Canton Ohio PD / CCW Issue

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Has this guy been watching too many Taratino movies? What is up with his dialouge? He sounds like a bad R-rated version of TJ Hooker or something.

Kind of blame the department. Either he should have never been hired, or someone should have pulled him off line and gotten him some help before now.

[Mauser KAR98K]

Just plain bad professionalism. You just can't treat the public this way all the time. (Second vid, maybe in that case given that the circumstances are not know, but damn, don't go threatening to kill people).

[4x4twenty6]

Bad People slip through the hiring process fairly often, some of them become corrupt after already being on the job. But, I dont think it is fair to label them as becoming corrupt from their job title/ position.
They had it in them already, just had not yet come to a head.

We had a few slip through in my academy a few years back, one guy was in a relationship w/ a 12 year old till she was 15. parents new about it the whole time. parents was class a trailer trash. needless to say he is serving time.

Another arrested for rape and sexual assault but he got kicked out of the academy prior to it.

Another for dope after being w/ the dept for a few years.

Just a few examples, unfortunately there are very many more.

Maybe it is becasue of the low wages that better quality people cant be hired. With higher wages you can demand higher standards for education and fitness maybe. When your hiring pool is a cesspool you know what you are going to get.

Us folks that do it for the right reasons get lumped into the same category as the bad ones more often than not.

[Trajan]

CANTON —A city police officer at the center of a controversial traffic stop involving a man with a permit to carry a concealed handgun has been fired.

Bill Adams, president of the Canton Police Patrolmen’s Association, the union that represents Patrolman Daniel Harless, confirmed that city Safety Director Thomas Ream ruled that Harless is no longer a member of the city’s police force.

Ream issued a three-page ruling dated Tuesday.

“It is quite clear that (Harless’) actions represented a pattern of behavior where inappropriate verbal abuse and threats of death or great bodily harm of the various complainants occurred,” Ream wrote.

“This escalating pattern of potentially dangerous behavior cannot be justified or excused and clearly illustrates the seriousness of the departmental infractions.”

Harless plans to appeal the decision, Adams said.

Harless was accused of violating police department rules during the June 8 traffic stop during which police cruiser video shows Harless berating and threatening a man pulled over around 1:30 a.m. on Newton Avenue NW.

Harless unleashed a flurry of profanities at the driver, shouting he should have gunned down the driver, William E. Barlett, for being stupid.

The cruiser video went viral after it captured the attention of Ohioans for Concealed Carry, which posted the video online.

The police department’s internal affairs division launched an investigation, examining Harless’ behavior during the June 8th arrest and two unrelated traffic stops, each captured on a police cruiser dash camera.

In the June 8 stop, he was accused of violating the department’s rules and regulations for cooperation with the public, deportment and treatment of persons in custody. For that, he faced being suspended or fired.

Harless was placed on medical leave and other officers donated their sick days to him when his paid sick-leave time ran out.

The union had asked for an extension for the disciplinary hearing due to Harless being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate set of circumstances that transpired,” Adams said. “We feel that due to the fact that (Harless) has PTSD, that nobody realized it for eight-plus years, for it to come to light the way it did ... this is not a way we wanted this to play out. PTSD is obviously a disease.”

Adams said that the incident that sparked the disease occurred in 2003 when a suspect nearly bit off Harless’ finger while trying to get the officer’s gun.

“Here’s a guy who was in a life-and-death situation,” Adams said, adding that since the June 8 incident came to light, Harless has been diagnosed several times with PTSD.

“Most people that have a bad day on their job can go home, put their legs up and relax,” Adams said. “We can go home from our jobs in a body bag or with a serious physical injury from the hospital.”

He noted the recent incident in which Officer Tim Marks was brutally attacked by a suspect.

“It affects people in different ways. Unfortunately, (Harless) had PTSD, and it wasn’t realized for eight years. Unfortunately, he was fired, and we will address that situation at a later time.”

An arbitrator would make a final decision in an appeal, Adams said.

http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x63833...n-police-force

[SOWT]

http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x63833...n-police-force

PTSD seems to be the common excuse these days.
They could make him a dispatcher (no weapon) if he truly suffers from PTSD. he should not be using a weapon, as he seems to be violent. He also gives other PTSD sufferers a bad name, as most of them are not violent.

[Irish]

Looks like Daniel Harless may be getting his job back. http://m.cantonrep.com/repository/db...l=true#display

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Looks like Daniel Harless may be getting his job back. http://m.cantonrep.com/repository/db...l=true#display

“What needs to be understood is (there’s) no rule that says an officer (cannot) or should not make threats,” he said. “It’s not nice for a police officer to threaten to shoot somebody, (but) sometimes it’s ultimately the only thing that prevents you from doing it.”

-Michael Piotrowski, an attorney with the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, has represented Harless in the case.

Without comment.

[Irish]

Without comment.

I'm disgusted.

Color of Law violations would be appropriate at a minimum: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investig...deral-statutes and http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investig...s/color_of_law