Thread: Obama's Illegal Alien uncle seeks arresting officer’s driving record

Obama uncle seeks police officer’s driving record
By Associated Press
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - Updated 41 minutes ago

BOSTON - A lawyer for President Barack Obama’s uncle, an illegal immigrant who is charged with drunken driving, says he will ask prosecutors to turn over the driving record of the police officer who stopped him.

Onyango Obama, the half-brother of the president’s late father, was charged with drunken driving in Framingham in August after he allegedly rolled through a stop sign and nearly caused a police cruiser to strike his SUV.

Obama’s lawyer said Wednesday that he will ask prosecutors for Officer Val Krishtal’s driving record. A court hearing is scheduled Thursday.

Krishtal was injured in November when he lost control of his police cruiser and crashed into a stone wall while responding to reports of gunshots.

Framingham police declined to comment Wednesday. A spokeswoman for prosecutors said they would respond in court.

Obama uncle seeks police officer’s driving record - BostonHerald.com

Any excuse to deflect from the fact that the accused is illegal, was driving drunk, and has been under a removal order since the 1980's...

Onyango Obama, uncle of President Barack Obama, leaves Framingham District Court on Nov. 17 after a hearing on an August drunk driving charge.

Onyango Obama, president's uncle, charged with drunken driving, seeks police officer's driving record | masslive.com

So he's not only illegal but also caught driving drunk and now he has the audacity of possibly going after a police offier? How upside down and inside out so many things in this country are.

Lawyer questions driving of officer who arrested Obama’s uncle for alleged drunken driving

By Associated Press, Thursday, January 12, 7:28 AM

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — The defense for President Barack Obama’s uncle is reviewing the driving records of the police officer who arrested him on drunken driving charges.

Onyango Obama, an illegal immigrant, appeared briefly in Framingham District Court on Thursday as his lawyer told a judge he has obtained the driving history of the officer who stopped Obama in August in Framingham.

Officer Val Krishtal said in a written police report that he stopped Obama after Obama did not come to a complete stop at a stop sign, causing his police cruiser to nearly strike Obama’s SUV. Krishtal said Obama failed several field sobriety tests and registered 0.14 on a blood-alcohol test, higher than the state’s legal limit of 0.08.

Obama’s attorney, P. Scott Bratton, said he is reviewing Krishtal’s driving records to see whether Krishtal has a history of accidents. Bratton has said previously that Obama was not committing any traffic violations and police had no right to pull him over. He is seeking to suppress the traffic stop and the results of the blood-alcohol test. A judge will hear arguments on those motions on March 1.

“We want to review the record to see if there is a pattern of conduct of bad driving behavior on the part of the arresting officer,” Bratton said.

Krishtal totaled his police cruiser in November while responding to reports of gunshots.

Framingham police declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said prosecutors were not opposed to turning over the records. Bratton said a lawyer for the town of Framingham provided the records.

Obama, 67, who is originally from Kenya, is the half brother of the president’s late father. He has pleaded not guilty to operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to yield the right of way.

Police said that after being booked at the police station, Obama said, “I think I will call the White House” when asked if he wanted to make a telephone call to arrange for bail.

The status of Obama’s immigration case could not immediately be determined. A spokeswoman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.

Obama initially was held without bail on a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on allegations he violated an order to return to Kenya 20 years ago. He was later released and has been ordered to regularly check in with immigration officials.

The White House has said it expects Obama’s arrest to be handled like any other case.

Lawyer questions driving of officer who arrested Obama’s uncle for alleged drunken driving - The Washington Post

Cops rip Obama uncle’s defense
Records detail minor accidents
By John Zaremba | Friday, January 13, 2012

Photo by AP



Defense attorneys digging for something to latch onto in a Framingham cop’s driving past are being bashed by the police brotherhood who argue the bust of President Obama’s half-uncle on a drunken-driving charge is the issue, not the officer’s history behind the wheel.

The Framingham cop who arrested Onyango Obama has about a dozen on-duty accidents — mostly minor — to his name, according to records requested by defense attorneys and obtained by the Herald yesterday.

But the paperwork on patrolman Val Krishtal shows none of the dirt defense attorneys said they had hoped to dig up, and cops around the state are saying Obama’s legal team is barking up the wrong tree in its attempts to strike the Aug. 24 traffic stop by painting Krishtal as out of line.

“It’s sort of discouraging” said James Machado, a Fall River police sergeant and executive director of the Massachusetts Police Association. “I understand defense attorneys taking tacks and questioning police officers’ integrity, but to bring someone else’s record out there? What influence would that have on him doing his job? If you have motor vehicle violations, you can’t give out citations?”

Obama’s lawyers, P. Scott Bratton and William L. Harvey III, requested the records after learning Krishtal had totaled his cruiser in November, smashing into a stone wall en route to a report of shots being fired. They say the patrolman may have been driving too fast just before the Obama stop, in which the president’s uncle turned into traffic, cut the officer off and forced him to slam on his brakes.

“We were told he had several motor-vehicle infractions that were investigated by his own department,” Harvey said.

Obama’s blood-alcohol level was 0.14, police said. The lawyers plan to challenge that test as well at a hearing March 1.

The traffic reports they received yesterday detail 14 accidents involving Krishtal between 1997 and September 2011.

The documents, which do not include disciplinary proceedings, include a June 2000 crash in which Krishtal, doing 45 mph, skidded and slid into a sign on a traffic island near the interchange of Route 30 and Route 9; a September 2011 crash where he struck a pole after being distracted by the sound of tires screeching; and a July 2001 mishap where a pedestrian, while reading a piece of paper, walked into traffic and ran into the front left side of Krishtal’s cruiser, crawling at about 5 mph.

Framingham police Lt. Ronald Brandolini said Krishtal, 44, has to his knowledge never been disciplined for driving infractions.

One Old Vet

Cops rip Obama uncle’s defense - BostonHerald.com