Bad Cops. BAD! BAD!

[KambingSociety]

http://www.ktvu.com/news/ktvu-local-...ice-department

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KTVU) - Palo Alto Police Department is defending itself against charges several officers violated a suspect’s civil rights. Attorneys for Gustavo Alvarez say the officers in question filed false police reports and did not reveal the use-of-force during his arrest.

The charges in the criminal case last year were dropped against Alvarez because the Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled Palo Alto police did not have reasonable suspicion to stop and arrest him for a traffic violation.

Alvarez’ lawyer has now filed charges against the department in federal court, saying police violated his client’s 4th Amendment rights against illegal search and seizures.

It’s aimed at deterring this type of unlawful behavior, this dishonest behavior by the police,” said attorney Cody Salfen, who is representing Alvarez.
\
Salfen laid out hundreds of pages of evidence he says prove four Palo Alto police officers are unfit to wear a badge. His case centers on home surveillance video from the rough arrest of Gustavo Alvarez in February 2018.

Officer Chris Conde initially tried to conduct a traffic stop because – according to the police report – the subject was known to have a suspended driver’s license. According to Conde’s report the, “suspect was seen driving in the roadway.” But in the audio from the surveillance video, Conde can be heard responding to Alvarez’ repeated question “did you see me driving,” by saying, “I didn’t.”

In the video, Alvarez makes a hand gesture and goes back into his mobile home. Conde leaves for a few minutes and calls in back up. Now several patrol shift officers return, demanding Alvarez surrender. Sgt. Wayne Benitez eventually kicks in the door, grabs the suspect and – with help – throws him to the hood of a car.

Benitez said in his report, officers moved to make an arrest, “since officers had two on-view charges against him [Alvarez], driving on a suspended license and now resisting officers.” The report goes on to say, “…Agent DeStafano and I put Alvarez on the hood of his car where he was handcuffed. No other force was used on Alvarez.” But the surveillance video shows officers punching Alvarez and slamming him face-first into the car’s windshield.

“I’m bleeding,” Alvarez told officers as they pull him toward a patrol vehicle. “You’re gonna be bleeding a whole lot more,” Sgt. Benitez responded.

“Not a single one of those officers reported the incident properly. Not a single one of those officers adhered to the written policy in terms of informing their superiors about the use-of-force. The use of force. The violence. The unlawful acts by Sgt. Benitez were specifically from Benitez’ report. They were omitted from Officer Conde’s report,” said Salfen.

Salfen’s civil rights lawsuit against the Palo Alto Police Department claims officers deprived Alvarez of his 4th Amendment right against unlawful search and seizure. Palo Alto police referred us to the city manager for comment, who issued a statement that reads in part, “The police department has procedures to investigate allegations of misconduct thoroughly and to hold officers accountable if misconduct is determined to have occurred.”

According to police officials, only Sgt. Benitez is on administrative duty. The others are working their normal shifts.

“These officers have no business being peace officers. They are dishonest. They are violent. They have a veil of secrecy that they’ve created,” said Salfen.

This incident involves only a handful of Palo Alto police officers, and is not an indictment of the entire department. The federal civil rights case is still on going and could take months to either go to trial or reach a settlement.

[KambingSociety]

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/cri...se/1825651001/

Nicholas Tartaglione a former Cop under investigation for murder is now under investigation over Jefferey Epstein.

Nicholas Tartaglione made headlines in 2016 when the former Briarcliff Manor police officer was charged with killing four men in Orange County.

There have been various developments in his story as his case lingers, including this week, when WNBC reported that Tartaglione was questioned about jail-cell injuries found on financier and accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Here's a timeline of events in Tartaglione's case and federal custody.

Dec. 19, 2016: Tartaglione, then 49, was arrested and accused of killing Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez in and around the Likquid Lounge, a bar his brother operated in Chester. He was also charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and federal prosecutors said the killings were part of that drug conspiracy.

Tartaglione pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were filed in a five-count superseding indictment. The original indictment was sealed. The charges referred to co-conspirators, but did not identify other people allegedly involved.

Dec. 20, 2016: The bodies of those four men were found on property that Tartaglione had rented in Otisville in Orange County. The four men had been missing since April 11, 2016.


March 8, 2017: Gerard Benderoth fatally shot himself when FBI agents pulled him over while driving in Haverstraw. Questions swirled about a possible tie between Benderoth — a 48-year-old power weightlifter, Stony Point resident, retired Haverstraw police officer, and father of four — and Tartaglione.

Tartaglione's lawyer, Bruce Barket, said at the time that Benderoth had surfaced in the case, but it's unclear in what capacity.

June 1, 2017: Joseph Biggs, a Nanuet resident and security guard for the Greenburgh-Graham school district in Hastings-on-Hudson, was arrested in the case. He and Tartaglione were charged in a 17-count superseding indictment, which added firearms and kidnapping charges to the murder and drug conspiracy charges.

Joseph Biggs, of Nanuet, is charged along with ex-Briarcliff
Joseph Biggs, of Nanuet, is charged along with ex-Briarcliff Manor cop Nicholas Tartaglione in the April 2016 deaths of four men in Orange County (Photo: Submitted)

September 19, 2017: A brief appearance in White Plains federal court revealed that prosecutors believed Tartaglione was not present when three of the men were killed in April 2016. Prosecutors had said that Tartaglione and Biggs are believed to have lured Martin Luna to Likquid Lounge because he owed money from a drug operation, and that Luna brought the other three men, who were not involved in the narcotics ring.

If Tartaglione Beat Up Jefferey Epstein then pardon him!! He deserves to be pardoned.

[KambingSociety]

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/cri...es/1824385001/

Speculation that accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein may have been assaulted in his Manhattan jail cell by a former Briarcliff Manor police officer awaiting trial in a quadruple homicide is false, the lawyer for ex-cop Nicholas Tartaglione said Thursday afternoon.

"Any suggestion that Mr. Tartaglione assaulted anyone is a complete fabrication," the lawyer, Bruce Barket, said in a statement. "This story is being leaked to retaliate against Mr. Tartaglione for complaining to the court about the deplorable conditions at the MCC. We made those complaints on Monday in open court. We warned the judge that officials at the jail would retaliate against Nick because we have been exposing the inhumane conditions at the facility.”

Epstein, a wealthy financier, has been held at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest July 6. He was found this week in his cell, lying in a fetal position, semi-conscious, with marks on his neck, wnbcnewyork.com reported Wednesday night.

Investigators are looking into the possibility that Epstein might have tried to hang himself, or that it might have been a ruse to try to get transferred, according to NBC, which also reported Epstein is on suicide watch.

Nick Tartaglione, a former Briarcliff Manor police
Nick Tartaglione, a former Briarcliff Manor police officer, was arrested on Dec. 19, 2016, and charged in a quadruple homicide in Orange County. (Photo: Courtesy of Nick Tartaglione)

Investigators talked to Tartaglione, who is the same unit at MCC, as they also look into the possibility that Epstein might have been assaulted, NBC reported.

Epstein, 66, was treated and, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, remains in custody at MCC. Jail records obtained by The Associated Press show no indication he was taken to a hospital.

In a statement, the bureau gave no other details and would not comment on Epstein’s condition. An Epstein lawyer had no immediate response.


Epstein has been accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls in the early 2000s. He was indicted on federal charges in New York this month more than a decade after he secretly struck a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to dispose of similar charges of large-scale sex trafficking. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and served 13 months behind bars.


A judge denied him bail last week, ruling that he might flee the country if released. The judge also said Epstein is a danger to the public because of his “uncontrollable” urges to engage in sexual conduct with underage girls.

Barket told NBC that Tartaglione and Epstein get along well. He said the two men have been complaining about rodents, flooding, and food in the jail.

Newsletters
Get the Daily Briefing newsletter in your inbox.
Start your day with the morning's top news

Delivery: Daily
Your Email
Tartaglione has been complaining about the conditions for more than two years. It got so bad this year that U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas intervened and requested updates from officials at the prison about efforts to make improvements. Last month, the situation seemed to have improved, Barket said, but he told Karas Monday that the situation had worsened.

Tartaglione made headlines recently after correction officers confiscated an illicit cell phone that was found in his cell on July 3, according to court records. He claimed his cellmate had tossed it to him as correction officers approached the cell, prosecutors said.

Tartaglione was assaulted at MCC in 2018, when he was hospitalized for two weeks for surgery to repair a fractured eye socket bone, Barket said at the time.

Jeffrey Epstein
A 2006 photo provided by the Palm Beach (Fla.) Sheriff's Office shows Jeffrey Epstein. (Photo: Palm Beach (Fla.) Sheriff's Office)

Tartaglione is facing the death penalty in the killing in the killing of four men — Martin Luna, Miguel Luna, Urbano Santiago, and Hector Gutierrez — who were found buried in December 2016 on property that Tartaglione had previously rented in Otisville, in Orange County.

The four men went missing on April 11, 2016, after going to the Likquid Lounge, a bar in Chester that Tartaglione's brother operated.

Prosecutors contend that Tartaglione had been involved in a drug ring and that Martin Luna owed money after failing to deliver cocaine. Luna was lured to the bar, where he brought his two nephews and Gutierrez, a family friend.

According to court records, Tartaglione is believed to have killed Martin Luna at the bar, and the other three men were brought to the Otisville property and fatally shot there.

The Associated Press and Journal News staff writer Jonathan Bandler contributed to this report

[KambingSociety]

The former Westchester police officer charged in a quadruple homicide was hospitalized for more than two weeks last month after getting assaulted in federal prison, his lawyer said in a court document.

Nicholas Tartaglione needed reconstructive surgery for a fractured eye socket bone, following the Feb. 11 incident at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

The details of Tartaglione's injury were contained in a letter asking U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas for help getting Tartaglione safer accommodations with better access to legal assistance and "human necessities such as a toothbrush and eating utensils."

"He is quite literally in a box staring at walls," Bruce Barket wrote last week of MCC's Special Housing Unit, known in prison lingo as 'the hole'. "Not surprisingly his mental health has declined."

He suggested the conditions have hampered efforts to defend Tartaglione and prepare a mitigation case in the event prosecutors seek the death penalty.


A spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

FEDS: Tartaglione transported body while three other victims were shot

FOUND: Four bodies dug up from ex-cop's property

Checkered career
Tartaglione had a checkered career working in several Westchester police departments, primarily Briarcliff Manor, where he retired in 2008.

He was arrested in December 2016, the day before the bodies of the four victims were found buried on property he had previously rented in Otisville in Orange County.


The men had been missing since April 11 that year, when prosecutors allege that Martin Luna was lured to a bar in Chester, NY, that was owned at the time by Tartaglione's brother.

Luna had been involved in a botched drug deal with a group that included Tartaglione, prosecutors contend. He brought along two nephews, Urbano Santiago and Miguel Luna, and a family friend, Hector Gutierrez.

Newsletters
Get the Daily Briefing newsletter in your inbox.
Start your day with the morning's top news

Delivery: Daily
Your Email
Authorities do not know how Martin Luna was killed but suspect that Tartaglione had left to bury the body on his property when the others were fatally shot.

Months after Tartaglione was arrested, a second defendant, Joseph Biggs, was charged. Biggs lived in Nanuet and worked security at the Greenburgh-Graham School in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Jail accommodations
Barket said Tartaglione was initially kept in a Special Housing Unit at MCC and then transfered last spring to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he was housed in a unit set aside for defendants who were in law enforcement or needed similar protection.

He was cited for two violations there. First he lost commissary privileges for six months because he wrote an email to a former inmate's wife. When he accepted commissary from another inmate, he was barred from having visitors and having phone and email privileges for three months.

In December, Tartaglione was put in MDC's special housing unit and then transfered back to MCC.

But despite his career in law enforcement, Tartaglione was put in general population, where the assault occurred last month.

When Tartaglione got out of the hospital he was returned to the SHU at MCC, where he is denied books, legal documents, access to a telephone and computer

When Barket asked a guard earlier this month why Tartaglione was in a completely empty cell, he said the guard replied, "It's jail."

"There is a tendency in our system to verbally acknowledge a defendant's right to humane treatment and reasonable access to counsel, but then to normalize the severe and often inhumane conditions in the detention facilities," Barket wrote, calling the guard's attitude "all too pervasive."

He acknowledged that the Constitution does not require "comfortable prison conditions" but suggested that Tartaglione's rights to prepare his defense and be free of cruel and unusual punishment are in jeopardy.

Twitter: @jonbandler

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/201...ide/441672002/

[KambingSociety]

https://apnews.com/f6f14016c7b64a6d883a35a48b330298

A Louisiana police chief apologized Thursday to his city and to the family of a black man shot and killed by a former police officer in 2016, saying the officer never should have been hired, at the same time his office announced a settlement reversing the officer’s 2018 firing and allowing him to resign instead.

At a news conference in Baton Rouge, Police Chief Murphy Paul and a police lawyer detailed repeated problems with Officer Blane Salamoni that they said should have raised red flags long before Alton Sterling was shot and killed.

Paul was not the chief at the time of the shooting, which launched days of protests over police treatment of black people.

In particular, the lawyer, Leo Hamilton, said Salamoni had been arrested for a physical altercation prior to joining the police department, which normally would have prevented him from being hired. He also failed to disclose his arrest in his application, Hamilton said.

The chief said the Sterling shooting was part of a well-documented pattern of “unprofessional behavior, police violence, marginalization, polarization and implicit bias by a man who should have never ever wore this uniform.”

“I want to apologize to the family of Alton Sterling and also to his kids. We’re sorry because he (Salamoni) should’ve never been hired,” Paul said.

Both state and federal officials declined to prosecute Salamoni and another officer involved in the altercation with Sterling, Howie Lake II. Salamoni — who fired all the shots that killed Sterling — was fired by Murphy in March 2018.

Salamoni appealed and under the settlement announced Thursday, he’ll be allowed to voluntarily resign retroactive to March 2018 instead of being fired. He will not receive any compensation, Hamilton said.

Hamilton said authorities continue to believe Salamoni’s firing was justified but said they advised settling because there was no guarantee that the firing wouldn’t be reversed in litigation. And Paul emphasized that Salamoni would never police Baton Rouge streets again.

Salamoni’s lawyer, John McLindon, said they’re happy the settlement withdraws his termination and allows him to resign.

McLindon said his client would have easily won reinstatement in an upcoming hearing but that he and Salamoni questioned what that would have achieved. McLindon said his client can resign and become an officer elsewhere if he wants.

He said his client had been cleared by both state and federal officials and emphasized that Sterling had a gun and was pulling it out when Salamoni shot him. He criticized the chief’s comments critical of Salamoni, calling them “inappropriate.”

McLindon also disputed that Salamoni had been arrested before starting with the police department.

Officials did not give any information about Salamoni’s pre-employment arrest but The Advocate newspaper described a 2009 incident in downtown Baton Rouge in which Salamoni was detained by police after an off-duty sheriff’s deputy saw him yell at and shove a woman at a bar.

Alton Sterling’s death came at a time of intense scrutiny across the country over the treatment of black people by police.

Salamoni and Lake encountered Sterling after responding to a report of a man with a gun outside the Triple S Food Mart.

Federal authorities, who opened a civil rights investigation immediately after the shooting, said Salamoni yelled that 37-year-old Sterling was reaching for a gun in his pocket before shooting him. The officers recovered a loaded revolver from Sterling’s pocket.

Lake helped wrestle Sterling to the ground, but didn’t fire his gun.

Two cellphone videos of the shooting quickly spread on social media, leading to nightly protests.

Many of the protesters complained about historic tensions between Baton Rouge police and the city’s African American residents. The police chief addressed those concerns Thursday, acknowledging past problems with law enforcement behavior.

“While we obviously cannot change the past, it is clear that we must change the future. And I sincerely apologize for the actions of the past and the role that our profession has played in building barriers in communities of color in the city of Baton Rouge,” Paul said.

Hamilton listed numerous problems investigators discovered about Salamoni, including regular use of profanity and unnecessary force during his work.

He even had problems with other officers. In one instance, Hamilton said Salamoni had a “blow up” with another officer that was so troublesome it caused another officer to say that if something wasn’t done about Salamoni, he could “eventually kill someone.”

Sterling’s relatives have filed a lawsuit against the city. Michael Adams, a lawyer representing three of Sterling’s children in the civil suit, said it was “refreshing” to hear a police chief come out and speak so frankly about the officer’s shortcomings. But he said the city knew Salamoni was a bad cop who was poorly trained and protected from within the department.

___

[KambingSociety]

https://ktla.com/2019/08/05/san-dieg...-dead-in-home/

A San Diego Police Department sergeant arrested by fellow officers last week on suspicion of soliciting a minor for sex was found dead in his Carmel Valley home after missing a court appearance, authorities said.

Joseph Ruvido, 49, was found unresponsive about 4:24 p.m. and ultimately pronounced dead, the San Diego Police Department said in a written statement.

He had been scheduled to appear in San Diego County Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. for a hearing in his sex crime case, but never showed up, officials said. Officers went to the sergeant’s home to find out why he missed court.

“After several attempts to reach him, the decision was made to force entry into his apartment,” Police Chief David Nisleit said during a press conference on Monday evening.

“Once inside, officers found him deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the chief said.

Ruvido was arrested on July 26 after his department received a tip regarding people looking for sex with minors, police said. He was a 21-yer veteran of the department.

Details of the allegation against Ruvido have not been released.

“Like many of you, I, too, have many questions that remain unanswered,” Nisleit said. “This is still an unfolding investigation.”

Following Ruvido’s arrest, he was released from custody on $100,000 bail pending legal proceedings, officials said. In the meantime, he had been suspended from the police department without bail.

[raisedbywolves]

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/cri...se/1825651001/

Nicholas Tartaglione a former Cop under investigation for murder is now under investigation over Jefferey Epstein.



If Tartaglione Beat Up Jefferey Epstein then pardon him!! He deserves to be pardoned.

So sorry Kambing, no pardon.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...murd-rcna78635

Former New York police officer convicted in ?gangland-style? quadruple murder