Agent Robert Cessario acted to alter, destroy and mutilate the computer’s hard drive with the intent to impair its integrity and availability for use in an official proceeding, according to the criminal information filed by prosecutors. That proceeding was the federal prosecution of former state Sen. Jon Woods of Springdale and others associated with Woods.
Cessario wiped the hard drive of a laptop he had used to gather and send electronic files to defense attorneys in several cases. He had the hard drive wiped professionally and then wiped it himself before turning it over to investigators after defense attorneys discovered he had not transferred all the files to them.
[...]
Cessario said during the Woods investigation, he obtained recordings from a cooperating defendant and placed those recordings on his government-issued computer, according to the factual basis for his guilty plea filed with the court.
"Questions arose in the case about when and in what manner I had obtained the recordings," according to Cessario. "Therefore, the court ordered that the computer be forensically examined by the FBI."
Cessario said on Dec. 4, 2017, before taking the computer for the court-ordered forensic examination, he paid a commercial computer business to wipe the hard drive and then wiped it again himself on Dec. 6, 2017.
"I erased the contents of the computer hard drive knowing that the court had ordered that the computer be submitted for a forensic examination. I did so with the intention of making the contents of the computer’s hard drive unavailable for forensic examination," according to the document.
"At the time, I knew the contents of the hard drive were relevant to an official proceeding. I corruptly performed, and had performed, the erasures with the intent to impair the integrity and availability of the computer hard drive and its contents for use in that official proceeding."
"The Metropolitan police is taking a former senior officer to court, claiming her allegations of racism and sexism broke an agreement meant to gag her from speaking out, the Guardian has learned.
The Met says former chief superintendent Parm Sandhu must pay £60,000 plus interest after breaking a confidentiality agreement, also known as a non-disclosure agreement.
The legal action by Britain’s biggest police force led to claims from one former Met chief that it is abusing taxpayers’ money and its power to bury uncomfortable allegations of discrimination. A Met solicitor has revealed the use of gagging or non-disclosure agreements in a sworn statement to the court, seen by the Guardian..."
"Alabama pastor arrested while watering neighbour's plants
Alabama pastor arrested while watering neighbour's plants.
Footage has emerged of a pastor in the US state of Alabama being wrongfully arrested as he watered his neighbour's flowers.
Michael Jennings was handcuffed during the good deed, despite another neighbour telling police it was all a misunderstanding.
His lawyer says the incident - in May of this year - was a clear case of racial profiling."
Cops wanted to keep mass surveillance app secret; privacy advocates refused.
Fog Reveal is "almost invisible" when attempting to search for it online.
Much is known about how the federal government leverages location data by serving warrants to major tech companies like Google or Facebook to investigate crime in America. However, much less is known about how location data influences state and local law enforcement investigations. It turns out that's because many local police agencies intentionally avoid mentioning the under-the-radar tech they use—sometimes without warrants—to monitor private citizens.
Thousands of protesters march through Whitehall demanding justice as police watchdog launches homicide investigation
The family of Chris Kaba has called for the immediate suspension of the Metropolitan police officer involved in his fatal shooting.
The 24-year-old, who was due to become a father for the first time, was shot dead by a firearms officer in Streatham, south London, on Monday night.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has since launched a homicide investigation into his death, yet the Met is yet to confirm if any of those involved have been disciplined.
On Saturday, thousands of protesters marched through Whitehall demanding justice for Kaba..."