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Security officers robbed, tied up at mine www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
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Two security officers working at a mine in Kentucky were held up at gunpoint and then tied up.
Police said that they responded at around 7:30 Sunday night, in the Clover Fork Community of Harlan County but did not name the mine.
State police say the robbers surprised the security men and then took the guards’ wallets at gunpoint, tied them up and stole one of their vehicles.
Police found the vehicle with the two men inside, but they took off on foot.
State police searched the area, but did not locate the persons responsible.
There was no report on any injuries that the security officers may have obtained.
Man with shoe camera arrested at mall www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/
A man after mall security officers found a sophisticated camera on his shoes.
Officers, acting on a complaint say that they discovered 40-year old David Delagrange of Fort Wayne was taking pictures and video under women’s dresses and skirts without their knowledge at a mall.
Delagrange had a small, covert type camera on his right shoe and had controls for the video and audio in his pockets according to police.
When mall security officers approached Delagrange and began to question him, police said that he swung at the mall officers and struggled as they were taking him into custody.
Security and police used a Taser gun to subdue Delagrange and he has been charged with voyeurism, resisting arrest and felony child exploitation.
He is currently being held under bond for a court hearing.
Wife of murdered mall officer speaks out www.privateofficer.com
She’s the wife of the security guard who was gunned down inside Southland Mall. She and Marques Rainey were just beginning their life together, still considered newlyweds, just a year into their marriage.
“I can say I’m angry at the person for taking my husband’s life because he was everything to me. More than that I’m just sad because I lost someone I really loved and he loved me.”
She says Rainey’s job at the mall was just a means to an end. He was enrolled as a full time student at ITT Tech, would have graduated this year and often talked about the dangers of his job.
“He talked about, you know, talked about it all the time. People stealing and they would have to be forceful with them although they weren’t armed,” she said.
Witnesses say Rainey was shot after trying to break up a fight in the mall’s main entrance. His wife can’t believe someone would kill him for doing his job.
“Yes, I’ve thought about why someone would take his life just you know he was trying to do the right thing.”
As she tries to pick up the piece, she now has to worry about being a single mother. The two were proud parents of 5-year-old Amiya, who says she’ll miss her daddy. With police having no suspect, Chantrice Rainey, is hoping someone will come forward and help her family to have closure.
“Not for his sake but my child for me his mom and his family and just to seek justice,” said Rainey.
Police are asking if you have any information to call 528-CASH.
Teachers struggle with virtual borders www.privateofficer.com
Source: Orlando Sentinel
When Ryan Wilson started getting text messages from a teenage girl a few months ago, he thought nothing of it. After all, the Hernando County teacher often communicated that way with students on the athletic teams he coaches.
The girl was on his weight-lifting team and texted him a lot because, Wilson said, she needed advice for personal problems. It wasn’t long, though, before rumors about something improper were swirling around Nature Coast Technical High School.
District officials started investigating.
In January, Wilson was suspended with pay. But he’s back at work after an investigation found no evidence of serious wrongdoing.
Even so, Wilson received a letter of reprimand because, officials concluded, he should have reported the teen’s constant texting that put him in a compromising situation.
Wilson and educators like him are learning the world of social media can be a tricky place, especially when students are involved. They can find themselves in deep trouble — and their names in the newspaper — when that blurry line between student and educator is crossed.
And it’s not just students who cross that line.
Last week, Eustis High School Assistant Principal Kristine Durias was forced to resign for not backing off her friendship with a student — a relationship based on shopping trips, text messages, phone calls and chatting on Facebook. The state is investigating Durias as well. Neither she nor the student’s parents could be reached for comment.
In another case, the state fined a former Lake County language-arts teacher in September and put her on probation after she was accused of sending text messages deemed inappropriate for students.
A year and a half ago, a Volusia County teacher was fined and put on probation after being accused of calling a student “cutie” and “sexie” in a text.
For even well-meaning educators, conversations can easily become personal when they grow comfortable with rapid-fire text messaging and social-networking sites such as Facebook. Words can be misinterpreted. One sentence is sometimes all it takes for parents to complain.
To try to head off problems, the Orange County School Board this month will talk about creating new rules on texting and, possibly, Facebook communication. Lake officials probably will consider changes, too.
“There should not be texting,” said Cindy Barrow, Lake School Board chairwoman.
Barrow and other school officials have much bigger concerns as well — including the criminal actions of teachers using electronic media to send kids sexually explicit material, such as racy photos.
More than a teaching tool
Scholars and education leaders nationwide have been struggling with this emerging issue. They want to keep kids safe but hesitate to take away a tool that can help teachers connect with children.
Many younger teachers and their students enjoy and expect this type of instant communication — they grew up with iPhones and BlackBerrys.
Text messaging is especially popular with coaches. A quick note via cell phone is a convenient way for a student to tell a coach she’s running late or ask a question about practice.
But it can quickly evolve into much more, as Wilson, of Hernando County, found out. Now, he rarely texts or e-mails students.
“I only respond if it’s dealing with sports itself,” said Wilson, 29. “And I save them [correspondence] now. Anything I receive and send, I save.”
Some scholars say they’re not surprised that digital media have evolved this way. Cell phones are common on campuses and some teachers have begun integrating them into classroom lessons — for example, using them to do Internet research.
Also, in this era of public-school grading and increasing pressure to boost test scores, educators across the country have been urged to forge bonds with students in hopes it will help motivate them to do better in school.
Some schools insist teachers share their phone numbers with students so kids can call at night with homework questions, said Floyd Hammack, a professor of educational sociology at New York University.
“Combined with the fact that a number of teachers in these schools are quite young — often in their 20s and not far removed from the age of their students — it is not hard to imagine that boundaries around personal relationships may be blurry,” Hammack said.
More training needed
Pam Cooper, general counsel for the state’s teachers’ union, said banning text messaging and Facebook conversation isn’t the answer.
More teachers, she said, are complaining they need more guidance to know the proper ways to handle student communication.
“The new employees are used to and only know electronic communications,” Cooper said. “Specific instruction using real-life examples is very important.”
Seminole County parent Beth Weiss said her kids have often relied on texting to communicate with teachers about club meetings, debate tournaments and other events. “I think it’s unrealistic to think we shouldn’t use them,” she said. “It’s become so mainstream.”
Not so much for Wilson, though. He misses being someone to whom teens can turn for advice the way his high-school coaches did for him. But he’s not taking chances with his job.
“I think, in the end, the kids will find a way to deal with their issues,” he said. “I personally have to look out for my well-being and family.”
Man critical after nightclub shooting www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ - Metro Nashville police are searching for three men involved in shooting at a local nightclub.
According to Metro police, the shooting happened around 2 a.m. at the Las Potrancas Bar on 114 Haywood Lane. Police believed an argument erupted, and then a man was shot inside the bar.
The victim was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.
It is not known if any of the suspects were injured by the security officer’s gunfire.
OFFICER DOWN SAN DIEGO
During the chase, Deputy Ken Collier hit a bridge abutment and rolled hundreds of feet down a freeway embankment, officials reported.
Collier, 39, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital where he died at 5:30 a.m., shortly after the 3:22 a.m. wreck.
The alleged drunk driver who was the subject of the chase was caught nearby, and will be charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving.
“I was with his brother and sister this morning, obviously the whole family, as is the entire Sheriff’s Dept. and law enforcement family, very saddened by this tragic loss,” San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore announced.
Driver killed crashing through Redstone Arsenal www.privateofficer.com
The driver has been identified as 39-year-old Larry Dewayne Payne of Vinemont. He was killed after his Chevrolet S10 crashed into a concrete bollard at Gate 9 around 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
Garrison Commander Col. Robert Pastorelli said no one else was injured.
Officials say Payne was approaching the gate “at an excessive speed” when he crashed into 1 of the concrete bollards and was going so fast that security guards didn’t have time to respond.
Pastorelli said Payne wasn’t an employee of the Arsenal and it’s unclear why we was out on the road so early.
Pastorelli said officals aren’t entirely sure Payne was trying to enter the gates but wouldn’t release more information, citing the ongoing investigation.
160 Arrested during “Unofficial State Patty’s Day” www.privateofficer.com
It now appears the student-created holiday won’t die off as quickly as State College Police Chief Tom King had hoped.
State College police responded to about 365 calls related to the event. Most were alcohol-related, said Sgt. John Wilson. Penn State police handled another 55 calls. Centre LifeLink EMS responded to 58 calls between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Sunday. Thirty-one were alcohol related.
And the state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement issued nine citations to bars — six for selling to intoxicated patrons and three for selling alcohol to minors.
“An awful lot of parties were broken up,” Wilson said. “There was very heavy pedestrian traffic. … Several foot pursuits. It was extremely challenging and a busy day for the law enforcement.”
State College officers were being assisted by Penn State police, state police and other departments — treating the weekend like a football weekend after being caught off-guard last year. Still, King said the number of people arrested was doubled, from about 80 last year to 160 this year.
Those arrested included Jason Graham, who was facing aggravated assault charges after he punched an officer after a foot pursuit that began when he threw a snowball at a passing Jeep and a passing unmarked police car, police said.
“No officers were seriously injured,” Wilson said, “So it looks like we survived.”
Others charged include Ione Williams, who fought with bar staff at the Phyrst after being seen urinating at the front door to the Beaver Avenue bar. Williams was charged with resisting arrest.
A 19-year-old was cited for hugging a street sign for support after a day of drinking, police said.
Police are following up on several random assaults that sent people to the hospital:
- A man was treated at the hospital for a stitches and a black eye after someone bit his ear on the 700 block of East Beaver Avenue, around 2:50 a.m. Sunday.
- Another man needed 15 stitches after a beer bottle was broken above his eye on the 500 block of South Pugh Street, around 7:50 p.m. Saturday.
Police say 42 people were cited for underage drinking, and another 42 cited for disorderly conduct. Twenty-one people were charged with public drunkenness.
15 Year old shot during nightclub argument www.privateofficer.com
It happened on Ezra Church Drive at about 2:30 a.m.
Atlanta police said when they arrived at the scene, they found the teen suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach and another person grazed by a bullet.
The victims told police that someone chased them on Interstate 20 and opened fire following an altercation at a nightclub on Moreland Avenue.
Police said the shots also shattered the back glass of the victims’ vehicle and deflated a tire.
Both victims were taken to Grady Hospital.
Police said the perpetrators were traveling in a newer model Nissan Altima.
Student arrested after using stun gun at school www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com- A teenager in Santa Fe, a small community south of Nashville decided that classes were getting a bit boring and wanted to get more of a charge out of them.
He apparently thought bringing a stun gun to school and shocking his classmates and himself might do the trick and now he’s under arrest.
Maury County Deputies arrested Justin Lowery, 18, and charged him with having a weapon on school grounds.
The School Resource Officer says Lowery used the stun gun during an E.M.T. training class.
According to a deputy at the school, Lowery said it was all in fun and that he never meant to hurt anyone.
No word on whether the real Emergency Medical Technicians had to be called in to treat anymore.
Shooting at Fla bonfire leaves 1 dead www.privateofficer.com
A Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office news release says that Robert Franklin Floyd also faces three counts of attempted murder. It was not known if Floyd has a lawyer.
Authorities say the shooting occurred early Saturday after 18-year-old GeTyron Lopez Benjamin and three others went to a bonfire party at Floyd’s house.
Floyd told investigators the Brewton group, which included two black males, had not been invited and were told to leave.
Assistant State Attorney James Parker said as the victims drove away, Floyd, who is white, ran to his truck, grabbed a rifle, and fired five shots.
Parker said two of the shots struck the vehicle and one hit Benjamin in the back. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a Brewton hospital.
Chaplains training in self defense and weapons www.privateofficer.com
Source: SunSentinel.com A rabbi, an Episcopalian priest and a Baptist minister walk into a gym.
No, it’s not the beginning of a bad joke. It’s a new plan by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to train its volunteer chaplains in self-defense and firearms in case the darker elements of their ministries are upon them.
“Self defense is important,” said sheriff’s lead chaplain Jim Shackelford, who started the initiative last year. “It’s better to know what to do.”
Shackelford, a former Ohio state trooper, said it’s during the 15 chaplains’ required monthly ride-alongs with deputies that things can get sticky. Chaplains have seen deputies get into scuffles with suspects, Shackelford said, and the question came up: “If I was needed to help a deputy what would I do?”
So Shackelford worked with the Sheriff’s Office to make the optional training available. There will be a four-hour training block every quarter, he said.
During the self-defense course in February, the men and one woman of the cloth suited up in sweats and sneakers and learned how to throw devastating blows and kicks, all under the guidance of Cpl. Garry Schettini.
“They can utilize these strikes when they leave here today,” Schettini said. “However, just like every other skill, if they don’t practice it over and over, it tends to go away.”
He suggested they practice by shadow boxing.
“I don’t typically go out and beat up my parishioners or beat up anybody else,” said the Rev. Denise Hudspeth, a priest at the Holy Spirit Episcopal Church. “But because we’re in the communities, it’s helpful for us to know how to defend ourselves should we need to.”
Rabbi Robert Silvers, of Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton, was glad to receive the training, even though it is counterintuitive.
“The most odd was doing firearm training,” Silvers said. “To have a gun in my hand and shoot it at a target. The last thing I want to do is take a life.”
Broward Sheriff’s Office chaplains do not receive self-defense training.
“That’s not relevant to what we do,” lead chaplain Rick Braswell said. “There’s never been a [self-defense] issue here.”
Palm Beach County chaplains, who are unarmed, respond to emergency situations to comfort victims and deputies who need someone to talk to. Because they’re already ordained, they can officiate over weddings, funerals, baptisms and dedications.
Sheriff’s Maj. Tony Araujo said the chaplains come as a great help during death notifications because after the bad news is left with a family member, they may have no one else to talk to.
“There’s nothing worse than to make a notification and leave that person there,” Araujo said.
The chaplains stay behind and comfort family members.
Hudspeth was one of the chaplains who comforted the Rev. Patricia Wallace when her son, Deputy Jonathan Wallace, was killed in the line of duty.
Deputies Wallace and Donta Manuel died Nov. 28, 2007, when a fellow officer struck them during a car pursuit.
“My motto is: Listen, listen, listen, love,” Hudspeth said. “And that’s the best I can offer.”
Palm Beach County chaplains are trained for their volunteer service through the International Conference of Police Chaplains in Destin. Chuck Lorrain, its executive director, said it’s a unique calling and chaplains have to be ready to see the darker side of humanity, not just hear about it.
“Chaplains can work the pulpit but not all pulpit ministers can do what police chaplains do,” Lorrain said. “You’re out in the mud, the blood and beer, so to speak, and a lot of people can’t deal with it.”
It’s also a different type of spiritual service.
“You’re not there to preach and proselytize,” Lorrain said. “You’re there to balance off the officers and to be a comfort to people and serve people.”
Hudspeth took a break from punches, strikes, kicks and shouts to talk about why she enjoys being a chaplain: “I’m a presence of God, a presence of peace and serenity.”
