They got another scum bag druggie off the streets
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/06/03/20090603misconduct0605.html?&wired
A A APrintEmailMost Popular Buzz up!.Mesa police chief says allegations tarnish department
60 commentsby Nathan Gonzalez - Jun. 4, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic .
Four Mesa police officers and a lieutenant are the subject of separate internal investigations, one of which involves an officer who is accused of flushing a 4-inch stillborn fetus down a motel-room toilet and one of which involves improper use of force against a handcuffed prisoner.
“These situations are very troubling to me, because they tarnish the police department,” Mesa Police Chief George Gascón said in a news conference Wednesday.
Saying he wanted to be “transparent” with the public, Gascón described how on Monday, a manager at the Motel 6 at 336 W. Hampton Ave. called 911 to report that a man was requesting towels because his girlfriend was miscarrying her 12- to 14-week-old fetus.
Three police officers and four EMS personnel responded to the scene. The mother was taken by medical personnel to a hospital, and her boyfriend was arrested on drug charges and having an outstanding warrant.
Gascón said there was some confusion among police and fire officials as to what to do with the fetus, which was wrapped in a paper towel.
According to those on scene, an officer “disposed of it by flushing the fetus down the toilet in the hotel room,” Gascón said. “What occurred here, I have never seen in my career. There is no question the fetus needed to be treated differently.”
The officers requested a supervisor on scene, but the lieutenant didn’t respond, Gascón said. Typically, the officers should have waited for a supervisor to determine whether the medical examiner needed to be called to handle the fetus.
The officers were identified as Kristen Johnson, Nicholas Webster, Robert Buquo and Glenn Pearson. The lieutenant was identified as Lynn Young. All of the officers were put on administrative reassignment, police said. That type of duty can include being sent home or working from a desk. Young remains on duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
Mesa Fire Assistant Chief Dan Stubbs said fire officials also were investigating the incident to determine whether any fire personnel acted improperly. The police department hasn’t said which officer is accused of flushing the fetus.
“We know there was a breakdown in communication; we want to figure out where that was,” Stubbs said.
Gascón also spoke of a second investigation involving a citizen complaint against Webster. That occurred on May 16 and was captured on videotape. Webster is accused of using improper force on a handcuffed inmate, identified as Sean Okoli, 21, whom Webster was transporting to jail on suspicion of urinating in public and jaywalking.
Jail surveillance video shows Webster escorting Okoli from the back seat of his police cruiser. The officer then grabs him from behind the neck and slams his head down onto the truck of the car and holds him there for several seconds. Webster the lifts the man from the car and slams him against a chain-link fence, where he’s held for several more seconds before a jail officer comes out.
The man filed a civil complaint May 19, which sparked an internal affairs investigation of Webster, who has been with the department five years.
Fabian Cota, president of the Mesa Police Association, said it’s important that the investigations are allowed to run their course before placing blame in either case. “There are so many missing pieces. It’s really premature to rush to judgment,” Cota said.
