PDA

View Full Version : Remember that strip-search case -> DENIED




kimo
03-12-2008, 09:18 PM
Strip search of woman by Sheriff's Deputies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Smv3XCkBE

Guess what. Dang -> DENIED

Sheriff’s department denies wrongdoing in strip-search case
By MICHAEL FREEZE
Michael.Freeze@IndeOnline.com

The Stark County Sheriff’s Department pushed back Monday after an unflattering spotlight was placed on it by a Cleveland television station.

Last month, NBC-affiliate WKYC-Channel 3 News aired portions of a video of sheriff’s deputies conducting a strip search involving Hope Steffey, of Salem, in October 2006.

A lawsuit filed last fall in federal court alleges deputies used excessive force and assaulted Steffey during the incident.

Court papers accuse deputies of failing to follow the department’s strip search policy for female prisoners. According to the lawsuit, Steffey was “emotionally and physically brutalized” by deputies.

The exposure from the video, which has been featured in various blog We sites and YouTube, has resulted in a negative image for the sheriff’s department, said Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson.

“Will a local television channel try to defame the Stark County Sheriff’s Office over yet another story?” Swanson said in a prepared statement Monday. “Will the truth be told to the citizens or is there just a sensationalist aspect trying to be conveyed while creating another story?”

WKYC said that the station has additional video depicting more alleged abuses by deputies. Swanson, who is unable to talk about the specifics of the lawsuit, said what the public has been hearing is one-sided.

“With the media, there has been a lot of misinformation,” Swanson said. “We follow all guidelines by the Bureau of Adult Detention to avoid such actions and we following them to the tee.”

The Bureau of Adult Detention is part of the state’s Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. The division is responsible for assisting local officials in identifying and correcting deficiencies in jail facilities or operations and developing and coordinating technical assistance resources.

Swanson contends that his deputies followed procedures when handling Steffey.

In the statement, the sheriff’s office lashed out at the media, questioning their motives. The sheriff’s office also praised the commitment and bravery of its deputies.

“Each individual knows how difficult it was getting into the profession and the difficulty meeting the requirements set forth day to day in their chosen careers,” the release said. “They constantly meet the required training, refresh themselves on changing laws, complete any and all mandated requirements placed on them by either the Federal, State or their own agency.”

Swanson said there may have been “20 or 30 incidents” like Steffey’s in the last 16 months, with people in jail who appear to be unstable.

“In those situations, they are people who are not taking care of themselves and in those instances we have to take action,” he said.

Swanson stated that his deputies did everything in accordance with state rules, and feels much empathy for his deputies.

“(For those that watched) the video, (the deputies) acted in accordance to our policies and procedures,” he said, “and I’m sorry that they have to go through such (a hassle) with the media and be ridiculed for something that they did exactly the way that they are supposed to do it.”


http://www.indeonline.com/index.php?ID=25428&r=3&Category=1

---------------------------------------------------------

War Protesters Arrested in Senate

War Protesters Arrested in Senate
Mar 12 03:15 PM US/Eastern

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Capitol Police arrested 10 war protesters who began shouting in the Senate gallery Wednesday.

The protesters were quickly hustled into a hallway and out of the view of reporters. They had chanted, "The war is immoral! Stop funding the war!"—as police officers grabbed them and physically removed them from a visitors gallery overlooking the Senate floor.

The demonstrators wore gauze shrouds over their heads and black shirts that read, "We will not be silent." One member said they represented the "National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance."

Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas was speaking during debate on the federal budget when the protest broke out. She stopped talking while the protesters were removed.

Outside the chamber, police ordered reporters to leave the public hallway where authorities were detaining the protesters. An officer could be heard reporting that there had been 10 arrests in the incident.


Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8VC2OS81&show_article=1

IPSecure
03-12-2008, 09:20 PM
Would one expect any less?

Nirvikalpa
03-12-2008, 09:25 PM
HOW did they do everything LEGALLY? When doing a strip-search the officers are supposed to be the SAME SEX as the person they are strip-searching! Ridiculous.

You should send this to Women's Advocate groups... they would eat this up. :D

thuja
03-12-2008, 09:47 PM
HOW did they do everything LEGALLY? When doing a strip-search the officers are supposed to be the SAME SEX as the person they are strip-searching! Ridiculous.

You should send this to Women's Advocate groups... they would eat this up. :D

you should send it to them too, and so should i. we all have to SPEAK UP. or we could end up like her, or our friends, or children could.

CurtisLow
03-12-2008, 09:54 PM
f'ing crazy...........

mtmedlin
03-12-2008, 09:59 PM
Wow, I for once have nothing to say. What has become of my country?

thuja
03-12-2008, 10:01 PM
really, i think that is a good idea, trying to get women's advocate groups to do something about this. i am going to try, but have to get a list of them.
maybe the ACLU has not seen this either.

I HOPE I WILL NOT BE ALONE CALLING.
(i called them today about the social security surveilance act)

thuja
03-12-2008, 10:06 PM
if sherrif's dpts are commending officers like this for bravery, it's the end of normal law enforcement unless we all keep on pushing for normal behavoir.

CountryboyRonPaul
03-13-2008, 06:18 AM
In my Parish if you are put on Court ordered Drug Tests for bond conditioning, they keep you on a 3 camera video screen while your taking your urine test.

kimo
03-13-2008, 08:15 AM
Women's Advocate groups

Those should have been on this case for a long time ago.
Strange..

----------------------
Otherwise, spread this and help yourself by exposing good-cop/ bad-cop.
Might help to reach public:


Police upset with RateMyCop.com, so they tell the media all about it
March 12, 2008 – 8:12 am
RateMyCop is a new site that allows you to rate police officers that you deal with, similar to sites for teachers, doctors, restaurants, etc. However, the police aren’t happy about it at all. A few sites (Wired, TechDirt) call the fears of the police unnecessary, because the site doesn’t post information about undercover officers, nor does it post personal information like home addresses.

To try to fight back against the site, police are using the media to vent. However, most people hadn’t heard of the site until the police started complaining about it, and now it’s all over the news. To add to the popularity of the site, GoDaddy recently disabled their account, leading to even more media attention. Before it was shut down, the site had received 80,000 pageviews that day, and around 400,000 the day before. How many of those were a direct result of the police outcry?

The site is back up and running now, though it’s responding pretty slowly due to the huge influx of new users…


http://www.ratemycop.com/

pinkmandy
03-13-2008, 08:23 AM
Bravery of the deputies? Um, go to hell. Seriously.

kimo
03-13-2008, 08:44 AM
Sheriff Threatens Reporters With Jail


Mar 13, 7:37 AM (ET)
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN

SAN DIEGO, Texas (AP) - When the Duval County sheriff said he would lock up reporters from local newspapers if they kept "interfering" in his business, no one took the threat lightly..

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080313/D8VCH57G0.html

pickdog
03-13-2008, 08:45 AM
there will be a time when law enforcement will feel the wrath of the Citizens.

Nirvikalpa
03-13-2008, 11:57 AM
My boyfriend's father was NJ cop in one of the roughest cities (high crime rates, murder ever week, if not every day), and yet it was one precinct where the doors to the police station weren't watched, OR locked.

Some man came in, quickly grabbed my boyfriend's father's firearm (which was laying on the desk), shot him in his leg, and 4 time in his stomach.

The man lost over 6 feet of his intestine, and was in the hospital for 6 months (and this was when my boyfriend was 9 yrs old).

And yet, even after being given a second chance at life, to see his son again, and to make amends with his wife, he is still a bad man, and I can't believe it.

The guy constantly made my boyfriend feel he never loved him. He made over $90,000 for around 5 years, and not a cent was saved for my boyfriend for college.
The guy is suicidal all the time (I really think he's psychotic), which is hurting my boyfriend.

I swear, it really makes me think that there are no good cops out there. Maybe we should just let citizens be cops. I'm sure a father whose daughter was raped/killed would be a good cop, making sure that doesn't happen to anybody. I'm sure a mother who saw her whole family get gunned down by gang violence would be tough against crime.

Maybe these are the people that should be wearing the uniforms, not an everyday person who gets a degree in criminal justice... because there is no justice anymore, anyway.

Nirvikalpa
03-13-2008, 02:14 PM
double post... anyway, just thought I'd let you know:

I wrote to Equality Now (a small Women's Rights group), and they stated that Amnesty (link (http://www.amnestyusa.org/Our_Issues/Womens_Human_Rights/page.do?id=1011012&n1=3&n2=39)) was looking into this case.

I wonder if the AFA (American Family Association) would get on this... hmm...

kimo
03-13-2008, 03:36 PM
double post... anyway, just thought I'd let you know:

I wrote to Equality Now (a small Women's Rights group), and they stated that Amnesty (link (http://www.amnestyusa.org/Our_Issues/Womens_Human_Rights/page.do?id=1011012&n1=3&n2=39)) was looking into this case.

I wonder if the AFA (American Family Association) would get on this... hmm...

Great ( I mean that you did that)!
New Story..

Strip Search: Four more women come forward with similar stories

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=84243&provider=gnews

kimo
03-14-2008, 09:09 AM
Lokal news story

Cop caught on camera planting drugs on suspect and attacking him with K9

http://www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/community-faces-10-mil-lawsuit-for-alleged-police-brutality/136297.htm#top

( no wounder prisons are filled up ):rolleyes:

John4433
04-09-2009, 05:21 AM
WKYC said that the station has additional video depicting more alleged abuses by deputies. Swanson, who is unable to talk about the specifics of the lawsuit, said what the public has been hearing is one-sided.

Yes WKYC edited out the WORST parts of the video, they took out the two pieces where men were removing her underwear, and the piece of video where the camera delebrately swings away, so you can't tell WHAT they are doing to Steffey. (During the "mat change".)
WKYC cut these thugs a break they didn't deserve.
Plus they left out other parts of the story that made the cops look bad.

Then we have the national networks, sorry but the sheriff's thugs looked bad on those news reports too.

Thats what these criminals don't get, it isn't the STORY that makes people hate them, but THEIR OWN ACTIONS!




“We follow all guidelines by the Bureau of Adult Detention to avoid such actions and we following them to the tee.”

The Bureau of Adult Detention is part of the state’s Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. The division is responsible for assisting local officials in identifying and correcting deficiencies in jail facilities or operations and developing and coordinating technical assistance resources.

Swanson contends that his deputies followed procedures when handling Steffey.

Swanson stated that his deputies did everything in accordance with state rules, and feels much empathy for his deputies.

Gosh I love to see this crapola, because thats what it is.

I have ALREADY called & talked to Butch Hunyadi at the Bureau of Adult Detention
(614-752-1062).

The state just has guidelines, THEY DO NOT SET POLICY, their only job is to to see that the county has a policy in place to cover guidelines, NOT WHAT THAT POLICY IS. (Butch said they could never go over the thousands of policies in detail.)

Jim Gravelle the Ohio Press Secretary, also confirmed this when I talked to him. (614-466-3840)

The sheriff is trying to make people believe that the state approved of this policy, this is yet another lie, according to Butch Hunyadi & Jim Gravelle.

But don't believe me, call for yourself.



“(For those that watched) the video, (the deputies) acted in accordance to our policies and procedures,” he said, “and I’m sorry that they have to go through such (a hassle) with the media and be ridiculed for something that they did exactly the way that they are supposed to do it.”


I guess multiple lawsuits against him & having law enforcement across the whole country condemn Steffey's treatment just isn't getting through to the sheriff.

And of course he HAS to defend the "policies and procedures", because HE IS THE ONE THAT MADE THEM!
According to Jim Gravelle, the Ohio Press Secretary, anyway. Jim also told me that the ONLY way to change policy was to sue. And that Steffey was also suing to change policy at the jail.

I have since called the jail and talked to Mike McDonald, the head of the jail division, and they STILL do NOT deny that this is being done!

Also this isn't the only complaints against the sheriff's dept. Five other women have come forward with the same complaints.

Plus there was the 3 teen girls that were strip searched at a juvenile detention facility "tour".
I called and talked to the county prosecutors office at the end of Dec. Once I found out the sheriff's dept "investigation" was done.
I was asking of any criminal charges had been brought against anyone for the three teens that were strip searched.

And of course there were none. Surprise!

I asked how that could be since when I called Richard DeHeer he had said that there was not a policy to strip kids on a tour and there had NEVER been a policy like that.

She wasn’t sure, only that the counties insurance was negotiating with the lawyers.

Why that would have anything to do with the criminal charges is beyond me.

And it >IS< a prosecutable offense.
And of course we all know WHY it is NOT being prosecuted.

Its because in this case chit would roll UPHILL. If they go after the guards, then the guards are gonna blow the whistle on the bosses that approved the protocol in the first place. (The one they claimed NEVER existed, even though the papers had already quoted them as saying it was approved.)

Claiming they had a brain fart, probably wouldn't be a good defense.

John4433
04-09-2009, 05:32 AM
Been a while since the last post on this. I have been looking into this since it went national. You would not believe what I have run into, but to tell anyone I would have to write a book!

I acquired Steffey’s “trial” transcripts, I put trial in quotes because if you can call a kangaroo court a trial, then thats what it was. The only thing I can guess is that the jury was sleeping through the whole thing, or that they believed EVERYTHING the cop said and NOTHING Steffey or the witnesses said.
Even when the cops testimony made no sense.

The sheriff’s dept has ALWAYS maintained that Steffey was given a chance to remover her cloths and refused.
I have their OWN documentation that proves this is a LIE.
This same documentation also seems to mention the beginning of the strip video, the part that police claims was “missing” and then during the grand jury investigation became “NON-existent".

Except that I had already contacted the sheriff’s dept in May and they said that the “missing” video would soon be released. They NEVER denied THEN that it was non-existent.

It was only later that they wanted people to believe that the camera was not functioning, BUT THEN, just as they force Steffey to the bunk to strip her, it starts working again!!

Yeah, is anyone else’s electronic stuff able to “heal” itself, and JUST at the right time??
Steffey’s lawsuit date has been changed at least three time that I know of, and is now set for July. I have also been told that the county insurance company is negotiating with Steffey’s lawyers.

You can bet that this will NEVER go to a trial, there is NO WAY the cops can let this get that far. Other wise they’d have to answer all the unanswered questions and come up with better excuses as to why everything was done as it was. Plus they might end up in jail….as they might anyway, since the FBI is investigating this now too.

Yup, I could write a book!!

John4433
04-09-2009, 06:22 AM
Heres some Cut & Paste from other posts:

BTW Steffy also testified in court that she went to a hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion.

Symptoms of a concussion include:
• Passing out.
• Not being able to remember what happened after the injury.
• Acting confused, asking the same question over and over, slurring words, or not being able to concentrate.
• Feeling lightheaded, seeing "stars," having blurry vision, or experiencing ringing in the ears.
• Not being able to stand or walk; or having coordination and balance problems.
• Feeling nauseous or throwing up.

I have looked at the Steffy/Nurse interview. This is where they claim she said she was suicidal.
This ‘video’ is unintelligible except for a few seconds, when the nurse asks Steffy a couple questions and she answers.
I have to think that the paper HAD to edit this video, because the sheriff’s dept is bemoaning for MONTHS that WKYC had just released portions of the stripvideo.

The only difference is that WKYC edited out the WORST portions of the strip video! They edited out BOTH pieces when the men were removing clothing, and they also removed the piece of video that shows the camera operator when she took the camera off of Steffy.

On other YouTube videos of this nature, the only time they move the camera off is when the operator knows the cops are doing something that they could get in trouble for.

Steffy is stripped in 3 min 20 seconds, but it takes almost another minute for them to change a mat!?!?
Right, but WHY were the men crossing Steffy’s legs and then forcing them up against her butt, after she’s stripped naked?? And then the guy at her feet is telling her to "quit resisting"....quit resisting WHAT?!?! She's already naked!!

With the camera swinging away, I guess its just more “missing” video.

Anyway I hope Swanson isn’t using that HIGHLY edited video to sway public opinion, let alone try to introduce it at Steffy’s lawsuit!

BTW I called and asked for an UNEDITED copy of this video, to "enhance" the whole thing. I told them I was going to show it up for the "manufactured" evidence it was.
They claimed they couldn't release it, because it was medical info. Except that THEY had ALREADY released their highly edited & enhanced copy to the press!!
I have now written a formal Freedom of Info request for this video/audio tape, lets see if that does any good.

And I love when the cops say they HAD to traumatize someone for life for “safety” reasons.
YES, of course there is NO other solution than that, no restraint chairs, no medication, heck there’s not even an actual doctor there.
He diagnoses and prescribes OVER THE PHONE!! When’s the last time YOUR doc would diagnose you and prescribe for you over the phone?
Sounds like malpractice for SURE and probably criminal charges too.

As for the "safety" claims for doing this to people, try going here: http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/mr020219.htm

A prisoner had been there TWENTY SIX times and NEVER exhibited ANY suicidal tendencies....UNTIL he too was placed on suicide watch, then he killed himself!!

So the sheriff's policies are not only getting lawsuits, they are contributing to the deaths of prisoners?
And the sheriff CONTINUES these polices!?!?!

Will they be charged with murder the next time they drive a prisoner to take their life?

And that doesn't sound like too safe a "policy" to have, since they claim the deputies have gotten death threats.
Will deputies be safer when they go to someone’s house after the people have seen what happens to crime VICTIMS?
When deputies have to investigate crimes, will people be more willing to help after seeing this?
Probably not, so the streets wouldn’t be safer either for ANYONE.
And since this has been on national news, it not only makes YOUR local police less safe, it also puts MY friends & relation at more risk!


I was calling the State Atty General's, back in May, trying to find the name & contact info of the investigators, and they told me to contact the sheriff's dept to find out.
So I called the sheriffs, and AGAIN he wasn’t available, so I asked the secretary for the investigators of the Hope Steffy case.
She told me that they knew of NO ONE investigating. (I asked again to be sure she understood me.)

So I called the State Atty General’s office again and was AGAIN told to get a hold of Stark county.
So this time I called the head of the Stark County jail, Mike McDonald, and he ALSO claimed to know of NO ONE investigating.

They didn't know why I wanted to contact the investigators, only that it was in connection with the Hope Steffy case.

I COULD have been an informer, maybe someone in the next cell that night wanting to come forward with my story.

Just makes me wonder how many others may have gotten sandbagged trying to contact the investigators and what other evidence never made it to the Grand Jury!?

A couple weeks later the papers report the "investigation is over and name the people involved.

When I finally talked to Paul Scarsella and told him that the sheriff's secretary and head jailer denied knowing anyone investigating, he pointed out the obvious, THEY were the ones that requested the investigation.

I’d like to meet Swanson once just to tell him what I think of him. The only problem is I don’t think I could shower long enough, or scrub hard enough to get his stench off of me afterwards.

Kraig
04-09-2009, 07:04 AM
There is no justice in the courts for these thugs.

John4433
04-09-2009, 08:40 AM
There is no justice in the courts for these thugs.

I don't see how Swanson got re-elected last November, DANG! The guy is named in a half dozen lawsuits.

Sheriff Swanson named in lawsuits:

http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=Timothy+A.+Swanson&search=Search&stateorcourt=court-ohndce&lawsuittype=&documentfilter=allcases&cases=mostrecent&min-day=1&min-month=1&min-year=2004&max-day=3&max-month=12&max-year=2008


BTW that link I had to the sheriff's web page had been taken down and was left blank for months, as soon as I pointed out that it may have contributed to the deaths of inmates.

Then I posted a saved copy of it, to show him it wasn't REALLY gone! LoL

So they went ahead and put it back up!! Hhahahhahahha

Don't know how many of these links are still good:

Hope Steffy stripped by Stark County and left naked for hours
http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=53707&sid=82447&bw=hi&cat=2

The Second Hope Steffy tape:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRhyiXJ91CQ&feature=related

Four more women come forward in Hope Steffy case:
http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=84243&provider=gnews

May6-Fifth Woman Comes forward in Steffy case
http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=88666

State AG to investigate Steffy abuse
http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?sid=82866&aid=54225

Link to Steffy’s lawsuit:
http://pamelahennessy.com/steffey.pdf

CBS news analyzes Police abuse tapes:
http://search.cbsnews.com/?source=cbs&q=Hope+Steffy&x=0&y=0

Link to ALL WKYC News videos of Hope Steffy
http://search.wkyc.com/sp?aff=100&keywords=Hope+Steffey&submit=Go

Teen Girls Strip Searched:
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=373098&Category=15&subCategoryID=0

Link to Stark county Sheriff’s webpage that states they have not found a weapon in YEARS with strip searches. (this one is still gone, since I pointed it out on a local posting)
http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/jail-facts.htm#health

Link to Sheriff’s webpage that suggests that his policies are causing deaths (This is the one that was missing for a few months)
http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/mr020219.htm

Valentina Dyshko

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=84243&provider=gnews