Archive
URGENT; TORNADO WATCH DC, MD, NJ,VA, WV
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 273
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1240 PM EDT SUN JUN 6 2010
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DELAWARE
MUCH OF MARYLAND
NEW JERSEY
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA
EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1240 PM UNTIL
800 PM EDT.
TORNADOES…HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER…THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH…AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 105 STATUTE
MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF
BALTIMORE MARYLAND TO 65 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PATUXENT RIVER
MARYLAND. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).
REMEMBER…A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 271…WW 272…
DISCUSSION…STORMS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN ARE EXPECTED TO SHIFT
EWD THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND INTENSIFY AS THEY ENCOUNTER A VERY
WARM AND UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT. DEEP WLY FLOW FROM 2-10 KM AGL WILL
BE FAVORABLE FOR ONE OR TWO LINES OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH WIND DAMAGE
TO DEVELOP. ALSO…THE PRESENCE OF STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR AND
STRONGLY VEERED WINDS IN THE LOWEST 1 TO 2 KM WILL SUPPORT EMBEDDED
SUPERCELLS WITHIN AND AHEAD OF THE LINE…WITH TORNADOES POSSIBLE.
AVIATION…TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27030.
URGENT BROADCAST-TORNADO WATCH www.privateofficer.com
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 272
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1110 AM EDT SUN JUN 6 2010
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CONNECTICUT
MASSACHUSETTS
SOUTHERN MAINE
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE
MUCH OF NEW JERSEY
EASTERN NEW YORK
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTHERN VERMONT
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1110 AM UNTIL 800
PM EDT.
TORNADOES…HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER…THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH…AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 105 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES NORTH OF CONCORD NEW
HAMPSHIRE TO 40 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HARRISBURG PENNSYLVANIA. FOR
A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).
REMEMBER…A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 271…
DISCUSSION…POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR…TORNADOES…ONE OR TWO WHICH
COULD BE STRONG…TO OCCUR DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS…
ESPECIALLY FROM ERN NY NEWD INTO MA AND SRN NH/VT AS AN UPPER
IMPULSE…SURFACE LOW AND WARM FRONT SPREAD QUICKLY NEWD ACROSS THE
REGION. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG EWD MOVING
COLD FRONT AND MOVE EWD ACROSS THE SRN HALF OF THE WATCH THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON HOURS. STRONG SHEAR AND INSTABILITY WILL SUPPORT
SUPERCELLS WITH WIND DAMAGE AND A FEW TORNADOES.
AVIATION…TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26045.
Teenager escapes juvenile facility after jumping over security
The teen jumped on a security officer’s desk, then through the window above the desk, smashing the window pane to pieces, said Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson.
The shocked security officer managed to grab the teen’s legs through the window but lost her grip. The teen ran off, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He has not been seen since, Hodgson said.
“We currently have our undercover unit out there looking for him,” Hodgson said. “I fully expect to get him. It is just a matter of getting the right information.”
Hodgson said the teen was charged last week with a property damage crime and brought to the Juvenile Secure Alternative Lockup Program, where juvenile detainees are held until their court appearances.
The lockup is operated out of a one-story brick building across the street from the former St. Mary’s Home. The facility has a maximum capacity of 12 detainees.
The window the teen jumped through measured 13½ inches by 17 inches, Hodgson said.
“It’s unbelievable that he got through,” Hodgson said.
The incident occurred while the escapee and other detainees were having dinner in a common area around 8:30 p.m.
“The individual was eating his chow and just sitting there,” Hodgson said.
“Then suddenly he jumped up on the chair, stepped onto the desk and went head-first over the top of the officer. He slipped through her grip and took off running.”
The sheriff said his department is reviewing its operations at the juvenile facility, which is staffed by two security officers during an eight-hour shift. Hodgson said an average of 600 juveniles from surrounding communities are brought every year to the facility, which opened 10 years ago.
“We’ve had 6,000 people go through here and this is the first time something like this has ever happened,” Hodgson said, adding that some preliminary ideas to improve security could be installing “additional hardware” such as different types of bars outside the building.
“If we find a vulnerability, we will look at it and assess it so it can’t happen again,” Hodgson said.
Police officer ejected from cafe www.privateofficer.com
“At first it was humiliating. I was there to get to know the neighborhood so I can offer better service,” said Crooker.
May 18, Officer Crooker stopped at the cafe for a cup of coffee when he ran into customer Cornelia Seigneur. She wanted to tell him thank you for all of his hard work.
But one of the managers interrupted their conversation.
“As I recall, he said I don’t feel safe with you here, ” said Seigneur, “He’s looking at the police officer. My daughter and I were stunned.”
The Portland Police Bureau has faced public criticism and protests, after some recent high-profile deadly shootings. Manager John Langley says police harass his customers, many of whom are homeless.
“To me, a uniformed officer doesn’t represent safety. It makes me feel unsafe and my customers feel the same way.” said Langley.
Officer Crooker quickly obliged and walked out the door.
But the incident upset Cornelia Seigneur so much that the freelance writer wrote about it online. Her blog post was loading slowly on Friday.
“I was really shocked and disappointed. I was sad and I feel that a human being was being humiliated, ” said Seigneur.
Langley mades no apologies. He said if he sees a police officer again, he would ask that officer to leave.
“The job of the police involves persecuting houseless people, immigrants, and having them in this space doesn’t feel right,” Langley said.
Newport News police shoot armed man www.privateofficer.com
Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred outside a club early Saturday morning.
At about 12:40 a.m., some off-duty police officers providing security at Blurr Bistro & Ultra-Lounge at 605 Pilot House Drive reported a fight in progress at the bar and requested backup, said Officer Harold O. Eley, a police spokesman. Club security began kicking out the crowd.
As officers arrived at 12:53 a.m., they heard shots fired in the parking lot and saw a man running away holding a gun, according to a news release. They ordered him to drop the firearm, but he refused and began to raise the gun, police said. An officer fired one round, but no one was struck, Eley said.
The man tossed his firearm, which police recovered, and officers took Mark Xavier Grinage, 28, of Williamsburg, into custody. He faces two counts of brandishing a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Officials found James Matthews, 27, of Hampton limping away from the area to a parked vehicle. They transported him to a local hospital for a nonlife-threatening gunshot wound to the leg. He has been uncooperative with the investigation, Eley said.
The officer involved in the shooting, whom police did not identify, has been placed on administrative leave, per department procedure, while the department’s Major Crimes unit and Office of Professional Standards investigates.
Maricopa County deputy injured while working security duty www.privateofficer.com
The deputy was in full uniform working security at Club Myst, 7340 East Shoeman Lane, in Downtown Scottsdale about 11:20 p.m., police said.
The deputy confronted Jeremy Jensen, 36, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle that was illegally parked, said Scottsdale police spokesman Sgt. Mark Clark.
Jensen refused to move the vehicle after several requests. The deputy, who police didn’t identify, told Jensen he was under arrest for failing to obey a lawful order, police said. The deputy reached inside the vehicle. That’s when Jensen grabbed the deputy’s arm and accelerated, police said.
The deputy was dragged about 120 feet before falling to the asphalt and suffering multiple injuries. He was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn with head and leg injuries and is in stable condition.
A second deputy stopped Jensen near Scottsdale and Camelback roads and arrested him. Jensen was booked into jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, felony endangerment and felony hit and run.
Teen killed running from security officer www.privateofficer.com
Raheem Key of Orlando was running through the parking lot of the Water Lakes shopping center on Alafaya Trail when he got hit by a car.
The driver, Joel Davis, 30, of Orlando, could not stop this Chevy truck in time and hit Key as the teen jumped through shrubbery and into the road on Waterford Lakes Parkway.
The teen was found with drugs on him, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Investigators said the Orange County Sheriff’s Office was attempting to trespass Key from the movie theater when he fled.
Security officer attacked walking home www.privateofficer.com
He gets off the night shift from his security job in Boston at least three nights a week, but just after midnight Sunday on Memorial Day weekend, he was suddenly followed by two men.
“You can feel when somebody is getting too close behind you,” said Lemay.
That’s when the blow came from behind with a blunt object.
“I got hit in the head. I leaned forward and my glasses fell off. I was in a daze and I turned around and swung at whoever was behind me,” he said.
During a brief fight with the suspects, Lemay was stabbed in the stomach, and never knew it until he saw the weapon on the ground after the attackers ran.
“I think it’s pretty cowardly for somebody to come from behind you and hit you thinking you’ll go down, and take whatever they want and leave you there,” he said.
Lemay was able to make his own 911 call to police as he lay bleeding in the street.
He suffered facial wounds and required six staples in his head. The belly wound, fortunately, was only about an inch deep.
Police have stepped up patrols at the station, and are urging commuters to take care as they look for two white males between the ages of 18 and 20.
“It’s very concerning to us and we want to make sure people are aware of their surroundings,” said Capt. John Dougan of the Quincy Police Department.
Lemay says he never thought twice about fighting back, but is now thinking twice about taking the train late at night.
“I’m going to be driving to work now, because my wife has insisted,” he said.
Police hope security cameras at the North Quincy station might provide some glimpse of the suspects, but at this point admit their descriptions are not very detailed.
Baton Rouge teenager indicted for six murders www.privateofficer.com
A grand jury charged 17-year-old Michael Louding on Thursday, but authorities did not identify him publicly until arrests were made Friday. Five others were also indicted on murder charges Thursday in some of the killings.
District Attorney Hillar Moore III declined comment until a news conference Monday.
“The investigation will continue. It’s ongoing. The grand jury will continue to meet,” Moore said.
Louding is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. Because of his age, he is not eligible for the death penalty. Conviction on any of the murder charges carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
The grand jury also indicted Kendrick Johnson, 19; Johnathan Rogers, 17; and Ryan Carroll, 16; with two counts of first-degree murder each. Adrian Pittman, 36; and Jared Williams, 20; were each charged with one count of first-degree murder.
Johnson, Pittman and Williams would be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
All six were being held without bond.
It could not be determined if Louding and the other defendants yet had attorneys.
Perhaps the most high-profile killing in the allegations was that of Baton Rouge rapper Chris “Nussie” Jackson, 33.
Jackson died Feb. 9, 2009, after being shot in the head at a Baton Rouge house. Jackson, who founded the record label Dope Celebrity Family in 2004, regularly performed with other local rappers at clubs around Baton Rouge and southern Louisiana.
The killings covered by the indictments occurred in 2009 and 2010 and, besides Jackson, involved three men shot in vehicles, one fatally shot through the window of his home, and another found dead behind his home.
School system deploys chaplains into service www.privateofficer.com
They are part of a new chaplain program aimed at reaching out to troubled students at Manteca Unified School District campuses.
“The chaplain program we’ve had in place for a long time was to provide help for officers who’ve dealt with traumatic situations or to assist with victims of crime,” Police Chief Dave Bricker. “These chaplains are taking us in a different direction.”
It is part of the Police Chief’s Initiative, a wide community-based repertoire of programs designed to weaken and diminish the influence of gangs on young people as well as to assist troubled youth in the community. The long-term goal is to reduce future crime rates by putting in place programs where youth can get help tutoring, help with problems or wholesome recreational diversions to stay out of trouble.
The chaplaincy program is being developed in partnership with Manteca Unified. They will be assigned to different schools where they will serve as mentors and counselors.
Overseeing the effort is Manteca Police officer Jason Hensley who serves as a gang prevention officer as well as chaplain advisor.
The volunteers are Sr. Chaplain Jim Day, Chaplain Dave Thompson, Chaplain Erik Aguirre, Chaplain Heidi Hensley, Chaplain Guy Romito, Chaplain Aundre Hillery, Chaplain Joe Macias, Chaplain John Hoppis, Chaplain John Syler, Chaplain Tim Kemptner, Chaplain Arabella Whitlock, Chaplain Steve Cole, Chaplain Heather Mahoney, Chaplain Sean Mahoney, Chaplain Rick Lackey, and Chaplain Tim Kennedy.
It is just one of a number of undertakings that range from Junior Crime Scene Investigators programs to efforts to put together a BMX team coached by police officers.
“We keep telling kids to find alternatives to gangs but then we don’t provide them,” Bricker said.
Bricker serves on the Boys & Girls Club board and has been active in other groups such as Give Every Child a Chance.
The Boys & Girls Club has been credited over the years with making a dent in juvenile delinquency rates and providing a safe haven for kids from the influence of gangs. Give Every Child a Chance’s free tutoring services has made a difference in the lives of over 10,000 youth in the last 11 years by improving their grasp of subjects and helping the students succeed in school.
Bricker noted churches have stepped up in other ways. He pointed to the Friday Unity in the Neighborhood operated by Southside Christian Church during the summer as one example.
While some ridicule such efforts, Bricker and juvenile delinquency experts point to long-term studies that show recreational programs and mentoring – even if it is only for three to four hours a week – can have a positive influence o kids plus counter gang pressures.,
Organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club help reduce the impact on crime from after school to 7 p.m. which is when most juveniles get into trouble.
Bricker has noted that the school resource officers have been an invaluable tool in collecting intelligence on gangs, defusing gang violence, and keeping campuses safer. The Manteca Unified School District is cutting funding for the officers in half for the upcoming school year and will drop completely in the 2011-12 budget year.
Bricker has vowed to find a way to keep the school resource officers in place at Sierra, Manteca, and East Union high schools.
Atlanta security officer shoots-kills man during fight www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA June 6 2010
Atlanta police confirmed that the homicide took place in the 1400 block of Boulevard Southeast but would not release the names of the victims or the security guard.
According to witnesses, a security guard from a nearby nightclub was trying to stop a fight about 5:30 a.m. when one of three participants pulled a gun. The guard and the gunman exchanged gunfire, and the gunman was hit in the chest, the station reported.
Police are still investigating and no arrests have been made.
Two men arrested for plotting to kill US troops www.privateofficer.com
Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, were arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport before they could board separate flights to Egypt and then continue on to Somalia, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported. The newspaper cited officials familiar with the details of the arrests who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Alessa, of North Bergen, and Almonte, of Elmwood Park, were charged with conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism through al-Shabaab, a violent extremist group based in Somalia and connected to al-Qaida, the officials told the newspaper. Al-Shabaab was designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group in 2008.
The FBI and the New York Police Department confirmed to The Associated Press that two men were arrested at the airport, but did not identify them or provide further details. FBI spokesman Richard Kolko in Washington said no threat was made at the airport; New York police spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.
Teams of state and federal law-enforcement agents who have been investigating Alessa and Almonte since 2006 took them into custody, the officials said. They are scheduled to appear Monday in federal court in Newark.
The arrests were made as part of an investigation known as Operation Arabian Knight. Authorities said an undercover NYPD officer had infiltrated the suspects’ group of friends and was able to monitor their consumption of jihadist videos and literature, overseas travel preparations, and purchase of airline tickets.
The two men had planned their trip Somalia for several months, saving thousands of dollars, undergoing tactical training and test runs at paintball fields to condition themselves physically, and acquiring equipment and clothing they could use when they joined al-Shabaab in Somalia, the officials said. Both had bragged about wanting to wage holy war against the United States both at home and internationally, investigators said.
Officials said the two men were not planning an imminent attack in the New York-New Jersey area. Both are American citizens, the officials said.
Also Saturday, FBI agents sealed off Alessa’s street in his neighborhood at around 10:30 p.m., and FBI agents, local police and the NYPD descended on his home, the newspaper reported. North Bergen police would say only that an investigation was in progress.
Twenty cars with agents and police came to Almonte’s home at around 11 p.m., with agents searching the outside of his house and a detached garage, the newspaper reported.
Somalia, an impoverished East African nation of about 10 million people, has not had a functioning government for more than a decade, although the U.S. is backing a transitional government there. The Pentagon’s top commander in the region has included Somalia on a list of countries where clandestine American military operations designed to disrupt militant groups would be targeted.
The arrests follow two failed terrorist attacks in the U.S. in recent months: an alleged attempted car bombing in Times Square by Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad last month, and the alleged attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
