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OFFICER ANDREW GARTON KILLED
Andrew Garton
Hawthorne Police Department, California
End of Watch: Thursday, May 26, 2011
Age: 44
Tour of Duty: 7 years, 6 months
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Motorcycle accident
Date of Incident: May 26, 2011
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Police Officer Andrew Garton was killed in a motorcycle accident while providing a funeral escort through Torrance, California.
Several agencies were involved with escorting the funeral of a Manhattan Beach police officer.
Officer Garton’s motorcycle collided with an El Segundo Police Department motor unit at the intersection of 227th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard.
The collision threw Officer Garton into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
The El Segundo police officer was also seriously injured.
Both officers were transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where Officer Garton succumbed to his injuries.
Officer Garton had served with the Hawthorne Police Department for 7.5 years. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Agency Contact Information
Hawthorne Police Department
12501 S Hawthorne Blvd
Hawthorne, CA 90250
Phone: (310) 349-2700
Loomis armored car robbed in Charlotte www.privateofficer.com
CHARLOTTE, NC May 27 2011 – $44,000 stolen in a daring daylight robbery of an armored car in a Charlotte shopping center.
A Loomis-Fargo armored car stopped to refill a standalone Bank of America ATM on Overland Park Lane near Mallard Creek.
The driver stayed in the vehicle, but the worker got out with a bag of cash. As he turned back toward the vehicle, a masked man stuck a gun in his face.
“It was so quick, the employee just fell to the ground,” said CMPD Detective Marty Cuthbertson, “as he fell to the ground, the suspect picked up the bag and fled from the parking lot.”
WBTV has obtained exclusive surveillance pictures of the robbery which show the frightening scene.
“Oh, very frightening. You can see his face, you can see his skin complexion, his light complexion, dark clothing, mask over his face, gloves, very threatening. If I were in that person’s, victims shoes, I would have hit the ground,” said the detective.
If you have any information that might help police, call Crimestoppers at (704) 334-1600 and you may earn a reward of up to $1,000.
Source:WBTV
Bond denied for security officer murder suspect www.privateofficer.com
Columbia SC May 27 2011 Bond was denied Wednesday for a murder suspect a prosecutor called “not only a danger to the community but also a flight risk.”
Rodney Allen Neals, the 28-year-old Harleyville man charged in the shooting death of a nightclub security guard, was denied bond during a hearing before Circuit Court Judge Ed Dickson.
“It appears that he is a danger to the community. He has two charges involving shootings,” Dickson said.
However, Dickson said Neals could reapply for bond at a later date.
“If this case is not proceeding toward a resolution in a matter of months, I’ll allow you to come back and we’ll reconsider,” Dickson said.
Along with the murder charge, Neals faces an attempted murder charge. He’s also been charged with assault and battery with intent to kill in connection with a separate incident.
Neals is accused of firing a barrage of shots through the door of the Allen Murray Club after security kicked him out on Oct. 17. Prosecutors say the gunfire struck two security guards at the Bowman nightclub.
“He forced his way in initially, and was escorted out and told to leave the property,” prosecutor Don Sorenson said. “Allegations are he retrieved a firearm from his vehicle, fired several shots through the door, into the club, striking two individuals. Both of them were working security there. One of them was named Deshon Potts.”
The 31-year-old Deshon Potts was shot at least once in the right side and died as a result. His partner, James Robinson, was struck in the hand and leg.
“Mr. Rodney Allen Neals is a flight risk and he is a danger to the community,” Robinson told the court. “If you give him bond, he might get out.”
Robinson spoke about the night of the shooting.
“He shot through the door. … Bullets came through the door,” Robinson said. “One grazed me on my hand and on my right leg.”
Robinson said he no longer works in security.
Sorenson said Neals was on trespassing notice at the club on the day of the shooting.
Also, he was out on $15,000 bond in connection with a 2009 shooting incident.
After the fatal shooting in Bowman, Neals was captured in Pennsylvania and extradited back to South Carolina.
“He’s the very definition of a danger to the community and a flight risk,” Sorenson said. “We respectfully ask your honor to deny bond.”
Sorenson said he expects to send the case to trial within four months if a plea agreement hasn’t been worked out.
Defense attorney Jill Ullman said her client is a local individual with family ties to the community.
“I would tell your honor that we believe he is entitled to a reasonable bond,” Ullman said.
Neals is a family man who takes care of his children, she said. He went to Pennsylvania to pick up relatives, not elude law enforcement, Ullman said.
“He said he and his cousin had planned to go to Pennsylvania to pick up a few people, it was camp meeting time,” she said. Neals didn’t fight extradition, “and signed papers to get brought back down here as quickly as possible.”
Georgetta Potts, wife of Deshon Potts, took exception to the description of Neals as a family man.
“My husband had kids at home,” Potts said. “He’s not here to take care of them.”
Two charged with robbery of Sears store www.privateofficer.com
Bend OR May 27 2011
Two Klamath Falls residents were arrested after a robbery at Sears in Bend on Tuesday.
Authorities said Arren Broderick, 42, and Adria Wilkinson, 35, were arrested on suspicion of robbery and theft after several hundred dollars worth of items were stolen.
When a store security guard confronted the pair, Wilkinson fled, and Broderick attempted to assault the security agent while trying to escape.
Broderick was arrested shortly after, and Wilkinson was later found traveling on U.S. Highway 97. Officers also discovered evidence of methamphetamine possession and distribution in Wilkinson’s vehicle, and she was arrested on suspicion of theft, robbery and methamphetamine possession.
Both are being held at the county jail.
Gary In teacher arrested for assault of security-police www.privateofficer.com
GARY IN May 27 2011 — Police arrested a substitute teacher at Roosevelt High School on Wednesday morning after he allegedly became loud and abusive to a school security officer.
George Rogers, 62, of 633 Adams St., was charged with battery on law enforcement, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct.
Shortly before 10 a.m., school security officer Joe Franklin entered the third-floor classroom where Rogers was a substitute teacher.
Rogers wanted a student escorted to the office and Franklin responded that he’d need a referral, the arrest report states.
“Mr. Rogers then began to use profanity, yelling at me in a very loud and angry voice. He walked toward me, stuck out his chest and used it to bump against me,” the report states.
Rogers allegedly made threats to Franklin and refused to quiet down as students and teachers gathered in the hallway while the confrontation continued, the report states.
Franklin told Rogers if he didn’t get quiet he would be arrested, but Rogers continued to yell.
Rogers struggled with police as he was handcuffed, the report states.
Rogers was booked at the Gary Public Safety Facility on the three misdemeanor charges.
Source:Post Tribune
Gambler wins $250,000 in lawsuit against casino www.privateofficer.com
After a few beers on May 11, 2008, he began complaining to a friend that the Monopoly slot machine’s bonus round kept showing the same outcome: A loss. That was weird.
He complained to a slot technician who, perhaps predictably, said there was nothing wrong with it.
He asked to speak to the technician’s boss. Security arrived and told Johnson to call the Gaming Control Board with his complaint.
What happened next is a bit fuzzy but it’s clear from a grainy surveillance video that there was an altercation between Johnson and the casino security officers who wrestled him to the ground. Johnson got a lawyer and filed a civil lawsuit alleging assault, battery and false imprisonment in a casino office.
The upshot?
Neither Johnson nor the security chief still works at Imperial Palace.
State gaming regulators concluded that the slot machine was, in fact, not working right. They ordered the manufacturer to address the flaw and Johnson got back the $50 he had gambled on it.
The bigger payoff: A jury last month awarded Johnson $250,000, and Johnson and the casino settled the punitive part of the case confidentially.
Shoplifter stabs security agent in the face www.privateofficer.com
Police said the violence occurred at 2751 Eglinton Ave. E. at 2:32 p.m.
“A customer stabbed the security officer with a knife,” Const. Tony Vella said. “He detained her for shoplifting.”
Vella said the victim, who is in his mid-30s, was bleeding from the face but was conscious and breathing. Paramedics took him to The Scarborough Hospital, General Division.
“There is one person in custody,” Vella said.
Mother-son NOPD officers arrested for assaulting nightclub security www.privateofficer.com
New Orleans LA May 27 2011- Two New Orleans police officers were arrested Wednesday for allegedly hitting a security guard at a bar in the 1500 block of Basin St. early Sunday morning.
Sgt. Emelda Blanco, and her son, Officer Gerald Blanco, were charged with simple battery, according to a police spokesperson. The incident happened shortly after midnight at Robertson’s Vieux Carre Lounge.
Sgt. Blanco, 50, is a 25-year veteran of the NOPD. Her son, 31, has been on the force for three years. Both have been suspended without pay pending an investigation by the Public Integrity Bureau.
The two were off-duty when the incident occurred. Both police officers have been released from jail, according to court documents.
The security officer involved in the incident, Derrick Blackston, says Gerald Blanco tried to enter the club with a loaded gun.
“I asked him, why are you trying to bring this weapon in here. He showed me his badge and his ID and I informed him that even though he’s a police officer, he wasn’t allowed to have a loaded weapon in there,” says Blackston
Blackston says Blanco was upset but left without incident. Then early Sunday morning, Blackston says Gerald Blanco and his mother, Emelda Blanco walked up to him at the door of the lounge.
“She informed me that she was a police officer for NOPD and that she had a son that worked for NOPD as a police officer. The fellow, the police officer that I had that past experience with. He walked up into the doorway and she informed me that it was her son,” says Blackston
Blackston says he felt threatened and he asked them to leave. He says as he turned away from the officers, Emelda attacked him.
“The mother ran up to me and punched me in the forehead with a closed fist. They rushed me and they tried to jam me up into the wall and we began to struggle. She ended up hitting me with something sharp and it shattered over my left eye. I felt a hand on my weapon like they were trying to grab it out the holster. At one point, the barrel of the weapon was put into my chest,” Says Blackston
Blackston says the club manager broke it up and he says he ended up at the hospital for treatment.
Blackston says he’s happy the arrests were made, but he believes the two officers should have been booked with something more serious than simple battery. Both officers are now out of jail.
The NOPD would not elaborate on exactly what happened, only that both officers were off-duty at the time of the incident.
Mothers bring children, drugs on Wal-Mart shoplifting trip www.privateofficer.com
SARALAND, Alabama May 27 2011– A 23-year-old woman was arrested Friday when Saraland police said she left 2 children unattended in a car outside the Saraland Wal-Mart while she shopped.
The next day, according to police, another woman was arrested at the same store in a shoplifting incident while she had her 6-year-old child with her and drug paraphernalia in her possession.
Saraland police spokesman Sgt. Leroy Smith said Brittany White was arrested about 1 p.m. Friday after her children, ages 2 and 4, were found in a car in the store’s parking lot. The engine was running and the doors were unlocked, according to Smith.
White was booked at the city jail in Saraland and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Smith said the children had been left in the car for about 50 minutes while the mother was shopping.
The children, who were not injured, were turned over to a relative, he said.
On Saturday about 2:45 p.m. at the same store, Christina Ann Ramsey was arrested in connection with a shoplifting complaint, Smith said. During the investigation, police discovered Ramsey had her 6-year-old child with her and police found a needle and syringe in her possession.
Ramsey was taken to the city jail in Saraland and charged with third-degree theft of property and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The 6-year-old was turned over to a relative in Mobile, Smith said.
Source:AL.com
Texas man sues nightclub after being assaulted www.privateofficer.com
Seeking damages for his mental anguish, Rambin filed suit against club owner Joe Aref on May 18 in Jefferson County District Court.
Court records show that on April 23, Rambin and some of his friends were visiting the Beaumont club when someone started to videotape his girlfriend while she danced.
According to the lawsuit, Rambin confronted the individual, which prompted Club 409 bouncers to remove him.
During the incident, Rambin’s girlfriend was knocked to the ground. When he attempted to come to her aid, the bouncers knocked him to the ground and began beating him, the suit alleges.
The suit faults Club 409 for negligently failing to train its bouncers and for allowing the physical assault to occur.
On top of mental anguish, Rambin is suing for punitive and exemplary damages.
Beaumont attorney Cade Bernsen represents him.
Judge Milton Shuffield, 136th District Court, has been assigned to the case.
Case No. D190-048
California teacher arrested for making explosives www.privateofficer.com
Livingston CA May 27 2011
Rice University police officer fired for aiding Houston officers www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX May 27 2011 – A Rice University Police officer may have been fired for trying to help his brothers in blue.
David Sedmak was terminated from Rice University PD after he attempted to help Houston Police officers during a shooting at the Greyhound bus station in downtown on May 7, our sources said.
Sedmak reportedly rushed to the scene after hearing an officer was shot during the incident.
Rice University released the following statement regarding the termination:
…Out of respect for the Houston Police Department, we want to clarify that David Sedmak was terminated from the Rice University Police Department for dereliction of duty. Sedmak left his post when only two other officers were on duty and failed to notify his supervisor of his whereabouts for nearly an hour…
No other information about the officer was released and a university official said that it was a personnel matter.
Houston toll collector killed by drunk driver www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX May 27 2011– A 38-year-old Houston woman was charged with intoxication manslaughter Thursday after a horrific crash that killed a toll booth worker in northwest Harris County late Wednesday night.
Investigators said Julie Little was speeding in a black Camaro westbound on the North Sam Houston Parkway near Antoine around 11 p.m. when she approached a toll booth area.
Apparently, Little never slowed down, and then she swerved at the last minute to head to a different toll booth lane.
Investigators said the Camaro hit a concrete barrier and went airborne, smashing into 48-year-old Sheila Lindsey, who was sweeping in a closed lane.
Lindsey was thrown about 50 feet and died at the scene.
Little was taken to the hospital.
Deputy constables tried to test her blood-alcohol level at the hospital, but the machine was broken, so they were forced to release her from custody.
“Legally, we can’t. We don’t have any investigative hold. Some of the municipalities have 24-hour investigative hold where they can hold you legally. We here in the county don’t have that,” Assistant Chief Mark Herman of the Precinct 4 Constable’s Office said.
But investigators said the test was later administered at a second location, and when the results came back, Little was arrested again.
Investigators said Little’s BAC was twice the legal limit, and the tests showed three other drugs in her system.
Meanwhile, Lindsey’s family was struggling to cope with their loss Thursday.
They said Lindsey had worked as a custodian for the Harris County Toll Road Authority for several years.
“I just miss my baby,” the victim’s mother, Nettie Moore, said. “She was a sweet kid. Always had a smile on her face, even when she was in school.”
Lindsey left behind two kids and a husband.
“It’s not right. She’s supposed to be here with us. Oh my God,” Lindsey’s stepdaughter, Jennifer Munoz, said.
“The only thing I want is justice. This person should be behind bars for what they done to my momma. So if they was drinking, they gotta pay the consequences of what they brought to us,” the victim’s son, Robert Daniels, said.
Source:KHOU
Portland nightclub, security company sued in death of man www.privateofficer.com
According to the suit, security at the now-defunct Club 915 ejected Michael Allessandro Ellis without his coat and backpack — which reportedly contained a hat — in the early morning hours of Nov. 23, when the temperature dipped to 18 degrees. That tied as the lowest in Portland in 2010.
The Southeast Portland man was highly intoxicated after buying drinks at the club, according to the suit. The suit faults the club’s security, Top Flyte Security, for allegedly assaulting Ellis then putting him in grave danger by sending him outside without his belongings. His body was found later that morning three or four blocks from the club, in a partially frozen water feature just north of the Hawthorne Bridge.
Police investigated the possibility of foul play in Ellis’ death, but found no criminal wrongdoing.
The suit states that security guards were “unlicensed” and “untrained” in how to deal with intoxicated patrons.
The suit was filed late Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court by Portland attorney Jane Paulson, on behalf of Ellis’ estate.
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission suspended the club’s liquor license Jan. 7, six days after Ruben Mata was fatally shot outside the club. The OLCC cited a “history of serious and persistent problems” including fights, drugs and intoxication at the Southwest Second Avenue club.The club was owned by Frank Chin’s company, Jin’s Int’l Entertainment.
Source:Oregeoniamlive.com
