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Security officer dies of heart attack www.privateofficer.com
theemorywheel.com
Orell “Buddy” Galloway Jr., a senior security officer at the Woodruff Library, a humor-loving family man, died Sept. 18 at his home in Stone Mountain. He was 73.
Buddy died from a heart attack, said his daughter Melissa.
The well-known security officer has worked at Emory for 15 years and had been planning to retire in January.
Before his job at Emory, Buddy worked as an accountant and an office supply specialist.
Melissa said her father loved fishing and sports and was a dedicated fan Georgia sports teams. He was also a little league team coach for his son with his first wife.
Buddy loved his family and had a strong work ethic, according to Security Specialist Sandra Jefferson, who worked with him in the library. She said that Buddy talked about his family often, always updating coworkers on his grandchildren’s latest achievements.
“He had a passion for his family, especially his grandkids,” Melissa said. “He would give his children anything.”
James Yen (’09C), who worked the graveyard shift for three and a half years with Buddy, said that Buddy acted as a father figure to him, whether it was buying him a can of soda when Yen was tired or talking him through a bad break-up.
“He’d cheer me up, give me a lot of ‘back-in-the-day’ advice. [Buddy would say] ‘Just have faith,’” Yen said. “I remember that very distinctly. ‘You’ve got to have faith,’ he said to me, ‘and things will turn out alright.’”
Senior Security Officer C.J. Jones, who spoke at the funeral, said that Buddy genuinely cared about the people around him.
“When I first got here, he was my first partner. I remember him always offering me a few dollars to get lunch,” Jones said. “He would always help a person out if they needed help.”
Melissa said that Buddy was the type of father she could go to for anything. She said that there was nothing she couldn’t talk to him about and that she could call him even when he was at the library at 3 a.m. if she had a problem.
Although Melissa said her father was always there if she needed to talk, he didn’t always tell her what she wanted to hear.
“He would always give it to me straight,” she said. “If I was being a little brat, he would tell me. Me and my sister, he kept us in line.”
Buddy was like that with everybody, Melissa said, and sometimes it could create tough situations. But her father would never sacrifice his morals or principles just to be on somebody’s good side, she said.
It was this honesty and integrity, that Melissa said she valued most about him.
“He was the most honest person I’ve met in my entire life,” Melissa said. “To this day, even though he’s gone, I still want to make him proud of me.”
Melissa said her parents made sacrifices to give her and her sister everything they needed. This selflessness has made her want to be a “new mom,” she said. She said that she wants to be the same kind of parent to her son as her father was to her: both a dad and a best friend.
Buddy’s coworkers remembered him for his sense of humor, Jones said. He said that Buddy was always quick with the one-liners and was always joking around.
Yen said that he used to tease Buddy for his “old-school ways.” He said that Buddy used to shake Yen’s hand, but that in time, Yen had seasoned the security officer to perform a “chest bump” as a greeting instead. The age difference, Yen said, was reason for the two to joke around with each other.
“I’d be like, ‘Hey Buddy, I went to this party last weekend, did you catch that party in the 1800s?’” Yen recalled. “He’d say, ‘Oh, yeah, we went to the circus and I was fascinated by the bearded lady.’”
Buddy was born in Conyers, where he grew up in a country-like environment, Melissa said. She said that as a child, her father lived on a farm.
“He loved cornbread and milk. He liked anything sweet — he liked his cake, any kind of cake,” Melissa said. “But cornbread, that was his staple food.”
When he was young, Melissa said, Buddy shot at squirrels and birds with a BB gun like the other boys his age. He used to say that if there was one thing he could take back, it would be the animals’ lives, she said. She said that he loved animals.
“All the animals loved him back — cats, dogs, raccoons, didn’t matter what the were. He even had a stuffed beaver in his car,” she said fondly. “He passed away in his favorite place, his rocking chair overlooking the bird feeder.”
According to Melissa, her father was known as “Buddy” for as long as she, or anyone, can remember.
“I know he didn’t really like his first name, Orell,” she said, “so he’s always just been Buddy. Somebody at some point must have decided it.”
Jones said that Buddy wore the name perfectly.
“It fit him well,” Jones said. “That’s just how he acted — like everybody’s buddy.”
Buddy is survived by his wife Lynn, daughters Melissa and Christi and four grandchildren.
Yen said that having Buddy as a friend was “really special.”
“Once he gets to know you,” Yen said, “he’ll just cheer you on for life.”
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HWA security officers unpaid, checks bounce www.privateofficer.com
The state has frozen payments on its contract with HWA, Inc., a Seattle-based private security company that already has lost its federal contracts after employees complained their paychecks bounced.
HWA has had a contract to provide security for 25 state-run liquor stores.
HWA reportedly owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in pay to nearly 200 guards who worked at Army Corps of Engineers dams on the Columbia River system and in federal buildings, including federal courts, in Eastern Washington.
Federal officials fired HWA in early September.
Security guards in the Richland Federal Building and at other federal offices have complained they have gone unpaid for several weeks and have had their paychecks bounce, causing them severe financial problems.
HWA still has a one-year contract for $408,999 with the state Liquor Control Board, said Brian Smith, spokesman for the agency, but there is a “hold” on money owed under that contract.
Smith said the order to stop “continuing payments” came from the state Department of Revenue.
HWA’s owners, J. Thomas Wood and his wife Barbara Wood of Lake Forest Park, have not answered repeated calls from the Herald to their business, their $1.6 million home and their personal cell phones.
A Department of Revenue spokesman confirmed Monday that a stop order on contract payments to HWA has been issued but could not immediately say why.
“It probably is unpaid business and occupation taxes,” said Mike Gowrylow. Washington collects the tax as 0.5 percent on gross receipts, he explained.
The Herald learned that HWA renewed its expiring security guard license by Monday, the first business day after it was due to expire last Friday. It originally was issued Sept. 25, 2000.
Jerry Adams, who has worked for HWA for 11 months as a liquor store security guard, said he was watching Friday to see if the license would expire because that could affect his job.
“Somehow, I don’t know how, they got it renewed over the weekend,” he said.
The Herald also discovered state records show the adult son of HWA’s owners obtained a security guard license for a new company called TRO Security days after HWA lost its federal contracts. The new company’s principal security guard is Otis Williams, who held the same position with HWA. The two companies also have the same address on Fairview Avenue in Seattle.
Adams said the fact that the son is a junior with the father’s name, that the two companies are suite neighbors in the building owned by the father and that Williams holds the principal guard job for both companies shows they are the same.
“The veil they’ve created is so flimsy,” said Adams, a longtime private investigator in Seattle who closed his business to take the security job as a way to ease into retirement.
HWA’s website claims it has provided security for more than two dozen federal facilities in Manhattan, N.Y.
A call to HWA’s phone number at its New York office on the Federal Plaza revealed that number no longer is in service.
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Mother arrested after security finds bruised,beat 14yr old www.privateofficer.com
Two security guards who work at the armory and saw the teen there Friday said they lost sleep over the weekend thinking about the boy and the torture he described.
“He said he wanted help, and as soon as he showed us the bruises, we took him inside” and called police, said one of the guards, Paul Clark. “His wrists looked like he either had been handcuffed or had ropes or chains around them. It really kind of took me aback.”
Meanwhile, the manager of an apartment where the boy’s family lived until last month said it appeared a closet in a bedroom of the home had been used as a bathroom.
Investigators continued to conduct interviews and examine evidence as they prepared a criminal case against the teen’s mother, LaRhonda Marie McCall, 37, Oklahoma City police Sgt. Gary Knight said.
McCall and a friend, Steve Vern Hamilton, 38, were arrested Saturday on 20 complaints each of child abuse and child neglect. Both remained jailed Tuesday on $400,000 bond. Neither has been formally charged, and jail officials were not sure if either has an attorney. No one answered the phone at McCall’s home Tuesday.
Police believe the boy’s mother frequently tied him up to prevent him from escaping and had a lock installed on a bedroom closet where he often was kept for days at a time. Based on physical evidence and interviews, investigators have no reason to doubt the teen, who claimed he spent most of the last 4 1/2 years locked inside bedroom closets at various apartments where the family lived, Knight said.
McCall had seven other children, six of whom were minors and were taken into custody of the Department of Human Services, but none showed signs of abuse, Knight said.
Karen Gilleland, manager of the Hillcrest Apartments in south Oklahoma City, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that after McCall was evicted for unpaid bills in August, a hole filled with human waste was found in the wall of a closet in their apartment unit.
Gilleland said she never realized McCall had more than seven children and that whenever Gilleland had been in the apartment during the several months the family lived there, the door to the bedroom where the soiled closet was found always was closed.
“I just wish I would have known about it,” she said. “I would have done something.”
Knight said Tuesday that he wasn’t aware of the apartment manager’s statements about the closet being used as a bathroom, but he had seen photographs of the boy’s body “and he was subjected to a number of types of abuse.”
“He was frequently locked in the closet for hours if not days at a time,” Knight said. “He wasn’t allowed to leave, never attended school, never received medical attention.”
Police started an investigation Friday after the malnourished boy showed up at the base, about a mile and a half from the town house where he lived, and asked where a police station was located so he could report being abused.
He told police the closet door was mostly blocked with a stepladder or a bed and that he managed to push the door open enough to escape.
Leslie Sanders, another security guard at the armory, said the boy seemed believable and was concerned about the fate of his siblings.
“He was very straightforward with his answers,” she said. “He still had a good enough heart to ask about his brothers and sisters.”
Dr. Daniel Rybicki, a Gig Harbor, Wash., clinical psychologist who specializes in domestic violence and child abuse and consults in criminal and civil cases, said it’s not uncommon for an abusive parent to single out one child.
“There may be temperament variables, where one child is difficult to deal with, but it may be that there are a number of factors with what that child means to the parent,” Rybicki said.
“It may be completely irrational and based on that parent’s own pathology.”
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Robbers dressed as security guards kill pawn shop patron www.privateofficer.com
Cowens was the only customer in the Richfield pawn shop around 6:15 p.m. when two men — one dressed as a security guard — entered and demanded money as they held guns on Cowens and the clerk behind the counter. Security cameras captured the movements of all four.
Suddenly, one of the robbers fired a single shot. Where he was aiming is unknown, but the bullet grazed the clerk and struck Cowens in the back. The robbers fled the bloody scene with a small amount of money.
Andy “Avi” Strauss, the owner of the shop, said the unidentified employee was expected to recover from his wound. But Cowens, a fun-loving boxing fan known to his family as the “happy warrior” because of his cheerful disposition, died at Hennepin County Medical Center.
“He was happiness when we were all together,” said his twin sister, Christina Cowens-Gholson. “Sunday dinners. Family gatherings. He was one of the first ones to say ‘I love you.’ Malcolm was always trying to make everybody smile. … No matter what, he was always full of life and love.”
Strauss offered a $1,000 reward Tuesday for the capture of the two men as police urged the public to study the unusually clear security photos and call with leads.
“An individual was murdered here in my store last night over a little money, and we’re focused on capturing the murderers,” Strauss said outside the store at 6414 Nicollet Av. S. Strauss said Cowens, who was not a regular, was simply “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Strauss said he and his wife have owned the store for the past three years. “I’m angry,” he said. “It’s like my home. Someone came into my house and killed someone. And it’s unacceptable.”
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Cops use hearse to scare kids away from drugs www.privateofficer.com
One Valley sheriff’s office, though, is using a hearse to deter troubled youth from a life of drug addiction.
The hearse is meant to grab your attention. The traditional funeral vehicle is wrapped with words to trigger a reality check. It says things like “Meth your highway to death” and “Don’t let meth make this your last ride.”
Inside the hearse is a coffin. Marshall County Sheriff Scott Walls hopes people will visualize that it could be them in that coffin sooner than they would like if they use meth.
Scott said, “We want kids to realize where meth will lead you. It’s one of those things, a visual aid, it’s attractive to kids, they see it and it’s interest to them.”
The sheriff’s office got the idea from a neighboring department, but never had the funds to put it in place.
That was until a few weeks ago, when someone, wishing to remain anonymous, donated a hearse to the sheriff’s office.
Now the hearse will be brought to schools and events to bring awareness of the dangers of meth.
“I’m a recovering meth addict I’ve used meth for 14 years. I’ve been clean 8 years,” said Kim Kirkland.
She works in the House for Hope, which is a half-way house for meth addicts. She said this hearse will bring the right message to troubled youth.
“The message needs to be really strong because a lot of kids in our community are growing up with parents using meth,” said Kirkland.
“The bottom line is: If you chose to use meth, this is your reality. This is where you can end up,” said Sheriff Scott Walls.
The Marshall County Sheriff’s office knows the best way to prevention is education. They hope this hearse will be a reality check for the younger generation.
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Alabama deputy’s hand chopped off during arrest www.privateofficer.com
Deputies shot and killed the unidentified man after the Friday night attack.
Clay County Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Cotney says deputies were trying to serve an arrest warrant on a man on Sawmill Road — off Alabama 79 near the intersection with Alabama 149 — when the incident took place between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Police say during the attempt to arrest the man, the man picked up a bush axe used for chopping down brush and started swinging it, severing the deputy’s hand.
It was reattached at UAB Hospital. Police would not identify the deputy, who has been with the county department about three years.
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Man charged with murder after throwing street sign www.privateofficer.com
Jonathan Hadley, 19, is charged with murder in connection with the death of a driver struck by a thrown street sign on Baldwin County 55 on Saturday.Jonathan Hadley, 19, was charged with murder in connection with the death of a driver killed when a street sign was thrown through his windshield as he was driving on Baldwin County 55, police said today.
Investigators believe that after an argument in a home in the Sweet Gum subdivision, Hadley removed a sign and threw it at a passing car at about 2 a.m Saturday, Cpl. Steve Smith, Alabama State Troopers spokesman, said. The driver, who has not been positively identified, was hit in the face and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Smith said troopers and ABI investigators do not believe that the two men knew each other. “This guy was just riding down the road minding his own business and somebody threw a sign at his car and he died,” Smith said of the victim.
Hadley of Foley was arrested Saturday night and was being held today in the Baldwin County Corrections Center with his bail set at $100,000, according to jail records.
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State questions stores actions in shoplifting incident www.privateofficer.com
The girl, Amanda Blaylock, admitted to stealing a $4 ring from Claire’s at Oak View Mall.
Blaylock said she stole the ring on a dare. She got caught. Mall security, police and her dad showed up. Blaylock returned the ring that day and the case was never prosecuted.
But the trouble wasn’t over. A month later, Blaylock began getting letters from a law firm in Florida that represents Claire’s. The letters claimed Blaylock owed $200 in damages.
“Your immediate action is required and we will accept check, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, money gram and debit card,” the letter read.
It also read that Blaylock could face a civil suit if she doesn’t pay. And it’s all legitimate.
Under a 1987 statute, written by Sen. Brad Ashford, the store is able to seek damages in a civil court independent of any criminal charges.
Ashford said the statute was pushed by retailers who wanted to recoup rising costs associated with shoplifting.
The law firm that’s sending the letters, Palmer Reifler and Associates, explained in the letter that even if the stolen property was returned, the store still suffered a legal injury that demands compensation, like lost employee time, security costs and the time the stolen product was not available for customers.
But Palmer Refiler and Associates is itself being challenged on how it collects from families like the Blaylocks.
An ongoing class-action lawsuit is trying to stop the firm sending out what the complaints calls a “deceptive, unfair and oppressive form of civil recovery demand letter.”
The class-action suit seeks to recoup tens of millions of dollars plaintiffs said the law firm has extorted for itself and its retail clients.
The complaint also alleges the firm’s Orlando, Fla., office generates and sends 80,000 to 120,000 demand letters each month.
The firm has denied the allegations.
Omaha City prosecutor Marty Conboy said anyone who gets a demand letter can’t be compelled to pay. The case needs to go to court and a judgment must be issued, Conboy said.
Ashford said the 1987 law was never intended to encourage the “unscrupulous” practices. Ashford said a change needs to be made.
“I think it’s something we need to look at,” Ashford said. “This is not what we contemplated.”
Amanda Blaylock’s mother, Shelley Blaylock, said the firm is calling the family on a daily basis.
But Shelley Blaylock is standing her ground.
“I’m not paying them. If they want to take me to court, fine, take me to court, but it’s going to cost them more,” Shelley Blaylock said.
Palmer Refiler and Associates has modified its demand, now saying it will accept a one-time payment from the Blaylocks of $100.
Shelley Blaylock said she still won’t pay.
Claire’s said it can’t comment on the case because it’s a legal matter.
The class-action suit is scheduled to be in court in December.
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GA. Mayor Walker commits suicide www.privateofficer.com
Bibb County coroner Leon Jones said Walker, 60, was pronounced dead at 1:49 p.m. at the Medical Center of Central Georgia.
Warner Robins police say they got a call around 11:09 a.m. from Walker’s home. He was taken to the Houston Medical Center, where doctors assessed his condition and agreed to send him to the Macon hospital’s trauma center due to the severity of his wounds.
Monday afternoon, crime-scene tape surrounded Walker’s home, located not far from city hall.
Walker was called “Warner Robins’ greatest cheerleader” Monday by the man who’ll replace him in the mayor’s office.
Mayor Pro-tem John Havrilla and several other city officials gathered at the hospital to discuss Walker’s death.
The group paid tribute to Walker and offered condolences to his family. Havrilla said the city came third in Walker’s life, after his family and his faith.
Havrilla is now the acting mayor, and he says a city council meeting has been called for Monday.
Walker was first elected in 1994 amid controversy. Incumbent mayor Ed Martin and a police chief admitted pressuring a drug informant to say, falsely, that Walker was involved in drug deals.
This year, Walker was seeking a fourth full term, but faced a challenge from three candidates in a November election.
Last year, Walker missed several months of work at the mayor’s office due to a foot injury. That came after the city council asked him to take a leave due to ongoing medical problems.
This year, Walker said his health was better and he was ready to serve another term.
His father, Homer Walker, was mayor from 1968 to 1972. The city’s civic center, where many city employees learned of the mayor’s death, is named for him. Donald Walker’s brother, Jay, is a longtime Houston County commissioner.
Coroner Jones said funeral arrangements have not been finalized.
U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., released this statement: “We’re shocked by the news of Mayor Walker’s death. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. His exceptional legacy as mayor will be difficult to match. His is truly a life worth celebrating.”
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Jersey officer arrested in off-duty security scheme www.privateofficer.com
James Wade, 33, is charged with theft by deception.
Bayonne Police Chief Robert Kubert told The Jersey Journal he was shocked by the allegation and said Wade is one of his best men.
“I’d be surprised if it turns out to be a fact because he’s one of my best officers, but we will see what happened down the road,” Kubert said. “I’d be quite surprised if anything came out of it.”
Wade, a Bayonne resident, and Steven Hogan, 53, of Maywood, who is also charged with the same crime, surrendered to the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office this morning and then made their first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Jersey City this afternoon. They were both in handcuffs.
The two were working as security guards at the Global Terminal containerport on the Bayonne/Jersey City border but were employed by the Waterfront Commission through a private security firm, officials said.
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3 Dead in medical helicopter crash in SC
GEORGETOWN, S.C. Sept 26 2009
– A medical helicopter that crashed in coastal South Carolina, killing all three crew members on board, had run into bad weather and was trying to land at a nearby airport, federal safety investigators said Saturday.
The helicopter had just dropped off a patient at a hospital in Charleston and was flying to Conway, about 90 miles to the northeast, when it crashed about 11:30 p.m. Friday in Georgetown County, said Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board.
A thunderstorm had rolled through the Georgetown area shortly before the crash, according to the National Weather Service.
Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB member, said the crew had reported to its company, Texas-based OmniFlight, that they were trying to land.
The helicopter landed nose-first, was upside-down, and it was “completely unrecognizable, completely consumed in the post-crash fire,” Sumwalt said.
The cause of the crash was under investigation, but Sumwalt said it did not appear that the helicopter caught fire or had any structural failure while in flight.
The same helicopter, an American Eurocopter AS350B2, was damaged last year after scheduled maintenance on the aircraft was delayed, according to NTSB records.
Sumwalt declined to comment on last year’s incident, but said the maintenance history would be part of the investigation.
Omniflight identified the crew members killed: pilot Patrick Walters, 45, of Murrells Inlet; flight nurse Diana Conner, 42, of Florence; and paramedic Randolph Claxton Dove, 39, of Bladenboro, N.C.
On its Web site, Omniflight says the company operates 100 aircraft from 72 bases in 18 states with 1,000 employees.
“Omniflight is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of its crew members and wishes to express its deepest regrets and sincerest condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives,” the company said in a statement.
Omniflight spokesman Joel Hochhalter said the company was suspending service in Conway because the helicopter was the company’s only one in that area.
According to the NTSB, a pilot preparing for takeoff from Caffery Heliport in Hiram, Ga., said the same helicopter began to shake violently as he advanced the throttle. Immediately shutting down the helicopter, he told investigators he saw extensive damage to the main rotor.
An audit of maintenance records showed that the rotor should have been replaced almost 600 flight hours earlier, the report showed. Omniflight immediately audited its other helicopters, and no other rotors were shown as overdue for replacement.
NTSB records also show that another similar helicopter, also operated by Omniflight, was involved in another incident in South Carolina. On July 2, another Eurocopter was damaged when it struck steel poles adjacent to the helipad at Loris Community Hospital Heliport.
No one was injured. The pilot continued the landing and performed an emergency engine shutdown, records show.
Earlier this month, NTSB officials urged the government to impose stricter controls on emergency helicopter operators citing last year’s record number of fatalities. There were nine accidents between December 2007 and October 2008, killing 35 people.
There have been three accidents since then, but no fatalities reported until the South Carolina crash.
OFFICER DOWN-ALABAMA
OPELIKA, Ala.Sept 26 2009
— Lee County Sheriff’s Deputy James Anderson died Thursday while in the line of duty. Anderson, 39, was struck by a vehicle just before 1 p.m. CDT as he approached a car during a traffic stop at Lee Road 240 and Lee Road 234 in Smiths Station, said Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones.
The suspect driving the car, Gregory Lance Henderson, 31, of Columbus faces a charge of capital murder, the sheriff said.
Anderson, a three-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, was the passenger in the patrol vehicle when the traffic stop happened, Jones said. The suspect’s vehicle pulled into a driveway, and the sheriff’s car pulled in behind it. The suspect turned his car to the right, as if to pull back onto the road. The sheriff’s car pulled to the right as well to block his exit, Jones said. That’s when Anderson got out of his vehicle and approached the suspect’s car while the other deputy remained behind the wheel.
“When (Anderson) attempted to make contact with the driver of the stopped vehicle, the driver accelerated forward, striking the deputy and pinning him under his car,” Jones said. “At that point, the other deputy took the offender into custody. Within minutes, other law enforcement officers and emergency equipment arrived.” Anderson was taken to The Medical Center in Columbus, where he was pronounced dead, Jones said.
Bellevue man charged with kidnapping child at mall www.privateofficer.com
A 12-year-old boy told mall security Saturday afternoon that a man forced him into a handicapped stall in the men’s room, threatened him with a knife and exposed himself, police said.
They were interrupted when someone else entered the bathroom and went into the next stall. The boy said loudly: “I didn’t do anything to you,” and the man fled, police said.
The boy reported the incident to mall security. A police officer took a detailed description of the suspect from the boy and alerted patrol officers in the area.
An officer spotted a man matching the description on the 1300 block of 156th Avenue Northeast and arrested him, police said.
Prosecutors charged David Harry Alaumbaugh, 19, on Wednesday with first-degree kidnapping with sexual motivation with a deadly weapon.
Police advised parents to think carefully about letting children go to a public restroom unaccompanied and to immediately report questionable activity.
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Charlotte school security officer injured by student www.privateofficer.com
John Robbins, a longtime employee of the CMS security force, was attacked Tuesday morning while breaking up a fight, said Bud Cesena, head of CMS law enforcement.
Cesena said Robbins was hit in the temple by a male student; officers are investigating whether a ring or something in the student’s hand added to the severity of the injury. A “shank” made from a sharpened screwdriver was found in the student’s book bag after he was arrested, Cesena said.
Angel Brown Vazquez, 17, has been charged with four misdemeanor counts: assault inflicting serious injury, assault on a school employee, resisting an officer and carrying a concealed weapon.
Cesena said officers are talking to the district attorney’s office about whether additional charges are warranted.
“We think we need to send a real strong message about this, that you just cannot assault people in schools,” Cesena said.
Superintendent Peter Gorman said he couldn’t comment on discipline against any specific student, but said that attacks on school staff generally result in expulsion.
Sheriff’s office records show one previous arrest for Vazquez: In January he was charged with breaking into a “coin/currency machine,” a misdemeanor.
Cesena said the incident began as an argument among four girls. Robbins and others intervened and had one girl in restraints when Vazquez, who was not part of the initial dispute, hit Robbins, Cesena said.
Robbins was part of CMS’s “rapid response team,” which goes to various schools as needed. Cesena said Robbins’ wife told him Thursday morning that plastic surgery went well and Robbins should be released from the hospital in a couple of days. The couple does not want to be interviewed, Cesena said.
Campus security guards, who are not sworn police officers, are often called on to deal with fights. But Cesena, a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer who took the CMS job in 2006, said it’s rare for one to be seriously injured: “This is the worst since I’ve been here.”
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Store security officers ran down by shoplifters www.privateofficer.com
But the other suspects drove a black sport utility vehicle at the guards, injuring both and crashing into the Macy’s building before all four fled in a wild scene Wednesday just before 3:30 p.m.
Nassau County police are searching for three men and one woman, all believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, police said. Police said the woman was “visibly pregnant.”
Police said the four were seen on store security cameras working together to steal clothing from Macy’s. As the four met up in the parking lot, the guards confronted a man who had store merchandise, and placed a handcuff on him.
That was when someone drove the SUV at the guards, hitting one and smashing into the side of the Macy’s building. The other guard was injured when he jumped out of the way. The handcuffed man then jumped into the vehicle, which already had the other three suspects, and all fled.
The guards were taken to a hospital and treated for what police called “minor injuries.” The crash caused an estimated $3,000 worth of damage to the Macy’s, police said.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential, police said.
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Another armed robbery of Brink’s guards www.privateofficer.com
It’s a bad time to be a Brinks security guard.
For the second time this week, Brinks security guards carrying loads of cash were the targets of brazen bandits in broad daylight.
This time, two guards in Miami Beach were collecting cash from a gas station when they were attacked by two black males brandishing a pistols. Surveillance shows the masked men surprising the guards from behind before making off with their stash.
This week has shown that people are getting more desperate and people wearing a Brinks uniform might as well be wearing a dollar sign with a bulls-eye in the middle.
With economic times as hard as they are, shouldn’t security guards who have thousands of dollars on them at a time be a little more vigilant? Or how about letting them ride around in tanks so that they are better armed?
On Tuesday, a Broward Brinks employee was shot in the leg while being jacked at a Dania Beach industrial park. At least three men are thought to be involved with that heist and police aren’t sure if the crimes are related. The FBI has joined in the investigation.
And in July, a Brinks guard got the drop on a would-be robber at a health clinic in South Miami-Dade, killing the man.
Brink’s is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the men behind the latest robbery attempts. Hopefully, they won’t send it in an armored truck.
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Harrah’s guards charged with vending machine burglaries www.privateofficer.com
On Tuesday September 22, 2009 at 11:30 a.m. Atlantic City Police received a call from Harrah’s security. Security reported that 14 vending machines were broken into and vandalized. The thefts occurred on multiple guest room floors in the Marina Tower. The vending machines are owned by Globe Vending. A representative from Globe Vending indicated that the machines were damaged by forced entry.
The estimated damage to all 14 vending machines is estimated at over $5,000.00. The estimated money removed exceeds $2,000.00.
Surveillance cameras revealed the suspects were Harrah’s security officers, later identified as Joe Callender, 22, of Mays Landing and Johnny Wright, 24, of Atlantic City. Callender and Wright were working the overnight shift and were in their security uniforms during the thefts. After the forced entry was made into each machine the cash box was stolen.
The investigation is continuing. Detective Kevin Burrows is the lead investigator and may be contacted at 609-347-5766.
Cooperation between Harrah’s Security Supervisors, Globe Vending and the Atlantic City Police Department led to the arrests.
Both males were remanded to the Atlantic County Justice Facility in Mays Landing, New Jersey
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Renaissance Academy fight leads to arrests, injuries www.privateofficer.com
Two students were injured and 17 will be charged after a large fight today at Renaissance Academy, said Lt. Max Hayden of the Virginia Beach Police Department.
The two students who were hurt were treated for facial injuries and were treated at the school by paramedics, Hayden said.
Twelve of the students, all juveniles, will be charged with either assault or disorderly conduct, Hayden said. Their names will not be released because they are juveniles. Five of the students involved are adults who will be charged with disorderly conduct.
No officers or staff members of the school were injured, Hayden said. One school division employee suffered minor injuries and one student will be charged in connection with that injury, Hayden added.
The incident began about 12:35 p.m. with a fight between several students, then escalated when security guards and the school’s resource officer tried to break it up, Hayden said. When the police officer used his radio to call for backup, other officers and supervisors who heard the broadcast went to the scene to help.
The school was locked down from 12:45 to 2 p.m., said Nancy Soscia, school division spokeswoman. Classroom doors were locked as well as doors leading to the outside of the building.
About 12 officers and supervisors went to the school to help break up the fight, Hayden said. Pepper spray was used to help regain control of the situation, Hayden added.
The school is located at 273 N. Witchduck Road. Soscia said that the school will have an increased police presence on Monday in response to the incident.
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Police charge man with death of nightclub security officer www.privateofficer.com
Michael Weisz was arrested on suspicion of murder in the death of Leroy Fisher, 64.
At about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, officers were called to parking lot behind Badlands Nightclub near 20th and K streets. Fisher had substantial injuries, and he was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where he later died.
According to the Sacramento Police Department, witnesses helped detectives quickly identify two people in the car that had hit Fisher.
They both arranged to meet Sacramento police in San Francisco shortly before noon Wednesday, and Weisz, identified as the car’s driver, was brought back to Sacramento.
Investigators said Fisher and another security guard had removed Weisz and his friend from Badlands earlier in the night. The club owner says Weisz was throwing ice at a bartender, and Fisher threw him out.
Fisher later found Weisz and his friend in a rear parking lot, police said, at which point Weisz got in his car.
Detectives said they think Weisz hit Fisher on purpose, according to a statement from Sacramento Sgt. Norm Leong.
People Mourn At ‘Pops’ Vigil
Dozens of mourners came to 20th and K streets in Sacramento to pay their respects to a man they considered a dear friend.
At a candle light vigil people remembered Fisher and described him as a good, sweet, fun loving man.
Many called Fisher by his nickname “Pops” because of all the lollypops he would hand out to people.
Nightclub security officer hit by vehicle, killed www.privateofficer.com
The removal of unruly patrons from a midtown nightclub preceded the death of a security guard who was hit by a vehicle outside the club early this morning, police said today.
The security guard, Leroy Fisher, 64, of Sacramento, died at UC Davis Medical Center after being hit in the Badlands nightclub parking lot at 20th and K streets.
“There was an altercation inside Badlands, and security did remove some people,” said Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. “Sometime during the evening, security re-contacted the people that were kicked out in the back parking lot.”
That’s when Fisher was run over, Leong said. So far, authorities are not releasing descriptions of a vehicle or driver.
“We do have some possible leads that we are looking into,” Leong said.
Leong said the guard worked for a company contracted to provide nightclub security.
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NY “Teacher of the Year” arrested for sex abuse of students www.privateofficer.com
A Bronx high-school dean was arrested Tuesday for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old male student, officials said.
Johnathan Huff, who was named “Teacher of the Year” in 2007, according to the NY Post, was charged with forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and sex abuse while classes were being held Saturday at the Urban Assembly Academy for History and Citizenship for Young Men, authorities said.
The dean allegedly fondled the boys privates over his clothes, according to officials, who said they were first alerted to the molestation via a 911 call on Monday.
The school is part of the the Taft High School campus in Mount Eden.
Huff will not be allowed back at the school while investigations continue, but former students said the charges seemed out of character.
“I can’t tell you what a person is capable of doing but I wouldn’t picture him being capable of doing that,” Iris Mendy, a one-time pupil, told NY1.
“Every morning he’d open the doors, humble, saying hi to everybody, he wasn’t that type of guy that would be touching a 14-year-old,” said former student Ivan Echavarria, according to NY1
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ON DUTY: Hospital Police www.privateofficer.com
lancastereaglegazette.com– Ask a Fairfield Medical Center police officer how his squad car is different from that of a security guard, and you’ll want to take a seat.
The nine-man police force at FMC gets its share of exciting moments, whether they happen in the hospital, in the city of Lancaster or other jurisdictions such as Amanda, Bremen and Millersport, where other FMC offices are located.
They also are prepared to respond to whatever is thrown at them.
All officers at FMC have completed Ohio peace officer training and carry firearms, Tasers and pepper spray like all other law enforcement agencies. They can make arrests, unlike at most hospitals that employ security guards who can only detain suspects.
“If something were to happen here right now, today, we can make an arrest, we can process them through the system, and we can take them to jail,” FMC Police Chief Steve Anderson said.
One of the most recent arrests came in June, when an FMC employee walked into the hospital with a gun and the intention of confronting an employee.
Officer Terry Swinehart, who made the arrest, said 35-year-old Chester Henson first searched for the female employee at her home, then arrived to the hospital to look for her June 12. Swinehart knew he could expect a visit from Henson, having just talked to the female employee’s husband, who called FMC about Henson’s arrival to the couple’s home.
Swinehart warned the employee’s department of the possible situation and soon got word Henson was in the second-floor laundry room. Swinehart climbed the back stairwell and approached Henson from behind. He lightly grabbed him by the arm and tried to coax Henson to walk down the steps and talk about why he came.
“We got about halfway down the hall, and that’s when he reached into his belt and pulled out a gun,” Swinehart said.
Until that moment, no one knew the man was armed.
“As a police officer, in the back of your mind you always think there is a possibility they could have a weapon, but there were other employees there, and I just wanted to get him out of that area.”
Henson then pointed the gun toward the female employee.
“He acted; I reacted. I just went over his back and grabbed the gun and was able to get my hand on top of the hammer as he was pulling the trigger,” Swinehart said.
The two struggled with the gun until Swinehart wrestled it away from Henson.
He said he’s never been in that kind of situation with a suspect in his 20-plus years in law enforcement.
Nevertheless, he has to be prepared for it.
That incident, he said, has made FMC police stand out better at the hospital.
“Since this incident came about, people are a little more aware that we actually have a real, bona fide police department under our roof, which is really key.”
FMC police also act as backup for other agencies, such as the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office and Lancaster Police Department.
FMC Officer Larry Mitchell in March arrested a suspect who attempted to steal scrap metal from Fabricated Packaging on Commerce Street. He followed two suspects on a chase through the woods before capturing one.
Lancaster police followed and made the second arrest.
Other emergency situations include one suspect who was drunk and climbed to the top of the parking garage and threatened to jump off, and another who also was drunk and tried to kick in a second-story window after climbing up the loading dock.
The squad also does vehicle jump-starts and lockouts, as well as picking up staff in their two 4-wheel-drive sport utility vehicles when they can’t make it into the hospital in the winter.
Three members of the FMC force are trained in Special Weapons and Tactics, two in hostage negotiations, two in firearms instruction and two in Taser instruction, he said.
Anderson punctuated that list with, “So, that’s how we’re different from security.”
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Security officer shoots armed men during robbery www.privateofficer.com
Brownsville police are investigating a robbery gone wrong and that ended with two suspects shot. One of the suspects remained in critical condition Tuesday.
The shooting took place at approximately 11:15 p.m. Monday at 620 Paredes Line Road at the Cherry 777 Arcade, said police spokesman Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique.
A 20-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy tried to rob the arcade with pellet guns, but an armed security guard thought the suspects were armed with handguns, Manrrique said. The security guard discharged his weapon, hitting the man twice and grazing the teen in the head, Manrrique said.
“There was an armed security guard at the entrance of the arcade who confronted the two while they tried to rob the place,” the spokesman said. “He shot them, striking the 20-year-old twice on his torso while he grazed the 15-year-old in the head with a .40 caliber Glock pistol.”
The two managed to get in a silver Lincoln Navigator and flee the scene, only to be stopped shortly after by a Cameron County Sheriff’s Department Deputy for running a stoplight, he said.
“We received a call from a sheriff’s deputy who had stopped a vehicle after it ran a red light at Price (Road) and Paredes Line Road,” Manrrique said. “As soon as they were pulled over both of them came out of the vehicle saying that they had been shot and collapsed right there on the ground.”
The man was listed in critical condition at Valley Regional Medical Center- Brownsville.
“Were still waiting to see if he pulls through (survives, so he can be charged),” Manrrique said. “The next 24 hours are going to be very critical for him to determine if he pulls through and survives this shooting.”
The Brownsville Herald typically does not publish the names of suspects until they are charged. The names of juveniles are not published unless they are indicted to stand trial as an adult.
The teenage suspect was stable and out of danger, recovering while under guard at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville, the spokesman said.
Police were still interviewing witnesses and investigating the arcade to determine if it was operating according to Texas laws or paying out cash in violation of the law, Manrrique said.
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Detroit police officer kills wife, self www.privateofficer.com
At about 9 a.m., Ed Williams, 36, of Canton Township shot his wife, Patricia, who was an officer at Detroit’s Northwest District, following an argument in the parking lot of the Canton Public Library, police said.
Both were taken to area hospitals, Canton Township Police Sgt. Mark Gajeski said. Patricia Williams died on her way to the hospital, Gajeski said. Ed Williams was initially on life support, but police confirmed his death about 2:30 Tuesday afternoon.
Canton Police had responded to a domestic dispute at the couple’s home this weekend, Gajeski said. At about 8:30 Tuesday morning, a friend called police to report that Patricia Williams was on her way into the Canton Police station to report another domestic incident, Gajeski said.
Ed Williams met his wife in the parking lot and fired more than one shot at her for unknown reasons, Gajeski said.
Patricia Williams was in the process of retiring from the police force due to a hand injury and was planning to go into real estate, friends said.
“Obviously, this is a personal tragedy for the family, but also for the Detroit Police Department,” 2nd Deputy Chief John Roach said.
“Since the shooting happened in Canton, it’s their investigation, although we’ll assist,” Roach said.
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Fairfax County teacher found in car with teen arrested www.privateofficer.com
Officers arrested 27-year-old Valerie Roesler, of Alexandria, after finding her with the boy in a Mitsubishi Lancer parked on Gunston Hill Lane, police said.
The boy was away from his home without his parents’ knowledge, officials said.
Roesler taught at Hayfield Secondary School but has been suspended without pay.
Roesler and the boy agreed to meet in the parking lot where they were caught.
Roesler faces charges of public drunkenness and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
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PRESS RELEASE-PRIVATE OFFICER MEMORIAL WEEK
Year after year, private security officers employed worldwide are killed while protecting life and property and in most cases receive little or no recognition, honors or respect.
This situation occurs because there has not been any centralized organization to step forward to thank these fallen heros and to be there as a support for the family that they have left behind.
But in the past several years all of that has changed with the inception of the Memorial Aid Fund sponsored and administered by
PRIVATE OFFICER INTERNATIONAL.
We also realized that there has never been any official week or dedicated time period to remember these men and woman who bravely, valiantly and willingly sacrificed their life to fulfill their duties to their client, their employer and to the public safety of the area that they were responsible for.
Therefore, a committee was formed to aid in the research and designation of a specific date in time when we as professionals in our field along with the rest of the law enforcement and security community,families, friends and the general public could pay homage and respect and gratitude to more than 300 Private Officers who have been killed in the past four years and the many others who died before that in service to those that they were hired to protect, serve, and guard against all criminal activity or other harm that would otherwise come against their
employer’s property, employees, visitors and the general public.
PRIVATEOFFICER INTERNATIONAL has worked diligently for almost a year to seek input from security agencies and organizations and professional associations to select a week each year when we could memorialize our fallen colleagues and we are extremely pleased to announce that we have determined a special time for us to do this each year beginning with 2009.
Each year, the third week in the month of September shall be recognized as the “Official”
“Private Officer Memorial Week”.
During this week each year, there will be many planned activities and they will be announced in advance of
the memorial week each year.
INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE OFFICER
MEMORIAL WEEK
SEPTEMBER 20-26 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Immediate Release
Atlanta Ga. September 22 2009
The INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE OFFICER MEMORIAL WEEK has been scheduled for SEPTEMBER 20-26 2009.
This week has been designated for security officers along with law enforcement and others in the security community, families, friends and the
general public to pay their respects and gratitude to more than 300 Private Security Officers who have been killed in the past four years and the
many others who died before that in service to those that they were hired to protect, serve, and guard, preventing harm that would otherwise
come against their employer’s property, employees, visitors and the general public.
This year’s Memorial Week will include numerous events scheduled in Atlanta Georgia and in Charlotte North Carolina.
On September 20th the event will begin by reading the names of all security personnel
killed in the past five years.
In addition to this, a special remarks wall on the Private Officer website will be available for family members, friends and other visitors to leave
notes, poems, songs, pictures and other mementos for these fallen hero’s.
A candlelight vigil and prayer by the association Chaplain will also take place on
Wednesday evening in downtown Atlanta.
Other events are also planned in numerous states and in the U.K., Brazil, Canada, and Australia.
Each year, more than eighty security officers are killed in the U.S. while in the performance of their duties. Internationally, more than one thousand
security officers are killed yearly.
About Private Officer International: This international association was started in 2004 by Rick McCann, CEO/Founder, as a training and networking resource for private security officers and has grown to include members in six countries.
Membership is open to all security officers, loss prevention agents, campus and school officers, law enforcement, vendors of the security industry and the general public who support the association’s goals and purpose.
Website: http://www.privateofficer.com
Contact Info: Kyle T. Greene
Email:kyletgreene@privateofficer.com
704.559.4151
Man pleads guilty to 1998 murder of security officer
Madison County Circuit Judge William Chapman sentenced Marcus Reed to 20 years with 10 to serve and 10 suspended.
Canton Police Department reopened the cold case last year. Reed, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, had confessed to someone other than the police but the information did not get to authorities then.
Reid was a security guard at Canton Gardens Apartments when, in response to a disturbance, he sprayed Reed with mace. Reed then came back and shot the guard three times with a 9-millimeter gun.
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Hospital guard arrested for child porn www.privateofficer.com
Charles James Brown, 61, was charged with five counts of sexual performance by a child, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators said they have been investigating the downloading and distribution of child pornography on the internet. Through the investigation, the sheriff’s office learned last month that Brown had child pornography material, the sheriff’s office reported.
Brown was arrested at his Clearwater home without incident.
There is no evidence that Brown conducted himself inappropriately at the hospital, the sheriff’s office said.
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Small plane crash in Florida kills 4 www.privateofficer.com
Four people aboard a small plane returning from University of Florida football game over the weekend were presumed dead on Sunday night night when the aircraft experienced engine trouble and crashed into swampland in West Broward, authorities said.
The single-engine plane went down west of U.S. 27 just south of the Broward-Palm Beach County line, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which sent search teams of firefighters and paramedics into the marsh Sunday. The cause of crash is unknown.
Moments before the crash, the pilot contacted operators at MIA’s control tower, reported engine trouble and declared mayday before the transmission cut off, according to Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were at the crash scene, but it may take months to determine why the plane went down only a few miles from its Fort Lauderdale destination.
“It’s a long, thorough process,” said NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway.
Authorities presume the pilot and three passengers are dead because of the severity of the crash, said BSO spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion.
The plane’s pilot was Fort Lauderdale investment advisor Bruce Barber, a longtime aviator who owns and operates Bull Gator Air, according to friends.
Barber named his company after the UF team and would often take his plane — painted white with blue and orange stripes — north for weekend Gator games. He was an honored Bull Gator, part of the elite group of fans who donate thousands of dollars to the team.
Barber’s friend and former business partner, Eric Elliott, said the pilot and his family were returning from a weekend in Gainesville.
Elliott said those onboard included Barber’s wife Karen, 14-year-old son Payton and friend Phil Marsh. Not aboard the aircraft was their 9-year-old daughter Chloe, who they left at a friend’s home for the weekend.
Neither federal nor local investigators have provided a list of those who flew in Barber’s fixed-wing Piper PA-32R, but BSO deputies reported four people had boarded the plane in Gainesville.
BSO stated only one person’s body has been discovered in the marsh. The others are presumed dead.
Friends say the four flew north to attend a Friday fundraiser for Gov. Charlie Crist held at the home of Barber’s close friend, Miami attorney Danny Ponce.
The next day, they sat in Barber’s special box at the 50-yard line and enjoyed UF’s 23-13 win over the Tennessee Volunteers.
According to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights nationwide, Barber left Gainesville at 4:13 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport less than two hours later.
But just before 6 p.m., as it approached the airport from the northwest, the plane fell into the marsh west of U.S. 27.
BSO launched airboats to search for the downed plane and found the burning wreckage just south of the Broward-Palm Beach County line.
Local and federal agencies are coordinating to recover the remains of passengers and missing pieces of the plane.
News of the crash stunned Barber’s friend Elliott, who described him as a safe and “brilliant pilot.” Elliott himself took up flying after Barber convinced him to buy a plane together.
Elliott said the downed plane was equipped with three top-notch GPS navigation devices and a special storm-tracking radar system.
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Honest people return $10,000 found in bag www.privateofficer.com
That was the case Wednesday when Kim Smith, 46, of Kearney, Neb., and her son Logan Potter, 18, found $9,620 in $20 bills lying on the street in north Kearney.
At first, Smith didn’t know exactly what it was the two drove on 48th Street in between Kmart and Target.
“It looked like a notebook like the kids carry in school,” said Smith who works at Kearney’s Red Lobster. “I’m famous for picking up stuff.”
So Smith turned around, and Potter picked up the dark-colored bag lying along the curb near Kmart’s north entrance. The bag was locked and had numbers and letters on it.
Smith, a self-described scavenger, and Potter took the bag home and tried to unlock it.
“I’m all the time seeing something in the road, and I’ll say, ‘Hey, what is that?’” Smith said with a chuckle.
After several attempts to unlock the bag, Smith cut it open and found the single 4-inch thick stack of bills wrapped in rubber bands. A tag inside the bag said the bag belonged to Rochester Armored Car service.
I just thought, ‘Holy cow. We just found a bag full of money,’” Smith exclaimed. “And I thought, ‘Oh, my God, there has to be $5,000 or $10,000 in here.’”
Smith and Potter started counting the money, but got too nervous about the quantity they were dealing with and called the Kearney Police Department.
“This is like the find of the century, but we’ve got to give it back,” Smith remembered thinking. “It was scary and an exciting heartbreak all in one hour.”
It isn’t known how the bag ended up on the street, and a spokesperson with Rochester Armored Car of Grand Island declined to comment. But Kearney Police Chief Dan Lynch said “good Samaritan” wasn’t a strong enough description for Smith and Potter.
“That’s a stroke of honesty that you may not find in every instance,” he said. “I think they did the right thing the right way.”
Wednesday isn’t the first time Smith has found something lying in the road. She has found wallets – which she’s returned – various tools, a Navy knife, two Game Boys, a sapphire bracelet and cell phones.
“I’ve just found all kinds of stuff,” she said with a laugh. “I’m a scavenger, and it pays off sometimes.”
Smith, who tries to set a good example for her children, never considered keeping the money.
“It was more of a scarier feeling to think about keeping it than it was to give it back,” she said. “It would’ve been nice to have. But that would’ve been too big of a secret.”
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