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Ohio town on lockdown as police hunt escaped lions, bears, wolves www.privateofficer.com
Zainesville OH Oct 19 2011 An Ohio town is under lockdown as dozens of wild animals including bears, wolves and tigers have escaped from a private preserve are and are on the loose after the owner of the preserve has been found dead.
Terry Thompson of Zanesville, Ohio, was found dead of unknown causes inside the preserve while the animals cages were found unsecured. Thompson, 61, was recently released from prison after serving one year on federal weapons charges. According to investigators he has been cited in the past for animal abuse and neglect.
Speaking on “Good Morning America” Wednesday Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said that they will not have a count on how many animals have been killed until daylight arrives in Ohio.
“Right now we did have [reports of] some sightings overnight,” Lutz told “GMA.” “None were confirmed. At daybreak we’ll go back in and get a body count … we do have tranquillizers on site since this thing started.”
Lutz said at a news conference that residents should stay inside until the animals, which escaped around 6 p.m. Tuesday, are rounded up. Several schools across the area have cancelled classes for Wednesday.
Police, who have been ordered to shoot to kill, describe the loose animals as “mature, very big and aggressive.”
Lutz said that several aggressive animals were shot by deputies when they were discovered near Thompson’s body at his preserve. Thompson’s preserve was surrounded by a fence, and not all animals on the property fled through the open gates.
“These are wild animals, wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa,” Lutz said at a news conference Tuesday evening.
As many as 48 wild animals, including cheetahs, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, lions, a white Siberian tiger, camels and giraffes are on the loose across Zanesville, which has a population of about 25,000 residents. Police said that orangutans and chimps were found in Thompson’s home, but they were still in their cages.
Officers said Tuesday that they have shot as many as 25 of the animals so far, including bears and wolves, but it is still unclear exactly how many animals escaped, according to the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Department.
“This is a bad situation,” Mutz said. “It’s been a bad situation for a long time and the last thing we want to do is have any of our public hurt.”
Deputies are working with the animals’ caregiver, who says the animals were fed on Monday.
They’re putting food in the animals’ pens in the hopes they might return, where they can then be secured.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol has cordoned off seven square miles near Interstate 70 and officers are using infrared devices to find the animals.
On “GMA” Wedneday ABC News’ wildlife expert Jack Hanna said that in controlling this situation human life and animal life must both be considered, as does timing of capture.
“Human life has to come first but that’s what we have to look for. We have to take care of our animal life. You cannot tranquilize an animal at night. It’s hard enough during the daytime,” Hanna said.
Danielle White, one of Thompson’s neighbors, said that she saw a loose lion in the area in 2006.
“It’s always been a fear of mine knowing [the preserve's owner] had all those animals,” she said. “I have kids. I’ve heard a male lion roar all night.”
Thompson has been warned repeatedly over the last decade to get his animals under control – and no less than 30 times in the past year. He was arrested in April of 2005 for cruelty and torture of cattle and bison he had on his property, according to the website pet-abuse.com. He was charged with one count of having an animal at large, two counts of rendering animal waste and one count of cruelty to animals.
Rapid City man charged in theft-assault incident www.privateofficer.com
Joseph Cook, 28, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and shoplifting, according to Tarah Heupel, community relations specialist with the Rapid City Police Department.
At about 5 p.m., Walmart’s security officers tried to stop Cook from taking the shoes, Heupel said. Cook allegedly pulled out a utility knife and threatened to stab security officers if they touched him, Heupel said. Cook eventually complied without harming anyone, Heupel said.
As of Monday evening, Cook was being held on a $20,000 bond at the Pennington County Jail.
Source:rapidcityjournal.com
US deported 400,000 illegal immigrants last year-most were criminals www.privateofficer.com
WASHINGTON DC Oct 19 2011 – The U.S. deported nearly 400,000 illegal immigrants last year, and an increasing number of them were convicted criminals, according to figures set for release Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security.
Deportations have been on the rise for the past decade, and the 396,906 illegal immigrants deported in fiscal year 2011 is the highest number yet, according to the figures.
Under the Obama administration, Homeland Security issued new priorities to focus deportations on convicted criminals, people who pose threats to national security and repeated border-crossers. Last year, 55% of those deported were convicted criminals, the highest percentage in nearly a decade.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said the numbers reflect the administration’s “focus on sensible immigration.”
“In the face of limited resources, we have to prioritize, and that starts with criminal offenders,” Morton said. “We are making sure that people who game the system face the consequences.”
Critics say the numbers illustrate the administration’s intent on finding ways for illegal immigrants to stay in the country.
Obama last year endorsed the DREAM Act, which would have granted legal status to some children of illegal immigrants, but it failed to pass Congress.
And Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has questioned the reprioritizing of deportations, arguing that it amounts to a free pass for illegal immigrants who have not committed major crimes.
“It’s disappointing that the Obama administration continues to put illegal immigrants before the American people,” Smith said. “We could free up millions of jobs for citizens and legal immigrants if we simply enforced our immigration laws.”
Others look at the numbers and wonder how they could be interpreted as leniency.
“For billions of dollars to be spent so that 45% of the people we’re deporting are not convicted criminals is not a good use of our enforcement dollars,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which supports a path for some of the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants to become citizens.
Of the convicted criminals deported last year, 1,119 were convicted of homicide, 5,848 of sexual offenses, 44,653 of drug-related offenses and 35,927 of driving under the influence, according to the Homeland Security figures.
The number of illegal immigrants deported has risen from 116,782 in 2000. The percentage of criminal deportations was at 31% when Obama assumed office.
Source:USA TODAY
Texas security guard charged with murder www.privateofficer.com
PASADENA, Texas Oct 19 2011 – A security guard already charged with attacking three prostitutes now faces charges in the shooting death of a 48-year-old woman.
Sara Annette Sanford’s body was found October 1, 2010 in a remote area of Harris County near Crosby.
Steve Hobbs, 40, of Crosby, was charged with capital murder in her death on Monday. Police say DNA evidence pointed to Hobbs.
Hobbs was already in jail for sexual assault and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon involving three separate attacks on prostitutes.
According to court documents, Pasadena police were investigating the murder of a prostitute named Wanda Trombley when they learned about Hobbs.
Investigators assigned to the Trombley case asked another known prostitute if she knew of anyone who’d been harming hookers lately. She described a man she said raped her on June 17.
The victim said she got in the car with the man and directed him to a nearby motel. But before they got there, the victim said the suspect pulled out a gun and told her to undress or he would shoot her.
The victim said he drove her to a remote area in the 10600 block of Wallisville in Houston, where he sexually assaulted her.
She said he handcuffed her hands to her feet and beat her with what she thought was a mop handle.
At some point during the assault, the victim said the suspect put on a uniform and appeared to check in with a dispatcher or employer on his phone.
She described the man as very large, with reddish-blond hair and thick eyeglasses.
She identified Hobbs as her attacker in a photo lineup.
Two other prostitutes have told police that a very large white male also assaulted them. All three alleged victims knew Trombley. And that’s not the only connection.
“One of the assaults occurred on the premises of a renovation company in the Wallisville area,” said Corbett. “The body of victim Wanda Trombley was found 30 feet from the driveway of the renovation company by the same name in Pasadena. Common to both places was a 40-year-old security guard – one Steven A. Hobbs of Crosby.”
Hobbs was employed as a security guard for MPS Security Services. He’s 6’4 and weighs about 350 pounds.
Investigators said Hobbs’ boss confirmed that he did work as a security guard, that he had handcuffs and that he would have been working near the site of the Wallisville alleged assault that day.
Police believe Hobbs may be linked to other crimes in the Houston area. He hasn’t been charged in the Trombley case.
Source:khou
Maryland guard to the stars found guilty in drug investigation www.privateofficer.com
Joseph Emmanuel Mann, 57, of New Carrollton, Md., led an OxyContin ring throughout the D.C. area from 2003 through 2011, authorities said. He was able to obtain large quantities by using various identities, donning wigs and hats and using several names and birth dates to get OxyContin 80 mg pills from multiple pharmacies. Co-conspirators said they saw him wear neck braces and carry crutches into pharmacies, pretending to be in a great deal of pain.
Mann sat in a wheelchair for the duration of the trial though no witnesses ever saw him in a wheelchair prior to his arrest July 12, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Evidence showed Mann sold more than 20,000 pills, distributing them near schools, libraries and restaurants and on the National Mall. Many were resold in northern Virginia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Mann worked as a security guard for several celebrities, including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie and Marvin Gaye. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 27.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officer arrested for sharing confidential information www.privateofficer.com
Polk County Fla Oct 19 2011 County officials said they have arrested a Florida Fish and Wildlife officer accused of sharing confidential information about a criminal probe with the subject of the investigation.
Stephen Judah, 27, was charged with misuse of confidential information, a misdemeanor, and felony disclosure or use of confidential criminal justice information by the State Attorney’s office in the Tenth Judicial Circuit.
Judah is accused of warning his fellow jujitsu classmate Benjamin Aubin that he was the subject of an “officer safety bulletin” issued in July by the Sheriff’s Office that detailed complaints about “his behavior and weapons use.”
An anonymous neighbor depicted an ongoing problem between Aubin and his neighbors, who complained that Aubin’s son had been firing a rifle in the rural neighborhood.
Judah allegedly told Aubin about the bulletin, which was confidential and restricted for law enforcement use in assessing risks in the community, according to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer.
Aubin went to the Sheriff’s Office demanding that the information on the bulletin be rescinded because he had resolved the situation with neighbors. He told investigators that a shotgun, pistol and handgun were stored at his friend Jason Barfield’s house.
Barfield said Aubin was concerned that the bulletin portrayed him unfairly as a threat and could have deadly consequences should he encounter law enforcement.
“Ben [Aubin] wanted to know how the Sheriff’s Office could issue such a bulletin without investigating the anonymous claims,” he said. “The guy is the most straight and narrow person I’ve ever known. He’s a businessowner. He goes to church. He is a youth pastor.”
Aubin told investigators he learned about the bulletin from a friend in law enforcement but didn’t give a name.
Detectives mined Aubin’s cellphone records and found a number belonging to Judah.
Judah’s co-workers also forwarded an email to investigators in which the wildlife officer defended Aubin in response to the bulletin.
He told his fellow officers that he has known Aubin for a year and felt obligated to mention that he thought ” this has probably been taken out of context.”
Detectives called Judah, interviewed him and advised him of his rights. During the investigation, Sheriff’s officials obtained records showing Aubin had pled guilty to two counts of grand theft in 1994 when he was 19 years old.
“He made a stupid mistake when he was a kid and stole a car,” Barfield said. “He took bad advice from a public defender and pled guilty. He hasn’t been in an ounce of trouble ever since.”
Investigators said Aubin never had his civil rights restored and, as a convicted felon, cannot possess firearms, the investigative report said.
But Barfield said the weapons did not belong to Aubin but to his son and wife. After neighbors complained, the family stored the weapons in Barfield’s safe.
After a second interview with his lawyer, Aubin confirmed to detectives that Judah was his source.
Judah was released on bond shortly after his Monday arrest at his Winter Haven home, authorities said.
Source:tribune.com
Nocona high school teacher charged with felony sex crimes www.privateofficer.com
Matthew Brown, a Nocona assistant coach and science and biology teacher, was charged with improper relationship between an educator and student, a second-degree felony. Nocona Police Chief Kent Holcomb said Brown was arrested Thursday.
“The student and the parents came into (the Police Department) Wednesday morning. That’s when the allegations were first brought to our attention,” Holcomb said.
“We started an investigation. I notified school authorities at that time, and they’ve been very cooperative throughout. The investigation is still going on. We still have a lot of legwork left to do.”
Brown has been put on administrative leave since his arrest, according to a Nocona ISD release.
No further details on the circumstances of the allegations or how long the alleged relationship had been going on were released Monday.
The accuser’s age and identity also have not been disclosed because the case involves a juvenile.
Source:timesrecordnews
Clearwater Middle School teacher arrested for indecent liberties with a child www.privateofficer.com
The district is doing an internal investigation independent of the law enforcement investigation.
Mike Roth, the superintendent of USD 264 Clearwater, says the district is taking this very seriously.
“Parents entrust us to protect their kids, whether they’re 18 or whether they’re six years old, we have the same responsibility for all kids,” said Roth.
Meanwhile, the teacher is no longer listed in the Sedgwick County Jail.
Source:ksn.com
Chinook Junior High security officer sentenced in student assault www.privateofficer.com
The suspended sentence, handed down by King County Judge Regina Cahan, gives Seth a chance to avoid serving jail time as long as he fulfills the other requirements set out by the court. Those requirements include 160 hours of community service within a year, a mandatory Victim Penalty Assessment (restitution yet to be determined), successful completion of anger management treatment and no further contact with the victim or a school administrator who alleged Seth coached her to cover up the incident and threatened he would “get her” if she lied. He was not charged with witness tampering.
The assault charge stemmed from a Feb. 1, 2011 incident at Chinook Junior High in SeaTac. Charging documents state Seth put a 14-year-old male student into a headlock and choked him until the victim’s face turned blue and he started drooling uncontrollably, at which time Seth let go.
Seth entered a guilty plea on Sept. 23, although he partially disputed the claims of investigators (you can read about the investigator’s probable cause for charging Seth here).
“I initially grabbed (the victim) in a manner he reasonably found to be unjustified …,” Seth wrote the court. “I do not agree with the all the information contained in the certification (of probable cause), but as part of this plea agreement I understand the court must consider those materials as true facts for the purpose of this plea and for sentencing.”
Seth was fired by the Highline School District in April.
Text messages alert authorities to LAX drug smuggling www.privateofficer.com
Los Angeles CA Oct 19 2011 Authorities have revealed text messages used by two people involved in an alleged marijuana smuggling ring at Los Angeles International Airport.
The son of a former Los Angeles fire chief was charged Monday with bribing a federal Transportation Security Administration officer at LAX to help him smuggle about 14 pounds of marijuana past security on nine separate trips.
Millage Peaks IV, 23, admitted to FBI agents that he and his associates made the trips with the aid of a TSA officer, whom they paid nearly $6,000 in bribes to avoid detection, according to an FBI affidavit.
Peaks and TSA Officer Dianne Perez were arrested on bribery charges Sunday after what the FBI said was his most recent attempt. A baggage handler smelled marijuana in the luggage and alerted authorities, who found 14 pounds of marijuana.
Text messages from cellphones Peaks turned over to the FBI show Peaks had sent a number of text messages to Perez. In a message dated Oct. 7, he wrote: “He made it coo. Thanx soo much. U have no clue how clutch u r. Without u none of this would b possible….Ill have ur 700 Monday maybe earlier.”
In another, dated Sept. 30, he wrote: “500$ tom night. Good looks.”
In interviews with authorities, Peaks offered a detailed explanation of the system devised by him and Perez to get drugs aboard planes.
On Sunday, he met Perez outside the terminal and checked in for his American Airlines flight to Boston. He then gave her the two pieces of checked luggage, which Perez took to a TSA screening room, according to an affidavit from federal investigators.
She returned three minutes later and waved, an indication that “everything is good,” he said. He also said that Perez taught him how to pack his bags in order to avoid detection.
Source:L.A.NOW
An internal investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, but Attorney Michael Laux says the officers used excessive force and the sons of the deceased are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
“The invasion of Mr. Ellison’s home and his killing by these officers were gross violations of his constitutional rights, as well as the laws of the State of Arkansas,” said Laux. “The conduct of these officers in entering Mr. Ellison’s home and shooting him dead was but a natural and predictable byproduct of a culture that has apparently taken hold at the Little Rock Police Department.”
Laux says the police department has a long track record of disregarding excessive force claims against its officers and the only reason the two off-duty cops entered the apartment that day was to find out why Ellison’s front door was ajar.
Spencer Ellison, a former detective with the LRPD, says his father’s death could have been avoided.
“We pray that justice is served. It is our desire and hope that no other family will have to experience the pain and emotions that we have endured for the last 10 months,” said Ellison.
Officials with the Little Rock Police Department said the have no comment at this time on the lawsuit, but Police Chief Stuart Thomas is expected to release a statement in the coming days.
Source:kuar.com
G4S new business venture includes serving food, cleaning offices www.privateofficer.com
UK-based G4S makes 80 per cent of its revenues from security work but after the deal, about 45 per cent will come from services such as cleaning offices and washrooms, portering and catering.
ISS, which dates back to 1901 and launched in the UK in 1968, boasts high-profile contracts with Citigroup and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
It also provides catering services in schools, hospitals and colleges, cleans more than 2.5 million hotel bedrooms a year and runs switchboards, reception and mailrooms for businesses.
The deal is worth STG1.5 billion to ISS’s private equity owners EQT and GS Capital, while G4S will take on about STG2.5 billion of extra debt as a result of the acquisition even after STG2 billion has been raised from shareholders.
G4S said the tie-up will lead to cost savings of STG100 million a year by 2014 and will transform the group, which now employs 635,000 people.
G4S, which was already the FTSE 100 Index’s biggest employer, will have a total of 1.2 million employees – making it one of the biggest private employers in the world.
Shares dived 20 per cent as investors baulked at the scale of the proposed deal.
Kevin Lapwood, an analyst at Seymour Pierce, said: “Although G4S has in the past proved effective at integrating large acquisitions, this will double the size of the group and there is bound to be some transactional risks in the short term.”
But chief executive Nick Buckles said: “Deals like this only come along every five to seven years – this is transformational and market changing.
“We think we have got the track record to make it work.”
TN. county sheriff indicted for felony official misconduct www.privateofficer.com
Harris faces 10 counts, stemming from two TBI investigations that overlapped and were eventually merged, according to the Johnson City Press.
Reached Tuesday at his office by The Associated Press, Johnson City attorney Jim Bowman confirmed he is representing Harris and declined comment.
The indictment charges Harris with six counts of official misconduct and one count each of evidence tampering, criminal simulation, theft over $1,000 and attempted aggravated assault.
According to the TBI, Harris is accused of having jail inmates work on his property several times in June and July 2010.
Harris remains on the job.
Security officers detain burglary suspects www.privateofficer.com
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA Oct 19 2011- 20-year-old Angel Sanchez and 20-year-old Timofey Dalekorey were arrested for breaking into and robbing a Citrus Heights business around 12:53 a.m. Monday, according to Lieutenant Gary T. Hendricks of the Citrus Heights police department.
Hendricks said officers responded to a burglar alarm at the commercial property in the 7200 block of Greenback lane and found a broken window on the side of the building. The officers contained the building and conducted an extensive search, calling in K-9 units for support, but no suspects were located.
The business owner arrived shortly after and declared that several thousand dollars in merchandise had been stolen.
About 30 minutes later, a local security guard called Citrus Heights police reporting they had detained two suspicious men in the business area of Sunrise Boulevard and Pebble Beach Drive. Upon arrival, officers found Sanchez and Dalekorey in possession of the stolen goods from the business, said Hendricks.
Dalekory and Hendricks were both arrested.
Source:News10/KXTV
Global Retail Theft Barometer -shrink costing retailers $119 billion www.privateofficer.com
Washington DC Oct 19 2011 According to the results of the new Global Retail Theft Barometer, shrink increased by more than 6 percent in 2011, costing retailers $119 billion or 1.45 percent of sales. In North America, shrink also rose by 6 percent, costing retailers an estimated $45.3 billion.
The study, underwritten by an independent grant from Checkpoint Systems, included survey responses from 4,750 large retailers, which had combined sales of $986 billion. Among the countries covered in the survey were the U.S., China, India, France, Russia, Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, the UK, and South Korea.
Dr. Joshua Bamfield, director of the UK-based Centre for Retail Research and author of the study, attributed the increase in shrink to several factors including a poor economy and an increase in organized retail crime.
“Obviously retailers are working hard and collaborating with one another to drive down crime, but there are pressures I think because of the economic challenges facing many individuals. I think also there are a portion of people who feel that the political system and the economic system and the bankers have let them down and the only in which they can help themselves is to literally help themselves,” Bamfield said. “For organized crime, which tends to focus on counterfeits, drugs and prostitution, retail crime is a comparatively easy crime to commit and one where there are far fewer severe penalties than if they’re involved in drugs. We’re seeing an increasing shift from what you might call a more dangerous type of activity to having a go at retail crime.”
While customer theft, including shoplifting and organized retail crime accounted for the majority of losses in the study at 43.2 percent of total shrinkage for a cost of $51.5 billion, internal employee fraud also played a major role and was responsible for approximately 35 percent of reported shrink at a cost of $41.7 billion.
Dishonest employees also cost retailers more on average at $1,697 per incident compared to just $202 per incident for the average shoplifter.
Despite the disparity, Bamfield said that retailers, for the most part, are probably putting more resources into stopping shoplifting.
“My own feeling is that retailers probably put more resources into combating shoplifting because this is an area which does seem to need extra resources because people steal in so many different ways,” he explained. “In addition, because organized retail crime tends to turn up as increased shoplifting, the only way to combat organized retail crime is obviously to take more precautions against shoplifting. It’s not to say that ORC doesn’t involve employee theft as well, but in some ways the impact is rather less.”
Retailers in North and Latin America also saw employee theft as their greatest shrink problem, indicating that it was responsible for 44.1 percent and 42.6 percent of total shrink respectively. In Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, however, customer theft was seen as the bigger issue, with retailers reporting that it accounted for 47.7 percent and 53.3 percent respectively.
Bamfield said that cultural differences and the ability to apprehend shoplifters are factors in how these geographic regions view employee theft and shoplifting.
“It’s possible that in the U.S. retailers are much more successful at apprehending fraudulent or dishonest employees. Whereas in Europe, there’s been much less attention until recently on dishonest employees so they’re not as good at arresting them so they may well believe that employee theft is much less than it is,” Bamfield said. “In many European countries, retail is something that you need a certificate to work in. It’s more a long-term career. They’re more likely to be full-time and as a result, they may well have a different attitude to their employers than somebody, who say is a part-time worker in the UK or the U.S. and perhaps expects to be doing something else in six months’ time or a year’s time.”
While shrink around the world may be on the rise, retailers have not sat idly by and watched it happen as many are implementing new policies and technologies to address the problem. According to the study, 95 percent of retailers had enhanced their employee training to help spot and deter theft and 88 percent planned to do more employee training. In addition, 55 percent of retailers have introduced new crime prevention hardware and software in the last three years, 30 percent have implemented pre-employment screenings and 34 percent hired more in-store loss prevention employees. Bamfield said that U.S. retailers are spending more than $12 billion a year on loss prevention efforts.
As in past years, shoplifters tended to focus on a wide variety of expensive, branded products such as razor blades, cosmetics, electronics, smartphones, watches, sunglasses, infant formula, and shoes among others items. Retailers, however, seem to be doing a better job of protecting these targeted items. According to the study, between 2009 and 2011, “the proportion of retail ‘Top Fifty’ most stolen product lines with no specific protection fell from 28 percent to 24 percent.”
Bamfield said that some legislative efforts to help curb organized retail theft have managed to put a dent into the crime, but he indicated that much more still needs to be done. “Probably the whole problem will be eliminated if they get a fair number of perpetrators and give them prison sentences,” he said.
Bamfield said that people also need to realize the costs of retail theft on consumers.
“The costs of retail crime are considerable. We estimated that its $446 per family in the U.S. When the ordinary family realizes how much they’re paying for retail crime… then perhaps they’ll get onto law enforcement and politicians to say ‘why don’t we do something about this?’” he said. “What is needed is a comparable response from the criminal justice system and interest in penalizing and increasing the sanctions against thieves because at the moment, often being found shoplifting is the equivalent of a bad day in the office. That’s no deterrent to people stealing from shops.”
Sumner County school teacher arrested for rape www.privateofficer.com
GALLATIN, Tenn.Oct 19 2011- A 25-year-old Sumner County teacher been arrested and charged with statutory rape.
Devri Ann DePriest, an employee of the Sumner County school system was arrested Tuesday afternoon after Gallatin Police received information about an inappropriate relationship between DePriest and a student.
DePriest worked as the director of the Rucker-Stewart Middle School band. According to her LinkedIn profile she has also worked as a student teacher at McGavock High School in Nashville and DuPont Tyler Middle School in Hermitage.
Jeremy Johnson, spokesman for Sumner County Schools said “Ms. DePriest has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal case against her.”
DePriest is being held in the Sumner County Jail pending a December 7th court date.
source:newschannel5.com
Ventura CA. police officer dies of self inflicted gunshot www.privateofficer.com
The Ventura Police Department says that their dispatchers lost contact with Officer Ricky Payne, 27, about 1:30 a.m. Police fanned out to look for the officer and he was found two hours later in the yard behind a family member’s home.
Payne died from injuries of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Ventura Police officials say prior to his suicide the department learned of a possible alleged misconduct.
Payne served with the department for four years.
The investigation is ongoing.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 21st at 10 a.m. in the gymnasium at Santa Clara High School. That’s located at 2121 Saviers Road in Oxnard.
Trenton police officer stabbed while working private security www.privateofficer.com
Osterman, a former Trenton police officer, was called over to the plaza of Kingsbury Towers to assist another officer working security in breaking up a disturbance, Kemler said.
“He got in a scuffle, he said he was actually engaged in a fight with someone, the next thing he knew – he didn’t even know he was stabbed,” said Kemler.
Osterman was punched in the face, and stabbed in the right shoulder and left chest near the collarbone, according to Kemler. He was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, and listed in stable condition his morning.
Trenton Police Sgt. Mark Kieffer visited Osterman there this morning.
“He’s in real good spirits,” Kieffer said.
Two people were detained for questioning at the scene, while Trenton police continue to hunt for the stabbing suspect. Sheriff’s detectives are assisting Sgt. Chris Doyle, who is leading the investigation.
The at-large suspect is described as a black male in his mid-20s, 5 foot 10, 170 pounds, wearing a yellow shirt at the time of the crime.
Anyone with information on the stabbing should call Trenton police at (609) 989-4170, or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.
Trenton NJ police cancel foot patrols after threat on officer lives www.privateofficer.com
TRENTON NJ Oct 19 2011 — All officers working foot posts Monday night were abruptly pulled from their beats after the department received what it believed to be a credible threat against the officers’ lives.
Acting Police Director Dave Armitage ordered the officers inside a few minutes after 9 p.m. with a call to the shift supervisor, Sgt. John Breece.
“He wanted them terminated for the evening. The gang-bangers had apparently made a credible threat,” Breece said. “They were going to kill a cop on the beat.”
The patrols were immediately suspended, and the officers put in vehicles. All officers were safe and accounted for.
Armitage will make a decision this morning as to whether foot patrols will continue as scheduled, Breece said.
No further information was available on the nature of the threat or how it was received.
Foot patrols in the city began at the beginning of this month, in accordance with Mayor Tony Mack’s goal to increase officer visibility. The amount of men and women walking the beat, and the units they would be drawn from, was a source of friction between Mack and former acting Director Chris Doyle.
The city’s police unions have criticized the foot patrols as a waste of manpower, and have cited the vulnerability officers can be under while walking outside of their cars. Officers walk in pairs for their own safety.
Mack has said city residents want to see police officers on the street.
The majority of patrols run from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and are centered on crime hotspots throughout the city.
Source:nj.com
Former NYU Public Safety Officer files $1 billion lawsuit www.privateofficer.com
Jose Ramirez took the first step in bringing a lawsuit against the university by filing a complaint for employment discrimination against NYU and four defendants. The defendants named in the suit are Sally Blount, former undergraduate dean of the Stern School of Business, Thomas J. Schindler, captain of the Department of Public Safety, Jules A. Martin, vice president of Global Security and Crisis Management and NYU President John Sexton.
Ramirez, who is Hispanic and from the Dominican Republic, alleged that the university created a hostile and abusive work environment because of his race and national origin. Ramirez also asserted that NYU retaliated against him because of two lawsuits he had previously filed against the university and a book he wrote that took a critical stance against NYU.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said Ramirez is a “serial filer” of complaints against the university.
“Like his prior lawsuits, which were unsuccessful, this one is also utterly baseless, and we expect it, like the others, to be dismissed in due course,” Beckman said.
Of his prior two lawsuits, the first was settled confidentially before the trial. Ramirez alleged in the complaint that the retaliatory behavior of the university followed this settlement.
According to the complaint, NYU supposedly denied Ramirez bathroom breaks for long periods of time, verbally harassed him and subjected Ramirez to “increased surveillance.” Ramirez also alleged that NYU placed him at undesirable posts, denied him overtime and did not allow him to attend trainings he was qualified for based on his race and national origin.
Ramirez’s employment was terminated, according to the complaint, in August 2010 for audiotaping university officials while on the job, a practice prohibited by university policy.
Ramirez also said he believes the university fired him because he wrote a book about NYU Public Safety titled “The Pro Se: The Life of a Security Officer.”
Beckman said the university does not discuss employees’ work histories, but he said Ramirez was dismissed with cause after a series of disciplinary infractions.
Ramirez is seeking back pay from the time of his dismissal to the present, as well as compensation for an unpaid five-day suspension and a 21-day medical leave due to job-related stress. Ramirez is also requesting an additional $1 billion in compensation for emotional suffering and pain caused by NYU.
Ramirez has an arbitration hearing scheduled Nov. 4 about his dismissal from the university. Ramirez said he hopes to get his job back at this hearing.
Source:nyunews.com
Dallas Home Depot shoplifter dies in fight with security www.privateofficer.com
DALLAS TX Oct 19 2011 – A shoplifting suspect died in Dallas on Tuesday following a fistfight with an off-duty officer.
The altercation happened at a Home Depot at 11682 Forest Central Dr. in the northern portion of the city.
According to investigators, the officer was working security at the store when he confronted the alleged shoplifter.
They said the thief fled and that the officer chased the man before the pair got into a fistfight.
Police who arrived at the scene subdued the suspect, who officials said appeared to be having trouble breathing.
While being transported to Medical City, the man died, police said.
No identities were immediately released.
An investigation was ongoing.
Source:www.myfoxdfw.com
