SECURITY OFFICER MINI TRAINING CAMP www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta Ga. May 21 2008

SECURITY OFFICER MINI TRAINING CAMP

PART FOUR OF FIVE PART SERIES

USE OF HANDCUFFS

One of the most useful and thus most common pieces of equipment carried by private and public officers is handcuffs. They come in several styles, chain or hinge, numerous makers, and several colors, black or silver.
They are indeed vital in the officers’ arsenal of tools of the trade.
Handcuffs can be traced all the way back to biblical times when guards would shackle their prisoners and bound them with chains and steel wrist clamps. As private officers, we are faced with something that law enforcement officers are not.

When using handcuffs on a suspect, security officers not only face a greater risk of civil liability but also the potential of criminal charges being filed against us for charges ranging from assault, to unlawful restraint and all the way up to kidnapping.
Police officers act under color of law, covered by local state and federal laws allowing them to restrain, detain and handcuff a suspect or prisoner in the name of public safety and officer safety.

If you ever watched the television program Cops (and who hasn’t), you will often hear the officer tell the suspect that they’re not under arrest, yet they slap the cuffs on the guy. They tell the guy it’s for the officer’s safety, and even for the suspect’s safety.

Private security personnel do not have the same right under the law. They do not have the right to cuff a person for their own safety or to detain in this manner during further investigation
The reasons why are numerous. Liability is a big issue. Also the law in some jurisdictions may consider handcuffing a person a violation of local or state statues. So it is very necessary to seek out your areas laws pertaining to restraint by private officers.

Does this mean that security officers can’t use handcuffs on a suspect. No!
Does it mean that the private officer will be sued or arrested if they use cuffs? No!
But what it does mean is this. Handcuffs are carried by both in-house and contract security officers in every state, and thus we must consider the state we are employed in, city and jurisdiction.
Some areas are very pro security. They realize that private officers are a vital part of their area’s overall protection and security. Other areas are not of the same mindset and may respond negatively against the security agent who has handcuffed a person unless the handcuffed individual has committed a very serious offense such as rape, burglary, robbery, murder or other serious felonies.

When deciding to use handcuffs to restrain a suspect, an officer needs to use them only when,
(a) A suspect is violent
(b) Is involved in a serious felony case, such as robbery, sex crimes, serious assaults, arson, murder
(c) To prevent the suspect from harming the officer or others
(d) When your state law allows for such restraint use.

Of course in the heat of the moment, no one is going to stop and ask themselves if one or more of these apply to the situation at hand, but as with all aspects of our job, training and knowledge of your duties, and the law will be your guide. Don’t hesitate to use
handcuffs to detain a suspect that you’ve caught robbing a bank, shooting someone, or a burglar or rape suspect… But do use caution when deciding whether or not to handcuff someone who was apprehended for a minor shoplifting, a suspect who was too loud at a party or who gave you some lip when you told him to quiet down and a 12 year old who came onto private property and technically is trespassing.

As with every aspect of the private security officer’s authority, the use of handcuffs will come down to whether or not your employer will allow the use of them and whether or not local or state statues prohibit use by private security officers.
If you’re not sure, contact the state police or county sheriff’s office and ask their take on the statues.
And, as with all parts of training and areas of responsibility, it is also advisable to have a written policy on handcuffing usage and outline the when and when not so that all personnel are clear on the policy.
This written procedure will also assist the security officer and their employer in a civil or criminal defense should charges or litigation be brought against you for any reason.

Use common sense, and good judgment, follow your training and company procedures, but most of all stay safe during all situations.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions please email rick@privateofficer.com

Police supervisor, brother charged with drug offenses www.privateofficer.com

NORWICH, Conn. May 21 2008 Norwich’s police chief says an internal investigation has begun after the arrest of a police lieutenant on a drug charge in New York City.

New York police say 42-two-year-old Lt. Michael Blanchette was arrested last Friday morning in possession of a small amount of heroin.

He was released the same day without bond.

However, Blanchette’s younger brother is facing more serious drug charges. Court records show that 29-year-old Anthony Blanchette was arrested in the Bronx on felony drug charges. New York police say they found 390 envelopes of suspected heroin in Anthony Blanchette’s pocket.

Lt. Blanchette reached his 20-year mark with the Norwich Police department last month, but has been out of work on medical leave for the past 16 months.

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Identity theft gang busted in Texas www.privateofficer.com

Dallas TX May 21 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

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Dallas police officers said Tuesday they have broken up a major identity theft ring, according to authorities.
Investigators said the eight-month investigation netted 30 arrests, including the ring leader of the group, which targeted women.
“It was a very organized scheme that they had one investigator said. They’d get up in the morning and go watch a StarBucks, a grocery store, department store and even a day care,” said Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse.
“Once they started making those arrests, suspects would start talking and weaving the story of how they obtained the information.

Police said that information led them to the suspected ringleader, Essie Evans, 48, a man with a long criminal history. Evans was arrested during a traffic stop in Plano. When police searched the home he was renting they said they found property from five other crimes.
Considering all of the people suspected to be working under Evans, police said the number of potential victims is overwhelming.
“Hundreds, literally hundreds and it’s not just Dallas, they struck all over the metroplex,” Janse said.
Police said the group’s motive was clear.
They would obtain people’s information and identification and open up credit cards and then max out the available credit buying high ticket items.
“They would immediately go and use the credit cards to purchase high-dollar items like flat-screen TVs, stereos … to turn around and sell to support their drug habit,” Janse said.
The people arrested in the ring are facing credit card and identity theft charges, but police said some of those charges could be upgraded to organized crime charges as early as next week.
Police said that more arrests are expected as the investigation is continuing.

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Police officer shot, wasn’t wearing vest www.privateofficer.com

KNOXVILLE TN. May 21 2008 — Police are questioning three people Tuesday night in connection to the shooting of Officer Norman Rickman. He was hit multiple times when he responded to a burglar alarm in Northwest Knoxville.
Rickman, 45, who was also shot while on duty in 2001, is in surgery at UT Medical Center Tuesday night.
Officials say he was shot two or three times and some of the rounds hit him in the chest, but he’s expected to survive.
Police say they believe there may have been two vehicles involved, a newer model black pickup truck and a four-door silver sedan, possibly a Chevy Cavalier.
Officials say Rickman wasn’t wearing a bullet proof vest, by his choice, when he was shot.
He was conscious when his ambulance arrived at the hospital.
The first ambulance involved in transporting him overheated on I-640. Officer Rickman was transferred to another ambulance, which got him to the hospital.
Officer Rickman was shot after he responded to a burglar alarm call at a home on Rockbridge Lane, a dead end street off Trousdale Road in Northwest Knoxville.
Officials say Rickman saw two or three suspects climbing out a back window. One of the suspects opened fire on him.
Rickman hit his panic button, drawing an immediate response from other police. Nearby residents also called 911 to report the shooting.
A nurse who lives in the neighborhood helped Officer Rickman until emergency responders arrived.
Officer Rickman was shot in July 2001, when he pulled over a suspect, Larry Lambert, for a brake light violation on Papermill Drive.
Lambert scuffled with Rickman before pulling a gun and shooting Rickman. Lambert then shot and killed himself.
In an interview in December 2001, Rickman told 6 News, “No day is normal anymore for me. Every day, you have to take every day that may be your last one. You just try to enjoy it and live it to the fullest.”
Officer Rickman was awarded the police department’s Purple Heart award after that shooting.
Rickman was also involved in the October 2006 shooting of a suspect, Robert Winton, who was accused of trying to run over him and another officer. He wasn’t injured in that incident.
Rickman is a past president of the Tennessee Police Benevolent Association, and helped set up a memorial fund for Joni Scott, the widow of Loudon County Deputy Jason Scott, who was shot to death in the line of duty in 2004.
On Tuesday afternoon, administrators at Ridgedale Alternative School delayed the release of students by about 10 minutes after Rickman’s shooting for safety reasons. Officials say no schools were put in lockdown.

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Hospital rape suspect pleads guilty www.privateofficer.com

CLEVELAND Oh May 21 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/ Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced Tuesday that Sammy Faraj pled guilty for sexually assaulting three patients at Fairview Hospital.
According to prosecutors, the 32-year-old broke into Fairview Hospital on August 1, 2007. Once inside the hospital, he assaulted three patients, ages 38, 55 and 75.
Fairview Hospital’s Security was notified of the assaults and officers responded and soon located Farraj carrying stolen hospital equipment.
Security officers were able to immediately apprehended Farraj when he tried to run and subdued him and took him into custody.
Farraj pleaded guilty to one count of sexual battery, three counts of abduction, 2 counts of gross sexual imposition, one count of burglary and one count of theft.
He is scheduled for sentencing on June 17. Farraj has been held in custody since his arrest and faces a sentence of possible life in prison.

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Security officer shoots shoplifter www.privateofficer.com

Fort Worth Tx May 21 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

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A police officer working an off-duty job as a grocery store security officer shot at a theft suspect who was driving toward him Monday night in southwest Fort Worth, police said.
According to authorities, a man investigators think might be the suspect showed up at Huguley Hospital with a gunshot wound and died a short time after the 8:35 p.m. shooting at the Sack ‘n Save in the 3400 block of Altamesa Boulevard, Fort Worth police Lt. Paul Henderson said.
The store manager spotted the man shoplifting meat and other items from the store and went to approach the suspected shoplifter with the security officer.
Police said that the security officer, a commissioned peace officer who works at John Peter Smith Hospital tried to detain the shoplifter but he entered his vehicle and began to drive toward the store manager according to Lt. Henderson said.
As the suspected shoplifter continued to drive his truck toward the officer, police say that he fired once at the truck, the officer told Fort Worth police.
Police say that their investigation is continuing and that it looks like a case of self defense but the case could go to the district attorney’s office for review to determine if any charges should be filed against the off duty police officer.

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NC State Investigator murdered by insurance agent www.privateofficer.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. May 21 2008 Charlotte-Mecklenburg police sources have confirmed a body found off Vista Road in the Fort Mill area is a slain insurance investigator from the Raleigh area.
York County deputies said a person’s remains were discovered about 15 feet off the road near Pleasant Road and covered with pine needles. Officers were not the ones to make the discovery.
The body has been transported to the medical examiner’s office.

Investigators have not said how they believe she died.
The remains were about two miles from where officers were searching for 44-year-old Sallie Rohrbach’s body earlier in the day. Investigators said her suspected killer led them to nearby Gold Hill Road on Tuesday morning.
Authorities charged 40-year-old Michael Howell, a Charlotte insurance agent, with murder in the death of Rohrbach early Monday.
Howell, who resides in Indian Trail, made his first appearance in court Tuesday afternoon. Public defender Susan Weigand appeared with Howell and argued he cannot afford to pay for two attorneys, so he would be entitled as a defendant in a capital murder case.
The request was denied, however. District Court Judge Bill Constangy — citing Howell’s $6,000 monthly income and liability insurance — ruled he has enough income to pay for his own defense.
Rohrbach was investigating a complaint against Howell’s business, Dilworth Insurance Agency on South Boulevard, when she disappeared last week. Detectives said they decided to charge Howell because of evidence found at the insurance office, inside Howell’s car and inside Rohrbach’s car.
Rohrbach lived with her husband in Angier. Neighbors said they can’t believe she was killed.
“It doesn’t make a bit of sense because Sallie was such a good person. It’s just hard to imagine anyone would want to hurt anyone that kind and that nice,” said Jean Smith.
The state Department of Insurance said Rohrbach’s death may be the first job-related slaying in the department’s history.

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Pastor guilty in immigration scheme www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta GA. May 21 2008
A Kennesaw pastor was sentenced to nine years in prison Tuesday for her part in a profitable multi-state scheme to encourage illegal immigrants to file untruthful visa applications.
The Rev. Emma Gerald, 56, was convicted in December of helping mostly Brazilian immigrants in Cobb County, Florida and other states file applications for temporary residency, work permits, and travel permits
“I’d like to apologize to the United States,” Gerald said at her sentencing hearing Tuesday in Atlanta at the U.S. Federal District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Gerald said she “didn’t think it was wrong,” when she charged illegal immigrants hundreds of dollars to fill out untruthful applications.
Prosecutors had argued for a 14-year sentence, saying Gerald was responsible for more than 1,000 fraudulent applications, and her sentence was needed to deter others.
Gerald ran a small local church and conducted her scam in immigrant churches across the country.
Also found guilty of conspiracy were Gerald’s son, Douglas Ross; Hudson Araujo, who helped set up meetings in Massachusetts; and Brazilian Pastor Ruy Brasil Silva, who introduced Gerald to his Bethel Christian Church congregation in Marietta. Sentencing dates for Silva and Araujo have not been set.
Some teen members of Bethel Christian Church translated Gerald’s instructions into Portuguese for their congregation. They helped applicants fill out paperwork using an overhead projector and charged $30 to write boilerplate letters, they testified.
Church member Marcos Amador, 21, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to time served, which was about two years. He has been deported to Brazil.
Amador filed a visa application for himself, hoping he could stay in the United States to study medicine.
Some of the first immigrants to apply did indeed receive visas and travel permits, although undeservedly.
The visa paperwork Gerald pedaled to church members was filed under an extension of a 1986 amnesty program from the Reagan administration. Part of the requirement was that applicants lived in the United States in the 1980s.
The government received 79,080 applications and denied about 89 percent, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said. All over the country, people were applying fraudulently, said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

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Man with sword subdued at hospital www.privateofficer.com

Blacksburg VA. May 21 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

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A man wearing a ninja suit and carrying a sword caused a major scare at an area hospital.
Police from several law enforcement agencies responded to the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center to assist hospital security officers contain the man.
According to Lt. Brian Wright of the Montgomery county sheriff’s office, police found the man swinging the sword on arrival to the facility.
The man identified as Tony Burnett, 57, of Blacksburg was already wanted by blacksburg Police who had an emergency custody order to pick him up and commit him for a mental observation.

According to security personnel, the hospital went into emergency lock down while officers tried talking Burnett into putting the sword down.

Certain areas of the hospital were secured and patients and staff were protected as officers contained Burnett.

Police eventually used pepper spray and subdued him and officers said that he was placed on an emergency psychiatric evaluation hold.
Wright said that arrest warrants for disorderly conduct and armed assault are pending and will be served on Burnett once he is released.
Wright said that hospital security officers along with officers with Pulaski county, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department,Radford and Blacksburg police responded to assist with the containment of the armed man.

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University students try to kill cops www.privateofficer.com

University students charged with trying to kill cops www.privateofficer.com

Akron Oh. May 21 2008

Two University of Akron students were charged with attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault charges after they opened fire on Akron police officers following a traffic stop on Saturday, police said.
One, Rydell Brooks, 20, played basketball for the university and was a former Akron Buchtel High School standout player. He was named a Plain Dealer player of the week. Brooks was arrested about midnight Saturday. police said.
Also arrested was Edward Davis, 20 of Akron, also a University of Akron student.
Both were being held in Summit County Jail on a $1 million bond after court appearances on Monday.
A University of Akron spokesman said Brooks had been removed from the basketball team and had been given a presidential suspension, which means he is still a student but cannot attend any athletic activities and is not permitted on campus
A hearing later this week will determine whether the two students will remain at the university.
Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said police Saturday stopped the two in a van in the 1100 block of Bellows Street for suspicious activity.
As officers approached the van, the suspects fired at officers. The two ran from the van but were arrested near Cole Avenue.
Edwards said police took five guns from the van as well as two ski masks and gloves.

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School security officer arrested for sex with student www.privateofficer.com

Charleston SC May 21 2008

Kyle T. Greene

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

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A former security officer at Fort Dorchester High School was fired on a finding of sexual harassment before North Charleston police arrested him this week on charges that included having sex with a student on campus, officials said.
A female student reported having inappropriate conversations with Terence M. Thompson in April, said Pat Raynor, public information officer for Dorchester District 2 schools. Following standard policy, the district placed Thompson on leave while it looked into the matter
Officials investigated for about a week, decided the claim was valid and fired him, Raynor said. They also grew concerned about possible criminal violations, she said.
“Because of other rumors at that time, our superintendant (Joe Pye) immediately arranged a meeting with North Charleston police,” Raynor said.
Thompson, 41, is now accused of inappropriate conduct with two female students, ages 15 and 16.
One of the girls is the same student who filed the sexual harassment complaint, said Spencer Pryor, public information officer for North Charleston police.
An affidavit for contributing to the delinquency of a minor charges him with twice taking the 15-year-old out of class, and on another day, asking her for hugs and kisses. Thompson also is charged with stalking in connection with those events.
Another warrant for contributing to the delinquency of a minor contains allegations of sex with the 16-year-old girl while on campus. The warrant accuses him of having oral sex with her in a book room in December 2005, then several on-campus sexual encounters between January 2006 and March of this year. The documents do not say whether the girl was 16 at the beginning or the end of this time frame.
Raynor said Thompson had been working at the campus near Ashley Phosphate and Dorchester roads since it was finished in the early 1990s. More than 2,500 students are enrolled at the school.
Thompson was a district employee, not a police officer, Raynor said. Thompson assisted two North Charleston school resource officers with parking enforcement and other safety duties.
Thompson, a Ladson resident, turned himself over to police on Monday.
Police said North Charleston Municipal Judge Victor Revelise granted Thompson a personal recognizance bond and forbid him from working around children or approaching within 1 mile of any of the victims, a police press release states.
A State Law Enforcement Division background check showed no criminal offenses on Thompson’s record.

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Retail Security News www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifting-Retail Security News Round-Up www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta Ga. May 21 2008

Compiled by; Stephanie Kay

SHOPLIFTING-RETAIL SECURITY NEWS ROUND UP

RICHLAND COUNTY SC SHERIFF
Two Notch Road, 7000 block: Two women were arrested at 8:30 p.m. Friday after they were caught in a plot to steal from a department store. One of the women entered the department store and shopped for a while, finally selecting numerous items. When she went to a register to check out, the clerk put almost $1,000 worth of merchandise into shopping bags and charged the woman $4, a report said. In her statement to police, the 47-year-old woman admitted that she knew the 62-year-old clerk and that they had planned the caper beforehand. Both women were charged with shoplifting.

WEST COLUMBIA SC POLICE Augusta Road, 2400 block: Two women were arrested at 7:30 p.m. Monday after they were spotted shoplifting in a discount department store. Store employees told police that the women brought in bags bearing the store’s logo and started filling them with items from the shelves. When they left without paying, an employee stopped them and found almost $200 worth of merchandise in their bags. When police arrived both women gave fake names and said they had no identification on them. One began trying to get away from the officer as he was cuffing her, a report said. Officers found cocaine and drug paraphernalia on the woman who resisted arrest, so she was charged with possession.

Fairlawn IL.
Arrests-Police arrested Crystal M. Martin, 41, of Paterson on May 8 for shoplifting at Shop Rite on River Road. Martin was seen on video surveillance trying to steal $17.10 worth of merchandise.-Police arrested Kimberly L. Tiscornia, 35, of West Milford on May 9 for shoplifting. Tiscornia was caught trying to steal $101 worth of merchandise, which she hid in a baby carriage

Lakeland A Lakeland mother and her daughter were arrested Tuesday and charged with retail theft, a third-degree felony, for stealing a Cyclone vacuum cleaner from a Wal-Mart store at U.S. 92 West in Auburndale, an Auburndale police report said.
The vacuum cleaner is worth about $500.The mother picked up the vacuum cleaner and the two proceeded to walk through the store and past the cash registers. The daughter began talking with the store greeter and dropped something on the ground to distract him as her mother walked toward the front doors. There she was met by the store’s loss prevention officer, the report said.According to the report, the mother has three prior convictions for larceny. After their arrests, the daughter was also found to be in possession of cannabis, the report said.

Fight at the grocery store
JOLIET IL May 17 2008 Police say a teen fought store security and police Monday when they attempted to arrest her for shoplifting.
At 4:42 p.m. police were called to Ultra Foods, 1590 N. Larkin Ave., after a 15-year-old girl reportedly was seen putting cold medication into her pockets and attempting to walk out.
“When a security officer went to detain her, she became combative and punched him in the face several times,” said Deputy Chief Patrick Kerr. When police officers arrived, the teen began fighting them, punching and spitting, Kerr said.
The juvenile was arrested on charges of aggravated battery and theft and booked into the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center. The security agent refused treatment for his injuries.

Gurnee IL.
• Three women are suspected of stealing an entire aisle of cold medications valued at $600 between 6:02 and 6:07 p.m. May 7 from Amoco, 350 N. Hunt Club Road, police said.

Deer Park IL.
• Rogelio Crisostomo-Segura, 33, 213 Edmund St., Mundelein, was arrested around 3 p.m. April 25 and charged with felony theft after he admitted stealing money from his employer, Lake-Cook Shell, 20020 Rand Road, police said. According to reports, he took more than $18,000 over the past three months. A court date was not available.

Vernon Hills IL.
• Isabel Hernandez, 18, 3408 Cheyenne Road, Gurnee, was arrested May 2 and charged with retail theft after a security agent for JC Penney in Westfield Hawthorn mall saw her take clothes and jewelry, police said. Value was estimated at $177. Her Mundelein court date was set for June 16.

Missouri City Tx. May 18 2008

An 18-year-old woman was issued a citation on Thursday for shoplifting $40 in jewelry from the Kohl’s department store at 5660 Hwy.6 around 9:40 p.m. As the suspect was walking out of the store, she also picked up a job application.According to reports, the Kohl’s loss prevention officer observed the woman take two rings from the jewelry section before walking over to the men’s department. She grabbed a pair of shorts, which she reportedly used to hide the rings while she took off the price tags and security devices before placing the rings in her back pocket. She put the rings in her back pocket, and joined three other people before leaving the store without attempting to pay. On the way out, the suspect went to the customer service desk where she picked up a job application. The loss prevention officer detained her, and she was issued a citation by Missouri City police and given a criminal trespass warning. If the suspect returns to the store, she can be placed under arrest.

Niagra NY.

Twenty-three-year-old Derek Lethbridge of 438 North Street, upstairs and 19-year-old Sophie Nash of the same address are facing charges of theft under $5,000 after separate shoplifting incidents on consecutive days.On Friday, staff at Wardlaw Fuels reported that a female had taken $24 in food, chocolate bars, ice cream and cake while a male accomplice stood nearby, acting as a lockout. Yesterday, the store manager reported that he’d seen two people matching the desciption of the suspects entering Station Mall.This time, merchandise was taken from the Zellers store, again with one person lifting the stuff and another serving as lookout.Lethbridge has also been charged with two counts of breach of probation.

Williamsport PA.

Ronnie Lou Schley, 28, of 320 Brandon Ave. has been charged with misdemeanor shoplifting and receiving stolen property for allegedly stealing $16 worth of merchandise from Wegman’s, 201 William St., on March 26, city police said. It is his second offense, police said.Following his arraignment before District Judge Jerry C. Lepley on May 9, he was released on $1,500 bail.

Valdosta GA. At 5:56 p.m., police responded to a store on Norman Drive where they arrested Keith D. Ramsey, 42, of Valdosta on a charge of shoplifting, reports said.
• At 6:30 p.m., police responded to a store on Inner Perimeter Road where they arrested Janis Gaye Wilson, 52, of Valdosta on a charge of shoplifting, reports said.

Naples Fla. Petit theft (retail)/Resisting merchant/Resisting arrest: Jared Charles Caruso, 22, of Fort Lauderdale was arrested following a theft investigation at Dillard’s, 1798 Ninth St. N., in the Coastland Center mall.

Leland NC
Joshua Alan Connett, 20, of 756 Brunswick Place in Leland, was cited with shoplifting from Wal-Mart on Thursday

Southport NC
Wal-Mart: A man and woman fled the store at 1675 Howe St. after attempting to steal more than $3,000 worth of merchandise at 6:58 p.m. Sunday

Shallotte NC Stephanie Jo Smith, 26, was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor larceny. She is suspected of stealing several plants and flowers from Lowe’s Home Improvement, Home Depot and Wal-Mart stores in Shallotte.

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