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| NEWS > 26 September 2007 |
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Nigerian police a threat to pu
Nigerian police are a danger to public safety because they consider extra-judicial killings an acceptable policing method and raping women as a fringe benefit, a report by a Nigerian civil rights group said.
The Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN) said it had monitored 400 police stations in 13 states for a year and found that killings, torture, extortion and rape had become routine because the authorities shielded policemen from the law.
The findings, reported in Nigerian newspapers on Monday, come after chief of police Mike Okiro said last month his men had kil... Read more
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Houston Chronicle - United Sta
26 September 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Pasadena Police Department, TX
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Trial of Pasadena police offic
Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of a Pasadena police officer charged with deadly conduct after firing his gun at least three times at a man last March while he was off duty.
Charged with a Class A misdemeanor, Pasadena police officer Marcus Justin Kacz faces up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine if convicted.
Kacz is at least the fourth Pasadena officer prosecuted on criminal charges since 2006.
The trial in Criminal Court at Law No. 1 is happening at a time when two other Pasadena officers are being investigated for their part in the July 21 death of Pedro Gonzales Jr. after he was arrested on a resisting arrest charge.
The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled his death a homicide caused by a punctured lung following a scuffle with officers.
In court Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Joe Owmby said Kacz, 26, fired his weapon at least three times at a passenger of a Ford Explorer that had cut him off during the early morning of March 23 on Beltway 8 near Spencer.
Kacz's attorney, Greg Cagle, said his client identified himself as an officer and followed the vehicle because it was "running lights and driving extremely dangerously." Kacz was not wearing a uniform. He was driving his personal Nissan pickup.
Kacz followed the Explorer, occupied by at least four people, into the parking lot of an apartment complex at 7201 Spencer. He showed his weapon and fought with Cornelio Barrera before the gun fired.
As Barrera got back in the car and fled, Kacz fired at least three more rounds, striking the Explorer's license plate, prosecutors said.
Barrera's brother, Esteban, testified that he was driving the Explorer when he cut off another vehicle, which led to the officer chasing them.
When they arrived at a red light, someone got out and tapped a gun on the sideview mirror, Esteban Barrera said. He said he ran the red light to flee because he thought the man would kill him. Cagle has said Kacz identified himself as an officer at that point, but Barrera said he did not hear that.
Under cross-examination, Barrera, who spoke through a translator, said he and his brother are illegal immigrants. He also testified that he had not met Owmby or anyone else from the prosecutor's office prior to Tuesday. However, he later acknowledged that he had met with Owmby three times.
Sgt. W.J. Fojt, a patrol supervisor, testified that he arrived at the apartments and detected the smell of alcohol on Kacz but the sergeant did not conduct a field sobriety test, he said, because Kacz did not show obvious signs of physical impairment.
Officer T. Sutphin, a crime scene investigator, testified that he photographed open alcoholic beverages inside the Explorer. During opening statements, Owmby told the jury that the occupants of the Explorer, including Barrera, had been drinking that night.
Fojt testified that it is against Pasadena Police Department policy for off-duty officers in unmarked vehicles to pursue suspects.
"Officer Kacz was doing his duty," Cagle told the jury in opening statements. "He was scared for his life."
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