POLICE NEWS: 'Vigilante' groups warned to not confront sex abuse suspects

Aimee Ambrose, Goshen News, Ind.
·2 min read

Mar. 30—The Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office has warned citizen groups to not investigate alleged sexual predators, saying such attempts can hurt legal cases.

In a news release Monday, Vicki Becker's office said the number of so-called "social media 'vigilante' groups'" targeting suspected predators has increased in Indiana. The release described the process where such groups pose as minors online in order to lure out suspects, and then confront them while often live-streaming the situation online.

Such confrontations, however, risk legal issues that could hinder the ability for prosecutor's offices to file charges against suspects in sex abuse cases, according to the release.

"When citizens take matters into their own hands, it is often harmful to a successful prosecution, leading to someone, who may very well be guilty, eluding accountability for their actions," the release states.

The prosecutor's office warned investigation groups could face libel or slander lawsuits for accusations they make. The confrontations could also result in violence or death.

The release notes law enforcement officers are considered qualified to investigate sex abuse allegations.

"Having gone through extensive training, these officials know the right techniques in collecting and preserving the evidence that is necessary to prosecute these kinds of cases and ensuring that an investigation is done objectively, and professionally, respecting the Constitutional rights of suspects," the release states.

THREATS

Elkhart County police are investigating a bomb threat that allegedly targeted the sheriff's office.

A person called the office and threatened to kill an officer and set off a bomb at the facility, 26861 C.R. 26, around 1:45 p.m. last Thursday, according to a police report.

The call came a day after the sheriff's office investigated a report that a postal worker in Goshen found a handwritten letter that said explosives were placed in a location. The report doesn't state where the location was, but shows investigators went to the address, and no explosives were found.

Elkhart County Sheriff's Capt. Michael Culp said investigators are looking into whether or not the two incidents are related.

ARRESTS

—Derrick Rodden, 19, 1005 Park 33 Blvd., Goshen, was arrested by Goshen police and jailed on charges of possession of a handgun without a permit, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana following a traffic stop at College Avenue and Linconway East around 12:30 a.m. Monday. Police also arrested a 17-year-old juvenile on a charge of possession of marijuana. The youth was released at the scene with a citation to appear in court.

Recommended Stories

  • New details about alleged sexual predator on FUSD campus

    Terry McCoy's arrest in June 2020 sent a shock wave through the Viking Elementary School community. Now Action News has learned new details about the alleged sexual predator.

  • Gigi Hadid Gives Her Cozy Sweater Set the Perfect Edge With Sleek Black Boots

    Gigi Hadid is keeping the loungewear trend alive.

  • Boulder officer killed in grocery remembered as hero who put others first

    Officer Eric Talley was honored Tuesday at a memorial service just a week after he was credited with preventing more people from dying.

  • 'He shouldn't have been driving': Philly man critically injures four teens in crash

    A Philadelphia man from Ireland is facing felony charges after police say he caused a crash that sent four teen girls to the hospital.

  • Satellite image shows renewed activity at North Korean nuclear lab

    The activity at Yongbyon lab follows a series of short-range missile tests by North Korea, apparently aimed at ratcheting up pressure on the U.S. and South Korea.

  • Deutsche Bank CEO gives up oversight of investment bank in revamp

    Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing will hand over oversight of the investment and corporate bank to board member Fabrizio Campelli, the German bank said on Monday, as part of an overhaul of the management board. The move is likely to reassure regulators, who worried that Sewing had too much on his plate, potentially leaving the investment bank open to operational hazards.

  • Man fatally shot in crowded Philadelphia mall food court

    People who were in the mall said they heard about 20 gunshots. No arrests have been made in connection with the deadly shooting.

  • U.S. to speed environmental review of New York City congestion pricing plan

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -New York City's proposed congestion pricing plan that would use tolls to manage traffic in central Manhattan will face an expedited environmental review, the U.S. Transportation Department's highway office said Tuesday, after the prior administration did not act on the proposal. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) said the plan would undergo an environmental assessment, which generally takes less time than an environmental impact statement. New York wants to charge a daily variable toll for vehicles entering or remaining within the "Central Business District" – an area stretching from 60th Street in Midtown to Battery Park.

  • Just keep swimming! Rescued sea turtles swim home after months of rehabilitation

    These cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles were re-introduced back into the warm Gulf of Mexico after they were rescued by the Houston Zoo back in December.

  • Here’s Why the Value Rotation for European Stocks Has Further to Go, Says Amundi

    The recovery in European value stocks is a three-stage process. We're only partway there, say strategists at Amundi Asset Management.

  • Day 2 of the Derek Chauvin trial: What to expect

    The trial of the former police officer, who is accused of killing George Floyd, continues.

  • K-pop stars BTS share experience with racism, condemn anti-Asian violence

    The pop superstars shared a statement detailing their experiences with racism and calling for a stop to anti-Asian violence, which has risen during the pandemic.

  • My Mom Came Out As A Lesbian And The Homophobia She Faced Almost Destroyed Her

    "She couldn’t imagine coming out would put her kids in danger or that her track record as a devoted parent would be rendered irrelevant because she loved a woman."

  • Donatella Versace Invites Precious Lee, Indya Moore to Discuss Female Empowerment

    The "Medusa Power Talks" project will include a series of recorded interviews and a Clubhouse live discussion with talents ranging from model Irina Shayk to activist Chelsea Miller.

  • Indonesia recovers cockpit voice recorder of crashed Sriwijaya Air jet

    Indonesia's transport ministry said on Wednesday it had recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of a Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off on Jan. 9, killing all 62 people on board. A navy spokesman, La Ode Muhamad Holib, told Reuters that the CVR was found on Wednesday. Divers found the casing and beacon of the CVR from the 26-year-old Boeing Co 737-500 within days of the crash but had spent nearly three months searching for the memory unit in relatively shallow but muddy waters that sometimes attract strong currents.

  • Matt Gaetz claims he's the victim of an extortion attempt, 'demands' the DOJ release proof

    Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted on Tuesday night that his family is the target of an extortion attempt by a former Department of Justice official who is "seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name." Gaetz made the claim shortly after The New York Times reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him out of state. Over a series of tweets, Gaetz said that his family has been "cooperating with federal authorities" investigating the alleged extortion attempt, and "my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBI's direction to catch these criminals." The Times' report was an attempt to "thwart that investigation," Gaetz continued. "No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation." He went on to "demand" the Justice Department "immediately release the tapes, made at their direction, which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations." More stories from theweek.comKentucky Republicans change the rules so they could get to pick Mitch McConnell's replacementCourt rules defamation suit filed against Trump by ex-Apprentice contestant can move forwardThe rotten center of the infrastructure debate

  • Jeffrey Epstein threatened to feed a woman he sex-trafficked to alligators if she talked, new lawsuit says

    A new lawsuit says Epstein told a woman he sex-trafficked he'd feed her to alligators and have her son deported if she spoke to authorities.

  • EMT Bystander: I Was ‘Desperate to Help’ Floyd but Cops Wouldn’t Let Me

    Hennepin County CourtAn off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and trained EMT testified Tuesday that she begged officers to let her help George Floyd as he died—but one of the law enforcers “didn’t let her into the scene” and told her off.“If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter then you know better than to get involved,” Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao told Genevieve Hansen, according to her testimony in Hennepin County Court on Tuesday.Dressed in her official uniform, the 27-year-old began to cry as she explained to jurors all the different “tactics” she tried to use to convince the four cops arresting Floyd to let her into the scene. She said she pled, begged, and even cursed at the officers because she was so “desperate to help.”“I was really concerned. I thought his face looked puffy and swollen which would happen if you are putting a grown man's weight on someone's neck,” she said, adding that she was “totally distressed” when her offers to help were ignored. “I identified myself right away because I noticed he needed medical help right away.”“I was desperate to help and wasn’t getting to do what I needed to do,” she said.Minneapolis firefighter Genevieve Clara Hansen becomes emotional testifying about cops impeded her efforts to try to save George Floyd's life pic.twitter.com/sXi8cDoaTe— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 30, 2021 Hansen said she pulled out her phone to record the arrest. After Floyd’s lifeless body was loaded into an ambulance, she said she called 911 “after it all settled in and I wished that I had done that immediately.”“I literally watched police officers not take a pulse and not do anything to save a man,” Hansen told 911 dispatchers on May 25, according to a recording played in court. As her call was played to the court, Chauvin stared across the courtroom.Hansen is one of seven witnesses to testify against Chauvin so far as prosecutors seek to prove he used excessive force when he kneeled on Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes during an arrest over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. His lawyer, Eric Nelson, has argued that Floyd’s death was the result of health issues and drugs—and that his client was simply doing what “he was trained to do throughout his 19-year career.”Three other officers—Thao, Thomas K. Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng—have pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, as well as aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence. They are expected to face a trial together in August.Hansen said she was “going for a walk” on May 25 after working a 48-hour shift at the firehouse. After seeing police lights from a distance, she thought there may be a fire close-by and walked in that direction.“As I got closer there was a woman across the street screaming that they were killing him,” she said, adding that she circled the scene then moved closer because she “was concerned to see a handcuffed man who was not moving with officers with their whole body weight on his back and a crowd that was stressed out.”‘Something Was Wrong’: 911 Dispatcher Watching George Floyd’s Arrest Was So Disturbed She Called a SupervisorHansen said that, in addition to being certified in rendering aid, she works at a busy fire station “with a lot of overdoses” and regularly sees unconscious and “pulse-less” people in her job.Her experience allowed her to realize Floyd was in immediate danger, prompting her to approach Chauvin and Thao to try to insist they check a pulse, she said. In a video played in court Tuesday, Hansen can be heard saying multiple times she is a trained medical professional. Instead, Thao directed her onto the sidewalk with the growing crowd and seemed to scold her for offering her assistance.“That’s not right, that’s exactly what I should have done. There was no medical assistance on the scene,” she said Tuesday, adding she would have provided “medical attention to the best of my abilities.”Feeling “helpless,” Hansen said that she began to get angry at the officers and recorded the scene.Another bystander, 33-year-old MMA fighter Donald Williams, testified Tuesday that he repeatedly told Chauvin he was using a dangerous chokehold. In a video of the incident, Williams can be heard begging Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck—calling him several names that he said he didn’t regret.‘I Witnessed a Murder’: MMA Fighter Who Watched Floyd Die Had to ‘Call the Police on the Police’Darnella, a teenager who shot the viral video of Floyd’s death, testified Tuesday that Floyd “was suffering” and repeatedly saying he could not breathe. As the crowd grew, Chauvin and Thao even reached for their mace, she said.“You guys are on another level!” Hansen yells a video as Chauvin continues to kneel on Floyd’s neck. Prosecutors said Floyd did not have a pulse when he was loaded into the emergency vehicle.Darnella told jurors that paramedics had to motion for Chauvin to get off Floyd when they arrived. The teenager’s 9-year-old-cousin, who also testified on Tuesday, described how Chauvin had to be “pulled” off Floyd.The Hennepin County Medical Examiner concluded Floyd died of cardiac arrest from the restraint and neck compression, also noting that Floyd had heart disease and fentanyl in his system. An independent report commissioned by Floyd’s family, which will not be shown at trial, concluded that he died of strangulation from the pressure to his back and neck. Both reports determined Floyd’s death was a homicide.Getting angry on the stand, Hansen said that, had she been working the day Floyd was arrested, she “would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities...and this human was denied that right."“I should have called 911 immediately,” Hansen said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Don’t worry if you catch coronavirus when fully vaccinated — it can happen. Here’s why

    Experts call these cases “breakthrough infections.”

  • Parents hide 52,000 fentanyl pills inside child’s car seat, Arizona officials say

    Three children under the age of 6 were in the car when the pills were found, officials said.