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wssM
Maaggaazziinnee
http://www.topcops.com/
“TopCops van over de hele wereld sturen hun groeten, vriendschap en wensen voor vrede aan hun broeders en zusters, waar
ook ter wereld.
Wij nodigen je uit om deel uit te gaan maken van onze familie van beëdigde politiemensen afkomstig vanuit de hele wereld.
http://www.topcops.com/
TOPCOPS-L Restricted email discussion forum
Steun ons in ons streven naar eenheid tussen politiemensen in respect voor de mensen in de dorpen en steden, die wij
gezworen hebben te dienen en te beschermen.
TopCops Van Over De Hele Wereld is een wereldwijde ervaring!
TopCops Web Site: http://topcops.com/
INTERNATIONAL NEWSMAGAZINE
Home of TopCops and Friends
From Around the World!
TOPCOPS INTERNATIONAL NEWSMAGAZINE (A Global Experience) Volume 3, issue 8- dated October, 1999
Founder/Owner:
Deborah Gulley
LawWoman@topcops.com
Publishers:
Deborah Gulley (LawWoman@topcops.com)
Mike Wood (mgwood@dlcwest.com)
Editors:
Deborah Gulley (lawwoman@topcops.com)
Jason Bunch (bunchaj@enetis.net)
1.
Special Features
Bolivar of TopCops from Around the World
TopCops Top Cops says, Safety First
How to Prosecute a case – Phillip A Parrot
2.
Stories from Around the World –
A World’s EYE view
3.
Mind/Jokes//Soul & Heart Stuff
Advisor:
Bob Foy (Bob.Foy@topcops.com)
(Publisher/Founder, Copsonline Magazine)
Distributors:
Mike Wood (mgwood@dlcwest.com)
Deborah Gulley (LawWoman@TopCops.com)
Reporters:
Sean Ross (seanross@lava.net)
John Sonley (JWscpd8@aol.com)
J. Scutero (stroop@magicnet.net )
Web master:
Detv. D Coarsey
detdc83@HENDERSONVILLE-PD.ORG
Asst . Web Mistress:
NiteOwl^ (TopCops.WebLady@niteowl.org
OR NiteOwl@topcops.com)
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by regular mail services. To subscribe to the
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page.
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published or an interested bit of information
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TopCops On The Internet
Post Office Box 531
Flushing, New York 11367
Fax 718-820-0857
July 1, 1957 - September 14, 1999
International
List Membership Screeners
for TopCops-L
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please submit your request for membership to
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Jayson M. Bunch http://www.enetis.net/~bunchaj
Robert T. Randall “Bob’s Beat”http://www.personal.riverusers.com/~enforcer
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lawwoman@topcops.com or Mike Wood at
mgwood@dlcwest.com if you have any questions
or problems.
Jean-françois, Paris, France –
jfr@club-internet.fr
Mike Wood, Regina, Saskatchewan Canada mgwood@dlcwest.com
Warwick Brown, Sydney, Australia brownwj@yahoo.com
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Carl Cutler, New Zealand –
legend-@ihug.co.nz
Volkmar Miehling, Germany Volkmar.Miehling@t-online.de
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or Campus16B@aol.com
Dale Grimwood, Australia calamity@pcpro.net.au
Ryk Traeger, South Australia jtraeger@arcom.com.au
Scott M. Wilson FSA Scot, Scotland scott.wilson@sol.co.uk
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cassco50@brainerd.net
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harry.kouwenhoven@wxs.nl
Glen Tankard – Sdyney Australia
AussieFed@topcops.com
Craig Cobern – Western Australia
cobernswa@BIGPOND.COM
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Cass County Sheriff’s Department Walker, MN 56484
Chief Harold http://www.angelfire.com/tx/buffalosoldier/
Andy “Acreatures’ Lair “
http://members.tripod.com/acreature/acreature.html
Peter Russell - 1st is my department:
Dunstable MA PD at http://www.dunstablepd.com
2nd is my personal
Officer P Russell at http://www.gis.net/~cuffs
Gene Matzke - http://www.antiques-hotline.com/badges./htm
Volkmar Miehling http://Volkmar.PoliceOfficer.com
Our RESTRICTED email Discussion Forum
TopCops-L is open to (active and retired) Police
officers , peace officers, correction officers, State
prosecutors, Court officers, Probation officers,
Dispatchers and any other personnel directly related
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Get your Acrobat Reader (FREE) at the indicated site: Necessary in order to view TopCops NewsMagazine;
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And our NewsMagazine at this indicated site; available tor download each month at this site; http://www.topcops.com/news/newssub.htm
Coming Soon: The TopCops Bolivar Web Design Award. In addition to our original TopCops Web Design award
we will feature a Web Design Award in honor of Bolivar.
This is kind of a special award and is to relate to web sites I think that
Law Enforcement sites with outstanding design or content should be
the ones getting it
Visit our Awards given winners page:
http://www.topcops.com/awards/awardwin.htm
Visit our Awards Recieved page:
http://www.topcops.com/awards/award.htm
IIN
NTTE
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RN
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ETT E
E--M
MA
AIILL W
WA
AR
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NIIN
NG
GSS -WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU ACT
by Ira Wilsker
HOAXES AND URBAN LEGENDS… http://www.ih2000.net/ira/hoaxes.html
ASCII Version at: http://www.ih2000.net/ira/hoax-art.txt
SPONSORS OF TOPCOPS.COM
http://www.communitech.net/
TopCops on the Internet at: http://topcops.com/
Join TopCops-L, our RESTRICTED email discussion list: listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com
July 1, 1957 - September 14, 1999: Bolivar was 42, divorced with 4 children. All of us grown. He spent from 1989 to 1993 as
a Corrections Officer at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Louisiana. That is the states maximum security prison. He
spent 14 years as a volunteer firefighter and was an instructor for firefighters, certified through Louisiana State University's
Fireman Training Academy. He owned and operated his own computer and graphics business which has done and is still doing
quite well. Resident of Clearwater, Florida and rests now in Louisiana.
I am the son of Bolivar. As some of you know, Dad has been fighting health problems for a couple years now. I was in the Topcops
chat room the other night to inform some of his friends that Dad was once again in the hospital and had been since June.
This time it did not look like he would leave. It is my sad duty to let all of you know that his fight ended on Tuesday morning, 9-1499 at 8:07 am. The liver cancer that he has fought so hard to control and that he refused to believe would hurt him finally took it's toll.
If it is any consolation, he did not suffer much in the end (mostly from heavy drugs) and he died in his sleep. Funerals services were
held Friday morning following his death and he was laid to rest in his native Louisiana. I and the rest of the family would like to
apologize for the delay in informing his friends from IRC but actually we really did not know of you :
( Only after going through his computer to find something to do while he was in the hospital did we fall upon mIRC and find the chat
channels that he had book-marked. We started going through those channels and found Topcops among others. There is a semi recent
photo of Dad at: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Cockpit/3382/picture/ It is about 9 months old. I will be making a small
website with several other pictures we have found on his computer and a few others we will be scanning.
The email address above is one we have opened to receive email for Dad when he was in the hospital as we could check it there and
have the nurses print it to give to him. Thank you to JamaMn and Peacekeeper whom I talked to in the chat room the other night for
your concern and support. The Strohm
From Deborah of #TopCops
As you may know, Bolivar was TopCops webmaster for quite
sometime and he is Greatly responsible for the magnificent
success TopCops web-page has experienced over the past 4 - 5
years. He started the page on it's way to International fame
and appreciation.
I met Bolivar shortly after my mom died of cancer. Not long
after we met, he told me of his grandmother's illness with
cancer. I was one of the first people Bolivar told of his illness
and he swore me to secrecy because he did not want pity from
anyone.
I am sorry I did not have an opportunity to remind Ken of just
how much I admired his work and appreciated all he had done
for me and TopCops during his last days.
Even though we lost contact with each other, I ALWAYS
asked others of him and even tried sending him email on a few
occasions.
I often told him how great he was when he was web master
but after management of the page changed, everything else
changed too. This saddens me greatly.
My heart is truly saddened by this news. Please give your
family my, along with our #TopCops forum, deepest
sympathy. When you are feeling up to it, Please share with us
an address where we may send a token of our sorrow at
this loss and our appreciation for all Bolivar did for Our grand
TopCops.
Bolivar was a GREAT web master and even though our
relationship was an online one, I feel the loss of his passing.
When John told me that Bolivar's wife came online asking
that members of #TopCops be notified of his passing, it
suddenly set in just how much TopCops really meant to
Bolivar.
I will never forget his contributions and as long as TopCops is
on my list of things to do, remembering Bolivar's contribution
will remain a prominent focus of this organization. Again,
Thank you and Be of good courage.
Deborah Gulley wrote, in part: "What a stupid thing for anyone to do...Wait until someone is dead to give them flowers."
"They can't see them! They can't feel them! They can't smell them!" "So once again it's should've...could've...ought to have been!"
Deborah, LawWoman@topcops.com
===================================
Deb,
With all the "smoke" you have been through, in your heart of hearts, you know Bolivar can indeed see, feel and smell the flowers. I'm
certain his senses have been heightened beyond our wildest dreams, and he knows your caring heart. This brother and sisterhood of
the Blue, opens pathways from one heart to the other, never to be blocked or broken. Communication is accomplished in many ways,
sometimes not consciously connected, but nevertheless, heart touches heart. Brothers and sisters are never gone, but merely in
another beat, waiting for us to join them. Aloha, Sean
I am greatly saddened by his death. I remember when he first came on the
#topcops scene several years ago. He did some wonderful work with the
WebPages and as a channel admin on #topcops. I never knew he was even ill.
He never mentioned a word of it and I had "talked" to him a few times in the
not too distant past on #topcops. I wish his family the best as I know they
will greatly miss this talented man. I know this hits close to home for you
too. We will all feel this loss.
Paul Hower
aka poooh on IRC TOPCOPS
Court Liaison Officer
La Habra Police Department, California
poooh672@hotmail.com
Deputy901 of #TopCops
I can still remember when I first met Ken. I can
still remember all the fun we had in topcops on
the undernet irc server. It seems
like only yesterday that we were all in there
having a blast. He was a great friend to all of us.
We have made so many wonderful friends during
the past several years and even though we have
never met most of them in person, we still feel
like one big family. Those of us who knew Ken
"aka" Bolivar will truly miss him. He is in God's
Kingdom now where he can watch over all of
us.
Corporal Sal Torelli
Fauquier County Sheriff's Office
Warrenton, Virginia
TopCops Top Cops say - Our Experts advise:
What should a lone woman do if an unmarked vehicle tries to pull her over in an isolated and deserted area?
In Arizona, should an unmarked car that could or
In our jurisdiction detectives or narcotics use regular marked patrol
could not be the police try to pull you over, it is
recommended that you pull into a well lighted area,
like a gas station, try to flag down a marked car if you
see one, or if near a police station, go directly to the
station.
Those
suggestions
are
by
the
police here.
cars to make the stop & then once the stop has been made handles
from there. This alleviates someone from saying "I didn't know for
sure it was the police". Years ago before this practice was put into
effect drug runners would continue because they said " we didn't
know it was the police, for all we knew it could have been another
drug dealer trying to hit us". With uniform officers & marked cars this
eliminates this story & gives plain clothes officers more protection by
there being more back-up with uniformed officers both making the
stop & being on the scene.
Arizona is a carry concealed law as well as carry in
your vehicle, out in the open, so if any of those want
to be cops pull you over, they would have more
happen than what they want to happen. I know of
only one case of some pretend cop trying to pull over
a woman.
John Sonley Chicago PD Retired
Many times a plain wrapper will radio dispatch to have a uniform car
intercept & stop a subject they want to take into custody… Take Care
& Be Safe.
Harry Cross Retired Deputy Sheriff-Ohio HRC6@AolCom
I drive an unmarked unit and have for the past 9 years. Occasionally I make traffic stops. Over the years I have
learned to call for a marked unit (if at all possible) when making the stop, especially at night with a female driver. It seems to
put the driver more at ease if a marked unit is present. If no marked unit is available close by, I usually try to wait to do the stop
in an area where other vehicles and people are present. I have only had a couple of stops where the driver would not stop within
a short distance. On these stops the driver did stop after a marked unit arrived.
I would not charge a driver with evading or fleeing when making a stop in an unmarked unit UNLESS the driver tried to avoid
the stop by speeding or driving reckless. Tennessee law makes it a felony (Class E - 1 to 6 years) to flee from a police officer in
a motor vehicle. Tennessee law recognizes unmarked vehicles as authorized emergency vehicles as long as they have visible
flashing lights and an audible warning device. Most of the officers that I know who drive unmarked units would not charge a
driver with fleeing unless the driver starts driving reckless and deliberately evading the officer.
Our department policy discourages traffic stops with an unmarked unit for the very reasons you have cited. Some departments
have banned stops with an unmarked unit altogether. I don't know if there is a good answer to the problem except for officers
and drivers to use common sense. My personal feeling is that if the driver drives in a reasonable manner to a police station or
until encountering a marked unit, I will have a tough time proving to a judge or jury that they had any intent to flee.
On the other hand, if the driver speeds up, starts driving reckless, and deliberately trying to get away from the officer, I think a
trip to jail is a definite probability.
Detective Sam Bragg - Marshall County Tennessee Sheriff's Office
{There are situations when this has caused serious problems for women driving alone. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to purchase
uniforms and police equipment through catalogs and online vendors.}
This is an unfortunate problem indeed. We have had similar problems in this state, including the infamous "Blue-light Rapist" (LE
Agencies use blue here.), who was subsequently caught and convicted.
As a result of the "Blue-light Rapist" case, we generally instruct female driver's not to immediately pull over for unmarked cars with
blue lights. We suggest that they continue on to the first "safe" and "well lighted" area, preferably where there are people present.
Traffic officers here are usually well aware of this and go along with what is happening. (Fortunately, as a general rule, we do not use
unmarked vehicles for traffic enforcement. Some agencies, do have "slick top" vehicles but, they are clearly marked.) I have only seen
a few instances where an officer has charged a female driver with anything like "attempting to elude" for taking this type of safety
precaution.
Most officers in this state have been instructed not to make traffic stops if in an unmarked vehicle, except in rare circumstances. It is
suggested to the officers, to follow the vehicle only and, request assistance from a marked unit to make the stop.
I can only speak from my experience but, to this date, I have never prosecuted a female driver for any additional offenses in the
circumstances you describe. As a general rule, I have not pressed any charges for "failure to yield" or "attempting to elude" and I
doubt that any member's of the judiciary I know would convict under these circumstances, absent some
extremely aggravating circumstances. Just my 2 cents, worth.
Paul M. Heffler
Asst. DA, 14th Jud Cir, AL
As a member of the NYPD I find this hard to
answer - Because I can get a marked car anytime and faster
than I can get another unmarked to the scene in many cases.
I do have a split opion on this. I 've spent a good portion of my
career in plain clothes in an un marked car. I get a little ticked off
when people do not want to pull over.
NYPD Narcotics, in my opinion, needs to be careful with
this..... not that they pull over any unsuspecting women or
anything like that.... They only stop people they just bought
from etc.... but most of Narcotics' cars are rentals... with no
siren.. and usually only 1 thrown together dash light..... same
with Street Crime... I personally wouldn't stop for them if
they tried to pull me over... and of course... most of them
don't look like cops so that makes you more suspect of them.
Rob Corbett
Yet I also when a car gives me a hard time stopping get a marked vehicle there to assist with the stop. I only had the problem once and
when I did we were stopping a lone female who was on foot in an area that was dangerous for her well being. She was tourist walking
in a drug/ prostitution spot a dumb livery threw her out of the car when he could not find where she wanted to go to. We kept our
distance she stopped for us and we got a marked car to the scene during the conversation so she knew we were the Police and we
helped her get to where she was staying. Rick....middle of the fence on this one
In CA, in order for there to be a violation for evading the officer has to be in uniform and a marked vehicle with at least a
solid red light showing to the front and an amber to the rear. We do have unmarked vehicles with red lights and plain
clothes officers driving marked units.
In those cases we cannot charge someone with evading if they do not yield. On another note, when I was working traffic
in the 80's they decided to give my partner (in his 50's at the time and as such even older school than me...lol) and I plain
white vehicles with deck lights (slick tops). One day prior to the conversion being complete (cars were just white with a
white spot only) I heard my partner calling in a failure to yield. Turns out he was out there and trying to stop this poor
unsuspecting violator with his white spot. Lets just say it was good for entertainment value.
Paul Hower
Court Liaison Officer
La Habra, CA Police Department
p.hower@topcops.com
Mpumalanga police chief condemns racist incident at Evander
Evander - Mpumalanga police commissioner Lindelihle Khanyile has condemned the alleged
altercation
L at Evander police station between a white inspector and two black members on Sunday.
A
Police
spokesman Inspector Sibonogile Nkosi said the inspector arrived at the station's community
P
service
centre after midnight on Saturday and kicked the door open.
D
Sergeant Lasi Nkosi and Constable John Mhlanga were inside, and the inspector allegedly used
S
abusive
language and punched Nkosi, who retaliated. Khanyile on Monday said assault and
c
abusive
language among members of the police service were "disgraceful, and cannot be tolerated
a
under
any circumstances".
n
d will not hesitate to act swiftly and decisively against any member who renders himself or
"I
a
herself
guilty of such inhuman and unprofessional conduct," he said. He said he had asked that a
l
senior
police officer be appointed to probe the allegations and submit a report to his office as a
matter of urgency.
Khanyile said there was no time frame set for the probe, but added it would depend on the
outcome of interviews with witnesses. Nkosi and Mhlanga have laid assault and crimen injuria
charges, and an assault charge has been made against Nkosi. - Sapa
Senior cop in probe after corruption claims
Newcastle - A senior KwaZulu-Natal policeman is being investigated after a television crew
followed him for the day and alleged that he was using official police vehicles for private
use and a subordinate as his driver. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Director Bala Naidoo
said an internal investigation had been launched on Friday after allegations were made
against a Northern KwaZulu-Natal policeman. On Sunday, SABC TV news showed footage
apparently taken while following the policeman in Newcastle. They alleged that two police
vehicles had been at the policeman's poultry farm and that the policeman and a subordinate
used them to ferry chickens to clients and to take the senior officer's father shopping. It was
claimed that the policeman should have been at work and that his office said that he was at a
management meeting when he was in fact working on his farm. Naidoo said police have
requested the tapes from SABC and would decide on what steps should be taken. - Sapa
News From Our Member in Sydney, Glen Tankard: 9 for the good guys!
The Daily Telegraph - Saturday, September 18, 1999 - Page 6
"Nine people appeared in court yesterday to face almost 50 charges relating to three separate
murders and a number of unsolved shootings across Sydney over the past 18 months."
Shootings included the murder of two footballers outside a suburban pub and the drive-by
shooting of Lakemba Police Station located in Sydney's west. Although no police were hurt in the
incident many of the officers have since retired from the force because of it. The arrested persons
are also considered responsible for giving death threats to police at Bankstown Station with a
stolen police radio.
I must take this opportunity to congratulate the New South Wales state police for a job well done
in getting these low-life's off the streets and in custody. Lets just hope that the courts back them up
and give them some serious time to think about their spineless actions over the past 18 months!
Glenn Tankard - Australian Federal Police, Member TopCops, Member IPA
Thursday, September 23, 1999
UK - Man shot dead by police
An investigation is under way after a man was shot dead by police in the east end of
London. Armed police were called to Victoria Park Road in Hackney, at 7.44pm
on Wednesday night after receiving reports of a man with a firearm in the area.
The man, who was white, was challenged by police but the officers felt they were under imminent threat and opened fire.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A number of shots were fired by police. "It is not known how many at this stage. The
man, who is white, was pronounced dead at the scene." He said a full investigation was under way by the Complaints
Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Metropolitan Police. The incident has also been voluntarily referred to the Police
Complaints Authority, which is supervising an investigation. A Scotland Yard spokesman said no firearm had been
recovered but a detailed search had not yet been carried out.
'GUNMAN' KILLED BY POLICE WAS CARRYING PIECE OF WOOD
A suspected gunman shot dead by police was carrying a piece of wood in a plastic bag, the Police Complaints
Authority has confirmed. Armed officers were called to Hackney, east London on Wednesday night after a
report that a man was carrying a gun in the blue bag. Officers believed they were "under immediate threat" from
a man, believed to be in his 40s, who fitted the description and he was killed in a volley of bullets. But no
weapon was found after an extensive search and the PCA has confirmed that the bag contained a piece of wood.
Police captain charged with bigamy
East London - A group of 150 women packed the Mdatsane Regional Court in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday to hear
the case of a Port Elizabeth police captain charged with bigamy. Captain Bhongo Dastile, 51, was apparently caught
with his pants down in 1997 when his first wife, Ndileka, 41, found another marriage certificate in her husband's pants
while doing the laundry. In court the two wives were called into the witness box, where they stood side-by-side facing
the man they both believed to be their husband. Magistrate Johannes van der Vywer postponed the trial to January 17.
The case was postponed as Dastile did not have legal representation. Dastile apparently married Ndileka on February
26, 1982, and 15 years later he also allegedly married Amanda Manyashe on October 10, 1997. Dastile, currently out
of jail on warning, allegedly committed a second offence, namely fraud, when he informed Manyashe that there was
no impediment to their marriage and that he was single. If found guilty, Dastile could face 15 years in jail. Ndileka is
currently believed to be instituting divorce proceedings. David Lulama Halam prosecuted and Morne Lombard
appeared for Dastile. - Sapa
Los Angeles Police Officer Sets Off Corruption Scandal - By TODD S. PURDUM, September 18, 1999
LOS ANGELES-A dozen Los Angeles police officers were suspended this week in the department's biggest corruption
scandal in 60 years, after a former officer convicted of stealing cocaine told investigators that he and a partner shot an
unarmed, handcuffed gang member three years ago and then framed him by planting a .22-caliber rifle near his paralyzed
body.
The gang member was ordered released from prison, where he was serving a 23-year sentence for assault on the police.
It sounds like a movie, but those details were the stuff of headlines here as local officials and the F.B.I. sifted through the
sordid pieces of a sweeping investigation into suspected drug-dealing and corruption in a department that has been dogged
by high-profile accusations of brutality in recent years.
The reports of misconduct under investigation include illegal shootings, drug-dealing, excessive use of force, and false
testimony, and officials say more officers could be involved. "It's not a good day," the Chief of Police, Bernard C. Parks,
said at a hastily called news conference late Wednesday announcing the suspension of 12 officers who either work or have
worked in the department's gritty Rampart Division on the western edge of downtown Los Angeles.
The investigation grew out of a plea bargain last week, in which the former officer, Rafael A. Perez, agreed to cooperate
with officials in exchange for a lighter sentence on his conviction for stealing eight pounds of cocaine from a police
evidence locker. Perez told the authorities that he and a former partner, Nino Durden, intentionally shot the gang
member, Javier Francisco Ovando, at point-blank range in a 1996 raid and then planted a gun to make it seem he had
attacked them.
Ovando, then 19, an illegal immigrant and an acknowledged member of the 18th Street gang, was paralyzed, confined to a
wheelchair and sentenced to prison. The authorities have declined to offer a motive for the alleged police attack, but
some senior city officials speculate that the officers were suspected of stealing drugs and money from dealers. Officer
Durden was relieved of duty last month following accusations, in unrelated cases, that included planting drugs on suspects
and making a false arrest.
Today, a police official speaking on the condition of anonymity said that Officer Perez had been taken into protective
custody after threats were made on his life by Mexican drug lords. Tamar Toister, the public defender who represented
Ovando at his trial, said that Officers Perez and Durden were "the slickest, most polished witnesses" she had ever
encountered. "I don't feel like a hero right now," Ms. Toister said. "I feel victimized, as, I'm sure, should everyone else in
L.A."
On Thursday, at the request of the Los Angeles District Attorney's office, Ovando was released from Salinas Valley State
Prison in Northern California. Dennis Chang, a lawyer hired to represent Ovando's 2-year-old daughter, Destiny, said
today that Ovando was under police watch at a downtown hotel here, and that his family had been unable to talk to him.
According to court papers filed on Thursday by prosecutors seeking Ovando's release, the original report filed by Officers
Perez and Durden said they shot Ovando, who they said was armed with a rifle, after he burst into an apartment where the
officers were staked out on a gang investigation. But now Perez has told the investigators that Ovando did not break into
the apartment and was not armed. Instead, Perez said, Officer Durden argued with Ovando and then drew his sidearm and
shot him, prompting Perez to fire his own weapon, too. Perez said Officer Durden then left the apartment, and returned
with a rifle found in a gang sweep days earlier, and placed it near Ovando, having filed off its serial number.
The papers say that Ovando, now 22, disputes this, and told an investigator he was in his own apartment in the building
when the two officers knocked on the door, handcuffed him and took him back to their stakeout, where he was shot in the
chest by both officers. Ovando said Perez then grabbed him by the front of the shirt, held up him upright and shot him in
the head.
Ovando was charged with two counts of assault with a firearm on a police officer. He did not testify at his trial, according
to the court papers, because his lawyer advised him that "he would not be believed by a jury." As the investigation
expanded with word that the authorities are also looking into a second suspicious shooting, involving some of the
suspended officers, that left one man dead and another wounded, city officials sought to put Officer Perez's explosive
accusations in some perspective.
Gerald Chaleff, the president of the civilian commission that oversees the Police Department, said in an interview that the
department had reacted quickly to the accusations that he said were limited to a handful of officers in an agency of
roughly 13,000 employees.
Chaleff emphasized the department's reputation for toughness on corruption and played down questions about the impact
of the scandal on other officers' credibility in pending cases.
"I don't think that's as much of a long-term problem or one that may even be a short-term problem," he said. "There are
people who will believe the worst about police officers before yesterday, and they probably still will." Officials have said
that many of the accusations center on officers in the Rampart Division's anti-gang enforcement unit, which critics say
operated in a semiautonomous system that tolerated extreme tactics.
"They're in a tough area, they're dealing with some tough guys, they've taken on some tough tactics," said Chang, who is
representing several clients in lawsuits against current or former Rampart Division officers. "It's just developed and grown
and gotten pretty bad. The citizens they serve and protect play hardball, and I guess they're playing hardball back."
Bad Boys in Blue
LA Police Rocked by Scandal
Allegation
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, left,
called allegations of police corruption
“disgusting” as he and Police Chief Bernard
Parks answered reporters’ questions about a
scandal engulfing the LAPD. (Nick Ut/AP
Photo)
By Judy Muller
ABCNEWS.com
L O S A N G E L E S, Sept. 20 —
The Los Angeles Police Department is reeling from the fallout of
its worst scandal in years.
The city has suspended enforcement of an injunction that prohibited the notorious 18th Street gang from congregating,
because the officers’ testimony may have been false. So far, a dozen officers have been suspended over allegations of
beating, shooting and framing suspects.
Today, Mayor Richard Riordan spoke out for the first time since the scandal broke last week.
“It is unfortunate,
disappointing and disgusting that any police officer would violate the laws he or she is sworn to uphold,” Riordan told
reporters.
Police Chief Bernard Parks said the officers in question would be investigated and any wrongdoing punished. “I think
we have a small number of officers that have chose to in some instances to tarnish their badges,” Parks said.
Framing a Gang Member
It all began when former Officer Rafael Perez, who had been convicted of stealing cocaine from the evidence room, made
a plea bargain in which he revealed a much more serious crime.
He alleged that he and a partner, Nino Durden, shot an unarmed, handcuffed gang member in the head at point-blank
range and then framed him by planting a rifle near his body. The gang member, Javier Ovando, was paralyzed, confined
to a wheelchair and convicted of assault on an officer.
“It never occurred to me that police officers would shoot somebody, frame him, commit
perjury at this trial and then watch him get sentenced to state prison,” said Tamar Toister,
Ovando’s public defender. Ovando has been released from prison, where he was serving a
23-year sentence.
Javier Francisco Ovando on
Feb. 24, 1998. (AP Photo)
Investigations and Lawsuits
Similar allegations have been made against other officers in the Rampart Division’s CRASH
unit, an elite force charged with policing one of the city’s most violent neighborhoods. The
mostly poor and Hispanic district is west of downtown Los Angeles.
“The Rampart
CRASH officers have just taken it upon themselves, for lack of a better word, to fight fire
with fire,” said Dennis Chang, the Ovando family lawyer. “And I think it’s getting out of
hand.”
The scandal has prompted calls for greater oversight of the police department.
Hundreds of arrests and convictions are now suspect and could be overturned. And the
lawsuits are bound to follow.
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PLEASANTVILLE -- Carlton Torian, 41, of the Pleasantville Police Department has been dismissed after
being found guilty of internal charges within the department. Torian, who has not returned to Pleasantville since
his dismissal, has also been charged with assault in Connecticut involving a domestic violence dispute.
Torian was placed on $1,000 bond for the arrest in Connecticut and the State Police seized his city-issued
weapon. He posted bond and was released. The charges pending in Connecticut have no relation to his
dismissal. A day before being arrested in Connecticut, Torian missed a hearing here involving the internal
charges against him.
"Torian was approved to take time off, but that did not excuse him from his hearing," said Chief Richard
Gray. "We believe he is still outside the state. I suspended him immediately even though he is out of town."
On Sept. 3, Torian was served with administrative charges by Gray and those charges were set to be heard at a
hearing date for Sept. 13.
Torian, who was on approved vacation from the department but was still required to be at the hearing,
did not show up for the hearing nor did he request a postponement or arrange representation. Subsequently,
Torian was found guilty of internal charges. On Sept. 14 in Winham, Conn., Torian was arrested on the assault
charges, which are pending a trial date.
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By BRIGITTE GREENBERG
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (September 8, 1999 ) - A federal judge
dismissed a lawsuit by a man who was deemed too smart to be
a police officer, ruling that the New London, Conn., Police
Department’s rejection of Robert Jordan because he scored too
high on an intelligence test did not violate his rights.
The city’s rationale for the long-standing practice is that
candidates who score too high could soon get bored with police
work and quit after undergoing costly academy training.
In the ruling released Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Peter C.
Dorsey said there is no evidence that a high score is in any way
related to job satisfaction, performance or turnover.
But he said: “The question is not whether a rational basis has
been shown for the policy chosen by defendants. Plaintiff may
have been disqualified unwisely, but he was not denied equal
protection.”
Jordan, 48, has a bachelor’s degree in literature and is now a
state corrections officer.
In 1996, he scored a 33, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. The
average score nationally for police officers, as well as office
workers, bank tellers and salespeople, is 21 to 22, the
equivalent of an IQ of 104.
Police in New London, with a population of 27,000,
interviewed only those candidates who scored 20 to 27.
City Manager Richard Brown said the hiring process will
remain the same. “There has been nothing to come across my
desk that would cause me to make a change,” he said.
Federal prison has 300 jobs
by Joseph R. Daughen - Daily News Staff Writer
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons is looking for more than a
few good men - and women - to staff its new federal
jail at 7th and Arch streets.
The 11-story, $90 million Philadelphia Metropolitan
Detention Center, scheduled to be completed in
December, will need at least 301 workers, said
Florentino Morlote, executive assistant at the center.
To fill some of those positions, the bureau is holding a
job fair Tuesday from noon to 6 p.m. at the Clarion
Suites, 1010 Race St.
“We’re hoping to fill about 55 percent of the positions,
165 jobs, with people who live in and near the
community where the detention center is,” said
Morlote.
The majority of the vacancies are for correctional
officers who will be responsible for maintaining order
in the facility, which is to have 757 beds in 628 cells.
The starting salary for correctional officers is $27,497,
Morlote said.
The prison also is looking for secretaries, clerical help,
social workers, human resources workers, cooks and
trades workers, Morlote said.
Starting salaries range from $27,497 for clerical
personnel to $40,446 for plumbers, carpenters and
other trades employees and cook supervisors, said
Morlote.
Those detained there will be awaiting trial in the U.S.
Phillip A. Parrott, Chief Deputy District Attorney
Denver District Attorney
How to Get a Prosecutor to Take Your Case... And
Take it Seriously
I am a local prosecutor. My job is to prosecute
complex economic crime cases (sometimes called whitecollar cases). I love my job. I love to go to trial. I love to
win convictions in white-collar cases.
And -- I love working with dedicated, well-trained
cops and investigators. Without them, where would I be?
Nowhere! I would be just an actor without a script, a
singer without a song.
Therefore, this article is dedicated to those cops
and investigators who want people like me to take their
case... and take it seriously. If you want me on your case,
here are ten things to keep in mind --in no particular
order...
• Try to interview the target. The Fifth Amendment notwithstanding, targets also have a right to talk and, in my
experience, they love to talk. Often what starts out as a whopper of a lie turns into a confession. Even if it doesn’t , we
want to lock them into that initial “story”. The more outrageous it sounds the better. We want to make sure they are stuck
with that story when they take the stand.
The Fifth Amendment and Miranda afford targets certain protections, particularly when they are in custody. Why
not talk to them before you take them into custody, in a non-threatening situation (like their office or home)? Use the
magic language: “You are not under arrest. You do not have to talk with me. You can leave (or ask me to leave) at any
time.” This sounds so much more polite than that nasty old Miranda language.
• Be complete, honest and accurate. Generally, by the time we get to motions hearings and trial, we are stuck
with what is in your reports, memoranda of interview and affidavits. It is essential that these reports be complete and
accurate. Quotations should be in quotes, or indented like quotations. Summaries should be identified as such. Numbers
and dates should be 100% accurate -- they are vital pieces of information. If the report contains an estimate, make sure
you identifies it as an estimate. Typographical errors make you look unprofessional.
Reports should be factual. Impressions and opinions should be included only when appropriate and when based
upon your observations and experience (e.g., the witness appeared to understand each of my questions). Careless errors
and overarching statements in reports can prove humiliating for you and for me. If a good defense attorney is at work,
either you or the witness will come off sounding like a liar, or a fool. In any case, it will not help our case.
The three most important words about reports are: proofread, proofread and proofread. Read it out loud. Ask
others to read it. When you are 100% sure that it contains no errors, please read it one more time. Above all, be honest.
Do not misrepresent evidence or hide exculpatory facts. Nothing can rehabilitate a cop or investigator whom a judge or
jury believes has been dishonest.
• Write clearly. Here in the USA we communicate using the written word. The Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution, and the screenplays for all of the Star Wars movies were all written down. If you cannot write, you cannot
communicate important information. I am reluctant to prosecute if investigators’ reports are unclear , even if I understand
the details of the crime. Poorly written affidavits supporting arrest and search warrants scare me to death.
As a person who struggles with the written word, here are a few suggestions. Outline your thoughts in advance...
before you write. Give the document structure. Usually that structure will be chronological. A victim-by-victim structure
may be more appropriate in other cases. Use headings and subheadings to give the reader an idea where you are going.
Keep sentences short. Use spell check religiously. Use charts and tables -- any kind of illustration -- liberally.
Ask someone who writes well to critique your document. And--put their feedback to work.
• Remain objective. A key part of your job is to gather, and then objectively analyze, the evidence. If you lose
your objectivity, you lose your ability to critically analyze the ever growing, ever changing evidence. In short, you
literally lose your ability to investigate.
The issue in criminal law is not whether the target is guilty, but whether we can prove his or her guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt to a jury of his “peers”. If we fail we are obligated to dismiss the case, even if we know the perpetrator
is guilty. Some bad guys get away with it. That is what that guy Jefferson and the other founding “persons” intended.
• Be available for hearings and trial .One of my greatest frustrations with investigators is their nearly universal
belief that the job is over when the arrest is made.
Reality: The work only begins with an arrest. Expect a criminal trial -- in the next 6 to 24 months. The
judge undoubtedly will schedule trial and motions hearings for dates inconvenient for you. Accept that. You may have to
reschedule your trip to Las Vegas, or fly back early from Cancun, but you must be there to see this thing to completion.
• Eliminate alternate suspects. If the jury is presented with a viable alternate suspect in a white-collar crime
case, you can be sure of one thing: acquittal. This is especially true of embezzlement cases. Show why the alternative
suspect could not be the thief. Interview the alternative suspect intensively. Chart the course of the crime to prove the
suspect possessed, and the alternate suspect lacked, the opportunity to commit the crime. Whatever the end result of your
efforts, at least let me know of the existence of the alternate suspect prior to trial.
• Anticipate defense ploys. White-collar defendants fall into one of two categories: (1) those who readily admit
their guilt when caught and seek to resolve the case on the best possible terms; and (2) those who go down kicking a
screaming, denying their guilt all the way to the penitentiary and beyond. The former generally comes up with a string of
pathetic excuses and justifications (drug addictions, gambling addictions, depression and, my personal favorite, bi-polar
disorder). The latter spend endless hours devising clever defenses and counter-charges.
You, the investigator, need to figure out those defenses prior to filing, but at least prior to trial. Some common
defenses included:
[] The defendant claims she was owed the money for overtime or because the owner promised her a
bonus? In one case, the defendant won acquittal by convincing the jury that the owner promised her 150% of the value of
the company as a bonus on the sale of the company.
[] The money apparently taken by fraud was really a gratuity for intimate contact. You need to ask the
victims, even if they are elderly ladies, if they have had any sort of intimate relationship with the target. The movie
Indecent Proposal taught us that you simply could not put a value on a sexual act.
• Think backwards. You have prepared a 100- page investigative report, complete with the attached memoranda
of interview of the 450 witnesses you want to endorse for trial. It has a table of contents and green section dividers. To
anyone who will take the time to read the report, you have gathered sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a shadow
of a doubt.
Problem: Your case will be tried by a jury that has the collective intelligence of the average 12 year-old
and could not follow your chain of evidence any more than they could stay awake during Masterpiece Theatre. Your job
is to take the complexities of business, accounting, tax and securities regulation that comprise most white-collar cases and
simplify them so that a 12 year-old could understand.
My advice: Think backward. Constantly evaluate the evidence you are gathering from the point of view
of its impact on a trial jury. Consider how this witness or document will play to those jurors? Will they be able to
understand the testimony or document without help? Can it be made simpler, more powerful? Would an illustration
help? Who can best explain this point?
• Transcripts, please. If the case depends on recorded evidence, consider this before you bring the case to me:
You must provide written transcripts of every tape, video and wire recording, preferably with copies on disk. Judges and
defense attorneys demand them. Jurors can follow scratchy recordings so much better if they have access to a transcript.
• Follow the SOB rule. To win a conviction in a white-collar case, we must prove the defendant is an SOB. We
all know that white-collar defendants go about their business with cold-blooded calculation and precision. As Phil Feigin,
former Securities Commissioner says, there are no white-collar crimes of passion. For some reason, however, jurors are
reluctant to convict white-collar defendants. Maybe it is because white-collar defendants don’t physical harm anyone. I
think it is because jurors feel sorry for them (remember these are con men and women we are prosecuting). In any case,
you must convince the jury that the defendant not only committed the crime, but that he or she is worthy of a felony
conviction. You must prove the defendant is a real SOB!
Juries are always impressed by evidence that the defendant spent the money on large, undisclosed debts or a
lavish lifestyle. It really helps the case if you find the defendant using the victim’s money to buy diamond bracelets for
his attractive chief financial officer, who was recruited to join his firm from the local strip parlor (yes, a real case
scenario). In any case, give me something to make people care about this crime and this defendant committing this
crime.
Source: Phil Parrott, Chief Deputy District Attorney
Denver District Attorney, Denver, CO. phiparrott@aol.com
Parole Notices Going Online - States Eye Web to Spread Convict Release Information, Sept. 12, 1999 - By David Noack
NEW YORK (APBNews.com) -- Much the same way as it has revolutionized other areas of communications, the Internet is now
dramatically changing the way parole information is made available to the general public. However it turns out, this new cyberdevelopment will impact the lives of the people behind bars as well as their victims and families. In the past, a common refrain from
victims was that they were not aware or notified that the person who attacked them was even being considered for parole, let alone
being granted an early release from state prison. The process of notifying the victims often fell through the cracks, with
responsibilities divided and unclear among crime victim counselors, the district attorney’s office that prosecuted the case and maybe
even the parole board. But now there is a growing movement to put parole information online, which promises to give the public new
kinds of instant and up-to-date access to a convicted criminal’s every move through the parole process.
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One of the first novel cases that demonstrated the ability
of the Web to generate action and possibly helped
influence a parole decision occurred two years ago,
when former New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco took to
the World Wide Web to publicize his opposition to a parole
petition by a Manhattan attorney whose case helped focus the
nation’s attention on domestic violence.
Vacco used his department’s Web page to alert New
Yorkers to an upcoming parole hearing for Joel Steinberg,
who was convicted of killing his illegally adopted 6-yearold daughter, Lisa, in November 1987. Hedda Nussbaum,
Steinberg’s lover, testified that he had physically abused
her and their two children. More than 4,000 people
responded, most of them opposing Steinberg’s release
from prison. In the end, parole officials denied Steinberg’s
release.
The state’s ex-chief law enforcement officer felt the public
should know that the parole effort was being made. At the
time, New York state did not post inmate status
information. Instead, a nonprofit group called
ParoleWatch began making this information available.
Level of sophistication varies
Over the last couple of years, a number of parole boards
have made progress in letting crime victims and the
general public play a greater cyber-role in finding out
information about prison inmates, where they are housed
and, more importantly, when they are being released.
Parole information has always been distributed to judges,
prosecutors, news organizations and victims’ groups. But
now anyone with an Internet connection can easily point
and click his or her way through all kinds of parole-related
information.
A review of all 50 states found that parole Web sites are
still spotty as to the amount of information that is made
available. The sophistication of the Web sites varies
wildly. Some states have information-packed sites and
update inmate statistics and prison populations on a daily
basis, provide contact information via e-mail and
telephone, have interactive forms for opposing a
prisoner’s parole, and maintain searchable inmate
databases or listings.
In states without parole, corrections departments may
provide the status of inmates online.
Many parole Web sites are still nothing more than static
pages that include the parole board mission statement,
links to other parole or corrections-related sites, and a
listing of parole board members and staff.
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One of the first parole boards to enter cyberspace was the
New Jersey State Parole Board, which went online in 1996
and posts county-by-county lists of inmates who are soon
to be released.
Users can click on any county and receive a list of all
inmates who are eligible for a parole hearing in the
coming six months. The list includes their name, the
prison where they are being held, prisoner identification
number, offenses, date sentenced, length of sentence,
judge’s name and how much credit the prisoner had for
time served before the conviction.
In South Carolina, officials are planning to upgrade their
Web site to include more information, but there’s an
internal debate over how much inmate data should be
posted.
Peter O’Boyle, a spokesman for the South Carolina
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, said
that while the Web site currently consists of background
information about the department, in the near future it will
include “Most Wanted Absconders,” a weekly listing of
parole hearing results, and information about when an
inmate is eligible for parole or has a parole hearing
scheduled.
He said some of the new features would be added in the
short term, while others are longer projects.
O’Boyle said parole officials are discussing how much
information to provide about inmates.
“We’re not sure about listing an inmate’s address,” he
said.
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While public information about prison inmates is available
to those with a need to know or specific interest in the
case, flooding the Internet with information about parolees
has raised concerns among civil libertarians and prisoners’
rights groups, who argue that publicizing the status and
movements of inmates, for example an address, can create
problems and there is always the chance of wrong or
outdated information being posted.
Bonnie Bucqueroux, who co-wrote two books about
community policing and is executive director of Crime
Victims for a Just Society, said that by simply publicizing
the names and whereabouts is not going to make a
community any safer.
“The real information the community needs is about the
dynamics that produce violence and how we can intervene
to make a difference. We need to re-socialize violent
offenders, and putting them away in prisons where they
are subjected to violence, brutality and dehumanization
seems just about the worst place to try to accomplish that
goal,” she said.
led the Internet session, said he was surprised at how
many parole and probation departments, boards and
agencies, don’t have Web sites.
“It’s surprising to me that every state probation/parole
agency doesn’t have a Web site yet. There’s a real lack of
knowledge of probation/parole on the part of the public
and media,” O’Boyle said. “In South Carolina, two-thirds
of the people serving criminal sentences are on probation
or parole. Anything we can do as a department to explain
the process and what probation/parole means is helpful.”
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John Green, administrative coordinator at the Utah Board
of Pardons and Paroles, said his agency’s Web site is
linked to the state’s Department of Corrections Web page,
where there is a listing of the status of inmates. Green
said the amount of inmate information released is
governed by the state’s Government Records Access
Management Act (GRAMA), which classifies documents
and determines what information will be released.
Kathy Browning, director of public information for the
Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole, said that while
the Web site does not have a searchable inmate database,
it might be the only state to have an online victim impact
statement.
“So far, I don’t know of any other state that’s doing this
yet. We have the Victim Impact Statement online, where
the victim of the crime or a family member can fill in the
statement and protest a parole, and that becomes a
confidential part of the inmate’s record or the parole
board’s record,” Browning said.
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Joe Diamond, executive director of ParoleWatch, based in
Brooklyn, created a Web site two years ago to notify the
public when violent felons in the state are eligible for
parole. The nonprofit organization receives funding from
private donations and contributions.
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Carl Wicklund, executive director of the American
Probation and Parole Association, said posting inmate
information online helps crime victims, but the
information must be accurate and placed in some kind of
context.
“For too long, communities and victims were in the dark
about when their assailants were coming up for parole,
and as the Internet started booming, I thought this was a
perfect use of the Internet. This is a real practical use of
the Internet,” Diamond said.
“I think the information is only the beginning step. I still
think it has to be informed information, and that’s my
concern with a lot of this stuff. It’s not that I don’t think
people deserve to know who’s living next to them or that
victims don’t have a right to know what is happening with
their offender. I have concerns, particularly about the
public in general, that the information, if not handled
properly, can be misused,” Wicklund said.
He said the way crime victims are currently notified about
parole hearings is “sporadic and erratic.” “It’s not even
clear to this day who is suppose to do it, the district
attorney, corrections, the parole board. It’s a very
confused situation as to who has to get that information to
a victim,” Diamond said.
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At the American Probation and Parole Association
convention in New York City in August, there was a
session on how parole and probation departments could be
using the Internet to explain what they do. O’Boyle, who
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Leonard A. Sipes, director of public information for the
Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional
Services, said plans are in the works to broadcast parole
hearings on the Internet, which should start sometime next
winter.
“The parole hearings will be open to anyone with Internet
access,” said Sipes, although the audio quality was not
good in a trial run. Sipes said the department gets
250,000 hits every nine days and he has been prodding
administrators to take advantage of the Internet.
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Brian Anderson, a spokesman for the Connecticut Board
of Parole, said that the only thing preventing the agency
from posting public information about inmates is a
technology glitch.
He said the board uses older mainframe computers and it’s
been problematic to shift the database information over to
the Web site. “We are not philosophically opposed to it,”
said Anderson. He could not say when the Web site
would include the inmate database information.
But despite the technical limitations, Anderson said the Web site
does provide telephone and mail contact information.
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It was a Friday night, and another hot pursuit was on television. A KCAL anchor narrated the action the
way Vin Scully does Dodgers play-by-play. “This is a very dangerous situation,” the moderator said,
pointing out the obvious. “There’s no safe way to run from the police.”
The California Highway Patrol had chased the white truck from Victorville through Orange County, the
TV said. He turned around in Santa Fe Springs and came right back here. Then the suspect jumped from
his truck and crossed over the freeway through oncoming traffic. Officers cornered him near Euclid
Street.
The anchor then wondered aloud why people keep running from the police since all car chases end with
the suspect in custody. If only it were true. It’s a myth perpetuated by TV news that the law always gets
its man during high-speed chases. To help separate the myths from the facts, here’s a short list of carchase trivia and some frequently asked questions.

Myth No. 1: All suspects who run get caught.

Fact: CHP statistics show that 16 percent of the time, the crooks get away or are allowed to escape because pursuing
them would endanger the public.
In all, 368 of the 6,410 chases in 1997 ended with the suspect eluding pursuit, CHP figures show.
Officers aborted the chase in 660 other cases.




Myth No. 2: Most car chases last a long time.
Fact: The pursuits you see on television go on and on. But only 3 percent of all police pursuits last longer than 30
minutes, CHP figures show. Seven out of every 10 pursuits end in 5 minutes or less. One-fourth are over within a
minute.
Myth No. 3: Police always give chase if a suspect runs.
Fact: The number of police pursuits has been going down. Police supervisors will abort a pursuit if traffic or
weather conditions make it too risky to continue and if the suspect is wanted for a petty crime.
In addition, police cars increasingly are backing off and letting helicopters continue the pursuit
from the air to reduce the danger of a crash. At least one in four car chases in California ends in a
collision, CHP figures show.
Here are some frequently asked questions about pursuits:
Q. Why don’t police just crash into a suspect or cut him off?
A. The CHP is one of just a few agencies that allow officers to use their cars to nudge a suspect
so that the car spins around. But such maneuvers are seldom used and only under very specific
conditions. “It’s very dangerous,” said Maggie Magner, the CHP’s commander of public
relations in Sacramento. “And we’ve got to worry about protecting the life of the suspect too.”
Q. Why don’t police shoot out a suspect’s tires?
A. “You might miss,” said the CHP’s Nanci Kramer. “Or if you hit a tire, and a person loses
control and hits an innocent person or rolls over and kills the suspect, you’ve got huge problems.”
Officer details investigation
 In court transcript, detective recounts prostitute’s efforts to verify story of sex, drugs. Prosecutor,
target of allegations, cites tip that she accused someone else
BY BOB PAYNTER
Beacon Journal staff writer
A previously sealed court transcript portrays an undercover drug investigator who appeared swayed by a street
prostitute who told him last summer that she consumed drugs and had a sexual encounter in 1996 with a judge in
the chambers of his Summit County courtroom.
The transcript, which was released yesterday, also revealed that the information cited Thursday by former
Common Pleas Judge Michael Callahan—now the county prosecutor—to refute the woman’s allegations about
him is far less conclusive than he had suggested.
The document indicated that, five days before prostitute Melissa Sue Sublett was slain last year, at least two highranking police officers knew that her potentially damaging allegations about Callahan had found their way to the
Summit County courthouse.
It also confirmed a previously published report that police did not follow up on the possible links between Sublett
and Callahan after the woman was beaten and stabbed to death in an Akron crack house on June 24, 1998 and that
the alleged Callahan connection was not revealed to Akron homicide detectives working to solve the murder.
Common Pleas Judge James E. Murphy, who sealed the transcript after a secret April 5 hearing in which the drug
investigator discussed the prostitute’s allegations, ordered the document unsealed yesterday after the Akron
Beacon Journal filed a motion requesting its release.
In an interview Thursday, Callahan flatly denied the woman’s allegations, saying that, after the April hearing, he
gave investigators information that was able to “completely disprove” her story.
Yesterday, he put a new spin on the prostitute’s allegations.
Callahan said that after the Beacon Journal reported Sublett’s allegations yesterday, a Summit County sheriff’s
deputy called him to say that he had heard her talk a year or two ago about taking drugs and having sex in
Callahan’s chambers, but with a prominent defense lawyer, not Callahan.
Callahan would not name the deputy or the defense lawyer.
He said he gave a tape recording of the deputy’s statement to Akron police and the Summit County sheriff’s
office and asked for an investigation.
“It (the tape) shows that she (Sublett) either made it up—or it happened to somebody else, and she just changed
the name to make it sound better,” Callahan said yesterday.
Officer <ue1>
But in the court transcript released yesterday, undercover officer Bill Ketler appeared convinced by the
descriptions and details that Sublett included in the Callahan story she told him last summer. Lt. Ketler is a
veteran Copley Township police officer who at the time was on assignment to CenTac, Summit County’s drug
and organized crime task force.
He said yesterday in an interview that he was highly skeptical when Sublett first told him about her alleged
encounter with an unnamed judge.
Sublett, a known prostitute and crack addict with numerous drug and soliciting convictions, was acting as Ketler’s
confidential informant that day, June 18, 1998. She revealed her alleged encounter with the judge as she and
Ketler were returning from Copley, where she had been pointing out possible drug houses. Ketler took Sublett
to the courthouse about noon the following day to try to verify the details of her account.
When the woman first told him that she had inhaled cocaine with the judge in his chambers two years earlier and
had performed oral sex for money, “my first impression was that it was pretty outrageous,” Ketler said in
yesterday’s interview.
When asked whether his impression changed after the woman described Callahan’s physical appearance and
identified both his office and car, Ketler replied: “No comment.”
But when questioned in the April hearing—which Murphy called after lawyers for a woman charged with
Sublett’s slaying complained that prosecutors were withholding possibly important information—Ketler said he
didn’t pursue the matter because the alleged incident was two years old.
“I mean, I don’t know how you would follow up on something like this,” Ketler told the judge. “I certainly didn’t
know she was going to be killed . . . six days later.” But he didn’t follow up after the prostitute’s death, either.
Ketler said in the April hearing that within 24 hours of hearing Sublett’s allegations on June 18, 1998, he relayed
them to his CenTac supervisor, Sgt. Larry Limbert.
Judy Bandy, a longtime assistant county prosecutor described in the transcript as the legal counsel for CenTac,
was also told immediately, according to the transcript, meaning that word of Sublett’s potentially explosive claims
had reached the courthouse days before she was killed.
A lack of follow-up
Ketler said yesterday that he couldn’t comment on why neither he nor Limbert explored the alleged CallahanSublett connection at that point, even if only to derail the possibility of ugly rumors down the road. Ketler said he
was never told not to pursue it; he simply didn’t.
“I told my superiors” about the allegations, Ketler said. He also told Akron police Capt. Craig Gilbride, but not
until after Sublett was killed. “It was an Akron case,” Ketler said yesterday. “I would think they would have
pursued it. But you’ll have to ask them about that.”
Akron homicide investigators said earlier this week that they were never told about any possible connection
between Sublett and Callahan.
Gilbride did not return phone messages seeking comment yesterday. Neither his supervisor, Deputy Chief Paul
Callahan, nor Akron Police Chief Edward Irvine returned phone calls seeking comment on why homicide
investigators were not informed.
CenTac commander Limbert was away at training and could not be reached. Summit County Sheriff Richard
Warren, under whose auspices CenTac operates, declined to discuss the case.
In his Thursday interview denying the Sublett allegations, Callahan said he asked two Akron police officers to
look into the prostitute’s allegations after he learned of them, which he said was after the April hearing in Judge
Murphy’s chambers.
Callahan said he was told that Sublett had identified his chambers to Ketler by pointing out a life-size poster of
John Wayne that was standing in the corner when they toured the courthouse last summer. But because Callahan
received the poster as a birthday present in late 1997, it could not have been there during the alleged encounter in
1996, he said—a fact that he said disproved Sublett’s allegations.
But as Ketler told it in the April hearing, Sublett identified Callahan’s office when they arrived on the third floor
and, as she approached the chambers, she remembered the chairs and the desk “and maybe something else in the
office, that it was very unique, maybe a poster, maybe a picture.”
“At the time, he (Callahan) had a John Wayne poster up, like a stand-up poster,” Ketler said in the hearing. “I’m
not sure if that’s what she remembered or not, but she said, ‘I remember the office.’ “ Sublett told him there was
something distinctive about the office, Ketler said, “but she wasn’t sure if it was the John Wayne poster or what.”
After identifying the chambers, Ketler took Sublett to a parking area near the courthouse to see whether she could
pick out the car that she said she was picked up in the night of the encounter.
“And she walked around,” Ketler said. “And when she came across the black Cadillac, she comes back to me,
visibly shaking and disturbed, (and) said: ‘That’s it. I remember the baseball hats in the back window.’
“And that Cadillac comes back to Michael Callahan.”
Beacon Journal staff writer Steve Hoffman contributed to this report.
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TopCops de partout dans le monde salue nos frères et soeurs dans l'application de loi.
TopCops um von der Welt begrüßt unser Brüder und Schwestern in der Gesetzdurchführung
TopCops intorno al mondo saluta i nostri fratelli e sorelle nell' applicazione di legge.
Police Officers Are Just Human Beings
Police officers, believe it or not, ARE human. They come in both sexes, but mostly male. They also come in various sizes.
This sometimes depends on whether you are looking for one or trying to hide something. However, they are mostly big.
Police officers are found everywhere, on land, on sea, in the air, on horses, and sometimes in your hair. In spite of the fact
that "you can't find one when you want one," they are usually there when it counts most. The best way to get one is to pick up
the nearest phone.
Police officers deliver lectures, babies, and bad news. They are required to have the wisdom of Solomon, the disposition of a
lamb and muscles of steel, and are often accused of having a heart to match. He is the one who rings the doorbell, swallows
hard, and announces the passing of a loved one, then spends the rest of the day wondering why he took such a crummy job.
Police officers on television, are oafs who couldn't find a bull fiddle inside a telephone booth. In real life, he is expected to
find a little blonde boy "about so high" in a crowd of a half million people, In fiction he gets his help from "private eyes,"
reporters and "who-dun-it" fans. In real life, mostly all he gets from the public is "I didn't see nuttin." When he serves a
summons, he is a monster. If he lets you go, he is a "Doll." To little kids, he is either a friend or a "boogey-man" depending
on how the parents feel about it.
Police officers work around the clock, split shifts, Sundays, and holidays, and it always kills him when a joker says, "Hey,
tomorrow is election day, I'm off, let's go fishing." (That is the day he works 20 hours.)
When a police officer is good, he is a "grafter, and that goes for the rest of them too." When he shoots a stick-up man, he is a
hero, except when the stick-up man is only a kid, "anybody coulda seen that."
Police officers have homes, some of them are covered with ivy, but most of them mortgages. If he drives a big car, he's a
chiseler; a little car -- "who is he kidding?"
His credit is good; that is very helpful, because his salary isn't. Police officers raise lots of kids; mostly they belong to other
people. Police officers see more misery, bloodshed, trouble and sunrises that the average person. Like the postman, the
police officer must be in all kinds of weather. His uniform changes with the climate, but his outlook on life remains the same;
mostly a blank, but always hoping for a better world.
Police officers like days off, vacations and coffee. They don't like auto horns, family fights and anonymous letter writers.
They have an Association, but they do not strike. They must be impartial, courteous and always remember the slogan, "at
your service." This is sometimes hard, especially when some character reminds him, "I'm a taxpayer, I pay your salary."
Police officers get medals for saving lives, stopping runaway horses, and shooting it out with bandits (once in a while his
widow gets the medal). But sometimes the most rewarding moment comes when, after some small kindness to a person, he
feels the warm handclasp, looks into grateful eyes, and hears, "thank you and God bless you, son."
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