Update on HB's effort to honor mendacious former Police Chief Magill. Watch and learn: this is how they do things at Hallandale Beach City Hall

Update on HB's effort to honor mendacious former Hallandale Beach Police Chief Thomas A. Magill. Watch and learn: this is how they do things at Hallandale Beach City Hall

A week later, it's time to observe what happens when you get too close for comfort for the folks at Hallandale Beach City Hall.

If you need a quick review of this issue, please see my blog post of last Tuesday, September 6th, appropriately titled, City of Hallandale Beach set to name street after ex-Police Chief who lied & wasted city resources to frame 2 HB officers; cost city $ & integrity
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/city-of-hallandale-beach-set-to-name.html

The email I wrote and the ensuing response speak for themselves I think.
But perhaps you disagree.
C'est la vie!

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September 7th, 2011

Dear City Manager Antonio:

I don't know whether I'll be able to attend tonight's HB City Commission meeting, so I'm sending this email now so that my longstanding concerns -shared by MANY other HB citizens- re agenda item J can be received and addressed whether I make it to the meeting or not.

J. A Resolution of the City of Hallandale Beach, Authorizing the City Manager to Amend the Street Name for SE 3rd Street to Chief Tom Magill Way/SE 3rd Street and Implement Beautification Enhancements Along this Corridor. (Staff: Director of Public Works, Utilities and Engineering) (See Backup) CAD#014/11 (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

I believe it would be financially prudent and in everyone's best interests if your staff publicly mentioned the following information when explaining this specific agenda item and how it came up, BEFORE turning things over to the City Commission to discuss and vote, since to the best of my knowledge, that specific information has never been publicly mentioned at any Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting, and runs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The citizen taxpayers of this community are more than entitled to finally know the "true costs" associated with having Thomas A. Magill as HB Police Chief, and then retaining him even after discovering that he had personally engaged in highly unethical and, as seems clear, criminal conduct.

1.) The total amount of money damages paid (to be paid) in settlements costs from the city and/or its insurance company to Talous Cirilo and Mary Hagopian.

2.) The total amount of money the city and/or its insurance company paid (will pay) for attorneys fees for Cirilo and Hagopian.

3.) The total amount of money the city paid (will pay) their own Independent Counsel for all phases of this litigation.

4.) The total amount of additional costs (non-attorney) incurred by the city for personnel and resources for all phases of this litigation.

5.) The total amount in increased insurance premium fees per year paid by the city as result of all phases of this litigation.

By "all phases of this litigation," I refer to a.) the city's unsuccessful efforts to have Cirilo and Hagopian prosecuted for something they didn't do, b.) Cirilo and Hagopian's successful suits against the city, and c.) the city's efforts to defend itself against Mary Hagopian's charges that they are in material breach of the previously signed settlement.

Additionally, despite my having previously mentioned it to you by email and to the IT Dept. head, the city's message board continues to erroneously advertise the second City Commission meeting of the month at 7 p.m., despite the change to 6 p.m. a number of months ago.

There's no need to respond to this in writing, I'll look for you or your staff's reply at the meeting, either in-person or via computer if I can't make it.


City Manager Antonio's response came on September 8, 2011 at 9:16 a.m.

Sorry I could not reply sooner. As you know our meeting started at 1pm and did not end until midnight. As you were not able to attend the meeting and speak on this issue during public input the CC did approve the item unanimously.

For you future edification, the only time an email or document can or would be read into the record by the city clerk is on matters involving Quasi-judicial hearings. Therefore in the future I would not recommend sending me or my staff such a request (unless a Quasi-judicial), but instead contact your City Commission directly and voice your opinion for consideration in their decision. Of course you can always attend a meeting and speak to the matter directly.

On the concern related to the meeting times. I do not recall the email you previously sent but I thank you for the correction and this will be fixed immediately.

Well, as I believe you can see for yourself, they're NOT too interested in publicly sharing that financial information that they've kept hidden from Hallandale Beach's citizen taxpayers all these years.

But I thought that... oh, you remember that, too?
Yes, three years and seven months ago in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, an article about this attempt by Magill to frame and prosecute two citizens -HB police officers no less- written by John Holland that I posted here last week again -at the URL above- contained this delicious quote: "I'd love to talk about this and tell people what happened, but unfortunately I can't," Cooper said.

I guess she still can't, huh?
It's still TOP SECRET, not to be disclosed to Hallandale Beach taxpayers.

Along with a long-overdue explanation for why there was never ANY public discussion at meetings of the elected City Commission that Mayor Joy Cooper controlled as the Chair, about Magill's descent into unacceptable unethical behavior, why it was condoned and never punished thru his swift dismissal, the lack of any punishment against members of the Civil Service Advisory Board who acted contrary to Florida law and common sense and who attempted to accomodate the cover-up.

Yes, yet another embarrassing example of former City Attorney David Jove's uselessness.
He sat like a bump on a log the whole time.

City of Hallandale Beach set to name street after ex-Police Chief who lied & wasted city resources in attempt to frame 2 HBPD officers; cost city $$$ & integrity

Wednesday, Hallandale Beach set to name street after ex-Police Chief Magill, who lied & wasted city resources in attempt to frame 2 HBPD officers; cost city $$$ & integrity

On Wednesday night at 7 p.m., the Hallandale Beach City Commission is set to begin the process to name a HB street after ex-Police Chief Thomas A. Magill, who passed away last year, but not before intentionally lying and wasting city funds and resources in order to try to frame two innocent Hallandale Beach police officers, costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlement costs and attorney fees, plus some of its remaining small shred of integrity.

J. A Resolution of the City of Hallandale Beach, Authorizing the City Manager to Amend the Street Name for SE 3rd Street to Chief Tom Magill Way/SE 3rd Street and Implement Beautification Enhancements Along this Corridor. (Staff: Director of Public Works, Utilities and Engineering) (See Backup) CAD#014/11 (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

And when have you ever heard Mayor Joy Cooper publicly speak about this scandal?

Never.

Never, as in NOT once.

Cooper, as presiding officer at Commission meetings, has never allowed the subject of why it happened in the first place to be discussed publicly in the Commission Chambers.

Equally appalling, Cooper has never allowed the subject of why Magill was allowed to remain as the city's police chief to be spoken of, after the scandal became publicly known, and hundreds of thousands of settlement money was paid after two separate Broward juries rejected the city's feeble defense of criminal behavior by their police chief, ruling in favor of the innocent officers less than a half-hour into the trial.

And even then, the city, thru mendacious Magill, seems not to have honored its full obligations to at least one of the two officers it threw under the bus, as even local media has mentioned.

There are plenty of past blog posts here on this subject, just look for Magill, but for those of you who want the short-hand version of what happened here, the following Sun-Sentinel articles are the ones that first brought it to the attention of the taxpayers of this city in a way that left no room for misunderstanding.

No, it's crystal clear.

And yet they want to honor this man whose utter mendacity allowed him him to have full-rein to try to railroad two innocent Americans, have them prosecuted and imprisoned for something they DIDN'T DO, like this part of Broward County was some sort of Third World Banana Republic?

Yes.

Yes, that's exactly what Joy Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew intend on doing.

Does that qualify as news?

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Two Hallandale Officers Fired Over Taser Use

December 3, 2005

By Chris Young Staff Writer and News researchers Barbara Hijek and Bill Lucey contributed to this story.

HALLANDALE BEACH — Two city police officers were fired Friday after being accused of choking and using a Taser on a man in a holding cell more than 10 times in less than five minutes.

The Broward County State Attorney's Office charged Officer Talous Cirilo with three counts of misdemeanor battery, and Officer Mary Hagopian with one count of misdemeanor battery. Hagopian was a 15-year veteran, and Cirilo was employed for three or four years, said Police Chief Tom Magill. Their arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 21.

"I can't have that in this organization," said City Manager Mike Good, who authorized the firings. "I won't tolerate it."

Their lawyer on Friday said the decision to fire Cirilo and Hagopian was "bogus."

"No way did the city do a thorough investigation," said Barbara Duffy, general council for the Broward County Police Benevolent Association who represented Cirilo and Hagopian. "I'm not aware of any other state attorneys' offices that charge cops for doing their jobs."

The officers have 15 days to challenge the firings.

The dismissals come at a time when police use of Tasers faces mounting criticism. Critics contend that the stun guns are sometimes misused and that the unregulated weapons may be unsafe. The manufacturer, Taser International of Scottsdale, Ariz., contends the devices are safe.

On the morning of April 1, police noticed two men fighting in the back seat of a car on Federal Highway and pulled over the driver, officials said. Cirilo arrested Michael Brack, 23, for domestic violence for the alleged fight with his brother. Brack struggled with officers at the scene, and at some point Cirilo shoved a Taser against Brack's body three times and activated the electricity, police said.

After Brack was arrested and placed in a holding cell, Cirilo choked the handcuffed man, Good said. That incident was recorded by video camera. After being fingerprinted, Brack was led out of sight of the camera, then choked unconscious by Cirilo, Good said.

When Brack woke up, he kicked his cell, prompting Cirilo and Hagopian to shock him with a Taser more than 10 times in four minutes, 22 seconds, officials said. Two Community Service Aides saw the incidents, they said.

Hagopian, who as an acting sergeant was a supervisor at the time, used her body to shield the service aides from entering the room as Cirilo choked Brack, according to a police statement. One of the aides said he saw Hagopian with a Taser in each hand, shocking Brack multiple times.

In June, Internal Affairs presented its case to the state attorney's office, Magill said. The state charged Cirilo and Hagopian in October. On Nov. 16, Magill told the city manager he should fire the two officers.

"We can't accept that behavior," Magill said Friday. "I'm extremely disappointed. We hired them, trained them, did the best we could."

City officials held a meeting on Monday to allow the officers to defend themselves, but only their lawyer, Duffy, showed up.

City Manager Good fired the officers Friday.

Neither officer has a criminal record in Florida. Neither did Brack, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The domestic violence charge was dropped.

Magill said it took eight months to discipline the officers because the state attorney working the case was promoted and the case was given to someone else; the Tasered man, Brack, left South Florida; and Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma took up city police resources.

Every Hallandale officer who carries a Taser goes through a four-hour training session by in-house instructors, said Assistant Police Chief James Kirchoff. About 70 patrol officers carry the devices.

More than 7,000 law enforcement agencies, including the majority of the police agencies in South Florida, use the devices. Critics point out that more than 100 people nationwide have died shortly after being shocked by a Taser.

In Florida, at least 24 people have died since 2001 after being zapped, more than in any other state. Medical examiners attributed most of those deaths to other causes, such as the presence of drugs, including cocaine.

Kirchoff said that the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Police Executive Research Forum recently put out new Taser guidelines, which the city follows.

After the April incident the department put out a memo telling officers not to "dry tase" a person as Cirilo did when Brack was arrested, Magill said. During a dry tase the electrified darts are not fired; the Taser is pressed against a person's body and activated.

News researchers Barbara Hijek and Bill Lucey contributed to this story.

A week later, before the trial, the Sun-Sentinel trumpeted the following in their editorial, as once again, their Editorial Board spoke about something they didn't know about!

South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial

4. Stun Guns

ISSUE: Two police officers are fired amid accusations of Taser abuse

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good has provided an object lesson for other agencies on how to handle the controversy over the use of Taser stun guns by police officers. He fired two cops accused of repeatedly using Tasers on a man who was already under arrest, handcuffed and in a holding cell.

That's an apparent misuse of stun guns, which should be employed only when there is no safer way to subdue a suspect. In this case, though, one of the officers is also accused of choking the suspect into unconsciousness, a sign that this may have been a simple case of police brutality in which the Taser was merely one of the tools of abuse.

Both officers have been charged with misdemeanor battery by the Broward County State Attorney's Office. That prompted their attorney to complain, incredibly, that a thorough investigation had not been done and that she's "not aware of any other state attorneys' offices that charge cops for doing their job."

Maybe she should open her eyes and look around. Police who abuse their authority get charged with crimes quite often. Is brutalizing prisoners her idea of police just doing their job?

Officials say these cops were trained in the use of Tasers, which, when used properly, are a valuable alternative to lethal police service weapons. They should have known they'd be crossing a line if they used Tasers on a confined and handcuffed prisoner.

The officers will have a chance to challenge their dismissals. Whatever the outcome, Good has set a standard that other South Florida agencies should adopt, if they haven't already. Tasers should be used sparingly and only when necessary. Police should be fully trained in their use. And using Tasers as a means of brutalizing suspects shouldn't be tolerated.

BOTTOM LINE: This is the right approach to the controversy over Tasers: keep them in use, but punish officers who abuse them.

I suppose I hardly need mention that the Sun-Sentinel NEVER followed-up and published a subsequent corrective editorial telling readers WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

A clear example of what NOT TO DO that ought to be made clear at J-School.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbhallandale0128sbjan28,0,2207842.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Hallandale to pay to settle one of two former police officers' lawsuits

By John Holland

January 28, 2008

HALLANDALE BEACH - City commissioners have agreed to pay more than $100,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging Police Chief Thomas Magill falsified evidence, a city board held an illegal meeting and detectives persuaded a felon to lie under oath about a fellow officer.

Mayor Joe Cooper and attorney Alberto Milian, who represents former Hallandale Beach Police Officer Talous Cirilo, confirmed the city's settlement with Cirilo but would not comment further, citing a confidentiality agreement. However, Cooper said the payment was more than $100,000, including attorney fees.

"I'd love to talk about this and tell people what happened, but unfortunately I can't," Cooper said.

Magill referred questions to City Attorney David Jove, who could not be reached for comment.

The settlement comes less than two months after Cirilo filed two lawsuits against the city, alleging wrongdoing in the department and City Hall. Hallandale officials fired Cirilo, alleging excessive use of force, even though a jury acquitted him on battery charges.

Cooper said the secrecy is warranted because a separate lawsuit, filed in federal court by former acting Police Sgt. Mary Hagopian, has not been settled. She promised to speak about the settlement at a later date "if I'm allowed to."

Magill and City Manager Mike Good fired the officers two years ago after prosecutors charged them with misdemeanor battery on prisoner Michael Brack. Early on April 1, 2005, Brack beat his brother as they fought in a moving car, then attacked officers who tried to intervene, according to arrest records and police reports.

Months after the arrest, a civilian employee said Cirilo choked and used a Taser device excessively on Brack.

More than a year later, the State Attorney's Office charged Cirilo with three misdemeanor battery counts. Hagopian was charged with a misdemeanor for using the stun gun on Brack as he struggled with officers in a jail holding area.

Defense lawyers said Magill orchestrated the charges as part of a vendetta against Hagopian and to show his bosses at City Hall he was a disciplinarian. Testimony at trial showed police employees mishandled two key pieces of evidence - a video surveillance tape and software from the Taser - distorting the confrontation between the officers and Brack, defense lawyers argued.

Prosecutors tried the officers separately, but jurors reached the same conclusion, acquitting them after about 15 minutes of deliberation.

After the acquittals, the officers tried to get their jobs back, but Magill and city officials refused.

In one of the lawsuits, Milian accused the city civil service board of holding an illegal meeting outside City Hall on Oct. 9, 2007, one week before a scheduled hearing on the reinstatement.

Florida law mandates that all meetings be advertised and prohibits public officials from meeting out of the public eye or discussing cases with each other. At least six board members met and discussed the meeting in a "knowing violation" of the law, according to the lawsuit.

Good, the city manager, could not be reached for comment.

Hagopian, a 15-year veteran, and Cirilo, on the force for five years, hired different lawyers and filed in different jurisdictions but made the same argument: Magill pressured his internal affairs officers and detectives to manipulate evidence and coerce false statements out of Brack so he could fire the officers and enhance his image as a reformer.

Magill used public money to have officers track down Brack on a Louisiana oil barge, where he ended up after leaving Broward County and forfeiting his bail, both lawsuits assert.

The State Attorney's office dropped all the assault charges against Brack, including the attack on his brother, then used him to testify against the officers.

The chief temporarily assigned several officers to internal affairs without any training, for the sole purpose of building a false case against the officers, Hagopian's lawyer Rhea Grossman said in court papers.

Magill sparked criminal charges against Hagopian "by preparing directly or at his direction police reports containing false or misleading information," Grossman wrote. Both lawsuits contend Magill elicited false testimony and compiled misleading evidence that he took directly to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch tossed out four counts last month, saying they belong in state court. He refused to dismiss two others, including one alleging Magill presented false information to prosecutors so Hagopian would be arrested. Zloch also let stand a charge that the city had a policy of not training internal affairs officers that, Hagopian argued, "encourages fabricated evidence for the sole purpose of allowing the whims of its police chief to terminate employees."

Milian said last week that the jury's quick acquittals proved the charges were bogus.

"This case was an abomination from the very beginning, and good officers were hurt," Milian said. "It could ultimately have a chilling effect on officers who want to protect themselves and their colleagues but are afraid because they could get in the same type of situation."

Reader comments to the above article are still available at:

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/TFKNF9QNQ3I7NHLQE

And as I stated above, mendacious Magill, having NOT ever been fired or arrested -explain that to me!- still felt free after all of this to continue doing whatever he wanted, under then-City Manager Mike Good and current Mayor Joy Cooper.

And as usual, then-City Attorney David Jove, the one person who you'd think would've made it clear to Magill what complying actually meant, was nowhere to be found.

That's what happens when there is no accountability at City Hall.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2009-12-05/news/0912040123_1_fatal-crash-cruiser-settlement-agreement

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Hallandale Beach

Former cop sues city again

A former Hallandale Beach police officer who last year received a $250,000 settlement from the city in a wrongful termination suit is again suing the city.

In a complaint filed this week in Broward Circuit Court, former Officer Mary Hagopian accuses police Chief Thomas Magill of reneging on the settlement agreement by badmouthing her to Wilton Manors Police Chief Richard Perez, who hired Hagopian last year.

Part of the settlement agreement forbids Hallandale Beach officials from making disparaging remarks about Hagopian and required that they limit their responses to questions about her employment with the city.

Perez fired Hagopian in March and immediately sent an e-mail to Magill stating: "You are entitled to say 'I told you so.' "

The suit also alleges that city officials have failed to comply with several public records requests filed by Hagopian's attorneys, who are seeking more than $500,000 in damages and court costs.

City attorneys could not be reached for comment Friday.

So, you say that "[C]ity officials have failed to comply with several public records requests"?

I am shocked!

Shocked I say!

For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction:

http://forums.leoaffairs.com/viewtopic.php?f=409&t=93981

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See also: Officer Talous Cirilo is Acquitted,

Thread Started on Nov 15, 2006, 12:32pm

http://policecrime.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=misconduct&action=display&thread=6019

What's THE worst possible thing you can do during an active search for a 'missing person'? Another tale of HB incompetency under Police Chief Magill

The following is from an email that was sent out to dozens of concerned citizens of Southeast Broward County and to selected members of the South Florida news media.

-----Just wanted to let you know that I'm in the final steps of finishing up an important post that I will be emailing you on Saturday morning -and subsequently posting to my blog- that you will find of particularly compelling interest and gravity regarding the Hallandale Beach Police Dept.I'm currently double-checking some of the dozens of photos I have and sequencing them to better tell the tale I have to share.

I believe that when you read it, you will be just be as shocked and indignant as I was when I first came to realize that this particular "situation" was being handled in the completely unprofessional way it was.
Sadly, it's just the latest all-too-true story in this city that badly needs people in charge more devoted to public service than self-service and cronyism.

I say indignant for a reason, because what has actually happened here, after-the-fact, to someone who lives in this community, could just as easily happen to you or someone you care for.

It's a post that I wish i wasn't having to write, but circumstances dictate that someone in this community publicly reveal something that's been flying under-the-radar for weeks, and since nobody else has stepped-up to the plate, I'm the one who's going to take my swings -and believe me, I fully intend on connecting.

If you can possibly manage it, please make plans to be present at the Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting next Wednesday morning, July 7th, at 10 a.m. for Public Comments, and be sure to bring what I'm sure will be your growing sense of outrage, too.
You won't regret it, but you do need to be heard, too.

You see, unless something quite unexpected transpires in the next few days, after years and years of unacceptable behavior and performance, and Mayor Cooper and the HB City Commission completely ignoring the self-evident facts in front of them, there's finally going to be some public accountability and reckoning for this community's beleaguered citizens for the unethical actions, criminal behavior and unsound policies of Hallandale Beach Police Chief Thomas Magill.

When you connect-the-dots on his past indefensible actions, which I have a few newspaper articles below to refresh your memories, and add them to the latest bit of information I'll have to share with you, perhaps you will now finally agree with me that it's long past time for mendacious and intentionally deceitful Thomas Magill to hit the road for good -and NOT look back.

Magill's longstanding willingness to intentionally mislead and lie to the public -as well as and our elected representatives who are legally responsible for providing oversight- without breaking a sweat, as I personally witnessed two weeks ago, only makes his documented corruption and incompetency more galling.

Not that any of this has ever bothered Mayor Cooper or former HB City Manager Mike Good, though, since they have NEVER once held a PUBLIC forum or meeting to discuss any aspect of his behavior, conduct or management over the years.

There's a very good reason why Magill was re-hired at a City Commission meeting without it ever appearing on the public agenda, in a second-floor City Hall room without TV cameras to record the proceedings.

As I've said so often, that's not by accident, that's the way that Cooper and Good planned it. Oh, and did I mention that I'm finally going to get FDLE involved in the Magill picture, too? You bet I am!
The more the merrier.

What better way to connect-the-dots on Magill and the HB Police Dept. that far too frequently plays the role of mean-spirited Keystone Kops, than to have FDLE finally have to get off-the-dime and either do something tangible in the way of a formal investigation of him, or, quit their bluffing.

One way or the other, though, they're going to have to do something, because things are changing in this city and the incompetent and corrupt who've long held sway at HB City Hall -and their minions- can no longer brazenly dare the community to stop them from their misdeeds or foolish policy follies.

You and I are calling their bluff and raising the stakes, and we are pushing back -HARD!

I will give you this hint about Saturday's email, though:
What's THE worst possible thing you can do during an active search for a 'missing person'?
---------

In case you forgot what Thomas Magill was all about -he tried to frame two innocent people and used taxpayer dollars to do it- or how poorly the story about the settlement was covered, let's go back into the South Beach Hoosier Time Machine.

Also, when is the Sun-Sentinel going to finally admit that they were "had" in their foolish rush-to-judgment editorial?
Four years and nine months and counting...

I hardly need to mention that the Herald has NEVER written a single story about the settlement, which ran on the front page of the Local section of the Sun-Sentinel.

_______________

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbhallandale0128sbjan28,0,2207842.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Hallandale to pay to settle one of two former police officers' lawsuits
By John Holland
January 28, 2008

HALLANDALE BEACH - City commissioners have agreed to pay more than $100,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging Police Chief Thomas Magill falsified evidence, a city board held an illegal meeting and detectives persuaded a felon to lie under oath about a fellow officer.

Mayor Joe Cooper and attorney Alberto Milian, who represents former Hallandale Beach

Police Officer Talous Cirilo, confirmed the city's settlement with Cirilo but would not comment further, citing a confidentiality agreement. However, Cooper said the payment was more than $100,000, including attorney fees.

"I'd love to talk about this and tell people what happened, but unfortunately I can't," Cooper said.

Magill referred questions to City Attorney David Jove, who could not be reached for comment.

The settlement comes less than two months after Cirilo filed two lawsuits against the city, alleging wrongdoing in the department and City Hall. Hallandale officials fired Cirilo, alleging excessive use of force, even though a jury acquitted him on battery charges.

Cooper said the secrecy is warranted because a separate lawsuit, filed in federal court by former acting Police Sgt. Mary Hagopian, has not been settled. She promised to speak about the settlement at a later date "if I'm allowed to."

Magill and City Manager Mike Good fired the officers two years ago after prosecutors charged them with misdemeanor battery on prisoner Michael Brack. Early on April 1, 2005, Brack beat his brother as they fought in a moving car, then attacked officers who tried to intervene, according to arrest records and police reports.

Months after the arrest, a civilian employee said Cirilo choked and used a Taser device excessively on Brack.

More than a year later, the State Attorney's Office charged Cirilo with three misdemeanor battery counts. Hagopian was charged with a misdemeanor for using the stun gun on Brack as he struggled with officers in a jail holding area.

Defense lawyers said Magill orchestrated the charges as part of a vendetta against Hagopian and to show his bosses at City Hall he was a disciplinarian. Testimony at trial showed police employees mishandled two key pieces of evidence - a video surveillance tape and software from the Taser - distorting the confrontation between the officers and Brack, defense lawyers argued.

Prosecutors tried the officers separately, but jurors reached the same conclusion, acquitting them after about 15 minutes of deliberation.

After the acquittals, the officers tried to get their jobs back, but Magill and city officials refused.

In one of the lawsuits, Milian accused the city civil service board of holding an illegal meeting outside City Hall on Oct. 9, 2007, one week before a scheduled hearing on the reinstatement.

Florida law mandates that all meetings be advertised and prohibits public officials from meeting out of the public eye or discussing cases with each other. At least six board members met and discussed the meeting in a "knowing violation" of the law, according to the lawsuit.

Good, the city manager, could not be reached for comment.

Hagopian, a 15-year veteran, and Cirilo, on the force for five years, hired different lawyers and filed in different jurisdictions but made the same argument: Magill pressured his internal affairs officers and detectives to manipulate evidence and coerce false statements out of Brack so he could fire the officers and enhance his image as a reformer.

Magill used public money to have officers track down Brack on a Louisiana oil barge, where he ended up after leaving Broward County and forfeiting his bail, both lawsuits assert.

The State Attorney's office dropped all the assault charges against Brack, including the attack on his brother, then used him to testify against the officers.

The chief temporarily assigned several officers to internal affairs without any training, for the sole purpose of building a false case against the officers, Hagopian's lawyer Rhea Grossman said in court papers.

Magill sparked criminal charges against Hagopian "by preparing directly or at his direction police reports containing false or misleading information," Grossman wrote. Both lawsuits contend Magill elicited false testimony and compiled misleading evidence that he took directly to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch tossed out four counts last month, saying they belong in state court. He refused to dismiss two others, including one alleging Magill presented false information to prosecutors so Hagopian would be arrested. Zloch also let stand a charge that the city had a policy of not training internal affairs officers that, Hagopian argued, "encourages fabricated evidence for the sole purpose of allowing the whims of its police chief to terminate employees."

Milian said last week that the jury's quick acquittals proved the charges were bogus.

"This case was an abomination from the very beginning, and good officers were hurt," Milian said. "It could ultimately have a chilling effect on officers who want to protect themselves and their colleagues but are afraid because they could get in the same type of situation."

----------

Miami Herald
QUICK VERDICT EXPOSES CASE FOR WHAT IT IS

By Fred Grimm
November 14, 2006

The prosecution's battery case against Talous Cirilo can be measured in minutes. A Broward County jury deliberated 24 minutes Monday before acquitting the former Hallandale Beach cop.

That was fast. But in June, a jury took only 14 minutes to reject the charges against Cirilo's codefendant and fellow cop Mary Hagopian.

No one was surprised by either verdict.

The battery cases against the two officers had been built around the complaint of a bail-jumping, coked-out, drunken brawler who had been busted earlier that evening for pummeling his own brother.

The misdemeanor charges had been filed with a stunning lack of corroborating evidence. No medical evidence. No photographs.

Weeks ago, the judge had tossed out an indiscernible mess of a videotape that supposedly captured the incident.

The only mystery lingering over the case against Talous Cirilo is why, of all the allegations of police brutality tossed around Broward County, the state attorney's office chose to pursue one so empty.

``I don't know what's going on over at the state attorney's office,'' said Dick Brickman, the president of the Broward Police Benevolent Association. He said other cops around the county must now worry that, for a little political juice, the state attorney's office would pursue even the flimsiest of complaints.

AWFUL CASE

This case was very flimsy. On April 1, 2005, a Louisiana drifter named Michael Brack, admittedly drunk and coked up, had been involved in brawl at a strip club, fled that fight, then had turned on his own brother in the back seat of a moving car. The attack was so violent that the rear window of the car was kicked out.

Hallandale Beach cops pulled the car over, arrested Brack for battery and resisting arrest with violence. He continued his nasty behavior, spitting and yelling, at the Hallandale Beach Police Department as Cirilo and Hagopian tried to book him.

Then, Brack claimed, he was choked, kicked, his head knocked to the floor and he was subjected to unwarranted Taser shocks.

Even though Brack miraculously was spared scratches, bruises or injury in his ordeal, prosecutors took him at his word - when they finally tracked him down.

Brack had jumped bail and was a fugitive until prosecutors agreed to drop charges against him if he testified.

An internal investigation by the Hallandale Beach Police Department also came up with a community service aide who said she saw Cirilo choke Brack. But her credibility was hurt by a very lousy work record, including insubordination and refusal to obey orders. And her details clashed with some of Brack's.

That was it. The extent of the prosecution's case.

``It was an awful investigation. It was a rush to judgment. I think the jury verdict bore that out,'' said Alberto Milian, Cirilo's lawyer. Milian blamed the prosecution of the two cops on political pressure out of Hallandale Beach City Hall.

COPS UPSET

Talk about politics and ambition trumping justice circulated among the cadre of Hallandale Beach cops attending the trial Monday. The quick verdict only seemed to validate those theories.

``This case should never, never have been brought to trial,'' Milian said. The lawyer said the June trial against Hagopian and the subsequent lightning verdict had exposed the case for what it was. Or wasn't.

Yet the prosecution brought back Michael Brack for a reprise last week and he was so combative and disagreeable that it was a wonder that jurors didn't pelt him with their shoes. ``You don't have to like him,'' prosecutor Catherine Maus told the jurors Monday, trying desperately to rehabilitate her tarnished star witness. ``He is who he is.''

This case was what it was. And the jurors didn't have to like it.

-----

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Editorial

ISSUE: Two police officers are fired amid accusations of Taser abuse

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good has provided an object lesson for other agencies on how to handle the controversy over the use of Taser stun guns by police officers. He fired two cops accused of repeatedly using Tasers on a man who was already under arrest, handcuffed and in a holding cell.

That's an apparent misuse of stun guns, which should be employed only when there is no safer way to subdue a suspect. In this case, though, one of the officers is also accused of choking the suspect into unconsciousness, a sign that this may have been a simple case of police brutality in which the Taser was merely one of the tools of abuse.

Both officers have been charged with misdemeanor battery by the Broward County State Attorney's Office. That prompted their attorney to complain, incredibly, that a thorough investigation had not been done and that she's "not aware of any other state attorneys' offices that charge cops for doing their job."

Maybe she should open her eyes and look around. Police who abuse their authority get charged with crimes quite often. Is brutalizing prisoners her idea of police just doing their job?

Officials say these cops were trained in the use of Tasers, which, when used properly, are a valuable alternative to lethal police service weapons. They should have known they'd be crossing a line if they used Tasers on a confined and handcuffed prisoner.

The officers will have a chance to challenge their dismissals. Whatever the outcome, Good has set a standard that other South Florida agencies should adopt, if they haven't already. Tasers should be used sparingly and only when necessary. Police should be fully trained in their use. And using Tasers as a means of brutalizing suspects shouldn't be tolerated.

BOTTOM LINE: This is the right approach to the controversy over Tasers: keep them in use, but punish officers who abuse them.

"Addition by subtraction" is not meant to be

My comments follow this story from early last week, which was never picked up locally in print or electronically. I've highlighted below in red the pertinent parts of the article.
_______________________
http://www.marconews.com/news/2008/jul/21/5-finalists-named-marco-police-chief/
Marco Eagle
Five applicants remain in running for Marco Island police chief
By KELLY FARRELL
July 21, 2008

Making it to the final five is no fantasy for the remaining candidates vying for the position of Marco Island police chief.
A towering stack of nearly 250 resumes for the position has been narrowed down to the top five applicants by City Manager Steve Thompson. The position pays a maximum salary of $103,364 plus a fringe benefit allowance.
Two applicants are from within the Marco Island Police Department including acting Chief Thom Carr and Officer Ed Stenzel.
"I knew this position was desirable but you've got some heavy guns there competing ... I'm elated that the city manager put me in the group with them," Carr said.
While this will be Carr's first interview for a police chief position, two of the other candidates, Nicholas Kaiser of Troy, N.Y., and Thomas Magill of Hallandale Beach, have at least four years experience as police chiefs in their current departments.
Magill, 54 has been chief of the Hallandale Beach Police Department in Broward County since January 2004 and has worked for the department since 1974. He is the third generation of Magills in law enforcement, he said.
Magill was in meetings until 9 p.m., Monday, and first learned that he was among the top five contenders when contacted by the Eagle.
"I was smiling from ear to ear," he said, after he read the e-mail during a break in his meeting.
Although he was honored to be considered among five successful candidates, he said the decision to leave Hallandale isn't an easy one.
"I love Hallandale with all my heart ... (My leaving) is done out of love. I want all my friends to have the opportunity to succeed like I have succeeded," Magill said of his coworkers in Hallandale.
Magill said he sees himself as a police officer before a chief.
"I may be a police chief but I'm still a police officer. I wouldn't ask another police officer to do anything I wouldn't do myself," he said.
Magill plans to visit Marco Island prior to an interview in the next couple weeks to become further familiarized with the island, which he visits frequently. He recalls a photograph of his children sitting on the mermaid statue at the Marco Island Marriott from one of his first visits many years ago.Kaiser, 60, has a condominium in Port Charlotte purchased last year and has visited Southwest Florida but says he has few other state or local ties. He is the Troy, N.Y. police chief and the department is about four times the size of the Marco Island Police Department with 122 sworn officers and a $14 million budget.
The Marco Island Police Department has 32 sworn officers and a $3.9 million budget.
Kaiser said learning Florida laws will not be an "insurmountable challenge" and his priorities would include community policing and providing a high quality of life on Marco Island.
"I'd look at the crime problems ... Doesn't seem like you have many," he added.
Marco Island's violent crime rate is one-tenth of the national average and property crime rate one-third the national average, according to the FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement.
Carr has been the acting chief since Roger Reinke became Naples' assistant city manager in May. Carr started his career in Indianapolis and is one of the original members of the Marco Island Police Department, formed nine years ago.
"I've been preparing for this since the department has been here," Carr said.
He added that he was not surprised to see Stenzel among the final five. Stenzel did not return phone calls to comment.
" ... (Stenzel) is very qualified and I encouraged him to apply," Carr said, adding that it would not be awkward if he became second in command to Stenzel upon completion of the interviews Aug. 1.
Stenzel, currently a patrolman, has 38 years of law enforcement experience including two years prior experience as assistant chief of police in Milwaukee, Wis.
He has nearly as many years experience in law enforcement as the youngest of the five candidates has in years of life.
The youngest, Edward Preston, 40 originally from Bradenton is currently the deputy chief of police for the New Bern Police Department in North Carolina. He described New Bern as an area similar to "Southwest Florida in the early '80s."
Preston added, "This is an opportunity to move back to where I'm from. I only applied for one job. This is it."
Preston, a Persian Gulf War veteran of the Marine Corps, said he is eager to learn the "vision" that citizens, department heads and the city manager has for the police department.
All five candidates will be interviewed Aug. 1 The interview panel will be made up of the city's five department directors and Chief Rob Petrovich from the City of Cape Coral, who Thompson said came highly recommended from other area city managers.
"I have as many questions for (the panel) as folks will probably have for me," Preston said.

Read Thomas A. Magill's resume (.pdf)
____________________________
Feeling the very negative way that I do about Hallandale Beach Police Chief Thomas Magill, I genuinely hoped that Marco Island would've been foolish enough to hire him, so that he could get
out of Dodge as soon as possible.

Then, the residents of the City of Hallandale Beach could've finally had a long overdue public airing about what sorts of qualities they're looking for in a Police Chief, and the sorts of policies its residents want to see their new top cop pursue.

Maybe select someone who, unlike Magill, actually thinks that having a regular daily police presence along the public beach is a good idea, esp. on weekends, and beer-y obvious three-day holiday weekends in particular.

It not only would give peace of mind to HB residents and visitors enjoying themselves, but also
greatly relieve the strain and anxiety of the (contractor) lifeguards out there, who have long felt they're out-manned, and already have a tough job to do when its crowded.

Who knows, perhaps a police presence at the beach on a more regular basis might actively discourage people from using the mesh aluminum benches as grills -even to the point of placing charcoal on them- and thinking they'll get away with it -again.
(With obvious physical damage to the bench.)

Maybe a more consistent police presence at the beach would also discourage throngs of kids from Miramar High School from coming over after school during the school year, and, as happened a few months ago, choosing to settle some beef at school by coming over here and having a huge fight in the HB beach parking garage, with things being trashed left and right.
(Not that the Herald or Sun-Sentinel ever wrote about the incident.)

Perhaps a new HB Police Chief would think that actually having directional signs somewhere in the city indicating the physical location of the HB Police Dept. is a good idea, since as has been stated here before, there currently are NO such signs anywhere in the city. Really.
Who knows, maybe he'd even want to see a couple of directional signs at the city's busiest intersection -and the city's choke point- of U.S.-1 and Hallandale Beach Blvd., as is commonplace in most towns, large and small, in this country.

Honestly, why do you suppose that all the folks from Hollywood City Hall were so taken aback at the location confusion when they came down for the joint City Commission meeting a few weeks back? It's no big mystery. Lack of proper signage!(If you don't believe me, just ask them yourself. How do you suppose I know? They told me.)
Maybe HB can even hire a Police Chief who thinks it's a good idea for his Officers to take the initiative when they see long stretches of street lights out at night for more than a day or two, and collect that info somewhere when their shift ends, so that someone in the city will actually do something about it the next morning.
As opposed to the current reality of them either completely ignoring the public safety problem
for months at a time, as has been apparent for years, or, simply putting it in a "Quarterly Report" that practically nobody will ever read.

Who knows, maybe we can even get someone in charge who thinks that it'll be comforting to residents and taxpayers alike to have a regular police presence at that choke point of U.S.-1 and HBB, so that cars "in the block" actually get ticketed, as they would in Aventura, but never are in HB.

Maybe HB can even select a new Police Chief who takes the initiative to actually discourage crimes of opportunity from happening in the first place, by telling commercial property/strip mall owners that his Police Dept. and Officers really would prefer they fix their broken parking lot lights
-or have them actually come on/before sundown, instead of a few hours later- so that the customers are not in pitch black conditions when they leave a store or restaurant, for weeks or months at a time, as is currently both common and self-evident in areas all around town.

You'd think that the terrible things that have taken place at the Boca Mall -twice- would've gotten people's attention, but not property owners in HB, who just shrug their shoulders.
Taubco's property on U.S.-1 and HBB, where the very popular Argentine restaurant se llama The Knife is still located, has been a problem since at least last year.

(That area will be the focus of an upcoming post of mine, complete with photos to prove my points, called, quite simply, Thumbs Down on Hallandale Square.
I'll describe what I see as problems in that project, which Taubco got City Commission approval for in June, despite what I feel are several ominous portents in several areas.)

Supposedly, there's even a group of HB Police Officers who use bikes while patrolling -at least in the Fall or Winter- but I've personally NEVER seen them in the four-plus years I've lived here, which I think is pretty telling.
Especially given how much I get around town and the diversity of people I speak to about issues and conditions around the city.

How about a Police Chief that believes that everyone in the city should be treated fairly and equally under the law, and whose Dept. doesn't wink at city officials or staffers continually taking advantage of their position to enjoy benefits, resources or opportunities that are not open to everyone?

(Situations that I've been on top of for months, going back to last year, not only taking photographs, but also drafting letters about the incidents themself to the real law enforcement people in this state, just waiting for the right moment to simply press "Send" and "Post" on my computer.)

How about a Police Chief who has the good common sense to realize that he should NOT appear in paid political ads and literature?

Prior to coming across this Marco Eagle story last week, I'd planned on revisiting the Magill story on Monday, since it marked the sixth month anniversary of this devastating Jan. 28th article by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's John Holland.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbhallandale0128sbjan28,0,2207842.story
South Florida Sun-SentinelHallandale to pay to settle one of two former police officers' lawsuitsBy John Holland
January 28, 2008

HALLANDALE BEACH - City commissioners have agreed to pay more than $100,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging Police Chief Thomas Magill falsified evidence, a city board held an illegal meeting and detectives persuaded a felon to lie under oath about a fellow officer.

Mayor Joe Cooper and attorney Alberto Milian, who represents former Hallandale Beach
Police Officer Talous Cirilo, confirmed the city's settlement with Cirilo but would not comment further, citing a confidentiality agreement. However, Cooper said the payment was more than $100,000, including attorney fees.

"I'd love to talk about this and tell people what happened, but unfortunately I can't," Cooper said.

Magill referred questions to City Attorney David Jove, who could not be reached for comment.

The settlement comes less than two months after Cirilo filed two lawsuits against the city, alleging wrongdoing in the department and City Hall. Hallandale officials fired Cirilo, alleging excessive use of force, even though a jury acquitted him on battery charges.

Cooper said the secrecy is warranted because a separate lawsuit, filed in federal court by former acting Police Sgt. Mary Hagopian, has not been settled. She promised to speak about the settlement at a later date "if I'm allowed to."

Magill and City Manager Mike Good fired the officers two years ago after prosecutors charged them with misdemeanor battery on prisoner Michael Brack. Early on April 1, 2005, Brack beat his brother as they fought in a moving car, then attacked officers who tried to intervene, according to arrest records and police reports.

Months after the arrest, a civilian employee said Cirilo choked and used a Taser device excessively on Brack.

More than a year later, the State Attorney's Office charged Cirilo with three misdemeanor battery counts. Hagopian was charged with a misdemeanor for using the stun gun on Brack as he struggled with officers in a jail holding area.

Defense lawyers said Magill orchestrated the charges as part of a vendetta against Hagopian and to show his bosses at City Hall he was a disciplinarian. Testimony at trial showed police employees mishandled two key pieces of evidence - a video surveillance tape and software from the Taser - distorting the confrontation between the officers and Brack, defense lawyers argued.

Prosecutors tried the officers separately, but jurors reached the same conclusion, acquitting them after about 15 minutes of deliberation.

After the acquittals, the officers tried to get their jobs back, but Magill and city officials refused.

In one of the lawsuits, Milian accused the city civil service board of holding an illegal meeting outside City Hall on Oct. 9, 2007, one week before a scheduled hearing on the reinstatement.

Florida law mandates that all meetings be advertised and prohibits public officials from meeting out of the public eye or discussing cases with each other. At least six board members met and discussed the meeting in a "knowing violation" of the law, according to the lawsuit.

Good, the city manager, could not be reached for comment.

Hagopian, a 15-year veteran, and Cirilo, on the force for five years, hired different lawyers and filed in different jurisdictions but made the same argument: Magill pressured his internal affairs officers and detectives to manipulate evidence and coerce false statements out of Brack so he could fire the officers and enhance his image as a reformer.

Magill used public money to have officers track down Brack on a Louisiana oil barge, where he ended up after leaving Broward County and forfeiting his bail, both lawsuits assert.

The State Attorney's office dropped all the assault charges against Brack, including the attack on his brother, then used him to testify against the officers.

The chief temporarily assigned several officers to internal affairs without any training, for the sole purpose of building a false case against the officers, Hagopian's lawyer Rhea Grossman said in court papers.

Magill sparked criminal charges against Hagopian "by preparing directly or at his direction police reports containing false or misleading information," Grossman wrote. Both lawsuits contend Magill elicited false testimony and compiled misleading evidence that he took directly to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch tossed out four counts last month, saying they belong in state court. He refused to dismiss two others, including one alleging Magill presented false information to prosecutors so Hagopian would be arrested. Zloch also let stand a charge that the city had a policy of not training internal affairs officers that, Hagopian argued, "encourages fabricated evidence for the sole purpose of allowing the whims of its police chief to terminate employees."

Milian said last week that the jury's quick acquittals proved the charges were bogus.
"This case was an abomination from the very beginning, and good officers were hurt," Milian said. "It could ultimately have a chilling effect on officers who want to protect themselves and their colleagues but are afraid because they could get in the same type of situation."

John Holland can be reached at jholland@sun-sentinel.com or at 954-385-7909.__________________________________
Reader comments at:
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/TFKNF9QNQ3I7NHLQE

Since it appeared in the Sun-Sentinel six months ago, the subject has never once appeared in the Miami Herald.
That's very curious wouldn'y you say?

Continuing with that particular theme, later today I'll finally be posting the entire contents of my letter to Herald Executive Editor Anders Gyllenhaal, Herald Broward AME Patricia Andrews and the Herald's sometime ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos, about their local news coverage. Portions of that were recently printed by Henry Gomez at his Herald Watch blog, http://heraldwatch.blogspot.com/

On Monday night, Magill took his name out of consideration for the Marco Island position.
See Marco police chief candidate withdraws leaving four applicants vying for position
By Kelly Farrell, Updated 08:16 p.m., July 28, 2008
http://www.marconews.com/news/2008/jul/28/marco-island-police-chief-candidate-withdraws-leav/

Along the lines of what I've written above, consider the following, taking place in Memphis, the city where my family and I lived for three years before we came to South Florida in the summer of 1968:

Memphis Commercial Appeal
Police director sues for critical bloggers' names
Site popular with citizens, officers
By Amos Maki
July 22, 2008

Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin and the city of Memphis have filed a lawsuit to learn who operates a blog harshly critical of Godwin and his department.

The lawsuit asks AOL to produce all information related to the identity of an e-mail address linked to MPD Enforcer 2.0, a blog popular with police officers that has been extremely critical of police leadership at 201 Poplar.

To see the rest of the story, see:
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jul/22/police-director-sues-find-identity-blogger-critica/