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Nashville police Chief Ronal Serpas selected as New Orleans police superintendent
Source: WSMV.com — Nashville Metro police Chief Ronal Serpas will accept the job to become the next police superintendent in New Orleans, said Mayor Karl Dean at a press conference Thursday morning.
Related: Watch The Press Conference Breaking News Report
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu also made the announcement Thursday. The announcement comes a day after Landrieu asked the U.S. Justice Department to send a team down to help reorganize the troubled police department.
“I’m completely confident that Mayor Landrieu is going to turn that city around and I want to be part of that,” Serpas said during a news conference in Nashville.
Serpas, a third-generation police officer, left the New Orleans Police Department in 2001 after working there for 20 years to become chief of the Washington State Patrol. He later moved to Nashville where he oversees 1,351 officers in a city of about 632,000. He has boosted neighborhood watch groups and community outreach programs there and has overseen crime reductions over the last six years.
Serpas will become the department’s first white chief since the early 1980s.
He takes over from Warren Riley, who resigned Monday with the advent of a new administration. His selection comes at a time when black political power in the New Orleans post-Katrina has waned, although the city remains majority black. Landrieu, elected in a cross-racial landslide in February, is the first white mayor since his father, Moon Landrieu, left office in 1978.
It was unclear when Serpas would leave Nashville for the new position, but he said he would be in Nashville for the next several days to help with flood cleanup.
Landrieu had hoped for Serpas to start immediately but approved of him staying in Nashville for a few days as that city recovers from fatal floods that caused more than $1 billion in damage.
“It is ironic,” said Landrieu, who took office Monday in a city still recovering from Katrina’s floods.
Dean said Deputy Chief Steve Anderson will take over as head of the Metro Police Department on an interim basis. Anderson has worked for the department for 36 years.
The city will begin to search for a new chief, but there are no deadlines to fill the position, said Dean.
Opryland Hotel closed indefinitely due to flooding www.privateofficer.com
Special Section: Flood Emergency Survey Video: Tourism Leaders Concerned About Industry
Gaylord CEO Colin Reed said it could take up to six months before the hotel is reopened. The company said it is impossible to predict until they have had an opportunity to go through the hotel and access the damage.
In the meantime, all full time employees, about 2,000, remain on full pay and benefits and will for at least the next six weeks, according to Reed. It will take about a month to get the structure ready for employees to return, begin cleaning the guest areas and make them ready for guests.
Gaylord praised the Nashville Electric Service, and its workers for an incredible effort to restore power to the hotel so the clean-up process can begin.
What Is The Economic Impact To Nashville?
Metro Center is still closed, along with the downtown Hilton, Opry Mills Mall and a large portion of lower Broadway.
Butch Spyridon with the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau said there’s an economic impact in the tens of millions of dollars. Many closings have a direct tie to the city’s tourism industry.
“The city needs the sales tax revenue, and the citizens need the jobs. It’s the food delivery companies, and the beer distributors. It’s a domino effect,” said Spyridon.
Tourism leaders held an emergency meeting Wednesday trying to come up with a plan for conventions that could be in jeopardy. These also formulated a marketing strategy to let tourists know the city is open for business.
“By this weekend our attractions will be open. Virtually every other hotel will be open, so we’re ready for business,” said Spyridon.
Tourism leaders are so concerned about people canceling their reservations they have asked country artists to start taping public service announcements that will air on the Travel Channel on Great American Country.
Three Baltimore police officers charged with kidnapping www.privateofficer.com
An indictment handed up Tuesday also charged the officers with the kidnapping of a West Baltimore teen left on the other side of the city, The Baltimore Sun reported.
The officers, Tyrone S. Francis, 29, Gregory Hellen, 30, and Milton G. Smith III, 32, were members of the Violent Crimes Impact Section. They have been on desk duty for the past year, and a police spokesman said they will be suspended without pay until the criminal charges are resolved.
Michael Brian Johnson Jr., who says he was left in Patapsco Valley State Park, and his family have already filed a lawsuit against the police department. Johnson said he was forced into a van after an exchange of words with one of the officers and then forced out near Ellicott City after the police took his cell phone and shoes and socks. He called 911 from a pay phone and was returned home by Howard County police.
The NAACP said Baltimore police have used similar tactics in incidents that were not reported, sometimes taking alleged gang members and leaving them in a rival gang’s turf.
Gunmen shoot up police helicopter, kill officer www.privateofficer.com
Gunmen shot up a police helicopter that helped chase a driver who fled a traffic stop in Puerto Rico, mortally wounding one crewman and injuring the second, an FBI official said Wednesday.
The San Juan municipal police officer died Wednesday of wounds suffered in the shooting late Tuesday, FBI spokesman Harry Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the FBI had assumed jurisdiction over the case following discussions with the U.S. island’s police chief.
“In accordance with the guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Justice this is a death penalty eligible case,” the spokesman said.
The helicopter was following the driver who sped away from officers on the ground in Rio Piedras, outside Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan.
As police closed in and arrested the suspect, a group of men nearby opened fire on the helicopter, firing at least 31 bullets and hitting the officers on board, local police spokesman Eduardo Rodriguez said. He said the pilot made a forced landing in a baseball field.
Eleven people were detained by police for questioning but all had been released, the FBI spokesman said. He said nobody was in custody in the case.
Pastor Jinwright, wife found guilty on fraud,tax evasion
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal jury has found Charlotte pastors Anthony and Harriet Jinwright guilty on numerous charges in their four-week trial on fraud and tax evasion charges.
Anthony Jinwright was found guilty on 17 of 18 counts. His wife was found guilty on four of 13 charges. The couple co-pastors the Greater Salem City of God church in Charlotte.
The jury reached its verdict in just over four hours of deliberations Monday night. Its decision was met by anguished cries from Jinwright’s supporters in the federal courtroom. Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers spent much of the day offering closing arguments to the jury, which adjourned at 4:10 p.m. to begin deliberations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Brown told jurors that the Jinwrights, who co-pastor the Greater Salem City of God Church, consistently underreported their income on their tax returns.
“This case is not about religion…,” Brown said. “There’s been no attack on their religious practice, and there’s been absolutely no criticism of Greater Salem Church…They are not being prosecuted because they are ministers. But being a minister is not an excuse or an exemption from complying with the laws of this country.”
Prosecutors accuse the Jinwrights of failing to report $1.8 million of more than $5 million in income from 2002 to 2007. They allege that the Jinwrights used the money to fund their lavish lifestyle of fancy cars, homes and trips, even as their west Charlotte church struggled financially.
But Anthony Jinwright’s lawyer Ed Hinson told jurors this afternoon that the government is attempting to punish his client for following church tradition of accepting “love offerings” and similar financial gifts. Any errors on the Jinwright’s tax returns, Hinson said, were innocent mistakes — not crimes.
“The kingdom of God is not run on generally accepted accounting principals,” Hinson said during closing arguments. “Thank God. If it were, we’d all be in trouble. Neither Bishop (Jinwright) nor the church got these technical things right…(but) that does not make him a criminal.”
Anthony Jinwright, who endured about 11 hours of cross-examination last week, testified during the trial that he didn’t understand he’d been underreporting income.
He said he trusted his financial advisors to get his taxes done correctly, and promised to pay his fair share in the future. Earlier, under questioning from his own lawyer, Ed Hinson, he testified that he’d been so busy traveling across the state and nation preaching the Gospel that he’d neglected his personal finances and those of his church.
Prosecutor Brown, however, repeatedly asked Jinwright to explain why his proclamations of innocence didn’t square with inconsistencies in his own financial documents. He also sought Jinwright’s explanation for testimony of former church members and financial advisors who said they tried to warn Jinwright that he should be reporting money from pastor anniversary collections, speaking engagements and other forms of “love offerings” or “seed offerings.”
Harriet Jinwright did not take the stand.
Lawyers in the case said that at the heart of this case was whether the jury believed that the Jinwrights’ tax returns reflected innocent mistakes or willful misrepresentations.
Birmingham nightclub guard shot www.privateofficer.com
Back when the club originally applied for its business license, councilors denied it after getting dozens of complaints from citizens and mayors from 2 other cities. On Tuesday, chairman of the public safety committee Johnathan Austin said, “It’s a travesty.”
Officers say the shooting happened when a customer, Barry Colston, was asked to leave; he pulled a handgun and shot a security guard and employee. One injury is believed to be life threatening.
Austin says if a judge had not overruled the council’s original decision, this never would have happened. “My job as chairman of public safety is to make sure the laws are adhered to,” Austin said. “And if they are not, we’ll shut up down, lock ‘em down and lock ‘em out.” Austin made those remarks while holding a padlock, saying he was furious about the situation.
Councilor Valerie Abbott said fears about the club are exactly why it was denied a license at first. “We were fearful of those kinds of incidents would occur,” Abbott said. “And that it was near a residence.”
The Public Safety Committee will discuss the issue Wednesday at 2 pm at Birmingham City Hall.
Kenosha teacher charged with sex assault of student www.privateofficer.com
According to court records, 46-year-old Gregory D. Nelson, of Kenosha, began a personal relationship with the girl, whom he said was depressed and had problems at home and school, while she was a student intern for him in November 2009. He gave her his personal cell phone number and said she could text him after school hours if she was having problems.
Starting in February, he and the then-16-year-old girl reportedly began meeting in the parking lot of a closed grocery store. There, she told police, she would get into his van, where they kissed and engaged in other sexual activity; the two did not have sex, she said.
The investigation began April 30 when two Kenosha Unified School District employees contacted the county’s Child Protective Services department saying they had received anonymous tips that Nelson had an inappropriate relationship with a student.
The student reportedly initially denied having a relationship with the defendant, but on Tuesday she told police that the two had met in the store parking lot several times, and that they had sexual contact in his van. She told police Nelson asked her to have sex, but she said no, and also said that while she told Nelson that she loved him, she did not mean it.
Later Tuesday afternoon Nelson reportedly told police he spoke to the student outside of school hours, but it was to offer help with things like getting along with her parents and “maintaining her temper.”
He admitted meeting the student in the grocery store parking lot, but said all they did was talk. He also reportedly said “I now wish that I would have met with (the student) in a public place like a restaurant or brought somebody with me instead of” parking his van in a vacant lot.
Nelson is charged with four counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff and one count of exposing genitals to a child. If convicted, he could face 24 years imprisonment, which includes time in jail or prison and on extended supervision. His bond was set Wednesday at $75,000 cash, and an initial appearance is scheduled for May 19.
Police said there are no other known victims and Nelson does not have a prior criminal record. An investigation into the incident is continuing.
Nye County DA charged with embezzlement www.privateofficer.com
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office says 49-year-old Beckett is facing 20 counts of fraudulent appropriation of funds, 20 counts of misconduct, as well one count of embezzlement and one count of malfeasance. His bail is set at more than $200,000.
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office alleges that Beckett operated a bad check program through the District Attorney’s Office that collected funds and dispersed them at the sole direction of Beckett. Investigators say a review of the funds showed numerous donations to community organizations and payments to individuals.
Guard charged with falsely reporting robbery www.privateofficer.com
WhiteWhite, a contracted security guard, reported shortly after 9 Sunday that he had interrupted a burglary in progress. He told police he chased a suspect, whom he identified, into a wooded area nearby.
During their investigation, police discovered several inconsistencies in White’s story, which led to his confession that he had staged the burglary.
False reporting of a crime is punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Mo. police arrest wanted GA murder suspect www.privateofficer.com
Police in Griffin had been looking for Devarryl J. Batten, 23, since an April 11 killing in which he’s accused of shooting and stabbing a man over money.
Last Thursday, Batten was walking on Lindbergh Boulevard in Frontenac, a community where the median home value is over $700,000. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Frontenac police officer Ken Easler stopped Batten on a “pedestrian check” just south of Plaza Frontenac, a high-end mall anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
Considered armed and dangerous by Griffin police, Batten was unarmed. He told Easler he was visiting his brother in the St. Louis area and had been applying for jobs at businesses, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Police ran his Social Security number and discovered he was a murder suspect. Batten was arrested without incident, booked into the St. Louis County Jail, then extradited to Georgia, the newspaper reported.
According to Griffin police, Donald Driver, 22, was found in the street outside a home on West Quilly Street with gun and knife wounds. Police say Batten killed Driver in a dispute over a small amount of money, and that drugs played a role in the killing.
CT State Police pull out of school policing www.privateofficer.com
Source: Hartford Courant The state police are suspending their school resource officer program, removing 19 troopers from schools and assigning them to patrol duty, to save $1.2 million.
The suspension, effective July 1, may be lifted when the state’s financial woes improve or after a new trooper cadet class graduates, said state police Lt. J. Paul Vance.
Current school resource officers will make unscheduled stops at the schools they once served, and their towns will continue to be served by the resident state trooper, Vance said.
“We’ll still work with the superintendent and the principals for any law enforcement, whether it be programs that they might need or investigation,” he said.
But Alan Beitman, superintendent of the Region 10 school district, which serves 3,000 students in Harwinton and Burlington, said he’s not satisfied.
He said he has offered to pay 70 percent of his school resource officer’s salary — now paid entirely by the state — and has sought to meet with Gov. M. Jodi Rell and other state officials for three years, to no avail. Beitman detailed his concerns in a letter he mailed to Rell Tuesday.
Rell’s spokesman, Adam Liegeot, declined to comment, saying Beitman’s letter had not arrived Wednesday.
Beitman said his district’s resource officer, Trooper Michael Burke, is an integral part of the school community. Beitman said he offered to help pay Burke’s salary three years ago, when state officials first planned to reassign Burke.
“If I paid for his time, then we both win,” he recalled telling state officials. “I have a trooper who’s here for the kids … and you have money to pay overtime.”
Beitman said state officials were pleased with his idea — proposed as a one-year pilot program — but never met with him.
“Three years later, now they’re taking the trooper out without the courtesy of discussing how we can solve the financial problem the state is having,” he said.
Washington Police cut school resource officer positions
Several school districts are cutting personnel from the resource officer program because money is short.
The Edmonds school district is one of those considering slashing resource officers. The district is millions of dollars in the hole and officials there say they have to make cuts somewhere.
Officials admit it’s not an ideal solution – but it may be the only choice.
Edmonds Police Officer Tom Smith, a school resource officer at Edmonds-Woodway High school, says he listens, guides and keeps kids out of trouble.
“Having an officer in the building decreases the response time … and since we already know the kids I think that makes it go smoother,” Smith says.
But the Edmonds School District is struggling with a $6.7 million six budget gap. Slashing the school resource officer program would save $200,000, and district officials insist student safety will not be compromised.
Edmonds District spokesperson Debbie Jakala says schools still have safety measures in place even if the school resource officers are eliminated.
“Safety is the No. 1 priority every day, and we will continue to take those steps,” she says.
But she adds, “There is no way – and I think any parent, being one myself – you can definitively say your student is safe at all times.”
And now it is time to make a hard choice, she says, due to “the state’s funding situation and phenomenally low amount of money they will not be providing us.”
“Every single one of the reductions we will be making, you will hear our superintendent repeatedly say we don’t want to do any of these,” she says.
The District also plans to cut transportation costs and increase sports fees to cut corners.
Meanwhile, Officer Smith accepts he may not be walking the Edmonds-Woodway campus much longer.
“If the budget only allows for the basics, then that’s what the budget allows for,” he says.
Edmonds isn’t the only school district considering getting rid of school resource officers. The Lakewood School District north of Marysville is as well.
Phillies security will nab field jumpers from now on www.privateofficer.com
PHILADELPHIA PA May 6 2010 – Phillies team security will apprehend fans who jump on the field, unless more force is deemed necessary, the team announced Wednesday, two days after police used a Taser on a teenager dashing through the outfield.
The team said it made the decision in consultation with the Philadelphia Police Department after an officer used his stun gun Monday night on a 17-year-old at Citizens Bank Park.
“In ordinary circumstances involving field intrusion, the Phillies game day security personnel will make the apprehension of the field jumper and turn him over to the Philadelphia Police on the field for handcuffing and subsequent charging,” the team said in a statement.
Police officers will be called upon, the team said, only if more force is necessary.
Steven Consalvi, of Gilbertsville, jumped onto the field at the top of the eighth inning of Monday’s game between the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals and ran around in circles in the outfield, waving a white towel and dodging two security officers.
A city police officer chased him for about 30 seconds before his stun gun probe hit Consalvi, who stumbled forward, slid face-first on the grass and stayed down for about 30 seconds before standing up and walking off the field.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey examined video of the arrest and determined that the officer acted within department guidelines, which allow officers to use Tasers on fleeing suspects.
Consalvi is charged with defiant trespass, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. His lawyer said in a statement Wednesday that the young man was apologizing for his “foolish act” and had learned a lesson.
“Steve and his family wish to apologize to all Philadelphia Phillies fans, the entire Philadelphia Phillies organization, players, staff and security, as well as the Philadelphia Police Department for what occurred that evening,” attorney Steven F. O’Meara said in a statement.
“His family hopes and prays that people will understand that teenagers do impulsive things,” O’Meara said. “This young man has never been in trouble before and has learned a valuable lesson.”
Consalvi’s mother declined to comment when a reporter visited her home in Gilbertsville, northwest of Philadelphia.
On Tuesday night, a 34-year-old man ran on the field during the Phillies next game, also against the Cardinals. The crowd booed him and some chanted “Tase him!”
The man, Thomas Betz, of Warminster, Pa., was arrested and taken off the field without incident by team security personnel. He faces charges of marijuana possession, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and other counts. Betz’s voicemail was full and he could not immediately be reached Wednesday.
Gov. Ed Rendell and others questioned whether police officers should be using Tasers on unruly fans on the field, but numerous players and fans defended the officers actions, saying they were appropriate.
Phillies security will nab field jumpers from now on www.privateofficer.com
PHILADELPHIA PA May 6 2010 – Phillies team security will apprehend fans who jump on the field, unless more force is deemed necessary, the team announced Wednesday, two days after police used a Taser on a teenager dashing through the outfield.
The team said it made the decision in consultation with the Philadelphia Police Department after an officer used his stun gun Monday night on a 17-year-old at Citizens Bank Park.
“In ordinary circumstances involving field intrusion, the Phillies game day security personnel will make the apprehension of the field jumper and turn him over to the Philadelphia Police on the field for handcuffing and subsequent charging,” the team said in a statement.
Police officers will be called upon, the team said, only if more force is necessary.
Steven Consalvi, of Gilbertsville, jumped onto the field at the top of the eighth inning of Monday’s game between the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals and ran around in circles in the outfield, waving a white towel and dodging two security officers.
A city police officer chased him for about 30 seconds before his stun gun probe hit Consalvi, who stumbled forward, slid face-first on the grass and stayed down for about 30 seconds before standing up and walking off the field.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey examined video of the arrest and determined that the officer acted within department guidelines, which allow officers to use Tasers on fleeing suspects.
Consalvi is charged with defiant trespass, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. His lawyer said in a statement Wednesday that the young man was apologizing for his “foolish act” and had learned a lesson.
“Steve and his family wish to apologize to all Philadelphia Phillies fans, the entire Philadelphia Phillies organization, players, staff and security, as well as the Philadelphia Police Department for what occurred that evening,” attorney Steven F. O’Meara said in a statement.
“His family hopes and prays that people will understand that teenagers do impulsive things,” O’Meara said. “This young man has never been in trouble before and has learned a valuable lesson.”
Consalvi’s mother declined to comment when a reporter visited her home in Gilbertsville, northwest of Philadelphia.
On Tuesday night, a 34-year-old man ran on the field during the Phillies next game, also against the Cardinals. The crowd booed him and some chanted “Tase him!”
The man, Thomas Betz, of Warminster, Pa., was arrested and taken off the field without incident by team security personnel. He faces charges of marijuana possession, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and other counts. Betz’s voicemail was full and he could not immediately be reached Wednesday.
Gov. Ed Rendell and others questioned whether police officers should be using Tasers on unruly fans on the field, but numerous players and fans defended the officers actions, saying they were appropriate.
Las Vegas teacher charged with sexual misconduct with student www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann
Private Officer News
www.privateofficer.com - Authorities say that they have arrested a woman and have charged her with six counts of sexual misconduct with a student.
Jennifer Gardel who is reported to be an instructional employee at Las Vegas High School was booked in the Clark County Detention Center on Wednesday.
She is listed as part of the instructional staff at LVHS for the 2009-2010 school year.
Police have not released any further details about the arrest and do not know if there are any other victims.
LAPD disbands counter-terrorism unit www.privateofficer.com
The Protective Security Task Force team consisted of about two dozen plainclothes cops who were dispatched to provide a “cloak” of high-level security at buildings or events that had been threatened or were otherwise believed to be at risk, said Deputy Chief Michael Downing, head of the LAPD’s Counter Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau.
Task force officers also tested the vulnerabilities of city skyscrapers, landmark buildings and other possible high-value targets and then worked with the buildings’ private security forces to review ways to tighten their defenses, he said.
Officials said disbanding the unit was a tough decision, but stressed that it made up only a small part of the LAPD’s counter-terrorism efforts and that the bureau’s primary function of gathering intelligence continues. Roughly 270 people are assigned to the bureau, Downing said.
“It was a valued asset and I would have liked to keep it,” he said, “but every part of the department has to make sacrifices right now and this made the most sense.”
Beck said the reduction won’t hinder the department’s counter-terrorism efforts. “Nothing is going undone, it’s just getting done in a different way. It is a very small amount of people who were moved.”
In the wake of New York City’s failed terrorist attack this week, the cut underscores the difficult decisions Beck faces as he struggles to mitigate the impacts of the city’s fiscal crisis.
Since the Times Square bomb was discovered Saturday, city officials in New York have pressed the federal government for more anti-terrorism funding to help the New York Police Department. Some of that money would go for more video surveillance systems for high-value targets. Like L.A., New York City has been tightening its belt.
Since taking over the department late last year, Beck has reassigned about 300 officers, using them to bolster the ranks in the department’s 21 regional police stations.
Coming into the chief’s job, Beck said the LAPD had become too dependent on special crime-fighting units that operated independently from the regional stations and said he planned to give station commanders control over more officers.
That idea took on added urgency as city coffers ran low and the department could no longer afford to pay officers for overtime.
Beck instituted a policy that requires officers to take time off in lieu of cash payments. With hundreds of officers forced to take time off each month, the policy has left station commanders scrambling to adequately patrol the city.
The reassigned officers have provided some relief. Beck, however, has indicated that the fiscal crisis forced him to move more officers than he otherwise would have wanted.
“We’re having to rob Peter to pay Paul,” he has said on several occasions.
Explosion at Redstone Arsenal kills two www.privateofficer.com
Both were employed by a Redstone Contract partner that provides technical support to the U.S. Army elements at Redstone, AMTEC Corporation of Huntsville. Redstone Officials have not released the names of the two men who passed away.
“We who are a part of Team Redstone share a close bond,” said Maj. Gen. Jim
Myles, Commanding General of AMCOM and Redstone Arsenal “When one of our own
is hurt it affects us all. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family
members and friends of those who passed away.”
The explosion happened at 8:45 Wednesday morning at Aviation Missile Research Development and Engineering Center test area 10 at building 7352 on Flicker Road, near Gate 3.
Both patients were transported by Med-Flight to University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital’s Burn Center.
One HEMSI paramedic described the scene Wednesday as “horrific.” Another responder said the area where the explosion happened is a heavy demolition site. They have been testing there for days.
Arsenal officials said the building was specifically designed for processing ammonium perchlorate, an oxidizer used in solid rocket propellants in both manned and unmanned rocket vehicles, and the building recently passed safety inspections.
“The glass went up and out. Of course the metal sidings of the buildings got blown away,” said Col. Pastorelli. “They’re designed that in case something happens, they blow away to get as much as the hazardous constituents away from the individual as possible.”
Trained safety and fire personnel have rendered the site of the explosion
safe (contained) and there is no environmental impact
“We have vacuum systems when something like this triggers, systems come on, suck all the necessary dangerous gases away capture them or vent them out into the environment which in large quantities and in an open space environment like this. there is no harm to any individuals,” said Garrison Commander Col. Robert Pastorelli when asked about decontamination efforts.
“While this is highly dangerous work, our civilians and service members at Redstone Arsenal take pride in their stellar safety record,” said Congressman Parker Griffith.
This is considered a class ‘A’ incident, so the installation commander will initiate a safety investigation.
Redstone released this statement:
“Daily, the Soldiers, Civilians and Contract Partners (AMTEC) of Team
Redstone work together toward the common goal of serving those who serve our
nation. Although we strive to impose the highest safety standards and
constantly improve the safety of our workplace, the work that we perform is
inherently dangerous work. We follow very stringent safety standards and
train continuously to make sure those standards are observed.
We are deeply saddened by these events and remain steadfast to our
commitment to investigate the situation, discover the cause and work to
prevent future incidents from occurring.”
Redstone Arsenal was built in 1941 to produce convention chemical ammunition for WWII. Later, Dr. Werner von Braun and his team developed the first ballistic missile. That led to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960.
Redstone is now home to the Army Aviation and Missile Command. Redstone serves 157,223 Soldiers (active, retired and dependents) and 27,620 civilians.
