Sheriff and son accused of pistol-whipping New Mexico motorist

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Sheriff and son accused of pistol-whipping New Mexico motorist
By Joseph Kolb
ALBUQUERQUE N.M. Fri Aug 15, 2014 4:47pm EDT


(Reuters) - FBI agents arrested a New Mexico sheriff and his son on Friday after the lawman allegedly pistol-whipped a motorist following a high-speed car chase, officials said.

Prosecutors say Rio Arriba County Sheriff Thomas Rodella, 56, was not wearing his uniform when he and his 26-year-old son Thomas Jr. confronted the driver on March 11.

According to a federal indictment, the pair tried to get the motorist to fight them before chasing him when he drove off, and eventually dragging him out of his vehicle.

"Rodella assaulted (the victim) with the silver revolver while (the man) continually begged not to be shot," it said.

When the motorist asked to see Rodella's I.D., he "pulled (the victim's) head up from the dirt by his hair, and slammed his badge into (his) right cheek and eye and yelled, 'You want to see my badge? Here's my badge motherf****r!" according to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/15/us-usa-newmexico-sheriff-idUSKBN0GF1YF20140815?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=401

[Ash_F]

1. What? Did he go too far? /nt

[LloydS of New London]

2. Rodella's a fucking asshole

Believe me, he has way more violations than this. Just glad to see the bastard finally nailed. I'm not familiar with his son, so I'll refrain from comment on him.

[frylock]

3. cops that abuse their authority should receive double the sentence IF convicted..

just like cop killers. these fuckers are put in positions of trust and authority, and I find it particularly egregious when they do abuse their power. ending the segregation of convicted law enforcement and gen pop would also go a long way to curtailing such abuses imho.

[geretogo]

4. Welcome to Ayn Rand World where the individual is supreme with no government standards or morality to

get in the way of what you want to do .

[SoapBox]

5. Exactly.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

10. Just right. Good post.

[IrishAyes]

6. I hope those two cops get thrown under the jail forever.

[tblue37]

7. What a fine, upstanding lawman! Check out his record:

Even by the standards of some small-town lawmen over the years, Rodella has had a particularly colorful and controversial career spanning almost three decades.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that as a state police officer in the 1980s he was disciplined for marijuana use, physical abuse, and improper use of a weapon. And in 1993 he allegedly fired a weapon at a deer decoy set up by state game wardens to catch poachers.

In 2008 the New Mexico Supreme Court fired him from his post as a magistrate court judge in Rio Arriba County for "willful misconduct" after he involved himself in a friend's drunken driving case, and also promised to rule in favor of campaign supporters if they faced any litigation in his court.

And yet he keeps finding himself in positions of power and authority.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Looks as if he came to believe he could get by with any and everything.

It's about time he got rebuked, if they can manage it!

Thanks for the background.

[tblue37]

9. He will probably get off with no penalty or a slap on the wrist and will eventually end

up once again in a position of authority and power.