FBI Issues Formal Alert About Online Dating Extortion Scams After ALG Client Speaks Out

Several months ago I posted about our client's online dating extortion ordeal.  Our client was brave and determined enough to speak out publicly.  Brandi Kruse at KIRO radio profiled his story, and he was one of the first victims to file this type of complaint with the IC3, the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Since then, the IC3 has received a substantial number of similar complaints, so many that the FBI has issued a public alert.  The FBI's investigation and alert are explained here, and the local update from Brandi Kruse is here.

Shortly after our investigation and the original story aired, baitmymate.com went offline.

Ackley Law Group Assists Man Targeted By Online Embarrassment Extortion Scam

If it seems illegal, it probably is.  This is what 29 year old Alan Chalfant of Tacoma suspected and confirmed after he was targeted for embarrassment and extortion by the site baitmymate.com.  Alan was part of an ordinary dating website plentyoffish.com, where he contacted a girl he thought was pretty.   The girl led him to a Facebook chat page and then abruptly ended all contact.  Later, Alan found out the chat and his real name and information were posted by Baitmymate, listing him as a busted cheater.  The problem?  Alan was not in a relationship.

After contacting the site, the "removal department" indicated that someone had paid them to stage the conversation, lure him into a chat room, and post Alan's information.  The problem?  Alan initiated the conversation with the "woman."  The "removal department" emphasizes the embarrassing exposure caused by their posts, dismisses any legal ramifications of their actions, and even goes so far as to offer him a payment plan on the cost to take down the embarrassing post.  Baitmymate has victimized people all over the country in similar fashion, and appears to be doing so with impunity.

Baitmymate.com is registered through Moniker Privacy Services, a domain registration company that refuses, absent legal compulsion, to reveal the true identity of the web domain registrant.  The IP address associated with the site has been linked to Panama, but may originate elsewhere.

Thanks to a story by Brandi Kruse at KIRO 97.3 FM, the Department of Justice is currently investigating scams such as this.

If you are a victim of an internet-based crime, file a complaint with the IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center).

Ackley Law Group and Bierlein Law Office File Lawsuit for Anger Management Class Stabbing

Article here.

The Ultimate Job Security: SPD and Sheriff's Deputies

Everything else being equal, in what other profession are you not fired for yelling racial slurs at people on the job or for repeated, well-documented acts of unnecessary violence?

SPD Refuses to Fire Cop Who Yelled Racial Slurs at Innocent Man

King County Sheriff Admits More Scrutiny Needed in Use of Force Cases

Linda Byron Investigates Red Flags the KC Sheriff's Office Ignored

KC Sheriff, SPD to implement training to reduce physical conflict

Seattle Times article

Some highlights:

"Sanford said officers need to be taught how to slow down situations and reduce the flow of adrenaline. Rahr acknowledged previous training has focused on quick physical compliance without considering less dangerous methods."

"People need to be able to "tell their side of the story," and officers need to explain what they are doing, and even more why they are taking certain steps."

The idea that an arrest or police stop involves two way interaction, and that officers need to observe, not just give orders, is exactly what I was addressing in my older post, "Citizen's Handbook on Police."

The executive director of the police training commission also offers this puzzling explanation:

"Hawe said a key element of the program is to develop interpersonal-communication skills among recruits in an era when texting and social media have hindered verbal abilities."

Is Facebook really the cause of a person's actions in fight or flight situations? Have we evolved that quickly? Such an inane excuse. The former quotations offer a better, more earnest explanation. Prior training failed to emphasize that citizens have a perspective too, and are not programmed to respond in exactly the right way.

$3 Million Settlement for Shooting Unarmed Bystander in the Face

In 2003, Chicago police officer Alvin Weems was late for work. He was not in uniform and did not have his utility bag or belt as he was walking through a Chicago transit station. Nevertheless, he attempted to stop a fight. The incident ended with him shooting an innocent bystander, 23 year old Michael Pleasance, in the face, killing him. Not realizing CTA video caught the shooting, Officer Weems lied in his report about Mr. Pleasance's involvement in the fight.

A $12.5 million dollar verdict was overturned by the Illinois Court of Appeals based on the repeated and supposedly prejudicial use of the term "willful and wanton" to describe the officer's conduct, according to Fox News Chicago. This is puzzling given that excessive force cases typically involve intentional conduct or willful and wanton disregard for safety. In any event, subsequent to the Appeals decision, Chicago has agreed to settle the suit, brought by the victim's family, for $3 million.

The entire incident was caught on video [graphic]:

Who Watches the Watchmen--Seattle Police

The Seattle Times recently reported that, in response to a Public Disclosure Act request, the Seattle Police Department withheld correspondence from Seattle City Councilman Tim Burgess to Chief of Police John Diaz. Mr. Burgess emailed Chief Diaz urging him to allow an outside agency to investigate the John T. Williams slaying. Of course, that never happened. Instead, the internal SPD investigation was peer reviewed.

The Seattle Times now reports that SPD received "high marks" for its internal review of the John T. Williams shooting, from peer reviewer, the San Diego Police Department. Another peer review investigation is still pending.

The review was not all glowing, however. The Times explains, "the four-page review faulted the department for doing too many telephone interviews that produced confusing information, and for initially putting out "factually inaccurate" information about the shooting, forcing a retraction of its statement that Williams advanced on Birk before the shooting."

Factually inaccurate information about whether Williams was a threat to the officer when the officer shot him multiple times? This is the central issue of the entire investigation. The SPD either knowingly misrepresented the facts of the case to the public or failed to investigate evidence in its own possession. If a lawyer did this, he would be punished for ethics violations. When a police department does it, it gets "high marks" on peer review.

Every specialized profession has some kind of internal and/or peer review system, some more effective than others. Only the profession of policing, however, entails the authority to take away life and liberty. Peer review of an internal review is not enough, especially when it looks like this.

Harris v. King County full press conference

The full press conference can be viewed here.

King County Settles Excessive Force Case for $10 Million

Breaking News: King County settles with the family of Christopher Harris for $10 million.

We are about to have a press conference at our office. More to come.

Christopher Harris trial update

Video of testimony.

Komo story.

National.

International.

The Latest.

Teaching Schools Not To Hire Sex Offenders

You remember those ads from the 90s that would say, "It's 1:00 a.m., do you know where your children are?" Change that to 1:00 p.m. because, apparently, twenty years later, schools still haven't figured out how to not hire sex offenders. Yes, schools, the one place away from home where parents feel their kids will be safe, even if not learning anything. This is not an isolated problem. According to an editorial in the Seattle Times, "The number of students who are victims of sexual misconduct by a school employee between their kindergarten and 12th-grade school years is estimated by federal officials as in the millions. Much of the sexual abuse goes unreported."

Per the editorial, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently determined that school districts enable misconduct by not performing criminal background checks, performing inadequate screening, and ignoring red flags (e.g., applicant leaves criminal history question blank... oh well). The GAO attributed these failures to district officials not wanting to spend the time and money to perform extensive background checks on new applicants.

Another potential cause identified is that the offender's prior district is often reluctant to report misconduct out of fear of lawsuits. Some even provide glowing recommendations. If district officials do this out of fear of lawsuits, they need to reeducate themselves.

First, one cannot be liable for defamation for telling the truth about misconduct. Even in the event where a prior employer mistakenly communicates inaccurate details about misconduct, the former employer is typically protected by a qualified privilege due to their common interest, as well as the more general public interest. The end result is that the potential employee has to prove negligence, if not actual malice, on the part of the former employer, in making inaccurate statements. (See caveat below).

Given the small legal risk compared to the immense public interest, one would hope school districts could find the time and money to, at the very least, afford students the opportunity to not be harmed where they are supposed to be learning.

Amendment: Thanks to The Amateur Law Professor Justin Walsh for keeping up with case law and keeping me on my toes. He rightly points out that Bellevue John Does vs. Bellevue School District establishes privacy rights for teachers who are the subject of unsubstantiated or patently false accusations. Information related to such instances must not be disclosed.

I should emphasize that the short paragraph above about defamation is an oversimplification of two hundred years of case law. My point is that defamation or similar torts, such as public disclosure of private facts, are generally not in play when school districts communicate regarding instances of actual misconduct.

When the Criminal Justice System Fails Future Victims

A man has been charged with killing 24 year old Arpana Jinaga on Halloween two years ago. The man, Emanuel Fair, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of third degree child rape of a 15 year old in 2004. His other priors include second-degree robbery, unlawful firearms possession and drug possession. Somebody please explain why this man was out of prison in 2008.

His crime is described by the Seattle Times as follows:

"The defendant opened the locked door to Jinaga's apartment, attacked her, stripped off her clothing, gagged her, assaulted her and finally strangled her to death," Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Baird said in charging paperwork.

Jinaga had been gagged while she was attacked and the killer used motor oil and bleach on her body, charging documents said. Her Halloween costume, a blanket from her bed and a portion of the carpet from her apartment had been burned.

More Police Impersonators

Wood Carver Shooting Update

This is not breaking news, but I feel obligated to clarify my prior post since more information has come out. The autopsy of John T. Williams, the man fatally shot by an SPD officer recently, revealed that the officer shot Mr. Williams in his side, not in the front of his body. This indicates that Mr. Williams was not directly facing the officer at the time of the shooting, and arguably was posing little threat.

As of yesterday, the Firearms Review Board reached a preliminary finding that the shooting was not justified, the Seattle Times reports.

Police Training and Accountability Follow Up

Just this morning the Seattle Times posted an article about the questions surrounding police tactics and training after the death of John T. Williams. The article emphasizes the numerous alternatives to shooting a man holding a legal knife and questions the adequacy of training of police officers to use alternate methods.

Citizens' Handbook on Police?

Police officers are trained for dozens of hours over several months in how to deal with citizens in various situations. If the news is any indication, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to know how to deal with them. Perhaps we should all have a handbook.

I first thought of this topic when I saw another physical assault by a police impersonator in Spokane. Anybody who knows how to use Amazon.com probably understands how easy it is to get your hands on authentic-looking police attire--the picture to the right is for a uniform sold on the site. Consequently, police impersonation is not an uncommon crime. In fact, the danger posed by police impersonators is so serious that the Oregon government thought it prudent to advise citizens on how to spot and avoid becoming a victim of police impersonators. The advice in some cases is uncooperative enough to have been unfathomable several years ago. For example, Oregon tells you to try to stop in a well-lit area with people around, lock your door, and keep your car and flashers on. One would hope that Oregon officers are also trained to understand such actions as safety measures rather than defiance and "contempt of cop."

In addition, Washington has had more than it's fair share of repercussions for non-defiant suspects recently. The infamous stomping-epithet incident comes to mind. More recently, a Seattle police officer shot a man to death when he did not comply precisely and immediately with the officer's orders. John T. Williams, a Native American man, was a wood carver. The officer told Mr. Williams to stop after spotting him with a wood carving knife in one hand and a piece of wood in the other. He was partially deaf and did not hear the officer at first. When Mr. Williams finally turned to face the officer, the officer unloaded four shots, killing him. It is still unclear whether or how Mr. Williams' turning to face the officer was an act of aggression. Two articles are here and here.

Justice Department Sues Sheriff Over Disciminatory Practices

CNN reports that the Justice Department has sued an Arizona sheriff after the sheriff refused to hand over documents related to the office's policies and procedures on immigration. The Justice Department is investigating whether policies such as "immigration sweeps" are discriminatory under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is the third lawsuit in a month filed by the Justice Department against Arizona officials related to Arizona's controversial immigration law, which allows officers to demand verification of immigration status.

Bedridden and Dependant After Deputy Tackle

This article was published recently in the Seattle Times. It details the life of Christopher Harris, represented by Osborn Machler, PLLC, after he was tackled by a King County Sheriff's Deputy in May of 2009.

Here is a KOMO 4 news video.