St Louis Police Finally Charged for Murder of Anthony Lamar Smith…5 Years Later

This video shows the murder of Anthony Lamar Smith by St Louis Cops.

Former St. Louis police officer charged with first-degree murder for 2011 shooting

A former police officer is now facing first-degree murder charges for a shooting that left a driver dead in 2011.

FOX 2 obtained dash camera video of the incident that has not been publicly released, but the station confirms it is authentic.

Authorities say it all started when former Officer Jason Stockley attempted to make a traffic stop after a reported drug deal.

In the video, Stockley is seen getting out of his patrol car with his personal AK-47-style rifle, which is a violation of the St. Louis Police Department’s policy on personal weapons.

The driver, Anthony Lamar Smith, speeds away in his car, jumping over a sidewalk to get away.

Prosecutors say Stockley shot at Smith’s car before getting back into his patrol car.

The officer who is driving the patrol car begins a pursuit.

A speed monitor on the dash cam video clocks the officers exceeding 80 miles per hour on wet streets and speeding past stop signs.

At one point, the officer failed to make his turn and hit a tree.

”Back up,” Stockley yells.

It is difficult to hear exactly what is being said, but the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Probable Cause Statement claims that Stockley said, “Going to kill this m***** ******, don’t you know it.”

When Smith slows down to pull over, Stockley is heard yelling, “Hit him right now.”

The officers ram Smith’s car before surrounding him. The probable cause statement alleges that Stockley fired five shots into the car, killing Smith.

Right after the shooting, police reported finding a gun on Smith, but prosecutors claim it “was later determined by lab analysis to have only (Stockley`s) DNA on it.”

It is not clear what happens at the end of the video as Stockley is seen rummaging through a bag in the back of a squad car.

The Circuit Attorney’s Office responded with this statement:

“The people of the City of St. Louis have a right to determine whether the State has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The courtroom is the appropriate forum for this matter. ”

Stockley’s attorney Neil Bruntrager called to say the video is just one piece of the evidence.  He says another surveillance video that’s not available, shows a different perspective.  He also points out that the Feds had this same video and declined to prosecute or even pursue the case in civil court.

 

Tulsa Cop Who Shot Terrence Crutcher Charged With Manslaughter and Arrested

Wow! That was quick.

Tulsa officer who fatally shot Terence Crutcher charged with first-degree manslaughter

The white Tulsa, Okla., police officer captured on video fatally shooting an unarmed black man on a city street will face first-degree manslaughter charges, Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler announced at a news conference.

The prosecutor filed the charges against officer Betty Shelby on Thursday, a full six days after multiple cameras showed her shooting 40-year-old Terence Crutcher as he stood beside his  stalled sport-utility vehicle. Moments earlier, cameras had captured Crutcher walking away from Shelby with his hands in the air.

“The tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Crutcher are on the hearts and minds of many people in this community,” he said, according to NBC affiliate KJRH. “It’s important to note that despite the heightened tensions felt by all, which seemingly beg for an emotional response and reaction, our community has consistently demonstrated the willingness to respect the judicial process.”

“I do not know why things happen in this world the way they do,” Kunzweiler added. “We need to pray for wisdom and guidance.”

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin released a statement saying she hopes the charges provide “some peace to the Crutcher family and the people of Tulsa.” The statement also urges the public to remain patient and remember that officer Shelby is innocent until proven guilty.

“No matter how you feel about the prosecutors’ decision in this case, I hope Oklahomans will respect the views of your friends and neighbors because we still have to live peacefully together as we try to make sense of the circumstances that led to Mr. Crutcher’s death,” the statement added.

Video shows Crutcher walking toward his vehicle with his hands above his head while several officers follow closely behind him with weapons raised. He lingers at his vehicle’s driver’s side window, his body facing the SUV, before slumping to the ground a second later.

“Shots fired!” a female voice can be heard yelling.

Tulsa police say Crutcher did not have a gun on him or in his vehicle.

After Crutcher is hit, footage shows his limp body lying on the roadway beside his vehicle. Officers appear to wait more than 2½ minutes before approaching Crutcher while he bleeds in the street.

The footage does not offer a clear view of when Shelby fired the single shot that killed Crutcher. Her attorney has said Crutcher was not following police commands and that Shelby opened fire when the man began to reach into his SUV window.

Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, told the Tulsa World that Shelby opened fire and another officer used a stun gun when Crutcher’s “left hand goes through the car window.”

Wood told told the Tulsa World earlier in the week that when his client arrived at the scene, several minutes before the camera footage begins, she found Crutcher’s vehicle in the middle of the road with the engine on and the doors open. Shelby, he said, wasn’t “really sure what [was] going on,” Wood said.

Shelby thought Crutcher was behaving like someone under the possible influence of PCP, Wood told the World, noting that Crutcher ignored the officer’s commands to stop reaching into his pockets. Shelby feared Crutcher might have a gun in his pocket, because people carrying weapons repeatedly touch their pockets to confirm the weapon is still there, Wood added.

Shelby, he said, had already checked the driver’s side of the SUV when Crutcher approached her from the east. At that point, the attorney said, a backup officer arrived and drew his stun gun. Wood said the stun gun and service weapon were fired simultaneously.

Police told the Associated Press that Shelby had a stun gun but did not use it.

A warrant has been issued for Shelby’s arrest, Kunzweiler said Thursday, and arrangements were being made with her lawyer for her surrender to the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department. Shelby, who was hired in 2011, had been placed on administrative leave with pay.

 

Corey Jones’ Murderer Charged with “First Degree Murder” By Grand Jury and Arrested

Last October, after playing a gig, musician Cory Jones’ car broke down. He called his brother to pick him up, and a Tow Truck to haul his car away. While waiting by the curbside was accosted by Palm Beach Gardens Police Department officer Norman Raja and shot 6 times. Jones died at the scene. There was no evidence that Jones had committed any crime, was armed, or resisted. Raja was dismissed from the force.

Former Florida Cop Faces Charges in Shooting Death of Musician Corey Jones

The former Palm Beach Gardens Police Department officer who fatally shot 31-year-old musician Corey Jones on a Florida highway in October has been arrested, according to authorities.

A grand jury found that Nouman Raja’s use of force was not justified, said Dave Aronberg, state attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit, which covers all of Palm Beach County.

Raja subsequently faces two felony charges: one count of manslaughter by culpable negligence, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and one count of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, punishable by up to life in prison, Aronberg said.

Raja, 32, was arrested and taken into custody today, Aronberg said. He could not comment further since the case is now pending.

In the early morning hours of Oct. 18, Jones was stranded with car troubles on I-95 in Palm Beach Gardens when Raja pulled up around 3:15 a.m. to “investigate what he believed to be an abandoned vehicle,” according to police.

When Raja exited the vehicle, he was confronted by an armed subject, police said in a statement. Raja shot Jones “as a result of the confrontation,” police said, killing him.

Phone records showed that Jones had requested roadside assistance at 1:44 a.m., according to a probable cause affidavit released by Aronberg’s office today. Almost an hour later, after the technician was unable to get his vehicle started, Jones told a bandmate that he was unwilling to leave her car for fear that his drum equipment may be stolen, the affidavit states. His bandmate drove away at 2:45 a.m. and was the last person to see Jones alive before Raja arrived on the scene.

Jones was on another call with roadside assistance when Raja arrived, and the exchange was recorded on the line, the affidavit states. After asking Jones if he was “good” more than once, Raja told him to get his “[expletive] hands up” twice before firing three gunshots in rapid succession, according to the affidavit. The call center operator that Jones was on the phone with could then be heard saying, “Oh my gosh!” while the sounds of pinging car door chimes rang in the background.

Raja was on duty at the time but was wearing sneakers, jeans, a tan T-shirt and tan baseball cap with the letters “CAT” stitched in red, according to the affidavit. He was driving a white Ford cargo van, the affidavit says. There had been a problem with late-night car burglaries in the area, and Raja was assigned to conduct surveillance on large parking lots that night, his immediate supervisor told investigators.

Raja was told to wear his tactical vest with police markings on it while he worked on the assignment “for safety reasons,” his supervisor said, according to the affidavit. Raja was not wearing the vest when he exited his car, the affidavit states.

About 33 seconds after the shooting, Raja used his personal cell phone to call 911, according to the affidavit. As the call connected, but before the operator could answer, Raja could be heard yelling “drop that [expletive] gun right now!” Raja then gave his location and said he had shot a person, requesting fire-rescue. He said he “lost contact” with the the person, which means he did not know where the person was located, according to the affidavit.

Raja described the person as a “black male wearing all black, dreads,” according to the affidavit. Raja said that he gave him commands after identifying himself, and that the man turned and pointed the gun at him and then started running.

Raja told the dispatcher he shot the man and that he had been “hit,” meaning shot “at least three to four times,” according to the affidavit.

Raja was placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting. He was eventually fired from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.

Additional officers then responded to the scene and found Jones’ body about 192 feet from the back of his car. A handgun was not found near Jones’ body, but instead about 72 feet from the rear of Jones’ vehicle, the affidavit says. He had purchased the gun three days before the shooting, and the box it was purchased in was found inside the car, police said.

Raja fired six shots at Jones with his personal Glock .40 caliber pistol, the affidavit states, because his department-issued firearm was in its holster inside the van.

Palm Beach County Medical Examiner Gertrude Juste ruled Jones’ death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to his chest, according to the affidavit.

 

Former St Louis Officer Arrested for Murder of Lamar Smith

Why is it this cop wound up in Harris County? Applying for a job as a guard? Harris County jail has a bit of a reputation for prisoners dying in custody, both from “natural”, and decidedly un-natural causes.

Former St. Louis cop arrested, charged with first-degree murder for 2011 police shooting

A former St. Louis police officer has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder for the on-duty shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith — an incident that led to one of the largest wrongful-death settlements stemming from a police shooting in the city’s history, the Post-Dispatch has learned.

Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce’s office on Monday charged Jason Stockley, 35, of Houston. St. Louis police and U.S. marshals arrested Stockley on Monday at his home in the 6300 block of Chevy Chase Drive in Houston.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Mullen ordered Stockley held without bail. He is in custody in Harris County, Texas.

“I’m disappointed because I know what fine public servants the vast majority of police officers are, and this kind of conduct on the part of this former officer doesn’t reflect the excellent work I see from them every day,” Joyce said. “So it’s disappointing in that regard, but it’s important that people understand that if you commit a crime, and we have the evidence to prove it, it doesn’t matter to us what you do for a living. Our job is to hold people accountable if we have the evidence. And in this case, we do.”

Dotson said Joyce’s decision to charge Stockley was the “culmination of years of investigative work,” in a prepared statement he issued Tuesday.

“The department spent countless hours on this case, all in an effort to ascertain the true facts of what occurred on December 20, 2011,” he said. “I hold my officers to the highest standards. Stockley’s actions were in no way representative of the dedicated service of the men and women who serve on this department.”

Stockley shot Smith, 24, in December 2011 after a suspected drug transaction and high-speed chase. State and federal prosecutors had filed no charges.

After shooting at Smith’s car, Stockley and his partner, Officer Brian Bianchi, chased the victim at speeds over 80 mph. While in pursuit, the police SUV crashed, backed up and continued following Smith’s vehicle.

During the chase, Stockley says, “going to kill this (expletive deleted), don’t you know it,” according to court documents filed Monday. As Smith’s car was slowing to a stop, Stockley tells Bianchi to “hit him right now,” at which point the driver slams the police SUV into Smith’s car. Court documents did not disclose the source of the quotes.

Stockley then approached Smith’s car on the driver’s side and shot five times into the car, striking Smith with each shot. A gun was recovered from the victim’s car, but lab analysis revealed the presence of only Stockley’s DNA, according to the documents….More Here…

 

 

A Year Later Bad Cops in Alameda, Ca. Charged With Felonies

Took a while, and a video seen around the world – but San Francisco authorities have finally decided to some down hard on two bad cops.

Deputies charged in San Francisco beating caught on video

Two Alameda County sheriff’s deputies have been charged with multiple felonies after video showed them repeatedly hitting a suspected car thief during an arrest in San Francisco last year, officials said Tuesday.

The alleyway beating of the suspect, Stanislav Petrov, was caught on surveillance video (Note: The video, above, is disturbing and contains several shouted obscenities) and released on YouTube in November by the San Francisco public defender’s office, which said it received the footage from someone who operates a security camera in the area.

The grainy footage shows two Alameda County sheriff’s deputies chasing a man on foot. As the man slows, one officer tackles him and punches him twice. The second officer arrives and starts hitting Petrov with his baton. Soon both officers can be seen hitting Petrov with their batons.

Sometimes Petrov can be seen lying on the ground and other times on his knees. Once the officers begin striking him, he does not appear to be resisting.

“Policing that violates our constitutional rights damages the reputation of every person that wears the uniform, and it damages the public’s perception of those that are sworn to serve,” San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascon said in a statement announcing the charges. “When officers take the law into their own hands, they undermine the moral authority of the entire criminal justice system.”

The deputies, Luis Santamaria and Paul Wieber, are 14- and three-year veterans of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, respectively, officials said. They are charged with assault under the color of authority, battery with serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon. They’re expected to surrender by Wednesday and be held in lieu of $140,000 bail….Read the Rest...

 

US Navy Officer Arrested for Spying for China

The Spy v Spy game never stops…

Active duty U.S. Navy officer charged with spying

A U.S. Navy commander has been charged with espionage and attempted espionage, and communicating defense information to a foreign nation, CBS News has learned.

The officer, whose name is redacted from the charging document, was charged with two counts of espionage, three counts of attempted espionage and five counts of communicating defense information.

Charging documents assert that the commander shared secret information relating to U.S. national defense to a representative of a foreign government.

The commander was also charged with one count of prostitution and one count of adultery.

The U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) reports that several sources familiar with the case said the country to which the commander passed secrets was China.

USNI also reports the commander was Lt. Cmdr. Edward C. Lin, who served on some of the Navy’s most sensitive intelligence gathering aircraft. USNI reports Lin was a Taiwanese national before his family moved to the U.S. One source confirms to CBS News the name of the officer is Lt. Cmdr. Edward Lin.

An Article 32 hearing was held on Friday, April 8.

The investigation is being conducted jointly by the FBI and NCIS.

The last notorious case of a Navy officer spying happened in the 1980s.

John Anthony Walker worked as a Soviet spy while serving as communications specialist for the U.S. Navy.

He led a ring that delivered key information to the Soviet Union from 1967 until 1985. Walker’s covert dealings made it possible for the Soviets to unscramble military communications and find U.S. submarines at any time.

He had already retired as a Navy officer when arrested in 1985. Other members of his ring included his sailor son Michael, his brother Arthur James Walker, who also served in the Navy, and his friend Jerry Alfred Whitworth, who trained in the Navy’s satellite communications. Though Walker is thought to have won a high military rank from the Russians, he also became a member of the Ku Klux Klan and the John Birch Society.

Many believe that John Walker’s actions were the biggest security breach of the Cold War. Once arrested, Walker would only agree to plead guilty if his son was granted leniency for his minor involvement. Walker was given three life sentences, and died in prison in 2014.

 

Trump Campaign Manager Arrested

The Trump Thugs are going down. Donald Trump’s National Campaign Manager’s mugging of a female reporter has earned him a visit to the Police Station with a charges of assault.

Trump Campaign Manager Charged With Battery Of Reporter He Called ‘Delusional’

Corey Lewandowski turned himself in to police early Tuesday.

Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with battery Tuesday following an incident in which he allegedly grabbed a reporter, Michelle Fields, at a campaign event earlier this month.

Lewandowski turned himself in to police Tuesday morning in Jupiter, Florida, where he was charged with misdemeanor battery.

Trump and Lewandowski have repeatedly denied that the campaign manager grabbed Fields, and Lewandowski has called Fields “delusional.”

Fields released a photo of her arm with a series of finger-shaped bruises. And newly released video footage appears to show Lewandowski reaching over and roughly grabbing Fields at the Jupiter event, nearly throwing her off balance.

The video suggests that Lewandowski was lying when he attacked Fields’ credibility and accused her of seeking attention. This is a tactic Trump himself has popularized, through vicious and personal attacks on journalists like Megyn Kelly and Jorge Ramos.

Fields resigned from Breitbart News shortly after the incident, because she said the news outlet failed to publicly stand by her.

The Trump campaign responded to the charges Tuesday morning, telling reporters that Lewandowski will plead not guilty and that he intends to fight the charges.

Lewandowski will be represented by two defense lawyers. One of them is Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney who was forced to resign that post in 1996 after he was accused of biting a stripper in Miami.