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| NEWS > 16 May 2010 |
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UK: Lancashire police misconduct shock
MORE than 50 officers and police staff have committed serious misconduct offences in the past three years, it can be revealed.
Allegations ranged from assault, theft and drink driving to possessing child porn, fraud, making threats to kill and rape.
The full details have been made public only because of a Freedom of Information request by the Lancashire Telegraph.
It has led to calls for police misconduct hearings to be held in public, mirroring the open system in place for other public sector staff such as teachers, doctors and nurses.
But police bosses... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Dallas Morning News
16 May 2010
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Carrollton Police Department,
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Officer's appeal exposes probl
CARROLLTON – A police officer who was fired and accused of criminal mischief over a house egging is back on the job after a favorable ruling by an independent hearing examiner.
But Officer Jennifer Cackler's appeal exposed other problems with officers on the Carrollton police force. The department has been in the news recently because of three claims from residents of excessive force.
Cackler, 28, said her "indefinite suspension" amounted to "disparate discipline" when compared to two officers who "committed more serious criminal offenses," according to the hearing examiner's report obtained by The Dallas Morning News through the state's open records law.
A Carrollton police officer was allegedly driving drunk with his two young children when he had an accident, according to the report issued last month by hearing examiner Milden J. Fox Jr.
Another officer resigned with no department action after he allegedly pointed a gun at a resident involved in a road rage incident, according to the report.
Mayor Ron Branson called the incidents "isolated," though regrettable. Some of them occurred while the police officers were off-duty, but "that doesn't excuse anything but it is different," he said.
The officers' names were partially redacted on the examiner's report. Officer Jonathan Butler, who was accused of drunken driving, is still on the force after the June 2008 incident, Branson said. Officer Benjamin Rigsby, who was involved in the road rage incident in January 2007, resigned, Branson said.
The mayor defended the police force of about 240, which includes about 168 officers.
"We have an excellent record on deadly force and on actual shots fired," Branson said. "It is almost unheard of in our city."
Six incidents of alleged excessive force or police misconduct over a three-year period isn't a high number for the size of Carrollton's department, said Harvey Hedden, executive director of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association.
"You go for zero defects, but stuff happens," he said.
The police chief at the time, David N. James, retired in mid-January after 15 years in Carrollton. A new police chief, Rex Redden, took over last month.
Redden said in a written statement that he has reviewed all the cases and found no patterns or similarities. He said that the department has an excellent reputation in the law enforcement community and a long history of trust and collaboration with Carrollton residents.
"What is evident from my review is the Carrollton Police Department investigates reports of employee misconduct thoroughly and takes appropriate corrective action as necessary," Redden said.
Other complaints
The incidents that came to light in Cackler's hearing follow other complaints, including those by Shomari Staten, a 32-year-old auto dealer who was delivering a used car to a client when he was aggressively detained after an officer found a gun on Staten. The incident was captured on police dashcam video.
•Staten, a Carrollton resident, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and David Tatom, the officer, in February. Staten was never charged. The businessman was carrying a revolver at the time and had a concealed handgun license. In the video, Tatom pulls Staten to the ground, after finding the weapon. Staten is heard in the video repeatedly saying he has a concealed handgun license.
•Robert Casillas, a 27-year-old Carrollton plumber, was driving when an officer flashed his lights on him, motioning to pull over in November 2009. Casillas said he did that once he got to a well-lighted area. Casillas said that he was told he was speeding but wasn't given a speeding ticket.
Casillas said his 5-year-old son, Dameon, was pulled from the vehicle by an officer. Then Casillas was pepper-sprayed in front of the child. Before the spraying, Casillas said he asked the officer, "What I was getting pulled over for. He said, 'Are you asking me questions?' And I said it is my constitutional right."
Dustin Bartram, a police spokesman, said the case was "investigated thoroughly" and an undisclosed corrective action was taken. No further details were given because of "pending litigation," the police spokesman said.
•Jason Geils was pulled over for speeding in Carrollton last December. Once detained, Geils was arrested on suspicion of being intoxicated, according to a report on WFAA-TV. Geils said he suffered a concussion and other bruises after being roughed up by Carrollton Officer Don Patin and accused him of using excessive force.
Action 'unjustified'
"Monday morning quarterbacking" is easy when a person isn't involved in the adrenaline rush and danger of police work, said Hedden, the police trainer.
Stressing he was speaking in general terms, Hedden said, "These are human beings, and sometimes they will make mistakes."
In Cackler's case, the outside arbitrator said the disciplinary action was "unjustified." The examiner said that Cackler didn't commit all the conduct alleged and that "the disciplinary action did not fit the proven misconduct."
The hearing examiner did say that the city proved its case of Cackler's involvement in the egging at the Carrollton home of Steven Benzer and that three dispatchers were involved.
"The city has shown that the Appellant threw eggs at Mr. Benzer's house, but not with maliciousness as the City has alleged," the examiner wrote.
The hearing arbitrator implied in his report that Cackler received harsher treatment because Steve Blow of The Dallas Morning News learned about the incident and wrote about it.
The hearing examiner's report showed that there were more than 100 pages of incident reports involving Benzer's complaints against his neighbors.
Benzer was arrested after the egging incident. A Carrollton Municipal Court judge issued $2 million in bonds for his release on a charge of stalking and a charge of violation of a protective order, involving neighbors, his attorney Sandra Reynolds said. But the bond was later reduced by another judge.
Benzer met his bond payment of $50,000 and was released two weeks ago after four months in jail, his attorney said. Benzer was present two weeks ago in the Justice of the Peace courtroom as Cackler's criminal mischief case began. Trial on the case was delayed.
Meanwhile, attorney Reynolds said, "I have advised him to go stay with his mother and get away from Carrollton."
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