Stupid people of the week

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A Federal Agent Shot at a Driver in D.C. An MPD Officer Was Told To Omit the Shooting from His Report.

A Homeland Security Investigations agent shot at a man in D.C. at least three times during a traffic stop on Oct. 17, according to the man’s attorneys. But Metropolitan Police Department Officer Jason Sterling, who was working with federal agents on the “Make DC Safe Again” initiative that day, omitted any mention of the shooting in an affidavit filed in court. His partner, Officer Divonnie Powell also omitted it from the public incident report.

None of the bullets struck Phillip Brown, the driver and sole occupant of the Dodge SUV, according to his attorneys. But two bullets pierced his passenger seat, and a third ripped through the jacket he was wearing, near the collar, according to his attorneys. Brown was ultimately charged with fleeing from law enforcement, a felony.

Sterling testified in court last week that he was instructed by a “team leader” not to include details of the federal agent’s shooting in his report because there would be an internal affairs investigation into the incident, according to Quo Mieko S. Judkins, Brown’s defense attorney.

“I’ve never heard of that,” Judkins says, adding that police and prosecutors are required to disclose those details to the defense.

Sterling also did not mention the shooting to the U.S. attorney who was tasked with deciding whether to formally file criminal charges against Brown.

Judkins says neither she nor the U.S. attorney were provided with the body camera footage of the incident—another oddity in how this case played out. She says the prosecutor said the footage was “locked down.”

Police initially stopped Brown because they suspected the tint on his windows was too dark and he was allegedly missing a front license plate.

Sterling’s affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court describes how he and Powell were patrolling with agents from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Marshal Service, the FBI, and HSI.

Sterling notes that the SUV was “traveling at a normal speed,” but switched lanes several times “just as Officer Sterling activated the emergency equipment to affect a traffic stop.”

Sterling and Powell suspected the SUV was going to flee, so the local officers “moved out of the way to allowed [sic] the supporting federal partners to stop the vehicle.” (MPD is barred by law from engaging in traffic pursuits except in narrow circumstances; some Republicans in Congress want to repeal that restriction.)

When Brown’s SUV stopped behind a RAV4, Powell and an HSI agent named “Bebber” got out and started shouting orders (the affidavit does not list Bebber’s first name). Sterling describes the rest of the interaction like this:

“The engine to the Dodge SUV revved and start [sic] advancing towards officers that were on foot and ultimately struck the rear of the Rav4.

“The driver and sole occupant of the Dodge SUV was removed from the vehicle and detained. The driver, hereinafter referred to as Defendant Brown, was placed under arrest and transported to the 6th District Station for processing,” Sterling wrote.

Judkins says an HSI agent fired into Brown’s vehicle at least three times during the traffic stop. Two bullets hit the empty passenger seat, and one struck Brown’s jacket collar.

“It is shocking to me that someone was almost killed over a missing front license plate,” Judkins says. “According to the testifying officer, he was being stopped for suspected too-dark tint, and a missing front license plate.”

It wasn’t until his preliminary hearing on Oct. 21, four days after the shooting and arrest, that Sterling revealed in courtroom testimony that he had been instructed to omit details of the shooting. Brown spent four days in jail and was released after a judge dismissed the charge for lack of probable cause.

“He was nearly killed during this encounter, which the court found lacked probable cause for any criminal charge,” Judkins says, adding, “the officer admitted that the jacket that my client was wearing had a bullet hole around the collar area, so he was nearly struck. And there are two visible bullet entries in the passenger seat. So if anyone had been sitting there, they would have been gone.”

Brown was issued a notice of infraction for driving with a suspended vehicle registration, according to court records. At the time he was stopped in October, he was on probation after pleading guilty in June to similar charges, according to court records.

After the dismissal of the charges from October, Judkins filed a demand with the court to preserve all the evidence of the police interaction with Brown, including body camera footage, radio transmissions, internal communications and correspondences, photos, reports, spent shell casings, and “the jacket worn by Mr. Brown containing the bullet hole through or near the collar.”

Withholding body camera footage, along with the officer’s omission of the shooting from his affidavit, “raises grave concerns that critical evidence could be lost or destroyed,” Judkins writes in her demand filed in court.

MPD is required to publicize its officers’ serious uses of force, including anytime they fire their weapons, by identifying the officers involved and releasing body camera footage of the encounter. No such requirement applies to federal agents, even those working alongside MPD.

Adding to Judkins’ frustration over this case, she says the U.S. attorney offered Brown a plea deal the night before the preliminary hearing: avoid the hearing by pleading guilty, and the prosecutor would reduce the charge to a misdemeanor.

But at that point, the U.S. attorney hadn’t seen body camera footage of the incident and did not even know that an agent shot at Brown. Still, Judkins says, the prosecutor said the offer would expire at the start of the preliminary hearing.

“There was no meaningful consideration,” Judkins says. “At that point it was coercion. You either take the bargain without your attorney being able to fully investigate the case, or you lose the deal.”

D.C. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean dismissed the charge without prejudice, which means the U.S. Attorney’s Office can refile the case in the future.

MPD spokesperson Tom Lynch says the shooting is under investigation by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau. “MPD investigates all shootings involving members of law enforcement that occur in the District of Columbia,” Lynch says. “The case will be independently reviewed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.”

After this story was published, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson sent an emailed statement, saying in part: “On October 17, during a traffic stop an individual attempted to evade authorities. During the attempted stop, the suspect drove his vehicle at a Metro Police officer and a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations, in a deliberate attempt to run them down. The agent in fear for his life, and the lives of others, and the public fired defensive shots into the suspect’s vehicle. No one was injured and Metro Police took the suspect into custody. This incident is currently under investigation.”

Brown is now working with civil rights attorneys E. Paige White and Bernadette Armand on a potential lawsuit. They’re holding a press conference tomorrow, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m. in front of MPD headquarters at 441 4th Street NW.

“This federal agent shot into our client’s car and it was really not made public until his arraignment and subsequent preliminary hearing,” White says. “The MPD covered this up and didn’t mention the shooting anywhere on the police reports and have not released any body worn camera from this incident.”

“We’re concerned about the broader pattern of what it means to have federal agents who aren’t trained in citizen encounters and interacting with citizens on the streets of Washington, D.C.,” Armand adds. “This is what happens.”

Brown was unavailable for an interview, but Judkins says he’s been shaken up by the incident. He’s had trouble sleeping, she says, and keeps replaying the encounter over and over in his mind.

“He thought they were trying to kill him,” she says.

Source; Washington City Paper

‘You got some pants on, officer?’: Judge stunned at officer going pantsless on zoom appearance

A Detroit police officer left a judge speechless when he showed up for a Zoom hearing wearing his uniform top and badge — but no pants.

Officer Matthew Jackson from the Detroit Police Department appeared in the 36th District Court via Zoom on Monday for a reckless driving and public intoxication case, according to a video of the hearing posted to YouTube.

However, when Jackson appeared on camera, he was wearing his official police button-up uniform shirt, badge, and boxers, but no pants.

Judge Sean Perkins took immediate notice of the bizarre fashion choice, stumbling over his words for a moment before asking, “You got some pants on, officer?”

“No, sir,” Jackson then told the judge before moving his phone closer to his body so that only the upper portion of his body was visible.

A lawyer taking part in the hearing then appeared with a bewildered expression on her face.

Despite the awkward moment, the judge continued with the case without further mention of the bizarre incident.

Jackson did not appear on the Zoom call again during the hearing. It was not immediately clear why he was not wearing pants during the call.

In a statement to The Independent, the Detroit Police Department apologized for the officer’s appearance during the hearing.

“The Detroit Police Department requires its officers to represent themselves in a dignified and professional manner while attending court proceedings” said Detroit Police Chief, Todd Bettison. “The involved officer’s actions are not representative of the professionalism of this department and will be appropriately addressed to maintain the public confidence and efficient operation of this department.”

“Our apologies are hereby extended to the judges and staff of the court, as well as anyone else who may have been in attendance during this incident.”

The 36th District Court adheres to a casual business attire dress code, per the court’s website.

“Prohibited attire includes shorts (cut-offs), skorts, sleeveless shirts (tank tops), hats/caps (except those worn for cultural or religious purposes) and other clothing which is not suitable in a Court or any other professional environment.”

Source; The Independent

Fourteen police officers among 20 arrested in Mississippi drug bribery sting

Fourteen current and former law-enforcement officers are among 20 defendants charged in Mississippi and Tennessee with accepting bribes from drug traffickers for police protection in what officials called “a monumental betrayal of public trust”.

The arrests follow a years-long investigation by federal agents who posed as narcotics dealers. Two of the defendants were Mississippi sheriffs.

Federal officials set up the sting after hearing complaints from real drug traffickers about having to pay bribes to officers.

The bribery network allegedly extended beyond the Mississippi Delta region into Memphis, Tennessee, and Miami, Florida.

“The original complaints that began the investigation were from drug dealers,” US Attorney Clay Joyner for the Northern District of Mississippi told a news conference on Thursday.

Some of the officers had received bribes of between $20,000 (£15,000) and $37,000, the prosecutor added.

The sting involved undercover federal agents posing as drug dealers with fake narcotics, which the defendants allegedly believed to be 25kg (55lb) of cocaine.

FBI deputy director Andrew Bailey said the accused officers had “sold out the public”.

“They betrayed the trust that the public placed in them, disgraced the badge and undermined the hard work of good law enforcement officers across this state and region,” Bailey told the news conference.

The arrests come as US officials have embarked on air strikes in South America against alleged drug traffickers.

Source; BBC

Nancy Mace Allegedly Berates Police Officers At Charleston Airport, Calling Them ‘F*cking Incompetent’

Rep Nancy Mace (R-SC) has always come across like a pain in the ass, and she’s definitely (to quote from the great John Nolte over at Breitbart) got all the charm, warmth, sex appeal, and charisma of a first wife.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina allegedly cursed at police officers who tried to escort her to her flight at Charleston International Airport, calling them “fucking incompetent” after they failed to spot her car at the curb, according to a police report.

The South Carolina Republican arrived at the airport Wednesday morning in a gray or silver BMW, not the white BMW officers expected, according to a Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Department incident report. Officers waited at the ticketing area from 6:20 a.m. but never saw the white vehicle they were told to watch for.

When dispatch notified officers at 7 a.m. that Mace had reached the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint, they found her “very irate,” the report states. “She immediately began loudly cursing and making derogatory comments to us and about the department,” Officer A. Reed said in a report. “She repeatedly stated we were ‘fucking incompetent’ and ‘this is no way to treat a fucking US Representative.’”

Officer E.C. Southers confirmed Mace said “Tim Scott would not be fucking treated this way,” referring to South Carolina’s junior senator. Both officers noted Mace continued cursing during the entire walk to gate B-8.

An American Airlines gate agent told officers he was “in disbelief” at Mace’s behavior. TSA Supervisor Johnny Lynch said Mace spoke to TSA agents the same way and planned to report her conduct to his superiors.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is running against Mace in the GOP gubernatorial primary, demanded she apologize. “Law enforcement and TSA agents show up every day to protect the public, and right now they’re not even getting paid. They deserve respect and appreciation. Not profanity. Not threats. Not tantrums,” Wilson said in a statement.

Mace responded on X saying, “I wish Alan Wilson spent as much time prosecuting pedophiles as he does spying on me at the airport.”

Source; Daily Caller

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Crime, Police, Stupid Criminals