[WA] Fellow officers say Schuknecht talked about killing his ex and her boyfriend

...[Yakima police officer Richard "Rick"] Schuknecht made the news in December when he spent a night in jail after being arrested for violating a court order to stay away from his wife's home. However, he was already under investigation for making multiple threatening statements... Several officers and a sergeant who work with Schuknecht reported to superiors that he made multiple threatening statements to choke his wife and shoot her boyfriend during his patrol shift...

YAKIMA POLICE OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO THREAT CHARGES
Yakima Herald-Republic
By Mark Morey
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
[Excerpts] A Yakima police officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to two misdemeanor counts of harassment related to on-duty threats he made against his estranged wife and her boyfriend. Rick Schuknecht, 55, was given credit for two days he had already served in jail, with 362 days suspended. In a statement to the court, Schuknecht apologized to the victims, his family and the police department... Schuknecht made the news in December when he spent a night in jail after being arrested for violating a court order to stay away from his wife's home. However, he was already under investigation for making multiple threatening statements against his wife and her boyfriend. Later in December, he was charged in Yakima County Superior Court with two counts of felony harassment, which involves threats to kill. The municipal charge related to the court-order violation was incorporated into the Superior Court case and then dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Several officers and a sergeant who work with Schuknecht reported to superiors that he made multiple threatening statements to choke his wife and shoot her boyfriend during his patrol shift Oct. 31. The comments were made on the same day that Schuknecht learned he had lost a court ruling in his divorce case. He told at least some of the officers that he did not intend to carry out the threats... Deputy prosecutor Steve Jackson said the agreement to reduce the charges was reached in cooperation with the victims and that Schuknecht spent nearly three months in an unspecified treatment program out of state... Schuknecht remains on paid administrative leave pending completion of an internal investigation to determine whether he should face departmental discipline... [Full article here]

Reduced charges?
Unspecified treatment?

Thank you to the officers who stood up for what was right.

I pray everyone survives this.

(Cop on cop? There is a woman by the same name as Officer Schuknecht's wife who is in law enforcement close by.)
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal terroristic threatening washington state politics cop on cop]

[OH] It was "disorderly" of Officer Lachner to repeatedly punch his girlfriend in the head?

...[Lorain police Officer Bill] Lachner, who has been working as a dispatcher while the charge against him was pending, will be able to return to working as a police officer now that the case is completed.

PREVIOUS POST:
[OH] Lorain Officer Lachner accused of hitting web editor for The Chronicle-Telegram in the head multiple times - The Chronicle-Telegram’s web editor, Rona Proudfoot, called from her locked bathroom for help. She said he had assaulted her, punching her multiple times in the head. She did not sign an arrest affadavit against him and he would not fill out a written statement...

OFFICER FINED $150 AFTER NO-CONTEST PLEA TO REDUCED CHARGE
The Chronicle-Telegram
by Brad Dicken
March 24th, 2012
[Excerpts] Lorain police Officer Bill Lachner pleaded no contest Friday to a disorderly conduct charge that stemmed from his Dec. 23 arrest on allegations he had physically assaulted his girlfriend and was fined $150. Lachner, 44, originally faced a domestic violence charge in the case, but that was reduced at the request of Special Prosecutor Dave Graves. Graves said the victim in the case, Chronicle-Telegram Web Editor Rona Proudfoot, approved the plea bargain. Both Proudfoot, who was in court Friday, and Lachner declined to comment after the hearing. Graves also said that Lachner is doing well in counseling... Proudfoot told police that Lachner punched her several times in the head before she locked herself in the bathroom and called police... Proudfoot, whom officers reported had no visible injuries, told police she didn’t want Lachner charged and dropped a protection order against him a few days after the incident... Lachner, who has been working as a dispatcher while the charge against him was pending, will be able to return to working as a police officer now that the case is completed.  [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety teflon ohio state politics]

[FL] PBSO Deputy Burt's revenge and obsession to destroy his ex amounts to 1 mere misdemeanor stalking charge

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy [Patrick Burt] is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend, threatening suicide... Burt would show up unannounced... Burt used his marked patrol car to enter the woman's gated community... A mechanic found a GPS deice attached to the undercarriage of the woman's car... Further, the woman reported that on Feb. 14, she found eight signs posted around her job... An audit of Burt's inquiries through the Florida Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) also showed that he had searched the names of the woman's family members and her current boyfriend... "Patrick Burt admitted that his motivation for (his) actions was to embarrass (his ex-girlfriend) and to seek revenge"...

A misdemeanor charge  does not the reflect the DANGEROUSNESS of Deputy Burt's stalking or the color of law misuse of his police powers in the exercise of his stalking. Stalking is too often a precursor to homicide. This cop did not make a mistake. He is systematically and chronically OBSESSED with destroying his ex. His arrest will not protect her. She is smart and my prayer is that she will explore the options for protecting herself. None of them will be easy. The court system needs new ways to handle people who FIXATE on destroying another person's life and needs to take more seriously officers who misuse their police powers to commit crimes. Cases like this should be forwarded to the feds.

PATRICK BURT ALLEGEDLY POSTED UNFLATTERING COMMENTS ON CHEATERVILLE.COM: Deputy faces misdemeanor stalking charge
WPBF
April 3, 2012

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend, threatening suicide and even posting signs saying the woman and her new boyfriend both have genital herpes, according to a report.

And that's not all.

The probable cause affidavit said Patrick Burt, 31, also used a GPS tracking device to monitor his ex-girlfriend's movements. She told investigators that Burt would show up unannounced, both at the law firm where she works and at her home in a gated Boca Raton community.

Perhaps the most public measure Burt is accused of having taken was calling his ex a cheater and a user, next to a picture he allegedly posted of her, on the website Cheaterville.com. Burt also "identifies (the woman's) profession as 'Adult Entertainment,'" according to the affidavit. There is a similar posting on that same site about the man Burt's ex is now dating, the report said.

Burt admitted he attached the GPS device to the woman's car, and also admitted to posting the signs outside her place of employment on Valentine's Day of this year, according to the report.

He also admitted that he called in fake pizza-delivery orders to the home of the ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, the affidavit said.

One of the last lines of the four-page report says "Patrick Burt admitted that his motivation for (his) actions was to embarrass (his ex-girlfriend) and to seek revenge."

Burt faces a misdemeanor charge of stalking. It's not clear if he has been disciplined by the sheriff's office. [LINK]

SHERIFF'S DEPUTY ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STALKING, HARASSING EX-GIRLFRIEND
Palm Beach Post
By Cynthia Roldan
April 3, 2012

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy was arrested on Monday after he was accused of using sheriff's office resources to stalk his ex-girlfriend - including driving to Boca Raton while on duty in Wellington to post harassing signs and flyers at her job.

This morning, a judge ordered Patrick Joseph Burt, 31, held at the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bond. He is facing stalking charges.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Burt was arrested after detectives initiated an investigation on Feb. 21 into his alleged actions. His ex girlfriend, whose name is being withheld because of the nature of the crime, reported that Burt was stalking and harassing her.

She told a sheriff's detective that after breaking up in 2008, Burt asked that they still be friends. But she ended any type of contact with Burt in September 2011. Soon after, she started receiving harassing phone calls and text messages from Burt, according to the affidavit.

The detective found that Burt used his marked patrol car to enter the woman's gated community in suburban Boca Raton in November, the affidavit stated. He also learned that a mechanic found a GPS deice attached to the undercarriage of the woman's car on Feb. 19.

Further, the woman reported that on Feb. 14, she found eight signs posted around her job that labeled her current boyfriend a "home wrecker and a cheater." There were also yellow-colored flyers posted on the building and elevator that named the woman's current boyfriend a "cheater who pursued another person's fiancé."

When confronted by the detective, Burt admitted to putting the GPS on his ex-girlfriend's car.

He also admitted to posting the flyers and signs. The detective pointed out in the affidavit that on that day - Feb. 14 -Burt was being paid to patrol Wellington when he drove to Boca Raton in his marked patrol car to post the "libelous and harassing signs and flyers."

An audit of Burt's inquiries through the Florida Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) also showed that he had searched the names of the woman's family members and her current boyfriend; a violation of the system's requirements, which restrict the database to be used for law enforcement purposes only.

Burt has worked for the sheriff's office since 2006. He has been placed on administrative leave with pay, a sheriff's office spokesman said.  [LINK]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal florida state politics]

[OH] "Fortunate" North Canton police Lt. avoids gun felony and domestic violence charge in plea deal - and leaves policing

...According to the police report, [North Canton police Lt. Scott] Denniss fired his .9mm gun at the ground and at an officer... The report listed Denniss' wife and a responding officer as victims... Denniss originally was charged with felonious assault, a first-degree felony; domestic violence, a first-degree misdemeanor; and discharging firearms, a fourth-degree misdemeanor...  despondent North Canton police officer [Scott F. Denniss] who fired a gun several times outside his home avoided a grand jury review and any potential trial by pleading guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge [inducing panic]... “You are fortunate that you did what you did in North Canton... that the police officers that responded knew you”... The judge lifted a no-contact order, allowing Denniss to move back in with his wife...

Deniss can seek expungement of the misdemeanor a year after his probation is ended. His domestic violence charge is never explained.

If this case found justice, then this kind of compassion needs to be extended to all those who are "distraught", not just officers. Deniss was fortunate indeed, because the rest of us most likely would have been shot dead.

I do commend Deniss for calling a fellow officer for help - late, but he called - instead of killing someone or himself. Since this family's choice is to stay together, I pray that healing happens.

NEWS EXCERPTS FROM FEB 2012 THRU MARCH 29, 2012:

POLICE: OFF-DUTY NORTH CANTON OFFICER FIRES SHOTS, ARRESTED
newsnet5.com
By: Jen Steer
Posted: 02/13/2012
[Excerpts] A North Canton police officer has been arrested after a bizarre incident where police say he fired his gun several times. North Canton officers were called to the 200 block of Weber Avenue NE just before 7 p.m. on Jan. 29 for a report that Lt. Scott F. Denniss, 46, was distraught... According to the police report, Denniss fired his .9mm gun at the ground and at an officer... “When this incident occurred he was off duty and not conducting himself in any kind of official manner. He has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation being conducted into his actions that evening,” the North Canton Police Department said in a news release on Monday... “He has been a loyal and dedicated police officer throughout his service to the community,” the department said. [Full article here]

NORTH CANTON OFFICER JAILED
CantonRep.com staff report
Posted Feb 13, 2012 @ 05:31 PM
[Excerpt] A city police officer is in the Stark County Jail because of charges filed following a Jan. 29 incident. Lt. Scott F. Denniss, 46, was served with charges on Monday after he was released from Aultman Hospital, where he has been since the incident. He is charged with felonious assault, domestic violence and improperly discharging a firearm. Bond is sent at $110,000, according to court records. Police went to Denniss’ residence on Weber Avenue NE just before 7 p.m. after Denniss called a fellow officer and said he was distraught... [Full article here]


FORMER NORTH CANTON POLICE OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO INCIDENT WHERE he acted distraught, fired shots

NewsNet5.com
By: Mike Waterhouse
Posted: 03/28/2012
[Excerpt] A former North Canton police officer admitted in court he was involved in a bizarre incident where he fired his gun several times. Lt. Scott Denniss, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor. He was initially also charged with domestic violence and felonious assault. The Stark County judge hearing the case accepted his plea, suspended the sentence and order him to two years probation. Denniss also must surrender his Ohio police officer certification and cannot own, possess, discharge or have any contact with guns during his probationary period... [Full article here]

FORMER NORTH CANTON POLICE OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO INDUCING PANIC
CantonRep.com
By Dave Sereno
Mar 28, 2012
[Excerpts] A despondent North Canton police officer [Scott F. Denniss] who fired a gun several times outside his home avoided a grand jury review and any potential trial by pleading guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge... Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. suspended a six-month jail term and put Denniss on probation for two years. He also barred him from having firearms and ordered him to get rid of any he currently own... Inducing panic was the proper charge when considering all of the evidence, including the fact that the shots were fired into the ground and not at anyone, [Assistant Stark County prosecutor Dennis] Barr said. “You know better than anyone else how close you came to either hurting someone or yourself,” Brown told the defendant. “You are fortunate that you did what you did in North Canton... that the police officers that responded knew you”... The judge lifted a no-contact order, allowing Denniss to move back in with his wife after being on house arrest for 60 days. She also appeared at the hearing. “I let the stress get to me. It was the worst day of my life ...,” he said after his court hearing. “Unfortunately, it’s cost me a lot ... I’m looking forward to rebuilding my life.” [Full article here]

FORMER OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY AFTER FIRING GUN OFF DUTY: Scott F. Denniss pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor, when he appeared before Judge Charles Brown in Stark County Common Pleas Court
northcanton.patch
By Morgan Day
March 29, 2012
[Excerpts] A former North Canton police lieutenant will spend the next two years on probation after becoming distraught and firing his gun off duty in January. Scott F. Denniss pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor, when he appeared before Judge Charles Brown in Stark County Common Pleas Court, according to a news release from the North Canton Police Department. The judge had suspended a six-month jail term for two years' probation. “I let the stress get to me. It was the worst day of my life ...,” Denniss said in the Canton Repository. “Unfortunately, it’s cost me a lot ... I’m looking forward to rebuilding my life.” Denniss originally was charged with felonious assault, a first-degree felony; domestic violence, a first-degree misdemeanor; and discharging firearms, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. According to a police report, Denniss, 46, had fired a 9 mm handgun into the ground outside his home in the 200 block of Weber Avenue. He was off duty at that time, just before 7 p.m. Jan. 29. When police arrived, he fired two more shots into the ground, according to the police report. The report listed Denniss' wife and a responding officer as victims... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal teflon ohio state politics]

[WI] Ashwaubenon Police Officer Benike's (color of law) handcuffing of wife

Ashwaubenon Police Officer Thomas Benike has been charged with felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor disorderly conduct (domestic violence) for handcuffing his wife and telling her that she was under arrest.

Federal Bureau of Investigation page on crimes committed under the Color of Law.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety wisconsin state politics color of law]

[OH] Officer Corral, acquitted of domestic violence, facing another assault charge

An Akron police officer [Tito Corral], suspended and facing termination after a domestic quarrel last year, was charged Thursday with assault following an off-duty fight with a man outside a bar...

NEWS EXCERPTS FROM LAST NOVEMBER AND FROM TWO DAYS AGO:

NOVMEBER  2011

AKRON POLICE OFFICER ACQUITTED OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Akron Beacon Journal

By Phil Trexler 

November 17, 2011

An Akron police officer has been acquitted on two counts of domestic violence, but was found guilty of disorderly conduct and unlawful restraint. Tito Corral, a four-year police veteran, was on trial this week in Akron Municipal Court on two cases stemming from two separate domestic disputes with his girlfriend in May... [Police Chief James] Nice said he believes the conviction alone would not preclude Corral from carrying a gun... “I don’t think we’ll be obligated to let him go [under federal law],” Nice said. “But being convicted of a crime in and of itself is a violation of our policies and procedures.” At the end of the trial late Tuesday afternoon, visiting Judge Marvin Shapiro acquitted Corral of two counts of domestic violence involving use of his department-issued handcuffs... Shapiro gave Corral a suspended jail sentenced, fined him $500 and ordered the officer to obtain anger-management counseling. The Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing the officer, will work to keep Corral on the force, FOP President Paul Hlynsky said. “We believe he will be OK,” he added... [Full article here] 

MARCH 2012

AKRON OFFICER CHARGED WITH ASSAULT

WOIO

Mar 30, 2012

After conducting a full investigation regarding an assault that occurred on February 20th outside the Holiday Lounge on Hilbish Avenue, an officer of the Akron Police Department has been formally charged. Officer Tito Corral, 33, a five-year veteran of the police department, was formally charged with assault. Around 2:30AM in the morning on February 20th, Corral and several other individuals were involved in a verbal altercation outside of the bar when Corral punched the victim, knocking him to the ground. The victim, a 28-year-old man, struck his head on the ground. He was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released. Officer Corral is currently on suspension stemming from previous, unrelated, domestic incidents that occurred in May of 2011; where he was charged and convicted.... [Full article here]

AKRON POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH ASSAULT

Fox8

by Jessica Dabrowski

March 29, 2012

AKRON, Ohio — A five-year veteran of the Akron Police Department, who the chief had already recommended be dismissed from the force, was formally charged with assault on Thursday. Tito Corral, 33, had been suspended because of a 2011 incident in which he was found guilty of unlawful restraint against his girlfriend. Then on Thursday, he was charged in connection with an altercation outside of a bar on Hilbish Avenue on Feb. 20. According to the Akron Police Department, Corral punched a 28-year-old male who fell to the ground and struck his head. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment then released. Police Union President Paul Hlynsky, Jr., said the union stands behind Corral and that he should not have been charged since he was defending himself and fellow officers... [Full article here]

AKRON OFFICER COULD BE FIRED OVER OFF-DUTY FIGHT AT BAR?

Akron Beacon Journal

By Phil Trexler 

Beacon Journal staff writer

March 30, 2012

An Akron police officer, suspended and facing termination after a domestic quarrel last year, was charged Thursday with assault following an off-duty fight with a man outside a bar. Tito Corral, 33, a five-year veteran, is facing a misdemeanor assault charge in Akron Municipal Court... Paul Hlynsky, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, said Corral doesn’t deserve to be fired and he is wrongly charged with assault. He said Corral was merely defending himself during the fight. “They’re firing an innocent man,” Hlynsky said. “And as far as the misdemeanor assault, even off-duty officers have a right to defend themselves.” In November, Corral was acquitted at trial on two counts of domestic violence, but he was convicted of disorderly conduct and unlawful restraint... That case stemmed from two disputes with his girlfriend in May 2011. After the trial, the department did an internal investigation. On Thursday, police Chief James Nice announced he has recommended that Corral be fired. A discipline hearing will be scheduled before Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, who will make the decision. Nice said he made the recommendation this month before charges were filed in the latest incident, which occurred Feb. 20 outside the Holiday Lounge on Hilbish Avenue. Corral is accused of being involved in a verbal altercation about 2:30 a.m. and then punching a man, knocking him to the ground. The man, 28, was treated for a gash to the back of his head at a local hospital and released... [Full article here]

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety repeat hx ohio state politics]

[GA] Savannah Police Sgt. Allan Clairmont fired after wife assault

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Sgt. Allan Clairmont is accused of forcing his wife to leave a restaurant where she was eating with friends, then hitting her in the face and on her body repeatedly. Clairmont was arrested Tuesday, put on paid leave - charged with simple battery, simple assault, and false imprisonment - and now has been fired for "conduct unbecoming of an officer."

I know "innocent until proven guilty," but you can bet his department wouldn't fire him without evidence of an assault. We aren't told in the news how badly his (divorcing) wife was hurt, but she was assaulted.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety georgia state politics]