Kill Police . com

BREMERTON, Washington

A sheriff’s deputy who was trying to get a man down from a tree shot and wounded him after mistakenly pulling a gun instead of a Taser, authorities say.

The deputy, a five-year veteran of the force whose name was not released, was placed on leave while Thursday’s shooting is investigated.

Deputies carry both a Taser and a gun on their utility belts. The Taser, or stun gun, is similar in shape to the compact .40-caliber gun the deputy carried, sheriff’s spokesman Scott Wilson said.

The man had climbed a fig tree and stayed there for hours, talking to himself. Deputies were unsure whether he was intoxicated or psychotic, and they wanted to get him down before he hurt himself or others, Wilson said.

Deputies and rescue workers tried to coax him down for almost two hours, during which he became increasingly hostile, said David Blakeslee, an employee at an auto repair shop nearby.

Blakeslee said the man climbed down on his own after getting shot.

“He said, `Ow, that hurt. I’m coming down, I’m coming down,’” Blakeslee said.

source

Watch Video Here

When he finally complied, he attacked the deputy and a scuffle ensued. The deputy implemented the use of his asp and ordered Brannan to `get back’. This procedure was repeated, but after what appeared to be a second scuffle, the suspect returned to his vehicle and retrieved a M-I Carbine from under the seat. The first shots were fired nearly 50 seconds after Brannan returned to his vehicle despite the deputy’s commands.

Brannan ignored the repeated commands to put the gun down and Deputy Dinkheller apparently fired the first shot. Brannan, a Vietnam veteran, advanced firing on the deputy. Dinkheller returned fire, but succeeded only in breaking a window in the driver’s side of the pickup and wounding Brannan in the stomach. Using `suppressive fire’, Brannan systematically, methodically shot Dinkheller in the arms, legs, exposed areas that would not be covered had Dinkheller been wearing a bulletproof vest, slowly executing him. Reloading his weapon Brannan continued firing with the final death shot to Dinkheller’s right eye.
military training > police training

Fort Lauderdale - Florida

Jose Diaz died doing exactly what his police colleagues expected of him early Saturday morning: He tried to help a fellow officer.

Diaz was on his way home to Dania Beach from an off-duty detail about 4 a.m. when he saw two police cars making a traffic stop on southbound Interstate 95.

He pulled up behind marked cars from Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors police, who had pulled over a man they believed was impersonating an officer.

Turns out, it wasn’t true.

But the stop was fatal for Diaz, 38, a former New York City officer hired by Fort Lauderdale two years ago.

He pulled up behind the flashing lights on the interstate, at the point where it crosses the New River, snug up against a ramp leading to Interstate 595. Diaz got out of his car, crouched down and crept along the retaining wall toward the other officers and the suspect. Possibly looking for cover, Diaz went over the retaining wall, plunging 70 feet through the predawn blackness.

NO CRIES HEARD

If he screamed, no one heard it over the sound of traffic rumbling past on the elevated roadway.

A few seconds passed before the other officers realized Diaz was missing. A quick search revealed his crumpled body on the hard-packed limestone and rock base of the giant highways, about 30 feet from the bank of the river. The call went out: “Officer down!’’

A Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue crew rushed Diaz to Broward General Medical Center, where dozens of police units showed up to wait for news. When it came, it was devastating.

‘’When I heard he was dead, I knew it was somehow related to him helping someone out,’’ said New York City detective Owen Clifford. “It always seems to be those type guys that get killed, the ones who are always there to offer their help.’’

The traffic stop stemmed from a security guard’s tip about a man flashing a badge, posing as an officer. In fact, he was private investigator Max Caufield, who’d been working a case. No charges were filed against Caufield, police said.

Diaz’s wife, Sylvia, flew back to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday from New York, where she had been visiting relatives. Several Fort Lauderdale police officers greeted her as she stepped off the plane. And they were there to pick up a former partner of Diaz, Robert Ernest, who worked with him at the 44th Precinct in the Bronx.

‘’He was our brother and our hearts go out to his family,’’ said Mike Tucker, vice president of Fort Lauderdale Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 31. “He paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving his community and we honor that sacrifice.’’

GLADEWATER, TEXAS

A Gladewater police officer, accused of threatening a reporter working on a story about a June 2005 fatal shooting involving the officer, was fired this week.

According to a press release from the city of Gladewater, Officer Bryan Naismith, who was off duty at the time of the incident, was fired effective Tuesday.

Attempts to reach Naismith, who was placed on administrative leave following the complaint, were unsuccessful Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

Dallas Morning News reporter Dave Michaels filed a complaint in March with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office about the incident.

The city states in its release that “We believed then that the investigation would be completed in a fairly short period of time. Accordingly, Officer Naismith was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”

The Upshur County District Attorney’s Office referred the case to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, but, the city states, it is not clear whether that office will investigate the matter.

It is also not clear what the District Attorney’s Office would do if the Attorney General’s Office does not get involved.

“Therefore, the investigation is not going quickly, and as everyone realizes, we cannot put off indefinitely a decision regarding Officer Naismith’s employment status,” according to the city’s statement.

“We are aware that some of Officer Naismith’s conduct in the episode with Mr. Michaels violated department policies,” the statement reads. “Though we can understand the strain that Officer Naismith has been under, this does not excuse a police officer’s violation of the rules, even when off duty.”

In the complaint filed with the sheriff’s office, Michaels said he was visiting the officer’s home when Naismith drove up behind him, bumped his car and jumped out with a gun.

Michaels had been working on a story about a June 2005 hit-and-run accident in which Naismith fatally shot a motorist after the driver allegedly tried to run him over.

A grand jury in January declined to indict Naismith in the shooting death of Jonathan King.

The city stated in its release that the decision to terminate Naismith “was based strictly on what was learned about the incident with Mr. Michaels and the uncertainty regarding completion of the investigation of the incident by other agencies.”

Since the incident is still under investigation, the city will not comment further on the issue, according to the statement.

In March, after the alleged incident with the reporter, members of the Concerned Citizens Committee (CCC), attended a City Council meeting and demanded the “immediate and permanent disassociation” of Naismith from the department.

“We would invite this council and all other public leaders and officials to join with us in our resolve to elicit a full and complete truth concerning the death of Jonathan King,” Benny Johnson, CCC spokesman, said as he read a resolution in March.

City Manager Jay Stokes said at that time that he was “not at liberty to discuss any action about Mr. Naismith or the shooting of Mr. King.” He said there was a threat of litigation and he was under the directive of attorneys and mandate from the City Council to not discuss it.

The council took no action on the group’s request.

In May, the CCC returned to the council to further outline concerns about the police department, including the recruitment and hiring of police officers, the treatment of citizens by officers as well as other issues.

On Wednesday night, when called for comment about Naismith’s termination, Benny Johnson said the CCC did not have a comment right now, but followed that by saying that, “We feel it is a step in the right direction.”

While not an official CCC comment, he said, some people he has talked with are raising questions about the timing and reasoning behind the firing.

Johnson added that the group’s quest for changes in the police department will not end with the officer’s firing.

“There are still a lot of things CCC has asked for and things that need to be done … ,” Johnson said. “We will still be … as busy as ever.”

The second New Orleans police officer accused of participating in a three-man shakedown of a downtown massage parlor last week was arrested Monday, and Superintendent Warren Riley called the arrests a reflection of his department’s policy to weed out corruption.

Officer Quincy Shelling, 28, surrendered to the NOPD’s Public Integrity Bureau early Monday morning. Shelling, a six-year veteran, resigned in the face of charges of armed robbery and malfeasance at a French Quarter massage parlor Thursday, police said.

Also facing armed robbery and malfeasance charges is officer Joshua Burns, 28, an eight-year veteran arrested Friday night at 8th District police headquarters in the Quarter. Burns also resigned from the NOPD.

Riley said he won’t stand up for officers who “embarrass this department,” and those who egregiously neglect their duties as officers will face both internal and public scrutiny. But he also said Monday that the supervisors of corrupt officers also might have to face consequences.

“We have to start holding the top accountable,” Riley said. “If we keep hitting the patrolmen and the supervisors aren’t getting hit, then maybe there’s something we need to do at the top. . . . As we change the culture of this department, we need to change the leadership.”

Riley, who already has made some personnel changes in his eight months as superintendent, did not detail any further changes he is considering. But he has said he was “embarrassed” by the massage parlor incident.

Burns and Shelling, along with Lamar R. Dersone, 28, a civilian from Metairie, are accused of entering the parlor Thursday, roughing up five women employees and demanding cash, police said. Though neither officer flashed a weapon during the incident, they were armed with handguns, which elevated the charges from robbery to armed robbery, police said. Both police officers were off-duty and not in uniform, Riley said. Dersone was arrested early Sunday and booked with armed robbery.

Police did not identify the massage parlor or say how much money was taken. They said they are now reviewing a similar incident last year involving Burns that the department had determined was “unsubstantiated.”

At the time of his arrest, Shelling was serving a 45-day suspension for neglect of duty during Hurricane Katrina, NOPD spokeswoman Bambi Hall said Monday.

Riley said cleaning up the department’s long-tarnished name will take discipline and focus.

“For one, it’s going to take staying out of the news.”

source

The chief deputy of the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department died Sunday morning from injuries he sustained during the weekend when his patrol car struck a pickup truck head-on along Illinois Route 100 near Michael.

Brian Gibbons, 33, of Kamspville, died at 10:21 a.m. at St. John’s Mercy Hospital in St. Louis from injuries he suffered Friday night.

Gibbons was reportedly driving home at about 6 p.m. when his police cruiser collided with a southbound pickup truck about a mile south of Michael.

Gibbons, who served as chief deputy for about a year, won the Republican nomination for Calhoun County sheriff in the March primary. He would have faced Democrat Bill Heffington in the November general election.

Gibbons and Heffington were vying for the position being vacated by Republican Richard Meyer, who also serves as Calhoun County coroner and is retiring at the end of his term.

It is unclear who will replace Gibbons on the ballot. The Republican Party will likely nominate someone within the next week.

A dispatcher with the Sheriff’s Department would not comment about Gibbons’ death, only to say that he died and to give the time of death.

“Everyone here is pretty shook up,” she said.

Meyer could not be reached for comment.

Authorities said Gibbons was airlifted by ARCH Air Medical Services Inc. from the scene. The driver of the pickup, whose name was not released, suffered moderate injuries and was also taken to a St. Louis area hospital.

Illinois State Police are continuing to investigate the crash.

Sgt. Brent Pinkston of the Illinois State Police said both vehicles sustained heavy front-end damage.

The officers did not immediately realize they ran over the woman and continued driving, police Cmdr. Tom Chronister said in a statement.

The officers, who were not immediately identified, had stopped on a small berm of sand to watch a swimmer who they believed to be in distress. When they saw the swimmer was fine, they drove over the berm and apparently over the woman’s head, authorities said.

A witness called the Oxnard Fire Department to report the woman was bleeding on the beach just south of the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Resort. The woman, Cindy Conolly, 49, of Sioux City, Iowa, was in town for her son’s wedding, said Mike Feiler, senior deputy medical examiner in the Ventura County coroner’s office.

An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. The officers have been placed on paid leave pending an investigation.

Oxnard is located about 55 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Students in the Chilean capital, Santiago, have
clashed with police while taking part in protests over
education reforms.
At least 262 people were arrested during the second
nationwide strike by secondary school students in a
week.

Police said some of those arrested appeared to be
above school age.

President Michelle Bachelet called the strike
“unnecessary” after agreeing to some demands such as
increased funding and free transport for some
students.

But student leaders say the deal does not meet their
key demands.

While the government has offered extra school funding
it says it cannot give free bus passes to all - a key
demand.

Secondary, or high-school, students - aged from 14 to
18 - also want a complete overhaul of an education
system which they say is under-resourced and leads to
huge disparities between public and private schools.

They are also calling for a university entrance exam
fee to be waived.

Growing support

Support for the secondary school students has been
gathering apace, with university students and unions
also giving their backing.

Organisers said that a million people joined Monday’s
strike.

Some demonstrators smashed shop windows and launched
rocks and catapults at police, who responded with
water cannon and tear gas.

It appeared some of the protesters were not secondary
school students - either being too young or too old.

Organisers had called for peaceful action, but during
the demonstrations, a number of protesters began
looting stores in Santiago’s main shopping district,
prompting police to use water cannon and tear gas.

“Our movement is peaceful but we understand that at
times the malcontent of our comrades can translate
into violence,” said Maria Jesus Sanhueza, a student
leader.

About 20 police officers and journalists were also
injured in Monday’s unrest, officials say.

Chile last week saw its biggest student protests in
decades as more than 500,000 pupils demonstrated.

There were violent scenes last Tuesday when riot
police clashed with some of the students and several
hundred people were arrested.

Television footage of young people being beaten by the
security forces brought an outraged reaction from many
parents and subsequently led President Bachelet to
fire the head of the riot police.

Ms Bachelet, who took office in March and is facing
her biggest political test so far, has offered free
passes and a waiver of exam fees for the poorest
students.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr//1/hi/world/americas/5049540.stm

A Milwaukee police officer charged Tuesday with homicide committed suicide in his home Tuesday on the city’s south side.

A 16-page complaint was just filed Tuesday morning, charging Alfonzo Glover with first-degree intentional homicide. He was also accused of lying during an inquest into the shooting death of Wilbert Prado.

The Milwaukee County district attorney. E. Michael McCann, believed Blover was lying about the claim his life was in danger when he shot at prado 19 times hitting him eight times, mostly in the back.

McCann said the inquest jury would have felt differently if it had a new scientific report that proved Glover was lying.

“It contradicted very clearly a particular portion of Officer Alfonzo Glover’s statements,” McCann said.

Glover was suspended earlier this month and turned himself in without incident Tuesday morning. Shortly after he was released on bail, police said he shot himself.

He could have gone to prison for life if he was convicted of murder.

Prado’s fiancé told 12 News she is angry.

“He’s man enough to kill somebody and shoot at him 18 times, but he’s not man to accept the charges,” Veronica Gonsalez said.

Family members told WISN 12 News reporter Chloe Morroni that Glover he was a good man and was planning to get married. They did not want to say much else.

source

Allegations that he had a sexually explicit conversation over the Internet with someone he thought was a teenage girl has prompted a sheriff’s sergeant to resign.

Sgt. Tod Miller, who worked in the detention division of the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, chose to resign instead of face a disciplinary hearing.

Miller, 43, became the subject of an investigation last month after allegedly having an inappropriate online conversation with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He was actually talking to Sgt. Darin Meadows, a Houston County investigator who was working with the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Miller used the America Online screen name “Sgttmill.” During his conversations, which took place between March 5 and March 26, Miller asked, among other things, what size and kind of underwear the girl was wearing and what her sexual experience was. He also asked if he could go to Warner Robins, take her shopping and have her go to a hotel with him to model the clothes.

Meadows told Cobb County officials that although Miller did initiate the explicit conversations and discuss meeting the supposed victim, he did not follow through with his plans. Because of this, Meadows said Houston County investigators did not file charges against Miller.

“We could do this all the time and I could probably make a thousand cases a day,” Meadows said. “We try to target the people who are more aggressive and this wasn’t a case we would normally arrest and prosecute.”

Meadows said he contacted Cobb County officials simply because Miller was a law enforcement officer.

On April 27, sheriff’s officials, who conducted a separate investigation, interviewed Miller. During the interview, Miller admitted that he had prior explicit conversations with individuals he believed were juveniles. Miller, however, admitted no wrongdoing.

“I’m not targeting juveniles. You just kind of go along with them and play at the moment and that is it,” Miller said. “Obviously, I made a mistake this time. I just kind of go with it and play around and it’s entertainment.”

Miller had been with the sheriff’s office since April 1985.