(SUMTER, S.C.) — Three children and one man were killed in an apparent domestic mass shooting in South Carolina, authorities said.
A second man, who authorities believe was the shooter, was also found dead at the scene Tuesday night, the Sumter Police Department said.
Additional information was not immediately available. Police in Sumter, about 45 miles east of Columbia, said they didn’t believe there’s a threat to the public.
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(NEW YORK) — A little over two years ago, Richard Loew and his wife Donna were settling into a relaxing, new stage of their life: retirement in Florida.
But then came a government-branded letter, informing them that payments were due on nearly $100,000 of pandemic-relief loans, called Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or EIDL.
The loans were registered to the Loews’ Palm City, Florida, address. Each was for under $50,000.
One loan was under the name “Loew Farms,” while the other was simply under “Donna Farms.”
But Richard, a retired physician, and Donna, who works with a cat rescue nonprofit, had never taken out the loans, nor did they have a farm in their gated community on the Florida coast.
Still, the Small Business Administration continued to send letters with threats to garnish their wages and lower their credit scores.
“It’s scary,” Donna Loew told ABC News. “The fact that they can start taking money from us. What are we going to do? It’s the government.”
Richard Loew says he’s taken more than 200 pages of notes over the last two years, documenting dozens of calls with SBA customer service, affidavits reporting his and his wife’s identity theft with the Federal Trade Commission and local law enforcement, attempts to escalate his case to the FBI and letters written to both his local congressmen.
Still, the letters from SBA keep coming, he said.
“It makes me feel like I’m some sort of deadbeat. And the truth is, I worked hard to, you know, not be that person,” Loew said.
The Loews are just two of the thousands of Americans whose stolen identities were used to wrongly obtain COVID-19 relief money as over $5 trillion was pushed out to the American public to keep a halted economy afloat.
Three years later, watchdog groups, investigators, Congress and the White House are avidly trying to claw money back and nail down exactly how much taxpayer money was stolen.
But people like the Loews have slipped through the cracks — a major part of the problem, they say, but not a focus of the solution.
“What recourse do I have?” Loew asked.
A once-in-a-century pandemic forcing a false choice: speed over security
Michael Horowitz, chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), a federal watchdog charged with tracking how much money was defrauded from the government during COVID, said the Loews’ experience is not unusual.
A recent PRAC report found that nearly 70,000 potentially suspect Social Security numbers were used to successfully apply for EIDL or Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds, totaling $5.4 billion.
Yet Horowitz reiterated that the path to recourse is challenging for those tens of thousands of Americans who could’ve had their identities stolen.
“Unfortunately, for most on the federal level, there’s very little resources available,” Horowitz told ABC News.
“What we’re seeing is the victims are often struggling out there to deal with these problems that were created by others, that the agencies didn’t do enough to protect their identities,” he said.
A major reason that those protections weren’t in place, Horowitz said, was the need for speed.
“A decision was made at the outset of the pandemic. Speed was the key. We’re going to send the money out. We’re not going to vet people,” Horowitz said.
The thinking was that “you investigators, you’ll go catch it later, go chase the fraud later. We just want to get the money out,” he said. “That was a bad choice. It was the wrong choice. It never should have happened.”
Those holes in the programs have also been documented by the inspector general for the SBA, the independent watchdog with oversight of the department, who says accounting for the fraud will continue to dog the SBA into 2023.
“I believe managing COVID-19 stimulus lending is the greatest overall challenge facing SBA, and it may likely continue to be for many years as the agency grapples with fraud in the programs,” Inspector General Hannibal Ware said in a report.
Ware noted that SBA faced unprecedented demand in 2020, processing the same amount of loans it had in the last 14 years in just 14 days. It also expanded its staff by 10 times.
Still, a review of several reports from the SBA inspector general reveals how the agency “lowered guardrails” to handle the tidal wave of pandemic relief loans in ways that “significantly increased the risk of fraud.”
And in a 2021 report, Ware also cited the specific issue facing the Loews: “At the time of our review, we found SBA did not provide status updates to those reporting COVID-19 EIDL identity theft,” Ware wrote.
“These individuals have been waiting a long time, some of them for months, for a resolution on potentially fraudulent loans in their names that could negatively affect their ability to obtain credit,” he wrote, citing 18 interviews with prospective identity theft victims.
The SBA did eventually implement a reporting process for identity theft within their programs, setting up a central email address in February 2021 where people with claims could send a set of forms outlined at sba.gov/fraud, under a section called “Report identity theft to SBA.”
About 25,000 people have reached out to report identity theft to the email address, the SBA told ABC News. Of those cases, 8,000 claims have been processed and cleared by the SBA so far, with another 5,000 still under review.
The SBA also said it’s tried to reach out to thousands more people who could be victims of identity theft but haven’t fully completed the reporting process or who might not know that their information was used for a loan.
In a statement, the department said it “has dramatically improved its technology and expanded its staff capacity” since early in the pandemic, and is “committed to assisting people and providing expeditious relief to victims of identity theft.”
The Loews, however, said they’ve followed that process outlined by the SBA, but to no avail. And their experience, over two years later, shows how complicated it can be to get relief.
Despite all of his efforts, in a phone call in mid-March shared with ABC News, an SBA customer service center loan agent told Loew his case remained under investigation, and they received another letter in the mail as recently as late February demanding repayment.
The SBA, in response to inquiries into Loew’s case from ABC News, initially said that it couldn’t confirm or deny any cases of potential identity fraud due to long standing policy. But on Monday evening, an official followed up to say that they had reached out to the Loews.
From ‘lowered guardrails’ to ‘reforms’
The SBA also told ABC News that “additional reforms” to get relief for identity theft victims within the SBA’s programs are still in the process, including using multi-factor authentication and a new process to pause billing once someone has reported identity theft, SBA spokesperson Christina Carr said in a statement.
Much of those reforms will be guided by an expected executive order from President Joe Biden, who pledged over a year ago to sign an order in the “coming weeks” that would direct “new actions to support the victims of identity fraud.”
Administration officials told ABC News that the action is still expected to come soon, though they didn’t provide concrete timing.
Biden also recently called on Congress to approve $1.6 billion to crack down on fraud, including $300 million to triple the “strike forces” within the Department of Justice investigating COVID relief fraud and $400 million to help victims.
Those efforts show the pandemic has been a wake-up call, Horowitz said.
“We’re going to keep putting out reports about this and our hope is that Congress and the executive branch take the actions that are desperately needed to fix these problems,” he said.
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(NEW YORK) — Jennifer Thompson misses “her boys.”
Five days since her husband and son disappeared while kayaking on Beaver Lake in Arkansas, Thompson said that law enforcement is now working to recover their bodies. Lt. Shannon Jenkins of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the two are presumed dead. Thompson believes they likely drowned after one fell into the cold lake from a kayak and the other tried to rescue him.
“What saved me from the beginning of this is that they died together; they were together,” Thompson said.
Her son, Charlie Morris, 20, was a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University where he played violin and guitar, competed as a three-season runner, led the orchestra, and aspired to be a lawyer. Her husband, Chuck Morris, 46, was a father to Charlie and a 12-year-old daughter, as well as an acclaimed percussionist with the electronic-jam band Lotus.
According to Chuck’s bandmate Jesse Miller, Lotus had just finished a 25-city tour. Charlie was home for vacation, and the family decided to travel from Kansas City to Beaver Lake, Arkansas to unwind.
“We thought it would be a great idea for Chuck and Charlie to be able to get on the kayaks before a storm hit,” Thompson said.
While she and her daughter went into town, “the boys” went out on the kayaks on March 16, despite the cold water, strong currents and three-foot waves.
When Thompson returned, Chuck and Charlie were nowhere to be found, which was not initially a cause for alarm.
“We got home, and they weren’t back yet. My husband being the adventurer that he is, we’re like, ‘oh, they must be having a great time,'” she said.
According to Thompson, “crisis mode” set in as time passed. They drove around the lake twice, scanning the water for the father-and-son kayakers. After failing to find them, Thompson called the police later that afternoon.
Rescue teams searched the area for days using helicopters, drones, sonar, and dogs. Neighbors also used their boats to aid in the rescue.
On the first night, they recovered a kayak, and the next day another, Thompson said. They later found Chuck’s hat and his coat, but other than those traces, the two men disappeared.
“I guess the first couple of days I really just wanted to hold out some hope,” Miller recalled. “You know, as that dwindled, and the reality became more real, I guess the grief started to set in a little bit more.”
Jenkins said the recovery effort would scale back on Wednesday. It’s unclear when or if the bodies will be recovered, according to Thompson.
She said the current theory is that one of the men fell into the water from his kayak. Weighed down by soaked clothing, he struggled to swim, prompting the other to leave his kayak to attempt a rescue. In the cold water of Beaver Lake, the two likely drowned, Thompson said. She added that the theory was corroborated when cadaver dogs hit near the location of the theorized site of the drowning.
Looking back, Thompson said the cold and choppy conditions on the lake were “for all intents and purposes a perfect storm for drowning.”
As the rescue continued, friends of the family and fans of Lotus began an outpouring of support online. A GoFundMe to support the family’s expenses raised $87,347 as of Tuesday evening. With the grief came memories of the father and son — musical dynamos who Thompson described as “beautifully gentle, loving men.”
“Chuck was fun and creative and funny, and Charlie was pensive and serious and very much believed in the responsibility of people to be good,” she said.
Miller, who spoke to ABC News on behalf of the band Lotus, said that while the group is grieving their late band member, they remember Chuck as a great musician, father and friend.
“When he was on stage, and he was playing that music, he embodied just beauty and spirit and love,” Thompson added.
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(TAMPA, Fla.) — Three “heroic” security guards stopped an armed man from entering a Florida strip club and helped to avert a possible mass shooting, police said.
In dramatic surveillance video released by the Tampa Police Department on Tuesday, a man can be seen walking toward the door of the club, Mons Venus, early Sunday morning wearing a red “devil mask.” He wielded a flashlight in one hand and a fully loaded 9 mm handgun in the other, according to police. He also had the words “kill” and “darkk [sic] one” on his arms, police said.
A “watchful and alert” security guard saw the man and attempted to take the firearm, Interim Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said during a press briefing Tuesday.
The security guard, Manuel Resto, told reporters he noticed the red mask as the man took “measured steps” toward the door.
“I was like, OK, it’s not Halloween,” Resto said, recalling his confusion.
Resto said he then saw the man point the gun toward the door.
“I then decided that he was not going to enter the club and hurt anybody,” Resto said.
During an ensuing struggle, Resto said he was hit in the head “quite a few times” by the gun.
“I almost went unconscious, but … I wasn’t going to let this happen,” he said. “I was not going to let him win. He was not going to hurt nobody.”
A single round from the gun struck the front door of the venue before Resto was able to knock it out of the suspect’s hand, Bercaw said.
Two other security guards helped Resto restrain the suspect, identified by police as 44-year-old Michael Rudman, and keep him pinned to the ground until authorities arrived.
“All of this happened in less than a minute,” Bercaw said. “And any police officer will tell you — fighting with an armed suspect for a minute seems like an eternity.”
Upon arriving at the scene, police allegedly found two fully loaded magazines in the suspect’s pocket, along with additional ammunition, nine knives and firearm accessories in his pickup truck, which was parked near the club, authorities said.
Roughly 200 people were inside the venue at the time of the incident, which occurred around 1:15 a.m., police said. No one inside was injured.
“There is no question in my mind that had it not been for the brave men you see standing next to me that we could have been here discussing a mass shooting in the city of Tampa. But thanks to their heroic actions, today an armed suspect is in custody and no lives were lost,” Bercaw said.
Police said Tuesday they are still investigating a motive. Detectives have since learned that Rudman allegedly visited the establishment the previous night.
Rudman faces charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault, both felonies, and battery, which is a misdemeanor, court records show. He also faces the charge of purchasing, possessing or receiving a firearm while under a risk protection order. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office served him a risk protection order last year, Tampa police said.
Rudman is being held in a Hillsborough County jail with no bond. A pre-trial detention hearing has been scheduled for Friday, court records show. ABC News was unable to reach his public defender for comment.
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(WASHINGTON) — Prosecutors in the special counsel’s office have presented compelling preliminary evidence that former President Donald Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office, a former top federal judge wrote Friday in a sealed filing, according to sources who described its contents to ABC News.
U.S. Judge Beryl Howell, who on Friday stepped down as the D.C. district court’s chief judge, wrote last week that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith’s office had made a “prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,” according to the sources, and that attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers could therefore be pierced.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in his handling of classified documents.
In her sealed filing, Howell ordered that Evan Corcoran, an attorney for Trump, should comply with a grand jury subpoena for testimony on six separate lines of inquiry over which he had previously asserted attorney-client privilege.
Sources added that Howell also ordered Corcoran to hand over a number of records tied to what Howell described as Trump’s alleged “criminal scheme,” echoing prosecutors. Those records include handwritten notes, invoices, and transcriptions of personal audio recordings.
In reaching the so-called prima facie standard to pierce Corcoran’s privilege, Howell agreed prosecutors made a sufficient showing that on its face would appear to show Trump committed crimes. The judge made it clear that prosecutors would still need to meet a higher standard of evidence in order to seek charges against Trump, and more still to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“It is a lower hurdle, but it is an indication that the government had presented some evidence and allegation that they had evidence that met the elements of a crime,” Brandon Van Grack, a former top national security official in the Justice Department who is now in private practice, told ABC News.
Howell found that prosecutors showed “sufficient” evidence that Trump “intentionally concealed” the existence of additional classified documents from Corcoran, sources said, putting Corcoran in an unwitting position to deceive the government.
It’s unclear what evidence Howell may have reviewed under seal from both DOJ and Trump’s attorneys to help her arrive at her decision.
In response to ABC News, a Trump campaign spokesperson said, in part, “Shame on Fake News ABC for broadcasting ILLEGALLY LEAKED false allegations from a Never Trump, now former chief judge, against the Trump legal team.”
“The real story here, that Fake News ABC SHOULD be reporting on, is that prosecutors only attack lawyers when they have no case whatsoever,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office declined to comment to ABC News.
The developments described by sources illustrate another dimension of the former president’s ongoing legal vulnerabilities. As Smith’s classified documents probe marches forward, prosecutors in New York are mulling a separate indictment against Trump over hush payments he allegedly paid to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump also faces scrutiny in Georgia over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state, and Smith is continuing his own probe into Trump’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.
Central to Smith’s efforts in the classified documents probe is determining whether lawyers who represented the former president falsely certified in response to a grand jury subpoena that Trump had returned all classified records to the government or whether Trump himself sought to conceal records that he might have unlawfully retained.
Federal prosecutors have claimed that lawyers for Trump certified in June 2022 that a “diligent search” of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate turned up just 38 classified documents stored in a secured storage room. But two months later, when FBI agents raided the premises, they found more than 100 additional documents marked classified — some of which were located outside of the storage room, including in Trump’s office desk, prosecutors said.
In her order last Friday, Howell was unsparing in her criticism of Trump’s actions since early last year in response to the government’s attempts to retrieve all classified documents taken from the White House. At one point she described Trump’s interactions with officials from the National Archives as a “dress rehearsal,” sources said, for his later efforts at misdirection in response to the grand jury subpoena.
As ABC News has previously reported, investigators sought to compel the testimony of Corcoran and another Trump attorney, Jennifer Little, as part of their probe, citing the crime-fraud exception, which allows for attorney-client privilege to be pierced in cases where it is suspected that legal services were rendered in the commission of a crime. Sources told ABC News that Howell ordered Little’s testimony as well, with the exception of one of the topics for which she sought to assert attorney-client privilege.
Sources said prosecutors have sought to question Corcoran on how he aided another Trump attorney, Christina Bobb, in drafting the June 2022 statement to the Justice Department, which Bobb ultimately signed.
Attorneys for Trump were expected to appeal Howell’s Friday ruling, sources said.
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(SEA ISLE CITY, N.J.) — A pod of eight dolphins died after being stranded on two beaches in New Jersey on Tuesday, according to an animal rescue and rehabilitation center.
The sea creatures washed up on 50th and 52nd Street beaches, according to Sea Isle City officials, who warned the public not to approach the dolphins, where police and state workers attempted to aid the animals.
According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, two of the dolphins died on one of the beaches, while the organization’s veterinarian euthanized the other six after an assessment determined that the dolphins’ health was failing.
“The decision was made to humanely euthanize the dolphins to prevent further suffering, as returning them to the ocean would have only prolonged their inevitable death,” Marine Mammal Stranding Center said in a statement posted on Facebook.
The dolphins were sent to a state laboratory where a necropsy will be performed, the center said.
“We share in the public’s sorrow for these beautiful animals and hope that the necropsies will help us understand the reason for their stranding,” Marine Mammal Stranding Center said.
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(NEW YORK) — Criminal prosecution proceedings typically start with an arrest and a court appearance, but legal experts say that on many occasions, especially in white collar crimes, suspects aren’t hit with charges or a visit from an officer until long after an official investigation is underway.
Being charged vs. indicted
Typically, if a crime is being investigated, law enforcement agents will make an arrest, file initial charges and bring a suspect to be arraigned in court, Vincent Southerland, an assistant professor of clinical law and the director of the criminal defense and reentry clinic at NYU School of Law, told ABC News.
After this arraignment, prosecutors would impanel a grand jury for a formal criminal indictment. Southerland, who has been practicing law in New York state for 19 years, said this process includes giving the jury evidence, possible testimony and other exhibits before they can officially charge a person with felonies.
New York is one of 25 states where prosecutors are required by law to have a grand jury decide on felony charges for a trial. The other half of the country does not have this requirement and such decisions can be made by the prosecutor themselves.
Southerland said in most criminal cases, “prosecutors and investigators have more than enough evidence or a case to bring that indictment in quickly.”
Why prosecutors may take long for an indictment
However, Southerland noted that prosecutors can start with the criminal indictment process in the beginning, especially if their case needs more evidence to press those charges.
Cheryl Bader, an associate clinical professor of law at Fordham University, told ABC News that such a move is common in white collar criminal investigations that involve looking at delicate nuances in the state law and require more time.
Bader said investigations into prominent figures, such as the current investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office into former President Donald Trump, also prompt prosecutors’ offices to make their case to the grand jury in the most meticulous and thorough way possible.
A Manhattan grand jury is currently investigating Trump’s possible role in the hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and having an affair with Daniels. His attorneys have framed the funds as a response to an extortion plot.
“In an investigation like this, the prosecutor isn’t in a rush and wants to put their ducks in order. They want the evidence fully organized before they go to trial,” Bader told ABC News.
Southerland said that in some cases, a defendant might be offered the opportunity to testify before a grand jury and go on the record.
Two weeks ago, the Manhattan DA’s office informed Trump of his right to testify before the grand jury in the probe, according to sources.
One of Trump’s attorneys, Joe Tacopina, however, told “Good Morning America’s” George Stephanopoulos last week that his client has “no plans” to participate.
Southerland said that anything a witness or a defendant testifies in a grand jury can be used in court.
“It hamstrings here if you want to change your defense,” he said.
What happens after an indictment
Bader said suspects who are indicted can be arrested and remanded into custody while they await trial, but in most white-collar cases, the defendant is released on their own recognizance.
Southerland said another advantage that prosecutors have when it comes to indicting a suspect first before charging them is the secrecy and confidentiality of the grand jury. He noted, however, that in Trump’s pending case, media attention and witness statements have brought the case into the public eye.
“With a lot of things Trump-related, a lot of conventions just don’t hold,” he said.
Burden of proof
Southerland said that in all grand jury indictment cases, jurors are only tasked with determining if a case is strong enough that it should go to a criminal trial.
“The burden of proof is incredibly low,” he said. “This is not like in a criminal trial where something needs to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
As the investigation into Trump continues, Southerland said the public needs to keep in mind that criminal indictments and charges aren’t indicative of any suspect’s guilt.
“When we talk about indictments, we’re talking about whether there is enough evidence to go forward with a trial, which is probable cause,” he said. “Defendants are still innocent until proven guilty and the indictment is just the first step of the legal process.”
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(NEW YORK) — ABC News National Correspondent Stephanie Ramos says she “never thought” the military would be in her future while growing up. But soon after the 9/11 terror attacks, Ramos joined the Army Reserve. Five years later, she was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, and was there for a year before returning home.
Twenty years after the U.S. invasion, Ramos joined three service members who were deployed to Iraq — retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro, retired U.S. Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson and active-duty Air Force Lt. Col. Bree Fram — to talk about their experiences and reflect on the horrors of war.
STEPHANIE RAMOS: So let’s start with introductions.
ISRAEL DEL TORO: Israel Del Toro, Jr. Retired, CMS Sergeant. Served 22 years as a special warfare fighter. I was there in Iraq from the beginning.
SHOSHANA JOHNSON: Shoshana Johnson, U.S. Army, deployed in 2003. Shot twice, captured, 22 days as a prisoner of war.
BREE FRAM: Bree Fram. I’m a lieutenant colonel in the United States Space Force. I previously served 18 years in the Air Force, where I deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, and then went back in 2017 and ’18 as an international affairs officer.
RAMOS: Thank you for being here, all of you. You all have a very unique background. You all have different paths in the military, and that’s what I love about the military. It really brings together this random group of people from all over the country, and you’re working with them, you’re in tight quarters with them, you’re deploying overseas with them. It’s very, very unique. We were all deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. We all have very different experiences. Shoshana, talk a little bit about your time when you deployed. You were a mom when you deployed to Iraq. And your daughter was how old?
JOHNSON: She was 2.
RAMOS: Two years old! As a mom, what was that moment like for you?
JOHNSON: It’s what we do, you know. As a military family, we’ve gone through this process so many times. Our family is military. My dad is a Desert Storm vet. Great uncles, cousins, we all served. My sister served. I was in JROTC in high school, and everything like that. We’re also immigrants from Panama. Emotionally, yes, you’re leaving your kid behind. But I was also the kid that got left behind when my dad deployed. Of course, you want to see all those milestones. I had already missed her first birthday. I missed her first words. I missed her first steps, because we’re training and stuff like that. My only thing was to get home to see her become a grown woman.
RAMOS: And talk to us a little bit about that. When you were there in Iraq, what happened?
JOHNSON: March 23rd. My company went into the city of Nasiriyah before it was secure. We were ambushed. We lost 11. Eight of us were captured, taken to Baghdad, where we spent 22 days in captivity. We heard the conflict going on constantly around us. You know, just hoping and praying that we’d be found. There were incidents where they weren’t so nice. And there were other incidents where I was surprised at the kindness I was shown. During my captivity, they actually performed the operation to clean out the wounds of my legs. I’m very grateful that they took the time to do that. I don’t know if I’d be here or if I’d have legs without that kindness.
RAMOS: And what was going through your mind during that time that you’re being held?
JOHNSON: Lots of prayer. Lots of hope of seeing my daughter and my family again. I was thinking, “Why did this happen to me?” I think now that I’ve returned home, I asked more of the questions of, “Why me?” You know? Nine people died. Why am I here? And it’s something I struggle with 20 years later, and I’ll probably struggle with it for the rest of my life.
RAMOS: Bree, you deployed to Iraq in 2004, pre-transition. It was just a year into the into the start of the war. What was that like?
FRAM: My very first night there, I tried to go to sleep in a tent with a bunch of other people, and the air raid sirens went off. And I thought, “Oh my god, what do I do? Do I roll out of bed? Do I hide under the bed? Do I put my body armor on? Do I get out? Do I go somewhere?” And I look around the tent, and everyone who had been there a lot longer is just either sound asleep, or they looked around and they went right back to sleep.
And when I asked in the morning, “Well, what do we do?” And they said, “By the time the air raid siren goes off, either you’re dead or you’re fine. So just go back to sleep.” OK, that’s gonna be hard to do for a while. But eventually, you just pick up that attitude, and you’re like, “I’m fine. I’m going to be okay. And I’m going to carry on with the mission.”
RAMOS: You returned briefly to Iraq in 2018. What was that like, seeing Iraq early in the war in 2004, and then returning so many years later?
FRAM: Seeing the difference in the base, and how rundown certain aspects of it were. Yet they were still able to accomplish the mission. It was just a night and day operation. But still, to see the pride they had in their pilots. I mean, those guys were like Gods over there, with the skills that they had developed. It was just a dramatic shift in tone for what the base looked like, how it operated.
RAMOS: DT, you were deployed to Bosnia, to Afghanistan, to Iraq. Tell us about the job that you had while you were in Iraq.
DEL TORO: So my job, what we do is call in airstrikes. So we are the guys down to ground with Army, Marines, Navy, special operations as their fire element. Knowing that I had that opportunity, that ability to take care of my teammates, just by what I did, was awesome, because I knew I was going to take care of my guys. Was it dangerous? Obviously, you can see by my appearance. Yeah, it is dangerous. But I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being out there with my guys.
RAMOS: Talk a little bit about your journey and when you were in Afghanistan.
DEL TORO: I was out there with a team of scouts, when I got hit in 2005, December. You know, you hear the stories of, your life flashes in front of you. For me, I never really believed it. Then, when I got hit, going down the road, across this creek, and I feel this intense heat blast on the left side. And I was like, in my head, “We just got hit.” That’s where those flashes, things that were going to happen that were distinct that I remember was like, me and my wife had tried to get married three different times. We were finally going to get married by the church. Because every time we tried, I deployed. But lastly, was me teaching my boy how to play ball, because I was a ballplayer. And then something told me to get out of this truck and pop out of it and try to run to the creek. The flames overtook me, and I collapsed. And I’m thinking here, this is it. I was like, I’ve broken my promise to my family that I would always come back. 80% percent of my body had third degree burns. I was given a 15% chance to live.
RAMOS: You were definitely tougher than your disabilities and circumstances. What motivated you to stay in and re-enlist in 2010?
DEL TORO: I knew I could teach, get the next generation of operators ready. Sometimes people say, “Is that really the first face we want to show these young troops?” And my answer to that was like, “You know what? They’d look at me and see the reality of what this job could do and still want to do it. Those are guys I want right there.”
RAMOS: When you look back at your time there, what do you think? Was it worth it? Would you do it all over again. Would you sign up?
DEL TORO: I would in a heartbeat.
RAMOS: What about you Shoshana?
JOHNSON: It’s not about the conflict. It’s about being in service. It’s about being a soldier. I would do it all over again.
DEL TORO: That camaraderie.
JOHNSON: Yeah.
FRAM: I think the fact that I hit 20 years a few months ago and I’m still serving answers that question. Absolutely yes. Because not only do I feel that my service has been valuable, and a part of something greater than myself that I truly believe in, but it also paves the way for the next generation to continue the legacy, to continue to protect the freedoms that we cherish and the rights that we hold so dear.
DEL TORO: How about you, Stephanie?
RAMOS: How about me? Absolutely. I think it was worth it. It was a worthwhile experience. I learned a ton while I was there in Baghdad. So yes, the answer to that question is yes, I would. Thanks DT, for putting me on the spot.
Thank you all. Thank you all for your service. And you know, we hear that a lot. “Thank you for your service. Thank you for your service.” I don’t know how it is for you guys, but I appreciate it every single time that I hear that, because it is a sacrifice. It’s a sacrifice, not just for yourself, but for your entire family. And it is appreciated.
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(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) — New Haven Chief of Police Karl Jacobson on Tuesday recommended the termination of four officers involved in an incident that left Richard “Randy” Cox paralyzed last June.
Officers Luis Rivera, Jocelyn Lavandier, Oscar Diaz and Ronald Pressley as well as Sgt. Betsy Segui were placed on paid administrative leave in June of 2022. In November, they were charged with reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons; they pleaded not guilty to those charges. Pressley retired from the New Haven Police Department in January and received a pension, despite the charges.
Jacobson recommended the terminations following the conclusion of an internal investigation and hearings for the officers.
Jacobson noted that two other officers involved in the incident – a supervisor and an officer involved in detention – would also be disciplined. Jacobson said the penalty for those officers would be less than 15 days suspension.
“This department has gone through a lot since that incident, this community has gone through a lot,” Jacobson said at a press conference. “And the message to the community is that we … will be transparent and we will be accountable.”
According to Jacobson, New Haven’s Board of Police Commissioners will make the final decision about whether the officers are fired by early May.
Jacobson said that the internal investigation yielded enough information to pursue termination, despite the criminal case being ongoing.
“I think the days of waiting for criminal cases to conclude needs to stop; that’s one of the things the community has asked us to do,” he said.
He added that Segui and Diaz would still be eligible to receive a pension despite the charges and potential termination since their conduct did not violate the “bad boy” clause of their contracts.
In June of 2022, the officers placed Cox in a police van for criminal possession of a firearm and breach of the peace. Cox was seriously injured when the van’s driver stopped abruptly at an intersection to avoid a collision, causing Cox to hit his head on a metal partition. Despite asking for repeated help, the officers did not immediately render aid to Cox. Video footage later showed the officers dragging Cox by his feet to a wheelchair.
Jacobson said his department has implemented training and policy changes since the incident, including adding seat belts to all prisoner vans, training officers on de-escalation and revising department policy on transporting suspects in police vehicles.
“I asked my officers to continue to take each situation under those guidelines and to treat members of this community with respect and dignity, whether they’re an arrestee or complaintant, or whatever the case may be,” Jacobson said.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Cox and his family were “encouraged” by the discipline for the four officers. Crump added that Cox is still paralyzed from the chest down because of injuries sustained in the back of the police van.
“These officers were sworn to protect their community, but they inflicted unnecessary and traumatizing harm to Randy, who will pay the price for the rest of his life,” Crump wrote in a statement.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker Randy applauded the actions by the police department at a separate press conference on Wednesday.
“When Randy Cox was arrested, he entered a police van able to walk and now he is not able to walk. We need to ensure that this never, ever happens again,” he said.
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(DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va.) — Prosecutors released video on Tuesday of the March 6 chain of events that ended with the death of Irvo Otieno at Virginia’s Central State Hospital.
The video shows sheriff’s deputies and medical staff at the hospital carrying a handcuffed Otieno into a room and placing him on the floor. Otieno is forcibly held down for nearly 11 minutes until he stops moving, according to the video. The Washington Post published video of the encounter on Monday.
Cabell Baskervill, Dinwiddie County’s Commonwealth attorney, said the incident began in the Henrico County Jail, where Otieno was allegedly punched by officers in his side and torso. She alleged that Otieno was pepper-sprayed while he sat in his cell alone.
Otieno was later transported to Central State Hospital, a state-run inpatient psychiatric facility.
“State Police investigators were told he had become combative during the admission process” at Central State, Baskervill said.
She has pushed back against officers’ claims that Otieno was combative, saying video footage shows that Otieno “was not agitated and combative” but fidgety, stressed and anxious. Baskervill also alleged that seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies then held 28-year-old Otieno down for 12 minutes and suffocated him.
He died of asphyxiation by smothering, according to Baskervill, who described the incident as “cruel and a demonstration of power that is unlawful … it killed him.”
Baskervill said Otieno’s death was not reported for three-and-a-half hours and 911 was not alerted.
Between Otieno’s death and the call made to state police, Otieno’s body was moved, handcuffs were removed and washed and a funeral home had been called instead of the medical examiner’s office, the commonwealth’s attorney said in court.
At some point, an injection was given to Otieno by hospital staff. Baskervill asserted the injection was likely given after he had died of asphyxia.
Baskervill said none of the seven deputies “made truthful statements to the State Police either that night or yesterday upon arrest.”
Seven Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies and three Central State Hospital employees have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Additional charges and arrests are pending, according to the commonwealth’s attorney.
Footage from Central State and Henrico County Jail captured the incidents. ABC News has not viewed the video.
The Henrico County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an independent review of Otieno’s death alongside an investigation by Virginia State Police.
The FBI is now in touch with state and local investigators.
“FBI Richmond has been in contact with authorities investigating the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Mr. Irvo Otieno. We have no further comments to share at this time,” read a statement shared with ABC News from an FBI spokesperson.
The seven arrested deputies were identified as Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30.
Lawyers for Disse said that the officer was asked by a supervisor to drive to Central State Hospital because of issues officers were having with the inmate and because they were told he could not be controlled with just three officers.
In court, a lawyer for Branch alleged the officer “did not administer any blows to the deceased, or violence towards him, other than simply trying to restrain him.”
Branch’s lawyer, Cary Bowen, told ABC News by phone that Baskervill was trying to fashion the case as something that is “malicious.”
“There was no weapon used. There was no pummeling or anything like that. I think everybody agrees,” Bowen said. “And the way she was casting it was that they ended up suffocating. He couldn’t breathe. And she’s acting like the guy didn’t resist and he wasn’t manic or bipolar or whatever. Just a nice guy who they’re picking on.”
The seven deputies have been placed on administrative leave.
Henrico County Sheriff Alisa A. Gregory released a statement the week after Otieno’s death, extending her “deepest sympathies and condolences” to Otieno’s family and friends.
“The events of March 6, at their core, represent a tragedy because Mr. Otieno’s life was lost. This loss is felt by not only those close to him, but our entire community,” Gregory said in the statement.
Otieno’s family saw the footage before the video was set to be released to the public.
“My son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog. I saw it with my own eyes on the video,” said Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, last week.
The Sheriff’s Department and local union Henrico Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 4 have yet to return ABC News’ request for comment.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab, Beatrice Peterson, Nakylah Carter and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
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