UPDATE 3-25: See last article "what beaten fellow said" -v- "What perpetrators claim"
3-21-2014 Wisconsin:
Two men and two women beat a man and left him to be attacked by wolves in the northern Wisconsin woods after accusing him of inappropriately touching a child, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Raymond Jones, 45, his wife April, 38, their son Justin Bey, 21 and his friend Samantha McClellan, 18, were charged with attempted first degree intentional homicide, kidnapping and several other felonies, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.
The four are accused of beating the man, age 40, at the Jones' house on March 10 and 11 in Wabeno, about 95 miles north of Green Bay, before hauling him to nearby woods and beating him again, the complaint said.
The man's name is being withheld because he is a victim of an alleged crime.
The man, who was a friend of April Jones and had been staying at the house, sustained fractures to his face, a broken nose and jaw, and two broken ribs, according to the complaint.
The group told investigators they left him in the woods where they hoped wolves would attack him, the complaint filed in Forest County Circuit Court said.
TWIN FALLS - A man convicted of felony aggravated battery for beating a 69-year-old man was sentenced Monday in Twin Falls County District Court.
Bradley Houser, 35, was sentenced to the state's retained jurisdiction program. He will attend the Correctional Alternative Placement Program through the Idaho Department of Correction.
After the program, a judge can either put Houser on probation or send him to prison for an underlying sentence of three to 15 years.
Houser was also ordered to reimburse the county public defender's office for $500 and was ordered to pay victim's restitution of $1,257.44.
Police said Houser beat the man because he is a registered sex offender.
Deputies in Shasta County have located the man wanted for questioning in a shooting that left the victim in critical condition.
Wednesday night the Shasta County Sheriff's Office released a surveillance photo of the man who dropped off the victim at Mercy Medical Center in Redding Wednesday afternoon. They also released surveillance images of the silver pickup truck the man was driving.
Thursday morning, investigators said the man has been located and he was being questioned.
The gunshot victim was shot several times in the torso.
Deputies did not release the victim's name, but said he underwent emergency surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition.
Shasta County deputies are seeking the last of three suspects in a shooting incident that left one man in critical condition. Investigators believe an Anderson resident shot an intruder in self-defense during an attempted robbery.
The incident started around 2 p.m. Wednesday at a home at 18666 Lloyd Lane in Anderson.
Deputies said a woman came to the home of John Jasmer, 56. Jasmer, a convicted sex offender, told KRCR News Channel 7 how two intruders tried to rob him. "She pushed me back in [the house]. I realized she was involved in it, and she kept threatening me with a taser," he said. "They were robbing me. They were trying to strongarm me because I'm a registered sex offender."
The woman, later identified as 41-year-old Melanie Piette of Redding, came to Jasmer’s door, posing as a utility worker. Piette told Jasmer she needed to inspect the gas lines.
We previously followed the case of Gerald Amidon, who sued the Boise police department for allegedly threatening to sodomize him with a taser and using excessive force in his arrest, including tasering him on the buttocks. He has now settled for only $150,000 and, despite a highly disturbing tape of the incident, the police department is able to claim no fault as part of the settlement.
While against policy, the police insisted that the officer (who also threatened to shock his genitalia) merely failed to follow guidelines — the name of the officer has not been released despite the release of the audio tape below. The officer actually states on the tape that he had already sodomized Amidon with the taser when he threatened to deliver a second shock first to his anus and then to his genitalia.
Amidon stated that on February 14th he did not realize that the men forcing their way into his apartment were officers. He tried to block the door — resulting in three officers throwing him to the ground. After tasering him, the officer threatened to sodomize the man and deliver an anal shocking with his taser.
Here is the exchange:
Officer #3: Do you feel this?
Complainant: Yes, sir.
Officer #3: Do you feel that? That’s my -
Complainant: Okay
Officer #3: -Taser up your ass.
Complainant: Okay
Officer #3: So don’t move.
Complainant: I’m trying not to. I can’t breathe.
…
Officer #3: Now do you feel this in your balls?
Complainant: I do, sir. I’m not going to move. I’m not gonna move.
Officer #3 Now I’m gonna tase your balls if you move again.
A minute later, this exchange occurred:
Officer #3: Okay, I’m gonna take this Taser out of your asshole now. Are you going to fight with me?
Complainant: No, not at all, sir.
A supervisor later erased an audio recording of an interview with the man at the jail and did not write a report on the use of force in the arrest. While the officers have been “disciplined,” they were not removed from the force.
Boise Community Ombudsman Pierce Murphy found that the actions of the officer were not illegal but found abuse, here. You have an officer who says that he just sodomized a suspect and threatened to torture him. That is not unlawful in Boise?
In the internal investigation , here. Murphy found that there was no threat at the time of the incident:
“At the time that he was Tased on the buttocks, the Complainant was handcuffed and lying face-down on the floor. Officer #1 was holding the Complainant’s head and upper torso down with a knee across his shoulders. Officer #4 was positioned near the Complainant’s waist preparing to search the Complainant, and Officer #3 was situated near the Complainant’s legs and feet … Based on what he observed, Officer #2 saw no need to assist Officer #1, Officer #3, and Officer #4 in controlling the Complainant. According to Officer #1, the Complainant “mellowed out” after being handcuffed.”
He filed a complaint detailing the abuse and asked for $500,000 in punitive damages
The reported settlement of $150,000 seems a bit low given the egregious conduct and lack of admission of fault. Of course, we are not the “boots on the ground” in the case and the legal team was probably discounting for the avoidance of trial costs and appeals. However, given the response of the Police Department, I was hoping to see a more punitive element to the liability to guarantee a greater deterrent effect. If it was not for this tape, this case would never have seen the light of day.
It was the result of mediation with the judge in the federal court. It also contained a reported confidentiality agreement barring public comment. ..Source..
