(Compiled by the Tri-State Defender Newsroom)

In the first 100 days since President Barack Obama took office, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder says the Department of Justice has refocused its priorities.

Holder and top officials at the Department of Justice have set three major goals: (1) protecting national security consistently with the rule of law; (2) reinvigorating the Department’s traditional missions, such as fighting crime, safeguarding the civil rights of all Americans, preserving our environment, protecting our public institutions from corruption, and ensuring fairness in the marketplace; and (3) recommitting the Department to its vital traditions of independence, non-partisanship and transparency.

In addition, the DOJ has set up a multi-agency task force to go after rescue firms that continue to target homeowners.

The Tri-State Defender went back and looked at DOJ’s actions regarding hate crimes and civil rights. It is interesting to note the number of cases so far in which defendants – charged with civil rights or hate crimes – entered guilty pleas since Obama took office.

The Administration’s FY 2010 top-line budget proposal includes $26.5 billion for the Department, a 3.5 percent increase more than the FY 2009 budget. The Department’s budget includes enhanced funding for: national security and intelligence; combating financial fraud; hiring additional police officers; civil rights enforcement; securing our nation’s borders; and for federal detention and incarceration programs.

Among the actions taken under Holder:

April 30: Three South Carolina Men Indicted On Federal Civil Rights Charges

The Justice Department announced that a federal grand jury in Florence, S.C., indicted three men from Marlboro County, S.C. on charges relating to their attack on an African- American man and two white men in December, 2007.  Thomas Howard Blue Sr., 48, Thomas Howard Blue Jr., 28, and Judson Hartley Talbert, 34, were charged in a 21-count indictment with violating and conspiracy to violate the civil rights of three South Carolina citizens. They are awaiting trial. The grand jury charged that Thomas Howard Blue Sr. forcibly escorted Dahndre Moore out of his establishment known as the Stop and Shop because “Moore is African American.” Once outside, Thomas Howard Blue St. forced Moore to the ground and Thomas Howard Blue Jr. threatened Moore with a chainsaw. While Moore was being attacked by the father and son, Judson Talbert allegedly stole Moore’s car and drove it to a place known as Blue’s landing. After being chased by the Blues, Moore escaped by running up the road and seeking refuge in a local home.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Justin Hanson, 21, of Mason City, Iowa, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids to violating the civil rights of an African-American family. In a plea agreement, Hanson admitted that on May 9, 2008, he placed a racially offensive sign in the yard of a neighboring African-American family and the next day he fired a B.B. gun into the victims’ home, breaking a bedroom window. By placing the sign and firing upon his victims, Hanson was attempting to injure, intimidate or interfere with the family’s enjoyment of their home. Hanson admitted he placed the sign in the yard and fired upon the house because of his neighbors’ race and because they were living in his "white" neighborhood, town and country.

Friday, April 24, 2009
        
The Justice Department today announced it has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Baltimore alleging that the city of Baltimore’s zoning code discriminates against individuals with disabilities by requiring substance abuse treatment facilities to go through a burdensome "conditional ordinance" zoning process in order to locate in any zone.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Brandit Franco, 33, a former deputy with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty to a civil rights charge today in federal court in San Antonio, Texas, for using excessive force against a prisoner while working as a detention officer at the county jail, the Justice Department announced. Franco faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of $250,000. A sentencing hearing is set for July 24, 2009. According to documents filed in court, Franco acknowledged that on the evening of Oct. 18, 2006, he willfully used more force than was necessary when he responded to noisy prisoners inside of a locked holding cell by entering the cell and striking a pretrial detainee. As a result of Franco’s assault, the prisoner sustained injuries to his head that necessitated medical treatment. By pleading guilty, Franco acknowledged that he deprived the prisoner of his constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process, which includes the right to be free from the use of excessive force by a law enforcement officer.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Daryl Lee Fierce, 69, of Charleston, W.Va., pleaded guilty today to a civil rights charge in federal court in the Southern District of West Virginia for using fire to intimidate and interfere with a person’s housing rights. Fierce set fire to the victim’s home because African-American and biracial individuals visited the victim in her home. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Fierce faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for July 30, 2009. According to documents filed in court, on or about July 16, 2007, Fierce admitted that he set fire to a home located on Noyes Avenue in Charleston because the tenant occupying the home, a white woman, associated with persons of another race and color. Fierce set fire to the outside wall of the victim’s bedroom at night as she slept. Fierce further admitted that before the incident he had used racial epithets against guests, including young children, who visited the victim’s home.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Justice Department today announced a settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the city of Philadelphia to greatly improve accessibility for individuals with mobility disabilities at the city’s 1,200 polling places. Today’s settlement is the first settlement by the Justice Department with a city focused solely on accessible polling places.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division announced today that Thomas Houston, former Chief of the Gary, Ind., Police Department, was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for violating the civil rights of a Gary resident in June 2007. Houston was convicted in Sept. 2008 of assaulting the victim, identified in court documents as V.A., by striking and kicking him in the stomach while he was handcuffed, resulting in contusions to his face, head, chest and abdomen. Houston, a 42-year veteran of the department, had been chief for just seven days when he committed the assault. He resigned from the post shortly after being indicted in March 2008.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Loretta King and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Sheldon J. Sperling announced today that Ben Milner, a former deputy sheriff with the Choctaw County, Okla., Sheriff’s Department, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for violating the civil rights of a man during a traffic stop and the civil rights of two inmates at the Choctaw County Jail. The grand jury also indicted Milner on two counts of obstructing justice in connection with the incident involving the inmates.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The indictment charges that on or about Oct. 31, 2005, Milner, then a sheriff’s deputy of the Choctaw County Sheriff’s Department, assaulted an individual causing him bodily harm. The indictment also charges that on or about Oct. 18, 2007, Milner assaulted two inmates at the Choctaw County Jail, causing them bodily harm. Finally, the indictment charges that on or about Oct. 18 and 19, 2007, Milner wrote reports relating to the assaults against the inmates in which he provided false justification for the force he used against them.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Four individuals have been indicted on charges of federal civil rights violations relating to the in-custody death of a detainee at the Lucas County Jail in Ohio and an alleged subsequent four-year cover-up of the role that jail personnel played in the death. The indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Toledo, Ohio, was returned today and announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division. The indictment alleges that on May 30, 2004, former Deputy Sheriff John E. Gray assaulted and strangled a detainee in a cell at the Lucas County Jail and then left the detainee lying unconscious without seeking medical help for him, actions which resulted in the detainee’s death.

Friday, April 10, 2009

The Justice Department today announced that a federal district court judge in Louisville, Ky., approved a settlement of the Department’s lawsuit alleging that those involved in the design and construction of 12 multifamily housing complexes discriminated on the basis of disability. The complexes contain more than 800 units covered by the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility provisions. Under the settlement, the defendants will pay all costs related to making the apartment complexes accessible to persons with disabilities and pay $255,000 to compensate individuals harmed by the inaccessible housing. The defendants will also pay a $25,000 civil penalty to vindicate the public interest and undergo training on the requirements of the Fair Housing Act.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Loretta King and Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Tim Johnson today announced the arrest of a former trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety who is charged with depriving multiple Latino motorists of their civil rights. According to the four count indictment returned by a federal Grand Jury in Corpus Christi, Texas, on April 8, 2009, Michael Anthony Higgins violated federal law by willfully stealing money from Latino motorists that he had stopped on the highway while working as a trooper.

A former Jackson County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy was indicted on April 7, 2009, by a federal grand jury for violating the civil rights of a teenage girl whom he forced to perform sexual acts in his patrol car, the Justice Department announced. The indictment alleges that Steven W. Burgess, 35, of Independence, Mo., then a deputy sheriff with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, while acting under color of law, deprived a minor child of her Constitutional rights on July 24, 2007. According to the indictment, Burgess violated the victim’s right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which includes the right to bodily integrity. The indictment alleges that Burgess committed acts that include aggravated sexual abuse, using force against his victim and placing her in fear of death, serious bodily injury and kidnapping.

Adam S. Pretti, 31, a former deputy with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Memphis, Tenn., to using excessive force during an encounter with a citizen, the Justice Department announced. During his plea hearing, Pretti acknowledged that he abused his authority as a law enforcement officer when, in March 2006, he willfully and without justification used excessive force by striking a man in the head. Pretti came into contact with the man while responding to a residence in Cordova, Tenn. Pretti agreed that his conduct violated federal law and the constitutional rights of the victim.

Friday, April 3, 2009

The Department of Justice has initiated removal proceedings against a Sharon, Penn., resident who served as an armed SS guard at two Nazi concentration camps in Germany during World War II. The charging document, filed April 1, 2009, in U.S. Immigration Court in Philadelphia by the Criminal Division’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alleges that during most of 1943 Anton Geiser served as an armed SS Death’s Head guard at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp near Berlin, Germany; that Geiser’s duties included escorting prisoners to slave labor sites and standing guard from the camp’s watch towers; and that he was under orders to shoot any prisoner attempting escape. The court document also alleges that Geiser served as a guard at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp and the Arolsen subcamp.  In addition, the court document charges that Geiser guarded prisoners as they were transported from Buchenwald to Arolsen and as they were evacuated from Arolsen as Allied forces approached.
 
Thursday, April 2, 2009

Jonathan Haynes, a former police officer with the Jackson Police Department, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Jackson, Miss., to stealing money from a citizen during an off-duty encounter. During his plea, Haynes acknowledged that he abused his authority as a law enforcement officer when, on June 21, 2008, while he was off-duty but in uniform, he abused his police powers by stopping and searching two men without legal justification and by stealing $100 from one of the men. Haynes admitted today that his conduct violated the constitutional rights of the two men.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Nathan Davis, a former police officer with the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, La., pleaded guilty today to a felony civil rights violation for use of excessive force, announced David R. Dugas, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, and Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. At today’s court hearing, defendant Davis admitted that he intentionally used excessive force in March 2007 against a man who had been arrested, handcuffed and taken to a police department holding center. Davis admitted that he purposefully used excessive and unreasonable force against B.T, a man who at the time of the abuse was handcuffed and sitting on the floor of a detention cell, by pepper spraying him in the face without any justification. Davis faces a maximum of ten years in prison. The court has not yet scheduled sentencing.

A current Baltimore City Police Department officer and two retired officers were charged in a six-count federal indictment unsealed today with civil rights and obstruction of justice violations stemming from an April 2004 incident during which officers allegedly assaulted a handcuffed and shackled juvenile with a baton and pool stick, the Justice Department announced. The indictment alleges that Officer Gregory Mussmacher assaulted the juvenile with a police-issued baton, and that retired Officer Guy Gerstel assaulted the same juvenile with a pool stick. The indictment also charges the officers with obstructing justice by providing false statements about the assault. In addition, the indictment charges Gerstel with making a false statement to the FBI about the case, and charges retired Sergeant Wayne Thompson with obstructing justice by allegedly writing a false statement and by corruptly persuading other officers not to fill out required reports about the incident.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today to challenge the at-large method of electing the Lake Park, Fla. Town Commission on the ground that it dilutes the voting strength of black citizens in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Miami, alleges that as a result of racially polarized voting patterns in town elections, candidates preferred by black voters are usually defeated. Indeed, no black candidate has ever won an election for town commission. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that under a single-member district plan to elect the four town commissioners, black persons would constitute a majority of the citizen voting age population in at least one of the districts. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief in the form of a court order implementing a new method of electing the town commission.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Agents with the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Wyoming Department of Criminal Justice arrested Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Franklin Joseph Ryle late yesterday in Douglas, Wyo., on criminal civil rights charges.  A federal criminal complaint charges that on Jan. 8, 2009, Ryle, while acting under color of law, unlawfully arrested and kidnapped a person, thereby willfully depriving the person of his right, protected by the Constitution, to be free from unreasonable seizures. The complaint also charges that Ryle knowingly possessed and brandished a firearm during the crime.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Justice Department announced today that it is making grant funding available for public education programs concerning immigration-related employment discrimination. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), a section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, announced the availability of funds for public education programs regarding employees’ rights and employers’ obligations under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The program is open to public service organizations and others providing information services to employers and/or potential victims of immigration-related employment discrimination. Last year, grants ranging from $40,000 to $100,000 were awarded to 11 organizations serving communities throughout the country.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A former Nazi concentration camp guard who settled in Racine, Wis., after World War II and acquired U.S. citizenship, has been removed to Austria due to his participation in Nazi-sponsored acts of persecution during World War II, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Assistant Secretary John P. Torres announced today.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Two former Memphis police officers were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Memphis for their roles in a conspiracy to rob drug dealers, the Department of Justice announced. Former Memphis police officer Antoine Owens, who in August 2007 pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate civil rights, was sentenced to 63 months in prison. Alexander Johnson, a former Memphis police officer who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate civil rights in April 2007, received a sentence of 30 months in prison and two years of supervised released. Laterrica Woods, a civilian co-conspirator who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate civil rights in September 2007, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2009.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Department of Justice announced that it has entered into a consent decree today with Muskegon County, Mich., that, if approved by the court, will resolve the Department’s lawsuit against the county alleging that a former employee was subjected to sexual harassment that caused a hostile work environment, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), national origin or religion.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Justice Department today announced a settlement resolving allegations that the town of St. John, Ind., violated the Fair Housing Act when it denied a petition for a zoning variance based on the disability of a prospective resident. In a lawsuit filed in September 2007, the U.S. government charged that the town of St. John intentionally discriminated against persons with disabilities when it refused to provide a St. John resident a variance to allow one unrelated individual with multiple sclerosis to live with the resident in his home. The complaint also alleged that the requested variance was reasonable and necessary to afford prospective residents with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling in a residential neighborhood in St. John.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

A Fairfield, Calif., couple was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Sacramento, Calif., on federal civil rights charges related to an alleged bias-motivated assault on an Indian-American couple, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown for the Eastern District of California.The two-count indictment alleges that on the evening of July 14, 2007, Joseph and Georgia Silva committed a bias-motivated assault on another couple at a public beach in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. The Silvas allegedly first verbally confronted the Indian-American couple using derogatory racial and ethnic slurs. The Silvas then allegedly assaulted the couple, including striking one of the victims with a shoe and tackling and striking the other repeatedly on the head. One victim suffered significant facial injuries including fractured facial bones.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against JPI Construction L.P. (JPI) and six JPI-affiliated companies in U.S. District Court in Dallas for failing to provide accessible features required by the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act at multi-family housing developments in Texas and other states. Since 1991, when the Fair Housing Act first required most new multi-family housing to contain accessible features, JPI and its affiliates have built more than 200 apartment, condominium and other housing complexes in 26 states and the District of Columbia.

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against Bobby L. Hurt, the former property manager for numerous mobile homes in and around West Memphis, Ark., alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment. The lawsuit also names Bobby Hurt's wife, Sue Hurt, as a defendant. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Arkansas, alleges that Bobby Hurt, while providing property management services, entered the dwellings of female tenants without permission or notice, touched female tenants in an unwelcome sexual manner, made verbal sexual advances, and threatened and took steps to evict female tenants when they refused or objected to his sexual advances. The complaint also alleges that, while engaging in this harassment, Bobby Hurt acted on behalf of Sue Hurt, his wife and the former owner of the mobile homes.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Tucson, Ariz., on federal civil rights charges related to an alleged assault on a detainee at a federal detention facility, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Diane J. Humetewa. The two-count indictment, returned on March 11, 2009, alleges that on May 10, 2006, Eduardo Moreno violated the civil rights of a federal detainee by assaulting and causing bodily injury to the individual while Moreno was on duty at the U.S. Border Patrol processing facility in Nogales, Ariz. The indictment also alleges that Moreno made false entries in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection memorandum that described the incident.

Monday, March 9, 2009

A former corrections officer with the Lucas County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office was sentenced today to four years in prison for violating the civil rights of inmates in his custody at the Lucas County jail, as well as private citizens on the streets of the greater Toledo area, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King for the Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney William J. Edwards for the Northern District of Ohio; and C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Division.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Three former Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers were sentenced to prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes on a charge of conspiracy to violate civil rights resulting in death, arising from the fatal police shooting of Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year old Atlanta woman. Johnston was fatally shot at her home during the execution of a search warrant obtained by the defendants based upon false information on Nov. 21, 2006. The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias for the Northern District of Georgia; and Gregory Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Atlanta office.
                         
Gary Moss and Devan Klausegger of Medford, Ore., pleaded guilty to conspiring to interfere with civil rights, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut for the District of Oregon. According to facts stipulated in their plea agreements and set forth in the indictment, on May 26, 2008, Moss poured a flammable liquid on the front lawn of the victims’ residence in the shape of a cross and the letters "KKK". Klausegger handed Moss a small explosive device that Moss used to ignite the flammable liquid. Moss and Klausegger admitted that this was done with the intent to interfere with the victims’ rights under the Fair Housing Act because one of the victims was African-American.Moss and Klausegger were indicted by a federal grand jury on July 16, 2008.

Monday, February 23, 2009

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the Wayne County Housing Authority (WCHA), in Fairfield, Ill., as well as Jill Masterson and Danna Sutton, WCHA’s executive director and assistant director, respectively, alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act when they tried to discourage a white couple from renting their property in Fairfield to an African-American woman. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, alleges that the defendants discriminated against a white couple who were planning to rent a house to an African-American woman through the Housing Choice Voucher program (also known as Section 8). The Housing Choice Voucher program provides rental assistance to eligible low-income families, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Wayne County, Ill., receives federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the Housing Choice Voucher program.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

WASHINGTON —RE/MAX East-West, a real estate firm in Elmhurst, Ill., and one of its former real estate agents, John DeJohn, have agreed to pay $120,000 to settle allegations that they illegally steered prospective homebuyers toward and away from certain neighborhoods based on race and national origin, the Justice Department announced today. The consent decree was signed on Feb. 17, 2009, by U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo.The lawsuit originated from a complaint filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Testing conducted by NFHA of RE/MAX East-West in 2004 and 2005 revealed that DeJohn had steered an Hispanic tester toward homes in predominantly African-American or Hispanic neighborhoods, but had encouraged a similarly situated white tester to look at listings in predominantly white neighborhoods. Both testers had contacted DeJohn about the same advertised listing. According to the complaint, DeJohn also told the white tester that, "I don’t care if you are a bigot. If we go to an area and you don’t like it, just let me know. I can’t be a bigot but you can be one," or words to that effect.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Four individuals have been arrested and charged with carrying out a racially-motivated beating and conspiring to interfere with the civil rights of an African-American man in Nampa, Idaho. The indictment, returned on Feb. 11, 2009, by a federal grand jury in the District of Idaho, alleges that on July 4, 2008, Michael J. Bullard, Jennifer J. Hartpence, a/k/a Jennifer J. Erickson, Richard C. Armstrong and James D. Whitewater, encountered an African-American man inside a Wal-Mart Supercenter store. As the defendants left the store, they discussed beating this African-American man and made preparations for the attack. When the African-American man left the store, the defendants allegedly threatened him, called him racial slurs and Bullard asked him what country he thought he was in. The African-American man tried to run away, but Bullard, Armstrong and Whitewater allegedly chased him across the store’s parking lot, where they tackled him and repeatedly hit and kicked him.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

A former Velda City, Mo., auxiliary reserve police officer pleaded guilty today to violating the federal civil rights of a woman he sexually assaulted during a traffic stop and to concealing evidence of his crime from federal investigators, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

A federal jury in Memphis, Tenn., today found Arthur Sease IV, a former Memphis Police Department officer, guilty on forty-four counts of civil rights, narcotics, robbery and firearms offenses, Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Lawrence J. Laurenzi for the Western District of Tennessee announced. The evidence at trial showed that from November 2003 through April 2006, Sease conspired with other Memphis police officers to use their authority as law enforcement officers, including their service weapons, to rob suspected drug dealers of cash, cocaine and marijuana. Sease and his co-conspirators would then resell the stolen drugs for their own profit. The government introduced proof of 16 separate robberies, as well as one attempted robbery. In each robbery, Sease or another uniformed Memphis police officer, would pull over a car containing suspected drug dealers and steal whatever drugs and cash that they found.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Former Tippah County, Miss., Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Rogers, 35, pleaded guilty today to a one-count information charging him and former Deputy Sheriff William Rogers with violating the civil rights of an arrestee, the Justice Department announced. William Rogers, 56, who is Jeffrey Rogers’ father, pleaded guilty on Jan. 20, 2009, to the same charge of violating the civil rights of an arrestee. In pleading guilty, the defendants admitted that in June 2007 they used their Tasers to attack an arrestee without justification. The arrestee suffered multiple burns and contusions from the Taser attack. After the attack, the defendants stripped the arrestee of his clothing and chained him overnight to the wall of an isolation cell. After bragging about the incident to fellow employees, Jeffrey Rogers misled federal agents who were investigating the incident. In an effort to cover up his crimes, William Rogers also filed a misleading police report about the incident. The Tippah County Sheriff’s Department fired Jeffrey Rogers after the incident.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) that, if approved by the court, will resolve the complaint of pattern or practice religious discrimination filed by the United States against WMATA under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The United States filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in September 2008, alleging that WMATA violated Title VII by failing to reasonably accommodate and provide equal employment opportunities to employees and prospective employees whose religious practices require an accommodation from WMATA’s uniform policy for bus operators and similarly situated employees. The United States also alleged that WMATA discriminated against Gloria Jones who applied and met all of the minimum qualifications for bus operator position, but could not comply for religious reasons with the portion of WMATA’s uniform policy that required bus operators to wear pants.

Monday, February 2, 2009

A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed today in Oklahoma City charging corrections officers Gavin Littlejohn, 25, of Oklahoma City, and Justin Isch, 21, of Edmond, Okla., with a federal civil rights violation for the fatal assault of Christopher Beckman at the Oklahoma County Detention Center in May 2007, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney John C. Richter for the Western District of Oklahoma and James Finch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office. The indictment alleges that on May 26, 2007, at the Oklahoma County Detention Center, corrections officers Isch and Littlejohn assaulted Beckman and used excessive force amounting to punishment resulting in bodily injury and the death of Beckman. Specifically, it is alleged that officer Isch allegedly used Beckman’s head to open a steel door and officer Littlejohn repeatedly struck Beckman about his head and face.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Ralph Nicoletti pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, N.Y., federal court today before U.S. District Judge Carol B. Amon to committing three assaults targeting African-American residents in Staten Island, N.Y., on the night of President Barack Obama’s election victory. Nicoletti was the last of four defendants to plead guilty in the federal prosecution stemming from the attacks. The other three defendants – Bryan Garaventa, Michael Contreras and Brian Carranza – previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the hate crime assaults and each face sentences of up to 10 years in prison. As part of his plea, Nicoletti has agreed to a sentence of 12 years, subject to the court’s approval.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Jimmy "Jimbo" Sullivan, the former chief of police in Mendenhall, Miss., pleaded guilty today to a felony civil rights violation, admitting that he used excessive force when he repeatedly stomped on the head of an arrestee, Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton for the Southern District of Mississippi announced. On July 22, 2005, Sullivan joined other law enforcement officers in the apprehension of a man who had led police on a car chase. Today in court, Sullivan admitted that at the end of the car chase, he pulled the man from his car and then repeatedly stomped on the man’s head as the man lay face-down in the street. A local hospital treated the man for injuries sustained during the assault.

The Department of Justice today announced that it has reached a consent decree with the Policía de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Police Department or PRPD) that will, if approved by the federal district court, resolve a complaint the Department filed in March 2008 alleging that the PRPD engaged in unlawful employment discrimination based on gender and retaliation, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin and religion, and also prohibits retaliation against persons for filing charges of discrimination.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Justice Department today filed suit against Ronald D. Peterson and Glen E. Johnson, the owner and rental manager, respectively, of 11 single family homes in Ypsilanti, Mich., alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment of female tenants.
 
Monday, January 26, 2009

Brian Carranza, 21, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Carol B. Amon in Brooklyn, N.Y., to conspiring to assault African-American residents in Staten Island, N.Y., in retaliation for President Barack Obama winning last year’s presidential election, Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Benton J. Campbell announced.
Carranza, of Staten Island, N.Y., faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a 250,000 fine. A sentencing date has not been set by the court.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

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 25th 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.