Hoo boy! Found these while browsing around for info on some of the more egregious cases of LEO misconduct over recent decades. Turns out its hard to find the more distant cases because of a veritable blizzard of more recent ones. A sampling...
2/01... "Officer.... was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He shot the party host over an argument about an unwelcome guest, according to the Houston Chronicle. Both men are deputies assigned to the Jail Division."
6/01... "Dallas police officer Senior Corporal.... was arrested on April 13 for aggravated sexual assault. He allegedly kidnapped a woman at gunpoint, then sexually assaulted and robbed her before letting her go. DNA samples from her rape kit matched... who has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case."
6/01... "In particular, officers who extorted sex in exchange for not arresting women have been given only probation, serving no jail time. "
7/01... "A 19-year veteran San Antonio police officer... was convicted last November of sexually molesting a 13-year old girl... ...Three months earlier, Officer... was found guilty of indecency with a child and also given only probation."
7/01..."The chief investigator for the Ector County district attorney's office was indicted in June in Kerr County for stealing paintings from a hotel conference room. "
8/01... "The second consecutive director of the East Texas Police Academy has resigned amid scandal... Academy Director... resigned and relinquished his peace officer's license amid a criminal investigation against him... allegedly purchased child pornography over the Internet.... after serving four years as director of the academy, which is part of Kilgore College. He succeeded former director... who pled guilty to felony theft of handguns. "
9/01... "Fellow officers accused Austin police officer... in August of beating a handcuffed and feet-bound prisoner repeatedly while forcing him into the back seat of a patrol car... Officer... was placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of APD's investigation. Officer... was fired in 1997 for multiple domestic violence incidents involving his wife, including two Hays County arrests and multiple violations of a protective order."
9/01... "More than 200 West Texans crowded a public meeting in late August in Fort Stockton to complain about Department of Public Safety troopers who have followed them, searched their cars and subjected them to harassment." [BW note: "200 West Texans "is a LOT of folks]
9/01... "A 26-year old DPS trooper stationed in Denton has been suspended for taking cash from a man while interpreting for another law enforcement agency at a traffic stop. Videotape from a police car camera captured Trooper... taking $390 from the motorist."
12/01... "Three former Frio County sheriff's deputies face more than 30 counts of civil rights violations... used their positions to commit crimes ranging from stealing weapons to burning down a mobile home... used marked sheriff's vehicles to transport stolen items from the scenes of burglaries and thefts... and initiated unlawful traffic stops of motorists as a pretext to commit unlawful searches and subsequent thefts... Numerous thefts from police property rooms were charged, as well as stealing a camouflage jacket from a dead man. These crimes allegedly took place from May 1996 to February 2000 in Frio County..." [BW note: these clowns were recently convicted]
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This a sampling of one year. Further offenses not listed on this ACLU website can be found by browsing on specific Texas cities. Even given that the vast majority of LEO's are principled public servants the litany of crimes committed by those with a badge is chilling.
I'm gonna get off of this topic, it riles up the respectable LEO's on this board, and I think the point has been made.
http://www.aclutx.org/projects/police/copwatchblotter/index.htmBirdwatcher
