Police misconduct roundup

I've noticed a number of remarkable Texas police misconduct stories in the news recently that deserve Grits readers' attention:

Ripping off drug dealers
A Harris County Sheriff's deputy has been arrested for allegedly conspiring with drug dealers to rip off their customers, reports James Pinkerton at the Houston Chronicle:

"It sounds like this person was using his position in law enforcement to act as muscle for a drug dealers, and this what is called a 'drug rip,' " said a law enforcement source familiar with the case.

"Basically what you're doing is selling dope," the source explained. "I meet up with you and sell you a kilo of cocaine. Then I have a dirty cop pull you (the buyer) over on some traffic violation and steal the dope back.

"So now I got my dope back — and the money. And it's unlikely somebody is going to report they had a kilo of cocaine stolen from them."

Cheating for Overtime
Six Fort Worth police officers have been fired for writing fraudulent tickets in order to qualify for overtime under a federal grant program. One of them had been on Fort Worth PD for 22 years.

Excessive Force
A judge sentenced state trooper to a six-month probated sentence for misdemeanor assault after using excessive use of force at a DWI traffic stop in Dallas. Three Bexar County deputies are under investigation after a beating of a mentally-ill suspect left him in intensive care. Also in Bexar County, "A federal jury Thursday found a former Bexar County Jail guard guilty of assaulting one inmate and acquitted him in the alleged beating of another."

Maybe get him a pen light
A Plano cop killed a man accidentally while he was attempting to use the flashlight attachment on his service weapon.

A Higher Standard?
A Seguin police officer pled guilty to evidence tampering after deleting text messages he'd sent to an underage girl soliciting a sex act. The chief said "Law enforcement officers are held to a higher standard," but I wonder if any non-officer in the same situation might find themselves on the state sex offender registry under the same fact circumstances?

Various disturbing allegations
In Killeen, an officer who'd previously been "suspended for allegedly exposing himself to a woman while on duty" but was reinstated to the force has been suspended again, this time for alleged, unspecified "criminal conduct." In Fort Worth, a police officer resigned amidst allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman while on duty.

If you're driving, you're probably breaking the law
In Houston, "A handful of Houston Police officers and Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies are under investigation after a video tape surfaced, revealing verbal attacks against a cab driver who called local law enforcement for help." One officer told the cab driver, "Take that cab and drive it down the street. See if I can't see find something to arrest you for." And you know what? He's probably right.

In-car computers vs. texting while driving: What's the difference?
Austin PD has been sued after a police officer ran a stop sign and severely injured a driver in a crash while he was using his in-car computer. The lawsuit includes the manufacturer of the computer system, alleging that "the software, as designed --meaning allowing and promoting texting while driving -- is a defective product."

Hat tip on most of these to the indispensable Injustice Everywhere.