Free Republic

MOUNTAIN CITY, TN (WBIR) - A Tennessee police officer has been fired after displaying heavy force in an attempt to rid a Dollar General Store of a squirrel. The incident occurred last Thursday in Mountain City, when according to police documents, now-former Officer Jody Putnam found himself at the right place at the right time. Or the wrong place at the wrong time. Documents state that Putnam happened to be inside the Dollar General Store at the same time employees noticed a squirrel. That's when Putnam sprang into action, discharging his firearm at the squirrel inside the store. Unsuccessful, he...

BERKELEY, CA -- A truck driver was beaten within an inch of his life by California Highway Patrol for not signing a traffic ticket that he could not read. The driver, who broke no laws, was beaten so badly that he woke up in a trauma hospital. Olegs Kozacenko, a local resident originally from Russia, was pulled over and cited by police for allegedly driving too many hours in one day. Kozacenko refused to sign the ticket because he had not or could not read it. CHP Officers didn't take kindly to the driver's refusal to sign. Two officers, one...

According to a law enforcement official close to the investigation, Jovan Belcher was out "partying" the night before he shot Kasandra Perkins. He had been with a woman in the Power and Light District, an area of bars in downtown Kansas City. Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/nfl/12/03/jovan-belcher-case-new-information/index.html#ixzz2E3c2estg

CANTON — Fired police officer Daniel Harless could get his job back if he gets medical clearance to return to work. An arbitrator hearing Harless’ appeal ruled in the former patrolman’s favor. The 15-page ruling was dated Saturday and released by the city Wednesday. Harless’ attorney indicated his client is unlikely to seek his old job, at least for now. He has been receiving workers’ compensation and has applied for a disability retirement pension. But Harless now has the right to be back on the job, according to arbitrator Harry Graham. PAST VIDEOS ON HARLESS: • VIDEO: Canton officer threatens...

NFL legend Junior Seau was found dead in his home in Oceanside, CA ... and a law enforcement source at the scene tells us cops believe he shot himself. Seau was 43-years-old ... and leaves behind 3 kids and an ex-wife. Cops are currently at Seau's home -- located in San Diego County -- and were seen talking with a man who was inside the house and appeared distraught.

A police officer has been fired after allegedly losing his temper at a cook-off and throwing a tear gas grenade at a rival team - many of whom were military amputees. Mike Hamby, 52, could face criminal charges for the drunken attack, which happened at this year's Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo BBQ Cook-Off in Texas. Several members of the team were left vomiting and with burning eyes after Hamby, an officer with 30 years service, allegedly flung a military-style 'clear-out' grenade into their tent. Hamby, who was off-duty, had been drinking before the incident in February, according to police...

King County has settled with the family of a man who was severely injured by sheriff's deputies in 2009 for $10 million. Christopher Sean Harris, from Edmonds, suffered permanent brain damage when he was tackled by deputies in May 2009. Harris' family filed a civil lawsuit against King County, claiming deputies used unnecessary force when they arrested him after a chase, knocking his head into a wall. John Cobb, the senior prosecutor on the case for the county, confirmed the settlement five days after the civil trial began on January 20. The settlement is believed to be the largest of...

NEW YORK – Serena Williams faces an anxious wait to see if she is to be banned from future Grand Slam tournaments following her controversial outburst at the U.S. Open. Williams was levied with a $10,000 fine by the U.S. Open for unsportsmanlike conduct on Sunday for her foul-mouthed tirade at a line judge the night before, as she slumped to a semifinals defeat to Kim Clijsters. The fine was the maximum possible at this stage. An additional $500 fine for racket abuse was also imposed by tournament referee Brian Earley, but those on-site punishments could be just the tip...

This was the dramatic moment when Serena Williams screamed her way out of the U.S. Open. TV viewers around the world saw the irate Wimbledon champion launch a threatening, profanity-laced tirade at a female line judge after being called for a foot fault. 'If I could, I would take this f****** ball and shove it down your f****** throat,' she reportedly said. The diminutive lineswoman reported her words to the umpire, who called in the tournament referee at Flushing Meadows in New York. With the crowd booing, Miss Williams could be heard on the court microphone pleading with the lineswoman,...

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Chargers star outside linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested Sunday and accused of choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV star Tila Tequila, as she tried to leave his suburban home.

SAN DIEGO (AP)—San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman(notes) was arrested Sunday and accused of choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV star Tila Tequila, as she tried to leave his Southern California home. Tequila, 27, signed a citizen’s arrest warrant, charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment, San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Steadman said. Deputies responded about 3:45 a.m. to Merriman’s house in Poway, north of San Diego, after a woman called to say she was choked by the player and physically restrained when she had tried to leave, according to a Sheriff’s Department statement.

I would welcome fellow Freeper input on an exchange I had with the police last night. First a little background. I've got 20 years in the military, started out my life giving police officers a great deal of respect and knee jerking to their defense. Over the course of years, however, I've lost a lot of respect for the police via watching continual police traffic violations, watching unprofessional behavior and seeing shows of petty tyranny over their fellow citizens. Although I'd still like to be wholeheartedly pro-law and think the way to get respectable enforcement officers is to demand professionalism,...

Cop taped beating Chicago bartender gets probation By DON BABWIN Associated Press Writer CHICAGO (AP) -- An off-duty Chicago police officer convicted of pummeling a female bartender half his size was sentenced Tuesday to two years probation and anger management classes for the videotaped attack that appeared worldwide on the Internet and cable news channels.

San Diego police Officer Frank White was found not guilty yesterday of criminal charges resulting from the shooting and wounding of a mother and her young son during a road-rage incident last year. A Vista Superior Court jury acquitted White, 29, of a felony count of grossly negligent discharge of a firearm and a misdemeanor count of exhibiting a firearm. White showed little emotion as the verdicts were read about 4 p.m., but after the jury left the courtroom, he bear-hugged his attorney, Rick Pinckard, then his wife, Jacquellyn.

Keovongsa Siharath was arrested in Henry County on charges he punched his stepfather. Jeffrey Churchill was charged with assault in an altercation with a woman in a mall parking lot. All three are now officers with the Atlanta Police Department. More than one-third of recent Atlanta Police Academy graduates have been arrested or cited for a crime, according to a review of their job applications. The arrests ranged from minor offenses such as shoplifting to violent charges including assault. More than one-third of the officers had been rejected by other law enforcement agencies, and more than half of the recruits...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A police lieutenant in Daytona Beach was fired over accusations that he threatened slower emergency response times if he was not given complimentary specialty Starbucks coffee drinks. An internal police investigation found that Daytona Lt. Major Garvin received free coffee for about two years from a city Starbucks coffee store. However, when recently denied free coffee from new management, Garvin allegedly told managers that he could change the police department's response time if they refuse to give him complimentary drinks. Garvin is accused of saying, "If something happens, either we can respond really fast or we...

Plano, Texas (AP) -- A convicted steroids dealer who recently met with NFL security officials and gave them names of players he said bought steroids from him was found shot to death in his home Thursday, police said. Early Thursday morning, Plano police made a welfare check and found 35-year-old David Jacobs and 30-year-old Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell dead. Police said both had been shot to death. Police spokesman Rick McDonald said the officers were making a welfare check after relatives of Earhart-Savell expressed concern about her whereabouts. Plano detectives aren't releasing information about whether the deaths were a double homicide...

Associated Press A state police academy leader has disavowed the slogan of the most recent graduating class urging one another to "go out and cause" post-traumatic stress disorder. Each class at the Idaho Police Officer Standards and Training Academy is allowed to choose a slogan that is printed on its graduation programs, and the class of 43 graduates came up with "Don't suffer from PTSD, go out and cause it." According to the Veterans Association, tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers suffer from PTSD, which causes nightmares, flashbacks and physical symptoms that make sufferers feel as if they are reliving...

Barry Bonds is being shafted by the legal system. His case is, sadly, part of a pattern of judicial abuse, the stretching of the law like rubber to allow prosecutors to go after unpopular figures in business, politics and, now, sports. The indictment recently returned against him could have been rendered years ago. Why now? Because this season Bonds, an ill-tempered, arrogant, disliked athlete, broke the record for lifetime home runs. Had he not set a new record or had he been a friendly figure beloved by the fans, prosecutors would never have touched him...

NEW YORK (AP) - A day after Barry Bonds called him a "little midget man who knows (nothing) about baseball," broadcaster Bob Costas said he wasn't upset with the San Francisco Giants slugger and responded with a jab of his own. "As anyone can plainly see, I'm 5-6 1/2 and a strapping 150, and unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally," Costas said Thursday in a telephone interview. On this week's edition of HBO's "Costas Now," commissioner Bud Selig, Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and chemist Patrick Arnold discussed Bonds, his pursuit of Hank Aaron's home...