GJPD Collects Fingerprints and DNA from Children
Yesterday, the GJPD showed children from Fun in the Summer Camp the nuts and bolts of police work. Kids played with the sirens, saw the bomb squad robot, police motorcycles, and more. On the creeper side, the story from KKCO 11, states that “Kids were also fingerprinted and swabbed for DNA samples.”
Why are the police gather biometric data on children? Did they get parental permission? Do they view the youth as the next generation of potential criminals? How is the DNA and fingerprints of these children to be used? What about rights to privacy?
2 Officers Punished; Another Remains on Paid Leave For Pepper-Spray Incident(s)
On Wednesday, GJPD Chief Camper, announced that an officer received a reprimand for pepper-spraying a vacant building sometimes frequented by homeless people, in an effort to deter people from using the vacant building. The officers immediate supervisor was also reprimanded because he didn’t inquire as to why his officer needed his pepper-spray canister refilled. Camper also promised to announce the fate of another GJPD Officer that has been on paid administrative leave since early July. A fourth officer resigned in early July in response to the investigations. Read more Here.
At the announcement of a second internal investigation looking at the misuse of pepper-spray, Camper was quoted by the Daily Sentinel as saying they were looking at a number of incidents. We at GJPD Exposed, are assuming that spraying of the abandoned building is a different incident then the incident involving the officer that resigned and the officer that is on leave. It will be interesting to see what actually took place in that incident. Camper promised to announce the fate of the third officer currently on paid administrative leave tomorrow.
Former GJPD Officer Coyne’s Victim Sues PD
Way back last fall GJPD officer Coyne was arrested for sexual assault and fired. Coyne had responded to a Domestic Dispute, and then after work he allegedly went back to the victims house and sexually assaulted her.
Coyne after bonding out of jail. Took his own life with a bullet in a Denver Freeway Motel.
It was later discovered that Coyne had had a similar complaint against him but the District Attorney and the PD’s internal investigation found that there was a lack of evidence to proceed.
Read the Sentinel’s story here.
GJPD Pursuit Ends in Crash
http://www.krextv.com had this nice little story that illustrates the dangers of chasing suspects through busy intersections.
A Grand Junction Police Officer on the hunt for a hubcab bandit ends up in a car crash of his own. Around 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Grand Junction Police officials say their officer was going after a man who was suspected of stealing hubcaps. With lights and sirens activated, the officer’s patrol car entered the intersection at 12th Street and Orchard Avenue. A truck coming from the opposite direction could not stop in time and was struck by the police cruiser.
“They both braked and tried to stop and swerve, but the police officer ran into the side of the pickup, “said Stephen Johnson who witnessed the crash.
Grand Junction Police Sergeant Jim Creasy said, “He believes his officer’s lights and sirens were operating, but a review still has to be done to make sure the police officer was in the right.”
No one was injured in the accident. The Colorado State Patrol is currently investigating the crash.
Police were able to catch the hubcap bandit and take him into custody.
* This comment on the KREX site is quite illustrative “It must be time for gun control and driver safety classes for those who “serve and protect” us. It seems that there has been alot of “accidents” involving G.J. ‘s finest!!” by Educate2010
Media Round-Up: Police Vandalize Homeless Camp
As the investigation into allegations that GJPD officers vandalized an area houseless camp goes into its second week, we eagerly await the outcome of both the Sheriff’s criminal investigation, and the Department’s own external investigation.
Here’s the local media round-up of the incident.
The Grand Junction FreePress had this excellent article
The Sentinel, true to form, did everything in their power to discredit the messenger, in this article, that eventually hit the AP wire and was picked up by major media outlets in Denver and beyond.
NBC Channel 11 had the best coverage Friday the 7th when the police announced that three officers were placed on administrative leave.
CBS Channel 5’s story from the Monday after the announcement was the most comprehensive.
ABC Channel 8’s coverage from mid-week was good as well.
The local blogger John Linko had this to say.
Three Officers on Administrative Leave For Slashing Homeless Camp
Three Grand Junction Police Officers were placed on administrative leave on Friday May 7th under allegations of damaging homeless peoples’ property. The officers are under criminal investigation by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department and under internal investigation at the PD.
On Monday May 3rd, GJ Police Officers were in the area of a well-established homeless camp near the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers. Some residents were denied access to the area by the police during their visit. No known residents were in their camps at the time. Residents later returned to slashed tents, scattered belongings and slashed bike tires. On Wednesday, Jacob Richards, long time Red Pill editor and contributor and Housing First! No More Deaths! activist, filed a complaint about the incident. By Friday, three officers were placed on leave. The story was picked up by all local media outlets, the Denver Post, and even hit the AP wire.
The fact that the GJPD are conducting an internal investigation and the Sheriff’s Department is investigating the matter criminally indicates that the powers-that-be may actually be taking this seriously.
Criminalization and harassment of the homeless is nothing new to Grand Junction. Police officers and the law itself target the homeless. The City attempted to virtually illegalize flying a sign in the city in the summer of 2009 as an emergency ordinance, but was shut down by the power of the people. In July of 2009, two undercover GJ police officers were ousted from the organization Housing First! No More Deaths!. Panhandling within a median began became illegal in the fall of 2009, and overnight Colorado West Park became a median without any formal process.
As odd as it may seem, the system might actually bring some form of justice for the houseless, and some accountability to the GJPD.
Harrassed and Manhandled: GJPD and the Homeless
Saturday, April 3rd, 5pm. Whitman Park Grand Junction, Colorado
In an all to common of incident, three houseless people were contacted by the Grand Junction Police Department, for nothing more then being in a park frequented by houseless people. Officer Winch approached Juile and Johnny A Martinez and engaged the two in small talk about an incident from the day before in the park. Officer Winch then asked to see a waterbottle that Juile had. She gave it to him. He smelled it and “got pissed saying ‘You lied to me.'” said Juile. Officer Winch then said that he wanted to see what was in Julie’s backpack, she refused, and according to Julie and Martinez Winch yanked the backpack from Juile and began searching. “That’s when he cuffed me,” Juile said. They had Juile in cuffs for over half an hour for a drinking in public ticket.
When Juile’s partner, Lumber Jack, came back to the park he headed to the public bathrooms where now two officers and a sergeant were talking to Juile and Martinez. “I told them I just needed to go to the bathroom,” he said. “Then I told them they have no right to search her backpack. That’s when they grabbed me and took me to the ground.” Lumber’s arm was turning more and more purple.
“He was so verbally aggressive,” said Juile. “I asked for a female officer to search me, but he searched me anyway,” she added.
After a little over half-an-hour all three people were released all with blue tickets. Julie for drinking in the park, Lumber Jack for crossing a street while intoxicated, and Johnny Martinez for interfering with an officer for refusing to leave while his friends were being manhandled, cuffed, and ticketed.
“I told them I won’t show up to court anyway,” said Lumber. Martinez described the pile of petty tickets he gets from the GJPD on almost daily, as “thick as an encyclopedia.”
These petty tickets, which are common in the houseless community, result in either an arrest warrant being issued for failure to appear, or the person pleads guilty and is given a fine in the hundreds of dollars. The fine almost inevitably goes unpaid an goes to collections and an arrest warrant is issued. These tickets are often for things related to the basics of life, trespassing tickets for sleeping, indecent exposure for reliving themselves, drinking or smoking in the park because they have nowhere else to smoke and drink. These tickets keep people houseless by ruining peoples credit and straddling them with huge debts, and cost the taxpayers millions in a busted criminal justice system.
Sergeant Kevin Imbriaco was on scene let him know that we harassing and manhandling the homeless is not cool (970) 683-3399.
Photos of Steven Lee “Lumber Jack” Ball’s bruises.
Who’s Lying
Authorities have recently cleared the two officers involved in the police shooting, at the Timbers Motel, on February 28th, of any wrong-doing, finding that lethal force was justified. Yet questions remain unanswered, and according to those in power’s own statements, someone is lying.
At about 2pm on February 28th, GJPD Officers Isaac Gallegos and Allen Kwiatkowski responded to a domestic dispute call at the Timbers Motel. After talking to Nancy Ingram, officers went to the room to arrest her husband, Brent Ingram, on a couple of misdemeanor warrants. A few minutes later Brent Ingram lay dead with two bullets in his chest.
Serious questions started to be asked when, on March 2nd, a Daily Sentinel article interviewed Nancy Ingram. “…The officers then dragged her husband’s body to the doorway and removed his clothing. ‘Even the underwear, his privates and everything were showing,’ she said.”
The next day, March 3rd, about a dozen people protested outside of the police department, questioning the use of force and tampering with a crime scene by moving Ingram’s body. In response, GJPD Chief Camper told Channels 8 and 11 news that accusations about officers moving the body were false and based on rumor.
Another eyewitness, a guest who was staying at the Timbers motel at the time and who wishes to remain anonymous, heard police shouting at Ingram to “drop it” and then heard the gunshots. At this point, the witness went outside of his/her room and witnessed officers dragging Ingram’s body to the doorway of the motel room. The witness reported that he/she told investigators the same thing.
So who’s lying? Chief Camper or Nancy Ingram and other eyewitnesses?
A letter, dated March 23rd, from Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger to Grand Junction Police Chief John Camper, cleared officers of any wrong-doing and found that lethal force was justified. In the letter, Hautzinger says that Ingram was charging officers with a knife and therefore lethal force was justified. Hautzinger uses the location of Ingram’s body in the doorway of the motel room, as evidence that he was charging the officers. “Mr. Ingram fell face down in the entryway, winding up exactly where Officer Kwiatkowski had been standing.” Earlier in the letter, Hautzinger placed Officer Kwiatkowski “ near the door of the room while Officer Gallegos entered, went in between the beds and began to check under the beds.”
Mesa County Deputy Coroner and forensic pathologist, Dr. Robert Kurtzman, performed the autopsy on Ingram, and told the Daily Sentinel in an article from March 24th, that “A dying Brent Ingram was dragged by police or medical personnel to the doorway of a North Avenue motel room in an effort to provide easier access for emergency responders.” “Until they know he’s dead, they have to make every effort to preserve his life,” Kurtzman told the Sentinel. Kurtzman also told the Sentinel that “events surrounding the treatment of Ingram’s body were explained to him by law enforcement.” and went on to say that “The most important thing for me is: are the patterns of injuries consistent with the reported circumstances, and they are in this case.”
Kurtzman is getting us closer to the truth, but even his statements are a little inconsistent and certainly don’t match Hautzinger’s conclusions on where the body lay at the time of the shooting. The idea that officers dragged the body to “provide easier access” for first responders or in an “effort to preserve his life,” is hard to belive. First off, it’s far easier for first responders to get a person onto a gurney in the middle of a room rather then the middle of a doorway. Secondly, if someone is seriously injured as Ingram was, with a bullet in his spine, the last thing that anyone should do is move that person.
So who’s lying? Camper? Hautzinger? Nancy Ingram and other eyewitnesses? Kurtzman? We as a community need to know, but unfortunately we are unlikely to ever get real answers.
From the upcoming Red Pill vol 8 no 5 http://www.gjredpill.org
DA Clears Officers of Any Wrong Doing
Here’s the DA’s Summary of the Timbers Motel Shooting. The letter clears officers of any wrong doing.
GJPD Officer Causes Accident While Perusing Traffic Infraction
Last week, a GJPD officer chasing a person who ran a red light was hit by Jessica Kriegshauser, 19, as he ran the light in pursuit. Colorado State Patrol initially issued a ticket to Kriegshauser for Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle. Yet the Sentinel were able to interview two witnesses that stated that GJPD officer Raymond Salmon had caused the accident. Read it here.
This week the State Patrol withdrew the ticket against Kriegshauser. Read it here.
GJPD Exposed 
2 comments