11-04-30 Welcome France! // Bienvenido Francia! // 欢迎法国！

Last New Visitor France Visited April 30, 2011

11-04-30 Welcome Switzerland! // Bienvenida a Suiza! // 欢迎瑞士！

Last New Visitor Switzerland Visited April 30, 2011

11-04-29 Welcome Pakistan! // Bienvenido Pakistan! // 巴基斯坦欢迎您！

Last New Visitor Pakistan Visited April 29, 2011

11-04-28 Los Angeles – “Fraud Capital, USA” – Correction to Los Angeles Times Report // Los Angeles - "Capital de fraude, EE.UU." // 洛杉矶 -“欺诈的资本，美国“

David Pasternak's conduct was opined by a highly decorated FBI veteran as "fraud being committed", with a recommendation that "an investigation be immediately instituted".

   

Los Angeles, April 28 - in its recent report, the Los Angeles Times described a quarter-billion-dollar Los Angeles and Glendale housing scam exposed by Attorney David Pasternak. [[i]]  "The Los Angeles Times described it as law enforcement getting to the corporate vault and finding it open and empty," says Joseph Zernik, PhD, of Human Rights Alert (NGO).  The true story is more along the lines of a Hollywood plot, he added "The robbers, dressed as law enforcement, made it to the corporate vault and found out that someone else had got there before them."  

The case, which was subject of the Los Angeles Times report, was previously the subject of FBI complaint by Dr Zernik against Attorney David Pasternak, who falsely appeared in the case as "Receiver", with no valid appointment order. [[ii]] David Pasternak and the judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court have a long track-record of such conduct. [[iii]] 

"It must have been a serious disappointment for the judges and attorneys involved, when the company that they planned on looting as part of the divorce case, turned out to be a shell game," says Dr Zernik.

The conduct of David Pasternak and judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court in real estate scams was opined by a highly decorated FBI veteran as "fraud being committed" a recommendation was issued that an "investigation be immediately instituted". [[iv]] 

However, a letter by the same FBI veteran explained that FBI would not investigate such scams, since they would inevitably lead to exposure of widespread corruption of judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court. [[v]]

In 2010, report regarding conduct of the Los Angeles Superior Court in a series of real estate fraud cases under the guise of litigation, was incorporated into the official Staff Report of the United Nations Human Rights Council, with a note regarding "corruption of the courts and the legal profession" in California. [[vi]]

The Los Angeles real estate scams story is even more interesting, according to Dr Zernik, since David Pasternak and Sandor Samuels, key figures in such scams, also served as Presidents of Bet Tzedek - "The House of Justice", which advertises itself as protecting individuals against real estate fraud scams. 

In 2007, Bet Tzedek announced a Southern California fraud-busting campaign.  That campaign was cancelled, and the whole Bet Tzedek website was abruptly taken off the internet, when evidence was produced of the involvement of Bet Tzedek President, Sandor Samuels, in real estate fraud.

In 2008, court records from Pennsylvania and Texas detailed real estate fraud in courts throughout the US under guidance of Sandor Samuels as Chief Legal Officer of Countrywide. [[vii]] It was the exposure of fraud in the courts that led to the collapse of Countrywide in January 2008.  "He is a central figure in one of the largest real estate and mortgage fraud schemes in history," according to Dr Zernik. [[viii]]

Already in the early 2000s, FBI reports described LA County as the "epicenter of the epidemic of real estate and mortgage fraud".  When Dr Zernik filed his first complaint with FBI in 2007, FBI duty agent described conditions in Los Angeles as "Fraud Capital, USA". 

However, both FBI and the Los Angeles Times remain mum, when it comes to the role of "corruption of the courts and the legal profession" in propelling Los Angeles to "Fraud Capital, USA".

LINKS:
[i] 11-04-25 L.A. sues low-income housing developer, alleging 'racketeering' and 'huge fraud' - LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adi-20110426,0,1471394.story11-04-25 Quarter-Billion-Dollar RICO Scam Alleged in L.A. & Glendale Housing Developments - Courthouse News
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/04/25/36066.htm
[ii] 10-08-13  RE: Karimi v Mithawaila (BD518503) - Complaint against Attorney David Pasternak and the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, for public corruption and racketeering in pretense receiverships at the Court.
 http://www.scribd.com/doc/35828312/
[iii]10-06-21 Dr Zernik s Complaint Filed with Us Attorney Office Los Angeles against Mr David Pasternak for Public Corruption
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33354641/10-07-18 Galdjie v Darwish (SC052737) Complaint for Public Corruption against John Segal  Judge, John A Clarke  Clerk, Attorney David Pasternak and others at the Los Angeles Superior Court, RE: Conduct of pretense litigation  alleged real estate fraud by the Court.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34504304/
[iv] 07-12-17 Samaan v Zernik (SC087400) David Pasternak: Grant Deeds in re: 320 South Peck Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, opined as fraud by FBI veteran James Wedick
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24991238/
[v] 08-08-21 Samaan v Zernik (SC087400) Email letter by highly decorated FBI veteran James Wedick regarding FBI's refusal to provide equal protection
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29713733/
[vi] 10-04-19 Human Rights Alert (NG0) submission to the  United Nations Human Rights Council  for the 2010 Review (UPR) of Human Rights in the United States as incorporated into the UPR staff report, with reference to "corruption of the courts and the legal profession".
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/
[vii] 08-01-08 Case of Borrower Sharon Hills (01-22574) in the US Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania: Countrywide's three "recreated letters", transcript, and news reports:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/25003494/
08-03-05 Case of Borrower William Parsley (05-90374), Dkt #248: Judge Jeff Bohm's Memorandum Opinion, rebuking Countrywide's litigation practices, Countrywide's false outside counsel scheme - appearances by counsel who are not Counsel of Record, with "no communications with clients" clause:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/25001966/ 
[viii] 10-05-05 Sandor Samuels, Countrywide, Bank of America [NYSE;BAC] and Brian Moynihan: Compilation of Records Evidence of Racketeering
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30975368/
10-05-05 Chairs of US Congress Committees of the Judiciary and Banking Are Requested to Join Senator Feinstein's Inquiries on Comptroller of the Currency
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30979882/

11-04-26 The Federal Reserve and US banks // La Reserva Federal y los bancos de EE.UU. // 美国联邦储备委员会和美国银行

Comment:
The most important fact, left out of the reports below, is that New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo provided the US Congress with a report that was deemed by analysts as evidence of a "criminal conspiracy" by Bernanke and BofA executives.
LINKS:
09-04-23 RE: SEC v BAC (1:09-cv-06829) State of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Letter to US Congress and analysts' responses:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/41079990/

Backdoor Bailouts: Banks Play Shell Game With Taxpayer Dollars

Tuesday 26 April 2011
by: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Bernie Sanders Newsroom

The Federal Reserve propped up banks with big infusions of cash during the depths of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. Banks that took billions of dollars from the Fed then turned around and loaned money back to the federal government. It was a sweet deal for the bankers. They received interest payments on the government securities that were up to 12 times greater than the Fed's rock bottom rates, according to a Congressional Research Service analysis conducted for Sen. Bernie Sanders.


READ THE FULL STORY:
http://www.truthout.org/backdoor-bailouts-banks-play-shell-game-taxpayer-dollars/1303856168

11-04-26 Gitmo Doctors Hid Evidence of Torture // Los médicos de Guantánamo ocultado pruebas de la Tortura // 关塔那摩医生隐瞒了酷刑的证据

Gitmo Doctors Hid Evidence of Torture

• By Spencer Ackerman  
• April 26, 2011  |  
• 2:22 pm  |  
• Categories: Info War

Updated, 5:55 p.m.

They explained away the bone fractures, didn’t ask what caused the lacerations, and called the hallucinations routine. Rather than blowing the whistle, medical professionals entrusted with the care of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay turned a blind eye when there were clear indications of abuse.

That’s according to a newly published report from two physicians with unprecedented access to the medical records of nine Gitmo detainees.

Writing in the online journal PLoS Medicine, Physicians for Human Rights senior medical adviser Vincent Iacopino and retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Xenakis, a psychiatrist now in private practice, found that medical personnel at Guantanamo concealed mental and physical ailments that signaled abusive treatment.

READ THE FULL STORY:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/04/gitmo-docs-torture/

11-04-27 Welcome China! // Bienvenido China! // 欢迎来到中国！

Last New Visitor China Visited April 27, 2011

11-04-27 Welcome Russia! // Bienvenido Russia! // 欢迎俄罗斯！

Last New Visitor Russia Visited April 27, 2011

11-04-27 Newest Country - Azerbaijan! // Lo último país - Azerbaiyán! // 最新的国家 -阿塞拜疆！

           

Newest Country Azerbaijan Last Visited April 27, 2011

11-04-27 Harvard Law Professor Yochai Benkler is provided with additional evidence of large-scale computer fraud in the US courts // Fraude en los tribunales de los EE.UU. // 在美国法院欺诈

The US courts computer systems - PACER and CM/ECF - enable the routine churning out of fraudulent records in the US  courts.  The systems undermine both Human Rights and Banking Regulation in the United States. Prof Yochai Benkler, an expert on computers and the law, has been asked to review the evidence and provide an opinion.

 

Los Angeles, April 27 - "Large-scale computer fraud undermines the foundation of the US courts and US justice system," says Joseph Zernik, PhD, of Human Rights Alert (NGO), "the evidence is pervasive of routine issuance of adulterated court records."

Professor Yochai Benkler, of Harvard Law School, an expert on computers and the law, has been previously provided with evidence of the fraud in PACER and CM/ECF - the record keeping systems of the US Courts. [[i],[ii]]  That evidence was primarily produced by Dr Zernik.  Dr Zernik's findings were also published in an international computer science journal, with Editorial Board listing scholars from six European nations and Canada, including Director of the IBM Research Center in Ireland. [[iii]]  Leading law and technology journals in the United States refused to review papers on the subject.
Now, Dr Zernik has provided Prof Benkler with additional evidence of the fraud in PACER and CM/ECF from an independent source - a publication in the National Law Journal by ProPublica reporter Dafna Linzer, documenting adulteration of court records in the habeas corpus case of GITMO detainee Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman in the US District Court in Washington DC.  [[iv]]

The US courts have installed an online public access system (PACER) and case management system (CM/ECF) in the early 2000s.  " PACER and CM/ECF enable the courts to routinely publish online records that are fraud," says Dr Zernik.

The best example, showing the systems enabling the abuse Human Rights, according to Dr Zernik, remains the case of the arrest and habeas corpus petitions of the 70 year-old former US prosecutor Richard Fine.  Richard Fine exposed and rebuked the taking by Los Angeles judges of "not permitted" payments ("bribes").  Later, Richard Fine was held for 18 months in solitary confinement by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.  However, the online Inmate Information Center listed him as imprisoned on location and by authority of the non-existent "Municipal Court of San Pedro". 

Fine's habeas corpus petition in the US District Court in Los Angeles and the US Court of Appeals, 9thCircuit, appeared as true litigation in the online PACER records, but were replete with unsigned, uncertified - invalid court records. [[v]]

According to Dr Zernik, the fraud in US courts records is not limited to civil rights cases, but also undermine banking regulation.  Dr Zernik produced detailed review of the fraud in conduct of litigation in cases of the highest public policy significance, which were repeatedly reported in both US and international media, including, but not limited to the litigation of SEC v Bank of America Corporationin the US Court in New York by Judge Jed Rakoff. [[vi]]  "Fraud in the US courts undermines any prospect of honest banking regulation in the United States during the current financial crisis," Dr Zernik says.

While internationally, Dr Zernik's opinions regarding fraud in computer systems of both the state and US courts are re-affirmed, US experts have so far been reluctant to opine on the matter. [[vii], [viii],[ix],[x]] 

Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California, and Law Dean Martha Minow of Harvard University have previously refused to provide an opinion. The former claimed that he had no expertise in computers and court administration, and the latter claimed that she was prevented from opining on the matter due to her position as Harvard Law Dean.  Most recently, Dr Zernik has asked Prof Yochai Benkler of Harvard Law School, an expert on computers and the law, to opine on the matter.

Prof Benkler was one of the authors of the recent letter regarding the humiliation of Private Bradley Manning. "Prof Benkler has shown courage in highlighting the abuse of the Human Rights of Private Manning.  I hope that he would also be willing to review the evidence of abuse of Human Rights of all in the United States," says Dr Zernik.

LINKS:

[i] 11-04-14 PRESS RELEASE: Harvard Law Professor Yochai Benkler has been asked to review the evidence of large-scale computer fraud in the US courts
http://www.scribd.com/doc/52993968/
[ii] 11-02-09 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell": the US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit Insists on Conducting a Pretense Appeal from a Pretense Judgment of the US District Court
http://www.scribd.com/doc/49070315/
[iii] Zernik, J: Data Mining of Online Judicial Records of the Networked US Federal Courts, International Journal on Social Media: Monitoring, Measurement, Mining, 1:69-83 (2010)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38328585/
[iv] 0-10-11 in GITMO Opinion, Two Versions of Reality - The National Law Journal
http://www.scribd.com/doc/53954229/
[v] 10-04-20 Fine v Baca (09-A827) at the US Supreme Court: Motion to Intervene and related papers: Motion to Intervene and related papers
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30304657/ 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30161573/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30161636/ 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30162109/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30162144/ 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30161692/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30185575/ 
[vi] Zernik, Joseph: Securities and Exchange Commission v Bank of America Corporation - Pretense Litigation and Pretense Banking Regulation in the United States
http://www.scribd.com/doc/44663232/
[vii] 09-04-20 Prof Eliyahu Shamir's Opinion Letter re: Sustain - the Case Management System of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
http://www.scribd.com/doc/46069337/
09-04-20 Prof Eliyahu Shamir, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, directory information
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30454039/
[viii] 10-04-19 Human Rights Alert (NG0) submission to the  United Nations Human Rights Council  for the 2010 Review (UPR) of Human Rights in the United States as incorporated into the UPR staff report, with reference to "corruption of the courts and the legal profession".
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/
[ix]  Zernik, J: Fraud and Corruption in US Courts are Tightly Linked to Banking Fraud and the Global Economic Crisis, 16th World Criminology Congress, 2011
[x] Zernik, J: Corruption of the Courts and the Legal Profession in California Noted in a 2010 United Nations Report, 16th World Criminology Congress, 2011
 

11-04-26 Welcome Canada! // Bienvenido Canada! // 欢迎来到加拿大！

Last New Visitor Canada Visited April 26, 2011

11-04-25 Guardian: Files of all Guantanamo Detainees // Guardian: Los archivos de todos los detenidos de Guantánamo // 卫报：关塔那摩监狱关押的所有文件

The Guardian published the full GITMO files.

For most detainees, the reason for their holding is to provide information regarding certain persons or place (e.g. mosques from Germany to Pakistan).

• To the degree that the information was needed for prosecutions - obviously, such prosecutions never took place, at times for almost 10 years.
• To the degree that the information was needed for intelligence purposes, it is doubted that in the years that transpired, interrogation was not concluded, and that any intelligence that old is of any value any longer.

The GITMO FILES:
[1] Guardian: Guantanamo files: all 779 detainees
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-guantanamo-bay
[2] Wikileaks: Guantanamo files: all 779 detainees
http://wikileaks.ch/gitmo/

11-04-11 China: Human Rights Record of United States in 2010 // China: Registro de los Derechos Humanos de los Estados Unidos en 2010 // 中国：人权记录在2010年的美国

I. On Life, Property and Personal Security

The United States reports the world's highest incidence of violent crimes, and its people's lives, properties and personal security are not duly protected.

...

II. On Civil and Political Rights

In the United States, the violation of citizens' civil and political rights by the government is severe.

...

III. On Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The United States is the world's richest country, but Americans' economic, social and cultural rights protection is going from bad to worse.

...

IV. On Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination, deep-seated in the United States, has permeated every aspect of social life.

...

V. On the rights of women and children

The situation regarding the rights of women and children in the United States is bothering.

...

VI. On US Violations of Human Rights against Other Nations

The United States has a notorious record of international human rights violations.

...

READ THE FULL REPORT:

[1] 11-04-11 Human Rights Record of United States in 2010_China Daily

http://www.scribd.com/doc/53887958/

11-04-24 Uprisings // Levantamientos // 起义

Sunday 24 April 2011

Is It Fear of Uprisings or Altruistic Punishment?
Antonia Darder, Truthout: "As the uprisings are spreading around the world and in the United States, there are many who feel fear, reticence and intense skittishness about what is transpiring. Yet, this anxiety, rather than surprising, is well cultivated by the contemporary hegemonic forces that govern our lives. What is most important for us to understand is that we, as a people, are most conditioned to fear when populations reclaim their social agency and collective power and rise up against the unjust policies of the state."
Read the Article 

11-04-22 The war on cameras //La guerra contra las cámaras // 反对战争摄像机

The War on Cameras – People Arrested for Taping Cops

Reason Magazine Senior Editor Radley Balko on states where reporting on government and police officers can lead to arrest.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/stossel/index.html

11-04-22 Police beating of Las Vegas man caught on tape // Superando a la policía de Las Vegas, el hombre atrapado en una cinta // 拉斯维加斯警方捕获在磁带上的人殴打

The Metropolitan Police Department has opened an internal investigation into the Las Vegas police officer, Derek Colling, whom Crooks says falsely arrested and beat him for filming police.

View the videos at: http://www.lvrj.com/multimedia/Mitchell-Crook-Tape-120494154.html
___

BY MIKE BLASKY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Posted: Apr. 22, 2011 | 1:43 p.m. 
Updated: Apr. 23, 2011 | 3:52 p.m.

When Mitchell Crooks checked out of the county jail last month and checked into a Las Vegas hospital, the 36-year-old videographer knew he had a fight on his hands.

His face was bloodied and bruised. His $3,500 camera had been impounded by police, and he faced criminal charges for battery on a police officer.

One month later, things have changed for Crooks.

The Clark County district attorney's office has dropped all charges, and Crooks has retained an attorney of his own. The Metropolitan Police Department has opened an internal investigation into the Las Vegas police officer, Derek Colling, who Crooks says falsely arrested and beat him for filming police.

And his camera -- which captured the entire March 20 altercation between Crooks and Colling -- has been returned.

CAUGHT ON TAPE

The words are friendly enough, but the tone is tense:

"Can I help you, sir?" Colling asks from his patrol car after parking it in front of Crooks' driveway and shining the spotlight on Crooks.

"Nope. Just observing," Crooks responds, fixing his camera on the officer.

Crooks had for an hour been recording the scene across the street from his home in the 1700 block of Commanche Circle, near East Desert Inn Road and South Maryland Parkway, where officers had several young burglary suspects handcuffed and sitting on the curb.

As Las Vegas crimes go, the activity was fairly boring. Crooks wanted to use his new camera, and he figured his neighbors would like to see the suspects' faces.

When Colling loaded suspects into the back of his car and drove in a circle through the cul-de-sac, Crooks said he thought police were leaving. Then the officer stopped his car.

"Do you live here?" Colling asks.

"Nope," Crooks says.

Colling steps out of his patrol car.

Crooks said he now regrets not telling the officer that he was in fact standing in his own driveway. He realizes his response seemed cheeky, but he said the officer made him nervous. Colling walks toward Crooks, left hand raised.

"Turn that off for me," Colling orders.

"Why do I have to turn it off?'' Crooks responds. "I'm perfectly within my legal rights to be able to do this."

The officer repeats the command several times; each time Crooks reiterates his right to film.

"You don't live here," Colling says, now close to Crooks.

"I do live here!"

"You don't live here, dude."

"I just said I live here!"

As Crooks backs away, Colling grabs him by the shoulder and throws him down. On the ground, Crooks grabs the camera and turns it toward his face.

Colling's leg then enters the video frame. Crooks says he believes that was the kick that broke his nose.

The camera records the sound of Crooks screaming. He said that's when Colling was punching his face.

"Shut up!" Colling yells. "Stop resisting!"

YOU'RE IN A WORLD OF HURT,' OFFICER SAYS

In his arrest report Colling wrote that Crooks grabbed his shoulders "and attempted to take me to the ground. I in turn took him to the ground."

At Clark County Detention Center, Crooks was booked for battery on a police officer and obstruction of justice. He was released from jail the next day. On March 26, the Review-Journal reported on his case. Four days later all charges were dropped.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent said he dismissed the charges because the police report was vague.

"I asked for a more definite description of the battery because battery requires a violent touching," Laurent said. Police never provided that information.

Crooks said he always believed he'd be vindicated, but after police returned his camera he knew he had proof.

"I was confident I was doing the right thing, but I was excited they (the DA's office) weren't wasting any time, and that somebody was smart enough to know I was acting within the law," he said.

Crooks said the incident looks worse on tape than he remembered.

What bothered him the most, he said, was Colling's attitude after he was placed in handcuffs.

"Why did you do that? I live here," Crooks is heard pleading on the tape.

"You just told me you didn't live here," Colling says. "You live right here, in this house?"

Crooks asks for paramedics. Colling tells him to shut up and follow orders.

"If you fight again, dude Hey, if you (expletive) fight again, dude, you're in a world of hurt. You hear me?

"You're not in charge here, buddy. You hear me?"

Colling mocks Crooks' labored breathing.

"Oh yeah, buddy. Hey, when you don't do what I ask you to do, then you're in a world of hurt. Then you're in a world of hurt. Aren't ya? Huh?"

Crooks was later diagnosed with a deviated septum and a chest wall injury. Crooks believes his ribs were broken, but never got X-rays that could prove it.

ACLU LAWYERS SAY OFFICER WAS WRONG

Allen Lichtenstein, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, reviewed Crooks' video and said Colling was clearly in the wrong. Officers are trained to avoid escalating situations, but Colling initiated the incident and created a physical confrontation without provocation, he said.

"It raises serious questions about whether the officer used good judgment and whether he was properly trained," Lichtenstein said. "Those questions require answers."

Police have no expectation of privacy, and it's perfectly legal to film officers as long as it does not interfere in their investigation, he said. Colling erred in claiming that Crooks was trespassing. By law, only a property owner or resident can make a trespassing complaint, Lichtenstein said.

"Even if the officer didn't think he lived there, that doesn't mean he didn't have permission to be there,'' Lichtenstein said. "In the video I heard, that question was never asked."

Crooks' attorney, David Otto, on Thursday sent police a statement from Crooks, along with a demand for $500,000 to cover Crooks' medial care, pain and suffering.

Colling had no legitimate reason to approach Crooks that night, Otto wrote.

"Officer Colling was aggravated that a citizen should have the audacity to video tape, him -- a Las Vegas Metropolitan Patrol Officer,'' Otto wrote. "Officer Colling decided to use the fear and terror of his physical ability to beat Mr. Crooks into submission -- to teach Mr. Crooks and, by example, all citizens and residents of the Las Vegas Valley."

Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie declined comment, saying the internal investigation remains open. Colling remains on duty, and Crooks has declined requests to be interviewed by detectives.

The suspects in Colling's patrol car may have witnessed the event and given statements to detectives, but their names have not been released. Police said they were not arrested or booked, so their names are not public record.

Crooks said he doesn't want to talk to detectives.

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

Neither Colling nor Crooks are strangers to controversy.

Colling has been involved in two fatal shootings in his 5½ years as a Las Vegas police officer. In 2006, he and four other officers shot Shawn Jacob Collins after the 43-year-old man pulled a gun at an east valley gas station.

In 2009, he confronted a mentally ill 15-year-old Tanner Chamberlain, who was holding a knife in front of his mother and waving it in the direction of officers. Colling shot him in the head.

Both shootings were ruled justified by Clark County coroner's juries.

Crooks made headlines in 2002 when he videotaped two Inglewood, Calif., police officers beating a 16-year-old boy. One officer was fired and criminally charged but was not convicted after two trials ended with hung juries. The incident strained race relations in Southern California -- the police officer was white, the teenager black.

Crooks first tried to sell that tape and then declined to give it to prosecutors. He was then jailed on old warrants from unrelated drunken driving and petty theft charges. Civil rights advocates decried it as retribution.

In 2003 he moved to Las Vegas, where he makes a living, among other things, shooting video for nightclubs, and says he kept out of trouble right up until the night he met officer Colling.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@review journal.com or 702-383-0283.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/exclusive-police-beating-of-las-vegas-man-caught-on-tape-120509439.html?viewAllComments=y&c=y