Author Archives: johnbryanlaw

About johnbryanlaw

John H. Bryan is a West Virginia criminal defense and civil rights attorney practicing out of Union, and Lewisburg, West Virginia. For more information, visit his website at www.johnbryanlaw.com.

Officer Magnifico, Who Lost His Temper, Slammed Kid at Sheetz, Has RESIGNED (but not really)

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Officer Rob Magnifico, formerly the chief of the Ellwood City (PA) Police Department, was demoted in June after he slammed a kid on the ground at a Sheetz gas station for using the “F” word while demanding his cell phone be returned, which he had previously accidentally left at the gas station. Apparently Magnifico recently resigned – but unfortunately, not from Ellwood City. Instead, he is challenging his prior discipline, and may actually be making more money, while exercising essentially the same authority as before his demotion.

Cop Accuses Couple of Trespassing on THEIR OWN Property

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A Marion County (Florida) Sheriff’s Deputy saw a couple sitting in their car, on their own property, where they were building a new “barndominium” in the middle of a large field behind their home. The deputy pulled onto the property, got out of his police cruiser, approaching the couple, who were sitting in their car eating a meal, as it was raining. There had been no report of criminal activity. The deputy just thought they looked suspicious and that they could be trespassing.

The police report:

Incident Report 25-14568 RedactedDownload

Trooper INDICTED by Feds | Massive Scandal Implicates Head of Kentucky State Police

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Kentucky State Police Trooper James Cameron Wright has finally been indicted by the feds for multiple civil rights violations, which were not only known by his chain of command, but some of which were personally reviewed and approved by the literal head of the Kentucky State Police. This includes beatings, perjury, and more. Kentucky civil rights attorney Chris Wiest gives us the scandalous details, including exclusive new bodycam footage of one of the incidents.

The Millet lawsuit:

Millet ComplaintDownload

The Blevins lawsuit:

Blevins ComplaintDownload

Raw Footage:

Wright’s full, unedited, raw bodycam footage from the Millet arrest can be viewed here.

Wright’s full, unedited, raw dash cam footage from the Millet arrest can be viewed here.

Cop Arrests Mom of 3 Filming His Illegal Traffic Stop | She Wins in Court

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On July 31, 2024, Kentucky State Police Trooper Myron Jackson took exception to Christen Johnson, a dental assistant and mom of 3 young children, silently filming his illegal traffic stop from her front porch. Trooper Jackson stormed up to Christen and threatened her, “Go inside of the house or I will take you from your kids and take you to jail.”

When Christen remained filming on her porch, Trooper Jackson grabbed her, forcefully pulled her from her porch, and dragged her across the ground. Christen’s two, seven, and ten-year-old children screamed and cried, watching helplessly as their mother was violently hand- cuffed and dragged away to jail. When she got out of jail the next day, she was forced to walk several miles home, and when she got there, she found her children gone.

The lawsuit:

Johnson suit filed copyDownload

Cop Slams Handcuffed Woman, Gets Charged With a Felony

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In Ormond Beach, Florida, Officer Jacob Cannon has been arrested and charged with a felony, after being caught on bodycam slamming a handcuffed woman to the ground during a DUI arrest.

Cops Humiliated by Angry Victim After Supervisor Arrives

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In Margate, Florida, Officer Sohn of the Margate Police Department observed a man sitting in his parked car during daylight hours in a local park. He approaches the driver’s side window of the car and begins to ask questions and demand identification. The officer refuses to take no for an answer, and the situation escalates to eventually holding the man in handcuffs. Once the supervisor arrives however, Officer Sohn is unable to justify his actions.

Grandmother Arrested on 25 Year-Old Warrant for Someone Else | Lawsuit Filed!

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In the blink of an eye, a peaceful day of yardwork for Penny McCarthy turned into a nightmare. She was on her driveway in Phoenix, Arizona, in a sleeveless shirt, shorts, and slippers, when a team of United States Marshals pulled up in unmarked vehicles and aimed firearms at her.

Penny—who is a 67-year-old grandmother—was clearly at their mercy. And yet, the officers threatened to “hit” her, frisked her, placed her in handcuffs and ankle shackles, and drove her away from home. The officers did not so much as check Penny’s driver’s license or run any other basic checks on her identity before violently arresting her.

The whole time, Penny calmly but persistently insisted that there must be a mistake. The officers claimed that she was Carole Rozak, for whom they had an arrest warrant. But Penny was not Rozak, and Penny had no connection to Rozak. The officers had made a huge, inexcusable error.

Here are more details from the Institute for Justice.

You can DONATE to the Institute for Justice here.

The complaint that was filed by the Institute for Justice:

AZ-Mistaken-ID-Stamped-ComplaintDownload

When Cops Demand ID for a Walmart Trespass, But No Crime is Suspected

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Eddie and his mom went to the Gadsden, Alabama, Walmart to pick up a pair of shoes. But a Karen security guard called the cops and requested that they trespass Eddie from the store. Even though Sgt. Unlu of the Gadsden Police Department admitted that Eddie had committed no crime, he wanted Eddie’s ID in order to provide his personal information to Walmart for purposes of a trespass notice. This is a common issue around the country. Is there a Walmart exception to the 4th Amendment, or does Eddie have any constitutional protections in this scenario?

Cop Slams Kid Asking For His Phone Back | Now Suspended | But More Videos Surface

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At a Sheetz gas station in Ellwood City, PA, Officer Rob Magnifico of the Elwood City PD threw a kid on the ground after the kid asked for his phone to be returned. Even though Magnifico wasn’t wearing a bodycam, another kid filmed the incident. Then Magnifico knocked the phone out of the kid’s hand. Then the kid’s mom posted the video on Facebook, which resulted in Magnifico getting suspended. But was it enough? More videos of Officer Magnifico have surfaced.

Media reports referenced in the video:

Man Secretly Records Cop Lose It & Attack, Taser, Arrest Him for Cursing in Public

Ellwood City officer demoted, suspended without pay after confrontation with man at gas station

Police officer under investigation after confrontation with man at gas station

After video shows Ellwood City officer confronting man, another shares similar encounter

Magnifico to stay on Ellwood police force, but demoted to patrolman

The mom’s Facebook post:

CVS Employee Arrested Waiting on Bench for Lyft Driver (7 MINUTES after closing the store)

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22 year-old Paul was sitting outside the CVS store where he works in Edgewater, FL, sitting on a bench waiting for a ride using the Lyft app. Edgewater Police Department Officer Daniel Rippeon observed Paul and concluded that he looked suspicious. No crime had been committed. No crime had been alleged by anyone to have been committed. Yet Paul was almost immediately seized and threatened with being tased and bitten by a police K9. He was taken to jail, despite the fact that Officer Rippeon was fully aware that Paul was a store employee waiting for a Lyft driver.

Arrest report:

Other incident video from James Madison Audits.

Here’s the full unedited raw bodycam from Ofc. Rippeon, so that you can see what was cut and that there was no misleading editing involved. This is as provided via FOIA request from the City of Edgewater, FL: