Complaints

RICHARD DeCoatsworth, a five-year veteran police officer who was hailed as a hero after being shot in the face by a suspect in 2007 but who more recently drew controversial headlines, left the force last week. DeCoatsworth, whose most recent assignment was with the Marine Unit, took disability retirement from the department after it was determined that injuries from the 2007 shooting prevented him from continuing to do police work, said spokesman Lt. Ray Evers. After he caught the shotgun blast to the face as a rookie cop in 2007, DeCoatsworth was invited to attend a February 2009 presidential speech.

When it comes to credit issues and identity theft, I sometimes feel like what we used to call a broken record. Almost incessantly, I urge readers to check their credit reports by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. Both will get you to the "central source" mandated by Congress a decade ago for consumers to request free reports from TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, the nation's three main credit bureaus. If the reports are clean, I tell readers, there's no need to pay for a credit score - which Congress, alas, did not require the credit bureaus to provide, and did not bar them from pitching via side deals to consumers who request their free reports.

IN THE DARKNESS of night, the complaints were etched in chalk up and down the walkways of Swarthmore College, a 399-acre oasis of green quads and liberal student activism southwest of Philadelphia. "Welcome to Swarthmore," said one of the scribblings that recently confronted students - and administrators - when the sun rose. "Home of my rapist. " The so-called chalkings, which infuriated Swarthmore's president, were a turning point in a controversy that has rattled one of America's top-ranked liberal-arts schools.

Black correspondents, producers and associate producers for ABC News recently attended a meeting with News president Roone Arledge to air several long-standing complaints. The complaints included the fact that there are no minorities on the division's editorial board. The group also complained about the way minorities are portrayed on the news, and how correspondents are being used to present the news. George Strait, ABC medical reporter and former Washington correspondent for Channel 6, is spokesman for the disgruntled employees.

When community affairs director Lawrence C. Smith was given the additional duties of investigating complaints of police abuse here, he was also handed an office near the mayor and a longer title. What the job amounts to is anyone's guess. As civilian complaints officer, Smith is responsible for policing the police when residents choose not to take complaints of official misconduct through the usual channels - the department's own internal affairs division. But in his three weeks on the job, no one has brought him any complaints.

The Sadsbury Township supervisors will announce at their Aug. 25 work session whether they intend to hold a hearing on complaints from residents about township police Officer Lewis Wilson, according to Ronald Agulnick, township solicitor. About a dozen residents of Pomeroy, an area in the southeastern corner of the township, attended the supervisors' Monday meeting to press their complaints. Larelda Lowery, who described herself as a spokeswoman for the group, complained of the manner in which "Wilson represents himself in our area.

In a township that covers only three square miles, an abandoned or inoperative car is sure to be noticed and, after a few sightings, is sure to draw some complaints. In the last few months, the Hainesport Township Committee has been barraged by complaints about more than 25 abandoned cars in township streets, yards and driveways. In response to those complaints, the committee is preparing an ordinance that would allow the township to levy fines of up to $500 and 90-day jail terms on owners of such vehicles.

Philadelphia Electric Co. could face fines totaling $216,000 because of complaints that the company violated state rules on customer service, the Public Utility Commission's consumer-service bureau said yesterday. The PUC's consumer-service bureau has charged PE with 216 violations involving meter readings, billing and shutoffs of electric or gas service to homes, according to Kevin Cadden, a supervisor with the division. The bureau is to present its complaint to the three-member PUC this morning.

Woodland Drive in West Caln Township is as steep as a ski slope and as hazardous as an obstacle course. And those are only some of the problems with the street, according to one local resident. At a township meeting Monday night, Woodland Drive resident Elizabeth Weaver told the Board of Supervisors that there was no speed limit posted on the 500-yard stretch of road wedged between Sandy Hill and Cambridge Roads, just north of Route 340. "Cars come racing down this short-cut route, and police say they can't do anything about it because there is no sign posted," said Weaver.

Immaculata University officials yesterday agreed to let student leaders air their complaints about graduation to the school's commencement committee on Feb. 20, a university spokeswoman said. The move came after a four-hour demonstration Thursday in the school's cafeteria building, Nazareth Hall. Student leaders met yesterday afternoon with Stephen Pugliese, the school's vice president for student affairs. The spokeswoman, Marie Moughan, said the meeting was a step forward for resolving whether the final classes of the Women's College could be grouped by school at graduation.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office did not pursue criminal charges in early 2012 against former Police Officer Richard DeCoatsworth - once hailed as a hero, now charged over the weekend with rape - because the complainant, Steven Kocher, was not considered a credible witness, according to First Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann. McCann and Tasha Jamerson, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, said that Kocher told prosecutors and police different stories about an incident in January 2012 in which Kocher accused DeCoatsworth of assaulting him over a debt, and that the disparities were enough to dissuade prosecutors from pursuing criminal charges.

IN THE DARKNESS of night, the complaints were etched in chalk up and down the walkways of Swarthmore College, a 399-acre oasis of green quads and liberal student activism southwest of Philadelphia. "Welcome to Swarthmore," said one of the scribblings that recently confronted students - and administrators - when the sun rose. "Home of my rapist. " The so-called chalkings, which infuriated Swarthmore's president, were a turning point in a controversy that has rattled one of America's top-ranked liberal-arts schools.

THE FEDERAL Occupational Health & Safety Administration has launched an inspection into working conditions at Philadelphia International Airport in response to a series of complaints filed last week on behalf of subcontracted baggage handlers and wheelchair attendants. The inspection, which can take up to six months, is a standard response to work-condition complaints, OSHA spokeswoman Leni Fortson said. The complaints allege that some airport workers employed by the subcontractor PrimeFlight Aviation Services, which does business in Philly with US Airways, United and Southwest, do not receive training on how to help handicapped passengers, are exposed to blood and other bodily fluids without protection and are forced to use faulty equipment.

Workers who push passengers in wheelchairs at Philadelphia International Airport filed complaints with the U.S. Transportation Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) alleging that their employer, PrimeFlight Aviation Services, and three airlines that contract with it failed to provide proper training and equipment to safely do their jobs. The complaints, filed Thursday, allege violations of the federal Air Carrier Access Act and ask the Transportation Department to impose fines and order US Airways, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines to force PrimeFlight to correct the problems.

MORE ALLEGED victims of sexual misconduct are expected to join a complaint by 22 current and former students accusing Swarthmore College of violating a federal law that mandates reporting of crimes, advocates say. The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month, claims that the elite Delaware County college underreported incidents of sexual misconduct - a violation of the federal Clery Act. Students also plan to...

Students at Swarthmore College say they plan to file a second federal complaint claiming that the school has not adequately responded to reports of sexual assault. A coalition called Swarthmore Assault Prevention and Survivor Advocates (SAPSA) said the new filing will allege that the college violated Title IX provisions by allowing a sexually hostile environment and denying women equal access to education opportunities. The Title IX law, commonly associated with funding for women's sports, also contains civil-rights regulations.

A SECOND complaint has been lodged against the Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball coach Brian Wardle , this one alleging verbal abuse and bullying. Gina Cougill , the mother of senior forward Brennan Cougill , wrote to university chancellor Thomas Harden last week, shortly after the parents of former center Ryan Bross filed the initial complaint against Wardle. Gina Cougill provided a copy of her letter to the Green Bay Press-Gazette . In it, she accused Wardle of minimizing her son's clinical depression as a "distraction," and said other players have been subjected to worse treatment.

Thirteen mortgage servicers will pay a total of $9.3 billion to settle federal complaints over foreclosure-processing and loan-servicing methods. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve announced the final settlement Thursday as amendments to enforcement actions against the 13. Covered by the agreement are: Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, Morgan Stanley, PNC, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.

More than three-quarters of New Jersey police departments failed to give the public correct information when they were asked how to file a complaint against officers, the American Civil Liberties Union has found. The organization Tuesday released a report based on a 2012 survey of 497 departments. It followed a similar study conducted in 2009 that produced similar findings. "The results remained disconcerting," the report said. "Once again, a majority of local departments provided inaccurate information in response to the most basic questions regarding individuals' rights to file [internal affairs]

Court proceedings were recessed for at least two days in the federal civil lawsuit against the Philadelphia Housing Authority by former Executive Director Carl R. Greene - who was fired in September 2010 and contends that the agency owes him $743,000 in lost pay, plus damages. Court officials said the nonjury trial would not reconvene until at least Wednesday. One source said only that "the parties are talking. " The trial, which started Feb. 4 before U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter, was interrupted last week for a settlement conference, court records show.