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SC Couple sue Guard Company for arson www.privateofficer.com
The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports Friday that Norman and Marjorie Agin say Norred & Associates and two local supervisors were negligent because they failed to investigate four fires that were set before the January 2008 blaze at their home.
The lawsuit also claims the company failed to investigate Bryan Yeager. Authorities say the guard and Lady’s Island fire fighter was in the area near the fires before they were reported.
Yeager is awaiting trial on an arson charge.
The Agins want $1 million in damages. Attorneys for the security company deny the allegations
Gang members arrested in casino kidnapping www.privateofficer.com
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said on Oct. 14, several Hispanic men and women confronted two white men and one woman at the casino and asked them if they were “Placerville Peckerwoods.”
The group told the others that they weren’t part of a gang, the office said. Investigators said they didn’t find any gang ties to that group.
Officials said one of the Hispanic men insulted the woman from the other group, and she got angry and attacked him. When one of the white men tried to break up the fight, deputies said he was punched and hit with a beer bottle.
As casino security guards broke up the fight, some members of the Hispanic group went to an elevator and grabbed a woman who wasn’t involved in the fight, officials said.
According to the sheriff’s office, the group “told the victim that she was going to get them out of the casino (using her vehicle) and they would let her go once they were at the freeway.”
Once inside the parking garage, the woman got away and contacted casino security.
She escaped without injury.
Detectives from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said they identified six Hispanic men on security cameras who were involved in the kidnapping as known gang members.
Arrest and search warrants were obtained, and several law enforcement agencies arrested five people who were allegedly involved in the incident.
On Friday, officials arrested Jesse Madrigal, Steven Santiago, Ricky Mora, Stephen Lizotte of Riverbank, and Ernie Lizotte of Riverbank.
Officials said several guns, gang indicia, ecstasy, marijuana and a large amount of money were seized in the investigation.
Lt. Bryan Golmitz said gang activity at the casino is rare.
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Atlanta 4 yr old hit by train www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta Police Officer James Polite said the child ran out of his yard while chasing after his dog Thursday evening and was struck.
The CSX train engineer saw the boy and tried to stop, but was unable to in time.
The locomotive was traveling about 30 mph when the crash occurred around 5 p.m.
Police said the boy was thrown away from the tracks by the impact.
He was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.
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Police look to restrict security officer uniforms, badges and cars www.privateofficer.com
Security guards who want to work in Hemet are going to have to avoid looking like cops in their dress and vehicles under an ordinance approved last week.
Police Chief Richard Dana asked for an update of the city’s 1984 law covering private security companies after his department experienced problems resulting from confusion over whether an officer was a cop or a security guard.
“We have received complaints from citizens about the actions of police officers which, in fact, turned out to be employees of private security companies that were mistakenly identified as law enforcement,” Dana said in a staff report presented to the City Council.
“We have several companies working in the Valley that look a lot like our officers,” Dana told the council.
“The existing ordinance was written in 1984. By updating the ordinance the citizens would have the ability to easily distinguish the difference between a sworn police officer and private patrol employee,” Dana said in his staff report.
Not only do the security guard uniforms look like police uniforms, but motorcycle security guard helmets look like police helmets, the motorcycles look a lot like police motorcycles, and cars look like police cars, he said.
In the ordinance revision prepared by City Attorney Eric Vail, the city will now require that security guard uniforms and vehicles look nothing like police.
“The color and design of uniforms, insignia, shields, and badges of each private patrolman shall be clearly distinguishable from the uniforms, insignia, shields, and badges of officers,” according to the revised law.
And the differences must distinguish them not only from local officers, but from employees of federal and state law officers as well.
Under the new regulations, the police chief must approve the insignia used on uniforms and vehicles and all markings must include the word “private” in capital letters not less than 4 inches high.
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“In-Car” computers make the job easier for police www.privateofficer.com
tuscaloosanews.com
Long gone are the days when officers had to call dispatch to get information about the driver they just pulled over.
CAPS, the University of Alabama Center for Advanced Public Safety, has changed law enforcement capabilities through new computerized software programs.
For more than 10 years, CAPS has introduced several mobile law enforcement applications, such as LETS, the Law Enforcement Tactical System. LETS is a Google-like search engine that enables officers to retrieve vehicle information through a license plate search, which then gives the registration and any possible warrants. The program also displays photos to aid in identification.
LETS Go, the fourth and newest edition of LETS, was released early this year and provides law enforcement with added features including a built-in text-to-speech engine that produces a voice readout of critical summary information, commercial vehicle and carrier data and a larger search range capability.
“This is putting more databases all in the same portal. We’re trying to get more and more so they can check more and more databases with one simple search. They’d have to call dispatch before, and it took a lot of time. With this, they can do it all in the car,” said Rhonda Stricklin, an assistant research engineer with CAPS.
LETS Go enables officers to retrieve information from their patrol cars. After entering a vehicle number into the system, the speech feature reads detailed information about the vehicle and driver back to the officer. The new version can also be used to retrieve commercial vehicle data. The program is used by more than 850 agencies and 14,000 individual users across the U.S.
“This is something that they can use on the road and gives them access to information. It’s good for the officers to not have to take their eyes off the road,” Stricklin said.
Andy Norris, sergeant for the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, said his officers rely on the system because it speeds the process of identifying potential criminals, the vehicles they drive and their home address.
“Before LETS, you’d have to do a lot of things at hand that you can now do on the go,” he said. “I would say that LETS Go and all the updates really gives deputies on the street the tools they need to effectively fight crime and find those persons that are wanted more speedily and rapidly track down persons that were committing (crimes).”
One of CAPS’ more popular mobile data projects is the eCite. First used in 2003 at a trucking weight station in Alabama, the eCite allowed officers to issue tickets electronically. The program is being used by all Alabama state troopers. While the officer prints a paper ticket for the driver, the data is entered automatically and transmitted directly to the Administrative Office of Courts in Montgomery.
The eCrash program is CAPS’ newest, replacing paper forms with electronic ones. The eCrash was released in June and eliminates the need for officers to mail paper crash forms. Instead, they enter crash data directly into a database. The program also allows victims of wrecks and insurance companies to obtain accident reports more speedily.
“It’s faster, it’s correct and it’s complete data. You were looking at a several-month delay, but now as soon as the crash form is submitted, it goes into a database and provides a better analysis of where crashes are happening. Officers and engineers can use data to evaluate where patrolling is needed,” Stricklin said.
Starting in 2010, all Alabama officers will be required to use eCrash.
Brian Kincaid, a traffic officer at the Northport Police Department, has been using eCrash since its release in June. One of the greatest benefits in using eCrash, he said, is that it prevents errors.
“It will not let you transfer the report if there are major errors on it. It can’t catch all errors but it catches the big ones,” he said.
The eCite, eCrash and LETS are all housed in the Mobile Officer Virtual Environment system, developed for officers to use on laptops in their cars. The system allows officers to search across multiple databases and access applications such as a driver’s license scanning device, LETS, eCite, eCrash and ASPEN, software for federal electronic reporting of commercial vehicle violations.
“We do a lot here for law enforcement and developing software that helps officers and the whole state,” Stricklin said. “It makes them more productive and more efficient.”
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Man arrested for assaulting police, security officers www.privateofficer.com
A Chicago man was charged with possession of a loaded pistol and battery this week after a scuffle with a police officer and a security guard at an apartment complex in Carpentersville.
Samuel Williams, 22, of the 700 block of Garfield Avenue, was arrested after police responded Monday to a domestic battery call in the first block of Oxford Drive at Foxview apartments. He was charged with possession of a weapon by a felon, unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of aggravated battery and aggravated battery in a public place.
Police said Williams was speaking to the security guard but ran away when a police officer arrived. During the chase, Williams tossed a .22-caliber handgun on the ground and punched the guard when the guard tackled him, police said.
Williams’ 26-year-old girlfriend was taken to the hospital where she was treated for a broken nose, Cmdr. Timothy Bosshart.
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Boston police to train hospital security officers www.privateofficer.com
“Were going to bring them in and were going to train them just like we would Boston Police officers so that they understand what will happen in a major incident in a hospital,” said Commissioner Ed Davis, of the Boston Police Department.
Hospital security will be trained at the police academy to follow protocol.
They will be required to contact Boston Police immediately during an incident, to keep witnesses on scene, and to be good witnesses themselves.
“Why it’s important to get plate numbers, why it’s important to get identifications and descriptions of people so we can use them in our ongoing investigation,” Davis said.
The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association worries not everyone is cut out for this stressful work.
“That could undermine actual delivery of services and I’m not sure that isn’t a band-aid approach. If they want police officers in hospitals then lets put police officers in hospitals,” Thomas Nee, Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association
Until they do, hospitals like Tufts Medical Center will continue to assess its security daily and like everyone else struggle with how to reinforce its own staff
“We’ve looked at different types of weapons, chemical mace, batons, and there has been discussions with in my department do we need to go beyond that,” said Thomas Atkinson, Director of Public Safety Tufts Medical Center.
Security at Mass General and Tufts Medical Center are not armed but at Beth Israel they area. They started carrying them after 9/11.
The meeting was the first step in reinforcing and coordinating the efforts between the hospital and Boston Police.
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Alabama county may add bible classes next year www.privateofficer.com
Guntersville High School Principal John Richey is looking at a new elective that could be in classrooms at the school as soon as next school year. That elective is the teaching of the Bible.
Principal Richey said they are in the exploratory stages, “We sent a representative of Guntersville High School today [Thursday] to a meeting to learn of the opportunities there.”
Richey said if they decided to partake in he course, the course would be not required, but would be offered to anyone interested.
“We want to always explore electives that will benefit our students and we think this has great potential,” he said.
Guntersville High School isn’t alone. The Alabama Department of Education said this current school year there are 26 public high schools in Alabama that offer a course with the word “bible” in the name.
Bible as literature was first seen in the classroom in October 2007, and according to the Alabama Department of Education is on the rise.
So we asked students would they sign up for the class?
Junior Kerrie Baker liked the idea. “I would most definitely do it next year and i’ll try to encourage my friends to do it too,” she said.
Senior Landon Lovell said, “That’s the whole reason the Bible is there–is to learn… it’s been proven with God being taking out of school there’s more problems and violence in schools today, but by putting him back in, it takes out that fact, and it makes better people in the end– the leaders of tomorrow better people.”
Guntersville Principal Richey said the next step is to meet with their superintendent. If it is a direction they chose to go, they will bring it up in front of the Guntersville Board of Education. If they approve, Guntersville High School could sign up for the course in the 2010-2011 School Year.
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NC College police nab robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com
Devontra Arnez Tyson, 21, of 4535 Martin Circle, Ayden, is one of four men accused of trying to rob Jolly’s Pawn Shop, located near the intersection of North Greene Street and Pactolus Highway.
During the robbery attempt, a man started firing his weapon and shot one of his accomplices, according to the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office. The pawn shop owner then fired a weapon, and the getaway driver drove away without the others, forcing them to run from the scene.
Two men were arrested several blocks from the shop, including the man who was shot. The driver was arrested the next day.
Tyson was arrested at 9 a.m. Friday, PCC Police Chief Alan Edwards said. A student reported a man he didn’t know approached him and started a conversation. While the student was distracted, the man took some money the student had in his car, Edwards said.
The student provided a detailed description of the suspect and officers found him a short time later, Edwards said.
“He initially gave a false name, then another,” Edwards said. “At one point it was stated he was looking to sign up for classes, and at another point he said he was on campus to visit some friends.”
Officers took Tyson to the Pitt County Detention Center. Jail personnel recognized him and called deputies, who charged him for the pawn shop robbery.
The sheriff’s office charged Tyson with one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of attempted armed robbery with a dangerous weapon. Ayden police also charged him with one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of failure to appear for unrelated incident. He remained in Pitt County jail Friday under a $603,000 secured bond.
The three other men charged in connection with the attempted robbery are Charles Augustus Reynolds, 20, of 122 Concord Drive; Willie Derod Beale, 20, of 1167 Concord Drive, Apt. E, Greenville; and James Earl Jones, 18, of 406 W. Forlines Road. Reynolds and Jones have been released on bond; Beale remains in custody
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