Archive for September, 2008
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Armed kidnapper arrested at Roanoke mall www.privateofficer.com
Roanoke VA. Sept 30 2008
By: Rick McCann
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
http://www.privateofficer.com/
Police in Roanoke have made an arrest in an incident that occurred Sunday at Valley Vie. Officers responded at 3 p.m. to the 4800 block of Valley View Boulevard.
The victim, a 16-year-old female, stated that she was in a dressing room in the mall when the suspect entered the dressing room and brandished a knife.
An employee at the store knocked on the dressing room door and asked the victim if she was okay.
When the victim replied “no” the employee forced the door open, at which time a male fled. Store employees notified mall security officers who located and pursued a white male subject but he got away.
Arriving officers searched the area for the suspect and located Ryan Jason Sink of Roanoke. Sink was identified as the person who held the girl against her will and was arrested by police.
Sink has been charged with abduction, aggravated sexual assault, assault and battery, and impeding arrest.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: roanoke virginia, ryan jason sink | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
California immigration sweep nets 1157 arrests www.privateofficer.com
SANTA ANA, Calif. Sept 30 2008 — U.S. immigration authorities said Monday they arrested more than 1,150 people in California in a three-week sweep, the state’s largest of its type since 2003.
The sweep targeted immigration violators including those who have ignored deportation orders or returned to the U.S. illegally after being deported.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said it was the largest such action by fugitive enforcement teams in California since the squads were formed in 2003.
Kice said of the 1,157 immigrants arrested statewide, 595 had outstanding deportation orders and 346 had prior criminal convictions.
Those arrested were from 34 countries, she said.
The raids, which ended Saturday, produced 436 arrests in the San Francisco area, 420 in the Los Angeles area and 301 in the San Diego area.In recent years, immigration officials have increased enforcement at factories, offices and homes.
One of its major pushes has been to target illegal immigrants who have flouted deportation orders.
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Posted in police | Tagged: loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Shoplifter charged with robbery www.privateofficer.com
Baltimore MD. Sept 30 2008
By: Rick McCann
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
http://www.privateofficer.com/
A thirty six year old man has been charged with robbery after he scuffled with security officers while leaving an arear store with stolen goods.
Police responded to the Giant food market in the 600 block of E. 33rd St. about 8:30 p.m. Sunday when officers say that the suspect was stopped by security officer Gary Highsmith.
During the struggle the man fled and was stopped again nearby in the 3200 block of Old York Road, and according to police, the man then tried to stab Highsmith with a sharp object, but was restrained by the security officer.
Police arrived and found in the man’s clothing assorted seafood valued at $146.
Officer Jean P. Nolet charged Johnny Hood, of the 400 block of E. Federal St. Baltimore with robbery and assault and transported him to the city jail pending a bond release.
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Posted in loss prevention, security made app/arrest | Tagged: loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Children found dead in freezer, caregiver under investigation www.privateofficer.com
from WashingtonPost.com
Washington DC Sept 30 2008
Phillip Garrett was passing time outside a neighbor’s Calvert County home, smoking a cigarette, when he noticed a girl in pigtails wandering on the street. Her pink nightgown was caked with mud, her small body covered in bruises
Where’s your mother?” he asked. “Where are you from?”
The girl said her mother had locked her out of their home, Garrett said yesterday, recalling Friday afternoon’s encounter. She said she hadn’t eaten in three days. And there was more: “She let us know that she had two sisters and that ‘my mother beat them to death.’ “
Early Saturday, Calvert authorities made a gruesome discovery: the bodies of two children encased in ice in a freezer in the home of Renee D. Bowman, 43. Bowman has been receiving a monthly government subsidy of $2,400 to care for her three adopted children: the 7-year-old girl on the street and two others who are now officially missing.
“You think you’ve seen it all,” Sheriff Mike Evans said yesterday in announcing the discovery, “but you haven’t.”
With Bowman in jail, charged with child abuse, and investigators working to piece together what happened, the case again shined a spotlight on the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, which recommended Bowman to a D.C. Superior Court judge as a suitable adoptive parent in 2001 and 2004. The girls had been wards of the D.C. government
The child welfare agency came under fire in January after social workers failed to investigate reports of alleged child neglect by Banita Jacks, a Southeast Washington woman now charged with killing her four daughters in their home.
Yesterday, myriad questions about Bowman’s adoptions went unanswered as city and court officials in the District, citing confidentiality laws, declined to reveal details of a background check of Bowman that was performed by a private contractor. They said they were unaware of her 1999 misdemeanor conviction in the District for threatening to hurt someone.
“It would be too premature, too irresponsible, to say someone along the chain messed up,” Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said at a news conference. He called the case “harrowing” and “a blow to everyone’s heart and psyche that we could lose two more young people.”
Not until today, after the ice has thawed, will authorities be able to conduct autopsies and formally identify the victims.
The missing children would be 9 and 11, officials said. They said the 7-year-old girl is a biological sister of the 9-year-old. All three were foster children of Bowman’s before she adopted the oldest child in 2001 and the other two in 2004, officials said.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement that Bowman told investigators the remains in the freezer were those of her older two adopted daughters. She told them she wrapped one of the children in a plastic garbage bag and the other in a rug, officials said. She said the remains had been in the freezer since February, when she moved to Lusby from Rockville, the sheriff’s office said.
Six men carried the freezer out of the house, and it was transported to the state medical examiner’s office in Baltimore.
Many neighbors near Bowman’s beige ranch-style home in Lusby and at her former residence in Rockville said they had never seen children at her home and were unaware that she had any. Authorities in Calvert and Montgomery County — and in Prince George’s County, where she lived for a time — said they could find no record of the children being enrolled in public schools.
Neighbor John Baroniak, 59, said Bowman told him that she had moved to Lusby to escape an abusive husband. He said she rented the house and seemed happy. He said it seemed to him that a man was staying with her recently.
“When I talked to her and everything, I thought at least I got a nice neighbor,” Baroniak said. “I’m just kind of shocked and blown away.”
Bowman was being held yesterday on charges of child abuse in connection with injuries to the 7-year-old. The girl escaped from her locked bedroom Thursday by jumping out a window, police said.
Bowman admitted beating the girl with a “hard-heeled shoe,” the sheriff’s office said. The girl told police her mother beat her with a white shoe to the point that it was covered in blood, officials said.
The child had “extensive open infected sores and open lesions,” several injuries to her feet and knees, and ligature marks and extensive scarring on her neck, according to charging documents filed in court
Investigators said they believe the other girls died in Rockville. Any criminal charges related to their deaths would probably be filed in Montgomery, not Calvert, they said.
Montgomery police yesterday searched the small house where Bowman lived in Rockville, in the 13100 block of Vandalia Drive.
Neighbors said she lived with a man named Joe who often lifted barbells in the back yard, near a child’s red plastic toy car. They did not recall seeing children.
“During the day, it was like no one was there,” said Rivelino Valdiva, 29.
Neighbors said they think that Joe worked as a pressure washer and did odd maintenance jobs and that Bowman worked as a secretary. A few months before moving out, Bowman complained of back pain and said she had cancer, according to neighbor Shirley Knapp.
After Bowman moved to Calvert, the landlord complained to Howard Knapp, Shirley’s husband, about the mess that had been left behind. “They were pigs,” he recalled the landlord saying. “They trashed the house, and there was at least one dead cat in there.”
The Maryland Department of Human Resources will file a petition in court today to gain custody of the 7-year-old.
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Posted in police | Tagged: 2 kids dead in freezer, children found in freezer, culvert county maryland, dead children in freezer, maryland kids in freezer, renee bowman arrested, renee d bowman | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Truancy increasing juvenile crime in metro areas www.privateofficer.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn Sept 30 2008
By: Rick McCann
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
Starting Monday, Metro Police will launch a new plan designed to lower juvenile crime.
Police say that recent crime numbers indicate that the major factor behind the problem is truancy.
That’s why investigators at the Hermitage precinct have identified ten juveniles they believe cause the most problems in that part of town.
Other metro areas including Atlanta Georgia and Birmingham Alabama have also seen a spike in daytime burglaries, car thefts, shoplifting, and robberies that they have attributed to juveniles and they have also initiated a zero tolerance truancy policy.
Recently in DeKalb County Georgia, a neighboring Atlanta community, police rounded up 16 parents and charged them with contributing to their children’s truancy.
Other states have also begun taking hard stance on repeat truancy and arresting parents.
But police say it’s not about the child who might miss a day here or there due to illness but it’s the student who is missing thirty and forty days that they want to crack down on.
Now Nashville officers will start calling schools making sure that the students that they have identified as truancy problems are in class. If they are not, officers will check their homes or even search the neighborhood.
Police in many metro areas admit they also have seen crime increase during the daytime hours that they believe is related to truant juveniles and they are already putting together plans to combat it.
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Posted in police | Tagged: atlanta, high truancy rates, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, nashville, national association of private officers, parents arrested for kids truancy, school truancy programs, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, truancy, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Police officer charged with heroin possession www.privateofficer.com
METHUEN MA Sept 30 2008 — A 15-year veteran of the Essex County Sheriff’s Department was put on unpaid administrative leave after his arrest Saturday on a heroin possession charge, sheriff’s department spokesman Paul Fleming said yesterday.
John Bachta, 37, of Methuen was arrested about 12:25 p.m., near 85 Main St., in Tewksbury and was charged with a single count of possession of heroin.
He was later released on bail for arraignment in Lowell District Court.
“As soon as this department received information of the arrest, Mr. Bachta was placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation that is ongoing at this time,” Fleming said.
Bachta began his career with the sheriff’s department in May 1993 as a corrections officer, Fleming said.
He was promoted to sergeant in September 1999, and began working in the department’s security and investigations unit in July 2001, Fleming said.
“He has had no disciplinary record during his tenure here,” Fleming said.
Bachta is the son of retired Lawrence police Deputy Chief Stanley Bachta.
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Posted in police | Tagged: deputy bachta arrested, essex county sheriff, john bachta, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, methuen mass., national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Police capture shoplifting ring www.privateofficer.com
Crowley LA. Sept 30 2008
By: Rick McCann
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICER
http://www.privateofficer.com/
Crowley Police have arrested four people in a shoplifting ring and are still looking for two other suspects.
Officials believe that “an individual has been placing orders with several shoplifters and sending them to our business community to steal specific merchandise.
The thieves would then steal the merchandise from local department stores and return it to the individual.
He would then pay them for stealing the merchandise and it is our belief that he has been reselling it at a local establishment” said a police spokesperson..
Crowley Police said that so far in their investigation they have arrested 3 individuals for shoplifting charges tied into this case.
They are:
Lisa Cormier Thibodeaux, 47, Crowley: She has been charged with 2 counts of theft by shoplifting.
Don Carrier, 61, Crowley. He has been charged with 5 counts of theft by shoplifting.
Paul Guidry, 45, Rayne. He has been charged with 9 counts of theft by shoplifting.
Police have also arrested the person they believe was the mastermind behind the shoplifting ring. He is identified as John Wilturner, 68, Crowley. He has been charged with 4 counts of receiving stolen property and 1 count of theft.
Police said that they are continuing their investigation and expect further arrests in this case.
A local newspaper also reported that Wilturner is the operator of Papa Johns & B’s Liquor Store located in the city.
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Posted in loss prevention, police | Tagged: crowley la, crowley police, don carrier, john wilturner, lisa thibodeaux, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, paul guidry, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, shoplifting ring busted, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Teenager pleads guilty to killing security officer www.privateofficer.com
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. Sept 30 2008
Bryan Hill
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ A teenager has admitted in a suburban New York court that he shot and killed a security guard who confronted a group of egg-throwing youths on Halloween night. Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore says 19-year-old Nyanda Charley has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 52-year-old Neville Webb. Webb was a Jamaican immigrant working at an apartment building in Mount Vernon last Oct. 31 when the youths started pelting cars with eggs. DiFiore says as Webb tried to chase them away Charley crept up behind him and shot him.
Charley faces up to life in prison when sentenced in December. Webb had spent a quarter-century as a prison guard in Jamaica before coming to the United States in 2005.
Webb’s family says his organs were donated to save nine people’s lives.
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Posted in OFFICER DOWN, security | Tagged: Add new tag, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, neville webb, nyanda charley, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security officer murder, security police association, security training, white plains new york, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Fomer corrections officer pleads guilty to sexual assaults www.privateofficer.com
PAINESVILLE OH Sept 30 2008 — A former Lake County corrections officer pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he sexually assaulted female inmates earlier this year.
Adam Cleis, 32, of Mentor, will be sentenced in Lake County Common Pleas Court Oct. 30.
On Monday, he pleaded to two counts of sexual battery and one count of sexual imposition for crimes against four inmates, said Chief Assistant Prosecutor Karen Kowall.
Cleis was indicted in July.
An inmate complained to sheriff officials after Cleis made a pass at her, Sheriff Dan Dunlap said. During the investigation, detectives discovered that Cleis had forced four inmates to have sex or sexual contact with him in a jail stairway.
The offenses are said to have occurred in an area of the jail that is not scanned by security cameras. Cleis, who worked at the jail since 2005, was fired after the allegations were made public.
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Posted in police | Tagged: adam cleis, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, painesville ohio, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Security officer captures robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com
BOISE IA Sept 30 2008
By: Rick McCann
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
Police responded to a street robbery and have taken two people into custody and arrested them following an alleged strong-armed robbery in downtown Boise.
According to the Boise police department, officers were dispatched to 9th and Bannock at about 11:44 p.m. Sunday night after a man reported he was leaving work and was confronted by two unknown men who demanded his backpack.
The victim who police did not identify, told officers that the two made threats that they had a gun, but a weapon was never shown.
The victim turned over the backpack and the two suspects ran off.
When Boise Police arrived, one suspect, Christopher Sinqufield, 27, was already in custody by a private downtown security officer.
Officers searching the area soon found Troy Pulley a few blocks away.
Both suspects are being held on numerous felony charges.
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Posted in security, security made app/arrest | Tagged: boise, christopher sinqufield, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, robbery, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, troy pulley, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Mother and son charged in shoplifting incident www.privateofficer.com
Stroud Township PA. Sept 30 2008
Kyle T. Greene
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
http://www.privateofficer.com/
A Henryville man was chased, Tasered and arrested after he ran from police who tried to take him into custody for shoplifting from the Target store in Stroud Township — and using his 5-year-old daughter as a prop in the theft, according to police.
Elliot S. Sanders, 25, and his mother, Garrie L. York, 59, also of Henryville, were seen on video surveillance using Sanders’ daughter to conceal their movements as the pair took DVDs and video games valued at $344.91 from the store on Sept. 27.
When Stroud Area Regional Police officers arrived, they saw Sanders push a store security employee and take off running.
After chasing him to the Major Hyundai parking lot and repeatedly ordering him to stop, a police officer used his Taser device to stop him.
Sanders was charged with corruption of minors, retail theft, harassment and resisting arrest.
He was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Debby York, who set bail at $10,000.
His mother, Garrie York, will be charged with corruption of minors and retail theft, according to SARP.
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Posted in loss prevention, security made app/arrest, security officer injured | Tagged: elliot sanders, garrie york, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, shoplifting arrest, stroud township pa, target, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 30, 2008
Virginia police officer charged with rape www.privateofficer.com
PORTSMOUTH VA. Sept 30 2008
By: Rick McCann
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ – A police officer in Portsmouth was arrested on Monday night and charged with rape.Police say that an investigation has resulted in the arrest of officer Paul Alonzo Ewing, 37, and that hewas taken into custody around 9 p.m. and charged with raping a 16-year-old juvenile.
Investigators did not provide further details on the arrest other than to confirm it.Police spokeswoman Ann Hope said Ewing has been with the department for four years. She said he has been “relieved of his duties.”
There was also no word on whether or not Ewing posted bail yet.
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Posted in police | Tagged: loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, officer ewing, paul a ewing, portsmouth cop arrested for rape, portsmouth virginia police, rape, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 29, 2008
OFFICER DOWN Nathaniel Taylor
OFFICER DOWN
Police Officer Nathaniel Taylor
Chicago Police Department
End of Watch: Sunday, September 28, 2008
Tour of Duty: 14 years
Incident Details Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Sunday, September 28, 2008
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type Suspect Info: Shot and wounded
Officer Nathaniel Taylor was shot and killed as he and several other officers served a search warrant at a home near 79th Street and Clyde Street. While the officers were on the scene the target of the warrant arrived at the location. As officers approached him to question him he opened fire, striking Officer Taylor three times. Other officers returned fire, wounding the suspect.Officer Taylor was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center where he succumbed to his wounds later in the day.
Officer Taylor had served with the Chicago Police Department for 14 years.
Agency Contact Information-Chicago Police Department
3510 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60653
Phone: (312) 746-6000
Please contact the Chicago Police Department for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
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Posted in OFFICER DOWN | Tagged: chicago illinois, chicago pd officer killed, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, nate taylor, nathaniel taylor, national association of private officers, officer down, officer taylor chicago police, officer taylor killed, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 29, 2008
OFFICER DOWN Sgt. Robert Douglas
OFFICER DOWN
Sergeant Robert Douglas
Oklahoma City Police Department Oklahoma
End of Watch: Sunday, September 28, 2008
Incident DetailsCause of Death: Motorcycle accident
Date of Incident: Saturday, July 26, 2003
Sergeant Robert Douglas succumbed to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident five years earlier.His police motorcycle was struck by a car and he was then thrown into the path of oncoming truck. He had remained in a coma from the time of the accident until succumbing to his injuries.
Sergeant Douglas is survived by his wife and 6-year-old son.
Agency Contact InformationOklahoma City Police Department
701 Colcord DriveOklahoma City, OK 73102
Phone: (405) 297-1201
Please contact the Oklahoma City Police Department for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
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Posted in OFFICER DOWN | Tagged: officer down, olahoma city oklahoma, police sgt. douglas, robert douglas oklahoma city police, sgt. robert douglas | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 29, 2008
3 Police officers commit suicide in seperate incidents www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA. Sept 29 2008
By: Chaplain Rick McCann
For the second time in as many months, three police officers have committed suicide during a forty eight hour period. All were from different agencies, different states, and facing different situations in their lives.
No one knows why but often times police officers faced with stress, frustration, grief or a situation where there seems to be no other way out, choose to keep it bottled up inside until the pain is unbearable and they end their own life.
Dr. Larry Combs, a PHD who studies police suicides said that there is no one defining thing that can point to whether or not a person, much less a police officer who sees and faces so much more than any average person, has suicidal tendencies. There are a number of signs and words that can alert us when an individual chooses to verbalize or show other outward signs of thoughts of harming themselves but often police officers keep their thoughts private and don’t discuss them with spouses or even co-workers.
We have to be tuned in to physical actions and body language especially after tragic events such as when a person dies and the officer feels he should have rescued or could have prevented the victims death. Or in situations when a partner or co-worker is killed and the officer feels that he let them down or didn’t do what was necessary to save that person or he becomes distraught over inadequacies on the job, in his marriage or in his own life.
Things that we may see as just a sad situation or tragedy, the officer may make personal and blame themselves for not being a super cop and when combined with other areas in their life that they aren’t feeling good about, could very well set them up for suicidal thoughts or even drastic actions.
In south Florida police found Officer Henry Ortiz with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Although few details have been released, it was said that Ortiz had been distraught over a recent break up with a girl friend.
At almost the precise time and on the same day officers in Detroit found one of their officers dead. Sergeant David Cobb had also committed suicide.
Police had been investigating the police sergeant and charged him in the “murder for hire” of his wife but prosecutors dropped charges when they decided that there wasn’t enough evidence to take the case to trial. Cobb was back on the job when he was found Saturday by other officers.
Kansas City Kansas Police Chief Sam Breshears said that his officers responded to a wreck involving two off-duty city officers early Saturday morning. Although he did not release details of the accident, he did say that one of his officers, Mark A. Jaramillo was killed in the wreck.
Hours later word came that the surviving officer, Kyle L. Kovac was distraught over the death of Jaramillo and police were dispatched to his apartment where they found that Kovac had already commited suicide.
While suicide among law enforcement continues to be on the rise, many departments still do not have any internal program or resources to assist officers before they reach that point. Some departments in many ways choose to not even acknowledge this increasing tragedy while other departments immediately respond to situations where officers are under additional stress, have been involved in high stress or tragic incidents involving victim or family deaths, natural disasters or other major situations that may be mentally draining or disturbing for the involved officers. Some departments also are spending more time and money or debriefing and crises intervention by mental health professionals during these times.
Police officer suicides are not regional or just occurring in any one particular part of the country but are happening nationwide.
When Matthew Morelli, a 38-year-old police officer in Norwalk Connecticut was found slumped in a secluded parking lot with an AK-47 rifle on March 21, state and local authorities spent two days looking for a suspect, with helicopters and police dogs scouring the neighborhood, where witnesses reported hearing multiple shots. The culprit turned out to be a stealthy if surprisingly familiar cop killer: suicide.
“We’re all numb,” said William Curwen, the president of Norwalk’s police union, speaking for many at Officer Morelli’s wake almost a week later.
Within one recent week, a 35-year-old New York State trooper fatally shot himself with his service pistol after learning that he might be disciplined for minor misconduct, and a New York City police officer was found dead in her home in Upper Manhattan, propped up in bed with the Glock pistol that delivered the fatal shot in one hand, a beer can in the other. And the Los Angeles Police Department, which has counted one or two suicides annually in recent years, presented a report last month calling for online prevention programs for all employees, additional training for supervisors, and psychologists at roll calls to discuss the topic with officers.
While line-of-duty deaths grab the public’s attention, experts say that law enforcement officers more often — perhaps two or three times more often — die by their own hands. Comparing suicide rates within law enforcement with those in the general population is difficult because statistics are kept by different agencies and it is hard to account for demographics. Also, the general population does not undergo the extensive psychological and physical screening most officers undergo when they are hired, making comparisons questionable. But many who have studied the phenomenon agree that the stress of the job and easy access to weapons can contribute to a higher risk for suicide.
“We’re losing a police officer every 19 or 20 hours of self-inflicted wounds,” said Robert E. Douglas Jr., a former Baltimore police officer and chaplain who runs the National Police Suicide Foundation in Maryland. “It is a big wow.
Mr. Douglas estimates that 400 to 450 officers kill themselves each year, compared with 150 to 200 who die in the line of duty.
Dr. Combs believes that this trend will continue and may even increase as the economy continues to be spiraling downward, departments are stretched with funding causing financial, and other job related stress on officers and crime is once again on the rise.
What departments need to do to save their officers lives is to implement a program where mental health personnel get involved more often and not just in group debriefing but on a personal basis. Field supervisors and co-workers need to be willing to encourage the officer to seek immediate help when faced with possible high stress or situations that could cause an officer to question is value, his abilities as a police officer including whether or not he could have saved a person involved in a fire or traffic accident or other situation the officer had been involved in.
If the officer won’t acknowledge that he needs help or refuses to seek a counselor, supervisors and co-workers need to tell their chain of command and make them aware of possible situations that may lead to an officer’s suicide.
Mental health officials and law enforcement supervisors agree that there is no wall or blue line or secrets when it comes to an officer being in trouble or the possibility of the officer taking their own life. It’s no different that if the officer was in any other life threatening situation. You would call reinforcements and send back up and everybody would respond to their call for help. It needs to be the same way for an officer who mentally needs stabilization and is calling for assistance. Everybody needs to run toward them.
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Posted in police, police suicide | Tagged: detroit police, miamo police, officer henry ortiz, officer kovac commits suicide, officer kyle kovac, officer mark jaramillo, police officer suicides, sgt. david cobb | 2 Comments »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 29, 2008
Associate pastor charged with sex crimes www.privateofficer.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Sept 29 2008
By: Bryan Hill
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVATE OFFICERS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ A man police call an “associate pastor” was arrested Friday night and charged with eight felony sex crimes.
Police investigators were notified of incidents involving the pastor and asfter conducting an investigation of the offenses, police took Lawrence Webber, 60, into custody and he is charged with three counts of first-degree rape and five counts of indecent liberties with a child.
Police said there are at least two victims but there may be others.
Leaders at Reeder Memorial Church said Webber was a member, but held no official title and did not work with children.
“We work with people who have difficulties,” Pastor Don Steger said. “We cannot force people. That’s not a requirement for being a member of the church. But we certainly make it available and it was certainly made available to Mr. Webber.”
Police said that Webber is a registered sex offender in North Carolina.
Neither church leaders nor police would say if the victims were members of the church.
Police say that their investigation is continuing and that they are checking into whether or not there are any other victims.
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Posted in police | Tagged: charlotte north carolina, lawrence webber, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, pastor arrested sex crimes, reeder memorial church, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 29, 2008
Sex offender dies in strugle with homeowner www.privateofficer.com
Indianapolis IN Sept 29 2008
A jobless sex offender has died after a struggle with a northside Indianapolis resident who found him in his teenage daughter’s room wearing nothing but a mask and latex gloves, police say.
About 3:20 a.m. this morning, Indianapolis metropolitan police were dispatched to a residence at the 3000 block of West 79th Street to check a reported home invasion.
When they arrived, police said they found Robert McNally, 64, resident of the home, on the floor with his arms wrapped around the neck of an unresponsive David T. Meyers, 52.
Meyers, who police confirmed with family had a history of heart problems, was pronounced dead on the scene.
They said a pending autopsy would determine if Meyers died of a possible heart attack or as a result of the choke hold.Police said McNally will most likely not be arrested or charged in the incident.
“If a person breaks into your home, you are justified in using deadly force in defending your family,” said Sgt. Matthew Mount, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. “In this situation, I don’t think he was trying to kill him, he was trying to hold him down.
”McNally held Meyers down after answering his 17-year-old daughter’s scream for help. Police say Meyers gained access to the girl’s bedroom after sneaking in through a window near her room. Police said Meyers also had rope, condoms and a knife with him, and that he had knowledge of the home’s layout because his uncle owned the property.
When reached by phone this afternoon, McNally was reluctant to comment and called the incident unfortunate. “Nobody wins,” McNally said.
“It’s a lose-lose situation for everybody. He has family also.”He said his daughter was fine and went to church today after the ordeal. “She knew how to respond so she really alerted (us),” he said.The Indianapolis Star generally does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.
Meyers was a registered sex offender in Marion County and had been convicted in 1999 of criminal deviate conduct.
He had been living with his mother for the last couple of years, the release said, and recently had lost his job.
Meyers also had served 10 years of a 20-year sentence for criminal confinement and sexual deviate conduct out of Hamilton County and was wanted in Boone County for failure to register as a sex offender, according to an IMPD release.
The death is under investigation and will be reviewed by a Marion County prosecutor.
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Posted in police | Tagged: indianapolis, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, robert mcnally, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 29, 2008
Orland Park shoplifting report www.privateofficer.com
Orland Park IL Sept 29 2008
Police in this suburban community say that shoplifting is up and so is arrests for theft.
This is their shoplifting arrest report for the past week.
RETAIL THEFT Natasha Laye, 20, 589 Muskegon Ave., Calumet City, was charged with retail theft after she took $120 in clothing and jewelry Sept. 12 from H and M in Orland Square mall, police said.
RETAIL THEFT Erica Sowka, 17, 24418 Volbrecht Road, Crete, and Sarah Stine, 20, 606 First St., Crete, were charged with retail theft Sept. 14 after they stole merchandise from J.C. Penney’s in the Orland Square mall, police said
RETAIL THEFT Oscar Hernandez-Perez, 21, 15220 El Cameno Real, Orland Park, was charged with retail theft after he stole $59 in tools Sept. 16 from Sears in Orland Square mall, police said.
RETAIL THEFT Megan Imrie, 18, 8827 Magnolia Court, Orland Park, was charged with retail theft after she stole $136 in makeup Sept. 21 from Target, 15850 94th Avenue, police said.
RETAIL THEFT Sean Castor, 20, 16133 Oak Ave., Oak Forest, and Cody Fortney, 17, 13613 W. 153rd St., Midlothian, were each charged with retail theft after they stole shoes Sept. 22 from J.C. Penney’s in the Orland Square mall, police said
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Posted in loss prevention, security made app/arrest | Tagged: eric sowka, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, megan imrie, natahsa laye, national association of private officers, oscar perez, sean castor, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, shoplifting arrests orland park il, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 29, 2008
Police arrest disoderly man at resort www.privateofficer.com
WASILLA AK Sept 29 2008
By: Bryan Hill
NTL. ASSOC. PRIVTE OFFICERS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ A Wasilla man was arrested after a confrontation with staff security at the Mat-Su Resort that ended with him jumping into Wasilla Lake, Alaska State Troopers reported Saturday.
According to troopers, Robert D. Edward, 36, refused to leave the resort when he was asked to by security officers at about 1 a.m. Saturday and then started fighting with the security guards. Troopers responding to the incident said that he appeared highly intoxicated and refused to cooperate and when he leaped into the lake, precipitating a rescue by resort staff.
He was arrested for being drunk on a licensed premise and disorderly conduct, and was lodged at Mat-Su Pretrial with bail set at $1,000.
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Posted in police, security | Tagged: loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on September 29, 2008
Police rescue man from submerged car www.privateofficer.com
PALM BAY FLA Sept 29 2008
Two Palm Bay police officers are credited with saving the life of a 75-year-old man trapped in a car that was submerged in a mobile home park lake.
The fast-moving rescue unfolded about 7:42 a.m. this morning near the entrance of Holiday Park at 474 Holiday Park Blvd.
“A security officer on patrol spotted the wreck and called and 911 that he saw a car half under water,” said Yvonne Martinez, spokeswoman for the Palm Bay Police Department.
“One of our officers, Officer Meehan, was there within a minute,” Martinez said. Officer Robert Meehan pulled up to the park and immediately went to the sinking vehicle to look for any trapped victims.
“The windows were tinted and all the doors were locked,” Martinez said. Meehan broke the back window and, along with Officer Sam Ivey, worked together to free the victim, who was identified as Arcelio Maas. It was the second water rescue for Ivey in recent months.
In July, the officer jumped into a canal and pulled two people out of a submerged vehicle off Jupiter Boulevard.During today’s rescue, water from the small lake poured into the vehicle and was just inches from completely covering Maas, whose feet were tangled in the brake pedal, officials said. Both police officers — neither wearing an air pack — struggled to free Maas from the murky lake. Maas was brought to the surface, where Palm Bay Fire Rescue paramedics provided him with oxygen. He was then taken to an area hospital for treatment.
“These officers did an outstanding job,” Police Sgt. Don Smith said in a statement. “They did not hesitate to do what was necessary in order to save this man’s life and because of that, he’s alive today.”
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Posted in security | Tagged: loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
