Ionia shooting victims identified; gunman committed suicide in domestic dispute

2-27-2010 Michigan:

UPDATE: Police say Ionia teen was on phone with 911 as former Michigan state trooper shot stepson, her mother, himself

IONIA -- Police have identified the man who shot and killed himself inside his Ionia home today as Bart Cunningham, 37. He is a former state police trooper who pleaded guilty to a sex crime in 2003.

Cunningham shot and seriously injured both his wife, Wendy Cunningham, 42, and her 16-year-old son, police said. The boy's name is Joshua Snyder. Both were in serious condition this afternoon at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital.

The incident started as a domestic dispute, police said.

Bart Cunningham enlisted as a state police trooper in 1996, but resigned in 2004 while assigned to the Kalkaska post.

In 2002, Kalkaska police arrested Cunningham on a high-court misdemeanor of fourth-degree criminal-sexual conduct, state police records show. He pleaded guilty in 2003 to assault and battery and attempted fourth-degree criminal-sexual conduct and was sentenced to 18 months on probation.

In late December 2007, he was arrested in Ionia for domestic violence. He was sentenced to 12 days in jail and 12 months on probation. ..Source.. by Barton Deiters | The Grand Rapids Press

DE- State trooper charged with sexual extortion commits suicide in Smyrna

5-27-2009 Delaware:

Delaware State Police Cpl. Joshua A. Giddings, 32, apparently committed suicide at his Smyrna home Tuesday, May 26. Giddings was arrested May 11 after an investigation revealed he engaged in sexual relations with a woman he had arrested in exchange for not taking her to court.

Delaware State Police reported that emergency personnel were dispatched at about 6 p.m., to a home in the unit block of Wheeler Circle in Smyrna after receiving a report of an unresponsive man.

The man was found in the shed at the residence. He was unresponsive. Emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.

He was identified as Joshua A. Giddings.

Foul play is not suspected, police said. The incident is a suspected suicide, but the investigation is continuing by the Smyrna Police Department.

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Delaware State Police Cpl. Joshua A. Giddings, 32, who was assigned to Troop 9 in Odessa, was arrested by the DSP May 11 after an investigation revealed he engaged in inappropriate sexual relations with a 39-year-old New Castle woman while he was acting in his official capacity as a trooper March 19.

Delaware State Police Superintendent Col. Thomas F. Mac Leish held a press conference regarding the incident Monday, May 11.

“The charges against Mr. Giddings represent a very serious breach of the trust that is so vital to the relationship between the citizens and the police in a free society,” he said. “I am repulsed by the actions of which Mr. Giddings is accused.

“Those actions are in no way representative of the men and women of the Delaware State Police, both uniformed and civilian, who go to work every day with the singular goal of providing high quality law enforcement services to the residents and visitors of our state,” MacLeish said. “As public servants empowered with a great deal of authority, I firmly believe, as do my fellow troopers, that these actions cannot and will not be tolerated.”

The arrest of Giddings, a seven-year veteran patrol trooper of the DSP, culminates an investigation by DSP of alleged misconduct brought to the DSP’s attention by the woman.

The woman alleged that she and Giddings engaged in a sexual act while he was in the process of arresting her.

Information was provided and the investigation later substantiated that on March 19 at approximately 8:06 pm, Giddings was working in a patrol capacity when he was dispatched to JC Penney’s at the Christiana Mall for a report of a female shoplifter in custody.

The investigation determined that Giddings arrested the woman for a single count of shoplifting and for capias charges from a local court related to traffic offenses. The woman and Giddings agreed that if the woman performed a sexual favor that Giddings would not take her to court to face the shoplifting charges and capiases. Instead, he issued her a criminal summons to appear at a later date in court.

With the woman under arrest and detained in the police car, Giddings drove to a nearby secluded area and engaged in a sexual act with her. Giddings took her home in the police car.

Once DSP was notified of this allegation, an investigation was immediately launched and Giddings was suspended with pay and benefits. During the investigation, detectives secured a clothing item belonging to the victim, which was found to contain traces of seminal fluid. Consequently, detectives later obtained a search warrant to obtain DNA from Giddings.

The physical evidence obtained by detectives from the victim’s clothing and the DNA sample obtained from Giddings were sent to the Delaware Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for comparison. The two samples matched the DNA profile of Giddings and supported the allegation brought forth.

Arrest warrants were obtained and Giddings was informed of the arrest warrant. He voluntarily turned himself in May 11 to investigators at Troop 2 in Newark.

He was charged with sexual extortion – felony, receiving a bribe – felony, and official misconduct – misdemeanor, and upon arraignment, was issued an $8,000 unsecured bond.

Because of the arrest, Mac Leish has placed Giddings on suspension without pay and benefits with the intent to dismiss him from the division.

Mac Leish stressed that Giddings is an aberration and will be held accountable for his actions, both criminally and internally within the DSP.

“I share the same frustration as my fellow troopers and colleagues as we collectively try to comprehend why someone would choose to violate the public’s trust and tarnish the uniform so proudly worn by Delaware State Troopers for more than 86 years,” he said. “I will ensure a thorough review is completed surrounding the facts and circumstances of this incident to determine whether any measures can be taken to ensure this type of transgression does not happen again.”

Mac Leish said the investigation is ongoing. ..Source.. by Smyrna/Clayton Sun-Times

NY- State trooper commits suicide

4-1-2008 New York:

COLONIE, N.Y. - A state police lieutenant took his own life yesterday after he was notified he would face discipline for having sex with a woman recruit at the State Police Academy, law enforcement officials told the Daily News.

Joseph Banish, 35, was still in his gray uniform when he killed himself just after 3p.m. at his home with his state police-issued pistol, officials said.

Sources said Banish's body was apparently discovered by the woman with whom he had consensual sex at the academy.

The woman was a prospective state police recruit when she and Banish went to a room where he was staying at the academy, sources said. A female trooper who had been in an adjoining room at the time of the sexual encounter initiated the complaint against Vanish, sources said.

Lt. Glenn Miner, the state police spokesman, declined to discuss the incident. ..more.. by JOE MAHONEY, DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

Ex-trooper, motivational speaker commits suicide

8-26-2007 Mississippi

Former state trooper Pete Collins, sentenced to 10 years on Friday after being convicted of fondling a 13-year-old girl, hanged himself in his cell today at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County.

He was discovered at 2:44 p.m. by a correctional officer during a security check and pronounced dead by medical staff at 3:16 p.m., according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

A then-13-year-old girl said Collins fondled her during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2004 while she was spending the night at a home where Collins was visiting in Lee County.

Circuit Judge Thomas Gardner III sentenced Collins, 62, of Madison to 15 years with five years suspended. Because fondling is a sex crime, Collins was required by law to serve the 10 years.

Collins had been a motivational speaker as well as a decorated trooper. During his law enforcement career, he had been named Statewide Trooper of the Year, and President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Citation for an Outstanding Enforcement Officer in 1994. He made captain in 1997 when the state Legislature honored him and mandated his promotion. He retired a year later/

State House Appropriations Committee Chairman Johnny Stringer, who is among the supporters listed on Collins’ Web site, had told The Clarion-Ledger on Friday that he didn't believe Collins was guilty.

However, former Department of Public Safety Commissioner Jim Ingram, who was in office during Collins' time as a state trooper, had said Collins was dishonest. Ingram had testified for the prosecution during Collins' trial last week.


Collins was housed at the reception and diagnostic unit at Central Mississippi, where he had passed the agency medical screening, according to MDOC.

Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps said initial findings reveal no foul play in Collins' suicide, but an investigation is under way. ..more.. by The Clarion-Ledger