Police Accountability Report: Episode 114 – LRN.fm
This week, a story that should cause anyone critically thinking to see that those wearing badges aren’t always operating with the best intentions.
Story #1
Ex-Ga. police officer pleads guilty to burglary
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/23863884/ex-ga-police-officer-pleads-guilty-to-burglary
Former Newnan police officer Zachery Anderson is accused of burglarizing a child care center while he was on duty and has been sentenced to probation.
40-year-old Zachery Anderson admitted to breaking into All Stars Academy last November during a night patrol shift to steal tuition money and petty cash from the office.
Coweta County Assistant District Attorney Kaitlin Doyle says Anderson’s wife worked at the daycare center. Anderson was fired from the department after his wife filed a protective order against him and told police about the burglary.
Anderson, who worked for the department for five years, is ordered to serve eight years of probation and undergo a psychological evaluation.
Story #2
Berthoud Officer Jeremy Yachik fired after admitting to abusing teenage girl
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/berthoud-officer-jeremy-yachik-fired-after-admitting-to-abusing-teenage-girl
In other news, a Berthoud police officer was fired a few days after being arrested in a child abuse case.
According to court records, a 15-year-old girl told Loveland police investigators that Berthoud Officer Jeremy Yachik abused her almost daily for years. The abuse allegedly included restraining her hands with handcuffs or plastic zip ties and then slamming her head into a wall hard enough to leave a hole and choking her until she blacked out. He also beat her with ropes, restricted her food, shackled her in a darkened room for hours and force-fed her “ghost pepper sauce” that’s roughly 10 times hotter than habanero peppers.
During an interview with Loveland investigators, Yachik admitted to doing many of these things to the girl, and confirmed he was the man in a video of one such encounter. Asked why he did these things, Yachik said the teen “wouldn’t communicate” with him.
Yachik was arrested on Oct. 23, on a warrant charging him with four counts of child abuse resulting in injury and one count of false imprisonment, all misdemeanor charges, according to police records.
The child abuse video came to the attention of Loveland police on Sept. 25 after Ashley Saint-Roberts, Yachik’s former fiancée, sent it to several news organizations and police agencies. Saint-Roberts said Yachik had abused her and the teen girl for years.
Saint-Roberts said she began going public with the video after she sent it to Yachik’s boss, Chief Johnson, and he did not respond to her. However, Saint-Roberts said Yachik did call her and said, “Nice try… trying to get me fired… it’s not going to work.”
The teen victim told investigators that Yachik routinely physically forced her to eat ghost pepper sauce when he accused her of lying.
Between July 1, 2012 and Oct. 2, 2012, the girl described being choked around the neck repeatedly by Yachik. She described at least one choking incident when she felt dizzy, suffered blurred vision and eventually blacked out. She recalled waking up on the floor, feeling dizzy and confused.
Are these really the type of people you’d trust to protect you?
That’s this week’s Police Accountability Report brought to you by CopBlock.org.
Connect and collaborate with those who know that badges don’t grant extra rights. Visit Cop Block online at CopBlock.org, Facebook.com/CopBlock, Twitter.com/CopBlock and YouTube.com/TheCopBlock
Until next week, stay safe and remember that badges don’t grant extra rights.
