Police Accountability Report: Episode 100 – LRN.fm
Story #1
San Marcos Officer Jailed After Woman Injured During Arrest
http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/san-marcos-officer-jailed-after-woman-injured-duri/nYsQ4/
A San Marcos police corporal has been charged with aggravated assault by a public official after police say he injured a woman while illegally arresting her in late May, causing her to lose at least two teeth and suffer a concussion.
Cpl. James Angelo Palermo, 40, was booked at the Hays County jail on the charge of aggravated assault by a public servant, a first-degree felony, last week. He was released on $25,000 bail.
Palermo has been placed on PAID administrative leave – otherwise known as paid vacation.
According to the affidavit for his arrest, Palermo was making a traffic stop during the early morning May 29 when a woman walked by as he was questioning the driver. She didn’t look or talk to Palermo or the driver as she walked by, and she didn’t make any suspicious movements or gestures.
Palermo called her over and started talking to her about walking near the traffic stop, which was taking place in the driveway of a local business and near a sidewalk, the affidavit says. The woman disagreed that she did anything wrong, and the conversation became argumentative when he asked for her identification, which she couldn’t immediately find.
The woman insisted she had done nothing wrong and suggested he conduct traffic stops somewhere else, saying that he was apparently in a bad mood and taking it out on her, calling him a “dick.”
Palermo immediately moved toward her and she stepped back as he approached. He grabbed her and pushed her against the back of the car he had stopped, then quickly spun his body and slammed her onto the concrete driveway between his patrol car and the stopped car. He then handcuffed her and put her in his patrol car, saying she was under arrest for obstruction.
She was taken to the hospital, where medical staff told her and Palermo that she would need follow-up care for her injuries — broken teeth, a concussion and “other injuries as a result of Cpl. Palermo’s actions,” the affidavit says.
Palermo then took the woman to the jail, charging her with obstruction, resisting arrest and public intoxication.
San Marco Police Chief Howard Williams said he found out about the incident the next day and ordered an internal review, which included video footage from the patrol car’s dashboard camera. The investigation started while the officer was on vacation, Williams said, and he was put on administrative leave with pay June 10.
He was arrested in the chief’s office after officials obtained a warrant last Tuesday, Williams said.
The charges against the woman were dismissed.
According to the affidavit, she is still receiving medical treatment for her injuries and may need further surgery.
Story #2
Ex-Trooper Sentenced in Stomping
http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/16/2889622/ex-trooper-sentenced-in-stomping.html
Also, ex-Mississippi State Trooper Christopher G. Hughes has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.
The 42-year-old, in February, pleaded guilty to stomping a woman in the Lee County Jail more than five years ago.
A complaint filed alleged that Hughes threw the woman to a concrete floor of the Lee County Detention Center and kicked and stomped her on October 14, 2007.
That’s this week’s Police Accountability Report brought to you by CopBlock.org.
I hope you’ll take a moment to consider just what it is that you are paying for via taxation – and speak out against the corruption.
Until next week, stay safe and remember that badges don’t grant extra rights.
