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OFFICER DOWN….TEXAS www.privateofficer.com
OFFICER DOWN………TEXAS http://www.privateofficer.com
Trooper Jean Dark with the Texas Department of Public Safety said the shooting happened just before 8 p.m. by the intersection of Farm-to Market roads 1969 and 729 north east of Lake 0′ The Pines near Kellyville.
The trooper, identified as James Scott Burns, 39, was involved in a high speed chase along FM 1969 when he was shot.
Dark said the vehicle the officer was pursuing, a blue Dodge Intrepid, was registered to Daniel Umphries, 24, of Tyler.
Authorities did not say Umphries is the shooter, only that they are looking for him and the vehicle.
Members of the Umphries family, however, told the Tyler Paper that the Tyler man is currently behind bars at the Bradshaw unit serving a sentence for a state jail felony and will not be eligible for parole for another 14 months. The family member said Umphries sold the car four or five months ago.
Dark said a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy assisting Burns reported the shooting to dispatch.
Police were still on the lookout for the vehicle. Authorities encourage anyone with information on the vehicle, Texas license plate 039-LCG, to contact law enforcement officials immediately.
“There is a multi jurisdiction effort to find this vehicle,” Dark said.
Students tricked by scam artist in vacation scheme www.privateofficer.com
Students tricked by scam artist in vacation scheme http://www.privateofficer.com
Authorities say that three Riverdale High School students said they made payments to Cynthia Anderson for a trip that was supposed to be scheduled for the end of May.
Anderson is also accused of taking money from some LaVergne students using the same method the Riverdale students said she used. And police investigators believe that there may still be other victims in the metro Nashville area or beyond.
The Riverdale students say that they have given Anderson $700 a piece as payments on a trip to Jamaica.
Anderson said she worked as an independent marketing agent for Yourtravelbiz.com.
She said her job was to serve as a booking agent and the more trips she booked, the more money she would get from the company, but the company has no records of Anderson scheduling any trip or any money.
Police said they are looking for Anderson in connection with the accusations.
The alleged scam may have affected more than just LaVergne and Riverdale high schools. Anderson had reportedly approached every high school in Rutherford County with the same offer.
Police want to know how the teens were picked as her targets and they are investigating if she has any accomplises in her scheme.
This is the second case this week involving students being promised great trips and then being scammed out of their money. In the first incident, a subsitute teacher in Douglas Georgia collected nearly $7500.00 from high school students with intentions of stealing their money police say.
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Federal agents arrest quadriplegic for child porn www.privateofficer.com
Federal agents arrest quadriplegic for child porn http://www.privateofficer.com
Mobile Al. April 30 3008
By BRENDAN KIRBY
Staff Reporter
A quadriplegic man from Satsuma paid for child pornography over the Internet and secretly videotaped young girls taking showers in his house, a federal indictment alleges.
A grand jury last week charged Robert Vezendy, 42, with three counts production of child pornography, four counts of possession of child porn and one count receipt of child porn. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court to answer to the charges today.
If convicted of all three production counts, Vezendy faces 45 years to life in prison. He has been ordered held at Mobile County Metro Jail until his appearance today.
Vezendy’s lawyer, Dennis Knizley, said he has not yet seen the evidence against his client. He said he will ask a judge to release Vezendy to the custody of his parents, who have driven to Mobile from their home in New York.
“I cannot comment about the strength of the government’s case,” he said. “However, because of his physical condition, he’s having an extremely difficult time in jail, as you might imagine.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from the Department of Homeland Security seized computers and hard drives from Vezendy’s home at 5809 Vaughn Drive West last month. The hard drives contained digital videos of naked girls younger than 18 using the bathroom and shower, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
“Additional observation of the videos revealed that they appeared to be captured via the use of a hidden camera,” the affidavit states.
Dwight McDaniel, the assistant special agent in charge of the agency in Alabama, said authorities are trying to determine who the girls in the videos are.
“We are working diligently to identify any potential victims,” he said. “We’re doing all our homework, I assure you.”
Knizley said his client suffered severe injuries in his native New York when he was 17 years old and was struck by a car while riding his bicycle. He said Vezendy has no use of his legs and only partial control over his arms. He wears a special device on his hands to help him maneuver them, Knizley said.
Knizley said Vezendy works as a manager for a chemical company and has lived in Mobile County for the past 11 years. His said he already has outlived the life expectancy of someone with his injuries.
Vezendy’s credit card number was one of many found by New Jersey-based federal investigators during Operation Emissary II, an undercover probe of international child pornographers. Investigators discovered that Vezendy used his MasterCard on May 13, 2006 to pay $79.99 for access to a Web site containing images of adults having sex with children, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
When federal investigators visited Vezendy’s home, according the affidavit, they saw a number of items they considered unusual for a single man living alone.
They included numerous stuffed animals on the living room sofa, several prominently displayed photographs of a girl estimated to be about 13 and two schedules of girls’ softball teams.
Knizley said all of the items are “absolutely, totally innocent.”
McDaniel said the objects warrant further investigation, but he acknowledged that stuffed animals and youth sports schedules by themselves prove no wrongdoing. “At this point, I can’t tell you that means anything,” he said.
A forensic analysis of Vezendy’s desktop computer turned up images from the so-called “Lolita” series, one of the oldest known child porn sets in circulation, according to the affidavit.
The document states that the series originally was imported into the United States in print form and has been encountered by law enforcement investigators throughout the country many times.
The investigator’s affidavit states that Vezendy told authorities that he previously had considered deleting the images and movies but had not done so.
Later, the document states, Vezendy called the agent and told him he had received an e-mail that contained the Internet link to a Web site that had images of young girls. He said he initially did not access the site but added that “curiosity got the best of me.”
Investigators traced the illicit Web site to Estonia. The undercover officer who signed up for access got an e-mail suggesting that he tell anyone who asks that he used the site to purchase spyware. The first page of the Web site also contains a warning and a hint.
“Our site is considered illegal in all countries,” it stated, according to the affidavit. “Even if you ever have problems with police, you can always say that someone had stolen the information from your credit card and used it. It is very difficult to establish that you were the person to pay.”
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Unarmed security confronts armed man at college www.privateofficer.com
Unarmed security confronts armed man at college http://www.privateofficer.com
The local college suspended the student on Monday after the deputies arrested him on campus with two guns and 220 rounds of ammunition.
Ryan Sexson is also accused of threatening a campus security officer at Reinhardt College in Cherokee County.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s officers got involved when an unarmed campus officer stopped Sexson for disorderly conduct.
Reinhardt College said that they have suspended Sexson from school during finals while it investigates what happened on campus early Saturday morning.
As the security officer was questioning Sexson, he saw the guns and called Canton police.
Police and deputies responded to the assistance call from the campus officer and immediately took Sexson into custody without any further incident.
Sexson has been charged with carrying weapons on campus and making terroristic threats. He was transported to the county jail but is currently out on bond.
School officials said that before his arrest, Sexson had been banned from living on campus after authorities said guns and knives were found in his dormitory room.
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Police shoot armed man in courtroom www.privateofficer.com
Police shoot armed man in courtroom http://www.privateofficer.com
The suspect was identified by authorities as 40-year-old Robert Eaton.
Sheriff’s deputies fatally shot Eaton on Monday afternoon after he went into the courthouse brandishing two butcher knives.
No one else was injured in the incident.
Sheriff Mark Pazin said Eaton also crashed into the courthouse in April 2007, claiming he was angry that he had been refused treatment by a local mental health facility.
Pazin said Eaton had an extensive arrest record and had been under mental health treatment with the county.
Guards tried to stop the man after he ran through a set of metal detectors at the Merced County Courthouse, but they couldn’t catch up to him once he took off down a crowded hallway holding a knife in each hand, Chief Deputy District Attorney Harold Nutt said.
According to Nutt, attorneys and witnesses yelled as Eaton approached Courtroom 2, but he busted through a set of doors, where lawyers were standing in the midst of court proceeding, Nutt said.
“As soon as he hit the inside doors I was behind him and I started yelling that he had a knife,” said Nutt, who saw him approach as he stood in the hallway talking with a colleague. “The officers started yelling at him, and yelling at everybody else to get down, and at that point it was rather chaotic. People started screaming, people started heading for the door, and I just ran back outside.”
“As the judge tried to hurry his court clerks out the back through his chambers, the man held the knives aloft, in a stabbing position,” Nutt said.
Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin said the man charged Judge Brian McCabe.
When the suspect refused to drop the weapons, three officers fired directly at him, and the man died on the courtroom floor, in front of several dozen attorneys, law enforcement officers and others doing business in the court, Merced County sheriff’s spokesman Tom MacKenzie said.
According to authorities, the man was shot multiple times.
No other injuries were immediately reported, but the courthouse remained on lockdown as investigators interviewed witnesses and officers involved in the incident, MacKenzie said.
Nutt said a public defender told him he recognized the suspect as a previous client with a history of mental illness.
“Our first order of business is to protect the judge and the court personnel,” Pazin said.
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UCONN Police arrest 52 during week-end www.privateofficer.com
UCONN Police arrest 52 during week end event http://www.privateofficer.com
Police also arrested 11 people Thursday night and 19 people Friday night.
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Man arrested for disturbance at casino www.privateofficer.com
Man arrested for disturbance at casino http://www.privateofficer.com
Security officers at a local business had to call in state troopers after a disorderly person refused to leave the property.
James Rehrer, 44, Pine Grove, was charged after the incident at Hollywood Casino at Penn National in East Hanover Township at 10:35 p.m. Thursday, state police said.
State police took Rehrer into custody when troopers arrived and transported him to the county jail.
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Shoplifter turns self in after assaulting officer www.privateofficer.com
Shoplifter turns self in after assaulting officer http://www.privateofficer.com
Jason Allen Collatt, 28, faces charges of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer and fleeing. Police said he threw his van in reverse during an altercation with the detective on Springhill Road in Bryant just before 7 p.m. Sunday.
Detective Eric Haworth was scraped and bruised but wasn’t seriously injured, police said. Arkansas State Police Cpl. Quinn Best, who was assisting in the shoplifting case, was not injured.
Both officers fired several shots in the direction of the van, police said.
Collatt eventually left the van and fled on foot, police said.
He was named as a suspect in a theft that occurred at a Sutherlands home-improvement store in Benton. Police said he may face additional charges.
The Benton Police Department and the state police are conducting internal inquiries into the officers’ actions.
Collatt was being held Monday at the Saline County jail in lieu of $ 250, 000 bond. A court date was set for June 10.
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Mall security officer receives award www.privateofficer.com
Mall officer receives award http://www.privateofficer.com
Cumberland County NJ April 30 2008
NEWS RELEASE
Robert Gonzalez, assistant security director at Cumberland Mall, was recently nominated for Allied Barton’s District Security Officer of the Year Award. Gonzalez was recognized for continually setting an example of excellence through dedication, commitment and a high level of professionalism. Gonzalez always is willing to make an extra effort to go above and beyond the expected.
Shoplifter cuts store manager with sword www.privateofficer.com
Shoplifter cuts store manager with sword http://www.privateofficer.com
The incident started Sunday when employees of the store on Rodeo Road said they caught the man trying to conceal two bottles of expensive tequila in his pants.
The assistant manager told police he saw a man now alleged to be Paul Rodriguez hiding the bottles of Patrón and confronted him. He then took Rodriguez, 41, to a store office where two other employees were watching him while waiting for police to arrive.
When the manager left the room things quickly turned violent, Deputy Chief Benjie Montaño of the Santa Fe Police Department said.
“Mr. Rodriquez had a cane; opened cane and there was a 28-inch sword that was part of the cane ” Montaño said. “Held it at one of the employee’s neck, threatened to use it if they didn’t stop what they were doing.
“Then he fled.”
As he was leaving Rodriquez slashed one of the employees on the torso with the sword leaving superficial wounds, Montano added.
But as Rodriguez ran he fell in the parking lot and hit his head. Police said he was bleeding when he got into a friend’s car and told her to drive.
The woman realized something wasn’t right and told Rodriquez to get out. Police caught up with him a short time later.
Rodriquez is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, concealing his identity and other charges. He is currently being held without bond.
He has quite a history of running from police, according to a rap sheet that shows he’s been charged with resisting and evading officers at least three times and even escaped from jail once.
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Man pulls gun on security shot by police www.privateofficer.com
Man pulls gun on security, is shot by police http://www.privateofficer.com
The man, police say, was shot by officers who responded early Sunday and found that he had tried to flee the area and drove into a lake.
Police said the man was intoxicated in a Westgate City Center parking lot, attempting to break into cars.
The man got into a vehicle in the lot and began speeding and driving erratically onto the curbs, until he drove into a lake along Glendale Avenue, police said.
Police said a security officer attempted to apprehend him, and that an altercation ensued and the man pulled out a gun on the security officer and began shooting into the air.
An off-duty Phoenix officer who was at Westgate said he saw what was going on and intervened and was also threatened by the man.
The officer opened fire at the man, hitting him several times, police said.
Police said the man was transported to a nearby hospital in critical but stable condition.
The Phoenix officer did not suffer any injuries, police said.
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Man robs store using fake police badge www.privateofficer.com
Man robs store using fake police badge http://www.privateofficer.com
The robber impersonated a police officer at a Walgreens on Saturday.
The man entered a Roswell Walgreens and gained access to the store office by presenting a badge to store employees, investigators said.
Once inside, according to police, the man revealed a small handgun and robbed the business.
Police said the robber is a black male, 6’0” feet tall and 170 pounds.
Atlanta police said Monday that anyone with information about the robbery should contact police.
Teacher arrested in student trip scam www.privateofficer.com
Subsitute teacher arrested in student trip scam http://www.privateofficer.com
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Police officer killed by husband www.privateofficer.com
Police officer killed by husband http://www.privateofficer.com
A Livingston police officer was shot and killed by her husband in an apparent murder-suicide Saturday night, authorities said.
Officer Caran Renee Coward, 39, was found dead about 8 p.m. in a travel trailer outside her home in the 300 block of Knob Hill, about 75 miles north of downtown Houston, said Polk County Sheriff Kenneth Hammack, whose agency is investigating the case.
Authorities said they think she was killed by her husband, Randy Phillip Coward, 43, who was also found dead from a gunshot wound in the trailer.
One of the couple’s three children, who was inside the home during the shooting, called 911 to report finding their father in a pool of blood, Hammack said, and he added that police believe the weapon was a shotgun.
Caran Coward, an officer with the Livingston Police Department since February 2005, was on duty when she was killed.
“I’m not sure why she went home at this time,” Hammack said.
Investigators, who were still at the scene after midnight Saturday, are trying to determine the circumstances that lead to the shooting.
“There had been some family or marital problems and that’s all I know at this time,” Hammack said.
Valerie Reddell, a friend of Caran Coward’s, said she was unaware of any problems the couple was having.
Reddell, also the Polk County Enterprise editor, said Randy Coward was a musician and a Christian Country Music Association award winner. She said he did construction work on the side.
The last time they spoke, Caran Coward told Reddell that her husband had broken his foot on a construction job and that the injury had impacted his ability to earn a living both with music and construction, prompting her to take on extra police assignments.
Hammack, who knew Caran Coward, described her as a good officer and hard worker.
“She will be missed by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the Livingston Police Department,” he said. “We’ve lost a fine officer.”
Reddell said she’ll remember Caran Coward for always treating people with respect.
“She was courteous and kind to everybody,” she said. “She is a shinning example of everything a woman officer brings to law enforcement.”
The three children — two boys and a girl — are being taken to their grandmother’s home.
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Shoplifters leave two year old child behind www.privateofficer.com
Shoplifters leave 2 year old child behind http://www.privateofficer.com
“I was devastated because the little boy was just sitting there crying…with his arms open or whatever.”
Police say after the women were caught shoplifting, they ran. Eventually, one of the women came back and asked WalMart security not to call police. When the guard told her the police had already been called, she ran, again leaving the little boy behind according to police.
Newport News Public Information Officer Lou Thurston says the surveillance video will be used as evidence.
“There is actually some parts of the video that disturb me greatly because the child is so far removed from any adult that anyone, and in fact one gentleman did walk past the child who was standing there, it’s disturbing that anyone could walk up and take this child and go off with him. That’s very disturbing,” says Thurston. “There’s also some video where the security personnel from Wal-Mart take charge of the child, but that could’ve been anybody if it wasn’t the security person.”
Thurston says the mother was not at the store when her son was abandoned and that she had left her child in another woman’s care. Police need that woman’s name.
“The mother is not the most cooperative person toward us and I kind of have to leave it at that,” says Thurston.
Now police are working hard to find answers while Hampton Roads residents are working hard to grasp how this could happen.
“The larceny is one thing, but abandoning a child is just, it’s horrific,” says Thurston.
Thurston also says the suspects face charges of Larceny and Child Neglect which *could* turn into felonies. There’s no word yet on if the mother could face any charges.
If you have any information that could help police, call the Crimeline at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
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Police shoot, kill shoplifter during arrest www.privateofficer.com
Police shoot, kill shoplifter during arrest http://www.privateofficer.com
Miami-Dade police say an officer fatally shot a man while investigating a report of a theft at a mall.
Officers were called out on a report of a shoplifting and had made contact with a man that they believed was involved.
Police say a struggle broke out when the officer tried to arrest the man Sunday night at Southland Mall in Goulds, about 45 minutes south of Miami. The officer then fired shots.
Witnesses say they saw police chasing a man, heard what sounded like a shot and then saw an officer performing CPR on a person on the ground.
The officer’s name has not been released yet but the name of the person shot has been released late Monday. Officers say that 31 year old Joseph Lumpkin struggled with police as the officer tried to subdue him .
Officials say a security officer pointed Lumpkin out to the officer, who chased him through a neighborhood. When the officer caught up to him, the two grappled for the gun which discharged. One shot pierced Lumpkin’s chest.
Police have also not released the name of the store where the person alledgedly took items from or what the merchandise was.
Lumpkin died at the scene. An autopsy has been planned for Monday.
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Police cancel school security program www.privateofficer.com
Police cancel school security program http://www.privateofficer.com
Clovis schools won’t have police resource officers in next year because the police department is short staffed right now the police chief said..
Chief Dan Blair says his department will appoint one officer as a school liaison officer.
Three others who worked in the schools will return to Clovis streets where they are badly needed to help beef up patrols..
Blair says the department will work with school officials to streamline when they should call police and what they can handle themselves. The chief wasn’t sure if the schools would hire private security companies to help with their security needs but it might be something that they’ll look into.
The chief says his department began having staff shortages in the last year, and currently is down more than half a dozen officers.
He also says the department recently withdrew from a Department of Justice grant that required it to dedicate four officers to the program.
He says his department could no longer fullfill the requirement of 4 officers.
Tuscon Az. police made a similar announcement to their school system several days ago. All police officers will also be withdrawn from schools and placed back on the streets.
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Shoplifter trys to swallow drugs www.privateofficer.com
Shoplifter trys to swallow drugs http://www.privateofficer.com
Authorities say that they arrested Monica Gilliam, 38, of 1127 Maiden Lane, Saturday morning, April 26, at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, 2100 N. Bechtle Ave., after store officials detained her of shoplifting.
According to police, during the incident, Gilliam allegedly swallowed some drugs and tried to swallow some marijuana,and resisted officers according to a police report.
She has been arrested on theft and drug charges and is scheduled to appear in court on charges of theft and drug possession.
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PUBLIC OPINION POLL PRIVATE SECURITY www.privateofficer.com
PUBLIC OPINION POLL……PRIVATE SECURITY……PLEASE ANSWER AND EMAIL http://www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta Ga. April 29 2008
Should all security officers go through a standard form of training. ie. 40 hours/80 hrs. etc……yes/no
Should security officers if properly trained carry firearms?
Should security officers if properly trained be sworn peace officers and allowed to make arrests?
How important is it to have private security officers in schools? hospitals? businesses? airports?
In general, do you think we need security officers?
Have you ever had a bad experience with a security officer? Tell us what happened?
Have you ever had a good experience with a security officer? Tell us what happened?
Does your school or workplace use security guards?
If a security officer gave you an order like leave the store or don’t enter the mall or stop, would you obey him?
Thank you for helping in this very important survey. Please email your answers to; adminassist@privateofficer.com
PUBLIC OPINION POLL………PLEASE ANSWER AND EMAIL
- Should all security officers go through a standard form of training. ie. 40 hours/80 hrs. etc……yes/no
- Should security officers if properly trained carry firearms?
- Should security officers if properly trained be sworn peace officers and allowed to make arrests?
- How important is it to have private security officers in schools? hospitals? businesses? airports? In general, do you think we need security officers?
- Have you ever had a bad experience with a security officer? Tell us what happened?
- Have you ever had a good experience with a security officer? Tell us what happened?
- Does your school or workplace use security guards?
- If a security officer gave you an order like leave the store or don’t enter the mall or stop, would you obey him?
Thank you for helping in this very important survey. Please email your answers to; adminassist@privateofficer.com
Store customer shoots would be robber www.privateofficer.com
Store customer shoots would-be robbers http://www.privateofficer.com
That armed person was a customer, who shot one of the robbers dead.
The other robber fled on foot and has not been captured or identified by police.
There were three employees and two customers inside when the armed men entered Sinker’s Liquor Store on Gallatin Road just after 10 p.m. Saturday.
Clifford Baxter, an employee, said he went into the back to call the police.
As Baxter was calling police, the armed customer pulled out his weapon and opened fire on the suspects, who police said had ordered everyone on the floor.
“It happened real fast,” said Baxter.
The suspects returned fire, and police said about 10 shots were fired altogether.
“There was an exchange of gun fire between suspects and the customer inside the business,” said Capt. David Imhof of the Nashville Police Department. “…One of the suspects was able to successfully run from the store. The other only made it the end of the parking lot where he collapsed.”
Police said the shot suspect was taken to Skyline Medical Center and pronounced dead as a result of his injuries.
Baxter said he almost attacked the customer with a bottle in the aftermath of the shootings before he realized he was not one of the alleged robbers.
“I told him I appreciate it, thank him thank him, he may have saved our lives,” said Baxter.
Police said the customer does have a valid Tennessee permit needed to carry a weapon.
The robber who got away was described by police as being a young black man believed to be in his 20s who was short, with a slender build and wearing a red shirt and black pants.
Police said to call 911 if anyone has any information.
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U.S. Parks, minuments have lax security www.privateofficer.com
Many worry about U.S. Parks and Memorials lax security http://www.privateofficer.com
Few sights are more inspiring than the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Mem-orial at night.
Walking up the marble steps to gaze at the oversized lighted statue of Abraham Lincoln is always profound. I’ve done that several times; the feeling never diminishes.
Anyone who shares that feeling, including — I assume — Maine’s congressional delegation, should be outraged at a recent report disclosing that the U.S. Park Police is failing to protect these national icons, or the Statue of Liberty in New York.
The inspector general for the U.S. Department of the Interior found that the park police are badly trained and badly led.
Police leaders “continue to state that icon security is a top priority; however, their actions indicate otherwise,” the inspector general said.
Despite concerns that terrorists might target these national symbols, police staffing levels are lower now than they were six years ago. Worse yet, inspectors found officers who were supposed to be on duty were away from their posts, some reading newspapers or sleeping.
Guards hired from a private security company are supposed to augment the park police. The inspector general found that “there is little, if any, cooperation and communication between the two groups. … Officers told us that many of the security guards spoke little English and had little, if any, contact with USPP officers.”
Inspectors who visited the monuments in Washington found that “the security guards appeared disinterested in their duties, reading the newspaper, talking on cell phones, or congregating in groups. At times, we also found that guards were conspicuously absent from their posts. As a result, they provided little visible deterrence.”
Inspectors visited the monuments 40 times over three months at various times of the day and night. Often they were unable to find any guards. Sixty- eight percent of the time minimum staffing levels were not being met.
The response of the assistant chief of the park police to these findings is astounding.
He said having police officers visible “is a sign of defeat” and that “terrorists are not incredibly sophisticated people.”
They would not have needed to be sophisticated to do terrible things at these treasured monuments.
“On one occasion, we found that a grate securing the stairs leading to the area below the Washington Monu-ment had been left open and unattended for approximately 20 minutes. On another occasion, an unidentified visitor placed a large suitcase against the Washington Monu- ment’s south wall. The suitcase was left unattended and unchecked for over five minutes before being reclaimed by the visitor. We also found that the visitor centers located in both the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials were continuously left unmonitored and unprotected.”
While park police and security guards may not be protecting the national monuments, they do seem able to protect themselves against un-wanted publicity. One inspector was detained after attempting to photograph a park police officer working on a crossword puzzle inside the Jefferson Memorial.
A closed circuit television system is supposed to be a major part of the security for the monuments, both at the Statue of Liberty and in Washington.
Inspectors found it was ineffective.
At the Statue of Liberty, one officer must monitor 96 TV cameras on a panel of television monitors for a 12-hour shift while answering telephones and dealing with anyone who is arrested. During one inspection in Washington, “we found no officers monitoring the CCTV system.”
An incident in August 2007 makes it clear that our monuments are vulnerable. Costumed protesters carrying backpacks climbed the stairs at the Lincoln Memorial. They then climbed into Lincoln’s lap and hung a banner.
A review of the tapes from the TV cameras found that no park police officers were at their posts in the monument’s chamber when the incident occurred. “When officers did arrive several minutes later, they appeared to turn their backs on the protesters and put greater effort into forcing tourists out of the statue chamber.”
Contract guards “appeared confused and ill equipped to address the problem. Security guards were pictured standing among onlookers, watching the incident unfold.”
The inspectors also reported that officers are poorly trained, that they do not have adequate equipment (including bulletproof bests) and that many have not taken annual firearms tests.
Auditors found that the agency “did not use sound business practices for planning, accounting for and monitoring the use of funds.”
It is no surprise that average morale is terrible and getting worse.
Park Police Chief Dwight E. Pettiford doesn’t see it that way. The monuments, he said, “are still standing.”
“No one has missed a check” he said. “Morale is what you make it.”
So are competence and leadership.
Pettiford was relieved of his duties last month. He remains chief, but is now works full time with a group that has been formed to deal with the problems noted by the inspector general.
Police charge 3 with shoplifting, drugs www.privateofficer.com
Police charge 3 with shoplifting, drugs http://www.privateofficer.com
A third person was also summoned to face a drug possession charge.
Erik L. Somerville, 48, of 4 Waterfall Lane, Milford, was charged with shoplifting at the TJ Maxx on East Main Street at about 2:40 p.m after loss prevention agents nabbed him as he tried to steal several items.
Security agents here also stopped the two after they had seen them shoplifting numerous items and attempted to leave the store without paying for them.
All three posted bonds and are scheduled to appear in court.
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Job applicant’s brother shoplifts during interview www.privateofficer.com
Job applicant’s brother shoplifts during interview http://www.privateofficer.com
Authorities here say that on Friday afternoon, the woman went with her boyfriend and 8-month-old son to Kohl’s department store on East Independence Avenue to fill out a job application.
“The boyfriend, who is the suspect, was supposed to stay in the car and watch the child. Instead he put the child in the carrier, walked in the store and began stealing,” said Lt. Kirk Manlove, a spokesman for the Springfield Police Department.
Police say the 22-year-old man then left the store with the child and stolen shirts in hand but Kohl’s security staff stopped him in the parking lot. They escorted him back into the store and that’s when police say that he dropped the infant and ran.
Employees called police, who was able to find the male suspect nearby and took into custody.
Officers said that they have arrested the man on suspicion of theft and second-degree child endangerment.
Police said the man is not the father of the 8-month-old child, who was safely returned to his mother.
Police did not release the shoplifter’s name or if he had made bond in this case.
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Ga. prison guard arrested for drugs, sex with inmate www.privateofficer.com
Ga. prison guard arrested for drugs, sex with inmate http://www.privateofficer.com
After conducting an investigation, officers were led to Heather Nicole Hunnicutt , a corrections officer who was arrested on Wednesday and charged with a slew of serious offense. Charges include sexual assault against a person in custody, crossing guard lines with contraband, possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.
Authorities say they were tipped off by inmates after hearing someone was smuggling drugs into Al Burruss State Prison.
Hunnicutt had been working for the Georgia Department of Corrections for about a year. The prison, located off Interstate 75 just north of Forsyth, houses 300 male medium security inmates, a boot camp and a juvenile facility.
The 25-year-old officer is the second female corrections officer to be charged with having sex with a male inmate in as many months. The earlier arrest was at a county jail facilityin the metro Atlanta area.
Hunnicutt is being held in the Monroe County jail on $50,000 bond.
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Police cut SRO program www.privateofficer.com
Police cut SRO program http://www.privateofficer.com
The Tucson Police Department will eliminate a 46 year old program next month. For the first time since 1962, it’s eliminating its school resource officer program. Starting in July those officers will be moved out of schools and onto the streets.
Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a TPD spokesperson, says, in fiscal year 2008, TPD will spend $2.8 million on the school resource officer program. Next year, he says, police can’t afford to do that. The department needs those officers elsewhere.
Today 15 Tucson Police officers walk the halls of TUSD schools. They do a variety of jobs, investigate child abuse and bullying and provide crime information. Their purpose is to prevent crime.
Sgt. Pacheco says, “It’s tough economic times and the Police Department has to do what many other businesses are doing.”
Pacheco says TPD is short 27 officers on the streets. He says moving school resource officers there will improve officer safety and increase response times to crimes.
Pacheco gives examples, “Like your burglaries, auto thefts and things like that where people have traditionally waited long periods of time before they see an officer there.”
Warren Allison, who is TUSD Coordinator of School Safety, says losing police officers will cut TUSD’s security in half.
Allison says, “It makes it harder to keep our students and staff safe.”
He worries school crime will increase because he says school resource officers prevented crime. “If you’re {police} not going to do prevention, you’re going to need even more people to answer calls,” he predicts.
Students, parents and staff at Roskruge Bilingual Magnet Middle School, 501 E. 6 Street, don’t want to see their SRO go.
Flor Gomez, a parent and cafeteria worker, says, “There’s more safety with him here.”
Gomez’ son Jose Derma, an eighth grader, says, “If they weren’t here, then a lot of people would be fighting.”
Jennica Schoppenhorse, an eighth grader, says, “If somebody’s bothering you or they’re threatening you, you can tell him and then he can take care of it.”
Sarah McDaniel, Jennica’s mother and a cafeteria worker, says, “It’s just asking for a big problem to happen. I don’t want Columbine or something like that happening here in my town.”
TUSD Safety Coordinator Allison doesn’t know yet how the district will make up for its loss of police officers. He says the district will develop a plan before school starts in the fall.
TUSD isn’t the only district that will lose its police officers. Flowing Wells, Amphi and Vail school districts each have one Tucson Police school resource officer. Sunnyside has three.
Tucson Police eliminated another program too in order to put more officers on the streets. In March it eliminated its seven person vice unit.
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Security officer alerts police to hostage situation www.privateofficer.com
Security officer alerts police to hostage situation http://www.privateofficer.com
A private security officer on patrol of an apartment complex heard a disturbance and after investigating found that a man was holding at leat one person against their will in the apartment.
Police said the gunman who barricaded himself inside a condo building at Oakland’s Jack London Square and held his wife and two children hostage surrendered early Saturday after an all-night standoff, police said.
The suspect, a 41-year-old parolee whose name was not immediately released, gave himself up without incident at 4:25 a.m. and was being interviewed by police. His children, ages 3 and 5, were not harmed, and his wife was being treated for a minor injury, authorities said.
His arrest came after a nine-hour standoff at the Sierra Condos at 311 Oak St.
Police received a call from a security officer about 7:30 p.m. Friday reporting some kind of domestic dispute in a fifth-floor apartment, said Sgt. Reggie Brown. The security guard said the man was armed with a large knife or a meat cleaver.
There had been reports of a woman and children inside the unit with the man, and some residents reported hearing children screaming in or around that location.
Officers came to the scene and tried to get through the door, but someone inside fired a shot at them, Brown said. No one was hurt, but police backed off and called in the SWAT team and negotiators, in an effort to make contact with the man and persuade him to come out peacefully.
Police cordoned off four blocks around the scene and would let no one in the area come or go. Police partially evacuated the fourth and sixth floors of the eight-floor building.
By early Saturday, police were able to make contact with the gunman and persuade him to give up, authorities said.
A woman who lives two doors down from the apartment said she was on her way to a meeting when she saw SWAT officers running down the hallway, telling her to stay inside.
“I’m very scared,” said Liliana Nakamura, speaking by cell phone from inside the building. “There are police running down the hallway pointing guns toward our door.”
She said she called the front desk and was told not to come out.
“This is totally shocking,” she said. “They’re not letting us know what’s going on.”
People who were evacuated milled around the area, talking on cell phones to friends still inside.
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Correction officers nabbed in drug sting www.privateofficer.com
Correction officers nabbed in drug sting http://www.privateofficer.com
Seven current or former New York City correction officers were arrested on Thursday on charges of taking bribes and trying to smuggle illegal drugs to prisoners at Rikers Island, the authorities said.
The roundup was the city’s third crackdown in five years. Seven workers at city jails were arrested in 2003, and six were arrested in 2006.
Tips from other jail employees and from inmates led the authorities to focus on the latest suspects, the Department of Investigation said in a statement.
Undercover agents posing as friends or relatives of inmates paid bribes of $100 to $1,500 to six correction officers and gave them marijuana and fake cocaine or fake heroin to deliver. The seventh officer who was charged was assigned to screen mail for contraband. No inmates actually obtained drugs in the investigation, officials said.
Rose Gill Hearn, the Department of Investigation commissioner, said that the officers “are charged with violating their duty and jeopardizing the safety and security of the city’s jails.”
Martin F. Horn, the city’s correction commissioner, said, “If true, these charges are an insult to their brother and sister officers and a blemish on the well-earned reputation of the vast majority of our officers.”
The correction agency has imposed several measures to prevent illegal drugs from entering the jails, including random monthly testing of 5,000 of the system’s 14,000 inmates, the use of drug-sniffing dogs, and a device to detect trace amounts of drugs on visitors.
Three of the suspects had been fired for unrelated reasons, correction officials said. They were Daniel Marin, 27, of the Bronx; Anthony Narcisse, 24, of Manhattan; and Andrew Plaskett, 28, of Jamaica, Queens.
The other four suspects were suspended from their jobs upon their arrests. They were Daniel Bethel, 43, of Brooklyn; Joseph Constantino, 50, of Mineola, N.Y., the mailroom screener; William Delgado, 27, of the Bronx; and Tamar Peebles, 20, of Brooklyn.
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Father holds daughter captive 24 years www.privateofficer.com
Father holds daughter captive 24 years http://www.privateofficer.com
The 73-year-old father was taken into custody, Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs, told reporters Sunday.
Authorities found the woman Saturday evening in the town of Amstetten following a tip, Lower Austria police said in a statement.
The 42-year-old woman told police that her father began sexually abusing her when she was 11 and locked her in a room in the cellar on August 28, 1984.
During the 24 years that followed, she said she was continually abused and gave birth to seven children, one of whom died several days later.
In 1996, she gave birth to twins but one died several days later because it was not appropriately cared for. Her father had then apparently removed the corpse from the cellar and burned it, the statement said.
Police said in the statement that the woman appeared “greatly disturbed” psychologically during questioning.
She agreed to talk only after authorities assured her that she would no longer have to have contact with her father and that her children would be taken care of.
DNA tests are expected to determine whether the man is the father of the six surviving children, according to police.
The Austria Press Agency said the three boys and three girls ranged in age from five to 20. One of the children, a 19-year-old woman, was being hospitalized in very serious condition, according to Austrian broadcaster ORF.
Sunday’s developments recalled another case that shocked Austrians in the summer of 2006, when a young woman escaped after being largely confined to a tiny underground dungeon in a quiet Vienna suburb for more than eight years.
Natascha Kampusch was 10 years old when she was kidnapped in Vienna on her way to school in March 1998. Her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil, threw himself in front of a train just hours after her dramatic escape.
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On The Job; Bank officer praised www.privateofficer.com
On The Job: Bank officer praised by many http://www.privateofficer.com
By Pat van den Beemt
Townson MD. April 27 2008
It’s a warm April day, and most motorists have their windows down as they pass through Jackonsville on Jarrettsville Pike.
A FedEx truck passes the Bank of America branch, and the driver honks and waves. Soon after, a woman in a green van toots her horn and waves, too. Every now and then, a driver yells out, but the words are swallowed up by the traffic.
The object of this attention is Carl Tilghman, a guard at the bank. Passersby know he will be standing outside the bank during the day, no matter what the weather — good or bad, hot or cold, snowy or sunny.
And they know he’ll wave back. Every time.
“I’ve been here three years and eight months, and I guess by now people know I’m out here,” Tilghman said, standing in bright sunlight near the bank’s front door. “I don’t know everybody who honks, but I know the names of hundreds of people who come to this bank.”
At 6 feet and 200 pounds, wearing a black cap, sunglasses, a bullet-proof vest under a white shirt, a sidearm, black pants and black boots, Tilghman, 32, is an imposing figure. Doing sit-ups and push-ups, plus running each week helps him stay in shape, ready to react to any hint of trouble.
But the formidable exterior belies a faith that prompts him to treat everyone with respect.
“People may look at me and see me as macho or militant, but I believe I can reach people with love and kindness,” he said. “It’s like a revolving door. You display that kindness to others, and they will to you, too.”
Steve Moran, who managed the Jacksonville branch until last week, when he was transferred to Brooklandville, praises Tilghman.
“He remembers everybody’s name and has this demeanor that’s very professional but personal, too. He is a very deep person,” Moran said.
One of Tilghman’s biggest admirers is bank customer Ed Zenker, of Jacksonville.
“I know politicians who don’t get as much attention as Carl does,” Zenker said. “He has a certain charisma, and he is genuinely interested in people and what they have to say.”
Kim Coppola, whose husband co-owns the Strapasta restaurant in the nearby Manor Center, got to know Tilghman during her daily bank runs. A shared interest in the National Football League has created a certain friendly friction.
“I’m an Eagles fan and Carl likes the Patriots,” explained Coppola, who presented Tilghman with a box of Kleenex after the Patriots lost in the Super Bowl. “Sometimes I’m late for where I’m going because I stay and talk with Carl,” she added.
Tilghman says he enjoys his job with the Wackenhut Corporation, a Palm Beach, Fla.-based security company with an office in Linthicum — but hopes his future will involve another kind of vocation.
He grew up in Randallstown and dropped out of school in 1992, shortly after his father died. He drifted for nine months, until prayer put him back on track, he said.
“I went to my church, and people prayed over me, and I felt my grief and depression lift,” he said. He went on to get his high school equivalency degree, then served in the Marine Corps for four years, leaving as a lance corporal.
Next, he joined the Baltimore Police Department and was assigned to the city’s Northern District as a patrol officer. But he quit after two years when his police duties interfered with his ability to attend church services on Sundays.
Tilghman then joined Towson University’s police department and began taking classes.
“I originally wanted a degree in criminal justice, but I realized I had to respond to the passion and desire within me to serve God,” he said. He now is majoring in religious studies and taking a course on ancient civilizations. His goal is to get a Master of Divinity degree and become a preacher with an apostolic or Pentecostal church, he said.
Tilghman lives near Loyola College in Baltimore and attends the Church of the Redeemed of the Lord, one mile away on Old York Road. He is single, “waiting for God to bless me with a wife.”
Over the years, he has taken missionary trips to places such as South Africa and Trinidad and would like to take others, he said.
“In five years, I’d like to be ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this country or around the world,” he said. “My overall aim is to show the greatest love and passion to others.”
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Police cut services during budget woes www.privateofficer.com
Police cut services during budget woes http://www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA. April 28 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
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Police in communities across the country are canceling services such as alarm response, non-injury accident investigation, response to minor non-”in progress” incidents and even their highly acclaimed and heavily budgeted school resource programs.In an effort to make do with the budgets that city governments are giving us we have no choice, one police chief said.
My department needed 30 more officers, 20 more patrol cars, computers, radio equipment and what we got was 5 new positions and no cars.
At least five police departments are considering pulling the plug on officers in schools so that they can be moved back to the street.
In Tuscon Arizona, that’s exactly what will happen starting next month as they end a program that they’ve used for 46 years to reduce school violence, have positive interaction with teens and reduce drug use. Now there’s little doubt that the school system will suffer with the police officers gone from the schools.
Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a TPD spokesperson, says, in fiscal year 2008, TPD will spend $2.8 million on the school resource officer program. Next year, he says, police can’t afford to do that.
The department needs those officers elsewhere.Today 15 Tucson Police officers walk the halls of TUSD schools.
They do a variety of jobs, investigate child abuse and bullying and provide crime information. Their purpose is to prevent crime.Sgt. Pacheco says, “It’s tough economic times and the Police Department has to do what many other businesses are doing.
Pacheco says TPD is short 27 officers on the streets. He says moving school resource officers there will improve officer safety and increase response times to crimes.
Other schools are also on the brink of ending their school resource officer programs as budgets get tighter and the need for officers on the street increases.
Some argue that serious crime like murders and robberies is down a police supervisor said, but take a look at the true stats and you’ll see it’s really not.
Murders are again climbing, property crimes like burglaries and thefts are skyrocketing in some areas and aggravated assaults and rapes are also beginnning to climb rapidly.Gangs are another serious problems that most departments have he said.
Not just in L.A. or Detroit or New York but in rural areas, small cities and bedroom communities the bloods, crips and MS-13 are claiming territory and taking lives to do it.Now the gas crunch is another serious issue Sgt. Becton said.
We now have across the board orders to park and walk at least thirty minutes every three hours unless the officer is on a call.
In Charlotte North Carolina, Nashville Tennessee and other areas, police are spending more time riding bikes and even horses to save fuel.
Officers everywhere are forced to park their patrol cars and wait on a dispatched call.
Rather than being proactive, we are going to have to sit back and be reactive and just go to the calls that we’re sent to.
The bottom line Becton said is the public either must be willing to pay for top rated law enforcement services or do without the non-emergency police services that the public has come to expect.
Money is tight, gas prices are high and cities are strapped for cash and we’re having to do more with less Becton said.
Of course the police will still come when you call the supervisor said, but it may not be as fast as you’d like or need.
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