Nation
7 officers charged for abusing powerBALTIMORE — Seven Baltimore officers were so unfazed by U.S. Justice Department scrutiny of abusive policing that they kept falsely detaining people, stealing their money and property, and faking reports to cover it up, according to a damning federal indictment.Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against seven officers in Baltimore, where a consent decree approved in the final days of the Obama administration obligates police to stop abusive tactics and discriminatory practices, including unlawful stops of drivers and pedestrians.U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said the investigation began about a year ago. In a statement, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said the charges will have “pervasive implications on numerous active investigations and pending cases.”The indictment describes a criminal enterprise that began in 2015.The officers charged with racketeering are detectives Momodu Gondo, Evodio Hendrix, Daniel Hersl, Wayne Jenkins, Jemell Rayam, Marcus Taylor and Maurice Ward. Gondo also is charged with participating in a drug conspiracy. All were arrested, suspended without pay and jailed overnight pending detention hearings today.
Theory: Anthony killed by accidentORLANDO, Fla. — The judge who presided over Casey Anthony’s murder trial says the Florida mother may have killed her 2-year-old daughter by accident.Anthony may have been trying to quiet the child, Caylee, with chloroform and accidentally used too much, former Circuit Judge Belvin Perry Jr. said Wednesday in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel.Perry said it’s a theory and if jurors in Anthony’s 2011 trial had come to that conclusion, they might have convicted her of second-degree murder or manslaughter.But Perry, who retired and joined a private law firm in 2014, stressed that was just one of several theories about what may have happened to Caylee.Anthony, now 30, was acquitted in a trial that was broadcast live on television.Perry didn’t fault the verdict but said evidence showed she had gone online to research how to use chloroform as a sedative.The child’s remains were found five months after she was reported missing and authorities were unable to determine a cause of death.During Anthony’s trial, defense attorney Jose Baez told jurors the toddler accidentally drowned in the family pool and someone else hid the body. Prosecutors said Anthony used chloroform and then suffocated the child by putting duct tape over her mouth.
Judge: Shooter’s wife to be releasedOAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California said Wednesday that it is “debatable” whether the government has enough evidence to convict a woman of helping her husband plan the Orlando, Fla., nightclub rampage, ordering her released from jail until trial.U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu also said Noor Salman, 31, is not dangerous and there is no proof she has ties to the Islamic State group or holds extremist views. Her husband, Omar Mateen, attacked the Pulse nightclub, killing 49 people, before police killed him.Salman has been charged with helping Mateen plan the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history and lying to investigators.She has pleaded guilty and faces life in prison if convicted.
