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Topic: cops get away with murder (Read 3449 times) |
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Mr._Torino
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #15 on: Apr 9th, 2008, 10:33pm » |
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Ex-state trooper pleads guilty to filing false report
The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - A former New Jersey state trooper has admitted filing a false police report.
John O'Neill pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of tampering with a public record. As part of his plea, he forfeited his post and was barred from further public employment in New Jersey.
O'Neill also must serve a year of probation.
The state Attorney General's Office said the 38-year-old Verona man lied on a police report by saying a motorist had injuries on his face at an accident scene he arrived at on Sept. 30, 2006.
O'Neill admitted he was covering up using force on the man so he could avoid a review of the incident.
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Mr._Torino
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #16 on: Apr 15th, 2008, 10:21pm » |
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Moorestown officer charged with sex assault on children
By DAVID LEVINSKY and DANIELLE CAMILLI
Burlington County Times
MOUNT HOLLY — A Moorestown police officer and his former girlfriend have been charged with sexually assaulting children, authorities said yesterday.
Robert Melia Jr., 38, of Cottage Avenue in Moorestown and Heather Lewis, 32, of Stockton's Bridge Road in Pemberton Township were each charged with three counts of 1st degree aggravated sexual assault and one count of 2nd degree sexual assault, said Jack Smith, spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.
The charges were filed Saturday following an investigation into alleged assaults on three juvenile girls, Smith said. Their ages were not released.
He said the assaults by both suspects occurred in Melia's home on multiple occasions in 2003, 2004 and 2007. Further details were not released in order to protect the anonymity of the victims, Smith said.
Smith said the investigation was launched Thursday after one of the victims told her stepfather that she had been sexually assaulted by the two suspects on multiple occasions between August 2007 and January 2008. The stepfather then contacted authorities, Smith said.
The other victims were located after that initial report, he said.
Police arrested Melia on Saturday at Moorestown police headquarters, Smith said. Lewis surrendered at the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office that same day.
Melia has been a resident of Moorestown since 1981 and a Moorestown police officer since 2000, according to his attorney.
Harry Johnson, Moores-town's public safety director, could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon. The Moorestown Police Department's Web Page indicated Melia was a member of the patrol division.
Melia and Lewis were being held in Burlington County correctional facilities yesterday on bails of $500,000 and $300,000 respectively.
During the suspects' first appearance in Superior Court yesterday, Melia's attorney asked Superior Court Judge John A. Almeida to reduce Melia's bail. He argued the amount was excessive and told the judge that Melia lives at home with his ailing mother.
Almeida denied the request and ordered both suspects not to have any contact with the victims in the event they post bail.
During the hearing, Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Morgan described the alleged assaults as “deplorable acts with minors.'' Following the hearing, he said both suspects “certainly seemed to play an equal part” in the alleged abuse of the children.
He said Melia and Lewis dated for a number of years, but their relationship ended in 2006. He would not comment on any connection between the two suspects and the alleged victims.
Morgan said investigators are looking at the evidence gathered through a search of Melia's home on Saturday. He said items of a pornographic nature were found there but he declined to specify their relevance to the case.
“We want to make sure there are not more victims,” Morgan said.
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Mr._Torino
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #17 on: Apr 24th, 2008, 10:12pm » |
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New charges against Moorestown officer
By DANIELLE CAMILLI
Burlington County Times
MOUNT HOLLY — A Moorestown police officer who was charged earlier this month with sexually assaulting three girls faces new allegations that he performed lewd acts on animals.
Robert Melia Jr., 38, of Cottage Avenue in Moores-town was charged yesterday with four counts of cruelty to animals.
Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Morgan said Melia committed the acts on cows in Southampton at various times from June to December 2006.
The county Prosecutor's Office declined further comment on the charges.
Melia and his former girlfriend, Heather Lewis, 32, of Stockton's Bridge Road in Pemberton Township, were each charged April 12 with three counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of second-degree sexual assault.
Since his arrest that day, Melia has been held in Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly on $500,000 bail. Yesterday, Judge John Almeida set his bail at $10,000 on the animal cruelty charges.
Lewis turned herself in at the Prosecutor's Office on April 12. She was being held yesterday in a county correctional facility on $300,000 bail. She was not charged in the animal cruelty case.
Authorities said Melia and Lewis assaulted the girls in Melia's home on multiple occasions in 2003, 2004 and 2007.
Police launched an investigation into Melia and Lewis after one of the victims told her stepfather that the two suspects had sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said. The stepfather then contacted authorities, prosecutors said.
Melia has been a resident of Moorestown since 1981 and an officer in the Moorestown Police Department since 2000. He has been suspended from the police force.
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sammysmom
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #18 on: Apr 30th, 2008, 12:47am » |
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Pemberton Twp. woman charged again in sex case
By DANIELLE CAMILLI
MOUNT HOLLY — A Pemberton Township woman charged earlier this month with sexually assaulting three girls with her police officer ex-boyfriend is facing additional charges.
Heather Lewis, 32, of Stockton's Bridge Road, has been charged with two additional counts of sexual assault involving a fourth juvenile. Authorities have not disclosed the child's gender or age.
Lewis also was charged with an additional count of sexual assault against one of the girls authorities allege she assaulted with her former boyfriend, Robert Melia Jr., 38, of Moorestown.
Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Morgan said the three new charges stem from assaults that took place between August and September of last year in Pemberton Township.
Earlier this month, Melia and Lewis were charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of second-degree sexual assault. Authorities said the couple assaulted the girls in Melia's Moorestown home on multiple occasions in 2003, 2004 and 2007.
Yesterday, Lewis appeared before Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Smith Jr. via closed-circuit television from the county's Minimum Security Facility in Pemberton where she has been held on $300,000 bail since April 12 on the original charges.
Smith increased her bail to $400,000 after considering the new allegations. He also ordered her to have no contact with the four minors.
In court, the woman said she understood the charges against her and told Smith that her own child was in the custody of her parents. She said was hoping to get a public defender to represent her.
Morgan said the new victim was identified through interviews after Lewis' initial arrest.
Melia was not charged with the new allegations.
However, last week he was charged with cruelty to animals.
Prosecutors say Melia performed lewd acts with cows at an undisclosed location in Southampton in 2006. Lewis was not charged in those incidents.
Melia is now suspended from his job as a patrolman with the Moorestown Police Department. He remains in Burlington County Jail on $510,000 bail.
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sammysmom
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #19 on: Aug 5th, 2008, 10:26pm » |
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Judge tells Newark councilwoman to step down
The Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. - A Newark councilwoman who interfered with police after they stopped her nephew for a traffic violation has been ordered to give up her council seat.
Essex County Assignment Judge Patricia Costello ruled Tuesday that first-term Councilwoman Dana Rone abused her office and must step down.
Rone declined to comment through a spokeswoman.
A statement from the Newark Municipal Council said its members will continue to support Rone.
She was convicted of obstruction of justice in December, and lost an appeal in June.
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sammysmom
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #20 on: Aug 5th, 2008, 10:33pm » |
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NJ Attorney General ticketed for speeding
The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's top law enforcement officer will soon have a blemish on her driving record.
Attorney General Anne Milgram was ticketed for speeding Friday.
Milgram was driving her 1994 Honda Accord on Route 1 South when she was clocked at 69 mph in a 50 mph zone. She was pulled over in North Brunswick.
Milgram said she plans to pay the $176 fine. She'll also receive four points against her license.
"I made a mistake and know what I did was wrong. I take responsibility for driving too fast," she said in a statement issued by her office.
Milgram was the first assistant attorney general when former Attorney General Zulima Farber was forced from office after six months on the job amid a ticket scandal involving Farber's boyfriend.
Farber, who resigned in August 2006, showed up at the scene after her longtime boyfriend was pulled over for failing to wear a seat belt and ticketed for having a suspended license and driving an improperly registered vehicle.
A special prosecutor found that Farber didn't commit a crime by going to the scene, but she was found to have violated ethics provisions barring state officials from accepting favors because of their position. Farber resigned the day the report was issued.
Farber herself had 12 speeding tickets, four bench warrants issued for her after she failed to show up for court appearances and three license suspensions.
The Attorney General's Office said this is Milgram's first speeding ticket.
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sammysmom
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #21 on: Aug 13th, 2008, 10:47pm » |
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Ousted Newark official has support of peers
By DAVID PORTER
The Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. - In a new twist on New Jersey's long-running drama of political misadventures, city leaders on Tuesday renewed their efforts to fight a judge's ruling that stripped a Municipal Council member of her seat over a disorderly persons conviction.
At a City Hall news conference that at times felt more like a pep rally for Dana Rone, fellow Council member Ronald C. Rice said the body had voted unanimously at a special meeting to support Rone's appeal of the ruling, which has already suffered one defeat at the appellate level and could be headed for the state Supreme Court.
In the meantime, he said, the council put off deciding whether to fill Rone's seat on the nine-person governing body, raising the possibility of a special election in November.
At the heart of what has turned into a tug-of-war between legislative and judicial branches is a state statute requiring anyone holding public office to forfeit their position if they are "convicted of an offense involving or touching such office, position or employment."
State Superior Court Judge Patricia Costello ruled last week that Rone, a first-term councilwoman who rode Mayor Cory A. Booker's coattails into office two years ago, abused her office when she interceded in a police traffic stop involving her nephew in 2006. Rone was convicted of obstruction of justice last December, and lost an appeal in June. She was fined $475.
The Essex County Prosecutor's Office initially concluded that Rone should forfeit her council seat, then took the unusual step of reversing itself and recommending that Costello use her discretion to waive the forfeiture.
"We felt all along that the waiver was appropriate given the overall circumstances of the case," Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said Tuesday. "Although we felt (Rone's) actions were inappropriate, we felt she was a candidate for waiver. The judge obviously felt differently."
Rice said Tuesday that, although the statute is well-meaning, it was applied too harshly in Rone's case.
"At the end of the day, this is a misdemeanor conviction," he said. "I don't think the statute was meant to have this type of effect. The penalties are more severe than for some people who have served time for felonies and have come out of prison and run for office."
Rone arrived at the news conference and was immediately engulfed by well-wishers who embraced her and chanted her name, but she restricted her remarks to thanking the council members for their support. Her attorneys, Raymond Hamlin and Terry Ridley did not return phone messages seeking comment.
The case has drawn comparisons to the events that led to the resignation of state Attorney General Zulima Farber two years ago after a special prosecutor concluded she violated state ethics laws by intervening in a traffic stop involving her boyfriend.
Though the Rone case may stand out even in a state with a long and varied history of political mischief, Newark's elected officials should tread carefully, according to Seton Hall University political scientist Joseph Marbach.
"It seems highly unusual for the court to be involved in this way," he said. "But the council runs the risk of impugning its own reputation. You want to circle the wagons and defend your own, but they also have to look at the negative perception of politicians in New Jersey. This could contribute to the perception that it's corrupt politicians protecting each other."
The Council can still govern if it chooses not to fill Rone's seat while her appeal is pending, according to Councilman Luis A. Quintana, who noted that one seat was left vacant in 1994 when Councilwoman Marie Villani stepped down after pleading guilty to federal charges of misusing city funds.
Booker didn't attend Tuesday's news conference, but called Rone "a fixture in the Central Ward and a leader throughout the city" and said he would support her throughout the appeals process.
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sammysmom
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #22 on: Sep 12th, 2008, 10:38pm » |
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Ex-police chief in Gloucester admits MADD theft
The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - A former police chief in the Gloucester County town of Clayton has admitted stealing $180,000 from Mothers Against Drunk Driving , an organization in which he was once a state leader.
The state Attorney General's Office announced Frank Winters' plea deal on Wednesday.
He faces seven years in state prison , though he could be released in as little as six months. He will also be ordered to repay $180,000 to MADD.
Under the plea agreement, Winters, 62, also admitted stealing from his town's police department.
Winters admitted that he stole the money by fraudulently billing MADD and the Borough of Clayton for products that were to be produced by companies he owned, but were never delivered.
Prosecutors said he used the money to pay personal expenses, including his mortgage, car payments, travel, computer equipment and furniture.
Winters resigned as chief in Clayton in April 2007 after being charged in the MADD case.
His lawyer, Michael Silvanio, said Winters served his community well during his 23 years as police chief and took the plea in part to spare his wife a possible prison sentence.
Bernice Winters, 57, was also charged in the case last year. Under her husband's plea deal, she is eligible to apply to a pretrial intervention program.
Frank and Bernice Winters are both former chairmen of the New Jersey state chapter of MADD. Frank Winters also served on the national board of directors.
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Mr._Torino
Ward A
Posts: 865
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #23 on: Oct 5th, 2008, 9:07pm » |
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UPDATE:
Police officer, ex-girlfriend indicted in sex-assault case
By DANIELLE CAMILLI
Burlington County Times
MOUNT HOLLY — A county grand jury returned a 45-count indictment yesterday against a suspended Moorestown police officer and his former girlfriend, charging them with sexually assaulting minors over the past eight years.
Robert Melia Jr., 38, of Moorestown, was also indicted on charges of official misconduct and animal cruelty. Authorities allege he engaged in sex acts with cows at an undisclosed location in Southampton in 2006.
Melia and Heather Lewis, 33, of Stockton's Bridge Road in Pemberton Township will be arraigned in Superior Court in the coming weeks. If convicted of all charges, they face life in prison, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi.
Both are charged with 12 counts of aggravated sexual assault, four counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact, eight counts of criminal sexual contact, six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, 14 counts of sexual assault and one count of invasion of privacy. The charges stem from incidents with three girls at Melia's Cottage Avenue home between June 2000 and January 2008, authorities said.
Lewis was indicted separately on charges involving a fourth juvenile. Authorities have said those assaults took place with a male juvenile in Pemberton Township between August and September of last year.
She is charged with criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child and three counts of sexual assaults. Lewis is being held on $300,000 bail at the county's Minimum Security Facility in Pemberton Township.
Melia posted $410,000 bail and was released from Burlington County Jail in June. Through his private attorney, he has maintained his innocence.
The Moorestown Police Department suspended Mel-ia, a patrolman, immediately after his arrest in April. He has been with the department since 2000.
Authorities began their investigation of Melia and Lewis when one of the girls told her stepfather that she had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by the defendants, officials said.. He then contacted the prosecutor's Child Abuse-Sexual Assault Unit, which launched the investigation.
On April, 12, Melia was arrested after authorities executed a search warrant at Melia's residence. Detectives seized a quantity of pornographic material and Melia's computer, authorities said
The Prosecutor's Office also has filed a civil complaint in an effort to seize Melia's home, since authorities said he used it in the commission of a crime.
According to the complaint, a U.S. Secret Service forensic analysis uncovered about 48,000 video files and 37,000 images stored on the computer. While the review of those files and images is ongoing, authorities said “most, if not all, have been pornographic in nature.” Two of the recordings made by Melia and Lewis show Melia engaging in sex with animals, according to the complaint.
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Mr._Torino
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #24 on: May 5th, 2009, 11:49pm » |
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Trooper trial: Deaths reckless or just accidental?
By: WAYNE PARRY
The Associated Press
From opposite sides of tragedy, they came together for a few brief seconds: the grieving mother, full of pain and questions about the deaths of her two teenage daughters, and the state trooper who killed them.
He, too, was brokenhearted over the deaths. He has a daughter of his own. She's 14 months old; if a jury doesn't see things his way, he might not be able to hold her in his arms again until she's 11.
Maria Caiafa and State Trooper Robert Higbee exchanged a few words and a brief embrace after a court hearing two years ago. The trooper towered over the middle school principal as she looked up at him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
The exchange took 15 seconds. They parted, retreating behind legal barricades on either side of the case. Neither would reveal what was said.
A jury in southern New Jersey could begin hearing evidence this week in the case, which will hinge on two questions: Was Higbee acting recklessly as he sped down a road in Upper Township on Sept. 27, 2006, chasing what he said was a speeder? Or was the crash that killed Jacqueline and Christina Becker a tragic but unavoidable accident?
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Christina and Jacqueline were so inseparable that they even accompanied each other to the bathroom.
Jacqueline, a 17-year-old high school senior, hoped to study international marketing and foreign languages at the University of Michigan. She spoke Spanish and Italian and was studying Japanese.
Christina was quieter, known for her compassion and creativity. At her job delivering medicine for a local pharmacy, the 19-year-old would sit and talk to senior citizens for as long as she could before the next delivery, trying to keep them company.
On this particular night, the girls were staying with their grandmother, Geraldine Caiafa, because their mom was working late. They realized they needed milk and hopped into their grandmother's minivan to drive to a convenience store less than a mile away. Jacqueline drove; her sister slid into the front passenger seat.
They told their grandma they'd be right back.
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Higbee joined the police force in 2001 following a promising sports career that never quite caught fire. He played tight end for the University of Delaware, caught 20 passes for 306 yards in 1994 and signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent two years later.
But he never played in a regular season NFL game. He switched to basketball, playing for the Washington Generals, the opposing team that travels with the Harlem Globetrotters.
He was on patrol that night in 2006, when, he says, he spotted a speeder and gave chase. He told investigators he was accelerating to catch up to the speeder, but was not using his lights or siren. New Jersey policy recommends that an officer get as close as possible to the speeder before activating lights and siren _ without jeopardizing anyone's safety.
Higbee's police cruiser got to the intersection exactly as the girls' minivan did. It crashed into the front driver's side of the van, partially ejecting both girls. The van and patrol car then skidded across the road, smashing into a Mazda minivan stopped at the intersection. The girls suffered fatal head injuries when their vehicle hit the Mazda.
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Back home, the girls' grandmother was getting nervous as the minutes ticked by. The milk run should have been a 10- to 15-minute trip, at most. When more than an hour had passed, she called the girls' mom.
"They never do that," Maria Caiafa said three weeks after the crash. "If they're going to be late, they call."
The grandmother drove around looking for the girls and passed what looked like a gruesome crash. She stopped and asked police if that was her two grandchildren. The white vehicle was too damaged to recognize. But police said no, it wasn't Christina and Jacqueline, according to their mother.
The mother called her daughters' cell phones. She sent them text messages. She got no answer.
She said she called the police, giving the names of her two daughters and the license plate number of the van. A dispatcher said he'd call her back.
She and her ex-husband went to the accident scene and pleaded with officers for confirmation of what they feared in their hearts.
Bathed in the swirling patterns of red and blue emergency lights, she begged, "Are those my daughters? Please tell me if those are my daughters."
She hung back from the accident, not wanting to see what was there. She prayed her kids weren't dead.
Officers eventually told the girls' grandmother what had happened. She began to scream, "It's them! Oh God!"
It wasn't until the next day, reading newspaper accounts of the crash, that Maria Caiafa learned that a state trooper had crashed into her daughters' vehicle.
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The head of the state police union, David Jones, says Higbee was shattered by the crash.
"From Day One, he's heartbroken," Jones said last week. "Rob Higbee is a wonderful guy, a wonderful father, a wonderful family man. It's a heart-rending situation for him."
Higbee's lawyer, D. William Subin, says criminal charges never should have been brought against the trooper.
Higbee was issued summonses for failure to stop or yield right of way, and careless driving. He was indicted in 2007 on the death by auto charge and remains suspended without pay pending the resolution of the case. If convicted, Higbee could face a prison term of five to 10 years.
The state settled a lawsuit brought by Caiafa for $2 million but did not acknowledge any wrongdoing.
"We're not saying it's not a tragedy," Jones said. "But it never was a criminal act."
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Mr._Torino
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #25 on: May 7th, 2009, 9:50pm » |
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NJ trooper's lawyer says criminal trial a mistake
The Associated Press
The lawyer for a New Jersey state trooper accused of killing two teenage sisters in a car crash says the case never should have been filed.
In his opening statement Wednesday, defense lawyer D. William Subin said his client was abiding by his obligation to pursue lawbreakers.
Trooper Robert Higbee has said he was chasing a speeder in September 2006 when he collided with a minivan at a Cape May County intersection. Christina and Jacqueline Becker were killed.
J. David Meyer, Cape May County's first assistant prosecutor, said he did not believe Higbee intended to kill the sisters, but told jurors the trooper acted recklessly.
Higbee is charged with death by auto. If convicted, he could face five to 10 years in prison.
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Testimony starts in trial of NJ trooper
The Associated Press
An Ocean City man who was among the first to reach the scene of a fatal crash between a state trooper's car and a minivan says the trooper was conscious after the crash but a person lying outside the van was not.
Anthony Cinaglia was among four witnesses to take the stand Thursday, the first day of testimony in the death by auto trial of Trooper Robert Higbee. The September 2006 crash in Cape May County killed teenage sisters Christina and Jacqueline Becker.
The victims' grandfather also testified, describing the family's shock and heartbreak.
Higbee has said he was chasing a speeder, but prosecutors say he acted recklessly. If convicted, he could face five to 10 years in prison.
Testimony is to resume on Monday.
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blondie
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #26 on: May 15th, 2009, 10:27pm » |
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I hope this guy fries...
Trooper says he stopped before crash
The Associated Press
A New Jersey state trooper charged with death by auto in a crash that killed two teenage sisters told investigators he stopped at an intersection just before the impact.
Trooper Robert Higbee said he did not see any other vehicles, and was involved in a crash moments later.
The statement was made to state police investigators a few weeks after the Sept. 27, 2006 crash. A tape of his interview was played in court Thursday.
A jury in Cape May County must decide whether Higbee's actions constitute criminal recklessness, or were simply a tragic accident.
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NJ man says he was the speeder in fatal crash
The Associated Press
Jurors at the vehicular homicide trial of a New Jersey state trooper heard from the man who says he was being pursued by the trooper.
Joshua Wigglesworth says he noticed a trooper in the opposite lane when he was driving 50 mph in a 35 zone. The then-17-year-old says the police car turned around and was following him when he heard a crash and noticed the lights of the vehicles weren't going in the right direction.
Two teenage sisters were killed when Trooper Robert Higbee ran through a stop sign and hit their minivan. The jury must decide whether he was criminally negligent.
Higbee says he was pursuing a speeder. One witness has said the road was deserted.
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sammysmom
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #27 on: May 26th, 2009, 11:10pm » |
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Expert: NJ trooper was going 75 mph before crash
The Associated Press
An expert witness says a New Jersey state trooper was driving 75 mph seconds before he crashed into a minivan, killing two teenage sisters.
Trooper Robert Higbee is charged with vehicular homicide in the September 2006 crash that killed Jacqueline and Christina Becker.
Engineer Richard Roth on Thursday told jurors about information from the police car's data recorder. Roth said it showed the trooper drove between 70 and 80 mph before slamming on the brakes just before the crash.
Higbee's lawyer says the trooper ran a stop sign while trying to catch up with a speeder.
The trial will resume Tuesday.
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Prosecution rests in NJ trooper fatal crash case
The Associated Press
The prosecution has rested its case in the trial of a state trooper who killed two teen sisters in a 2006 crash.
Trooper Robert Higbee is charged with death by auto. He ran a stop sign in Upper Township and crashed into a van carrying Jacqueline and Christina Becker.
The defense was to begin presenting its case Wednesday afternoon.
The jury must decide whether Higbee, who was chasing a speeder, acted recklessly or whether the crash was a tragic but unavoidable accident.
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Judge says NJ trooper fatal crash case must go on
The Associated Press
A judge in Cape May County has ruled that the trial of a state trooper who killed two teen sisters in a 2006 crash will continue.
Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten on Wednesday denied a defense motion to find Trooper Robert Higbee not guilty. The judge ruled there was adequate evidence presented by the prosecution to let the case proceed.
Higbee is charged with death by auto. He ran a stop sign in Upper Township and crashed into a van carrying Jacqueline and Christina Becker.
The jury must decide whether Higbee, who was chasing a speeder, acted recklessly or whether the crash was a tragic but unavoidable accident.
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sammysmom
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #28 on: Jun 3rd, 2009, 12:24am » |
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NJ trooper: Can't recall seeing stop sign
The Associated Press
A New Jersey state trooper says he does not recall seeing the stop sign at an intersection where he collided with a minivan, killing two teenage sisters.
Trooper Robert Higbee took the stand Monday in his vehicular homicide trial.
Higbee testified that he was concentrating on a speeding car he was trying to catch and does not recall the collision that killed Jacqueline and Christina Becker in Cape May County's Upper Township in September 2006.
He said he can remember only "braking, looking and darkness."
The jury must decide whether Higbee acted recklessly or whether the crash was a tragic but unavoidable accident.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wRqBV9VVuU
If you go to bed with an itchy ass, you wake up with smelly fingers...
...don't forgot to wash your hands BEFORE you lick your fingers!!!
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Mr._Torino
Ward A
Posts: 865
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Re: cops get away with murder
« Reply #29 on: Jun 9th, 2009, 8:29pm » |
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I WAS PISSED OFF WHEN I READ THIS ONE:
Jury acquits NJ trooper of wrongful death charges
By: WAYNE PARRY
The Associated Press
From the day his State Police car hurtled into an intersection and into a minivan carrying two teenage sisters out to buy a gallon of milk, killing both of them, New Jersey State Trooper Robert Higbee said it was a tragic accident, not a crime.
On Monday, after an emotional seven-week trial in which the deaths were replayed over and over again, a jury saw things his way.
A jury cleared Higbee of any wrongdoing in the Sept. 27, 2006, deaths of 17-year-old Jacqueline and 19-year-old Christina Becker in Cape May County's Upper Township. He was accused of running a stop sign while pursuing a speeder with his lights and siren off, as recommended by New Jersey police policy.
"This jury said what I've said all along: this was an accident, not a crime," the trooper said outside the courthouse after law enforcement officers from across the state hugged him and shook his hand following the verdict. "I never went out there to deliberately hurt anybody."
Maria Caiafa, the girls' mother, said the verdict could tell law enforcement that it's acceptable for members of the public to die when officers make a mistake.
"This sends a message that it's OK, in the line of pursuit, for the public that we serve to die," she said outside the courthouse, moments after Higbee had spoken.
She said she and Higbee spoke privately moments after the verdict. Neither would reveal what was said. Caiafa said afterward that the verdict is more important to the public than it is to her.
"The worst thing has already happened _ my children are dead," she said. "For me, what else is there?"
Caiafa, a middle school principal who was paid a $2 million settlement of civil litigation she brought against the state, said the trial was torture for her.
"I had to sit down and listen to how my daughters died, over and over and over again," she said. "Were they scared? Were they hurt? Were they upset? Did they see each other die? These thoughts are in my head 24 hours a day. Now I spend every waking moment trying to push what I love out of my head because it causes me too much pain."
Higbee could have gotten 10 years in prison had he been convicted of two counts of death by auto.
The decision to prosecute him drew angry protests from police unions.
"In this building behind me, a handful of minds said we're going to turn this into a crime," said David Jones, head of the main state police union. "It was never a crime. This was a case that never should have been brought."
Jones said a guilty verdict would have had a chilling effect on law enforcement officers who make a mistake or have an unintended bad outcome while doing their duty, making them skittish and the publish less safe.
But prosecutors defended the criminal charges, saying Higbee's actions deviated from what a responsible officer is supposed to do by a wide margin.
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INTELLIGENCE IS WASTED ON MOST PEOPLE AND THEY DON'T KNOW IT.
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