Fort Worth Cop Maces Innocent Bikers

Fort Worth, Texas

This Fort Worth Asshole cop, with the last name of Figueroa, is having to explain this video. This could have easily ended with a deadly outcome as mace causes severe lacrimation and temporary blindness. Something you don't want to be experiencing while traveling 60 miles an hour down the highway on a motorcycle.

Texas Trooper Brian Encinia Indicted, Fired Over Sandra Bland Traffic Stop

Brian Encinia (Left)

Trooper Brian Encinia

Hempstead, Texas

The Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland after a questionable traffic stop last summer was fired on Wednesday after being charged with perjury for allegedly lying about his confrontation with Bland, who died three days later in jail.

In an affidavit, Trooper Brian Encinia claimed that Bland was "combative and uncooperative" after he pulled her over and ordered her out of her car. The grand jury pointed to that particular affidavit in charging Encinia with perjury, according to special prosecutor Shawn McDonald.

Hours after the indictment, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it would "begin termination proceedings" against Encinia, who has been on paid desk duty since Bland was found dead in her cell.

Bland's arrest and death, both of which authorities ruled a suicide, sparked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protesters pointed to the similarities of Bland to other black suspects who were killed in confrontations with police or died in police custody, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

Video of the stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, "I will light you up!" She can later be heard off-camera screaming that he's about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground.

Encinia's affidavit stated he "removed her from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation," but grand jurors "found that statement to be false," said McDonald, one of five special prosecutors appointed to investigate.

Bland was taken to the Waller County jail in Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. Three days later, she was found hanging from a jail cell partition with a plastic garbage bag around her neck. The grand jury has already declined to charge any sheriff's officials or jailers in her death.

The perjury charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Encinia was not immediately taken into custody, and an arraignment date has not yet been announced. Encinia could not immediately be reached for comment; a cellphone number for him was no longer working.

Bland's sister, Sharon Cooper, told The Associated Press that Encinia's indictment was "bittersweet." Encinia also faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland's family.

"We have always felt from the onset, from our viewing of the dashcam video, is what happened to Sandy was largely impacted by the fatal encounter that she had with Officer Encinia," Cooper said.

Cannon Lambert, an attorney for the family, said Encinia should have also been indicted for assault, battery or abuse of his official power.

"The public deserves accountability," Lambert said. "If you don't have public accountability, you don't have public trust. I want the public to be able to trust the police."

About two dozen protesters attended Wednesday's news conference where the indictment was announced. One protester's sign read, "Legalize black skin."

Speaking afterward, one protester, Jinaki Muhammad, called the misdemeanor charge "a slap in the face to the Bland family."

Encinia pulled Bland over on July 10 for making an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, where she had just interviewed and accepted a job. Dashcam video from Encinia's patrol car shows that the traffic stop quickly became confrontational.

The video shows the trooper drawing his stun gun after Bland refuses to get out of her car. Bland eventually steps out of the vehicle, and Encinia orders her to the side of the road. The confrontation continues off-camera but is still audible.

Encinia wrote in his affidavit that he had Bland exit the vehicle and handcuffed her after she became combative, and that she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his right shin. Encinia said he then used force "to subdue Bland to the ground," and she continued to fight back. He arrested her for assault on a public servant.

Another of Bland's sisters, Shante Needham, has said Bland called her from jail the day after her arrest, saying she'd been arrested but didn't know why, and that an officer had placed his knee in her back and injured her arm.

Her family has said they were working to get money for her bail when they learned of her death.

Cooper, her sister, said Wednesday that the family still has unanswered questions about what happened in the days before her death.

"Our family's grieving process is at a standstill," she said.

Texas DPS Trooper Christopher Champion Accused Of Propositioning Woman For Sex

Texas DPS Trooper Christopher Champion

San Antonio, Texas

A Texas state trooper accused of stopping a driver for speeding and offering her $300 to have sex with him, was freed on bond Tuesday after his arrest.

Bexar County magistrate records show Department of Public Safety Trooper Christopher Champion, 31, was charged with soliciting prostitution and official oppression after his arrest Monday night.

Online jail records don't list bond details or an attorney to speak for the trooper.

Investigators say the traffic stop happened in September.

The trooper is accused of using the woman's cellphone to text himself, to get her contact information, before she left without getting a ticket.

An arrest warrant says the woman contacted Texas Rangers, who recorded the conversation when she and the trooper spoke later.

The DPS said the trooper has been fired.

Former HPD Officer Accused of Sexual Assault of Child

Abel Diaz Rodriguez

Texas City, Texas

A former Houston police officer was arrested Monday and charged with sexual assault involving a child, according to the Texas City Police Department.

The former HPD officer has been identified as 54-year-old Abel Diaz Rodriguez, who is facing three counts of sexual assault of a child. Officials said he has bonds totaling $120,000 and will be transferred to the Galveston County Jail.

According to investigators, the charges are all related to one victim, who is 15 years old.

Texas City police said Rodriguez served in the Houston Police Department for 25 years. He has been retired for eight years.

Austin Police Excessive Force Caught on Cam; Family Assaulted, Dog Kicked

Austin, Texas

A recent arrest in Austin, Texas clearly demonstrates why police activities should definitely be videotaped.

Louis Aguilar was tased and beaten by Austin's finest. While the video doesn’t show why the police were called, it appears that a man was attempting to comply with officers and make his way outside. However, for the police officers, this wasn't good enough. They wanted to demonstrate their authority. They do this, as the video depicts, by showing three Austin police officers dragging Louis onto his porch and starting a fight with the entire family.

At first, only one officer who was hands on, but once the video gets rolling, a second officer shows up and begins to violently twist Aguilar’s arms. This is only made harder by the other officer already struggling with Louis. The third officer who shows up places his hands around the guys neck and pulls him by his head the rest of the way out of the door. Eventually he is taken to the ground, tased twice and punched. When the family members verbally protest the assault the cops begin to abuse them.

A younger brother steps in, after police tased his older brother. One of the cops slams him to the ground and shoves him into the wall.

While the younger brother is part of the abuse of power and excessive force, the family dog jumps in and bites the ankle of the officer who is attacking the younger brother. The tiny dog is kicked across the porch. The younger brother is taken to the ground and then the officer who was struggling with Louis punches him in the face, as Louis is saying “Please don’t do this”.

Well done, officers. Do you feel like real men now?

San Antonio Cop Jackie Len Neal Headed to Jail for Rape

San Antonio Police Officer and Accused Rapist Jackie Len Neal

San Antonio, Texas

A former San Antonio police officer will be spending 14 months in a state jail without parole after pleading no contest to improper sexual activity with a woman who accused him of raping her in his patrol car while on duty.

Jackie Len Neal was sentenced Monday under a plea agreement that also carries a $5,000 fine and a requirement that he surrender his state peace officer's certificate.

Neal was arrested in November 2013 on a sexual assault charge the day after a 19-year-old woman said she was raped during a traffic stop. He was fired the same day he was indicted in February 2014.

Neal also must pay a $2.1 civil judgment to the woman. Neal contends the sex was consensual.

Houston Police Officer Juan Carillo & Wife Charged With Transporting Illegal Immigrants

Credit: copblock.org

Big Wells, Texas

An officer with the Houston Police Department, along with his wife, has been charged with transporting illegal immigrants.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent arrested Juan Carillo, 51, and his wife, 42-year-old Rosa Carillo on Sunday, after the couple was pulled over in Big Wells.

Court documents reveal that Carillo admitted that his wife paid a coyote $1,500 to have two of their passengers smuggled across the Mexican border.

Carillo told border agents that he paid another $240 to have the illegal immigrants delivered to Eagle Pass.

The couple faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 each if convicted.

After their court appearance on Monday, Carillo and his wife were released after posting $10,000 bonds.

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this case along with the U.S. Border Patrol.

Carillo is a 21-year-old veteran of HPD who works in the Southeast Patrol Unit.