---------------------------------
Ira B. Robins
Investigative Consultant
Post Office Box 302
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
414-305-8832
irarobins@gmail.com
Teresa
L. Carlson
Special
Agent in Charge
Federal
Bureau of Investigation
330 East Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 600
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Mr.
James L. Santelle
U.S.
Attorney for the Eastern District
517
East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 530
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin 53202
November 26, 2012
Subject: Request for investigation into criminal constitutional
rights violations by City of Kenosha law enforcement officers.
Dear Agent Carlson and
U.S. Attorney Santelle:
I respectfully request an investigation into the Michael Edward Bell homicide on
November 9, 2004, by Officer Albert B. Gonzales of the Kenosha, Wisconsin
Police Department. Please include in
your investigation the ensuing and continuing
conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and all
civil rights violations concerning his death.
These crimes were committed by several officers, their supervisors, and Chiefs of Police John
Morrissey and Daniel Wade all acting under the color of state law. You will find overwhelming
evidence to support my allegations in the attached Affidavit.
An investigation into the pattern and practice of perjury, falsified
police reports, concealment of evidence, and acts
of dishonesty that are the result of institutional
dishonesty at the Kenosha Police Department is also requested. This institutional
misconduct substantiates the police behavior that has resulted in the denial of
the civil rights of Michael Edward Bell and the citizens of Kenosha,
Wisconsin.
The enclosed submission contains the following sections:
Section Number one is my Affidavit containing evidence of
the criminal conduct surrounding the Michael Edward Bell homicide.
Section Number two is the Affidavit of Attorney Denise
Hertz-McGrath who practices the majority of her work in Kenosha County and
provides additional evidence to support the claim of institutional dishonesty.
Section Number three is the Affidavit of (Ret.) Detective Russell R. Beckman
of Kenosha, Wisconsin, citing specific cases and providing substantial proof of
many acts of police misconduct.
On November 9, 2004, a Kenosha,
Wisconsin, police officer shot and killed Michael Edward Bell in the driveway
of his residence. The original official
police reports of the four police officers claimed that a lieutenant had been
physically holding Mr. Bell in a bear hug, slightly bent forward at the hip, over
the hood of the driver’s side of the car. These reports stated that Bell had
been shot with a semi-automatic handgun placed directly against the left side
of his head by an officer who had been standing in front of that vehicle. Those reports were false. Michael Edward Bell had actually been shot in
the right side of his head.
The four police
officers maintained this story until after they all testified in depositions
relating to a civil case brought by the Bell family. It was at this time that they
learned from the Bell family’s attorneys that the autopsy report of the medical
examiner showed that Bell had actually been shot in the right side of the
head.
Subsequently, the
police officers involved created a second version and participated in a
video-taped reenactment purporting to show how Michael Edward Bell was twisting
his body at the time that he was shot.
In their new version, the lieutenant still claimed that he was standing
behind Mr. Bell when the shot was fired but he added that Mr. Bell was twisting
and turning at the time. There was no
mention in either the police reports or the lieutenant’s deposition that Mr.
Bell had been twisting or turning. This
new reenactment shows that the lieutenant would have been directly behind Mr.
Bell and in the line of fire, but there was no blood on his uniform nor was he
struck by the bullet after it passed through Mr. Bell’s head as would have been
expected.
The police officers
involved then created a third version and video reenactment in which they
claimed more new facts that were also contrary to the forensic evidence and the
medical examiner’s report. The contact
wound on Michael Edward Bell’s head did not match the new story, and the bullet casing that had been ejected from the
gun was found in a location opposite to where its trajectory should have taken
it. Additionally, eyewitnesses reported that the officer who did the shooting was
not where the other officers claimed he had been at the time he fired the fatal
shot. One witness reported hearing a
male voice yell immediately after the shot was fired, “What did you do that for?
That wasn’t necessary! Get someone here
right now!” (All of the citizen witnesses reported being at the scene at that
moment, besides the four police officers, were female.)
The officer who had
fired the shot claimed in a fourth version that he had held his gun sideways, “gangster
style,” and that was why the casing was found where it was. That statement was contrary to the forensic
evidence and the reports and affidavits of the medical examiner. It is absolutely
contrary to what the officer had testified to under oath in his deposition.
The aforementioned
facts of rehearsed collaboration constitute Conspiracy, Obstruction of Justice,
and the Violation of Civil Rights (Criminal) and are supported by the official
reports of the Kenosha Police Department, the sworn affidavits and testimony of
the officers, statements of citizen witnesses, and
the reports and affidavits of the medical examiner.
Based upon the falsified
information provided by the police officers, it is not known, and will never be
known without a proper investigation, if the shooting of Michael Edward Bell
was an overzealous reaction by a police officer, a tragic mistake covered up by
the officers, or, in fact, a deliberate
murder.
Within 48 hours after
the incident, the Kenosha Police Department declared the death of Michael
Edward Bell a “good” shooting. The
Kenosha County District Attorney, based his defective decision on the falsified information provided by the four officers and ruled
the death of Michael Edward Bell “justifiable.”
Kenosha’s expert witnesses provided “illegitimate” opinions
based on the falsified information provided by
the officers concluding that the police actions were reasonable.
The evidence shows conclusively that the officers committed a number of federal
crimes in their attempts to cover up what actually happened the night Michael
Edward Bell was killed.
I submit herewith my
sworn Affidavit supported by numerous exhibits which serve as the factual basis
of my request for an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
United States Attorney.
I also attach the sworn
Affidavit of an attorney who presently practices law in Kenosha County. This Affidavit contains specific instances,
including a video recording of continuing police misconduct and a pattern and
practice of lies, perjury, and the withholding of exculpatory evidence that
constitute violations of federal crimes committed under color of state law. This attorney
first reported the misconduct to the United States Attorney’s office more than
two years ago.
Lastly, I attach the
sworn Affidavit of a retired Kenosha police detective that details specific
evidence of police misconduct as well as proof of a pattern and practice of perjury,
and withholding exculpatory evidence. These actions reflect numerous federal crimes
committed under the color of law. The
information and evidence of criminal conduct provided by the retired detective
relates to some of the same detectives, supervisors, and officers who investigated the death of Michael Edward Bell and
participated in the cover-up.
All documents,
transcripts, photography, and records not attached in this document are
available to you in their entirety and will be immediately provided upon
request.
Thank you for your
attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
QUESTIONS: Does anyone know what the federal government is doing about this criminal conduct? Why do the FBI and US Attorney keep everything a secret? What is taking them so long to conduct this investigation? Don't they know that the Kenosha Police, District Attorney, City Attorney, Police and Fire Commission, and others have been hiding and destroying evidence? That they are knowingly obstructing justice? What in the hell do you have to do to get them to move off dead center?
