Alabama: Advance Local Media reported that on May 15, 2024, John Winstead, a former Mississippi policeman, pled guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law. The incident occurred in September 2021. Winstead was on a task force when a suspect was taken into custody. While another agent was escorting the non-combative and handcuffed suspect, Winstead punched the suspect “forcefully” in the face. The suspect fell to the ground and suffered bodily injury. Winstead is looking at three years of post-release supervision, a $250,000 fine, and up to ten years in a federal prison.

California: According to the Los Angeles Times, back in 2019 David Rojas and another policeman of the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call from the home of Elizabeth Baggett, 34. Although her body had been covered with a sheet by paramedics, Rojas could not help himself. When his partner left the room, Rojas lifted the sheet and squeezed her right breast two times. This entire sick episode was captured by Rojas’ body cam. He would later be charged with felony sexual contact with human remains, to which he would plead not guilty. He claimed touching the dead woman’s breast had been for investigative purposes. In 2023 a judge placed Rojas in a mental health diversion program for a year and a half. On May 8, 2024, five years after the disturbing act of necrophilia, the Los Angeles City Council approved a settlement which grants Elizabeth Baggett’s family $250,000 to end their lawsuit.

California: As reported by the Los Angeles Times, in the first week of May 2024 a Santa Ana jury awarded the mother of David Sullivan $3.5 million in damages. The jury found that two Buena Park law enforcement agents used excessive force when they shot the 19-year-old man as he was in the throes of a mental breakdown. The day of the shooting, the defendants tried to pull Sullivan over for the expired registration of a vehicle he had stolen from his workplace. Sullivan attempted to flee the scene and drove off striking the police vehicle and a passerby. When the vehicle stopped, Sullivan got out and charged the defendants on foot. The officers shot the unarmed Sullivan seven times. The fatal shooting was recorded on body cams. The officers faced a trial in 2022 which resulted in a hung jury. Sullivan’s attorney expects the defendants to appeal the latest court decision.

California: The Associated Press reported that on May 13, 2024, the Los Angeles County Probation Department had placed 66 of its officers on administrative leave during the past five months. The disciplinary action was handed down for a variety of offenses including excessive force, sexual abuse and drug possession. Of the 66 offenses, nine were had nothing to do with police work, 18 involved sexual misconduct, and 39 were issues of general misconduct, a broad range of offenses that could include suspected use of excessive force, child endangerment, and possession of contraband. Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa said the officersplaced on leave since the first of the year represent a small minority of the Department’s nearly 2,800 sworn personnel. The officers will remain on leave as an investigation continues.

Canada: Justice Cameron Watson expressed sympathy for former Hamilton policeman Michael LaCombe, 54, when he sentenced him on May 6, 2024, for sexually assaulting a woman he had mentored years before. Watson lamented that LaCombe’s life had taken an “irreparable downward spiral.” LaCombe received no jail time but was sentenced to 12 months of house arrest followed by 12 months of probation, the CBC reported. The assaults occurred in 2010 when the young woman was aspiring to join the Hamilton Police Service and LaCombe was making a “ham-fisted attempt at having an extra-marital affair.” Dangling the prospect of a positive reference letter for the woman, LaCombe kissed her without consent, bought her provocative clothing, took her to a hotel and started to undress her. She put a halt to the incident but received the letter and secured the job. She dealt with trauma regarding LaCombe’s assault for years until she reported his actions to the Special Investigations Unit. Watson’s ruling was unusual as he did not wait to hear from both sides before sentencing. The judge empathized with LaCombe’s suffering, stating that prolonging the uncertainty of the outcome was unnecessary, given the “exquisite agony” LaCombe was experiencing.

Florida: The Florida State Guard is a paramilitary organization that provides quick emergency response when the public is threatened. These are the brave men and women who swing into action to battle hurricanes and wildfires, and could be deployed to control immigration. Tampa Bay Times reported on May 7, 2024, that the newest recruit to join Gov. Desantis’ Florida State Guard is Miami police Captain Javier Ortiz, 44. A glimpse at a long list of citizen complaints naming Ortiz — alleging false arrests, harassment and brutal beatings, and racist social media posts — should raise some eyebrows. In 2019, the FDLE and the FBI investigated nearly 70 complaints against the firebrand which have been settled by the taxpayers of Miami for $600,000. During his two-decade tenure with the city, several police chiefs tried to fire him but only Chief Manny Morales succeeded in 2022. According to the Miami Herald, less than a year after he was fired, he was reinstated with a base salary of $155,00 after agreeing to work strictly at a desk, at night, and far away from any guns. Ortiz at one point was the president of a police union and has relied on strong union support during his controversial career.

Georgia: Former Atlanta cop Koby Minor, 35, is facing murder and aggravated assault charges after shooting his Lyft driver three times on May 15, 2024. Minor had been with the Atlanta Police Department since 2018, according to USA Today, but had been placed on unpaid administrative leave in December 2023 for crashing his car while in possession of 20 unprescribed Xanax pills. The APD relieved Minor of his service weapon at that time. On the fateful evening in May, Reginald Folks, 35, picked up Minor a little after midnight from a fellow cop’s home in Union City. When Folks began speaking on his phone through the Bluetooth radio in what Minor said was a foreign language, the former cop became flustered and thought another person was in the car. He demanded to be let out`and tried to open the door. It was locked and when Folks reached into the back seat, Minor shot him several times. He then flagged a woman down and told her he shot the Lyft driver because he was being kidnapped and the Lyft driver was trying to recruit him into a gay fraternity. Minor resigned from the APD immediately after his arrest.

Idaho: East Idaho News reported that Gordon Dennis Shaw, 83, and Xue Fang Lu, 60, were both charged on May 9, 2024, with felony human trafficking, felony interstate trafficking of prostitution and felony procurement of prostitution. Shaw was employed with the Idaho Falls Police Department in the 1990s. The arrests come after an investigation was being conducted into Lu and Shaw. Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal said that the victim was enticed to Idaho Falls from California by Shaw and Lu. Once she arrived, she was then coerced into commercial sexual activity. According to the complaint, Lu and Shaw committed the crimes “by force, fraud or coercion” between April 1 and May 8.

Illinois: WTTW News in Chicago reported on May 2, 2024, that none of the nine Chicago policemen who were revealed to be associated with the Oath Keepers, an anti-government extremist group, would be terminated. Ironically, six months ago Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling assured the Chicago City Council’s Budget Committee that he would remove policemen from the Chicago Police Department with ties to hate groups. According to WBEZ and the Sun-Times, 27 current and former members of the CPD are connected with the Oath Keepers.

Kentucky: WAVE out of Louisville reported the arrest of Christopher “Mike” Minniear, 51. At the time, he was a Jefferson County Public Schools officer. Before that position, he was the police chief of Audubon Park Police Department. According to arrest documents, on May 6, 2024, Louisville Metro police were dispatched to a McDonald’s in the Auburndale neighborhood after receiving calls about Minniear consuming alcohol while waiting in the drive-thru. An employee of the fast-food restaurant told police that Minniear was passed out there for more than an hour. By the time they arrived, Minniear was still in his government-issued vehicle, which happened to be parked across numerous parking spots. When the police approached Minniear, he poured out some liquid and told them it was urine. He did admit to having one shot that day. But then they discovered a large bottle of booze as well as an open Bud Light. In addition, police found Ambien and Hydrocodone pills hidden in his McDonald’s burger box. He would be charged with possession of an open container of alcohol, tampering with physical evident, possession of hydrocodone, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a prescription drug outside of its proper container. Minniear resigned from his job with the school district. An update to the story, on May 17, Minniear was arrested again, charged with reckless driving, possession of an open alcohol container in car and criminal mischief.

New York: April 17, 2024, was a bad day for Little Falls Town Justice Mitchell Q. Soules, Jr., 35. Not only did the former judge plead guilty to selling cocaine, but he also signed a stipulation that he would never seek or accept appointment to a judicial office again. After he was arrested in June 2023, the state Court of Appeals suspended Soules. After the commission completed its investigation, Soules resigned. According to the Daily Sentinel, which serves the Utica-Rome area of central New York, Soules pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree sale of a controlled substance. His sentencing was scheduled for May 29, 2024.

New York: According to Patch, on May 2, 2024, former Village of Brewster Policeman Wayne Peiffer was sentenced to 36 months behind bars for committing Hobbs Act extortion as well as conspiracy to commit bribery. On top of that, Peiffer must pay $5,000 in forfeiture and perform 208 hours of community service. Between 2010 and 2018, Peiffer provided protection to a prostitution business and a sex trafficking organization that hustled women between Queens and Brewster for prostitution. Peiffer would give advance notice of police activities. He would also assist the criminal organizations in avoiding detection. In exchange for his assistance, Peiffer got free sexual services from the women.

Pennsylvania: Verona is a small town with a population less than 3,000. Small population means tiny tax base, which also means tiny police salaries. As a result, the Allegheny County borough is experiencing a shortage of police and the residents are getting nervous. At the time that this was written, KDKA-TV reported that there were two full-time and three part-time police employed with the Verona Police Department (VPD). On April 14, 2024, two crimes occurred in Verona — a home invasion, in which several items were stolen, and an assault. Although both crimes occurred just blocks from the VPD, there were no Verona police working on the clock at those times. Borough manager Stefanie Woolford said state police in Coraopolis, 30 miles away, will respond when there are no local officers on duty. The residents of Verona are still rattled by the lack of local police presence. News reports reference the fears of Verona residents. One woman spoke about her daughter, who lives in Verona. “She’s a single mom with two young kids and she’s very concerned and we’re scared. She now in the safe has a little pistol because it’s scary.”

Pennsylvania: Policewoman Regina McAtee, 51, served on the Greensburg force for just about two decades. Last July, she retired after she completed a five-month unpaid suspension. McAtee conspired with police Chief Shawn Denning between 2020 and 2023 to have pills shipped to her home and then distributed. She is looking at a maximum of 20 years in prison for her role in this methamphetamine distribution operation. Even more peculiar however, are the incredibly generous pension payments she received after her retirement. Her first one, August 1, 2023. was $5,142. McAtee collected her pension through April 2024. According to the State Employees Retirement System, any state employee who commits certain crimes regarding their employment is required to forfeit their pension and retirement benefits. TribLive asked the city for separation or retirement agreements for McAtee. The city’s reply only created more questions. They said that they did not possess any documents, and that the documents did not exist. Melissa Melewsky, an attorney for Pennsylvania News Media Association said, “It can’t be both. You can’t say that you don’t have the document and that it doesn’t exist.” Meanwhile, McAtee is set for sentencing on August 22, 2024.

South Wales: The BBC Wales Live reported on May 8, 2024, about Michaela Allen, 36, a woman who has been victimized by law enforcement numerous times over three decades. When she was seven, she was sexually molested by her babysitter. In 1995, her grandmother reported it to the police as soon as Michaela told her. She was then interviewed by the authorities. In the video, Michaela gives incredible detail regarding the assault. The seven-year-old described how he pulled her trousers down and then she properly described his penis. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) asked her parents if she would be able to endure cross-examination in court. Her mother said, “There was no doubt in my mind that this was going to court.” And then…nothing. From time to time, Michaela or her parents would phone the police. But no one would get back to them. In 2017, the damaged young woman decided to open the case, but was told that the damning video interview had been lost. But in July 2021, the South Wales Police digitized 8,605 tapes. Michaela’s tape was found! In celebration, Gwent Police sent the interview to Michaela. Because she possessed the tape and was able to watch it and possibly even memorize it, the CPS declared that “the suspect could not be given a fair trial.” The CPS also claimed that social media posts Allen had made when she believed the interview to be lost or destroyed could influence the trial unfairly.

Tennessee: Edwin Ayala, father of Christopher Ayala, 23, said that his son had smoked some pot on April 27, 2024, and called 911 a few times. According to dispatchers the caller “was not making any sense.” When Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the home in Chattanooga, they noted that Ayala “appeared to be under the influence of narcotics.” The deputy told Ayala to only call 911 if he had an emergency. Half hour later, 911 texts started pouring in from that same address. When the cops showed up for the second time, they spoke to the parents then arrested the young man for misdemeanor use of 911. On April 28 Ayala was admitted to Erlanger Hospital. Ayala’s attorney, former Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston, noted that on the next day Hamilton County DA Coty Wamp’s office dismissed the charges against Ayala “without explanation.” Within 48 hours of the inexplicable 911 calls, a doctor told the family that Christopher was brain dead. Edwin Ayala observed cuts, scratches and bruises on his son while Christpher lay in a coma. The Ayalas are now struggling to get answers from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. WDEF reported that over the last year there have been several incidents resulting in injury, death and legal action against the Hamilton County Jail.

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