City Police Officer

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III overruled a disciplinary panel's recommendation Wednesday and fired a veteran officer who was caught on video berating and pushing a 14-year-old skateboarder at the Inner Harbor three years ago. A trial board consisting of three officers of varying ranks heard evidence at a hearing last month and cleared Officer Salvatore Rivieri of the most serious administrative charges: using excessive and...

A Baltimore police sergeant who claimed he was never treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after he fatally shot a man in 2005 has settled a lawsuit against the city, in a deal that allows him to retire with his pension, according to court documents and his attorney. Under terms of the settlement, Richard A. Willard, 45, dropped the federal suit and a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; the Police Department canceled an administrative hearing that could have led to his termination.

A long-retired city police officer was convicted of assault, reckless endangerment and a handgun violation for shooting a man twice last year on the 2700 block of Boston St., the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. The victim was arguing with a friend of Daniel Marshall, 61, who intervened and ultimately shot the victim in his lower leg and hip, according to testimony from the five-day trial. Marshall, who retired from the police force in 1986, according to the state's attorney's office, claimed he was acting in self defense during the July 5, 2009 event.

A city police officer was taken to Mercy Medical Center after his police cruiser was rear-ended by another vehicle on the southbound Jones Falls Expressway late Monday afternoon, according to a police spokesman. The officer was on the side of the roadway near West 29th Street writing a report on a separate accident when his cruiser was struck, said Sgt. Anthony Smith. The officer did not have apparent injuries, but was taken to the hospital to be checked by medical personnel as a precaution, Smith said.

Along Pennsylvania Avenue and other drug-infested corners, they knew him as " Nike boots," "Black," and "Batman. " Nike boots for the shoes he wore when he chased suspects through alleys. Black because he was dark-skinned. Batman because he and his partner formed a "dynamic duo. " Most of all, they knew William H. Torbit Jr. -- the officer slain this week -- as a tough but fair officer who was active in the community even when he was off the clock. When he locked you up, you knew you had it coming, but he stayed in touch and built bonds.

A 31-year-old West Baltimore man who fired a gun to mark the new year was shot by police early yesterday after he did not drop the weapon, police said. Officers were investigating a domestic violence call at the rear of the 1900 block of W. Lafayette Ave. when, about 12:10 a.m., they responded to shots fired from just behind them on the same block of West Lanvale Street, said Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman. Four officers surrounded the man, and he was shot by at least one of them in the abdomen after he failed to heed their orders, Moses said.

For the second time in two years, a Baltimore Circuit Court judge reaffirmed yesterday the life sentence of a Black Panther member convicted in the 1970 killing of a city police officer. Jack Ivory Johnson Jr. was granted a new sentencing hearing in 2002 because of a technical error during his original hearing. Police officers, including then-Commissioner Edward T. Norris, packed the hearing and argued that Johnson should remain in prison. Circuit Judge John M. Glynn agreed and re-imposed a sentence of life plus 15 years.

William Edward Boone III, a Baltimore police officer, died Sunday. The 30-year-old Parkville resident took his life at home. After graduating from Northwestern High School in 1992, Boone enlisted in the Army National Guard and attended Baltimore City Community College. In July 1993, he became a city police officer. Over the next nine years, Mr. Boone, who was known to his family as "Little Lammie" - his father is known as "Lammie" - received several honors and commendations. At the time of his death, he was a patrolman in the Northern District.

The parents of a 14-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a police officer in his Southwest Baltimore house last year filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit yesterday against the officer. Relatives of Kevin Cooper, who was shot Aug. 12, contend that a city police officer antagonized the boy and provoked a fight that ended in violence. The officer who fired his gun, Roderick Mitter, had been on the force about one year and had just completed his probationary period. The suit seeks $15 million in punitive and $10 million in compensatory damages.

James F. Stevens Sr., a retired Baltimore City police officer who became the first to have his daughter join the force, died of a heart attack Feb. 6 at Mercy Hospital. The Brooklyn Park resident was 79. In April 1969, Mr. Stevens' 21-year-old daughter, Patricia Loveless, graduated from the Baltimore Police Academy. While there had been a history of fathers and sons in the Police Department, an Evening Sun article on Mrs. Loveless the day after her graduation noted that it was thought to be "the first time for the department that a daughter has followed in the footsteps of her father."

Police are looking for suspects in a nonfatal shooting Friday on North Avenue, as two victims are being treated in an area hospital. A 42-year-old man was shot in the back and 28-year-old man was shot multiple times, Detective Jeremy Silbert said. Anyone with information is asked to contact police. On Friday afternoon, a city police officer heard gunshots and found a man firing a handgun, police said. The officer fired at least one round before the gunman escaped. The shooter made a get-away in a silver-colored car around 3:15 p.m. from the intersection of West North Avenue and McCulloh Street.

A Baltimore police officer investigating a domestic disturbance on Saturday morning in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood shot and killed a man armed with a knife, according to authorities. A police spokesman identified the man who was killed as George Wells, 29, of the 2500 block of Brookfield Ave., the same location that the officer had responded for the call. Other details, including how many times and where on his body Wells was shot, were not released on Saturday. Police said Wells was pronounced dead at Maryland Shock Trauma Center at 12:23 p.m., less than 45 minutes after the shooting.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Wednesday called allegations that a city police officer may have been involved in the aftermath of a fatal shooting of a 13-year-old girl "disgusting. " "As a mother, it's hard for me to describe what a tragedy this is," the mayor said, speaking after the weekly Board of Estimates meeting. "It's a tragedy made worse by allegations of police involvement. The thought of it is quite frankly disgusting. " Rawlings-Blake said she had spoken with relatives of the teen, Monae Turnage, to extend her sympathies.

A Baltimore police officer who said in an interview that he had received no counseling after he shot and killed two people nine months apart in 2006 and 2007 has been suspended from the force, and stripped of his gun and badge. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the eight-year veteran, Andrew W. Gotwols Jr., made comments that concerned commanders about his fitness to serve. He described the 36-year-old as being "medically suspended. " Gotwols told The Baltimore Sun that he has nightmares that "guys are trying to shoot and kill me, and that I'm trying to shoot and kill them.

A federal jury on Thursday convicted the last of 17 Baltimore police officers charged in a broad kickback scheme, hours after another officer who had stood trial pleaded guilty. Officer Samuel Ocasio, 36, was found guilty by the jury of conspiracy and extortion under color of official right, while Officer Kelvin Manrich, 42, pleaded guilty to the same counts earlier in the day, before jurors began deliberating. Ocasio, who is from Edgewood, and Manrich, from Middle River, face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy, and a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for extortion.

A Baltimore police officer out walking his department dog in Druid Hill Park Wednesday afternoon shot and killed a pit bull that he said was attacking him, according to a police report. Police said Officer Jake Corbett was near the department's K-9 headquarters near Swann Drive when he noticed a pit bull running off the leash. The police dog, Thoda, was wearing a harness with Baltimore police patches and a neon police identification tag on a six-foot leash. Corbett said in a report that a black dog stared down Thoda from atop a hill about 100 yards away.

Warren E. Darby, a retired Baltimore City police officer, died of emphysema Friday at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was 75 and lived in Pasadena. Born in Baltimore and raised in Brooklyn Park, he attended Glen Burnie High School and joined the Army in 1950. He was stationed in Germany. He was a meat packer and dump truck driver before he joined the police force in 1964. He was assigned to the Southern District and retired about 20 years ago. A Mason, he was a past master of Corinthian Lodge.

In the opening of a trial that promises a glimpse into a rogue specialized Baltimore police unit, a woman testified yesterday that an officer coerced her into sex in exchange for freedom from drug charges. Crying throughout much of her testimony, the woman said Officer Jemini Jones crudely threatened to send her to jail -- not only for the marijuana she had been arrested with, but also for possessing other drugs. The woman's rape claim in December 2005 sparked a wider internal police review of the Southwestern District "flex squad," a small group of officers who worked mostly undercover in drug investigations.

A four-page personal handwritten letter from John Jay Audubon to Gideon B. Smith, dated May 18, 1843, taken from the Connecticut Historical Society. A single-page letter from Marie Antoinette written in French on Oct. 2, 1784, taken from the Connecticut Historical Society. A letter written in French from Napoleon Bonaparte on Sept. 17, 1878, taken from the Connecticut Historical Society. A letter written by Karl Marx on April 14, 1874, to P.H. King inquiring about the title and price of a book bearing Marx's signature, taken from the Wilbur Collection at the University of Vermont Library.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Friday dedicated a street in Southwest Baltimore to William H. Torbit, the city police officer fatally shot by fellow officers last year outside a city club. The block was where Torbit's family resides; the date was picked because it would have been Torbit's 35th birthday. Dozens of family members and police officers packed the corner of Wildwood Parkway and Edmondson Avenue, wearing memorial t-shirts and holding signs. But the family made clear that they remain frustrated with the outcome of the investigation of the case.