Well, update:
Washington Twp. officer put on leave returns to job Review of traffic-stop video finds no wrongdoing
A Washington Township police officer is back on the job after authorities found no wrongdoing on a videotape of a traffic stop that had resulted in him being placed on paid administrative leave.
The tape, viewed more than a million times since it was posted online, depicts an encounter Officer Eric Hart had with at least two people Sept. 15 when he stopped a vehicle at 166 Pine Ridge St. in Raintree Village for having a license registration sticker that appeared to have been altered.
Lucas County Sheriff’s Office performed the review, township Trustee Kenneth Kay said.
In the nearly five-minute video, a woman accused Officer Hart of harassing people and claimed he smashed her cell phone when she tried to call 911.
In a police report, Officer Hart wrote that a man — later identified as Aaron Tatkowski — emerged from another vehicle and told him: “I’m [expletive] sick of you cops. I’m [expletive] sick of you harassing people for no reason.”…
…Mr. Kay said he was satisfied with the sheriff’s office’s findings and with the police department’s actions. He said he believed the video did not show everything that happened during the incident. “I really feel that the video and the way that people acted over there took things way out of context,” Mr. Kay said. “It made it much worse than things really had to be.”
The officer also works for Toledo Public Schools as a school resource officer, and had been on paid administrative leave pending Washington Township’s inquiry. District Business Manager Jim Gant said TPS received the report late last week, and reinstated the officer Monday.
I underlined the Lucas County Sheriff's Office because with small departments, when issues like this come up, it's good to have an outside set of eyes to look at the incident. In a large department (e.g. New York or LA) there is less chance for the investigator to know the subject of an inquiry.
What does this mean? Is the officer innocent or guilty? Can’t really tell. But the system went though its process and if needed, there are civil actions the people in the video can do.
I’ve been made aware of the latest outrage by police with the following:
4 On Your Side investigates traffic stop nightmare
This 4 On Your Side investigation looks into the actions of police officers and doctors in Southern New Mexico…
...The incident began January 2, 2013 after David Eckert finished shopping at the Wal-Mart in Deming. According to a federal lawsuit, Eckert didn't make a complete stop at a stop sign coming out of the parking lot and was immediately stopped by law enforcement.
Eckert's attorney, Shannon Kennedy, said in an interview with KOB that after law enforcement asked him to step out of the vehicle, he appeared to be clenching his buttocks. Law enforcement thought that was probable cause to suspect that Eckert was hiding narcotics in his anal cavity. While officers detained Eckert, they secured a search warrant from a judge that allowed for an anal cavity search.
The lawsuit claims that Deming Police tried taking Eckert to an emergency room in Deming, but a doctor there refused to perform the anal cavity search citing it was "unethical."
But physicians at the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City agreed to perform the procedure and a few hours later, Eckert was admitted.
What Happened
While there, Eckert was subjected to repeated and humiliating forced medical procedures. A review of Eckert's medical records, which he released to KOB, and details in the lawsuit show the following happened:
1. Eckert's abdominal area was x-rayed; no narcotics were found.
2. Doctors then performed an exam of Eckert's anus with their fingers; no narcotics were found.
3. Doctors performed a second exam of Eckert's anus with their fingers; no narcotics were found.
4. Doctors penetrated Eckert's anus to insert an enema. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found.
5. Doctors penetrated Eckert's anus to insert an enema a second time. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found.
6. Doctors penetrated Eckert's anus to insert an enema a third time. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found.
7. Doctors then x-rayed Eckert again; no narcotics were found.
8. Doctors prepared Eckert for surgery, sedated him, and then performed a colonoscopy where a scope with a camera was inserted into Eckert's anus, rectum, colon, and large intestines. No narcotics were found.
Throughout this ordeal, Eckert protested and never gave doctors at the Gila Regional Medical Center consent to perform any of these medical procedures.
I've made this point more than once, but here we go again. We do not need your consent to execute a warrant issued by a court, in this case a search warrant from a district judge. If we needed your consent for this, do we need the consent for an arrest warrant?
I still kinda wondering how this works, “Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers…” OK, I can hold it for a while and we know he wasn’t forced fed a laxative. Why do we know that? Because if he was it would have been mentioned.
"If the officers in Hidalgo County and the City of Deming are seeking warrants for anal cavity searches based on how they're standing and the warrant allows doctors at the Gila Hospital of Horrors to go in and do enemas and colonoscopies without consent, then anyone can be seized and that's why the public needs to know about this," Kennedy said.
Search Warrant Concerns
There are major concerns about the way the search warrant was carried out. Kennedy argues that the search warrant was overly broad and lacked probable cause. But beyond that, the warrant was only valid in Luna County, where Deming is located. The Gila Regional Medical Center is in Grant County. That means all of the medical procedures were performed illegally and the doctors who performed the procedures did so with no legal basis and no consent from the patient.
In addition, even if the search warrant was executed in the correct New Mexico county, the warrant expired at 10 p.m. Medical records show the prepping for the colonoscopy started at 1 a.m. the following day, three hours after the warrant expired.
Forgive me if I'm not taking this woman at face value, but she is a lawyer trying to win a case and using this troll as means to influence to public. The public that fills the jury pool.
"This is like something out of a science fiction film, anal probing by government officials and public employees," Kennedy said.
I can make the same comments about Death Panels, aka Obamacare. But I distress.
No Comment
KOB reached out to the attorneys representing the defendants in the lawsuit and all declined to comment on the situation. The attorneys said it's their personal policy not comment on pending litigation.
4 On Your Side Investigative Reporter Chris Ramirez cornered Deming Police Chief Brandon Gigante.
"As the police chief what reassurances could you give people when they come through your town that they won't be violated or abused by your police officers?" Ramirez asked Chief Gigante.
"We follow the law in every aspect and we follow policies and protocols that we have in place," Chief Gigante replied.
"Do you think those officers in this particular case did that?" Ramirez asked.
Gigante didn't answer, instead he referred Ramirez to his attorney...
I love how the objective reporter asked a loaded question to the Chief, “…what reassurances can you give to people they will not be abused or violated…”. Excuse me genius but this man has a lawsuit that could cost his agency a fortune. He is not going to make a statement you will chop and misquote so the attorney can use against him at the trial.
Or that this article fails to mention a K9 alerted to Eckert (that part was on the video report). Or that the only person really quoted from extensively in this article is Miss Kennedy, the lawyer. Call me cynical, but I believe the reason the client wouldn’t come on was to not screw up his payday.
Again, I’m not saying the officers did right or wrong. I am not saying Mr Eckert did or did not commit a crime. I AM SAYING LET THIS PLAY OUT IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OR LEGAL PROCEEDING, not in the court of public opinion presided over by a Judge Judy wanna-be.
I wonder if Astropup will have a comment on this?! :<)
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