Video shows police officer kicking handcuffed teen on the ground
Officials released cellphone video this week showing a Florida police officer hitting a handcuffed teen suspect during an arrest last year.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office released the footage on Thursday as part of a criminal case against Miami-Dade Sgt. Gustavo De Los Rios, 38, who is accused of kicking handcuffed burglary suspect David Brown, CBS Miami reported.
At the time of the incident, officials put De Los Rios on paid leave. De Los Rios was charged with misdemeanor battery in August, the Miami Herald Reported. He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
An arrest report from the incident reveals police pulled Brown over for his role in an alleged burglary.
Brown attempted to run from the cops, who tased him in the back. Cops then pushed Brown to the ground, where Brown punched and kicked, hitting De Los Rios several times in the chest, the arrest report states. The teen was charged with burglary in relation to an alleged break-in in January as well as battery on a police officer and resisting arrest.
The report makes no mention of De Los Rios kicking the teen, but two women standing outside a nearby store managed to capture the alleged battery with their cellphones.
“Right after he put the handcuffs on. He’s down on the ground. He’s not moving. He’s under control. The officer just comes and gives him a kick, with what I believe is his right foot, to the left side of his face,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle said.
Brown was not seriously injured during the arrest, but Fernandez-Rundle argues De Los Rios’ actions are still “unacceptable.“
This is not the first time De Los Rios has been accused of stepping over the line. Last year, De Los Rios allegedly attacked his ex-wife with a bottle and hit her, although she declined to press charges, the Miami Herald reported.
In 2015, he reportedly used his status as a law enforcement officer to obtain information about his ex-wife’s travel plans. The same woman also sought a restraining order against De Los Rios in 2014, according to Broward court records obtained by the Miami Herald.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/01/04/video-shows-police-officer-kicking-handcuffed-teen-on-the-ground/
Sex abuse investigation after patient in vegetative state has baby
PHOENIX — Phoenix police are investigating possible sex abuse at a nursing facility after a female patient in a vegetative state recently became pregnant and gave birth, KPHO reports.
Sources tell the station that the alleged victim has been a patient at the Hacienda HealthCare facility, which is near 16th Street and South Mountain Avenue, for at least a decade after a near-drowning incident left her in a vegetative state. That woman gave birth to a baby boy, who is alive and healthy, on Dec. 29.
“None of the staff were aware that she was pregnant until she was pretty much giving birth,” a source familiar with the situation said.
Staff were alerted to the fact that she was going into labor by moans the woman let out, the source said.
“From what I’ve been told she was moaning. And they didn’t know what was wrong with her,” the source said.
“There was a nurse that was there, and from what I’ve heard she’s the one that delivered the baby,” the woman said.
The source said the baby is alive and well.
The source says the patient required around the clock care and many would have access to her room. The source said the woman had no way to defend herself.
“No. None whatsoever. Not even able to communicate the fact that she was pregnant,” she said.
The source said the facility has changed protocol this week.
“I was told that as of now, if a male staff needs to enter a female room, they need to bring in a female employee with them,” she said. The source said that’s a new policy.
Investigators from multiple agencies are saying next to nothing about the case, but the station’s reporting indicates that at some point last spring or summer, someone sexually assaulted the woman who was in a persistent vegetative state, and she became pregnant.
Hacienda HealthCare spokeswoman Nancy Salmon released the following statement after the station asked about the case.
“Hacienda Healthcare has been in business in the valley for over 50 years, and has an outstanding reputation providing high quality specialized care for our patients. As a Healthcare provider, we cannot comment on any patient due to Federal and State privacy laws. Additionally, we cannot comment on any ongoing investigations. We can say that our patients and clients health and safety is our #1 priority and that we always cooperate, when asked by any agency, in an open and transparent way.”
The Arizona Department of Health Services also released a statement.
“We are aware of this situation and are actively working with local law enforcement in their criminal investigation. Upon learning of the allegation, Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) immediately initiated an onsite complaint investigation to ensure the health and safety of the patients and ensure the facility is in compliance with all state laws and regulations. During this time, the agency has required heightened safety measures be implemented at the facility including increased staff presence during patient interactions, increased monitoring of the patient care areas, and increased security measures with respect to visitors at the facility.”
The Arizona Department of Economic Security released this statement.
“The Department has been made aware of these allegations and we continue to work fully with the Phoenix Police Department in their ongoing investigation. Upon hearing of these allegations, we immediately dispatched a team to conduct health and safety checks on all members residing at this health care facility, which has been completed. We will continue to work to ensure the safety of all our members.”
Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said “the matter is currently under investigation.”
Founded as Hacienda de Los Angeles in 1967, Hacienda HealthCare describes itself on its website as “the leading provider of specialized medical care and social services for Arizona’s infants, children and young adults who are medically fragile or chronically ill, including those with developmental disabilities.”
The organization says it offers dozens of programs and services through several nonprofit entities under its umbrella.
According to its website, Hacienda HealthCare serves more than 2,500 people throughout Arizona each year.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/01/04/sex-abuse-investigation-after-patient-in-vegetative-state-has-baby/
32-year-old arrested for pretending to be 15 years old to enroll in high school
CAIRO, N.Y. — Police have arrested a 32-year-old woman who they say tried to enroll in high school classes in New York while pretending to be a 15-year-old homeless teen.
The woman is facing charges of offering a false instrument for filing, falsifying business records and criminal trespassing.
District Superintendent Anthony Taibi says the woman told Cairo-Durham School District administrators she was a teen named “Riley Madison.”
The woman rode the bus to and from school and attended one day of classes Dec. 21.
Taibi says administrators felt something was off and contacted local authorities.
Joel Rowell with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department tells WNYT-TV the woman has a high school diploma, and it is unclear why she tried to enroll in classes.
An investigation is ongoing.
Toddlers found ‘soaked in urine,’ feet purple from the cold inside Indiana home
WASHINGTON, Ind. – Two toddlers were found “soaked in urine, extremely dirty, and cold” inside a home in southern Indiana, according to court documents.
A Department of Child Services (DCS) worker in Washington, Indiana was contacted on December 7 about two toddlers being at a house that was unsuitable for children, according to WXIN.
When she arrived at the house on Grove Street, the occupants wouldn’t let her inside, so she contacted police.
Responding officers said they detected a strong odor of “burnt marijuana” after 27-year-old Travis Criswell answered the door. They asked Criswell if there were children inside of the home, and Criswell said there were.
Officers entered and saw a 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl with their mother, 27-year-old Brittnie Morford.
The children were “very dirty and seemed to be very cold.” Their feet were purple because the house was so cold, police said. They were “soaked from head to toe in urine.”
The DCS worker reported “multiple injuries on each child.” They were taken to Daviess Community Hospital to get checked out. A doctor said the boy had second-degree burns.
Criswell and Morford were arrested and charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and two counts of neglect of a dependent.
Woman accused of physically abusing girl, making her eat vomit
MARICOPA (3TV/CBS 5) — A Maricopa woman is facing criminal charges, including endangerment and witness tampering after her young relative was removed from her home amid allegations of abuse.
Erin Darr was arrested on suspicion of child abuse a few days before Christmas, and it’s not the first time she’s been under investigation.
When the 11-year-old victim’s classmates noticed bruises, she told them Darr had been “physically abusing her,” according to court documents. A Department of Child Safety case worker removed her from the home in early December and took her directly to the hospital.
The caseworker noted several things about the victim’s appearance, including that she was underweight, had dark circles under her eyes, “noticeably thin hair,” red marks and visible scars on her scalp.
According to the probable cause for arrest statement, the victim told the caseworker that her thin hair “was due to her hair being ripped off her head when [Darr] pulled her by her hair,” and that the red marks “were from [Darr] grabbing and pulling her by the hair.”
She also explained one of the scars, saying it “was from when [Darr] hit her with a phone on the head and she bled.” She said Darr “super glued her head shut on that occasion.”
But those were not the only injuries.
The victim told doctors at the hospital that “her chest hurt and she was having trouble breathing, due to [Darr] kicking her in the chest several times ….” Medical staff also noted “several scars on her scalp, pre-existing injuries to her hand and feet … blisters in her mouth from eating food that was too hot … [and] bruising on her face.”
Court documents detail several specific incidents of abuse as related by the victim to a forensic interviewer.
According to that paperwork, Darr “would force [the victim] eat rotten leftovers from the fridge and when [she] would throw up, [Darr] would force [her] to eat it.”
The victim also said Darr grabbed “her by the hair and slammed her head into the laundry room wall hard enough to break the drywall causing a dent.”
The probable cause for arrest statement goes on to list other incidents in which Darr “would bend [the victim’s] fingers back causing further damage to her [injured] hand and [stomp] on her feet causing them to bleed and scab.”
Police said there is corroboration for what the victim says happened.
After the victim was removed from the home, her older sibling “confessed to his school counselor … the allegations against [Darr] regarding the abuse on [the victim were] true.”
The teen said Darr “had pulled him and his two older sisters … out of school to prevent them from talking about the abuse in the home.”
According to court documents, the teen also said Darr “has told him and his younger brothers … to lie to DCS and detectives when being interviewed and coached the family about what to say during the previous investigations.”
Police say the teen apologized to a forensic interviewer for lying, explaining that Darr had threatened him “if [he] talked about the abuse.”
What the teen told the interviewer was consistent with what the victim said.
He explained that the victim’s “hand was slammed in a car door in the past and was never treated by a doctor” and said Darr “will now grab that hand, which causes [the victim] pain, and squeeze and bend her hand back.”
He also said he saw Darr “put really hot sauce and horseradish sauce in [the victim’s] food and force feed her.” In addition, he confirmed what the victim said about being made to “eat her regurgitated food.”
The teen said his older sisters also saw all of this happen.
According to police who arrested Darr, she “denied any allegation of child abuse and stated, she has never hit any of her children.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Darr was still in custody, according to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
Photo Credit:
Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
Cops bust Brooklyn man who went berserk inside deli over bagel order
He’s going from egg sandwiches to bologna behind bars.
The enraged customer who threw bread and a metal bell at a deli worker for making him wait for his bacon, egg and cheese sandwich was arrested Thursday morning by the NYPD’s Warrant Squad in connection with the attack, police said.
Edilberto Burgos, 24, was picked up at his Bed-Stuy apartment just before noon for assaulting the 28-year-old clerk on Nov. 25 at the deli on Flushing Avenue in Bushwick, according to authorities.
“Make my cinnamon toasted raisin bagel with bacon, egg and cheese right now!” he screamed, as he repeatedly banged on the store’s display counter, according to video from the incident.
The footage later shows Burgos throwing store merchandise — and even bread — at the victim, who suffered bruising and swelling.
On Thursday, Burgos was charged with assault and menacing, cops said.
He was previously arrested for petit larceny in February 2015 and for being in possession of a loaded firearm in February 2012, police said.
He is due to appear in Brooklyn court on Thursday.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/01/03/cops-bust-brooklyn-man-who-went-berserk-inside-deli-over-bagel-order/
A teen took his own life after accidentally killing his friend while showing him a handgun
A 15-year-old took his own life after accidentally shooting and killing his friend on New Year’s Eve, police in suburban Atlanta said.
Inside a cramped, makeshift shed, Devin Hodges was showing three other boys a handgun Monday afternoon when it accidentally fired, striking Chad Carless, 17, who was sitting next to him, the Gwinnett County, Georgia, Police Department said.
Hodges and the other two teens then left the shed — and one called 911, police said.
Carless died before help could arrive, but the tragedy didn’t end there.
As officers pulled up, Hodges shot himself with the handgun as he ran between two nearby houses, police said.
“Our thoughts are with the families of both these young men,” Gwinnett police tweeted Tuesday.
Kamilah Campbell hires famous lawyer after her 1230 SAT score was seen as “invalid”.
Kamilah Campbell wants to go to Florida State University and major in dance. She has a 3.1 grade point average and a lifetime of dance experience.
But after getting her score from the SAT after her first try — a 900 — Campbell decided she needed to do better. Her mom got her a tutor, she took online classes and she got a copy of a The Princeton Review prep book.
Seven months later, in October, the high school senior from Miami Gardens, Florida, took the test again.
Later, when she got an envelope in the mail from the testing company, she was shocked when she opened it.
It was a letter. Not results.
“We are writing to you because based on a preliminary review, there appears to be substantial evidence that your scores … are invalid,” it said. “Our preliminary concerns are based on substantial agreement between your answers on one or more scored sections of the test and those of other test takers. The anomalies noted above raise concerns about the validity of your scores.”
Campbell felt like she was being accused of cheating and she wants to know why she cannot get her new score.
She believes her second total score was flagged because it was so much better than her first. She said she called the company and a representative told her she had a combined 1230 from the reading, writing and language, math and essay sections on her second effort. A score of 1600 is perfect.
“I did not cheat. I studied, and I focused to achieve my dream,” she told reporters Wednesday. “I worked so hard and did everything I could do.”
Zach Goldberg, a spokesman for The College Board, the company that conducts the SAT, said a score is never flagged for review solely on score gains. Score gains are celebrated, he said.
Scores could be flagged for a number of reasons, including testing sheets having similar answers or an incident occurring at the testing site, he said.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, a Florida State graduate, got involved when asked to help by other FSU alums. He is steering Campbell and her mother through the process of demanding The College Board validate her score in time for her to be accepted into the Florida State dance program.
At Wednesday’s news conference he said they are giving the company two weeks to respond to a demand letter.
He reiterated that they believe the score is not being validated because Campbell improved 330 points.
“Instead of celebrating her and celebrating her achievement they are trying to assassinate her character, and we won’t stand for that,” he said.
Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, the chief spokeswoman from the Miami-Dade School District, said the situation was “disturbing.”
“Although this is a test administered by a private entity, and not M-DCPS, we feel a moral obligation to intervene,” she said. The school superintendent has asked The College Board for assurances the investigation will be quick.
Goldberg said reviews typically take four to six weeks.