Maypearl Police Chief Kevin Coffey Resigns Following Charges in Child Sex Case

Maypearl Police Chief Kevin Coffey

Kevin Coffey Arrest Photo

Waxahachie, Texas

According to Ellis County jail records, ex-Maypearl police Chief Kevin Coffey is behind bars and being held on $350,000 bond.

The Maypearl City Council gathered on Saturday, intending to fire the 49-year-old Coffey, but instead accepted his resignation.

Coffey was arrested and taken into custody on Wednesday, charged with sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child by exposure, indecency with a child by sexual contact and sexual performance by a child.

Coffey was put on administrative leave with pay July 13 after searches of his home and the police station. Investigators say the girl is now 16.

Maypearl is a town of about 900, located 30 miles southwest of Dallas.

Weslaco Cop Adan Sanchez Busted for Soliciting a Prostitute

Lt. Adan Sanchez Mug

Weslaco, Texas

A South Texas police officer is out of jail after being arrested for soliciting a prostitute, according to media reports.

Weslaco Police Lt. Adan Sanchez, 54, was arrested Wednesday evening after McAllen police said he solicited a woman for sex in exchange for money,  spokesman Lt. Joel Morales told The McAllen Monitor.

According to the Weslaco Police Chief, Sanchez has been placed on administrative leave with pay during the investigation.

Prosecutors: Texas Deputy Ronald Bailey Put Knife to Son's Throat

Ronald Bailey Mug

San Antonio, Texas

A sheriff’s deputy in South Texas is drawing media attention after being accused of putting a kitchen knife to his son's throat to quiet the boy.

Bexar County sheriff's Deputy Ronald Bailey has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. After turning himself in on Thursday, the deputy is free on $25,000 bond and has been placed on administrative leave.

According to prosecutors, Bailey was indicted Wednesday over the incident, which happened at his home in San Antonio in September. The deputy allegedly threatened to cut his son's throat if the boy didn't be quiet. The child wasn't hurt but told police he thought his father would kill him.

The children had been staying with Bailey for the weekend.

Bailey’s attorney has declined to comment on the charge.

Trigger-Happy South Carolina Cop Michael Slager Indicted for Murdering Walter Scott

Charleston, South Carolina

Some good news is coming out of South Carolina, in a case involving a bad cop, an unarmed man, and an outcry for justice.

Michael Slager, 33, has been indicted by a grand jury for murdering Walter Scott back in April.

"I think the people of the 9th circuit elected me to be accountable to them, and that’s what we intend to do," Charleston County Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said during a news conference following the announcement of the indictment Monday. "They have to know they have someone prosecuting the case who is accountable to them."

Scott’s death gained national attention to the already growing tensions over police use of force against unarmed black citizens, particularly after Feidin Santana’s eyewitness video of the encounter surfaced and contradicted initial police reports that Scott had grabbed Slager’s stun gun.

The encounter between Slager and Scott started with a minor traffic stop on the morning of April 4, when Slager pulled Scott over for a broken tail light. According to dash cam video of the stop, Scott provided his license but explained he does not have registration or insurance information for the vehicle because he was in the process of buying the car.

After a brief exchange, Slager walked back to his squad car with Scott’s license while Scott and his passenger, Pierre D. Fulton, waited. Scott attempted to exit his vehicle but was ordered back inside by Slager.

Moments later, Scott opened the door again, and ran away. Slager chased him, and ultimately fired his stun gun on Scott, according to the incident report.

Slager then fired several shots with his gun as Scott was running away. Scott suffered five gunshot wounds, and officially died from gunshot wounds to the back.

Rodney, Scott's younger brother, shared the family's reaction to the indictment.

“This morning, the grand jury made the decision to indict Mr. Slager for murder, and we’re very pleased and happy about that,” he said.

Miami-Dade Police Officer Emil Van Lugo Caught Stealing Gas for Wife’s BMW

Miami, Florida

Veteran Miami-Dade police officer Emil Van Lugo looks pretty good on camera, using a county pump to fill up his police cruiser and then his personal gas can. However, the bad news for him is that the video was being recorded by undercover detectives and it’s the personal gas can that caused a stink.

What caused an even bigger stink is where the gas can was headed. You guessed it, to the officer’s home and into the tank of his wife’s BMW.

According to authorities, Lugo did this from January through March of this year.

An investigation was launched by Miami-Dade police and the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office after computer records tracing the amount of fuel consumed appeared to exceed the miles driven by his police-issued vehicle.

"It is a shame that a veteran police officer would go out of his way to steal from Miami-Dade County just to save a few dollars on gasoline," State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. "A police officer, who would sell his good name and his integrity just to put gas into his wife's car, tarnishes the reputation of every good officer on the force. I applaud the actions of the Miami-Dade Police Department to investigate and correct this theft problem."

"Integrity is the foundation of the Miami-Dade Police Department, and it is imperative that we maintain the community’s trust," Miami-Dade Police Director J.D. Patterson said. "Anytime one of our officers tarnishes the badge, we will hold them accountable to the law, in order to not jeopardize that trust."

Lugo is being held in jail in lieu of a $10,000 bond.

Six Baltimore Police Officers Face Charges in the Death of Freddie Gray

Baltimore, Maryland

If you have been following the situation in Baltimore, after a young black man suffered a critical neck injury in the back of a police van, the moment everyone has been waiting for has arrived.

The city’s chief prosecutor has charged one police officer with murder and five others with lesser crimes in the death of Freddie Gray. This case, along with others from around the country, has fueled new anger over police conduct in black communities.

Many were caught by surprise, when Marilyn Mosby announced the swift decision. Mosby has only been in the prosecutor’s seat since January. Baltimore has experienced its worst civil unrest in decades since the death of Freddie Gray.

Mosby’s decision to charge the officers came just hours after the Maryland state medical examiner had ruled the death a homicide, and a day after police handed her office the findings of its internal review of Gray's April 12 arrest.

Caesar R. Goodson Jr., a black officer who drove the police van, received the most severe charge -- second-degree murder, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

All six officers - three black and three white, five men and one woman - posted bond after their arrest Friday and were released from custody. Their union rose to their defense.

Mosby, a 35-year-old African American, whose family includes generations of law enforcement officers, rejected the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police Union's call for a special prosecutor.

Rioters burned buildings and looted stores in Baltimore on Monday night after Gray's funeral, and protests spread to other major cities in a reprise of demonstrations set off by police killings last year of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, New York and elsewhere.

Gray, 25, sustained his fatal injury while riding in a police van, the prosecutor said, citing the autopsy report. Gray succumbed to his spinal injuries in a hospital on April 19.

Officers cuffed Gray's hands behind his back and shackled his legs but did not secure him with a seat belt while the van was moving, a violation of police department policy, Mosby said. Then, with "depraved indifference," officers ignored Gray's repeated pleas for medical attention, she said.

"To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for 'no justice, no peace.' Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man," Mosby said at a news conference that quickly changed the tone in the city.

The attorney for Gray's family, William H. “Billy” Murphy, said the family was shocked. However, he said "it was a good shock that justice had been approached in this forthright and courageous manner by this prosecutor."

Apart from the one murder charge, the officers faced charges ranging from manslaughter to assault and misconduct in office, which carry potential prison terms of between three and 10 years.

Goodson also faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter, as do three others: Sgt. Alicia D. White, Officer William G. Porter and Lt. Brian Rice. All six, including Officer Edward M. Nero and Officer Garrett E. Miller, face lesser charges.

Is California Cop Aaron Stringer a Necrophiliac?

Senior Police Officer Aaron Stringer

Bakersfield, California

The Bakersfield Police Department issued a statement on Monday, indicating that senor officer Aaron Stringer has been placed on paid administrative leave. Of course, the statement was vague in terms of the details, but we now know the rather sickening details.

Stringer, according to the statement, “manipulated,” or improperly touched the body of Ramiro Villegas inside a hospital room last November, one day after he had been shot by police.

The Bakersfield Californian newspaper reported on Friday that he pretended to tickle Villegas' feet and tried to pry-open his mouth.

The newspaper, citing reports it obtained from the department, said he told another officer at the hospital that he "loves playing with dead bodies," before laughing.

The Californian said Stringer was not permitted by the county coroner's office to touch the body. It quoted the department's reports as saying he declined to comment on the allegations and had hired an attorney.

According to police, officers shot Villegas dead the night of Nov. 13, following a brief high-speed pursuit, when he got out of his car and "aggressively" approached officers before he "reached towards his front waistband."

No weapon was found at the scene.

In February, the Kern County District Attorney's Office declined to bring criminal charges in the case, the statement said.