Behind The Blue Wall

Saturday, February 9, 2008

[FL][CO] I SPY Colorado's resigned-before-he-was-fired Trooper John Oreolt

What's new? Nothing much.
Colorado State Trooper John Oreolt QUIT before he was FIRED so he could go somewhere else to find a job in law enforcement. [He wants to serve and protect Florida now.] You could argue that he wasn't going to be fired - that he was just being demoted & transferred to a desk job. But State Representative Bernie Buescher was hot on his tail and not about to let it go.

FROM 2005: A Colorado State Patrol sergeant who propositioned a motorist that he pulled over has been demoted to corporal.... his wife told a Parachute police officer - and later a Garfield County sheriff's sergeant - that her husband had hit her in the face with his fist, two days after he slammed a cabinet door into her shin. The misdemeanor domestic-violence charge against Oreolt was dismissed three months later "in the best interest of justice," according to court records...

OFFICERS FROM ACROSS THE U.S. AT CHIPOLA THIS WEEK
Chipola News
February 7, 2008

Law Enforcement officers from as far west as Colorado and as far north as New York are on the campus of Chipola College this week hoping to become certified officers in the state of Florida... John Oreolt, a ten-year veteran of the Colorado State Troopers heard about the program through a Florida Highway Patrol recruiter. He says, "The program is about proving your proficiency in high-liability areas. The instructors have been phenomenal. This is a great facility"... For information contact, Steve Anderson at 850-718-2479, or email: andersons@chipola.edu.

MEMORY LANE: ARTICLE EXCERPTS FROM 2005

CSP Officer Demoted Over Sex Request Transcript: Oreolt Discussed Sex During Traffic Stop
TheDenverChannel.com
November 14, 2005
A Colorado State Patrol sergeant who propositioned a motorist that he pulled over has been demoted to corporal. A transcript of a state hearing shows Trooper John Oreolt admitted discussing sex, bondage, and a "foursome" with a woman near a country music event at Grand Junction in June... Lynette Owens, 33, of Las Vegas is considering a lawsuit. "He admitted this was not the first time he had done that," she told the Grand Junction Sentinel. "I don’t think he should be in law enforcement. I think he should be moving on to a different career."

Trooper should be fired, lawmaker says
Harsher penalty urged
Rocky Mountain News
By Ellen Miller, Special to the News
November 18, 2005
A Colorado State Patrol trooper who was demoted for a year hasn't been punished enough and should be fired for propositioning a woman during a DUI stop, state Rep. Bernie Buescher said Thursday. "The State Patrol's reprimand is woefully inadequate... But, under the current Colorado State Patrol personnel rules, he can't be fired. It was a first offense and he had a prior good (performance) record... Should he even be working there? No. But I'm frustrated that we don't have the ability to deal with things outside the normal bounds of behavior... If our personnel rules are in the way, we've got to fix them. State patrol officers are in a position of trust. Every wife and daughter should feel safe, not scared, when they are approached by law enforcement. The role of our officers is to serve and protect"...

Embattled trooper leaving GJ Admission of bad conduct leads to transfer to Denver
The Daily Sentinel
By EMILY MORRIS
November 21, 2005
Colorado State Patrol Trooper John Oreolt, who admitted to sexually propositioning a woman to whom he was giving a courtesy ride, will be transferred to an administrative position at the Colorado State Patrol headquarters in Denver, according to a statement released Monday by the chief of the State Patrol. "I have determined that the best means to mitigate community concerns and increase the supervision of Cpl. Oreolt is to transfer him from his current duty assignment on the Western Slope," said Col. Mark Trostel. "He will be assigned to an administrative position at the Denver headquarters of the Colorado State Patrol"... Following the news of Oreolt's transfer, [State Rep. Bernie] Buescher said he was relieved Oreolt was off the street but questions remain. "I am puzzled at the State Patrol's response. I have been trying to dig into the rules and trying to understand why the State Patrol feels they are this limited. The response I am getting is that they have more flexibility than they are telling me... I don't have enough information right now, just quite honestly... It seems they have more authority than they are willing to use"... [Lynette] Owens, the Las Vegas woman who filed the complaint, said she is relieved to hear Oreolt will no longer be on patrol. "He is still a wacko, if you ask me. But at least he is not out there pushing his authority around, trying to intimidate people"...

Demoted trooper will be transferred to desk job
Rocky Mountain News
By Ellen Miller
November 22, 2005
GRAND JUNCTION - A Colorado State Patrol trooper demoted for propositioning a woman during a DUI stop will be transferred from his patrol job on the Western Slope to a desk job in Denver. Col. Mark Trostel, the chief of the state patrol, announced the action in a news release Monday, in response to last week's comments by state Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, that Cpl. John Oreolt, 45, should be fired... "I'm still not happy. I'll talk to the state patrol in the morning," he [Rep. Bernie Buescher] said Monday evening...

Don't paint all CSP troopers with same brush as Oreolt
The Daily Sentinel
Letters To The Editor
November 23, 2005
Editor... Let us not forget how often they must stand out in the cold, wind, terrible heat, or even pouring rain...

State trooper who sexually propositioned woman resigns
Grand Junction Free Press
Paul Shockley
December 2, 2005
...Trooper John Oreolt of the Colorado State Patrol, recently demoted and due to be transferred to a desk job at the state agency's Denver headquarters, is passing on the move. Oreolt, who's been under fire since the recent disclosure that he sexually propositioned a female Country Jam fan during a traffic stop last June, submitted his resignation Thursday from the Colorado State Patrol...

Demoted trooper quits Lawmaker scolded patrol after woman propositioned by officer during DUI stop
Rocky Mountain News
Ellen Miller
December 2, 2005
...Cpl. John Oreolt, 45, who joined the patrol in 1996, quit late Wednesday, the day before he was to have started work in Denver, Maj. Jim Wolfinbarger said... Oreolt has had other legal problems, court records in two different cases show... Oreolt was jailed briefly in Garfield County when he was attached to the patrol troop there in 1997, after his wife told a Parachute police officer - and later a Garfield County sheriff's sergeant - that her husband had hit her in the face with his fist, two days after he slammed a cabinet door into her shin. The misdemeanor domestic-violence charge against Oreolt was dismissed three months later "in the best interest of justice," according to court records... In another case, Oreolt allegedly submitted a "grossly misleading" accident report that led to a motorist being charged with driving while impaired by alcohol after narrowly avoiding colliding with another trooper's car that had pulled a sudden U-turn in front of him in 2001... Oreolt's reports from the scene failed to mention that a State Patrol car, driven by another trooper, was even involved and "listed it as a one-vehicle accident...

Friday, February 8, 2008

[WA] Ann Rule's latest book includes King Co. Sheriff's Deputy Jensen's domestic abuse and eventual plot to have his family murdered

King County Sheriff's Deputy William "Bill" Jensen was sentenced to 60 years in prison for hiring a fellow inmate to kill his wife and three other family members while he was in jail on a domestic violence charge... A Seattle police detective, posing as the hit man's girlfriend, captured Jensen on tape ironing out the details for the murders of Jensen's wife, sister-in-law, and two teenage children...

Read an excerpt from Ann Rule's lastest book here

Book Review:

UNLUCKY WIVES ARE THE SUBJECT OF ANN RULE'S SMOKE, MIRRORS, AND MURDER
Epinions
Knotheadusc
Written: Feb 07 '08

[Excerpts]

...THE DEPUTY'S WIFE

[Ann] Rule begins with "The Deputy's Wife", which is the headlining case for this volume. In "The Deputy's Wife", Rule relates the story of Sue Harris, a woman who had led a charmed life until she had the misfortune of marrying Bill Jensen... It turned out that Bill Jensen was a dangerous man who never forgot a slight. In the coming years, Sue would find out that the man she had once fallen in love with was capable of hiring someone to murder her and his children... "The Deputy's Wife" has its own photo section and takes up the first 155 pages of Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder. Rule does a pretty good job relating this scary story about a man who became completely unraveled. As usual, I enjoyed Ann Rule's knack for spinning an interesting tale without becoming sensationalist or sleazy. As always, she focuses on the victims, but still manages to give the perpetrator a human face. The next six stories are much briefer than "The Deputy's Wife"... Recommended: Yes
LINK

Ex-cop who tried to hire hit man from jail gets 60-year sentence
King County Journal
by Chris Winters
2004-12-11

William Jensen was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison for hiring a fellow inmate to kill his wife and three other family members while he was in jail on a domestic violence charge.

The plot, which the 47-year-old retired King County sheriff's deputy hatched last year, unraveled because the hit man turned him in to police.

A Seattle police detective, posing as the hit man's girlfriend, captured Jensen on tape ironing out the details for the murders of Jensen's wife, sister-in-law, and two teenage children.

All four family members, along with friends and supporters, were in the courtroom Friday when King County Superior Court Judge Richard Jones handed down the sentence, at the low end of a standard sentencing range of 720-960 months for the four counts against him. Jensen was found guilty on all four counts June 4.

Jensen's attorney, Bill Hicks, moved for an exceptionally light sentence, based on several factors. They included the situation with the jailhouse informant, who Hicks said influenced Jensen to hire him, the fact that Jensen was a former law enforcement officer with a clean record, and Jensen's medical condition.

Jensen is in chronic pain stemming originally from a knee injury when he was a police officer, but now including staph infections, herniated disks and leukemia.

Judge Jones denied the motion for an exceptional sentence. "When you look at this case, there is nothing mitigating about it," he said.

Jensen, 47, showed no emotion as his college-age daughter Jennifer and his wife Sue Jensen addressed the court.

"I am urging the court to sentence William F. Jensen to the maximum punishment possible as he so cowardly refuses to own up and admit guilt to his incredulous plot," Jennifer Jensen said through tears, reading from a prepared statement.

"Would he have chosen to admit his guilt, I would have at least some sympathy for such a pathetic human being, only due to the fact that he is my father."

Sue Jensen, who has been trying to divorce her husband for several years, also brought a statement, but in the end just handed it over to the court. "We're scared," she said. "this has been a complete nightmare, a very surreal situation, and it's my children."

"I don't know how any, any man, a father, can do this to his own children. He's evil. And with that, I ask you to look at my children," she said.

When Jensen was given the chance to address the court, he spoke for 25 minutes, alternating between tears and anger as he maintained his innocence.

Jensen blamed his predicament on the fact that his pain medication had been taken away when he was first arrested, that he'd gone through a botched surgery, that charges of harassment were trumped up to felony status, that he suffered from chronic diarrhea in jail, that he was given mind-altering drugs that impaired his judgment, and that the police informant used his susceptibility to set him up for the crime.

He said there were two Bill Jensens, one who was under the influence of drugs and easily susceptible to suggestions. He said he had undergone a religious conversion in jail and would never have hurt his family.

"They are completely safe for the rest of their lives from me," Jensen said. "They were never in any danger from me."

The judge wasn't swayed.

"Mr. Jensen, you had a family," Jones said. "When given the choice of what was more important, instead of giving them love and affection, you were giving their descriptions to hit men."

After the sentencing, Lara Herrmann, a Tacoma attorney who has worked with the victim's rights group Women for Justice, said the case marks a victory in fighting domestic violence by police officers.

People across the nation are watching this case, Herrmann said, especially following the case of Crystal Brame, who was shot and killed by her husband last year, Tacoma Police Chief David Brame. David Brame committed suicide after shooting his wife.

Sue Jensen expressed some relief it was over, but said it had been much more than she expected.

"I knew my life was in danger, I knew my sister-in-law's life was in danger," she said. "I never thought my only children's lives would be in danger."

"I hope that they put him far away," she added. "Far away can't be far enough."

The advocacy of groups like Women for Justice has helped her in her case.

"I owe my life to Crystal Brame," she said.
[police officer involved domestic violence attempted murder children hit plot for murder for hire hit man washington state]

[VA] Deputy Johnson, son of Dep. Col. Johnson, arrested for dv

..He is the son of Chief Deputy Colonel Leroy Johnson.

Newport News Deputy Arrested For Assault
WTKR NewsChannel 3
Feb 6, 2008
Reginald Johnson, a deputy at the Newport News jail with sheriff's office was arrested on Sunday for assault. This did not happen at the jail, but in his personal life. Johnson was charged with domestic assault. 26 year old Johnson was arrested and bonded out. He has been placed on administrative leave without pay from the jail pending the investigation. Deputy Reginald Johnson was hired by the Newport News Sheriff's Office in March, 2007. He is the son of Chief Deputy Colonel Leroy Johnson.

Sheriff's deputy charged with domestic assault
Daily Press, VA
February 7, 2008
..."He was processed just like anybody else who's newly arrested," said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kathleen Carey. "He went before the magistrate and was given a bond." Johnson is on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Carey said...

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

[MA] Domestic Violence Detective Josey arrested for assaulting girlfriend

...Police received a 911 call from the home that was disconnected. A second 911 call, on a cell phone to State Police, was transferred to Randolph. The first call was disconnected after the phone wire was ripped out...

Domestic violence cop is accused of assault
The Patriot Ledger, MA
Feb 6, 2008
[Excerpts] A Boston police detective assigned to the domestic violence unit was charged with assaulting his girlfriend at his Randolph home. Detective Windell Josey, 50, pleaded innocent to charges of domestic assault and battery and intimidation of a witness at an arraignment... He was released on personal recognizance. His girlfriend has obtained an emergency restraining order against him, and his personal firearms were turned over to Randolph police. The Boston Herald reported that Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis immediately placed Josey on administrative leave. Josey turned in his department-issued firearm... Police received a 911 call from the home that was disconnected. A second 911 call, on a cell phone to State Police, was transferred to Randolph. The first call was disconnected after the phone wire was ripped out...

Charges sideline 2 police officers
Davis vows to revamp policies on steroids, domestic violence
Boston Globe
By Maria Cramer
February 6, 2008
[Excerpts] They were disciplined for the very crimes they are paid to prevent. A Boston police narcotics detective was suspended after officials said he tested positive for steroids on the same day that a detective in the domestic violence unit was arrested in an assault on his girlfriend... Kevin Guy, an 18-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, received a 45-day suspension Monday after drug tests he took about two weeks ago came back positive for steroids... Randolph police arrested Windell Josey, 51, after his girlfriend accused him of assaulting her in their Randolph home, police said. Josey, a 23-year veteran of the Boston force, has been charged with domestic assault and battery and intimidating a witness. "I'm extremely disappointed in their actions," Commissioner Edward F. Davis said in a telephone interview yesterday. "They both certainly know better than to be doing these activities, and I think that what's important is we're taking corrective action immediately." Davis said Josey has been stripped of his department-issued firearm and has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation of the charges. Police said Josey's girlfriend did not *immediately*[?] seek medical attention... Jack Parlon, president of the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society, said the union stands behind the detectives. "I have every faith that everyone will come out on the shining side of this," he said. "They're both great. They're good detectives, very credible, very capable guys." Davis said he is planning changes in the department's policies regarding domestic violence and drug abuse. Officers are not tested for steroid use in their annual drug exams... Davis said he has been working with Jane Doe Inc., a statewide coalition against domestic violence and sexual assault, on ways to improve the department's policy for officers accused of domestic abuse. Davis said he recently mandated that officers who are accused of domestic violence immediately surrender their guns. The weapons are returned only after charges against the officers are resolved. Davis said he also wants to review whether accused officers are receiving proper counseling and treatment.

Cop allegedly assaults galpal
Was on BPD's domestic violence unit
By O'Ryan Johnson
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - Added 10h ago
[Excerpts] ...Police said the victim was not hospitalized for her injuries. The arrest comes three weeks after the Herald reported 11 Boston cops had internal complaints for domestic violence lodged against them in the past two years... "It's extremely disappointing that an officer who understands this issue and has been involved in it deeply, and actually has been a good investigator in this area, lets this happen," Davis said. The 11 Boston police officers who have been punished internally for domestic violence in the past two years received suspensions ranging from five to 45 days. None of the cops were fired. Davis said a more strict domestic violence policy went into effect in 2006, under which police officers can be fired for domestic violence even if they are acquitted in court. Josey's union defended him. "He's a very capable detective and he has our support and we'll see how this works out in the end," said Jack Parlon, president of the Detectives Benevolent Association.

[CT] Sgt. Allen - Abuse of database to assist friend in harassment

I commend the police who took the victim's allegations seriously and investigated. Law enforcement database abuse is one of the additional issues that victims of officer-involved domestic violence are always aware & fearful of. I commend the victim for being brave enough to take a chance, and to act - believing that there were real police - the kind that HELP people - within theHartford Police Department, despite what she was told.

City Police Sergeant Charged With Crime
Stands Accused Of Misusing Database
Hartford Courant
By TINA A. BROWN
February 6, 2008
A Hartford police sergeant has been charged with misusing a criminal records database when he used it to obtain personal information for a female friend. The friend used the information allegedly given to her by Sgt. Reginald Allen, a 17-year veteran, to harass her ex-boyfriend's pregnant girlfriend, who was living in Windsor. Allen was arrested Monday on a charge of committing a computer crime in the third-degree, a Class D felony. He was released on a promise to appear in Superior Court in Hartford on Feb. 11. Allen, who was suspended without pay, allegedly released information he obtained from the National Crime Information Center, a database for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to an unauthorized person, police said. According to the arrest warrant, Zelma Woodson used the information Allen gave her in November to verbally harass Audrey Gagnon of Windsor, on her work and cellular telephones. Woodson also placed a letter in Gagnon's mailbox, police said. Gagnon, who is pregnant, is the live-in girlfriend of Allen Richardson, Woodson's former boyfriend, police said. Woodson and Allen are friends. During at least one telephone call, Woodson told Gagnon that she had friends in the Hartford Police Department... Gagnon complained to Windsor Police, who reported the allegations to Hartford police, who launched an internal affairs investigation... Monday's arrest is the second time that Allen has faced criminal charges. In Nov. 30, 2000, he was granted a special form of probation after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault and breach of peace, accused of beating up a man in an East Hartford bar...

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

[WA] State's cop dv law mandated firing Officer McLain

...State law requires police departments to have a "zero tolerance" policy about officer-involved domestic violence, said Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg. The law was enacted after Tacoma Police Chief David Brame killed his wife and then himself in 2003...

Previous entry:
[WA] Officer McLain on leave after domestic battery charge

Police officer fired after assault arrest
Tri-City Herald
PAULA HORTON
Feb. 05, 2008
A Kennewick [Washington] police officer who was arrested last month in Idaho on suspicion of domestic assault has been fired. Frank McLain had been on paid administrative leave since his New Year's Day arrest in Coeur d'Alene while the department conducted an internal investigation. "As a result of his off-duty conduct and subsequent arrest" McLain was terminated Jan. 31, department spokesman Sgt. Brian Swartswalter said Monday. McLain was hired by the Kennewick Police Department on Feb. 16, 2005. State law requires police departments to have a "zero tolerance" policy about officer-involved domestic violence, said Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg. The law was enacted after Tacoma Police Chief David Brame killed his wife and then himself in 2003. "Even though (Officer McLain) hasn't been convicted of criminal charges in Coeur d'Alene, in the administrative investigation we have to establish clear and convincing evidence that he has violated our department policies" said Chief Ken Hohenberg. Hohenberg said it was "unfortunate" that McLain had to be fired because "he has been a good police officer." If McLain is convicted of domestic violence assault, he also would not be allowed to carry a gun, which would prevent him from being an officer. "As a community, we can't tolerate domestic violence," Hohenberg said. "We work very closely with our partners at Benton-Franklin Domestic Violence Services, and certainly as a law enforcement agency we can't condone domestic violence." McLain, 35, faces an April 21 trial in Kootenai County District Court on a charge of domestic battery, a misdemeanor, according to the Coeur d'Alene City Attorney's Office. He also reportedly faces a charge of making harassing telephone calls... On Jan. 18, a judge granted Tryna McLain a one-year no-contact order against her husband. She also filed divorce papers with the court that same day...

[OH] Officer Bobby Cutts murder trial is live on the web

Jessie Davis

See the trial live on NewsNet5 here
The site is also doing very detailed court blogging.
Court Blog Day One - February 4th
Court Blog Day Two - February 5th
Check in there until the trial is over.

It isn't like me to not say much. I'm disgusted and holding my breath.
Blessing to all the friends, family members, law enforcement personnel involved, jurors, attorneys, and to the judge.

Jessie Davis and baby Chloe are beholding God.
Baby Blake will remain always in my prayers.

Somebody needs to sue Canton police department for hiring an officer that had a domestic violence incident in his past, for keeping him as he continued to perpetrate, and for letting him work while under domestic violence protection orders.

It is only through lawsuits that Canton can change. It is only under fear of liability that Canton will care. For all victims everywhere, it is only through litigation that other cities will see, count the cost, and put strict officer-involved domestic violence policies in place to keep batterers like Bobby Cutts from donning a badge, carrying a city-issued weapon, and thrilling them with powers of arrest. Stop costuming them with the appearance of respectability and trustworthiness.

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