Stupid people of the week

7 Fla. police officers arrested in connection with deadly crash during pursuit

Seven West Palm Beach police officers are facing criminal charges after a high-speed chase in Boynton Beach last year that killed a mother and her daughter, the State Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

The officers were arrested Wednesday night and had their first appearances in court Thursday morning. Three of them, Austin B. Danielovich, Pierre F. Etienne, and Christopher C. Rekdahl, each face two counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a first-degree felony, as well as one count of official misconduct, a third-degree felony. Their bonds were set at $125,000. They are ordered to have no contact with the victims’ family or each other.

The other four officers, Michael E. Borgen, William L. Loayza, Brandan C. Stedfelt, and Darien J. Thomas, each face one count of official misconduct. Their bonds were set at $5,000.

On the night of July 30, Neoni Copeland was speeding away from police officers on North Congress Avenue in Boynton Beach when he crashed into a Toyota that was trying to make a left turn, according to police. Copeland had minor injuries and was arrested. The mother and daughter in the Corolla, Marcia Pochette, 57, and Jenice Woods, 27, were killed. Woods was pregnant and had just announced it to her family.

The seven officers pursuing Copeland left the scene of the crash without checking on the occupants of the Toyota, writing a police report, notifying emergency services or talking to Boynton Beach Police. One of the officers drove directly around the site of the crash on his way back to West Palm Beach, according to a probable cause affidavit.

“The police officers’ actions are a disturbing betrayal of the public trust,” State Attorney Alexcia Cox said in a statement. “Law enforcement officers have a duty to the public they swore to uphold. No one is above the law, and this office will pursue justice wherever the facts and the law lead.”

When Boynton Beach Police arrived that night, the women were still trapped in the Toyota, according to a probable cause affidavit from the State Attorney’s Office. Everyone else was gone.

Copeland had fled the scene. When Boynton Beach officers caught up to him about 10 minutes later and arrested him, he said he had fled out of fear because he was being pursued by West Palm Beach officers.

“No WPB officers contacted the BB police,” the affidavit states. “No WPB officers remained at the crash scene where two people died.”

It wasn’t until almost 3 hours after the crash that the ranking officer on duty heard about it when a Boynton Beach captain called him, according to the affidavit. No officers had told a supervisor about their involvement.

More at the source; Police1

Aussie Pilot Facing Multiple Charges Walks Out of Courtroom

Australian Peter McDougall, 68, faces charges related to a fatal aircraft accident in late 2021. McDougall is accused of 17 aviation-related offenses, including maintaining an unregistered aircraft since 2011 and refusing to surrender his pilot’s license. The experimental aircraft crashed on a beach shortly after takeoff, killing his 83-year-old passenger. Previous manslaughter charges were dropped in November 2024.

Described by prosecutors as a “sovereign citizen,” McDougall, 68, walked out of a district court committal hearing on May 25, saying, “I can’t participate in this kangaroo court. I’ll bid you all a very good day.” Having refused to apply for bail during the proceedings, he was then arrested on the steps of the Mackay Courthouse in Queensland and returned to the courtroom. His bail was extended and he will face the 17 charges at a later date.

According to news reports, McDougall, who appeared without legal representation, interrupted the committal hearing multiple times, calling Australia’s Civil Aviation Act of 1988 “unlawful,” claiming it applied only to commercial pilots and not operators of experimental aircraft such as the one involved in the accident.

Source; AVWeb

Rookie cop arrested, several injured in high-speed DUI crash

A rookie cop driving under the influence little more than a day after graduating from the San Francisco police academy slammed into another car early Saturday in the Outer Sunset, officials say.

The high-speed crash happened around 2 a.m. on Sunset Boulevard between Rivera and Santiago streets and left the cop, his passenger, and three people in the other vehicle injured — one of them critically — according to the San Francisco Police Department.

Photos of the crash posted on social media show a crumpled black minivan under a toppled concrete light pole and a second car, a charcoal sedan, with a wrecked hood and front driver’s-side tire completely dislodged.

Jail records indicate that the driver, Ryan Chung-Yan Kwong, 28, was booked at 8:18 a.m. Saturday on suspicion of four felony DUI-with-injury counts and one charge of reckless driving that caused injury.

Kwong was a member of the 284th SFPD academy class, officials confirmed. The recruits — part of the biggest SFPD academy class in six years — were sworn in Thursday by Chief Bill Scott at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center on 19th Avenue.

Photos from social media accounts under Kwong’s name show him posing with sports cars and bottles of alcohol.

Some of the pictures seem to be taken late at night; in an image shared on Facebook, he’s posing with four bottles of Hennessy. Some of the photos that were publicly visible until Saturday afternoon have since been taken down.

According to online profiles, Kwong attended Galileo High School and studied criminal justice at San Francisco State University.

The crash happened less than a week after Mayor Daniel Lurie announced plans to boost SFPD staffing by speeding up hiring and reviewing academy standards to improve graduation rates “without compromising standards.”

The mayor’s “Rebuilding the Ranks” plan comes just a couple of weeks after Assistant Chief David Lazar pitched the idea of shortening the academy’s duration from nine months to six to get more officers on the streets faster.

Scott called Saturday’s crash “incredibly tragic,” saying in a news release hours after that his “heart goes out to the injured victims.”

“We will do everything in our power to ensure justice is served in this case,” he added. “No one is above the law, and our officers know they are expected to obey the law, as well as our strict code of conduct even while off duty.”

The mayor and the San Francisco Police Officers Association echoed the chief’s condolences.

“Our hearts go out to the victims and family of this horrible tragedy, and we pray for the victims’ full recovery,” the union’s president, Tracy McCray, said in a statement. “There is no excuse for drunk driving, especially for police officers. If the allegations are true, he should be held fully accountable for his actions and the harm he’s caused.”

Though an arrest has been made, the investigation remains open; police ask anyone with information related to the case to call (415) 575-4444 or text a message that begins with “SFPD” to TIP411.

Source; SF Standard

Florida man armed with garden shears survives gator attack before being shot, killed by deputies

A man in Polk County was shot and killed by deputies on Monday after they say he was armed with garden shears and acting erratically after surviving an apparent gator attack.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies began searching for Timothy Schultz, 42, just before 6 a.m. after a convenience store clerk reported he was acting “bizarre.”

Deputies spend about 40 minutes looking for the man, WFLA says.

Schultz then began swimming in an alligator-infested lake, nearby residents told officials.

A witness tried to throw Schultz a life preserver and another witness said Schultz growled at them when they tried to help, PCSO said.

Witnesses told deputies an alligator was spotted close to him as he swam across the lake.

Schultz emerged from the lake with an apparent alligator bite and began walking between houses while holding a pair of garden shears.

PCSO said he then used a brick to attempt to break into a resident’s truck.

A witness told detectives they saw the suspect run at deputies with the shears. He was tased twice, but it didn’t stop him.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he climbed into the passenger side of a PCSO patrol vehicle, trying to get a deputy’s rifle.

That’s when two deputies, identified as a trainee and his trainer, opened fire on the suspect, killing him.

Judd said Schultz had a lengthy criminal history that included several arrests for methamphetamine.

Source; WESH

Paintsville Police patrolman arrested for DUI, assaulting officers

A Paintsville Police officer found himself on the wrong side of the law, when he was placed under arrest early Sunday morning.

Police were called to Taco Bell in Paintsville just after midnight Sunday morning, over a report of an ATV in the drive-thru with a driver who appeared to be intoxicated. A Paintsville Police officer and Johnson County sheriff’s deputy responded to the call, and found the ATV leaving the drive-thru when they arrived.

The police report notes that the driver, identified as 36-year-old Paintsville Police patrolman James Bradley, was swerving and ran a red light. According to the police report, in addition to Bradley, there was one other adult and five children on the ATV.

When officers approached, they reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol, but Bradley said hadn’t had anything to drink for about two hours. After Bradley failed a field sobriety test, he was taken to Paintsville ARH to have blood drawn to determine his impairment level.

Bradley refused to give blood, so officers obtained a search warrant for his blood. However, the police report notes he continued to rotate his arm back and forth, jerked away while being restrained, hit the officers with his shoulders, and at one point stood up on the bed and fell, hitting the officers. He finally relented and allowed blood to be drawn.

Bradley has been charged with DUI, five counts of wanton endangerment, two counts of assaulting a police officer and several other charges. He was booked in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center and released a few hours later on a $500 surety bond.

Paintsville Mayor Bill Mike Runyon declined to comment on the incident or Bradley’s current employment status, except to say it remains under investigation.

Source; Mountain Top Media

Category: Crime, Police, Stupid Criminals