Saturday, April 27, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Is it safe to be a prisoner in a Florida correctional facility?
Preliminary
Expert Witness Report
Our Original Report
Witness interview April 12, 2013
Daniel J Linsinbigler Jr. died Tuesday in
a Clay County jail cell. Local news reports have focused on Linsinbigler's
strange behavior prior to his arrest. Linsinbigler is alleged to have been
running naked in 30° weather prior to his arrest. He is alleged to have
consumed unknown drugs and synthetic marijuana leading to his contact with the
police.
But very little is known about his death.
Police officials have released limited information. The Clay County Sheriff's
office will only say that Linsinbigler was in restraints when he died.
PoliceAbuse.com has breaking news on this
story. Inmates who witnessed Linsinbigler's death have contacted
PoliceAbuse.com. According to the witnesses who were on the floor in solitary
confinement Linsinbigler could be heard begging for his life after he had been
pepper sprayed and locked in restraints. According to inmates housed on the
same floor Linsinbigler screamed as jail guards placed a plastic bag over his
head. The inmates contacted PoliceAbuse.com fearing retaliation from jail
staff. We are contacting the FBI and the Florida Department of law enforcement
with evidence related to this abuse investigation. Jacksonville Times Union report
We are also investigating a complaint in
the Holmes
County Florida jail.
Case Update
On March 19th, at approximately 3 PM
PoliceAbuse.com was contacted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. We
provided the lead detective with evidence.
This is an active law enforcement
investigation. Because we have reported crimes to the police
investigators we will have no further comment until the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement completes its investigation. We do not want anything published
on our site to interfere with the investigation.
If you have been a victim of abuse in the
Clay County jail please call our office 800-473-5097.
You may remain anonymous.
Records Request Filed by
Policeabuse.com 3/21/2013
Case update March 23, 2013: in response to
our records request, the Clay County Sheriff has released the arrest report For
Daniel Linsinbigler Jr. though there are no details about the death we believe
the report includes the names of the employees on duty. We are continuing our
own independent investigation of this jail death.
Update:
May 4, 2013
We have requested the name of a female
employee identified as a nurse on the night of Daniel Linsinbigler's death. The
Sheriff's office has given us a response to our records request. However we
have asked for clarification regarding access to records. We will make our
findings public when the records we are seeking have been obtained.
Our Original Report
Witness interview April 12, 2013
Daniel J Linsinbigler Jr. died Tuesday in a Clay County jail cell. Local news reports have focused on Linsinbigler's strange behavior prior to his arrest. Linsinbigler is alleged to have been running naked in 30° weather prior to his arrest. He is alleged to have consumed unknown drugs and synthetic marijuana leading to his contact with the police.
But very little is known about his death. Police officials have released limited information. The Clay County Sheriff's office will only say that Linsinbigler was in restraints when he died.
PoliceAbuse.com has breaking news on this story. Inmates who witnessed Linsinbigler's death have contacted PoliceAbuse.com. According to the witnesses who were on the floor in solitary confinement Linsinbigler could be heard begging for his life after he had been pepper sprayed and locked in restraints. According to inmates housed on the same floor Linsinbigler screamed as jail guards placed a plastic bag over his head. The inmates contacted PoliceAbuse.com fearing retaliation from jail staff. We are contacting the FBI and the Florida Department of law enforcement with evidence related to this abuse investigation. Jacksonville Times Union report
We are also investigating a complaint in the Holmes County Florida jail.
Case Update
On March 19th, at approximately 3 PM PoliceAbuse.com was contacted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. We provided the lead detective with evidence.
This is an active law enforcement investigation. Because we have reported crimes to the police investigators we will have no further comment until the Florida Department of Law Enforcement completes its investigation. We do not want anything published on our site to interfere with the investigation.
If you have been a victim of abuse in the Clay County jail please call our office 800-473-5097. You may remain anonymous.
Records Request Filed 4/15/2013
Records Request Filed by Policeabuse.com 3/21/2013
Case update March 23, 2013: in response to our records request, the Clay County Sheriff has released the arrest report For Daniel Linsinbigler Jr. though there are no details about the death we believe the report includes the names of the employees on duty. We are continuing our own independent investigation of this jail death.
Update:
May 4, 2013
We have requested the name of a female employee identified as a nurse on the night of Daniel Linsinbigler's death. The Sheriff's office has given us a response to our records request. However we have asked for clarification regarding access to records. We will make our findings public when the records we are seeking have been obtained.
Update- Clay County Clarifies Response to Request
Friday, March 15, 2013
Chattanooga Tennessee police-Officers Fired
Chattanooga Tennessee police misconduct or police to the rescue? We still believe the force was excessive despite the fact that the officers were coming to the rescue of another person.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Sunnyvale Police Department-"it's just a clerical error."
Unfortunately Doug is not alone. Other reports:
Inmate Raped by Jail Staff -Holmes County Florida
Holmes County Jail Rape Investigation from Diop Kamau on Vimeo.
A Florida Inmate named Dale Clacks Also Known as Dale Castro was raped earlier this year by inmates in the Holmes County Florida jail. The rape was facilitated by a Florida correctional officer named Joel Patrick. Capt. Patrick opened the door for the inmates and encouraged them to engage in the sexual assault of Castro. Capt. Patrick believed that Castro was guilty of a sex crime. In addition to opening Castro's cell for the other inmates who later raped him, Capt. Patrick force Castro to drink urine from a toilet. Capt. Patrick was arrested after we filed a complaint with the Holmes County jail. We want to know why he has not been charged as an accessory to rape. Follow this story on policeabuse.com
Among the allegations confirmed through investigation are a series of abusive acts amounting to torture and humiliation rituals. The victim of the attacks was an inmate presumed to be guilty of a sex crime. The jail staff notified inmates of the sex crime and encouraged them to assault the inmate victim. The victim was also forced to drink urine and brush his teeth with a toothbrush after scrubbing a toilet. Our investigation is continuing.
The initial interview
Followup interview
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Officer Carole Romero Ga. Health Sciences Police
Factual
summary:
Marlene L. Grant is a 60-year-old
African-American woman. Ms. Grant is a retired corrections officer. Ms. Grant
receives food stamps and monthly living support. She lives in a retirement
community. Mrs. Grant volunteers at a local church community center. Ms. Grant
has no history of drug use and she had no criminal record until the incident
described in this report. Ms Grant was on her way to volunteer at a "help the homeless," event at church nearby when she was approached by Officer Carole Romero.
On March 24, 2012 at approximately
9:00 AM Ms. Grant left her home to walk to the nearby church located
approximately 1 mile away. She was unarmed with the exception of a small pocket
knife she carries to assist her with her task at the community center and at
home. As Ms. Grant crossed through the Georgia Health Sciences campus she was
approached by a police officer later identified as Carole Romero. According to
Ms. Grant and police reports the officer made contact and began to question Ms.
Grant. According to police affidavits Ms. Grant was uncooperative and refused
to answer the officer. In my interviews with Mrs. Grant she reports that the
officer stopped her three times never providing a reason for the stop. Ms.
Grant assumed she was free to go and she continued walking. According to Ms.
Grant she was not attempting to break any laws. She was simply exercising her
right to leave the area as she had committed no crime and she was late for an
appointment at the local church where she was scheduled to do volunteer work
for the homeless.
According to Officer Romero, Ms.
Grant became combative and had to be subdued with the assistance of the second
officer named Zizzamia. The officers claimed that Ms. Grant resisted arrest and
bit Officer Romero. Ms. Grant was arrested for obstructing justice and assault
on a police officer. Mrs. Grant disputes the officer’s account of the incident.
In a series of interviews she explained that she never attacked the officer but
only continued walking. She said that Officer Romero attempted to tackle her
and with the assistance of Officer Zizzamia, she was thrown to the ground and
body slammed. She also reports being tasered multiple times while on the
ground. She was knocked unconscious by the assault of the officers.
Analysis
I have been asked to review
available records and assess the arrest and the use of force by officers Romero
and Zizzamia. My assessment will be based on my experience as a police officer
and patrol supervisor. I have made more than 300 arrests. My experience as a
detective will also be used to assess the conduct of the officers as it relates
to Ms. Grant. My assessments will also be inclusive of International
Association of Chiefs of Police standards regarding subject stops, use of force
and field interviews.
Opinions and conclusions
After reviewing police affidavits,
medical reports witness statements and other records it is my opinion to a
reasonable degree a professional certainty that there are problems with this
arrest and that the force used appears to be excessive.
Citizens are entitled to freedom of
movement. Police officers may engage citizens for questioning when there is a
legitimate law enforcement concern or a public safety matter. Short of that,
police officers must have a good reason for contacting or detaining anyone. My
review of the available records demonstrates that the officer made several
errors in this contact. The most obvious concern is that there appears to be no
underlying crime. Though Marlene Grant was arrested for obstruction and illegal
possession of a weapon (a pocket knife), she was perfectly within her rights to
walk through the MCG campus so long as she did not disturb anyone or enter a
restricted area. An officer who is curious about someone's activities must
first have probable cause basis for detention. There appears to be no basis for
the contact Officer Romero initiated with Marlene Grant. Though the officers
later learned that Ms. Grant had a pocket knife they did not know that when
they approached Mrs. Grant initially. What the officers found later is
irrelevant to the basis of the stop. Inquiring about Marlene Grant’s status as
a student is not demonstrably tied to any legitimate law enforcement function
in the officer’s report. Was there a crime in the area? Did someone
impersonating a student do something that caught the officer’s attention? These
questions are unanswered by the officer’s police report and subsequent
affidavits. It appears that Marlene Grant was a stopped purely based Officer
Romero’s concern that she was not a student. There is nothing else supporting
this contact in the officer’s police report. Moreover as an officer it is my
experience that in such a circumstance Marlene Grant would be entitled to
continue walking until told that she was being detained or placed under arrest.
According to Ms. Grant she was never given a reason for being stopped. Indeed,
Ms. Grant believes that she was the target of racial profiling.
According to Ms. Grant and the
police report there was no crime that Ms. Grant was suspected of committing
when Officer Romero approached her. The time of day, 9 AM is not normally
associated with high rates of criminal activity. Indeed it was broad daylight
and there was no reason to assume Ms. Grant was doing anything but walking. She
had no obligation to submit herself to a stop without some probable cause
described by the officers. There appears to be no probable cause laying out
justification for this contact in the officer’s affidavits.
I've investigated more than 8000
complaints of police misconduct. Based on my experience police officers often
charge citizens who they have hurt or injured with assault or resisting arrest.
The charge protects the officer from allegations of excessive force. If the
officer was defending himself or herself from attack whatever force they used
will likely be justified. Marlene Grant reported being tasered nearly a dozen
times in her buttocks area. She had injuries sustained all over her body from
the attack by the officers. According to witnesses the assault by the officers
has had a dramatic impact on Ms. Grant’s health. The coordinator at the church
who was waiting for Ms. Grant said that she has suggested that Ms. Grant
discontinue volunteering or reduce her community service substantially because
of her injuries. The church volunteer coordinator told me that prior to this
assault Ms. Grant was a healthy and vibrant woman. After her assault by the
officers and her jail incarceration for five days Ms. Grant is a diminished
woman physically and mentally. The coordinator told me that Ms. Grant is unable
to perform many of the tasks she was able to do prior to the attack by the
officers. I have included this witness’s account because it is consistent with
what Marlene Grant told me about the severity of the assault by the officers.
Use
of force
Police officers are entitled to use
force to overcome resistance and to secure public safety. If an officer is
threatened, or if the suspect is resisting, officers are trained to use force
sufficient to overcome the resistance. Police officers are not entitled to use
more force than is necessary. In this matter, Marlene Grant was walking through
an area legally when she was confronted by Officer Romero and later a second
officer named Zizzamia. Given Marlene Grant's age and other facts, it is my
opinion that two police officers using the amount of force described under the
circumstances were improper. There is nothing in the officer’s affidavits to
support the use of the Taser on a 60-year-old woman in the manner described by
Marlene Grant. The fact that there was no crime being committed prior to the
assault by the officers makes the use of force more doubtful. Moreover, the
claim that a sixty year old woman on her way to volunteer at church attacked
two police officers for no reason is dubious. It is my opinion that the charges
made against Ms. Grant may be inflated to protect the officers from criminal or
civil liability for their actions.
Based on the information contained
in the officers affidavits Marlene Grant's testimony and my interview with
witnesses it is my professional opinion based on my training and experience as
a police officer that the force used against Marlene Grant was excessive and
that the police officers had no basis to contact Ms. Grant.
Materials Reviewed
In
preparing my report, I reviewed the following materials which are commonly
examined in any area of expertise and rendering professional/expert opinions on
police practices.
Police
reports
Previously
Obtained Witness Statements
Private
Investigative Report
Photographs
of the arrest location
Route
Traveled by the complainant
International
Association of Chiefs of Police Model Policies in the following areas:
Use of
Force
Subject
Stops
Field
Interviews
General
Standards of Conduct
Opinions
and Conclusions
After
reviewing the aforementioned records, court testimony, law enforcement policies
and witness statements I am prepared to render a professional opinion. It is my
professional opinion based on my training and experience as a police officer
that probable cause did not exist to make a subject stop, search and arrest.
Again, I
reserve the right to amend or supplement this report should any other relevant
information become available to me.
Cases I
have been retained as an expert in past 5 years:
Lateef
Al-Saraji and Theresa Al-Saraji V. City of Dallas, Police
Carney V.
City of Raynham
Feliciano
V. Suffolk County
Additional
Evidence:
Evidence video covering my review of evidence approximately 15 minutes
Evidence video covering my review of evidence approximately 15 minutes
Compensation:
$7500 Expert Opinion
I charge a fee of $750.00 per day for trial testimony excluding travel fees
I charge a fee of $750.00 per day for trial testimony excluding travel fees
The officers reports
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Ga. Trooper Justin Tabor
If you have been directed to this page after clicking a link in our newsletter you were transferred to the wrong page. We regret the inconvenience. Relevant links for the story you were diverted from can be found here:
PoliceAbuse.com also supplied a local news reporter, Karen Hensel, with all the evidence we had collected on Chris Gill.
WISHTV - New information in Danville officer case
U.S. Marshals arrest Danville cop at airport
Larry Merenda came to Policeabuse.com in 2009 after he was attacked by a Ga. State Trooper. The Trooper attacked Merenda after he used a curse word.
How it started.
Larry's daughter was being followed by Trooper Tabor. After the trooper turned on his emergency lights Larry's daughter pulled into her dad's business parking lot. Larry told the trooper that his daughter had financial problems. He asked if the officer could give her a break. After the officer made an insulting remark Larry responded with his own insult and turned to walk away. The trooper put Larry in a wrist lock restraint hold and arrested him for the insult.
How it started.
Larry's daughter was being followed by Trooper Tabor. After the trooper turned on his emergency lights Larry's daughter pulled into her dad's business parking lot. Larry told the trooper that his daughter had financial problems. He asked if the officer could give her a break. After the officer made an insulting remark Larry responded with his own insult and turned to walk away. The trooper put Larry in a wrist lock restraint hold and arrested him for the insult.
Is it illegal to insult the police? A federal court says no.This month a federal court refused to release the trooper from a federal lawsuit filed by Larry for the arrest. Many people would be surprised to know that Larry comes from a law enforcement family. His dad, brothers, and nephews are police officers
Ga. Trooper Justin Tabor
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