Anybody know more about this??

[BigDawg]

Just got this in E-mail. I never heard about this case. Anybody from Virginia know what happened here???? I shortened it up a bit, but a good read.



MD. POLICE OFFICER STEPHANIE MOHR

Meet Stephanie Mohr, dangerous and hardened criminal, now serving a
ten year prison sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West
Virginia, thanks to tenacious federal prosecutors and tough judge.
Stephanie's crime? Her dog bit a man in the leg.
This was not just any dog. Valk, a German Shepherd, worked for
the Prince George's County Police Department, Maryland. Police
Officer Stephanie Mohr was his K-9 partner.
The victim? Ricardo Mendez, an illegal alien from El Salvador,
complete with criminal record, was found with an accomplice by police
at 1 a.m. atop the roof of a commercial building in the suburb of
Takoma Park, Maryland.
Prosecutors were able to convince a jury, that the dog bite
wasn't necessary, thus violating Ricardo's civil rights. And for
that, Stephanie Mohr, age 35, ...is spending ten years in the prime of her life in a prison
cell.
There's more to this incredible story.
* Stephanie Mohr wasn't charged with a crime until five years
later, one day before the statute of limitations
expired.
* Neither of the two illegals, including the man that was
bitten, ever filed a complaint.
* The case took two trials. In the first, eleven jurors voted
for acquittal, with one hold-
out. But the government went after her again, this time gaining a
conviction.
* The main prosecution witness faced criminal charges and
testified in exchange for a deal
It happened on September 21, 1995. Stephanie had been a cop for
two years. Her short career — serving and protecting the citizens of
Prince George's County, Maryland, — had already been dotted with
deeds resulting in 25 letters of commendation and two awards. In one
act of heroism, a group of juvenile drug dealers ambushed Stephanie
and fired 40 shots in an assassination attempt. She survived,
unharmed. (The shooters were charged with attempted murder on a
police officer, and received eight years in jail. They were out in
18 months)
Inexperienced as a K-9 handler, Stephanie was riding with a
senior officer, Anthony Delozier, when they received a back-up call
to the Takoma Park Police Department. Takoma Park cops were on a
stake-out after a rash of roof top burglaries in the area. It paid
off. Two suspects were found atop a commercial building. K-9 was
called to assist, along with the helicopter unit.
Prosecutors would later say these were just two homeless men
looking for a place to eat and sleep. Well, of course. Illegal
aliens often enjoy dining and sleeping on commercial rooftops. The
pattern of rooftop burglaries in the area and their extensive records
as criminals was apparently irrelevant.
When they arrived on the scene, with the police helicopter
hovering, Officer Delozier conferred with the Takoma Park Sergeant,
Dennis Bonn, in the staging area to determine the nature of the
call. In cop lingo, he asked, "Is it a bite case?" Translated, he
was asking if this was a felony which, if necessary, would justify an
apprehension by dog — instead of gun. The two
suspects came down the building on the back side, next to an alley.
Stephanie, Delozier, Bonn and one other cop waited with guns drawn.
They ordered the suspects to freeze, hands up. One suspect appeared
jittery, barely raised his hands to waist level while jabbering in
Spanish to his cohort. According to Stephanie, Delozier, and the
other officer, Mendez made a move like he might break for it.
Stephanie released the dog who then bit the man on the leg.
Both suspects were sent to jail, and were later deported from
the U.S. Case closed?
In the ensuing five years, and for a decade prior, a number of
questionable incidents occurred within the Prince George's County and
Takoma Park police departments alleging rampant abuse by police
officers toward minorities. Law suits had been filed against several
cops, including those in K-9. Media ran several stories. One of the
cops under scrutiny for brutality and facing a number of civil rights
charges, was Sergeant Dennis Bonn, the same Takoma Park supervisor
who was on the scene of the 1995 apprehension by Stephanie's dog.
The prosecutors also managed to get support from Takoma Park
cop, Keith Largent who opined that the dog bite was not really
necessary. Sergeant Bonn contradicted Delozier's testimony saying
the question was asked, "Can the dog have a bite?" long after the
suspects came off the building and were in custody.
Armed with Bonn's testimony, federal prosecutors charged
Stephanie Mohr and Anthony Delozier with conspiracy and violating the
civil rights of the illegal alien under color of law.
Imagine that, a foreigner with a criminal record breaks the law
to enter this country, and he's automatically awarded civil rights.
And it's the cop who goes to jail.
Also charged, was Takoma Park Officer, Brian Rich, who the
government said filed false charges against the men. After a hung
jury, the judge dismissed all charges. Rich later became an FBI
agent.
Mohr and Delozier were nearly acquitted in the first trial, but
for one hold-out on the jury. Normally, a prosecution office will
not go through the expense and time to retry a case under such
circumstances. Nor would they defy the spirit of double jeopardy
protections. But, this "crime" was so detestable, determined
prosecutors went after the two of them again, this time with a new
approach. After trial number one, they had the advantage of knowing
the defense strategy. Weak government witnesses were not called for
trial number two, including the lead FBI agent in charge, Marc
Savine. For trial number two, prosecutors unearthed a couple of new
witnesses — unrelated to the Mendez bite — who would testify that
Stephanie Mohr was prejudiced toward minorities, as evidenced by
other incidents, post 1995, when her dog apprehended and/or bit
minority suspects. They excavated the original illegal alien from a
jail cell in El Salvador to come and testify against her. The other
illegal alien was brought back from a prison in Texas.
Delozier was acquitted of conspiracy in the second trial. He's
back on the police beat, now a lieutenant. One can only imagine his
attitude toward the law.
In August of 2002, Officer Stephanie Mohr was hauled away in
handcuffs, her life a shambles. The judge sentenced her to ten
years. The government reveled in victory, claiming justice had
prevailed. Or did it?
The loser was not just Stephanie Mohr. In a time when our
society laments over too many one-parent homes, her son, Adam, age 4,
will have to spend his formative years growing up without a mom in
the home.......

.......Under the proverbial microscope, police officers today are no
longer proactive enforcers of the law, but mere reporting agents who
are afraid to make one wrong move for fear of Monday morning
quarterbacks demanding "justice". Stephanie Mohr serves as an
example why cops don't dare do police work any more, lest they end up
in prison instead of the criminals.

...... Perhaps Stephanie Mohr had been over zealous in her
approach toward police work. Perhaps she should have shown more
restraint. Maybe the release of the dog wasn't absolutely
necessary. I've often heard those grey areas argued by sofa-sitting
second-guessers over my career, but none of them can know what it
feels like in that moment requiring a split second decision. Even if
Stephanie Mohr was completely guilty, she deserved nothing more than
a reprimand, a suspension or perhaps, a transfer to another unit.
For certain, she deserves to be home with her son, and on the job
working with prosecutors, not dodging them. She does not belong in
prison.
Stephanie's lawyers are working on an appeal, saying she had
ineffective counsel and other legal issues. But we all know how
painfully slow that process goes. It may be another three or four
years before those legal issues are resolved. Meanwhile, she wallows
as federal inmate number 36547-037, criminal.
........ Police officers are the first line of defense in a nation
riddled with crime and the fear of terror, yet they stand as prime
targets for government officials who occasionally need to grease the
squeaky wheel. Cops must stand up and be counted, and let the nation
know they are just as entitled to protections from injustice as any
American.
The four drug-dealing juveniles who fired forty shots in an
attempt to kill Officer Stephanie Mohr, served 18 months in jail.
Compare that to Stephanie Mohr's sentence.
Willie McJones is a career criminal who has spent his life in
and out of prison, preying upon the innocent, stealing, robbing and
breaking into houses. He has proven to be a dangerous man. He was
arrested for killing a cohort during a drug deal. McJones served
five years of a seven year manslaughter sentence. Compare that to
Stephanie Mohr's sentence.
............It actually
frightens me to write this article and see it published. Maybe
they'll come after me next. How sad, we must fear our own
government, while we commit 150,000 troops to free the people of
another country 10,000 miles away.
Police officers are our first line of protection. A bad cop
here and there must surely be dismissed and even prosecuted.
But...for a dog bite? On an illegal alien dope-dealing thief? Ten
years of a human being's life, wasted?
This is abominable.

JUDGE DEBORAH CHASANOV SENTENCED HER TO 10 YEARS FOR A DOGBITE

SAME JUDGE SENTENCED JOVADA WELCH TO ONLY 5 YEARS FOR KILLING ON DUTY
PARK POLICE OFFICER IN A DUI
WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?

[Piggybank Cop]

More information:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/mohr.asp

[JLK]

i'm still baffled by the fact that illegal aliens can have civil rights. i thought that civil rights were for citizens. stinking liberals screwing up the country. snopes has a statement the says the dogs are for protection of the officers and others. if that is the case one would think that dogs can be used only when deadly force is authorized. if deadly force is authorized then a gun would be a better choice. our dogs fall into 3 types bomb, drugs, and criminal apprehension. this also goes to show that officers lives are valued less.

[BigDawg]

JLK I agree, I dont understand how an Illegal alien can have any civil rights in this country. Not that I'm advocating that they can be beat and such, but how can they file lawsuits or anything else. They dont have the damn right to be here to begin with!

[FLA DEPUTY]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/mohr.asp

[countybear]

Wow... just... wow.

[Willowdared]

I'd be interested in what K9 officer's have to say, but I'd say some of this would not fly with our guys.

The canine attack on Mendez was not the only instance involving charges of Officer Mohr's unlawfully turning her dog on suspects. She has had four civil lawsuits brought against her by others similarly treated. Three of those lawsuits were settled out of court (with county attorneys agreeing to pay settlements to the injured), and one went to trial, with Mohr being found not liable.

According to the suits filed by each of those men:
On 2 August 1998, 24-year-old Jason Tyree was leaving a building after visiting a friend when he heard barking dogs and a police order to come out with his hands up. Tyree initially complied, but he ran back inside when Mohr released her unleashed police dog. He then surrendered and followed orders to lie face-down on the floor. The dog bit Tyree on his legs and arms, causing nerve damage, a lengthy hospitalization and two surgeries.

On 3 August 1997, 16-year-old Kheenan Sneed was sleeping in a neighbor's hammock when he was bitten on the leg by Mohr's dog and beaten by Mohr and another officer. The officers told Sneed's mother they were looking for a suspect who had tried to break into a nearby store. No charges were filed against Sneed.

On 26 August 1996, Bryan Diggs ran from police after they approached him concerning a possible stolen car. An officer fired three shots at him, striking him in the thigh. Diggs crawled into a wooded area and called out that he had been shot. Mohr arrived on the scene 15 minutes later, whereupon she ordered her dog to attack Diggs. He was bitten repeatedly on his left arm. He later was convicted of unauthorized use of a vehicle but was acquitted of charges of resisting arrest and assault on a police officer.

On 24 April 1997, 16-year-old David Jones stole a car, then led police on a high-speed chase. After Jones' car ran out of gas, two officers broke the driver's side window, hit Jones in the head with their batons, pepper-sprayed him, and yanked him out of the car. Once Jones was outside the car, the officers reportedly continued to beat him, tried to blast pepper spray into his mouth, and handcuffed the teenager face-down on the street. Mohr arrived and allegedly let loose her dog, which bit Jones once in the upper left arm. Jones said that Mohr told him, "You must want to die" before setting her dog on him.

At her first trial, Mohr was acquitted of conspiracy charges laid against her, but the jury deadlocked on a deprivation of rights charge. At her second trial, evidence of similar acts she committed while handling a dog was admitted, and she was convicted on the latter charge.

[10-42Adam]

I'm speechless. Some things in this Country just don't make sense, and this sure is one of them...

[Jenna]

It sounds like she might have handled the dog inappropriately, but I can't believe they sentenced her to 10 years in prison over a dog bite that didn't even kill or disable anyone. At most she should have been fired, but I don't think she should have served any prison time, much less 10 years.

[rob84]

Perhaps the judge sould have been bitten

[Piggybank Cop]

It sounds like she might have handled the dog inappropriately, but I can't believe they sentenced her to 10 years in prison over a dog bite that didn't even kill or disable anyone. Maybe she should have been fired, but I don't think she should have served any prison time, much less 10 years.

Watch it Jenna; you keep thinking like that and you could slip over to the dark (conservative) side.

[BigDawg]

Lets say the it was a bad bite (I don't know I wasn't there). 10 years in Prison is morally, ethically, and just all around wrong. To me this is just another example of where the illegals in this country seem to have more rights then the citizens do, or at least the police.

Wonder if the same judge would give the same sentence to a regular citizen whose dog wandered out of their yard and bit an illegal?