Albert Aricola

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — Albert Arciola needed a trip to the hospital after being severely beaten during his arrest in February, police reports say.

By June, four deputies involved in the arrest had been taken off the road.

Gerald Wengert, Matthew Griffith, Daniel Miller and Sean O’Brien were suspended with pay June 12 while the Broward Sheriff’s Office conducts an Internal Affairs investigation, records show.

Sheriff’s officials declined further comment, citing the ongoing inquiry.

Wengert has made headlines for previous arrests in which he was accused of excessive force.

Arciola, 52, remained jailed Friday.

His jail mugshot shows his right eye swollen shut, blackened and bloody; his cheek, swollen beyond measure.

Arciola was arrested Feb. 22 on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.

According to deputies, Arciola had been drinking and smoking crack with a friend when he threatened the man with a knife. The man locked his doors and called police.

In an arrest report, O’Brien says Arciola was in an RV on the property and initially refused orders to come out. When he finally did, he dropped his hands toward his waist. Unsure whether Arciola was armed, O’Brien says he punched him twice on the head before cuffing him.

Later, when Wengert tried to adjust the handcuffs, Arciola punched him in the chest, the report says.

In a report obtained by Channel 10, Wengert says he punched Arciola twice in the face, causing him to fall and slam the right side of his face on the side of the truck.

Arciola has pleaded not guilty to the aggravated assault charge.

BSO Deputy Gerald Wengert

The Broward State Attorney’s Office dropped the battery charge on July 15 and never formally charged Arciola with resisting arrest.

Julie Lindahl, attorney for Arciola, could not be reached for comment.

In 1987, Arciola was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to probation and adjudication was withheld.

His next hearing is before Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan on Aug. 13 at 9:30 a.m.

The Sheriff’s Office has no video of the arrest, agency spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said Friday.

Wengert, an 11-year veteran and onetime reality TV star on the defunct “Unleashed: K-9 Broward County” series, was acquitted in 2013 of battery and official misconduct charges.

Wengert, 37, has been named in a lawsuit accusing him of beating a Hollywood man so badly he spent two days in the hospital.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in September 2013, accuses Wengert of taunting a 21-year-old man at a gas station in March 2010, then pulling him over without cause less than a mile away.

Wengert yanked the man from his car, smashed his head into a door frame and punched him in the face, the lawsuit says.

In an unrelated case, Wengert was charged with battering a 17-year-old boy in July 2012 and writing a false police report to substantiate the boy’s arrest. Wengert was accused of racing to a scene at the behest of his girlfriend, then punching and siccing his police dog on the boy.

He was acquitted by a jury in spring 2013.

Written originally by Susannah Bryan for the Sun-Sentinel

(Video available below)

Police accountability blog Cops Caught on Tape has assembled a new video montage which appears to show a number of law enforcement agents throwing, beating, and assaulting people in wheelchairs.

From the video’s description:

Please note, there was one video in particular that would have shown the death of a disabled man. I elected not to show that portion, but use the original video up to that point, then used a still image and the unedited audio.

The video is available below:

In addition to the coverage brought to you by TruthVoice, we recommend readers follow Cops Caught on Tape for breaking coverage of police brutality and corruption.

Left: Former Police Officer John Richardson; Right: Former Police Officer David Littlemore

CAMBRIDGESHIRE, U.K. – Two police officers, John Richardson and David Littlemore, were given suspended sentences yesterday by a judge in the case of assaulting John Morgan. Morgan, a 59 year old diabetic, was attacked by the two officers in August of last year as he sat peacefully at a park bench with his dog, the BBC reports.

The officers had been tasked with finding one Bill King, a 76 year old man with Alzheimer’s who had gone missing from his residence. Dispatch radioed the officers a description of what King was believed to be dressed in, and that he had a black and white dog with him, according to the Daily Mail.

When Richardson and Littlemore came upon Morgan, they believed he was Bill King, as he was reportedly dressed similarly. They asked that Morgan identify himself. Morgan reportedly told the officers that he was not the missing man they were searching for, and would not surrender his name or address to them.

The officers testified that Morgan’s refusal to identify lead them to conclude that Morgan’s Welsh accent, which is actually authentic, was being faked, and as Bill King was reported to not have a Welsh accent, they therefore felt it was King they were speaking to.

Following this meandering and ridiculous logic, the officers proceeded to assault Morgan and threw him to the ground, where he endured punches, had his arms twisted and fingers bent backwards, and was pinned down for some time.

John Morgan, police assault victim

Morgan said of the incident:

“I remember asking them about my human rights and taking their collar [i.e. badge] numbers which I forgot and being very disorientated. I remember officer two [Richardson] saying he ‘did not care’ repeatedly about my vulnerability.”

The assault came to end only after dispatch confirmed for the officers that their actual target, Bill King, had a Bull Terrier dog, whilst Morgan’s dog was a Jack Russell.

Realizing they now had the wrong man, the officers let Morgan go. Bill King would indeed later be found by these same officers, and was reportedly “assisted” in getting back to his home by officer Richardson.

Yesterday, Judge Susan Holdham rendered on the case, where she chastised Richardson and Littlemore. She sentenced the two police officers to three months jail, suspended for two years, on charges of “assault by beating” and excessive force; 200 and 150 community service hours for Richardson and Littlemore, respectively; and  each man was ordered to pay 1,030 British pounds in fines, including an 80 pound “victim surcharge.”

Richardson and Littlemore have also been suspended from their police department, and must now face misconduct proceedings by Cambridgeshire Police in addition to abiding by Judge Holdham’s sentencing.

Written by Jack O’Brien and featured on Liberty Upward

Joe Perez

A man jaywalking across a street in Albuquerque to catch a bus says police Officer Victor Grossetete chased him down and tackled him on the pavement, breaking the pedestrian’s arm.

Another man says Grossetete repeatedly kicked him in the face during an arrest initiated by a second police officer.

Then there was Sean Belcher, 25, who said Grossetete approached him in a casino in Las Vegas, Nev., touched his tattoo and then punched him. The violence was captured on security cameras. “He kept saying he was from ‘fight city,’ New Mexico,” Belcher said.

Grossetete, 28, has been sued four times on allegations of brutality. Three of those suits date to his five years as an Albuquerque police officer. He resigned from the Albuquerque Police Department in May 2012, after a disciplinary case against him was forwarded to the state Law Enforcement Academy, which certifies officers.

The academy director eventually said it was up to Albuquerque’s police executives to mete out any discipline Grossetete deserved. But by that time, Grossetete had quit his job and moved on to another department.

Grossetete’s work record has raised questions about how carefully New Mexico screens and monitors police officers, even at a time when the Albuquerque Police Department, New Mexico’s largest law enforcement agency, is under supervision of an independent monitor and the courts. The U.S. Department of Justice last year found that Albuquerque police had a pattern of using excessive force, including deadly force.

After Grossetete resigned from the Albuquerque Police Department, his career in law enforcement was revived by Española’s then-police chief, Eric Garcia. Garcia became Española’s chief in December 2012, and he hired Grossetete the following month.

Garcia now is Santa Fe’s police chief, but his decision to employ Grossetete in Española continues to draw criticism.

Some of Garcia’s lieutenants in Santa Fe, as part of an 11-page memo they released last week, say Garcia hired Grossetete even after Grossetete failed a psychological exam. The lieutenants also say that Garcia did not authorize an internal affairs investigation and did not notify the Law Enforcement Academy Board of the fight that Grossetete started in Las Vegas.

Garcia would not comment on his hiring of Grossetete.

As for Grossetete, now he is suing the Española Police Department, saying his reputation has been blackened by reports about the confrontation in Las Vegas, and that Española’s new chief is using that case to try to oust him from the police force.

Sheri Raphaelson, Grossetete’s lawyer, said the four lawsuits against Grossetete don’t prove that he has used excessive force in arresting suspects.
One lawsuit from Grossetete’s years in Albuquerque was settled with a payment to the person claiming brutality. The man’s lawyer, though, said he couldn’t remember the amount of the settlement.

The other three lawsuits against Grossetete are pending.

Raphaelson said that, after Grossetete quit the Albuquerque Police Department, the Española Police Department hired him because “they obviously thought he was a good officer.”

Less than three months after getting his job in Española and a fresh start as a police officer, Grossetete headed to Las Vegas for a vacation. On St. Patrick’s Day 2013, Grossetete approached Belcher, who was sitting next to his girlfriend in the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino. Security cameras showed Grossetete touching Belcher’s left arm. By Belcher’s account, Grossetete said he liked Belcher’s tattoo.

Story by Uriel J. Garcia. Continue reading on The New Mexican…

Left: San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Guy; Right: Anthony Martinez

SAN DIEGO — San Diego County has settled a $1 million lawsuit filed by the family of an unarmed man with down syndrome after a sheriff’s deputy beat and pepper sprayed him because he mistakenly thought the man was resisting arrest.

Antonio Martinez, 21, left his family’s bakery when he was approached by Deputy Jeffrey Guy, who police say was responding to reports of domestic violence somewhere in the neighborhood.

Martinez’s family claims Antonio functions at the level of a 7-year-old child, and when Deputy Guy commanded Martinez to stop walking, he was confused and frightened. Martinez did not respond in a way that Deputy Guy found satisfactory, so he justified a use of force in apprehending Martinez.

Bystanders watched as Deputy Guy beat Martinez with a metal baton and sprayed him with pepper spray while he screamed and begged for the officer to stop.

Despite the unnecessary use of force, Sheriff Bill Gore says he did not even consider firing Deputy Guy, who was not charged with a crime, and is still employed by the sheriff’s office.

“If I thought he targeted a Down syndrome person, I’d have fired him before the week was out,” Gore said, adding “…that was not the case. The deputy made mistakes.”

Jude Bastile, an attorney hired by Martinez’s family, said he was disappointed that the sheriff’s office refused to fire Guy for police brutality and excessive force.

“Did the Sheriff’s Department learn anything from this incident? I don’t think so,” said Bastile.

A report by Mercury News shows that prior to being hired by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Guy had at least six complaints of excessive force while employed with the San Jose police.

From top left to right, Philadelphia Police officers Thomas Liciardello, Perry Betts, Linwood Norman; from bottom left to right, officers Brian Reynolds, John Speiser and Michael Spicer

PHILADELPHIA — A report from The Philadelphia Inquirer claims six police officers who were acquitted after being accused of corruption have now been reinstated to the police force.

According to the report:

Mark McDonald, the mayor’s press secretary, said the former narcotics officers – Michael Spicer, Thomas Liciardello, Brian Reynolds, Perry Betts, Linwood Norman, and John Speiser – will get $90,000 in back pay and have their original badges returned.

McDonald said five of the officers would be assigned to districts and would not return to the Narcotics Field Unit. Norman will be assigned to the impound lot.

James J. Binns, who represented Spicer in the federal case, initially said his client and another officer, who was not charged, would receive promotions under the arbitrator’s ruling. Binns said later Friday that he was wrong and that promotions were not part of the arrangement.

When Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey fired the six officers, he called the case “one of the worst cases of corruption I have ever heard.” He told reporters that the officers’ badges would be destroyed.

Spicer’s trial in particular sparked public outrage, as Spicer was accused repeatedly over the years of intimidation and misconduct. In 2008, Spicer was suspected of stealing drug money and planting evidence, and in 2010, Spicer was accused of throwing a suspect from the third story of an apartment building. He was acquitted of all charges.

The report goes on to explain some of the far-reaching consequences of the accusations the officers faced:

Prosecutors alleged the men routinely beat and robbed drug suspects. The allegations prompted dozens of civil rights lawsuits, causing the reversal of nearly 450 drug convictions.

Philadelphia’s decision to reinstate the officers comes amid more accusations and an internal investigation into police misconduct and use of excessive force. TruthVoice reported Friday about an internal investigation prompted by a video of an April incident that shows nearly two dozen police officers repeatedly hitting and applying electric shocks to Tyree Carroll, who was restrained and unarmed. The report and video have since garnered national attention. (Video available below:)

In addition to the legal troubles it has faced recently, the Philadelphia Police Department has been widely criticized throughout the year following findings that its officers have shot someone roughly once a week for the past eight years. Over 390 people were shot, many of whom were reportedly unarmed.

Independent media outlet Orlando Unfiltered released a video Sunday that highlights a swath of recent incidences of police brutality and excessive force.

The news recap shows both local and mainstream reporting on police violence, misconduct, and false testimony, all having taken place within the last year in Orlando alone.

Video below:

The Orlando Unfiltered website, emblazoned with the slogan “You don’t know the half of it,” features coverage of Orlando’s politics, in particular stories of suspected corruption. Among its coverage: a video of the Lawanna Gelzer, President of a local chapter of the National Action Network civil rights organization, demanding the resignation of Orlando’s police chief.

Left: Key West Police Officer Nicholas Galbo; Right: An image depicting domestic violence

KEY WEST, Fla. — A police officer was put behind bars Tuesday for domestic violence, facing battery charges for beating his girlfriend.

Nicholas Galbo, 32, allegedly battered his girlfriend Ashlynn Jones, 18 at their home in Key West. According to police, the couple got into an argument, and when Jones went to leave, Galbo grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her body. Jones then went to call the police, which caused Galbo to “freak out,” taking Jones’s phone from her and throwing it, then pinning her to the ground.

Jones was fortunately able to escape Galbo and file a police report. Police then contacted Galbo, took him in for questioning at the police station, and then placed him under arrest.

Galbo has a history of incidences involving violence. In 2014, Galbo was named in a wrongful death lawsuit where police asphyxiated a man, causing his death. During the course of the suit, Galbo was deposed and made comments that appear to directly contradict video evidence. Despite the blow to the Key West Police’s credibility, the death was eventually ruled an “accident.”

Galbo is still employed as an officer for the Key West Police Department, and has been placed on paid administrative pending the outcome of the investigation. His arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

400-pound Officer Colin Boone, who in 2013 kicked a man in the head so severely that it exacerbated his seizures

DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa police officer was sentenced on Monday to 63 months in prison for kicking an unarmed man in the head at a 2013 traffic stop.

Officer Colin Boone was convicted in March for kicking a restrained man, Orville Hill, who had just survived an automobile crash and was suffering from a seizure when Boone attacked him.

Hill testified in court that Boone, who was 400 pounds at the time, caused serious damage, exacerbating his seizures. Michael Smart, Boone’s defense attorney, originally requested five years of probation, but US District Judge Robert Pratt opted for a harsher sentence in light of Hill’s testimony.

A photograph of Orville Hill which shows some of the injuries sustained by Officer Colin Boone

Smart made a statement attempting to minimize the brutality of his client’s actions. “This case is about less than 15 seconds in a 14-year law enforcement career … Sadly, it is not uncommon in the criminal justice system for a few seconds of poor judgment in an otherwise productive and mostly law-abiding life to carry severe consequences,” Smart wrote in a letter addressing the court.

The trial’s prosecuting attorney, Nicholas Klinefeldt, hopes the sentence will act as a deterrent for future cases of police brutality. Klinefeldt recommended the maximum sentence of of eight years in prison.

“This case wasn’t just about an act of violence, it was about a breach of trust,” said Klinefeldt.

Boone, who has since been fired from the Des Moines police, had been accused of brutality in the past, court records show. The city of Des Moines chose to settle a lawsuit in 2009 after Boone broke a woman’s arm during a stop for an alleged DUI.

Since last week, when Nagpur Today broke the news of illegal Hookah activities taking place near Futala Lake area, Nagpur Police swung into action and has become more alert and is issuing Challans* to seize all the illegal hookah parlours in the city, which is praise worthy.

(*TruthVoice Editor’s Note: Challans are similar to US criminal citations, typically with an invoice requesting payment)

However, an incident of police brutality came to fore. The police brutality which was caught in CCTV displayed nothing but sheer misuse of the uniform and authority. All that the police inspector had was the right to issue chalan for illegally running Hookah parlour.

Surveillence video of the incident is available below:

On June 14, 2015 at around 11:40 am, Second Police Inspector of Sonegaon Police Station, PI Patil had barged into Restaurant and Lounge ’Papa Pencho Oye’ situated on Wardha Road. The footage showed how the cop just barged into the restaurant, seized a hookah from a table, handed the hookah into the hands of the owner of Papa Pencho Oye, Ankit Singh. The Second PI Patil then went on to slap him continuously without being provoked or resisting police action. The Police Inspector went on hitting him, kicking him and then was taken to the police vehicle. The action did not stop there. The footage showed Police Inspector Patil practically dragging the owner Ankit Singh down and dropping him on the road (highway) and stamping him on his chest 3-4 times. No one knows what provoked him to bash up the victim with such brutality.

While speaking to Nagpur Today, Owner of Restaurant and Lounge Papa Pencho Ankit Singh aged 27 years who is the son of Colonel Satish Kumar Singh claimed that there were only two tables where customers were eating their food while the rest of the eatery was closed for the day. Even the lights, name-board and the gate were closed (indicating the hotel was closed). There is a lounge which is designated as the smoking zone. This is the spot where some youngsters were smoking hookah.

While speaking to Nagpur Today, the owner claimed that the offences under section 68 of IPC (illegal selling of liquor) slapped on them is based on a false claim. The owners claim that they never ever have served liquor. To add to that no bottle of liquor was seized from the premises.

In order to get the version of Commissioner of Police S P Yadav, Nagpur Today called him many times, but he did not pick the call probably because he was busy in some meeting.

While speaking to Nagpur Today, Deputy Commissioner of Police Nirmala Devi said that she was informed about this incident on June 14, 2015. She claimed that when she questioned Police Inspector Patil about the slapping, kicking and stamping allegations, he refused to have done any such thing. When Nagpur Today pointed out to her that the CCTV footage clearly shows the Police Inspector slapping, kicking and stamping the innocent owner/victim, she claimed that the Police Inspector does not have any right to hit anyone. She added that she did ask the cops to issue challan, not to take brutal action. DCP Nirmala Devi added that if Police brutality is seen in the CCTV footage, severe penal action will be taken against the cop. She assured Nagpur Today that police brutality of any kind will not be condoned in any way.

This article appeared originally on Nagpur Today