Stupid, Dumb and Just Plain Ignorant Cop Thread
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- Start date
A Southern California police officer gave a man less than a second to raise his hands before opening fire and killing him, a federal appeals court noted Friday in rejecting the officer's request to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit against him.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Tustin Police Officer Osvaldo Villarreal couldn't reasonably have feared for his safety when he shot 31-year-old Benny Herrera after responding to a domestic dispute call in December 2011.
That determination ran counter to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, which said in 2013 that the shooting was reasonable and justified because Villarreal fired after Herrera ignored orders to show his hands.
A video captured by a police dashboard camera shows otherwise
"Less than a second elapsed between Villarreal commanding Herrera to take his hand from his pocket and Villarreal shooting him,"
the court wrote. "Just as Herrera's hand came out of his pocket, Villarreal fired two shots in rapid succession ... The command and the shots were almost simultaneous."
The video has not been made public and is under a court seal.
The seven-page review of the case by the Orange County District Attorney's Office does not mention the existence of a video and appears to rely heavily on Villarreal's own statements.
Sonia Balleste, the senior deputy district attorney who wrote the review, said Friday that she didn't immediately recall the case or why the review didn't mention the video but that she was sure she "looked at all the evidence that was available."
"As a general practice it wasn't my custom and habit to write down everything I looked at," she said, adding that her office has since changed how such reviews are written to include more information.
Attorneys for Herrera's parents and four children, all under 7 years old, filed a civil lawsuit against Villarreal and Tustin in 2012.
Friday's ruling allows that lawsuit to move forward to trial and upholds a lower court's order declining to toss it out.
Tustin City Attorney David Kendig, speaking on behalf of Villarreal and the city, noted that the 9th Circuit was looking at the case in the light most favorable to Herrera's family.
He said the city provided the district attorney's office with video of the shooting but didn't know why it didn't make it into their review of the case.
Dale Galipo, who represents Herrera's family, criticized the district attorney's review as a "farce."
"Are they not getting all the information from the agency? Did they not get the video, or are they just ignoring facts that support that the shooting was excessive?" Galipo said. "The whole process is flawed. It really is a joke."
Court: Officer killed man less than a second after command
And to Tustin City Attorney David Kendig I can only respond with this...........
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Tustin Police Officer Osvaldo Villarreal couldn't reasonably have feared for his safety when he shot 31-year-old Benny Herrera after responding to a domestic dispute call in December 2011.
That determination ran counter to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, which said in 2013 that the shooting was reasonable and justified because Villarreal fired after Herrera ignored orders to show his hands.
A video captured by a police dashboard camera shows otherwise
"Less than a second elapsed between Villarreal commanding Herrera to take his hand from his pocket and Villarreal shooting him,"
the court wrote. "Just as Herrera's hand came out of his pocket, Villarreal fired two shots in rapid succession ... The command and the shots were almost simultaneous."
The video has not been made public and is under a court seal.
The seven-page review of the case by the Orange County District Attorney's Office does not mention the existence of a video and appears to rely heavily on Villarreal's own statements.
Sonia Balleste, the senior deputy district attorney who wrote the review, said Friday that she didn't immediately recall the case or why the review didn't mention the video but that she was sure she "looked at all the evidence that was available."
"As a general practice it wasn't my custom and habit to write down everything I looked at," she said, adding that her office has since changed how such reviews are written to include more information.
Attorneys for Herrera's parents and four children, all under 7 years old, filed a civil lawsuit against Villarreal and Tustin in 2012.
Friday's ruling allows that lawsuit to move forward to trial and upholds a lower court's order declining to toss it out.
Tustin City Attorney David Kendig, speaking on behalf of Villarreal and the city, noted that the 9th Circuit was looking at the case in the light most favorable to Herrera's family.
He said the city provided the district attorney's office with video of the shooting but didn't know why it didn't make it into their review of the case.
Dale Galipo, who represents Herrera's family, criticized the district attorney's review as a "farce."
"Are they not getting all the information from the agency? Did they not get the video, or are they just ignoring facts that support that the shooting was excessive?" Galipo said. "The whole process is flawed. It really is a joke."
Court: Officer killed man less than a second after command
And to Tustin City Attorney David Kendig I can only respond with this...........
Cupid eats up ‘cannibal cop’
Postmedia Network
First posted: Monday, September 19, 2016 04:19 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, September 19, 2016 04:28 PM EDT
“I’m a 32-year-old Taurus who likes to eat people.”
Love-starved ladies are now lusting after New York’s notorious “Cannibal Cop” with more than 50 ready to take a bite.
The New York Post reports that flesh-fiending fantasist Gilberto Valle was on the menu the minute he left prison. He did a stretch for planning to kill, cook and eat women before a judge overturned the verdict.
“They would say things like, ‘I’m really happy you prevailed’ and ‘Hope you’re doing well,’ ” Valle told the New York Post. “Many reached out because they are interested in my case. I started chatting more with a few of them and eventually asked some on dates.”
And unlike some lady killers, Valle believes in being open with his adoring groupies.
“Everything is already out there for people to see, so I have no problem answering questions honestly,” the one-time aspiring cannibal said.
“I like meeting women who already know everything about me, so I don’t have to suddenly drop this bomb on them.”
Valle told the tabloid he recently met a young lady on Facebook and she agreed to a date. He showed her around the Big Apple and the pair went for dinner -- humans weren’t on the menu.
Calling himself a “gentleman”, Valle said the pair “definitely hit it off.” He added that his new gal pal thought the charges against him were “nonsense.”
But in 2013, his ex-wife fingered Valle after discovering his shocking online cannibal confessions. He mused about murdering her and other women.
“I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus ... cook her over a low heat, keep her alive as long as possible,” he reportedly wrote.
A judge later ruled that Valle’s maniacal musings were merely fantasy.
GIlberto Valle leaves Manhattan federal court in New York on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cupid eats up ‘cannibal cop’ | World | News | Toronto Sun
Postmedia Network
First posted: Monday, September 19, 2016 04:19 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, September 19, 2016 04:28 PM EDT
“I’m a 32-year-old Taurus who likes to eat people.”
Love-starved ladies are now lusting after New York’s notorious “Cannibal Cop” with more than 50 ready to take a bite.
The New York Post reports that flesh-fiending fantasist Gilberto Valle was on the menu the minute he left prison. He did a stretch for planning to kill, cook and eat women before a judge overturned the verdict.
“They would say things like, ‘I’m really happy you prevailed’ and ‘Hope you’re doing well,’ ” Valle told the New York Post. “Many reached out because they are interested in my case. I started chatting more with a few of them and eventually asked some on dates.”
And unlike some lady killers, Valle believes in being open with his adoring groupies.
“Everything is already out there for people to see, so I have no problem answering questions honestly,” the one-time aspiring cannibal said.
“I like meeting women who already know everything about me, so I don’t have to suddenly drop this bomb on them.”
Valle told the tabloid he recently met a young lady on Facebook and she agreed to a date. He showed her around the Big Apple and the pair went for dinner -- humans weren’t on the menu.
Calling himself a “gentleman”, Valle said the pair “definitely hit it off.” He added that his new gal pal thought the charges against him were “nonsense.”
But in 2013, his ex-wife fingered Valle after discovering his shocking online cannibal confessions. He mused about murdering her and other women.
“I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus ... cook her over a low heat, keep her alive as long as possible,” he reportedly wrote.
A judge later ruled that Valle’s maniacal musings were merely fantasy.
GIlberto Valle leaves Manhattan federal court in New York on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cupid eats up ‘cannibal cop’ | World | News | Toronto Sun
York cop acquitted in jaywalker's death
By Jenny Yuen, Toronto Sun
First posted: Wednesday, September 21, 2016 09:56 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 21, 2016 11:34 PM EDT
TORONTO - A York Regional Police officer who struck and killed an 18-year-old jaywalker in 2014 has been acquitted of dangerous driving causing death.
The jury came to a verdict Wednesday evening following Det.-Const. Remo Romano’s second trial — jurors were not aware the first trial in May had resulted in a hung jury.
Romano, 44, was working as part of a surveillance team when he hit Natasha Carla Abogado after she stepped off a TTC bus and crossed St. Clair Ave. E., just west of Warden Ave on Feb. 12, 2014.
She was tossed some 80 metres and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Crown told the jury Romano was driving 115 km/h in a 60 km/h zone when he hit the woman.
“She wasn’t on the phone as she was crossing from the north side of St. Clair Ave. E. to the south side where her home was,” Crown attorney Mabel Lai noted during the trial. Romano hadn’t activated his sirens or lights and was driving an unmarked, undercover vehicle, court heard.
He and his fellow officers were working on Project Litterbox, an investigation into a series of nonviolent break-ins at commercial properties such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Lai said.
Romano and his team members weren’t in the process of collaring a fleeing suspect when the collision occurred.
Romano, a father of five, testified he was aware he was speeding but “was driving as safe as I could.”
He blamed the victim for the tragedy.
“It’s a tragic accident, sir,” the officer told Crown attorney Philip Perlmutter. “She made the choice to step out in front of my vehicle.”
— With files from Sam Pazzano and Michele Mandel
jyuen@postmedia.com
York Regional Police Det.-Const. Remo Romano leaves 361 University Ave. courthouse after his first trial ended in a hung jury May 18, 2016. (Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun)
York cop acquitted in jaywalker's death | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
By Jenny Yuen, Toronto Sun
First posted: Wednesday, September 21, 2016 09:56 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 21, 2016 11:34 PM EDT
TORONTO - A York Regional Police officer who struck and killed an 18-year-old jaywalker in 2014 has been acquitted of dangerous driving causing death.
The jury came to a verdict Wednesday evening following Det.-Const. Remo Romano’s second trial — jurors were not aware the first trial in May had resulted in a hung jury.
Romano, 44, was working as part of a surveillance team when he hit Natasha Carla Abogado after she stepped off a TTC bus and crossed St. Clair Ave. E., just west of Warden Ave on Feb. 12, 2014.
She was tossed some 80 metres and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Crown told the jury Romano was driving 115 km/h in a 60 km/h zone when he hit the woman.
“She wasn’t on the phone as she was crossing from the north side of St. Clair Ave. E. to the south side where her home was,” Crown attorney Mabel Lai noted during the trial. Romano hadn’t activated his sirens or lights and was driving an unmarked, undercover vehicle, court heard.
He and his fellow officers were working on Project Litterbox, an investigation into a series of nonviolent break-ins at commercial properties such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Lai said.
Romano and his team members weren’t in the process of collaring a fleeing suspect when the collision occurred.
Romano, a father of five, testified he was aware he was speeding but “was driving as safe as I could.”
He blamed the victim for the tragedy.
“It’s a tragic accident, sir,” the officer told Crown attorney Philip Perlmutter. “She made the choice to step out in front of my vehicle.”
— With files from Sam Pazzano and Michele Mandel
jyuen@postmedia.com
York Regional Police Det.-Const. Remo Romano leaves 361 University Ave. courthouse after his first trial ended in a hung jury May 18, 2016. (Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun)
York cop acquitted in jaywalker's death | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
A day after Sacramento authorities released video recordings of officers fatally shooting a mentally-ill homeless man, relatives of Joseph Mann said police were wrong to use lethal force.
"There was nothing about his conduct that suggested he should have been shot multiple times," said the family’s attorney, John Burris. "Any reasonable police officer should have noticed that he was mentally impaired."
Release of the videos, which show officers firing 18 rounds at the black 50-year-old, have triggered protests by Black Lives Matter activists and calls for public unity by city officials.
The graphic videos were recorded by three police cruiser dash-cams and a private surveillance camera and show Mann wearing a backpack and walking through a Sacramento neighborhood on the morning of July 11.
Hours after police released the videos, the Sacramento City Council, which also viewed the footage, called for reforms to strengthen accountability.
“It was very disturbing,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The video then shows two officers, guns drawn, running after Mann and firing repeatedly. Mann falls to the ground as the officers continue firing.
After the shooting, investigators found a knife with a four-inch blade, but no firearm. Of the 18 rounds fired, 14 struck Mann, police said.
video
Release of police footage in fatal shooting of Sacramento homeless man sparks protest, calls for unity - LA Times
"There was nothing about his conduct that suggested he should have been shot multiple times," said the family’s attorney, John Burris. "Any reasonable police officer should have noticed that he was mentally impaired."
Release of the videos, which show officers firing 18 rounds at the black 50-year-old, have triggered protests by Black Lives Matter activists and calls for public unity by city officials.
The graphic videos were recorded by three police cruiser dash-cams and a private surveillance camera and show Mann wearing a backpack and walking through a Sacramento neighborhood on the morning of July 11.
Hours after police released the videos, the Sacramento City Council, which also viewed the footage, called for reforms to strengthen accountability.
“It was very disturbing,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The video then shows two officers, guns drawn, running after Mann and firing repeatedly. Mann falls to the ground as the officers continue firing.
After the shooting, investigators found a knife with a four-inch blade, but no firearm. Of the 18 rounds fired, 14 struck Mann, police said.
video
Release of police footage in fatal shooting of Sacramento homeless man sparks protest, calls for unity - LA Times
York cop's acquittal in death devastates pedestrian's family
By Jenny Yuen, Toronto Sun
First posted: Thursday, September 22, 2016 08:40 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, September 22, 2016 11:28 PM EDT
TORONTO - As Guillermo Abogado sat in the courtroom Wednesday night, he still had hope.
But less than 24 hours later sitting in his Scarborough backyard, not far from where his daughter was killed, he wonders how he can ever find closure.
On Feb. 12, 2014, Natasha Carla Abogado stepped off a TTC bus at Warden and St. Clair Aves. and while jaywalking was struck and killed by an undercover cop driving a Ford F-150 truck 115 km/h in a 60 km/h zone without his emergency lights or sirens on.
The family has been grieving for more than two years over two painful trials for York Regional Police Det.-Const. Remo Romano, who was charged with dangerous driving causing death. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. On Wednesday night, the jury in his second trial found Romano, 44, not guilty.
“My whole family was very upset, we were expecting a guilty verdict,” Abogado said Thursday, poring over pages of Google Maps he printed out of the area, still trying to make sense of how the senseless mishap could have happened.
“From Day 1 until now, it’s very hard for us. The jury are allowing the police officers to use 115 km/h on a busy street, near a hospital and subway station. I hope they have a conscience because it may happen again now. They’ve set a precedent.
“They’re allowing every police officer to do it again.”
Abogado’s biggest concern is trying to prevent a similar tragedy.
“We’re fighting a police officer, they have lots of support,” he said. “I felt it was scripted. He faced the jury and was crying to get the sympathy of the jury. Maybe they felt it worked last time, so they’ll do it again.”
Paula Abogado, Carla’s 16-year-old sister, described her older sibling as always trying to keep their family close to each other. Carla was returning home from a shift at Victoria’s Secret at Markville Mall the night she was killed. She hoped to enrol in health studies the following year at York University.
“She’d always put us before her,” Paula said. “It’s been so long, it’s hard to remember everything that’s happened. With this, we were trying to find a little bit of closure, but now what are we going to get out of this? Every time there’s a trial we always get a reminder and it just brings us back to this place where we have no time to heal.”
William MacKenzie, Romano’s lawyer, maintains the crash was a tragic accident and his client was “acting in good faith.”
“(He) made the decision in the lawful performance of his duties to speed up in an effort to catch up to his surveillance team,” MacKenzie said Thursday. “Ms. Abogado made a fateful decision to try to beat the traffic at night while dressed in dark clothing. Unfortunately, one cannot avoid what one cannot see.
“Const. Romano expressed his condolences to the family at the end of the preliminary inquiry. He is very much relieved to put the ordeal of two very stressful trials behind him.”
The Abogado family is suing York Regional Police in an ongoing civil suit for $2.2 million.
It’s unclear whether the Crown will appeal Wednesday’s verdict.
“This matter is currently within the appeal period, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” said Heather Visser, spokesman for the Ministry of the Attorney General.
York Regional Police Association president Todd Sepkowski hoped all parties can move forward.
“Twelve members of the community have stepped forward and found him not guilty and so the association is asking we move beyond this,” he said.
jyuen@postmedia.com
York cop's acquittal in death devastates pedestrian's family | Toronto & GTA | N
By Jenny Yuen, Toronto Sun
First posted: Thursday, September 22, 2016 08:40 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, September 22, 2016 11:28 PM EDT
TORONTO - As Guillermo Abogado sat in the courtroom Wednesday night, he still had hope.
But less than 24 hours later sitting in his Scarborough backyard, not far from where his daughter was killed, he wonders how he can ever find closure.
On Feb. 12, 2014, Natasha Carla Abogado stepped off a TTC bus at Warden and St. Clair Aves. and while jaywalking was struck and killed by an undercover cop driving a Ford F-150 truck 115 km/h in a 60 km/h zone without his emergency lights or sirens on.
The family has been grieving for more than two years over two painful trials for York Regional Police Det.-Const. Remo Romano, who was charged with dangerous driving causing death. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. On Wednesday night, the jury in his second trial found Romano, 44, not guilty.
“My whole family was very upset, we were expecting a guilty verdict,” Abogado said Thursday, poring over pages of Google Maps he printed out of the area, still trying to make sense of how the senseless mishap could have happened.
“From Day 1 until now, it’s very hard for us. The jury are allowing the police officers to use 115 km/h on a busy street, near a hospital and subway station. I hope they have a conscience because it may happen again now. They’ve set a precedent.
“They’re allowing every police officer to do it again.”
Abogado’s biggest concern is trying to prevent a similar tragedy.
“We’re fighting a police officer, they have lots of support,” he said. “I felt it was scripted. He faced the jury and was crying to get the sympathy of the jury. Maybe they felt it worked last time, so they’ll do it again.”
Paula Abogado, Carla’s 16-year-old sister, described her older sibling as always trying to keep their family close to each other. Carla was returning home from a shift at Victoria’s Secret at Markville Mall the night she was killed. She hoped to enrol in health studies the following year at York University.
“She’d always put us before her,” Paula said. “It’s been so long, it’s hard to remember everything that’s happened. With this, we were trying to find a little bit of closure, but now what are we going to get out of this? Every time there’s a trial we always get a reminder and it just brings us back to this place where we have no time to heal.”
William MacKenzie, Romano’s lawyer, maintains the crash was a tragic accident and his client was “acting in good faith.”
“(He) made the decision in the lawful performance of his duties to speed up in an effort to catch up to his surveillance team,” MacKenzie said Thursday. “Ms. Abogado made a fateful decision to try to beat the traffic at night while dressed in dark clothing. Unfortunately, one cannot avoid what one cannot see.
“Const. Romano expressed his condolences to the family at the end of the preliminary inquiry. He is very much relieved to put the ordeal of two very stressful trials behind him.”
The Abogado family is suing York Regional Police in an ongoing civil suit for $2.2 million.
It’s unclear whether the Crown will appeal Wednesday’s verdict.
“This matter is currently within the appeal period, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” said Heather Visser, spokesman for the Ministry of the Attorney General.
York Regional Police Association president Todd Sepkowski hoped all parties can move forward.
“Twelve members of the community have stepped forward and found him not guilty and so the association is asking we move beyond this,” he said.
jyuen@postmedia.com
York cop's acquittal in death devastates pedestrian's family | Toronto & GTA | N
Georgia police officer who said a black man shot her —actually shot herself; will be charged
A newly hired Jackson police officer told a compelling story about what happened late the night of Sept. 13. After only three months on the job, Sherry Hall found herself immersed in a high-profile shooting, pitting a white officer against a black man. At least, that was her account of what happened. But she made the whole thing up, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
On Friday, Hall was charged with four felonies, including evidence tampering and giving false statements to investigators. After her account began to unravel over the past two weeks, investigators were left with little to conclude other than she shot herself, but officials stopped short of saying so Friday.“Cops are humans and they make mistakes, but this is not a mistake,” Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said at a news conference. “This is criminal.”
Officer Sherry Hall charged after saying black man shot her | www.ajc.com
I wonder if she knew about the lies told by a Georgia police officer back in 2014?
Former Officer of the Year Cut himself and said black guys did it
A newly hired Jackson police officer told a compelling story about what happened late the night of Sept. 13. After only three months on the job, Sherry Hall found herself immersed in a high-profile shooting, pitting a white officer against a black man. At least, that was her account of what happened. But she made the whole thing up, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
On Friday, Hall was charged with four felonies, including evidence tampering and giving false statements to investigators. After her account began to unravel over the past two weeks, investigators were left with little to conclude other than she shot herself, but officials stopped short of saying so Friday.“Cops are humans and they make mistakes, but this is not a mistake,” Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said at a news conference. “This is criminal.”
Officer Sherry Hall charged after saying black man shot her | www.ajc.com
I wonder if she knew about the lies told by a Georgia police officer back in 2014?
Former Officer of the Year Cut himself and said black guys did it
Teen sues police, Taser over stun-gun-induced heart attack
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 12:05 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 12:09 PM EDT
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A Missouri teenager is suing after a police officer used a stun gun on him during a traffic stop, causing him to suffer a heart attack.
Bryce Masters sued the City of Independence and Taser International on Monday in federal court in Kansas City.
Masters, a police officer’s son, nearly died in September 2014 when the officer shot him in the chest with a Taser. Masters was 17 at the time. The lawsuit says he suffered a brain injury that continues to affect his memory and cognitive abilities.
The officer, Timothy Runnels, is serving four years in federal prison for violating Masters’ civil rights. Runnels has apologized and said he never meant to harm Masters.
Taser and police didn’t immediately return messages from The Associated Press.
Teen sues police, Taser over stun-gun-induced heart attack | World | News | Toro
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 12:05 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 12:09 PM EDT
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A Missouri teenager is suing after a police officer used a stun gun on him during a traffic stop, causing him to suffer a heart attack.
Bryce Masters sued the City of Independence and Taser International on Monday in federal court in Kansas City.
Masters, a police officer’s son, nearly died in September 2014 when the officer shot him in the chest with a Taser. Masters was 17 at the time. The lawsuit says he suffered a brain injury that continues to affect his memory and cognitive abilities.
The officer, Timothy Runnels, is serving four years in federal prison for violating Masters’ civil rights. Runnels has apologized and said he never meant to harm Masters.
Taser and police didn’t immediately return messages from The Associated Press.
Teen sues police, Taser over stun-gun-induced heart attack | World | News | Toro
'Sorry I Tased You' cake doesn't cut it for Fla. woman
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Thursday, September 29, 2016 07:43 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, September 29, 2016 07:47 PM EDT
It may have been a fully baked cake, but the half-baked apology written on it didn’t cut it for a Florida woman.
Stephanie Byron is suing a former police deputy she says shot her with a stun gun and attempted to apologize by bringing her a cake that said “Sorry I Tased You” in blue frosting.
The electrifying affair began in June 2015, according to court documents, when Michael Wohlers, then a Escambia County sheriff’s deputy, stopped by an apartment complex where Byron was working.
The lawsuit says Wohlers, in his full cop gear, began harassing Byron about her personal life then swiped her tea.
When she went to retrieve it he fired his stun gun, knocking her to floor.
Sometime later, the suit says, the deputy brought the cake, which depicts two stick figures in frosting, with one aiming something with black wires at the other.
A commission that reviewed the case ruled Monday that Wohlers can’t work as a cop in Florida for the next year. He left the sheriff’s office last summer.
Wohlers’ attorney denied Byron’s allegations.
Byron is seeking compensatory damages, costs, expenses and reasonable attorney’s fees.
'Sorry I Tased You' cake doesn't cut it for Fla. woman | Weird | News | Toronto
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Thursday, September 29, 2016 07:43 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, September 29, 2016 07:47 PM EDT
It may have been a fully baked cake, but the half-baked apology written on it didn’t cut it for a Florida woman.
Stephanie Byron is suing a former police deputy she says shot her with a stun gun and attempted to apologize by bringing her a cake that said “Sorry I Tased You” in blue frosting.
The electrifying affair began in June 2015, according to court documents, when Michael Wohlers, then a Escambia County sheriff’s deputy, stopped by an apartment complex where Byron was working.
The lawsuit says Wohlers, in his full cop gear, began harassing Byron about her personal life then swiped her tea.
When she went to retrieve it he fired his stun gun, knocking her to floor.
Sometime later, the suit says, the deputy brought the cake, which depicts two stick figures in frosting, with one aiming something with black wires at the other.
A commission that reviewed the case ruled Monday that Wohlers can’t work as a cop in Florida for the next year. He left the sheriff’s office last summer.
Wohlers’ attorney denied Byron’s allegations.
Byron is seeking compensatory damages, costs, expenses and reasonable attorney’s fees.
'Sorry I Tased You' cake doesn't cut it for Fla. woman | Weird | News | Toronto
Would it be difficult to devise a simple, I.Q. test comprised of possibly 3 or 4 questions that could be given to a potential cop in the U.S. before giving him/her the badge?
I don't know about cops in the US, but from having read police and CBSA statements in Canada, I'd say give Canadian cops and CBSA officers an effin litteracy test at least.
In that case, I wasn't the accused, but dang, if the police ever did accuse me of something, the least I'd expect would be statements the meaning of which I could clearly understand!
Counsel to cop: So, what did you do after entering the house?
Cop to counsel: Why ya askin dat? All in da report.
Counsel to cop: I'm asking because I can't understand the report.
Cop to counsel: Ya know English?.
Counsel to cop: Oh I know English, but the report isn't written in Stadard English.
Cop to counsel: Whadda ya mean it's not English?
The above doesn't actually come from the report. Just being tongue in cheek there. But the report was bad, very bad.
Umm. . . yes. It's called the Wonderlic Cognitive Assessment Test, and most police departments use it.
If it shows you're smart, you can't be a cop.
You think I'm kidding, but in Jones v. New London, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that a policy of the New London PD that they would not hire anyone who scored above a 27 on the Wonderlic was held not to be illegal discrimination. (27 is equivalent to an IQ of about 110). The national average for cops is 22, or an IQ of 100.
Interesting. What was the reasoning?
But let's at least expect literacy in the standard language of work for cryin out loud.