West Virginia Officers Facing Lawsuit Violated Department Policy, Contrary To Chief’s Statement
WESTOVER, W.Va — An investigation by Caracal Reports has found that two West Virginia police officers facing a lawsuit following a 2019 altercation violated the official Use of Force policy laid out in their department’s policy and procedures, contradicting a public statement from their police chief. The city and it’s police department also attempted to prevent release of the body camera footage to an attorney.
In January 2019, former Westover (W.Va.) resident Andrew Howton was pulled from his home and beaten by Westover Police Department (WPD) officer Zachary Fecsko, and the incident was captured on fellow officer Aaron Dalton’s body camera. The lawsuit alleges Westover Police Chief Richard Panico “publicly condoned the other Defendants’ behavior and stated that it was aligned with the Westover Police Department (WPD) policies,” according to local media sources.
In addition, the encounter isn’t the department’s first brush with excessive use of force or police
misconduct, with investigation yielding previous instances, including one involving current Police Chief Panico. This history and the current lawsuit have raised questions among the community if the persisting problem exists inside the WPD.
Campus Pro-Democracy Protests Continue In Hong Kong As Local Elections Take Place
The weeks’ long protest situation at Polytechnic University has begun to resolve as more activists have left the campus, with some being immediately put under arrest by Hong Kong police. South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports, “The acting president of a student union at a besieged university in Hong Kong was among those who left the campus […]
Violence And Chaos As Hong Kong Protest Continues
Protest in Hong Kong has continued to escalate as police crackdown on protesters. “Police and protesters clashed in multiple districts, with the latter throwing petrol bombs and setting fires as the authorities responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Protesters largely avoided pitched battles with the authorities, however, retreating and moving around the city quickly,” […]
How Big Of A Problem Is The Police Use Of Excessive Force Within The United States?
Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was recently found guilty of second-degree-murder from a 2014 shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald. In the now infamous incident, Van Dyke shot the unarmed McDonald — who was seventeen at the time, sixteen times as he was walking away from the officer. A viral dashcam video captured the incident […]
Dallas Police Identify Officer Who Went To Wrong Apartment And Murdered A Man
26-year-old Botham Shem Jean died on Thursday when Dallas police officer Amber Guyer mistakingly entered his apartment and murdered him by gunshot. However, Texas Rangers have postponed seeking a manslaughter warrant for the officer, a day after Dallas Police Chief Ulysha Renee Hall stated they were. The Texas Rangers took over the investigation in order […]