Police Accountability Report: Episode 127 – LRN.fm
Story #1
SC officer shoots man reaching for cane
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sc-officer-shoots-man-reaching-for-cane/2014/02/26/1b97852e-9f3d-11e3-878c-65222df220eb_story.html
A police officer in South Carolina shot a 70-year-old motorist who was reaching for a cane during a traffic stop because he thought the man was grabbing a rifle from the bed of his pickup truck, investigators said. The man was expected to survive.
The York County deputy, Terrence Knox, pulled over Bobby Canipe of Lincolnton, N.C., for an expired license tag about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday north of Clover, S.C., York County sheriff’s spokesman Trent Faris said.
After stopping, Canipe got out of his pickup truck and reached into the bed, pulling out what Knox thought was a long-barreled rifle, Faris said. It was Canipe’s walking cane. The officer fired several times, hitting Canipe once, Faris said.
Faris refused to say where on his body Canipe was hit, but said he was expected to survive. Canipe was taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., where spokesman Kevin McCarthy said he was listed in fair condition.
“The situation is very unfortunate,” Faris said, reading from a statement at a news conference. “It does appear, at this time, that Deputy Knox’s actions were an appropriate response to what he reasonably believed to be an imminent threat to his life.”
The State Law Enforcement Division will investigate the shooting and turn its findings over to prosecutors, who will decide whether to press charges, Faris said. He said Knox has been a deputy for almost three years.
Story #2
Fort Worth Officer Accused of Beating Daughter is Fired
http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/02/14/5570032/fort-worth-officer-accused-of.html
Larry Wayne Gulley was arrested August 26th by Mansfield police after officers went to his home on a domestic violence call. Court documents identify the alleged victim as Gulley’s teenage daughter.
Gulley, whose termination from the Fort Woth Police Department took effect Monday, will appeal, according to his attorney Terry Daffron Porter.
According to a disciplinary letter filed Wednesday with the Civil Service Commission, the daughter and another person were arguing in her bedroom when Gulley entered the room.
“She stated that Officer Gulley became angry when she gave him ‘a look’ and he punched her in the face with a closed fist,” the letter says. “Her nose began to bleed.”
The daughter told police that Gulley yelled for a person to bring him a belt and that he struck her with it.
“He then threw the belt down and slammed her to the ground,” the letter says. “She stated that he placed his hands around her throat and squeezed. He then twisted her body into several different positions and subsequently stood on her chest.”
The daughter said he covered her mouth and nose with his hands, making her fear that she would not be able to breathe, then released her and told her to go to the bathroom and wash up. Once in the bathroom, she contacted police, the letter says.
A witness told a Mansfield officer that he saw Gulley punch the teen in the face and step on her “like she was an insignificant being or a cockroach,” the letter says.
The letter, signed by Police Chief Jeff Halstead, says he believes that the daughter’s statements are credible and that Gulley assaulted the teen.
Gulley, who had been with the department since 2003, was charged August 28th with assault causing bodily injury of a family member. He is free on $1,500 bail while awaiting trial.
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.
