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Police investigate fatal crash that killed student on James Madison University campus www.privateofficer.com
HARRISONBURG, Va.Nov 17 2011 — Police are investigating a fatal bus crash involving a pedestrian on the James Madison University campus.
State Police say a female student was walking when she was struck by a city of Harrisonburg transportation bus at 9:52 p.m. Tuesday. The student died at the scene.
Officials on Wednesday identified the students as 18-year-old Jane Hwang of Fairfax.
State Police Sgt. Frank Ingham says the bus was going through a green light and making a left turn when the accident occurred. The pedestrian was wearing dark-colored clothing.
State Police say the 56-year-old female bus driver will not face charges. The main factor was determined as inattention on the part of the pedestrian.
Police charge Chicago man with murder of security officer www.privateofficer.com
Chicago IL Nov 17 2011 A 52-year-old Chicago man was charged for his role in last week’s fatal shooting of a security guard during a robbery at a Far South Side Aldi store, officials said.
Develt Bradford, of the 5200 block of South Damen Avenue, is charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery in connection with the Nov. 10 holdup, which left 54-year-old Reginald Lanier dead and a 67-year-old woman wounded, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Bradford is also charged with two counts of armed robbery from an Oct. 28 hold up at another Aldi store on 47th Street and Ashland Avenue, Simonton said.
Nov. 10, two men walked into the store at about 7:30 p.m. that day at 9017 S. Halsted St. Chicago police have said one of the robbers shot Lanier in the head and torso, and the other approached the cashier.
The woman was shot in the leg during the holdup, authorities said. The suspects fled with an unspecified amount of cash.
Officials said the men were also believed to be responsible for another robbery of an Aldi store at 47th Street and Ashland Avenue on Oct. 28. No one was hurt during that holdup.
Bradford was connected to one of the two incidents through a fingerprint match, authorities said. He was also identified as a suspect in a photo array.
His co-conspirator, however, remains at large.
Bradford’s criminal background consists of a few drug arrests, according to Cook County court records, most notably a 1999 felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to 15 months probation for that crime.
Bradford is due to appear for a bond hearing on thursday, said Simonton.
Source:Chicago Tribune
Foley MN suspends plan to use security to patrol town www.privateofficer.com
In a narrowly divided 3-2 vote, the city council decided Tuesday to pursue a contract with the Benton County Sheriff to continue providing patrols.
That reversed a decision the council made last month to hire General Security Services Corporation to patrol Foley’s streets. Attorney General Lori Swanson urged the council to reconsider and attempted to broker a compromise between the city and the county.
Foley has offered the sheriff’s department $263,000 dollars to provide police service next year. That’s $18,000 dollars less than the sheriff’s last offer. But it’s far more than the private security patrols would have cost. The Foley city administrator, Sarah Brunn, says Benton County has not responded to the city’s latest offer. If the offer is rejected, the city could still sign a contract with the private security firm. Regardless, the Benton County Sheriff would still respond to 911 calls.
Man attempt suicide at NY hospital using hazardous chemical fumes in car www.privateofficer.com
Southampton NY Nov 17 2011 A Bridgehampton man is under psychiatric care after he made a suicide attempt in his car using the fumes of hazardous chemicals, causing a hazmat response at Southampton Hospital, according to authorities.
Southampton Fire Department Chief Rodney “Chip” Pierson said his department was called in at 3 a.m. Wednesday and found the man’s Volkswagen Beetle convertible parked outside the emergency room entrance with an open 5-gallon container of an unknown substance in the front seat and the convertible top down. The Southampton Town Hazardous Materials Team was then called in, the hospital was put on lock down and the area was quarantined one block in each direction, Pierson said. There was minimal risk, and the measures were precautionary, he added.
According to a report from 27East, Southampton Police Chief Thomas Cummings said the man attempted to kill himself elsewhere, and then had a change of heart, driving to the hospital instead.
The report quotes the chief as follows: “His goal was to commit suicide, but I guess at a certain point he changed his mind and pulled up to the ER and walked in,” the chief said, noting that both the emergency entrance on Lewis Street and the man’s car were contaminated.
Cummings was not immediately available for comment.
The chemical substance was put in a sealed container and it is now the hospital’s responsibility to dispose of it through an environmental company, Pierson said. The hazmat team cleared the scene at 6 a.m., he said.
Southampton Village Police Department Det. Sgt. Herman Lamison said the man, who is 49 or 50 years old, is under psychiatric care.
In a prepared statement, Southampton Hospital President & CEO Bob Chaloner praised the emergency personnel. “The response by the North Sea and Southampton Town Fire Departments, the Southampton Village Police, the Southampton Town Haz-Mat Team, and the Southampton Village and town ambulance services to an incident at the hospital’s emergency room earlier this morning was prompt and professional,” he said. “We are grateful for their assistance and support of the hospital’s security staff in managing the situation so that everyone remained safe.”
Maine minister commits suicide -faced allegations of child sexual abuse www.privateofficer.com
Bucksport ME Nov 17 2011 Maine authorities have ruled the death of a minister, who was facing allegations of child sexual abuse, as a suicide.
Last Sunday morning, police found the Rev. Robert Carlson’s car abandoned on the Penobscot Narrows Bridge in Bucksport, Maine.
In the river below, they found the 68-year-old Bangor man’s lifeless body. Police say Carlson, who had founded a shelter for addicts and served as a police and college chaplain, did not leave a suicide note; however, state police were looking into another note.
State police were undergoing an investigation after the Katahdin Area Council of Boy Scouts received a letter accusing Carlson of child sexual abuse.
In light of the fact that Carlson was about to receive a “Distinguished Citizen” award from the Katahdin Area Council of Boy Scouts, the anonymous author wrote, “I feel you should be made aware that he has sexually abused a young boy several years ago. Even though as hard as it may be to believe it, this boy’s is now a grown man and they still have a secret relationship.”
The author said that Carlson “has financially helped him with apartments, travel, rehabilitation and trouble with the law.”
Police won’t say who they’ve spoken with, but family members of the alleged victim have confirmed the abusive relationship to the Bangor Daily News, saying it started when the family lived in Orrington, where Carlson was a pastor.
“My brother came clean to the family,” said Dawn Krog.
Regarding Carlson’s death, she said, “It’s hard when you hear comments about what a big loss it is, especially when you know different.”
The anonymous letter writer questioned how many other boys Carlson might have abused, which is a question police are also asking.
Source:NECN.com
Newport News man charged with sexual assault of 6 yr old child www.privateofficer.com
NEWPORT NEWS VA Nov 17 2011
A 54-year-old man was arrested in connection with the sexual assault of a 6-year-old girl.
Jerry Franklin Thomas of Newport News was arrested at his home today, a Newport News police news release said.
He was charged after Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk contacted police on Sept. 9 to report a sexual assault. The girl’s mother took her to the hospital after learning of the abuse, the police news release said. Police said the assaults apparently began this year at the man’s residence.
Thomas was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery, forcible sodomy, indecent liberties, inanimate object sexual penetration and animate object sexual penetration.
Source:pilotonline.com
Texas teen tweets about abuse before committing suicide www.privateofficer.com
Before 18-year-old Ashley Billasano took her life last week, she poured her heart out on Twitter.
She reportedly sent 144 messages in six hours, touching on allegations of sexual abuse, the pain it caused and her long struggle for justice. According to one tweet, the final straw for Billasano was a phone call telling her it was unlikely her alleged abuser would ever be prosecuted, according to the Houston Chronicle.
By Tuesday, Billasano’s Twitter messages had been removed.
“She gave up. She felt like nothing was ever going to happen, nobody was ever going to believe her,” Billasano’s mother, Tiffany Ruiz Leskinen, told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin.
“It was almost as if they were treating her like she was the one under investigation instead of her being the victim. She felt like they were really insensitive to what had gone on,” she said, referring to officials working the case. “They say that they did what they could to protect her, but they let her back into the home where she was abused.”
Billasano was not living with her mother at the time of her death.
However, Dayna Blazey, assistant district attorney at the Travis County district attorney’s office, defended authorities’ handling of the investigation. She told CNN’s Baldwin that she was not aware of anyone in her jurisdiction telling Billasano a criminal case was not being pursued.
“The status of the case is that it’s still open; it’s still pending. At this point, what we have to do is we have to go back and we have to look at the evidence that we have in this case, in light of knowing that Ashley is not going to be available to testify,” Blazey said. “Our hearts go out to Ashley and her family.”
Similarly, Texas Child and Protective Services said that it was looking into Billasano’s case.
“Earlier this year, Child Protective Services (CPS) conducted a thorough, five-month investigation, interviewing 11 individuals who we believed might have had relevant information to share with us. As a result of that investigation, we were unable to confirm that abuse had occurred,” spokesman Patrick Crimmins said in a statement.
“However, because of Ashley’s death, we are taking a second look at the case and our focus will be to ensure that any remaining children in the household are free from abuse,” he said, confirming that her death was a suicide.
On Tuesday, Billasano’s mother described her daughter as beautiful, outgoing and loving.
“She was really accepting and driven. She knew what she wanted out of life,” said Ruiz Leskinen.
She said her daughter had dealt with bullying and bulimia and was sexually abused for years by a man who “was supposed to be the very one to protect her.” Before her torrent of tweets, Billasano had struggled to talk about the abuse, her mother said, in part because she feared no one would believe her.
Shortly before killing herself, Billasano addressed a message to anyone paying attention to her Twitter account, according to the Houston Chronicle.
“That’s the story of how I came to be who I am,” she wrote, the paper reported. “Well, the condensed version. I’d love to hear what you have to say. But I won’t be around.”
Source:CNN
Police arrested 13 protesters at Alabama capital www.privateofficer.com
MONTGOMERY, Alabama Nov 17 2011 — Police arrested 13 protesters in Alabama’s capital Tuesday as they demonstrated against the state’s strict new law clamping down on illegal immigrants.
About 100 people, most of them Hispanic and college-aged, chanted slogans as they marched in light rain around the state Capitol and to the adjacent Statehouse where the legislature works.
“Undocumented, unafraid,” ”No papers, no fear, immigrants are marching here,” and “Ain’t no power like the power of the people,” were among the slogans the protesters chanted as they marched. Later, some were hauled off to jail in a yellow bus normally used by the city parks and recreation department.
Some sat down on Union Street between the Statehouse and the Capitol when police approached and warned them in English and Spanish that they would be arrested if they didn’t move.
None did and police arrested 11 demonstrators, tying their hand with yellow straps and loading them into the bus.
Federal courts have blocked parts of the Republican-backed law from taking effect, but both supporters and critics still call it the nation’s toughest state law against illegal immigration. The Obama administration opposes the law, which is calls an overreach by the state.
One of those arrested was 19-year-old Catalina Rios, a student at Henry Ford Community College in Detroit. She identified herself an illegal immigrant from Mexico.
Looking like a typical American teenager with her long dark hair in a ponytail, Rios said she knew there was a possibility she might be deported as she sat in the street waiting to be arrested.
“I know that I live in fear every single day of that, so this is no different,” Rios said. “I’m doing this for all the immigrant students who struggle every day.”
A Montgomery attorney who volunteered to represent those arrested, Mike Winter, said he understood they were mostly being charged with disturbing the peace, but also could be held for immigration officials.
After walking all the way around the Capitol one time, about 20 protesters entered the Statehouse and went up to the seventh-floor office of state Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, a key proponent of the law.
Once downstairs, two of the demonstrators — college students Ernesto Zumaya, 24, of Los Angeles and Caesar Marroquin, 21, of Philadelphia — linked arms and sat down on the floor of the main lobby. They vowed not to leave until Beason responded to their concerns. Beason did not respond to the protest and Zumaya and Marroquin were arrested peacefully when the building closed for the day.
Both said they are immigrants from Mexico without papers who have lived in the U.S. most of their lives. Marroquin said he always wanted to be a U.S. Marine.
Beason said later that he was not in his office Tuesday afternoon and did not immediately get the message except being told there were people at the Statehouse to see him.
Beason defended the law when asked about the protest.
“My intention is to enforce what’s already in place in federal law,” Beason said. “I make no apologies. I’m trying to do what I feel is best for the people of Alabama.”
A leader of the protest, Mohammad Abdollahi, who said he was an immigrant without papers from Iran who lives in Bessemer, explained that the purpose of the demonstration was for their voice “to be heard.”
Source:AP
University of California police shoot armed man www.privateofficer.com
University Police Chief Mitchell Celaya said it was not yet clear if the shooting was related to daylong Berkeley protests linked to the Occupy movement against a financial system protesters say most benefits corporations and the wealthy.
Celaya said officers responding to a call of a man with a gun in the lab shot the man when he pulled the weapon from his backpack and displayed it in a threatening manner.
Authorities did not immediately say what connection the man, identified only as a white male with a blue backpack, may have had to the university. Celaya said the man was apparently conscious on arrival at a local hospital, but there was no immediate word on his condition.
“This is just extraordinarily upsetting,” UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau told a news conference.
Police Lieutenant Alex Yao, speaking to reporters separately shortly after the shooting, described it as an “isolated incident” and said no one else at the campus was in danger.
Lyle Nevels, chief information officer for the Haas School of Business, said the incident began when a staff member told him he had seen a young man pull a gun from his backpack in an elevator.
Nevels said he went to look for the man, described by the staff member as being in his 20s and sporting a sparse beard, and saw him speaking to people in the computer lab.
Nevels called police and said responding officers confronted the man in the lab. He said he heard three or four shots after they told him to drop his weapon.
“I heard a scuffle, I saw the police say ‘Drop your gun’, and then I heard shots,” Nevels said.
In an emergency text message to students, the university said a shooting had taken place at the business school.
“Police are on the scene and everything is under control. Please avoid the area,” the text message said.
Thousands of people converged on the UC Berkeley campus on Tuesday in demonstrations called in response to the arrest of 39 people last week after anti-Wall Street protesters sought to set up an “Occupy Cal Encampment” there.
Protest organizers said on Twitter that the shooting was unrelated to their protest. “All plans continue,” Caloccupation said in a tweet.
Organizers, bolstered by members of the Occupy Oakland group, have said they intended to reestablish a protest camp on the campus by day’s end, in defiance of university rules.
Source:Reuters
Armed Cleveland man charged with assault on school security www.privateofficer.com
CLEVELAND OH Nov 17 2011 – A Cleveland man was arrested after police say he got into an altercation with security at an area school.
School officials said James Wagner, 46, is the parent of students at Artemus Ward School on West 140th Street in Cleveland. Wagner went to the kindergarten through eighth grade school on Monday to pick up his children.
According to Cleveland Metropolitan School District officials, there was an altercation between Wagner and CMSD officers over parking. The incident escalated and the officers used pepper spray on Wagner before arresting him.
He was charged with disorderly conduct. While he was being arrested, Wagner told the CMSD officers that he had a weapon and a concealed carry permit, officials said. He was turned over to the Cleveland Police Department
Source:www.newsnet5.com
Schaumburg Christian School teacher arrested for masturbating in classroom www.privateofficer.com
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.Nov 17 2011 – A teacher at a suburban Christian school has been charged with a felony, after he was fired for allegedly masturbating behind a podium while teaching class.
Schaumburg police said he might have been doing it for the past 10 years or more.
Paul LaDuke, 75, has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child, according to a news release from Schaumburg police.
On Friday, a student at Schaumburg Christian School, located at 200 N. Roselle Rd., reported to another teacher that LaDuke appeared to be masturbating while seated at his podium during class.
The teacher notified the school administration, which launched an internal investigation. LaDuke was fired on Friday and, on Monday, school officials contacted Schaumburg police.
Detectives interviewed several students and LaDuke was arrested on Monday.
Investigators determined that, while seated at a podium in class on Friday, LaDuke unzipped and lowered his pants and masturbated while students were present in the classroom.
Detectives believe LaDuke masturbated in class several times a year over the course of 10 years or more while teaching at Schaumburg Christian School.
Police said there is no evidence that LaDuke touched any students in an inappropriate manner or harmed them physically.
LaDuke is due for a bond hearing on Wednesday at the Rolling Meadows courthouse.
Any current or former students or parents with information on the case were being urged to call Schaumburg police at 847-882-3534.
LaDuke taught 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade algebra, 9th grade geometry, and 12th grade trigonometry and pre-calculus, according to the school’s website.
Source:CBS
KY teacher under arrest for sexual contact with student www.privateofficer.com
LOUISVILLE, KY. Nov 17 2011 — Kentucky State Police have arrested a teacher for sexual contact with a student.
Police say 32-year-old John Jones IV “inappropriately touched” a 16-year-old female student while in the school.
Jones, who is from Carrollton, was arrested just after 9:30 Tuesday morning. He faces two counts of first degree sexual abuse. He was placed into the Carroll County Detention facility.
Source:WDRB
Ada Oklahoma teacher arrested on drug charges www.privateofficer.com
ADA, OKLAHOMA Nov 17 2011 – A growing number of parents in Ada said they are concerned after an Ada Middle School teacher was arrested on drug charges.
Ada Police said detectives have been watching 42-year-old Deborah Morrison for a while now but said they got their break during a sting operation Thursday and arrested the Ada Middle School teacher as she was buying methamphetamine.
Residents near Ada public schools said they were shocked to find out about Morrison’s arrest.
Ada Public School grandparent Chad Hamilton said, “It’s really a concern for all parents now, this is just turning up too much.”
Police said they organized a sting operation Thursday where they caught Morrison red-handed trying to buy meth.
“They were basically able to set up a meeting between the suspect and informant and Ada police detectives were able to participate in that and that is how they were able to identify the suspect and make the arrest,” Ada police officer Mark Bratcher said.
“Ms. Morrison was someone we have looked at in the past and she got caught up in the operation and got arrested,” Ada police chief Mike Miller said.
Police said Morrison was booked into the Pontotoc County Justice Center and was charged with endeavoring to purchase methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a park.
“Its my understanding that once she was questioned she admitted to being involved,” Bratcher said.
According to an affidavit obtained by KXII, Morrison did admit to using the drug, but only for recreational purposes.
Morrison is currently out on bail but Ada Middle School principal Bryan Harwell would not comment on whether Morrison would be allowed to continue teaching.
“I think she should be fired,” Hamilton said.
“She worked in the school system and that’s a pretty big deal if you are using drugs,” Chief Miller said. “We are happy we finally caught her.”
Parents said they expect a teacher to be a role model for their kids and situations like this are cause for concern.
“He’s a precious little fellow to me and I certainly dont want someone to try to entice him to use drugs,” Hamilton said.
Source:KX11.com
TN man dies from burns in meth making accident at hospital www.privateofficer.com
Harry R. Klingenberg, 33, of Huntington, was recorded by hospital security cameras while making meth in his vehicle about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, according to Chris Lewis, an agent with the 23rd Judicial District Drug Task Force. Klingenberg, who Lewis said had a “lengthy Sudafed purchase history,” can be seen moving around in his car on the security camera video.
“All of sudden, it shows a big fireball inside the car,” Lewis said. “At the point, he runs from the vehicle and he is fully engulfed.”
A Sheriff’s Office detective working security at the hospital called in requesting help with a vehicle fire while also working with other emergency responders to put out the fire on Klingenberg. The Dickson Fire Department put out the vehicle fire.
Klingenberg was flown by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Medical Center where he later died Sunday night.
The detective noticed canisters and other possible drug-related paraphernalia in the car and called the drug task force.
“It appears he was in the parking lots adding the ingredients to manufacture meth and, I feel like, probably at the point he was adding the lithium strips in that he made contact with sweat or water, which at that point ignited the bottle,” Lewis said.
Source:thetennessean
Deputy District Attorney commits suicide during traffic stop www.privateofficer.com
Oceanside CA Nov 17 2011 Deputy District Attorney Christine Trevino shot herself to death Thursday evening during a traffic stop in Oceanside, police said Friday.
Trevino, 51, killed herself with a handgun as a Carlsbad police officer was speaking to her through her car window about 6:35 p.m. Thursday at Vista Way and Jefferson Street, said Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Mata.
Escondido police had been looking for Trevino after she threatened to kill herself and then left her Escondido home, Mata said. Escondido officers in unmarked vehicles tracked her cellphone and found her driving her car in Carlsbad. They asked Carlsbad police to make a traffic stop.
During her 21 years with the district attorney’s office, Trevino was assigned to various divisions, including narcotics, gangs and child support, according to a statement the office released Friday. She was most recently assigned to the office’s North County branch in Vista.
“Christine was a dedicated prosecutor and valued member of the DA family,” District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said in the statement. “She will be missed by those of us who were fortunate enough to be her colleagues for many years. Our hearts go out to Christine’s family, friends and co-workers at what is a very difficult time for all of us.”
The district attorney’s office is providing counseling and peer support to employees, according to the statement.
Described as dedicated, fair
Trevino’s friends described her as a hard worker who was dedicated to her job, and as a formidable opponent who fought hard in court —- but always fought fair.
North County defense attorney Herbert Weston said he had worked alongside Trevino for more than 20 years, “since I was a young pup of a lawyer and she was a young pup of a lawyer, too.”
He described Trevino as confident, sassy and charming, but also a skilled lawyer who did her job well and always left the fight in the courtroom.
“She worked hard at it (her job), but on the other hand, she was brought up as I was brought up: you do your job, but at the end of the day, you say, ‘Let’s go have a drink together; let’s be friends,’” Weston said. “From a defense standpoint, she was just a really good person to try a case against.”
Trevino was hired by the San Diego County district attorney’s office on Feb. 12, 1990, according to county records. The county paid her $137,364 in 2009.
High-profile cases
Among the cases she handled in her career at the office was that of Derlyn Ray Threats, who was convicted of killing Carolyn Rebecca Neville by stabbing her as many as 80 times —- using hedge clippers and two knives, among other alleged weapons —- after she interrupted an apparent robbery in her upscale Vista home on Sept. 1, 2006.
Continued exposure to such grotesque and brutal acts can be hard on one’s emotional health, but it comes with the territory for many people who work in law enforcement, Ellen Kirschman, a psychologist and author of the book “I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know,” said Friday.
Kirschman said she could not speak to Trevino’s death specifically, because everyone’s story is very personal and different. Generally speaking, though, that line of work tends to come with extra emotional challenges that don’t apply to the general public.
“You always have to consider what’s going on in someone’s personal life, but we know that people who work in law enforcement have exposure —- they see things that most people will never see in their whole lives,” Kirschman said. “More death, despair and tragedy.
“It just wears on the human spirit to see terrible things like that, just to have that kind of exposure,” she said.
San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Christine Trevino sent an email with “My Death” in the subject line to at least 50 people, including District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, two weeks before she shot herself to death Thursday evening in Oceanside, according to documents obtained by North County Times.
The email, which Trevino sent the evening of Oct. 26, prompted measures by the district attorney’s office to “keep her safe,” an official said.
Trevino’s message appeared to accuse Dumanis’ administration of taking the side of another employee with whom Trevino had been involved in a dispute, and warned the administration not to try to “cover up” Trevino’s death as a mental health issue.
The email’s final line said, “YOUR administration is to blame!”
Trevino, 51, killed herself with a handgun during a traffic stop about 6:35 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Vista Way and Jefferson Street, Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Mata said last week. She shot herself as a Carlsbad police officer was speaking to her through her driver’s side window.
Escondido police had been looking for Trevino after she threatened to kill herself and then left her Escondido home, Mata said. Escondido officers in unmarked vehicles found her driving her vehicle in Carlsbad and asked Carlsbad police to make a traffic stop.
The email addresses to which Trevino’s message was sent appeared to belong to other deputy district attorneys, and people outside the office, including officials in the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Officials ‘did what they could’
Steve Walker, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, said Monday that officials at the office and Trevino’s colleagues did what they could to help Trevino after she sent the email.
“Christine had many friends, family members and colleagues who cared deeply about her well-being,” Walker wrote in an e-mail Monday. “Those individuals, along with the District Attorney’s Office, did what they could to help Christine, to support her during a difficult time and to keep her safe.”
Walker said the office also followed guidelines to protect others from violence.
“The District Attorney’s Office and the County of San Diego have policies and guidelines in place that were followed which direct how we respond to, and evaluate situations including threats to District Attorney personnel and potential workplace violence,” Walker wrote. “The DA’s Office also makes peer support and counseling available to our employees.”
Walker declined to answer questions about what specific action the office took to protect Trevino and other employees from harm.
Policy calls for ‘intervention’
He provided a written copy of the guidelines and policies the office follows in response to threats of workplace violence.
The policy “places two essential responsibilities upon departments, to investigate and respond with appropriate action,” according to the document. The method of response depends on the severity of the threat.
A medium-level threat is defined in the document as “behaviors that should sound the alarm that the situation is escalating and that without intervention an incident could occur.” Examples of behavior associated with a medium level threat include “overt, covert or indirect threats,” “belief that others are conspiring against them or persecuting them,” “expressed suicidal thoughts or threats,” and “severe emotional distress.”
The document directs authorities to respond to medium-level threats by alerting authorities within the agency, “progressive discipline,” granting administrative leave, if warranted, during the investigation, and providing assistance to any employees who feel threatened.
Managing risk
The document directs supervisors to manage risk through measures including intervening in conflicts.
“If conflicts in the workplace are causing a disturbance or disruption, the supervisor should assess the situation and take steps to adequately deal with the situation.”
Walker did not say how the office responded to the dispute between Trevino and the employee with whom she had been engaged in a dispute.
Lt. Chris Wynn, a spokesman for Escondido Police Department, said Tuesday that police had visited Trevino’s home twice before officers began looking for her on Thursday.
Wynn said officers went to Trevino’s home on Oct. 11 after someone called police and asked officers to check on Trevino’s well-being. He said officers found that Trevino was suffering from a medical problem, and paramedics took her to a hospital for treatment.
Police went to Trevino’s home again on Oct. 26 after several people called to express concern about her safety, Wynn said. Callers mentioned receiving an email that had sparked their concern.
Officers spoke to Trevino at her home and she seemed OK, he said. She didn’t meet the criteria required to detain her for mental evaluation, and police did not confiscate any weapons.
Source:www.nctimes.com
Montgomery County Courthouse security guard arrested for theft www.privateofficer.com
Officers were dispatched to Fern Rock Market at 330 Cherry Street on Monday morning after the manager reported the theft. The manager told police that he placed the $300 on top of a “Laffy Taffy” container near the cash register just before 11am and within 30 minutes the money was missing.
The manager immediately checked the surveillance video and observed a customer who he knew as Cheryl Andrews, still in her security guard uniform, allegedly take the money from the container and put it in her pocket.
The manager reportedly told police that he went to Andrews’ workplace at Family Court to convince her to return the money without police involvement. According to the manager, Andrews returned with him to the store to view the video of the alleged theft. After viewing the footage, the manager claimed Andrews continued to deny the allegations and left the store.
Andrews returned to the store while officers were still on the scene reviewing the surveillance video, and was taken into custody. After a search of her person, officers did not recover the stolen money so they contacted Andrews’ supervisor at Family Court and asked him to search the workplace for the missing cash.
At approximately 2:30pm, Andrews’ supervisor reported retrieving her personal belongings and finding a white envelope full of cash with her name on it in the drawer of a common desk. Police responded to Family Court and took custody of the envelope which contained $258. The envelope and the money was placed into evidence.
81-year-old Michigan man commits suicide at police station www.privateofficer.com
Orion Township MI Nov 17 2011 An 81-year-old Orion Township man, whom a police report said was “walking gingerly” after recent heart surgery, asked to use the bathroom Monday at his local police station and committed suicide with a handgun once inside the rest room.
The man shot himself once in the head with a .32-caliber handgun around 4:30 p.m. in the Orion Township substation of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office at 2525 Joslyn Rd., about three miles north of I-75, according to the report released today.
The man was pronounced dead about four hours later at POH Medical Center in Pontiac, the report said.
Family members said he had been living alone after his wife died several years ago, and that after his heart surgery relatives became worried about his health, according to the report
Collier County deputy starts produce patrol www.privateofficer.com
Naples Fla Nov 17 2011 When Deputy Craig Demange isn’t transporting criminals to jail, he is delivering organic produce to customers.
Demange, a 35-year-old Collier County deputy, founded his organic produce company, Organics of Naples, in 2010.
“I’m a middle-class person, too,” Demange said.
“It makes me feel good to be able to save families some money.”
He began serving 20 customers in his first year of service with the intentions of providing customers an inexpensive option to buy healthy produce.
Since the company’s inception, Organics of Naples has gained 400 customers.
Demange has Groupon, a free website which provides daily deals with substantial savings on products, to thank for his clientele boost. He says the online service brought him approximately 200 customers in June, 100 of which have become regulars.
Organics of Naples offers three options on its website for customers to choose from. They recommend the value box for a customer’s first purchase.
For $34.99 the value box contains 13 to 15 items and is best suited for a two to four person family.
Customers can also order the small box for $24.99. The small box contains 10 or 11 items and is best suited for one or two people.
For $44.99, customers can order the extra-value box, which contains 13 to 15 items. This box contains more of each item than the value box contains. This option is best suited for a family of four to six people.
Each box will contain a mix of fruits and vegetables, which Demange says he selects on a weekly basis. He bases his choices off of what he feels adds the best diversity and value to the box.
“Every box will contain one or two expensive items each week,” Demange said.
Demange allows customers to substitute unwanted items for an item of their choice for a $1-per-item fee. He says if customers want to avoid the fee, they can choose to substitute an unwanted item for surplus items.
The advantages of his service are noticeable.
Demange said his produce costs 30 percent less than supermarket prices. If this wasn’t enough to entice customers to try his product, Demange offers free delivery for all customers in Naples.
Demange said there is a $1 delivery fee for Marco Island, Bonita Springs and Estero residents. Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral resident will be charged a $2 delivery fee.
Organics of Naples currently delivers on Tuesday and Wednesday. Demange said he hopes to start delivering on Thursdays in the near future.
There is a $20 sign-up fee for new customers. Demange says he will waive this fee for college students.
Even though this service requires a membership, customers are not required to order produce each week. Customers are able to order boxes weekly, bi-weekly or periodically.
Why should consumers eat organic?
Demange doesn’t want to consume non-organic produce due to the pesticides which are sprayed on them.
“Chemicals which are sprayed on foods can’t be good for you,” says Demange.
“If you’re concerned about residues,” said Dr. Tim Durham, a university colloquium professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, “I would encourage you to wash (your produce) multiple times.”
Durham has a doctorial degree in plant medicine, which covers plant nutrition and food safety. He spends his time off during the summer working at his family’s farm in Long Island.
Foods have to follow strict guidelines to be labeled organic, said Durham. He says there are specific pesticides and fertilizers, which must be approved by the United States Department of Agriculture.
The resources used in these organic pesticides and fertilizers usually have to originate from plants or something sourced in nature, said Durham.
There are three classes of organic foods: 100 percent organic, 95 percent organic, and 70 percent organic, said Durham. If a product is labeled 70 percent organic, Durham says it may only hold the USDA label “made with organic ingredients.”
Durham doesn’t usually eat organic produce. He says he sticks to whatever produce is the most affordable.
“One of the aspects of organics I do like is the fact that it attempts to reconnect people to where their food comes from,” said Durham. “There has been this long-term disconnect that has been brewing for decades.”
Durham also says the localization that comes with organic farming is beneficial.
“My goal for Organics of Naples is to get it out there in Collier and Lee county and to move it up the west coast,” said Demange.
For customers looking for a healthy Thanksgiving feast, Organics of Naples will be offering the Thanksgiving box. This will include an all-natural turkey with assorted fruits and vegetables to complement it.
Readers interested in more information about the Thanksgiving Box or other information about Organics of Naples can view its website at http://www.organicsofnaples.com.
Durham recommends sourcing food locally for those who strive to eat healthier.
The organic versus non-organic debate may go on, but Deputy Demange will do his best to cuff you to the best produce in Southwest Florida.
Source:eaglenews
Crossville TN shoplifter arrested after knocking down store employee www.privateofficer.com
Nathaniel Ryan Lake, 34, 2025 Lowe Rd., was arrested Monday on a warrant signed by Crossville Police Maj. Mark Rosser relating to the Nov. 2 incident that took place at Lowe’s on N. Main St.
Store employees told police that a man entered the store and took a chainsaw and tried to exit through the lawn and garden area. Store employee Lawana Barnes asked to see the man’s receipt at which time he knocked her to the ground and fled in a black 2006 Volkswagen Passat.
He was followed to Crossville Marine on Hwy. 127 S and was seen carrying a chainsaw into the business and leaving a short time later without it.
Rosser wrote in his report that he went to the business on Hwy. 127 S and was given a copy of the driver’s license of the man who sold the chainsaw, which led to the the arrest of the suspect.
Source:crossville chronicle
Warren Police records clerk pleads guilty to $22,800 theft www.privateofficer.com
Rose Wilson, 47, of Bonnie Brae Avenue N.E. will undergo a pre-sentence investigation after pleading to a bill of information charging her with the third-degree felony.
Assistant county prosecutor Chris Becker said Wilson and her attorney Michael Rossi were very cooperative with police and prosecutors once the theft was discovered.
”The investigation was very quick since it was discovered Wilson is the only person in the department who had access to the safe where the money was kept,” Becker said.
Becker also said the city ”will be made whole since restitution will come from the defendant’s Public Employees Retirement System account.”
He said Wilson is eligible for probation, but the county prosecutor’s office typically recommends some form of incarceration for the judge to impose at sentencing.
Wilson has remained on voluntary leave from the department since she was singled out as the suspect.
Earlier this month police Chief Tim Bowers stressed that Wilson will never be able to work in the police department again. He said he specifically designated Wilson to oversee the $75 processing fee the city takes in on each vehicle towed under a police order.
”This breaks my heart. I gave them my trust. But no one is above the law,” Bowers said at the time. He said the accusation surfaced in October, and he originally thought money in the tow fund had been mismarked and possibly unaccounted for at the city auditor’s office. He said he started checking on the fund when a city official questioned him on whether there was enough money in the fund to use it to purchase cruisers as money became available.
Bowers then assigned Sgt. Jeff Cole to investigate the matter and the missing money led to Wilson – the only person who documented the incoming money and the only person who had the combination to a safe where cash and money orders were kept.
The city adopted an ordinance in 2009 that called for the $75 processing fee to cover the cost of an officer’s time spent filing a report for a drunken driving violation, for example. The officer’s time spent doing the paperwork and waiting for a tow truck amounted to about $75.
A person must pay the $75 and show proof of ownership, a driver’s license and proof of insurance before getting a receipt that is taken to the tow company to pay for the tow and any storage fee on the vehicle.
Bowers said a shift commander takes in all the money and logs it in after every shift, placing the money or money orders in an envelope and assigning it a number before it’s deposited in the safe through a slot.
The employee then documents the payments, and the money is then taken to the auditor’s office where it’s deposited in a bank account.
Bowers said the thefts started in late 2009 and continued through April of this year.
In 2010, the only full year the program was in effect, $49,580 was taken in by the city. But the cash that was deposited totaled only $34,540 with the remaining $15,040 stolen.
City Council is giving thought to repealing the ordinance, or at least reducing the amount of money a citizen must pay the city when a vehicle is towed.
A search of court records showed Wilson had faced personal financial troubles since 2004, including a tax lien imposed in March. Records showed two liens were imposed because of $16,192 in back state taxes. As part of the lien, between $269 and $297 were deducted from her bi-weekly paycheck that originally netted about $1,190 after taxes starting with her Aug. 12 paycheck.
In 2006, records show her house was foreclosed on because $79,157 was left on the mortgage taken out in 1999 for the 387 Eastland Ave. home. Trumbull County Judge W. Wyatt McKay ruled in Bank One’s favor in the foreclosure in 2006. The home was appraised at $75,200 at the time and assessed at $26,330. Wilson and her husband purchased the home in 1995 for $71,500.
Wilson’s husband, Scott, was disabled as the result of an automobile crash in 2007 and died about a year later.
Wilson was hired Aug. 12, 1991, as a clerk and typist for the income tax department after working part-time at Bank One in Youngstown for six years.
On Jan. 1, 2000, she was transferred to the same position at the police department due to lack of funding. Two months later, she was transferred back to the income tax department as a data systems specialist with a pay upgrade. Her pay was downgraded in June 2001 when she was sent back to the police department.
In February 2006, she was promoted to the title of police department secretary, making $15.47 per hour, but in 2009, she was again downgraded to a clerk and typist for the police department, making $15.11 because of a fund shortage.
According to her personnel file, Wilson received exemplary marks on her performance evaluations during her 20-year tenure. In her most recent performance evaluation, in May 2006 after her promotion to secretary, she received the second-highest ratings on almost all job-performance categories. She received the highest possible marks for remaining calm under pressure, resourcefulness and attitude and cooperation, which includes “accepting consequences of mistakes without blaming others.”
Source:tribtoday.com
