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Abortion doctor shot-killed at Kansas church www.privateofficer.com
WICHITA, Kan May 31 2009. AP – Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher.
The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was detained some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours after the shooting, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.
Although Stolz refused to release the man’s name, Johnson County sheriff’s spokesman Tom Erickson identified the detained man as Scott Roeder. He has not been charged in the slaying and was expected to be taken to Wichita for questioning.
Court records and Internet postings show that someone using the name Scott Roeder has a criminal past and has expressed anti-abortion opinions on sympathetic Web sites.
Long a focus of national anti-abortion groups, including a summer-long protest in 1991, Tiller was shot in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church. Tiller’s attorney, Dan Monnat, said Tiller’s wife, Jeanne, was in the choir at the time.
The slaying of the 67-year-old doctor is “an unspeakable tragedy,” his widow, four children and 10 grandchildren said in statement. “This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace.”
The family said its loss “is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence.”
Stolz said all indications were that the gunman acted alone, although authorities were investigating whether he had any connection to anti-abortion groups.
Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. The clinic was heavily fortified and Tiller often traveled with a bodyguard, but Stolz said there was no indication of security at the church Sunday.
Anti-abortion groups denounced the shooting and stressed that they support only nonviolent protest. The movement’s leaders fear the killing could create a backlash just as they are scrutinizing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, whose views on abortion rights are not publicly known.
“We are shocked at this morning’s disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down,” Troy Newman, Operation Rescue‘s president, said in a statement. “Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning.”
But Randall Terry, a veteran anti-abortion activist who founded Operation Rescue and whose protests have often targeted Tiller, called the slain doctor “a mass murderer,” adding: “He was an evil man — his hands were covered with blood.”
At Tiller’s church, Adam Watkins, 20, said he was sitting in the middle of the congregation when he heard a small pop at the start of the service.
“We just thought a child had come in with a balloon and it had popped, had gone up and hit the ceiling and popped,” Watkins said.
Another usher came in and told the congregation to remain seated, then escorted Tiller’s wife out. “When she got to the back doors, we heard her scream, and so we knew something bad had happened,” Watkins said.
President Barack Obama said he was “shocked and outraged” by the murder. “However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence,” he said.
Reformation Lutheran Church held a special service Sunday evening. Dr. Michael Bates, who has known Tiller for more than 25 years, described it as a simple service featuring Bible readings. Reporters were kept out.
At a vigil in downtown Wichita that attracted a few hundred people, about 10 protesters from Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church held signs emblazoned with such messages as “Abortion is bloody murder” and “Baby killer in hell.” The church is known for picketing military funerals.
The protesters and about 20 Tiller supporters shouted at each other. A large number of police officers stood by to make sure the scene stayed under control.
Tiller had in the past endured threats and violence. A protester shot Tiller in both arms in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985. More recently, Monnat said Tiller had asked federal prosecutors to step up investigations of vandalism and other threats against the clinic out of fear that the incidents were increasing and that Tiller’s safety was in jeopardy. Stolz, however, said police knew of no threats connected to the shooting.
In early May, Tiller had asked the FBI to investigate vandalism at his clinic, including cut wires to surveillance cameras and damage to the roof that sent rainwater pouring into the building.
In 1991, the Summer of Mercy protests organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of anti-abortion activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and mass arrests.
Tiller began providing abortion services in 1973. He acknowledged abortion was as socially divisive as slavery or prohibition but said the issue was about giving women a choice when dealing with technology that can diagnose severe fetal abnormalities before a baby is born.
Nancy Keenan, president of abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, issued a statement praising Tiller’s commitment.
“Dr. Tiller’s murder will send a chill down the spines of the brave and courageous providers and other professionals who are part of reproductive-health centers that serve women across this country. We want them to know that they have our support as they move forward in providing these essential services in the aftermath of the shocking news from Wichita,” Keenan said.
The doctor’s violent death was the latest in a string of shootings and bombings over two decades directed against abortion clinics, doctors and staff.
The last killing of an abortion doctor was in October 1998 when Dr. Barnett Slepian was fatally shot in his home in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. A militant abortion opponent was convicted of the murder.
Federal marshals protected Tiller during the 1991 Summer of Mercy protests, and he was protected again between 1994 and 1998 after another abortion provider was assassinated and federal authorities reported finding Tiller’s name on an assassination list.
Someone named Scott Roeder, then 38, was charged in Topeka, Kan., in 1996 with criminal use of explosives for having bomb components in his car trunk and sentenced to 24 months of probation. However, his conviction was overturned on appeal the next year after a higher court said evidence against Roeder was seized by law enforcement officers during an illegal search of his car.
At the time, police said the FBI had identified Roeder as a member of the anti-government Freemen group, an organization that kept the FBI at bay in Jordan, Mont., for almost three months in 1995-96.
Someone posting to the Web site of Operation Rescue in May 2007 used the name “Scott Roeder” in response to a scheduled vigil to “pray for an end to George R. Tiller’s late-term abortion business.”
“Bleass everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp,” the posting read. “Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there? Doesn’t seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller.”
Security aids police in burglary arrest www.privateofficer.com
A 27-year-old Elkhart man was arrested Saturday morning following a burglary at the Forest River plant.
Police say they interrupted the burglary in progress after a security guard at the business, in the 29000 block of Old U.S. 33 in Elkhart, called for help shortly after midnight.
When they arrived, they discovered TVs taken from recreational vehicles, police said in a press release.
The case remains under investigation and other people may be involved.
The suspect, who also had three outstanding warrants, was taken to the Elkhart County Jail.
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Jury indicts 16yr old for robbery, shooting security www.privateofficer.com
A Howard County grand jury indicted a 16-year-old Columbia teenager on a slew of charges stemming from the attempted robbery and shooting at a security guard near the Long Reach Village Center in Columbia earlier this month.
Darnell Rasheen Furby was indicted Wednesday on charges of first-degree assault; theft of less than $500; second-degree assault; use of a handgun in the commission of a felony violent crime; and conspiracy to commit assault in the second degree.
A trial has not yet been scheduled.
Furby is one of three males arrested in connection with the crime. Rick Britton, 20, of Odenton, faces attempted murder, assault and attempted armed robbery and handgun charges. Derrod Peterson, 18, is charged with assault and attempted robbery
Police said they received a number of calls the evening of May 13 from people who heard a series of gunshots in the 8800 block of Flowerstock Row. Investigators arrived and discovered a 27-year old security guard who said he’d been confronted by three men and punched in the face. One of the assailants fired multiple shots at him as he fled, the guard told police. All of the shots missed. The men stole cash from his security vehicle, the guard said.
Police never identified the victim or said what he was guarding.
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Section 8 Vouvher Scam Hits Nashville www.privateofficer.com
One victim is a woman who was staying in a hotel and looking for a safe place to raise her children and grandchildren. She saw an ad on Craig’s List and thought she’d found a good home.
“We went in the house, looked at the house and took all the pictures of the house and everybody was ooing and aahing and happy,” said Melonye Burns.
The Craig’s List ad said it had section 8 housing vouchers available to help pay the rent on a brand new home on Shelby Avenue in East Nashville. Melonye Burns says she called the phone number on the ad and a man portrayed himself as an MDHA employee.
She met him at a downtown hotel where she paid him more than $1,300 as a deposit for the rent.
He gave her the keys to the house, but when she went there, they didn’t work.
“I called him to find out what was going on, why he gave me keys to a house that didn’t work and who was he. He’d completely changed his phone number, couldn’t get in touch with him,” said Burns.
A security camera at the hotel captured photographs of the suspect who called himself James Kingsley. Metro Police say he is scamming people who desperately need housing.
Metro Police are asking for information. If you know who this person is, call Metro Police.
A spokeswoman for MDHA says the agency does not advertise on Craig’s List or similar websites, and never takes money. Applications and vouchers are only available at the MDHA office.
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Constable shoots man refusing to kneel www.privateofficer.com
The shooting happened in the parking lot of the El Bandolero nightclub in east El Paso. Sheriff’s deputies say two constables were off-duty and were working at the club when they heard shots ring out.
Tovar said the constables ran out and saw a man running through the parking lot. After a brief chase, the constables said they found the man hiding between vehicles.
Investigators said the constables identified themselves and ordered the man to put his hands up. The suspect then made a sudden movement around his waist and that’s when one of the constables fired a single shot and struck the man in his leg, Tovar said.
“It seems the constables did a good job identifying themselves and they did have a right to be there because they were responding to what they had heard as an apparent gun shot in the parking lot,” Tovar added.
The shooting is still under investigation by the sheriff’s office and the suspect may face charges. “The individual that got shot, we have him under investigation,” said Tovar. “He is facing evading charges because he did flee. The constables did have a right to stop him, they do have peace officer powers.”
The suspect shot was still recovering at Thomason Hospital Saturday afternoon.
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Shoplifters charged after police pursuit www.privateofficer.com
Manchester police said they have arrested a pair of expert shoplifters after a brief chase.
According to police, the two women nearly got away with thousands of dollar’s worth of merchandise at the Buckland Hills Mall.
A store security official alerted undercover police detectives, and the chase began. Laverne Richardson and Keashie Walker, both of Hartford, tried to flee from officers in a silver-gray Lexus
Police pursued the duo for about a quarter mile before the women pulled over and were arrested without incident; although, it was initially reported that they tried to run over the undercover officer.
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3 Charged in bank robbery plot www.privateofficer.com
Albany Police say a sharp-eyed employee likely prevented a bank robbery. She saw the men acting suspiciously. Police took them in for questioning and now say they were obviously preparing to commit a violent crime.
When police grabbed the three men here in the Heritage Bank parking lot on Westover Boulevard, they had a loaded handgun, knives, pepper spray, and masks.
Bank security officials say they are not sure if the three men were planning on coming into the bank to stick it up, or attacking a customer out here in the parking lot. But they are sure that security training and procedures they give all employees paid off, stopping the attempt before it could occur.
25 year old Clifford Thomas, 22 year old Gilbert Morris,and 22 year old Kendall Robinson are charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, and possesion of tools in commission of a crime.
Bank security officials say an alert employee spotted them parked in front of the Heritage Bank in this white Cadillac.
“They were up to no good, whatever it was,” said Heritage Bank Security Officer Bill Reilly.
The woman noticed them acting suspiciously, and for 20 minutes bank officials watched the three from the upper floors of the building until calling Police.
“They were parked and they kept getting in and out of the car. Opening the trunk. They weren’t really coming in the bank. Then when they moved their vehicle. They were up closer and moved it and backed in so no one could get a tag number, that was when they decided that is enough, let’s call Police,” Reilly said.
Police found a gun, knives, pepper spray and masks in the car. Investigators say the three have made statements, but have not explained why they were in the bank parking lot.
Bank officials say all employees get security training when they are hired, and refreshers three times a year, and this is proof that it works.
If you do what you are supposed to do, everyone gets to go home at the end of the day,” Reilly said.
Bank security officials say you should always stay alert when you are going in and out of any business in the parking lot for suspicious people. Through a string of armed robberies in Albany recently, Police have been recommending that business employees keep an eye on the parking lot for suspicious activity, and this proves that it does work.
Police aren’t saying much as their investigation continues, but they do say other people could be arrested, and that Clifford Thomas could be a suspect in other robberies.
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Union secures raises, benefits for NYC security www.privateofficer.com
Months of negotiations with national security contractors AlliedBarton and FJC have culminated with new union contracts that provide significant wage increases, employer-paid family health care and benefits for some 3,000 City-contracted security officers over three years.
“For too long, private security officers were left behind in low-wage, dead-end jobs,” said Mike Fishman, President of 32BJ. “The contracts we standards and win respect for private security officers, not just in New York, but in all cities.”
AlliedBarton employs 1,100 security officers who work at more than 100 City facilities throughout the City, including the Municipal Building in Manhattan, Staten Island Ferry Terminals and Brooklyn Borough Hall. FJC employs 1,820 security officers who protect sites in the City’s Human Resources Administration agency and Department of Homeless Services.
The two new agreements raise officers’ wages to private-sector wages of over $13 an hour. Officers also gain employer-paid family health coverage, paid days off, 401K and advanced security training.
“Our greatest needs were family health care, job security and annual wage increases,” said Enoch Edmond, an AlliedBarton officer working in Manhattan.
“This contract gives us that and more.”
For six months, the union has negotiated on behalf of security officers protecting City buildings and facilities in all five boroughs. These City-contracted workers now join thousands of other 32BJ members who have won contracts improving security standards in the private sector.
“This is an inspiring victory for thousands of security officers, their families and communities,” said Reverend Johnny Ray Youngblood of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Brooklyn. “These workers have shown that by uniting together in a union they can win the living wages and health care they deserve.”
“The best outcome for workers, employers and the public is achieved when labor and management work together,” said Fishman. “AlliedBarton and FJC should be commended for working with 32BJ to professionalize the security industry so officers receive the pay they need to make ends meet and the training they need to provide first-rate security at city buildings.”
With more than 110,000 members in eight states and Washington D.C., including 70,000 members in New York, 32BJ is the largest property service
union in the country.
The union’s campaign to raise security industry standards has lead to higher wages, more benefits and professional training for over 8,000 security officers in New York City.
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Hospital security helps nab robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com
Quick work by security teams at two local hospitals has one man in custody tonight. That man is accused of approaching two women at two area hospital parking decks in the past 24 hours and trying to steal their bags.
A Nurse was walking to her car on the third floor north-parking deck of OSF St. Francis Medical Center Wednesday evening when a white male approached her.
“Who attempted to grab her purse. He continued to try and grab her purse and she pulled back, finally falling and keeping her purse and then he ran away”, said OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Spokeswoman, Amy Paul.
The woman notified security, and police of the incident. She was unharmed.
Then Thursday morning, a woman was loading her children into her car in parking deck two of Methodist Medical Center when a man ran up and snatched her diaper bag from a stroller, and ran.
“I met with the victim, and she gave me a pretty good description of the suspect. I remember seeing the suspect in the main lobby of our hospital”, said Methodist Medical Center Security Coordinator, Christopher Sidener.
Sidener located the man still in the building. The suspect fled when he saw the security officer.
“He ran out the side door and I ran out the front door, and I pursued and chased him up towards St. Francis Hospital”, said Sidener.
Paul said, the suspect “ended up toward our second parking garage and during that time stole two chain saws from the grounds maintenance of OSF St. Francis”.
Police and hospital security apprehended the suspect shortly after.
OSF Security says he match the description of the attacker the previous day.
“Nationwide, Peoria, Illinois included you’ll see a spike at the beginning of the summer in violent crimes or any type of crimes for that matter”, said Peoria Police Department Community Service Officer, John Williams.
He says the economy could have something to do with it as well.
But the officer says there are some things you can do to stay safe.
Always carry a cell phone, know your surroundings, and if someone is trying to take something from you, it’s best to let them have it.
“Height weight, distinguishing scars, marks, anything along that. Clothing’s always good. If they’ve got a vehicle-make and model”, said Williams.
Chistopher Sidener says it’s descriptions like the ones given by the two victims that lead to the apprehension of the suspect.
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Man arrested for stealing critically injured officer’s gun www.privateofficer.com
A 22-year-old South Side man was charged in connection with the theft of a 9 mm Beretta belonging to a Chicago police officer as he lay critically injured following a traffic crash Wednesday at 98th and Halsted Streets, authorities said tonight.
Rasaan Shannon, of the 9800 block of South Morgan Street, was charged with strong arm robbery, disarming a peace officer and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, police said, adding that the injured officer’s gun was recovered.
Officer Densey Cole II was unconscious in his police SUV after the accident, officials said, which happened about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday.
“Whoever would prey on a wounded officer, incapacitated, take his weapon and then roll him around with a spinal injury to try and steal his wallet, is reprehensible,” Police Supt. Jody Weis said Thursday.
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$250,000 falls from armored truck www.privateofficer.com
One man walking out of a barber shop and another man walking to his car on North Salina Street discovered at least $250,000 had fallen out of an armored Loomis truck. At first, both men say they thought the bags were trash.
“I saw it and thought who dumped that trash off? As I got closer I realized that these bags were full of money, lots of money! Plastic bags full of hundred dollar bills and twenty dollar bills and I thought oh my goodness,” said Syracuse Antiques Exchange owner David Jenks.
“Two postal bins rolled over, the money spilled. I tried to catch the one bag before it went down the drain and in the water,” said Liverpool resident Hanson Herring.
Jenks took the money into his store where there happened to be a police officer inside.
Syracuse Police are working with Loomis to figure out how the money fell out of the truck.
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Teacher arrested for sexual classroom romps with student www.privateofficer.com
A Queens public school teacher turned a 2nd-floor classroom into an after-school sex den, luring her teenage student into a torrid fling, prosecutors said.
Melissa Weber, 27, a social studies teacher at Middle School/Intermediate School 8 in Jamaica, seduced the 14-year-old male student seven times over the past month, prosecutors said.
She allegedly warned the teen not to tell anyone about their affair – warning him, “I could lose my job and my teaching license.”
Weber is being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on charges of second-degree rape, sex abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.
The pair met between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. from Apr. 13 – May 14, prosecutors said.
The sessions came to light when the victim’s mom, who is on the Parent Teacher Association, was tipped off by someone in the school, prosecutors said.
The resourceful mom got Weber’s cellphone number and compared it to her son’s phone.
There were hundreds of exchanges between the pair – including a text message from Weber that read, “erase your phone,” prosecutors said.
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Denver security officer shot-killed www.privateofficer.com
Police say it happened at about 12:50 a.m. The second security guard was also rushed to a hospital. His condition was not released. El Chaparral night club is at 2727 W. 6th Avenue near Interstate 25.
Denver Police investigators said they were looking for at least one suspect who was in a black Camaro or Trans Am with broken windows.
A witness said it was “hip hop” night at El Chaparral and there was a big crowd. He said a fight started inside the club and spilled outside to the parking lot. The security guards were shot outside. The witness said the two guards were trying to break up the fight. Another security guard reportedly chased after the suspect, but he lost him in the vicinity of I-25 and 38th Avenue.
A witness said the second guard who was shot did not appear to have life-threatening injuries. It appeared he had an upper arm injury.
Police blocked off the only way in and out of the club, and 100 customers’ vehicles were caught inside the police line while the investigation was underway inside and outside the establishment. Some of the customers were still outside the club at 5:00 am waiting to retrieve their cars. Others left and planned to return once the investigation was complete. Police didn’t expect to wrap up at the scene until sometime around midday Friday.
Investigators asked anyone with information about the suspect or black vehicle with broken windows to call them (720) 913-2000.
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Police charge man in shooting of women, security officer www.privateofficer.com
Jackson County prosecutors today charged a man with shooting at two women and a security guard in March, injuring a 66-year-old woman with stray gunfire.
Prosecutors charged Kenneth W. Thompson, 24, of Kansas City with 15 felonies: seven counts of first-degree assault, seven counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.
The incident began about 11:45 p.m. March 26 when Thompson allegedly threatened a woman in an apartment in the 1300 block of East 89th Street. Two other women told him to leave the woman alone. Thompson allegedly threatened them and fired at them as they fled.
A security guard in the parking lot heard the gunfire and saw a gunman running alongside a playground at the complex. The gunman aimed at the guard’s car and fired, pounding eight holes in the car. The guard ducked to avoid being hit.
The 66-year-old woman said she was asleep when a bullet pierced her apartment window and struck her left bicep
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Former security supervisor arrested for sexual assault www.privateofficer.com
The former head of security at a Denver charter school has been charged with sexually assaulting a female grade-school student during a five-month period in late 2007 and early 2008.
Charged is 47-year-old Victor Ware.
Ware worked at the former Challenges, Choices and Images charter school in Denver. He is accused of assaulting the student from September 2007 through January 2008.
Ware was charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child, three counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and one count of sexual assault on a child, pattern of abuse.
According to an arrest affidavit, Ware on several occasions reached under the girl’s skirt and panties and fondled her for up to five minutes.
She said Ware did this in various locations at the school.
The girl, who was in the 6th grade during the purported incidents, said she kept a diary. She said that when Ware found out about the diary, and found the pages where she mentioned the fondling, he ripped the pages out.
Ware has been released from custody on a $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court on Tuesday to be advised of the charges.
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45 New Orleans school security laid off www.privateofficer.com
The Recovery School District has laid off 45 security guards in a cost-cutting move, according to the district’s security director Eddie Compass.
The layoffs, which were announced today, reduce the number of guards working in district-run schools to 77, Compass said.
“It’s a tough time for the state from an economic standpoint so tough decisions have to be made. Thank God we have tough people in positions of authority that are making these decisions,” Compass said Thursday. “We have to be fiscally responsible.”
The security layoffs are part of about $20 million in operational cuts to the RSD’s district-run schools. Officials are expected to layoff about 35 central office employees in addition to an unspecified number of social workers, nurses and other employees.
Compass said the district hopes to install cameras in more schools and lean on school administrators for support.
The layoffs will have a minimal effect on the district’s truancy program, which will still use assigned New Orleans Police officers, Compass said.
“The biggest effects we’ll have from the cuts will be in the actual schools,” Compass said.
Compass said the district started the year with 132 security guards in district-run schools and ended the year with 122 security personnel.
Recovery School District Superintendent Paul Vallas couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Thursday morning.
Last week, Vallas unveiled a balanced $176 million operating budget, his leanest spending plan since taking helm of the district in 2007, setting off the rounds of layoffs. The district will also operate with fewer teachers because of charter conversions, school program closures and the phase out of several high schools.
In the central office, Vallas said the district will eliminate about 50 positions, reducing the central office to around 120 people.
District officials have not released details on the layoffs in each of the categories.
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Security officer kills woman, commits suicide www.privateofficer.com
myrecordjournal.com In a chilling 911 call Wednesday morning, police dispatchers heard a man apologize while a woman screamed. The man asked for officers to come to a house at 54 Spice Hill Drive. Seconds later, they heard five gunshots.
Police arrived to discover the bodies of Michelle Barrows, 32, and James Canty, 37, in the basement of the house. Both victims were dead of apparent gunshot wounds, police said, and a handgun was found near Canty’s body. Detectives are treating it as a murder-suicide.
Meriden police Sgt. Glenn Milslagle said officers weren’t sure what to expect inside the single-family house, in a quiet residential area of South Meriden, because the call was interrupted before dispatchers could get concrete information.
“Dispatchers received a call with a woman screaming in the background and a male says, ‘I’m sorry, please send police,’ then five shots are heard and the line went dead,” Milslagle said Wednesday afternoon after reviewing the 911 tape.
Police found additional weapons inside the home, Milslagle confirmed, but did not reveal what type or how many. No weapons other than the handgun were used in the killings, police said.
Access was restricted along Spice Hill Drive, a cul-de-sac off Deer Run Road, throughout most of the day as detectives continued to investigate what led to the shooting.
City records show that Canty and Barrows had purchased the home together in July 2007. Police said the two were dating, but according to neighbors they lived in the house together.
Canty was a licensed security guard in Connecticut and had completed requirements allowing him to carry a weapon while on the job, state police said. He was listed most recently as an employee of Dunbar Armored Inc., which provides armored car services for Connecticut businesses. Phone messages left for company representatives were not immediately returned Wednesday.
Neighbors said a teenager they believed to be Barrows’ son was also living in the house. Police said only that no one else was home at the time of the incident.
Residents in the neighborhood were told to remain in their homes for more than an hour while police made sure it was safe Wednesday morning as the Meriden SWAT team set up a perimeter around both the house and the neighborhood. Police said that response was standard procedure because officers knew from the emergency call that there was a gun in the home.
Two officers arrived on scene at approximately 8:30 a.m., moments after dispatch received the 911 call. Within 15 minutes, Billy Pasinski of Deer Run Road said, officers barricaded the road and began to swarm in and around the house. He said his family had heard popping, but he thought it was nothing more than a car backfiring.
For neighbor Elisandro Echevarria, of 47 Spice Hill Road, the response is one he will never forget.
Echevarria said he was home with his daughter when he looked out the window and saw police carrying high-powered rifles and assault weapons. When he attempted to talk with one officer, he was told to go to the back of his house – the farthest point from 54 Spice Hill Drive – and to stay away from windows.
“They were running through the yards and surrounding the home,” said Echevarria. “This is one of the quieter neighborhoods in Meriden. We came here to get away from this sort of thing, but it makes you realize anything can happen anywhere.”
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Ex-cons run down security after shoplifting incident www.privateofficer.com
Dakota R. Griffing, 18, 38 Birchwood Drive, hoped he would be released from custody so he could return to New Milford High School where he had only a weeks left of his senior year.
“I realize these are just allegations, but they are incredibly serious,” Judge Corinne Klatt said.
Griffing was charged with sixth-degree larceny, first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree assault, reckless driving, and engaging police in pursuit. He was scheduled to appear in Litchfield Superior Court June 10. Assistant State’s Attorney Jonathan Knight encouraged the court to set a high bond in Griffing’s case, calling him a “danger to the community.”
Griffing’s attorney J. Michael Sconyers said the incident was a shoplifting crime until his client panicked.
He suggested the court allow him to return to school and use the state’s electronic monitoring program. Stop and Shop security officials reportedly spotted Griffing and Douglas Rodriguez shoving products down their pants.
When the security guards confronted the men at the exit, the suspects struggled and ran out of the store.
When the security guard ran after Griffing, driving a blue BMW, at a stop light, Griffing reportedly put the car in reverse and struck the guard. The guard flew into the air and fell to the ground, a witness told police. The guard stood up, but Griffing struck the him again with the car. The guard landed on the hood and fell off. He suffered minor injuries, police said.
Griffing led police on a pursuit until he was cornered by police and forced to get out of his car at gunpoint.
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Pizza deliverman leads police to kidnap victim www.privateofficer.com
Sevier County Sheriff Ron Seals said 46-year-old David Jansen abducted the 24-year-old woman while she was jogging in her Atlanta neighborhood on Tuesday.
Seals said Jansen tied the victim to the seat of a rental car and drove her across state lines to a rental cabin in a remote area.
Authorities said when Jansen ordered a pizza at the cabin, the deliveryman saw the victim lying on a couch bound by ropes.
The victim mouthed to the deliveryman to call 911. The deliveryman left and alerted authorities to what he had witnessed.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they found the victim still tied up on a couch at the cabin.
The victim told authorities that she had been kidnapped from Atlanta and brought to the cabin and raped. She was transported at a hospital.
She told investigators she knows Jansen from work, according to the Mountain Press newspaper of Sieverville, Tenn.
Seals said a search warrant was obtained and detectives entered the cabin and searched it. Seals said detectives found evidence at the scene that substantiated the victim’s story.
Jansen was charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated rape. He was arraigned before a magistrate, and a $800,000 bond was set. Jansen was being held at the Sevier County Jail Thursday night.
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Elderly security officer violently robbed www.privateofficer.com
Erick Kegebein, 35, 11475 W. 93rd Ave., was charged Thursday with robbery, a Class B felony, according to an affidavit.
The victim, who turns 81 next week, works as a security guard for the Sherwood Lake apartment complex and was locking the back gate near Old Lincoln Highway about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when he was robbed, an affidavit states.
Kegebein told the man he would blow his brains out if he didn’t give him money. He then put something against the back of the man’s head. He stole the man’s wallet and pushed him to the ground, causing cuts, bruises and swelling to the man’s wrists, according to an affidavit.
Schererville police caught Kegebein in a nearby parking lot. He later admitted to hitting the man and stealing his money because he needed money for alcohol, food and normal living supplies, according to an affidavit
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Shoplifters assault, run over store security agent www.privateofficer.com
Lincoln Police say a shoplifting incident at Shopko at 3400 North 27th Street turned violent Thursday afternoon, and ended in the arrests of four people from Marshalltown, Iowa.
Police say 34-year-old Jose Lopez and 28-year-old Maria Cardenas were inside Shopko, when they put six cans of baby formula, worth $26 each, into a black purse.
Police say the two left without paying, and were confronted outside by a loss prevention officer.
Maria got into a car parked out front in a fire lane. Police say Jose hit an employee who approached him.
Meanwhile, police say 33-year-old Jorge Duarte and Yimis Duarte were inside the car.
Police say Yimis waved a knife at the officers left arm, then Jorge ran over an employee’s foot.
As the men and Maria sped out of the parking lot, police say Jose jumped into the car.
Police later spotted the car at NW 1st Street and West Harvest, and arrested the four.
Jorge Duarte and Yimis Duarte were both arrested for second degree assault.
Jose Lopez was arrested for third degree assault, and theft by shoplifting.
Maria Cardenas was also arrested for theft by shoplifting.
Police say 24 more cans of baby formula were found in the vehicle.
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Off-duty NYPD officer killed by fellow officer www.privateofficer.com
Commissioner Raymond Kelly said 25-year-old Omar J. Edwards died after being shot late Thursday within blocks of the Harlem police station where he worked.
The shooter was white and Edwards was black, a fact that could raise questions about police use of deadly force in a minority community. And in recent years there have been several cases of off-duty policemen in the New York City area being shot and killed by other officers.
Edwards had just finished his shift around 10:30 p.m. when he headed to his car and saw that the driver’s-side window had been smashed and a man was going through the vehicle, Kelly said.
Edwards struggled with the man, who got away from him by slipping out of his sweater, Kelly said. Edwards chased the man up two streets with his gun drawn, he said.
A sergeant and two plainclothes officers in an unmarked police car saw the pursuit and made a U-turn to follow the men, Kelly said. One of the officers jumped out of the car and fired six times, hitting Edwards twice _ once in the arm and once in the chest, he said.
Kelly said Edwards did not fire his weapon. He died at the Harlem Hospital Center about an hour after the shooting.
The Rev. Al Sharpton said he got calls shortly after the shooting “from black officers who were at the precinct and were alarmed by the shooting of Omar Edwards.”
The civil rights activist said he and his National Action Network “are completely concerned of a growing pattern of black officers being killed with the assumption that they are the criminals.”
“This calls for federal investigation and intervention to sort out the facts and bring about a just resolve,” Sharpton said in a statement. “Can police investigate themselves fairly and impartially? It would seem very difficult at best and unlikely in fact.”
It was unclear whether the officers identified themselves. The name of the officer who fired the shots has not been released, but Kelly said he had worked at the NYPD for four years.
“While we don’t know all the details of what happened tonight, this is a tragedy. Rest assured that we will find out exactly what happened here, and we will learn from it so it doesn’t happen again,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference from the hospital.
Kelly said Edwards had been on the force for two years and worked in the housing bureau. He was recently married and had two young children.
On Friday, police blanketed the shooting scene. A stretch of 125th Street, a major thoroughfare, was blocked off. People passing in cars and waiting for buses tried to get a glimpse beyond the yellow crime-scene tape; some asked each other what was going on.
The shooting recalled other cases of off-duty policemen being shot and killed by fellow officers.
In 2008, a black, off-duty Mount Vernon police officer was killed by a Westchester County policeman while holding a gun on an assault suspect in suburban White Plains. A grand jury found the victim had failed to identify himself as an officer. County officers _ one white, one black and two Hispanic _ were cleared of wrongdoing by a grand jury.
In 2006, a New York City police officer, Eric Hernandez, was shot and killed by an on-duty patrolman who was responding to an attack at a White Castle in the Bronx.
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Man urinates on security officer www.privateofficer.com
A Braidwood man was charged with disorderly conduct after he allegedly relieved himself on a security officer at a festival in the parking lot of Orland Square Mall in Orland Park police said.
The man, identified as Joshua Obrakta, 25, of the 300 block of Orchard Lane was acting disorderly when questioned by a security officer and police say that’s when Obrakta urinated on him. Police arrived and arrested him.
After police placed Obrakta into a squad car, he banged his head on the squad car cage and windows, and had to be restrained police said.
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Man dead after shooting NC police www.privateofficer.com
KINGS CREEK, N.C. May 28 2009 wsoctv.com– Investigators in Caldwell County said a man who shot two deputies, an 8-year-old girl and her father was found dead from a gunshot wound after deputies fired back.The shootings happened early Thursday morning in the Kings Creek community. Investigators said the entire incident was sparked by a dispute over a dog.
Andra Tolbert, a neighbor, told Eyewitness News reporter Dave Faherty that the suspected gunman’s dog attacked two children two years ago. Investigators confirmed this for Eyewitness News.
Tolbert said that early Thursday morning, the children’s father shot the dog, and the animal’s owner fired back, hitting the father and one of his daughters.
Deputies said they were called to the home on Grandin Road just before 11 p.m. Wednesday because of the argument over the dog.
When the first officer arrived, he was shot outside the home, deputies said. A second officer arrived to help the first officer.
While three other officers tried to get the father and his two daughters away, a second officer was shot. At that point, the two remaining officers fired back at the gunman.
Eventually, a SWAT team was sent in to get the father and his daughters away from the area safely.
One deputy was airlifted out of the Hickory Airport to Carolinas Medical Center. That deputy is expected to be released later Thursday night or Friday morning. The other was treated and released from Caldwell Memorial Hospital.
Emergency officials said the girl was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. Her father was airlifted out of the Hickory Airport to Carolinas Medical Center. Neither of their conditions have been released.
The suspected gunman was found dead at about 6:30 a.m. in his yard near Kings Creek Elementary School. Deputies said it appears the shooter died from a gunshot wound that was not self-inflicted.
The State Bureau of Investigation is now investigating the shooting, as is standard protocol for officer-involved shootings.
Classes at the Kings Creek Elementary School were delayed until 11 a.m. as crews wrap up their investigation.
Libby Brown, the community services director for Caldwell County Schools, said school officials got the call about the situation early Thursday morning. School officials then started making plans at around 3 a.m. to delay classes as teams searched for the gunman.
Brown said school officials decided at 5 a.m. to delay classes for three hours, starting at 11 a.m. Faculty and staff were also asked to stay at home since the parking lot was full of deputies, investigators and SWAT teams.
Extra counselors will be brought in to the school, Brown said. She said any time there is an emergency at schools which could stress or upset students, counselors are brought in.
The names of the victims and the suspected gunman have not been released.
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Alabama police officer arrested for murder www.privateofficer.com
A 22-year-old Birmingham man charged with murder in a Friday morning Irondale shooting death has been a Brighton police officer for about a year, Brighton Mayor Angelo Hinkle said tonight.
Chevis Finley was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Friday night on $75,000 bond. Hinkle said Finley is on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Lt. Norman Stapp of the Irondale Police Department on Friday said Finley and the victim, Brodrick Rashad Dixon, 27, of Helena were visiting a woman at the Enclave at Mountain Brook apartments.
Dixon was shot several times at 3:15 a.m. Friday outside the 1100 building at Sharpsburg Circle.
Hinkle said he was not aware of Finley having any disciplinary problems. “As far as I know, he’s been an excellent officer,” Hinkle said.
Finley was released on bond on Monday, according to court records. A hearing has been scheduled in Jefferson County District Judge Sheldon Watkins’ court on June 15.
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Florida teacher arrested for sexual battery of student www.privateofficer.com
Mrs. Hernandez was a 6th Grade teacher at Our Lady of Charity School, in Hialeah.
According to police she had an intimate relationship with a 15-year-old male student she met at the school.
The school’s principal learned of the alleged relationship Friday and contacted the Department of Children and Families who then contacted Hialeah Police.
Hernandez, who worked at the school for four years, has been fired.
According to police, Hernandez and the 15 year old male were vacationing in Disney World Orlando on Saturday, when the Hialeah Police Department began its investigation.
Police contacted the pair who returned to South Florida.
According to Hialeah Police, Mrs. Hernandez admitted to the crime. She was arrested and taken into custody.
The mother of the15-year-old Florida boy who was allegedly having a sexual relationship with a sixth-grade teacher not only knew of the affair, she reportedly endorsed it according to reports.
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Two Arizona officers killed in copter crash www.privateofficer.com
Peoria police Officer Mike Gauchat, 41, and police services Officer Donna Cullum, 45, died when the two-seat homebuilt Safari helicopter they were in crashed west of Interstate 17 just south of Black Canyon City.
“This is a major tragedy for the families involved and for members of the department,” said Police Chief Larry Ratcliff. “Both Mike and Donna are highly respected members of the department.”
The helicopter burst into flames after it hit the ground, law enforcement officials said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Donna and Mike’s families and the members of our department who are processing this tragic event while continuing to provide law enforcement services to the community,” Ratcliff said.
A memorial service for the pair is set for Saturday at 10 a.m. at Christ Church of the Valley, 7007 W. Happy Valley Road.
Internment will be at Sunland Cemetery in Sun City.
Peoria police spokesman Mike Tellef said Gauchat was a traffic officer who enjoyed flying helicopters and was at the controls when his aircraft went down. Cullum was his girlfriend.
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Security guard sent to prison for molestation of child www.privateofficer.com
A former school security guard was sentenced Wednesday to 17 years in prison for molesting a girl he met at Hale High School.
Tracy Sullins, 49, pleaded no contest in April to one count of lewd molestation. He did not have a deal with prosecutors to govern his punishment.
Tulsa County District Judge William Kellough imposed a split 20-year sentence that requires Sullins to serve a three-year probation after he is released from prison.
In 2007, Tulsa Public Schools officials said Sullins was a security guard who substituted for only a day or two at two or three Tulsa schools in 2006.
But a district spokeswoman said in April that officials had learned that the employment information they received about Sullins in 2007 from their contract security firm, Securitas, was only partly true.
The spokeswoman said the district had learned that Sullins was the lead guard at Hale between 2004 and 2005.
According to court records, the girl told police she was 14 when Sullins began paying her to watch him masturbate via a Web camera, to have lunch with him and then, when she was 15, to fondle him in his truck while it was parked in front of her Tulsa home.
Sullins is required by law to serve at least 85 percent of the 17-year prison term — nearly 15 years — before he is eligible for parole or release. He has been in the Tulsa Jail for 11 months, records show.
Sullins was arrested in 2006 at his Sapulpa residence after an investigation by a Missouri detective.
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Kansas teacher arrested for sexual relationship with student www.privateofficer.com
A Junction City High School teacher was in the Geary County Detention Center on Thursday after being arrested in connection with an unlawful sexual relationship with a student.
Junction City Police Chief Bob Story identified the arrested woman as Micha A. Cook, 27, a physical education and health teacher at the high school.
Story said the police department was notified Wednesday of a possible unlawful relationship between Cook and a student at the high school.
The Junction City Police Department’s Investigations Division executed three search warrants on Wednesday and obtained items of “evidentiary value” regarding the case, Story said.
Cook was arrested in connection with aggravated indecent liberties with a child and made her a first appearance Thursday in Geary County District Court.
She was being held in the Geary County Detention Center on $25,000 bond. Story said an investigation in the case is ongoing.
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Two arrested in casino disturbance, assault www.privateofficer.com
A Coopersburg couple face assault charges after Bethlehem police said they struck a Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem security officer early this morning when he told them the bar was closing.
Larry L. Scholl, 60, and Antoinette Scholl-Hermans, 58, will both be sent summons for charges of simple assault, harassment, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, police said.
The husband and wife were taken to St. Luke’s Hospital-Fountain Hill after the dispute, which happened about 2:20 a.m. During a tussle with the security officer, police said Scholl fell and struck his head and his wife fell and cut her nose.
A hospital spokeswoman said they were treated and released According to police:
The security guard, David Strawn, saw the couple sitting at a bar in the casino and saw they were “highly intoxicated.”
They were told the bar was closing and Strawn asked if they had a ride home. Scholl-Hermans became irate and punched Strawn in the left side of his head, knocking off his glasses.
During the struggle, Scholl-Hermans fell on the ground and cut her nose. As Strawn tried to handcuff her, police said Scholl jumped on Strawn’s back and punched him several times.
After the couple were handcuffed, Scholl-Hermans fell over several times while seated.
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