NYPD Officers Cleared of Rape Charges

Officers Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata of the NYPD were formerly accused of felony charges of rape, burglary and falsifying business records. They were cleared of these charges in court this morning. However, the NYPD says they will fire the police officers anyway. "The guilty verdict warrants immediate termination from department. We will pursue that today," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says. The officers were convicted of only three misdemeanors of official misconduct. Sentencing is set for June 28, and they could each face a year or less in jail.


This was a hard case for the Jury to decide on. There was a lack of forensic evidence of rape, it was basically a he-said she-said case.  The woman claims she woke up in her bed, in a drunken, semi-conscious state, to see the officer standing over her while she was stripped of her clothes, lying down. Prosecutors claim Moreno, 43, committed the rape while Mata, 29, was the lookout.


There were a few pieces of solid evidence, including a secretly recorded tape where you hear Moreno say that he used a condom, and that it was just him and not his partner. There is also surveillance video showing the officers letting themselves into her house with a key 3 times. The same video also showed the woman walking around by herself, and even making a gesture to one of the officers. After finding her BAC, and the amount of time between her drinking and her accusation, Lawyers argue that the woman would have metabolized enough of the alcohol to not have been physically helpless if a rape had occurred.  She was also able to climb 5 flights of stairs on her own.


Because of this evidence, the misdemeanors the officers were charged of were from knowingly refraining from duty to return to the woman's house 3 times. The officers will lose their jobs because of this.


Do you think this is the correct decision made by the jury? Do you think the officers should lose their jobs over this misdemeanor? Do you think that if the offenders were not police officers, their sentencing would have been different? Do you think the American Justice System is flawed?

The use of tasers by law enforcement.

The use of tasers by Law Enforcement officers is a very controversial topic today. The goal of police officers everywhere is to enforce the law, while also keeping themselves and others safe. The weapons officers have include pepper spray, batons, tasers, and firearms.

Some people believe that tasers are too easy for officers to abuse, claiming that they are using them against people already in handcuffs, or that are already surrendering. Other reasons for eliminating the use of tasers by police officers include causing complications with pregnant women, young children, and people with certain disorders, physical or mental.

Supporters of the use of tasers by police officers claim that they save lives. They are the only thing that can fill the gap between pepper spray and firearms. There are times that the officers baton or pepper spray will not do the job, but the officer is not in enough trouble to have to resort to their firearm. in that case, the taser is perfect, but if they are not carrying one, either the officer or the suspect will be seriously injured or killed.

What is your opinion on this? Some states are already banning the use of tasers and stun guns by officers, do you think this is a good idea? Also, do you have any other opinions on this, or an idea for alternative protection that can fill the gap between an officers non-deadly and deadly force?

Police Explain St. Patrick's Day Arrest

Recently, Police officers in Savannah, Georgia made a controversial arrest on St. Patrick's day. The video recorded by a civilian witness seems to show the police officers using unnecessary force against the criminals they arrested for being intoxicated in public, dancing in the street, and vandalizing a parked SUV. Cpl. Mckie tried to make the arrest without using force, but the man, whose name is Benjamin Mahaffey, wouldn't cooperate, causing Mckie to resort to using pepper spray against him. When Mahaffey still wouldn't listen to the officer telling him to get down with his hands behind his back, Mckie had to take out his baton and injured Mahaffey when he striked his body with it, making it easy to force the him down so that he was able to make the arrest. Keep in mind that the police officers used legal blows with the baton, and tried to make the arrest without any violence at first.

The man's girlfriend became enraged at Mckie after the necessary attack on her boyfriend, and showed signs of getting aggressive while also shouting and cursing at him. Mckie says he was forced to hit the woman, Patricia Shields, with the baton for his safety. When she got back up, Mckie was forced to pepper spray her. After she was subdued, he made an attempt to handcuff and arrest her. He was able to get her on the ground by using his strength to throw her down, but she also smacked her face on the pavement. This is another controversial point in the video.

While the video may seem like it shows Mckie using unnecessary force, you have to remember that she showed intent to harm the officer, and you never know if someone has a weapon on them. Many people who just saw the video really were bothered by what they saw. Its hard to tell what is being said and what is really going on. After Cpl. Mckie explains his side, I feel like I am completely on his side. Officer safety is one of the most important objectives, and in my opinion its better to injure a criminal to save my own life. When you watch the part of the video where Mckie throws Shields to the ground, it does look like hes trying to injure her.

When I think about this, however, it seems very unlikely that the officer wanted to harm either Mahaffey or Shields. The officer didn't have any kind of personal issue with either person, and nothing too extreme happened that would make the officer want to harm either one of them. I think he just wanted to get her on the ground so he could be sure he was safe, and just wanted to do it as quick as possible. her smacking her head on the pavement was just a bad coincidence. I don't believe she deserved this for only defending her boyfriend, but you have to realize that if you are a threat to an officer who is armed, don't expect him to not use the tools he has to end what your doing. Police officers care very much about their own safety, and the safety of fellow officers, and will not and should not have to hesitate to use their pepper spray, baton, handcuffs, or anything else to ensure the safety of everyone.


What are your opinions on this? Do you think it was possible for the officer to use less force and still achieve the two arrests without being injured? Do you think that viewers would feel differently if it was a man that Cpl. Mckie had slammed into the ground?


You can read the article and see the controversial video here: http://www2.wsav.com/news/2011/mar/24/7/police-explain-controversial-st-pats-arrest-ar-1618800/

Bronx Officers Busted For Taking Bribes

Sources say that 24 police officers in the Bronx made tickets vanish in exchange for gifts. They were caught when they were investigating a union delegate suspected of working with a drug dealer. That's when they heard a cop ask the delegate to fix a ticket for him.

There are also 10 other officers who are suspected of lesser offenses, including obstructing governmental administration. The department installed a system allowing each summons to be tracked electronically back in 2009. Since then, it's next to impossible to make a ticket vanish.

Police Standoff in Piscataway

If you haven't heard about it yet, a 20 year veteran officer of Piscataway, New Jersey apparently barricaded himself in his home, and fired shots. This lead to a 10 hour standoff with police from the town. Neighbors thought they were firecrackers, until they saw police outside with rifles drawn.

One resident says she isn't surprised by this, and says it isn't the first time a Piscataway officer did something radical like this. The officers name was Detective Sgt. David L. Powell. Unfortunately he did die at the scene, it is unknown whether he shot himself, or was shot by responding officers. Nobody knows what caused him to do this, but he was facing a lot of problems, including a divorce.

source: http://www.officer.com/

Should Retired Police Officers...

Should retired police officers still be allowed to carry guns on them? What do you think?

Today, the use and carry of firearms by retired police officers is widely accepted in the United States. However, it was not long ago that many states had no laws that specifically allowed retired police officers to carry firearms either in the states they served or the states where they resided.


They are now allowed intrastate travel of concealed firearms.