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Archive for August 21, 2009
Pasadena police officer killed www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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PASADENA, Texas AUG 21 2009—A Pasadena police officer was fatally shot in the line of duty at a trailer park Friday morning.
It happened around 6: 30 a.m. near the intersection of Shaver and Queens.
Pasadena police said Officer Jesse Hamilton was responding to a disturbance call, talking to the suspect’s mother on the front porch of the trailer when the suspect’s wife, who was inside the home, shouted, “He’s got a gun!”
Within seconds, the suspect came out and shot Hamilton in the head.
The suspect was also shot in the head, though police said it’s unclear if Hamilton or his backup pulled the trigger.
The mortally wounded officer was airlifted to Memorial Hermann, where he died just after 7 a.m.
Within seconds, the suspect came out and shot Hamilton in the head.
The suspect was also shot in the head, though police said it’s unclear if Hamilton or his backup pulled the trigger.
The mortally wounded officer was airlifted to Memorial Hermann, where he died just after 7 a.m.
Police said Hamilton was 29 years old and had a wife and two young kids.
He’d been an officer with the Pasadena Police Department for four years, and before that he was a dispatcher.
Police said the suspect was airlifted to Memorial Hermann, where he remained in critical condition.
Investigators don’t believe the suspect and his wife lived in the trailer park, and they said the suspect may have mental health issues.
Both the suspect’s wife and mother were cooperating with police.
It happened around 6: 30 a.m. near the intersection of Shaver and Queens.
Pasadena police said Officer Jesse Hamilton was responding to a disturbance call, talking to the suspect’s mother on the front porch of the trailer when the suspect’s wife, who was inside the home, shouted, “He’s got a gun!”
Within seconds, the suspect came out and shot Hamilton in the head.
The suspect was also shot in the head, though police said it’s unclear if Hamilton or his backup pulled the trigger.
The mortally wounded officer was airlifted to Memorial Hermann, where he died just after 7 a.m.
Within seconds, the suspect came out and shot Hamilton in the head.
The suspect was also shot in the head, though police said it’s unclear if Hamilton or his backup pulled the trigger.
The mortally wounded officer was airlifted to Memorial Hermann, where he died just after 7 a.m.
Police said Hamilton was 29 years old and had a wife and two young kids.
He’d been an officer with the Pasadena Police Department for four years, and before that he was a dispatcher.
Police said the suspect was airlifted to Memorial Hermann, where he remained in critical condition.
Investigators don’t believe the suspect and his wife lived in the trailer park, and they said the suspect may have mental health issues.
Both the suspect’s wife and mother were cooperating with police.
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Simplicity Bassinets Safety Warning www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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WASHINGTON — Government safety officials warned parents today about Simplicity bassinets after two more infants were killed when they became trapped.
Two young children died after getting trapped in previously recalled Simplicity close-sleeper/bedside sleeper bassinets, the Consumer Product Safety Commission disclosed.
The company’s 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets contain metal bars spaced farther apart than federal standards allow. If the Velcro-fastened fabric covering the metal bars of the bassinets is not properly adjusted, it can be dangerous.
In September 2008, a two-month-old girl in Demorest, Ga., suffocated when she became trapped in a pocket of fabric, which was not properly secured to the bassinet. In January 2009, a six-month-old girl in Fort Worth, Texas, died when the fabric flap was undone and she got trapped between the exposed bars.
Asked about the time gap between the deaths and the re-announcement of the recall, the new chairman of the safety commission told the Associated Press the death in Georgia did not come to the agency’s attention until this year. In a telephone interview, Inez Tenenbaum said she could not comment further on the Texas death because it is under investigation.
The CPSC warned against these Simplicity bassinets in August 2008, when it reported the deaths of two infants who also got trapped.
Tenenbaum, who was confirmed to the position in June, said she is learning daily that the public might not hear about recalls when they are first announced.
“We want to step up in the future our education and advocacy so that consumers are better informed,” she said.
The commission has been contacting child care facilities, state governments and consumer groups about the bassinet recall.
All of the bassinets manufactured before May 18, 2008 have been recalled. This includes some sold under the Graco brand, some with a Winnie the Pooh motif, as well as other bassinets.
Recalled bassinets can be returned to the retail stores where they were purchased. For details on the affected products, click here.
Two young children died after getting trapped in previously recalled Simplicity close-sleeper/bedside sleeper bassinets, the Consumer Product Safety Commission disclosed.
The company’s 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets contain metal bars spaced farther apart than federal standards allow. If the Velcro-fastened fabric covering the metal bars of the bassinets is not properly adjusted, it can be dangerous.
In September 2008, a two-month-old girl in Demorest, Ga., suffocated when she became trapped in a pocket of fabric, which was not properly secured to the bassinet. In January 2009, a six-month-old girl in Fort Worth, Texas, died when the fabric flap was undone and she got trapped between the exposed bars.
Asked about the time gap between the deaths and the re-announcement of the recall, the new chairman of the safety commission told the Associated Press the death in Georgia did not come to the agency’s attention until this year. In a telephone interview, Inez Tenenbaum said she could not comment further on the Texas death because it is under investigation.
The CPSC warned against these Simplicity bassinets in August 2008, when it reported the deaths of two infants who also got trapped.
Tenenbaum, who was confirmed to the position in June, said she is learning daily that the public might not hear about recalls when they are first announced.
“We want to step up in the future our education and advocacy so that consumers are better informed,” she said.
The commission has been contacting child care facilities, state governments and consumer groups about the bassinet recall.
All of the bassinets manufactured before May 18, 2008 have been recalled. This includes some sold under the Graco brand, some with a Winnie the Pooh motif, as well as other bassinets.
Recalled bassinets can be returned to the retail stores where they were purchased. For details on the affected products, click here.
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Y-12 Nuclear security officer suspended for having recording device www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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OAK RIDGE, Tenn. Aug 21 2009(AP) – A security contractor has suspended a guard at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge for bringing in a recording device.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel quoted an e-mail from Wackenhut Services Inc. that said the guard had a recorder that didn’t contain either recording tape or batteries. It was discovered during a random search.
Recording devices aren’t allowed in the plant, where parts for nuclear weapons are made and classified information is kept.
National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman Steven Wyatt said the contractor has taken “appropriate actions” in what Wyatt said were a relatively small number of personnel incidents.
Earlier, two guards were fired and two others quit after reportedly testing positive for steroids. Three guards were suspended after bringing electronic games into the plant. 1 of those guards later quit.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel quoted an e-mail from Wackenhut Services Inc. that said the guard had a recorder that didn’t contain either recording tape or batteries. It was discovered during a random search.
Recording devices aren’t allowed in the plant, where parts for nuclear weapons are made and classified information is kept.
National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman Steven Wyatt said the contractor has taken “appropriate actions” in what Wyatt said were a relatively small number of personnel incidents.
Earlier, two guards were fired and two others quit after reportedly testing positive for steroids. Three guards were suspended after bringing electronic games into the plant. 1 of those guards later quit.
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Hospital security officer stabbed www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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GALAX, Va. Aug 21 2009 — A hospital security guard at the Twin County Regional Hospital said she was stabbed while conducting a security check at about 9:30 p.m.
Galax police said the guard was stabbed in the arm while she was checking a maintenance shed located near the hospital.
Officers from Carroll and Grayson counties, as well as Virginia State Police officers, assisted in a search at the facility; however, the culprit wasn’t located.
Police asked that anyone with information call the Galax Police Department at 276-236-8101.
Galax police said the guard was stabbed in the arm while she was checking a maintenance shed located near the hospital.
Officers from Carroll and Grayson counties, as well as Virginia State Police officers, assisted in a search at the facility; however, the culprit wasn’t located.
Police asked that anyone with information call the Galax Police Department at 276-236-8101.
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N.C. teacher arrested at school for drugs www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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HIGH POINT, N.C. AUG 21 2009– High Point Police said a Ragsdale High School teacher was arrested Friday morning at the school.
Cecelia Tolliver, a science teacher at the school, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to sell a white powder substance that police said resembled cocaine.
She was also charged with conspiring to sell cocaine.
Guilford County School System officials said Tolliver had been an employee since 2002.
She resigned at the end of the day Thursday, officials said.
Cecelia Tolliver, a science teacher at the school, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to sell a white powder substance that police said resembled cocaine.
She was also charged with conspiring to sell cocaine.
Guilford County School System officials said Tolliver had been an employee since 2002.
She resigned at the end of the day Thursday, officials said.
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Categories: police, School Employee Arrested
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Thousands of registered sex offenders live in public housing www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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WASHINGTON (AP) – A few thousand lifetime registered sex offenders illegally live in federally subsidized housing, investigators have concluded in a new report.
Investigators projected that the Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidizes roughly 2,100 to 3,000 households that include a serious sex offender. The HUD inspector general’s office conducted the review.
Congress banned subsidized housing for the most serious sex offenders after a 1997 case when a convicted sex offender was charged with assaulting and molesting a 9-year-old neighbor girl who lived in the same public housing building. The legislation said that housing authorities must not admit any household that includes a person subject to the lifetime registration requirement, typically reserved for the most serious offenders.
Investigators said HUD failed to meet the law’s objective, in part, because of a lack of monitoring. For example, HUD did not require housing authorities to ask applicants whether any of the prospective residents was subject to a lifetime registration requirement. HUD also did not require housing authorities to check a national sex offender registry when it recertifies eligibility of its residents.
In conducting the review, investigators identified 4,784 households in which one or more members’ Social Security numbers matched an offender in the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry. They then selected a sample of 67 of those households and found that 36 included a lifetime registered sex offender.
The 36 had been convicted for a variety of offenses, including rape, sexual assault and lewd or lascivious acts. Some of their offenses were against children. For example, one person was was still living in subsidized housing despite a 2002 conviction of criminal attempt to commit rape of a 5-year-old child. Another got subsidized housing in 2008 despite a conviction five years earlier for first-degree sexual abuse of a 4-year-old.
In responding to the report, HUD officials said the rate for improper admissions was extremely small when compared to more than 4 million admissions into subsidized housing. HUD officials put the error rate at between .03 percent and .04 percent. Nevertheless, it would be issuing guidance to public housing authorities to remind them of their statuatory and regulatory obligations not to admit lifetime registered sex offenders.
The inspector general said more than $12 million could be saved annually by not subsidizing housing for those households with a lifetime registered sex offender.
Investigators projected that the Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidizes roughly 2,100 to 3,000 households that include a serious sex offender. The HUD inspector general’s office conducted the review.
Congress banned subsidized housing for the most serious sex offenders after a 1997 case when a convicted sex offender was charged with assaulting and molesting a 9-year-old neighbor girl who lived in the same public housing building. The legislation said that housing authorities must not admit any household that includes a person subject to the lifetime registration requirement, typically reserved for the most serious offenders.
Investigators said HUD failed to meet the law’s objective, in part, because of a lack of monitoring. For example, HUD did not require housing authorities to ask applicants whether any of the prospective residents was subject to a lifetime registration requirement. HUD also did not require housing authorities to check a national sex offender registry when it recertifies eligibility of its residents.
In conducting the review, investigators identified 4,784 households in which one or more members’ Social Security numbers matched an offender in the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry. They then selected a sample of 67 of those households and found that 36 included a lifetime registered sex offender.
The 36 had been convicted for a variety of offenses, including rape, sexual assault and lewd or lascivious acts. Some of their offenses were against children. For example, one person was was still living in subsidized housing despite a 2002 conviction of criminal attempt to commit rape of a 5-year-old child. Another got subsidized housing in 2008 despite a conviction five years earlier for first-degree sexual abuse of a 4-year-old.
In responding to the report, HUD officials said the rate for improper admissions was extremely small when compared to more than 4 million admissions into subsidized housing. HUD officials put the error rate at between .03 percent and .04 percent. Nevertheless, it would be issuing guidance to public housing authorities to remind them of their statuatory and regulatory obligations not to admit lifetime registered sex offenders.
The inspector general said more than $12 million could be saved annually by not subsidizing housing for those households with a lifetime registered sex offender.
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Police charge Fla pair with forgery, credit card thefts www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. AUG 21 2009 — Police have arrested a South Florida couple accused of going on a day-long shopping spree in southern Palm Beach County by forging checks and using stolen credit cards.
Timothy Seamore and Sebrina Smith are charged with nearly two dozen counts of grand theft, burglary, forgery, organized fraud, fraudulent use of personal identification and possession of stolen credit cards.
Boynton Beach police said the pair started their spree at a Toys-R-Us in Boca Raton, then traveled to a Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, WaMu and Toys-R-Us in Boynton Beach. From there, the pair returned to Boca Raton, where police arrested them as they allegedly scoped out vehicles to burglarize.
Police said Seamore and Smith were in possession of items belonging to the victims.
Timothy Seamore and Sebrina Smith are charged with nearly two dozen counts of grand theft, burglary, forgery, organized fraud, fraudulent use of personal identification and possession of stolen credit cards.
Boynton Beach police said the pair started their spree at a Toys-R-Us in Boca Raton, then traveled to a Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, WaMu and Toys-R-Us in Boynton Beach. From there, the pair returned to Boca Raton, where police arrested them as they allegedly scoped out vehicles to burglarize.
Police said Seamore and Smith were in possession of items belonging to the victims.
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Man dies struggling with security and CHP officers www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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PITTSBURG CA AUG 21 2009
mercurynews.com— A man seen running back and forth through Highway 4 traffic trying to get cars to stop early this morning died in police custody, and the ensuing investigation brought westbound traffic to a standstill, the California Highway Patrol said.
Highway officers were initially called to eastbound Highway 4 near Railroad Avenue about 3:35 a.m. after getting reports of a green Chevrolet Blazer blocking lanes. Officers pushed the vehicle off the roadway, found a dog inside, and called animal services to take care of the animal.
While they were doing that, the CHP got reports of a man walking in and out of traffic in the westbound lanes, said Officer Tom Maguire. A group of private security guards pulled over tried to get the man off the roadway.
The man fought with the guards, who were eventually able to restrain his arms, Maguire said. CHP officers arrived with the man still kicking, and after officers put leg restraints on him, the combined forces worked to drag him toward the center divider.
About 15 minutes after the scuffle, the man went motionless, Maguire said. Officers started CPR on the man and called for firefighters and paramedics, who quickly arrived and also tried to revive him. He died at the scene.
The man has not been identified, but Maguire said the CHP has confirmed that the sport-utility vehicle found abandoned across the highway belonged to him. Investigators from the District Attorney’s Office are on scene to interview the officers and security guards involved in the freeway fracas, which is standard with any death that occurs in police custody. A coroner’s inquest is expected to follow.
Westbound traffic was slowed for hours while investigators examined the scene. As of 9 a.m., traffic was letting up, but police were still taking up a left lane.
mercurynews.com— A man seen running back and forth through Highway 4 traffic trying to get cars to stop early this morning died in police custody, and the ensuing investigation brought westbound traffic to a standstill, the California Highway Patrol said.
Highway officers were initially called to eastbound Highway 4 near Railroad Avenue about 3:35 a.m. after getting reports of a green Chevrolet Blazer blocking lanes. Officers pushed the vehicle off the roadway, found a dog inside, and called animal services to take care of the animal.
While they were doing that, the CHP got reports of a man walking in and out of traffic in the westbound lanes, said Officer Tom Maguire. A group of private security guards pulled over tried to get the man off the roadway.
The man fought with the guards, who were eventually able to restrain his arms, Maguire said. CHP officers arrived with the man still kicking, and after officers put leg restraints on him, the combined forces worked to drag him toward the center divider.
About 15 minutes after the scuffle, the man went motionless, Maguire said. Officers started CPR on the man and called for firefighters and paramedics, who quickly arrived and also tried to revive him. He died at the scene.
The man has not been identified, but Maguire said the CHP has confirmed that the sport-utility vehicle found abandoned across the highway belonged to him. Investigators from the District Attorney’s Office are on scene to interview the officers and security guards involved in the freeway fracas, which is standard with any death that occurs in police custody. A coroner’s inquest is expected to follow.
Westbound traffic was slowed for hours while investigators examined the scene. As of 9 a.m., traffic was letting up, but police were still taking up a left lane.
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Former Michigan teacher faces indecent exposure,immoral charges www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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ESCANABA MI Aug 21 2009
dailypress.com – A former Escanaba teacher and coach has been arrested on charges related to indecent exposure, accosting children for immoral purposes, using computers to commit a crime and distributing sexually explicit material to minors.
Ward Thomas Johnsen, 46, of 901 1st Ave. S., Escanaba, was officially charged on four counts Wednesday after he waived his arraignment in Delta County District Court. According to court paperwork, though he did not appear in court, he chose to stand mute to the charges.
Johnsen is a former technology teacher at the Escanaba Area Middle School. Following the initial investigation of allegations, he resigned from his teaching position and as head hockey coach on March 11.
Johnson was arrested Friday afternoon when he turned himself in at the Delta County Sheriff’s Department. A warrant had been issued for his arrest earlier that day on four counts relating to incidents from February 2008 to March 2009.
Johnsen was released from police custody after posting $250, 10 percent of a $2,500 bond, with the court-ordered condition he have no contact with minor children. He remains free on bond.
His attorney, Sarah Henderson of Marquette, also waived the preliminary examination in district court on behalf of her client Wednesday. The hearing would have involved witness testimony to determine if there was probable cause a crime was committed.
By waiving the preliminary examination, the case was automatically bound over to circuit court, where Johnsen will face a trial unless he pleas.
A court date has yet to be scheduled. He faces up to two years imprisonment on each of three misdemeanors and up to one year in jail on one other misdemeanor.
The charges against Johnsen are as follows:
dailypress.com – A former Escanaba teacher and coach has been arrested on charges related to indecent exposure, accosting children for immoral purposes, using computers to commit a crime and distributing sexually explicit material to minors.
Ward Thomas Johnsen, 46, of 901 1st Ave. S., Escanaba, was officially charged on four counts Wednesday after he waived his arraignment in Delta County District Court. According to court paperwork, though he did not appear in court, he chose to stand mute to the charges.
Johnsen is a former technology teacher at the Escanaba Area Middle School. Following the initial investigation of allegations, he resigned from his teaching position and as head hockey coach on March 11.
Johnson was arrested Friday afternoon when he turned himself in at the Delta County Sheriff’s Department. A warrant had been issued for his arrest earlier that day on four counts relating to incidents from February 2008 to March 2009.
Johnsen was released from police custody after posting $250, 10 percent of a $2,500 bond, with the court-ordered condition he have no contact with minor children. He remains free on bond.
His attorney, Sarah Henderson of Marquette, also waived the preliminary examination in district court on behalf of her client Wednesday. The hearing would have involved witness testimony to determine if there was probable cause a crime was committed.
By waiving the preliminary examination, the case was automatically bound over to circuit court, where Johnsen will face a trial unless he pleas.
A court date has yet to be scheduled. He faces up to two years imprisonment on each of three misdemeanors and up to one year in jail on one other misdemeanor.
The charges against Johnsen are as follows:
Count 1 – Aggravated indecent exposure, did knowingly make an open or indecent exposure of his person. This is a maximum two-year misdemeanor with a $2,000 fine.
Count 2 – Attempted accosting of children for immoral purposes, did attempt to accost John Doe 1, a child less than 16 years old, with the intent to induce or force that child to commit an immoral act. This is a maximum two-year misdemeanor with a $2,000 fine.
Count 3 – Attempted using computers to commit a crime, did attempt to use a computer to attempt to accost children for immoral purposes. This is a maximum two-year misdemeanor with a $2,500 fine.
Count 4 – Attempted distributing sexually-explicit matter to children, did knowingly attempt to show John Doe 2, a minor, sexually-explicit material harmful to minors. This is a maximum one-year misdemeanor with a $500 fine.
The county prosecutor’s office initially posted a suppression order on the case Monday, banning any information from being released to the public.
When Prosecutor Steve Parks, who was out of town, returned, he reconsidered the gag order and made a request to the court to lift the suppression order.
“We are doing this because we have not identified the victims and information about them is not likely to be disclosed,” Parks stated in his request which was granted by the court.
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Workplace suicides up 28% www.privateofficer.com
August 21, 2009
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WASHINGTON (AP) – Workplace suicides surged 28 percent last year, the Labor Department said Thursday, as anxious workers dealt with a struggling economy and watched colleagues depart in a rash of layoffs.
At the same time, the agency’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said the total number of workers who died on the job from any cause fell by 10 percent.
The 5,071 workplace fatalities recorded in 2008 was the lowest number since the agency began tracking the data in 1992. That number includes 251 suicides, the highest number since official reporting began.
Labor officials did not seek to explain the sudden rise in workplace suicides. A BLS spokesman said the agency plans to research it more extensively.
The agency says economic factors could be responsible for the overall decline in fatalities. Workers on average worked 1 percent fewer hours last year and the construction industry – which usually accounts for a major share of accidental workplace deaths – posted even larger declines in employment or hours worked.
Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., said the numbers suggest the struggling economy taking a toll on worker morale.
“Those who are at places where there have been substantial layoffs are trying to cope with survivor’s guilt,” Chaison said. “I also think there’s tremendous anxiety in the American workplace. It’s not just being anxious, its being depressed.”
But Chaison cautioned that both numbers may be at temporary extremes that will drift back toward historic levels once employment rises and economic conditions improve.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis called the decline in workplace fatalities a “change in the right direction,” but said it does not lessen the need for stronger safety enforcement to prevent accidental injuries.
“Today’s report prompts us to step up our vigilance, particularly as the economy regains momentum,” Solis said.
The report is based on preliminary numbers that could change once the final report is released next year.
In other findings:
- Fatal work injuries in the construction sector dropped 20 percent.
- Workplace homicides were down by 18 percent.
- Fatal workplace falls declined by 20 percent last year, after rising to a historic high in 2007.
- The number of fatal work injuries declined for all age categories except among 16 and 17-year-old workers.
At the same time, the agency’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said the total number of workers who died on the job from any cause fell by 10 percent.
The 5,071 workplace fatalities recorded in 2008 was the lowest number since the agency began tracking the data in 1992. That number includes 251 suicides, the highest number since official reporting began.
Labor officials did not seek to explain the sudden rise in workplace suicides. A BLS spokesman said the agency plans to research it more extensively.
The agency says economic factors could be responsible for the overall decline in fatalities. Workers on average worked 1 percent fewer hours last year and the construction industry – which usually accounts for a major share of accidental workplace deaths – posted even larger declines in employment or hours worked.
Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., said the numbers suggest the struggling economy taking a toll on worker morale.
“Those who are at places where there have been substantial layoffs are trying to cope with survivor’s guilt,” Chaison said. “I also think there’s tremendous anxiety in the American workplace. It’s not just being anxious, its being depressed.”
But Chaison cautioned that both numbers may be at temporary extremes that will drift back toward historic levels once employment rises and economic conditions improve.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis called the decline in workplace fatalities a “change in the right direction,” but said it does not lessen the need for stronger safety enforcement to prevent accidental injuries.
“Today’s report prompts us to step up our vigilance, particularly as the economy regains momentum,” Solis said.
The report is based on preliminary numbers that could change once the final report is released next year.
In other findings:
- Fatal work injuries in the construction sector dropped 20 percent.
- Workplace homicides were down by 18 percent.
- Fatal workplace falls declined by 20 percent last year, after rising to a historic high in 2007.
- The number of fatal work injuries declined for all age categories except among 16 and 17-year-old workers.
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