WARRANT WITH $10,000 BOND ISSUED FOR BOULDER COP-ASSAULT SUSPECT
Boulder Daily Camera
By Erica Meltzer
08/12/2011
[Excerpts] An arrest warrant with a $10,000 bond has been issued for Treven Hunter, the University of Colorado student accused of assaulting a police officer who responded to a fight on University Hill on Friday... Hunter was released on a $500 bond late Sunday night. No prosecutors or defense attorneys were present when the bond was set Sunday afternoon. The Boulder County District Attorney's Office has since filed a motion objecting to the low bond... Officer McCracken tried to take Hunter into custody on the street, but Hunter was uncooperative, according to police, and began assaulting McCracken, hitting him several times in the head, causing him to black out. According to court records, McCracken reported a headache and nausea shortly after the fight and was having trouble remembering parts of the incident. Fellow officers noticed McCracken was responding strangely to their questions and was not making sense. According to court documents, Hunter already was out of jail by the time prosecutors learned that McCracken's injuries were considered serious and that Hunter already was on probation for driving while ability impaired. Hunter is believed to have left the state, in violation of his bond condition... [Full article here]

COP-ASSAULT SUSPECT TREVEN HUNTER RETURNS TO BOULDER
Boulder Daily Camera
08/17/2011
[Excerpts] A University of Colorado student accused of assaulting a police officer and then leaving the state in violation of his bond conditions has returned to Boulder. Treven Hunter, 23, returned from California Tuesday and was booked into the Boulder County Jail. He almost immediately posted a $10,000 bond and left the jail... Hunter is accused of hitting Officer Christian McCracken repeatedly in the head when McCracken responded to a report of a fight at The Sink, 1165 13th St., on University Hill, on Aug. 5. McCracken was hospitalized for several days... [Full article here]

TREVEN HUNTER PLEADS GUILTY IN ASSAULT ON BOULDER POLICE OFFICER
Boulder Daily Camera
By Mitchell Byars
03/02/2012
[Excerpts] A University of Colorado student pleaded guilty Friday... Treven Hunter, 23, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault on a peace officer, which carries a mandatory prison sentence of two to four years... Hunter is scheduled for sentencing May 3. [Full article here]

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal suicidal ptsd sprialing colorado state politicsCop on dispatcher domestic violence cop on cop]