Internal Investigation or FBI Investigation

[Father of four]

Garland police say officer fired as many as 41 shots at apparently unarmed man before he died | Dallas-Fort Worth Communities - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News

"MESQUITE — A Garland police officer is on restricted duty after authorities say he fired as many as 41 shots at an apparently unarmed man last month, killing him.

Garland police also said Tuesday that dash-cam video revealed that Officer Patrick Tuter crashed his squad car into a truck driven by the suspect, Michael Vincent Allen, before the shooting started. Initial reports had said Allen had hit Tuter's car, prompting the officer to open fire.

"It's still under investigation," said Garland police spokesman Officer Joe Harn. "We're trying to find out exactly why he started shooting."

Tuter's attorney, John Snider, said the answer is simple.

"At some point, while trying to prevent the suspect from making an escape, Officer Tuter did feel in fear for his life and was justified in firing his weapon," Snider said."

....

"That's where police initially said Allen made a U-turn and hit a squad car as officers tried to box him in. But Tuesday's updated account by police, confirmed by Snider, indicates that the police hit Allen's car and then fatally shot him. A 20-year-old woman in the pickup with him was uninjured and is considered a witness.

It is unclear whether any officers ordered Allen to exit his vehicle before the shooting began. Investigators have not discovered a weapon on either Allen or the passenger, but Snider said his client, a seven-year veteran of the force, felt threatened."


"Some of the allegations regarding this incident do raise questions that need to be carefully examined," said City Council member Rick Williams. "I have complete faith that Police Chief Mitch Bates and his staff will do a thorough investigation and provide an impartial and complete determination once the investigation is finished."


Internal investigation? Shouldn't the FBI investigate it or at least an outside source?

Read More

 

[Father of four]

<broken link removed>

"Tuter is reported as the only officer on the scene who fired any shots and he did have to reload to get off 41 rounds."

 

[Father of four]

Interesting read....Internal Investigations: The Basics - CSO Online - Security and Risk

Internal Investigations: The Basics
Internal investigations must uncover the truth about misconduct or fraud without damaging innocent employees. Here are the basics of how to plan and conduct a successful internal investigation.

 

[deen_ad]

Lets just say I question some offices integrity!
I had a situation here where I called to report illegally parked cars blocking a marked fire zone on a city street. The officer tried to tell me the street was private property, which it isn't. She finally did agree to take a look. I stood in the back doorway with a clear view of the street. The office drove right on by, so I called 911 back and found that she had called in and reported that the cars were gone and she was going on to another call. The 911 operator said "OK, I'll put it in that they are back", when in fact they never left!!
Those were absolute lies so now I question her voracity as a witness and 911 records for anything!

 

[Scrammer]

I think this shooting can explain why DHS needs 1.2 billion rounds.

 

[wichaka]

Any shooting should be done by an outside agency.

The internal investigation focuses on dept. policy/procedure etc., while the external agency investigation should focus on anything criminal on both sides of the coin.

 

[Father of four]

Any shooting should be done by an outside agency.

The internal investigation focuses on dept. policy/procedure etc., while the external agency investigation should focus on anything criminal on both sides of the coin.

That would help with accountability. Internal Investigation...not so much.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

I would think the State Police or Texas Rangers should be conducting the investigation.

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

and the thought the NYPD had issues with "spray and pray"

 

[Father of four]

I would think the State Police or Texas Rangers should be conducting the investigation.

I think an outside the police union agency should be conducting the investigation.

In this case the cop was ultimately fired through an internal investigation. Good...BUT, that's like what 1 in many thousands of cases I imagine.

Miami Police Fire Cop Pulled Over For Speeding By FHP « CBS Miami

"Lopez was clocked by state trooper Donna Jane Watts doing 120 mph on October 11, 2011.

When he finally pulled over, she arrested the uniformed officer at gunpoint, although reports came out later that a supervisor had told her to "back off" and not pull Lopez over. Lopez later said he was on his way to an off-duty assignment.

Watts told state investigators that she continued to follow his squad car because she feared the vehicle was stolen since she believed no officer would drive so fast and so dangerously. Video of the 7-minute pursuit made national news and ignited a firestorm between his department and the Florida Highway Patrol.

Lopez pled no contest to a reckless driving charge; a misdemeanor which is punishable by up to 90 days in jail. "


Soooo non-highway patrol officer Lopez was clocked by a highway patrol officer doing 120mph in what a 55 mph zone? The highway patrol officers supervisor told her to back off????????? Was it because of public safety? I think not. I think it was because the highway patrol officer supervisor was telling his subordinate officer to be lenient with her fellow officer from another department. I am glad she did the right thing and arrested him anyways!!!!!! That (SHE) is a good officer, we need more like her!!!!!! But by her actions it ignited a firestorm between his (Lopez) department and the Florida Highway Patrol? I wonder why? It was probably because she did the right thing and not just look the other way and try and cover up another officers illegal actions. I say give the girl a raise!!!!

And lastly officer Lopez is only charged with a misdemeanor and fired while it was proven he had driven 90mph a multitude of times? I believe he still got favorable treatment from his department, the DA and the court system.

State Police or Texas Rangers should NOT be conducting the investigation.

 

[Father of four]

"Lopez has been clocked going more than 90 miles per hour more than 80 times."

 

[Father of four]

Speeding Miami cop Fausto Lopez - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

"That prompted a Sun Sentinel investigation in February into speeding police officers on South Florida's toll highways. Using SunPass toll records, the investigation revealed almost 800 cops from a dozen agencies drove 90 to 130 mph at least once over a 13-month period. Most were commuting to and from work.

After the newspaper's investigative series, a total of 141 police officers from eight South Florida law enforcement agencies either have been disciplined or face discipline as a result of off-duty speeding."

What about the other 659 officers?

 

[Father of four]

Internal investigation works? I think at least the FBI should be looking into all this mess.

"Lopez was criminally charged with misdemeanor reckless driving for the October incident and ended up pleading no contest. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and has no criminal record. He was suspended from the Miami Police Department for a month as a result of that speeding incident."

That is total bull crap!!!!! Some of the most favorable treatment I've ever seen.

 

[Father of four]

"Even if Lopez ends up losing his job, he could still be a police officer. Habitual speeding is not considered a moral character violation reportable to a state commission that certifies officers, said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement."

HAHAHAHA...you got to be kidding, right?

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Speeding Miami cop Fausto Lopez - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

"That prompted a Sun Sentinel investigation in February into speeding police officers on South Florida's toll highways. Using SunPass toll records, the investigation revealed almost 800 cops from a dozen agencies drove 90 to 130 mph at least once over a 13-month period. Most were commuting to and from work.

After the newspaper's investigative series, a total of 141 police officers from eight South Florida law enforcement agencies either have been disciplined or face discipline as a result of off-duty speeding."

]What about the other 659 officers?[/QUOTE

They got to work on time!

 

[Father of four]

Yep I guess they did.

 

[Father of four]

LiveLeak.com - Wrongful-death lawsuit filed against LA County Sheriff's Department in Fatal Shooting

"LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The family of a man shot dead by an L.A. County sheriff's deputy has filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit against the department.

The family says surveillance video shows that Jonathan Cuevas posed no threat during the 2010 incident.

Video shows a squad car pulling up next to three men walking along the street. A deputy flashes a light at them.

As he exited the car Cuevas, 20, started running and the deputy shot at him.

"He fires six shots running towards Jonathan, and the seventh shot he stands over Jonathan and shoots him right through the torso, as a coup de grace kill shot," said James Segall-Gutierrez, an attorney for the Cuevas family.

"Was he armed? Yes. Is the whole story being told now? No. Let's not forget who has already investigated this: Internal Affairs, Office of Independent Review monitoring that. Homicide Bureau. The District Attorney," said Sheriff's Spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Segall-Gutierrez says Cuevas' fingerprints were not on the gun the department claims he was carrying, and questions its authenticity."

FBI or an External Investigation on this one also? What could it hurt? If you have nothing to hide then you don't mind if they search, do you?