The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has requested that false-reporting charges be filed against an 18-year-old whose claims of abuse at the hands of sheriff's detention officers prompted a candidate for the Sheriff's Office to help bail him out of jail last month.Kolton Brian Clark was arrested July16 on suspicion of aggravated assault and disorderly conduct after getting into two fights at an apartment complex in Phoenix. A Phoenix police report from the arrest notes the head injuries Clark suffered in the fights that landed him in the Fourth Avenue Jail.Within days of his incarceration, Clark began telling family members that detention officers in the jail sprayed him with Mace, shot him with a Taser and beat him in one of the facility's "safe cells," which are barren, single-occupancy cells where the agency holds inmates who are considered a danger to themselves or others.Clark's family admits he was drinking on the night of his arrest. A police report from the incident notes that he blacked out during his time with police and repeatedly asked officers why he was in jail.Earlier this week, Clark said the assault happened shortly after he was placed in the safe cell. According to Clark, detention officers opened a slot in the cell door and sprayed the Mace, and then a group of detention officers rushed into the cell, shocked him with a stun gun and beat him.The Sheriff's Office denies Clark's claim.Video footage from multiple cameras tracks Clark through the entire facility and does not show an assault by deputies or other inmates. The footage shows police officers leading Clark to a sink in a detention cell and taking Clark into the safe cell, where he is stripped and left with a blanket. From about 1:15a.m. to about 10:15a.m. on July17, the tape shows, Clark banged on the cell door, slept and used the bathroom. After 10:15a.m., he was removed from the cell and dressed in standard jail attire.The booking photo of Clark taken shortly thereafter showed the injuries that Clark claims he suffered at the hands of sheriff's deputies.Though the alleged assault occurred nearly three weeks ago, Clark's father, Brian, had not seen the jail footage as of Thursday evening. But Brian Clark insists he is committed to finding the truth and claims that the footage, which is time-stamped, shot from multiple cameras and on a continuous loop, was altered or edited by the Sheriff's Office to cover up the assault."They can submit charges all they want. Kolton was tased by them; they will have to answer how he got tased in custody and why their own staff told Maricopa Medical Center that the 'shower monster' got him in custody," Brian Clark wrote in a text message on Friday. "They are covering up the fact they beat and tased him. If charges are issued we will deal with them. He is not false reporting. It happened."Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said his office will review the allegations and make a decision within 30 days about charging him. Brian Clark, convinced that his son's life was in jeopardy in the county jail system, reached out to Maricopa County sheriff's candidate John Rowan, who helped the family post Kolton's bail. Rowan has since cited the case, and what he describes as his efforts to save someone from Sheriff Joe Arpaio's detention officers, in at least two speeches, both delivered at a meeting of the state Democratic Party last month in Payson.Rowan did not respond to requests for comment Friday.Copyright 2012 The Arizona Republic|azcentral.com. All rights reserved.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor
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Michael Appleton for The New York TimesState Senator Malcolm A. Smith, a Democrat, arriving at court in White Plains on Tuesday, is accused of bribing Republican Party leaders to put him on the ballot in New York’s mayoral race. WHITE PLAINS — A state senator and a New York City councilman pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that they plotted to bribe Republican Party bosses to place the senator on the ballot in the city’s mayoral race. 
Councilman Daniel J. Halloran III was charged with Mr. Smith. 
Noramie F. Jasmin, the mayor of Spring Valley, N.Y., was accused of accepting money and property. Four others who were named in the indictment also pleaded not guilty here in Federal District Court. The plot, outlined in a complaint unsealed on April 2, included fraud charges against State Senator Malcolm A. Smith, a Queens Democrat; City Councilman Daniel J. Halloran III, a Queens Republican; and the Republican Party bosses Joseph J. Savino and Vincent Tabone. Also charged in the complaint were Mayor Noramie F. Jasmin of Spring Valley, in Rockland County, and the deputy mayor, Joseph Desmaret. They were accused of accepting money and property to advance a real estate development there. Prosecutors said in an indictment last week that Mr. Smith had arranged for $40,000 in cash to be paid by the developer of the Spring Valley project — actually a federal undercover agent — to Mr. Savino, the chairman of the party in the Bronx, and Mr. Tabone, the vice chairman of the party in Queens. While those officials pledged to help Mr. Smith gain a spot on the Republican ballot, the indictment said, Mr. Smith agreed in return to help obtain about $500,000 in state funds for road work that would benefit the project. Mr. Halloran received $15,000 to act as an intermediary among the party bosses and Mr. Smith, according to the indictment. He is also accused of accepting payments from the undercover agent and an unnamed associate while agreeing to steer up to $80,000 in City Council discretionary money to them. The indictment said Mr. Smith had discussed giving money to other state senators to gain their support for a Senate leadership position. Mr. Tabone was described in an indictment as saying: “I run the Queens County Republican Party. Nobody else runs the party.” Mr. Tabone, the only defendant to comment to reporters, said he was an “unpaid party volunteer” and added, “I’ll have my day in court.” 