Thursday, May 28, 2020

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Sunday, May 24, 2020

05242020 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Released From Prison - Iron Mountain PD

 

Also See:

1995 - Officer Phillip Bal - CSC allegation - Iron Mountain PD

04012004 - Officer Phillip Bal - Home invasion and CSC - Iron Mountain PD

04012005 - Officer Phillip Bal - CSC - Iron Mountain PD

04212006 - Officer Phillip Bal - CSC - Iron Mountain PD

04222006 - Officer Phillip Bal - Suspended - Iron Mountain PD

07112006 - Officer Phillip Bal - Terminated - Iron Mountain PD

07182007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Sentenced [April 01, 2004 CSC/Home Invasion Charges] - Iron Mountain PD

08152007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Appeal Filed - COA 280009 - Iron Mountain PD

09172007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Appeal Filed - COA 280601 - Iron Mountain PD

10182007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - COA Appeal 280009 - Dismissed - Iron Mountain PD

11082007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - LE license revoked - Iron Mountain PD

08282008 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Charges dismissed [Aurora WI. April 2005 charges] - Iron Mountain PD

09232008 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Appeal COA 280601 - OPINION - Conviction Affirmed - Iron Mountain PD

05242020 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Released From Prison - Iron Mountain PD

05242020 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Registered Sex Offender - Iron Mountain PD






05242020--Phillip-Bal--Discharged























05242020 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Registered Sex Offender - Iron Mountain PD

 

Also See:

1995 - Officer Phillip Bal - CSC allegation - Iron Mountain PD

04012004 - Officer Phillip Bal - Home invasion and CSC - Iron Mountain PD

04012005 - Officer Phillip Bal - CSC - Iron Mountain PD

04212006 - Officer Phillip Bal - CSC - Iron Mountain PD

04222006 - Officer Phillip Bal - Suspended - Iron Mountain PD

07112006 - Officer Phillip Bal - Terminated - Iron Mountain PD

07182007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Sentenced [April 01, 2004 CSC/Home Invasion Charges] - Iron Mountain PD

08152007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Appeal Filed - COA 280009 - Iron Mountain PD

09172007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Appeal Filed - COA 280601 - Iron Mountain PD

10182007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - COA Appeal 280009 - Dismissed - Iron Mountain PD

11082007 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - LE license revoked - Iron Mountain PD

08282008 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Charges dismissed [Aurora WI. April 2005 charges] - Iron Mountain PD

09232008 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Appeal COA 280601 - OPINION - Conviction Affirmed - Iron Mountain PD

05242020 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Released From Prison - Iron Mountain PD

05242020 - Former Officer Phillip Bal - Registered Sex Offender - Iron Mountain PD



















Tuesday, March 3, 2020

03032020 - Detroit Firefighter Joshua Krajewski - Arrested/Charged With DV, Assault With A Dangerous Weapon, CSC Against Girlfriend/Detroit PD Officer Jacquline Jones

 











Rookie Detroit police officer killed ex-boyfriend on I-75 and didn't even know it
Detroit Free Press
March 07, 2021




She was one month out of the police academy when she fired 17 shots at the driver who tried to kill her Christmas Eve.

Shot in the arm and trapped in her Lincoln, the rookie squeezed the trigger until the magazine was empty.

It wasn't until two hours later at the hospital that she learned her attacker was the father of her child — a local hockey figure she had left 10 months earlier following his arrest on charges that he beat and raped her, and held her at gunpoint.

This is the story behind the Dec. 24 shootout on Interstate 75 in southwest Detroit, where Officer Jacquline Jones fought for her life after her ex-boyfriend rammed her off a service drive and over an embankment, sent her airborne onto a highway, and then pinned her against a cement construction wall and blasted six shots through her windshield. He also had handcuffs, a window breaker and a rope.

The highway shooting made a few headlines, but they only offered a sliver of a story that involves trauma, domestic abuse, an established hockey program for veterans, PTSD and an emotionally damaged soldier who left two children fatherless and a woman permanently scarred.

His name was Joshua Krajewski, a 34-year-old Detroit firefighter who died that December night from a gunshot to the head. 

Krajewski was an Army veteran and founder of the Michigan Warriors Hockey Program, a nonprofit that has helped more than 100 disabled veterans heal mentally and physically on the ice. He was a hero to several of his comrades who, like him, struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and needed an outlet.

In the days after the shooting, Krajewski's death was initially declared a suicide by some on the Michigan Warriors' Facebook page, where he was portrayed as a "hero" and "great man."  

This sent Jones' family reeling, especially her father, Darrell Jones, a 28-year veteran on the Detroit police force who blasted the Michigan Warriors on social media and accused the organization of covering up Krajewski's violent death and abusive history to protect its reputation and donations. He says the program knew he was violent, but ignored it because he was the president.

The Michigan Warriors program has denied engaging in any cover-up, saying there were two recent suicides on the team that year and some players assumed Krajewski had taken his life. The program said that it does not "condone domestic violence in any form" and that it removed Krajewski after he was criminally charged — but has acknowledged that mistakes were made.

"We were not transparent about this situation as it was a personal matter," the Board said in a January email to its members, referring to Krajewski's domestic violence charges. "In retrospect, maybe we could've done more to get him help."

Meanwhile, the Michigan Warriors has scrubbed its website clean of Krajewski's name, though multiple board members spoke at his funeral, and the Detroit Red Wing Alumni left this message on his funeral memorial page on Jan 10: "God bless Josh. A true friend of the Red Wing Alumni and appreciated by us all for the hard work with the MI Warrior Hockey club. Thoughts and prayers to his loved ones and family."

His mother and siblings say he was a loving father, son and brother, and a happy-go-lucky person who came back from Afghanistan and Iraq a different man, battling demons that no one really knew about.

Except Jones.

The 24-year-old mother says she knew Krajewski's dark side all too well. And she has the bruises and scars to prove it.

Jones, who was off duty on the night of the shooting, is currently on paid leave from the DPD. Chief James Craig has defended her actions, saying she was facing "imminent danger" that night. The Michigan State Police investigated the shooting and turned its findings over to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office Feb. 21. 

MSP Lt. Michael Shaw would not disclose the investigation's findings. As of Friday, a charging decision had not yet been made by the prosecutor.

Jones believes she will be cleared, and hopes her ordeal helps other domestic abuse victims know that they are not alone, and, that they can get out.

In an exclusive interview with the Free Press, Jones opened up for the first time about the shooting, the years of abuse she hid with makeup and lies, and what finally pushed her to leave — a saga the Free Press pieced together through court records, police statements and interviews with family, friends and the judge who set her attacker free.

'I thought he was the perfect guy' 
Jones was a waitress at the Dave & Buster's in Livonia when the handsome veteran with a sarcastic wit came in for a bite to eat.

It was spring 2018.  

She was 21. He was 31 — divorced with a school-age son and a well-established hockey program that allowed him to rub elbows with Red Wings icons like Darren McCarty and Micky Redmond. Krajewski founded the program in 2014 as a therapeutic outlet following his honorable discharge from the military in 2009. He had served four years in Iraq and Afghanistan as a military police officer for the Army and a gunner on an MV until he suffered a back injury.

While in the service, he married his high school sweetheart, Laura. In 2012, he became a father to a baby boy. Oliver would become the love of his life. 

Jones knew none of this when he sat at her table that June day. She only remembers being taken by his "funny sarcasm" and thinking "you have sarcasm? So do I."

And, she thought he was cute.

So when Krajewski left his phone number on his receipt, she saw no harm in texting him.

"He had one of those personalities that you can click with," Jones recalled in a February interview. "We just hit it off."

The first few months of their relationship were blissful. He was charming and funny.

"He was what I thought was the perfect guy," Jones recalled.

Then they moved in together. 

It was three months into the relationship when Jones said she learned that Krajewski was a heavy drinker with mood swings and a violent temper. He drank almost daily, she said, sometimes a case of beer a day or a fifth of Jack Daniel's — depending on how he was feeling. And he became combative. 

"You kind of had to walk on eggshells when he was drunk," she said.

Over time, he started belittling her, telling her she didn't have what it took to be a cop and that she couldn't take care of herself. While living together, she had quit her waitress job so that she could train for the police academy. But her self-confidence was eroding.

"I was completely dependent on him," she said. "His biggest thing was telling me, 'Well, what are you going to do without me? You have no money. You don't have a car. I pay for this. I pay for that. Who are you without me?' "

Lies. Bruises. Black eyes
With the booze and the anger came constant arguments. Pushing and shoving followed.

Before long, the beatings began.

Arguments led to open-fist blows to her face and arms, leaving her with bruises that she covered with makeup and long-sleeve shirts to hide the abuse from her family. But they caught on.

"Her long sleeves in the summer were a giveaway," said her father, the veteran cop. "I know a victim when I see one, and I know that you can’t help a victim who doesn’t want to be helped."

This was Jones. This was his daughter.

"I said, 'Only you will know when you’ve had enough. And you can come to us. We will take you in. We will help pay your bills, but you’ve gotta take the first step,' " Darrell Jones recalled telling her. "But she said, 'I got this. I got this. I got this.' "

Still, she kept pulling away from family. 

"He hated my sister," she said. "Any type of communication with my family was a no-go. He'd say ... 'Your family doesn’t love you like I do.' " 

Yet the beatings continued.

In November 2018 he gave her black eyes — she took pictures.

At Christmas that year, he beat her again during a trip to Florida. She and Krajewski had taken his son to Disney World when an argument led to him assaulting her outside their hotel room while the boy slept, leaving her with a swollen eye.

A witness called the Orlando police, Jones said, but she told the responding officers that it was only a verbal argument, that nothing had happened. The police gave Krajewski a warning and left. 

Jones thought she'd had enough. She said she planned on leaving Krajewski when she returned from Florida. 

But when they got home, she found out she was pregnant.

"I was afraid," she said. "I thought, 'how am I going to take care of myself? I have no job. no money saved. He pays for my car, my phone bill, everything that I need. How can I take care of a child?' "

So she stayed.

An interview with Darren McCarty
Ten weeks after the Florida trip, McCarty featured Krajewski as a special guest on his podcast to talk about his Warriors hockey program and PTSD.

"I was hittin' the bottle hard. I had a pill addiction. I felt alone," Krajewski said during the interview, referring to his first years out of the military.

But then he found hockey. 

"I saw veterans who were hurting, myself included, and we just started playing hockey," Krajewski said in the Feb. 13, 2019 podcast. "I’m a lot different today than I was five years ago with this hockey program."

McCarty praised Krajewski on his podcast, telling him: "You are the glue to that Michigan Warriors team. "

Krajewski said that through his teammates, he learned the importance of talking about trauma, and that he wasn't alone.

"It’s so imperative to talk about it," Krajewski said. "It’s like a pot of boiling water. At some point, you're going to boil over."

That next day, he went home and beat Jones again, bruising her face and leaving hand prints on her throat. It was Valentine's Day 2019. Jones was about seven weeks pregnant and for the first time in their relationship, she went to the police. Her dad met her at the Livonia police station and saw the bruises and marks around her neck.

Krajewski was jailed overnight, though his mom picked him up the following day. There were no charges.

Jones' father alerted the Michigan Warriors about Krajewski's arrest and asked that he be immediately removed from the program. But the group kept him on because he wasn't charged. And, because the relationship continued: Jones had moved in with her dad following Krajewski's arrest, but three days later she went back to her boyfriend.

Army brought 'horrific things'
Shelley Paull of Livonia remembers picking up her son from jail that February day.

"I didn’t know anything about his abuse," Paull said in a recent interview. "He called me from the Livonia jail and said 'can you come pick me up?' They just let him go. That's when Jacquline said she didn't want any charges."

Paull said that she asked her son what had happened, and that he said it was relationship problems. " 'I have to make this work, I don’t want to be a single dad again,' " she recalled him telling her.

Paull said she knew her son had PTSD, but was unaware of any violence at home, or the details that led to his criminal charges in March 2020. 

"I didn’t know any of that, he was embarrassed and he didn’t want me to know," she said.

Paull spoke through tears as she recalled the son she knew before he left for the military, the boy who played Little League baseball, football, high school rugby, and dreamed of becoming a cop. 

"He never showed any signs of depression or anxiety growing up," Paull said. "He had a million friends. I've talked to his grade school and junior high friends — nobody ever saw anything. Nobody would have expected to happen what happened."

Paull recalled how thrilled her son was to join the military after graduating from Livonia Stevenson High School in 2004. He was intent on being part of Operation Iraqi Freedom following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. So, right out of high school, he left for the military.

"He did see some horrific things, had to do some horrific things. He had friends die," Paull said. But there was one thing that kept him going — his son. 

"His best buddy was his son Ollie, that was his buddy," his mother said. "He was an amazing father to Ollie."

The horror that caused her to leave 
On Sept. 16, 2019, Krajewski became a father again. Jones gave birth to a girl and named her June.

By then, Krajewski was working his new job as a firefighter at Ladder 8 in southwest Detroit. He was still drinking, Jones said, but the abuse had stopped and life seemed calmer.

Then came the spring of 2020.

Jones went on a three-day trip to New Orleans in March with her grieving best friend whose boyfriend had committed suicide. He was a Michigan Warriors hockey player, and one of Krajewski's best friends. Jones thought her friend could use some time away.

But while on her trip, she said, Krajewski started sending her alarming texts and phone calls, accusing her of cheating on him. He shut off her phone, canceled her credit card and told her to stay in her hotel until she came home, or she'd "be done for."

The following day, he picked her up at the airport with June, yelling at her and slugging her in the arm as they drove home. 

"I told him that I was done. I wanted to leave," she recalled. "His response was 'No. I wasn't leaving him.' He said he would crash this car and kill us all."

She stayed silent until they got home, thinking how she could get out of the house safely with her daughter.

At home, he went into a violent rage, grabbing her as she fought back, she said. They wrestled in the living room, where he pulled her to the ground by her hair and slammed her head into the hardwood floor. Then he pulled her into the kitchen, rammed her head on the tile floor before dragging her upstairs by the hair and forcing her to have sex. Once he was done, he let her go.

"I ran downstairs. He followed. He told me that I could leave the house, but I couldn't leave with our daughter, which wasn't going to happen," Jones recalled.

So she stayed put. He had taken her phone from her, so she couldn't call anyone. It was March 3. Krajewski had a hockey errand to run that night and he took Jones with him. In the car she told him the relationship wasn't working, that he needed help.

At home that night, after putting her daughter to bed, the two kept talking. He told her he would change, go to therapy, anything that would change her mind.

In the middle of the night, June woke up for a feeding. Jones fed her and rocked her back to sleep. Meanwhile, Krajewski had gone downstairs and was sitting on the couch sobbing.

"He said that he didn't want to live without me," she recalled.

Then he went to his office, pulled out a rifle from a closet and loaded it. He said he was going to kill himself. She said she pleaded: " 'Please, please don't do this' " and tried to leave the room. But he shut the door, sat on the floor, and with the rifle to his chin told her she had to watch, that it was her fault.

Jones looked away and stayed silent. Then he pointed the rifle at her throat. " 'Say something. Is this what you want?' " she recalled him telling her. 

"I tell him, 'we can fix this, we can work it out,' " she recalled, noting she was saying anything to spare her life. 

 He put the gun down and they went to bed.

Pineapple emoji triggers 911 call
The next morning, Krajewski gave Jones her phone back and asked her to call a therapist.

"In my head, I'm thinking 'I have my phone. This is my way out,' " she said.

And so she texted an alert to her best friend. The two had a code if either was ever in trouble: Text a pineapple emoji, which meant call the cops to wherever I am.

She texted the pineapple, then deleted it in case Krajewski saw it.

Then her dad called. She talked his ear off, speaking so fast that he picked up that something was wrong. He started asking her yes and no questions. She texted him during the conversation that she had called 911.

Her dad did the same, and headed her way.

The next 10-15 minutes were gut-wrenching. She was upstairs in her room with Krajewski and June was in her swing.

"It felt like eternity. I'm thinking 'Dear God, where are these cops at?' "

Then her German shepherd started barking. 

She went downstairs, pretending she was going to check out what the dog was barking at.

"I opened the door and ran out," she said. "There were five or six Livonia police officers ... all I could say is, 'my daughter is upstairs. I need to go get our daughter.' "

Amid the commotion, Krajewski jumped out of the bedroom window.

"He tried to run," Jones said. "They (police) chased him through the backyard, and got him."

Judge sets him free 
On March 3, 2020, Krajewski was charged with domestic violence, assault with a dangerous weapon, felony firearm and third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Wayne County Circuit Court.

At his March 7 arraignment, he pleaded not guilty and Magistrate Linda Mack released him on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, a tether and a no-contact with the victim order.

This made Jones' dad's blood boil.

"These people dropped the ball from day one on my daughter and it’s terrible," said Darrell Jones, noting his daughter got lucky in that she was a cop with a gun. "Had this been someone else’s daughter, their parents would have been planning a funeral. "

Chief Craig also criticized the bond decision, calling it a "horror story" waiting to happen.

"That officer had a protection order out of a neighboring city," Craig said of Jones. "She had a relationship with someone who had a history of violence. Sadly, this person was released. ... And he did particularly what his history said he would do — he located her, he found her and he attacked her." 

Craig stressed: "Had the right thing been done with that case, would this person had been ... out? It’s deeply troubling."

Jacquline Jones was especially hurt.

"I felt that they didn’t believe what I was saying, that my story wasn’t worthy enough to keep him in longer," she said.

In a March 1 interview with the Free Press, Mack — the magistrate who granted bond — said that she couldn't recall the details of the year-old case, noting she arraigns up to 40 defendants a day. She said she's "usually a stickler" with domestic abuse defendants, and presumes investigators recommended he be released and that no one objected.

"I don’t think I would let someone out if they beat someone up," Mack said, adding that she typically only gets a snapshot of the cases. "I wish I remembered more. I don’t usually let people out on personal bond unless there’s some recommendation."

Mack also noted that there were several opportunities for parties to object to the bond, though that never happened. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office did not object to his bond, which was continued on May 20 with a tether.

When she learned of the tragic fallout, Mack said: " I always feel bad for any victims of crime. It’s hard to predict the future sometimes. ... It's sad. I feel bad. I wish it was something I could remember a little better."

Christmas Eve nightmare   
Following his arrest, Krajewski stayed away from Jones for the next 10 months. No texts. No calls.

"I got comfortable with that, with his silence," Jones said.

But Krajewski was quietly coming undone. He had lost his firefighter job and relationship, got removed from his hockey program, and hadn't seen his daughter in months. The pandemic hit, putting his criminal case on hold. And he was drinking again.

Then came Christmas Eve. 

Jones had gone to a friend's house in southwest Detroit on Dec. 23 and left around midnight. She was heading down a service drive along Interstate 75, when at a yield sign she felt someone tap her rear bumper.

Through her rearview mirror she saw a black pickup flash its lights, though Jones said she thought better than to get out, so she just kept driving. But the pickup started tailing her, speeding up as she sped up. Then it started ramming into her, over and over again, until it pushed her over an embankment and onto I-75.

The pickup followed her down the hill. Jones hit the gas, but there was no acceleration. She had blown a tire. And before she knew it, the pickup was ramming her again until she crashed into a cement construction barrier where the pickup pinned her in.

Trapped behind an airbag, Jones slid over to the passenger seat. Then, with her knees to her chest, reached for her department-issued handgun as a shadowy figure approached.

"It was then that I realized this person is trying to kill me," she recalled. She said she thought to herself, "I'm not going to die in my car right now."

Gunfire erupted.

"My finger did not come off the trigger until the slide locked," she recalled, noting she never got to see his face, only his outline and a black hoodie and a hat.

After she emptied her gun, there was silence. Jones climbed to the back seat of her car, rolled down the passenger side window and jumped over the construction barrier.

"I didn’t look back," she said. "I ran. I ran up the embankment and ended up on Springwells and Olivet."

She went to a house with a porch light and knocked on the door. A male voice said, "Who is it?"

"I work for DPD," she answered. "I was just shot on the freeway."

The man, a retired firefighter, opened the door, called 911 and bandaged her bloody arm.

The stranger revealed  
Jones was transported to Detroit Receiving Hospital. So was the stranger she had shot. It never occurred to her that it was Krajewski, she said. He had been so quiet for 10 months. She thought someone she had put away was seeking revenge, or a carjacking had gone wrong.

Police took her statement at the hospital. An attorney with the Detroit Police Officers Association also was there as it was an officer-related shooting. She was at the hospital for more than two hours when the lawyer delivered the bombshell.

"She looks at me and says, 'I have to tell you something. ... The guy who tried to kill you was your daughter's father,' " Jones recalled. "I was in total shock. My dad came in. I'm sitting there and in complete awe. I couldn't say or do anything. I thought 'Is this real life? Is this really happening?' "

She also learned that police had found a tracker on her car that night.

 As she tried to absorb it all, she learned that Krajewski had coded three times at the hospital. She asked whether she could go be with him.

"I didn't want him to die alone," she recalled.

But her dad told her no.

A family grieves 
Krajewski's mother was sleeping when her sobbing daughter, Haley, came home frantic.

"She was crying so hard. ... She said, 'Mom, you gotta get up. Joshua's been in an accident. He's been shot!' " Paull recalled.

Haley Paull, 20, was the first one to get the call from the hospital. She was at work setting up her desk when she got the news. She called her oldest brother first, then went to her mom's house in Livonia.

"I couldn’t see him like that," Haley Paull recalled. "I stayed home."

Krajewski's mother got to the hospital in 35 minutes.

"I talked to the doctor. He said there’s no chance of him ever surviving that," Shelley Paull recalled.

Her son was on life support. She called her son's first wife, Laura, who was a nurse. "I told her, 'I need you to come here. I don't know what to do.' " 

Just a few days earlier, Josh had been at her house, chatting in the kitchen and listening to his mom talk about the science fiction gaming items and books she had bought her grandson Oliver for Christmas.

"He said, 'Oh yeah, he'll be really excited,' " she recalled through tears. "I said see you Christmas morning and he said, 'OK.' "

Josh then headed out the door and climbed in his truck.

"I said 'I love you' — and he said, 'I love you too.' And that was it."

After two more hours of watching her son on machines, she let him go.

"None of us knew exactly what he was going through," Paull said. "We'd ask, 'Are you OK? Are you sure you’re OK?' The answer was always, 'yeah I’m good.' "

Paull said she is heartbroken. So is her daughter, Haley, who wants the world to know Krajewski as she did: The doting big brother who took her to arcades, restaurants, ZapZone; who flew her to Savannah to visit him when he was stationed there; who took her shopping for her mom's birthday gifts, and brought cigars to the hospital when Oliver was born.

"He loved that kid," she said crying. "I promise you he was a good person."

"I just think he had a mental break," the sister continued. "I don’t think he did this on purpose. He would never do something like that in his right mind. It's just not who he was." "

Moving on 
Jones spends her days now focused on June, a lively, rosy-cheeked, 17-month-old who keeps her busy as she continues to heal. She said she tries hard not to think about the night on the highway, though the "what-ifs" creep in.

"I have sat there and gone through the list of everything that could have happened, that could have gone wrong, how this played out was — it wasn’t supposed to work out in my favor, but it did," said Jones, who strongly believes divine intervention was involved. "I feel that his bullets were guided by God. I was protected that night.”

But amid her recovery, she finds herself grieving.

"I'm now mourning the death of him. He was a part of my life. I had a child with him ... and there was a point where I loved this man," she said, still trying to make sense of it all.

"He was fighting demons that he wanted to fix himself," she said. "I wanted to help him. I saw potential that he didn't. I wanted to be the person who no one else would be.

 "I can’t fault anybody for feeling that he was a great guy or a great friend," she said. "But not everyone saw the side of him that I did."

After leaving the relationship, Jones went on to pursue her law enforcement dream. She joined the police academy in May 2020 and graduated in November — grateful for the training that she believes helped save her life.

"Though there was never a specific instruction on 'when your ex-boyfriend tries to kill you, this is what you do,'" she said, adding "I remember being taught — bullets go through windshields."

Jones now hopes to serve as a beacon of hope for other women who are still stuck in abusive relationships.

"I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this," she said. "I know how it feels to think that you need this person because you can’t make it out there in life without them, especially when they have that control over you."

But there is a way out, she said. Her life is proof.

Still, the trauma is hard to erase.

"Why would he do that? And why would he make me do that? Why would he make me fight for my life?" she wonders.

There's also the painful reminder: She took his life, without knowing it.

"There was definitely that moment of regret, of 'What did I just do?' " she recalled thinking in the hospital.

But then she remembers the terrifying moments trapped in her car.

"I’m gonna die. I’m going to be murdered on I-75 in my 2009 Lincoln," she remembers thinking. "Whoever you are, you’re not going to take me away from my daughter."

In the end, she chose herself.

"It's all because of June," she said. "My daughter. It's been my daughter from the start."

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

02252020 - How Rio Rancho New Mexico PD Handles OIDV. Now Compare This To How Michigan Handles OIDV...


Officer arrested on duty!!! Uniform cut off him as he is cuffed! All on lapel video!!!
Cop Watch
Apr 1, 2020



Cop Watch obtained lapel footage from the Rio Rancho Police Department in New Mexico. It shows the arrest of Albuquerque Police Officer Jeffrey Wharton prior to his shift beginning. He was taken into custody by detectives of the Rio Rancho Police Department.  The on duty arrest was due to a warrant for his arrest from the Rio Rancho PD.

According to the criminal complaint, Wharton beat his girlfriend so badly, she had several gashes on her head and face. Police say her injuries were so severe, she had to be taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a brain bleed.  Some of the domestic incident was captured on the couples "RING" doorbell system. 

When Officer Wharton arrived for his shift at an area substation Rio Rancho Police officers were waiting for him armed with a felony warrant.  At one point you'll see they removed his duty belt and searched him.  After the search they are seen on lapel video cutting off his fully marked uniform shirt. Wharton was lead out of the substation to a waiting cruiser. 

He was booked into the Sandoval County Detention Center on charges of Kidnapping (First Degree) (NO Intent to Commit Sex Offense),  Aggravated Battery (great bodily harm) (household member), Aggravated Battery Against a Household Member (Strangulation or Suffocation), Aggravated Battery (great bodily harm) (household member),  Tampering with Evidence (Highest Crime a Capital, First or Second Degree and Negligent Use of a Deadly Weapon (Unsafe Handling).

Wharton resigned from APD shortly after this arrest. APD says Wharton had been with the department since November 2010. He was a senior officer with the department. His trial is pending.












Former APD officer charged with domestic violence
KRQE News
Feb 25, 2020
















Former APD officer accused of domestic violence locked up until trial
KEQE News
March 04, 2020















Cop Arrested for beating his Wife - Albuquerque Police Department - Jeffrey Wharton
Priceless Channel
April 02, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZVY_Q2-qhw

















Former APD officer to be released from jail
Aug 18, 2020
KRQE News

















Monday, February 17, 2020

02172020 - Officer Mario Vekic - Charged with DV - Farmington Hills PD

 
A special thank you to a reader for emailing me with info on this case - a tremendous help in watching over victims/survivors and in keeping the MIOIDV Project updated. Thank you.
Renee Harrington






Farmington Hills police officer accused of domestic violence, firing gun, stalking another officer
Mario Vekic arrested by Warren police officers while on duty
Click On Detroit
February 20, 2020


FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – A Farmington Hills police officer is accused of domestic violence, improperly firing a gun and stalking a fellow officer at the department, authorities said.

Mario Vekic is a former Detroit police officer who graduated from the Detroit Police Academy in 2017, officials said.

He jumped to a job in Farmington Hills, and a few months later, another officer was hired at the department, according to police. An apparent police department relationship formed, but then it turned criminal, officials said.

Police in Warren said they received a report of stalking and domestic violence, and learned that a gun has been fired.

Warren police officers went to the Farmington Hills Police Department on Wednesday to arrest Vekic while he was on duty.

Vekic is charged with discharging a firearm out of a building, stalking and domestic violence. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.












Farmington Hills police officer accused of domestic violence in Warren
WXYZ-TV Detroit
February 20, 2020

Warren PD Investigator: "She has been slapped, choked and physically thrown around by Vekic...Saw damage in her house of which was caused by Vekic bouncing her head off of these walls...He fired the gun in her house right at the kitchen table in her presence right in front of her face...The victim resigned from the department due to ongoing problems with Officer Mario Vekic.."

Officer Mario Vekic's defense attorney: "I would just ask for a lower personal bond, Your Honor.

Judge: "That's not gonna happen. We're not gonna have another dead domestic partner situation..."

WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — He has been called numerous times to respond to domestic violence in his role as a police officer. Now a Farmington Hills police officer is accused of the crime.

Mario Vekic was in jail as 37th District Court Judge Michael Chupa arraigned him, by video, on charges of discharging a firearm into a building, stalking and domestic violence.

Investigators with Warren Police told the judge that his girlfriend of seven months, who is also a Farmington Hills police officer, survived repeated violence at her home in Warren.

They told the judge she was slapped, choked, and physically thrown around in her home by Vekic.

They saw damage in her house. Some of it was caused by Vekic bouncing her head off the walls.

He allegedly fired a gun in her house during a fight.

She told police she resigned from her job at Farmington Hills Police Department because she feared for her life. Now that he is facing charges she is hoping to be reinstated.

Defense attorney Randy Rodnick tells 7 Action News Vekic accidentally fired the gun back in January. He says the allegations are only coming out now because his ex is angry.

“None of this came up until now, because of the break up. I think that has a lot to do with it, but we will see,” said Rodnick.

“We are not going to have another dead domestic partner situation,“ said Judge Chupa, when the defense asked for a low personal bond.

The judge set Vekic’s bond at $50,000 cash.

Vekic has pleaded not guilty to the charges.












Oakland County police officer accused of shooting at girlfriend in Warren
Oakland Press
February 20, 2020  
An off-duty Oakland County police officer charged Thursday with shooting at his girlfriend -- a former police officer -- in Warren has been suspended from the department, according to police and the officer's attorney.

Mario Vekic, an officer with the Farmington Hills Police Department, was arraigned in 37th District Court on charges of discharging a weapon inside of a building, a 10-year felony. He also is charged with stalking and domestic violence, both misdemeanors.

The incident happened earlier this month at the female officer's residence in Warren.

"As soon as we learned about it, he was immediately placed on leave, which is unpaid," said Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King.

According to a news release from Farmington Hills police, the department received a complaint Feb. 17 alleging that an officer had engaged in unlawful conduct while off-duty.

Command officers examined the complaint, determined the alleged incident took place in Warren and advised the Warren Police Department. Farmington Hills cooperated with their counterparts in Warren in all aspects of the investigation.

An arrest warrant was authorized on Wednesday, according to the release.

Police say the female officer, who has since resigned from the department, was slapped, choked and kicked by Vekic, who also is accused of slamming her head into the wall of her residence.

Randy Rodnick, the officer's Warren-based attorney, said the officers had been dating for some time. He said the shooting allegation stemmed from an accidental discharge of Vekic's duty revolver back in January.

The female officer was not struck by the gunfire.

Rodnick said it appears the female only reported the incident recently because she was upset over the couple's breakup.

"This is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," Rodnick said. "My client has no prior record and is a police officer. These allegations obviously could affect his job with the Farmington Hills Police Department."

Judge Michael C. Chupa of the 37th District Court set bond for the defendant at $50,000 cash or surety. Vekic is next due in court on March 3.

The officer was hired by Farmington Hills police in February 2018. He previously worked for one year with the Detroit Police Department.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer referred a reporter to Farmington Hills police for information on the case. Dwyer is a longtime former Farmington Hills police chief and former member of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.













Oakland County police officer accused of shooting at girlfriend in Warren
Royal Oak Daily Tribune
February 20, 2020
An off-duty Oakland County police officer charged Thursday with shooting at his girlfriend -- a former police officer -- in Warren has been suspended from the department, according to police and the officer's attorney.

Mario Vekic, an officer with the Farmington Hills Police Department, was arraigned in 37th District Court on charges of discharging a weapon inside of a building, a 10-year felony. He also is charged with stalking and domestic violence, both misdemeanors.

The incident happened earlier this month at the female officer's residence in Warren.

"As soon as we learned about it, he was immediately placed on leave, which is unpaid," said Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King.

According to a news release from Farmington Hills police, the department received a complaint Feb. 17 alleging that an officer had engaged in unlawful conduct while off-duty.

Command officers examined the complaint, determined the alleged incident took place in Warren and advised the Warren Police Department. Farmington Hills cooperated with their counterparts in Warren in all aspects of the investigation.

An arrest warrant was authorized on Wednesday, according to the release.

Police say the female officer, who has since resigned from the department, was slapped, choked and kicked by Vekic, who also is accused of slamming her head into the wall of her residence.

Randy Rodnick, the officer's Warren-based attorney, said the officers had been dating for some time. He said the shooting allegation stemmed from an accidental discharge of Vekic's duty revolver back in January.

The female officer was not struck by the gunfire.

Rodnick said it appears the female only reported the incident recently because she was upset over the couple's breakup.

"This is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," Rodnick said. "My client has no prior record and is a police officer. These allegations obviously could affect his job with the Farmington Hills Police Department."

Judge Michael C. Chupa of the 37th District Court set bond for the defendant at $50,000 cash or surety. Vekic is next due in court on March 3.

The officer was hired by Farmington Hills police in February 2018. He previously worked for one year with the Detroit Police Department.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer referred a reporter to Farmington Hills police for information on the case. Dwyer is a longtime former Farmington Hills police chief and former member of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.













Oakland County police officer accused of shooting at girlfriend in Warren
Macomb Daily
February 20, 2020


An off-duty Oakland County police officer charged Thursday with shooting at his girlfriend -- a former police officer -- in Warren has been suspended from the department, according to police and the officer's attorney.

Mario Vekic, an officer with the Farmington Hills Police Department, was arraigned in 37th District Court on charges of discharging a weapon inside of a building, a 10-year felony. He also is charged with stalking and domestic violence, both misdemeanors.

The incident happened earlier this month at the female officer's residence in Warren. 

"As soon as we learned about it, he was immediately placed on leave, which is unpaid," said Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King.

According to a news release from Farmington Hills police, the department received a complaint Feb. 17 alleging that an officer had engaged in unlawful conduct while off-duty.

Command officers examined the complaint, determined the alleged incident took place in Warren and advised the Warren Police Department. Farmington Hills cooperated with their counterparts in Warren in all aspects of the investigation.

An arrest warrant was authorized on Wednesday, according to the release. 

Police say the female officer, who has since resigned from the department, was slapped, choked and kicked by Vekic, who also is accused of slamming her head into the wall of her residence.

Randy Rodnick, the officer's Warren-based attorney, said the officers had been dating for some time. He said the shooting allegation stemmed from an accidental discharge of Vekic's duty revolver back in January.

The female officer was not struck by the gunfire.

Rodnick said it appears the female only reported the incident recently because she was upset over the couple's breakup.

"This is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," Rodnick said. "My client has no prior record and is a police officer. These allegations obviously could affect his job with the Farmington Hills Police Department."

Judge Michael C. Chupa of the 37th District Court set bond for the defendant at $50,000 cash or surety. Vekic is next due in court on March 3.

The officer was hired by Farmington Hills police in February 2018. He previously worked for one year with the Detroit Police Department.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer referred a reporter to Farmington Hills police for information on the case. Dwyer is a longtime former Farmington Hills police chief and former member of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.













Farmington Hills police officer arraigned on domestic violence charges
Farmington Press 
February 20, 2020


FARMINGTON HILLS/WARREN — A Farmington Hills police officer has been arraigned on domestic violence charges after a complaint was sent to Farmington Hills police by another police officer in the department last week. 

The officers charged has been identified by Warren and Farmington Hills police officials as Mario Vekic. 

Vekic was reportedly in a workplace romance with another Farmington Hills police officer when the two broke up around Valentine’s Day, Vekic’s attorney, Randy Rodnick, said. The complaint followed shortly after.

Farmington Hills police received the complaint Feb. 17 alleging that one of their officers “engaged in unlawful off-duty conduct,” according to a press release. After the department’s command staff examined the complaint, they determined the alleged conduct took place in Warren. 

“No criminal activity occurred in Farmington Hills,” Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King said. 

The department immediately advised Warren police of the reported incident. Farmington Hills officials said they have cooperated with Warren police officials during all appropriate aspects of the investigation. King added that his department has “facilitated anything we could give them.” 

Warren police then notified Farmington Hills police on Feb. 19 that an arrest warrant was authorized. They arrested Vekic at the Farmington Hills Police Department Feb. 19 while he was on duty. 

Vekic was arraigned in 37th District Court Feb. 20 before Judge Michael Chupa on three charges: discharge of a weapon inside a building — a felony of up to 10 years in prison — stalking and domestic violence. His bail was set at 50,000 cash or surety, with a GPS tether upon release. 

According to police, the female officer reported that Vekic slapped, kicked and choked her at her home in Warren, as well as stalked her. 

The discharge of a weapon also occurred in the home, though Rodnick said that charge is unrelated to the domestic violence charges. The female officer was not hit by gunfire. 

“Evidently, the discharge occurred allegedly maybe four weeks earlier, five weeks earlier, maybe two months earlier, something like that. It was unrelated,” Rodnick said. “My understanding is it was accidental.” 

Vekic is next due in court March 3 before Judge Suzanne Faunce. He is currently out on bond with a GPS tether. 

“It’s an unfortunate situation. It obviously affects his job as a police officer. We’ll see how that goes,” Rodnick said.

At press time, King could not comment much on the investigation, deferring to the Warren Police Department. 

“The criminal investigation is being conducted by Warren police and is still active,” he said. “It’s a continuing investigation. … It’s improper for me to make a comment on their investigation.” 

The officer has been placed on unpaid leave with the Farmington Hills Police Department, pending further investigation. 

“Because of employment law and the procedure due process, there has been no decision made, but we are in the process of handling the preliminary investigation internally (and) administratively,” King said. “We’ll be moving forward with that at the appropriate time.” 

Vekic was hired by the Farmington Hills Police Department in 2018, after graduating from the Detroit Police Academy in 2017 and serving a short stint with Detroit PD. The female officer who reported the complaint has since left her post with the Farmington Hills Police Department. 













Farmington Hills police officer on leave after arrest
Farmington Voice
February 20, 2020


A Farmington Hills Police officer is on unpaid leave following his arrest on charges related to an alleged incident of domestic violence.

According to a press release, the department received a complaint on Monday about “unlawful behavior” by an officer. Police determined the incident happened in Warren, and notified the Warren Police Department.

Warren Police arrested the officer, identified by WDIV-TV as Mario Vekic, on Wednesday.

Vekic was hired by the department in February of 2018, after working for a year with the Detroit Police Department.













Farmington Hills officer accused of domestic violence on leave
The Detroit News
February 20, 2020


A Farmington Hills police officer is on leave after being charged with domestic violence in Macomb County, authorities announced Thursday.

In addition to a domestic violence charge, Mario Vekic was arraigned in 37th District Court in Warren for discharging a firearm into a building and stalking, said his attorney, Randy Rodnick.

Vekic pleaded not guilty. He was released on a $50,000 bond, Rodnick said.

Farmington Hills police received a complaint Monday alleging that one of their officers "had engaged in unlawful off-duty conduct," the department said in a statement. They learned the alleged incident happened in Warren and contacted the city's Police Department, according to the release.

"The Farmington Hills Police Department cooperated with Warren Police Department investigators in all appropriate aspects of the investigation," the statement said. "On Wednesday ... Warren investigators notified the Farmington Hills Police Department that an arrest warrant was authorized."

Rodnick said Vekic accidentally discharged a weapon in January when reaching for it while wearing a brace on his injured wrist. Vekic and his girlfriend, who is a police officer, also "pushed each other" during an argument before they broke up this month, but he denies assaulting or stalking the woman, Rodnick said. 

Warren police officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for next month, Rodnick said.

Vekic remains on an unpaid leave pending further investigation, Farmington Hills police said Thursday.













Police Investigate Domestic Violence Situation
CBS Detroit
February 21, 2020
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (CBS Detroit) – The Farmington Hills Police Department received a complaint on Monday, February 17, alleging that a Farmington Hills police officer had engaged in unlawful off-duty conduct.

The Farmington Hills Police Department examined the complaint, determined that the situation occurred in the city of Warren, and notified the Warren Police Department of the information they received.

On Wednesday, February 19, Warren investigators notified the Farmington Hills Police Department that an arrest warrant was authorized.

The Warren Police Department arraigned the officer on the authorized charges on Thursday, February 20. The officer was placed on unpaid leave until further investigation occurs.