Connecticut Police Officers Accused of Mistreating Latinos
F.B.I. agents arrested a sergeant and three police officers from East Haven, Conn., on Tuesday after they were indicted on conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges for singling out and mistreating Latino residents.
The four were accused of conducting unreasonable searches and seizures and of using unreasonable force, including hitting suspects in the head while the suspects were in custody. The indictment said two officers had “regularly conducted traffic stops of Latino customers” going in or out of Latino-owned businesses and had arrested or detained the people they stopped.
The indictment, unsealed in federal court in Bridgeport, Conn., also said the officers had filed false and misleading reports to cover their actions.
The four were also accused of trying to prevent civilians from videotaping the police on duty. The indictment said the officers had maintained that the videotaping was “interfering with police operations,” while the officers actually wanted “to prevent these civilians from capturing their and other officers’ misconduct on videotape.”
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/nyregion/connecticut-police-officers-accused-of-mistreating-latinos.html