A 53-year-old Maryland man could face more than 15 years in prison after being arrested for felony assault on the two officers even after a dash cam video surfaced of him being assaulted by said police. A dash camera video from May 26, 2014 showed an Orange County, Virginia deputy police officer throwing Stuart Fitzgerald onto a four lane highway, after he was pulled over for “flashing his high beams,” according to a criminal complaint charging him with three felonies. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department tape also showed the door opening less than two seconds after the officer’s first attempt, and showed Fitzgerald getting out with the officer having one hand on him. Fitzgerald’s head is seen repeatedly hitting the hood of the car, which the deputy claimed Fitzgerald did himself. Six other cameras, assigned to other officers who responded, did not record video or audio of the confrontation. Hospital records indicate that Fitzgerald’s face was bloodied and his tooth was chipped following the incident. When asked why the footage was missing audio because according to the Orange County Police Department, the officers were not routinely wearing them at the time because the cameras were malfunctioning. After an investigation by WUSA9, the OCPD have not released the additional images identified in response to their repeated inquiries, nearly a year after the incident. The audio is missing and investigators never reviewed images from other law enforcement cameras on the scene. The officers were not investigated for misconduct.
-An autistic sixth grader was arrested in the fall by a police officer assigned to Linkhorne Middle School in Lynchburg, Virginia for kicking a trash can at when he was reprimanded for misbehavior. Kayleb Moon-Robinson, 11, was arrested weeks later by the same police officer for disobeying was a new rule established for him—to wait for the other kids to leave. Moon-Robinson was also charged with a felony assault of a police officer because the officer told Moon-Robinson’s mother he “fought back” when the officer was called for by the principal. According to The Center for Public Integrity, Moon-Robinson said, “he grabbed me and tried me to take me to the office. I started pushing him away. He slammed me down and then he handcuffed me.” Earlier in April, a Lynchburg juvenile court judge found Moon-Robinson guilty of all charges.
-In a recent article published on April 13, The Washington Post founded that entire February 3 incident of Fairfax County jail inmate Natasha McKenna, 37, was recorded. While trying to subdue the mentally ill woman, six deputies hit her with a stun gun four times, shackled on her legs, handcuffed behind her back, a hobble strap connected to both restraints, and a spit mask placed over her face, according to the report. However, she soon began to fight against the restraints, according to the reports. The police, who are investigating the case for any possible criminal violation, have declined to release the video while the case is still under investigation.
-Earlier this week, it was reported that Tulsa police have released graphic video leading up to the final moments of Eric Courtney Harris’s death. In a written statement on Monday, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen A. Kunzweiler said Bates is charged with second-degree manslaughter involving culpable negligence. As stated on CNN, a second-degree manslaughter charge is a felony charge that could land him in prison for up to four years if he’s found guilty. Harris’s family is demanding an independent investigation and questioning why Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, who is a certified reserve deputy volunteer involved in a sting operation.
