The McDonald's coffee cup at the heart of a police hoax
It would not be a new year in the USA without mounting evidence that cops are among the most juvenile, dishonest, and deranged individuals in our society. Let's consider these stories that surfaced as the clocked ticked down from 2019 into 2020:
A Kansas Cop pins a "pig" hoax on McDonald's employees
When a 23-year-old Junction City, KS, cop claimed someone at a McDonald's had written "F --g Pig" on his coffee cup, and the police chief chose to publicize the alleged event on social media, it became a national "contempt of cop" story. But there was a slight problem with this story from the get-go -- it wasn't true, and the unidentified cop who made it up has resigned. From a report at the New York Post:
A Kansas police department has apologized after one of its cops falsely claimed he got a McDonald’s coffee with the words “F–ing Pig” written on the cup.Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday said in a statement . . . directed at McDonald’s employees, citizens and law enforcement officials that he was “truly sorry for all the unnecessary, negative attention and pain” that stemmed from the incident.
“We hope that this is remembered as the act of one person and not that of the chosen few men and women who have the courage to boldly protect and serve the citizens of this great Nation,” Hornady said.
The 23-year-old cop, who hasn’t been publicly identified, made the story up “as a joke” and has resigned from the department, Hornaday told reporters at a news conference Monday.
Alabama cops make a quilt to help poke holiday fun at the homeless
Two Mobile, AL, cops thought it would be clever to piece together panhandling signs confiscated around the city and piece them together into a "homeless quit." Turns out the notion of cops mocking the homeless did not go over so well. From a report at Vice News:
A police chief in Mobile, Alabama is offering his “sincerest apology” after two of his officers mocked local homeless people over the holidays with a quilt they had fashioned out of panhandling signs seized across the city.“Although we do not condone panhandling and must enforce the city ordinances that limit panhandling, it is never out intent or desire as a police department to make light of those who find themselves in a homeless state,” Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Alabama cops show off their homeless quilt
Battiste’s statement followed outrage spurred by a viral photo posted to Facebook . . . by a Mobile police officer. The photo shows two uniformed officers smiling and displaying a sheet of cardboard signs taped together in what they called a “homeless quilt.” The signs, which courts nationwide have repeatedly held are protected by the First Amendment, featured statements reading “God bless” and “please help.”Hawaii cop decides it would be fun to force homeless man to lick toilet
The officers in the photo, Preston McGraw and Alexandre Olivier, are both recent graduates of the local police academy, according to AL.com, and the photo appears to have been taken inside an office of the police department. It’s unclear whether they’ll face any sort of discipline, and the Mobile Police Department did not immediately return a VICE News request for comment.
"Wanna wish everybody in the 4th precinct a Merry Christmas, especially our captain. Hope you enjoy our homeless quilt. Sincerely Panhandler patrol," the controversial Facebook post read, according to AL.com.
A Honolulu cop spread holiday cheer by forcing a homeless man to lick a toilet. How's that for the "spirit of the season"? From a report at Photography is not a Crime (PINAC):
On December 16 Honolulu Police Officer John Rabago admitted that he instructed a homeless man to lick a public urinal if he wanted to avoid being arrested. The homeless man has been identified as 37-year-old Samual Ingall.
PINAC News reported earlier this year how Rabago was charged with conspiring to deprive Ingall of his civil rights in connection with the Jan. 28, 2018, incident in Honolulu.
Rabago originally lied and denied the accusations, but admitted Monday in court that he told Ingall that he would not be arrested if he licked the urinal. Ingall complied stating that he would do anything to stay out of jail.
U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi said Rabago’s threat wasn’t a mistake or miscommunication. Kobayashi stated in court:
“You knowingly and willfully forced Ingall to lick the urinal."
The incident only gets uglier from there:
KTAR News reports that on the day of the incident officers were responding to a nuisance complaint when they found Ingall in a public restroom. Rabago and Officer Reginald Ramones were in the bathroom with Ingall when Rabago repeatedly instructed Ingall to lick the urinal, then told Ramones to close the door so that a camera would not catch what happened next.Once defendant Ramones closed the bathroom door, co-defendant Rabago again instructed Ingall to lick the urinal. The victim then reluctantly knelt down before the urinal and licked the urinal. Co-defendant Rabago then allowed Ingall to gather his possessions and leave the bathroom.
Rabago followed Ingall out of the bathroom, and laughed as he told officers outside about what had just happened.
Rabago said "the incident was 'just like what happened at Cartwright Field'" when he had told a "man that he would avoid arrest only if he stuck his head in a toilet," according to court documents.
Later, Rabago and Ramones learned that the department and the FBI were investigating what had happened. Rabago told Ramones to delete text messages about the incident and tell investigators that he was joking when he told Ingall to lick the urinal.
Ramones was also charged with conspiring to deprive Ingall of his civil rights, but pleaded guilty to lesser charges after agreeing to cooperate with investigators.
Rabago has been on restrictive duty, and is expected to be fired. He could be sentenced to 30 months in prison.
California cop is caught on body cam fondling dead woman's breasts
A Los Angeles officer responded to a report of a possible dead body in an apartment, so the cop decided this would be an ideal time to switch off his body cam and "cop a feel." He forgot, however, an important detail: The body cam has a two-minute buffer after being switched off, so it caught the whole depraved incident on tape. Yikes. From a report at PINAC:
A Los Angeles police officer was hoping to cop a feel on the body of a woman who had died, so he turned off his body camera and began fondling the dead woman's breasts.But the camera has a two-minute buffer that continues recording once it has been turned off.
The LAPD cop was placed on leave once his superiors reviewed the footage meaning he is probably still getting paid for sitting at home.
Both police brass and the police union are calling his actions "disturbing," indicating he may not receive the usual Blue Privilege.