Texas
Cop who asked to smell woman’s feet arrested
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston-area authorities say they believe a school district police officer who pulled over a motorist and then asked to smell her feet may have made similar demands of others.
Twenty-six-year-old Patrick Quinn is charged with two counts of “official oppression.” He’s free on $2,000 bond.
The Harris County district attorney’s office says Quinn stopped the woman in August and said he found marijuana paraphernalia. Authorities say Quinn told her he has a foot fetish and would release her if she let him smell her feet.
He later said he wouldn’t need to smell them if she gave him her underwear. Investigators say he then changed his mind and let her go.
Quinn has been suspended by the Cypress-Fairbanks school district.
A call to his attorney wasn’t immediately returned Tuesday.
New York
Police investigate woman’s killing, train death
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities are investigating whether there’s a link between the deaths of a woman found outside a suburban New York apartment building and a man struck by a train.
The woman, apparently in her 60s, was found dead in the street of a working-class neighborhood in Farmingdale, Long Island, at around 8 p.m. Tuesday. Nassau County police were not saying Wednesday how she died.
A half-hour later, a man in his 30s was killed by a nearby Long Island Rail Road train.
Resident Nick Gordon tells Newsday he saw a trail of blood on the stairs.
The gory scene occurred outside a well-manicured, 2-story brick building with light yellow and white Tudor-style accents.
A house across the street is festively decorated with Halloween pumpkins, fake cobwebs and a mock graveyard.
Ohio
Police officer pleads not guilty after K-9’s death
MEDINA, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio officer whose police dog died from heatstroke in his cruiser has pleaded not guilty on two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
The Medina Municipal Court clerk’s office says an attorney filed the plea on behalf of Montville Township police Sgt. Brett Harrison.
Police say the two-year-old German shepherd, Beny, died Sept. 28 after Harrison left him in a cruiser in the station parking lot from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cruiser was off and the windows were closed.
Harrison previously issued a statement apologizing to the township, calling Beny a “partner, friend and loving family member.” Harrison received a two-week unpaid suspension and lost 40 hours of vacation.
A message was left for his attorney.
Ohio
Bill inspired by fake ice bucket challenge
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A bill that would require prison time for many felony crimes against the disabled or elderly was inspired by a fake ice bucket challenge that led to charges against five teenagers, a state lawmaker said.
The boys were charged with dumping a bucket of urine, water and tobacco spit on an autistic 15-year-old boy who thought he was participating in a challenge for charity.
Cleveland Democratic Rep. Bill Patmon told The Northeast Ohio Media Group (http://bit.ly/1wEqyr7 ) the arrest of those Bay Village students prompted the legislation he introduced Tuesday. It would require at least two years in prison or juvenile custody for certain felonies against the elderly or the disabled, plus any other punishment imposed by the court.
Patmon, 68, who has a grandson with autism, said those who commit crimes against the disabled or senior citizens should get more than a light punishment.
“There shouldn’t be anything that you do to a senior or a handicapped person that there shouldn’t be some kind of guarantee that you’re not going to spend some time in jail for that — no slap on the wrist for that,” Patmon said.
Felonies including theft, identity fraud and assault by a caretaker would be exempted under the bill.
Each of the five teens involved in the fake ice bucket challenge was charged in juvenile court with disorderly conduct. Three were also charged with delinquency and assault.
The bill’s chances of passing the busy, Republican-dominated Legislature in the remaining weeks of the current session are unclear. Republican Rep. John Becker from Union Township is co-sponsoring the bill.
New Jersey
Casino servers settle suit over skimpy uniforms
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Forty women employed at an Atlantic City casino have resolved their discrimination lawsuit over skimpy uniforms.
The lawsuit was filed in 2011 after Resorts Casino Hotel adopted a roaring ‘20s theme after the popularity of the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” which was based on Prohibition-era Atlantic City’s reputation as the vice capital of the East Coast.
The uniforms were short, skin-revealing black dresses with deep open backs. Waitresses also wore fishnet stockings and ornate Jazz Age hats.
Older servers claimed they were told they had to audition for their jobs in the new skimpy flapper costumes. They said they were given costumes too small for them and were photographed in awkward poses that emphasized body fat.
A panel put together by an outside modeling agency recommended who should stay and who should go based on photographs of the auditions, according to court documents.
The workers’ lawyer, Kevin Costello, tells The Press of Atlantic City the case is resolved, but he can’t comment on the terms.
North Carolina
Court candidates criticize outside advertisements
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Three candidates for North Carolina’s Supreme Court say groups with outside money are launching negative ads to try to influence the judicial election.
Associate Supreme Court Justice Robin Hudson says attack ads undermine the court system.
Hudson made her comment Wednesday in Charlotte with Justice Cheri Beasley and Court of Appeals Judge Sam Ervin IV, who’s running against Justice Bob Hunter.
They say they have not seen the ads, but understand the groups have purchased air time in different cities.
The state Democratic and Republican parties have endorsed candidates in the officially nonpartisan races. Five of the seven current Supreme Court justices are registered Republicans.
This isn’t the first time high court judges have faced negative ads. Before the May primary, a group targeted Hudson, but she survived.
