If this had happened to a parent of a small child, I bet felony neglect charges would be filed. A Merced, CA drug cop was searching a house and left his narcotics sniffing dog unattended in his vehicle for hours in 102 degree heat. The dog died from the heat.

Riley's handler, officer Jeff Horn, left her in the back seat of his patrol car outside the department's central station on M Street while he and other officers prepared paperwork to request a search warrant.

Horn reportedly left the car's engine and air conditioner running but found the engine stalled upon returning to the car. The outside temperature in Merced at the time Riley's body was found -- around 4 p.m. -- was 102 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The vehicle's windows were rolled up.

There may or may not be disciplinary charges filed against Horn. I never thought I'd feel sorry for a drug-sniffing dog, but this is so sad. What a slow, painful death it must have been.

by TChris

Last year, TalkLeft noted the strange behavior of Oklahoma Judge Donald D. Thompson, who was pleasuring himself with a "male enhancement pump" during trials. Thompson was convicted last month of four counts of indecent exposure. He was sentenced today to four years in prison.

Was the sentence too stiff? (Pun intended. Hey, it's Friday.)

by TChris

Among the (sometimes former) police officers recently arrested or sentenced for possessing child pornography (or worse):

• Kenneth Haga from Huntsville and Ken Stanley from Florence, Alabama. A third Alabama officer, Former Somerville Police Chief Chris Landers, is charged with sexually abusing a child.

• Lee William Giles Jr., also charged with various counts relating to the sexual abuse of children.

• Justin Broussard from New Braunfels, Texas.

by TChris

The answer to the question posed in this post -- How Many Laws Has the Adminstration Broken? -- can be found (at least in part) in the 350 page Final Investigative Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff (available here). Section I of the Report, dealing with "The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Coverups in the Iraq War," was released in December. Section II, addressing "Unlawful Domestic Surveillance and the Decline of Civil Liberties Under the Administration of George W. Bush," was released in June, while an addendum brings the investigation up to date.

A summary of the report is available here (pdf). From the summary:

by TChris

TPM Muckraker reports that Democrats have counted the number of laws and regulations that the Bush administration has violated. The number -- with specifics to be revealed (perhaps later this week) in a report prepared by the House Judiciary Committee Democrats -- is greater than two dozen. Is that all?

by TChris

Chicago police tortured black suspects in the 1970's and 1980's. This was no secret at the time, but now that a belated investigation confirms the outrageous misconduct, it's too late to prosecute.

''It is our judgment that the evidence in those cases would be sufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,'' Robert D. Boyle and Edward J. Egan wrote in a long-awaited report.

Their four-year investigation focused on allegations that detectives under the command of Lt. Jon Burge beat suspects, used electric shock on them, played mock Russian roulette and started to smother at least one man to elicit confessions. ...

Boyle and Egan's report said they found three cases with enough evidence to seek an indictment, including the suspect whose abuse allegations led to Burge's firing. That suspect, who was convicted of killing two police officers in 1982, claimed Burge and two detectives beat and tortured him with electric shocks. The special prosecutors also said they believe there was abuse in other cases that they reviewed but that the evidence wasn't as strong.

by TChris

Why isn't the public entitled to learn about the misconduct of a public employee whose salary is paid with public dollars? A Journal News editorial poses that legitimate question after the newspaper was denied access to information about officers in the Yonkers Police Department who were disciplined for unknown infractions.

How many officers? Which ones? Any repeat offenders? What were their offenses -- egregious dereliction of duty? Violation of citizens' rights? Violent behavior? Relatively harmless, technical fouls?

The public doesn't know -- and can't find out -- thanks to the secrecy permitted by a state law that should be changed. ...

"Those who have the greatest power and authority over the public should not be the least accountable to the public," the commission [on open government] has written in support of amending the law. "In terms of accountability, when the public cannot know which officers engaged in misconduct and which others are guiltless, the public is unable to know which officers can be trusted or are credible."

Last year we wrote a lot about former Texas DA Rick Roach who while prosecuting drug defendants was secretly shooting up. He ran for DA using a get tough on drugs platform.

Today Roach was sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Monday's plea is one of the final trial proceedings in Roach's case, which began with his arrest by FBI agents in a Gray County courtroom in January 2005.

A federal grand jury later indicted him on four charges of possession of methamphetamine, cocaine and guns. Roach resigned from office in February, pleaded guilty to a federal weapons charge and was sentenced to federal prison in June 2005.

by TChris

The police say Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy "approached the scene and involved himself in the investigation" of a couple who were arguing outside a bar owned by Healy's sister.

Officers warned Mr. Healy that his involvement would get him arrested, but he repeatedly intervened, according to the statement. He was handcuffed, taken to police headquarters and charged with one count each of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, the statement said.

Why would Healy interfere with a police investigation? His account of the eventful evening differs sharply from the police report.

by TChris

North Carolina District Attorney Michael Parker will ask a special prosecutor to decide whether two former prosecutors should be charged with obstruction of justice or subornation of perjury. As TalkLeft reported here and here, the North Carolina Bar concluded that the former prosecutors withheld evidence and encouraged a witness to commit perjury during the murder trial of Jonathan Hoffman. Parker was urged to hand the investigation to a neutral party given his relationship with the former prosecutors, one of whom is now a judge.

by TChris

As TalkLeft discussed here, the North Carolina Bar accused two prosecutors (one of whom is now a judge) of concealing evidence and encouraging perjury in a case that sent Jonathan Hoffman to death row. The Bar was unable to impose discipline because the misconduct wasn't revealed until after the time for making disciplinary complaints against them had expired.

The N.C. Bar's counsel asked District Attorney Michael Parker to investigate potential criminal charges against the two former prosecutors. But one of those prosecutors helped Parker get his current job, and Parker really shouldn't be investigating misconduct in Hoffman's first trial when Parker's office intends to try Hoffman a second time.

Here's the latest development:

by TChris

Accountability avoidance is habitual in the Bush administration. It therefore comes as no surprise to learn that the Justice Department has grown increasingly reliant on the "state secrets" defense to evade judicial review of alleged governmental misconduct.

The privilege has been asserted by the Justice Department more frequently under President Bush than under any of his predecessors -- in 19 cases, the same number as during the entire eight-year presidency of Ronald Reagan, the previous record holder, according to a count by William G. Weaver, a political scientist at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The examples are wide-ranging: