Don't these Secret Service agents have any REAL criminals to hunt down????SourceTeen girl's tweet says 'assassinate Obama' by John Faherty - Sept. 7, 2012 12:19 PM Cincinnati Enquirer CINCINNATI -- The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a tweet from a high school girl that may be considered threatening toward the president. Alyssa Douglas of Clarksville, Ohio, about 40 miles northeast of here, sent a tweet Thursday night: "Someone needs to assassinate Obama ... like ASAP." Clinton-Massie Local School District officials have had a meeting with Douglas and her parents. Bloggers and Twitter users followed the incident Friday with a discussion of hate speech. One Twitter user even claimed to point out the 16-year-old to FBI and CIA, agencies that do not use those handles. The Secret Service office here said it will report its findings to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Southern District of Ohio. It is possible that the tweet will not be determined a legitimate threat to the president's well being. A North Carolina man was charged this week after making a much more specific threat via Twitter toward Obama. The Associated Press reported that Donte Jamar Sims was detained Wednesday after posting messages including one that said, "Ima Assassinate president Obama this evening!" on Monday morning, two days before Obama arrived in Charlotte, N.C., for the Democratic National Convention.
D.C. cop won't be charged over alleged threat to first lady By Michael Winter, USA TODAY A District of Columbia police motorcycle escort will not face criminal charges for allegedly telling other officers at breakfast that he wanted to shoot Michelle Obama, The Washington Post reports. An investigation by police and the Secret Service determined that the 17-year veteran, who helped escort dignitaries, including President Obama and his family, was not serious when he made the alleged threat in July, an official familiar with the case told the Post. The officer may be disciplined for police misconduct, however. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said Thursday on a local radio station that "there's absolutely no place for jokes that could be perceived as a threat to the first lady" or anyone else. The officer, who has not been identified, was assigned to a desk job while an internal affairs investigation continues.
ACLU Says D.C. Police Illegally Seized Man’s Cellphone After Photographing Alleged Misconduct By Josh Wolford ACLU Says D.C. Police Illegally Seized Man’s Cellphone After Photographing Alleged Misconduct i The American Civil Liberties Union has just filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia and two police officers after alleging that they violated the law by seizing a man’s cellphone and stealing his memory card. The plaintiff in the case, Earl Staley, was reportedly using his cellphone to record the activity of the officers, who were mistreating members of the public, according to the lawsuit. According to the court documents, Staley claims that on July 20th, he saw a Metropolitan Police Department cruiser hit a man on a motorbike. As the man lay on the ground, the officers reportedly starting punching the injured biker. Soon after, our two defendants, officer James O’Bannon and officer Kenneth Dean, arrived in plain clothes, announced that they were indeed MPD, and began “aggressively demanding the bystanders leave the scene, including making physical contact.” Thinking this was improper, Staley took out his phone and snapped a picture of Dean. Shortly after, O’Bannon approached Staley and grabbed the phone out of his hands. Staley was told that he was breaking the law by taking the photograph and threatened arrest if he didn’t “chill out.” Staley was told that he could pick up his phone at the station later in the day. But when he did, he found that his memory card was missing. Staley claims that the card stored irreplaceable information, such as pictures of his daughter and other family from 2008 onward. “That memory card had a lot of my life on it,” said Mr. Staley. “I can never replace those photos of my daughter’s first years. The police had no right to steal it. They’re supposed to enforce the law, not break it.” The ACLU has stepped in, and here’s what they have to say: Mr. Staley’s activities on July 20, 2012, did not interfere in any way with police operations. No reasonable police officer in the position of defendant O’Bannon could have believed that he had a lawful basis to seize Mr. Staley’s phone or to threaten to arrest him. The ACLU is suing on grounds that the officers violated Staley’s First Amendment and Fourth Amendement rights, dealing with freedom of expression and illegal search and seizure. First, on the First Amendement front: Defendants’ actions, described above, violated Mr. Staley’s right to freedom of expression under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution by preventing him from taking additional photographs of police activity, by intimidating him from asserting his right to recover his camera and criticize the police, and by destroying the photograph he had taken of Officer 2, as well as many other valuable photographs and expressive material, And in terms of the Fourth Amendment: Mr. Staley’s conduct on July 20, 2012, did not provide probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that he had committed, was committing, or was about to commit any crime, and did not provide defendant O’Bannon with any lawful basis on which to seize Mr. Staley’s phone or to search, destroy or dispose of Mr. Staley’s memory card. Defendant O’Bannon’s actions in seizing Mr. Staley’s phone and searching, destroying or disposing of Mr. Staley’s memory card violated Mr. Staley’s right under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The ACLU is seeking the return of Staley’s memory card, compensatory damages, and an order to D.C. Police to train all officers in the First and Fourth Amendment implications of photographing police procedures. Strangely enough, the events in question took place just one day after the MPD issued a general order concerning the rights of the public to record police business. “The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) recognizes that members of the general public have a First Amendment right to video record, photograph, and/or audio record MPD members while MPD members are conducting official business or while acting in an official capacity in any public space, unless such recordings interfere with police activity,” it states. It also says that officers “shall not…[i]n any way threaten, intimidate or otherwise discourage an individual from recording members’ enforcement activities” and calls for supervisors to be present before any device is seized. “When a police officer sees a camera he should smile,” said Arthur B. Spitzer, Legal Director of the ACLU of the Nation’s Capital and the attorney representing Mr. Staley. “Officers must learn that people have a right to photograph them in public places, and that trying to cover up police misconduct is worse than the initial misconduct. The officer’s actions here will have consequences.” It’s not surprising that some police would have the desire to crack down on citizens photographing or videotaping their activities. The rise of YouTube and social media has meant that actions that were once secret are seen by millions of people within a matter of minutes. American law enforcement has bad apples, there’s no getting around that. Of course, it’s unfair and just plain wrong to suggest that a majority of police officers around the country are participating in illegal seizures and intimidation surrounding cellphone recording. But orders like the one issued by the D.C. MPD are there to protect citizen’s rights. The ACLU has made cases of illegal search and seizure one of their most important issues, and as more and more citizens gain access to tools like smartphones and wireless internet, it should be shocking if more lawsuits like this one appear on dockets around the country.
VIDEO: Cop caught kicking suspect in face PHILIP CAULFIELD Thursday, August 30, 2012 Police in Minnesota are investigating a case of police brutality after an officer in St. Paul was filmed kicking a man in the face during an arrest. The video, shot Tuesday and posted to YouTube on Wednesday, shows officer Jesse Zilge arresting Eric Hightower, 30, for allegedly threatening to kill a woman he knew, St. Paul police said. Hightower is lying on the ground and shouting at Zilge that he didn't do anything and doesn't know why he's being arrested, the video shows. Hightower starts coughing - bystanders say officer had pepper-spayed him - and Zilge kicks him in the face or the chest before cuffing him. Zilge and another officer then pull the burly suspect to his feet and slam him on the hood of their cruiser before searching him and placing him in the back seat. angiewellman8/via YouTube The video shows Eric Hightower, 30, yelling at the police officer and asking why he is being arrested. Bystanders claim that the officer sprayed Hightower in the face with Mace. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman called for an investigation into the incident, saying the video "raises serious questions about the conduct of the officer." "I have high expectations for the department and its employees. We will fully investigate and take appropriate action," the mayor said in a statement. St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith ordered an investigation Wednesday, local station KARE reported. angiewellman8/via YouTube Cops say Hightower was arrested for threatening a woman he knew. Lord Stitts, a friend of Hightower's and the man who shot the video, said the two were walking together Tuesday evening when the cops drove up, hopped out and maced his pal. "You see he's clearly choking on the mace, not resisting arrest or anything - kicked him in the face for no reason," Sitts told KARE while watching the video. "Nobody can understand why he would do that." Zilge has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Arizona officer in dog death gets court diversion Sept. 8, 2012 10:19 AM Associated Press TUCSON -- An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer whose canine partner Jeg died after being left in a hot vehicle will have a misdemeanor animal neglect charge dismissed if he completes a diversion program. The Arizona Daily Star reported officer Korey Lankow will have to take a half-day course on animal care and laws and pay a $200 fine. Tucson City Prosecutor Baird Greene told the Daily Star that anyone in a similar position would have received the same deal. Tucson police reports show Lankow moved his gear to a spare car on July 11 because his Chevrolet Tahoe was being serviced. He forgot the police dog in the SUV and went out on patrol. He found Jeg severely overheated when he returned. The dog was euthanized the next day.
Check out these previous articles on the police. More articles on the police. |