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Saturday, apr 27
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Police Misconduct
Police & Fire
Chesco Cop Convicted For Shooting At Driver During Traffic Stop: DA
A West Caln police officer was convicted of shooting at a driver during a 2021 traffic stop, according to Chester County prosecutors. Sergeant Anthony Sparano pulled over a Chrysler 300 after midnight on Nov. 10, 2021, on the 100 block of Octorara Trail Road, the DA's Office said. Body camera footage showed the driver, Takeisha Landry, was filming Sparano while he asked for her license and registration, according to the criminal complaint. Authorities said Landry "refused to comply" with Sparano's repeated requests. "The interaction between Sergeant Sparano and Landry beg…
News
Eddie Irizarry Killing: Murder Charges Reinstated Against Ex-Philly Cop
A Philadelphia judge has reinstated the criminal charges against an ex-police officer related to the August killing of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry, according to multiple news outlets and court records. Former PPD officer Mark Dial was charged with murder, aggravated assault, official oppression, and related counts after he shot Irizarry dead during a traffic stop in Kensington on Aug. 14. Dial originally told investigators he shot Irizarry after the 27-year-old lunged at him with a knife, though his body camera footage later revealed Irizarry never got out of his car. He w…
Police & Fire
Ex-PA Police Chief Pretended To Be Back On Force While Pulling Over Driver: Authorities
An ex-police chief in Northampton County who resigned just before facing misconduct charges last fall tried to pull over a driver and pretend he was still an officer, according to authorities. Eric K. Schwab, who resigned his leadership post in the Stockertown Borough Police Department in September citing a thumb injury, is charged with impersonating a public servant, said Palmer Township police in a release. On Friday, May 5, police say Schwab used his personal Ford Explorer outfitted with emergency lights and a siren to pull over a motorist on Van Buren Road around 5:10 p.m.&nb…
Police & Fire
Former Bucks Cop Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Teen Boys Learns Sentence
The former Warminster police officer who was convicted of sexually abusing five boys will spend the next several decades behind bars, authorities say. James Carey, 54, will serve 24.5 to 55 years in prison, said Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub in a statement. Carey, during his tenure with the Warminster Township Police Department in the 1980s and 1990s, was a D.A.R.E. officer working with school students, a volunteer firefighter, and ran a "troubled youth" program, according to the DA. Prosecutors argued that Carey used these positions and his status as a…
News
Betrayer
OF THE
Badge
: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex
UPDATE: A Vernon Township police officer who was accused of groping a Bergen County woman during a domestic violence call admitted abusing his authority on duty to force women to submit to his sexual advances. Emanuel Rivera, 38, acknowledged the “imbalance of power” between him and the women he was hitting on, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said in a joint statement. This left them unable to consent, he admitted, because of the “coercive, intimidating nature of such requests” coming from a uniformed police officer," the s…
Police & Fire
Controversial Lower Merion Traffic Stop Captured In Viral Video
The Lower Merion Police Department is investigating after a video emerged showing officers using a TASER weapon on a woman and pulling her from her car during a traffic stop. The clip, apparently filmed from a bystander's cell phone and then widely circulated on social media, depicts a traffic stop in a Wawa parking lot on Conshohocken State and Rockhill roads on Sunday, Jan. 8. @lowermerionpol1 tase and pull guns on an unarmed Black, Norristown woman. Witnesses state the woman was pulled over for “tailgating.” The woman screams that it is Officer Murphy of the Lower Merion Police w…
News
On-Duty Pennsylvania State Trooper Charged For Drunk Driving
A Trooper with the Pennsylvania state police is accused for accused of driving intoxicated while on duty, according to a release by PSP on Tuesday, Dec. 6. 29-year-old Austin J. Burney, of Cooksburg, was assigned to Troop C, Lewis Run when he "was found to be under the influence of alcohol during his assigned shift on the afternoon of Sunday, November 27," as stated in the release. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, roadways laned for traffic, and driving on the right side of the roadway, according to the police and confirmed by court documents. B…
News
Ex-Police Officer In Two PA Boroughs Took $98K, Stole Guns From Evidence Locker: Authorities
A central Pennsylvania former police officer has been charged for thefts he committed on the job, authorities say. 48-year-old Christopher John Still formerly of the Marysville and Halifax boroughs of police is accused of submitting for hours he never worked while employed with the Halifax Borough from 2019 and 2022— resulting in a theft of $98,754.50, according to a release by the Dauphin County district attorney's office on Dec. 1. Additionally, he is accused of taking three guns from the evidence locker— two of which were sold to Reeser’s Gun Shop for $500, according…
News
DA Krasner Wants Longer Sentence For Eric Ruch
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner wants a longer sentence for the ex-city cop convicted of killing an unarmed black man in 2017. In a statement issued Tuesday, Nov. 29, Krasner said he filed a motion in Common Pleas Court seeking reconsideration of the 11.5-to-23-month sentence handed down to former Philadelphia police officer Eric Ruch earlier this month. Ruch was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in September for the killing of 25-year-old Dennis Plowden in Germantown in 2017, as Daily Voice has reported. Ruch's sentence, Krasner said, was a "gross downward departure" fr…
Police & Fire
Ex-Philly Cop Found Guilty Of Manslaughter In On-Duty Killing Of Unarmed Black Man
A now-former Philadelphia police officer was convicted Wednesday, Sept. 21 in the on-duty killing of an unarmed Black man nearly five years earlier, authorities said. After an eight-day trial, Eric Ruch Jr., 34, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and possession of an instrument of crime for his role in the shooting death of 25-year-old Dennis Plowden in 2017, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. His bail was revoked and sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 17 The DA's office says this trial was the first in the city in which an on-duty police officer was tried fo…
News
Video Shows Now-Former NJ Officer Beating Defenseless Suspect, Prosecutor Says
Body camera video proves that a now-former Paterson police officer beat a defenseless suspect with a flashlight and kneed him in the face in an apartment hallway, a grand jury indictment charges. Spencer Finch, 45, of Mahwah filed an official report maintaining that he needed to use force against what he claimed was a combative suspect, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. The video from a fellow officer’s bodycam tells a different story, Valdes added. Finch – who was with the department for nearly 18 years -- is charged with aggravated assault, official misconduct, perjury, t…
Lifestyle
Video Surfaces Of Rescue Dog Shot Dead By Police In Lebanon
Lebanon City police have issued a statement after a distributing video of officers shooting a lost rescue dog surfaced on social media. Lebanon City police, were called to a report of a stray dog in the first block Tiffany Lane at around 10:26 a.m. on Wednesday, July 6, according to the statement. The officers claim to have called the Lebanon County Humane Society and the Pa. Dog warden but say "no assistance was available." Daily Voice has reached out to both organizations as well as the PSPCA and has yet to hear back. The statement goes on to claim that the dog became aggressive and…
News
PA State Trooper Caught On Cam Kicking Driver In The Chest Authorities Say
A Pennsylvania state trooper is accused of assaulting a motorist during an arrest earlier this year, state police say. Israel T. Moore "used his right leg to deliver two strikes to the upper torso of a motorist who led troopers on a vehicle pursuit on the evening of Feb. 13" according to a criminal complaint filed by internal affairs. Another trooper was handcuffing the motorist at the time of the alleged attack, PSP IA says. Moore was working in Troop H, Chambersburg when he started chasing the driver, which ended in a grass field near the intersection of High Street and Lincoln Way…
News
Newly Released Video Shows Virginia Deputies Tackling 77-Year-Old Man (
Watch
)
EDITOR'S NOTE: The above video could be difficult to watch for some audiences. Newly released police camera body footage captures deputies with the Warren County Sheriff's Office slamming a 77-year-old man to the ground during his arrest. Authorities originally said that Ralph Ennis "fell over" when deputies arrested him for reckless driving in Fort Royal, Virginia in April. However, the video shows one deputy running up to Ennis and throwing him against Ennis' red pickup truck. Another deputy is seen jumping on top and sending both men to the ground. Ennis died 13 days later …
Police & Fire
Drunk Man With 'Fearless' Tattoo Spits On PA Officer Giving Him Ride Home: Police
A drunk man getting a ride home by police officers thanked them by spitting on them, according to authorities who arrested him in Central Pennsylvania. Manheim officers were initially called to the 200 block Waterford Ct., for reports of a disturbance when they found Joshua T. Stewart, 28, of Lancaster, around 3:50 a.m., police said. Stewart — who has a tattoo of the word "fearless" on his neck — was initially charged with public drunkenness, but after attempts to take him into custody, Stewart repeatedly pushed back on the officers and attempted to free himself, Manheim police sa…
Police & Fire
South Jersey Officer Indicted In Off-Duty Domestic Violence Clash: Report
A 37-year-old South Jersey police officer has been indicted for trying to strangle a woman while off-duty, NJ Advance Media reported. Myron V. Ford, with the Deptford Township Police Department since 2009, was indicted by a Gloucester County grand jury last week on a charge of aggravated assault/strangling a domestic violence victim, the outlet said. He was arrested by Deptford police at his apartment on Sept. 30, 2021. He was accused of forcefully shoving the woman against a door at her apartment, scratching her right arm and chin, and “placing his hands around the victim’s neck in a…
News
PA Officer Details Alleged Rape By Coworker In Email To 900 Police Force Members: Report
A police officer in Pennsylvania in a detailed email to 900 other officers on the force accused a coworker of raping her while off-duty at a party, WPXI reports. The unnamed Pittsburgh police officer said the alleged assault occurred in the Summer 2021, and was subsequently granted a temporary protection order from her unnamed attacker, the outlet reports. The male officer accused has not been charged, but was suspended for three days per a recommendation by then-Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich, the report explains. The chief reportedly suggested firing him. Both officers app…
News
Mom Of Kidnapped Girls Murdered By Dad Withdraws Complaint Against York Police: Report
The Pennsylvania mom of two young girls who were kidnapped and killed by their dad in Maryland late last year has withdrawn her private criminal complaint against a regional police chief, PennLive reports. Vicosa's attorney said she withdrew her complaint due to a "recognition of the high threshold for proving a criminal action," according to PennLive. Instead, the attorney said Vicosa plans to "pursue to the fullest extent of Marisa and her childrens’ civil rights all civil claims that they have against the chief and the police department for its mishandling of the case, and his and their…
News
NJ Correctional Officer Admits Assaulting, Breaking Wrist Of Detainee, 16, With No Cause
UPDATE: A retiring New Jersey correctional officer admitted breaking the wrist of a detainee during an unprovoked attack at a state facility for juvenile offenders, authorities said. Lt. Edward Day, 52, of Paulsboro, assaulted the 16-year-old without cause or justification at the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission's medium-security facility in Bordentown on Oct. 25, 2020, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. The boy had his arms handcuffed behind his back during a transfer from his room to another location at the facility when Day "grabbed the victim’s ankle from …
Police & Fire
Yeadon Borough Council Votes To Fire Police Chief
A borough council in Delaware County voted to fire its police chief of five years, officials said. In a 4-3 vote on Thursday, Feb. 17, the Yeadon Borough council removed police chief Anthony Paparo for allegedly overspending on overtime hours, which cost taxpayers $387,000, his attorney, Harold Goodman, said in a letter. Paparo is accused of overscheduling part-time officers in 2019 and 2020, thus violating the terms of the police union's collective bargaining agreement, the letter states. He scheduled the cops for a total of approximately 6,200 hours of overtime, according to the letter…
Police & Fire
Family Of NJ Man Shot Dead By Officer At Dorney Park To Get $950K In Settlement Money
The family of a New Jersey man shot and killed by an "inexperienced" police officer directing traffic at Dorney Park will receive $950,000 reached in the settlement of a wrongful death suit, The Morning Call reports. Joseph Santos' two adult sons and 11-year-old daughter will receive a portion of the settlement, aside from law firm costs and fees, according to a copy of the settlement obtained by The Morning Call. Santos' estate administrator, Juliana Valenzuela, agreed to end the lawsuit on Sept. 14, according to the settlement. South Whitehall Township Officer Jonathan Ros…
News
TikTokers Want Justice For Woman Who Died On Bumble Date
The family of a Connecticut woman who was found dead in her apartment is upset over the way her death was handled is being backed by TikTok users. Lauren Smith-Fields, 23, of Bridgeport, was found dead in her apartment on Sunday, Dec. 12 by Bridgeport police after a date with 37-year-old Matthew LaFountain, whom she met on a dating site. LaFountain was the one who called to report her death, the family said at a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 16. More than a month after Smith-Fields died, her family still doesn't have a cause of death and is frustrated with the way they are being treated …
News
Judge Won't Toss Excessive Force Claims In Wrongful Death Lawsuit Of Anton Black
A ruling by a federal judge paves the way for the family of 19-year-old Anton Black to continue with a lawsuit claiming that police on Maryland's Eastern Shore used excessive force when they handcuffed him and shackled his legs, according to the AP. US District Judge Catherine Blake refused to throw out the family's claims in the lawsuit and says body camera video of the deadly encounter doesn't contradict what Black's family says was use of excessive force by police. The three white police officers who tried to restrain him after they chased black outside of their home in rural Greensboro,…
News
NJ Officer Indicted In Accused Beating Of Arab-American Resident
A Paterson police officer beat a 19-year-old Arab-American man and then lied about it, a federal grand jury charged. Officers Kevin Patino, 29, violated the civil rights of the victim, according to the indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Newark, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Osamah Alsaidi was walking with his hands in his pockets the night of Dec. 14, 2020 when Patino and Officer Kendry Tineo-Restituyo approached him, the U.S. attorney said. What they didn’t know was that area surveillance cameras were recording the incident (see below). “Patino grabbe…
Police & Fire
SEPTA Transit Officer Charged In Taser Assault Of 'Disruptive' Bus Passenger
A former SEPTA transit officer was charged after he deployed his Taser device on a passenger without giving them the opportunity to comply with his demands to exit the bus, authorities said. Floyd Whitaker, 59, of Laurel Springs, NJ, was charged with simple assault, unlawful use of an incapacitation device, recklessly endangering another person, and official oppression, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. The incident occurred on April 12, 2021, around 4 a.m., at the Frankford Transportation Center, when a driver requested assistance with a disruptive passenger, t…
Police & Fire
West Caln Officer Arrested For Firing Shot Through Moving Car Window During Traffic Stop
A police officer in Chester County was arrested this week for firing a shot through the window of a car as the driver attempted to flee during a traffic stop, authorities said. Sgt. Anthony Sparano, 53, of the West Caln Police Department, was charged with recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, and propulsion of missiles into an occupied vehicle, according to a Thursday release from the Chester County District Attorney's Office. "Shooting into a moving vehicle, as Sgt. Sparano did here, is strictly prohibited unless the officer reasonably believes that death or…
News
Ex-NJ Police Officer Admits Exchanging Nude Pics With Underage Teen
A now-former Pompton Lakes police officer avoided potential prison time by pleading guilty to exchanging nude photos online with an underage teenager, authorities said. Mark Stinnard, 37, engaged in the relationship with the Riverdale youngster on his own time 3½ years ago and not while he was on the clock, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Stinnard was arrested in late September and charged with “engaging in sexual conduct with a child” and endangerment for manufacturing child pornography and “causing harm to a child,” the prosecutor said. No sexual assault charges were fi…
Police & Fire
Pennsylvania Police Officers Fired For Submitting Bogus COVID Vaccine Cards, Report Says
Two police officers from Central PA were fired for submitting bogus COVID-19 vaccine cards, Lancaster Online reports. Heather Schaeffer obtained a blank vaccine card from a relative in the military, made a copy and sold it to Benjamin Lapp for $20, the outlet said citing documents obtained through a Right to Know request. The officers had apparently been speaking openly about having bogus vaccination cards, Capt. Richard Mendez apparently learned in September, Lancaster Online said. The DA's office was apparently investigating, the outlet said. The police department on Friday announc…
Police & Fire
Family Of DelCo Girl Killed By Police Gunfire Files Federal Lawsuit
The family of a young girl who was killed by police gunfire in Delaware County earlier this year has filed a federal lawsuit. The 10-page lawsuit named the borough of Sharon Hill, Sharon Hill police chief Joseph Kelly, police officers John Scanlan III and Devon Smith, as well as an unspecified number of additional officers whose names are unknown by the Bility family. Fanta Bility, 8, was killed when gunfire rang out outside Academy Park High School after a football game on Aug. 27, Daily Voice reported. Preliminary ballistics analysis has concluded with "near certainty" that the shots tha…
Police & Fire
Philly Officer Charged With Assault After Punching Man, Report Says
A Philadelphia police officer was charged with simple assault after punching a man during a fight earlier this year, reports say. Joseph Marion, 45, punched a man during an April 18 altercation during which he also dropped a gun, CBS3 reports. As the two fought, a child reportedly picked up the weapon, the outlet says. There was no evidence that Marion or the child fired the gun at any point, according to multiple reports. Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw suspended him for 30 days with the intention of firing him at the end of that time, the outlet says. In 2017, the nine-year police …
Police & Fire
White Philly Police Officer Under Investigation For Video Of Him 'Harassing' Black Man
A white Philadelphia police officer is being investigated after a video showing him "harassing" a black man went viral on social media (scroll down for the video). "We understand the video circulating has caused anger and disappointment," Philadelphia police said in a tweet Tuesday. "All PPD officers are expected to discharge their duties with honor and integrity. We understand the video circulating has caused anger and disappointment. All PPD officers are expected to discharge their duties with honor and integrity. The officer involved has been placed on administrative duty pending th…
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