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Man arrested after biting campus officers www.privateofficer.com
Police got a call around 9 a.m. Wednesday regarding an emergency at Santa Ana College, 1530West 17th St., said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
Manuel Antonio Merino was arrested at Santa Ana College on suspicion that he bit two campus officers during a struggle in the men’s locker room, police said.
Campus personnel requested help because two security officers were holding down a man who was confrontational and got into a fight with them, Bertagna said.
“When officers got there, they were still fighting with the man,” Bertagna said, adding that he was arrested without further incident.
Bertagna said the man snuck into the men’s locker room to shower and clean up, but when security officers went up to him to tell him he was trespassing, they noticed he had a knife in his back pocket.
When security officers tried to take the knife, the man became combative and a struggle ensued, Bertagna said.
During the struggle, the man bit both security officers in the forearms and hands, Bertagna said. The security officers were treated by paramedics.
Bertagna said campus security officers have had several encounters with the man, who was advised to stay off campus after several students complained about him and said he was carrying weapons.
The man – Manuel Antonio Merino – was arrested on suspicion of aggravated mayhem and battery against an emergency person. He is being held at the Men’s Central Jail.
Kettering court officer receives award www.privateofficer.com
Don McCuiston, a Kettering Police Department Court Security Officer, was presented a Class I commendation for performing chest compressions of an inmate after he collapsed January 29
James T. Brown, 34, complained of severe chest pains and fell face down in the holding area of the Kettering Municipal Court, according to a report from the Kettering Police Department. Brown reportedly was not breathing and had no pulse. CSO McCuiston performed chest compressions for two minutes until Brown regained consciousness.
Kettering Fire medics then transported Brown to Kettering Hospital.
A Class I award is presented for an act of evidencing highly professional conduct or performance or giving evidence of selfless conduct during a time of crisis or emergency.
Kettering Police are trained and re-certified in CPR every two years.
Miami Beach security contractor unionizes www.privateofficer.com
Security Alliance, the city’s security contractor, recognized its workers’ union Tuesday night and will bargain for a first-ever union contract, according to an SEIU press release.
Security Alliance employs more than 50 officers in Miami Beach, including the Municipal Building, Lincoln Road and Miami Beach Boardwalk. The officers are asking for higher wages, improved training and healthcare, according to the release.
Security Alliance’s recognition of the union comes as SEIU and security officer Tony Jones have pushed the city to obey its own laws and raise the living wage for the lowest paid workers of the city and its major contractors.
Security officer handcuffed to pole by Islam group www.privateofficer.com
Supervisor Chris Daly on Tuesday introduced a resolution calling for Lennar to formally apologize to a group dedicated to stopping the joint project with the city for “irresponsible and potentially dangerous behavior” over the security guard incident.
Daly said he was “horrified” Lennar sent an armed security guard to a community meeting in a mosque.
The group, known as the Stop Lennar Action Movement, includes members of the Nation of Islam and had organized the meeting at the Nation of Islam mosque on Third Street in February. They contend the shipyard project is kicking up toxic dust, although a draft EPA report on the issue said effective safeguards are in place.
The security guard told investigators that men from the mosque held him against his will for about 45 minutes, including throwing him against a wall, handcuffing him to a light pole and calling him “you white mother f-,” according to the police report.
Daly, who was not at the meeting, took issue with that description, saying, “the events as described are not the events that seemed to have happened that have been corroborated by multiple folks.”
The police report, though, says the security guard, a retired police sergeant with a permit for carrying a concealed weapon, told investigators he “was in fear for his life.”
Tuesday’s developments come a week after Daly praised the Nation of Islam for “showing some restraint” when its personnel hauled the security guard away while he tried to record the meeting.
“This was a tinderbox situation,” Daly said at last week’s board meeting. “A law might not have been violated, but this is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. Thank goodness it only ended up with him only handcuffed to a pole for an hour. This is the best outcome I can think of. So thank you to the Nation of Islam for showing some restraint.”
Nation of Islam personnel wanted the guard arrested for trespassing, but officer declined, noting the meeting was “open to the public and anyone in the community was invited to attend,” the police report said.
Police seek man who stabbed mall security officer www.privateofficer.com
WANTED FUGITIVE
Police are seeking the public’s help in locating the suspect and are offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to his arrest.
41 year old Terrell Andre Webb, of 1515 North Decker Avenue in Baltimore, faces charges of first- and second-degree assault, theft and carrying a concealed deadly weapon.
Police were called to The Mall in Columbia in the 10300 block of Little Patuxent Parkway on Feb. 27 at approximately 4:20 p.m. for a reported assault. The victim, 26 year old Kevin Joseph Seaton, a loss prevention detective for Macy’s Department Store, had attempted to stop a shoplifter before the assault occurred.
Police say Seaton, along with another loss prevention detective, observed the suspect walk into a dressing room with numerous articles of clothing and then walk out a short time later wearing more layers than when he had entered the dressing room. After the employees watched the suspect walk past the registers without paying for the merchandise, they stopped the suspect and asked him to return to the store.
The suspect refused to cooperate and then swung at Seaton’s upper torso and face with a box cutter and fled the mall. The employees followed the suspect as he fled in a vehicle and obtained a license plate number, which they provided to police.
Seaton sustained a cut to his arm as a result of the assault and was transported to Howard County General Hospital, where he was treated for the non-life threatening wound.
Howard County Police identified Webb as the suspect. He is described as a black male, medium complexion, 5’9″, 170 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information about Webb’s whereabouts is asked to call 410-313-STOP. Callers may remain anonymous.
School officer suffers heart attack chasing student www.privateofficer.com
Davis remained in the critical-care unit on Wednesday, March 10, but was upgraded from critical to fair condition, Atrium spokeswoman Wendy Parks said.
Middletown City Schools spokeswoman Debbie Alberico said Davis, 61, and Principal James Thomas had chased a student who ran into the street, and that not long after carrying the student back to the building, Davis collapsed. School nurse Sally Kash used a portable defibrillator and assisted in CPR with four other staff members until paramedics arrived, Alberico said.
Davis is known for heading the city’s summer Safety Town program in conjunction with the Middletown Police Department and Middletown Safety Council. The program, heading into its 32nd year, focuses on traffic, bus and car safety for kindergartners.
“It is considered a rite for passage for kids all over the city,” said Kristy Duritsch, director of the Middletown Safety Council. “They grow up hearing about it and can’t wait until it’s their turn.”
Duritsch visited Davis at the hospital Tuesday night and said she received word Wednesday that he was “alert and talking.”
Davis’ way with students is a vital part of the school, according to physical education teacher Su Burns. “He gets down on one knee to talk to them,” Burns said. “He knows them all by name. They call out his name whenever they see him. And, I think he feeds off of that, too. We just want him back.”
Security officer has heart attack stopping burglar www.privateofficer.com
The business had already been broken into twice in just the past two weeks. In the most recent case, Wednesday, it landed a security guard in the hospital, and that may have saved his life.
The guard, Serge Noel, is now recovering at Jackson Memorial North Medical Center, where rescue crews transported him, not for any injuries related to the burglary but for a mild heart attack.
Doctors expect him to make a full recovery. However, Dr. Ariel Soffer of Jackson North Medical Center said, if he had not been taken to the hospital, he could have died a few months later from an undiscovered heart condition. “He had an underlying, what is called, a cardiomyopathy, or what is called a baggy heart or enlarged heart,” he said. “Had he not discovered this condition, odds are he would have had a 50 percent chance of dying in the next six months to a year.”
Surveillance video from the supermarket captured the suspect breaking in through an air duct at the So Loved CBL Supermarket, on Northeast 147th Street and Sixth Avenue. Two weeks ago, a similar scene unfolded, and the store’s owner believes it was the same man.
But, Monday night, Noel responded to a phone call from the store’s alarm company, just after 11 p.m., only to find the burglar still inside. Berney Lucas, the supermarket’s owner, said Noel went to the roof, where the intruder gained access. “So while he’s trying to get out of the hole, my security guard pushed him back inside and told him, ‘Stay there, if you get out, you’re going to get shot.’”
The stress ended up giving Noel the mild heart attack.
Police arrested 38-year-old Edward Munez at the scene. He would later be charged with burglary in bond court, the following day.
Contract security officers looked down on at federal buildings www.privateofficer.com
There’s a saying among some private security guards in the Washington region: “There’s no security in security.”
Poor job security and the potential dangers that come with protecting government buildings make it a risky line of work, said guards interviewed this week.
Unlike officers with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency who gunned down shooter John Patrick Bedell last week, most security guards at federal buildings in the Washington region are employed by private firms that have contracts with the Federal Protective Service.
The FPS, part of the Department of Homeland Security, provides security at more than 9,000 federal buildings across the country and uses about 15,000 contract security guards to support about 1,200 officers, inspectors and administrative staffers, according to agency officials. A House hearing Tuesday will focus on the FPS’s future and its response to a 2009 Government Accountability Office investigation that exposed security gaps at 10 major federal buildings. The GAO report also faulted the FPS for inconsistent training and poor oversight of private guards.
Next month, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) plans to introduce legislation that addresses the agency’s future and broader threats and security measures at all civilian and military facilities, aides said.
FPS officials said in a statement that it has increased both overt and covert inspections of security posts, as well as its oversight of contract guards. In response to GAO concerns with the training and qualification of those guards, the agency said it has reviewed all contract guard certification and qualification records.
But the agency’s current arrangement leads to an odd mix of public- and private-sector workers who frequently fight turf wars and disagree on lines of authority, both private and federal guards said.
Some contract guards permanently stationed at a location can believe they have a stronger understanding of a site’s security threats than FPS officers and inspectors who make infrequent visits to perform law enforcement duties, review building security plans and train tenants about security threats.
“We’ve gained minimal respect over the years, but we’re still looked down on,” said one guard, who asked that his name be withheld. “We’re on the front lines. Being on the front lines, we need to be seen as essential and treated as essential.”
The guard, who has worked at federal facilities in suburban Maryland for more than 15 years, asked for anonymity for fear of retribution from his employer and the FPS.
“You never know what to expect day to day,” said another guard, who also requested anonymity for similar reasons. “It can be health problems, domestic problems. Ex-husbands show up to see their wives in the lobby,” the guard said. FPS officers may respond to incidents, he said, but contractors are usually the first point of contact.
The guard has worked at federal sites in downtown Washington and suburban Maryland for 10 years. Private guards are required to have first-aid and CPR training and must be recertified by the FPS each year.
John Childs III, an FPS K-9 inspector and regional vice president for American Federation of Government Employees Local 918, discounted the concerns of the guards interviewed.
“It’s just sometimes [contract guards] think they have more authority than we do, and that’s not the case,” Childs said. But the tensions would disappear if the FPS federalized or “insourced” the contract guards, he said.
“If they worked for FPS, things would be probably smoother,” Childs said.
Childs and the contract guards did agree on that point. They said Congress and the Obama administration need to federalize private guards or establish stronger guidelines for the private forces.
“There really are no federal standards for security guards,” said David Wright, president of Local 918 and an FPS inspector based in Kansas City. AFGE Local 918 represents FPS workers nationwide.
“These individuals should be trained at the federal level, and we think that they should be federal police officers,” he said.
Pickens County Ga. teacher arrested www.privateofficer.com
Pickens County Sheriff’s Office have charged Laura Dene Lyles with two counts of sex assault, two counts of sodomy and four counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
Investigators were contacted by the superintendent’s office regarding allegations of sexual misconduct. Pickens County Sheriff’s Office began investigating.
Investigators say the sexual encounter occurred on the Pickens County High School campus.
The student attended Pickens County High School.
Mobile ALA. teacher arrested for sending porn to student www.privateofficer.com
Darrell Tyler is the P.E. teacher for the Continuous Learning Center in Mobile. Police say the victim is 13-years-old. Police say her mother found text messages of a sexual nature on her daughters phone, and she believed they came from an adult male, possibly one of her daughter’s teachers.
Parents and teachers talked about the arrest.
“As a parent of a 13-year-old boy and as a teacher of 11 and 12-year-olds, I would say that behavior is unacceptable,” said Tina Davis.
As a parent and teacher, Davis knows there are boundaries. Nancy Paige is also a teacher and said some communication is okay.
“There may be a written statement to parents saying I’m going to text your child an assignment. If that were the case that would be appropriate but just friend to friend, that’s inappropriate,” Paige said.
Both educators, who do not work at the Continuous Learning Center, said with technology today, communication is getting easier, which can be good and bad. Both said they continuously check their own kids phones looking for red flags.
Mobile Police said through a two day period in February, Tyler sent obscene pictures to the victim via text.
Alabama police chief guilty of DUI www.privateofficer.com
Resouce: timesdaily- Tuscumbia Police Chief Tony Logan was found guilty Wednesday of driving under the influence, a ruling that leaves his future with the department in question.
Florence Municipal Judge James E. Hall II issued the verdict after more than two hours of testimony, including that of an official with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences who said Logan’s blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit for driving. The sample, which showed his level at .272 percent, was taken about three hours after Logan’s arrest in December.
Hall issued Logan a 90-day suspended sentence and placed him on probation for 24 months. He also issued a $600 fine, including $425 in court costs, and ordered Logan to complete a court-referral program and meet with a victims’ impact panel.
Logan has 14 days to appeal the case. His attorney, Tim Case, said they plan to appeal for a new trial or to have the charge thrown out.
If appealed, it would go to a jury trial in Lauderdale County Circuit Court.
Tuscumbia Mayor Bill Shoemaker said he has not decided what action to take regarding Logan’s position.
“We’ll look into our personnel policies and make a decision,” Shoemaker said.
Logan showed no emotion when the verdict was read.
The mayor placed Logan on paid administrative leave a day after the chief was arrested at his Castleton Road residence Dec. 5. Shoemaker reinstated Logan on March 1, explaining the department needed a chief and he was tired of waiting for a trial. Logan’s trial was delayed three times.
One reason for the delays was the need for a special prosecutor, since local prosecutors recused themselves because of connections with Logan.
Brandon Hughes, a traffic safety resource prosecutor with the Alabama District Attorneys Association Office of Prosecution Services in Montgomery, was called to prosecute.
“I’m happy with the verdict,” Hughes said Wednesday. “The biggest thing it shows is no one’s above the law.”
Case filed motions questioning procedures in the investigation, including aspects of the chain of custody.
“We looked at the case very, very, very closely before we got to court, and we saw a lot of procedural defects, and we argued those at pre-trial motions today,” Case said Wednesday afternoon. “We’re very disappointed with the outcome, based on the procedural defects we found.
“Tony is very motivated to do what he needs to do to get out of this. Chain of custody is very critical in this case.”
Logan’s arrest came after police received a report of a possible drunken driver who damaged a mailbox and caused other minor damage, Florence police said. The damage reportedly was on Logan’s property.
The arrest report states Logan was driving a 1999 Honda CR-V. Nobody was injured.
Logan refused to take a breath test at the scene to determine whether he was intoxicated.
During testimony, Robert Gray, who lives across from Logan’s Castleton Road home, said he was in his house when he heard a crash outside.
He looked across the street and saw the mailbox at Logan’s home was damaged, Gray testified. He said he then noticed someone in a vehicle in the driveway across the street. The vehicle backed out and went across the street, onto Gray’s yard.
“I walked out and shouted and the vehicle stopped,” he testified.
Gray said he asked the driver, who he identified as Logan, if he was OK, but got no response. “He just looked at me.”
The driver’s side window was down. Gray said he told Logan to turn off the car, and Logan complied, but then started it again, so Gray reached into the vehicle, turned off the ignition and took the keys. He said he smelled alcohol on Logan’s breath.
Logan got out, walked across the street and went inside his garage, Gray testified. He said Logan then went to the front porch and sat there.
Gray called 911 around 3:30 p.m., and police officer Charlie Watkins responded, according to testimony.
Watkins said Logan’s vehicle was in Gray’s yard when he responded. Logan was across the street on the porch.
When Watkins approached Logan, the Tuscumbia chief held his hands up and told him he doesn’t have a weapon, according to testimony.
Logan appeared intoxicated and accidentally said “car is in gun,” when he meant to say his gun is in his car, Watkins said.
He testified he told Logan to stand, and Logan nearly fell into some bushes when he rose. His speech was slurred and eyes glazed and Watkins smelled alcohol.
Watkins said he asked Logan what happened, and Logan responded the case is “just P.I.,” meaning it’s only a public intoxication case.
The officer noticed skid and tire marks at the scene, and saw fresh silver paint chips on the Honda, he said.
Logan refused a sobriety test, and was arrested and taken to the Florence-Lauderdale Detention Center, Watkins testified. The Florence officer then went to Hall’s residence, where the judge signed a search warrant that allowed Watkins to get blood and urine samples from Logan.
Watkins took Logan to Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital, where the samples were taken.
During cross-examination by Case, Watkins said he showed the warrant to Joe Suddith, a lab technologist at ECM.
Suddith testified he did not see a warrant.
The samples were taken about three hours after police were called to the scene on Castleton Road, according to testimony.
Also during cross-examination, Watkins said he doesn’t recall asking Logan whether he had been drinking, but it appeared obvious.
During questioning by Hughes, Weaver said tests revealed Logan’s blood-alcohol content was .272 percent, and the legal limit for driving is .08 percent. He said a “ballpark guess” based on his experience is Logan’s blood-alcohol level was about .31 at the time of his arrest.
During closing arguments, Case questioned whether proper chain of custody was followed in evidence, and said Logan never had an arraignment. He also pointed out a breath test wasn’t taken at the scene.
Hughes said case law has established an arraignment is not needed for such a case. He also said Logan is an experienced officer, so he knew the ramifications of refusing the test.
Memphis may form school security force www.privateofficer.com
Memphis City Schools Board of Commissioners will vote on a measure which could give the superintendent the go ahead to create a security force in the schools that would replace Memphis Police officers.
Superintendent Kriner Cash has long been pushing for a district run police force, but needs state legislative approval. Critics of this new resolution say it’s simply a way to go around that.
Memphis City Schools already spends $10 million dollars a year on school security. And now, a resolution is on the table to expand that.
“Further expand Memphis City Schools security force and eliminate Memphis Police from all campuses,” says Kenneth Whalum, a MCS Board Commissioner.
The elimination of MPD officers from campuses is a controversial idea. Dr. Cash has been pushing to change state law in order to have his own “peace keeping force” since he took over as head of schools.
Whalum says the new resolution is the same idea with new wording.
“I would fully expect Chief Godwin and community leaders across the city to even file law suits about it,” says Whalum.
Police Director Godwin has been steady in his opposition to a school run security force, and on this latest resolution tells FOX13, “I would certainly hope that this is carefully evaluated for the safety of the children and faculty within our Memphis City Schools.”
School Board President Martavius Jones says it still isn’t determined if police officers will be eliminated from schools.
“The request was made for the superintendent to provide a report to us, we have not seen the results of the report,” says Jones.
Jones says this is not a way for the superintendent to get what he wants without changing state law.
“It’s not going around it, we will abide by what state law says,” says Jones. “It may be a situation because we already have people who are employees of MCS it might be means of expanding that.”
Whalum says he will vote no on the resolution on Monday. He worries for the safety of the students and if crimes will be reporter to police and the public.
“Even as I say it sounds ludicrous,” says Whalum. “If we say we’re going to remove the Memphis Police Department officers from our campuses, then what it does is creates a police state without the police.”
Memphis City Schools administration says Superintendent Cash is working on a security proposal to present to the board on Monday.
A sub committee of the house will discuss the security force next week.
Prince George Officer Dies In Crash www.privateofficer.com
The Prince George’s County, Md. police department is mourning the loss of one of their own. Officer Thomas P. Jensen, 27, passed away Tues., March 9 as a result of injuries suffered while responding to an emergency call on February 27, 2010.
According to a department press release, Officer Jensen was critically injured while responding to a call to assist the fire department with a disorderly person reportedly under the influence of PCP. He struck a sheet of black ice which caused his vehicle to crash into a telephone pole.
Officer Jensen was treated in the Intensive Care Unit at Prince George’s Hospital Center following the crash, and died there at approximately 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Officer Jensen was a five-year veteran of the department and was assigned to the Hyattsville District Station, Squad 22. He is the son of retired Sergeant Tom Jensen and leaves behind his wife of five months, Kristelle.
“Officer Jensen was a beloved member of our police family and his loss is a huge blow to all of us,” Chief Roberto Hylton said in a prepared statement. “I worked with Officer Jensen’s father and remember when Officer Jensen was born This loss is made all the more difficult because of the close ties with the Jensen family. Officer Jensen grew up in Prince George’s County; he is truly one of our own.”
Winston-Salem officer possible suicide victim www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com Authorities in Winston-Salem say that one of their police officers may have committed suicide this week but are still investigating the shooting.
Officers were dispatched to the home of Cpl. Kent Alan Alridge at 10:30 a.m. after Alridge didn’t report for duty, Winston-Salem police said in a statement.
Police made entry into the home and discovered the deceased officer.
Alridge, 44, of 5330 Alamo Drive joined the Winston-Salem Police Department in November 1988 after working two years as city firefighter, the police said.
Alridge’s body has been taken to the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for an autopsy.
As a police officer, Alridge worked in the department’s field-services bureau and criminal-investigations division.
The police department is still investigating the circumstances that led to his death and no official word has been released.
