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Further Thoughts On Cloudflare And Infrastructure Moderation

2 years 9 months ago
I rather expected that not everyone would agree with the points I raised in my recent post on Cloudflare and my thinking regarding both Cloudflare’s statement of principles on content moderation at the infrastructure layer and, secondly, its decision to block Kiwi Farms. That turned out to be an accurate expectation. It has also resulted […]
Mike Masnick

St. Louis County Police Announce Recent Staff Promotions

2 years 9 months ago
ST. LOUIS COUNTY - On Tuesday, September 6, 2022, St. Louis County Police Colonel Kenneth L. Gregory announced the promotions of Lieutenants Anthony Cavaletti and John Pfanstiel to the rank of Captain, Sergeant Edward Magee to the rank of Lieutenant, and Police Officers Daniel Bradley, Brandon McCrary, and Matthew Reed to the rank of Sergeant. Captain Anthony Cavaletti joined the Department in 1999. Captain Cavaletti previously served in the South County Precinct, the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy, the Central County Precinct, the Bureau of Crimes Against Property, the Bureau of Crimes Against Persons, and the North County Precinct, and is currently assigned to the Criminal Intelligence Unit. Captain Cavaletti earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Management from Southern Illinois University and a Master’s Degree in Business of Security Management from Webster University. Captain Cavaletti has received 11 Department awards and commendations. Captain

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The Sweetie Pie's Murder-For-Hire Trial Teases Star Witness

2 years 9 months ago
Reality TV star James Timothy Norman’s trial started yesterday in St. Louis. Norman has been accused of masterminding a murder-for-hire plot, that resulted in the death of his nephew Andre Montgomery. Both men appeared on the Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s reality TV show.
Ryan Krull

Daily Deal: The AWS Certified Dev And Ops Engineer Professional Training Bundle

2 years 9 months ago
Ace the AWS Certified Exam and start your career with the 4-part AWS Certified Dev and Ops Engineer Professional Training Bundle. You’ll learn how to use CloudFormation, Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon CloudTrail, how to protect your AWS resources from threats, and much more. It’s on sale for $30. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and […]
Gretchen Heckmann

Indiana Police Officer Pleads Guilty After Beating Handcuffed Man

2 years 9 months ago

This article was produced by the South Bend Tribune, a member of the ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in 2018. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

A police officer in Elkhart, Indiana, who was seen repeatedly punching a handcuffed man in a 2018 video obtained by the South Bend Tribune and ProPublica pleaded guilty in a federal civil rights case last week.

The plea agreement calls for Cory Newland to be sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in the incident, in which he and fellow officer Joshua Titus were seen on a security camera video beating Mario Guerrero Ledesma while the man was handcuffed to a chair in a detention area at the city police station.

Newland will also pay a yet-to-be-determined amount to Ledesma in restitution. His plea came less than a month before the case was set to go to trial.

“I knew at the time of the assault that my use of force on M.L. was unjustified and unlawful under the circumstances,” Newland said in his plea agreement, referring to Ledesma by his initials.

Jessica McBrier, a spokesperson for the Elkhart Police Department, said Newland resigned from the force on Aug. 30 — the same day U.S. Magistrate Judge Joshua Kolar accepted his guilty plea.

“The department has no further comment on any plea he entered in federal court,” McBrier said in an email to The Tribune.

Attorneys representing Newland did not respond to an interview request.

Titus has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial later this month. Both officers were placed on leave in late 2018, and Titus is still on unpaid leave with the department, McBrier said.

Fallout From Video

The Tribune obtained the video of the incident in November 2018 as part of an ongoing investigation with ProPublica into practices within the Elkhart Police Department and Elkhart County Prosecutor’s office that led to wrongful convictions. The investigation also revealed 28 of the police department’s 34 highest-ranking officers had disciplinary records.

The video shows Ledesma, seated and wearing handcuffs, while Newland, Titus and other officers stand nearby.

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At one point Ledesma spits toward Newland. Titus and Newland immediately punch Ledesma in the face, causing him to fall backward onto the floor. Titus and Newland then jump on top of him and punch him repeatedly.

“I placed M.L. in a chair with his hands handcuffed behind his back and behind the back of the chair,” Newland said in his plea deal. "M.L. spat in my direction. I responded by punching him in the face, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. Another officer, Joshua Titus, and I continued to strike M.L. repeatedly with our fists. M.L. was in handcuffs during the entirety of the time we were punching him.”

Ledesma had initially been arrested on suspicion of domestic battery. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in jail, with 133 days of that sentence suspended.

Five months after the incident, Elkhart’s then-police chief, Ed Windbigler, gave both Newland and Titus reprimands but did not suspend or demote them. Speaking in 2018 to the city’s police oversight commission, Windbigler said the two officers “just went a little overboard” in subduing a person in custody, but he did not mention the fact the pair had punched a handcuffed suspect.

The Tribune obtained the video of the beating after that meeting, and the discrepancy between the video and Windbigler’s description of the incident was cited by the city in its decision to suspend Windbigler. He later resigned.

Newland and Titus were originally charged with misdemeanor battery in Elkhart County in November 2018. That case was put aside when the pair were indicted on federal civil rights charges in March 2019.

A sentencing date for Newland has not yet been set.

by Marek Mazurek, South Bend Tribune

Alton High Grad IV4 Says Area Votes Helped Propel Her To Opening Act Quarterfinals Win

2 years 9 months ago
LOS ANGELES - Alton High grad IV4 recently shared her excitement Tuesday with Riverbender.com about winning the Opening Act quarterfinals to advance to the competition's semifinals. She said: "I am shocked! The amount of love and support my friends, and family have been showing me throughout this competition is overwhelming. Even though I'm hundreds of miles away, from my hometown of Alton - people have been pushing me through this contest. "I think it's amazing what people can do when they're unified for a good cause (suicide prevention). I'm incredibly grateful for how far I've come, but the competition is not over yet! I believe we can do this." IV4 was a student at Alton High, where she graduated in 2014. Since then she has been pursuing her dream to become a professional singer and it happens one step at a time. She now lives in Los Angeles and is signed with Warner Music. She released her first musical project last March called "Get rich and cry trying" and she has songs featuring

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Jersey's Nathan Wittman Presents Donation: COUNTRY Financial® Supports St. Francis Holy Ghost School With Program

2 years 9 months ago
JERSEYVILLE – COUNTRY Insurance Agent and proud SFHG parent, Nathan Wittman is pleased to support St. Francis Holy Ghost School’s purchase of classroom supplies as teachers and administrators gear up for the first day of school. After providing lunch, Wittman presented a donation of $1,500 to St. Francis Holy Ghost School on August 16. “We are so pleased to be able to help take care of those who help care for us and enrich our lives and strengthen our community – everyday heroes like our teachers,” said Wittman. “This donation is a small token of our appreciation that I hope will continue to positively impact our community by ensuring that teachers have the supplies that they need to support our students.” COUNTRY Financial, an insurance and financial services company, has donated more than $4 million since 2020 to organizations and programs that support teachers, first responders, active-duty service members and veterans, supporting the

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