cops as part of their civic Duties are expected to uphold the law and maintain order however that does not place them Above the Law what happens when these very officers must be humbled for their unprofessionalism by judges here are times cops were held accountable and got humbled by judges in court I told Mr n don't do anything stupid do not try to deceive me defy me you will not like the consequences let's begin with the court sentencing of former Indian a sheriff Jamie noell the officer was held accountable and found in contempt of court after multiple Firearms were discovered in his home violating his bond conditions accused of embezzling millions of dollars in local funds for personal use watch how the judge delivered a well-deserved sentence humbling the former sheriff for his actions today is that day you are not the law you don't interpret the law you don't enforce the law you're not above the law I find that you have that you are in contempt of this court take him into custody no that's enough I'll find you guys in contempt for disrupting the proceedings and you'll be right there with him now what is an appropriate sanction the question is I can sentence him up to 180 days without the trial or I can sentence him to a day or I can release him you know what I think the answer is 60 days in that's what I think it is the answer is today now Mr Wilder Mr Mr roals I apologize Mr boes your lead before he is released I I'll take your suggestion I want an independent individual to scour that household to determine that there's no further weapons I find it Mr hurdle's original argument that he was trying to make that I sustain an officer an officer of the law every time I go into court I hear I didn't know was there I didn't know it was there it really didn't you've heard that a million times you've heard it a million times and yet you still take them into custody would be my guess every officer in the world has heard I didn't know it was there it's my friends I'm not buying it it was your burden it's your responsibility and today the court will enforce that take moment but Sheriff Jamie noell isn't the only officer to be held accountable for his actions as we will see in the next case it your desire to change your plea uh from not guilty to guilty do I have to answer that yes or no or can I make somewhat of a statement that's that is that is a yes or no answer sir in a Breen Ridge Kentucky court former Sheriff Todd Pate faced charges for assault DUI criminal mischief and fleeing the scene of an accident that injured four civilians after being arrested with a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit Pate switched his plea from not guilty to guilty to avoid a potential 15-year sentence opting for just 75 days in jail all he had to do was plead guilty to judge Janet Crocker but during the hearing Pate struggled with it his position as Sheriff weighed on him alas no one is above the law here's what transpired during the court trial I have the opportunity to say anything further if you it is your intention to change your plea from not guilty to guilty certainly you'll have an opportunity to make any statement but if it is not your intent to enter a guilty plea at this time then I'm going to set your case for jury trial and you're going to stop wasting my time and everybody else's time it's afterno I'm not trying to waste your time and then is it your intention to enter a guilty plea at this time or not sir Chambers what is the Tom West position at this time sir we would move to REM to defendant Bond at this time and see if we can uh sort this out at this point in time what is Mr pate's decision with respect to his guilty please so I believe I'll just let him answer that question if it please the court all right so uh Mr P can I say a few things or um uh I I need understand what it is that we're doing here today Mr P yes I had every intention of coming in here today and entering a guilty plea it's difficult for me to enter a guilty plea for a lot of reasons and I don't want this court to think that I am trying to minimize any responsibility that I had in this situation that occurred very much bullied into doing something that's not right I want this court to know that Todd P holds himself responsible for everything that he did it's hard for me to lay down and plead to felony charges that don't apply today to enter this guilty plea and if I could address this is either a yes or no are you going to enter your plea or not guess everybody thinks it's funny let me just plea and get it over with for everybody plea to something that I absolutely do not feel good about but I don't want you to try to send me to the penitentiary for years and years if you can sleep with it I can sleep with it I think we're done where I think we are today is is that on the one hand the Commonwealth can enforce the terms of this agreement based on the execution Mr Pate I'm talking at this point in time okay I'm sorry I'm sorry at this point in time I'm going to sustain the Commonwealth's motion to revoke his bond he will be taken into the custody uh and housed in the Breen Ridge County Jail your honor if I may it speak to Mr Chambers motion to revoke the bond um I've already ruled I I've already ruled at this point in time we're done at this point in time he's going into jail today despite facing the law officer Todd Pate showed no remorse or respect for judge Crocker leading her to revoke his bond and have him taken into custody at Breen Ridge County Jail eventually Pate pleaded guilty accepting a sentence of 75 days in jail with credit for time served but the cop in the next case is yet another example of a corrupt officer finally being humbled in court of January 28th 2015 where his life changed forever he was stopped by the defendant a then iner police officer and his and his partner officer zanusi this is The Humbling Court sentencing of former iner police officer William Melendez convicted of assaulting a citizen Floyd dent in 2015 mende faced a scathing rebuke from the judge she left no stone unturned highlighting the severity of his crime and emphasizing how disgraceful it was for a police officer her words left him speechless here's how the court interaction unfolded Mr Dent was stopped for a minor traffic offense and ordered out of his vehicle with His Hands Extended out of his driver's window he was grabbed out thrown to the ground and struck 16 times in the head by the defendant in his attempt to arrest him and he was thrown onto a window shield of a patrol car bleeding profusely from a head injury the responding police officers arrived as the defendant as wrestling the defendant to the ground Mr Dent was struck kicked and tased while on the ground by what appeared to be a group of angry anxious police officers that celebrated after the defendant was beaten and cuffed the video in the car shows the police officer's fist bumping as a celebratory Act of Bravery by the defendant and his cohorts but the one image that um that struck out to the court was looking at Mr dent in his cell shaking his head in disbelief of what had occurred to him if his conduct was indicative of what he was thinking I would have thought this what crime did I commit being a black man the Cadillac stopped for a minor traffic offense by a group of racist police officers looking to do a [ __ ] as police officer John zanusi auxiliary police officer testified in court to and his response to a text was quoted as saying at least give me the satisfaction to knowing that you're out there beating up [ __ ] right now LOL how humiliating and degrading that must have been he was left in a Cale for a number of hours before getting medical treatment but after hearing the defendant and his fellows officers joke about his injuries as it were wiping blood off their uniforms with disinfectant 2015 please be quiet in my courtroom how 28th 2015 you did not fulfill your job you performed just us a game that began with the police stop the purpose of it was to harass and degrade a motorist and iner the man chosen for your game was Floyd dent a black man the game went like this let's follow a car in a known drug area and based on your years of training experience you knew that the motorist would likely be a black person no license armed with a gun or drugs in a vehicle upon stopping Mr Dent you knew and upon stopping Mr Dent who was dead wrong for driving with no license or license suspended running stop signs and weaving in and out of the back street which the court saw on the video you and your Sidekick auxiliary police officer zanusi caught your Prey Upon being stopped Mr Dent put his hands out of the driver's window in plain view your partner and you pulled him out when he didn't move fast enough for you you refer to a is resisting I call it bowing down to your command you utilize your dirty hairy tactics and use excessive force to arrest him your job was twofold investigate the situation be a positive example to officer zanusi when you're posy arrived they joined you in a takeown kicking and tasing and ultimately throwing Mr Dent into a windshield of a police car with a dash cam which I refer to as the eye of Justice you were so into your bravado that you forgot the eye of Justice was watching you and recording this disgusting beating seeing Mr Dent slammed into the window sheld with blood running down his face the dash cam that was designed to protect you ended up being what convicted you fist busting after taking him down as a sign of Bravery was just another cowardly act caught by the eye of Justice you knew better you were better trained in any of those offices out there you were more experienced took me several days to read the letters that people sent talking about your character about the man that you are about how you went in Westland and helped to save three senior citizens from a burning building three of those letters I believe were from African-Americans and one even profess to be like a mother one or two things either they're all racist or there's something redeeming about you that somehow and some way you forgot that night the way you denigrated that man was awful Who would know and who would care about a lone black man being assaulted by upstanding police officers boy were you wrong they say that what you do in the dark will eventually come to light and yes it did it came a worldwide example of what the police is not about and that's brutality at the station the other eye of Justice captured you and your posy making fun of Mr Dent mimicking him struggling while you all wiped the blood off your uniforms with disinfectant while he watched such an awesome caring properly trained police officer you led your fellow officers down a path of cowardly Behavior but today you will pay for it you will pay for two things not being an example of greatness which I know that you are from all the letters of supports Awards and Commendation that you have shared with this court and resorting to cowardly acts of Barb aric behavior that led you to be convicted of these crimes there's an old saying it ain't no fun when a Rab's got the gun is equally applicable when he has the video the eye of Justice in this case you betrayed your city you caused your lovely wife heartache and you caused Mr Dent severe anguish and finally in of words of Vicky Yost your commander accountability is required to ensure continued Community Trust and healing today I can only punish your condu conduct but only you and God can change your character I've had an opportunity to listen to both sides and I had to say this because I didn't say this during the trial but it was my privilege to be able to oversee this trial because I had great lawyers and great lawyers make jobs real easy at this time I am going to commit you to the Michigan Department of Corrections however after weighing the allegations in this particular matter and looking at all the circumstances including what you've done and who the person I really believe that you are I'm going to commit you to the Michigan Department of Corrections as to count one for no less than 13 months no more than 10 years is the account to I'm going to give you 90 days credit uh for time serving close it out course it's going to give you 85 days for credit you have 42 days to appeal my decision that includes matter thank you William Melendez was ultimately sentenced to no less than 13 months and up to 10 years in prison now let's take a look at another police officer who received a humbling sentence for his unprofessionalism and sir you are Eric Fritz yes you are and you're here today with your attorney Mr grael have you had a full complete opportunity to consult with him yes and you understand that you face today a possible maximum penalty of 15 years in prison yes and are you ready for sentencing yes thank you and the police officer who took an oath to protect and the community this is the case of a former covert Township police officer who finally faced Justice for his misdeeds the officer was convicted of rape and kidnapping with the victim courageously testifying against him the judge's verdict left no doubt about the gravity of his crimes humbling him with a well-deserved sentence here's how the court delivered Justice what you did to me was wrong you atate me you knew I was highly intoxicated getting used out of the selfish opportunity my life has been forever changed every aspect of my life has been affected my children have struggled my friends family and loved ones have watched me through a year of hell I can't see a police vehicle without feeling fear or be reminded of what happened I made a poor decision to have too many dreams putting myself in a bable position I don't remember leaving the bar that night but my friends had arranged for another person to drive my car and that was far too intoxicated I had no idea the driver was also intoxicated and we get pulled over by a police officer Mr Fritz anything you wish to tell me yes your honor first I'd like to apologize to my friend and family who I've actually WR down I'd also like to apologize for my co-workers who iar by my decisions um I'd also like to apologize for to the people of over Township for my action that night and I absolutely would like to apologize for m m for my horrific decision of offering her hotel room I never should offer her a hotel room in the first place it never should happen I never should put her in that situation thank you sir uh you took a law enforcement oath of honor to protect and to serve and to uphold the highest of ethical standards instead you prayed upon and exploited and damaged a woman a woman who was entirely helpless due to excessive intoxication even more disturbing to this court is the fact that you use your badge and the authority and power it grants you as a means to implement your criminality you betray her you betrayed your fellow officers you betrayed them mightily the public cross all of us head while Eric Fritz was sentenced to one year in county jail and 5 years of probation he isn't the last cop to be humbled by a judge's sentencing let's take a look at this next case was this mistake admittedly by Michael Wagner testified of that today this is the case of Officer Michael Wagner who took advantage of his position and lied in his police report he falsely claimed that Lisa Gonzalez a suspect was driving under the influence even though he never gave her a breathalyzer test the judge saw right through his lies and delivered a powerful sentence humbling Wagner for his actions here's how it all played out in court he caused her to have her driver's license suspended for for at least a few months for nothing so are you going to n proc that case am I going to get mad perhaps you can get mad at me your honor but at this why would you wait a minute did you hear the uncontroverted testimony of this officer your honor then I want you taking him up on perjury your honor will you take him up for pury he admitted it was a mistake your honor no but he lied he lied on a swore absolutely not your honor and that is that is not true I'm dismissing I'm dismissing I am I am dis I am dismissing this charge no I'm dismissing the charge this whole case was fishy and I have no idea how their address on file state intends to amend I'm gr and proceed I am I I'm I'm resending the sentence I'm granting the Jo gr it because you don't agree with the state decision I'm gr the Jo In fairness In fairness because you don't like the state's decision today you're Honor on the case no you you're not now that I consider what officer Wagner testified to and how many times he basically tripped over himself just to arrest this lady with no real probable cause you're done motion joa is granted and you're not going to provide a written order on that nope you want to appeel me he thank you your honor case should have never been never thank you for letting us but Michael Wagner isn't the only cop to be humbled by a judge's sentence as we'll see in this next case Matthew Canen under the law then you have an absolute right to address me concerning any matter on your mind or heart as it becomes my responsibility shortly to pass judgment upon you and sentence you under the law is there anything you'd like to tell me Mr kutson no your honor I guess I would just uh share with you that you know my long family tradition has been in the public service and in certainly in the protective services this is The Humbling sentencing by judge Donald R zud molder to 41-year-old Green Bay Police Officer Matthew kutson kutson was convicted for hitting a Suspect with his Patrol vehicle while on duty and for attempting to cover it up by leaving the incident out of his initial report here's what judge Donald had to say during the sentencing well the first thing I I would hope is that you appreciate the embarrassment and shame that you've kind of brought upon yourself and your family I give you as I believe the state did I give you the credit for a body of work so you served your country Faithfully you served this community Faithfully for many years but then like many human beings you know you are imperfect and all that imperfection manifested itself on an evening in which you chose a course of conduct which I assume you bitterly regret and which has brought you where you are today where you have now I believe forfeited a career that you loved and that you dedicated your life to so that is I think punishment that the court really in the community acknowledges but also you know you are also symbolic of this no one is above the law and when you're entrusted with enforcing the law or you're an attorney or you're a judge all of us must answer for our conduct and if that conduct fails our community and violates the law of this state then we have to be held accountable and that's exactly what has happened here today so I've listened carefully the arguments of the attorneys I'm satisfied that the recommendation of the state is reasonable under all the facts and circumstances of this case so I will impose a $500 fine plus cost which totals $1,083 $1,083 how much time do you wish to pay that Mr gudon 30 days we have 45 days please all right I'll give him 90 days to pay it just to make sure it all gets taken care of thank you sir all right then I believe that concludes the matter today Mr lay as of reports from October 2023 officer Matthew nutson remains suspended from his position but if you thought he was the last cop to get humbled by a judge then you probably haven't seen this next case that job is winable obviously for him day one should he want to or if they think it's better to develop him it's not a big deal that case ke him go in and play for a little while and I think develop is the key [Music] word 49 traffic first BL this dash cam footage captures the moment Lancaster County Pennsylvania judge Dennis e reineker is pulled over for tailgating and honking at an East lamper Township officer in an unmarked police car watch as the judge uses his position of power to avoid any citation or warning [Music] you think you're my sir go back into your car I'll be with you in a second you better check the registration on this plate soon mister yeah 203 P 23 [Music] have a good day judge be [Music] back thanks for watching don't forget to like And subscribe see you in the next video