Latest news with #videoevidence
CBS News
21 hours ago
- CBS News
Ellwood City police officer under investigation after confrontation with man at gas station
Ellwood City Mayor Anthony Court is looking into the conduct of an officer involved in a confrontation that was caught on video. "We don't condone behavior unbecoming of a police officer. I'm not saying that's what transpired, but it's an ongoing investigation," Court said. On Friday at 1 a.m., Devin Hartmann said he and his friends were getting food at Sheetz on Fifth Street when they were told to leave because they were recording. Hartmann said they left, but he returned because he forgot his cellphone. That's when he said it all went wrong. "I called the Sheetz, they're like yes, we have a phone, we're going to leave it in the office for you. I come back, whole different story, we don't have an iPhone." Video shows Ellwood City police officer pushing man Hartmann said that when he refused to leave, the police were called. Two officers responded to the Sheetz. The 20-year-old said he told officers it was his phone and even put the password in, but they wouldn't give it to him. Video shows the officer come from behind the food counter and push Hartmann, causing him to hit the wall and the floor. "I was really scared," Hartmann said. "I was shocked, I thought something bad was going to happen." Eventually, Hartmann gets up, gets his phone and asks the officer for his information. Hartmann's friend, 16-year-old Asher Rausch-Hicks, recorded the incident. He felt it was the only way he could help. "I thought it was the right thing to do because I didn't know what was going to happen after that," Rausch-Hicks said. "I was scared for my friend and myself." This is the only video KDKA has access to, as Ellwood police don't have body cameras. The video's been shared over 1,000 times on social media, with more than 295,000 views. KDKA asked Mayor Court, "What did you think when you saw the video, mayor?" "I'd like to believe, too, we like to de-escalate problems," he said. KDKA followed up, "Do you feel your officer was doing that in that moment?" "In the beginning, yes. But as things transpired, things a little bit escalated, and we don't condone that behavior," the mayor said. Currently, the officer is on personal time off. The mayor said he's been with the department for 26 years and was recently promoted to sergeant despite being investigated in 2017 for excessive force. "That came to fruition as we proceeded. It didn't get much steam," Court said. "I feel like that officer should be fired. I feel he does not deserve a gun at all if he's lashing out at people like that," Hartmann said.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Video of Sean Combs to Play Central Role in Sex-Trafficking Trial
When Sean Combs goes on trial for sex-trafficking charges beginning this week, the case could turn on disturbing video footage that the rap impresario's defense team fought to keep out. The footage shows Combs assaulting and dragging an ex-girlfriend in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Federal prosecutors say it backs up the allegations of the woman and three other alleged victims who are expected to testify that he abused, threatened and coerced them into participating in drug-fueled sex parties. Lawyers for Combs say the video has been distorted and taken out of context, but a judge denied their request to bar it from being shown to a jury. Six Friends Tried to Plan a Girls' Trip in a Group Chat. Things Went Sideways. The Giants of Silicon Valley Are Having a Midlife Crisis Over AI There's a National Egg Crisis, and One Company Is Making a Lot of Money 'I certainly understand why the defense was doing everything it could to exclude it,' said Elizabeth Geddes, a former federal prosecutor who was part of the team that won a conviction of R&B singer R. Kelly on racketeering and forced-labor charges in Brooklyn in 2021. 'I think it makes anyone who sees that just absolutely horrified.' Geddes said videos can be powerful evidence in sex-trafficking cases, because jurors sometimes find it difficult to believe a defendant could subject a victim to degrading behavior for long periods. 'Having a video is really just incredible support for witness testimony,' she said. Opening statements in the Combs trial are scheduled to begin after jury selection is completed Monday morning. The proceedings are expected to last about eight weeks, with both sides coming to the courtroom with unusually large teams. Combs is expected to have eight defense attorneys accompanying him, while six prosecutors will sit at the government's table. The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office charged Combs, founder of music label Bad Boy Records and clothing line Sean John, in September with running a decadeslong criminal enterprise that relied on employees, security staff and personal assistants to force women into orchestrated sex acts with him and male escorts. Alleged victims, often Combs' romantic partners, were plied with drugs at the parties, dubbed 'Freak Offs,' according to an indictment. They were compelled to participate out of fear that Combs would cut off financial support or derail their careers, prosecutors said. Combs is also accused of assaulting the alleged victims and brandishing guns if they resisted. He faces five criminal counts, including a racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to life in prison. Combs has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. He has been detained at a Brooklyn federal jail since his arrest last year. His lawyers said that the sex parties were consensual and that Combs led a swinger lifestyle that, while unusual to some, wasn't illegal. 'Does everybody have experience with being intimate this way? No,' Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, said at a hearing after his arrest. 'Is it sex trafficking? No, not if everybody wants to be there.' Combs's lawyers have accused the government of selective prosecutions, saying that he has been targeted for being a successful Black businessman. Prosecutors have denied the allegation. The 2016 Los Angeles assault, at the Intercontinental Hotel, features prominently in the indictment. Prosecutors say Combs attacked his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura as she attempted to leave a sex party he was hosting there. Combs paid $100,000 to hotel security to keep the video surveillance footage under wraps, prosecutors allege. Years later, it leaked anyway. Before Combs was charged, CNN obtained the video and aired it, prompting him to issue a public apology. His lawyers have since said there was mutual violence in the couple's relationship and the incident was a domestic dispute related to Ventura's discovery of his infidelity. A lawyer for Ventura didn't respond to a request for comment. Ventura and Combs reached a settlement in 2023 over a lawsuit she had brought accusing him of physical and mental abuse. Lawyers for Combs argued the presiding judge should exclude the CNN broadcast footage, as well as separate cellphone recordings of the hotel video, on the grounds that it would unfairly prejudice the jury. The CNN footage was sped up and the sequence of events was edited to inflame the passions of the news outlet's viewers, Combs's lawyers said. They have also complained that the cellphone videos don't show the whole series of events and distorted Combs's image, making him look stockier and more domineering. Prosecutors have agreed to correct the speed of the CNN video. A CNN spokesperson previously said the network never altered its video. The videos won't be easy to explain away. During jury selection, many prospective jurors said they had seen the footage. One recalled the video being 'upsetting to watch.' Another found it 'shocking' and 'scary.' A third wrote in a jury questionnaire that an image of the footage she had seen was 'damning evidence.' She was later dismissed from the jury pool. Write to James Fanelli at The Stealthy Lab Cooking Up Amazon's Secret Sauce One Year From Software Fiasco, Sonos Can Still Carry a Tune How World War II Became the Hottest Book Craze…for Kids
News24
11-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
What's in City Press: Why Mashatile's guards got off
Screengrab Video counts for nothing in disciplinary case against Mashatiles guards Eight of Deputy President Paul Mashatiles bodyguards have been acquitted in a disciplinary hearing because the authenticity of seemingly damning video evidence against them allegedly could not be verified. GNU leaders finally reached an agreement on budget The meeting between leaders of political parties in the government of national unity (GNU) held in Johannesburg on Thursday evening might have finally paved the way for the passing of the budget on the third attempt. Trump orders money meant for sick and elderly be used to fund Afrikaner refugees The US government is redirecting funds originally earmarked for sick, elderly and at-risk refugee populations to help resettle white Afrikaners. Kidnappings in SA: The lucky ones who made it out alive In July last year, police revealed that at least a dozen businesspeople and students had been kidnapped for ransom in Johannesburg in six months. In the past five years, the SAPS has reunited 17 968 missing children and adults with their loved ones nationwide. Senior Anglican Church bishop rocked by allegations of graft and misconduct The leadership squabble between Bishop Mthetheleli Charles May and senior bishops in the Anglican Church is deepening, with allegations of financial misconduct and abuse of power levelled against him. ANCs fury can't shake DAs resolve to stay in GNU - Steenhuisen While the ANC is still considering the DAs continued participation in the government of national unity (GNU), John Steenhuisen says his party will remain in government until they are kicked out. Ahead of this years Mothers Day, South African multi-talented artist who is also a wife and mother, among other things, Bontle Moloi made time out of her schedule to let us into her motherhood world. Oh my Sol! Rich businessperson brags with R25 million Brabus The six-wheel Mercedes worth about R25 million that he treated himself to on his 44th birthday is the only one in Africa, boasts a wealthy businessperson from North West. Photo fiasco: Steenhuisen admits mistake, apologises to De Jager It was the fault of a junior staff member in his communications department that Theo de Jager, chairperson of the South African Agricultural Initiative (Saai), was edited out of a group photo, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen admitted in a letter to De Jager. Journalists alleged killers have a history of violence According to police records, two of the men linked to the murder of journalist Aserie Ndlovu and his partner Zodwa Mdhluli have a criminal past, and one was out on parole when the murders took place. ANC members push for meeting to discuss DAs future in GNU Several senior members of the ANC want the party leadership to convene a meeting of the national executive committee (NEC) so that they can discuss the DA and the FF Plus continued participation in the government of national unity (GNU). Whats in City Press Sport on Sunday The drug found in Kagiso Rabadas system SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport can only announce the exact drug on 4 June, but City Press sister publication Rapport has established that the urine sample Rabada provided on 21 January after showed a metabolite of cocaine. Safa media officer Namhla Mphelo was accused of sharing information about an alleged payout to embattled Safa president Danny Jordaan. The decision contradicts the Ngoepe Commissions recommendation that Soweto derbies be played at the larger FNB Stadium. Barcelona are in pole position to clinch their first league title since 2022.
