Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: OCTOBER 2016 13 I n Cleveland, a man charged with a felony for making a parody version of the Parma Police Department Face- book page was found not guilty – quickly. Anthony Novak, who faced felony charges, walked out of court a free man after just one day of testimony. “Today I feel totally re- lieved,” Novak told report- ers with Cleveland.com. “I didn’t realize how much stress this was creating in my life until it was over. I was pretty much nervous for five months.” The jury unanimously found that Novak didn’t violate the state’s disrupting public services law. Prosecutors argued that the fake Facebook page was a threat to public safety because people who saw the page became confused and tied up 9-1-1 dispatchers with calls. Now Novak’s suing the Police Department and Cuyahoga County Prosecu- tor’s Office. “I absolutely want them to pay for this,” Novak said. “The whole ordeal was ab- solutely ridiculous. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with something like this.” At the trial, dispatchers tes- tified that the Department’s call center received 10 calls about the Facebook page in a 12-hour period between the page going up and being taken down. In the “about” section, of the fake page, Novak re- placed the slogan, “We know crime” with, “We no crime.” He copied a job posting on the page and rewrote a sec- tion to say, “minorities are strongly encouraged not to apply.” A few days after he created the page, local police arrest- ed Novak at a corner store in Parma. He was charged with disrupting public service, a fourth-degree felony. He spent three days in county jail and police seized his electronic devices, including a laptop and two video game consoles belonging to both him and his roommate. But the case was weak. Defense Attorney Gary Vick said there was a prob- lem with the county’s line of reasoning with respect to the department’s asser- tion that the post distracted emergency resources. “They claimed that those calls disrupted their dispatch function even though the function of dispatch is to take calls and deal with the public,” Vick said. Dept. loses in court over fake Facebook page Prosecutors’ argument that the page imperiled 911 dispatchers was rejected by the jury in a heartbeat Facebook is like jail. You sit around and waste time, write on walls, and get poked by people you don’t know. – Author unknown; but damn, he or she is good. Badges Insignia Medals Awards Collar Insignia Nameplates Challenge Coins Pins Accessories Contact@SmithWarren.com Ph: 914.948.4619 Fax: 914.948.1627 Design your badge online /smithandwarren @SmithnWarren www.SmithWarren.com BOOTH 5514