Category Archives: Corrupt Cops Mandated To AA

DAYTONA NA MEMBER SWINGS BASEBALL BAT AT FELLOW NA MEMBER AT HOLLYLAND PARK

Posted on by
9

On September 10th 2011 Hollyland Park, Holly Hill Florida, The Daytona Beach Narcotics Anonymous Area Group sponsored a softball tournament that included NA Groups from other Florida counties. There was a fight that broke out between two Daytona NA members, and one of the members responded by swinging an aluminum baseball bat at this person. According to an inside source that was a witness, if the guy would not have ducked when he saw the bat coming at him, it would have killed him. NA members broke up the fight. There were many witnesses, and the victim called the police. Now wouldn’t you know that Holly Hill PD did not get the name of the person who tried to kill this guy? No official report was written on this incident. No charges were filed.

When the Daytona Beach Narcotics Anonymous Group reserved the field they did not take out a special use permit for this very large event with over 100 people. This happened in Hollyland Park / Centennial Park right across the street from the Holly Hill PD. With an event that size  there should have been a special event form filled out, and police present at the event. Failing to hold this event according to Holly Hill’s special use permit guidelines almost cost someone their life! It could still cost someone their life in the future, because this nut is still on the loose and has already shown he is capable of trying to kill someone.

There were no arrests made. I would bet Daytona Beach Narcotics Anonymous members talked the victim out of pressing charges, as an attempt to keep bad press down and not to expose members identity. They already know that much has been written about their horrendous behavior in Holly Hill Parks. Some things are hard to keep a secret when you have a ton of witnesses. It’s a good thing this NA member lived to tell about this fight, not all Narcotics Anonymous members do. Hiding this just enables this sort of behavior, letting dangerous perpetrators hide behind anonymity.

Is the City of Holly Hill going to wait until someones’ head is bashed in before they try to make the parks a safer place?

Here is an article where an AA sponsor was killed when attacked with a baseball bat by his court mandated mentally ill AA sponsee.

http://nadaytona.org/2011/10/02/aa-member-beat-sponsor-with-baseball-bat/

Corrupt Cop Attends Alcoholics Anonymous Awaiting Sentence

Posted on by
1

In a laundry list of corrupt police officers around the country, there was one in particular Scott David Burk, that was attending Iowa Alcoholics Anonymous while awaiting sentencing after stealing drugs and money from the Task Force room.

He was arrested August 28 th 2010. Amazing after reading the very long list of corrupt cops, how many of the offenses are drug related ! Interesting how often the police protect the anonymity of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous members. Some of this is starting to make sense……… 

In Muscatine, Iowa, a former Muscatine police officer was sentenced last Friday to five years in prison after being caught with cocaine and missing drug money. Scott David Burk, 48, went down after fellow officers in the Muscatine County Drug Task Force searched his home and vehicle and found the dope and currency missing from the task force evidence room. In May, Burk pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, a drug tax stamp violation, and second-degree theft. The latter two counts are both felonies. Burk had been free on supervised release since pleading guilty, but was immediately taken into custody and delivered to the Iowa Department of Corrections in Oakdale. He had been undergoing drug treatment and attending Alcoholics Anonymous while awaiting sentencing.

http://www.copblock.org/tag/iowa/

http://stopthedrugwar.org/taxonomy/term/27?page=2

Judge Joseph Will Shocked By Behavior Of Holly Hill PD

Posted on by
9

Judge Joseph Will was not impressed with the way the Holly Hill Police Department handled the arrest of former Daytona Beach Officer Janet Hawkins. You be the judge!

Judge refused to drop charge even though information about arresting officer had been withheld

BY JAMES HARPER
DAYTONA TIMES

Judge Joseph Will says he was shocked by the behavior of the Holly Hill Police Department in the handling of the arrest of a former Daytona Beach police officer. However, he refused to dismiss charges against Janet Hawkins, sentencing her to 12 months’ probation for resisting arrest without violence. The sentence was for an encounter Hawkins had with two officers of the Holly Hill police force two years ago.

altJudge Joseph Will

Will acknowledged that the Holly Hill Police Department did not turn information over to the State Attorney’s office that might have resulted in a different verdict from the jury that found Hawkins guilty.

Hawkins’ attorney Gayle Graziano, a former Volusia County circuit judge, filed a motion on Aug. 19 prior to sentencing for dismissal of the verdict, citing a Brady violation.

Hawkins, 47, of Ormond Beach was arrested by the two Holly Hill officers on Sept. 23, 2009, after she was accused of running a stop sign at high speed. She also is accused of fighting with and injuring the officers.

Evidence withheld

A Brady motion is a defendant’s request for evidence concerning a material witness, which is favorable to the defense and to which the defense may be entitled. Favorable evidence includes not only evidence that tends to exculpate the accused, but also evidence that may impeach the credibility of a government witness.

altJanet Hawkins is shown after her arrest by the Holly Hill Police Department.

A Brady violation occurs where the failure to disclose evidence to the defense deprives the defendant of a fair trial.

Will agreed that Graziano was able to prove that evidence was withheld from the State Attorney’s office about arresting officer Romel Scalf.

Arresting officer fired

Graziano found the information on her own about Scalf’s illegal use of a Taser and other information about him while he was a police officer with Holly Hill.

“What we have is Romel Scalf. Look at his history. Thought he was God. When he approaches you, you better follow his order. … You better do what he says or else. Who does he target? They are Black people. He doesn’t do this with White people,” said Graziano about the officer who was fired by the Holly Hill Police Department (HHPD) soon after the arrest of Hawkins because of his actions while with the force.

Graziano told the judge that the “the prosecutor had the obligation to seek justice,’’ stating that the information should have been presented to the defense. “Government held back. Government did not provide us with all information.’’

The judge said the HHPD not providing the information “has nothing to do with the State Attorney’s office. The State Attorney did nothing wrong; the City of Holly Hill did.”

Matter of race?

Graziano later exclusively told the Times that she considered race a factor.

“You know how racist this community is. If she had been a White male, no charges would have been filed.”

However, the judge said during the sentencing: “I think the jury was fairly forgiving. If there is a racial overtone, I didn’t know anything about it,’’ adding that the jury is not asked to consider racial overtones.

“Two persons (who) did not mesh well ran into each other. I think attitudes led to the problem. We have a she-bear and a bully,” elaborated Will, referring to Hawkins and Scalf.

Hawkins said she never resisted arrest.

She was later fired for violating Daytona Beach police policies. Hawkins had been responding to a call from her son, Brandall Hawkins, who had been arrested on a charge of trespassing at an apartment complex. He later was found not guilty by a jury.

Went looking for son

Hawkins, a 15-year veteran of the Daytona Beach police, was off duty while on the way to the Holly Point Apartments parking lot on 15th Street, looking for her 25-year-old son.

“As a mother, I had a right to go to the police station. I didn’t understand. When this is over, I have to look at my son and say there is justice. I was victimized by him (Scalf). I can’t be bitter. My family has suffered enough. How did I get to where I was to where I am? I still believe there is justice.”

Scalf’s side of the story

Scalf, in his arrest report, described how he thought Hawkins was a danger behind the wheel. When she jumped back in her sport utility vehicle after being stopped, Scalf said he tried to place Hawkins under arrest but she resisted.

He and another officer, Walter Melton, used Tasers on Hawkins during her arrest.

Last April, an all-White jury found Hawkins guilty of resisting arrest without violence. Her sentencing was delayed until last week because of a death in Graziano’s family.

“This woman (Hawkins) has been punished enough. She was fired. She was terminated. Why wasn’t she suspended? She has fought racism and sexism. She has been punished more than anybody else. If you’re female, you have to be devastated,” said Graziano.

Attorney: Client probably overreacted

Graziano said she did not understand how the jury could find Hawkins guilty of resisting arrest without violence.

“The officer asked her to remove her vehicle. She was not obstructing traffic; the police officers’ vehicles were obstructing traffic. She parked in a place that was unobstructed. Jury misapplied the law if they thought she did,” said Graziano, who filed an appeal to overturn the verdict.

While doing so, Graziano also withdrew as Hawkins’ attorney because of what she said was an understanding with the former office when she took on the case.

Graziano admitted Hawkins could have probably behaved differently when she was stopped by the police.

“She is like a lot of mothers. She overreacted. When her son is in danger, she goes with vengeance. She was trying to get to the police station. She was familiar with how law enforcement treats young Black men,” added Graziano.

Rommel Scalf Quits Holly Hill PD After String Of Taser Abuses

Posted on by
Reply

Now after one reads this article, one is left with more questions than answers about the internal affairs of Holly Hill PD. Rommel Scalf  had numerous previous complaints over excessive force using a taser gun. Instead of firing him for so many infractions he was instead given a desk job by then Commander Mark Barker, to head the Crime Prevention Community Relations Department. This included the ‘ Explorers’ , a youth group learning about police work. Barker is quoted as saying he ” thrived” in that position. That is until he used excessive force again with a taser gun he was not even allowed to have.

This story is not just a reflection on Rommel Scalf behavior. It draws a bigger picture of of the inner workings and mindset of the top brass in the Holly Hill Police Department. You certainly come away from the article feeling like there were many standards of professionalism not followed at the department for quite some time. I doubt Scalf thought he would even lose his job over it, but it did catch up with him.

This information was suppressed involving Janet Hawkins and Scalf during her trial when he arrested her. Holly Hill was withholding evidence to protect there own as long as they could.

Officer quits after Taser misuse

BY LYDA LONGA, STAFF WRITER

April 29 th 2011

HOLLY HILL — The Holly Hill policeman who scuffled with a Daytona Beach detective he arrested resigned after a string of incidents in which he misused a Taser, according to documents obtained this week.

In the latest incident, former officer Rommel Scalf pressed the trigger of his supervisor’s Taser — while it was still in the corporal’s hand — stunning a domestic violence suspect. But Scalf was not supposed to handle that weapon. Misuse of his Taser in other incidents prompted his supervisors to prohibit him from carrying one, according to Scalf’s internal affairs file.

Scalf, a 13-year Holly Hill officer, shot suspect Troy Foster the first time on a February afternoon. Following that, Scalf yelled for someone to give him a Taser and he shot Foster once in the side and again in the back while the handcuffed man was being led away by another officer, an internal affairs report shows.

Besides shooting a handcuffed suspect three times, Scalf also placed one of his colleagues in danger, the report shows.

Scalf, who resigned from Holly Hill police on March 17, declined comment for this article. But news of his resignation surfaced last week during the one-day trial of former Daytona Beach detective Janet Hawkins. Scalf arrested Hawkins on Sept. 22, 2009, at a traffic stop. Hawkins, 47, is awaiting sentencing on a charge of resisting without violence, a misdemeanor.

Testimony at the Hawkins trial and an internal affairs file at Holly Hill police revealed that the 45-year-old Scalf was not permitted to carry a Taser because of complaints about his use of force in the past.

In 2007, according to his internal affairs file, Scalf deployed his Taser 16 times. After that then-Police chief Don Shinnamon wanted him monitored closely, the internal affairs file shows.

In early 2008, Scalf met with trouble again, however.

On Jan. 12, Scalf blasted a handcuffed suspect with his Taser while the man sat in a patrol car. Scalf also kicked the man and punched him in the abdomen, his internal affairs file shows.

That incident prompted Police Chief Mark Barker — who was a commander at the time — to strip Scalf of his Taser-carrying privilege.

Shortly thereafter, Scalf was placed in the police department’s Crime Prevention Community Relations division, where Barker said Scalf “thrived.”

Then, on Feb. 28, police received the domestic violence call at the Foster residence on 10th Street.

Scalf responded as a backup officer for Cpl. Jeff Traylor — Scalf’s supervisor on that call — Cpl. Chris Yates and Officer Jason Weiss.

When police arrived at Foster’s home, he had bolted after striking his girlfriend on the chest. The suspect returned to the house then ran back out and Scalf gave chase. As Scalf ran, he tripped on some vegetation and cut his face when he hit the ground. Foster then ran into his home and locked himself in a bathroom.

That’s when Scalf — according to the internal affairs investigation — lost it.

He yelled at Traylor — his supervisor — to “kick in the door,” the report shows. Before the door was opened, Scalf yelled “When you see that mother (expletive deleted) shoot him!”

When the door opened, Foster was not violent; he verbally resisted when Traylor tried to handcuff him. At that Scalf yelled at Traylor: “Shoot that mother (expletive deleted) Jeff!” Traylor pointed his weapon at Foster as he assessed the situation, the report says. But that enraged Scalf even more, the report shows. He then yelled an obscenity at his supervisor.

At that point, Scalf advanced toward Traylor and pulled the trigger on Traylor’s Taser, the internal affairs report shows. A barb penetrated Foster’s torso, the report shows. As the suspect was handcuffed and being led away by Yates, Scalf yelled, “Someone give me a Taser!”

The officer who was leading Foster to the patrol car had to move to avoid getting struck by the Taser’s barb, the report shows.

At the time none of the officers at the scene knew Scalf was not supposed to have a Taser, the report says. It’s not clear whether one of the officers handed him the weapon or Scalf grabbed it, but Scalf was able to shoot Foster in the side as he walked away with Yates.

When Foster suddenly stopped, Scalf shot him again, this time striking him in the back, the report shows.

The officers who witnessed Scalf’s actions were stunned, the report says.

“It appeared to other officers and supervisors present that Officer Scalf was out of control, emotionally unstable and highly agitated during the encounter,” the report says. “His use of the term ‘Shoot that mother (expletive deleted)’ escalated an already tense situation.”

Barker said his officers are supposed to deploy their Tasers only when a person physically resists an officer’s commands.

While he said Scalf was “highly intelligent” and had received several commendations throughout his career with the department, Barker also said he cannot tolerate such behavior.

“His conduct at the scene that day was obviously unacceptable,” Barker said this week.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/east-volusia/2011/04/29/officer-quits-after-taser-misuse.html