National Roundup

Mississippi
Ex-police officer pleads guilty in COVID-19 aid scheme
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A former police officer in Mississippi pleaded guilty to wire fraud for receiving more than $72,000 in federal COVID-19 relief aid he wasn’t entitled to, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

U.S. Attorney Todd Gee said in a news release that 54-year-old Wesley Murray of Jackson will be sentenced on Jan. 10.
In the September bill of information, prosecutors said Murray filed for aid from the Small Business Administration using false information about a business he said he owned, claiming he would use the money for business purposes.

But the information about his ownership in the business, as well as revenue and sales, were false, the document said. Instead of using the $72,000 from the SBA for payroll, rent or other related expenses, Murray used the money for personal expenses, including the purchase of a Ford Mustang GT.

The charges outlined in the document do not involve police work.

The maximum sentence Murray could receive is 20 years, according to Gee, although the judge will make the decision based on federal sentencing guidelines.

California
LA hit with verdict topping $13M in death of man restrained by police officers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal court jury returned a $13.5 million verdict against the city of Los Angeles in a lawsuit over the death of a man after two police officers used their bodyweight on his back to restrain him, the plaintiff’s attorneys said Monday.

Jacobo Juarez Cedillo, 50, died at a hospital five days after the April 2019 encounter with officers who found him sitting in a gas station driveway, stood him up and ultimately took him to the ground. The suit was filed by his daughter, Nicole Juarez Zelaya.

Friday’s verdict included a finding that the city “failed to train its police officers with respect to the risks of positional and restraint asphyxia,” her lawyers said in a statement. Attorney Dale K. Galipo said he hoped such verdicts will cause police to take notice.

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office had no comment on the verdict, said spokesperson Ivor Pine.

A medical examiner determined the death was due to cardiopulmonary arrest, along with a loss of blood flow to the brain and the effects of methamphetamine, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2020.

The examiner wrote, in part, that a “component of asphyxia due to possible compression of the body may be contributory to the cardiopulmonary arrest, however there are no findings at autopsy that establish asphyxia.”

A 2021 California law bars police from using certain face-down holds that create risk of positional asphyxia.


New York
Judge rejects Indiana ex-U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer’s request to remain free pending appeal
NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer cannot defer his surrender next month to serve a nearly two-year prison sentence resulting from his insider trading conviction because there was overwhelming evidence of his crimes, a federal judge said Monday.

Judge Richard M. Berman ruled there was no substantial question nor any close question of law to warrant letting the Indiana Republican remain free until his appeal is decided. He said prosecutors had presented “compelling testimony and documentary evidence” of Buyer’s crimes and “devastating evidence of an attempted cover-up.”

The judge noted that a jury capped a nine-day trial by returning its March verdict in less than four hours. Prosecutors say he made illegal stock trades based on insider information while working as a consultant after serving in the House from 1993 to 2011.

The lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran once chaired the House Veterans’ Affairs committee and was a House prosecutor at ex-President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial.

At sentencing last month, Berman said Buyer’s conviction by a jury was not a close call because the evidence against him “screams guilty.” The judge said Buyer lied when he testified at his trial about when he learned about mergers that he profited from.

The Noblesville, Indiana, resident is due to report to prison on Nov. 28.

A lawyer for Buyer said Berman’s ruling will be appealed.

New Jersey
DOJ investigates possible civil rights violations by Trenton police
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation Tuesday into possible civil rights violations by the police department in New Jersey’s capital city.

The investigation in Trenton will focus on allegations that officers have used excessive force, stopped motorists and pedestrians without justification, and illegally searched homes and cars.

“The public must have trust and confidence that police officers will treat them fairly and with respect,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Civil Rights Division, said in a written statement. “The Justice Department will conduct a full and fair investigation into these allegations, and if we substantiate those violations, the department will take appropriate action to remedy them.”

Democratic Mayor Reed Gusciora, Police Director Steve Wilson and the head of the city’s legal department were notified of the investigation and have pledged cooperation, federal authorities said.

In a separate statement, Gusciora on Tuesday praised “the overwhelming majority of officers at the city, county, and state level who do the right things every day to keep Trentonians safe.” But he added, “If any members of law enforcement violate the public trust or act in contravention of our state and federal laws, they should and must be held accountable.”

The union representing police in Trenton, a city of about 90,000 people, responded to the probe by citing persistent staffing shortages since 2011, when budget cuts forced the city to lay off 105 officers, or nearly a third of the force.

The union said police responded to 41 shooting incidents over the past 30 days “and have consistently demonstrated commitment, always doing more with less.”

If the federal probe determines the police department has broken federal law, the Justice Department can sue to force changes.