Tragedy of Police Wannabe

Jiro

Jiro

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Andrew Ringeisen: Overland Cop Charged in Killing "Police Wannabe" Ken Hamilton
Ken Hamilton didn't have much. No home. No job. But the 45-year-old was the proud owner of a Jeep outfitted with a police siren and flashing lights.

So, when the real police got a road-rage complaint March 20 that a driver in such a vehicle was intimidating other motorists with a cop siren, they knew just where to go. They headed over to where Hamilton was staying -- in the suburban St. Louis home belonging to his brother.

The police visit ended minutes later with Hamilton suffering a massive head injury that would claim his life five days later.

As the Post-Dispatch details this morning, St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch has charged Overland cop Andrew Ringeisen with first-degree involuntary manslaughter in Hamilton's death.

Neighbors described Hamilton as a "police wannabe", but apparently his admiration for cops wasn't mutual. According to McCulloch, Ringeisen and other officers got into an argument with Hamilton while confronting him over the road-rage incident. It was then that Ringeisen allegedly pushed Hamilton down three steps outside his brother's home.

Hamilton fell and hit his head. The cops left him there, and five days later Hamilton died in a hospital when he was taken off life support.
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I'm..... speechless........
 
Why did this guy have a jeep equipped with siren and lights? Isn't that illegal?
 
WTF? What a bunch of assholes. I hope they rot in prison for the rest of their lives.

Yiz
 
jillio said:
Why did this guy have a jeep equipped with siren and lights? Isn't that illegal?
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not if you're driving. For example - in NJ, you're allowed to have "police-like" strobe lights.... only if you're stationary. (I think)

maybe that guy was doing it borderline illegal.
 
Jiro said:
not if you're driving. For example - in NJ, you're allowed to have "police-like" strobe lights.... only if you're stationary. (I think)

maybe that guy was doing it borderline illegal.
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Maybe varies from state to state. The only vehicles around here that can be equipped with such are the personal vehicles of members of the police force or emergency squad. And they can only use them in responding to an emergency...not, for instance, to pull someone over when they are off duty.
 
Jiro said:
it's just 1 bad cop who pushed him
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they knew just where to go. They headed over to where Hamilton was staying -- in the suburban St. Louis home belonging to his brother.
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According to McCulloch, Ringeisen and other officers got into an argument with Hamilton
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The cops left him there
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One officer pushed him, but the other cops did nothing to stop him or arrest his ass on the spot. They all left him there to die. So one cop committed murder, the others are accessories to the crime. They all should have been arrested, not just one.

Yiz
 
Ringeisen allegedly pushed Hamilton down three steps outside his brother's home. Hamilton fell and hit his head. The cops left him there, and five days later Hamilton died
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More than one officer. Who were the others? and why did they leave him there?
and not report the injury/incident. Hope they get charged as well.
 
jillio said:
Maybe varies from state to state. The only vehicles around here that can be equipped with such are the personal vehicles of members of the police force or emergency squad. And they can only use them in responding to an emergency...not, for instance, to pull someone over when they are off duty.
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I don't know this guy's got in his jeep but.. maybe it's a modulator. maybe not.

A modulator is legal in all 50 states - federal law. It CAN look like police flashing light.
 
Straight up goons. This is just more proof that the problem with crooked police officers is more than just "a few isolated incidents." Clearly, being a police officer in this country carries a high liability for corruption. Sad.
 
TheWriteAlex said:
Straight up goons. This is just more proof that the problem with crooked police officers is more than just "a few isolated incidents." Clearly, being a police officer in this country carries a high liability for corruption. Sad.
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well - notice the line "So, when the real police got a road-rage complaint March 20 that a driver in such a vehicle was intimidating other motorists with a cop siren, they knew just where to go."

sounds like Ken had done this time several times. It's understandable that the police officers got pissed off probably because while Ken was disturbing the peace and intimidating the motorists.... perhaps there was nothing they can do to make Ken remove those police-like sirens.

It's just tragic and disappointing that this ended badly.
 
Jiro said:
I don't know this guy's got in his jeep but.. maybe it's a modulator. maybe not.

A modulator is legal in all 50 states - federal law. It CAN look like police flashing light.
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Just going on what the article says:

But the 45-year-old was the proud owner of a Jeep outfitted with a police siren and flashing lights.
 
I don't know what kind of workshop did they provide for cops at the cop station. I feel that these cop workshop needs to update the workshop ideas for cops to learn how to control their patience such as lost their tempers over civilians or over physical or deal with bad people everyday with bad feelings. That is where cops end up act like that. seriously, they need to update the new workshop something about control themselve as cop in reality for cops who works as a cop too long and losing their touch of reality.
 
Tsk. It was a bad week for St. Louis cops. One cop died last week during a car chase of a burglary suspect about a mile from where I live. He wouldn't have gotten into the chase if the dispatcher hadn't mistakenly told him that the suspect injured someone in the house he burglarized. Boom. Four-car accident. The funeral was two days ago, and another cop had a heart attack on the way home from it and crashed his car. He is still in a coma. Now this. Cheers to St. Louis's best.
 
update (well sort of - 3 months after the tragic incident)

Missouri Family Files Wrongful Death Suit against Overland Police
stairs.jpg


Three Overland residents file wrongful death suit after Overland police officers allegedly pushed their brother down a flight of stairs to his death in April of 2010.

On the night of March 20, police were called about a road rage incident in which a motorist driving a jeep had been using flashing lights and a siren. Knowing that Kenneth Hamilton owned a vehicle like this, police made a visit to his residence in the 2600 block of West Milton Avenue.

The suit says: "While investigating the prior traffic incident and interrogating Kenneth Hamilton, defendant Ringeisen excessively, and without provocation or cause, struck, punched, and/or pushed decedent down a flight of stairs within the residence causing serious and substantial injuries including a massive head injury, which required immediate medical care and treatment."

Instead of calling for the immediate medical help, the officers promptly left the home. The officers never reported the incident to their supervisors nor did they seek the necessary help for the victim.

The lawsuit, which was filed on April 5th, accuses the Overland police officers of using excessive and unnecessary force and leaving the scene without getting medical help for the victim, Kenneth Hamilton. The lawsuit also accuses the Overland Police Department of not properly training their officers. Hamilton suffered a massive head injury from the fall which ultimately led to his death.

The lawsuit says that Hamilton was unarmed and had not committed any crime. The suit also states that the officers did not have a warrant for Hamilton's arrest.

The St. Louis County prosecutor has filed manslaughter charges against one officer, Andrew Ringeisen, for pushing Hamilton down the stairs, but doesn't expect to charge anyone else.

The suit was filed by Hamilton's three brothers - Michael, Joseph and Anthony Hamilton. The suit is against the city of Overland, Ringeisen and two unnamed officers, referred to as John Doe I and John Doe II.

The suit seeks damages of over $25,000.
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