PINAC News Top 3

Behind closed doors in secret meetings, an attorney for a Florida school board appears to have met with a local state attorney in the hopes to pursue felony criminal charges against PINAC reporter Jeff Gray.
According to emails recently obtained through a public records request, it was revealed that St. Johns County School Board Frank Upchurch III planned a meeting with State Attorney R.J. Larizza in the hopes of keeping Gray from exercising his Constitutional rights to record public officials as well as to obtain public records.

A Florida cop who sped through a red traffic light, only to get t-boned by another car who had the right-of-way, was arrested Monday for blaming the other driver for the crash.
Sweetwater police officer Alejandro Ramos was off-duty but in a marked car when he claimed he first “cleared the intersection” and then “proceeded with caution” on his way to help another officer on a call.
But then a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck “came out of nowhere” and struck him that day on February 17, 2015.

An LAPD officer named Cairo Palacios was justified in shooting an unarmed man in the face last year because the man had a towel wrapped around his arm, which made the cop fear for his life, according to a Los Angeles Police Commission report released Tuesday.

The New York City police officer who shot and killed a man in a darkened stairwell after claiming he had fired his gun accidentally was spared jail time after a judge sentenced him to probation Tuesday.
Peter Liang, 28, was facing up to 15 years in prison after he was convicted for manslaughter and official misconduct in February.

Surveillance video is sending a New Mexico jail guard to criminal court for knocking out a handcuffed prisoner, body slamming him on a concrete floor in a detention area when he wasn’t posing any threat to the safety of officers.
Inmate Timothy K. Black ended up losing consciousness in the November 2015 incident, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News.

An Ohio police officer convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl was sentenced this week to 14 years in prison. Prosecutors recommended a 22-year sentence for former Lima, Ohio police officer Justin Bentz.
In a callous and ridiculous legal maneuver, Bentz used the defense that the under-age girl enticed him to have sex with her. Bentz also testified that he thought the girl was 21-years-old.

Baltimore police are investigating themselves after they were caught on video entering a home without a warrant, then brutalizing and arresting a teen resident who asked if they had one.
Police then searched the home for drugs, but didn’t find any.
In the video, Tionne Jones told the lieutenant blocking his front door from being shut to leave, and noted he did not have a warrant.
But the lieutenant stubbornly stood in the door, refusing to leave.
“I need to talk to the property owner,” repeated the lieutenant.

Georgia police are refusing to identify the officer who flew into a rage last week after a man did not let him search his home without a warrant.
But the Valdosta Police Department assured local media that the officer was “disciplined” for his actions.

It is not uncommon for police to arrest people for video recording, but the unlawful arrest of Derrick Revies prompted him to file a lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis and arresting officers, Matthew Lindquist, K. Moua, and one only listed by his surname, McDonough.
Although the incident occurred in August 2014, the lawsuit was filed within the last few months.

Puerto Rican authorities have suspended two officers after a twitter user send them a link to a video.
The video is taken from above from a distance. The video reportedly shows a mostly vacant Walmart parking lot and zooms in on the action below.
A uniformed officer is seen grabbing a control of a man’s wheelchair and whipping him around. The officer lets go as the man attempts to stabilize his wheelchair, as the officer who does not seem to be letting up approaches to finally push him from his seat onto the ground.