Warrant: Windsor Locks Officer Was Drinking For 6 Straight Hours Before Crash

Hartford Courant- The Windsor Locks police officer charged in connection with the crash that killed a teenager was drinking alcohol for six straight hours before the crash and was driving an estimated 73 mph when he hit the teen, a warrant for Michael Koistinen's arrest reveals.

The 21-page warrant used to charge Koistinen with first- and second-degree manslaughter describes a day of drinking beer at a friend's house and at a UConn football tailgate party and consuming shots of liquor at a Suffield bar. Witnesses told state police investigators that Koistinen was drinking from about 5:30 p.m. until about 11:40 p.m., 20 minutes before he struck and killed Henry Dang.

The warrant also raises questions about how the Windsor Locks police handled the accident in its immediate aftermath. The initial investigators never sought to test Koistinen's blood/alcohol level.

In the warrant, state police investigators state that they believe Koistinen's father, Windsor Locks police Sgt. Robert Koistinen, transported his son from the scene to the police station multiple times before returning him to the scene, where an ambulance was called to take the younger Koistinen to a hospital.

APD Officer Indicted On Sex Crimes Charges

KOAT- Albuquerque Police Department Officer Tank Guenther has been indicted on 26 charges of criminal sexual contact of a minor, bribery of a witness and tampering with evidence.

Action 7 News obtained a copy of the indictment against Guenther on Thursday.

Investigators said the alleged abuse spanned from August 2002 until December 2005, but authorities didn't know about the accusations until the victim stepped forward in 2009.

Guenther is under investigation for allegations he raped a family member under the age of 13. Chief Ray Schultz said the department learned of the investigation last summer, and Guenther has been on administrative duties until now.

"When felony allegations are made against an officer, the department, a detective or even a civilian, the first thing we do is put them in a position where there's minimal contact with the public, obviously not doing any law enforcement duties or functions," Schultz said.

The department has launched an internal affairs investigation as the criminal aspect is also being reviewed.

According to the indictment filed on Thursday in district court, Guenther is charged with 26 counts of criminal sexual penetration in the first-degree. Investigators also said he bribed a witness and tampered with evidence for four years after the alleged abuse.

A spokesperson for the district attorney's office said that while the charges are against a police officer, it's important to remember that the case is about alleged child rape.

"The community rightly should expect a lot from a public safety officer, a police officer, but we expect more of them," the spokesperson said. "But in this case, this deals with a family matter, about his role in his family abusing a family victim."

Guenther is not in custody, but the district attorney's office said he will soon be getting a notice to appear in court.

If convicted, Guenther could face a maximum of 306 years in prison.

NYPD Cop Charged In Murder-For-Hire Plot Against Ex-Wife

NEW YORK (WPIX) - An New York City police officer - accused of hiring another man to kill his ex-wife - appeared in a Long Island courtroom Friday morning where he entered a plea of not guilty in connection with the crime.

Officer Anthony Battisti, 42, a 17-year veteran of the force was suspended by the NYPD, after allegations surfaced that he had hired a hit-man to attack his ex-wife, 44-year-old Patricia Battisti.

According to prosecutors, Patricia Battisti was stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver outside the couple's Franklin Square home in January. Battisti paid 37-year-old Timothy Gersbeck, who had worked as a handyman for the officer, to execute the assault on his ex-wife because he was jealous of her new boyfriend, investigators said.

Gersbeck was also charged in connection with the stabbing.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice reacted to the news about the indictment with remorse.

"I'm sickened by this officer's betrayal of the badge," she said in a statement. "We cannot let one single act by one officer overshadow the brave work by men and women who wear the uniform and put themselves in harm's way every day to protect our families and our neighborhoods."

Battisti reportedly met his wife Patricia when both were enrolled in the New York City Police Academy. The couple also served together in the Bronx's 41st Precinct before Patricia Battisit left the department, the New York Daily News reported.

Fort Worth Taser Death Ruled A Homicide

This pisses me off. If he's a diagnosed schizophrenic then I'm sure his mother would've specified that when the police got to the house, and 49 seconds is seeming like a VERY long time to pump those kind of volts into someone. It's nearly a full minute!!

FORT WORTH- The Tarrant County Medical Examiner said the in-custody death of a mentally disabled man was a homicide. The ruling came on the heels of a series of CBS 11 News reports highlighting the case of Michael Jacobs Jr.

It's another black eye for the Fort Worth Police Department.

But, the Jacobs family did not comment on the ruling. They said they would speak on Friday, at a press conference to be held at their house.

On Thursday night, the house was quiet, though Michael Sr. marked a birthday. It was his own. There was little to celebrate on the day that the Medical Examiner ruled Michael Jr.'s death a homicide. The family only recently spoke of their pain. "We're in living Hell. I mean, I have a lot of good days and a lot of bad days," Charlotte Jacobs said.

"We just keep expecting him to walk through the door but," Michael Sr. said, his voice trailing off.

On April 18, Michael Jr., who suffers from schizophrenia, was off his medication. Charlotte Jacobs called 911.

Charlotte: "He's out there cursing and carrying on, jamming on stuff."
Dispatcher: "He's outside the house?"
Charlotte: "Yeah, we had to put him outside of the house."
Dispatcher: "Is he violent?"
Mother: "Hmm! Y'all better bring enforcement."

According to the Medical Examiner's report, police used a Taser on Jacobs twice. The first Taser deployment lasted 49 seconds. Then, there was a one second pause. The second taser deployment lasted five seconds.

Police Chief Jeff Halstead held a press conference soon after the Medical Examiner's ruling. "First and foremost, we wanted to extend our condolences to the family of Michael Jacobs," Halstead said.

Halstead added that, since 2001, the department has used Tasers 1,360 times. Four people died. Jacobs was the only one ruled a homicide.

Halstead would not take any questions or make any comments about the police officers involved because the case is going to a grand jury. "I can't make any comments about specifics of our investigation and I can't comment on the past behaviors of any employees," Halstead said.

City officials made statements of their own.

Mayor Mike Moncrief said, "We will continue to watch this case closely."

City council member Kathleen Hicks said, "I believe the grand jury will be able to make a final and unbiased decision."

City council member Frank Moss said, "If the chief's investigation finds that adjustments are needed, the community will count on him to make the necessary changes."

Any changes will be too late for the Jacobs family, who only wanted police to take their son to the hospital.

Family Files $25 Million Claim over Deputy's Tackle

SEATTLE --- The family of an innocent man rendered comatose when a sheriff's deputy slammed into him, sending him headfirst into a tile wall in downtown Seattle, filed a $25 million claim Tuesday against the county.

The claim brought by the wife and parents of Christopher Harris, 29, of Edmonds, "will likely be followed by a lawsuit" unless it is resolved within 60 days, said Simeon J. Osborn, a lawyer who filed it with the county's Risk Management Division.

"He is in a coma, has irreversible brain damage, and will never recover," Osborn wrote in the claim. "He cannot walk, talk, recognize his family, or engage in the activities of daily living."

Medical bills are approaching $1 million and the cost of 24-hour care will run into the millions, Osborn said at a news conference.

Harris has been in a "vigil coma" since taking a hit from Deputy Matthew Paul, 26, who outweighed him by 100 pounds, early on May 10. Surveillance video from the Cinerama movie theater showed Matthews racing toward Paul, who appeared to have stopped with his arms outspread, and of giving him a shove that knocked the smaller man eight feet and through the air into the base of the wall.

The claim, which lists 24 witnesses, is based on sheriff's office training, policies and procedures, as well as on the conduct of Paul and Deputy Joseph Eshom, 28, during the chase.

Last month county prosecutors declined to file charges against Paul, saying there was no legal basis for a criminal charge.

At a news conference Tuesday, Sim Osborn, an attorney for the Harris family, called the deputy's actions "inexcusably brutal."

"The graphic video still haunts the harris family, and is a glaring look at the brutal actions by the sheriff's deputy," Osborn said.

King County sheriff spokesman John Urquhart said the sheriff's office could not comment directly on the legal claim, but maintains that the deputy did not indent to injure Harris.

Urquhart called the incident a tragedy for Harris, his family and the deputy. He said the deputy's actions were justifiable because witnesses identified Harris as a suspect in an assault.

Witnesses said the incident began when several men, some covered in blood, ran into a convenience store where Harris had been shopping. Deputies chasing down the suspect were mistakenly told by witnesses that Harris was the man they wanted. Harris had not been in the fight, but he ran.

The surveillance video shows the end of the chase as moviegoers are exiting from the Cinerama theater, about 2½ blocks from where the chase began.

Harris comes into view, makes a slight turn and slows down as Paul gives him a fierce shove, knocking him off his feet. Harris' head slams into the base of a tiled wall outside the movie house.

Two witnesses say Harris seemed to be stopping and said, "I don't have anything, I didn't steal anything," just before he was hit by Paul, who weighs about 270 pounds, about 100 pounds more than Harris.

But Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's office, said last month that since Christopher Harris was identified by witnesses to officers as a suspect in a violent crime, "The law provides that an officer 'shall not be held criminally liable for using force without malice and with a good faith belief that such act is justifiable."

"He ran for several blocks after he was told to stop by uniformed officers. As the deputy caught up to him, the deputy used a standard take down procedure. As a result, no criminal charge can be filed."

Sara Jorgenson, Harris' wife of two years and constant companion since they became high school sweethearts 13 years ago, told reporters her husband was not the type to flee from police.

"He wouldn't have ran," she said. "He didn't know who was chasing him."

Harris, now housed in a congregant care center, breathes entirely on his own and sometimes opens his eyes but cannot focus, talk or otherwise communicate, a condition from which doctors believe he will never recover, Osborn said.

"It's not hospice care," he lawyer added. "He's not dying."

Jorgenson said she had quit work to be at his side daily and hoped eventually to be able to bring him home.

"I sit next to the bed all day. I talk to him. I read to him," Jorgenson said, dabbing the corner of her eyes with a tissue. "I make sure that he's getting taken care of ... anything that you can do."

Police: Officer Pretended To Be His Twin For Sex

ONLY in my state! LOL

MILFORD, Conn. -- An Orange police officer is accused of pretending to be his twin brother in order to engage in a sexual encounter with a woman.

Officer Jared Rohrig, of Milford, was arrested Friday in connection with the sexual assault.

Police said a woman told police that she went to meet Rohrig's twin brother, Joe, whom she was in a relationship with. The woman got into a hot tub with Jared Rohrig, thinking it was his brother, police said.

Police said the hot tub activity moved into one of the home's bedrooms, where the two began having sex.

"During the sexual intercourse, she realized the male she was with did not have a tattoo on his left buttocks. (LMAO) The female victim said she immediately began to cry and asked where his tattoo went," according to the arrest affidavit.

The woman said Joe, whom she had been having a sexual relationship with since March 2009, has a tattoo of a cowboy, according to the affidavit.

Police said when the woman tried to leave after realizing Jared Rohrig was not Joe, Jared Rohrig pushed her down onto the bed, covered her face with a pillow and continued having sex.

Rohrig was charged with sexual assault in the first degree and criminal impersonation. His bond was set at $50,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8.

He was put on paid leave from the Orange Police Department.

McMenacing? Cop Accused Of Pulling Gun At McD's

DENVER (CBS4) ― A Denver police officer has been suspended after allegedly brandishing his gun at a McDonald's restaurant in Aurora after his order took too long to fill.

Aurora police confirmed the CBS4 investigation saying the incident occurred May 21 at the McDonald's at 18181 East Hampden Avenue.

A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said they plan to present the case -- now classified as a felony menacing incident -- to the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office Thursday for possible filing of criminal charges.

Sources familiar with the case, and the fast food worker's account of what happened, say two off-duty Denver police officers placed an order from their car in the early morning hours of May 21.

But once at the drive through window, the employee said the men became agitated and angry at how long their food was taking. The men thought they were being ignored, according to contacts familiar with the worker's account.

The male clerk then said one of the officer's flashed his police badge and pointed a pistol through the drive through window in a threatening manner, before driving off without paying.

Both officers are assigned to Denver International Airport although only one has been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the case.