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KY burglar takes nap after breaking into the house www.privateofficer.com
LOUISVILLE, KY June 23 2012 – Metro police have charged a man found sleeping on a couch inside a Portland home with breaking into the house.
Officers were called to the 1900 block of Rowan Street Thursday afternoon about the break in. A man doing maintenance on the property told police someone was inside the house when he went in to do some work. Police found Rodman E. Tolliver, 52, asleep on a couch in the front room.
Tolliver told police he was homeless and came in after finding the back door open. When asked if he knew the owner or had permission to be inside the house, Tolliver told police he did not.
Tolliver was arrested on a charge of burglary and booked into Louisville Metro Corrections
Source:WAVE.com
San Jose police ask on duty security to disarm at festival www.privateofficer.com
San Jose CA June 23 2012 A woman twirls from flowing red curtains a dozen feet in the air. Down the street, a painted lady contorts her multi-colored torso at an angle so the she blends with artwork behind her.
Nearby, a couple of guys with Day of the Dead face paint riff on a guitar and keyboard. And not far off, among the ebullient SubZERO Festival crowd of 15,000-plus—filled with artists, musicians, craft brew aficionados and downtown ramblers—are six men dressed in all black, keeping a watchful eye; some with batons, others Tasers. One carries a gun.
These men are not police.
Rather, they’re part of Silver Star Protective Services, a private security firm that was hired to patrol the June 1 arts and music subculture festival held on South First Street in San Jose. But when a San Jose police sergeant approached one of the security guards that night, some controversy arose.
They were “not only wearing uniform like ours, but also wearing duty belts, batons, tasers, pepper spray or other chemical agents,” says San Jose Police Department spokesman Jose Garcia. “The sergeant expressed concern that they were too similar looking to SJPD and asked them to leave and remove their tasers, firearms and baton, but they could keep pepper spray and mace.”
Henry David Mestaz, president and CEO of Silver Star, says the officer in charge of policing the outskirts of the event was “pretty aggressive” in getting his point across, but there was no altercation.
“Our gameplan was we anticipated thousands of people we’re going to come through,” Mestaz says, noting a reputation downtown events have earned over the years due to younger, disruptive crowds that attended the now defunct Music in the Park summer concert series—to the chagrin of local business owners. “Some of the clientele that was going to Music in the Park were meeting over here afterwards (on South First Street). They were hanging out, drinking, making there way towards the event, and then coming back and fighting. But SubZERO was completely the opposite.”
Under San Jose’s municipal code, police have the authority to regulate which security guards can arm themselves. Silver Star—a new company that may have been “overly excited and enthusiastic,” according to SubZERO organizers Cherri Lakey and Brian Eder, who own Anno Domini art gallery on South First Street—could have gone too far in looking the part of cops in uniform.
The clash between police and the private security company didn’t result in any citations, but it has produced an internal review by SJPD that is expected to reach the city attorney and chief of police’s offices to clarify acceptable uniform and weaponry for outside protective services, Officer Garcia says.
But the events at SubZERO, or actually the lack thereof, seems to speak to the misconception many people have of downtown San Jose, as well as those charged with patrolling it.
“We’re all trying really hard to shift culture, and especially night culture,” Eder says. “It’s just a matter for us that we want to show police we can have events that go really smoothly. And over a matter of time we can all figure this out.”
Part of a new plan by the business community to rebrand downtown is to staff the city’s core with two patrolling officers. However, how these security guards will be paid has kicked off a new fight between police and city officials
There’s a lot of competition for customers, residents, commercial tenants, and downtown needs to be putting its best foot forward,” says Scott Knies, executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association.
With businesses struggling to entice customers to downtown over Santana Row and other shopping/entertainment districts, as well as a 22 percent vacancy rate for downtown office space, Knies says the businesses formed a Property Based Improvement District (PBID) in late 2007 to tax themselves and direct funds to combat perceptions as well as reality. The PBID’s self assessment was renewed this week by an overwhelming vote of downtown property owners.
Part of PBID’s plan is to staff the downtown core with two patrolling officers, preferably off-duty police officers.
“Really, there’s no substitute for the professionalism, the training, the way a skilled officer interacts with the public,” Knies says. “They can just kind of read the street from afar. Sometimes they don’t even need to walk down the whole block. Just the fact that they’re on the corner dissipates the problem.”
Jim Unland, president of the Police Officers Association union, agrees with Knies’ assessment, which is why the police union is fighting to have the PBID officers paid at overtime rates rather than the significantly reduced rate of secondary employment positions, which often entail security work for schools and other nightlife areas like Santana Row and The Plant. (More than 60 officers have already applied for the positions.)
“My understanding of the Downtown Business Association is they want them actively patrolling the downtown streets, and proactively taking enforcement actions,” Unland says. “Well, that’s the definition of patrol work. So, they’re trying to replace patrol officers, with essentially off-duty patrol officers.
Tom Saggau, a political consultant for the police union as well as several downtown bars and nightclubs, says some of his latter clients have lobbied City Hall for a greater security presence in the downtown core to little avail. He says without off-duty police, “basically it’s going to be mall cops who are running around causing problems.”
Councilmember Sam Liccardo, whose District 3 includes downtown, rejects any notion that City Hall has resisted a greater police presence. “There’s one person who decides how to allocate officers, and that’s the police chief,” he says, “and I’m not throwing the chief under the bus.”
But some observers on the political periphery say that’s exactly what the police union is doing to Liccardo. The fight between the POA and Liccardo turned personal during the last two years of contentious pension reform negotiations, which ultimately fell apart and resulted in the council forming Measure B and voters passing the measure earlier this month.
Unland recently sent a letter out to POA membership slamming Liccardo for again going after their pay through the PBID patrol program.
Liccardo disputes claims that he was trying to short-sell officers’ pay by classifying the PBID work as a secondary employment instead of overtime.
“Let’s be clear, when you call it patrolling because they’re walking down the street or they’re standing in front of a club with a badge and police uniform, to me it’s a distinction without a difference,” Liccardo says. “ To me, the value of the officers is that there’s somebody there under the color of authority, with the skills and the training to enforce the law.”
Unland and the POA will be meeting this week with the city’s chief negotiator, Alex Gurza, to discuss PBID patrol compensation. While negotiations between the two parties have often gone next to nowhere in the past, the subject of secondary employment carries added significance after an audit in March found wide-spread abuses of the secondary employment program.
An attempt to challenge secondary employment classification for PBID patrol could risk work in other areas, such as schools, shopping centers and other arts and music festivals, Knies says.
“I’m not sure what their argument is, because it seems the scope of work is very similar to the scope of work for a lot of other secondary employment jobs. They’re actually putting their whole secondary employment in jeopardy.”
source-sanjose.com
Morganton NC public safety officer donates kidney to fellow officer www.privateofficer.com
MORGANTON, NC June 23 2012 - “Could you imagine being a four year old, and not knowing if you were going to have to grow up without your daddy?”
Morganton Public Safety Officer Felicia Ennis knows what it’s like to think your daddy is going to die, and that’s why she decided to do everything she could to keep four-year-old Adam Christy from experiencing that grief. Felicia decided to do something that most people would never consider; she donated a kidney to Adam’s daddy, Public Safety Sergeant Bryan Christy.
Morganton Public Safety Chief Mark Tolbert presented a Medal of Valor to Felicia Ennis during the June 18 Morganton City Council Meeting to recognize her distinguished service.
“Most acts of valor are a one-time event that leaves little to no time to think of one’s actions, PSO Ennis had months to change her mind about donating her kidney, but she remained steadfast in her care and commitment to her fellow law enforcement officer and gave of herself, literally, to provide life to Sergeant Bryan Christy,” the commendation read.
Ennis said she was honored by the medal and thankful to be able help her fellow officer. Ennis understands that many people will wonder, why? For her, the answer is that her father was saved from a deadly illness, and she decided she wanted to help someone else’s father, if she was able.
Christy said he had a lot of time to talk with Ennis about her decision on road trips back and forth to the hospital in Chapel Hill. He said he only wanted Ennis to be sure of her decision.
Ennis said it wasn’t only her decision.
“The ultimate decision was left to God,” Ennis said. “My prayer was, ‘God, you spared my daddy. If it be your will, allow me to be a match. God use my kidney to be a help to someone else and their family.’”
Ennis said God answered her prayers. She was amazed that she was such a good match for Christy. The transplant surgeries went smooth and both Ennis and Christy were allowed to return home just four days after the surgeries. Ennis is back working light duty at the Public Safety Department and all of Christy’s tests are looking excellent.
“I was only a helper in prolonging the life that God has given him,” Ennis said about her donation. “I would do it all over again. Every pain and every ache I have had has been worth it to me – to see one more daddy spared and get to grow old with his children, with his family at home and with family here at Public Safety.”
Source:WBTV.com
South Terrebonne High School teacher arrested in sex case www.privateofficer.com
TERREBONNE PARISH, La. June 23 2012 – A South Terrebonne High School teacher was arrested and jailed for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student, according to Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois.
“Information was received late last weekend that indicated that a 17 year-old female was engaged in a sexual relationship with one of her teachers. TPSO detectives investigated the complaint and revealed that the 17 year-old female, whose name is being withheld due to the nature of the crime, had engaged in a relationship with the teacher during the 2011-2012 school year,” said a statement from Bourgeois.
The teacher, Matthew Dardar, 27, of Montegut, admitted to the relationship with the female student to authorities, according to the sheriff’s office.
The student was a senior when the relationship began, though it ended recently, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Dardar was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of prohibited sexual conduct between educator and student. He was jailed at the Terrebonne Parish Criminal Justice Complex,” said Bourgeois.
source-wwlt.com
Shorecliffs Middle School math teacher arrested for child molestation www.privateofficer.com
Orange County CA June 23 2012 A Shorecliffs Middle School math teacher was arrested at his San Clemente home today and faces charges of oral copulation with a minor 16 and under, child molestation and lewd acts on a child.
Richard Rack, 50, had already been arrested June 6 on similar charges relating to contact with three under-aged girls, according to Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The math teacher made bail on the earlier arrest but contacted one of the girls this week, leading to his second arrest today, Amormino said.
Rack is being held on $1 million bail at the Orange County’s Men’s Central Jail.
Sheriff’s investigators began their work November 30 after being contacted by one of Rack’s students, according to Amormino. The first girl, Jane Doe No. 1, told investigators that Rack had made inappropriate comments to her, telling her she had a nice figure and encouraging her to wear low-cut blouses. He hugged her and kissed her on the forehead, according to Amormino.
Investigators interviewed students and learned of a second girl, Jane Doe No. 2. The girl said Rack had asked her to send nude photos of herself to him, which she did.
Amormino said the sheriff’s department obtained an arrest warrant for the math teacher June 6. Investigators searching Rack’s home on a search warrant of his house, computer and cell phone discovered a third girl, Jane Doe No. 3.
The third girl admitted to having a sexual relationship with the teacher for as long as two years, Amormino said. The sexual acts with her had taken place in his classroom or in her home.
Rack has been on administrative leave Capistrano Unified since December 1. Amormino said all three girls had been Rack’s students at some point.
Amormino said there was the possibility of additional victims and anyone with additional knowledge was advised to call the county tip line at 855.847.6227
Source:dptimes
Forty students fall ill at George Mason University www.privateofficer.com
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. June 23 2012 - Health experts are trying to figure out the source of a viral outbreak that caused forty students to get sick while enrolled in a summer camp at George Mason University.
Paramedics were called to George Mason in Fairfax, VA early Thursday morning to treat the students. Some were taken to local hospitals for treatment, others were treated at the school.
The campers were taking part in the Congressional Awards Program. They started getting sick Wednesday night after attending a banquet and going to a Washington Nationals Baseball Game.
Health officials believe they were suffering from viral gastroenteritis. The head of the group tells the Nationals they don’t believe anything at the ballpark, including food, contributed to the students’ illness.
Source: WTVR
Art thief snatches painting off museum wall www.privateofficer.com
New York City NY June 23 2012 A slick art thief snatched a Salvador Dali painting right off the wall of an Upper East Side gallery, dropped it in a shopping bag and calmly strolled unnoticed out the front door, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.
Famed art dealer and radio baron Adam Lindemann told cops the crook snatched “Cartel de Don Juan Tenorio” from Lindemann’s new Venus Over Manhattan gallery on Madison Avenue at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, the sources said.
“During regular business hours, with a security guard,” Lindemann told The Post yesterday.
The small watercolor-and-ink painting — a Dali original completed in 1949 — is worth $150,000, insurance adjusters told cops.
We’re cooperating fully with the police and have no further comment,” added Lindemann, a polo-playing socialite who founded a chain of 20 Spanish-language radio stations.
Surveillance video shows the crook walking into the darkened, third-floor gallery carrying a heavyweight paper shopping bag, sources said.
The thief told a security guard keeping an eye on him, “I want to take a picture of this painting,” meaning the Dali, according to a source.
The guard told him he could take a photo but could not use a flash.
But, distracted by another visitor, the rent-a-cop left. When he returned, it was too late.
Video footage shows the thief leaving the gallery with the painting’s frame protruding from his bag.
The guard notified Lindemann, who reported the theft to the NYPD yesterday morning. He said he didn’t recognize the thief from the video.
Sources described the crook as a white male, about 5-foot-6, 160 pounds and 35 to 42 years old. He wore dark jeans and shoes and a black-and-white checkered dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
Lindemann is an art lover who opened the gallery on May 9 with the kinky exhibition “À Rebours,” which included a few dozen works from the 19th century to the present.
He is married to art dealer Amalia Dayan, granddaughter of former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan.
Art lovers were saddened that they couldn’t see the Dali work yesterday.
“We went inside to see the show, and we were wondering where the Salvador Dali painting was,” said Jacquie Tellalian, 58.
“It’s a small painting, but how did he just putit in his bag and walk out like that? I hope somebody finds it.”
Source:NYPOST
Citizens Against Spouse Abuse director booked on embezzlement charges www.privateofficer.com
MYRTLE BEACH, SC June 23 2012 Just a couple of weeks after the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division began their preliminary inquiry into domestic violence victims advocate group Citizens Against Spouse Abuse, the group’s director has been booked on embezzlement charges.
Booking records for J. Reuben Long Detention Center show that 55-year-old Joanne Patterson of Myrtle Beach, former executive director of CASA, was booked into the facility at 11:48 a.m. Tuesday. Patterson is charged with embezzlement of public funds, value $5,000 or more.
Bond was set at $10,000 and Patterson was released from custody Tuesday evening.
SLED officials say Patterson’s arrest was a result of the SC Department of Public Safety’s investigation, and the case will be prosecuted by the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
SLED spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson confirmed to WMBF News when the investigation began that the South Carolina Department of Public Safety requested SLED perform an initial inquiry into CASA regarding the possible mismanagement of funds.
In a statement, South Carolina Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said the SCDPS Office of Justice Programs discovered inconsistencies in the management of grant funding awarded to CASA in July of 2011.
The grant in question was a Victims of Crime sub grant by the SCDPS in the amount of $32,000 to purchase two mid-sized vans to transport victims of crime.
The SCDPS statement went on to say a routine check of CASA’s finances uncovered the inconsistency, which they in turn submitted to SLED for further review. SCDPS has frozen all CASA grant funding as they await the outcome of SLED’s investigation.
CASA Board Chairwoman Sissy Rutherford admitted to WMBF News money from the SCDPS grant was not used for vans. Instead she said Joanne Patterson, former executive director, spent the money on emergency needs associated with CASA’s safe house.
Rutherford said the board fired Patterson, but that she didn’t do anything immoral or criminal.
“Every penny of [the grant] stayed in CASA and was used to keep the doors open and to take care of the victims and the clients that we are currently serving,” she said.
As a result of the SLED involvement Rutherford said several donors are already pulling funding from the organization.
She asks the public wait for SLED’s conclusion before they judge. She also says plans are in place to make sure grant money goes exactly where it’s supposed to in the future.
“We’re doing everything we can and we’re just asking for everyone to please continue to support us and give us the help we need,” said Rutherford.
The alternative, according to Rutherford, is that CASA may have to close if it continues losing funding.
“If we don’t have any funding we can’t stay open and that’s the honest to God truth. That place saved my life 20 years ago. I know how important it is for the women that stay there. It’s a safe house, said Rutherford.”
CASA funds have been misused before, according to a former employee. That employee said that took place years ago and was resolved without the involvement of authorities.
“A Victims of Crime sub grant was awarded to Citizens Against Spouse Abuse in Myrtle Beach on July 1, 2011 by the SC Department of Public Safety Office of Justice Programs. The two-month federal grant was in the amount of $32,000 and authorized the purchase of two mid-sized vans to transport victims of crime. DPS has a system of checks and balances where it closely monitors grants to ensure that the stipulations of the grant are being followed by the grantees. This involves scheduled site visits to review applicable files and meet with grant staff; Our Office of Justice Programs followed protocol and discovered inconsistencies in the management of federal grant funding through its monitoring process. Those concerns were then submitted to SLED for further review and we will await their findings. We have frozen all grant funding to them at this time pending the outcome of SLED’s investigation.”
Source:WMBF
Family of slain Immigration and Customs agent files lawsuit against U.S. government www.privateofficer.com
WASHINGTON DC June 23 2012– The family of an Immigration and Customs agent slain in Mexico has filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against the U.S. government.
A pair of South Texas law firms representing the family of ICE Agent Jaime Zapata filed the claim June 14 and named ICE, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Justice Department as defendants. Attorneys for Zapata’s parents, Mary and Amador Zapata, named several supervisors at the agencies and FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General Eric Holder.
The claim notice is a precursor to a lawsuit.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
Attorneys in the case, Raymond Thomas and Benigno Martinez, were out of the office and could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Zapata was killed in a roadside attack near San Luis Potosi in northern Mexico in February 2011. Fellow agent Victor Avila was wounded.
A separate, $12.5 million claim citing negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress was filed on Avila’s behalf.
According to the claims, two AK-47 assault rifles bought in Texas and smuggled into Mexico were used by the attackers to fire more than 90 rounds at the men. Lawyers for the agents said the government’s practice of allowing U.S.-bought weapons to be taken into Mexico as part of broader gun trafficking investigations involving Mexican cartels allowed the weapons used in this case to be smuggled across the border.
In the filings, lawyers in the case allege that ATF officials in Texas knew the men who bought the two guns used in the Zapata killing were buying weapons bound for Mexico but did nothing to stop them.
The practice, which has been highlighted in ongoing investigations of the ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious, has been widely criticized by lawmakers.
A House oversight committee voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for failing to turn over records related to that investigation. President Barack Obama had earlier asserted executive privilege in withholding the documents.
The men were driving back to Mexico City from San Luis Potosi after picking up “sensitive equipment” from an agent based in Monterrey, Mexico, when they were ambushed on the highway. Lawyers for the men alleged that the government knew or should have known that the agents would be in danger by driving though an area patrolled by rival drug cartels.
According to documents filed by the lawyers, Avila, Zapata and others told supervisors they had safety concerns about the trip, but the pair was ordered to go anyway.
“All of these legitimate concerns were put aside … and agents Avila and Zapata were required to follow orders,” the lawyers wrote.
The men were ambushed as they drove an armored Chevrolet Suburban, a high-profile vehicle favored by the cartels. At least two other vehicles forced the men off the road and when Zapata put the sport utility vehicle in park, the doors automatically unlocked. The lawyers argue in the filings that the faulty design allowed the attackers to open the doors of the vehicle and attack the men.
As Zapata tried to shut his door, the attackers were able to “pry their guns though a small opening in the window of the vehicle, which had been lowered during the struggle to lock and close the door,” the lawyers wrote.
Julian “Tweety Bird” Zapata Espinoza, an alleged member of the deadly Zetas cartel, has been extradited to the U.S. and is awaiting trial in federal court in Washington on several charges, including murder and attempted murder. The Mexican army has said Zapata Espinoza admitted killing Zapata, mistaking him for a rival gang member. Court records do not show that Zapata Espinoza has entered a plea.
Source:www.azcentral.com
SC Sheriffs have power to fire employees at will www.privateofficer.com
KERSHAW COUNTY, SC June 23 2012 - Nearly two years ago Deputy Tick Wilson found out he lost his job with Kershaw County from a voice mail.
It said: “Tick – ‘Tick, I no longer wish to employ you. Turn your stuff in.”
The call was similar to the one his friend and department veteran Jim Miller got that same June night.
It was the day after the election and Miller said he had told the Kershaw County Sheriff that he was not voting for the man the Sheriff was hoping would be elected to succeed him.
“He told me ‘Jim, this is the Sheriff and I no longer need your services.’ I said ‘yes sir’, and he says ‘you can turn your car in tomorrow. But I turned it in that night,” said Miller.
Miller said he wasn’t surprised.
“Because that’s the way business is done sometimes, for the pleasure of the Sheriff,” he said.
Last week five deputies were fired from Darlington County, the day after the election. The Sheriff said more deputies will be fired if their politics interfere with their jobs.
It may not be clear why all these deputies were fired but it appears to be lawful.
“I have the legal right to fire anyone for pretty much any reason I want to,” said Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews.
The law in the state constitution says employees serve at the sheriff’s pleasure.
Now a year and a half into his job as Kershaw County Sheriff, Matthews says he’s already had some tough conversations himself.
“I fired two or three because they were over the top rude and unprofessional to the public,” said Matthews.
At the Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia, students are taught that if they decide to work for a Sheriff specifically, their jobs are subjective.
“Well you tell them, ‘Do the job that the sheriff wants you to do because you serve at his pleasure,’” said Herbert Harrell.
In South Carolina, a sheriff has free rein to give deputies standards, not only for what happens inside the walls of the department, but what they do on their own personal time as well
I have a policy that the only person you sleep with is your wife,” said Matthews.
Responding to the argument that who a sheriff’s department employee sleeps with is a moral issue, not professional, Matthews says it is his problem.
“It becomes a problem to me when it affects me negatively or the department,” he said
Matthews says he fired two deputies for not passing his physical fitness test. Another he fired because a woman complained that a deputy had been sexting her. He tell his hires they can also be fired for not paying their bills.
“I tell my deputies up front, ‘don’t do it!’” said Matthews.
But Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott doesn’t have the same authority.
“If a person is fired, it’s gonna be a violation, a reason,” said Scott. “It’s never gonna be because that person has violated some type of rule or regulation. (But if I were Sheriff,) I could.”
When Chief Scott makes decisions, he has to answer to a city manager, a mayor, and seven council members.
A county sheriff has no one above him and answers only to voters every four years.
“I make no bones about it,” said Scott. “My accountability as Columbia Police Chief, I believe, is more stringent.”
Scott said he doesn’t think one’s better than the other, they’re just different. And being a police officer is different than being a deputy.
Jim Miller is now the Bethune Police Chief.
Tick Wilson is wearing a badge again, working for Jim Matthews.
“My goal is to provide this county with the most effective law enforcement I can put together,” he said.
If a police officer is fired, they can go through a grievance process. If a deputy is fired, there’s rarely a thing they can do about it.
Source:WIS
2 dead; 2 arrested in nightclub shooting www.privateofficer.com
ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. June 23 2012
Beaufort County sheriff’s deputies say two St. Helena men have been killed and two others have been arrested in a shooting at a nightclub.
Sgt. Robin McIntosh says a shooting occurred at the club about 1:30 a.m. Thursday. One witness estimated more than two dozen shots were fired.
Deputies stopped a vehicle after the shooting and found 33-year-old Dante Kendall Bailey dead in the backseat.
Someone at a nearby home found 26-year-old Michael Douglas Morgan on the steps. Morgan was flown to the Medical University of South Carolina Hospital in Charleston where he died.
Twenty-five-year-old Lucas Miles Morgan has been charged with attempted murder. Twenty-seven-year-old Joseph David Bowers is charged with murder.
It was not clear if the suspects have lawyers.
Two other men were wounded.
source:wsoctv.com
Alert hotel security officer discovers meth lab at Motel 6 www.privateofficer.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.June 23 2012 – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has arrested two people in connection with a meth lab found at a Motel 6.
Police were patrolling the area near the Motel 6 located at 6109 Youngerman Cir. when they were flagged down by a security officer for the motel Wednesday night.
The security officer told police he smelled an unusual smell and thought there was illegal activity going on in room 107. In addition to the strange smell, the security guard said the room’s occupants had disconnected the room’s fire alarm.
Police went to the room where they found 46-year-old Michael Aderhold and 39-year-old Dawn Hoden. When they opened the door, deputies could smell an unusual odor coming from the room, according to a sheriff’s office arrest report.
Officers asked the two if there was anything illegal in their room, and they said no there was not.
The security guard for the motel went inside the room to check for any safety issues. When the security guard walked into the room’s bathroom, he saw two bottles with small tubes on the top and connected to each other in a paper bag.
When the security guard showed the bottles to the officers, they determined it was a “mobile meth lab.”
Deputies requested additional officers to help them evacuate the hotel. Several guests were displaced as a result of the evacuation.
The building where the meth lab was discovered was closed. The adjacent building at the motel was reopened early Thursday morning and guests staying in that building were allowed back in.
Other than the two bottles police also found a 1 pot meth lab, gas generator, muriatic acid, drain opener, Coleman fuel, coffee filters and tubing, which according to the report, are all used in the production of methamphetamine. Police also found a small amount of marijuana which Aderhold said was his.
The JFRD HAZMAT team responded to the motel as well as JSO’s Meth Lab Response Team. The HAZMAT team finished their cleanup operation shortly before 7 Thursday morning.
During questioning, Aderhold admitted he and Hoden were “cooking meth” in the motel room.
Both Aderhold and Hoden were arrested. Aderhold has been charged with possession of listed chemicals for the manufacture of controlled substances and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. He is still being held in the Duval Country Pretrial Detention Facility, he is not eligible for bond.
Hoden has been charged with possession of listed chemicals for the manufacture of controlled substances, a second-degree felony. She is also ineligible to receive bond.
This is the second meth lab bust in Jacksonville this week.
On Tuesday, police bused a meth lab in the James Island neighborhood on Jacksonville’s Southside.
Source:First Coast News
Island County man sentenced to jail in attack on Walmart security www.privateofficer.com
Addison Vernon pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court June 11 to assault in the second degree.
Vernon pleaded to the charge in exchange for a middle-of-the-road sentencing recommendation of six months in jail. Deputy Prosecutor David Carman said the sentence balances the fact that Vernon has no criminal history with the seriousness of the crime.
Vernon’s attorney, Peter Simpson of Coupeville, requested that his client be able to spend 30 days of the sentence in an in-patient drug treatment program. He said Vernon had left his home in New Jersey to get out of a “bad place,” but then got involved with the wrong people in Washington.
“First and foremost, he wants to make sure he deals with his drug problem,” Simpson said.
Carman, however, pointed out logistical problems with the in-patient proposal.
Vernon spoke briefly at the hearing.
“I want to apologize to the people at Walmart and the people here for having to see me at one of my lowest points,” he said.
n the end, Judge Alan Hancock sentenced him to six months in jail.
The assault occurred at Walmart in Oak Harbor on April 12. Vernon attempted to shoplift clothing and a bottle of wine, but was stopped by a security guard.
The two men struggled in the foyer. The wine bottle fell to the ground and broke. Vernon grabbed the broken bottle and tried to stab the guard in the face. When that didn’t work, Vernon pulled out a knife and threatened the man.
Retired Island County Deputy Sheriff Wayne Lewis, who had witnessed the incident, entered the foyer. After realizing that Vernon had a knife, Lewis pulled his handgun and Vernon ran off.
Vernon returned a short time later and demanded his backpack, but left again after Lewis described himself as a retired deputy.
Police officers arrested Vernon and found a knife with a 4-inch blade on him.
Source:Whidbey News Times
North Carolina man arrested after biting police dog www.privateofficer.com
Wilmington NC June 23 2012 A North Carolina man was arrested after allegedly biting a police dog’s ear so badly that the canine needed more than fifteen stitches.
Travis Glaspie reportedly chomped on the ear of K-9 Officer Maxx when the dog caught him during a police chase Sunday, WWAY-TV reports.
Police said the 22-year-old ran when cops tried to arrest him onoutstanding warrants for possession of a firearm by a felon and firing into an occupied vehicle.
Maxx, who has been on duty since February, reportedly caught up with the suspect soon after and the pair engaged in a bloody struggle.
Cpl. David Pellegrino said that this was the first time he’d ever seen someone try to bite one of Wilmington Police Department’s canine officers.
United States Supreme Court rules jails can subject detainees to strip search www.privateofficer.com
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than thirteen million inmates are admitted to jails every year (Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, T. Minton, Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 — Statistical Tables 2 (2011), cited in Florence).
Violence in jails is a significant risk for inmates and staff alike. “Inmates commit more than 10,000 assaults on correctional staff every year and many more among themselves” (Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, J. Stephan & J. Karberg, Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2000, p. v (2003), cited in Florence).
The risk of introduction of contraband has resulted in jail regulations which require strip searches of inmates before they may be placed in a facility’s general population. Criminals can be enterprising when it comes to hiding contraband. Examples from the record in the Florence case included reports of a misdemeanor arrestee taping drugs and matches under his scrotum and another misdemeanor arrestee who concealed a lighter, tobacco, tattoo needles, and other items in his rectal cavity. Although not mentioned in the Supreme Court’s opinion, see the recent report of a man believed to have concealed a ten-inch revolver in his rectum.
The petitioner in the Supreme Court’s recent case, Albert Florence, filed a federal lawsuit against two New Jersey jails, alleging that county jail officials had violated his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by subjecting him to a “strip search” while a jail official looked for evidence of injury or disease (to identify any need for medical attention), body markings (tattoos or other gang marks), and contraband (drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, weapons or anything prohibited by jail rules).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which covers federal districts courts in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, reversed the decision of the district court. The lower court had ruled in favor of Florence on his unlawful search claim. The Supreme Court agreed with the Third Circuit, holding that “courts must defer to the judgment of corrections officials unless the record contains substantial evidence showing their policies are an unnecessary or unjustified response to problems of jail security.”
The case was decided by a 5-4 vote of the justices.
In 2005, Florence — a passenger in a vehicle stopped by a New Jersey state trooper — was arrested on a bench warrant for failure to appear at an enforcement hearing. He had been charged with obstruction of justice and use of a deadly weapon in 1998, though he had pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to pay a fine. The bench warrant was issued in 2003 after he fell behind in his fine payments. Unfortunately for Florence, the warrant mistakenly remained in a computer database despite the fact that he paid the fine in full.
After his arrest, Florence was taken to a local detention center where he was held for several days before being transferred to another detention facility. In both facilities, Florence was subjected to a search before being transferred into the general detention population, and he challenged the search procedures at both jails.
As a pretrial detainee, Florence was required to undress and shower with a delousing agent. Jail officers conducted a visual inspection of him, naked, in order to look for scars, wounds, gang marks and tattoos, and contraband. Florence claimed he had to open his mouth, lift his tongue, hold out his arms, turn around, and lift his genitals. Officers visually inspected his ears, nose, mouth, hair, scalp, fingers, arms, armpits, and other body openings. He also claimed that he had to cough in a squatting position as part of the search process.
Florence argued that, as a person arrested for a minor offense, he should not have been required to strip and expose his private areas to close visual inspection as a part of the jail intake process. He urged the adoption of a rule that would require detention officials to have “reason to suspect” that an arrestee was concealing contraband, drugs, or a weapon before conducting a strip search.
The term “strip search” can include directions to undress, close visual inspection, or instructions to arrestees to shake their heads, run their hands through their hair, lift their arms or feet, move or spread their buttocks or genital areas, or to cough in a squatting position.
In Florence’s case, he did not allege that any touching of his body occurred.
The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion written by Justice Kennedy (widely considered to be the swing vote for the current Court), began by emphasizing that courts must defer to detention officials in matters of penal regulations. Such regulations, even if they infringe an inmate’s constitutional rights, must be upheld if they are reasonably related to legitimate correctional interests Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 89 (1987).
Next the Court discussed Bell v. Wolfish 441 U.S. 520 (1979), a case involving pretrial detainees in federal prisons. In that case, the detainees argued that the rule requiring them to undergo body cavity searches after contact visits with people from outside the institution was unconstitutional. A divided Supreme Court upheld the rule, finding that it was appropriate to defer to the judgment of officials that such inspections were needed to discover and deter the smuggling of contraband, drugs, and weapons.
Ultimately, in Florence’s case, the Court concluded that he had failed to show “substantial evidence” existed that jail officials had exaggerated their response to the issues presented by pretrial detainees. Admission of pretrial detainees to the general jail population includes risks of disease and threats of gang violence.
Close visual inspections of detainees before their admission permit the identification of any communicable diseases as well as gang affiliations. Strip searches also serve to detect contraband. Obvious problems are posed by weapons and drugs, but contraband also includes lighters, cell phones, medications, wigs, gum, and many other commonplace items. The presence of and demand for such items can lead to violence (against both officers and other inmates) and extortion and undermine jail security.
The Court noted the practical difficulty of classifying inmates properly before the intake search. Arrestees may lie about who they are or present fake identification. Access to complete criminal histories may not be possible. For instance, Florence’s rap sheet failed to reflect his previous arrest for possession of a deadly weapon. Requiring intake officers to make legal determinations as to the dangerousness of the arrestee or the seriousness of his offense (as an example, the precise weight of illegal drugs possessed must be considered for felony offenses) would result in case-by-case applications of strip search rules and further subject officers and jails to claims of discriminatory application. Jail officers who deal with suspected criminals have an “essential interest in readily administrable rules” (Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318, 347 (2001)).
The Florence Court concluded that the procedures used by the New Jersey jails under these circumstances “struck a reasonable balance between inmate privacy and the needs of the institution.” However, only five of the nine justices agreed on this conclusion. In light of a vigorous dissent in which two of the Court’s newest members (Justices Sotomayor and Kagan), this view may not prevail if a different question is presented or the composition of the Court changes.
Source:The Justice Report
with Joanne Eldridge
Michigan police shoot-kill shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
It all started with an alleged shoplifting inside the Walmart. Apparently Walmart employees spotted a man and a woman walking out of the store without paying for some of their items. They contacted police.
We’re told a man then jumped into a red Oldsmobile. Police told him to stop, but he would not. They ended up boxing him in. He backed into a police car, and then after the officers told him to stop again, drove forward towards an officer that was standing in front of his vehicle. At that point, one of the officers opened fire killing the man in the car.
“They confronted the male in the parking lot here. He appeared to have what they thought was a screwdriver and they still believe that it was. They ordered him to drop the screwdriver. He refused to drop the screwdriver and then he jumped in his vehicle,” said Woodhaven Police Chief Gordon Chreitien.
“He backed into the cop car. There was a cop standing outside with his gun drawn saying ‘stop or you’re going to get shot,’” a witness told us. “Then the guy in the burgundy car went towards the cop and tried to hit him and that’s when they started firing.”
“Hate for this day to be here, but we’re doing the best we can. We’ll give you more information when we can,” Chreitien said.
Michigan State Police are actually taking over the investigation.
Meanwhile, the two officers that may have been involved in the shooting are on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
source:mydetroitfox.com
Chicago Firefighter Suicide Report Seeks Answers www.privateofficer.com
Chicago IL June 23 2012 After experiencing seven suicides within an 18-month period a few years ago by active or retired members of the Chicago Fire Department, Local 2′s Employee Assistance Program began investigating the growing problem.
After the deaths spanning the beginning of 2007 to the middle of 2008, the EAP asked the question: Why?
Their search for the elusive answer began with visits to every firehouse, creating posters packed with information and resources, writing and disseminating articles on various topics to firefighters and collaborating with department officials to implement an annual “Family Focus Day” to help educate members on mental health issues.
While they were launching those initiatives, they also began a research project that lasted for two years and covered deaths of members between 1990 and 2010 and compared the suicide rates of Chicago firefighters to that of the general population.
That report was recently completed was expected to be sent out this week, which also happens to be International Fire/EMS Safety & Health Week, to union members.
Fire departments that wish to obtain a copy of the report can contact the EAP at eap@iaff-local2.org.
They researched 1,787 deaths of active and retired members who worked and indentified a total of 41 suicides. All of the suicides were committed by males and the average age was 55.
The study found that while the national suicide rate during the same time period ranged between 10 and 12 suicides per 100,000 people each year, when the Chicago EAP stats were converted to match the national numbers, the number was around 25 suicides per 10,000 people.
While some years during the 20 year span covered there were no firefighter deaths while the national average still stayed about the same, the numbers are still alarming and Local 2′s EAP Director Dan DeGryse stressed that one suicide is one too many.
“We’re in a job where you need to help other people and sometimes you forget about yourself,” he said, adding that while there has been talk over the last couple of years about firefighter suicides, not much research has been done.
DeGryse admitted that combing through the more than thousand deaths was taxing on his staff, having to relive each one all over again.
“If someone doesn’t do the first study, how can there be a baseline for other departments to follow?” he asked.
While he’ll have to wait until the report has been in the hands of firefighters for a while before any effect can be noticed, he said that other initiatives — especially the Family Focus Days — have been very successful.
The fourth annual Family Focus Day will be held on Sept. 29 this year — which is later than previous years due to the NATO Summit.
The first event, which combined information about mental health and other topics in a fun setting, drew about 600 people in 2009. The second event drew around 800 and last year’s event drew close to 900.
“I’d like to think that we make it a well-rounded event so that people aren’t afraid to attend,” he said. “It covers all of wellness.”
Aside from mental health issues the event also covers finance, nutrition and a variety of other topics.
Since they started to host the events, he said there appears to have been an impact.
“We’ve only had one the last two years, but we don’t know if in five years from now if we’ve made an impact.”
Over the past few years, the office has only received about 150 mental health visits per year while the yearly average for the previous year was around 300.
He said that the number of visits has gone down in part because firefighters know where to get help.
“The exposure of the program has hopefully helped get help to people sooner so the problems don’t worsen,” he said. “The whole idea of the program is marketing, so people know where to seek help.”
Source:firehouse.com
Two handguns found at Utah airports www.privateofficer.com
Salt Lake City Utah June 23 2012 Two handguns were found within ten minutes of each other at different Utah airports on Wednesday; one in Provo and the other in Salt Lake City.
For the Salt Lake City International Airport, it is the 12th handgun the Transportations Security Administration has recovered this year.
Last year, 34 guns were found at airport security checkpoints.
Wednesday marks the first time a firearm has been found at the Provo Municipal Airport since it opened a year ago, according to a news release from the TSA.
Both guns were found during typical screenings of carry-on baggage.
A .38 Special revolver loaded with five rounds was found in the bag of a man headed from Provo to Denver. He also had six rounds of ammunition wrapped in plastic in his pocket. Charges against the man are pending.
The second gun — a .22-caliber Browning Arms pistol loaded with ten rounds — was found at the Salt Lake City airport. The man, who was headed to Las Vegas, was arrested on suspicion of carrying a firearm in a secure checkpoint, a class A misdemeanor.
Although firearms are never allowed in carry-on baggage, TSA states they have found more than 500 guns nationwide at checkpoints so far in 2012.
Source:sltrib.com
