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TSA officer fired over fake drug pranks www.privateofficer.com
Philadelphia PA Nov 4 2010 A security worker at Philadelphia’s airport planted a fake vials of cocaine as part of a prank.
The unnamed BAO (bomb appraisal officer), who has since be sacked, targeted passengers as they collected their baggage from X-ray scanners.
He had been at the airport to test out new security equipment when he decided to use vials of creatine powder meant to be used in the scanners on unsuspecting travellers
Documents released as part of the investigation revealed the Transportation Security Administration worker approached passengers and asked if the drugs belonged to them.
The prank so unnerved one passenger she burst into tears.
The documents, posted on The Smoking Gun, said the worker showed a ‘small vial of white powder’ to one and asked: ‘Did this come out of your bag?’
When the passenger replied no, the officer asked: ‘Are you sure?’
The traveller then said: ‘Yea, I’m pretty sure,’ and began to laugh.
‘Okay, just wanted to make sure. Have a nice flight,’ the officer replied.
The officer later returned and approached two young women who were collecting their luggage from the X-ray machine. One of the women was a 22-year-old university student.
The TSA employee asked the university student: ‘Do you have anything in your bag that you’re not supposed to?’
After she responded no, the worker displayed the fake cocaine.
‘Did this come out of your bag?’ he asked.
The panicked passenger replied: ‘No way. I don’t even know what that is,’ according to the TSA report.
The worker then joked: ‘I’m just checking. I know it didn’t come out of your bag, it belongs to me. You seem way too nice. Have a good flight.’
The university student, in tears, approached an airline worker to complain. Referring to ‘the things that are going on in the world today,’ she said it wasn’t a ‘funny joke’.
As part of its probe of the pranks, investigators spoke with other TSA employees.
Five confirmed that the officer had tried to trick passengers into thinking that cocaine was found in their luggage, but only one informed a supervisor.
Las Vegas teacher commits suicide on school campus www.privateofficer.com
LAS VEGAS NV Nov 4 2010 — Faculty at a Las Vegas High high school are still in shock after a teacher committed suicide on campus.
The shooting happened Monday afternoon at Western High School. Clark County School District police say 58-year-old Michael Roberts, who was a science teacher, shot and killed himself on campus.
The halls of Western High School have been void of students since Thursday due to the Nevada Day holiday and two days of professional development for teachers. Students will return to class Wednesday morning.
“It catches everybody off guard. And even though you are not buddy buddy with everybody, it still affects everyone,” said Rose Swena whose husband worked with Roberts.
Swena’s husband is also a teacher at Western High School. Only hours before the shooting, he spoke with Roberts and mentioned everything seemed fine.
“He had actually talked to Mr. Roberts yesterday. He said, ‘well you know. Nothing out of the ordinary.’”
School police say the shooting happened in the middle of the school’s quad. While no students were around, there is concern how this will impact the teens.
“It’s going to impact a lot because of the way that it was done and right in the middle of the quad. You know everybody walks by there everyday,” said Swena.
Grief counselors will on hand when students return Wednesday. The district’s crisis response team has been on campus since the shooting to help faculty with the loss.
“You know you’re a group, a group of teachers and so you are kind of like a family. When that happens, it’s pretty scary,” Swena said.
Although those who saw Roberts before the shooting say nothing appeared out of the ordinary, many remain puzzled as to why it happened. They also admit the loss will be a difficult thing to deal with.
“Absolutely, absolutely. A lot of questions left,” Swena said.
Denver bus driver pleads guilty in crash that killed two www.privateofficer.com
DENVER CO Nov 4 2010 — The driver behind the wheel of a Regional Transportation District bus that ran through a stop light and rammed into two vehicles, killing two people, pleaded guilty Wednesday.
Tideneykiyalesh Hawariyat, 30, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges — two counts of careless driving resulting in death and careless driving resulting in injury.
Ten passengers on the bus and a passenger in another vehicle were hurt in the crash, which occurred at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Lincoln Street on April 3.
Witnesses said that the driver of the city bus “punched through a red light” and T-boned a Volkswagen Rabbit and a pickup truck.
The driver of the Volkswagen, Dustin Peletier, and his passenger, Carla Miranda, both 29-year-old Denver residents, were killed at the scene.
Hawariyat was employed by Veolia Transportation, a contractor for RTD. About half of RTD’s bus service is privately contracted.
Hawariyat is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6.
Under the terms of the guilty plea agreement, she faces three years of probation.
Source:TheDenverChannel.com
Denver shoplifter attacks WalMart LP agent www.privateofficer.com
DENVER CO Nov 4 2010 — Denver police officers are trying to find the man they said attacked a security guard at a Walmart.
A man walked into the Walmart on Smith Road after 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23. The man hid several items inside his clothes and left the store without paying, police said.
When a store security guard confronted the man, the shoplifter hit the security guard and ran off with the stolen items, police said.
The shoplifter is described as Hispanic, 22 to 29 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a light complexion and a thin black mustache.
If you recognize the man, have please call the Denver Police Department at 720-913-2000 or call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
Alabama man charged with raping horse www.privateofficer.com
MOBILE, Alabama Nov 4 2010 – Sheriff’s deputies say Eric Easley was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. A spokesperson with the sheriff’s office says Easley raped a miniature horse.
Easley’s wallet was found near the scene in Wilmer and that’s how authorities were able to link him to the crime.
He is also charged with killing livestock, but according to the sheriff’s department, the animal didn’t die so that charge will more than likely be dropped.
Source:AL.com
Trenton teacher, security officer assaulted www.privateofficer.com
TRENTON NJ Nov 4 2010 — A teacher and a security guard were both assaulted within an hour during separate incidents at Trenton Central High School yesterday afternoon, schools security chief Irving Bradley Jr. said.
Teacher David Okin was trying to break up a fight when he was allegedly struck several times by a 15-year-old female student. Okin was not seriously injured, Bradley said.
“He wasn’t really hurt, nothing like that, he didn’t go to the hospital,” he said.
The student has been suspended, Bradley said.
Okin was allegedly assaulted at 1:35 p.m. An hour later, a 17-year-old student allegedly struck one of the school’s security officers, according to Bradley.
The 17-year-old was in the cafeteria and was bothering a female student, Bradley said. When the security officer approached him, the male student allegedly began swinging.
The officer was able to duck most of the punches, but two or three connected, Bradley said. A juvenile complaint for simple assault was signed against the teenager, and police officers came later in the day to take a report.
Bradley, Trenton’s former police director, joined Bowles Corporate Services in August. He holds the title of vice president for educational safety and security and supervises the security force the company fields in the city’s schools.
Yesterday’s incidents do not appear to be connected, he said.
Source:NJ.com
Texas college students killed in Mexico www.privateofficer.com
The students, identified as Manuel Acosta Villalobos, 25, and Eder Diaz Sotero, 23, were gunned down in a hail of more than 30 bullets while driving a Nissan Sentra with Texas plates, Chihuahua State police spokesman Arturo Sandoval said.
“I have confirmed that Eder was from the United States and was a U.S. citizen. The other boy was a Juarez native,” Sandoval said.
The university president, Diana Natalicio, issued a statement about the slayings that was published by The Prospector, the school’s student-run newspaper, on its website.
“Our hearts are heavy today with the news of the deaths of UTEP students Manuel Acosta and Eder Diaz. We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these two men as they deal with the tragic loss of their loved ones,” Natalicio said.
The Prospector identified Acosta as a senior computer information systems major and Diaz as a sophomore sophomore pre-business major. The Prospector also said that two other university students were killed in violence in Juarez on May 25.
Source:CNN
