Police Officer violating Civil Rights beaten a man while restrained in a wheelchair.

I wonder why some fellow Citizens refuse to call to Police for help.!!!!!!!!!!.
A Chicago police officer pleaded guilty today to violating the federal civil rights of a man whom the officer struck repeatedly with a dangerous weapon while the man was handcuffed and shackled in a wheelchair, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Loretta King, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office announced.

William Cozzi, 51, pleaded guilty to a one-count information in U.S. District Court in Chicago, admitting he used excessive or unreasonable force while acting under color of law. Cozzi joined the Chicago Police Department in 1992 and was assigned to the 25 th District at the time of the alleged incident. He was subsequently suspended from duty. Cozzi was indicted in April 2008 for depriving the victim of his civil rights.

On Aug. 2, 2005, while performing his duties as a police officer, Cozzi admitted that he used a “sap,” a dangerous weapon similar to a blackjack, to repeatedly strike the victim who was handcuffed and shackled in a wheelchair at Norwegian American Hospital, resulting in bodily injury. At the time, the victim was awaiting treatment in the hospital emergency room after being stabbed in the shoulder.

“The defendant violated the public trust by abusing his law enforcement authority,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King. “This prosecution demonstrates that the Civil Rights Division is committed to aggressively prosecuting law enforcement officers who willfully use excessive force.”


“No law enforcement officer may use unreasonable force with impunity and every citizen, regardless of being in police custody, has a constitutional right to be free from the use of excessive force,” U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald said.

Cozzi pleaded guilty while reserving his right to appeal a ruling last year denying his motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that the prosecution was based in part on compelled statements he made to the Chicago Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards and during a police review board hearing.

According to a plea agreement, Cozzi was dispatched to the hospital to respond to the stabbing and approached the victim who was being loud and verbally abusive while awaiting treatment for the stabbing. Shortly after approaching the victim, Cozzi placed him in handcuffs and left the emergency room to retrieve leg shackles, which he then placed on the victim. With the victim restrained, Cozzi used a sap to repeatedly strike him in the face and body. According to the plea agreement, at the time of the assault the victim posed no physical threat to Cozzi or anyone else at the hospital.

Cozzi also admitted that he subsequently prepared a false arrest report and misdemeanor complaints stating that the victim attempted to punch him and two hospital security guards, as well as a false tactical response report stating that he used an “open hand strike” on the victim but omitted that he struck the victim with a sap.

U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning set sentencing for March 26, 2009. Cozzi faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Drury from the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Betsy Biffl of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

The Criminal, The Offender, The Unwanted in our Society is among us..!!!!!!!




District Man Sentenced to 45 1/2 Years in Prison for Kidnaping and Sexually Assaulting a 14- and a 16-Year Old Girl, and Pimping the 14-Year Old


WASHINGTON - Earlier today, Superior Court Judge Robert I. Richter sentenced a 33- year-old District of Columbia man, Jovon T. Johnson, to a term of 45½ years in prison for abducting and kidnaping two young girls, sexually assaulting both girls, and forcing the youngest girl, a 14-year-old, into prostitution, announced U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor.

Johnson, formerly of the 2900 block of K Street, SE, Washington, D.C., was found guilty on April 25, 2008, by a District of Columbia Superior Court jury of 19 counts, including eight counts of First Degree Sexual Abuse; five counts of First Degree Child Sexual Abuse; Third Degree Sexual Abuse; two counts of Kidnaping; Threats; Pandering, and two counts of Assault. The defendant will have to register as a sex offender when he is released from jail. In sentencing the defendant, Judge Richter noted that he had heard all of the evidence presented at trial and based on that evidence believes that the defendant is an “evil person.” The judge further commented that Johnson’s complete denial of involvement in the offenses, and his refusal to accept any responsibility for his actions, only compounds the crime.

“This defendant earned every single day of his 45½ prison sentence for the kidnaping and brutal rape of two young girls from the streets of the District of Columbia,” stated U.S. Attorney Taylor. “At the hands of this violent, ruthless child predator, these two victims experienced life as no child should know it and unfortunately nothing will change that fact. To address and prevent similar tragedies, the D.C. Human Trafficking Force continues to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who sexually abuse and force young girls into a life of prostitution.”

The evidence at trial established that on or about May 30, 2005, the defendant drove up to the 14-year-old victim in the 3700 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE. She was walking by herself. The defendant encouraged her to get into his car and she did. The defendant then forced her to disrobe and perform a sexual act on him. He took her to an apartment at 2201 2nd Street, NW,
which was rented by an acquaintance of Johnson’s. There, Johnson kept the child against her will for approximately 10 days, sexually and physically assaulted her, and forced her to prostitute in a high prostitution area in Washington, D.C. She was able to escape on or around July 8, 2005. The police were notified, but at that point she had no idea where she had been kept captive, the identity of the assailant, or the location of the apartment renter.

Ten days later, the defendant approached the 16-year-old victim in the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue, NW. He forced this victim into his car. Like he did to the 14-year-old victim, Johnson forced this victim to disrobe and perform a sexual act on him. He took her to the apartment on 2nd Street, sexually assaulted her, and ordered her to stay for the night. After the defendant left, the apartment renter also sexually assaulted her. After he left, this victim escaped and was rescued by another tenant. The police responded.

MPD Detective Lachele Bethea Goode was assigned to both cases. Her investigation revealed that the facts of both cases had numerous unique similarities and she ultimately developed facts that established that the abductor for both victims was the same person. The apartment renter cooperated with the government’s search for the abductor and gave the government the abductor’s cell phone number. U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigators John Marsh and Christopher Brophy, along with U.S. Attorney’s Office Intelligence Officer Lawrence Grasso, traced the cell phone through numerous owners and, ultimately, identified a possible suspect. The suspect had a distinctive tattoo on his back which matched the description given by the 14-year-old victim. Criminal Investigator Marsh created and showed a photo spread to the victims and both positively identified the defendant as the person who assaulted them.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor noted that this case was successfully investigated and prosecuted with a large team of dedicated individuals, including many members of the District of Columbia’s Human Trafficking Task Force. Mr. Taylor commended the lead MPD Detective Lachele Bethea Goode for her outstanding work on this case and the numerous other MPD officers and detectives who committed significant time and dedication to the case, including Craig Farmer, Gerald Wills, Jonathan Andrews, Timothy Palchak, S.T. Vines, Annette Hicks, Garry Thompson, Kim Holland, and Ephriam Williams. Mr. Taylor also praised the assistance of Victim Witness Advocates Veronica Vaughan and Tracey Hawkins, who provided invaluable assistance to the two young victims. He also thanked Paralegal Joyce Arthur, Legal Assistant Donice Adams, Paralegal and Legal Assistant Supervisor Sabrina Turner, and Litigation Support Personnel Tyrone Bowie and Janay Jones. He also recognized and thanked Detective Marc Dinardo and Intelligence Analyst Heather Gordon of FBI’s Washington Field Office for their assistance in identifying the defendant. He also thanked Supervisory Community Supervision Officer Paul Brennan of the District’s Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for his valuable assistance with an important witness who was on supervision by his agency. U.S. Attorney Taylor gave praise and recognition to U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigators John Marsh and Christopher Brophy and Intelligence Officer Lawrence Grasso for their incredible dedication and tenacity on this case. Without their work, this violent predator would not have been located and prosecuted. And, finally, he commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Marcus-Kurn who indicted and prosecuted the case

FORMER CLAY COUNTY SHERIFF’S CHARGED WITH EXCESSIVE FORCE,OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE


KANSAS CITY, Mo. – John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former deputy with the Clay County Sheriff’s Department was charged in federal court today with violating a defendant’s civil rights by using unreasonable force during an arrest and with obstruction of justice.

Donald A. Devens, 59, of Smithville, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury and was charged in a two-count information filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City. Devens was a Clay County deputy for four years before resigning on Oct. 7, 2005.

The federal charges stem from an incident that occurred on Aug. 16, 2005, while Devens was on road patrol near Kearney. Devens began pursuing a pickup truck that was traveling at a high rate of speed. Eventually, Devens and Kearney, Mo., police officers stopped the vehicle, which was driven by Wesley A. Lewis, and Lewis was arrested.

The information charges Devens with deprivation of rights under color of law. Devens allegedly assaulted Lewis, thereby depriving him of his Constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by one acting under color of law, resulting in bodily injury to Lewis.

The information also charges Devens with obstruction of justice. Devens allegedly destroyed a videotape recording of Lewis’ arrest that was taped from the Devens’ patrol vehicle. Devens destroyed the videotape, the information alleges, in order to obstruct the investigation involving Lewis’ arrest.

Under federal statutes, if convicted of both charges, Devens could be subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. Wood cautioned that the charges contained in this information are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roseann A. Ketchmark. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation