That was, when Adam Rupeka was still alive.
He isn't any more, according to press reports.
And, with the overwhelming wave of hatred directed against him, even upon his death, in social media by pro-police commentators, I think, his story deserves a thorough review.
Here is Adam Rupeka.
Here is his website, CopBlock, stating on top:
Here are some of Adam Rupeka's videos of police, which expose either embarrassing lack of competence and professionalism, or pure misconduct.
In March of 2015, Adam Rupeka posts a video about police trying to stop and ID him, and being upset when they see that they are being videotaped.
In May of 2015, Adam Rupeka was arrested and pepper-sprayed by a now former police officer, Nathan Baker, for "flipping the bird" on him and not stepping out of the car when police officer told him to. Moreover, officer Baker roughly handled Rupeka during the unlawful arrest and told him that now "all his freedoms are gone".
In June of 2015, charges for "resisting arrest" were dismissed.
In August of 2015, without suing, Rupeka received a $50,000 settlement, and the police officer was fired, see also here.
It appears that Rupeka did not even have to sue to get the settlement, the police department knew what was done was wrong and paid without a lawsuit. At least, Pacer.gov does not show any civil rights lawsuit by Adam Rupeka.
By the way, in the hate comments on Facebook, some people are asking - now that Rupeka is dead, isn't it time to rehire officer Nathan Baker?
Just like that. If the victim is dead, police misconduct is now expunged...
On September 17, 2015 Adam Rupeka posts a video on YouTube claiming that the state police confiscated his camera drone.
In October of 2015, Adam Rupeka was charged and arrested for "reckless endangerment", for flying a drone into a governmental building.
The details of the charges are interesting.
Apparently, the state police confiscated a drone belonging to Rupeka that Rupeka allegedly used to take pictures and videos of police misconduct.
In protest, Rupeka flew another drone over the state police headquarters in Albany, New York.
Adam Rupeka's website reacted by posting an article that his "drone arrest" is retaliatory.
On October 17, 2015 Adam Rupeka posts a detailed article explaining to pro se litigants how to sue the police in federal court.
By the way, Rupeka also posted on YouTube the video of a security guard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York attempting to block Rupeka from videotaping the court entrance from a public street.
In November of 2015, Senator Schumer introduced a bill to restrict drone technology, because of "recent incidents" involving drones.
In December of 2015, after Rupeka's drone arrest in October of 2015, FCC prohibited drone flights over governmental buildings in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, it is interesting to note that a similar charge, only for "flying a drone into a state penitentiary" were recently dropped, reportedly, in Oklahoma.
Upon my information, the "drone" charges against Rupeka were dismissed on or about March 16, 2016.
On March 26, 2016, 10 days after the dismissal of those charges, Adam Rupeka and his girlfriend Jennifer Ogburn were arrested and charged for sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl and endangering welfare of a minor, both misdemeanors.
The focus of Facebook comments immediately changed from calling Adam Rupeka just as a busybody, "police harasser", "wacko" etc. to a "scumbag".
That reaction was predictable.
Back in October of 2015 I posted a blog about general reaction of the public on social media to charges of sexual molestation or endangering welfare of children.
The commentators, as a general rule, reject any concept of presumption of innocence and offer to torture the accused in elaborate ways.
The case with Adam Rupeka was no different.
My work, for years, as a criminal defense attorney, handling all cases including cases of sexual abuse, taught me that sexual abuse allegations are the easiest to fabricate, the easiest to use for smearing people's reputation, and the hardest to break since it is "he said - she said", "children do not lie" and no evidence is needed, "he just touched me 'there'".
False allegations of sexual abuse are especially likely in cases where there are split families and estranged spouses.
Adam Rupeka had an estranged wife and a young girlfriend.
Such cases overwhelmingly result in plea bargains, under intimidation of stiff jail/prison time, so issues in such cases are most often not tried, and whether there was a crime committed or not, usually is not revealed, other than through a confession at the plea allocution hearing - while a bare confession, under New York law, for example, is not valid at trial without corroboration.
Here, there was no confession.
There was an accusation of sexual abuse of a child.
The name of the alleged victim is not known because of her age.
The details of the case are that Rupeka allegedly had the 15-year-old girl in bed with him and his girlfriend, and "rubbed and touched the girl in a sexual manner".
Now, how can one disprove rubbing and touching? There is no physical evidence of it. It is "he said - she said, children don't lie".
Yes, there is presumption of innocence.
But, this is the public sentiment about presumption of innocence when allegations of crime committed against a child are made.
And this is the sentiment of judges on the same subject.
Yet, the Rupeka's name, while he was still presumed-innocent, was smeared and put him on the run, because he was now afraid of being tortured or killed in prison, in retaliation of his work as an activist to expose police misconduct (and many Facebook commentators suggested he should be tortured or killed in prison).
Many commentators claimed that because he ran, he is guilty - innocent people do not run.
Only a few commentators, vigorously attacked by the majority, raised the issue of presumption of innocence and that if a person has a reason to believe his life is in danger, and is running for his life, he does not care how he looks.
On March 29, 2016 Adam Rupeka is bailed out, bails out his girlfriend, and leaves the State of New York, according to his video, running for his life, believing that the police is seeking to kill him.
On March 30, 2016, Adam Rupeka posts another video, claiming that he is crossing into Canada.
On April 1, 2016 the judge in the sexual abuse case issues a bench warrant for Adam Rupeka when he did not show up for his court appearance.
On April 6, 2016, Mexican newspapers reported that Adam Rupeka and his girlfriend Jennifer Ogburn were found dead allegedly from a drug overdose - in Tijuana, Mexico.
The report said that allegedly, there was a writing on the mirror in the hotel room where the bodies were found: "Take our IDs and give them our bodies. Nobody knows we’re in Mexico".
IDs, for people on the run, messages on mirror in hotel rooms in a country other than the intended country of escape?
Yet, the estranged wife of Adam Rupeka, Rebecca Rupeka, reported that the claim of death from drug overdose does not make sense because Adam Rupeka never did drugs, and, coming from an estranged wife who was abandoned for a girlfriend, that is the most believable information.
According to police reports, Adam Rupeka and Jennifer Ogburn checked into a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico, on April 2, 2016, and on August 3, 2016 Adam Rupeka was found dead, and Jennifer Ogburn alive, but dying, was taken to the hospital and died there.
According to the autopsies, the cause of deaths was "pulmonary thromboembolism", or blood clots, in their lungs, and both had the drug Clonazepam "in their systems".
Murder investigations, opened before the autopsies were done, were closed.
So.
A man who was an ardent activist exposing police misconduct, was stopped by police at least five times (that's what I found on the Internet) and arrested at least three times in less than a year.
Stops and arrests:
March 2015 - videotaped a police stop, police was upset
May 2015 - videotaped the police stop for "flipping the bird", was charged and peppersprayed, charges dismissed, resulted in a $50,000 settlement and firing of a police officer
September of 2015 - police took his drone for videotaping them
October 2015 - arrested for flying and crashing another drone into the state police headquarters' building, charges dismissed in mid-March of 2016
End of March 2016 - arrested for sexual abuse of a minor, endangering welfare of a minor
March 29, 2016 - bailed out, bailed out his girlfriend, fled the country allegedly to Canada after seeing his house searched by "men in black",
April 3, 2016 - turned up dead in Mexico together with his young girlfriend (36 and 26 years old, respectively), with a drug in their system, even though the wife says he does not use drugs.
Both had the same side effect, at the same time.
Both died of that same alleged side effect.
Both are claimed to have conveniently OD'd and committed suicides, saying "sorry" and leaving behind their IDs - after being on the run for their lives.
And, under all those suspicious circumstances, there is no murder investigation.
Not if of anybody else's fingerprints.
Not of injection marks.
Not as to what the girlfriend could have said while she was still alive (she was found alive - by somebody, and then died in the hospital, was her death "facilitated", not to leave witnesses)?
There is no logic in all of it other than it is a murder that nobody wants to investigate.
And - in Facebook comments, there were comments like that - "I would like to see Rupeka in need of police help someday".
Rupeka is dead, but justice requires the police to do their jobs and investigate their deaths.
Of course, it's Mexico, sir.
Of course, it's another country, with their own laws and rules.
Yet, Mexico has a long-standing "tradition" of police corruption of its own, so the cover-up of murder investigations could be easily arranged there.
It's pure logic.
The timeline leads to a reasonable suspicion of murder, not suicide.
Dropping murder investigations under the circumstances was extremely suspicious.
And the case stinks.
