Police Abuse in Ohio [Archive] - Page 2 - In Session Message Boards

Terry99

12-18-2008, 11:48 PM

I have to amend my earlier answer. The Sheriff did talk about not having hospitals to take people to in the WKYC interview:

Swanson complained that more and more out of control inmates are winding up at his jail instead of going to hospitals where they need help. Meyer asked Swanson if he was saying Steffey was a mental patient.

"I'm saying there are people who have lost control of their behavior," Swanson said. "We used to probate people who had these problems. There are no more of these hospitals, so guess who gets them?"

I don't understand that answer. If you called the Sheriff's Department for help because someone was threatening suicide, they're not going to arrest that person. They have to take them for medical evaluation. So what's the difference if you learn they're suicidal after they've been taken to the jail?

I have to agree with you "New" - how can there not be a sexual aspect to this. The officer holding Steffey down knew he was being videotaped and still couldn't stop himself from turning around to get a look when her pants and underwear were removed. Then he fumbled around trying to unhook her bra. They keep saying these people are trained professionals - like they have medical degrees. How long does it take to learn how to throw people on the ground; twist their arms and remove their clothes? I don't think it's any less humiliating for the woman because the deputy has a framed certificate.

The Canton Rep has videos on youtube geared toward defending the Sheriff's Office. I have written more than once to the executive editor of the newspaper to express my views. They'll get commentary from me whether they want it or not.

Newname

12-19-2008, 12:31 AM

You made some good points.
There has to be something the police in Stark County can do with people when they are suicidal but haven't commited an arrestable offense. Even if Hope Steffey had really done something to warrant being arrested (and I doubt she did, even though a jury convicted her of it), you would think that getting a suicidal person real help would be the main priority. Sorry, but being stripped naked by a bunch of men isn't going to do much for a females mental state. And yes, the officer holding her down was clearly unable to keep from leering as Hopes pants and underwear were being removed. On more than one occasion he was shown staring right at her exposed lower half. There was no reason neeeded to do that other than pure lechery. It's not like she was a serial killer who they just HAD to put in a jail cell, either. She basically made an apparently already tempermental police officer angry. That wasn't something so serious that it was imperative she be kept in a cell rather than taken somewhere for appropriate help.
The police are coming up with excuses for what they did to her, but we'll see how well their explanations hold up when they are pressed by a hopefully good attorney. Most of the people posting on this board seem to be able to see through the smokescreen already.

John7878

12-19-2008, 07:21 AM

The police are coming up with excuses for what they did to her, but we'll see how well their explanations hold up when they are pressed by a hopefully good attorney. Most of the people posting on this board seem to be able to see through the smokescreen already.

If you read my comments you'll see that this will NEVER go to a trial.

As all of us have pointed out the cops excuses will not hold up under real questions. And no one is going to be fooled by the 'proof' of their video....with only a few seconds of 'enhanced' audio.
It doesn't prove she was suicidal, but it does give you an idea why they abused her. She was being a sarcastic pain, so they decided to teach her a lesson. This also explains the answer that was public, when she said "Now or ever", she was referring to her earlier sarcastic answer.

Also the rule about refusing to answer questions and they have an excuse to attack a person is BS.
Apparently they have never heard of the fifth amendment? Or having MIRANDA rights, with a lawyer present?

I never have heard when they read her her rights. (If ever.)

When I first saw the tape I was as outraged as you people. But then after talking to some of these 'authorities' I get worked up into a real fit.
And the more they try to hold out info, and BS me around, the more determined I am to dig even more.
:flamemad:

Newname

12-19-2008, 09:44 AM

John7878

12-20-2008, 07:25 AM

Yeah, the odds are that the sheriffs department will try to settle out of court. I'd much rather see this go to trial. Instead they'll probably try to give her some money with the caveat that they don't have to admit any wrongdoing. I obviously don't know Hope Steffey, but I'd rather see these people torn apart on the stand and then have a jury render a huge verdict in her favor.

I had heard a rumor that they did make an offer, but it was turned down.

I have NO idea if it is true or not, just what I heard.

But if I had to make a guess, I think the court dates jumping a couple times, may just be a delay, or maybe a delay because of the settlement offers that were turned down.

Sort of a 50/50 chance of either way.

Newname

12-20-2008, 01:28 PM

I had heard a rumor that they did make an offer, but it was turned down.

I have NO idea if it is true or not, just what I heard.

But if I had to make a guess, I think the court dates jumping a couple times, may just be a delay, or maybe a delay because of the settlement offers that were turned down.

Sort of a 50/50 chance of either way.
If it's true that an offer was turned down, good.
What needs to happen here is for a verdict in Hopes favor that says the police were out of line in their actions towards her, and not just a little bit. Then again, with the economy the way it is, Hope and her husband might be tempted to take an offer if it's a big one. That wouldn't bother me as long as it requires the Stark county sheriffs department to admit they were wrong.
I'd love to see the grand jury trancripts, too. I seriously doubt any real effort was made to get indictments. It was more than likely just a show put on so that they prosecutors could say, "Hey, we tried", when they really didn't.

Terry99

12-20-2008, 07:20 PM

In the Canton Rep, there were two articles relating to the Stark County jail. One about an inmate who tried to commit suicide and another about whether a vendor was supposed to provide milk to the inmates every day. The comments sections for these articles are filled with vile tirades against law breakers; some asserting that prisoners should lose all their rights. It doesn't even matter to many whether these people have been convicted or merely arrested. If those commenting are representative of the people of the County, it's no wonder Swanson was re-elected and Hope Steffey was convicted.

John7878

12-20-2008, 09:15 PM

That wouldn't bother me as long as it requires the Stark county sheriffs department to admit they were wrong.

If you read this thread, then you know I have already called and asked if the sheriff's dept was still having men strip women.
My answer was they are following "policy" and then I got hung up on.

So apparently they still think its ok, even after law enforcement and correctional professionals across the county have condemned it.

I'd love to see the grand jury trancripts, too. I seriously doubt any real effort was made to get indictments. It was more than likely just a show put on so that they prosecutors could say, "Hey, we tried", when they really didn't.

Right on the money. No effort was made to find out the truth, thats why they had to leave major questions unanswered.
And even the questionable stuff they ran into was slanted into the cops favor, when dealing with conflicting testimony.

Heres a cut & paste from another post of mine:

Why the obsession with this case?

Well I have called the sheriff's dept and left my name & number at least 3 times, with assurances that the sheriff would call back. I got nothing for 9 months. I have asked questions only to be hung up on. (Talking civilly) I have had the sheriff's dept personnel lie outright to me. I have asked questions and had BS answers tossed back at me. I have asked for some info, only to have them say to file a freedom of information request to get it. And I have had them laugh in my face for asking who to file it with.
And I have had them tell me 'missing video' would be released, only to have them deny its existence, during a grand jury investigation.

The more they try to hold out info, and BS me around, the more determined I am to dig even more.

Now some authorities I have talked to on the phone have been able to discuss the issue without all the stuff I have run into at the sheriff's.

John, the Stark County prosecutor, is one of those.
He returned my call right away and we talked about the three teens and the Steffey cases.
He was claiming that the three teens case was like a 'Scared Straight' program. I told him I was an advocate of the Scared Straight program, but this sexual assault program they had was nothing like it. I told him he should get the Scared Straight video and watch it.
I said since they were already searched before they entered, they had no probable cause to strip them, and that it was illegal. The authorities even admitted that it was only done to 'punish' them. I said the problem I have is why YOU don't see that what was done was criminal.
Then we talked about the Steffey case.
Anyway, we each got our views aired like adults, and I left the call with more information than I had before.

And thats all I'm trying to pass on to anyone reading these posts. More information than you'll get from the papers or news channels.

Newname

12-20-2008, 11:20 PM

John7878

12-21-2008, 08:14 AM

What video did you request to see?
The part of the tape that would have shown whether or not Hope was given a chance to remove her own clothing or was knocked down and slammed to the mat? Didn't they originally say they would release that portion of the video, but then came up with some story about how the camera wasn't working at that time?
How can they expect anyone to believe that obvious lie?

Yeah the beginning of the strip video. The building video shows them taping all the way down the hall, and the news & lawyers had been asking for it for 3 months. So I finally called at the beginning of May and asked if it would EVER be released. They said yes. They didn't deny its existence then. And this is a case that went national and had, according to them, thousands of calls about it. So they knew exactly what video I was talking about.

At first I was very confident that a jury would find in favor of Hope Steffey in her civil case, but after hearing about the sheriff being re-elected, I'm not quite as hopeful. Apparently many of the voters in Stark county don't have a problem with females being brutalized by police. I have law enforcement officers in my family, so it's not like I have any problem with cops in general. But when they abuse their authority, that's not something we should turn a blind eye to.

Cops, including the ones in my family, complain about all the rules they have to follow, but because of police like this, you can't let them do anything they want. You end up with abuse cases like this.

Hopefully Steffey learned her lesson from her last jury trial. Basically she was convicted on the conflicting testimony of the cops, with no proof.

I read the trial transcripts and I never would have convicted her without proof.
And that was the whole point, if she was as bad as the cop said, he had EVERY opportunity to get evidence....HE JUST DIDN'T!

They never fail to say she was drunk, physically & verbally abusive, and out-of-control every chance they get.
But what about the cops?
Ok, so hes supposed to be the trained professional, hes supposed to be trained to deal with situations like this.
And then he doesn't use the taxpayer supplied video equipment?!?!? No breathalyser?

Their excuses just don't make sense, their investigations are a joke, and their treatment of females is criminal.

And how Swanson EVER got re-elected is beyond me!
:flamemad:

Newname

12-21-2008, 11:41 AM

Since I live in Indiana, I don't know much about Stark County.
It certainly seems like the people there just don't want to believe anything bad about their police or at very least think people wearing badges are allowed to bend the law a little bit, though. That's typical of a lot of communities. However, I think those people need to stop and ask themselves how they would feel if that had been their wife, daughter, sister, niece or even THEM being stripped naked like that in full view of at least four men. I remember when they showed this on O'Reilly. One of his legal analysts, Megyn Kelly, said that Steffey shouldn't have gotten drunk and been combative. That came from a lawyer. I wanted to yell at the television that there was no proof she was drunk or combative and that even if both of those allegations were true, it did not justifiy her clothes (not to mention dignity) being stripped away in order to humiliate her. I'm glad that Greg Steffey has more control of his temper than I do. If that had been my wife they had done that to, I'm afraid I would have sought revenge of more personal nature than a simple lawsuit. I know he didn't seem very supportive of her in that phone call between them after her arrest, but that was obviously before he saw that video of what those thugs had done to her.
And the mysteriously disappearing video...
Please.
That one is so obvious.
If the camera hadn't been working initially, why did it take them several months to come out and say so? Instead they kept telling people they would release that portion of the video, but then suddenly came up with a story about how the camera wasn't working during that critical period of time? No amount of Lysol can eliminate the smell of that story.
Besides, why did the camera suddenly start working after failing to? I've never had a camera or any electronic equiptment stop working and then somehow fix itself.
This whole situation has made me so angry that I can't get it out of my head. Maybe if I'd only heard about it but not seen the video, it wouldn't be so hard for me to let go. But like I said in an earlier post, I kept imagining it being my wife or daughter sexually assaulted like that.
That's exactly what it was, too.

John7878

12-22-2008, 09:27 AM

One of his legal analysts, Megyn Kelly, said that Steffey shouldn't have gotten drunk and been combative. That came from a lawyer. I wanted to yell at the television that there was no proof she was drunk or combative and that even if both of those allegations were true

Well from the videos you can tell she had been drinking, she even admitted as much at her trial, she admitted to drinking 5 beers during the evening, along with her medication. (Which she shouldn't have done.)
But she also testified that she later went to the hospital, after she was released from jail, and was diagnosed with a concussion.
Concussion symptoms are confusion, headache, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, loss of memory, and more.
People assume she got sick in the arrest video because she was drunk, but without EVIDENCE, it could just as easily been because of the concussion.

BTW she also testified at court that they falsified documents that stated she confessed to being drunk.

And the combative allegation is a laugh, in every video I have seen she is cuffed. And if the cops aren't assaulting her she isn't "combative".

This whole situation has made me so angry that I can't get it out of my head. Maybe if I'd only heard about it but not seen the video, it wouldn't be so hard for me to let go. But like I said in an earlier post, I kept imagining it being my wife or daughter sexually assaulted like that.
That's exactly what it was, too.

It sickened me also and it still sticks in my head too. (Maybe I should sue too.)

Thats the whole point of this....do we really want to wait until it >IS< our wife, daughter, or other female relation assaulted like this?

Newname

12-22-2008, 12:37 PM

Well from the videos you can tell she had been drinking, she even admitted as much at her trial, she admitted to drinking 5 beers during the evening, along with her medication. (Which she shouldn't have done.)
But she also testified that she later went to the hospital, after she was released from jail, and was diagnosed with a concussion.
Concussion symptoms are confusion, headache, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, loss of memory, and more.
People assume she got sick in the arrest video because she was drunk, but without EVIDENCE, it could just as easily been because of the concussion.

BTW she also testified at court that they falsified documents that stated she confessed to being drunk.

And the combative allegation is a laugh, in every video I have seen she is cuffed. And if the cops aren't assaulting her she isn't "combative".
I shouldn't have said that there was no evidence she had been drinking.
Let me clarify that.
I had no doubt that she'd been drinking, but my issue was how much and what impact that had on her behavior. Megyn Kelly seemed to be saying that getting drunk somehow warranted her being put in her place by being stripped and humiliated. At the time of the segment about this on O'Reilly I wasn't aware that Hope had consumed five beers. That would certainly be enough to intoxicate someone her size, depending on how often she drinks, how quickly she drank them, and whether or not she'd had any food in her stomach. But the point remains that intoxication doesn't warrant removing someones clothing, especially having men do it to a female. If police believe someone to be suicidal, there has to be a better way of dealing with it than what took place here. Besides, if they could have done a strip search of her using only females, then why couldn't they have removed her clothing using only women? I mean, Hope was handcuffed and isn't a very big person to begin with. They could have at least attempted to remove her clothes using only women. And I don't believe for one second that they gave her the opportunity to take her clothes off by herself. When she was being stripped and was screaming, "What are you doing?", it was clear she had no idea they were going to take her clothes off before they started doing it. I'm not buying that the camera just coincidently wasn't working when they claim to have given her the chance to taker her own clothing off. That's just too much to swallow.
I think she gave them some attitude and they decided to make her pay for it. And as I've said before, if someone is truly suicidal, it's probably not wise to let them walk free just a few hours after diagnosing them as such. No psychologist worth his or her weight in sand would say that's a good idea. But then again, I don't believe they really thought she was any threat to self harm.

It sickened me also and it still sticks in my head too. (Maybe I should sue too.)

Thats the whole point of this....do we really want to wait until it >IS< our wife, daughter, or other female relation assaulted like this?
Yeah, too many people have the attitude that it's okay unless it happens to them or someone they care about. Well, you shouldn't wait until that point. I have police in my family, so I have no personal issues with law enforcement officers in general. What happened here was a travesty, however. They didn't care about Hopes mental state or whether or not she was really suicidal. It was about teaching her a lesson. Sadly, there are a lot of people who just don't want to hold police accountable or think that they should be given leeway to administer punishment as they see fit. That's a dangerous attitude to have.

John7878

01-05-2009, 12:12 PM

Called and talked to the county prosecutors office at the end of Dec.
I was asking of any criminal charges had been brought against anyone for the three teens that were strip searched.
And of course there were none. Surprise!
I asked how that could be since Richard DeHeer had said that there was not a policy to strip kids on a tour and there had NEVER been a policy like that.

She wasn’t sure, only that the counties insurance was negotiating with the lawyers.
Why that would have anything to do with the criminal charges is beyond me.

But I also learned that the insurance company is also negotiating with Hope Steffeys lawyers.
So no doubt this will be settled the same way, as the teens case, with a hunk of cash.

Newname

01-06-2009, 08:46 PM

I wonder how much money the current sheriffs administration will cost the people of Stark county before they realize they made a mistake in re-electing him? Strip searching kids as punishment? How is that not a prosecutable offense?

John7878

01-06-2009, 09:52 PM

I wonder how much money the current sheriffs administration will cost the people of Stark county before they realize they made a mistake in re-electing him?

Well he is named in a half dozen lawsuits, but how many people really know that?
How many really know how he is running his dept?
He comes out in the news and tells his side, labels the victims of his abuse as the perpetrators, and then its all supposed to be ok.

So I doubt that people REALLY have a idea what’s going on, even in this Steffey case, except this time there was video. But even as the video condemns them he's STILL trying to make a case for it being ok for men to strip women naked and then leave them.
Unfrickenbelieveable!

Strip searching kids as punishment? How is that not a prosecutable offense?

It >IS< a prosecutable offense. And of course we all know WHY it is NOT being prosecuted.

Because in this case chit would roll UPHILL. If they go after the guards, then the guards are gonna blow the whistle on the bosses that approved the protocol in the first place. (The one they claimed NEVER existed, even though the papers had already quoted them as saying it was approved.)

Claiming they had a brain fart, probably wouldn't be a good defense.

BTW Was supposed to get a call from the Stark County prosecutor, but still haven't gotten it.

Newname

01-08-2009, 10:59 PM

John7878

01-08-2009, 11:45 PM

I called the sheriffs dept again today and got hung up on again by the sheriffs secretary AGAIN, when I asked if they were still having men strip women.
So I called back and asked not to be hung up on again. After a little heated exchange I left my name & number for the sheriff to call back.

Then I called the county prosecutor to see if they were still allowing the practice. They referred me back to the jail.

I also called a county Commissioner and was told that they couldn't do anything, the sheriff is an elected official.

So I called and tried to contact the head of the jail and was directed to Chief McDonald.

His stance was they are STILL going to be doing this. Citing, that they will do whatever they have to, to keep people from harming themselves.
I said even when police across the whole country are condemning the practice? Even another county sheriff?
He said what if I told you that our policies were modeled after his?
I said its still wrong.
(Apparently they have a hard time telling right from wrong there.)

So I hope all the voters that put Swanson back into office have deep pockets. Because it looks like this isn't going to be the only lawsuit.
:cursing:

Stark County Sheriff's Office
(330)/430-3800

sandyfromoh

01-08-2009, 11:55 PM

Well, it comes down to this.
If people see our police officers getting away with things that are both illegal and unethical, how long before they lose all respect for the law themselves? Sorry, but the mantra "Do as we say, not as we do", doesn't work on adults.

Hate to break the news to you, but it's not only policemen! Just look at our government!! It won't be long before we are like ancient Rome, and unless people wake up, we shall also fall. We can thank the News Media and the need for 15 minutes of fame, and letting the minority of Americans, lead the majority! :crying:

John7878

01-09-2009, 07:09 AM

I called the sheriffs dept again today and got hung up on again by the sheriffs secretary AGAIN, when I asked if they were still having men strip women.

His stance was they are STILL going to be doing this.

Oh forgot to mention that the sheriff's secretary did say, they are NOT still doing this, just before she slammed down the receiver.

So she LIED,............... AGAIN.

And I figured she did, which is why I double checked what she said, by getting a hold of someone at the jail.

Sandy your right about the government, but a lot of this is because voters will actually believe a 30 second campaign ad.
WHY this is so, I have NO idea.

I know it’s a pain to try to keep track of city government, that includes park boards, school boards, not to mention all the elected city officials.
And then you have to try to keep an eye on county, state, and federal levels also.

Its almost a full time job.

But people are going to have to devote at least some time into looking at the candidates, to keep the worst ones out of office.
And ideally it would be best to get involved in politics and get your own agenda started in the system.

But we all know that isn’t going to happen, so I’d prepare for the worst.

Newname

01-09-2009, 02:56 PM

Hate to break the news to you, but it's not only policemen! Just look at our government!! It won't be long before we are like ancient Rome, and unless people wake up, we shall also fall. We can thank the News Media and the need for 15 minutes of fame, and letting the minority of Americans, lead the majority! :crying:
Yes, I know.
And it scares the hell out of me.
I'd be suprised if there's still a country called The United States thirty years from now.

Terry99

01-10-2009, 04:35 PM

John, I give you a lot of credit for keeping your cool when speaking to people like Swanson and McDonald. They terrorized Hope Steffey to the point where she was hyperventilating, and they still believe they did something noble. Shows what kind of people you're dealing with.

On the WKYC site, you mentioned that McDonald would not want to admit to changing the policy because that would be the same as acknowledging they did something wrong. I agree - they're not going to advertise the fact. However, a hospital attorney told me that in a malpractice suit, the plaintiff is only entitled to see the policies that were in effect at the time of the occurrence. The courts don't want to discourage hospitals from making necessary changes or to penalize them for doing so. If that rule applies across the board, the jail policies could be amended without affecting the court case.

John7878

01-10-2009, 06:40 PM

If that rule applies across the board, the jail policies could be amended without affecting the court case.

True, but then you still have the court of "public opinion". If they did a change now, I'm pretty sure they'd be found guilty in THAT court.

The suprising thing is why were they not already, when the voters were casting ballots in the election?!?!?

I have been trying to keep busy, heres a letter to the CantonRep paper:

Went to your YourTube video to see the Hope Steffey story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDRsCkc-9k0

And I noticed this posted on the video:

QUOTE "Stark County Sheriff's deputies administer suicide precautions in the Hope Steffey case after Steffey told the jail nurse she may harm herself."

The video 'confession' you refer to as Hope telling the nurse she might harm herself is what is known as sarcasm.
I guess neither the paper or the sheriff's people are smart enough to figure this out. And it makes me wonder how many other people have fell victim to these abuses, using similar poor excuses.
Even from the highly edited & "enhanced" video, that sheriff Swanson came up with, you can still tell she has no intention of harming herself. And I'm sure if they had "enhanced" the WHOLE video, it would have been obvious. Which is probably why there never seems to ever be a complete video in Stark County. (If any.)

She is being sarcastic because she was a crime VICTIM, that was then assaulted by the investigating officer. And then for icing on the cake, he took her to the jail. Then instead of actually helping her, these people start grilling her about her mental state, after she has already suffered a concussion. (Too bad they couldn't diagnose that as quickly as her "suicidal state".)

It amazes me that the sheriff can label the VICTIM of his officers abuses as the "out-of-control" trouble maker and everyone buys into his story.

Plus the fact that Swanson complained for MONTHS about WKYC showing what he called a edited version of the strip video. The only thing was WKYC edited out the worst portions of the video!
And then Swanson has the guts to come out with this HIGHLY edited, enhanced, and out of context video. (With audio only)

And I resent the fact that by posting this on the site, you are perpetrating this fairy story of the sheriff's, as if its legitimate.

As for the sheriff's claims of her being "out-of-control", I would love to see a video of her when she's NOT just been assaulted by the police and it shows her "out-of-control".
Unfortunately the only videos they have is just after or during her being assaulted by the police.
The video of the whole night shift, escorting her down the hall, does NOT show her being abusive or "out-of-control". And every video I have seen her is she is in cuffs anyway. Same for the video of her going to get booked.

Then we have Swanson telling the news that he doesn't have enough women for a suicide prevention, yet there were FIVE women there when Steffey was stripped.
Plus the fact that by law, strip searches & body cavity searches MUST be done by same sex. So if they don't have enough same sex people for suicide preventions, HOW do they have enough same sex personnel for the strip searches & body cavity searches?

I guess a poor excuse is better than none, but it should at least be believable!

But please, lets not help Swanson spread his lies, by posting a repeat of his garbage like this.

John7878

01-10-2009, 06:52 PM

John, I give you a lot of credit for keeping your cool when speaking to people like Swanson and McDonald.

Well I try, but I sometimes lose it when I am talking to Swanson's secretary Carrie.

To put it bluntly she is aggravating and stupid. And I have a low tolerance for stupidity. (and especially for my own)

Plus the fact that she has hung up on me multiple times and outright LIED to me (multiple times) doesn’t help either.
LoL

So I don't always manage to pull it off, but I consider the fact that the phone lines are probably all recorded, so I do try.

Terry99

01-11-2009, 03:00 PM

Liked your letter to the Canton Rep, John, and am so glad you wrote it. I've also sent e-mails calling them out on the way they manipulated the "facts" of this case. They must be in the Sheriff's pocket. Like Stephen Colbert said about the reporters who covered President Bush in the run-up to the Iraq invasion - they write down everything he says, run it through spell check, and print it. They don't seem to question anything coming from the Sheriff's Department.

Prior to the election, Dordea was sending them information about the police unions and organizations that supported him. They withheld that and instead printed a list of Swanson's supporters. Positive information about Dordea only came out in letters to the editor immediately prior to the election, after the paper had already endorsed Swanson. They also downplayed Swanson's use of inmates to set up his campaign booth. Dordea was a relative unknown running against an incumbent in an overwhelmingly Democratic year and they still found it necessary to manage the news. Pretty pathetic.

Terry99

01-13-2009, 03:18 PM

sandyfromoh

01-13-2009, 05:24 PM

John7878

01-13-2009, 06:55 PM

http://www.cantonrep.com/opinion/letters/x1621243793/Sheriffs-comment-at-hearing-at-odds-with-respectful-conduct

Apparently Swanson is showing his true colors more and more and the people don't like what they see. Looks like he's the one who's out of control.

THANKS for the link!!!

Too bad its too little, too late....

I should have written a letter to the editor before the elections, but to be honest, I would have never thought that people would have voted this guy back into office.

Plus the fact I would have never been able to fit everything into a 300 word letter! LoL

John7878

01-13-2009, 07:05 PM

I really hope some of these people will be on the jury for Hope!!! Thanks Terry, John and Newname for keeping up the heat!!:thumbsup:

There isn't going to be a jury.

I would LOVE to see it go to trial, but afraid that’s just a dream.

When Swanson said he wouldn't comment till after the grand jury investigation, and that it would "all come out then", he was a liar.

He knew very well nothing given to the grand jury would ever come out.

And when he said in his last interview that he wouldn't answer questions, because it will "all come out" at the federal trial, he is again a liar.

He knows very well there will be no trial.

This is just aggravating as heck.

:cursing:

Terry99

01-13-2009, 08:09 PM

I sent this to the Canton Rep:

I just read the report of the Sheriff's outburst at a public meeting...what a shock. Can this be the humble, gracious man you described in your endorsement? Remember how you said he's not a grand stander and didn't need the negative publicity (duh, well who does?). Did you ever consider that he keeps a low profile so he can do as he wants without answering any questions or listening to any disagreement. Apparently he doesn't take to those things too well.

Given his behavior of late, one might say he was "out of control" (sorta how he keeps describing Hope Steffey). I thought cursing in public was considered disorderly conduct. One of his deputies should have roughed him up and arrested him on the spot. Now, he's unapologetic for his disrespect. When asked about Hope Steffey, he says people are responsible for their actions and inactions. Guess he means other people.

You seem to suspend critical thinking when it comes to the Sheriff. Like Stephen Colbert said about reporters who covered the President just prior to the Iraq invasion - they took down what he said, put it through spell check and printed it. What you publish probably does influence other people. You should take that responsibility more seriously.

Now I'll drop a line to the Sheriff's Department asking why Swanson wasn't arrested. As a rule, I'm not mean-spirited and wouldn't do something just to be annoying, but I'm making an exception in this case.

Newname

01-14-2009, 06:27 PM

So the good Sheriff dropped the F bomb in a public setting?
Isn't that the kind of thing that got Hope Steffey put through this whole ordeal?
I guess having a badge makes some people think they're above the law.

John7878

01-14-2009, 09:20 PM

Another article:

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4505080?page=0

My comment on the article:

First I would like to say that Vivianne Whalen is a very sharp person. And I think she is an real asset to the dept.

But I still have to question WHY Swanson has to have her "negotiate union contracts, handle fact-finding, grievances and arbitrations."

The prosecutor's office should have attorneys, can't one of them be used in labor negotiations?

And he has said in a previous article that he uses her to get 'legal opinions' quickly, instead of having to wait for the Stark County prosecutor.

Hey that's great, but is it worth that much money?
And I can believe that this is "Based on the figures provided by Swanson".

Yeah its lists her salary, but doesn't give the cost of the Public Employees Retirement System, Medicare and Workers' Compensation, and insurance benefits.
So what's the real total?

Also I see they say an outside law firm is responsible for defending Swanson in the half dozen lawsuits he is named in, but I don't see a cost listed for those.

I don't suppose anyone has asked him to stop his policies that have brought lawsuit after lawsuit down on the county taxpayers??? (Yeah, I know it's paid out by the counties insurance, but the taxpayers still have to anti up for the premiums.)
His policy of having men strip women naked has been condemned by correction & mental health officials across the country, but a call to the jail confirms that he still persists with the practice.

How DID this guy get re-elected?!?!?!

John7878

01-14-2009, 09:31 PM

John7878

01-14-2009, 10:38 PM

When asked about Hope Steffey, he says people are responsible for their actions and inactions. Guess he means other people.

Hey got some of your post too I used...

:ohmy:

John7878

01-14-2009, 11:48 PM

Hey got some of your post too I used...

:ohmy:

They deleted my post on the Letter to the Editor.

So I cut & pasted your post here....so mad I couldn't think of a response myself....but who knows if they will even leave it on there.

Grrrrrrr
:cursing:

Newname

01-15-2009, 04:30 PM

Hey gonna steal this quote for another post on that article, hope thats ok.

:confused:
Hey, go for it.
No problems here.

John7878

01-16-2009, 08:29 PM

Newname

01-17-2009, 03:51 PM

Well I have called and left my name & number a few times at the sheriff's, but I'm not getting any respose at all, from anyone.

Must be the busy season there, or I am starting to wear on them.

:huh:
Don't stop going at them.
I'm sure they'd love nothing more than for you and this whole situation to just go away.

sandyfromoh

01-17-2009, 03:54 PM

Don't stop going at them.
I'm sure they'd love nothing more than for you and this whole situation to just go away.

:thumbsup:

John7878

01-17-2009, 03:55 PM

Don't stop going at them.
I'm sure they'd love nothing more than for you and this whole situation to just go away.

Well still going at it on the WKYC site:

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=100466

Wonder if she'll answer my question?!??!

With all the stuff that the sheriff has said that doesn't make any sense, how can people believe anything he comes up with?

I just don't get it.
:sad:

Newname

01-17-2009, 07:52 PM

Well still going at it on the WKYC site:

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=100466

Wonder if she'll answer my question?!??!

With all the stuff that the sheriff has said that doesn't make any sense, how can people believe anything he comes up with?

I just don't get it.
:sad:
Yeah, I saw that.
I think I mentioned once that I post over there as Todd12.
I'm doing my best to help you out, but some people just don't seem to care or think that the police are somehow above the very laws they are sworn to uphold.

John7878

01-19-2009, 08:09 AM

Yeah, I saw that.
I think I mentioned once that I post over there as Todd12.
I'm doing my best to help you out, but some people just don't seem to care or think that the police are somehow above the very laws they are sworn to uphold.

I didn't know that, thanks for the help.

I just wonder what it will take for people to wake up??

ACLU CHALLENGES ILLEGAL STUDENT STRIP SEARCHES

Suit Claims Bucyrus City Schools Allows Improper Searches Conducted on Middle School Students
BUCYRUS, OH- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio is filing a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against the Bucyrus City School District and members of its staff. The suit challenges the school district’s repeated use of strip searches on students, in violation of federal and state laws. The plaintiffs in the case are three students who were strip searched because staff suspected they were in possession of tobacco products. Two of the students have reported being strip searched on other occasions.
ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Jeffrey Gamso said, “Bucyrus City Schools have demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the law and the well-being of its students by repeatedly conducting strip searches without substantial evidence of wrongdoing.”
“School should be a place where students feel safe, yet staff members in Bucyrus intimidate and humiliate students through strip searches. Forcing young people to remove clothing for a search should never be acceptable, yet it seems that in Bucyrus schools it is almost routine,” added Gamso.
The plaintiffs were strip searched occurred on April 17, 2008, prior to the start of the school day. A group of students, including some of the plaintiffs, were congregating in an alley across the street from the school. Some of the students in the alley were smoking cigarettes. The school principal came upon the students and they ran onto the school grounds and mixed in with others. The principal pulled a group of students inside, including some who had been in the alley and some who had not.
Staff members brought each of the male plaintiffs into an office, made them turn out their pockets, patted them down and forced them to drop their pants so they could check for tobacco products. A staff member also took his finger and inserted it between the waistbands of the boys’ underwear and their body and ran the finger around their waist. Staff also took a female student into an office and forced her to lift her shirt up and patted her down. She also reported being strip searched at an after school event several months later.
"The Constitution and Ohio law are clear that the school simply cannot perform these strip searches. That the school has repeatedly performed these illegal searches demonstrates that the district must adopt a clear policy outlining acceptable search techniques and hold those responsible who have broken the law," Gamso concluded.

http://www.acluohio.org/pressreleases/2008pr/2008.09.17.asp

Newname

01-19-2009, 02:46 PM

Strip searching kids over cigarettes?
Unbelievable.
I think it's time to head for the hills.

John7878

01-19-2009, 03:36 PM

Strip searching kids over cigarettes?
Unbelievable.
I think it's time to head for the hills.

Unbelievable? You haven’t seen unbelievable yet.

Try strip searching a couple 2nd graders for a missing $7……TWICE!

And some 7th grade girls too: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=5985089

How about Mary Novak, a 82 yr old woman that was charged with playing music too loud? She was taken to jail & strip searched.

Search for “Gail Lynn Simpson”, she was strip searched five times, the last time they took pictures of her breasts, because they were pierced.

How about this one: Two British girls were sent to an orphanage for 30 hours and strip searched after their mother became ill during a holiday in the US.
"Gemma Bray, 15, and her 13-year-old sister Katie also had their clothes taken off them and were asked if they had been abused or were suicidal. "

Search for Marci Ladakakos, a Maine woman, sheriff claims she was suicidal….sound familiar?

How about Tracy Curry? She consented to an X ray because the cops said she had drugs. The xrays showed NOTHING, but they forced her to submit to a body cavity search anyway!

A rural southeastern Missouri school district has conceded 10 teen-age girls were strip-searched during class and has apologized for accusing them of lying

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34318

And this: A family stopped in the middle of the night. And the wife & daughter strip searched by the roadside.

"After deliberating more than 20 hours over the course of three days, jurors found that the deputies illegally detained and searched Arnetta McCloud, her then-15-year-old daughter, Cynthia, and a cousin, Marcus Frazier, in a midnight traffic stop and drug investigation that stretched for more than four hours in July, 2001."

http://www.november.org/stayinfo/breaking06/StripSearch.html

This is just the tip of the iceburg I have found while searching on the net for information. I don’t think people have ANY idea just how bad it is REALLY getting!

This is why I contacted my Reps to try to get a law stopping this abuse.

John7878

01-19-2009, 04:07 PM

Heres one letter I sent out to my Reps. It conserns a new law they were trying to pass.

I'm contacting you about the repeated attempts to get the Student and Teacher Safety Act passed.

It was introduced as H.R. 5295 Student and Teacher Safety Act of 2006, and then become reincarnated as H.R.3291 Student and Teacher Safety Act of 2007.

Why does this continue to come up for a vote after being defeated?? Especially one as poorly written as this one. This law is as vague as to mean anything.

We do NOT need a federal law covering this. Since all schools are not the same, why would you try to make a law to cover all of them?

It doesn't specifically mention strip searches, but schools could interpret the law anyway they wanted. And then use this law as an excuse as to why they are abusing students. Don't we have enough teacher/student abuse in the news?

When a student feels that he need to be protected from his teacher, he would most certainly, have trouble learning from him/her. And this law would help shield abuses under the "color of law".

Plus the fact you would have parents and students suing for violation of human rights, and the inability to provide a reasonable education for the student, without mental harassment.
Taxpayers would be paying out on this for sure.

I don't even want police to have the power to do this to kids let alone TEACHERS! And why in the world would you give more power to teachers than the police?!?!

And if schools are having trouble, it should be taken care of at the community level.

Newname

01-20-2009, 02:29 PM

Strip searches or just removing someones clothes should be like the death penalty. They should only be used for extreme circumstances. Cigarettes or seven dollars? Nope, that doesn't qualify. I don't like the idea of people stealing or kids smoking cigarettes, but doing something to them that will scar them for the rest of their lives is not justifiable in those situations. Besides, what if it turns out that they didn't steal the money or have any tobbaco products on them? Whoops! Sorry about that! We know the name of a good psychologist if you now need one, but no, we'll not be paying the bill!
Allowing strip searches in school is just asking for trouble. That's something that can easily be abused. The same goes for what happened to Hope Steffey. The police could find any number of ways to "justify" humiliating someone who gives them a hard time. Just get on the phone with a psychologist and exaggerate the persons behavior, take statements out of context (or neglect to say that the persons alleged threat to harm herself was dripping with sarcasm), and then you get the okay to put them in their place. Neat trick, huh? I'd love to check out the credentials of any psychologist who thinks that taking an extremely suicidal female into a cold jail cell and having men strip her naked is a good idea. It's not that I think Hope Steffey was really suicidal, though. I'm pretty sure the police didn't, either.
One thing that just occured to me was their allegations that she was too suicidal to even be allowed to wear a paper outfit. If that's the case, why did they leave a roll of toliet paper in the cell with her? It's not that I think anybody could kill themselves with paper anyway, but the police in this case claim they were afraid she would, right? Yet they neglected to take the roll of toliet paper with them as they left the jail cell? I guess they were too busy laughing to think about that...

sandyfromoh

01-20-2009, 02:49 PM

John7878

01-20-2009, 10:34 PM

Strip searches or just removing someones clothes should be like the death penalty. They should only be used for extreme circumstances.

My feeling is that if they need a search warrant to search your house, they D**N well need one to strip search someone.
It’s just unbelievable that people think that treatment like this is acceptable.

Plus the fact that even when the jails know the searches shouldn’t be done, the jails are using other excuses to the same effect.
Like saying a shower is just standard procedure for admittance in the jail. But these have been done for traffic offenses and misdemeanors. Its all BS.

Allowing strip searches in school is just asking for trouble.

Exactly! And like I said, I don't even like the cops to have that power, WHY would anyone want to give more power to a teacher, than a cop??

Better hope they don't pass that bill!

The police could find any number of ways to "justify" humiliating someone who gives them a hard time. and then you get the okay to put them in their place. Neat trick, huh?

And theres PLENTY of examples of just that out there. More than people realize.

One thing that just occured to me was their allegations that she was too suicidal to even be allowed to wear a paper outfit.
I guess they were too busy laughing to think about that...

Well they say the doctor made the decisions. I just wonder how he managed to see she was TOO suicidal from home!?!?!

Well I have called and left messages to Stark County, trying to get them to contact me.
I had some questions for the sheriff and I wanted a copy of the public records for the Steffey case. Especially a copy of the original nurse interview, without the editing and enhancing, the whole unedited thing.

But I can't seem to get a reply from them.

Imagine.

Newname

01-21-2009, 11:32 AM

Yeah, I know the doctor supposedly made the ultimate decision, but he did so based on what the police told him. I wonder if they made him aware that they were going to use men to forcibly remove her clothing, though? He should have instructed them to take her to a hospital for a mental evalutation if he really thought she was suicidal. I don't know if a judge needs to issue such an order based on what a doctor tells him or her, or if the doctor can do it by his or herself, but someone who is already suicidal doesn't need to be further traumatized. They are already in a fragile enough state. And the idea of releasing a person only a few hours after they've been deemed to be suicidal is absurd, especially if they've been put through what Hope was. Of course, they never really thought she was suicidal to begin with.
I've heard that Hope wrapped herself in toliet paper after being stripped. If that's true, then why didn't they remove that toliet tissue if they were so afraid to even let her wear a paper outfit? Someone needs to ask them that question and see what kind of b.s answer they come up with. They'll try to dance around it, but it would be fun to see them doing that.

John7878

01-28-2009, 11:29 PM

Not sure just what this is about:

http://www.cantonrep.com/archive/x946489339/Dont-blame-sheriff

QUOTE "And while discussing Sheriff Swanson, we would still like to know how that inmate was kidnapped right out from under Swanson's nose at the Stark County Jail by the two suspects flahing Sheriff's badges. How did they get these badges? Did they pay for them?

Was it Swanson or a deputy who got beating victim out of his cell and handed him over to the assailants who drove off with him and then assaulted him? Could two black guys have sprung a black inmate so easily from under Swansons nose at the Stark Count Jail? Is Swanson friends with the assailants? How did this happen and has anyone been fired for it yet?
=====

Barry_W

BHardie, you are confused in your recitation of how this incident occurred. This incident occurred at the Massillon Police Department, not the county jail. It was reported that Swanson had given DiPietro the honorary sheriff's badge which he then allegedly used to kidnap and assault the two men. There was no inmate 'kidnapped right out from under Swanson's nose at the Stark County Jail,' however. "

HUH?? Swanson is handing out badges?!?!??!? To people capable of kidnapping????

There must be more to this.....anyone else hear of this?

:confused:

John7878

01-30-2009, 11:38 PM

Stark sheriff's deputies file lawsuit over Hope Steffey news coverage

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4515802

sandyfromoh

01-31-2009, 12:03 AM

Stark sheriff's deputies file lawsuit over Hope Steffey news coverage

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4515802

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!:cursing:

John7878

01-31-2009, 12:49 AM

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!:cursing:

My Reply:

What guts these officers have trying to sue saying that THEY are the offended party!!

They STILL contend that Hope was the one that was out of control, ok then lets SEE the proof. They seem to have taxpayer supplied cameras to video everything, so WHERE is the video of her being abusive??

The ONLY video I have seen where she is even upset is after she is assaulted by Deputy Gurlea and the video of her cloths being removed.
WHO THE HECK WOULDN'T BE UPSET?!??!?

The other two videos they have shown of her being lead to the cell, and to the booking, do NOT show her being abusive AT ALL.

First off Deputy Gurlea NEVER turned on his camera, UNTIL after he had assaulted Hope Steffy and then wanted everyone to believe that she was that way the WHOLE TIME.

Then in the strip video MEN are removing her cloths?!?! If these cops cant see why this is WRONG, then they need a refresher course in MORALS.
Then we also have the camera swinging away from Steffey during the "mat change", so how does ANYONE know what they were actually doing to her???
THIS IS ALSO AGAINST JAIL POLICY. And should be enough to get these people fired.

QUOTE "The program showed edited portions of footage from the jail facility and portrayed the sheriff's department as conducting a "violent strip search" of Steffey "akin to rape."

Apparently, this is what these people don't get, it >IS< akin to rape. The victim is traumatized for life. Yet they try to say she shouldn't be so "modest". AMAZING!

Also they claim this strip video is edited. YES, it has the WORSE parts of it edited out!
And then after they complain about an edited video, they try to use SECONDS of an edited, enhanced, and out of context video to claim that she admitted to being suicidal, even as her voice is dripping with SARCASM.

Does this take GUTS or what?
QUOTE "At no time prior to airing the program did defendants attempt to contact the Stark County Sheriff's Office to determine why Steffey was placed in a jail cell"

Don't know about them but I have called the sheriff's dept MANY times.

Heres been my experience with the sheriff.
I have left my name & number at least 3 times with assurances that he would contact me.

No calls ever returned, until Swanson finally contacted me 10 months later, and still could not answer my question.

I have had the people that I DO contact in the sheriff's dept LIE outright to me.
I have had the head of the Stark County jail LIE outright to me.

I have called at the beginning of June to get the name & contact info for the State Atty Gen's investigators looking into the Hope Steffy case. (At the advice of the Atty Gen's office.)

The two times I called the people at Stark County Sheriff's Dept said they knew of NO ONE investigating the Hope Steffy case.

When I talked to Paul Scarsella and told him that the sheriff's secretary and head jailer denied knowing anyone investigating, he pointed out the obvious, THEY were the ones that requested the investigation.

I COULD have been an informer, maybe someone in the next cell that night wanting to come forward with my story.
They didn't know why I wanted to contact the investigators, only that it was in connection with the Hope Steffy case.

So how many others may have gotten sandbagged trying to contact the investigators and what other evidence never made it to the Grand Jury!?!?

QUOTE "In other programs, individuals, including a psychologist, a prison worker, and the Cuyahoga County sheriff, were shown edited footage and asked questions about a "strip search," but were not given background information of the Steffey incident "to reach an informed opinion."

Your nurse calls a doctor over the phone, and he says to strip Steffey based on information from her & the deputies, and you think this is a " informed opinion"???
Are you kidding me!?!?

I also doubt the "edited footage' allegation. On national TV the corrections experts they had referred to sequences in the strip film that were NOT in the edited footage.
They referred to the males removing Steffeys bra and panties, which was left OUT of the edited video on WKYC.

The station cut you thugs a break, one you didn't deserve.

And WOW your faces got recognized and you caught flack for your actions. What your not PROUD of the job you did?? Feel a little GUILT do you?

Too bad the BCI didn't polygraph the whole bunch of you and find out was REALLY was going on at the jail. But then they too cut you a break, you didn't deserve.

QUOTE "During that criminal trial, evidence was produced that at the time of her arrest Steffey was under the influence of alcohol and medication and was not the victim of an assault."

Steffey herself NEVER denied that she had some beer, she admitted to having 5 over the course of the evening. And to taking her anti-depressant medicine she was taking over the death of her sister.

Evidence?? Again I have to laugh at this BS. Ok so what was her breathalyzer reading?? OH,THAT'S RIGHT they never took one.

Evidence was presented that she was NOT the victim of an assault?

THIS IS AN OUT RIGHT LIE.

My copy of the court transcripts show that Deputy Gurlea knew Steffey
had hair missing. He testified he went to get a camera to document her injuries.
He even testified that the "investigation" was turned over to someone else and that they had NEVER FINISHED IT. Since they had already arrested Steffey.

There was NEVER any evidence produced that she was NOT the victim of an assault.

QUOTE "Evidence showed that on that day, Steffey had assaulted her niece, who was six months pregnant, and that she had also attacked and choked her teenage nephew."

LOL , talk about the TV putting a slant on the story!! Evidence showed that Steffey and her niece had two different versions of what happened. Steffey said she was attacked first for no other reason than her niece wanted to drive her car and Steffey would not let her.
As for the nephew, he never showed up at the trial, he never testified that she choked him.
And witnesses said Steffey only grabbed him after she awoke from being unconscious and was probably not aware at first that it was him, instead of her niece. But once she did realize who it was she let go, and it was this nephew that called 911 after Steffey asked him to.

Gee that puts that in a bit of a different light doesn't it?

This "lawsuit" is just a part of the sheriff's "damage control", trying to make citizens think they did nothing wrong.
Well get the court transcripts people, read the testimony, and find out for yourself.

John7878

01-31-2009, 01:01 AM

More Post:

Oh BTW the nephew that they claim Steffey "attacked" was the brother of her niece that attacked her.

He called the police on his OWN SISTER.

Ok you figure out who the guilty party is.

And the transcripts have a lot more conflicting testimony.

Yes, Steffey was convicted, but the only "evidence" the jury really had was the word of the cops against all the witnesses.

I guess the jury figured the cops wouldn't lie.

Hhahahhahahhahhahha

John7878

01-31-2009, 07:58 AM

My last post, so far, on the Review:

QUOTE "Meyers and Gannett, the suit claims, continued misleading portrayals of events at the Stark County Jail, including playing selected footage from the jail and continually referring to the incident as a "strip search" or "illegal strip search," which, if true, would amount to felony behavior on the part of the plaintiffs."

“Selected footage” ?
The beginning of the video is “MISSING”, no one has been able to say WHY, including the camera operator, the investigating BCI grand jury investigation (after a MONTHS long ‘investigation’), or anyone else that I know of.
But THEN, this “magic” camera “starts working” or “heals itself”, JUST as they force Steffey to the bunk to strip her. What a coincidence huh?

Yeah my electronic devices are always fixing themselves too! (NOTE for the Stark County nurse, this is sarcasm.)

And then as I pointed out before the camera swings away during the “mat change”, and by another “coincidence” this is the exact time Steffey starts screaming.
WHY was the camera taken off the prisoner? And when the camera goes back on her, why do the male deputies have her crossed legs forced up against her butt?

So what WERE they doing to Steffey, how can we say WHAT this was?

I have asked the sheriff’s dept about this and I had them try to turn my question around on me, like I was a pervert for asking. But it’s a little late for them to try to claim the high road on this case. And I never did get an answer. (Yeah they have nothing to hide.) (NOTE for the Stark County nurse, this is sarcasm too.)

Sure BY LAW:
Men can not be present in a strip search.

Men can not be present in a body cavity search.

Men are not even supposed to be where they can SEE women in showers.

But these deputies and sheriff are now trying to say that men are not only allowed to VIEW a forced stripping of a woman during a "suicide prevention", they are actually allowed to PARTICIPATE and remove her cloths???!!
Just because the sheriff "claims" that he doesn't have enough women for a ‘suicide prevention’? So how does he do the strip searchs and the rest if he doesn’t have enough women??
Besides in this case there were EIGHT people there, FIVE women and THREE men.

Does this sound logical, reasonable, or even moral?

And with 8 people there, we had not only had enough to strip Steffey, we had spectators too! (OMG!!! Why don't they just sell tickets!??!?!)

And Swanson and his deputies are stupid enough to think that this will resolve this!??!?!?!

That people will NOW think that its "all ok" because Sheriff Swanson says its ok for male deputies to be present and remove a woman’s cloths??

They can polish this turd all they want, it STILL stinks!

PS The six months pregnant niece that this article is talking about, also fails to mention that the niece testified at trial that she ALSO had been drinking that day.
Gee, does that put a little bit different slant on the story? Amazing how one bit of evidence left out changes things.

John7878

01-31-2009, 08:50 AM

The story is also in the CantonRep

http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x309570834/Deputies-sue-TV-station-over-reports-about-woman-stripped-naked

QUOTE 'In the lawsuit, the deputies say Meyer and WKYC have failed to report accurately and fairly on the Steffey incident, airing at least five programs on the matter.

The lawyer is right WKYC edited out the WORST pieces of the strip video. The pieces where men are removing her underwear and bra, and the part where the camera deliberately swings away during a 'mat change'.

WKYC cut these thugs a break they didnt deserve.

QUOTE The sheriffs office contends that deputies removed Steffeys clothing as a suicide precaution on the orders of a psychologist after she made a statement to a nurse indicating that she might harm herself.

And then after they complain about an edited video, they try to use SECONDS of an edited, enhanced, and out of context video to claim that she admitted to being suicidal, even as her voice is dripping with SARCASM.
Does this take GUTS or what?

For MONTHS WKYC maintained that Steffey had replied Now or Ever to the question of if she ever thought of harming herself. The sheriff NEVER questioned it then, only after the story went national and blew up in his face.
Also at Steffeys trial she also testified to the Now or Ever answer and it was NEVER denied then by the witnesses, deputies, or prosecutor.

People wondered at her answer and WHY she would say something so peculiar. Now with the release of the nurse interview, we have an answer, she was again being sarcastic. Referring back to her earlier sarcastic remarks.
The nurse interview does NOT prove she was suicidal, but it DOES give people an insight as to why Steffey was abused by the staff.

QUOTE Meyer disregarded any information that could support that claim, including Steffeys booking photos, jail audio recordings, a 911 tape and a transcript of her criminal trial, which included testimony that Steffey was intoxicated and ended with her conviction for misdemeanor resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, Zimmerman said.

At her trial Steffey herself NEVER denied that she had been drinking. She admitted to having five beers over the course of the evening, along with the antidepressant she was taking because of the death of her sister.
The six month pregnant niece that Steffey claimed attacked her ALSO admitted to drinking that night.
The ONLY testimony that Steffey was intoxicated was from the cops! Besides the niece, NONE of the witnesses testified that she was drunk as the deputies claimed.

The arresting officer had a body mic & remote for his video, but NEVER turns it on, until AFTER he has assaulted Steffey, and someone yells to get a camera of their own, because Hes beating her.

The ONLY reason I can find that the jury found her guilty was that they believed the cops would not lie.
Also it was never brought out in the trial that witnesses tried to get a camera of their own because the cop was beating her. The jury NEVER heard that. And the only video they saw was after the cop beat her and put her under arrest, and she was mad at him. Gee why would a crime VICTIM be mad at being arrested??

Makes me wonder what a jury would say with ALL the evidence.

John7878

01-31-2009, 09:50 AM

This post on the CantonRep hasn't been posted yet....I also had another that never showed up on their site....conicidence?? LoL

Ottertk1 QUOTE "I don't think they have a snowball's chance in Hadies of winning."

Your right, they don't have a chance of winning, but this ISN'T about winning this lawsuit, this is about damage control.

They are trying to make people, that never looked into this case, question the TV station. They are trying like heck to put themselves in a better light.

But unfortunately for them I HAVE looked into this case a LOT!

I have talked to Butch Hunyadi at the Bureau of Adult Detention.
I have talked to both grand jury investigators, Paul Scarsella, and Bridget Carty.
I have talked to Jim Gravelle the Ohio Press Secretary.
I have talked to Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero.
I have talked to the head jailer & Mike McDonald.
I have talked to Jonathan Stump the head of the Correctional Healthcare Group.
And I have talked to many others about this case.

Let me tell you, it was like pulling teeth to try to get a straight answer from ANYONE in the sheriff’s dept.

I have been hung up on, I have had them try to turn the (blame) back on me for asking questions they cant answer, and I have had them try to give me a BS answer to questions. But I already knew too much about the case, so it didn’t get them far.

The people sticking up for the cops I KNOW have not tried to call the sheriff and ask ANY questions.
If they had they would have an idea of what is really going on.

I’ll give you an example:
I called to ask the sheriff if they are still using men to strip women. Again the sheriff is not available, so I put the question to his secretary.
Her response was that it was not s strip search.
I said I didn’t say anything about a strip search, I asked if MEN were STILL used to strip women naked.
Just before she slammed the receiver up on me she said No.
I THEN called the jail and talked to McDonald and put the same question to him.
His response was that they “would do what they had to, to save someone’s life”.
I then tried to clarify his answer and he asked “what I wanted him to say”. I said “I want you to say that this crap has been stopped. Its BS.”

See a yes or no question and everyone tries to avoid a straight answer. And this is just one of MANY times I have had them try to BS me around.

I don’t care how they polish this turd, it STILL stinks!

Plus lets not forget that this isn’t a SINGLE complaint. Three teens have already won their settlement against Stark County.

And FIVE other women have come forward to support Steffey, including one that WORKS in corrections.

I just hope their sacrifice isn’t totally wasted.

John7878

01-31-2009, 10:16 AM

This post on the CantonRep hasn't been posted yet....I also had another that never showed up on their site....conicidence?? LoL

Ok it FINALLY was posted. So only one hasn't shown up.....:thumbsup:

Terry99

01-31-2009, 05:09 PM

Newname

01-31-2009, 08:28 PM

Why does this civil trial keep getting pushed back???
Maybe that's normal?
Or maybe the sheriffs deparment keeps trying to delay things while they try to avoid going to trial at all?

John7878

02-01-2009, 07:21 AM

I noted that the trial has now been rescheduled for July so maybe the negotiations didn't go anywhere. Even if the jail personnel don't win their lawsuit, the Sheriff's Department has been able to use it as a way to get its version of events out to the public.

I suspect that Steffey's lawyers have some big numbers and the county's insurance company doesn't want to pay.

What this means is their insurance company is probably wanting to just go ahead with a trial and not have to pay out the dough.

And the "powers that be" is no doubt fighting them tooth & nail, knowing that this can never get far enough to get to a trial, otherwise they are going to HAVE to have answers. And might result in a bad situation for them.

The deputies lawsuit is more than likely a smokescreen designed for Steffey's lawyers, plus it puts them in a better light with the public. (At least the more gullible ones.)
I don't see how they can ever have a chance to win this. Unless they are hoping the station will just pay out to avoid the cost of litigation.
But that would be a stupid play on WKYC's part to ever do that. In fact I would think they'd want to get these people into a trial.

I didn't see where it had moved to July though....got a link? Or did I miss it in an article?

Terry99

02-01-2009, 03:03 PM

John, this was the last line of the Canton Rep article:

Steffey’s lawsuit is pending in federal court. A trial is scheduled for July.

John7878

02-03-2009, 03:53 PM

Well finally got a hold of the sheriff's dept.

I was asking for more of the Steffey evidence. I asked for the unedited copy of the nurse interview, but they said it was medical and couldn't release it!

So HOW did the paper get a copy of their edited, enhanced, and ETC video if they can't release it.

Another Stark County mystery.
:angry:

Terry99

02-04-2009, 04:12 PM

The Sheriff's Department has been shady in releasing information from the very beginning. When I wrote to Tom Meyer a while back, he said the Canton Rep got the audio and videotapes and BCI reports much faster than he did. I remember reading an article stating that Hope Steffey's attorneys were surprised to learn she was on suicide watch because it wasn't documented in any of the materials originally sent to them by the Sheriff's Department. Hope Steffey probably didn't know because they never explained it to her. I doubt it registered when the deputy said "you're on watch" as she was already in the midst of that horrible experience and in extreme fear.

The Review article had more specifics about the allegations in the deputies' lawsuit. It seems they are also trying to discredit the psychologist and warden who appeared in the WKYC piece by saying they weren't provided with all the facts. On the program, the psychologist said something like if she wasn't suicidal before is she going to be after going through that. The warden was looking at the videotape of her just prior to being taken to the cell and said she was in control at that point. Seems like they had enough context to make those statements. In fact, they probably had more direct information available to them than the psychologist who diagnosed Steffey as being suicidal. I'm sure these people are being bullied to fall into line and recant their statements.

Finally - John and New, I have been reading your posts on the Canton Rep site and admire how you hold your ground against and try to reason with some really hostile, obnoxious people. You help keep me from losing my faith in my fellow man.

Newname

02-04-2009, 08:07 PM

Some of the posts on the Canton Rep site are unbelievable.
One person even said they should have let Hope kill herself.
It's also clear that most people who are posting in support of the police haven't bothered to really look at the evidence. I've asked these people several times to explain why the police could have done a strip search of Hope using only women, but needed men to help remove her clothes. Wouldn't stripping and searching someone be more difficult than simply stripping them? Nobody can answer that question. They just use vague rhetoric and avoid directly addressing any of the questions I've asked. They do the same thing with John. It's obvious that some people think the police should actually be above the very laws they are supposed to uphold.

sandyfromoh

02-04-2009, 10:39 PM

John7878

02-05-2009, 09:42 PM

The Sheriff's Department has been shady in releasing information from the very beginning. When I wrote to Tom Meyer a while back, he said the Canton Rep got the audio and videotapes and BCI reports much faster than he did.

I just sent off a letter to Tom Meyer also:

What the heck is up with this lawsuit by the deputies?? They can't be serious. There is no way for them to get this into a courtroom without having to answer a lot of embarrassing questions, that they can't answer.
Just as Steffey's case will NEVER see a trial, theres no way any of them can afford to see that happen.

I see the three teen girls that were strip searched settled for $300,000.
I called the sheriff's dept to see what their "investigation" turned up. For the first time in 10 months I actually talked to Swanson, and he didn't know the answer, and neither did the deputy he had call me back. So I had to finally call the county prosecutor and found out no charges were filed in the case. (Big surprise huh?)
They paid out 300 hundred grand, but no one did anything wrong......or as the BCI says "criminally culpable".

There is no way they can actually win this, plus the fact that as far as I know they are only suing you, and none of the national networks that carried the story.
So they are saying that only YOUR story incited citizens to react? Didn't they see the national news where even correctional experts condemned them?
I guess they haven't figured out it isn't the story that brought them this grief, but their OWN ACTIONS.

If anything WKYC withheld information that would have made this look even worse. The station edited out the worst parts of the strip video, including the two pieces where men are removing her underwear. And then the piece where the camera deliberately swings away from the prisoner, so no one can see WHAT they are doing to her.

The only thing I can think is that its a smokescreen/damage control maneuver.

So far the sheriff has been successful in releasing whatever makes them look good, and withholding anything that might make them look bad.
Even the beginning of the strip video, that they now claim doesn't exist. Except that when I called them after getting your email, back in May, saying that they hadn't released it yet, I called and asked about it and they said it would be released soon to Steffey's lawyers.
I suppose they could try to say that the person that said that didn't know it didn't exist. Except that this is a video that everyone had been asking about for 3 months. That had, according to them, generated thousands of emails & death threats.
They didn't say "I don't know" or "What video", they knew exactly what video I was talking about. And if it was this controversial why would anyone say something if they didn't know for SURE?
But I guess so far poor excuses have managed to get the sheriff re-elected.

As for my latest news, I called just a couple days ago and requested the whole UNEDITED nurse interview that they used to "manufacture" a confession from a couple sarcastic remarks.
I told them I was going to have the whole thing 'enhanced'.
But the sheriff's dept NOW claims that its medical information and they can't release it!! What the hell? They already DID release their highly enhanced, edited, and out of context version. (How do they get by with that crap?)

I haven't heard anything about the Valentina Dyshko lawsuit. Nothing to report there?

How about your end, anything new?

John7878

02-05-2009, 09:51 PM

I remember reading an article stating that Hope Steffey's attorneys were surprised to learn she was on suicide watch because it wasn't documented in any of the materials originally sent to them by the Sheriff's Department.

I have never heard this before. Got a link to the article, or a cut & paste of it?

Finally - John and New, I have been reading your posts on the Canton Rep site and admire how you hold your ground against and try to reason with some really hostile, obnoxious people. You help keep me from losing my faith in my fellow man.

Who knows how many of them are cops themselves.
And no need to stoop as some of them have done with name calling, that never sways anyone to your side. And its usually because they have no other arguments to make for their position.
Plus people reading that type of response get turned off too.

Terry99

02-06-2009, 01:28 AM

Sorry John - can't find the article. It was just a brief item and must have appeared fairly early on. It was the first time I remember the Sheriff being quoted as either saying Steffey was on suicide precautions or that the deputies were trying to save her life...words to that effect. Since I rarely read blogs, I assume it was on a news site. Checked the Canton Rep and WKYC archives but came up empty.

John7878

02-06-2009, 07:55 AM

Finally - John and New, I have been reading your posts on the Canton Rep site and admire how you hold your ground against and try to reason with some really hostile, obnoxious people.

Well some of these people I don't even like to acknowledge, because their statements are just even TOO stupid to believe.

But this one I had to go back and I give the reason why:

VSTAR QUOTE “Go to ER or Dr. or operating room, oppisite sex will see you naked! A paramedic might have to rip your clothes off of you and might not be the same sex.”

At first I wasn’t even going to reply to something so ridiculous, because I thought no one would buy this explanation.
But then I remembered that voters put Swanson back into office.

Ok so you are saying that if an ambulance had been called for Steffey, to treat her concussion, that the paramedic’s would have forcibly stripped her naked, while she screams for them to stop.

Or that, when she went to the hospital, after she got out of jail, and she was diagnosed with a concussion, that the doctors then forcibly stripped her naked while she’s screaming for them to stop.

And you are saying that someone you know, or you have knowledge, that someone going to the doctor for a concussion, or even if they were drunk, or seemed to be drunk, will be then forcibly stripped naked while they are screaming for them to stop.

You know this for a fact…..right?

I hope this sheds some light in the dark corners of your mind.

John7878

02-06-2009, 08:10 AM

This is the address for a web page the sheriff used to have up.

http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/mr020219.htm

I used this webpage to point out that the sheriff's policies were causing deaths at the jail.
THEY themselves said this guy had been in 26 times prior and never exhibited any suicidal tendencies.

So it looks like, by their OWN ADMISSION, their treatment of him CAUSED his suicide!

But now.....mysteriously.....this web page is gone.....

But not to worry Mr Swanson, I saved it:

Stark County Sheriff Timothy A. Swanson reports that there were 11,767 inmates processed and booked into the Stark County jail in 2007. Charges on these individuals range from petty theft to aggravated murder. At the time of their arrest many of the individuals suffered from mental illness, were suicidal and to make matters worse they were highly intoxicated on alcohol or under the influence of drugs of abuse.
To insure that these individuals are physically and mentally fit to be incarcerated, a nurse conducts a preliminary screening and then an in-depth medical/mental health assessment to obtain a history of the individual. This is also done so as to learn of any current issues that may be of interest to the Medical/Mental Health Staff.
The Stark County Sheriff’s Office, through contract, employs doctors, nurses, dentist, psychologist, psychiatrist and two mental health counselors. In 2007 the mental health staff conducted 5,296 mental health assessments due to information received during the medical assessment at the time of incarceration. In 2007 there were 473 incidents where inmates were placed on suicide precautions. Of these instances 135 involved female inmates.
The Sheriff’s staff has been very successful in dealing with suicidal inmates given that 11,767 inmates were processed and 5,296 had mental health issues. In 2007, 11 inmates attempted to kill themselves while in the Stark County Jail. They attempted this by hanging or cutting themselves. They will use a pencil, paperclip or try and remove the razor blade from the disposable razors. They’ll utilize anything to try and hang themselves from the bars, such as a towel, their own clothing, or ripped portions of a mattress. Some are very determined and make several attempts to include standing on their bunks and diving head first into a corner formed by the wall and floor. Or some just try and ram their heads into the walls or bars causing injury to themselves. The Officers and medical/mental health staff were able to save these individuals.
In 2007 the Ohio Bureau of Adult Detention reported that 17 inmates killed themselves in Ohio Jails.
The last successful hanging in the Stark County Jail was in 2005. This inmate had visited the Stark County Jail 26 times prior and never exhibited any suicidal tendencies. This time he too was placed on suicide precautions and was still able to take his own life.
The Stark County Jail has become the mental institute in Stark County. Mostly because these individuals commit some kind of crime that gets them arrested and then the staff at the Sheriff’s Office will deal with their problems and try and protect them from themselves while incarcerated. It’s a difficult responsibility for our staff to undertake but they complete it with the utmost care and concern, acting in a professional manner at all times.
_____________________________
Timothy A. Swanson,
Stark County Sheriff

For More Information Contact:

Stark County Sheriff's Office
4500 Atlantic Blvd., N.E., Canton, Ohio 44705
Tel: (330) 430-3800
FAX: (330) 430-3844
Internet: strkshrf@raex.com

Terry99

02-06-2009, 02:16 PM

"Some are very determined and make several attempts to include standing on their bunks and diving head first into a corner formed by the wall and floor. Or some just try and ram their heads into the walls or bars causing injury to themselves." When I first read that on the Sheriff's website I remember thinking, if that's the case how does just removing people's clothes prevent them from harming themselves.

I wonder if they scrupulously followed all policies in Steffey's case (like observing her at least every 15 minutes). If not, you have to wonder how concerned they really were.

As far as some of the comments on the Canton Rep site - if ER workers do laugh at people in distress, all it proves is that there are freaks in all professions. Paramedics don't handcuff people, surround them, throw them on the floor, twist their arms, remove their clothes and then leave them in a cell naked. They're treating trauma, not causing it. From a psychological and emotional perspective, there is no comparison. If you're going to handle someone in such a cruel and degrading manner, you should have to prove that you had absolutely no other choice. These jailers just dealt with the situation in a way that was easiest for them.

Newname

02-08-2009, 03:30 PM

I wonder if they scrupulously followed all policies in Steffey's case (like observing her at least every 15 minutes). If not, you have to wonder how concerned they really were.

Their laughter when leaving her naked in the jail cell speaks volumes about their level of concern.

John7878

02-09-2009, 07:44 AM

A couple articles about the county sheriff...and the jail housing dispute.

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4521568?page=0

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4521571

Newname

02-21-2009, 11:05 AM

Anything new in this case?

sandyfromoh

02-21-2009, 11:17 AM

Anything new in this case?

Haven't seen or heard anything here!

John7878

02-21-2009, 10:52 PM

I haven't heard anything either, but then I have been busy with some other stuff.

I think the deputies lawsuit is just an attempt at smoke & mirrors, I think its just for a try at the sympathy factor, there is NO way they can really expect to win something like that. Or even attempt to take it to trial....too many embarrassing questions to answer.

But I haven't received any kind of reply from Tom Myer either, to get the latest.

John7878

02-26-2009, 07:41 AM

Repository wins 37 AP awards

Shane Hoover and Botos are finalists in Best Feature Writer, while Hoover is also a finalist in Best Investigative Reporting for his story, “What Happened to Hope Steffey?”

http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x617067400/Repository-wins-37-AP-awards

Investigative Reporting?!?!?

Reading the biased police reports, watching incomplete and edited/staged/enhanced videos. And then writing a slanted article, based on information ONLY from the authorities?!?!

I didn't see where he made ANY attempt to interview ANYONE from Steffey's side of the story.
Not Steffey herself, or witnesses that were on the scene.

ALL his information seemed to come from the police themselves. Gee, doesn't everyone wish they could control all the evidence in a case against them?

How about interviewing the other women that claimed abuses? I know it doesn't directly relate to this case, but it might have shown a pattern of abuse at the jail.

Investigative Reporting?!?!? I don't think so......:thumbdown:

John7878

03-01-2009, 07:47 AM

Heres something I ran across.......

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/nora-callahan/2009/02/hope-america-and-hope-steffey

Hope in America and Hope Steffey
Posted by Nora Callahan - February 28, 2009 at 4:50 pm

During a weekend wander to my favorite haunts, in the Daily Kos I found an update to a story out of Cleveland, Ohio that caught my interest in 2006 when it first became news. The irony for me was finding this update while taking a break from studying The Trauma of Psychological Torture. I watched the Cleveland Police Officers forcefully, but methodically stripping Hope Steffey to naked, and her screams still echo in my head. So does the thrust of the message in the book I'm studying.
Forced nakedness is one way to break-down a prisoner, and Cleveland Police authorities have denied that this was a strip search of Hope Steffey. Perhaps it's part of their protocol for subduing an unsubmissive "prisoner." I'd have to wonder because I'd just read that this tactic was developed in US and Canandian Unniversites through grants via the C.IA., techniques that have been honed since the early 1950's. Stripping a prisoner, and leaving them in the dark for hours is part of Psycological Torture as reported Almerindo E. Ojeda, editor of The Trauma of Psychological Torture (linked above). The police officers, male and female, black and white appeared methodical, practiced.
In the United States of America, it is not deemed torture if it doesn't leave physical scars. It's decided in our Unniversities, taught to our soldiers, after war they are recruited by scores of assorted domestic law enforcement agencies and then comes a woman named Hope.
If we close Gitmo, but leave all forms of identifyable psycological torture in place -- hope dies.
Hope Steffey before the night she was compelled to call the police for help is gone. The new Hope Steffey will emerge in time and my hope is she'll somehow take comfort that her experience ended a terrible era of brutal policing in America.

Little does she know, maybe she should call the Stark County jail and find out it is still being done.

sandyfromoh

03-01-2009, 11:37 AM

John does the writer realize it's the "Stark County Sheriffs", not the Cleveland Police?

John7878

03-01-2009, 09:01 PM

John does the writer realize it's the "Stark County Sheriffs", not the Cleveland Police?

Someone pointed that out now anyway. But I did miss that at first. :drool:

I can't rem if I ever posted this or not, but it is interesting, in that people have a preconceived idea about arrests.

Your Right of Defense Against Unlawful Arrest

“Citizens may resist unlawful arrest to the point of taking an arresting officer's life if necessary.” Plummer v. State, 136 Ind. 306. This premise was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case: John Bad Elk v. U.S., 177 U.S. 529. The Court stated: “Where the officer is killed in the course of the disorder which naturally accompanies an attempted arrest that is resisted, the law looks with very different eyes upon the transaction, when the officer had the right to make the arrest, from what it does if the officer had no right. What may be murder in the first case might be nothing more than manslaughter in the other, or the facts might show that no offense had been committed.”

“An arrest made with a defective warrant, or one issued without affidavit, or one that fails to allege a crime is within jurisdiction, and one who is being arrested, may resist arrest and break away. lf the arresting officer is killed by one who is so resisting, the killing will be no more than an involuntary manslaughter.” Housh v. People, 75 111. 491; reaffirmed and quoted in State v. Leach, 7 Conn. 452; State v. Gleason, 32 Kan. 245; Ballard v. State, 43 Ohio 349; State v Rousseau, 241 P. 2d 447; State v. Spaulding, 34 Minn. 3621.

“When a person, being without fault, is in a place where he has a right to be, is violently assaulted, he may, without retreating, repel by force, and if, in the reasonable exercise of his right of self defense, his assailant is killed, he is justified.” Runyan v. State, 57 Ind. 80; Miller v. State, 74 Ind. 1.

“These principles apply as well to an officer attempting to make an arrest, who abuses his authority and transcends the bounds thereof by the use of unnecessary force and violence, as they do to a private individual who unlawfully uses such force and violence.” Jones v. State, 26 Tex. App. I; Beaverts v. State, 4 Tex. App. 1 75; Skidmore v. State, 43 Tex. 93, 903.

“An illegal arrest is an assault and battery. The person so attempted to be restrained of his liberty has the same right to use force in defending himself as he would in repelling any other assault and battery.” (State v. Robinson, 145 ME. 77, 72 ATL. 260).

“Each person has the right to resist an unlawful arrest. In such a case, the person attempting the arrest stands in the position of a wrongdoer and may be resisted by the use of force, as in self- defense.” (State v. Mobley, 240 N.C. 476, 83 S.E. 2d 100).

“One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance.” (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).

“Story affirmed the right of self-defense by persons held illegally. In his own writings, he had admitted that ‘a situation could arise in which the checks-and-balances principle ceased to work and the various branches of government concurred in a gross usurpation.’ There would be no usual remedy by changing the law or passing an amendment to the Constitution, should the oppressed party be a minority. Story concluded, ‘If there be any remedy at all ... it is a remedy never provided for by human institutions.’ That was the ‘ultimate right of all human beings in extreme cases to resist oppression, and to apply force against ruinous injustice.’” (From Mutiny on the Amistad by Howard Jones, Oxford University Press, 1987, an account of the reading of the decision in the case by Justice Joseph Story of the Supreme Court.

As for grounds for arrest: “The carrying of arms in a quiet, peaceable, and orderly manner, concealed on or about the person, is not a breach of the peace. Nor does such an act of itself, lead to a breach of the peace.” (Wharton’s Criminal and Civil Procedure, 12th Ed., Vol.2: Judy v. Lashley, 5 W. Va. 628, 41 S.E. 197)

http://www.constitution.org/uslaw/defunlaw.htm

John7878

03-02-2009, 08:43 AM

BTW I didn't get a chance to check out the above post, so it may just be a internet fantasy, but maybe later I'll get time.
:w00t:

Looks legit so far............

http://supreme.justia.com/us/177/529/case.html

John7878

03-12-2009, 07:40 AM

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=109037&catid=3

Investigator Exclusive: Billboard encourages women to report jail abuse

STARK COUNTY -- A story that already has people talking nationwide is certain to get more attention with a billboard that encourages former female inmates to report jail abuse.

John7878

03-12-2009, 08:25 AM

A couple articles about the county sheriff...and the jail housing dispute.

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4521568?page=0

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4521571

Heres more about the dispute with the Stark County jail:

Apparently, even the cities can't get information from the sheriff to settle their disputes.

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4538886

QUOTE "The city of Alliance still is waiting for Stark County to answer some unsatisfied public records requests that have been pending since the dispute started almost a year ago. Similarly, The Review's request for records to provide information for its Jailbreak series that ran early last month remain unsatisfied."

sandyfromoh

03-12-2009, 01:56 PM

Watched this on WKYC last night and really am happy that something is happening! This is just unreal to me that more people arn't "Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore". I do hope more women will come forward and what is happening in the Stark County Jail will STOP!
There is so much going on in this country that is just WRONG, that I can't keep up. Oh yes lets close Gitmo because those poor Terrorists arn't being treated right! Well than let's close Stark County Jail for the same reason!!!!!!:flamemad:

Terry99

03-12-2009, 08:56 PM

John7878

03-16-2009, 04:30 PM

Thanks for the info on the billboard, John. It's good to know that neither Steffey's attorneys nor WKYC are backing away from a fight. I also read some of the posts on the Daily Kos website which you mentioned and was heartened to learn that there are a lot of people (not just you, Sandy, New and me) still outraged at what happened to Hope.

UPDATE: 03/16/2009

Must be more people still outraged, called the State of Ohio
Office of the Attorney General (614) 466-4320 today and apparently they are having another investigation, according to a letter that they have out on it. At least thats what they told me.

I said with all the lawsuits going on, just what is it going to take to stop this practice, and that taxpayers are footing the bill for this outrageous policy.

Also today called David Malik, Steffey's lawyer, and asked about the nurse interview. I told him that they said it was medical evidence and that they didn't have to release it, but that they had ALREADY released their version to the papers.
He said that I could request it under the Ohio Public Records Act and that they would have to give it to me. But I have to do it in writing.

I really don't know what good it would do me to get the dang thing, I just hate them telling me I can't get it, after they have already put it out there.

Ohio Governor Strickland
General Info: (614) 466-3555

Still stirring the pot....:thumbup:

Terry99

03-17-2009, 02:05 PM

John7878

03-17-2009, 11:38 PM

I hate to be cynical...but. Maybe the Attorney General is planning another shoddy investigation just to be able to make a public statement that the jail is complying with all laws. Like you said, John, the jail controls all the documents and information presented to the investigators, and there doesn't seem to be any way to know whether it's accurate or not. Like in the Steffey case, they'll just be taking everything jail personnel say as gospel.

You can never tell. Hopefully THIS investigation, (if there really is one), will be more through than the last one.

Give these people a call and just ask what has to be done to stop the Stark County Sheriff from having men strip women naked and leave them for hours at the jail.

Come ON people take a few min to call, and just ASK.

We need to keep up the pressure until this crap is stopped.

State of Ohio
Office of the Attorney General
(614) 466-4320

Ohio Governor Strickland
General Info: (614) 466-3555

Attorney General of the United States
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Department of Justice Main Switchboard - 202-514-2000
Office of the Attorney General - 202-353-1555

Terry99

03-18-2009, 06:27 PM

I wrote to the attorney general's office, the bureau of adult detention, the correctional healthcare group, the governor of Ohio, the sheriff's department on several occasions, two local newspapers, a civil rights attorney and two civil rights groups. I pointed out the sheriff's statement that there were lots of naked people in the jail and questioned these practices. But, in the end, it took a billboard on a busy highway to get anyone to do anything.

When Marc Dann was attorney general of Ohio he created what a later report called a "vulgar" atmosphere that was hostile to women. The people looking into the sheriff's department are the same people who worked within that environment and did nothing about it. It has been proven that the Stark County jail sent out seriously inflated bills to other localities for housing their prisoners, so their data is obviously unreliable. Nobody double-checks the statistics or documentation they provide with regard to the treatment of inmates. If the information is faulty, so is the investigation.

I'm not giving up. I want to be hopeful but, at the same time, not set myself up for another major disappointment.

sandyfromoh

03-18-2009, 09:21 PM

John and Terry, I've been really busy with personal stuff and unable to write or call at this time, but when things slow down here, will do. Just want you both to know I appreciate so much your energy!!!:smile:

John7878

03-19-2009, 10:50 PM

Give these people a call and just ask what has to be done to stop the Stark County Sheriff from having men strip women naked and leave them for hours at the jail.

Come ON people take a few min to call, and just ASK.

We need to keep up the pressure until this crap is stopped.

State of Ohio
Office of the Attorney General
(614) 466-4320

Ohio Governor Strickland
General Info: (614) 466-3555

Attorney General of the United States
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Department of Justice Main Switchboard - 202-514-2000
Office of the Attorney General - 202-353-1555

OOPS! This is what I have been posting all over the net, but I forgot to post that in the message.

I realize that us four have been contacting people, I just wanted to post this around to hopefully get more people involved.

Just a few more calls might make a difference in getting someone off their behind and looking into this.

:w00t:

Terry99

03-20-2009, 01:56 PM

OOPS! This is what I have been posting all over the net, but I forgot to post that in the message.

I realize that us four have been contacting people, I just wanted to post this around to hopefully get more people involved.

Just a few more calls might make a difference in getting someone off their behind and looking into this.

:w00t:

Thanks for your efforts to rally the troops. Seeing how hard you were working for the cause was what got me motivated to write my letters and make my phone calls. Hopefully others will feel the same.

Terry99

03-21-2009, 06:54 PM

The Canton Rep reported that the police chief of Marlboro Township and his son were indicted for a crime. In the comments section, someone suggested that you'd have better deputies if the forces were combined under one sheriff (presumably Swanson). A reader posted this response:

Jim Jenkins, here are some more points for you to ponder on your 'one wondrous sheriffs department. C'mon deputies passing a physical agility test? You make me laugh! When was the last time you saw a Swanson deputy without a beer belly? Two of the fattest examples are Swanson and Perez themselves. No wonder Dunkin Donut stock stays high, and psychological evaluations? Now I am rolling, didn't the deputy that started the assault and violation of Hope Steffy, didn't he actually fail his psychological exam but got appointed anyway by the Grand Poobah Swanson? Fat and crazy, yeah, that is really great for Stark County. I know one thing if your name is Swanson or Ferarro in Stark County there will probably be a Devies with an open checkbook waiting to make a donation to anyone who wants to unseat them.

Does anyone have any information as to whether or not Deputy Gurlea failed a psychological test. It may support the claim that he exploded in anger and behaved unprofessionally. I wonder if Steffey's attorneys are allowed to see his personnel record to find out if he has other complaints against him.

Here's a link if you're interested in the whole article:
http://www.cantonrep.com/communities/alliance/x1465807104/Police-chief-and-son-face-criminal-charges?popular=true

John7878

03-22-2009, 07:12 AM

Does anyone have any information as to whether or not Deputy Gurlea failed a psychological test. It may support the claim that he exploded in anger and behaved unprofessionally. I wonder if Steffey's attorneys are allowed to see his personnel record to find out if he has other complaints against him.

Here's a link if you're interested in the whole article:
http://www.cantonrep.com/communities/alliance/x1465807104/Police-chief-and-son-face-criminal-charges?popular=true

Yeah that was reported in one of the first WKYC videos. (Maybe the second or third?)
They had reported that he failed the exam, but Swanson hired him anyway. Saying that he thought he would be ok with 'close supervision'.

So much for that theory. :cursing:

Terry99

03-22-2009, 03:53 PM

Two interesting articles relating to Sheriff Swanson which appeared on http://starkpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/

DISCUSSION: SWANSON'S TWO CHIEF DEPUTIES (PEREZ) ON & TO BE ON (MCDONALD) RETIRE/REHIRE LIST? MUST BE CATCHING?
Earlier this week the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) learned that The Report missed a Stark County official who had retired and got rehired.

The Report is not one to slight proper recognition a retiree/rehiree.

Today, The Report adds Chief Deputy Rick Perez (brother of Stark County Auditor Kim Perez) to the STARK COUNTY PUBLIC OFFICIALS RETIREMENT HALL OF FAME. The Report apologizes to Chief Deputy Perez for the inadvertent omission.

The same source who chided The Report for missing Perez also informed The Report that Chief Deputy Mike McDonald (who is in charge of the Stark County jail) is planning a retire/rehire soon.

It is one thing for an elected official to do a retire/rehire a la Sheriff Tim Swanson (because he announced his plan before running for re-election). But it is quite another for the unelected to do the same. Of course, the sheriff bears responsibility for rehiring Perez. As he does, if McDonald follows through with retirement and then ends up back in his pre-retirement job.

Doesn't Swanson have officers in his department to promote when senior deputies retire?

DISCUSSION: SHOULD THE DEVIES HAVE BEEN INDICTED?
UPDATED: 03/21/2009 AT 11:30 A.M.

Although the indictments are fourth degree felonies (Disruption of Public Services [Kyle] and Complicity Disruption of Public Services [Ron], the The Report's point-of-view is that Trustees Wise and Wolf have created a public turmoil hugely disproportional to the allegations - even if one accepts the factual premise of the trustee, the sheriff, the prosecutor and the grand jury.

Much more serious allegations involving public officials may be in the process of being white-washed by Sheriff Swanson and Prosecutor Ferrero (reference: the Healy matter).

Why make that point?

Because The Report believes that there is a disparity in the Stark County law enforcement community, at the county level, as to who gets prosecuted and who does not. While the law enforcers will claim a factual distinction for the variations, The Report believes, when public officials are involved, the real reasons are too often tinged with political considerations.

In the Marlboro situation, The Report believes the sensible solution would have been for the sheriff and prosecutor to encourage and perhaps even facilitate a sitdown between the Devies and the trustees to iron this matter out without invoking the criminal process.

Now that the legal path has been chosen, it should be obvious to one and all that Marlboro Township will be ravaged by political vendetta after political vendetta after political vendetta.

The Report believes that Wise and Wolf were motivated in the first place by political vendetta. Chief Ron Devies is a strong personality and did not kowtow to the all powerful Trustees Wise and Wolf ("all powerful" in their own minds).

So now Marlboro Township and derivatively Stark County has a mess on its hands.

If Stark County had a sheriff and a prosecutor (who, by the way, was unopposed in the last election) with some social and community sense about them, they would have been instrumental in having "cooler heads" prevail in the Marlboro situation.

But Stark doesn't.

Swanson too often acts like a "bull in a china shop," and Ferrero, a former chair of the Stark County Democratic Party, has - in the opinion of SCPR - a tendency to look at matters from a political perspective. Political in the sense who are the players in the matter before him.

They will tell Stark Countians that they "play it by the book." The Report knows both of them and does not believe such protestations for one second.

Swanson and Ferrero have let the Marlboro matter get totally out-of-hand.

In the judgment of The Report, they could have prevented this escalation and therefore have failed the Stark County community.

sandyfromoh

03-22-2009, 04:28 PM

John7878

03-23-2009, 08:31 AM

Terry and John
Thanks for all the information, I have only one thing to say it's up to the people to vote these idiots out! I've had ENOUGH of politics as usual, it's in Stark County, my county (Cuyahoga) and for that matter in the US Government! TERM LIMITS!!!!!

Sandy I have to say I don't "get it", as to how ANY of these type people get back into office.

The only thing I can think is that they use the old Dem VS Rep crapola to keep people at each others throats.

I can not see how ANY Bush, Kennedy or Clinton could get elected after the showing that they have had.
Let alone people like Mayor Daley of Chicago, the poster boy for political corruption.
Then you have the ones like the Mayor of DC, the crack head that was re-elected after he got out of jail, or the Katrina mob, or the Louisiana Rep that had $90K of marked FBI money in his freezer.

Heck look at this last presidential election, we had one of the "Keating Five" winning the Republican primary!!!
HOW does McCain who was involved in one of the biggest scandals in the 80's then come up as a candidate for president!?!??!? Unfrickenbelievable!!!

I find it hard to believe that we can't get a better selection of people to run for office, or that voters can't take a few minutes to LOOK at who the HECK they are putting into office.

Newname

03-23-2009, 08:31 PM

Is there any word on when Hopes civil trial will begin?
Are they still trying to work out a settlement?
I hope her lawyers burn Swanson.

John7878

03-24-2009, 10:17 AM

Is it just something in the water in Ohio?!?!?

Or do they figure after he gets out he can still get a job at the Stark County sheriff's dept??

Ohio fails to decertify all convicted officers
Cop who killed his lover, unborn child was not stripped of powers for a year

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29828147/

sandyfromoh

03-24-2009, 10:51 AM

John7878

03-24-2009, 10:58 AM

Is there any word on when Hopes civil trial will begin?
Are they still trying to work out a settlement?
I hope her lawyers burn Swanson.

I guess the last date was July, but if they still don't reach a settlement I expect to see it extended yet again.

I suppose it might also depend on how much response they get from the billboard too.
Stark County might want to settle faster if they have more people coming forward, with similar complaints.

As for a trial, I could only wish that would happen, I expect that it will be settled quietly, like the three teen girls that were strip searched.

Terry99

03-24-2009, 02:46 PM

Now the Stark Political Report is quoting the indicted Police Chief Devies as saying he was targeted because he strongly supported Swanson's opponent for Sheriff. Right after the election another official was being accused of some misconduct and said it was a vendetta by Swanson for the same reason. That matter was immediately dropped. If they're telling the truth, it either means they're innocent or that if they had been more loyal, Swanson and his cronies would have looked the other way.

John7878

03-26-2009, 11:00 PM

ABC has a show on "What Would You Do?"
They set up stuff & video it to see people's reactions.

This show segment so much reminded me of the Hope Steffey case. Someone has a badge and they defer to their judgment, and believe everything they say.

I was amazed at just how far people would go, until I remembered Steffey, and that the guys with the badges can be even worse.

How sad. (It was also sad that the show used a tape of the McDonalds incident to show how far people will go.) I hope for their sake they asked Louise Ogborn if it was ok BEFORE they showed the video, although I doubt it.

Anyway this is the segment of the show:

Would You Obey a Total Stranger?
Shoppers at a farmer's market meet a man who says he needs their help.
Questioning an Authority Figure

http://abcnews.go.com/whatwouldyoudo

http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/story?id=7149793&page=1

John7878

03-27-2009, 02:12 PM

And this case reminds me of the three teen girls...caught up in a flawed system.

The difference here is that they recognize it as a problem, while Stark County doesn't see anything wrong in their policies.

Amazing!!! :cursing:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12005972?source=most_viewed

Santa Clara County jails youngest child ever

By Karen de Sá

Mercury News
Posted: 03/26/2009 07:46:26 PM PDT

One of the youngest children ever to be locked up in Santa Clara County spent five days in juvenile hall late last month, the Mercury News has learned, an unusual detention of a 10-year-old that has top officials scrambling to correct a case they describe as deeply disturbing.

"In hindsight, all involved believe that this was a mistake," Presiding Juvenile Court Judge Patrick Tondreau said in an e-mail. "Having someone this young brought to the Hall is an extremely rare situation, and this case had confusing and complex facts."

Tondreau, Probation Chief Sheila Mitchell, Social Services Agency head Will Lightbourne and the supervising Public Defender responsible for juvenile cases, Andrea Flint, all confirmed that detaining a 10-year-old was highly inappropriate.

Terry99

03-29-2009, 05:05 PM

Sheriff Swanson wrote a letter to the editor of the Canton Rep, and this is how it begins:

Again we hear from the uninformed and malcontents. Stark County Treasurer Gary Zeigler is trying to manage his office within the budget provided, yet when he tries do that, those same malcontents find fault.

I think he's really expressing (in his usual boorish way) his own anger at the criticism he's been getting. He labels anyone who disagrees with him as uninformed or ignorant.

John7878

03-29-2009, 05:18 PM

Sheriff Swanson wrote a letter to the editor of the Canton Rep, and this is how it begins:

I think he's really expressing (in his usual boorish way) his own anger at the criticism he's been getting. He labels anyone who disagrees with him as uninformed or ignorant.

Thanks for the tip, I left my comment on his letter....:thumbup:

John7878

03-31-2009, 12:56 PM

UPDATE:

Got some more documents from the sheriff's office. After 5-6 months of waiting for them. Of course I didn't get everything I asked for, and they blacked out some names on the reports.

Got a copy of the BCI investigation.

The sheriff has always maintained that Steffey was ASKED to remove her cloths and refused.

According to the BCI document Steffey was NEVER asked to remove her cloths! This is from THEIR OWN REPORTS!!

So how the hell is the sheriff still selling this LIE?!!??!

Most of the "investigation" consists of them rubber stamping everything the cops allege as the truth.

Nurse Coren Lennon is supposedly the one that said Steffey should be put on suicide precautions with no suit. (OOPS! They forgot to black out a spot.)

It also says that the Stark County sheriff is aware of an FBI investigation into this.
I also had been aware of it, since I contacted the FBI, but didn't want to post anything about it. But apparently its no big secret!

I am so freaking pissed all over again, about this, after reading this crap from the "investigation"!! What a joke!

I gotta go---:cursing:

John7878

04-02-2009, 10:23 AM

Ok I scanned one page of the report. (Page 3)
Its only seven pages, so I'll probably do all of it later. But most of it is the sheriff's report, apparently spellchecked and presented as fact.
I'd have to read it again, to be sure, but I see NO mention of ANY testimony other than the police! Gee, wouldn't that make it one sided for SURE?!?!?

This is the BCI report that Agent Christy S. Palmer sent to John D. Ferrero, Prosecuting Attorney Stark County Ohio.
Dated April 16, 2008 BCI Case #: SI-76-08-14-0147

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/BCI-Report.jpg

This report says that, "as recorded by jail video", she "repeatedly tried to pull away from the officers" on the way to the cell.

So what the hell video was she watching?!?! I saw EIGHT people with a handcuffed woman, and I saw NO struggle. But even if there WAS, this in NO WAY excuses the way this was done.

And then they are not only using this as an excuse to NOT give her a chance to remover her cloths, but apparently as an excuse to not even tell her what is going on. (As we have all said before, but heres the indisputable PROOF!)

People mindlessly attack the news for supposedly a one sided report of the story, but I saw absolutely NO news reports that bring THIS up.

And that part about them bringing her to a SLOW, CONTROLLED decent to the floor.
How the frick would she know? The video isn't even there! (Let me guess, she took the cops word for it.)
Even though Steffey says they pushed her face into the floor, and in a call to her husband she says that she thinks they broke her nose, plus the Sheriff's dept even reports that the nurse treated Steffey for a "bruised nose".
So where the heck is THAT in this report!??!?

Grrrrrrrrrrrr :cursing:

BTW I don't know why they bothered to black out the names of Nurse Coren Lennon and the jail psychologist Thomas Anuszkiewicz, aren't they PROUD of the work they do??

sandyfromoh

04-02-2009, 11:02 AM

John, I know I haven't been very active with Hope Steffey, but it's because I'm scared to death about my country, and this (Hope) is a perfect example of what is happening. These people think they can do whatever they want, and it has to STOP! I said I was busy with personal matters, well to be honest, my personal matters is I've been getting involved in a group of people that are like me, SCARED!! If people don't wake up in this country, what happened to Hope will happen to anyone else who doesn't do what the government says! John go to www.the912project.com and let me know what you think. I'm 71 years old and just "Mad as Hell"!!:cursing:

John7878

04-02-2009, 02:44 PM

John, I know I haven't been very active with Hope Steffey, but it's because I'm scared to death about my country, and this (Hope) is a perfect example of what is happening. These people think they can do whatever they want, and it has to STOP!

People will wait until its too late. And I'm afraid for us too. I see a looming black hole, but I just don't see a way for us to stop from going into it.
Not enough people are concerned enough to get involved and get our country straightened out.

Thanks for the link! Heres some for you that I have run across while searching about the Steffey case:

http://www.shieldthetruth.com/

http://www.policeabuse.com/

http://policecrimes.com/

http://www.infowars.com/

http://www.opednews.com/index.php?hot=998

http://www.policeone.com/

I'm going to be 59 this year, so I'm on the downhill slide...LoL

John7878

04-02-2009, 03:36 PM

Ok for a reference point I called the Atty General's Office and requested all the documentation that Christy Palmer used, plus any video she used, to make her determination.

Thursday April 2, 2009

Lets see how fast these people are. I am thinking they are going to be a LOT quicker than the Sheriff's Dept.

This is the BCI report that Agent Christy S. Palmer sent to John D. Ferrero, Prosecuting Attorney Stark County Ohio.
Dated April 16, 2008 BCI Case #: SI-76-08-14-0147

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Page-1.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Page-2.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Page-3.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Page-4.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Page-5.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Page-6.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Page-7.jpg

John7878

04-03-2009, 11:15 AM

I'm in the process of writing a rebuttal of Christy Palmer's "investigation" report.

Also called the Sheriff's dept today and requested the video referenced on page 3 of Palmer's report that says the jail personnel brought Steffey into a slow, controlled decent to the floor.

As far as I know, THIS would have to be on the 'non-existent' beginning of the strip video.

On May 5th when I asked about the "missing" video, I was told it would soon be released.

Now here again it looks as though its referenced...even though they claim it does not exist.

Interesting.

Terry99

04-03-2009, 11:58 AM

This article appeared in the Alliance Review:

Some federal detainees will now call Stark County Jail their home away from home.

The Stark County commissioners approved a three-year contract with the U.S. government for federal prisoner housing at $70 per day, which would allow the sheriff to house detainees awaiting trial or sentencing.

Kathy Day, an attorney for the Office of Federal Detention Trustee, said Stark County is now one of 1,700 contracts with state, local and private jails across the country. “We don’t use all these facilities at the same time but on a need basis,” she added.

The Office of Federal Detention Trustee is in charge of overseeing the actual detention part of the U.S. Marshals Office, she explained.

According to the United States Department of Justice Web site, the U.S. Marshals have served as the enforcement of the federal courts since 1789 and are responsible for apprehending federal fugitives and overseeing the witness protection program as well as arresting or detaining individuals who violate federal statutes.

Each day, approximately 58,000 individuals are detained each day by the federal government, including those for illegal immigration.

Stark County Sheriff Timothy Swanson had mentioned a potential federal contract more than a year ago, hoping to garner a rate between $80 and $100 per detainee.

However, both government entities settled on a rate of $70 per diem, which actually is $1.08 less than the amount provided in Swanson’s estimated cost analysis, as a result of documents furnished to the city of Alliance during their settlement negotiations about the past due housing fees.

The Review secured those documents as a result of a public records request from the city in preparation for its Jailbreak series, which ran earlier this year.

Although Vivianne Whalen Duffrin, labor attorney for the Stark County Sheriff’s Department disputes those actual numbers, Swanson’s office has yet to produce any documentation contradicting the sheriff’s earlier cost analysis.

The sheriff has been charging local entities, such as Alliance, a $80 per diem rate for housing prisoners jailed under municipal ordinances.

The amount cited on the Department of Justice’s Web site as the average cost was $64.40 per diem in nonfederal facilities.

Lake County, for example, charged $66.54 per prisoner in 2007, according to its Web site, and this amount appeared to be based on an amount charged to law enforcement entities outside their jurisdictions, not communities within the jurisdiction as in the case of Stark County and Alliance.

Stark County Commissioner Tom Harmon was quick to point out during Wednesday’s meeting that the $70 per diem for the U.S. Marshals Office was lower than the ones offered to Stark County communities, such as Alliance and Massillon, due to sheriff’s department not being responsible for transport and medical costs.

Both Alliance and Massillon have been transporting their own prisoners for many years — except to Stark County Common Pleas appearances. In addition, the city of Alliance has provided transport for the Stark County Sheriff’s Department prisoners that are appearing in Alliance Municipal Court at no charge to the county.

It is unsure if the cities of Alliance and Massillon may choose, if the past due bill is settled and a new contract is signed, to attempt to garner that same $70 per diem rate as the federal government.

After all, city officials say residents of Alliance pay taxes to Stark County, and some of those funds are furnished to the Stark County Sheriff’s Department for operations — just like any other county department.

Day said protocol has the contract holder submit his bills to the local U.S. Marshals Office and officials then forward them to headquarters for payment. Her office is involved in rate changes and not making the payments.

She concluded that most of the housing contracts include a 180-day out clause, which allows either the county or federal governments to terminate the contract before its expiration.

So, I sent this e-mail to Kathy.Day@usdoj.gov:

As a concerned citizen, I am not comfortable with the idea of women prisoners being sent to the Stark County jail. The abuse of Hope Steffey at that facility was widely reported in the media, so you must be aware of the problem. What safeguards do you have in place to assure that prisoners are properly treated by the facilities with which you have contracts?

sandyfromoh

04-03-2009, 12:00 PM

Way to Go John!!!!:thumbup:

Terry99

04-03-2009, 12:28 PM

Christy Palmer is a stenographer; not an investigator. She just took down what her colleagues told her and defended their every action. Interesting that the nurse said what happened to Hope is so common, she didn't even remember the incident until she saw the tape. These people are so drunk on their own power, they no longer know what normal behavior looks like.

Canton Rep reporter Shane Hoover had the BCI summary, but didn't say staff admitted Hope was not given a chance to voluntarily comply. Instead he said no one could remember who asked her. At many points, the article was written in ways that were intentionally misleading and it still won an award for investigative reporting. Give me a break.

sandyfromoh

04-03-2009, 12:31 PM

This article appeared in the Alliance Review:

So, I sent this e-mail to Kathy.Day@usdoj.gov:

Terry, I can't believe what I'm reading, will this include the Gitmo Detainees? I really can't handle what is going on anymore!!!Why did they vote Swanson in??? What is the matter with people???? :cursing:

Terry99

04-03-2009, 02:54 PM

Sandy, I have no answers for your questions...I'm just as confused as you are. I hope it's because they don't know what's going on - because if they know and just don't care, that's worse.

This is a copy of an e-mail I send to Shane Hoover of the Canton Rep, with a copy to the editor:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39...BCI-Report.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Page-7.jpg

Maybe in response to the paper's article about the sunshine law, someone decided to obtain the BCI summary by Christy Palmer regarding the Hope Steffey matter and has now posted it.

The links above relate to two areas which seem to indicate that your award winning "investigative" report was less than forthcoming. First, the BCI summary states - without equivocation - that staff admitted Hope Steffey was not given an opportunity to voluntarily comply. As I recall, you wrote something to the effect that no one remembered who asked her. That suggests the issue was still in dispute.

Maybe your readers would have been interested in this part of the summary: "The involuntary removal of Hope Steffey's clothing and personal items...was apparently so 'routine' that Nurse Lennon advised she did not even remember the incident".... Did you decide the citizens had no right to know that this was not just an unusual circumstance but an ongoing policy? I also wonder how accurate those jail-generated statistics you printed really were.

You stated that the men held her down, while the women removed her clothes. Not true. Both removed her clothes. In your description of the event, you absolutely downplayed the violence of it and the terror she experienced because she was never told beforehand what was about to be done to her or why. Instead you chose to say the jailers said "relax" and "breathe" and in return she cursed at these kind people. In fact, they told her she was on precautions only after twisting her arm and stripping her naked from the waist down. At that point she appeared so completely humiliated and terrified, I doubt she had any idea what they were talking about. By the way, they had to tell her to breathe because she was hyperventilating. If I had not watched the tape and just read your version (as I'm sure many people did), I would not have known the truth. You made it sound like a mother's caress. Both you and Christy Palmer say it "only" lasted five minutes. Would you like someone (especially a woman) in your family to experience those five minutes?

Aside from this article, you and others have printed misleading information from the Sheriff right along. He has certainly implied on many occasions that Hope Steffey was given a chance to remove her own clothing. I guess from now on, we'll all have to get the original documents in order to make an informed decision. We certainly can't rely on the press.

sandyfromoh

04-03-2009, 03:24 PM

Terry,
Great letter!!!! Hope they answer you, but doubt they will. All I know if I were Hope Steffey and they did that to me, I would have killed myself! I'm a very modest person, and that would have mortified me to the point of not wanting to live anymore. Just my opinion, but is this where our Country is going? Take away all our freedoms, one by one?:flamemad:

Terry99

04-03-2009, 03:53 PM

Terry99

04-03-2009, 07:46 PM

As indicated in my previous post, the Federal Government is contracting with Stark County to house some of its prisoners. Below is the response I got to my e-mail, which read: As a concerned citizen, I am not comfortable with the idea of women prisoners being sent to the Stark County jail. The abuse of Hope Steffey at that facility was widely reported in the media, so you must be aware of the problem. What safeguards do you have in place to assure that prisoners are properly treated by the facilities with which you have contracts?

Here's the link in case someone else wants to write to Ms. Day on this subject.

Kathy.Day@usdoj.gov

Re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) Request No. 2009144

Dear Requester:

I am informed that the Intergovernmental Agreement for detention services between Stark County and the U.S. Marshals Service has not yet been signed by the county, although it is expected to be signed by the county shortly.

Assuming that the agreement is signed, the county will be expected to abide by the Federal Performance-Based Detention Standards, which are now referenced in every intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service. For your information, below is link to the standards.

I hope this information satisfactorily responds to your inquiry.

Sincerely,

Katherine A. Day
General Counsel
Office of the Federal Detention Trustee
U.S. Department of Justice
(202) 353-4601 (phone)
(202) 353-4611 (fax)

http://www.usdoj.gov/ofdt/07pbds_review_book.pdf

Terry99

04-03-2009, 08:35 PM

I couldn't let it go, so I wrote another e-mail to Kathy Day. I don't want the Stark County jail getting any of my tax dollars.

Thank you for your response; however, it did not allay my fears. I don't know what the jail's written policies state, but in practice I'm sure they do not comply with B.6.14 "Suicidal detainees are treated respectfully" . Hope Steffey was stripped naked by men and women and left naked in a cell for 6 hours. She was not advised beforehand of what was going to be done to her or why (this was acknowledged by staff according to a BCI report). She was traumatized and humiliated. It is my understanding that there may be further investigations into the jail's policies in this regard since the Sheriff went on TV recently and said there are lots of naked people - men and women - in his jail.

Shouldn't you know more about what goes on there before you sign the contract and not take it on faith that they will comply after the fact?

John7878

04-04-2009, 10:12 AM

The nurse said this kind of thing is so routine, she didn't even remember the incident until she saw the tape. The staff deals with this all the time; yet, after a year passes, they still have very specific recall of Steffey's bad behavior. That's amazing; what are the odds?

I missed that myself, we all need to review the report, I'm sure there are even more things that make no sense in it.
And this happened in Oct of 2006, and this report is April 2008, so its a year and a half later...YUP, thats amazing!

John's right - how can Palmer state as facts the slow descent to the floor; that Steffey poked Gurlea in the chest (contrary to what the arrest report and witnesses say) and so on.

Like I said, looks more like a smear campaign than a "objective independent report".

John - who is Palmer's boss? The Attorney General?

Her immediate boss for this investigation was:

Paul Scarsella, Section Chief
614-644-0729, FAX: 614-466-6172
30 E. Broad St., 14th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215

John7878

04-04-2009, 10:35 AM

This article appeared in the Alliance Review:

So, I sent this e-mail to Kathy.Day@usdoj.gov:

I also saw that article and was going to contact them about this. Thanks for the email address.

I also raked them over the coals about charging the cities $10 more than they are the feds!!
They are trying to say because they don't have to transport the prisoners, but the paper refutes that excuse. WOW, egg on their face again.

UPDATE: My letter to Kathy

I saw in a news article that you signed a contact with the Stark County Jail for housing prisoners.
I have some serious concerns about this facility, seeing as the sheriff is named in a half dozens lawsuits. And there are lawsuits pending already on treatment of prisoners there.
Hope Steffey's case has been on national news and the FBI has instituted an investigation into the sheriff's dept & jail division because of it. And at least five more women have come forward with similar claims of abuses, including one that works in corrections, and billboards are being used to try to find more victims of the sheriff's dept abuses.

Local taxpayers have already paid out on settlements, and I worry that all federal taxpayers will soon face the same problems if this facility is used.

At the very least safeguards should be in place against this kind of treatment of inmates. Although after seeing the attitudes and views of the sheriff's dept I doubt that enough safeguards, could, or would, be used there.
I would instead ask that you cancel this contract and find another suitable facility.

Thank You

John7878

04-04-2009, 10:49 AM

Way to Go John!!!!:thumbup:

Well we are ALL still hammering away at this....LoL

These people are so drunk on their own power, they no longer know what normal behavior looks like.

Canton Rep reporter Shane Hoover had the BCI summary, but didn't say staff admitted Hope was not given a chance to voluntarily comply. Instead he said no one could remember who asked her. At many points, the article was written in ways that were intentionally misleading and it still won an award for investigative reporting. Give me a break.

I emailed Shane and pointed out that fact, and asked if he had gotten the same report as I had been given.
(Before I blast the guy, I want to make sure.)

I got a reply from him:

Look for a six-page investigative report entitled “3/11/08 Interviews Pertaining to the Arrest and Incarceration of Hope J. Steffey” by BCI&I agent Christy Palmer. It is a summary of agents’ interviews with the deputies involved. You can obtain it from the Ohio AG’s office.
UNQUOTE

So this is why I contacted the AG's office and they are supposed to be gathering up the stuff to send me.

So I am not sure yet about Shane, because he's getting his info from these people. But he still seems to have slanted his article....and omitted a LOT of stuff that would have supported Steffey's case...anyway, we'll see....

BUT I AM SURE ABOUT CHRISTY PALMER!! :cursing:

Terry99

04-04-2009, 07:01 PM

sandyfromoh

04-04-2009, 09:35 PM

I was floored when I read the BCI report, especially the part where Palmer said in spite of Hope's loud, erratic behavior and physical resistance they were able to safely place her in a cell. She can't even allow for the possibility that the staff's cruel actions caused that reaction in Hope. Instead, she wants to recommend them for a medal. More groupie than investigator and not professional at all. That woman has a warped perspective. I guess that's what got her the assignment.

Would love for that woman to get treated the same way Hope got treated, and maybe she wouldn't be so warped!!!!!

John7878

04-05-2009, 04:37 PM

The list of sources for Shane Hoover's story was at the end of the article. Unfortunately, they no longer have it on line. I believe that both the interviews and the summary report were cited. The article appeared the end of September or beginning of October, so it should be the same summary. It doesn't make sense that the the two would say different things. Even if they do, it still means Hoover would pick and choose whatever information supported his agenda when he wrote the article. Sometimes he was specific, sometimes vague; he included some things and left out others, etc., etc.

I saved all the articles I knew about:

SOURCES

The Repository reviewed more than 600 pages of documents, four audio recordings and five video recordings. Those sources included:

— Steffey's civil lawsuit and defendants' written responses

— Deputy Richard T. Gurlea Jr.'s written report concerning Hope Steffey's arrest

— Steffey's excessive force complaint against Gurlea

— Video recordings from cruisers of Gurlea and Sgt. Terry Curry

— 231-page transcript from Steffey's criminal trial in Alliance Municipal Court

— Recording of 911 call and transcripts of radio traffic

— Jail admission records and housing logs

— Sheriff's policy on suicide precautions

— Statistics on number of inmates placed on precautions

— Video from jail's stationary surveillance cameras

— Video and written report on removal of Steffey's clothes

— Audio recordings from Gurlea's cruiser and inmate receiving area, enhanced by Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission's audio laboratory

— Audio recording of Hope Steffey's call to her husband

— Booking photo

— Summaries of state investigator's interviews with jail staff

— State investigator's report

This is the non working link, I had asked them to activate them all again, but nothing.

http://cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=433316&Category=15

I was floored when I read the BCI report, especially the part where Palmer said in spite of Hope's loud, erratic behavior and physical resistance they were able to safely place her in a cell. She can't even allow for the possibility that the staff's cruel actions caused that reaction in Hope. Instead, she wants to recommend them for a medal. More groupie than investigator and not professional at all. That woman has a warped perspective. I guess that's what got her the assignment.

I was floored too! How about the part that after Steffey's attitude & cooperation improved she was "ALLOWED" to keep the suicide suit.

So if she hadn't been she would have been "downgraded" again and been stripped again?

I think we all see what the real deal was here...and then they have the GUTS to try to sue the local TV station for "making them look bad"?!??!?

GRRRRRRRRR:cursing:

Terry99

04-06-2009, 12:21 PM

And this happened in Oct of 2006, and this report is April 2008, so its a year and a half later...YUP, thats amazing!

John, you might have to calculate from the time Hope filed the lawsuit or the tape was broadcast because the sheriff's department said they did their own internal "investigation" and staff would have been questioned at that time.

As you suggested, I reviewed the BCI summary again and compared it to information in Shane Hoover's article.

On page 3 of the BCI report it says "upon Steffey's arrival at the jail and during the screening evaluation process at approximately 21:22 hours" (that's 9:22 pm to us civilians)....

...after that, according to the BCI report, she was taken for booking and was so uncooperative that they decided to place her in a cell.

Shane Hoover's article says "Around 9:30 p.m., deputies took Steffey to an isolation cell."

So within 8 minutes she caused "chaos", they decided they had no other alternative but to keep her naked in a cell; explained the situation to her;asked her to voluntarily comply; assembled the entire staff to walk her to the cell; got the camera and put their gloves on.

Please check my facts, but if the time frame in those two documents is accurate, that's the way staff is claiming it happened.

John7878

04-06-2009, 03:45 PM

John, you might have to calculate from the time Hope filed the lawsuit or the tape was broadcast because the sheriff's department said they did their own internal "investigation" and staff would have been questioned at that time.

Well there was a "investigation" just days after the incident by a seargent, after Hope complained about the arrest.
I am not sure who was interviewed for that one.

I also have the "Use of Force" documentation, BUT the date in which it is filed seems to be AFTER the date of the first "investigation". It is filed SIX days after it actually happened.

I will be scanning this also and posting later....

John7878

04-06-2009, 04:22 PM

Ok heres the Use of Force documentation.

The only thing I did was black out Steffey's address & phone number. Since the cops blacked out all their stuff, it seemed like the thing to do for Steffey.

The last page is almost unreadable, but thats what I got.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Use-of-Force-1.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Use-of-Force-2-No-Phone-Num.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Use-of-Force-3.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Use-of-Force-4.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Use-of-Force-5.jpg

:angry:

Like I said this is 6 days after the incident.......Hmmmmm

Terry99

04-06-2009, 09:29 PM

Whether it's six days or a year, they're going to try to justify what they did in response to a complaint. Still, all they could come up with is she turned her head, pulled from side to side and yelled. They didn't think it would go outside of the Sheriff's office, so that was enough. (They're all on the same page on treatment of prisoners.) Now they're using words like created chaos and implying they feared for their own safety if they took the cuffs off.

They were very quick to strip her and throw her in a cell; probably because they do it to people all the time. I guess talking to her and trying to calm her down is not part of their job. When she was getting out of the police car she was subdued and walked in of her own accord. She wasn't yelling when she was talking to the nurse. They were warned by Gurlea that she was combative, so who knows whether or not they got rough with her. I wish she had a witness as to what happened at the jail.

John7878

04-06-2009, 11:43 PM

She wasn't yelling when she was talking to the nurse. They were warned by Gurlea that she was combative, so who knows whether or not they got rough with her. I wish she had a witness as to what happened at the jail.

Yeah, I'd like to have a tape of EVERYTHING that happened, but from what I've seen of Stark County we're lucky to have what we got.

The report also goes on to say that they lowered Steffey in a slow controlled manner to the floor.
Except that Steffey says she was thrown to the floor.
She also told her husband in a phone call that she thought the cops had broken her nose.
And the papers reported she was treated by the nurse for the injury.
And in page 4 of this report Christy Palmer even states that Steffey reported that her nose was making "crunching noises". (This is after she makes the claim that all of this crap was done the way it was for safety!)

So I guess this is proof of a second LIE! (Or third)

I have to wonder how many lies do they need to catch them in?!?!?

Gezzzzzzzzzzzz :cursing:

John7878

04-07-2009, 08:02 AM

Found this while Googling, and thought it was worth posting:

Stark Countys Miscarriage of Justice replied:

The video was revealing of what (sadly) aften goes on in Stark County Jail. I am working on a suit to be filed which will show yet another instance of abuse of power from the same jail. The similarities are unreal. 14 months ago, my son experienced their undue belittling and harassment. White Collar Criminals. It seems to me that since we pay them to “serve & protect”, they should pay double the penalty when busted. After all, they gain higher standards of respect, power, trust, etc., with the oath the take, badge they wear and pay we supply. When they abuse their power and authority - they should be held to higher standards as well!

Although this type of treatment was given to my SON (not being a female inmate), it was still use of force, abuse of power and denial of his civil rights. He asked to file a complaint against the arresting officers, asked for medical care (all injuries coming from the officers) and he asked to use the phone. What he got was stripped without warning or a request to remove his clothes and left in a cell (naked) until the next day. They say he acted “highly aggravated” and that’s why they stripped him of his clothing and dignity. Although they eventually charged him with “Assault on a Peace Officer”, they know as well as I do, that what he did was INSULT the officers! He insulted them with foul language and his repeated demand to exercise his civil rights !

The only thing those S.C. deputies “served & protected” that day was their ego’s and each other’s career. The tight lips and blind eyes of the incident will come back to haunt them. In my sons arrest, a trilogy was born. Due to his demeanor, they decided to lie full speed ahead and charge him heavily. For now, they got away with it, but the truth will be shown.

I have a lot of respect and good wishes for Mrs. Steffey. I’m sure it was a hard decision to make to allow others to see her pain. We, ourselves, were forced with a decision of using funds for a criminal attorney vs. a civil attorney. Unfortuneatly, we don’t have an “Attorney Fund” collecting interest in the bank - just waiting to be needed, so the choice of which direction to go was easily made. First things first! In my son’s “Use of Force” video, you can clearly see them removing his clothes (while a female taped) and all of a sudden he is hit from behind while his arms are out (like Christ on the cross). They claim it was necessary to do, because he wasn’t holding his leg properly to make it easy for the deputies to get his one pant leg off! In another video, you can clearly see the officer punch him 3-4-5-6 times.

It’s time to stop the madness. The “system” makes an example of the citizens all the time. It’s time a judge is bold enough to make one out of the law men/women that abuse their authority! If we can send a man to the moon and return his safely to earth,… we sure as hell can put a man or woman on the ground and take them SAFELY to jail!

http://radgeek.com/gt/2008/02/05/rapists_in/

Terry99

04-07-2009, 11:16 AM

I hope they do get more lawsuits. The issue is bigger than Hope Steffey or even Stark County. I'm sure this same kind of abuse occurs in jails across the country. Like the nurse said, it's so commonplace to degrade and humiliate people, it's not noteworthy. Because it's become second nature to the jail staff, they don't seem to recognize the effect their actions have on the people they're doing it to.

Unless there are other documents from the time of the arrest that say Hope was given a chance to remove her clothes, the fact that it is not in the use of force report is significant. Her refusal to do it voluntarily would definitely been given as a reason for the staff's actions if it happened. Palmer says that Hope's resistive actions and disobedient behavior while being escorted to the cell was the reason they decided not to release control and allow her to remove her own clothing. Nonsense. They walked her to the cell with a video camera and had the mat ready to be placed on the floor of the cell. None of that would have been required unless they already intended to use force.

John, did the first investigation you referred to have any additional "facts" or anything new to say about the matter?

John7878

04-07-2009, 02:32 PM

John, did the first investigation you referred to have any additional "facts" or anything new to say about the matter?

I haven't gotten any documentation about it. It was only mentioned in a news story....and after this I have to wonder how reliable that would be.

I called the Stark County sheriff's office again today. Asked for that complete list of what Shane Hoover got.

She said I'd have to talk to Human Resources, and asked if I wanted her voice mail. I said I had already left a message, but got no response.

So she said I'd have to submit a WRITTEN request for the material.

(I have stopped typing and am sitting here fuming....)

Anyway later---:angry:

Terry99

04-07-2009, 05:32 PM

Well there was a "investigation" just days after the incident by a seargent, after Hope complained about the arrest.
I am not sure who was interviewed for that one.

John, this is the investigation I was asking about. Is there a separate report for this or is it part of the documents you posted? I was wondering if it had anything to add to what was already reported, or just the same old stuff.

John7878

04-08-2009, 07:25 AM

John, this is the investigation I was asking about. Is there a separate report for this or is it part of the documents you posted? I was wondering if it had anything to add to what was already reported, or just the same old stuff.

This is what was in the article What Happened To Hope Steffey:

QUOTE
THE INVESTIGATION

Four days after her arrest, Steffey filed a complaint against Gurlea, saying he used excessive force.

According to a report by Sgt. Ron Perdue, he interviewed Steffey and she admitted to being highly intoxicated and resisting arrest. Perdue also talked to Gurlea and declared Steffey's complaint unfounded.
UNQUOTE

Ok this is also mentioned in the trial, Steffey testified that the police falsified documents saying that she admitted being drunk.

Thats about all I know about this "investigation". I never got a copy of it. I'll be asking for more stuff soon...in writing .

But thats what I was talking about the reports aren't even written until SIX days after her arrest...so HOW does he investigate four days later?!?!?

Terry99

04-08-2009, 11:41 AM

But thats what I was talking about the reports aren't even written until SIX days after her arrest...so HOW does he investigate four days later?!?!?

Maybe the complaint made at that time was only against Gurlea and didn't include what happened at the jail. The Use of Force Report is probably something that's supposed to be routinely filled out when you use force against an inmate. That doesn't explain why it wasn't done until six days after the incident and after a complaint was received on a related matter.

John7878

04-08-2009, 02:59 PM

Maybe the complaint made at that time was only against Gurlea and didn't include what happened at the jail. The Use of Force Report is probably something that's supposed to be routinely filled out when you use force against an inmate. That doesn't explain why it wasn't done until six days after the incident and after a complaint was received on a related matter.

Well I sent off for more info today, so maybe we'll see....

My letter I sent: (Its a copy of everything Shane Hoover had listed for sources in his story, except what I already have.)

Dated April 8th 2009
To Vivianne Whalen Duffrin
Director of Human Resources

Under the Ohio Public Records Act I am requesting this information:

— Steffey's civil lawsuit’s defendants' written responses

— Deputy Richard T. Gurlea Jr.'s written report concerning Hope Steffey's arrest

— Steffey's excessive force complaint against Gurlea

— Video recordings from cruisers of Gurlea and Sgt. Terry Curry

— page 133 from transcript from Steffey's criminal trial in Alliance Municipal Court

— Recording of 911 call and transcripts of radio traffic

— Jail admission records and housing logs

— Sheriff's policy on suicide precautions

— Statistics on number of inmates placed on precautions

— Video from jail's stationary surveillance cameras

— Video and written report on removal of Steffey's clothes

— Audio recordings from Gurlea's cruiser and inmate receiving area, enhanced by Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission's audio laboratory (FULL versions)

— Audio recording of Hope Steffey's call to her husband

— Summaries of state investigator's interviews with jail staff

Thank You
================

We'll see how long this takes to get a response. The lawyer I contacted said to use the "Ohio Public Records Act" term to get all the info.

sandyfromoh

04-08-2009, 04:27 PM

Really Praying you get a response, but I doubt it!! Remind them in your letters that it's "We the people", not we the government!!!! I can't handle this anymore, Bless you John and Terry for doing this. Our United States is going down the drain, and John if you decide to run for office, count on me!!!!:thumbup:

John7878

04-13-2009, 04:45 PM

UPDATE

Got a CD from the State today. I also called and asked if the rest of the stuff was coming and he said yes, they were still gathering it up.

All this CD had was the written report of Christy Palmer, or should I say the same smear campaign, only longer.

Heres a link, the file can be downloaded 10 times from this site:

http://rapidshare.com/files/220947284/Christy_Palmer_Special_Prosecution_7-13-08.pdf.html

Its about 30 megs big

John7878

04-13-2009, 05:27 PM

This link should be a bit more permanent :

http://rapidshare.com/files/220961285/Christy_Palmer_Special_Prosecution_7-13-08.pdf

I hope....:rolleyes:

Terry99

04-14-2009, 01:56 PM

Well, John, I've read about 100 pages and so far I think Hope will have a hard time proving Gurlea had no justification to arrest her or that he used excessive force. He didn't need to arrest her to protect the citizens, but I'm pretty sure the jury will believe she was guilty of disorderly conduct. The "she poked me in the chest" part is still dubious, especially if it only came up after she made a complaint about him. To be honest, if I was her attorney I wouldn't be making the arrest too much of an issue because it will discredit Hope's testimony right off the bat.

For me, what happened at the jail is a different story. All the deputies seem to be saying the same thing in the same way...she was resistive, she was out of control, the worst desperado to ever walk though the doors. However, that isn't backed up by what objective evidence is available. Gurlea said she walked into the jail without incident; Palmer says there's a tape showing her when she first came in and is being processed in which she's crying but does not appear resistive; the audio recording does not reveal any loud or abusive behavior when she's speaking to the nurse. Then they say she tried to hide her face from the camera while being photographed and pulled away, and because of that they immediately took her to the cell and did what they did. As I said before, this all occurred within 8 to 10 minutes of her arrival at the jail.

They all say she was given an opportunity to voluntarily comply but it's not documented anywhere and no one remembers who asked her (although they conveniently remember everything else). No mention of her refusal appears in the Use of Force report, where you would expect to see it. They say they always take the camera along when a prisoner is combative, but then they don't turn it on. Oh, that's right, they thought it was on.

In the end, I guess it will come down to what the jurors are willing to believe.

Terry99

04-14-2009, 02:22 PM

I noticed that Hope's complaint made right after her arrest was about Gurlea's use of force and the removal of her clothing. However, the internal investigation only refers to Gurlea and not the other matter. John, are there any subsequent documents to indicate they followed up on her complaint about the jail staff at that time?

John7878

04-14-2009, 02:38 PM

Well, John, I've read about 100 pages

They all say she was given an opportunity to voluntarily comply but it's not documented anywhere and no one remembers who asked her (although they conveniently remember everything else).

They say they always take the camera along when a prisoner is combative, but then they don't turn it on. Oh, that's right, they thought it was on.

In the end, I guess it will come down to what the jurors are willing to believe.

Well you have read more than me, I can hardly start reading it before I'm pi$$ed and have to stop.

Thats been the problem, trying to get evidence, when the cops control it all.
And they always seem to have a convenient excuse, no matter how LAME it is for "missing" evidence, conflicting testimony, and basically their version making no sense.

Then we have the independent investigator parroting the cops accusations, while ignoring anything that doesn't fit in with their story.
Plus she even includes their lie about giving her a chance to comply, even though they have NOTHING to back it up.
And as people have stated, it is VERY obvious from the video that she was NEVER informed or asked. But GEE, why bother with the obvious, if it doesn't match up to the cops version. (Grrrrr)

Jury??!?! There isn't going to be a jury, this will be settled without a trial. Might take a bit longer to reach a suitable number, but they can always extend it past July too. After all its been moved at least 3 times already.
I would love to see it go to trial, because then I might get a chance to testify. I would love to get in a couple licks on these thugs & liars.
But I have no doubt that they would have some lame excuses for my accusations too. They never seem to lack for them.

:angry:

BTW Have you seen ANYTHING yet that says the camera had been looked at? If it had ever malfunctioned before this, or afterwards?

Terry99

04-14-2009, 05:19 PM

I haven't seen anything yet about the camera but I haven't looked at every page. The CD contains well over 600 pages, with a lot of duplication and irrelevant information (including pest control reports from Terminix).

I'm pretty sure this has a lot of the written documentation Shane Hoover got. If you have to pay for copies from the Sheriff's Department, you might want to check so you don't waste your money.

Based on what I've seen so far, the CD does contain the following items on your list:

Gurlea's written report of the arrest

Steffey's excessive force complaint

Jail admission records and housing logs

Policy on suicide precautions

Statistics on number of inmates placed on precautions

Summaries of State Investigator's interviews with jail staff

Terry99

04-14-2009, 07:09 PM

I just finished reading the transcript of Hope's trial and I'm back to feeling sympathy for her (as did the judge) and disliking Deputy Gurlea. I think her attorney did a pretty good job, considering what she had to work with. She did challenge Gurlea's version of the events; but, whenever facts are in dispute, the benefit of doubt is given to law enforcement. If I was on the jury, I don't know which way I would have gone knowing only what was presented at the trial. It's possible they didn't believe what she said about her treatment at the jail since it was only her word at that point. Many people would still find it impossible to believe if they hadn't seen the videotape.

To answer my own question, I didn't see any findings of an internal investigation regarding Hope's complaint of what happened at the jail. Either they never bothered to do it, or they did it and are withholding the information.

Terry99

04-14-2009, 07:17 PM

P.S. The trial transcript says Steffey used "fowl" language; so maybe she was really yelling "cluck you".

sandyfromoh

04-14-2009, 07:20 PM

P.S. The trial transcript says Steffey used "fowl" language; so maybe she was really yelling "cluck you".

Terry, almost spit out my coffee on that one!! ROFLMAO:thumbsup:

John7878

04-14-2009, 08:02 PM

I just finished reading the transcript of Hope's trial and I'm back to feeling sympathy for her (as did the judge) and disliking Deputy Gurlea. I think her attorney did a pretty good job, considering what she had to work with.

Yeah, WHY did the judge comment on her stay at the jail? What was known then by the judge (and WHO ELSE), but never presented to the jury?

WHY did Steffey's attorney not protest at the showing of the arrest tape?? They ASKED her and she said it was ok to show it??!?! She should have suppressed it as having nothing to do with the events that lead to her arrest, it was only relevant to how she acted after the cop assaulted her. Who wouldn't be pissed? And she never seems to get that across to the jury.
She never jumps on the deputies switch in testimony when hes asked if hes been told about her being unconscious.
Instead she keeps asking about the missing hair...WTF does that have to do with the charges?!?!?
Too little was done to inform the jury about the effects of a concussion, including getting sick to your stomach.
In my opinion she missed the boat time & time again.
Shes sure no Perry Mason!! Too bad Steffey's first lawyer dropped out of the case....and I wonder why he did?

If I was on the jury, I don't know which way I would have gone knowing only what was presented at the trial. It's possible they didn't believe what she said about her treatment at the jail since it was only her word at that point. Many people would still find it impossible to believe if they hadn't seen the videotape.

It was her word and the witnesses against the cops, who could have had proof anytime they wanted, but didn't "feel the need" to turn on the cameras.
The burden is on them, and I don't think they met it.

Even the witnesses that weren't close enough to hear anything, unless they were yelling at each other, couldn't say what was really going on. But the prosecutor made it look as though they were testifying against her. Steffey's lawyer should have cleared that up too. Making sure the jury KNEW these people weren't close enough to actually KNOW what ALL was being said.

To answer my own question, I didn't see any findings of an internal investigation regarding Hope's complaint of what happened at the jail. Either they never bothered to do it, or they did it and are withholding the information.

And her complaint that she filed at the same time against her niece, also seems to have never been looked into anymore either.
(Never get a conviction if they arrest someone else, and they HAD to have a conviction.)

I wish they would have had the thing in a TYPED PDF format, so you could do a search on it.

John7878

04-14-2009, 08:16 PM

I haven't seen anything yet about the camera but I haven't looked at every page.

Summaries of State Investigator's interviews with jail staff

I doubt they even looked at the camera, they might something they don't like.

What about interviews with the other people that were there? How about her hospital report about the concussion? How about the nurses report on Steffey's injuries?
How many other victims were interviewed to establish a 'pattern of abuse'?

So how many people were polygraphed to VERIFY the TRUTH of their testimony???

Easy to see WHY the grand jury didn't bother to charge the deputies, an effort was made to NOT gather enough evidence against them.
:angry:

Terry99

04-15-2009, 04:09 AM

In one of the interviews, a deputy said she was only one of two females trained for the CERT team and the only one on duty. I don't know if she meant on that shift or in total. Anyway, she went on to say she has never participated in the removal of a man's clothes because there are always enough male CERT members available. When Swanson said he doesn't have the luxury of an all-male or all-female CERT team, he was telling a half truth since only women prisoners are being subjected to the humiliation of having opposite sex members participate. Why can't they train more female staff members for the CERT team?

John7878

04-15-2009, 06:44 AM

In one of the interviews, a deputy said she was only one of two females trained for the CERT team and the only one on duty. Why can't they train more female staff members for the CERT team?

CERT team or not, there were 5 women present when Steffey was stripped.

There is no excuse of why those 5 needed any men to be there.

I see the sheriff's 'investigation' included talking to the deputy & Steffey.

No one talked to other witnesses there?

The ONLY written statements are the complaints against Steffey, all the others are listed as oral?!?!?
No written documentation, no tape, no nothing?!?!
Why would you take written statements from no one but the sister & brother??? Why wouldn't you get them from EVERYONE that was there?

And then theres nothing I have seen that states WHAT the oral statements were....have you seen any yet???

The papers did say that the BCI report did come up with the fact that someone yelled to get their own camera, because the cop was "beating her".
So I'm guessing there has to be more somewhere.....

I have never heard any more about the Russian woman that is suing too. Any of you ever catch anything?

Terry99

04-15-2009, 11:06 AM

CERT team or not, there were 5 women present when Steffey was stripped.

There is no excuse of why those 5 needed any men to be there.

They say only trained CERT members are allowed to perform those functions, and that's why I think they need to get more women certified. That removes all excuses.

And then theres nothing I have seen that states WHAT the oral statements were....have you seen any yet???

No

The papers did say that the BCI report did come up with the fact that someone yelled to get their own camera, because the cop was "beating her".
So I'm guessing there has to be more somewhere.....

Wasn't that testified to at the trial? Palmer used secondary sources like the trial transcript for her report, so maybe that's where she got it.

I have never heard any more about the Russian woman that is suing too. Any of you ever catch anything?

No

Terry99

04-15-2009, 12:41 PM

I have to correct what I said. The report does indicate that there are only two female CERT members. But..it was another female deputy, not the CERT member, who said she was never called upon to assist in removal of a male's clothing.

So much identifying information is blacked out it's hard to determine who said and did what. In the logs, prisoners are referred to as #1, #2, etc. and I have no idea which one is Hope Steffey.

Newname

04-15-2009, 10:07 PM

If he doesn't have enough women on his CERT team to deal with the female inmates who need to be put on "precautions" (otherwise known as payback for givng the cops a hard time), then why does the good sheriff want to house even more women at his jail?
I just can't get over how some people are condoning what was done to Hope Steffey. Okay, so she gave the police some attitude. I think it was understandable given the circumstances and I doubt any of those officers lost sleep because of it. What they did to her in response, she will never get over.

John7878

04-15-2009, 11:25 PM

They say only trained CERT members are allowed to perform those functions, and that's why I think they need to get more women certified. That removes all excuses.

"They" say? This is the sheriff that has come up with this crap. The excuse that he has followed state guidelines is BS, I have already talked to them.
They have nothing that says men can be there and strip women, this is all Swanson.

Wasn't that testified to at the trial? Palmer used secondary sources like the trial transcript for her report, so maybe that's where she got it.

NOPE, never came up in the trial, the jury NEVER heard that. (Among a lot of other things.)

Sorry, this has really gotten me down today. Everything points to this being an 'attitude' adjustment by the cops. Even the BCI reports never say anything about her 'suicidal tendencies', all they mention is her improved attitude & cooperation, after she's been abused under the color of law.

^&%^$&^&*$#$#$# :cursing:

John7878

04-15-2009, 11:26 PM

So much identifying information is blacked out it's hard to determine who said and did what. In the logs, prisoners are referred to as #1, #2, etc. and I have no idea which one is Hope Steffey.

I think one part said Steffey was taken to #1.

When was Steffey read her rights telling her she did NOT have to talk to the cops? (yet according to Swanson’s ‘policy’ they say you can be stripped for not talking too)

Terry99

04-16-2009, 11:15 AM

On page 24 of the CD, there's a summary of Gurlea's interview with Christy Palmer. He says that he heard "Boni" yell get the camera, he's beating the s--t out of her. I don't have time to go back to the trial transcript, but I don't think Boni testified. He may be the one they said was previously arrested by Gurlea.

Terry99

04-16-2009, 11:53 AM

I think people may be missing my point. The first trial was about what happened to Hope Steffey before she got to the jail. She was convicted of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. I'm afraid if her attorneys focus on re-trying that case, they'll dilute the more important issue of her treatment at the jail. And not only hers, but others who I am sure have and will continue to suffer the same fate. I want it to become about more than Hope Steffey. I want the emphasis to be on the policies and practices at the jail so that the system will be reformed. Right now, there is no law against male deputies participating in the removal of a female inmate's clothing. The goal should be to use this case to set a precedent so that it becomes illegal.

If Hope had been arrested that night, been processed and sent home without incident, people might think her arrest was unnecessary and unfair and feel sorry for her (as do I), but that's about it. It's what was done to her at the jail that can cause the kind of outrage needed to get some changes made.

Newname

04-16-2009, 12:37 PM

It's obvious this sheriff doesn't care about public outrage, though. That's especially true since he got re-elected.
He's arrogantly defending his absurd policy and trying to portray Hope as the bad person in this scenario. That or he claims they were just trying to protect her from herself, an argument that smells worse than three day old chinese food. Unless a jury awards Hope in a big way, they'll have gotten away with it. Even then they'll delay justice for many years by appealing. Perhaps the publicity about this case will cause them to be reluctant to do this to anyone else, but I doubt it.

Terry99

04-16-2009, 01:24 PM

It's obvious this sheriff doesn't care about public outrage, though. That's especially true since he got re-elected.

My comments related to Hope's attorneys and their strategy in the upcoming civil trial. I want them to create outrage in the jurors, who hold all the power right now. I want the jury to award Hope a substantial verdict but in addition to send the message loud and clear that the verdict is based on the practices at the jail, not just the treatment of one person. It was successful legal cases that forced jails to stop the policy of having members of the opposite sex conduct strip searches and body cavity searches. To my knowledge, there is no written law; just legal precendents.

Even those precedents only apply to jail inmates who have not been convicted of anything. Once a women is found guilty and sent to prison, she has virtually no protections. Women are directly supervised by males in even the most intimate situations. In some womens' prisons, up to 70% of guards are males. If you want to know more, you can read these:

http://www.justdetention.org/pdf/CrossGenderSupervision.pdf

http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510191999?open&of=ENG-390

sandyfromoh

04-16-2009, 01:30 PM

[QUOTE=Newname;13013179]It's obvious this sheriff doesn't care about public outrage, though. That's especially true since he got re-elected.
[QUOTE]

He (Swanson) is just another example why ALL INCUMBENTS in more than 2 terms, need to GO!!! My prayers are with Hope, and pray she gets justice, like I've said in the past, I don't care what she did or how she acted, she did not deserve to be treated like that! Not in the USA!!

Terry99

04-16-2009, 02:05 PM

...like I've said in the past, I don't care what she did or how she acted, she did not deserve to be treated like that! Not in the USA!!

Sandy and I are basically saying the same thing in a different way. Like it or not, some jurors on the civil case will believe Hope was guilty of disorderly conduct. (The definition of disorderly conduct is so broad that not much is required to get arrested for and be convicted of the charge.) Hope's attorneys have to make the jurors see that guilty or not, they still had no right to treat her the way that they did once she came to the jail.

sandyfromoh

04-16-2009, 02:23 PM

Sandy and I are basically saying the same thing in a different way. Like it or not, some jurors on the civil case will believe Hope was guilty of disorderly conduct. (The definition of disorderly conduct is so broad that not much is required to get arrested for and be convicted of the charge.) Hope's attorneys have to make the jurors see that guilty or not, they still had no right to treat her the way that they did once she came to the jail.

Yes Terry!!!!:thumbsup:

Newname

04-16-2009, 02:52 PM

Disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, public intoxication...all are "crimes" very easily abused by police as an excuse to arrest someone. All it takes is one drink for you to be considered publically intoxicated.
Get that?
You could be legally fit to drive, but not to walk down a sidewalk.
Trust me, I know all about that one.
You can "resist" arrest by simply asking "why?" when an officer tells you that you're being detained. If you don't immediately turn around and put your hands behind your back, that can be considered another charge. Never mind if you are shocked by the officers actions and hesitate for only a second before complying.
And disorderly conduct?
Don't get me started on that one.
A single curse word or the raising of your voice just slightly louder than would be neccessary for civil conversation...bingo. Police can arrest you for no more than that if they so choose.
This is exactly the kind of thing that happened to Hope Steffey.
She gave them attitude, so they decided she needed to be put on "precautions". But hey, how dare we claim that she was stripped of her clothing and dignity just because the officers wanted to degrade her?
They were so very concerned that she might kill herself. :wink:

John7878

04-16-2009, 03:43 PM

I don't have time to go back to the trial transcript, but I don't think Boni testified. He may be the one they said was previously arrested by Gurlea.

I am not sure, but I don't think he did either.

But it wasn't him that was arrested by Gurlea, it was a friend of his, according to the trial transcripts.

Don't know WHY Steffey's attorney didn't bring that up at the trial?!?!?

:tongueside:

Terry99

04-17-2009, 11:50 AM

The testimony was that Gurlea arrested Ron Boni "the last time"; which I guess means he's been in jail more than once.

Boni was dating Trinette Zorger (the cousin who's trying to calm Hope when she's in the police car). Zorger, who was close enough to see and hear what happened immediately before and during the arrest never answered any of Hope's attorney's phone calls and only testified under subpoena. She said she hadn't been in touch with Hope since the incident, so they had no idea what she would say. It's hard to examine a witness under those circumstances.

Boni didn't show up for the trial; maybe he never responded to the attorney either. Who knows if any of the others mentioned it when questioned by her. She's not a psychic.

Zorger, who should have been Hope's strongest witness, couldn't just play it straight. When asked about her relationship to Boni, she said he was her foreman. Later, the prosecutor has to drag it out of her that they're "dating". It's a small thing, but it makes her look less than truthful. He also implied that she had it in for Gurlea because he arrested her boyfriend. Then the prosecutor's playing a tape and asks if she wants him to turn up the volume and she says "go for it"...he asks her to repeat what she said, so the jury can hear the attitude a second time.

With friends and relatives like Hope Steffey's, who needs enemies.

John7878

04-17-2009, 03:15 PM

The testimony was that Gurlea arrested Ron Boni "the last time"; which I guess means he's been in jail more than once.

Can you give me that page number?

Maybe I was confused with Tamie Rhodes.

She also testified that the cop ignored Hope when she was trying to tell him what went on. (Page 79 of transcripts, not the PDF file)

Terry99

04-17-2009, 10:06 PM

Can you give me that page number?

It's on page 583

John7878

04-18-2009, 07:11 AM

It's on page 583

Thanks. I don't know how I screwed that up.....?

Dang looks like I'm gonna have to read the whole thing again, to see if I can come across what I was thinking of.
Or what there is of it...it looks as though this report is "missing" the same page as I am missing in my copy.

Page 133 This is right in the middle of the deputies testimony. I guess Christy Palmer's investigation didn't notice it was missing either.

Don't know if it means anything or not, but with all the other missing evidence, it does make we wonder.

John7878

04-23-2009, 06:19 AM

Got some more stuff from the state. 7 cd's worth of stuff!!!

But this looks like its going to take some time to go over, and I have a hot project going at home I have to take care of, so not sure when I can get to these. Or how long its going to take once I do get time.

Plus we went from freezing weather this Tuesday, to 80's by Friday!!
And I really have a lot I need to get done around the house, besides this hot project, and I'm not sure how long it will take me to get time to go over this.

But I did want to post that I had gotten it.

Too bad its not in a format that I could upload as easily, as that PDF file.
Although I might be able to change the format, to try to make the videos smaller. But then this would be even more time.

Anyway gotta run

Later---

John7878

04-23-2009, 11:35 AM

not sure when I can get to these. Or how long its going to take once I do get time.

Later---

Ok, I had to take the time to look for the nurse interview to see if they gave me the whole thing or the "enhanced" 30 seconds they are trying to pass off.

Unless one of the other CD's are mis-marked, it doesn't look like I got ANY of it, instead I got a pre-screen jail audio of some guy that they had pulled in for something.

So I called the State's Atty office again, and explained to him the exact video that I wanted.
He said that he got what the investigators had and just copied & passed it along, but that he would search for it and let me know.

Missing evidence from Stark County....who would have thought!??!

:glare:

John7878

04-26-2009, 08:54 AM

So I called the State's Atty office again, and explained to him the exact video that I wanted.
He said that he got what the investigators had and just copied & passed it along, but that he would search for it and let me know.

:glare:

Well so far it looks like the BCI didn't have the missing page of transcript, the 911 call, the nurse interview, or Steffey's call to her husband.

If this is all the evidence we know is missing, it makes me wonder how much more there is "missing" that we don't know about.

The state may have more however, but I'm not holding out for more.

John7878

04-26-2009, 09:03 AM

Zorger, who was close enough to see and hear what happened immediately before and during the arrest never answered any of Hope's attorney's phone calls and only testified under subpoena. She said she hadn't been in touch with Hope since the incident, so they had no idea what she would say. It's hard to examine a witness under those circumstances.

Zorger, who should have been Hope's strongest witness, couldn't just play it straight.
With friends and relatives like Hope Steffey's, who needs enemies.

Well I have to say I didn't realize that she never returned any of Steffey's lawyers calls. I must have missed that.

Yeah, she should have been the best witness, not many others were close enough to hear anything but when they got loud with each other, so they couldn't testify as to WHY Steffey was yelling back.

From the testimony it didn't look as though Steffey was around these particular relation much anyway, guess this won't have improved things.

:wink:

Terry99

04-27-2009, 02:19 PM

I wonder if the billboard is producing any results. You would think so since according to the interview summaries, at least three staff members said there was nothing unusual about what happened to Hope Steffey. One said it would be noteworthy only if an inmate was injured in the process. I guess physical injuries are the only kind that count. Then again, very few women would want the type of publicity that Hope is getting and that might deter them from coming forward.

John7878

04-27-2009, 04:34 PM

One said it would be noteworthy only if an inmate was injured in the process. I guess physical injuries are the only kind that count. Then again, very few women would want the type of publicity that Hope is getting and that might deter them from coming forward.

Well Steffey in her call to her husband said she thought the cops broke her nose.

And in the video it does look as though she has a bloody nose, which is perhaps why they did the "mat change".

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Cops2.jpg

And I have already run across a woman who claims she was also abused by Stark County, but she just wanted to 'forget the whole thing'. I imagine after seeing what Steffey went through there are a lot of them that won't want to come forward.

BTW I have also contacted ALL my reps about the Supreme Court case about strip searching a 13 yr old girl. I have seen on the news that they are predicting that the court will rule AGAINST her!

I have phoned all my reps and have sent this email to all of them:

I am writing about the recent Supreme Court case involving a 13 yr old girl, Savana Redding, that was strip searched by school officials.

They are actually saying that the Supreme Court may rule AGAINST her?!!?

Ok first of all, when the heck did teachers get police powers, to strip search ANYONE!?!??!

And WHY would you give the teachers more power than a cop????
There have been enough abuses by cops involving strip searches, let alone now condoning this by schools.

This is just unbelievable!

The justices can NOT figure out how to keep the kids safe if they stop this!?!?

Are they kidden me??

If this was me in charge of a school, and I had a suspicion about a student, I would ASK to search their locker, backpack, and ask them to turn their pockets inside out THEMSELVES.

If they refuse, then parents are called in, informed of the situation, and apprised of what is going on and that the kid isn't cooperating. So either they get them to cooperate, or they take him home for a suspension.

If its a serious breach or something really dangerous that you are concerned about, then YOU CALL THE COPS!!

They are the ones trained for this, NOT the teachers!!!

As if there isn't enough student/teacher abuse, now they want to set the stage for more.

This isn’t rocket science….DANG!!

If the Supreme Court isn’t smart enough to figure this out, then we need to have a law passed, that WILL protect people from abuses like this.

Can I count on you to do what needs to be done?

John7878

04-27-2009, 05:48 PM

UPDATE April 27, 2009

I had a long chat with the FBI.

Apparently if you were not there, then they don’t want to hear anything you have to say. Even if it’s about the Sheriff’s dept keeping information from the BCI investigation.
I also told him about the missing video that the claimed would be released, but then was suddenly non existent.

Didn’t matter, only information from people that was there at the time of the incident is the only thing they were interested in.

I had the thought that the ‘fix’ is in again, but then he also said that they interviewed everyone that they were told about that was there. They didn’t just rubberstamp the sheriff’s reports. (We’ll see.)

I doubt that anything will come of this, but he also said that after the local office reviews the case that it will go to a state office and then their Washington office.

Still it seems the sheriff’s dept has enough paper work to cover themselves in a criminal case, I wouldn't get my hopes up.

John7878

05-06-2009, 03:04 PM

I have left messages to the Atty general, but I never get a reply, probably because I'm not in Ohio.

Can anyone else ASK them what needs to be done to stop this abuse & lawsuits at Stark County?

Can they get a court injunction or whatever they need to stop this before more innocent people are abused, and taxpayers become liable for more lawsuits.

Sheriff Swanson is on TV bragging about how many naked people there are in his jail, and the head jailer Mike McDonald still does not deny that this is STILL going on.

So maybe someone can ask, what WILL it take to stop this?

http://www.ag4ohio.gov/Public/details.aspx?s=221

Terry99

05-08-2009, 04:03 PM

John7878

05-08-2009, 11:15 PM

I had already written to Nancy Rogers (who was Attorney General of Ohio until January of this year), and didn't get a reply either. Most of the answers I get to my correspondence are meaningless anyway:
-we take your comments seriously - blah, blah, blah
-we can't say anything because of the pending lawsuit
-we'll address one minor issue that maybe we can defend and ignore
the rest of what you had to say

You're actually better than most, John, at getting information from the government.

Yeah I get a lot of the same.
When I call I can usually get them in a corner. They try to BS me around, like trying to say they didn't know who attacked who in the complaint.
Then I tell them the women who supposedly attacked Steffey didn't make any sense at trial. She claimed she was the designated driver, but she wasn't driving when they stopped at the uncles house.
She claimed that Steffey was the one that wanted to drive and she didn't want anyone that drunk driving. But she had ALREADY testified that her brother had drank as much as Steffey, and she had already ridden to the uncles house with them.
Then we have the cousins saying on tape that Steffey was the victim, and the fact that her brother called the cops on his sister. (And that he was never there to testify under oath.)

Then if I can get them rattled or they can see that I already have access to information, they get a lil easier to deal with.

Then to top it all off the Supreme Court is deciding if schools can strip search your kids....like it should even be a question.
If they thought Savanna Redding had ANY kind of drugs her parents should have been called and had it resolved. If its not resolved satisfactorily, then hand out a suspension or call the cops.

If it isn't bad enough having the cops abuse this, now they want to include schools.....dang!

I have already written to the three justices that seem to be siding with the schools.

Supreme Court
Justice (name here)
1 1st Street NE
Washington, DC 20543

:mad:

John7878

05-11-2009, 01:37 PM

Interesting article:

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090511/NEWS16/905110319

In 2007, the last year data was available, the Lucas County Corrections Center housed 26,597 adult inmates and experienced five serious suicide attempts, one inmate escape, 12 inmate-on-inmate assaults, and six inmate-on-staff assaults.

That same year, the numbers were much lower in the Montgomery County jail in Dayton, where 38,750 inmates were housed and there were no suicide attempts or assaults.

Much higher numbers were reported from the Stark County jail in Canton, where 11,761 inmates were housed and where there were 14 serious suicide attempts and 89 inmate-on-inmate assaults.

===
Looks like they need to have Montgomery County jail Staff/Sheriff come teach them how to do their jobs.

:glare:

John7878

05-11-2009, 02:21 PM

Steffey being taken into booking:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/SteffeyIn.jpg

55 seconds later they decide to waste no more time:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/SteffeyOut55secs.jpg

And this must be Nurse Coren Lennon:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Steffey4.jpg

:mad:

Terry99

05-11-2009, 03:29 PM

John7878

05-13-2009, 06:12 AM

Very interesting article. This is the kind of information you will never see reported in the Canton Rep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgmyQvB3XSQ

Ok heres a video you won't see on the news either. This is some of what I got from the BCI "investigation" that the state had.

Heres the cops taking Steffey to the cell to strip her naked.

The quality of the video is pretty bad. It will seem to 'skip' frames for quite a while in some places, but then take a bunch in a row at other times. Why it does this, I don't know.
All the cameras at the sheriff's dept seem to be in bad shape and "malfunction" right at critical moments.

I had to cut this video in half, it was 20 minutes long, from the time they took her in to the time they left the hall in front of her cell. So I cut off the front of it when they took her in.
Heres a link to the whole thing that should be good for a while:
http://rapidshare.com/files/232400098/Production_Done.wmv

WHY does it take 20 minutes outside the hall to show a "suicide prevention" that only took 4 min?

The building camera, seems to skip a lot of frames, so you'd think it would be a shorter video.

But as you can see after they have closed up the cell after assaulting her, they all stand around and have a good laugh, so this will add some more time to the video.

As you can see from the video the big dufass in the white shirt, he stays at the door to the cell looking in all the time Steffey was being assaulted, and then he stays back around her cell afterwards, looking in....GEE, I wonder WHY?
Then afterwards he's joined by another officer who didn't get a chance to help strip Steffey and he starts walking down to have a look too.

WHY DON'T THEY JUST SELL TICKETS?!?!?!?

BUT THEN the camera seems to malfunction, and the next thing you see is a empty hall.
WOW, .....MORE "missing" video from Stark County Sheriff's Dept.

Office of the Ohio Attorney General
(614) 466-4320

Stark County Sheriff's Office
(330)/430-3800

Correctional Healthcare Group
Jonathan Stump
330-454-6766
====
Pictures of all the cops smiling after they have assaulted Hope Steffey outside her cell.
They seem really amused at her screams and begging them to stop.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/SteffeyBigLaugh-1.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/SteffeyBigLaugh22.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/SteffeyBigLaugh33.jpg

And heres a picture of a cop on the way to strip Steffey, he's doing a "tagoff" to one of the other officers, while it looks as though he is following behind the nurse Coren Lennon.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Steffey4.jpg

John7878

05-14-2009, 12:14 PM

UPDATE 5-14-2009

Called & talked to the Ohio State Atty Generals office again.

They said that they had already filled a request from another individual for this information and that they just sent me copies of what they had sent him. So now they will go back to the BCI and request the information from them. (He mentioned that the BCI isn't real hot on providing info to them in a timely manner.)

I said your doing better than me, I been waiting over a year for stuff I asked for.

He said next week he'll let me know what progress there is. :thumbup:

.

CeltikLyte

05-16-2009, 11:08 PM

John7878

05-17-2009, 09:05 PM

What a horrible experience. I MIGHT be able to understand a strip search, but its an abuse of power to leave her without clothes for 6 hours. There have been several cases in NY where strip searches were performed on people arrested for simple traffic violations. The people arrested and searched sued and eventually the Supreme Court told the city of NY to cut it out. They still continue to this day. I think the city has paid out quite a bit in damages.

I don't understand a strip search either. This jail has on their own website that weapons haven't been found in years....(like since metal detectors??).

And with a pat down, I don't see any need for a strip search for a misdemeanor. They had no reason to suspect she had drugs or any other contraband. She was just there on a trumped up disorderly conduct charge.

Try looking up Calumet City, Illinois. These scum stripsearched EVERY woman stopped for anything.
And they did it for SIX YEARS, until lawsuits put a stop to it. But like you say, who knows for how long.

I have contacted my Reps about a federal law to protect people, since the Bill Of Rights doesn't seem to do the job.
But its like a hot potato to them.

John7878

05-18-2009, 09:21 AM

UPDATE

Sent another letter to Katherine A. Day
Kathy.Day@usdoj.gov

======
I'm writing about the pending contract with Stark County jail.

Sheriff Swanson has already admitted on television that he doesn't have enough women to handle inmates, which is why there’s already multiple lawsuits already against the jail.
Of course his story doesn't make sense, since any strip search or body cavity search, by law, has to be same sex. But then he's trying to say that for a "suicide prevention", there isn't enough women.
So HOW can he comply with the law, if he's saying this??
Also by policy men aren't even supposed to be where they can SEE a woman in the showers, but he's saying that its not only "ok" for men to be present when a woman is forcibly stripped naked in a "suicide prevention", but that they can also remove her cloths!

This makes no sense, its not logical, and certainly not moral.

Heres a link to the story, you can see for yourself.
http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=100466

And in fact the Sheriff's own website suggests that their polices may be a factor in the deaths of inmates.

http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/mr020219.htm

QUOTE "The last successful hanging in the Stark County Jail was in 2005. This inmate had visited the Stark County Jail 26 times prior and never exhibited any suicidal tendencies. This time he too was placed on suicide precautions and was still able to take his own life.” UNQUOTE

So this guy NEVER exhibited any suicidal tendencies, UNTIL he was abused like Hope Steffey, then he managed to kill himself.

This is also backed up by this newspaper article:

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090511/NEWS16/905110319

QUOTE "That same year, the numbers were much lower in the Montgomery County jail in Dayton, where 38,750 inmates were housed and there were no suicide attempts or assaults.

Much higher numbers were reported from the Stark County jail in Canton, where 11,761 inmates were housed and where there were 14 serious suicide attempts and 89 inmate-on-inmate assaults.UNQUOTE

There are problems at Stark County jail, but WHO is going to pay for them, not with just money for lawsuits, but perhaps with their lives?!?!? I had written to you before, but never received a response, so this time I have tried to provide as much proof of my concerns as I can, so you can see for yourself that there are real problems. I'd like to suggest that if you need room for prisoners that you look at an alternate jail, like perhaps Montgomery County jail.

Thanks---

EDIT Another article about the jail:

http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4589697?page=0

Terry99

05-20-2009, 12:36 PM

http://rapidshare.com/files/23240009...ction_Done.wmv

Thanks for the info John. I've been away for a few days. When I tried the above link today, got a message that it expired. Is there anything in it that isn't in the youtube video? I also looked at the youtube video of Hope being booked. As usual, she's surrounded by deputies, but looks perfectly calm and cooperative to me. I was thinking what someone else said - what no swat team. I can't believe how excessive their response was to this little woman. The more I learn, the angrier I get.

Terry99

05-20-2009, 10:21 PM

Please disregard my earlier question. I was able to access the video on rapidshare.com by using a different browser. I'm starting to believe, as you do, that they tampered with the video. Like you said, two male deputies are loitering around Hope's cell after the others leave. Then the video goes haywire and when the picture comes back on, there's just an empty hallway. I don't think they could have departed the corridor entirely in those few seconds. The gross guy in the white shirt was trying every which way to get a look all the while they were stripping her. What a sicko.

It still bothers me that the use of force report that said Steffey was being uncooperative wasn't filed for several days after the incident and, I believe, not until after she had made a complaint about her treatment. Maybe I'm getting paranoid, but I even wonder if that document wasn't re-written to exaggerate her behavior in order to justify what they did.

If they did tamper with evidence, let's pray that Hope's attorneys are sharp enough to pick up on it and find a way to prove it. That would really sink them.

John7878

05-21-2009, 09:39 AM

I'm starting to believe, as you do, that they tampered with the video. Like you said, two male deputies are loitering around Hope's cell after the others leave. Then the video goes haywire and when the picture comes back on, there's just an empty hallway. I don't think they could have departed the corridor entirely in those few seconds.

Ok first off there are TWO time/date stamps on these videos. The larger one I think was added after the fact by the sheriff's dept. Perhaps to make reading it clearer.
But on that video, the larger time stamp disappears! It disappears after the camera "malfunction", when its showing the empty hallway.

And if you look at the small one, it freezes. Now this is ALWAYS happening in their videos...BUT when the scene changes, then there is also a corresponding change in the time line of the video.

Ok now if you keep an eye on the smaller time stamp, you see the guys in the hall, but after the scene changes, only ONE SECOND had passed on the time stamp!
So we're not talking about a few seconds here.
Now if it had jumped 10 seconds or so, I could believe that it would have been possible for the guys to get out of camera range in that time....BUT NOT ONE SECOND.

Yeah, I think this one has been tampered with.

It still bothers me that the use of force report that said Steffey was being uncooperative wasn't filed for several days after the incident and, I believe, not until after she had made a complaint about her treatment. Maybe I'm getting paranoid, but I even wonder if that document wasn't re-written to exaggerate her behavior in order to justify what they did.

They didn't have to rewrite the report, like you said it wasn't even written until after she filed a complaint. So as you suggested, all they had to do was exaggerate her behavior.
Unfortunately for them the video does NOT seem to support their claims.

And yeah the more I find out, the more mad I get too.

BTW Has anyone ran across any document that has a statement from Steffey? Like that 600 page thing they put out?
I still haven't gone through all of it, because I have been working on the videos, and getting them up on YouTube.

All these statements from the sheriff's dept, and I don't see crap about Steffey's version, other than what was presented on WKYC.

John7878

05-21-2009, 11:14 AM

The more I learn, the angrier I get.

I am composing a letter to the state for more info, heres the beginning of it:

I also noticed that all the videos that I received had no audio with them.

At first I thought that they must have no audio capability, but Christy Palmer's report mentions the Video/Audio of the nurse interview in her report.

So it would seem that the BCI has the audio for the videos, and that there is audio on the cameras, but just wasn't included.

==========

We'll see what they make of this.......got a feeling I'm gonna be angrier...:cursing:

Terry99

05-21-2009, 05:42 PM

BTW Has anyone ran across any document that has a statement from Steffey? Like that 600 page thing they put out?

I don't recall seeing anything like that.

John7878

05-22-2009, 08:08 AM

I don't recall seeing anything like that.

I haven't run across it yet either....I would love to know her side of this story. Reading the police reports is pretty one sided....

Another story

http://www.cantonrep.com/archive/x124591553/-2-million-Jury-award-to-strain-Cantons-budget

$2 million Jury award to strain Canton's budget

CANTON —

Unless an appeal is successful, the city must come up with $2.075 million that a jury awarded to the estate of a man who died in police custody in 2005.

John7878

05-26-2009, 05:08 AM

I don't think I had ever heard of this until I just now ran across it:

http://kalimao.blogspot.com/2008/02/politics-minorities-and-law-enforcement.html

Sunday, February 03, 2008
Politics: Minorities and Law Enforcement

Based on these two stories, you just have to ask yourself, what the hell is in the water in Ohio?

Hope Steffey is a 47-year-old blonde white woman resident of a town named Salem in Ohio. She weighs 125 lb. It sounds as if she's a member of the rapidly disappearing American middle-class.

Tarika Wilson was a 26-year-old Black American woman resident of a town named Lima in Ohio. We don't know much about her except that she had six children under the age of ten years. It sounds as if she's a member of the working/lower class.

Over a year ago, Hope Steffey was assaulted by one of her (apparently female) cousins, who knocked her unconscious and pulled out a patch of her hair. Another cousin called the police for help. The police who showed up decided to help Ms. Steffey by slamming her up against a police car, breaking one of her teeth. They then threw her on the ground, handcuffed her, arrested her, took her to the slammer, forcibly stripped off, with the assistance of some seven officers male and female, all her clothing, including her underwear, and left her in a cell for six hours, stark naked in the cold without so much as a stitch to preserve what was left of her battered and bruised dignity.

She is now suing the police department in Federal court. The police department is denying any wrongdoing, despite the fact that a videotape of Ms. Steffey in handcuffs with two big fat male cops holding her down and having all her clothes torn off (and screaming, begging, and pleading throughout the procedure) is now making the rounds on YouTube and the blogs. Understandably, Ms. Steffey and her family are scandalized at the treatment meted out to her.

"And you have to ask yourself, what was the purpose of the strip search?" said Steffey's lawyer. "What was the necessity of it? This was a disorderly conduct claim."

The lawsuit says that Steffey remained in the cell for six hours and wrapped herself in toilet paper to stay warm. During that time, she was not allowed to use a phone or seek medical assistance for injuries she accrued that night, including a cracked tooth, bulging disc, and bruises.

It is unconscionable that a woman who has committed no crime, and who is, in fact, the victim of a crime, is treated this way by the very police that her tax dollars are paying to defend her and people like her.

The result of the lawsuit will be taxpayer dollars paid out in damages to Ms. Steffey. She deserves damages, and the purpose of the damages is to force the city and county employers of the police to be more stringent in their standards and the training of their employees. But all the officers who participated in the assault should have to face some penalty. Perhaps losing their jobs would be a suitable penalty. Clearly, if they can bring themselves to treat their fellow citizens this way, they should not have this kind of power over others.

About a year later, police in the city of Lima, Ohio shot and killed Tarika Wilson in her own home while purportedly conducting a drug raid on the house. During the course of the raid, they injured Wilson's year-old son, who was in her arms at the time. The child has since had his finger amputated as a result of the injury. Ms. Wilson's partner, 31-year-old Anthony Terry, was arrested and removed from the premises.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has the grim details. Lima apparently has a long history of police misbehaviour as concerns the rights of the Black American community, although for a time that changed. All too briefly, apparently:

In the 1990s, life improved when federal money allowed the city to hire 10 police officers to work in the community. Residents and police point to that time, when officers were friendly and welcomed members of the community.

But by the end of the decade, the money was gone, and with it, the community police officers. Drugs, discontent and confrontations with police rose sharply.

Hmmm. Not to shill for Hillary here, but that would be the Clinton years, yes?

Ronald Gailes, pastor of a local church, speaks about the tense situation around Ms. Wilson's death:

"We have a desensitized law enforcement agency that treats black people as suspects."

Failes acknowledged that drugs plague the community, but he noted that unemployment creates desperation.

"When a man has to feed his family, he'll do what he has to do," Failes said.

The two incidents have only one thing in common - law enforcement officers exercising inappropriate levels of force. If the officers who stripped Ms. Steffey had been punished immediately for their behaviour, it is possible that Ms. Wilson might be alive today. If police officers were given better staffing levels, better training, it is possible that Ms. Steffey's ordeal and the orphaning of the Wilson children would never have occurred.

Law enforcement is a very tough job. Imagine yourself in the position of a cop, knowing that at any moment you could lose your life or limb or job because of one incorrect assessment, one second extra in making a decision. Understandably, cops get pretty ****ed up after working a job like that day after day for years. The pressure on one's personal life, one's family life, one's relationships, has to be unreal. But that does not excuse the actions of those officers involved in either case. Ultimately, what it points to is an inability by these men and women with guns and badges to understand that people who are not white or male or do not have guns and badges are still people and should be treated humanely. We do not have to follow the precepts of the madman in charge who tells us that torture is OK, and humans have no innate rights. There is a better way. And most of all, law enforcement officers need to learn not to exercise inappropriate levels of force against others just because they can.

A petition requesting the Attorney General to investigate Ms. Steffey's case is already on the internet. As for Ms. Wilson, we fervently hope that her family files a lawsuit and receives damages also. Even if her partner was actively dealing drugs, the police knew there were young children in that house and behaved inappropriately.

http://kalimao.blogspot.com/2008/02/politics-minorities-and-law-enforcement.html

John7878

05-31-2009, 10:32 AM

http://www.cantonrep.com/communities/canton/x2085739154/Canton-hopes-to-mirror-Cincinnati-plan-to-reduce-violence

Canton hopes to mirror Cincinnati plan to reduce violence

It’s not as if police here don’t know who the local troublemakers are.

Chief Deputy Michael McDonald, who heads the Stark County Jail, has said that more than three-fourths of the people who’ve been booked into jail return for repeat appearances. Nationally, he said, the recidivism rate runs as high as 85 percent.

COMMENTS:
Chief McDonald should look at his own back yard for problems, before he starts looking elsewhere. The 'troublemakers' aren't just on the street.
Chief McDonald still isn't denying that men are stripping women naked at the jail, and he seems to have no problem with it, even as the statistics of their abuses come to light.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090511/NEWS16/905110319

QUOTE 'That same year, the numbers were much lower in the Montgomery County jail in Dayton, where 38,750 inmates were housed and there were no suicide attempts or assaults.

Much higher numbers were reported from the Stark County jail in Canton, where 11,761 inmates were housed and where there were 14 serious suicide attempts and 89 inmate-on-inmate assaults.' UNQUOTE

Stark County doesn't even process a third of the people that Montgomery County jail, but it looks to be the suicide capital of Ohio, if not the whole country!

And why wouldn't it be if they are having men strip women, without even the benefit of giving them a chance to remove their own cloths, or even telling them what is going on.

Heres a video you won't see in the news. This is outside of Hope Steffey's cell while they were assaulting her. As you can see after they shut the camera off showing them closing her cell, you can see that they immediately open it again, and some of them go back inside her cell, while the others are outside having a good laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgmyQvB3XSQ

Lets get rid of the criminals in the jail system, THEN maybe we won't have to concentrate so much on the repeat offenders, or lawsuits brought on by their abuses.

John7878

06-05-2009, 08:22 AM

Ukrainian woman should get day in court over botched translation at jail

By Shane Hoover
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Jun 04, 2009 @ 05:51 PM

CANTON —
A jury should hear a Ukrainian immigrant’s claim that a botched translation led to her wrongly being placed on suicide precautions at the Stark County Jail, a federal judge ruled this week.

But an appeal of that decision by the county and Sheriff Timothy Swanson means Valentina Dyshko’s case won’t go to trial next week as scheduled.

Dyshko, of Lake Township, filed her lawsuit last year.

In court papers, her attorneys say the jail employees violated Dyshko’s constitutional rights by communicating with her through an unqualified interpreter, and that the sheriff’s office has no policy on how to handle detainees or inmates who don’t speak English, which is contrary to national standards.

Further, Dyshko’s lawsuit says she missed three doses of medication for a serious blood disorder while in the jail, and that the ordeal caused her severe emotional distress and led to her being hospitalized.

The county argues that Dyshko’s rights weren’t violated and that the jail staff acted reasonably.

Neither David Malik, an attorney for Dyshko, nor James Climer, an attorney for the county and Swanson, would comment on the ruling.

The appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will take months to complete.

JAILED FOR A MISDEMEANOR

On March 10, 2006, Dyshko turned herself in on a misdemeanor warrant issued by Stark County Family Court. The charge, related to the home-schooling of her children, later was dismissed.

She speaks little to no English and sheriff’s deputies were unable to communicate with her. Unable to get a translator from a local Ukrainian church, the jail staff enlisted the help of a woman who is the mother-in-law of a corrections officer, according to court papers.

The interpreter spoke to Dyshko over the phone and asked her about her health and whether she was suicidal, and reported that Dyshko wanted to kill herself.

Dyshko was placed on suicide precautions. She voluntarily removed her clothing and was given a quilted gown to wear, which she maintains didn’t stay fastened.

She spent the weekend in jail, but was allowed to make phone calls to relatives and the Ukrainian Embassy, according to court papers.

COUNTY SEEKS DISMISSAL

The county asked U.S. District Court Judge John R. Adams to dismiss the case, saying Dyshko’s constitutional rights were not violated.

Procedures exist for communicating with Spanish-speaking inmates, but Dyshko was the first Ukrainian-speaking inmate encountered by the jail, and there was no reason to believe the interpretation was incorrect, the county argued.

In his ruling, Adams said a jury could reasonably conclude that Dyshko’s rights were violated and should hear the case.

He noted that, according to a translation of Dyshko’s comments at the jail by a different interpreter hired by the county for this case, Dyshko actually said, “Why would I want to die? I want to go to my kids.”

“A reasonable jury could conclude that this entire circumstance could have been avoided if a policy existed within the jail for attempting to obtain foreign language interpreters when the need arose,” Adams wrote.

Referring to the sheriff’s deposition, the judge took aim at what he called Swanson’s “declaration that the occasional foreign-language speaker resembles a space alien whose existence in Stark County does not require his attention or the promulgation of a policy.”

Dyshko’s attorneys also represent Hope Steffey, a Salem woman who is suing the jail over its use of suicide precautions. That case is pending before another judge in federal court.

http://www.cantonrep.com/crime/x726828320/Ukrainian-woman-should-get-day-in-court-over-botched-translation-at-jail

COMMENTS:

Huh?!?!? A woman TURNS HERSELF IN, for a misdeminor and instead of being released on her own recognizance, she is instead held naked for THREE DAYS!??!?

Over a home schooling issue!?!?

The interpreter doesn't look like the main problem, the main problem seems to be Sheriff Swanson's gastapo jailers.

Why didn't they just call their SWAT team and have her forcably stripped naked like Hope Steffey, over yet another misdemeanor.

Hopefully Ohio will take away the responsibility for the 'safety' of inmates from Sheriff Swason's staff, since its very apparent they can't do the job responsibly, before taxpayers are caught paying out milions for their abuses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgmyQvB3XSQ

John7878

06-19-2009, 03:06 PM

Officer fired over sexual allegations back on job
Arbitrator allowed sergeant to return
By IGNAZIO MESSINA
BLADE STAFF WRITER

A Toledo police sergeant who was fired last year for threatening a convenience-store clerk with arrest if she did not have sex with him has been given his job back, officials with the Finkbeiner administration said yesterday.

Sgt. Daniel Brandon was fired Sept. 30 after he was found guilty of conduct unbecoming of an officer, abuse of authority in dealing with the public, and conduct subversive to the good order and discipline of the department.

His accuser, Melissa Danko, filed suit March 17 in Lucas County Common Pleas Court alleging assault, violation of civil rights, and inflicting emotional distress. The lawsuit, assigned to Judge Linda Jennings, asks for $500,000 in damages. It has been put on hold pending the outcome of Sergeant Brandon's bankruptcy filing in federal court.

Yesterday, attorney Alan Konop, who filed the lawsuit, said his client was aware the sergeant had returned to work.

"Based upon my understanding of the facts, I'm shocked at the decision," he said.

Ms. Danko worked at the 7-Eleven store at 1321 Navarre Ave. In her suit, Ms. Danko accused Sergeant Brandon of making sexual comments to her, suggesting the use of an illegal substance, and using vulgar language. The incidents occurred about 4 a.m. March 20, 2008, and again about 3:40 a.m. April 6, 2008.

"Amongst other statements, [Sergeant Brandon] asserted that Ms. Danko would have sex with [him] 'either willingly or by force,'•" the lawsuit said.

Through her attorney, Ms.

Danko said yesterday she "could not believe he is back on duty."

Toledo's law director, Adam Loukx, said an arbitrator heard the sergeant's case on June 13 and ordered that he be returned to duty without back pay. Sergeant Brandon had the right to appeal the decision to the civil service commission or to have an arbitrator hear the case.

He at least twice made sexual comments to the convenience-store clerk, suggested the use of an illegal substance, and used vulgar language. The comments were made in the presence of customers and were recorded on the store's surveillance video.

The first incident occurred about 4 a.m. March 20, 2008, when the sergeant approached the counter to talk to the 23-year-old clerk.

After a short conversation, Sergeant Brandon, who was on duty, threatened to arrest the woman unless she had sex with him.

"I will take your punk [expletive] to jail and while you're sitting in the county [jail], you'll be thinking, [expletive] it was only 5 minutes," Sergeant Brandon can be heard saying on the tape.

The clerk's response: "I would just go to jail."

The sergeant said he was joking with the woman, whose name he didn't know. He later admitted the comments were inappropriate.

On April 6, Sergeant Brandon returned to the store about
3:40 a.m. and again made sexual comments to her. He told the woman that she was going to have sex with him "either willingly or by force," according to transcripts of the surveillance video.

After a few more minutes of conversation, Sergeant Brandon then told the clerk she needed to "smoke more dope."

The woman responded by asking the sergeant to watch the register while she rolled a marijuana joint.

Sergeant Brandon said, "All right, as long as you roll one for me."

Although the clerk can be heard laughing in the surveillance tape during both incidents, she told police that she was intimidated by the comments and feared Sergeant Brandon might follow through with his threats.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090619/NEWS02/906190345/0/down_enabled.gif

penguin01

06-19-2009, 04:05 PM

Its just too sad! Ohio clearly shows just what kind of quality (lack of it) they want for LE - at all levels, don't they? I just don't get it! Ohio isn't famous for being redneck, undereducated etc etc. Whats the deal? Why the love for the arrogant, immoral, idiotic bullies in law enforcement? Is there a focus on this problem by the Governor and/or the Legislature? Or are they part of the problem?

sandyfromoh

06-19-2009, 04:22 PM

John,
You are again my "hero", I'm so busy lately, I haven't had time for much, but living in Ohio, I'm so embarrassed for this state! It's the same thing going on all over the US, we need to get rid of the so called "representatives" of the people, they get in office and do as they want or get "paid off" to look the other way. That's the problem for sure in Canton, the people re-elected Swanson, all I can say is WHY????????? I want the country I grew up in, where people helped other people and cared about other people. I want all politicians and civil service workers to realize they work for US!! I don't want to fear the police or my government, but I'm getting to that point!

penguin01

06-19-2009, 05:01 PM

Its about homeowners getting ticketed for parking in their own yards on gravel. They are apparently expected to pave it if they want to park there. Apparently Mayor Carty F. thinks this is important stuff.
The best part is that apparently the city parks vehicles in unpaved yards. Don'tcha love it? I hope the Blade take photos of those yards and prints them - with a request for comments from the Mayor. I guess its "Do as I say, not do as I do" in Toledo. Thats what makes it an all-american city.
THere is also a link to an article about this mayor saying "C'mere Fatso" to a kid - he was trying quell a possible fight among kids. Dumber than dirt, apparently. And this is his 2nd term in office?????

SKARDYKAT

06-20-2009, 12:01 AM

John7878

06-20-2009, 01:05 AM

John,
but living in Ohio, I'm so embarrassed for this state! It's the same thing going on all over the US, we need to get rid of the so called "representatives" of the people, they get in office and do as they want

Yeah it IS going on across the whole country. But Ohio hardly comes close to corrupt politicians!

On March 30, 2003, Megis Airfield's runway was destroyed in the middle of the night, large X-shaped gouges were bulldozed into the runway surface.
Sixteen planes were left stranded at an airport with no operating runway, and an incoming flight was diverted. The stranded aircraft were later allowed to depart from Meigs' 3,000 foot taxiway.

So who was responsible for this "terrorist act", none other than the Mayor of Chicago, the poster boy for political corruption, Mayor Daley.
Just imagine if this had been anyone else, they would have been in jail for terrorism.

How this sorry excuse for a human being gets elected time & again is beyond me.

John7878

06-20-2009, 01:15 AM

I have tried to get all the video segments in order.

LINKS TO HOPE STEFFEY VIDEOS
Steffey when she first arrives at the jail. Do you see ANY "physical abuse" from Steffey?
As you can see she is STILL in cuffs, even as the arresting officer said that they would be taken off. So she has had her arms restrained behind her for an hour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEhyDgQojKs

Here’s another quick video of Hope Steffey, the police are parading her down to booking.

They allege that she was physically abusive, and resisted ALL THE WAY.

The video quality is again bad, but not so bad as to actually buy their accusations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NHna2IAelw

This is when they take Steffey in to book her.

Don't see ANY proof of ANY of the cops allegations of "physical abuse" from Steffey.

But a video is worth a thousand words, see for your self.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMgsI136nJg

Ok here’s Hope Steffey being taken from booking to be stripped naked at the cell.

ALSO if you look at the time line, they walked in...and back out...and 55 SECONDS had passed!!
I don't know how far they had to walk to get to the booking station, and back again, but 55 SECONDS seems pretty quick to decide she wasn't cooperating enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1F5iP2dORw

This is when Steffey is taken from booking back down through this area, on the way to the cell where they strip her.

Again she is in cuffs, and it looks like they are abusing her more than she is abusing them! They force her arms up while she is in cuffs and she looks to be in pain.

I am not sure what time stamp they are using the video has two of them. According to the BCI investigator, she was "interviewed" by the nurse around 21:22 Hours, which would have been just before this segment of video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqyagMIyxqQ

And here’s Steffey being taken to the cell to be stripped.

As you can see the woman has the camera up and pointed, and the LED screen is on, but no one knows WHY the camera video is "missing" the beginning.

And this would be exactly when Steffey claims she had her legs knocked out from under her and her nose smashed into the floor.

BUT THEN this magic camera repairs itself JUST as they force Steffey to the bunk to strip her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51k9lukwghc

Here’s the cops taking Steffey to the cell to strip her naked.
But as you can see after they have closed up the cell after assaulting her, they immediately open her cell again, and some of them enter. The rest of them all stand around and have a good laugh.

As you can see from the video the big dufass in the white shirt, he stays at the door to the cell looking in all the time Steffey was being assaulted, then afterwards he's joined by another officer who didn't get a chance to help strip Steffey and he starts walking down to have a look too.

BUT THEN the camera seems to malfunction, and the next thing you see is a empty hall, and the large time counter is missing. But the smaller one is still there, and if you see the time listed, the guys disappear in one second time frame!!
WOW, .....MORE "missing" video from Stark County Sheriff's Dept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgmyQvB3XSQ

Heres the full video of Steffeys "suicide precaution", or what the sheriff claims to have of it, the beginning is STILL "missing".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5hf-aDEAr8

AGAIN here is yet another video of Hope Steffey, the crime VICTIM, being taken from her cell.

She is AGAIN trussed up in cuffs and barefoot. It looks as though having trumped up charges like disorderly conduct and resisting arrest gets you treated like a murderer!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5iblieALyE

Here’s another video of Hope Steffey being taken to a different area, while on her way to get booked again, they seem to stop so she is given some type of footwear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25y5ooY7X2c

Here’s Hope Steffey being brought in, after she's been stripped, to get booked. AGAIN of course she is still in cuffs.

The video was then edited to show her about 35 minutes later coming back out from getting booked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_4M2CMh3jM

Here’s Steffey coming back from getting booked, and getting taken back to her cell.

In cuffs all the way (STILL), and I have still seen NO sign of any "resisting" that the cops are claiming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUDCcL_u6vI

Ok finally Steffey is taken from her cell, with NO cuffs! This is where she is getting released.

Besides the strip video, this is the ONLY time you see her in ANY of the videos without cuffs on and at LEAST two flanking guards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2n5QlF4McQ

=========

I am still in the process of getting more video and trying to find out where the audio is for all of these.....if they had audio from the nurse interview, I'm thinking that there must be audio to these also.

John7878

06-20-2009, 08:39 AM

Do you know her personally, or do you have an experience with cops similar to this? I'm just curious. You have really put a lot of effort in to exposing this case.

No, don't know her at all, but it made my blood boil just as the CBS news story said.

CBS news analyzes Police abuse tapes:
http://search.cbsnews.com/?source=cbs&q=Hope+Steffy&x=0&y=0

So then I called the sheriff to voice my outrage at this abuse. Well instead of an apology or reasonable explanation for their actions they instead try to BS their way though, which makes me even more determined to get this policy stopped.
Then later on I get laughed at and hung up on, and also lied to...so then I'm REALLY steamed.
Plus you read all these police reports about how bad Steffey was, then you see the videos and realize that these were a pack of lies too.
And then of course theres the strip video, how anyone can watch that and NOT be affected....well it affected me a lot, to think anyone, let alone a crime victim, is treated like that.

I haven't had any experience like this. I have just run into one cop that was being obnoxious for no reason when I was younger.

But as I have said before I have a lot of relation that are LEO's, and friends I have worked with in the sheriff's dept.

But I don't go for the cops doing something they shouldn't, and then when they are caught they pull the "how hard and dangerous" my job is BS to try to justify abuses. Or yell that it was for "safety".

They knew when they took the job that they would be interacting with the stupidest people on the planet on a daily basis, and with the most dangerous. (I also told me nephew that before he quit his old job to become a cop.)
If they are that concerned about safety, they should go to barber school, and give up the cop job.

Well its almost July, I expect to see a settlement or another extension in the news about this case.

Newname

06-20-2009, 10:27 AM

I try to put this case out of my mind for my own sanity, but I cannot get over what I saw in that video. I give not a damn what she might have said to them, there was no excuse for a bunch of men stripping a female naked. I don't know how her husband keeps from seeking personal revenge.
Anyway, is there any word on a settlement of this suit or are they going to seriously try to defend their actions in court? Just based on the facts, they should get their behinds handed to them by a jury, but since they've gotten away with this travesty so far, maybe they think their "luck" will continue?

Terry99

06-20-2009, 04:27 PM

John - just want to say thank you for providing these videos and for continuing to fight for the cause.

The Stark County Political Report conjectured that Swanson was going to retire. He denied it, so I guess it was just wishful thinking. Now that blog posted the following:

Second shoes are beginning to drop out of the FBI Cuyahoga County government corruption probe.

The first shoe was the public announcement by the Cleveland office of the FBI over a year ago that it had opened up an investigation of corruption in government in Cuyahoga County. However, it is clear that the FBi has interviewed persons who the FBI must think have relevant information in other counties including Stark.

Is the falling of second shoes underway?

On Friday last, criminal informations were filed against four Cuyahoga Countians.

Are the four it? Or, are there many more to come?

And, if so - will any of the second shoes be dropping in Stark County?

A Stark County law enforcement official believes they will.

In conversations with the SCPR, this official has told The Report that he has it from the highest level of Stark County law enforcement that the FBI has an active investigation, as an offshoot of the Cuyahoga County probe, going on in Stark.

Criminal informations being filed on Stark County government corruption? Let's hope not. Not exactly what Stark County needs!

If true, don't know if that investigation would include the Sheriff's Department, but we can hope.

John7878

06-21-2009, 11:02 PM

John - just want to say thank you for providing these videos and for continuing to fight for the cause.

If true, don't know if that investigation would include the Sheriff's Department, but we can hope.

I just hope we can do some good.

As for the FBI thing, I thought I had posted that I called them already. Yes, they are investigating the Hope Steffey case, they CLAIM they have all the information about the case.

I have been tempted to call them back and see if I can get a copy of some of the stuff they have collected, but I get the feeling that their "investigation" will consist of the same police report lies that the BCI used....that was supplied by the sheriff's dept. (Yes, the BCI investigator did NOT go gather the evidence herself, according to her OWN report, she instead was given the evidence by the sheriff!!!!)

But there was still stuff missing from the info they gave me, I have asked the state for it and I have also asked the sheriff's dept for it. And so far no one has come up with it.

John7878

06-22-2009, 07:55 AM

What is a Good Father? Are You a Good Parent?
by Mark Adams

What is a good father or mother? A good father or mother provides a variety of things that are important to their children, but mostly importantly, a good father or mother takes action to make sure that their children are protected from harm.

Certainly, a good father or mother would take action to protect their children from being beaten, raped or tortured. However, most Americans are failing their children in this most important task. Torture is routinely used by U.S. government agents against Americans, but the "news" media almost never mentions this serious issue or that it happens daily to completely innocent, mostly young, Americans.

In 2003, Congress made the following findings:
1. "The total number of inmates who have been sexually assaulted in the past 20 years likely exceeds 1,000,000." 42 U.S.C. § 15601(2)
2. "Juveniles are 5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult rather than juvenile facilities--often within the first 48 hours of incarceration." 42 U.S.C. § 15601(4)
3. "Prison rape endangers the public safety by making brutalized inmates more likely to commit crimes when they are released…." 42 U.S.C. § 15601(8)
4. In its findings on prisoner rape, Congress did not consider as rape "the use of a health care provider's hands or fingers and the use of instruments to perform body cavity searches in order to maintain security and safety within the prison or detention facility, provided that the search is conducted in a manner consistent with constitutional requirements." 42 U.S.C. § 15609(12)(C)

Of course, these "strip searches" are usually conducted without a warrant or any semblance of probable cause, and therefore, they are technically also rape. Just ask anyone who has gone through one or seen one. For an example, see the one crime victim Hope Steffey experienced at the link below.

"Law" enforcement have most of the sick fun, but judges want a piece of the action, too. For an example, see this article about jailers bringing defendants to a judge’s chambers so that he could rape them.
Mobile Press-Register – Former Judge Charged with Kidnapping, Sex Abuse

Oh, don’t think that you have to commit a crime to be arrested and raped by "law" enforcement. It happens to victims who call the police for help, especially if they are pretty. For an example, see The State Torture of Hope Steffey.

Of course, those sadists in "law" enforcement enjoy beating people, too. See for example, the rare article covering the DoJ’s announcement that 2002 Suspects Died in Police Custody Over 3 Years, 2002 to 2005.

Yes, as a standard practice, young Americans are tortured, raped, and beaten by "law" enforcement every day in America, but the ACLU does nothing, the media censors this information from the public, and most importantly, just as with those who tortured prisoners overseas, the U.S. Government and the state governments do nothing to stop this widespread torture. Why? Because throughout history, the main use of torture has been to control the populace.

Is this acceptable to you? Do you want to know why U.S. government agents can treat you like a slave? If so, see What Happens When the People Lose the Power to Control Government and What You Can Do to Take the Power Back?

Here are a couple of passages from that article which point out the importance of the right to present evidence of criminal conduct to a grand jury.

As United States Supreme Court Justice Joseph P. Bradley said in Blyew v. U.S., 80 U.S. 581, 598 (1871), every citizen has a right to enter a complaint before a magistrate, or the grand jury. Justice Bradley explained, "I say ‘right,’ for it is a right, an inestimable right, that of invoking the penalties of the law upon those who criminally or feloniously attack our persons or our property.
Civil society has deprived us of the natural right of avenging ourselves, but it has preserved to us, all the more jealously, the right of bringing the offender to justice." Id.

Justice Bradley also pointed out that if a person was deprived of the right to bring a criminal complaint to a grand jury that person was reduced from the status of a free citizen to no more than a slave.
He stated, "To deprive a whole class of the community of this right, to refuse their evidence and their sworn complaints, is to brand them with a badge of slavery; is to expose them to wanton insults and fiendish assaults; is to leave their lives, their families, and their property unprotected by law. It gives unrestricted license and impunity to vindictive outlaws and felons to rush upon these helpless people and kill and slay them at will, as was done in this case." Id at 599.

Imagine if a citizen presented evidence to a grand jury showing that she was beaten and raped by members of "law" enforcement. Do you think that the citizens on the grand jury would indict those "law" enforcement officers? I do, and I think that the loss of this inestimable right is why our government has become so corrupt and abusive.

So, are you going to do anything to help prevent your son, wife or daughter from being tortured? If so, join us on June 25 for Torture Accountability Action Day. For more info on that see http://tortureaccountability.webs.com/

Oh, by the way, the principle of justice for all no longer exists in the U.S.A. Now, government agents can torture with impunity, but if you even simulate torture, you will be arrested. See U.S. Government Threatens to Prosecute Waterboarding

I practiced law in Florida. In 2006, I represented Max Linn, the Reform Party candidate for Governor of Florida, in successful lawsuits brought against the media to require his inclusion in the Gubernatorial debates. I also represented John Russell, Clint Curtis, Frank Gonzalez, and others in contesting the official results of the 2006 elections in Florida state court and before the U.S. House of Representatives.

I earned my BA in business administration with a major in finance and a minor in economics at the University of South Florida. I earned my law degree and my MBA at the University of Florida where I also worked as a teaching assistant in the Economics Department.

I have been involved in the judicial reform movement since 2003, the media reform movement since 2004, and the election reform movement since 2006. Before those years, I believed that judges followed the law, that our media told us the truth, and that our votes were counted. Beliefs that most of us once held and that many still hold on to. Unfortunately, I learned that these beliefs were no longer true. However, I believe that we can counteract the forces which have destroyed these institutions if we face reality and take action before it is too late.

Please remember that the American dream will die and our children will suffer if the people do not know what their government leaders are doing, if the people are not able to vote ineffective or corrupt leaders out of office, or if government actors can ignore the law and the facts with no repercussions!
www.ProjectVoteCount.com

http://www.opednews.com/articles/What-is-a-Good-Father-Are-by-Mark-Adams-090621-21.html

Terry99

06-25-2009, 12:29 PM

John, I believe this is one of the cases you had written about. Some good news at last.

[I]Court Says Teen's Strip Search Was Illegal By JESSE J. HOLLAND, AP
posted: (June 25) - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a school's strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal.
In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding in the rural eastern Arizona town of Safford.
Redding, who now attends college, was 13 when officials at Safford Middle School ordered her to remove her clothes and shake out her underwear because they were looking for pills — the equivalent of two Advils. The district bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the school was acting on a tip from another student.
"What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear," Justice David Souter wrote in the majority opinion. "We think that the combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable."
In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas found the search legal and said the court previously had given school officials "considerable leeway" under the Fourth Amendment in school settings.
Officials had searched the girl's backpack and found nothing, Thomas said. "It was eminently reasonable to conclude the backpack was empty because Redding was secreting the pills in a place should thought no one would look," Thomas said.
Thomas warned that the majority's decision could backfire. "Redding would not have been the first person to conceal pills in her undergarments," he said. "Nor will she be the last after today's decision, which announces the safest place to secrete contraband in school."
The court also ruled the officials cannot be held liable in a lawsuit for the search. Different judges around the nation have come to different conclusions about immunity for school officials in strip searches, which leads the Supreme Court to "counsel doubt that we were sufficiently clear in the prior statement of law," Souter said.
"We think these differences of opinion from our own are substantial enough to require immunity for the school officials in this case," Souter said.
The justices also said the lower courts would have to determine whether the Safford United School District No. 1 could be held liable.
A schoolmate had accused Redding, then an eighth-grade student, of giving her pills.
The school's vice principal, Kerry Wilson, took Redding to his office to search her backpack. When nothing was found, Redding was taken to a nurse's office where she says she was ordered to take off her shirt and pants. Redding said they then told her to move her bra to the side and to stretch her underwear waistband, exposing her breasts and pelvic area. No pills were found.
A federal magistrate dismissed a suit by Redding and her mother, April. An appeals panel agreed that the search didn't violate her rights. But last July, a full panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the search was "an invasion of constitutional rights" and that Wilson could be found personally liable.
Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented from the portion of the ruling saying that Wilson could not be held financially liable.
"Wilson's treatment of Redding was abusive and it was not reasonable for him to believe that the law permitted it," Ginsburg said.

John7878

06-26-2009, 08:09 AM

John, I believe this is one of the cases you had written about. Some good news at last.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/us/politics/26scotus.html?bl&ex=1246161600&en=7d3d3a405a62733a&ei=5087%0A

QUOTE:
Nor did the majority take issue with the zero-tolerance rule at Safford Middle School.

“There is no need here either to explain the imperative of keeping drugs out of schools, or to explain the reasons for the school’s rule banning all drugs, no matter how benign,” Justice Souter wrote. “Teachers are not pharmacologists trained to identify pills and powders, and an effective drug ban has to be enforceable fast.” UNQUOTE
======

So teachers aren't pharmacologists, but they are police/detectives, with still the power to strip search kids under the right circumstances?!?!? BS!

The ruling is ok so far as it goes, but as this article states some places have banned strip searches as NEVER appropriate, which is the way it should be EVERYWHERE.

But thanks to this ruling, this won't happen.

Souter says a policy has to be enforable fast..??
And why would that be? If the kid is held by the teachers until their parent and police get there, WHY is there an urgent rush?

I don't get it.

And now they are trying to say the kids will be hiding stuff in their underwear because its "safe"...how is it safe if the parents & police are called and the police have probable cause, or the parents step in?

Sure you might have some parents that won't cooperate, but then there are other ways to deal with that too, including suspending the student.

I'm with the districts that say this is NEVER appropriate, there are MANY other means to safely deal with the problem.

Thankfully the Supreme Court did manage to rule against this case, even though they left the door open for more abuses.

The people that are supposed to be the defenders of our constitution have dropped the ball on this.....again.
=======

Been too hot in the computer room to work on the Steffey stuff too much.
Still waiting to hear from the state, or get evidence from them. I have called Stark County jail again to see where the stuff I asked for in writing was, they claimed it was sent out in the mail. (This was 2 weeks ago.)

Did get to review the start of the arrest video, where the cop, in a very nice/calm voice (since he knows the videos on), claims that Steffey's complaint will be looked into, even though hes putting her under arrest.

But then in court, he testifies that he never completes the investigation, because Steffey was "too impaired". And that he turned it over to the other officers, even though HE was the responding officer.

Of course she went back to the station 4 days later to make sure a complaint was filed.....(so she was "too impaired" then too??)

And then finally we have the original arrest report where Steffey is charged with disorderly & resisting......AND assault!

Makes me wonder if she was acting up at the station after she found out the cop had screwed her over.

Anyway, gotta get going....

Later---

sandyfromoh

07-11-2009, 11:20 AM

Has anyone heard anything? Isn't the trial coming up or is it in September?

Terry99

07-11-2009, 02:05 PM

Sandy, the last date I read was July and I haven't seen anything else reported since then.

sandyfromoh

07-11-2009, 03:24 PM

Thanks Terry, If you hear anything, please post and I'll do the same!

pen

07-13-2009, 07:57 PM

According to Canton Rep Hope Steffey case with Stark County is settled but her case against contractors continue

sandyfromoh

07-13-2009, 10:24 PM

According to Canton Rep Hope Steffey case with Stark County is settled but her case against contractors continue

Thanks pen, here is the link:
http://www.cantonrep.com/archive/x737368570/Stark-County-Hope-Steffey-settle-suit-over-strip-search-at-jail

Terry99

07-14-2009, 02:11 PM

Thank you Pen and Sandy for the information. John predicted this outcome all along. The result may not be everything we wanted but at least Stark County is paying monetarily for what happened, and Hope is being compensated for her ordeal. I would think all the negative publicity together with the cost would cause them to change their policies. At least that's my hope.

Newname

07-14-2009, 07:21 PM

sandyfromoh

07-14-2009, 08:56 PM

Well, that's great.
Stark County tax payers lose a hundred grand, the insurance company covers the rest, and the people who did this to her are off the hook.
Good stuff.
Makes you have a lot of faith in the system, doesn't it?

Oh Yes, my faith in the system has been gone for a LONG time! Like I've said before, I feel like I'm in Nazi Germany!!barf

John7878

07-15-2009, 12:46 AM

Well, that's great.
Stark County tax payers lose a hundred grand, the insurance company covers the rest, and the people who did this to her are off the hook.
Good stuff.
Makes you have a lot of faith in the system, doesn't it?

Yeah and the article says they already had the $100,000 ready...GEE, wonder WHY?!?!

I would think all the negative publicity together with the cost would cause them to change their policies. At least that's my hope.

I called the sheriff's dept today to ask where the info was I had asked for. I never got a reply to that call.

Then I called the sheriff's office, to talk to him personally, to confirm what Terry & probably the rest of us had hoped...that this BS is being stopped.

Guess what?!?!
You can't get a hold of the sheriff, his calls are being screened....as a matter of fact, you can't even get his secretary!!!

ALL THE CALLS to the sheriff are answered by a machine and are being screened!!!
From EVERYONE in the office!?!??!

Yeah this POS sheriff has nothing to hide. The gutless wonder won't even answer his calls.
(I never did get a call back.)

BTW as an aside I was reading about a guy that police killed & planted a gun on....the police say they won't go to the court of 'public opinion', but are ready to defend themselves in a trial, and will have proof that they are innocent.
Sound familiar??
Anyone want to bet that that case NEVER gets to a trial either?? :cursing:

John7878

07-15-2009, 10:10 AM

WKYC's story on the Steffey settlement: (They have their comments on, unlike the CantonRep)

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=117768&catid=3

Terry99

07-15-2009, 11:15 AM

WKYC's story on the Steffey settlement: (They have their comments on, unlike the CantonRep)

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=117768&catid=3

Thanks for the link, John...I was worried when we didn't hear from you.

Since the Steffey case remains against the contractors, a lot of the information about jail policies and personnel could still come out in court even if they're no longer defendants. I don't think the jailers got off without paying a price considering all of the public anger directed at them and the fact that their images are still on You Tube for everyone to see. If you're at all human, that's got to hurt. (Even in reporting the settlement, the Canton Rep took pains to point out that Steffey said she would harm herself and that there were no criminal indictments in the case. The paper obviously feels the need to protect its pals at the jail because they know that many people will view the settlement as an admission of guilt.)

The Sheriff still has the Dyshko case to contend with and who knows what the billboard turned up, so he's not completely out of the woods either. Considering his personality, this settlement is probably eating at his guts.

John7878

07-15-2009, 07:20 PM

Thanks for the link, John...I was worried when we didn't hear from you.

Since the Steffey case remains against the contractors, a lot of the information about jail policies and personnel could still come out in court even if they're no longer defendants.

LOL None of this is going to a trial, the contractors, the Russian woman, or the lawsuit the deputies have against WKYC.
Most likely the suit against the TV station was to stop information from them about the case....since they were then in a lawsuit. Good way to keep them quiet....but they aren't stupid enough to actually think they can take this to court.

But Gee I wish they were!!!

I am still pressing the FBI for a REAL investigation.

People are still discovering the Steffey strip video and being outraged, I have had a few of them contact me and ask what can be done to bring these criminals to justice.

But after contacting all the state & federal people that are SUPPOSED to be keeping an eye on the sheriff, I am baffled myself as to what can be done.

I wonder if a class action suit can be brought against these lying crooks??

Newname

07-15-2009, 08:49 PM

What I wonder is how many more women do Sawnson and his crew get to abuse like this before criminal charges are filed? Three teenagers, Hope Steffey, and now a Russian female? And those are the ones who have been brave enough to speak out. Like they say, for every mouse you see there are five you don't. I'm not comparing the females to rodents, of course, but rather the situation they found themselves in. I'm glad I don't live in Stark County because I cannot imagine the kind of people who would have re-elected this man knowing what kind of a person he is. That's not a swat at all people who live there, but obviously enough of them voted for this guy to keep him sheriff. He seems like one smug s.o.b.
I'm hoping that he hung up on Tom Meyer because he was a little humiliated by the settlement. That's a small satisfaction, though.
I also hope the Mrs. Steffey got a WHOLE lot of money in this settlement.

Terry99

07-16-2009, 10:13 AM

I wonder if a class action suit can be brought against these lying crooks??

I think that was one of the purposes of the billboard. Steffey's attorneys couldn't get information on other similar cases at the jail unless the people involved were clients and gave permission for them to access the information. I'm sure the threat of a class action suit was used primarily to motivate Stark County to pay more in the settlement, but if there were enough responses to the billboard, the attorneys could still pursue that.

A while back, I read an article that said most lawyers will not take individual civil rights cases against jails/prisons because they are costly and time-consuming to litigate and because most are unsuccessful. Class action suits were said to be more "winnable".

John7878

07-18-2009, 09:49 PM

I think that was one of the purposes of the billboard. Steffey's attorneys couldn't get information on other similar cases at the jail unless the people involved were clients and gave permission for them to access the information.

No, not from the other women...I'm talking about US suing them. EVERY outrage citizen that has seen this.

I know I have suffered from this case. I have spent over a year trying to find out information that they have kept from me. And I have definitely suffered as a result of that video tape.

I didn't WANT to keep on this, but after that video it became impossible NOT to investigate.

I want them to suffer as much as possible....is that just mean? :sneaky:

sandyfromoh

07-18-2009, 11:35 PM

[QUOTE=John7878;13292727]No, not from the other women...I'm talking about US suing them. EVERY outrage citizen that has seen this.

Count me in John!!!hammer

Terry99

07-19-2009, 11:11 AM

John - You raise an interesting question, but I'm not sure the lawsuit could be based on personal suffering. Unfortunately, that may just be the price you've had to pay for caring. When I wrote to the civil rights attorney, one of the questions I asked was whether citizens could bring a suit to challenge the legality of the jail's practices...to make it more of a constitutional/civil rights issue...but I didn't get any response.

I understand why you want those involved to continue to suffer because they're still acting like the injured parties. They paid some money but haven't been called into account for their actions by the criminal justice or civil court systems. They did, however, lose big time in the court of public opinion. I hope for your own sake you can get over your anger so you don't continue to suffer personally because of this case. You did everything you possibly could and I believe that good came of your efforts. Maybe you have to be content with that and let Karma take care of the rest. (This may not be what you wanted to hear but please believe I have your best interests at heart.)

sandyfromoh

07-19-2009, 12:20 PM

Maybe you have to be content with that and let Karma take care of the rest. (This may not be what you wanted to hear but please believe I have your best interests at heart.)

Terry, so true and thanks for telling John what has been in my heart since this began. John you are a great person and would want you in my corner. All the work you did was amazing and I do hope that Hope Steffey is aware of all you've done. You are my HERO John!!:thumbsup:

John7878

07-19-2009, 12:49 PM

I understand why you want those involved to continue to suffer because they're still acting like the injured parties. They paid some money but haven't been called into account for their actions by the criminal justice or civil court systems. They did, however, lose big time in the court of public opinion.

Plus THIS is what they have been waiting for....the settlement.

And now after the taxpayers have bailed them out, they expect to put this behind them, and for everyone to forget & move on to the next big story.

Thats why I wanted to put the information out where the WHOLE WORLD could see them for the liars/criminals they are, so maybe people would NEVER forget, and why I wanted to put them through the wringer again.

Then I not only have how they treated Steffey, but how they treated me.

When I started out, I was trying to be neutral about the whole thing, and was just trying to get more information, but I quickly learned just who I was dealing with. And why they couldn't give me their side/explanation of how/why things happened. (Because they had no good excuses, and were trying to cover stuff up.)

BTW I called the FBI again, but no one was available, so I'll have to call back. If they slack on this "investigation", I hope to know about it.
Plus they claim to have ALL the information, and I want to see if I can get a copy of the evidence.

Terry, so true and thanks for telling John what has been in my heart since this began. John you are a great person and would want you in my corner. All the work you did was amazing and I do hope that Hope Steffey is aware of all you've done. You are my HERO John!!:thumbsup:

Thanks Sandy.....

John7878

07-21-2009, 04:06 PM

UPDATE

Called the sheriff's office to get a hold of human relations for the information that I have been asking for.
No one answered, so I transfered to another person that said to try back at 2pm. Called back at 2 on the dot....still no answer. Didn't bother to leave a message, since they don't get answered anyway.

Then called the Office of the Attorney General, trying to see why these people don't have to give out the information that I have been asking for under the freedom of info act & sunshine laws.
Also asked about the 'other investigation' that I was told was going on, but they won't comment on it. (If its even real.)

They then said yet again that they don't have jurisdiction over Stark County. They said, if I was related, I might need a lawyer to get the information. And I said or even if I wasn't related...they said yeah, if I wanted.

They suggested to call the sheriff, I told them you can't even get a hold of his secretary, ALL their calls are being screened.

They asked if I was relation to Steffey and I told them no. But I said "you haven't seen the video yet have you", and they answered "no".
I described the video and told them to search YouTube.

They then pointed me to the Inspector General's office. I went through the same crap that they don't have jurisdiction over Stark County.

They suggested that I call the Stark County Prosecutor, but I told them I already had, but that I would call them again & try.

The call to the Stark County Prosecutor was that they couldn't talk about the case. But that it was settled. I asked for how much, but again they wouldn't say. I asked them WHY they couldn't say, it should be public record.
Again he protested that he couldn't talk about the case.

I said the case against the county is already over....so why can't you talk about it.
Apparently because its still in federal court. (With the contractors.)

I asked for someone else that could help me, but no luck there either.

Office of the Attorney General
(614) 466-4320

Inspector General
614-622-9110

Stark County Prosecutor
Telephone: (330) 451-7897

Grrrrrrrrr :cursing:

John7878

07-24-2009, 11:50 PM

POSTED ON WKYC
I thought I'd post some more stuff up that we have gone over, but probably isn't generally known.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090511/NEWS16/905110319

That same year, the numbers were much lower in the Montgomery County jail in Dayton, where 38,750 inmates were housed and there were no suicide attempts or assaults.

Much higher numbers were reported from the Stark County jail in Canton, where 11,761 inmates were housed and where there were 14 serious suicide attempts and 89 inmate-on-inmate assaults.
===
WOW Montgomery County jail handles more than THREE times the number of inmates than Stark County, but has FAR fewer problems/incidents.

How can you explain this?

Maybe this link can give us a clue, its a report from the Stark County jail. I got it from the state when asking for information about the Hope Steffey case.
This doesn't look to be about Hope Steffey, but it does give us an insight as to what is going on at the jail.

From the report you can see that the corrections officers punish a inmate, by putting them in 'deadlock', for telling a guard "to put a sock in it". And after the recommendation for punishment, it is approved. (Hi-lighted in red)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/StarkCountyJailRecord.jpg

Does this maybe explain WHY there is so much trouble/lawsuits at Stark County Jail??

John7878

07-28-2009, 11:50 AM

Well got an audio tape from the Sheriff's Dept yesterday, and I have converted it today. (Since they sent it on a microcassette, instead of a CD.)

They also failed to send along anything else I had asked for, including the "nurse interview". Instead saying that they can't release medical information, but that they do have a recording of a interview with the nurse, at the admitting area with Steffey.....IF I WANT IT.

I have already written them back, asking SPECIFICALLY for the tape that the sheriff claims that Steffey said she was suicidal, and has ALREADY released to the papers, UNEDITED.

Maybe I should write that book....would just like a ending where all these cops, and the people covering for them go to jail.

:cursing:

Still haven't heard anything else from the State Atty's office.

sandyfromoh

07-28-2009, 05:44 PM

John, Write the book!! I for one will buy it, and will suggest others to read it! It's been one hell of a ride, and all I can say is if I were Hope Steffy, there would be no way in hell I'd have settled. I'd pursue this until my dying days, but we are all different. You'd better hurry and write it as pretty soon we won't be able to "express" our rights!!

John7878

08-20-2009, 09:03 AM

It's been one hell of a ride!

And it looks as if its not over yet. DANG! The more I look into this the worse it seems to get.

I was always puzzled by the news saying that there was "confusion" when the cops arrived.

I'm thinking what "confusion"?? They have everyone there saying that Steffey was the victim, even the cousin is saying it on video. Plus the brother of the attacker calls the cops on his own sister.
Heck even the cop testifies that he went to his car to document Steffey's injuries...so WHY are they saying there was "confusion"!?!?

Then I found out why...the cops tried to FRAME Steffey for the assault that she had reported!!

This is a Cut & Paste of what I have been posting:

UPDATE

Here’s PROOF the cops were actually trying to charge the VICTIM for the crime she was reporting!!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Incident-Report-Assault.jpg

NONE of the papers have EVER reported that Steffey was actually arrested for assault too.

Leanne Preston is listed as the VICTIM! This is the niece that Steffey claimed attacked her. (her injuries are listed as a broken fingernail)

Scott Preston is the Uncle of Leanne, the woman that allegedly attacked Steffey. They are listing him as a witness against Steffey.

HOW they are listing him as reporting the assault is beyond me.
Ok heres part of Uncle Scott's testimony at trial.

So HOW do the cops use a statement to frame Steffey, from a guy that testifies that he saw NOTHING?!?!?!?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Scott1.jpg

I can see why they never tried to convict her of the assault too.
Since Scott is not the one that called 911.
Leanne's brother is the one that actually reported the assault, and called police ON HIS OWN SISTER, at Steffey's request. (BTW he never showed up at the trial to testify.)

The arresting cop, Richard T. Gurlea Jr., testified at Steffey's trial that the 'investigation' into the assault was never finished. (REALLY?!!?)

We have Steffey's cousin, on tape, telling Steffey that the officer has to KNOW that none of this was her fault, while the officer is within listening distance.

Plus we have the other witnesses that said Steffey was the one attacked. The cop has them all looking for Steffey hair that was ripped out. There seems to be no “confusion” about who was the victim like the papers claim.

Even the officer testified at court that he went to his cruiser to get a camera to document Steffey's injuries, so what happened?

And he is recorded on TAPE telling Steffey that he will still 'investigate' her assault even as he has her in his car, so what happened?

This report SHOWS what happened, the cops KNEW that it was ALL BS!!

Since they are all trying to railroad the VICTIM of the assault!