Neighbors Who See Stabbing Kick Ass
Top 5 Police Blunders Of The Week: Baltimore Cops Kidnapped, Robbed Teens
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 9:00 am
Choosing who got the No. 1 spot on today's Top 5 Police Blunders Of The Week was no easy task. Between child molestation, rape, and a very weird case where an officer shot himself and then pinned it on a fake assailant, it was a busy week for super bad cops. Alas, the three dumb asses who have been kidnapping and robbing teens in Baltimore stole our top honors...
5. Robert Ralston
During an average week of police stupidity, Robert Ralston might have earned our No. 1 spot. Unfortunately, he met some stiff competition and his inanely ludicrous acts ultimately landed him at the bottom of our list. But do not be deceived -- Ralston is a moron cop of epic proportions.
Judging by this story, it's hard to believe that Ralston is a 21-year veteran of the Philadelphia police force.
On April 5, he was patrolling a predominately African-American neighborhood just like he had a bajillion times before. Only this time, things went extremely wrong.
Ralston claimed he stopped two black men along a set of railroad tracks when one of them brandished a gun and placed against Ralston's head. As Ralston swatted away the gun, he claims the gun misfired and the bullet grazed his shoulder.
Ralston gave a pretty detailed description of his assailant and his claims helped launch a manhunt that lasted for hours, but ended without any leads, even though the Fraternal Order of Police offered a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the suspect.
However, investigators soon caught on to Ralston's talent for fiction. When a shell casing could not be recovered and ballistic evidence proved that the gun powder had come from Ralston's own gun, detectives started to wonder if any attack on Ralston had ever occurred.
Finally, this week, Ralston admitted to making up the entire story. He said that there was no black male attacker. In fact, there were no suspects at all. Ralston had shot himself.
The department says they still don't know why Ralston faked the attack or shot himself. He said he wasn't looking for attention. And he even considered shooting himself in the chest before going for his shoulder.
He's been suspended from the force, but he won't be facing any criminal charges since his confession was obtained only after investigators promised him immunity from criminal prosecution.
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4. Shandy Cobane
We're wondering if Shandy Cobane would have cried so hard over his misdeeds had he never been caught.
During the wee hours of April 17, Cobane, the 15-year Seattle Police Department veteran, responded to an armed robbery. The 911 caller described the suspect as "Hispanic."
But rather than look for the actual robber, Cobane simply grabbed the first Mexican he could find and proceeded to beat the shit out of him.
Fortunately, someone with a video camera happened to be hanging around and filmed the whole thing. In the video, Cobane can be seen kicking the innocent man in the head and screaming, "I'm going to kick the fucking Mexican shit out of you homey! You feel me?"
After handing out his beating, Cobane let the man go before skipping off in his cruiser. The videographer apprached Cobane's victim to ask what happened. "I don't know," the man said.
Last Friday, after the footage was made public, Cobane appeared at a news conference where he sobbed like a baby during an apology he delivered to the Latino community.
Thankfully, crocodile tears don't suffice as a proper penance past the age of 6. Cobane has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
3. Robert Ford
During his time as a homicide investigator with the Norfolk, Virginia Police Department, Robert Ford helped arrest and convict over 180 murderers.
Unfortunately, it appears that Ford also helped get as many criminals off for crimes they committed, too.
The feds began investigating Ford back in March 2003, when they got a tip that Ford was helping suspects get out of charges in exchange for cash.
For the right amount of money, Ford was willing to tell prosecutors that a suspect had helped him with information in a homicide investigation. In return, Ford's customers would get more lenient sentences or none at all.
Ford apparently ran his racket up until his retirement in 2007. But though Ford might have moved on at that point, federal investigators didn't.
In February, they interviewed Ford regarding his little scheme. Once they determined he was lying, they were able to move forward with their indictment.
Ford appeared before a federal judge on Monday. He now faces five counts of extortion, which could bring him a sentence of up to 20 years.
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2. Charles Corban
For the past 18 years, Charles Corban has worked as an officer with the Miami-Dade Police Department.
For at least a few of those years, the 41-year-old cop was also busy sexually molesting a minor in his care, his victim alleges.
On Monday, Corban was arrested and charged with molestation and sexual battery stemming from the allegations of a girl who lived with Corban and who said he molested her between the time she was 13 and 15.
The girl told investigators that Corban would order her into his bedroom, where he'd then undress her, fondle her, and then have sex with her.
1. Tyrrone Francis, Gregory Hellen, and Milton Smith
It's hard enough to wrap our heads around the idea of one crooked cop -- but three shady officers with this sort of MO just blows our minds.
Maybe it was out of boredom, or some sort of repressed schoolyard bullying incident -- whatever the reason, none is good enough to excuse the actions of Tyrrone Francis, Gregory Hellen, and Milton Smith, all Baltimore Police Officers.
It started back in May 2009, when all three officers approached a group of teenagers and told them to scatter. That's when they picked up a 15-year-old, threw him in the back of an unmarked vehicle, and then drove him out to the State Park, where they dropped him off without his shoes, socks, or cell phone.
The kid managed to walk to a pay phone and call 911. But it appears his claim wasn't taken all that seriously, because no immediate action was taken, and the three officers even struck once more.
A separate incident occurred where the same three officers did the same exact thing to another teenager, dropping this one off in East Baltimore.
Finally, the department suspended all three officers with pay just last week. They'll finally be suspended without pay once the charges are officially filed. All three officers are looking at around 14 charges, including assault, kidnapping, and misconduct.
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