In The News

Prosecutor Accused In Sex Case

A Maricopa County deputy attorney who prosecutes juveniles,
was arrested Thursday and accused of sexually exploiting
minors on the Internet and of having sexual relations
with two teen age boys

Christopher Shank, 35, of Phoenix, faces 8 counts of
Sexuall exploitaion of a minor.

One of the reported victims is a 17 year old boy
that Shank was to prosecute, Trombi said.
We are being told there was physcial contact,
Trombi said.

The secound allegation involved a 16 year old boy
whom Shank met on the internet.
Sheriff  Joe Arpaio told Trombi that this might
just be the tip of the ice berg!

As police first told the story, a young gang member
named Javier Francisco Ovando burst through the
door of a run-down apartment here Three years
ago, brandishing an assault weapon at two members
of an (elite) anti-gang force of Los Angeles police
officers on a stakeout.
Startled, the officers shouted "Police" and ordered
Ovando to drop his weapon, "Then opened fire"
"Or So They Said"
NOW, in a scandal roiling this city, one of the
LAPD's own has told investigators that Ovando
"Had No Gun"
That police shot him anyway and then planted
a gun on him to make it look good.
Then they framed him.
Then they "lied under oath" and watched as
an innocent man
Disabled and in a wheelchair
as a result of Their bullets- was tried,
convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Since the extraordinary allegations came to light
a week ago, at least a dozen officers in these
"elite"gang-fighting squads have become targets
of a widening corruption probe that
Mayor Richard Riordan said is casting a
"dark shadow" over the LAPD.
So far, 11 LAPD officers have been relieved
of duty pending the investigation and one
has been fired. In addition, one officer was
found guilty of robbing a bank and another
of stealing eight pounds of cocaine from
a department lockup.
In the wake of the revelations, Ovando was
freed from prison last week after prosecutors
concluded that police had lied under oath about
the whole episode!!!

Police Dept. Routinely Drops Cases of
Officer Misconduct, Report Says
By Kevin Flynn
Hundreds of New York City police officers
found to have engaged in misconduct by an
independent review board escaped punishment
when their cases were summarily dismissed
by the Police Department without further
investigation, according to a review of
disciplinary  files by the city's
Public Advocate's office.

The report is based upon an examination of
police misconduct files that the public advocate,
Mark Green, obtained after suing the city.
The report accuses the Police Department of
routinely dropping civilian complaint cases--
citing a lack of evidence--without ever
interviewing victims or witnesses, or making
any other efforts to examine the strength ot
the evidence.

In one case, the report said, the department
failed to discipline officers
accused of hitting and pushing two Brooklyn
high school athletes during track practice
even though the students' account was
supported by medical evidence and
corroborated by their coach.

In another case, the report said, the
department dismissed charges against
an officer accused of beating a motorist
during a traffic stop in Manhattan even though
the motorist's account was corroborated by
a witness and the review board found the
officers' versions of the incident
"materially inconsistent."

I would be the first to agree that not all officers are
bad or corrupt. There are some officers in
the town I live in that are friends of mine
whom I have a great deal of respect for.

I have noticed one big difference between the
officers that caused my family so much harm,
and the officers that are friends of mine that
work right along side of them.

The officers that are friends of mine,
Have respect for themselves,
there jobs, and the citizens of
the community they serve and protect.

This Page Last Updated 2/21/2001