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Judge, Citing Extreme Facts, Tosses Arrest of NYC Professor
New York Law Journal ^ | 1//21/14 | Joel Stashenko

Posted on 01/18/2014 8:15:46 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines

Unnerved by a chaotic scene that involved a bolting dog, a sick husband and an aggressive police officer who ignored her pleas, it was "hardly surprising" that Suzanne LaFont tried to physically stop the officer from handcuffing her husband, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Steven Statsinger said....

For 30 to 60 seconds on April 11, 2013, the judge noted, LaFont tried to pull on the arm and shoulder of Officer Anthony Giambra to stop him from restraining her ill husband, Karl Peltomaa, outside their apartment on West 83rd Street....

According to the ruling and LaFont's papers, her husband had only been home from Roosevelt Hospital for one day after surgery for an aortic aneurysm when he began to feel very anxious on April 11, 2013. In two calls to 911, LaFont said her husband had just been in the hospital, was on a "lot of medication" and that he was "freaking out."

LaFont also explained that Peltomaa did not have a "psych history," just a "medical history."

When Giambra and other first responders arrived a short time later, LaFont's dog dashed out the door. After returning the dog to the apartment, LaFont said she found Giambra attempting to subdue her much smaller husband by pressing his chest against a hallway wall.

She said that despite her trying to tell the officer that Peltomaa had just had open-heart surgery, he threw her husband face down onto the floor. According to statements by the couple, Peltomaa was hospitalized for two days following the incident with a cut to his chin and a dislocated thumb....

"Rather than interfering with the responders' task, her providing them with accurate medical information about Peltomaa could have assisted them in managing the situation more effectively," the judge wrote.

(Excerpt) Read more at newyorklawjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; US: New York
KEYWORDS: brutality; donutwatch; lafont; police; suzanne
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To: OneWingedShark
Jeeze -- Was the cop trying to kill him?
well..the LEO, may have been giving "a street demonstration" of
pResident O'Dungo's DeathCARE reforms, no little white pill needed.

61 posted on 01/18/2014 9:36:42 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun..0'Caligula / 0'Reid / 0'Pelosi :-)
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To: hoosierham

In many communities calling for an ambulance means the police will be dispatched FIRST.The caller is neither notified nor given a choice.

I have seen the same in Minnestoopid when reporting a major fire. The officer had to arrive on scene first before the fire department was dispatched, yet the firehouse was not even a mile away.


62 posted on 01/18/2014 9:40:06 AM PST by Fred Hayek (The Democratic Party is now the operational arm of the CPUSA)
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To: Brass Lamp

Or if the cops had any reasonable expectation that they, personally, would have to pay for their gross over reach.

As long as it’s only the taxpayers on the hook for paying for their crimes it’s all good.

If the penalties came out of Officer Rabid’s own pocket, he might be a little more circumspect.

If the department’s retirement fund had to pay them, the whole department might be inclined to make sure Officer O’Roidrage worked elsewhere, rather than form a protective blue wall around him at each of his ever increasingly violent interactions with the public.


63 posted on 01/18/2014 9:40:14 AM PST by null and void (We need to shake this snowglobe up.)
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To: Darren McCarty

State police head should be elected by registered state voters. Call him ‘Chief Constable’ like they do in the UK, but that’s the only thing America should do that is similar to the UK.


64 posted on 01/18/2014 9:48:53 AM PST by IbJensen (Liberals are like Slinkies, good for nothing, but you smile as you push them down the stairs.)
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To: null and void
If the department’s retirement fund had to pay them, the whole department might be inclined to make sure Officer O’Roidrage worked elsewhere

I like your idea better.

65 posted on 01/18/2014 9:57:37 AM PST by Brass Lamp
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To: HiTech RedNeck
...it’s said that everybody violates 3 serious laws daily.

By design.

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. - Ayn Rand

66 posted on 01/18/2014 10:02:12 AM PST by Straight Vermonter (Posting from deep behind the Maple Curtain)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

“You are a good liberal Democrat, therefore I will throw this out”


67 posted on 01/18/2014 10:03:44 AM PST by GeronL (Extra Large Cheesy Over-Stuffed Hobbit)
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To: null and void
Never call the police until after you have already handled the situation yourself.

And only if you want them to haul off whats left of the previously mentioned situation.

68 posted on 01/18/2014 10:04:46 AM PST by Licensed-To-Carry (Hey Obama! It's all your fault now, you own it.)
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To: Straight Vermonter

I’d point outside this world to the instigator of this sort of folly, i.e. Satan.

Yes, Rand was officially atheist and so what. Many ethical atheists are actually not so allergic to God as they are to pitiful, hypocritical religious practices. Maybe she and God made up in the end, I don’t know, I hope it happened.


69 posted on 01/18/2014 10:06:12 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (The Lion of Judah will roar for you if you give him a big hug and a cheer and mean it. See my page.)
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To: DannyTN

“They didn’t taser him. They didn’t even say “We don’t have time for this” and shoot him. They didn’t even shoot the dog.”

Of course not, this is the NYPD, New York’s Finest, one of the world’s 2 great police forces (the other being Scotland Yard).

I was truly shocked by this story. I don’t even know why a policeman is sent when you call for an ambulance.


70 posted on 01/18/2014 10:14:49 AM PST by jocon307
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To: null and void

“Officer O’Roidrage”

LOL, with his fine Irish temper!


71 posted on 01/18/2014 10:21:12 AM PST by jocon307
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

Sue. The. Bastards.


72 posted on 01/18/2014 10:27:11 AM PST by Flick Lives (Got a problem with the government? Have a complaint. Get a free IRS audit!)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
At some point I hope even these erstwhile stormtroopers will start to feel sheepish.

That might have happened in the past when individuals were held responsible. A cop like this should be fired. period. Now cops are part of the SEUI, and the union will defend the cop no matter how egregious his behavior.

73 posted on 01/18/2014 10:29:46 AM PST by Flick Lives (Got a problem with the government? Have a complaint. Get a free IRS audit!)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines
Rule one: The police are not your friends.

Rule two: Call the police if you want someone killed.

74 posted on 01/18/2014 10:31:31 AM PST by Navy Patriot (Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)
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To: jocon307

;^P


75 posted on 01/18/2014 10:34:31 AM PST by null and void (We need to shake this snowglobe up.)
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To: Flick Lives

The union can only do so much, however. Consciences still live.


76 posted on 01/18/2014 10:37:40 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (The Lion of Judah will roar for you if you give him a big hug and a cheer and mean it. See my page.)
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To: IbJensen

You have the right idea, but the wrong end of it.

Eliminate all but the sheriff’s office.

Sheriffs are elected and therefore the only law enforcement group that is sensitive to the voters.


77 posted on 01/18/2014 10:41:48 AM PST by old curmudgeon
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To: Flick Lives

And about the consciences... they are cumulative. We’d like to lament like nothing happens with a conscience, but it does. God forces it to. Either it gets hardened and that propels the people into their own chastisement, or it yields to God and that results in love and lessons learned.


78 posted on 01/18/2014 10:42:14 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (The Lion of Judah will roar for you if you give him a big hug and a cheer and mean it. See my page.)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

The Size 44 Uniform, Size 4 Hat Syndrome beings displayed again! Neanderthals with guns in action! Just another disgraceful display of abject stupidity and the unwillingness to listen to anyone who understands the situation. Ready, Fire, Aim!


79 posted on 01/18/2014 10:42:21 AM PST by vette6387
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To: Cicero

“Don’t call the cops in such a situation. That was a big mistake. Call the medical first responders, if necessary.”

The problem is, when you call 911 you not only get first responders, but also the cops. At least that’s what happens here in California. And if you cancel a 911 call, the cops show up en masse to “investigate.” I have had personal experience with this action.


80 posted on 01/18/2014 10:45:50 AM PST by vette6387
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