OFFICER DOWN NYPD Peter Figoski

 

 

Police Officer
Peter Figoski

New York City Police Department, New York

End of Watch: Monday, December 12, 2011

Age: Not available

Tour: 22 years

Badge # Not available

Cause: Gunfire

Incident Date: 12/12/2011

Weapon: Handgun

Suspect: 1 apprehended; 1 at large

Police Officer Peter Figoski was shot and killed while responding to a robbery call on Pine Street, in Brooklyn, at approximately 2:00 am.

He had walked down a set of stairs from the street to the building’s basement when he was ambushed and shot in the face by a suspect. One suspect was arrested after a struggle with Officer Figoski’s partner, but another suspect fled and remains at large.

Officer Figoski had served with the New York City Police Department for 22 years and was assigned to the 75th Precinct.

Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:

Commissioner Raymond Kelly
New York City Police Department
1 Police Plaza
Room 1320
New York, NY 10038

Phone: (646) 610-6700

Police charge armed shoplifter with robbery www.privateofficer.com

 

 

PETERBOROUGH ONT. Dec 12 2011 A man who scared off a security officer last month by saying he had a gun has been charged with robbery and resisting a peace officer.
A security officer approached a shopper in Old Navy on Nov. 4 after a report of shoplifting.
When the store guard was arresting him, the man said he had a gun so the mall employee backed off and the man left.
The Peterborough Lakefield Community Police followed up and identified a suspect by using video surveillance.
Jaelaune Dimitruk, 20, of Talwood Court, in Peterborough, was charged yesterday.

Walmart Loss Prevention Agent Stabbed By Shoplifter www.privateofficer.com

 

 

CARTERSVILLE, GA Dec 12 2011 – A Wal-Mart theft prevention officer was stabbed by a fleeing shoplifter Saturday afternoon in Cartersville.

Bartow County police said Johnny Wayne Thacker confronted a woman who was leaving the store with items she didn’t purchase.

Thacker said when he tried to detain the woman she stabbed him in the stomach with a multi-tool and then ran towards the parking lot.

Police said after assaulting Thacker, she then tried to escape by jumping in the back seat of a car being driven by people she didn’t know. The vehicle stopped and the shoplifter, identified as Katrena Elaine Evans, was arrested.

Evans was booked in the Bartow County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with more charges pending.

Thacker was taken by ambulance to the Cartersville Medical Center but his injuries aren’t considered serious.

Source: CBS ATLANTA

Ballston Spa Central School District teacher arrested in federal child porn operation www.privateofficer.com

 

 

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y.Dec 12 2011 — Authorities say a music teacher at an upstate New York school is accused of possessing child pornography.

Prosecutors say Ballston Spa Central School District teacher Timothy Brehmer was arrested in a federal operation after being identified through his computer’s IP address.

The Albany Times-Union (http://bit.ly/rtrYc7) reported Friday that court papers showed a laptop seized from the 35-year-old Broadalbin resident contained pornographic images and video of children.

The elementary school teacher was released by a federal court pending a hearing Dec. 27.

A man who answered a phone number listed for Brehmer declined to comment Saturday night.

Schools Superintendent Joseph P. Dragone said in a letter to parents that Brehemer was suspended without pay and barred from school property.

He was arrested during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation.

Gunman killed by movie set security officer after shooting at passing cars www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Los Angeles CA Dec 12 2011 A gunman shot dead by police as he fired randomly at passing cars on a Hollywood street had been struggling to overcome the recent break up of a four year relationship, according to friends.
Passers-by initially thought Tyler Brehm, 26, was an actor from a movie being filmed nearby – until he was shot dead by a policeman.
Brehm wounded three people – one critically – before he was killed by an off-duty officer working as a security guard on the neighbouring film, believed to be a gangster thriller starring Sean Penn.
When television crews told neighbours and friends the identity of the shooter, they said Brehm had been struggling to overcome a breakup with girlfriend Alicia Alligood, 24.

‘He wasn’t a bad guy, he just got fed up,’ friend Christina Mesropian told KNBC.
‘He was like “Ah, I’m over it, I’m over it,” but I could tell he wasn’t over it.’

Alligood told a reporter she and Brehm had ‘been dating for four and a half years’ before breaking up on December 1. He then moved to his own apartment half a mile from the scene of the shooting.
Brehm had texted his former girlfriend minutes before the shooting rampage, and hours earlier had left her a voicemail saying he loved her, she told KTLA.

The pair went to school together in Pennsylvania and began ‘hanging out’ during their college years.

Alligood described her former boyfriend as a ‘humanitarian’, and someone who was ‘extremely motivated to change the world for the better’, even managing a non-profit organization for a friend.
But she added Brehm was ‘really stressed out lately’.

Ramon Hernandez, who lived in the apartment next door to Brehm, said the couple had recently moved out. He told KABC-TV he had heard them arguing.
‘I could tell that he was an unstable person,’ Hernandez said, ‘but I don’t know the details on what actually made him snap.’
Brehm, who was Hispanic and dressed in a white sweat vest, walked down the middle of Sunset Boulevard, firing on motorists and in the air until he was shot and killed.

He was filmed from an office block standing in the middle of the road firing on pedestrians and motorists.
In the video, he can be seen pacing back and forth near the busy intersection with Vine Street, firing close to 20 rounds from what appeared to be a .40 caliber handgun.
One victim has been name as John Atterberry, a former music industry executive who has worked with artists like Brandy, The Spice Girls and Jessica Simpson.
The 40-year-old driver of a Mercedes-Benz, who now works as a film producer, was shot in the jaw and upper torso and taken to hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
Witness Micah Williams said he thought the suspect was part of a movie. ‘Then the third bullet ricocheted right by our head and I was like, “Dude, they’re shooting at us,” ’ he said.

Another bystander, Gregory Bojorquez, said: ‘At first it seemed like a movie but then I heard the sound of the bullets hitting metal. It was bizarre, like something from a cop show. You get so used to seeing filming in LA that lots of people were watching it thinking it was for a film.’
It is thought the gunman ran out of bullets and had pulled a knife from his belt when he was shot by the policeman.
‘He was screaming he was going to die and that he wanted to die,’ Bojorquez, a photographer who captured images of the shooting’s aftermath, told the Los Angeles Times.
‘He was just kind of shooting spontaneously,’ witness William Wiles told The Baltimore Sun Times, recalling what he saw as he watched incident from his bedroom window.
A truck and another car were struck by bullets, and two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling’s crime drama, Gangster Squad, is being filmed nearby.
It is unknown if the actors were on set during the real-life shooting, but they would have heard the gunfire.
In the Los Angeles area, every movie production is required to have a permit, so if there is shooting, for a movie, locals are notified for any loud noises and big signs are placed on street corners.
The area was cordoned off and the gunman lay under a white sheet in the street hours after the gunfire, leaving traffic tangled on busy Hollywood streets, an area is packed with stores and restaurants.

Takoma Park police fatally shoot man beating officer www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

Takoma Park MD Dec 12 2011 A suspect in a carjacking attempt in Takoma Park was fatally shot by police Saturday as he struggled with an officer after a chase, authorities said.

Takoma Park police said the incident began about 3:50 p.m. with an attempt to take a car at a gas station in the 6700 block of New Hampshire Avenue.

Police said a man drove to the station and got into an unoccupied Porsche. The owner confronted the man and was stabbed and critically wounded.

Police pursued a suspect to Metzerott and Riggs roads in Prince George’s County, where he left his car and began to run.

A Takoma Park officer followed and tried to subdue him with a stun gun, police said. They struggled, and he beat her as she lay on the ground. Police said a second Takoma Park officer arrived, ordered the man to stop and shot him to protect her life.

Police shoot-kill armed wheelbound shoplifter www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Visalia CA Dec 12 2011 A 29-year-old man in a wheelchair was shot dead by a Visalia police officer after attacking the officer with a knife, police said.

The man, whose name is not being released, attempted to rob the Sears store on Mooney Boulevard and Caldwell Avenue shortly before 5 p.m., according to police. The man then fled from security guards who caught up with the man who brandished a knife and threatened the guards from his wheelchair, Police Chief Colleen Mestas said.

Visalia police were called and located the man after he went into Marshalls on Mooney Boulevard and Sunnyside Avenue. The man fled the store using a back door and was confronted by a police officer. Mestas said the man lunged at the officer with a knife and the officer fired his weapon, hitting the man.

The suspect was transported to Kaweah Delta Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The officer, whose name was not released, received minor injuries during the scuffle and will be placed on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation.

The armed robbery will be investigated by police, while the officer involved shooting will be investigated by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department.

“Our officer feared for his life and engaged the suspect,” Mestas said. “He absolutely did the right thing. This suspect was threatening the lives of security guards and our officer.”

Source:Visalia-Times Delta

British security giant G4S recruited 300 former Special Forces personnel – Royal Marines to guard vessels www.privateofficer.com

 

 

United Kingdom Dec 12 2011 British security giant G4S has recruited 300 former Special Forces personnel and Royal Marines – most in the past year – to protect ships from pirates.

Putting armed guards on ships is big business. Security companies can charge vessel owners up to £15,000 per voyage for each guard.

And with hundreds of vessels sailing around the Horn of Africa every year, guarding against pirates is a multi-million-pound business.

In the secretive world of security firms, G4S is regarded as a market leader. All its personnel on ships are trained to use weapons to deter pirates, most of whom operate off the coast of Somalia where 49 hijackings took place last year.
The recruitment of former special forces staff reflects the dramatic U-turn by the British Government, which has now said that armed guards are allowed to operate on ships sailing under the Red Ensign.

In the six months before Ministers’ change of heart, G4S had been putting armed guards on many merchant navy vessels to see whether it was a more effective deterrent than existing passive measures, which involved fitting razor wire, ‘skidding’ paint and water cannon.

The result, according to the Government, which was monitoring the trial, has been that no ship carrying armed guards has been kidnapped.

The Government has been forced to act because the problem of piracy is growing, even though many countries, including Britain, send warships to patrol the sea off Somalia.
The problem is putting huge financial strain on the maritime industry and London’s marine insurance business.

Research foundation One Earth Future estimated that piracy costs ship owners an extra £2 billion in worldwide insurance premiums a year.

Kidnappings alone cost owners £530million a year in ransom and ships being put out of service.

The total cost of piracy is between £4.5billion and £7.5billion a year. That includes the cost of sending vessels around South Africa – avoiding the Suez Canal – or further into the Indian Ocean.

More than 600 sailors have been kidnapped by pirates and 30 have died.

Andrew McCarthy, commercial manager for G4S International Maritime Solutions, which organises the arming of the guards, said: ‘We have had no kidnapping attempts since we were allowed armed security staff on ships. We have also never fired a gun in anger. It seems that telling the pirates we are armed has a major deterrent effect.’

Body of missing Colorado teen found in school exhaust vent www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Colorado Springs CO Dec 12 2011

Over and over, teenagers and their parents passed the flame between candles. The sound of sniffles coming from cold, grief-stricken teenagers filled the air.

“This isn’t a time to wonder and to speculate about how this happened,” said Kevin Duren, the principal of Widefield High School. “This is a time to celebrate and to remember how Keith lived.”

Gathering in the high school’s lawn, scores of people mourned Keith Cohu, 17, who family and friends believe was found dead in the exhaust vent of a Security elementary school by an off-duty Colorado Springs police officer. He had been missing since Nov. 11.

Lt. Lari Sevene confirmed that Cohu’s identification card was found on the body, however the El Paso County Coroner must still scientifically confirm the person found was Cohu. An autopsy is pending.

Friday’s grim discovery left his aunt, Michelle Schnapp in “disbelief.” The boy — who grew up playing soccer and wrestling — would often visit her for lunch and just “talked about life.”

“He’s just a wonderful person,” Schnapp said earlier Saturday of Cohu. “He had a wonderful life ahead of him. He wanted to be a firefighter.”

The officer, a family friend, was led to the rooftop by tips provided to the family by boys who were with Cohu on the roof of French Elementary School before his disappearance.

One boy told Cohu’s parents they were on the roof when police showed up. “They all took off running and they didn’t see Keith again,” Schnapp said.

The roof was searched by school workers, but the policeman took one more look Friday and found the body after noticing the rooftop lid to the boiler exhaust vent ajar.

When he opened the lid, he peered inside and saw a body 10 to 15 feet down the shaft, deputies said.

The officer, a family friend, had been searching for Cohu over the past week after the boy’s parents became frustrated with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office investigation into their boy’s disappearance, Schnapp said.

Deputies had found Cohu’s vehicle on Nov. 11 on Lake Avenue, Schnapp said. Most of his belongings were still inside, she said.

“His cell phone, his iPod — no personal belongs were taken,” Schnapp said.

Cohu had attended Widefield High School but had recently started taking online classes. On Saturday night, friends and family wept as they remembered his zest for life.

“He never really let anything get to him,” said Ryan Bennett, 16, before looking at the mass of people mourning him. “It’s special. It just shows… how liked he was.”

Security officer’s new book gives insight to being a security officer www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

Slidell LA Dec 12 2011 At first glance, Winston Cavendish doesn’t look like a retired security guard and police officer.

A big burly man with a white beard and a hearty laugh, he resembles Santa Clause more than a cop. But Cavendish has been a security guard, a deputy with the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office, the assistant chief with the Mandeville Police Department and a police officer with the Sun Police Department. People in St. Tammany Parish might know Cavendish in one of his most famous role as McGruff the Crime Dog, who “takes a bite out of crime.” As McGruff, Cavendish got to meet President Ronald Reagan.

Today, Cavendish has changed careers and become an author. He has written an amusing, yet educational book about his years and adventures as a security officer. The book, titled “In Security” expresses Cavendish’s sly sense of humor, because he said that being a security guard could be a very insecure and dangerous profession.

He should know. During his career in security, he has guarded shopping malls, movie sets, factories, casinos and even bodies in a funeral parlor. While he was in law enforcement, he never got hurt, but as a security guard, Cavendish has been beaten up 18 times, shot once, stabbed once, run over, trapped in an elevator in sub-freezing weather, had a building collapse on him and several other dangerous situations. Compare that to his law enforcement career.

“I never had to draw a gun once while a police officer,” Cavendish said. “The only violent thing I ever did was break the wrist of a man who was coming after me with a knife.”

Cavendish points out that in 2005, 157 police officers died in the line of duty across the U.S. and 2,100 security officers also died in the line of duty that year.

For that reason, Cavendish started his book nine years ago.

“Security guards are not recognized,” Cavendish said. “I want people to know about what they go through.” He jokes that security officers are the second oldest profession in the world, and their first job was probably providing security for the world’s oldest profession.

Besides the book, Cavendish wants to get a memorial built to security officers. He’s been working on that for several years, trying to get funds. He’s already contacted a foundry in Pennsylvania to build the monument; he just needs some money to do it. That, and he needs to find a location. He says that several big security companies have shown interest so far.

“In Security” is an inside look at what it takes to be a security guard. There are some funny episodes, like the time he was guarding a body in a coffin in Canada and a huge gust of wind blew the coffin down an icy hill, with Cavendish dashing after it. There are other more serious episodes where Cavendish was instructed to throw a group of Hare Krishna people from a shopping mall. It turns out the group was the entourage for the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Cavendish got to meet and talk to the Dalai Lama, and needless to say he did not kick the group out of the mall.

Now that the book is finished, Cavendish is out hawking “In Security.” People can buy the book in the gift shop at the Silver Slipper Casino in Mississippi, (the casino is one of Cavendish’s former employers), or they can call Cavendish at (985) 641-9055.

Source:Slidell Sentry

Saginaw Township police coordinates shoplifting sting www.privateofficer.com

 

 

SAGINAW TWP. MI Dec 12 2011 — If the results of a Thursday and Friday shoplifting sting are any indication, law enforcement presence in Saginaw and Kochville townships is, at the least, just as effective as last year.

For the second consecutive year, the annual sting, performed in mostly the area near the Fashion Square Mall, netted 17 arrests of suspected shoplifters.

“They see the cooperation between the stores and the police, and they see the law enforcement resources we have in use (when they’re arrested),” said Saginaw Township Police Officer Chris Fredenburg, who coordinated the sting. “Their eyes get a little big. I liken it to educating them that we’re out there and that we care.”

Fredenburg gathered with 20 law enforcers and business-hired loss prevention employees on Thursday before kicking off the effort.

Fredenburg said statistics suggest the sting — organized annually in December since 2003 — has made an impact on shoplifting.

Last year’s number of arrests was about half of 2009’s 30, and “more than 30” were arrested in 2008, Fredenburg said.

“Our effectiveness is proving itself,” he said during a Thursday briefing. “We’re developing an ominpresence out there.”

Fredenburg estimated that authorities recovered about $4,000 in stolen merchandise.

Of those arrested this year, some weren’t caught in the act at the beginning of their shoplifting efforts. Some of those arrested already had stolen merchandise from other stores, Fredenburg said.

“They were hitting multiple stores,” he said. “We were kind of catching them at the end of their shoplifting spree.”

Participating agencies included Saginaw Township police, Saginaw County sheriff’s deputies, state police and Saginaw Valley State University police.

Source:Mlive.com

McDonald’s manager arrested for burglarizing store www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

South Greensburg PA Dec 12 2011 A McDonald’s manager-in-training disabled a security system and stole more than $3,000 from the South Greensburg restaurant, borough police said.

He left a damaged video recorder behind because he had too much loot and other items to carry, police said.

Anthony Deloren King, 21, of 131 Madison Ave., Apt. 3, Greensburg, faces charges of burglary, theft, receiving stolen property, criminal trespass and criminal mischief after his arraignment on Saturday before New Kensington District Judge Frank Pallone.

King confessed to burglarizing the South Main Street business about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, police Chief Scott Fanchalsky said. King appeared for work a few hours after the burglary, while police were processing the scene, according to court papers.

Authorities used the video recorder, which was damaged because it had been smashed to the floor near a door, to help link the crimes to King, Fanchalsky said.

“It (the recorder) was just too much for him to carry,” Fanchalsky said.

King told police his backpack became weighed down with coins and other objects garnered in the burglary. He elected to leave the recorder behind, the chief said.

King was one of four employees who closed the restaurant shortly after midnight Thursday.

Surveillance footage retrieved from the video recorder shows him opening and sliding through a drive-through window at 2:21 a.m., the arresting officer, Sgt. Bryan Painter, stated in court papers. Video depicts King leaving that window unlocked while closing the business with the others about two hours earlier, police said.

In the surveillance footage, King is wearing a dark-colored coat or jacket, with the hood up and his face uncovered, gloves and dark-colored shoes, police said. Authorities matched clothing found in a closet at King’s residence to the jacket, gloves and shoes that the suspect was wearing during the burglary, Fanchalsky said.

“The last portion of the video we observed is when the suspect entered the office, and he is observed removing a can of spray paint from the back pack and proceeds to spray the camera located in the office,” according to court papers.

King, as a manager-trainee, had the combination to the safe, police said.

A manager, opening the business later Thursday morning, called police when she discovered the office safe had been rifled and that money, nine cashier drawers, the previous day’s deposits and a coin box were missing.

Early estimates put the amount of cash and coins taken at between $3,500 and $4,500, according to court papers.

King cut wires to disable the business’ alarm system and further cut connections for the office video recorder, police said. Damage estimates exceed $1,000.

King, who was jailed in lieu of posting $50,000 bond, faces a preliminary hearing before Hempfield District Judge James Falcon

Source:www.pittsburghlive.com

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer arrested for beating up drunk driver www.privateofficer.com

 

 

CHARLOTTE, NC Dec 12 2011 – A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer has been charged with assault after police say a drunk driver crashed into him mother’s car.

Officer David Jones III is charged with assault – inflicting serious injury.

Rick McVicker, the man he allegedly assaulted, is charged with DWI.

Matthews Police say David Jones assaulted McVicker after he rear-ended a car being driven by Bonita Jones, David’s mother. The accident happened on December 7th in Matthews.

Jones’ 8-year-old son and his 63-year-old mother were stopped in their vehicle at a red light at Sardis Road and NC Highway 51, according to police.

The 38-year-old McVicker, of Charlotte, failed to stop his vehicle and rear-ended Jones’ vehicle at the red light, the report states. Police say no injuries were reported.

Police say Bonita Jones called her son to come to the scene. He was nearby and got there before police did, and that’s when the alleged assault happened.

Officers took two breath samples and a blood sample at the hospital to confirm alcohol was in McVicker’s system, according to the police report.

McVicker was treated at a local hospital and was arrested and charged with DWI, open container and open container after consuming upon his release.

Jones turned himself in to the Magistrates Office Friday afternoon and is not being held in jail.

Jones has been with the CMPD since September 27, 2000.

He is assigned to the South Division and is currently on paid administrative leave pending a parallel criminal and internal investigation.

The criminal investigation is being conducted by the Matthews Police Department. Detectives with the CMPD Internal Affairs Division will conduct the department’s internal investigation.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information concerning the event is asked to call the Matthews Police Department Criminal Investigations at 704-847-7755.

After being released from jail Friday night, McVicker admitted to WBTV he was driving drunk, but he says that doesn’t excuse the excessive force he believes Jones used.

“Imagine you’re standing there, somebody comes up behind you and just throws your head directly into the ground,” he said. “Never saw him coming, nothing.”

McVicker says at the time he was thrown on the ground, he was trying to get Bonita Jones to roll down her window so he could talk to her. He says he wasn’t being threatening.

But a source close to the Jones family says McVicker was actually banging on the window, and Bonita Jones knew he was drunk and was scared of what he might do.

The source says that’s why she called her son. That sources says David Jones did not use excessive force, but did force McVicker to the ground to protect his family.

Source:WBTV.com

Boscov’s store security agent bitten during a recent strong-arm robbery www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

York PA Dec 12 2011 A security guard at Boscov’s in the York Galleria mall was bitten during a recent strong-arm robbery.

Two juvenile females, ages 13 and 14, removed 15 pieces of jewelry and clothing items from store displays and were attempting to leave the Springettsbury Township mall department store when they were confronted by a security guard about 1:50 p.m. Nov. 28, township police said.

One of the females bit the guard, causing significant injury, police said. The teen who bit the guard is charged with robbery,- and the other teen is charged with retail theft, police said.

Police did not release the teens’ names or say where they are from.

Source:yorkdispatch.com

Strangers pay off K-Mart customer layaways www.privateofficer.com

 

 

GRAND RAPIDS MI Dec 12 2011 - Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that one of this holiday season’s inspiring stories about Christmas spirit started in Grand Rapids, a community with a national reputation for generosity.

It began last Tuesday when a woman walked into the Kmart on Plainfield Avenue and paid off the layaway accounts of three strangers in a goodwill gesture.

Since word spread, that single act has inspired scores of copycat acts of kindness at that Kmart and other stores around the country.

A Kmart spokesperson wasn’t available for comment Sunday but the retailer tweeted The Kmart Daily Social featuring several stories from around the country about Secret Santas paying layaway accounts.

On Saturday, the store manager received a call from her counterpart at a Kmart store in California asking for assistance in how to process a layaway bill paid by a stranger, said Dan Veenstra, manager of hardlines at the Grand Rapids store.

In Barry county, a woman spent $5,000 to pay off scores of layaway bills at a Kmart store in Hastings, he said.

So far, about 30 layaway bills have been paid at the Plainfield store, Veenstra said.

Those stepping forward with money have made sure the accounts involved items such as children’s clothing, coats and necessities, according to the store.

“It’s kind of shocking and surprising to us,” said Veenstra, who has worked at the store for 23 years. “In the past, people have paid off layaways for friends, neighbors, co-workers or someone they knew. But for someone to pay off a stranger’s bill, we haven’t seen that.”

WOOD-TV caught Secret Santa Eric Crandle Sr. and his son Eric Candle Jr. paying off a layaway bill at the store on Saturday.

Crandle said he was inspired by how many people have reached out to his family after his granddaughter was diagnosed with cancer.

“So to help others is the thing to do,” Crandle Sr. told WOOD-TV.

Source:The Grand Rapids Press