Other Cops in the News

Over the last several years, many other cases of alleged police misconduct have come to our attention. Some of these accusations have borne out, yet a good many others have proven to be entirely false. As time allows, we will be posting what information we have on a number of such cases, as well as general information and links to other cop related news from the mainstream media. We are unable to investigate all of these cases personally, so we are relying on others for accuracy. If you have any further information on these cases or others, that you would like to share, please e-mail us at Justice@Cops.com. Please send us your Good Cop Stories as well and to leave comments about any of these cases in our guestbook.

"When I heard about other cops being convicted of misconduct, I used to think: 'That can't happen to me, I'm not that kind of cop.'" - Larry Nevers after his wrongful conviction

The Good
Happy endings, funny stories,
justice served, heros

The Bad
Controversial subjects, threats of injustice,
resolved injustices, officer injuries

The Ugly
Tragedies, officer deaths, severe and
continuing injustices

08/09/01 Officer David Krupinski INNOCENT!!!!
04/15/01 How often must we hear that they 'died in the line of duty'?
04/04/01 Officer survives 90ft plunge in police car
Detroit Cops get cameras
12/14/99 Just a Jerk
10/21/99 One Sorry Dude
05/07/99 Tornado Baby
What are Policemen Made of?
11/10/98 Pretty Cooperative
05/15/98 Jury doesn't buy man's claim of police assault

More Cop News
misc. news from Detroit and elsewhere
08/01/01 Information abuse has many forms
08/01/01 Penalties uneven for data misuse
08/01/01 Fewer paroles mean more prisoners
08/01/01 Free Press cop expose nominated for award
08/01/01 Duggan targets car theft cases
07/31/01 Cops tap database to harass, intimidate
07/28/01 No riot follows Cincinnati cop's fatal shot
07/24/01 Witness' story different from cops in Boynton Police shooting
07/14/01 Cop claims transfer was his punishment
07/13/01 Detroit police get new chief
07/13/01 Napoleon out; Wilson in
07/12/01 Archer names new police chief
07/12/01 Archer may name chief today
07/12/01 Cop charged in tussle outside casino
07/12/01 No excuse for casino beating
07/11/01 Cop faces charge in assault
07/11/01 Prosecutors charge officer in beating of casino patron
07/11/01 Detroit officer charged with beating ejected casino patron
07/11/01 Cop beat helpless man, say patrons
07/09/01 Cops use new rule to move out of Detroit
06/27/01 Family of man killed by police files federal suit
06/27/01 Grievance filed over coercion charge
06/27/01 Drug house seizures planned
06/06/01 Detroit police flee to suburbs
05/31/01 Michigan's new move-over law confuses drivers
05/31/01 Reforming the Police
05/31/01 Next mayor should focus on police, panelist says
05/30/01 Police department is 'broken,' study says
05/30/01 Part Seven: Final Remarks
05/30/01 Part Six: Final Summary
05/30/01 Part Five: Conclusions and Recommendations
05/30/01 Part Four: Demonstrations and Analysis of Weapon Systems andSecurity Devices
05/30/01 Part Three: Comparison of Similar Urban City Police Departments
05/30/01 Part Two: Interviews With Experts in the Field of Law Enforcement h
05/30/01 Part One: Executive Summary
05/25/01 2 cops back on homicide beat
04/25/01 Police Chief Napoleon to decide later whether to run for mayor
04/25/01 Last chief to run was fired
04/25/01 Napoleon accounces resignation
04/25/01 Murder appeal has an ally
04/25/01 Police, judge owe answers in the Mello case
04/25/01 Chief unveils 22-step blueprint for cops
04/24/01** Bill would require guard training **
04/21/01 Pair held in attack on trooper
04/17/01 Cop problems can be cancer to campaigns
04/16/01 Police officer shot man in self defense
04/16/01 Detroit police inquiry expands
04/10/01 Deputy taken off duty following shooting
04/05/01 Hamtramck, Highland Park ask for police
04/02/01 Police fatally shoot man who pointed gun at them
03/31/01 Suspects dead by neglect
03/31/01 Top homocide investigator: I'm out
03/30/01 End to illegal arrests promised
03/30/01 Man, 78 dies after shoot out with police
03/29/01 Cops confirm they jailed witnesses
03/29/01 Changing stories
03/29/01 Suit against officer to be tried
03/28/01 Be vigilant, council told
03/28/01 Amnesty chapter to watch cops
03/27/01 Police trouble can't hide
03/27/01 2 lawsuits allege wrongful arrests
03/24/01 Tipped off, cops scrub lockups
03/23/01 No, cops don't work like this in other cities
03/23/01 Napolean takes a different stance
03/23/01 Dragnet policy denied
03/20/01 Police fight to keep jobs in Hamtramck
12/23/00 Man shot to death after 2 day standoff with police
10/24/00 Fix prosecutor's office, reports urge
10/19/00 Police shortage strikes suburbs
09/21/00 Big lawsuits called threat to city

06/07/01 COCAINE RELATED INCUSTODY DEATHS
02/20/01 POLICE CHASES
08/01/01 RACIAL PROFILING AND RACE RELATIONS
10/30/99 EARLY WARNING?

08/10/01 Dearborn Cops attacked, abused family, Feiger charges
06/05/01 Security guard faces charges in shop beating
06/05/01 Suspected shoplifter beaten
04/24/01 WATCH THIS St. John scuffle and death
04/21/01 Rite Aid shoplifter had cocaine in her system
04/16/01 Wounded officer eager to get back to work
04/15/01 Cincinnati riots after shooting
04/12/01 Unpaid safety workers sue city
04/12/01 Anti-police protesters say probe falling short
04/10/01 Three Detroiters charged in chase and shooting.
04/07/01 Officer shot while chasing suspect; expected to recover
04/07/01 Warren officer shot while pursuing carjacking suspects
04/07/01 Warren cop shot while chasing carjack suspects
04/07/01 State trooper shot in pursuit of robbery suspect
04/07/01 Trooper on stakeout saved by body armour
04/06/01 Warren Policeman shot during car chase
04/06/01 Warren officer shot by suspected carjackers
04/06/01 Warren police officer shot, Detroit officer injured after carjacking
04/06/01 State trooper shot while chasing robbery suspect
04/04/01 Pardon a cop killer?
03/07//01 Kroger, Cocaine & Travis Shelton
02/20/01 DPO Eugene Brown
02/20/01 Berkley cop accused
02/20/01 Dearborn Test Tampering
02/20/01 Officer Charged with Rape
01/24/01 Jane Fonda's honor
10/24/00 1995 shooting investigation is called into question
08/13/00 3 Cops shot
07/26/99 Police shoot, kill man they say had knife
08/22/98 Officer Mark Porter
Officer Shoots Dog, Is Injured
Detroit police lawsuits costly
2 Cops Injured
DETROIT's assault on Cops

07/26/01 Deputy finds son dead at crash
04/14/01 Suspect charged in officer killings
04/05/01 Detroit PO Neil Wells Killed
04/01/01 Aubrey Hawkins
03/13/01 Baltimore shootout kills officer
02/25/01 DPO Patrick M. Prohm
02/25/01 Officer Jeffrey Cooperstein
02/21/01 Officer Richard Vauris
10/04/00 Coffee sheriff flees arrest, kills himself
10/00/00 Det. Chris Wouters
08/00 Dallas Officer Down
07/18/00 Det Cop Killed - Mason
02/14/00 The Diallo Case
12/11/99 Officer Daniel Faulkner
Officer Thomas M. Gadarowski
2 More Cops Killed
Officer Robert Brown
Trooper Fredrick Hardy
Trooper John Hogan
Officer Scott Smith
07/22/91 Brian Fields

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The death Friday night of a decorated Glastonbury officer at police headquarters was ruled a suicide Saturday.

Officer Thomas M. Gadarowski, 45, died of a single gunshot wound to the head, according to the state medical examiner's office.

He was alone in a locker room of the Main Street headquarters preparing for the start of his 3 p.m. shift when the shot was fired. He died shortly afterward at Hartford Hospital.

Colleagues of the 17-year veteran, including those who heard the shot and rushed to his aid, went through hours of counseling Saturday at the police station.

Sgt. Jay Kehoe said that although the counseling helped, he and others who have worked with Gadarowski throughout their careers are devastated by his death.

``However the loss occurred doesn't change that,'' he said. ``No matter how you look at it, we've lost a great police officer and a very well-loved member of our family.''

Gadarowski had been served with divorce papers recently. Although he kept his feelings private, friends said he was devoted to his 6-year-old and 10-year-old daughters and may have been upset over the prospect of being separated from them.

Officer Bruce Skehan, who worked with Gadarowski for 13 years, said Gadarowski was a conscientious professional who never complained.

``When you talked with him, the talk was always about his family, or your family, or maybe sports,'' said Skehan.

Over the past few years, several other Connecticut departments have lost officers to suicide, including West Hartford, Naugatuck, Norwich, Bethel, Ansonia and the state police force.

The Hartford Fire Department also lost one of its own when firefighter Charles Natalie killed himself in a bunk room at Co. 9 on New Britain Avenue last fall.

Several studies say police officers are more likely than people in the general population to commit suicide.

Although some cases were attributed to on-the-job stress, relationship problems also have been a major cause. A study of New York City police suicides found that personal problems were the leading factors in cases in which an officer's motive for suicide could be identified.

``Many police officers are extremely sensitive, caring people who got into their jobs because they wanted to make a difference,'' said Charles Epstein, team leader of the Connecticut Critical Incident Stress Management Team, which coordinated Saturday's counseling at the Glastonbury Police Department.

In the hours after Gadarowski's death, many officers found temporary comfort in keeping busy. By Saturday, the permanence of the loss had sunk in.

``Chaos is our norm - we train to operate in circumstances in which you're used to being in action and keeping busy,'' Kehoe said Saturday. ``But when that stops, you have to deal with the emotions. Today, it's been so much worse.''

Gadarowski's daughters, 10- year-old Ashley and 6-year-old Taylor, are students at Hebron Avenue School. On Saturday, Principal Gina Vance talked with students and parents there.

``We had members of our student council come in who are in the fifth grade with Ashley,'' Vance said. ``They wanted to plan some activities.''

Vance said they are considering having children bring yellow roses to school in memory of the officer. She will be at the school again today if parents or children want to visit or call.

``We know that the community is devastated,'' said Vance, who called the parents of every child in class with the Gadarowski children.

Gadarowski was a regular visitor to the school, Vance said, sometimes coming in to eat lunch with his children.

Gadarowski was the husband of Jana Starr Gadarowski. He was born in Denver and lived in Glastonbury for many years.

Besides his wife and daughters, he leaves his parents, Peter Paul and Mary Francis Gadarowski of Enfield; and three brothers, Edward of Cambridge, N.Y., John of Littleton, Colo., and Robert of Manchester.

Calling hours at Glastonbury Funeral Home, 450 New London Turnpike., will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. A procession will form at the funeral home at 9 a.m. Wednesday and go to St. Paul's Church in Glastonbury for a 10 a.m. service.

Contributions for his children's educational fund may be sent to: The Thomas M. Gadarowski Memorial Fund, Glastonbury Bank and Trust, 2461 Main St., Glastonbury, CT, 06033, Attention: Dennis Weir.

More:

Cooperstein not guilty
Jurors say policeman acted within law in fatal shooting of motorist
Wednesday, February 09, 2000
By Jim McKinnon, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Jeffrey L. Cooperstein stood and closed his eyes, holding his attorney's hands as if making a wish, and it came true as the jury foreman read the verdict.

Cooperstein, the former Pittsburgh police officer, was found not guilty in the Dec. 21, 1998, shooting death of Deron S. Grimmitt Sr. at the end of a police chase Downtown. And he was found not guilty of aggravated assault against Grimmitt's brother, Curtis Grimmitt, who had been a passenger and was injured when the speeding car crashed after the driver had been mortally wounded.

Cooperstein, 44, gently swayed forward and back, eyes still closed, as he mouthed the words, "Thank you."

At a news conference later, flanked by his four attorneys, Cooperstein said that he found no joy in the verdict.

"There is no victor when someone loses their life and an officer is on trial for his life," Cooperstein said.

"It happened so quickly," he said of the shooting. "I don't think anybody can explain it. It's a nightmare."

When the verdict was read, there were no outbursts in the courtroom. Common Pleas Judge David S. Cercone and an Allegheny County deputy sheriff made it known that no such behavior would be tolerated. They enforced that order with 10 more deputies strategically placed in the room.

In the hallway, the Grimmitt family let loose some of what they have had to hold in throughout the two-week-long trial.

Swarmed by reporters and TV cameras, Bettye Grimmitt's voice rang out above the din as she lamented the verdict as an injustice too often faced by young black men, like her son Deron, at the hands of police officers.

"No, I'm not surprised," she said. "It's hard to convict a racist cop in this city. They're saying it's OK to shoot and kill young black men in this city.

"Jeffrey Cooperstein, the Blue Knight, will answer to God on that judgment day," she added.

Cynthia Grimmitt, one of her two daughters, said that the family would continue to "fight against pola>
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Travis Shelton - Cocaine/Kroger
3/27/01 Protesters question delay
3/27/01 Prosecutor won't bow under Sharpton protest
3/22/01 Group wants more training for guards
3/21/01 Kroger chice brutality."

Part of that battle includes the federal wrongful death lawsuit filed against Cooperstein and Pittsburgh by the Grimmitts, of the Hill District, and on behalf of Deron Grimmitt's son, Deron Jr. of McKeesport, who was 9 years old when his 32-year-old father died.

"The fault lies with those racist cops that got on that stand and lied," Bettye Grimmitt said of the verdict.

Several jurors, some of whom spoke on the condition that their names not be used, said that race never figured into their deliberations.

The decision to acquit Cooperstein hinged on the fact that the Grimmitts were fleeing from police, they said.

"It all boils down to [state Crimes Code] Section 508. We all agreed that if the state law had been different, there very well could've been a very different outcome," one male juror said last night in a telephone interview.

Under Section 508 of the state Crimes Code, a "reasonable peace officer," such as a policeman, is entitled to use deadly force when the officer believes it is necessary to prevent danger to himself or others in the process of making an arrest.

"They had their deadly weapon, which was their vehicle," said Alexis Richie, 38, of Bethel Park, one of the jurors. "There could have been some pedestrians ahead [who would have been hit] and that's what Cooperstein stopped. We took into account that these were two people who were running from the police."

Bettye Grimmitt and her son, John, leave the courthouse yesterday. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

"He was stopping danger to other people," added another juror. "He had to protect them. His decision was a very fast decision."

Another juror criticized the law, which he said he understood to mean that an officer may use whatever means necessary to stop someone from escaping. "The law stinks. The law has to be changed," said the juror who did not want his name used.

"I don't believe that Cooperstein's life was in danger, but we did agree that the Grimmitts were escaping from police," he said. "I don't agree with the law. This particular law was set up in such a way that the police officer has too much power."

Another juror, a 31-year-old woman, said, "The whole Blue Knight thing wasn't even a part of this and race wasn't even a part of our talk."

The jury of five men and seven women deliberated about two hours Monday and two more hours yesterday before they asked Cercone to explain the law again concerning Section 508.

Before that, the jury had voted with eight of them moving for acquittal. After their questions were answered, the other four jurors joined the majority, the male juror said.

"It bothers me that anyone would think that we in any way took race into consideration," he said. "We had to look at the law as it was presented to us. Our feelings can't come into it."

Marshall "Smokey" Hynes, president of the Pittsburgh lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, called the jury's decision "a great verdict."

"The verdict shows that 12 citizens of ... diverse neighborhoods can sit down ... and listen to the evidence as presented and make a determination of the facts as testified in court. I think it's a great verdict for the police officers in this city."

Hynes said the FOP will now seek to have Cooperstein reinstated to the force, something the city will oppose, according to the mayor's office.

Mayor Murphy's spokesman, Doug Root, said the mayor respects the jury's decision but "also must respect the decision of the police chief early on in this case that the question of criminal culpability is separate from Cooperstein's fitness to be a city police officer. The chief's investigation ... determined that Cooperstein violated established police procedures for the use of deadly force. The mayor stands by the chief's decision to remove him from the force."

Police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr. was out of town and could not be reached.

Deputy District Attorney Edward J. Borkowski had argued that Cooperstein was the man behind the Blue Knight, the Internet Web site author who wrote harsh criticisms of the Police Bureau brass while defending the street officers' right and duty to "survive at all costs."

Borkowski had argued that the writings indicated malice in Cooperstein's actions and made the shooting worthy of a charge of first-degree murder.

Several of the jurors said they discounted the Blue Knight testimony because there was more than one writer involved in the Web site.

At a news conference in the courthouse, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. praised Borkowski's work. He also commended the Grimmitt family for their "dignified" behavior throughout the trial.

"From my perspective, it wasn't a question of winning or losing," Zappala said. "It was our desire to present this to a jury. I believe in our system of justice [even though] I may not agree with the decision of the jury."

Staff writers Ann Belser and Cindi Lash contributed to this report.

*******************************************************************

Pittsburg Police Officer Jeffrey Cooperstein has been charged with murder for shooting a driver who tried to run him down at a speed of 72 miles per hour. Cooperstein's trial begins January 18, 2000. Click here and check out Cooperstein's webpage.

From the JUSTICE 4 COOP website: In a fraction of a second, Pittsburgh Police Officer Jeffrey Cooperstein, made the decision to use deadly force against a convicted felon fleeing the Pittsburgh Police. Weaving in and out of traffic at excessive speeds, displaying an absolute disregard for the safety of innocent civilians, convicted felon, career criminal, Deron Grimmitt, was in control of a three thousand pound weapon now bearing down on Officer Cooperstein in excess of 70mph. Mr. Grimmitt showed no concern for human life, and was determined not to go back to jail, no matter what the cost.

Officer Cooperstein, in the blink of an eye, exhibiting bravery and presence of mind, reacted as trained, and having no place to go, stood his ground and fired four shots at the oncoming desperate felon's vehicle. One fragment of one bullet struck Deron Grimmitt in the left side of the head, killing him. In addition to saving his own life, Officer Cooperstein, in a fraction of a second, had stopped these desperate criminals from taking innocent civilian lives.

This case is currently being tried. More information can be found at the JUSTICE 4 COOP website.

2 Cops Injured

Shooting kills one: 2 cops hurt
Suspect, 23, arrested after stand-off at west side home
By David G. Grant
The Detroit News

DETROIT -- A 23-year-old man killed his brother and shot his father during an argument late Wednesday and then turned his shotgun on officers investigating the shootings at the family's west side home, police said.
    Police Chief Benny Napoleon said Officers Albert Graham and Melissa Cross about 11:45 p.m. were shot in the face with "birdshot" by the naked suspect, who was hiding in bushes in front of the family's home in the 12100 block of Roselawn, near Cortland.
    The pellets from the shotgun blast also hit a third officer, Lawrence Covington, in his bullet-proof vest, but he was not injured. The officers are assigned to the Second (Grand River) Precinct.
    Graham and Cross are listed in serious condition at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The suspect's 50-year-old father, Bobby Martin, is in critical condition and underwent surgery in Ford Hospital. The suspect's 22year-old brother, Timothy Martin, was found dead in the basement of the home, police said.
    Mayor Dennis Archer, who went to the hospital to see the officers and their families, said the shootings started after a domestic dispute, and it appears the officers will be all right.
    "The doctor said that based on his examinations, both officers are going to be okay," Archer said.
    Police said the suspect has a history of mental problems.
    "The gunman was obviously deranged to shoot all these people in this manner," said Deputy Chief Mike Hall, who was also at the scene.
    Investigators said that when the officers first arrived at Martin's home they went to the front door, knocked and heard noises inside. When no one answered their knocks, they went to their cars to get their shotguns. As they walked back toward the house, the suspect shot them.
    The Martin brothers' four children were in the house at the time of the shootings, but they were not injured. After firing at the officers and returning to the home, the suspect let the children leave the house, police said.
    Covington, whose Kevlar vest stopped the shotgun pellets, remained on the scene to help surround the house while the suspect barricaded himself inside for about 40 minutes. Then, unarmed, he attempted to escape, police said.
    "He came out and tried to get away," Napoleon said. "We had officers in the rear of the house and they caught him."
    Then Napoleon said police searched the house, finding Timothy Martin's body and the suspect's wounded father.

2 More Cops Killed

Two Cops Killed Attempting Arrest

BROXTON, Ga. (AP) -- A small-town police officer and a sheriff's deputy were shot to death by a reclusive man who was trying to keep his rusty mobile home from being hauled away for nonpayment of rent, authorities said Tuesday.

Broxton officer James Bryant, 35, and Coffee County Deputy Almond ``Tub'' Merritt, 53, were killed Monday.

Bryant was sent to a mobile home park in Broxton, a town of 1,600, to help evict Willie Mitchell, 55, for failure to pay rent on his lot, Sheriff Carlton Evans said.

``This should have been one of the simplest things in law enforcement work, moving a sorry joker who won't pay his rent,'' Evans said.

Bryant was shot in both arms and the mouth with a deer rifle. A state trooper attempted to crawl to Bryant, and Merritt tried to cover the trooper. Merritt was shot in the chest; the trooper was unharmed.

Mitchell surrendered after police helicopters began circling overhead, police said.

Mitchell was arraigned on murder charges Tuesday afternoon and told the judge he wanted a court-appointed attorney. The judge said she could not immediately set bond because the investigation was incomplete.

Neighbors described Mitchell as a recluse who had lived in the trailer without water or electricity for years. Patrina Porter, who lived across the street, said Mitchell has served in the military.

``He used to work until a few years ago,'' she said. ``After that, he just let things go down. His pickup stopped running. He was probably just protecting his house because that's all he had left.''

She said the neighborhood took Merritt's death particularly hard because he used to go door to door selling collard, turnip and mustard greens. He was married and had three daughters.

The sheriff said Merritt was good at handling desperate situations and domestic disputes.

Bryant, who was married and had two children, comes from a law-enforcement family. His brother is an officer in nearby Hazlehurst and his cousin a detective in Lyons.

Bryant's wife is the manager of a fast-food restaurant. He also worked as as an officer in nearby Lumber City.

``He was either working or with his family,'' Broxton Police Chief Doyle Paulk said. ``They were trying their best to make a life for their children.''

Diallo Jurors Begin Deliberating in Trial of 4 New York Officers
February 24, 2000
By Jane Fritsch and Amy Waldman

ALBANY, Feb. 23 -- The jurors in the trial of four police officers accused of murdering Amadou Diallo began deliberating today after the judge instructed them for nearly four hours on the legal reasons that could justify the shooting.

Justice Joseph C. Teresi of State Supreme Court described six times and at length to the jurors three legal reasons they could use to acquit the officers. The shooting could be justified, he said, if the officers believed they were being attacked, if they believed that a robbery was being committed or if they were making an arrest for a felony.

The instructions to the jury were the subject of lengthy negotiations between the officers' lawyers, prosecutors and Justice Teresi last week. The prosecutors strongly objected to the inclusion of two of the legal reasons that would justify the shooting, arguing that there was no evidence that Mr. Diallo was involved in a robbery or a felony, but they were overruled by the judge.

The jurors, four of them black and eight white, have been hearing evidence in the racially charged case for nearly three weeks. The officers, all white, fired 41 shots at Mr. Diallo, 22, an unarmed black man who was standing in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment building a year ago. They are charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. Their minimum penalties, if they are convicted, range from probation to imprisonment for 15 years to life.

Under New York State law, the lesser charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide are included in a murder charge, and jurors are routinely instructed to consider them during a murder trial. During this trial, lawyers for both sides agreed to their inclusion.

Justice Teresi began the morning by dismissing one juror, a young white woman, for talking about the case to friends, one of whom contacted the justice. The first alternate, a young white man who had described himself as an activist for gay and lesbian rights, took her place. In all, there are now seven white men, one white woman and four black women on the jury. During jury selection three weeks ago, the defense lawyers had tried to remove three of the four black women from the jury, but Justice Teresi denied the requests.

Several hours after they began deliberating, the jurors asked that parts of the testimony of two of the officers, Sean Carroll and Edward McMellon, be read back to them. They wanted to hear the officers' accounts of what happened from the time they stepped out of their car on the night of the shooting until they left the scene a few minutes after the shooting ended.

The jury also asked for a rereading of the testimony of Schrrie Elliott, a defense witness who said she had seen the shooting, but who made contradictory statements on several crucial points. She was the only witness, other than the officers themselves, who testified that one of the officers shouted "Gun!" just before the shooting began.

Whether the officers thought Mr. Diallo had a gun is a critical element in their claim that the shooting was justified. All four officers said they believed that Mr. Diallo had pulled a gun from his pocket. It turned out to be a wallet.

The officers, members of the New York Police Department's Street Crime Unit, were riding in an unmarked car when Officer Carroll noticed Mr. Diallo on the steps of his apartment building on Wheeler Avenue in the Soundview section and decided to stop and question him. Officer Carroll said he believed Mr. Diallo was acting suspiciously, sticking his head out to peer up and down the street, then retreating toward the building's vestibule.

Mr. Diallo, the officers said, ran inside the building and began digging in his pocket, then turned toward them with what they believed was a gun. They began firing, and hit Mr. Diallo 19 times. Officers Carroll and McMellon each fired 16 shots, emptying their semiautomatic pistols. Officer Kenneth Boss fired five shots and Officer Richard Murphy fired four.

There are three ways the jurors could find the officers' actions justified, according to Justice Teresi's instructions. One is under a state law that permits the use of deadly physical force if a person has a reasonable belief that deadly force is about to be used against him or another person.

Another provision of that law says that a person can use deadly physical force to defend against a robbery or an attempted robbery. Officer Carroll testified that he suspected that Mr. Diallo might be a lookout for a robber inside.

Although Officer Carroll said that he did not convey that suspicion to the other officers, Justice Teresi said that that theory of justification could be applied to all four defendants.

The prosecution had objected strongly to the application of that section of the law, noting that there was no evidence Mr. Diallo was a robber. Out of the jury's hearing, lawyers for two of the officers also complained about the instruction on robbery, saying their clients never testified that they believed a robbery was in progress. Outside court, they said they feared the instruction might confuse the jury.

The third possible justification applies only to police officers. They are entitled to use deadly physical force while making an arrest for a felony, Justice Teresi told the jurors. In this case, it could have been an arrest for robbery or criminal possession of a weapon, he said.

The prosecutors had objected to that instruction, saying that there was no evidence that Mr. Diallo was committing a felony or that the officers were trying to arrest him.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been leading demonstrations against the police officers, said outside the courthouse, "I think that it is extremely interesting that we are hearing a charge based on self-defense of a robbery that never happened."

Justice Teresi also told the jurors today that under New York law, police officers have wide latitude to question people on the street and, if necessary, frisk them.

Sobbing Police Officer Recounts Diallo Shooting
From the New York Times
February 14, 2000
By JANE FRITSCH

ALBANY, Feb. 14 -- His head low and his voice halting, Officer Sean Carroll broke a year of public silence today to describe how he led his three partners into the shooting of Amadou Diallo, who was struck by 19 of 41 police bullets fired at him as he stood, unarmed, in the lobby of his apartment building in the Bronx.

With Mr. Diallo's parents and Officer Carroll's own family in the front row of the courtroom, he choked out his testimony as he described his realization of his mistake.

Mr. Diallo "was still moving on the floor," Officer Carroll said.

" 'Don't die. Don't die. Keep breathing,' " he said, but Mr. Diallo stopped breathing. "I was holding his hands, telling him to keep breathing."

In an attempt to resuscitate Mr. Diallo, Officer Carroll then lifted his shirt, he said. But seeing two bullet wounds in his abdomen, he decided he might do more harm than good. "I said, 'Oh, my God.' I just held his hand and rubbed his face and said, 'Please don't die.' "

The testimony of Officer Carroll, who had never before spoken publicly about what happened that night, is the centerpiece of the defense in the trial of the four white New York City police officers charged with the murder of Mr. Diallo, a Guinean immigrant, on Feb. 4 last year. The defense lawyers hope to humanize the officers by putting them on the witness stand to explain what happened, in their own words, and make the jury see the incident from their point of view.

The defense needs to persuade the jury that the shooting was justified. Both Officer Carroll and Officer Edward McMellon, who testified later in the day, said that they thought Mr. Diallo had a gun, and that they feared for their lives.

The jurors, four blacks and eight whites, watched Mr. Carroll intently, but showed no reaction as he testified. Mr. Diallo's mother, Kadiatou, hung her head and wept as Officer Carroll described the final minutes of her son's life. Mr. Diallo, he said, never uttered a word throughout the entire incident, even as he lay dying.

Of the four defendants, Officer Carroll looks, perhaps, the least like the stereotypical police officer. His hair is a bit longer than the extra-short cuts of the three other defendants and his rimless glasses give him the bookish appearance of a high school English teacher.

Born in Flushing, Queens, Mr. Carroll is the oldest of six children. He has been married for 13 years and has an 11-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son. He attended college for several years and spent five years as a restaurant manager before entering the New York Police Academy in 1993. He had wanted a military career, he said, because "I was always brought up to help people." But his family obligations made that impractical, he said, so he joined the police department.

Officer Carroll first lost his composure today when his lawyer, John D. Patten, asked, bluntly, "Who is Kevin Gillespie?"

"Kevin Gillespie was a friend of mine," he replied after a long pause. "He was shot and killed on the Grand Concourse approximately three years ago." It was decided, he said, that "because he was such a great person and even a better cop, his locker would be left as a shrine in his memory." That locker was near his at the headquarters of the Street Crimes Unit on Randalls Island, and he saw it every day, he said.

The defense has asserted that incidents like the Gillespie killing, which occurred in March 1996, and other experiences the officers have had played a role in their state of mind on the night of the Diallo shooting.

Officer Carroll had been in the department's Street Crimes Unit for about two years when the Diallo shooting happened. He had fired his gun only once before, he said, in August 1997, when someone was shooting at him and another officer from the roof of an apartment building. The shooter was not caught.

Mr. Diallo caught his attention, Officer Carroll said, because he kept looking up and down the street from the stoop of his building, then retreating. He and the three other officers, in an unmarked car and plain clothes, stopped and got out of the car, with Officer Carroll leading the way. Mr. Diallo, he said, fit the general description of a serial rapist they had been looking for who followed women into buildings.

"I'm trying to figure out what's going on, what this guy's up to," he said, referring to Mr. Diallo. He would "peek out," then "slink back," he said. Officer Carroll said he also thought Mr. Diallo might have been a lookout for a "push-in robber," who would push his way into an apartment and, possibly, attack or murder someone inside.

Officer Carroll said he and Officer McMellon were the first to approach Mr. Diallo. Officer Carroll testified that as Mr. Diallo stood in the vestibule and the officers were outside on the sidewalk, Officer McMellon displayed his badge and said: "Sir, please, New York police. We need a word with you." Then, again, Officer McMellon said, "Please hold it one second. We need a word with you," Officer Carroll testified.

Officer Carroll said Mr. Diallo then turned away "as if he wanted to shield from my view what he might have" under his jacket. "I said, 'Police. We want a word with you,' " the officer testified. Mr. Diallo started digging in his pocket with his right hand. "I heard Officer McMellon say, 'Please show me your hands,' " Officer Carroll said. Mr. Diallo, he said, "just didn't want to listen."

After that, things happened quickly. Mr. Diallo seemed to be pulling an object from his pocket, "and all I could see was the top slide of a black gun," Officer Carroll said. "I just said, 'Gun. He's got a gun.' "

Mr. Diallo was pointing the "gun" at Officer McMellon, who said, "What are you doing? What are you doing?" Officer Carroll said. He said he thought Officer McMellon had been shot. But Officer McMellon testified later that he had backed out of the building and fallen down the stairs.

After that, there was rapid gunfire and, Officer Carroll said, it appeared that muzzle blasts were coming from Mr. Diallo's weapon. Despite being hit by several shots, Mr. Diallo remained standing, he said, adding that he thought Mr. Diallo must be wearing a bulletproof vest. Then he began firing at Mr. Diallo's legs, he said.

"Although everything seemed like it was going in slow motion, it was all over in seconds," the officer said. After the shooting ended and Mr. Diallo was on the floor, Officer Carroll grabbed the black object in the man's hand and realized it was a wallet.

Officer McMellon gave a similar account, adding that when the shooting started he tried to back out of the vestibule "because I didn't want to die." He fell down the stairs, and continued shooting from the ground, he said.

Neither officer would say who fired the first shot. Each said he was not sure.

Single and 27 years old, Officer McMellon grew up in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn and attended high school at the School of Performing Arts. He attended college for several years and joined the Police Department in 1993.

American Police Beat has an excellent article entitled Tragedy of Fear, by Cynthia Brown, on their website related to the Diallo case. Please click here for the link.

Note: Although I placed this case under our "ugly" catagory, there was some good news today. The four accused officers in the Diallo shooting were granted a change of venue due to the massive negative publicity the case has generated in New York. We are very, very pleased.

4 Officers Trial Moved To Albany
By AMY WALDMAN
December 17, 1999
The New York Times

An appellate court yesterday ordered the trial of the four officers charged with murdering Amadou Diallo to be moved to Albany County, ruling that "the public clamor" over the case made a fair trial in the Bronx impossible.
In a written decision, the five-member panel of the Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled that "this case cannot be tried in Bronx County, or anywhere else in the city of New York, without an atmosphere in which jurors would be under enormous pressure to reach the verdict demanded by public opinion." The trial had been set for Jan. 3, but will now almost certainly be postponed.

The Feb. 4 shooting of Mr. Diallo, who was unarmed, in a barrage of 41 bullets outside his apartment in the Soundview section of the Bronx led to mass demonstrations against the police, including huge rallies outside police headquarters in which celebrities and well-known New Yorkers were among more than 1,000 people arrested. To many, the killing was proof that the police overreact harshly with minorities -- Mr. Diallo was black, and the officers who shot him are white. The events have been the subject of intense news coverage.

The court decision, which cannot be appealed, noted that moving a trial in a major case is "an extraordinary remedy reserved for the rarest of cases," but added that the shooting of Mr. Diallo "is that rare case."

The appellate court ruled, "We conclude that this case has been deluged by a tidal wave of prejudicial publicity to such an extent that even an attempt to select an unbiased jury would be fruitless." It cited several news accounts, including a cover of The New Yorker that showed a smiling police officer shooting at a cutout target in human shape with the words "41 shots, 10 cents."

The court's ruling was immediately denounced by prosecutors and by Mr. Diallo's family.

"I could not disagree more strongly with the court's decision," the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, said in a statement.

"What makes this decision particularly disturbing is that absolutely no effort was invested to even attempt to empanel a fair and impartial Bronx jury."

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani reacted to the decision with a vigorous defense of the police force, which he has often said has been unfairly judged. "The rhetoric made it appear as if they were absolutely guilty and there's no question about it," Mr. Giuliani said at a news conference. "Whether that's true or not, you're entitled to a fair trial, and I think the judges said, 'We're going to treat police officers the way we treat all other human beings. They're entitled to a fair trial also.' I think a number of people do not treat police officers as human beings."

The court's decision, the statement concluded, "reflects a lack of trust of the jury selection process in general and of Bronx jurors in particular."

Mr. Diallo's parents also expressed dismay over the decision.

"We waited all this time for justice," Saikou Amad Diallo, the victim's father, said at a news conference at the National Action Network, the Harlem headquarters of the Rev. Al Sharpton, an adviser to the family. "It will be harmful to me and my family to travel to this place where we've never been."

Kadiadou Diallo, the victim's mother, was also upset by the decision. "We don't want our agony to be prolonged. We want justice. This is not fair."

But the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Patrick Lynch, hailed the decision, calling it "an opportunity for these four officers to have a trial that is judged on the facts, not the politics or other folks' political agendas."

Police Commissioner Howard Safir said, "The court decision speaks for itself."

The four officers -- Sean Carroll, Kenneth Boss, Richard Murphy and Edward McMellon -- are each facing two counts of second-degree murder and one count of reckless endangerment. In a motion filed last month, their lawyers argued that the amount of publicity and the demonstrations had irrevocably tainted the jury pool in New York City.

They also cited the "conventional wisdom" that police officers cannot get a fair trial in Bronx County, which is mostly black and Hispanic. Since at least 1991, every officer facing felony charges related to excessive force while on duty in the Bronx has asked for his case to be heard by a judge, rather than a jury.

The decision did not mention the option for a bench trial by a judge.

"The constitutional guarantee of the option of a jury trial is effectively precluded to these defendants," said the motion, which was written by Bennett M. Epstein, a lawyer for Officer Carroll.

The officers' lawyers had suggested they were leaning toward asking for a trial by a judge in the Bronx. In Albany County, however, they are likely to go before a jury.

The prosecution had said the defense had taken news coverage out of context, omitting some that was favorable to the officers. It said the notion that officers could not get a fair trial in the Bronx was "unfounded and unsupported."

But the court agreed that the "incessant drumbeat" of publicity was likely to influence jurors. It cited three examples that showed the tenor of the coverage: The New Yorker cover, a New York Post column that repeated the word "bang" 41 times, and an advertisement by the American Civil Liberties Union that displayed 41 bullet holes along with the Miranda warning, which begins, "You have the right to remain silent." The advertisement goes on to read, "On Feb. 4, 1999, the N.Y.P.D. gave Amadou Diallo the right to remain silent."

The five judges, all of whom were appointed by Gov. George E. Pataki, said they had decided to move the trial to Albany because it is an urban county and is not home to large numbers of New York City law enforcement officers. After surveying census data on several counties with "a reasonable degree of ethnic diversity," the court selected Albany.

Federal census figures from 1998 show that Albany's nearly 300,000 residents are 85.8 percent white, 9.2 percent black, 2.7 percent Asian and 2.3 percent Hispanic.

The Bronx's 1.19 million people are 48.3 percent Hispanic, 29.4 percent black, 18.6 percent white and 3.7 percent Asian.

Defense lawyers were "dumbstruck," one said, by yesterday's decision to move the trial, and also delighted. "It is a big victory, a big victory," said Steven Brounstein, the lawyer for Officer Boss.

"Now, hopefully, we'll get a fair trial."

The officers were uniformly described as pleased by the news that the trial would go to Albany.

Mr. Patten, however, noted that Mr. Carroll was dealing with the news that his father had suffered a stroke yesterday morning in Long Island and had to be hospitalized.

Stephen C. Worth, the lawyer for Officer McMellon, said that his client "was as surprised and pleased as we were that the Appellate Division had responded to our argument."

But James J. Culleton, the lawyer for Officer Murphy, said the officers had been damaged from the publicity in a way that the change of the trial's location could not fix.

"The severity of this indictment stemmed directly from the pretrial publicity," he said.

Mr. Sharpton, who led the demonstrations in which former Mayor David N. Dinkins and the actress Susan Sarandon were among those arrested, called the decision outrageous and unprecedented.

"If you're a police officer in the Bronx, how come you can't be tried in the Bronx, where you have arrested people and had them tried?" Mr. Sharpton asked, adding, "They cannot disenfranchise a whole county."

In its decision, the court specifically singled out the wave of demonstrations that Mr. Sharpton had led, and which he promised would be repeated outside the courthouse once the trial got under way, as one of the factors that had created a prejudicial climate.

Trooper Frederick Hardy

STATE TROOPER KILLED DURING TRAFFIC STOP
For Immediate Release from the Michigan State Police, November 6, 1999

State trooper killed in accident
November 7, 1999
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cops question suspect in hit-and-run death of trooper in Detroit
By Lisa Jackson and Nicole Bondi / The Detroit News
November 7, 1999

DETROIT -- The Michigan State Police are questioning a 30-year-old Detroit man in the hit-and-run death Saturday morning of a state trooper. Trooper Frederick Anthony Hardy, 36, of Detroiter was killed during a traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 96 between Livernois and Joy in Detroit.

Man confesses to killing officer
Manslaughter charges sought in hit-and-run death on I-96
November 8, 1999
By M. L. Elrick, Free Press Staff Writer

A 30-year-old Detroiter confessed to being the driver who killed a state trooper Saturday in a hit-and-run accident on I-96, police said Sunday. Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Ive Edwards said police are seeking manslaughter charges against the man, who was being held at Detroit Police headquarters.

The winnah! Barsky yes, Rage no
From The Philly Daily News
December 7, 1999

WMMR's Barsky was so piffed off yesterday about being ordered to play something by Rage Against the Machine (Mumia Abu-Jamal's fund-raising snot-rockers) he instead fought on-air with program director Sam Milkman, then walked out of the studio around 8 a.m.

This left flustered traffic babe Eliana in charge of the show, but she quickly left too. After that, it was just music and promos - no live voices. (Stu's Spies insist this was not a publicity stunt.)

When Pierre Robert started his shift at 9 a.m., he did play the Rage number. Rage was timely because the misguided rockers were playing the First Union Spectrum last night.

After Barsky, sidekick Ben Maxwell and Eliana left, meetings ensued. Barsky - a longtime supporter of Maureen Faulkner, widow of the cop murdered by Mumia - stood his ground. The result? Barsky will return to his show this morning, early risers may hear Milkman apologize for trying to shove Rage down Philly's throat - and Rage now is banned from WMMR. Attaway, Barsky!

Special message from Officer.com:

2 More Cops Killed

Two Cops Killed Attempting Arrest

All Four Officers Acquitted in Death of Diallo
February 25, 2000
By JANE FRITSCH and EDWARD WONG

Mud-Caked Baby Found After Tornado
May 7, 1999
By The Associated Press

State trooper killed in accident
November 7, 1999
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Man confesses to killing officer
Manslaughter charges sought in hit-and-run death on I-96
November 8, 1999
By M. L. Elrick, Free Press Staff Writer

2 More Cops Killed

Two Cops Killed Attempting Arrest

All Four Officers Acquitted in Death of Diallo February 25, 2000 By JANE FRITSCH and EDWARD WONG

Mud-Caked Baby Found After Tornado May 7, 1999 By The Associated Press

State trooper killed in accident November 7, 1999 ASSOCIATED PRESS

Man confesses to killing officer Manslaughter charges sought in hit-and-run death on I-96 November 8, 1999 By M. L. Elrick, Free Press Staff Writer

All Four Officers Acquitted in Death of Diallo
February 25, 2000
By JANE FRITSCH and EDWARD WONG

Mud-Caked Baby Found After Tornado
May 7, 1999
By The Associated Press

State trooper killed in accident
November 7, 1999
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Man confesses to killing officer
Manslaughter charges sought in hit-and-run death on I-96
November 8, 1999
By M. L. Elrick, Free Press Staff Writer