Cinematical

Here's hoping this movie sees the light of day. It seems like Eliza hasn't done much since "Tru Calling" ended but the fact is the movies she's done just aren't being released for one reason or another. What ever happened to "On Broadway", "Nobel Son", and "The Alphabet Killer"? "Sex and Breakfast" FINALLY got released in theatres, but there are a handful of films with Dushku in them that just seem to be in release limbo.

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Hot photo. I've loved Dushku since Buffy and Bring It On, excited to see her again on the big screen.

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I live in Marshalltown IA, and have heard a bit about this case. Word on the street as I understood it was that some police officers threw him off the roof of the police department. I can't confirm or deny the statement as fact or fiction, but it's good someone's putting some attention on this case.

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I grew up in Marshalltown in the 80's and everyone there knew when it happened Rock Templeton killed him, Marshalltown cops are among the most hated cops on the planet. Crooked to this day. Keep digging you will find so much there.

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Kevin Thacker was my cousin.How does someone jump from a roof and have only a scraped leg and a dent above his ear the exact size as a policemans flashlight.He was never on that roof. He was not an only child, as I read in this article, he was the youngest of six kids. He was born June 23rd 1963. (They got his age wrong too.)

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You people need a big dose of reality!

There was no police corruption or murder here.

Stuart Pepper is trying to get his picture on Soap Opera Digest!

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yes there was and has been corruption in the Marshalltown pd for years. Another cop officer west that was involved killed another kid about 10 years ago. He also tried to rough me up once and was no match. After he called in many other cops they got me down and it went really badly, the way they acted that night with me, it would not be beyond them to kill Thacker, and they did. There has been a new law suite file within the last 2 weeks for misconduct. So as for a Reality check you need one. All the cops in Marshalltown are pukes and wannabes.

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Obviously Frank has more experience in this area than others.

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And I suppose the Internal Investigation that got rid of most of the old guard a couple of years ago is also a symptom of me needing a "dose of reality". I'm not saying that it's some sort of Machiavellian conspiracy, but I do think that power has been abused on certain occasions.

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Kevin Thacker is my uncle. My dad is his older brother. This is the bottom line, he was alive when he was arrested and died while in the custody of the police. Any average person, if given the opportunity to hear the facts, will come to the same conclusion, and that is that the police killed him, then tried to cover it up. PERIOD And just to clarify a few things, Kevin had NEVER been arrested before for anything, anywhere, he may have been friends with a gay man, but he was definately not gay (not that being gay would make it anymore ok to kill him) and he was the youngest of 6 kids. We, the Thacker Family would like to state that this movie was made without any input from us.

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I know for a fact that m'town police are corrupt and do alot of cover-ups. Sexual harrassment, abuse of authority, and most of all, drunk driving by off-duty officers that are let go every time. Also, alot of cover-ups at the jail and a make your own rules as you go situation. I hope when they get to M'town they do some digging because you won't believe what they could uncover if they tried. It is not only the P.D. but the whole city and county government involved.

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Well they killed another one, Tyler Duff went into a coma while in a police car. He was pulled over swallowed meth told them he had swallowed it. Then was put into the back of a pig car for 2 hours until he went into a coma, then was taken to the hospital then life flight took him to Iowa city, where he never woke up and died several days later. funeral tomorrow. Chief Lon Walker must go. he wasn't there for the Thacker murder but it is still run the same way today as it was then. They need to get rid of all the pigs there and start over again. They will get away with this one too. They answer to no one.

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I know for a fact marshalltown cops are corrupt. I am lucky to be alive , And moved out of marshalltown because i was in fear for my life. I do know this if im ever pulled over in m'town again im dead.My name is joe leavy , and i am filing misconduct charges aginst the marshalltown p/d . My mom always tells me about the thacker case. She remembers like yesterday.Shes Always saying JOE MARSHALLTOWN COPS KILL PEOPLE. I need to do more research in to this case and others. The killing needs to stop!!

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January 11, 2008

A Marshalltown man was sentenced to 15 days in jail on a misdemeanor harassment charge concerning calls he made to his estranged wife.

Former Marshalltown resident Joe Leavy made the calls to his former wife just weeks after they had separated.

“The court noted ... the tone of these calls were exceedingly hostile,” said Assistant Marshall County Attorney Suzanne Lampkin. “The defendant intended to annoy [his ex-wife].”

Because of the tone, and because of past dealings with the court, Lampkin recommended the maximum sentence of 30 days in jail.

“The defendant has not abided by the rules of the court in the past,” she added.

Leavy noted that he regretted making the phone calls, especially given the language that was used. He explained his actions by saying that he was not in a “good state of mind” at the time.

Further frustrating him was the fact that he was unable to see his two daughters during that time, Leavy said.

“I had lost my job and I was really depressed and I didn’t know what to do,” he said.

If he had to serve an extended prison sentence, he told the court he would likely lose his job.

His attorney, Charles Kenville, asked the court for a sentence that included no jail time.

Leavy was asked how he now felt about making those calls.

“I really regret sending the phone calls,” he said. “I’m very sorry for sending the phone calls to her. ... It wasn’t good for the well being of our children or her.”

In another matter, Leavy faced two contempt of court charges concerning his failure to get fingerprinted and a claim he had not given his true contact address to authorities as ordered by the court.

Kenville told the court Leavy was going to get fingerprinted Wednesday, more than a month after he was ordered to do so.

While he was found in contempt on that matter, the judge gave him until 5 p.m. Wednesday to get fingerprinted before any penalty would be applied, according to Lampkin.

The judge did not find Leavy in contempt on the matter concerning his address.

In the normal course, fingerprinting often occurs at the time of an arrest during booking. However, Lampkin reported that officers said he was too violent at the time of his arrest and would not submit to fingerprinting.

The incident stems from a false imprisonment charge in November for which he was arrested.

He and authorities have a difference of opinions as to what happened the night he was arrested. His girlfriend, Angie Hamilton, who is the supposed victim of the false imprisonment, is backing up his story, saying that she was never held against her will at any time.

His sister, Patricia Weidner, contacted the Times-Republican recently indicating that Leavy and Hamilton may be willing to submit to a polygraph examination to help substantiate their claims.

Such tests are not admissible in courtrooms, but could give help provide credibility to their stories in the court of public opinion.

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If you want to go to the Times Repubilcan web page and type in Thacker in the search area, they have an article on this case. Mr Thacker made the jump to the collusium roof and then fell from there. A tragedy yes, a movie not so much....

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Very interesting comments. I grew up in Marshalltown and knew a number of the police officers there. My experience was that many of these upstanding citizens worked hard for their community and made contributions far beyond the call of duty. It is my understanding that this gentlemen was under the influence, confrontational, arrested, escaped arrest procedure, tried to make a jump from the roof of the police station to the collusium and then fell. Period. Where's the story? Beyond that, Marshalltown over the years has been a community that has not only changed in size, but culture and demographic. With those changes have come positives, but also a number of negatives including a HUGE drug problem. Marshalltown's city and county law enforcement has done an incredible job in helping keep Marshalltown a thriving/safe community despite the number of challenges it faces for it's size. Perhaps people should look at the criminal and their actions and then judge the character of these officers. Next time I see one of these, I'm tell them thanks for a job well done.

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First of all to Tommy, Joe has nothing to do with this movie. Next Johnny,the Times Republican article was written December 12, by a reporter who didn't bother to do his homework before printing the story. Anthony, I'm sure many of the officers are upstanding citizens,but many does not mean all. Your understanding of what happened that night is misunderstood, Period.

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BJ, How do you explain the roof tar on Mr. Thacker's clothing? The tar was a match to the roof of the collisium, matched by the FBI.

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Tommy, Who did the investigation and where was the clothing before the trial?

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BJ, Do you always answer questions with a question? Since we are talking 1983 I would only be guessing that the Marshalltown Police and the DCI did the investigation. I would guess that one of those agencies had the clothing prior to the FBI testing them. Now would you care to answer my first question with an answer, instead of another question? I am not an attorney, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once, and am pretty sure there is something about "chain of custody" that involves the handling of evidence.

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