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By Elaine Nolan and Tom Kennedy
Here are January's legal victories.
Officer Fires Shots, Arrests
Sheet Metal Theft Suspect
REPRESENTATION
By Aaron J. Suder, Staff Counsel
An officer-involved shooting happened about 6:25 a.m. on Nov. 21 at 7300 Airport, involving a Narcotics officer who was working an extra job at a manufacturing business.
The business had experienced several recent incidents of theft of scrap metal during the early morning hours. On this morning, it was raining outside and the officer was inside his vehicle, a Nissan Pathfinder, monitoring the back loading docks of the business.
A few minutes after 6 a.m., the officer observed a white pick-up truck enter the property through an open security gate. He did not recognize the vehicle as belonging to any employee of the business.
The officer watched as the vehicle drove in toward the loading docks and backed in so that the bed of the truck was near several bins of scrap metal. The driver of the truck quickly got out, while the vehicle was still running and in park. He went to the back of the truck, where he began throwing scrap metal from one of the bins into the truck bed.
Realizing that he was witnessing a theft in progress, the officer pulled his vehicle over to near the suspect's truck and tried to box the vehicle in by positioning his Pathfinder in front of the suspect's truck, between a dumpster and some scrap bins and pallets.
The officer got out of his vehicle, wearing his HPD rain jacket, and yelled at the suspect, "Police, stop what you're doing, you're under arrest!"
The suspect ran around the back of his vehicle toward the driver's side and the officer moved around the front of the suspect's vehicle to intercept him. The officer drew his duty weapon at that time and repeatedly yelled at the suspect to stop.
When the officer was rounding the suspect's vehicle and was close enough to see the suspect's face, he immediately recognized the suspect as a person whom he had arrested before for theft on the same property.
The suspect also recognized the officer, and yelled, "Fuck you" as he jumped into the driver's seat. The suspect then put the car in gear and accelerated forward. However, instead of trying to flee to the right through a small opening, the suspect turned his wheel to the left and drove directly at the officer.
The officer began backpedaling as fast as he could, but the truck was on him very quickly. Fearing that the suspect was going to run him over and kill him, the officer began firing his weapon at the truck. Several shots hit the truck, but not the suspect.
However, the suspect suddenly stopped his vehicle and got out.
After the suspect got back out of the truck, he ran around to the back and began removing the scrap metal from the truck bed and throwing it back in the scrap bin, saying, "I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything!"
The officer then holstered his weapon and moved in to put handcuffs on the suspect. The suspect was still defiant, however, and began to fight with the officer, who was able to take the suspect to the ground, get on top of him and, with the assistance of several business employees who had come outside, was able to place him in handcuffs.
The suspect was not injured as a result of the incident. The officer sustained a knee injury at some point during the incident, but did not yet know the extent of the injury.
Officer's 9-Day Suspension Reduced
To 3 Days after Examiner hears Case
REPRESENTATION
By Sally Ring, Staff Counsel
Last March 29 an officer entered the "Cock-Eyed Seagull" bar in Webster, while off-duty. The officer saw some friends at the bar, who were sitting at a table with an individual for whom the officer had a long-standing, mutual dislike.
The officer began talking to the other people at the table, when this man began bad-mouthing the officer and shoved him. The officer raised his hand to create some distance between him and his antagonizer and made contact with the man's face.
The officer then left the bar. The man called the Webster Police and claimed that the officer broke his nose. Webster PD located the officer, who denied assaulting this individual. Despite conflicting statements and the lack of physical injury, Webster PD issued the officer a class C citation for Assault by Contact.
The officer hired an attorney, who advised him to plead "no contest" to the citation and the officer received a 90-day deferred sentence.
HPD cited the officer for Unsound Judgment and Criminal Activity, and issued a nine-day suspension.
At the officer's arbitration Nov. 16 hearing, HPOU Legal emphasized the flaws of the Webster investigation and the lack of credible witnesses. Further, the officer's lieutenant made it clear that he believed that the officer was a good officer who did not involve himself in criminal activity. The officer testified that he did not assault the complaining individual and was only reacting when he raised his hand to the man's face.
The officer testified that he was only following his attorney's advice when he pled "no contest" and did not believe it would affect him administratively.
Hearing examiner Dr. Paula Hughes found that the officer was engaged in unprofessional conduct by making contact with the individual but did not provoke the altercation, nor harm the man.
Dr. Hughes found that the officer should not have to pay additional administrative penalties after pleading "no contest." She ordered that the Criminal Activity cite was NOT sustained, and ordered the suspension should be reduced to only three days.
North Shepherd Officer Fires
At Suspect in Drug Bust Case
REPRESENTATION
By Sally Ring, Staff Counsel
On the evening of Dec. 17, a North Shepherd Tact Unit sergeant fired at a suspect during the execution of a search warrant at 44 Farrell St.
The officer said that he and other members of the unit were assisting Narcotics Squad No. 9 in executing the warrant. The officer was positioned behind a SUV in the driveway of the residence, while the Narcotics officers approached in the "stack" formation.
As the officers passed by a front window, a suspect in a red shirt looked out and observed them approach. The narcs believed their cover had been compromised, but yelled, "Police, search warrant!" And they began to try to breach the door.
A panel of the door was knocked out by the moby. Soon after the door was breached, the officers were fired on by someone inside the residence. The Narcotics officers then began to run for cover. One officer was struck by a bullet in his midsection and fell to the ground. The sergeant observed the officer being struck and then observed an individual in a red shirt approach the doorway toward the fallen officer.
The sergeant heard more gunfire and could not see the suspect's hands, so he fired one time at the suspect, who immediately retreated into the residence.
The house was surrounded and the suspects were ordered out. Three suspects exited the residence through a front window and were apprehended. Approximately 15 minutes later, three other suspects came out. None was hit by the sergeant's gunfire.
Fortunately, the protective vest of the officer who was hit deflected the bullet and he was not seriously injured.
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