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OFFICER DOWN- Public Safety Officer Eric Zapata
Michigan
End of Watch: Monday, April 18, 2011
Biographical Info
Age: 35
Tour of Duty: 10 years
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Monday, April 18, 2011
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Committed suicide
Officer Eric Zapata was shot and killed after responding to reports of a shots fired call on Hays Avenue.
Another officer had also responded to the call and approached a man standing on porch. As the officer asked the man if he had heard any shots the man suddenly pulled out a gun and exchanged shots with the officer.
The subject then ran in between two houses where he confronted Officer Zapata. More shots were exchanged and Officer Zapata was struck in the head and chest. The man then committed suicide.
Officer Zapata had served with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety for 10 years.
Agency Contact Information
Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
150 E Crosstown Parkway
Suite A
Kalamazoo, MI 49001
Phone: (269) 337-8120
Please contact the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
Teacher sent nude photos to student www.privateofficer.com
A press release from Sheriff Johnny Bivens office didn’t indicate if the photos were of Hall or someone else.
Hall was arrested Monday and lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center, where is he being held without bond.
More information will be posted as it becomes available.
SOURCE:Ledger
Vegan activist arrested by campus security police www.privateofficer.com
Costa Mesa CA April 20 2011 A vegan activist passing out leaflets on campus said her rights were violated when she was searched by campus security officers and arrested Thursday in front of the Library.
Nikki Benoit, 35, of Pasadena, an outreach coordinator for the non-profit organization Vegan Outreach, was detained by Campus Safety then cited for trespassing by the Costa Mesa police while she was on campus to advocate against animal cruelty in the food industry.
“Campus safety manhandled me, grabbed me, turned me around, threw hand cuffs on and pushed me around,” Benoit said of the incident.
Benoit, who said she has visited more than 80 campuses to pass out leaflets, added that this is the first time she has been arrested and escorted off a campus.
The activist said that when she has been approached at other campuses she has been allowed to stay and hand out information once she informs police of what she called her constitutional rights. Several attorneys have advised her that handing out leaflets on campuses is legal, she added.
“The state of California lets me do this,” she said.
But Orange Coast College officials say anyone promoting causes must confine themselves to the Free Speech Zone.
Benoit said Campus Safety was called when she refused to stop leafleting in front of the library after an employee approached her and asked her to stop.
According to Chief of Campus Safety John Farmer, Benoit refused to move to the designated Free Speech Zone on campus when asked, adding that there is a no leaflet policy on campus.
“If this person is outside the confines of the free speech area and refuses to leave, then campus safety will approach,” said Kate Mueller, dean of students services. “Colleges by federal law can define time, place and manner (of free speech on campus).”
According to civil rights and freedom of speech attorney Michael Collins of Newport Beach, a free speech zone on campus is unconstitutional.
“A free speech zone is limiting your first amendment rights and would not appear to be consistent with the first amendment rights of the constitution,” Collins said.
He added that the college is restricting speech by having a zone where people can promote causes.
“Your right to freedom of speech does not have geographical restrictions. You either have it or you don’t,” Collins said. “I don’t agree that this free speech zone is consistent with what the constitution says.”
According to Mueller and Farmer, anything disruptive to the normal flow of student activity is not approved and anyone in violation of the code can be detained by campus safety.
Benoit said she wasn’t being disruptive when handing out the leaflets and was trying to spread awareness on what goes on in the food industry and animal cruelty.
“I have never been accused of being aggressive. There is no point, violence and aggression is not a way to encourage compassion,” Benoit said.
She said she is considering legal action against the college.
Source:Coast Report Online
Oregon State Sheriff’s Association not happy with tribal police bill www.privateofficer.com
Portland OR April 20 2011 The Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association has come out against a bill that would give tribal police officers authority off the reservation.
Last month, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that tribal police officers do have the authority to make an arrest off reservation if a crime is committed on tribal lands and the suspect flees.
Senate Bill 412 would allow officers to make arrests in crimes committed off the reservation.
Holly Russell is the Executive Director of the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association.
She says the tribal police wouldn’t be subject to the same regulation and oversight as regular Oregon police officers.
And, she says the bill wouldn’t give Oregon police officers reciprocal authority to enforce the law on tribal lands.
Holly Russell: “In other words tribal police agencies would have more authority than any other police agency in Oregon.”
Tim Addleman is Chief of Police for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla.
In public testimony submitted last month, he said changing the law would help keep the public and tribal officers safe.
Security officer stops gang rape of teen www.privateofficer.com
Toronto Ca April 20 2011 Police are investigating after an alleged gang sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl Friday night.
The teen was at an all-ages party near Kipling and Finch avenues when, around 11:30 p.m., a man allegedly pulled her into a storage closet.
Police say four men proceeded to sexually assault the girl, but when a security guard caught them in the act, they fled.
The suspects are all black and 16 years old. One is six feet tall and was wearing a grey toque; a second is five feet eight inches tall, with short, curly hair, and was clean-shaven and wearing green; another was wearing a black leather jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at http://www.222tips.com, text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637), or leave a tip on Facebook.
Arizona man arrested after CT. airport disturbance www.privateofficer.com
Verrell Paul Isaiah was a passenger on a Southwest flight 292 from Chicago, police said. He was acting “tumultuously,” and refused to put away electronic devices as the plane was about to take off, according to a press release from State Police.
After the plane landed and Isaiah woke up, he continued to curse at the crew, police said. He “berated” a Southwest customer service representative in front of a state trooper and used foul language in public.
Isaiah’s behavior allegedly upset commuters and the flight crew, the release states.He was charged with second-degree breach of peace and interfering with an officer.
Police set bond for the accused at $1,000.
Source:Middletown Press
Millville school security officers injured in fight www.privateofficer.com
MILLVILLE NJ April 20 2011 — Two security guards were injured in a fight between two girls at Lakeside Middle School on Friday, police said.
Both girls, a 12–year-old and 13-year-old, were charged with aggravated assault on a public employee and disorderly conduct.
Police said as the two girls were fighting, they kicked two security guards.
The Millville Rescue Squad took one guard to a local hospital; the other guard went to the hospital on her own, police said.
The hospital said one of the guards suffered a minor head injury, according to a police report.
The girls were processed and released. Because of the girls’ ages, police did not release their names.
Source:DailyJournal
Man caught entering court with marijuana www.privateofficer.com
Greenwich Township NJ April 20 2011 Authorities say that Christopher J. Youpa tried to pass through acourt security with marijuana but officers nabbed him.
Police were conducting security scanning for the township April 11 at Greenwich Township Municipal Court when Youpa was found in possession of suspected marijuana concealed in a cigarette pack, police report.
Police did not say why Youpa was going to court.
Youpa was arrested for possession of marijuana and charged with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana. He was released with a summons and is scheduled to report May 16 to municipal court.
Police kill felon in robbery spree www.privateofficer.com
UPPER DARBY PA April 20 2011 -A 23-year-old Philadelphia man on a robbery spree in at least three towns was shot and killed by police inside a convenience store late Monday night.
Officers were on the lookout for a Toyota Avalon, reportedly stolen earlier in the day by a man released from prison in Philadelphia and used during five or six armed robberies, one in Philadelphia, two in Lansdowne and several in Upper Darby.
The vehicle belonged to a security guard and contained two guns, a semi-automatic and a revolver, belonging to the officer.
According to police Superintendent Michael Chitwood, Officers David Snyder and Randy Desrosiers were on patrol and observed the car parked outside the Sunoco Mini-mart, West Chester Pike and St. Laurence Road, approximately 11 p.m. and entered the store with their guns drawn
They ordered him to take his hands out of his pockets,” Chitwood said.
“He doesn’t do it and they feel he is armed. As his hands come out of his pockets Snyder fired three shots. Two hit him, one in the chest area and one in the thigh.”
The unidentified man was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, where he was pronounced dead.
Chitwood said police noticed the vehicle, which had been reported stolen earlier in Philadelphia, pull into the convenience store. Police converged on the store while the suspect was still inside.
He was told to show his hands to officers, but instead reached into his shirt, according to Chitwood. An officer fired, striking the suspect in the head. It is not known at this time whether the suspect was armed.
Chitwood said the man was a suspect in a string of armed holdups of gas stations and convenience stores in the region.
South southjersey.com
Internet cafe security shoot-kill armed robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. April 19 2011– Deputies in Seminole County are searching for two men who they said were involved with a fatal robbery attempt at a local strip mall.
Deputies said the attempted robbery and shooting happened at the Allied Veterans Internet Cafe near Forest City in Apopka, located on State Road 436 (see map) .
Deputies said two men stormed into the cafe with the intent of robbery and one man fired shots at an armed guard, who hid behind a pillar and fired back. The security guard then shot one of the men, 22-year-old Gary L. Bryant, in the back, but his accomplice got away, deputies said.
Before fleeing the scene, one of the suspects fired several rounds into the business, endangering nearly 20 to 30 people inside, deputies said. The suspects fled in a tan Oldsmobile that was waiting in front of the business.
A Seminole County Investigator spotted the suspects’ vehicle shortly after and attempted a traffic stop, but was unsuccessful. Deputies said the suspects proceeded to Value Inn hotel off of State Road 441 where they dumped Bryant’s body. He was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Bryant was on probation for robbery, according to deputies.
“That says a lot about how brazen they are,” said Lt. James Clarke, of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. “Then discarding the body, which I’m sure was a friend of theirs, in that manner really speaks to how brazen they are and how little regard they have for human life.”
After discarding the body, the two remaining suspects were pursued by Orange County Sheriff’s Office in the Pine Hills area. The suspects eventually left the vehicle and fled on foot. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is currently working a K-9 unit. The suspects are described as black males, wearing dark clothing, possibly in their mid 20′s.
The Sheriff’s Office said there is video of the incident from inside the cafe, but that has not been released. The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who has information about this incident to call the Sheriff’s Office at 407-665-6650 or to contact Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
Source:WFTV
