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Adams County Correctional officer killed during riot www.privateofficer.com
Adams County Coroner James Lee said one prison guard is dead of blunt force trauma to the head after the incident.
Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield told the Natchez Democrat that hostages were taken and that 15 employees were freed at one time during the uprising by opening a fence and protecting the route with guns. The sheriff said in a statement early Monday that there were at least two dozen hostages being held at one time.
Emilee Beach, a spokeswoman at the Adams County Correctional Center said that after the disturbance was brought under control Sunday night, inmates were being searched and sent back to their cells.
The five injured guards were taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.
The Adams County Correctional Facility is a $128 million, 2,567-bed prison owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America. The facility houses adult male illegal immigrants for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The disturbance was contained within the perimeter of the facility, the release from the facility said.
“No threat to public safety,” it read. “Law enforcement officials are providing outside perimeter security as facility staff and management work to resolve the incident inside the facility.”
Lee would not release the identity of the dead guard.
“We’re talking about way into tomorrow until I confirm anything,” he said.
The disturbance started Sunday around 2:40 p.m., according to prison officials. It appears to have been the result of a power struggle among the inmates.
Throughout the day, witnesses reported seeing smoke, which was later said to be tear gas, and hearing gunshots from inside the facility.
The Natchez Democrat reported flames were visible from outside the front portion of the facility, which is ringed by razor wire fence.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol’s Special Operations Group was sent to the site, said MHP spokesmen. In addition, parent company Corrections Corporation of America sent their Special Operations response teams.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Department also assisted in the situation.
Becky DeLaughter was one of a crowd of people watching the proceedings from the perimeter of the property.
“A guy is standing right beside me with a big scope. You can see clearly inmates lining the inside of the fence and law lining the outside. It looks like a standoff to me,” she said. “Many, many more blue lights are steadily coming in.”
Line of Duty Death- Officer Justin Maples
Police Officer
Justin Maples
Cleveland Police Department, Tennessee
End of Watch: Sunday, May 20, 2012 Bio & Incident Details
Age: 35
Tour: 7 years
Badge # Not available
Cause: Automobile accident
Incident Date: 5/20/2012
Weapon: Not available
Suspect: Not available
Police Officer Justin Maples was killed in a single vehicle crash on South Lee Highway at approximately 9:30 pm.
His patrol car left the roadway and struck a telephone pole, causing severe damage. He was transported to SkyRidge Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries 50 minutes later.
Officer Maples had served with the Cleveland Police Department for seven years. He is survived by his wife and three sons.
Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Chief of Police Wes Snyder
Cleveland Police Department
100 Church Street NE
PO Box 1519
Cleveland, TN 37311
Phone: (423) 476-1121
Dubuque Iowa teen opens nightclub for teens www.privateofficer.com
DUBUQUE, Iowa May 21 2012— Brandon Bradley wanted to give teens something he never had — a nightclub.
Still a teen himself, the 18-year-old Hazel Green, Wis., native opened Fusion Teen Nightclub in Dubuque “to provide a safe and secure atmosphere for kids to hang out,” he said.
Teens, ages 14-19, can dance the night away in the nightclub, located at 123 Main St., on Fridays and Saturdays or sing their hearts out on Thursdays. Younger kids, ages 11-14, are welcome to dance on Sundays.
“I can connect with them,” Bradley said.
He had thought about opening a teen nightclub for years, and, with the help of co-owner Troy Sutter, 34, of Hazel Green, Wis., the teen nightclub opened its doors four weeks ago.
“First of its kind to hit Dubuque in many years,” Bradley said.
There are strict rules, including no alcohol, tobacco or drugs, and a strict dress code. Items such as baggy clothing, bandanas, jerseys and caps aren’t allowed.
“We’ve not had any issues,” Bradley said.
There also are security guards located at the nightclub’s front and back doors.
Still a teen himself, the 18-year-old Hazel Green, Wis., native opened Fusion Teen Nightclub in Dubuque “to provide a safe and secure atmosphere for kids to hang out,” he said.
Bradley said the average weekend attendance has been between 50 and 60 teens. The capacity is 90.
“It’s been all right,” he said, adding that he hopes business will pick up in the summer.
He also owns Mobile Moosic Productions, a disc-jockey business started six years ago.
The nightclub location’s previous identities have caused some confusion. Before it was Fusion Teen Nightclub, it was Fusion Bar, Hammertime Bar and Grape Harbor.
Because of the quick turnaround, the teen nightclub kept the logo and name of the location’s former bar.
“Unfortunately, we had people who thought it was still a bar,” Bradley said.
He hopes when teens hear the word “fusion,” they will think about the teen nightclub on Main Street.
Texas law enforcement loves using social media to connect with public www.privateofficer.com
ARLINGTON TX May 21 2012 – When officer Zhivonni McDonnell reported for a shift earlier this year, she was armed with one of the Police Department’s newest tools: a smartphone equipped with Twitter.
As she accompanied a Citizens on Patrol member that night, McDonnell, the department’s social media specialist, tweeted updates on what they were seeing and doing, giving followers a taste of what the volunteer group does.
Think social networking is just a frivolous time-waster for celebrities, kids and the weak-minded? Law enforcement agencies from Arlington to Zurich increasingly see Facebook, Twitter and other platforms as 21st-century ways to walk the beat, prevent crime and bust the bad guys.
The key, said Chyng-Yang Jang, an associate professor in the University of Texas at Arlington’s department of communication, is having personnel who are trained in their use.
“If you’re going to use it to just post information, then I don’t think it will be too effective,” he said. “The real powerful thing is the two-way communication.”
Cleveland police used it during an Amber Alert in April and received a tip within a few hours that led to the children’s rescue. In Pennsylvania, a police department made three arrests in one week off leads generated by social media. Recently, one of Denton’s most-wanted misdemeanor fugitives saw his mug shot on the Police Department’s Facebook page and turned himself in, hoping to keep his family and friends from finding out.
Social media “is here. It’s going to stay,” said officer Ryan Grelle, spokesman for the Denton Police Department and one of the first in North Texas to use the tool aggressively. “My captain told me, ‘Just do it. Don’t embarrass us, but do what you think we should do.’”
Community outreach
Arlington police, who have also made arrests off information distributed via social media, use the platforms to publicize good work by officers that the traditional media may not cover, to provide safety tips and to keep the community posted on emergencies like the April 3 tornado outbreak. Going to the Rangers game? Follow @arlingtonpd for reports on traffic and parking — and to see who’s having fun tailgating.
With 4,160 Facebook fans and 3,101 Twitter followers as of Friday evening, the department is gaining on the top five U.S. law enforcement agencies for its size, according to the most recent numbers reported by the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Center for Social Media.
The outreach is not simply a public-relations move to control the message and put a smiley face on everybody who wears a gun and badge. “If it were,” said Sgt. Christopher Cook, supervisor of the department’s communications team, “then we would never post about murders. We wouldn’t want anybody to think their community wasn’t safe.”
The desire to add another layer of transparency and accountability starts at the top. “By being there, engaging in dialogue with our citizens through social media,” said Police Chief Theron Bowman, now an interim assistant city manager, “we are able to have candid and personable conversations, thereby facilitating legitimacy, the building block of thriving communities.”
Cook took charge of the communications staff in July after about two years in which former Dallas Morning News reporter Tiara Richard was often the lone department spokeswoman. Now the team also includes McDonnell, who focuses on social media, and Cheryel Carpenter, who came over from the city staff to handle the department’s community relations.
All four share the duty of monitoring and updating the department’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Nixle platforms.
“We found that you really have to have the staff to handle that stuff,” Cook said. “There’s just no way to keep up with it otherwise.”
Last fall, the staff attended a Social Media, the Internet and Law Enforcement — or SMILE — conference in Dallas, where it learned what departments elsewhere in the country were doing in cyberspace, including the idea of virtual ride-alongs.
The “tweetalong” — a Twitter hashtag that the Arlington department believes it was the first to use — has proved popular, in one case helping the department attract hundreds of followers in mid-December when Bowman tweeted while accompanying a drunken-driving task force patrol shift. The next tweetalong is scheduled for Tuesday.
Law enforcement agencies across North Texas are feeling their way around how to best use the platforms. Dallas police are posting official news releases on Facebook.
Fort Worth police, who drew criticism two years ago for questionable tweets, now use Facebook and Twitter in much the same way as Arlington. Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson has hired an administrative assistant who is knowledgeable about social networking to guide him.
“We’ve tried to be careful in disseminating information,” he said. “Most of what we do is very serious, and not everything can be put out to the public. We’re going to operate as much on a transparency level as we can. I think that in the right times and in the right ways, it can be a good channel to communicate, but we’re not going to force it on anybody.”
Expanded network
Properly used, social media platforms can put the police and the average citizen on equal footing, fostering a casual exchange in a comfortable manner. That can be reassuring for many people who would normally encounter officers only during a traffic stop or other stressful situation.
“It shows that there’s a real person behind the badge,” Grelle said. “Police officers are human, too.”
And the nature of social media is such that important information is transmitted via retweets and Facebook “shares” to a much wider audience than a department’s first-line followers, giving police a network of additional eyes and ears.
In February, for example, Denton police began posting their most-wanted felony and misdemeanor lists on Facebook. The tips they received have led to eight arrests, including the embarrassed fugitive who turned himself in.
On April 18, the Cleveland Police Department posted an Amber Alert on its new Facebook and Twitter accounts, which had about 2,000 followers. Some 200 of them quickly shared the information with their own followers, and so on. Within hours, the suspect and missing children had been spotted, according to a May 5 story on cleveland.com.
Meanwhile, the Southwestern Regional Police Department in Pennsylvania made three arrests off Facebook tips in one week, according to a May 10 newspaper article.
But, as the Arlington staff found, using social media platforms requires time and personnel, which translate into financial costs. Finding those resources can be challenging, said James McLaughlin Jr., executive director of the Texas Police Chiefs Association.
“Once you start on social media, you’re always on call,” McLaughlin said. “Your audience doesn’t want to wait a week for a response. They’re expecting a two-way interaction.
“Nothing is more important than accuracy,” he added. “Your credibility is only as good as the last information you put out there.”
Most Texas agencies seem to be using some form of social media now, he said, and the list grows almost daily.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police founded its Center for Social Media in October 2010 to help agencies use the platforms to prevent and solve crimes, strengthen community relations and generally enhance service delivery. The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs is a partner in the center, which acts as an information clearinghouse and offers free training and tips for agencies.
‘Getting better’
Few outsiders are more attuned to the social media activity of North Texas police agencies than John Burgdorf, a 19-year-old college student from Dalworthington Gardens.
In October 2010, while still a student at Pantego Christian Academy, Burgdorf founded the website Dallas/Fort Worth Police Scanner, a social network that reports fire and police activity to more than 20,000 subscribers on Twitter and Facebook.
“You learn social media through experience: learning from your mistakes, taking in advice from others and adapting to the … changes,” Burgdorf said.
Until recently, Arlington police were doing little with their Twitter and Facebook accounts, he said, but they seem to have discovered the power of the platforms.
That holds true for YouTube as well. In mid-April, the police and fire departments teamed up with A Wish With Wings to arrange a comic-book-hero crime-fighting event for a 7-year-old leukemia patient. A video of the Batman adventure went viral, attracting almost 227,000 views — 87 percent of the all-time views on the Police Department’s YouTube channel.
The department is also testing a live-chat option that residents can access from its website, arlingtonpd.org.
Officers working the lobby desk at police headquarters respond to inquiries as time allows, often saving an in-field service call, Cook said.
Burgdorf has been impressed with the department’s digital efforts.
“In my opinion, they shouldn’t change a thing,” he said. “They are doing a fantastic job, and it’s only getting better.”
Source:www.star-telegram.com
Trail of clothes leads police to molestation suspect www.privateofficer.com
Waco TX May 21 2012 A trail of clothes lead police a Harlingen teen who was caught in the middle of a sexual act with his underage girlfriend.
Texas State Technical College police arrested 19-year-old Victor Andres Balcarsel on an indecency with a child charge late Tuesday afternoon.
Court records show that a witness reported seeing women’s clothes and hearing unusual noises inside the men’s bathroom of Building W.
A police officer went inside the bathroom where women’s sandals and clothing had been reported on the floor.
The officer opened a bathroom stall and found Balcarsel and a 16-year-old girl who was only partially clothed.
Balcarsel told police that the girl was his girlfriend.
The girl told police that she had positioned her legs in a way to hide herself from people coming into the bathroom.
Both Balcarsel and the girl were identified as students with Harlingen’s Early College High School.
Harlingen CISD’s Early College High School program allows students to complete their high school education and first two years of college in four years time.
It’s not clear how or if Balcarsel and the girl will be disciplined or if the incident will affect security procedures for other students.
Balcarsel remains in custody at the Cameron County Jail under a $40,000 dollar bond.
Suspect keeps beating Philly cop with baton even after being shot 5-6 times www.privateofficer.com
Philadelphia PA May 21 2012 A police officer was released from the hospital Saturday evening after being beaten with his own baton during what authorities called a “life-or-death struggle” Saturday morning that ended with a robbery suspect wounded outside a busy shopping center in West Philadelphia.
“This was an absolute battle,” said Lt. Ray Evers, a police spokesman, “and we are very lucky this officer was not killed.”
About 10:30 a.m., the officer pulled up to investigate the report of an attempted robbery outside a restaurant near the Park West Town Center at North 52d and West Jefferson Streets. The uniformed officer was alone in a marked police cruiser, Evers said. Police did not release his name.
A man pointed to the tall, heavyset suspect, saying he tried to steal his backpack. Police did not release the suspect’s identity Saturday.
When the officer approached, the suspect began striking and punching him, Evers said. The officer tried to defend himself with his expandable steel baton, Evers said, but dropped it while grappling with the suspect, who tried to pry his service weapon from its holster.
The suspect picked up the baton and began beating the officer, Evers said. During the struggle, the officer used his shoulder walkie-talkie to call for backup, witnesses said.
Emmanuel Griffin, 64, a cook at Park Side Breakfast & Lunch, described the suspect as about 6-foot-1 and 320 pounds — much larger than the police officer, he said.
The officer fired about seven shots at close range, Evers said, striking the assailant five or six times.
But the bullets barely slowed him down. Despite being shot, he kept attacking the officer, witnesses said.
“The guy went down, got back up, still strong enough to be wielding the nightstick at the cop,” Griffin said, describing bullet wounds to the suspect’s shoulder, chest, groin, and legs.
Police are investigating whether the suspect was under the influence of drugs, Evers said.
Officers responding to the distress call surrounded the suspect, still on his feet, and got him to lie down, Griffin said.
But he kept fighting.
“Police went over to handcuff him, and he jumped back up, elbowing and knocking policemen down,” Griffin said. “They jumped on him again and got him cuffed.”
The suspect, Evers said, was listed in critical condition.
Said Evers: “We escaped a tragedy today.”
Brazos County Precinct 3 firefighter dies during training www.privateofficer.com
Brazos County TX May 21 2012 Every time the door opened at the Brazos County Precinct 3 Volunteer Fire Department, 69-year-old William Richard “Dick” Danes was there, coffee in hand, ready to work.
Fire Chief Gerald Burnett said Danes officially joined the department in October, though he’d been hanging around for a while prior to that, learning the ropes and getting to know the operations.
“Dick had a career goal at 69 years old to certify as an apparatus driver,” Burnett said. “The sad part is he was really close to achieving that.”
Danes died Thursday during a training exercise at TEEX Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station. Funeral arrangements are pending through Hillier Funeral Home in Bryan.
TEEX Communications Manager Will Welch said the agency is providing support for the Precinct 3 Department as well as to the TEEX staff who were on duty at the time. The Texas Engineering Extension Service is a state agency and part of the Texas A&M University system.
After Danes collapsed, Welch said, TEEX and Precinct 3 personnel conducted CPR on him and the field medic began treatment. The College Station Fire Department responded, and Danes was transported to College Station Medical Center via an Advanced Life Support EMS unit.
Burnett said Danes was thought to be in good health.
“He was very much about doing his job and doing it right and taking it seriously. His family really supported that, and that was important,” Burnett said.
A retired engineer, Danes was a Texas A&M graduate, an Air Force Reserve veteran, a radio operator, active in local citizens police and fire academies, belonged to a church and was a grandfather,” Burnett said.
“He was just a really nice guy,” said Burnett, who has been with the department since 1998.
The volunteer fire department consists of 40 people, Burnett said, 20 of whom are fully certified at the highest level.
The department has only had one other active member unexpectedly die. Assistant Chief Mike Terry died in 2001 in a motor vehicle accident, he said.
Danes had a wide circle of friends throughout the community and will be greatly missed, he said.
“As soon as you did anything, ask him a question, or tease him, he’d smile,” Burnett said, while pointing out the chair Danes sat in each day. “If it made him mad, he’d smile bigger. He wouldn’t say anything. He’d move on and wouldn’t have anything negative to say. He was such a positive guy.”
Boaz Alabama police charge two with “shoplifting turned robbery” www.privateofficer.com
BOAZ, Alabama May 21 2012 – Two people have been arrested in what Boaz Police Chief Terry Davis calls a “shoplifting turned robbery” case that occurred May 11 at the town’s local Walmart store.
James Colton Davis, 22, of Brandon Circle, Albertville, was charged with first-degree robbery and Terri Dianne Chamblee, 23, of Megan Lane, Horton, with second degree robbery following the incident that turned violent as the couple was exiting the store with stolen merchandise.
According to Chief Davis, James Davis was seen taking a web camera from the electronics department. When followed by a loss prevention official with the store, Davis was seen meeting Chamblee at the front door where they attempted to leave, Chief Davis said. When confronted by the store employee, Davis threatened the man with a knife and a scuffle began, Chief Davis said.
Davis dropped the knife and the merchandise during the fight, but pulled a second knife from his pocket and again threatened the unidentified employee, Chief Davis said. He then got into a gold colored SUV driven by Chamblee and left the scene, Chief Davis said. Boaz Mayor Tim Walker was among those who witnessed the event, Chief Davis said.
Davis was booked into the Marshall County Jail Thursday under a $25,000 bond.
Source:AL.com
Security officers held at gunpoint during $500,000 robbery www.privateofficer.com
“It was somebody who knew what they were doing,” police Lt. Robert Bastreri said.
The robbery started just before midnight when the robbers entered the Yokohama Tires store at 601 S. Acacia Ave. Some of the robbers held two security guards at gunpoint while the others backed up at least one truck and attached it to the trailer. The guards saw at least three men, Bastreri said.
The robbers then simply drove away with the goods, Bastreri said, estimated to be worth about $500,000.
As of Saturday morning, police have no leads but are continuing to investigate the incident, the lieutenant said.
Investigators ask anyone with information about the robbery to call police at 714-738-6800.
Source:OCRegister.com
Two off-duty Louisville police officers injured while working nightclub security www.privateofficer.com
Louisville KY May 21 2012 Two off-duty Louisville Metro Police officers received minor injuries when they were trying to disperse a crowd and shots rang out near a west Louisville nightclub early Sunday morning.
About 4 a.m., as local nightclub Cole’s Place was closing, two off-duty officers working security at the club responded to an area nearby to break up a fight and disperse the crowd, said Dwight Mitchell, a police spokesman.
As police were trying to clear the area, shots were fired, Mitchell said. Each of the two officers received graze wounds to their hands, he said.
Neither was transported to the hospital by ambulance, though Mitchell said they may go to the hospital to have the wounds cleaned and bandaged.
Neither one of the officers fired his weapon, Mitchell said.
Cole’s Place is located at 2924 W. Kentucky St. in Parkland, just blocks from the scene of Thursday’s deadly shootings at 32nd and Kentucky streets. Six people were shot in two separate incidents that afternoon, leaving three people dead. Mitchell said it is unclear if Sunday morning’s incident was connected.
Mitchell said it was also unclear early Sunday if the officers, who were wearing their uniforms, were the intended targets of the shooting.
Police were at the scene interviewing witnesses. Because officers were involved, the department’s Public Integrity Unit will conduct the investigation, Mitchell said.
No suspect descriptions have been released by police and no one had yet been charged in connection to the incident, Mitchell said.
Anyone with information on what happened is asked to call the anonymous crime tip line at 574-LMPD.
source-courier-journal
Three shot outside nightclub near University of Wisconsin campus www.privateofficer.com
Madison WI May 21 2012 Three victims wounded early Saturday when someone fired into a crowd outside a bar near the University of Wisconsin campus have been treated and released from a hospital, a police spokesman said.
Madison Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said a blood trail from the scene suggests there may have been a fourth victim, or that the shooter was also injured.
As of late afternoon, he said, no arrests had been made in the case, which police have labeled an attempted homicide investigation. The shooting came just days afterofficials addressed concerns about increasing gun violence in the city.
“For Madison, this is really over the top,” he said. “We’re lucky we’re not dealing with multiple homicides.
Hit by the shots were a 26-year old woman, an 18-year old man and a 23-year old man, all of Madison and none of them UW-Madison students.
DeSpain said the suspect had been in some kind of altercation with people on the sidewalk in front of Johnny O’s in the 600 block of University Avenue. He backed awau to the corner of University Avenue and Hawthorne Court and then fired toward a crowd of about 100 people, DeSpain said.
He said described the seconds after the shooting as chaotic. “People ran anywhere to escape, even into University Avenue were almost hit by cars.”
University Avenue was closed between Lake and Frances streets for hours.
In a news release, UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam said she was horrified by the crime, to which many students were witnesses or in the immediate area and affected by the aftermath.
“Madison is generally a safe community and this news is jarring,” Berquam said. “I’d encourage our campus community to step forward with any information they have available.”
Berquam also said counselors would be available at noon at the Red Gym for students and their family members who may wish to discuss concerns.
Source:jsonline.com
Former Fulton County 911 operator trainees say they were discriminated against them because they were pregnant www.privateofficer.com
ATLANTA GA May 21 2012
Two former Fulton County 911 operator trainees said the message at the Department of Emergency Services was “get pregnant and get fired.”
They claim the county discriminated against them because they were pregnant and Channel 2 Action News has learned a federal agency agrees.
“We can’t help that this is the reason God put us here to be able to give birth and our jobs should not be put on the line,” Leeneeka Bell told Channel 2′s Lori Geary.
Que’ana Morris said she was also terminated and told Geary she was shocked when her supervisor said “Once you rectify your problem which is your pregnancy then you can come back.”
Both ladies were pregnant with complications during their training. Both said their pregnancies led to their firings.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission did a full investigation and after more than two years it agreed that Fulton County discriminated against the two women.
Letters show the findings from the federal agency.
“It was as if I had a voice when I couldn’t go directly to them to beg and to plead, ‘Hey this is going to happen.’ That voice came through the EEOC,” Morris said.
Both women said they not only lost their jobs but also their benefits, including health insurance, when they needed it most.
“I was worried about ‘How do I pay for pregnancy? How do I pay to deliver a baby?’ Nobody, no woman, should have to experience that,” Morris added.
The women said their firings sent a clear message to other women in their workplace.
“I think a lot of people got scared if they were thinking of becoming pregnant. The story was ‘Look what happened to the other two,’” Bell said,
Now, the two women plan to file suit against Fulton County. If they win, taxpayers will foot the bill.
“It’s unbelievable. The employer, a government agency, in this day and age, is going to make a woman choose between having a baby and having a job,” attorney Lisa Millican said.
Late Thursday afternoon, Geary received a statement from a Fulton County representative saying, “Fulton County is a progressive and inclusive employer that fully complies with relevant federal laws as well as our own internal policies and procedures. At no time did Fulton County take any prohibited action against the employees in question.”
Both women said they plan to file suit in the next few weeks.
Both ladies gave birth to healthy girls that are now 2 years old.
Source:wsb
Well-known youth evangelist arrested for impersonating police officer www.privateofficer.com
CALERA AL May 21 2012 — Matt Pitt, the well-known youth evangelist who founded The Basement youth service that meets at Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium, was arrested by Calera police early on May 12 on charges of impersonating a police officer.
According to a public information form from Calera Police Chief Sean Lemley, the department received a complaint at 11:57 p.m. May 11 about an unmarked Tahoe on Interstate 65 activating emergency flashing blue lights to force traffic to pull out of the vehicle’s way.
Once traffic pulled over, the Tahoe would turn off the emergency lights and speed through traffic. The Tahoe had activated the lights several times, according to Lemley.
Calera police stopped the Tahoe on I-65 in Calera. When officers approached the vehicle, the driver, Pitt, held up his wallet to display a badge and photo identification card.
According to Lemley, Calera officers asked Pitt if he was a police officer, and he said he was a deputy with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Calera police verified that Pitt was not a certified law enforcement officer and arrested him for impersonating an officer. He was then transported to the Shelby County Jail.
Pitt posted a $10,000 bond and was released May 12.
In a phone interview, Lemley said a witness provided the tag number for the unmarked Tahoe.
“It is what it is,” Lemley said. “The officers that responded did a good job.”
Lemley said the case is still under investigation.
An employee that answered the phone at The Basement said Pitt was not available for comment.
Woman attacks Walmart security with knife www.privateofficer.com
LA MESA, Calif. May 21 2012– A young man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after allegedly attacking store detectives with a knife when they tried to stop him from leaving an East County Walmart with merchandise he hadn’t paid for, authorities reported.
The loss-prevention officers attempted to detain Zane Holloway, 18, outside the business in the 5500 block of Grossmont Center Drive in La Mesa shortly after 3:30 p.m., according to police
When they contacted him, Holloway allegedly pulled a knife and began swinging it at them, slashing one of them on the arms and abdomen before running off.
Police officers found the suspect a short distance away, at Grossmont Transit Center, and arrested him. He was booked into county jail on suspicion of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
The injured store employee was treated at the scene for minor cuts, police said.
Bloomingdale’s security in White Plains nabs man stealing $3,000 worth of watches www.privateofficer.com
Kevin Pedrow, 32, was charged with grand larceny after store security told police they spotted him grab a $295 watch, place it in his pocket, and run from the store on May 7.
Police eventually caught up with Pedrow and arrested him on Bloomingdale Road. According to police, Pedrow was carrying 10 watches when he was arrested, valued at $2,950.
Pedrow, of Manhattan Ave., White Plains, taken to police headquarters where he was charged.
NJ shoplifter unknowingly walks into a police stakeout www.privateofficer.com
Police report that John Hussain, 49, of the Bronx, N.Y., was a shoplifting suspect at the Route 23 store when he returned to the scene of the alleged crime… and police were watching. Sgt. Chris Biro had already launched an investigation into a May 2 shoplifting incident in which the suspect allegedly stashed Home Depot items in a garbage bag in the store’s garden center and came back after closing to cut the fence and snatch the bag.
Through the police’s investigation, Sgt. James MacIntosh came up with a description of both the suspect and the vehicle – a black Lexus.
“The individual was caught on video cutting the bottom of the fence in the garden department and removing items they had placed there earlier,” said MacIntosh.
On Wednesday, May 9, Sgt. Biro allegedly saw a black Lexus parked in the store’s lot and observed the suspect walking into the store. He tipped off the store’s loss prevention personnel, which was able to maintain surveillance of the individual while he was inside The Home Depot.
“He was seen walking around the store selecting multiple items and placing them in the garden center,” said MacIntosh. He said Hussain then allegedly left the store without purchasing anything.
Police officers set up the stakeout at 9:20 p.m., suspecting that Hussain would return that evening. At 10:20 p.m., the Lexus was observed outside The Home Depot and the suspect was apprehended at the scene by officers Travis Roemmele and Charles Quant Jr. In a black garbage bag, police allegedly found a Delta faucet valued at $218.
Sgt. Biro charged Hussain with possession of burglary tools, shoplifting, and criminal mischief, the latter stemming from damage to the store’s fence.
Furthermore, Detective John Barone charged Hussain with shoplifting, burglary, and criminal mischief in connection with a May 2 incident at the store.
With bail set at $25,000 and no 10-percent option, Hussain landed in the Morris County Correctional Facility. The Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration Department has been notified and may place a detainer against Hussain in light of warrants on felonies from New York relating to burglary and theft, authorities said.
In addition, the Lexus was been impounded and police are awaiting a search warrant for its contents.
Source:northjersey.com
Miami police struggle to keep force to full numbers www.privateofficer.com
Miami Fla May 21 2012 The Miami Police Department is short 84 officers — and city officials worry the gap will soon get worse.
The lack of officers has nothing to do with budgetary constraints or too few qualified applicants, Chief Manuel Orosa said. Instead, Orosa blames outdated hiring practices and administrative hiccups.
“If we were a public company, we would be fired,” said Orosa, who was tapped to lead the department late last year. “We would be deemed incompetent for not having hired new employees.”
In the last three years, the department of 1,070 officers has hired just 16 new cops, records show.
That trend could prove problematic over the next five years, when more than 250 officers are expected to retire.
Orosa has a plan for speeding up the hiring process that includes adding more employees to conduct background checks on job candidates. But the police vacancies have some city commissioners demanding immediate action.
“We’re about to hit a crisis,” Commissioner Marc Sarnoff said. “We’ll keep officers on patrol, but there will be fewer detectives, fewer officers on crime-solving teams. That’s going to lead to serious problems down the road .”
The Miami Police Department has been under a microscope since 2010, when officers were involved in a string of fatal shootings in the inner city. The killings helped lead to the ouster of former Chief Miguel Exposito and are now the subject of a federal civil rights probe.
Orosa has had to devote much of his energy to improving community relations, he said.
But at a recent city commission meeting, Sarnoff urged him not to lose sight of the staffing issue.
“I watched this engulf one chief of police; I’m watching it engulf a second chief of police,” Sarnoff said. “Don’t let this swallow you.”
Recruiting new officers is a slow and tedious process in Miami.
Applicants who have not worked for other police agencies must pass two exams: a state-mandated basic abilities test and a Miami civil service exam. Most South Florida departments require only the state test, and thus can move more quickly.
Compounding the slowdown: a 1977 consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice requiring Miami to advertise civil service tests three months before they are given and reach out to various community groups.
The tests are just the first step. Candidates who earn passing test scores must take physical agility and psychological exams. They also are subject to a background check. All told, the process can take three or four months.
Usually, only about one in 10 applicants will make it through the process and be offered a job, officials said. By that time, many will have accepted positions elsewhere. And rookie officers still must go through a six-month police academy. Officers’ starting salary is $45,929, according to the employment office.
Orosa said the department has the budget to hire the officers it needs. “The issues are with the delays,” he said.
Despite the shortage, Orosa said he has kept about 400 officers on road patrol. His goal is 420.
“Right now, nothing is really suffering,” he said.
But Armando Aguilar, president of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said the shortage has been palpable.
“Can you feel it on the street? No doubt,” he said. “Calls for service are holding all the time.”
Police spokesman Delrish Moss said the department hasn’t seen a change in the number of calls that hold. But Orosa acknowledged that moving forward, the department’s investigative and administrative units could suffer — and overtime payments could balloon. Though only two officers are expected to retire this year, 280 are enrolled in the state’s Deferred Retirement Option Program, known as DROP, and must retire by 2017, records show.
Aguilar predicts dozens more will leave if officers are asked to make concessions to help balance the cash-strapped city’s billion-dollar budget.
Andrew Scott, a Palm Beach County law enforcement consultant and former chief of the Boca Raton department, called the looming vacancies “a public safety issue of the first order.”
“Miami is a tough place,” he said. “Once the bad guys start to realize that the police department is understaffed, it’s going to be even tougher.”
Also in short supply: police dispatchers.
The department needs to add eight to the existing 20 to reach its staffing goal, Orosa said. But the hiring process for dispatchers is also slow and complicated, and training takes about 18 months.
While the department tries to fill the vacancies, the current dispatchers have been putting in long hours — and overtime has been adding up. Cost figures were not immediately available.
“We’re burning people out,” Miami Commissioner Frank Carollo said.
Experts say understaffed police dispatch crews can lead to longer response times.
“You have calls that might not be answered right away,” said Eric Parry, a public safety consultant based in Salt Lake City, Utah. “Dispatchers might not be as thorough when things get busy.”
The shortage of police officers will be partly mitigated this year. The department is getting ready to hire 20 certified officers from a hiring list created last year, Orosa said. Administrators also plan to launch a recruitment drive in coming months.
The chief is proposing ways to speed up the hiring process. He wants to eliminate the city civil service exam and add another two background investigators to help screen candidates. He also wants to see human resources create multiple hiring lists at the same time. Historically, HR has waited until one list is exhausted to begin building another.
Maria Haberfeld, who chairs the department of law, police science and criminal justice administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, applauded Orosa’s commitment to modernizing hiring practices. But she cautioned the Miami Police Department against moving too quickly and possibly hiring the wrong people.
“Given the history of the Miami Police Department, I would suggest they pay attention to standards and hire qualified people,” she said.
