San Antonio Cop Flipped Cruiser While Drunk: Probation and 3-Day Jail Sentence

San Antonio Police Officer Winder Morales

San Antonio, Texas

Winder Morales, a San Antonio police officer, was given a sentence of 3-days in jail as a condition of probation.

Morales ended up on the wrong side of the law, after flipping his cruiser while driving home drunk from a barbecue. A jury convicted the 34-year old police officer in April. He was originally facing up to six months behind bars for the Class B misdemeanor DWI charge.

Morales resigned from the department in January 2010, two months after the early morning wreck. He refused breath and blood tests at the scene but was found to have a blood alcohol level of .08 after a warrant was obtained to take his blood 5½ hours later.

The Prosecutor argued during the brief hearing Wednesday that Morales doesn't deserve probation because he violated a position of trust and put the public's safety at risk.

“We have a law enforcement officer in a taxpayer-paid-for vehicle,” Ybarra said. “He crashed that vehicle after a night of drinking, then throughout the investigation he lied about it.”

This latest incident follows an earlier wreck in which Morales was responding to a call in a police cruiser and ran a red light, killing Cibolo resident Rodney Brandenberger. A grand jury declined to indict him for that incident.

“One more time I think he beat the justice system,” Brandenberger's mother, Cindy Merrill, said of Wednesday's sentencing. She watched the proceedings with a representative from Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
She predicted she will see Morales in court again.

“I have faith in him,” she said. “He is a reckless person.”

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Slaton Police Officer Facing Child Porn Charges

Richard Lee Lewis

Lubbock, Texas

A West Texas police officer, who recently resigned after federal authorities searched computers at his home and work, is facing charges of possession of child pornography.

Richard Lee Lewis, 50, surrendered to federal authorities Monday and was freed on his own recognizance the same day following an appearance in federal court. He is scheduled to be arraigned June 1.

Until last month, Lewis was a police officer in Slaton (near Lubbock). According to investigators, he had been with the department for about 10 years.

According to court documents, federal agents seized three computers, 80 CDs and 10 VHS tapes from Lewis' home on May 11.

Lewis, a divorced father with daughters and granddaughters, resigned a day after the items were seized.

The Chief of Police in Slaton, Royce Goodson, said he was shocked when he learned about the investigation. "It was not only a shock to me but the other officers with the department as well," he said.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Lewis was at his house when the search was done and waived his rights after being advised of them. He admitted downloading and viewing pornographic images and videos but told federal investigators he usually deleted the sexually explicit material after looking at it, the affidavit states.

As part of the conditions of his release Lewis is not to leave the U.S. attorney's office jurisdiction in North Texas, and must get mental health counseling and wear a monitoring device, according to court documents.

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Houston Police Union Retaliates Against Medical Examiner Who Testified Police Officer Caused Death

Police union says she's biased against officer

Houston, Texas

An investigation has been sparked by the Houston Police Officers Union, against a medical examiner who gave questionable findings in a recent trial of an off-duty officer acquitted of killing a bar patron.

Executive Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard confirmed his office is investigating the complaint against assistant medical examiner Dr. Mary Anzalone. The union says the doctor's diagnosis that veteran officer Tommy L. Harris caused the victim's death by briefly placing him in a bear hug was not supported by the evidence and was disputed by another medical expert.

Police Officers Union President Gary Blankinship said he believes Anzalone should be fired.

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Dwayne Wolf stood firmly behind Anzalone's findings on Thursday, noting they were reviewed and confirmed by a dozen pathologists in the office and he co-signed the autopsy report.

"We went back and reviewed the case, looked over the police investigations and the autopsy findings," Wolf said. "I've gone through this case. There's nothing wrong with the autopsy report. There's nothing wrong with the way she determined the manner and cause of death."

3 La Marque Cops Sued for Wrongful Death: Allegedly Beat & Used Tasers on Victim Seeking Help for Chest Pains

Galveston, Texas

Joslynn Terrell, Angela Butler and Crystal Truitt pursue legal action in response to the 2009 death of a La Marque man reportedly at the hands of police.

A lawsuit filed May 16 in federal court alleges the late Jamaal R. Valentine sought medical attention for an apparent heart attack only to be met and beaten by three La Marque police officers.

It further claims one of the officers used a Taser, manufactured by Taser International Inc., on Valentine more than once despite the decedent not showing any signs of resistance. Valentine later succumbed to his reported injuries.

The city of La Marque, former police chief Richard Price, Taser International and officers Richard Garcia, Forest Gandy and Mike Keleman are defendants in the case.

Recent court documents explain that the decedent began to feel chest pains the evening of May 16, 2009, and went outside to get some air. He thought was he was suffering a heart attack so he flagged down a passing motorist for help, they say.

The driver, Keith Pope, called 911 and subsequently remained with Valentine until emergency responders arrived.

The plaintiffs argue that Garcia, Gandy and Keleman appeared instead of paramedics.

They allegedly drew their weapons on Valentine and instructed him to put his hands behind his back, disregarding his need for medical attention, the suit says.

According to the original petition, the policemen proceeded to punch, Taser and beat the decedent with their flashlights. Valentine was reported to have pleaded for his life to no avail.

The attacks in question left him with a "significant" gash in his scalp and labored breathing. An ambulance finally arrived some 30 minutes after the initial call, however, 20 minutes passed before paramedics lent assistance to Valentine, the plaintiffs say.

The decedent was rushed to a hospital in Houston, but the ambulance was rerouted to Mainland Medical Center in Texas City when he went into cardiac arrest. Valentine was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.

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Bexar County Deputy Jailed for Delivering ‘Heroin Tacos’ to Prison

Bexar County Deputy Robert Falcon

Bexar County, Texas

A Texas police officer has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 6-years in prison for attempting to give a prisoner a cache of heroin concealed in a delivery of tacos.

The investigation into Robert Falcon, 48, of the Bexar County Sheriff's Department ended with a sting operation that found him in possession of a heroin-substitute he believed to be the actual drug.

Officers were tipped off to Falcon's activities last June, after discovering a note in a prisoner's cell that outlined a plan to smuggle heroin into the correctional facility. Falcon's address was reportedly on the note.

Officers dropped off a cache of fake drugs, money and taco ingredients at Falcon's house, then observed as he took the fake heroin to the jail, wrapped up inside the food.

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Austin Police Department Fires Officer, Suspends Others After Drinking On The Job and Patrol Car Wreck

Austin, Texas

One Austin police officer is now off the job and six others temporarily suspended due to their involvement in a party that resulted in an unmarked police cruiser being wrecked.

Officer Michael Hamilton was fired following an accident that happened in the early morning hours of December 3, 2010. Six other officers received temporary suspensions ranging from five to 15 days.

The news came after an Austin police disciplinary panel heard serious allegations Thursday about an Austin SWAT team officer who is charged with DWI, and six fellow officers who were accused of violating department policy by drinking while on-call.

It was Hamilton's mangled police car that sparked the investigation into seven members of the Austin police SWAT team. On the night of Dec. 3, Hamilton was on call and allegedly drinking at a party before he left in an unmarked police car. Minutes later, Hamilton hit a curb, flipping the car and sending it into a ditch off Old Convict Road in South Austin.

Less than a week after Hamilton's wreck, news broke he may not have been the only one drinking. An internal investigation began to look at what at least six other members of Austin's SWAT team were doing when Hamilton left the party.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo used Hamilton's wrecked car to send a message. He parked it in front of SWAT headquarters for officers to see.

Four of the officers involved have been reassigned outside of SWAT.

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Sugar Land Police Officer Accused of Fictitious Police Report

Woman Claims Police Report is Work of Fiction: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Sugar Land, Texas

A woman is arrested and charged with aggravated assault against a police officer. The details against her are disturbing and violent, but are they true?

"We didn't do anything wrong and they put him (her 14-year-old son) on the ground and they had guns facing at him," said Yolanda Reed.

Reed is accused of running over a Sugar Land Police officer, with her son in the car, in the parking lot of Sugar Land Methodist Hospital on April 26.

Less than 2 weeks after being charged with aggravated assault on a public servant, Reed was no-billed by a grand jury: case closed, case thrown out.

Sugar Land Police confirm there is hospital surveillance video of the incident. Community activist Quanell X said the tape proves Reed did not do what the police report claims.

"I'm appalled by the actions and conduct of this police officer. The district attorney's office should open up an investigation into this officer for falsifying a government document," said Quanell X.

"This lady could have landed in prison over this. If the video tape doesn't confirm what the officer wrote, somebody's not telling the truth here. The videotape isn't lying. Somebody obviously looked at this and said there's absolutely no case here," FOX 26 Legal Analyst Chris Tritico said.

Sugar Land Police Chief Doug Brinkley said he will launch an investigation into the case if Yolanda Reed files a formal complaint.

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