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OFFICER DOWN Charles Allen VanMeter
OFFICER DOWN Charles Allen VanMeter
Charles Allen VanMeter
End of Watch: Sunday, June 26, 2011
Biographical Info
Age: 27
Tour of Duty: 5 years
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Date of Incident: June 26, 2011
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Deputy Charles VanMeter was killed in an automobile accident on State Highway 6, in Manvel, at approximately 10:30 pm.
An eastbound pickup truck caused a collision when it turned left off of Highway 6 to enter a gas station near FM 1128, failing to yield to the oncoming patrol car. Deputy VanMeter, the passenger in the patrol car, sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. His partner was flown to a hospital in critical condition.
Deputy VanMeter had served with the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office for five years.
Agency Contact Information
Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office
3602 County Road 45
Angleton, TX 77515
Phone: (979) 864-2214
OFFICER DOWN RUSSELL ANTHONY GEORGE
Russell Anthony George
Age: 47
Tour of Duty: 18 years
Badge Number: BL-4
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Date of Incident: June 26, 2011
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Officer Russell George was killed in an automobile accident while responding to a call for assistance from another officer from his department at approximately 2:50 am.
He was traveling south on US Highway 165 when his patrol car collided with an abandoned bicycle that was located in the roadway. After colliding with the bicycle, Officer George lost control of his patrol car, left the roadway and collided with several trees. The collision with the trees caused his patrol car become engulfed in flames. Officer George died at the scene.
Officer George was a U.S. Army veteran and had served in law enforcement for 18 years. He is survived by his wife, daughter, two step-daughters, mother, and four siblings.
Agency Contact Information
Ball Police Department
100 Municipal Drive
Ball, LA 71405
Phone: (318) 640-4673
Deleware State Police arrest GA man with guns at service area www.privateofficer.com
The incident occurred at approximately 8:50 a.m. on June 17 after troopers were called to the I-95 Service Area in Newark after a witness observed a male subject exit a tan Mercury Sable that was parked by the Welcome Center. The witness told troopers that they watched the man open the trunk of the vehicle and remove a handgun, which he then placed in the waistband of his pants before enterring the Welcome Center.
Troopers approached the subject, later identified as 58-year-old William Slugg, as he was exiting the Welcome Center. A pat down search of Slugg revealed a fully loaded 22 caliber revolver in his waistband. Troopers also located a pipe used to smoke marijuana in his pocket. After asking for and receiving permission to search Slugg’s vehicle, troopers located a 45 caliber semi-automatic handgun in the trunk of the car, as well as a plastic bag containing over 18 grams of marijuana inside the car. Slugg had a valid permit in Georgia to carry a concealed weapon, but the permit is not valid in the state of Delaware.
William Slugg was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arraigned at JP Court 11 and released after posting $1,500 secured bail
Man arrested for posing as US military officer to get free first class bump www.privateofficer.com
NEW YORK, NY June 28 2011 — Police in New York said they arrested a man who posed as a U.S. service member to get a free bump to first class on a flight from the Dominican Republic.
New York Port Authority police said Rock Diaz, 22, arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport Friday wearing an Army uniform and he raised the suspicions of a customs official who noticed the insignia on the uniform did not match the rank Diaz claimed to hold, the New York Post reported Monday.
“If you knew anything about the military and you looked at him, you could tell he wasn’t really a soldier,” a police source told the Post.
Investigators said Diaz had pulled the same scam before, and on one occasion in December 2009 had been able to talk his way into the cockpit of a jet where he was photographed sitting at the controls of the plane.
Diaz was charged with second degree impersonation.
Source:www.upi.com
Brazoria County Texas deputy killed in traffic collision www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON, Texas June 28 2011– Authorities have released the name of a Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy who died in a traffic collision with a pickup on Texas 6 last night near Manvel that also left another deputy and two other men critically injured.
The two-vehicle wreck occurred on Highway 6 near FM 1128 about 9:15 p.m. Sunday, according to the Department of Public Safety, which is investigating the crash.
Troopers said Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Charles Allen Vanmeter, 27, died in the collision.
Deputy Joshua Mark Waldrop, 26, was critically injured as were the 18-year-old driver and 17-year-old passenger in the pickup. All three were rushed to Memorial Hermann-The Texas Medical Center.
Troopers said Waldrop, the squad car driver, has bruises and contusions. The other people, both men, have broken bones. The pickup driver also has head trauma.
Troopers said the patrol car was traveling westbound on Highway 6 when it apparently slammed into a 1993 Chervolet pickup truck, which was traveling eastbound on Highway 6. It appears that the truck may have failed to yield the right of way to the cruiser and turned in front of the squad car, troopers said.
However, troopers added, the crash is still being investigated and no citations have been issued so far.
Both deputies were wearing seat belts.
Paramus police officers injured during arrest of fraud suspects at mall www.privateofficer.com
Paramus NJ June 28 2011 An arrest attempt Saturday at the Garden State Plaza sent two Paramus Police officers to the hospital, one with a broken nose.
Officers Keith Bland and Robert Brack were trying to arrest Preston Bryant, 43, and Chermaine Quinones, 40, after the New York residents allegedly tried to buy a $10,575 watch with a fake credit card at Ross Simon Jewelry, reports said. Bryant tried to run, but was caught by Bland and Brack, reports said.
But as they tried to restrain him, Bryant, who is 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, started punching, kicking and biting the officers, reports said. A mall security officer called Paramus Police for backup, reports said.
The police were able to subdue Bryant after more officers arrived. Quinones didn’t resist arrest, reports said.
Brack and Bland were sent to Hackensack University Medical Center for treatment. Brack suffered a broken nose, injured neck and several bite marks on his arms, and will be out of work indefinitely.
Bland also received several bite marks, but returned to work.
Bryant was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, fraudulent use of a credit card, possession of a stolen credit card and identity theft. He was sent to Bergen County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Quinones was charged with conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and conspiracy to commit theft by deception. She was sent to Bergen County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Atlanta security guard charged with church burglary www.privateofficer.com
Anthony Deunta Boyd is being charged with burglarizing the office of Bishop Eddie Long, according to police reports.
The arraignment will take place at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur.
Boyd and a second defendant, Maurice Robinson, were offered pre-trial diversion for the 2010 burglary at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
According to police reports, Boyd was indicted on burglary charges in April of 2011 after he failed to appear for the Pre-Trial Diversion Program and later declined to participate in the Pre-Trial Diversion Program.
Source:CBS ATLANTA
Point Park University gets own police force www.privateofficer.com
Point Park police Chief Jeffrey Besong says the officers have received the same training as municipal police officers and their jurisdiction will cover the campus and up to a block away from its borders.
For now, the department will use bicycle and foot patrols, though the private, liberal arts school eventually plans to buy a police vehicle.
Besong tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the force is primarily meant to give students and faculty more security and a more personal response to calls, even things like loud music complaints, which are important to the quality of campus life but difficult for city police to handle in detail.
Target store security agent injured by shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
RENO NV June 28 2011—A security officer was injured in a tussle with a suspect after the suspect tried to steal merchandise from the store.
On Sunday shortly before noon, security officers at the Target store located at 6845 Sierra Center Parkway saw a man shoplift an Xbox and exit the store with it concealed in a black duffle bag. Once he had exited the store without paying for the item, he was stopped by the security officers and a fight ensued during which the suspect produced a knife and apparently struck one of them, causing a very superficial cut. The suspect was able to flee and the security officer did not require any medical assistance.
The suspect is described as a white male in his early 20’s, 5’10”, 130 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, a black or grey sweatshirt, and black shorts. He was carrying a black duffle bag.
The investigation is on-going and anyone with additional information is urged to contact the Reno Police Department Detective Division at 334-2115 or Secret Witness at 322-4900.
81 year old sex offender arrested for enticing minor www.privateofficer.com
The Sheriff’s Department says in a statement that Keith Holmes of Pearblossom was held Sunday on $1 million bail.
The statement says the girl was walking as her parents watched from a distance Saturday when Holmes pulled up and asked if she wanted a ride, and stayed next to her after she refused. He sped away as the mother confronted him, but she got his license number and he was later arrested.
Deputies say they found evidence in Holmes’s vehicle showing an intent to kidnap, but would not elaborate.
Holmes is on probation after two convictions for molesting or annoying a child.
Source:www.sacbee.com
Memphis teacher charged in 2009 rape of student www.privateofficer.com
Jose Garcia, 31, is charged with statutory rape by an authority figure. His last known address is in the 8200 block of Championship Drive, near the Tournament Players Club at Southwind golf course.
Memphis police did not provide the name of the school.
According to a police affidavit, the victim told police in March 2010 that Garcia exchanged phone numbers with him and contacted him on MySpace in February 2009. The victim said text messages and phone conversations led to sexual activities between them, the affidavit says. The victim told police they engaged in oral and anal sex in the school’s “Junior Hall” and had several sexual incidents during February 2009, the affidavit says.
Garcia was questioned by school administration and admitted that the victim kissed him on the lips and touched him on his genitalia while his pants were zipped, according to the affidavit, which does not specify if the victim was one of Garcia’s students.
Source:Commercial Appeal
Ball LA police officer killed in fiery crash www.privateofficer.com
BALL, La. June 28 2011(AP) – State Police are investigating the death of a Ball police officer in a fiery car crash on U.S. Highway 165.
Officer Russell A. George was traveling southbound on U.S. 165around 2:50 a.m. Sunday, “responding to a call for assistance by another Ball P.D. unit,” according to the State Police fatality report of the accident.
George’s 2009 Ford Crown Victoria, which was just north of the intersection of U.S. 165 and La. Highway 623, struck a bicycle that was lying unoccupied in the inside lane of the highway, causing George to lose control of his vehicle.
The vehicle then began to spin in a “clockwise rotation,” the fatality report states, traveling off the right side of the road and through a ditch.
At that point, the driver’s side of the police car struck several trees, came to rest and caught on fire.
George, 47, was unable to escape from the burning vehicle and was pronounced dead on the scene after other authorities arrived.
The official primary cause of the officer’s accident was listed as “object in roadway,” according to the fatality report.
Senior citizen holds police at bay after shooting woman to death www.privateofficer.com
GREENWOOD, Del.June 28 2011 — A 66-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder and other offenses after police say he shot and killed a woman, fired shots at a police officer and barricaded himself inside a Sussex County home for nearly 11 hours.
Ronald Williamson of Laurel surrendered late Sunday night after lengthy talks with state police crisis negotiators.
On Sunday morning, police say Williamson went to a home in Greenwood to confront a female acquaintance. That woman fled the home, and police say Williamson confronted another woman, 55-year-old Connie Breedling, outside. Williamson allegedly shot Breedling in the head, and then fired several shots at a Greenwood police officer.
Police say Williamson then went inside the home, where he shot a man in the hand and held an elderly woman hostage for several hours.
Source:AP
Fla woman wins lawsuit against apartment complex after her attack www.privateofficer.com
Miami Fla June 28 2011 When Francisca Vente hurled herself from the third-story window of her North Miami-Dade apartment in February 2009, she escaped a suspected killer on the run from police.
Her plunge saved her life. But her confrontation with suspected killer Michael Davis also exposed a dangerous lack of security at the Bay Winds apartment complex, Vente asserted in a lawsuit. A Miami-Dade jury recently agreed, awarding her $1.8 million in damages.
“I think it’s fair,’’ Vente said last week. “If the apartment had the right security, this would have never happened. The money still isn’t compensation for all the emotional damage.”
Vente, who now lives with her sister in South Miami-Dade, says she still has nightmares about her encounter with Davis, who barged into her apartment and choked her. Police later shot him to death.
The damage wasn’t just emotional — Vente broke her pelvis, spine and wrists in the fall.
She spent three months in the hospital with her arms in casts, plus another month in rehab. A 54-year-old Colombia native, Vente had worked as a condo cleaning woman, but is now on disability because she can’t walk for prolonged periods or bend down.
But she’s alive. “I’ve learned that God has a plan for you. I have a second chance at life,” she said.
John Golden, an attorney for the company that runs Bay Winds, 11910 NE 16th Ave., did not return a phone call seeking comment. The company, Cornerstone Residential Management, could appeal the jury’s decision.
The roots of Vente’s ordeal began in Miami Beach, where Davis was suspected of the January 2009 strangulation of Bradley Paul, 18, whose body was found slumped next to a vacant South Beach apartment building.
When Miami Beach detectives went to Davis’ Meridian Avenue apartment to question him, the 32-year-old crashed through a second-story window and ran away. He got into a nearby residence and held a family at knifepoint overnight — fondling a teenage boy — before escaping the police dragnet.
Detectives, tracking a stolen cell phone, caught up with Davis hours later at the Leeward Motel, 11790 Biscayne Blvd. Again, he escaped into the neighborhood.
At the time, Vente lived at the Bay Winds apartments, run by Cornerstone, one of the nation’s largest affordable housing companies.
Home alone, Vente was watching television when she heard a knock. She opened the door, believing it was the air conditioner repairman coming to fix a broken unit.
Instead, Davis barged in. As she bit him and screamed, Davis choked her with a piece of clothing until she passed out. When she awoke, Davis had changed into clothes stolen from her adult son’s bedroom.
Vente quickly glanced at a photo on the wall of her son, Alexander Valentine, a Marine stationed in Hawaii. Fearing she would never see him again, Vente said a quick prayer and burst through the window screen, landing on a patch of grass three floors below.
Her sudden jump alerted police to Davis’ presence. Moments later, officers shot him to death in the courtyard of the complex after they said he appeared to reach for a weapon in his waistband.
Vente’s attorney, Joseph Lipsky, sued Cornerstone for negligence for the lack of security that allowed Davis to storm the apartment, although it was unclear exactly how he got into the complex. There was no video surveillance at the entrances of the 10-building, 230-unit complex.
During the six-day trial, trial, jurors learned that Cornerstone — in applying for affordable housing tax credits from the state — had agreed to provide a gated community with card-access entry.
But apartment managers left a pedestrian gate unlocked during the day when Davis got in, and security guards only worked at night. “There was nobody whose job it was to monitor safety during the day,” Lipsky said.
Also, the gates were easily scaled. And residents were not notified of crimes on the property, as the company had spelled out in its internal policies. “The manager testified that she didn’t know she had to do that because she had never read the company’s manual,” Lipsky said.
At trial, which concluded June 13, Cornerstone cast blame on Vente for opening the front door to her apartment, allowing Davis to enter. Jurors disagreed for the most part, finding Cornerstone and its subsidiary, Bay Winds, 80 percent liable.
Jurors deliberated just 90 minutes.
Source:www.miamiherald.com
Danville Virginia child dies in hot car, two others injured www.privateofficer.com
DANVILLE VA June 28 2011 — Danville police are investigating the death of an infant who was left in a hot car along with a 3-year-old girl and a 78-year-old woman.
The Danville Police Department says one-year-old Dakhyran Markell Reeves died Saturday afternoon at a Roanoke hospital. The woman and the girl were treated at area hospitals and released. All three suffered heat exposure
Police say that a passersby reported the three were left in the vehicle in a parking lot last Tuesday. When emergency responders arrived, the vehicle was gone. Witnesses provided license plate information and the vehicle was tracked to a residence on Kemper Road.
No charges have been filed. The investigation is continuing.
Former Brinks guard gets jail in theft scheme www.privateofficer.com
Former Brinks employee DeJason Moore of Buffalo was sentenced to six months in jail on Monday. While working for the company, 34-year-old Moore stole $40,000 from a bank while working in their emergency cash vault area, which was safeguarded by Brinks.
Source:WIVB
NY firefighter sues bar after being assaulted www.privateofficer.com
Thomas Venito got a broken ankle and a shattered nose in a beatdown after he was chased out of KJ’s Ale House, where he and other patrons had been bouncing ping-pong balls into cups of beer, court papers say.
Bar patron Mark Salverson was sentenced to 60 days in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault in Venito’s May 2007 beating.
Venito sued KJ’s, claiming the bar should have provided better security than a single bartender who failed to stop the showdown.
The bar made a bid to have the suit tossed, but Richmond County Justice Joseph Maltese decided jurors should determine if KJ’s provided enough security.
“This isn’t some piano bar where people are just hanging around socializing. With a game like Beer Pong, the bar is encouraging people to drink heavily,” said Louis Grandelli, a lawyer for Venito.
“And if you’re going to do that, you have to take some measures where you have an increased security presence.”
In considering the matter, the court found itself dissecting the rules of Beer Pong to determine whether the bar might be liable for the mayhem.
“Variants of the rules exist, but the common object is the copious consumption of alcoholic beverages,” Maltese wrote.
“When played in a bar, the obvious inference is that the bar profits most when players drink large quantities of beer.”
The judge noted that bartender Michael Fusco was the only worker on duty when the fight over the rules began to brew.
“As the only employee present on the night of the assault, Fusco was also responsible for providing security,” Maltese noted.
“Fusco intervened when conflict erupted, however his intervention was ineffectual.”
The bartender finally called 911 when fists started flying, with Venito being pushed and dragged out of the Ale House, then chased down the street.
A lawyer for the bar – owned by a company called Hooligan’s – did not return a phone call. Salverson could not be reached for comment.
Leigh Eskenasi, another lawyer for Venito, said the firefighter’s injuries kept him out of work for a month, then forced him onto light duty.
“One bartender was just inadequate for providing security for that many people in a bar,” Eskenasi said.
