tales from the police nutters
City police officer sentenced for alcohol chargeA Bay City police officer pleaded no contest Friday to a charge of impaired driving.
Brian K. Ritchey, 31, of Midland, was sentenced by Bay County District Judge Craig D. Alston to one day in jail, time already served; $500 in fines and court costs; and four months probation.
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Ritchey’s lawyer, William A. Brisbois of Saginaw, asked for a lenient sentence for Ritchey, stating that his client had already faced sanctions at work and public scrutiny because of his position as a city police officer.“I think this is an absolutely isolated incident,” Brisbois said.
Bay City Deputy Police Chief Gary A. Hect declined to say what penalties Ritchey faced at work. Officials within the department conducted an investigation and “took appropriate action,” Hect said.
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“I respect his work ethic. I respect him as on officer,” Hect said. “I can’t say that about everyone.”
Loudon officer released from hospital after accidental shootingLoudon County Sheriff’s Capt. Tony Arden was released from UT Medical Center Friday, one day after he accidentally shot himself while cleaning his rifle in his office. [ accidental shooting ]
The bullet from the .223 caliber rifle lodged in his chest, just below the breast area without hitting any vital organs.
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And Jim Palmar says, “It’s hard to understand how someone with 10 years experience could shoot himself. It doesn’t make any sense.”Sheriff’s officers say Arden has been through extensive training and is a graduate of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy. He has to go through in-service training every year.
TBI has ruled the shooting an accident. Arden is expected to return to work, once he starts feeling better.
Doctors say they don’t plan to remove the bullet from Arden’s chest.
Chesapeake detective sentenced for DUI still on forceA Chesapeake police detective pleaded guilty earlier this year in Virginia Beach to driving under the influence of alcohol on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
He remains on the force as a homicide detective.
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His driver’s license also was suspended for a year, but he is allowed to drive to and from work, during work, to the alcohol program, medical appointments, child care and related visits.Chesapeake police officials refused to comment on whether Downing was placed on leave after his arrest.
Capt. Robert Downing, who commands the department’s criminal investigations section, said, through a spokesman, that the detective’s status after his arrest was a personnel matter. The captain and the detective are brothers.
Officer fired in death of fellow patrolman
READING – A police officer who shot a fellow patrolman to death last spring in a case of mistaken identity has been fired.
Reading Mayor Tom McMahon said he dismissed Patrolman James M. Palange for negligence in the June 4 death of Officer Michael H. Wise II.
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Police said the accidental shooting happened during the confusion of a gunfight between three plainclothes officers and a Reading man, Andrew L. Smith.Investigators said Palange arrived at the gun battle while it was in progress, saw the three men in street clothes firing at Smith, and assumed they were civilians.
He fired four shots at the group, hitting and killing Wise, according to police.
Prosecutors charged Smith with first-degree murder, saying he initiated the gun battle and bore the prime responsibility for Wise’s death.
He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
Palange had been suspended since early March. His firing was effective last Thursday.
don’t fuck with the PO-lice, yo!