Here are the 10 reports of police misconduct tracked for Saturday, October 27 to Wednesday, October 31, 2012:
- Ash Flat, Arkansas: The sheriff says that a detective resigned after sexually explicit photos of him were found on a county-owned cell phone. He turned in his letter of resignation after being told he could either resign or be fired. ow.ly/eUR9y
- Nashville, Tennessee: A police officer charged with domestic violence has been disciplined 31 times in his 24-year career. Despite this, he has never faced termination, in part because they occurred over a span of many years. ow.ly/eVvmT
- Dallas, Texas: A police officer got a ten-day suspension after an internal investigation concluded he put a handcuffed mental patient in a chokehold and pushed him up against a wall, causing his head to hit the wall. ow.ly/eUUeS
- Orange County, Florida: A sheriff’s deputy was arrested and accused of insurance fraud. The sheriff’s office said the officer, who bonded out of jail, was suspended without pay. ow.ly/eUGMx
- Update: Whitaker, Pennsylvania: A police officer who was charged with breaking a woman’s car window and threatening her with his gun has been suspended from the force, without pay, for 10 days. ow.ly/eUFsy
- Chicago, Illinois: An officer has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. He used his badge to extort protection payoffs from heroin and crack dealers. The judge called it “outrageous” that a police officer would violate the trust placed in him to protect a neighborhood ravaged by drugs and crime. ow.ly/eUEKx
- Homewood, Alabama: A police officer has been fired after authorities say an 18-year-old girl complained he pulled her over for no reason and later sent her a series of inappropriate text messages that frightened her. He was fired for conduct unbecoming a classified employee, failure to record the traffic stop and for acting in such a manner that brings discredit upon the officer and the police department. ow.ly/eUmJJ
- La Joya, Texas: A state trooper fired on a pickup truck from a helicopter and killed two illegal immigrants during a chase. An expert on police chases said that the decision to fire on the truck was “a reckless act” that served “no legitimate law enforcement purpose.” ow.ly/eUAT9
- Colorado Springs, Colorado: An officer has been found guilty of 123 counts. The counts include child exploitation and pornography, including that he touched the children. The prosecution hopes the case sends a message to the community that it doesn’t matter who you are, or what authoritative position you are in; if you sexually abuse children, you will be prosecuted. ow.ly/eUnYy
- Bradford, Pennsylvania: A state trooper is facing false-arrest claims against a mother. He ticketed her and detained and accused her of drunken driving for over an hour, while her daughter was throwing up in the back seat of the car. The mayor of the city where she was stopped even took photos of the incident. ow.ly/eUmGr
