Deputy tasers high school student against direct orders

Another RAWSTORY Video (1.5 minutes)

According to Julius Bennett, the student's father, Deputy Anthony Lenzi fired a Taser at his son after being told twice by a senior officer it was not necessary.

The Queen Anne's County (Maryland) Sheriff's Office says Lenzi has been reassigned to internal duties while authorities investigate the allegations. Bennett is hoping fair punishment is given.

This video is from CNN.com, broadcast February 19, 2008.

Noone knows for sure what actually happened

(ABC - 4 minutes)

Shocking police station video of an argumentative woman who ended up unconscious in a pool of her own blood with two black eyes, a broken nose and broken teeth did not lead to criminal charges against the cop after officials claimed the woman "fell over."

Quite how Angela Garbarino received two black eyes, a broken nose, broken teeth and blood pouring from her head after a "slip and fall" is not quite explained by officials or ABC News, who ran with the headline Police Brutality or Slip and Fall?

The police are refusing to press criminal charges against the officer because "no one knows for sure what occurred." That's probably because this cowardly thug, Officer Wiley Willis, made sure his brutal assault wasn't recorded on camera.


Original story - ABC News
Angela Gabarino - Before and After
KTBS video - Rawstory

Willis has since been dismissed from the police force. KTBS states that "Willis was fired by Police Chief Henry Whitehorn earlier this month for how he treated Garbarino during the whole episode, not for her injuries."


Willis is appealing his dismissal, and his attorney insists that his client was following procedures in turning off the camera. According to KTBS, "Authorities familiar with Shreveport (Louisiana) police policy said a person is read their rights and gets an explanation of what's going to happen next. That is followed by a sobriety test. If the person refuses, the officer can turn off the tape and take them to an adjoining room, handcuff them to a bench, fill out the paperwork and charge them."

However, experts suggested to ABC that Willis should have called for female backup when Garbarino began resisting. One criminologist stated, "I think we have a situation where the arrested person is refusing to cooperate and the police officer apparently overreacted."

This video is from ABC's Good Morning America, broadcast February 19, 2008.

Update to Officer Rivieri

Apparently the boys were in the wrong as Skateboarding is not permitted in the Inner Harbor. But still, Offier Rivieri really had no right to speak in the harsh tone that he did, to these teenagers.

So what if they were calling him a dude? Its just teen-speak. He should have just ignored the language, and simply told the boys that Skateboarding was forbidden in the Inner Harbour. Not once did he say that during the three and a half minutes of this video.

Officer Rivieri needs to develop a thicker skin, take things a LOT less personally, and learn to pick his battles.

Here's the original Newspaper article in the Baltimore Sun, printed yesterday. February 12th.

The video was posted yesterday on this blog under Officer Riviere in Baltimore.

UPDATE (Feb 14, 2008)

This video is now ALL over the Internet - Google Officer Rivieri - and it's only been 3 days since it was posted. The comments are coming in thick and fast. Some people think the kid was being rude. Yes Eric was being cheeky, but not rude. But as soon as Officer Rivieri put young Eric into a headlock - thats where the situation changed, and it became police brutality.

Rivieri has been suspended WITH pay. You know what that means?
Rivieri's suspension entails a transfer to administrative duties with pay. He's now confined to a desk.

Officer Riviere in Baltimore

This is Officer Riviere in Baltimore teaching teenagers how to be a bully. (3.5 minutes)



UPDATE

Officer Suspended After Appearing In YouTube Video

February 12, 2008

A 17-year veteran of the Baltimore police force has been suspended with pay pending an internal investigation of his actions involving a 14-year-old skateboarder at Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

The confrontation occurred this past summer and was captured on a video camera by the young man's friend, who just sent it to YouTube, where it is now posted.

In the video, Officer Salvatore Rivieri tells the boy that skateboarding is illegal. The officer becomes angry when the boy says, "I didn't do anything wrong, dude."

Officer Rivieri is seen grabbing the skateboard and pushing the boy to the ground.

"The police commissioner and the mayor and the top command staff saw the video this morning and are disappointed. The officer has been suspended with pay, pending an internal investigation," Sterling Clifford told Richard Sher.

In an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News, 14-year-old Eric Bush told Richard Sher, "He was just like up in my face yelling at me. Then he tackled me."

He continued, "It was scary, because I have diabetes and my blood sugar went crazy 'cause he scared me."

"I called to file a complaint but was told the supervisor was on vacation and would call me when he returned. He never did," Eric's mother, Peggy Miller, said.

Police Brutality - How to Strip Search a Female

This is what Police Brutality looks like in America these days.

(about 5 minutes)


Woman sues Ohio sheriff's deputy over 'outrageous' strip search
Published: Saturday February 2, 2008

Hope Steffey's night started with a call to police for help. It ended with her face down, naked, and sobbing on a jail cell floor. Now, the sheriff's deputies from Stark County, Ohio who allegedly used excessive force during a strip search 15 months ago face a federal lawsuit, and recently released video won’t help their case.

Steffey's ordeal with the Stark County sheriff's deputies began after her cousin called 9-1-1 claiming Steffey had been assaulted by another one of their cousins. When a Stark County police officer arrived, he asked to see Steffey's driver's license. But instead of handing over her own ID, she mistakenly turned over her dead sister's license, which she contends she keeps in her wallet as a memento. That's when the situation became complicated.

"Hope was not treated as a victim," her lawyer told WKYC News. "The officer said to her 'shut up about your dead sister.'"

Eventually, Steffey was arrested and taken to the Stark County Jail, charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. But once in custody, her attorney says seven jail workers, male and female, forcibly removed Steffey of all her clothes, including her undergarments, while she lay face down in handcuffs. Local news footage shows Steffey wailing, asking "What are you doing?!?"

"And you have to ask yourself, what was the purpose of the strip search?" said Steffey's lawyer. "What was the necessity of it? This was a disorderly conduct claim."

The lawsuit says that Steffey remained in the cell for six hours and wrapped herself in toilet paper to stay warm. During that time, she was not allowed to use a phone or seek medical assistance for injuries she accrued that night, including a cracked tooth, bulging disc, and bruises.

Although the sheriff's policy requires officers conducting any strip search to be of the same sex, the sheriff contends that the tactic used on Steffey was not actually a strip search. He also questions the validiy of the events leading up to Steffey’s arrest.

Once shown the exclusive video, Steffey’s husband was in disbelief. "You don't treat people like this," he said. "I don't think murderers are treated like this."

This video is from WKYC News, broadcast February 1, 2008