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Atlanta officers in punching video lose certification www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA June 19 2013 Two Atlanta officers caught on video punching a suspect have now lost their certification to work as police officers.
Channel 2 Action News first exposed cellphone video of the incident in April, when one of those officers won his job back on appeal.
Now, Georgia’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council has voted to revoke both officers’ certification.
“That’s about as serious as it gets,” said POST Executive Director Ken Vance. “I think this shows that POST works.”
The officers now have 30 days to appeal that revocation. Under POST rules, they are allowed to keep working while they wait. The process can sometimes take years to resolve.
“To this very day, I’m still scared,” said Clemmin Davis, upon learning the officers in the video were wearing badges again.
Davis was the man being punched by them.
“I’m little, you know, look at me. I don’t weigh that much, and they did me like that. I just thought I was going to lose my life,” said Davis.
He was driving his girlfriend’s car in southwest Atlanta, when he got pulled over for an expired tag. He said he got worried when his passengers ran from the car.
“At that point I was scared. I didn’t know what to do or if he left weapons or drugs or anything in the vehicle,” Davis said.
He ran also and collapsed in nearby woods.
“They were just kicking me, you know, just beating me. I was trying to give up my hands as you could hear in the background,” said Davis.
He’s thankful a passerby thought to record the incident on a cellphone.
Officer Brian Thomas admitted repeatedly kicking Davis, and resigned while under investigation. Officer Joshua Lowery was suspended for two days.
Officer Nicholas Dimauro, seen punching Davis several times, was fired.
“If I had to make the same decision, I’d make it again,” Atlanta Police Chief George Turner told Channel 2 investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer. “I believe the officers could have handled that situation completely different.”
Turner said he takes termination very seriously, and considered Dimauro’s history with the department.
“There were multiple disciplinary issues that were in his file and that was one of the main reasons that we came to that conclusion,” said Turner, “And obviously, the actions of this particular case was pretty egregious.”
But earlier this year, the city’s civil service review board forced Turner to rehire Dimauro, despite 10 prior unnecessary force complaints the board never saw. In the incident prior to the beating, the department’s Office of Professional Standards investigators recommended terminating Dimauro, but that punishment was later reduced.
Records show the department recommended firing Thomas four different times prior to the beating; in each case he, too, received a lesser punishment.
“I absolutely agree with giving people due process rights, but it looks like in some instances, they have had more bites at the apple than may be deserved,” said Vance.
This is the second time POST has revoked Thomas. In a prior case, he appealed and made a deal for two years of POST probation instead, after giving a bulletproof vest to a criminal. Thomas has also been in trouble for domestic violence and lying.
His lengthy history did not stop Clark Atlanta University’s police department from hiring Thomas as an officer while he was under POST investigation. The department’s deputy chief said Thomas has already been terminated.
“It’s going to be real hard for him to get a third chance, real hard,” said Vance.
An Atlanta police representative said Chief Turner is waiting for official notification from POST before taking any additional action against Dimauro.
“How can you possibly justify allowing criminals patrolling the streets with a badge and a gun?” quipped attorney Mark Bullman, who filed a civil case against the city on Davis’ behalf.
They support POST’s decision to get Dimauro and Thomas off the streets.
“Of course it’s a good thing. It’s safer for the people in Atlanta,” said Bullman.
Davis just hopes this time, the punishment sticks.
“They’re supposed to be here to serve and protect us, not harm us,” said Davis.
source-wsbtv
Charlotte doctor helps expand forensic evidence collection www.privateofficer.com
Photo by-John D Simmons
Charlotte NC June 18 2013 It’s a scene that happens in emergency rooms across the country: In the rush to care for a patient, evidence that can tie a suspect to a crime is often lost, unnoticed or disturbed.
Now an ER doctor at Carolinas Medical Center is spearheading a program to teach medical personnel from around Charlotte and the country the basics of crime scene investigation. It comes as hospitals and law enforcement agencies across the country increase their efforts to work together on the issue.
At a recent course, doctors, nurses, police officers, prosecutors and defense attorneys learned how evidence collection works in the ER. As the doctor begins treating the gunshot victim, a forensic-trained nurse cuts away clothing, mindful of preserving entrance and exit wound evidence. The nurse photographs the patient, measures the wounds, examines the gunshot residue and documents everything on standardized forms.
CMC officials held the first forensic training class in April and plan to continue to provide the 40-hour course throughout the year.
The class trains medical personnel and others how to collect forensic evidence – and how to ask victims questions that could lead to arrests and convictions.
It also reinforces the importance of carefully documenting evidence.
“I know how to determine entrance versus exits wounds,” said Dr. Jayne Batts, the ER physician at CMC who helped organize the forensic training at the hospital and expand it into a class for first responders all over the country. “I know what’s important to ask a patient about the crime.”
Sometimes those questions are the last words a patient hears before surgery or death.
Similar programs in the region collect evidence in sex abuse cases, but the Charlotte-Mecklenburg program was the first of its kind in the Carolinas applied to such a wide range of crimes.
The hospital evidence collection in Charlotte-Mecklenburg began in 2003 and since then has aided in the investigation and prosecution of serious assaults, domestic violence, rapes and murders, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officials and prosecutors with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office.
The expanded program comes amid a national push to integrate emergency medicine and criminal investigations, according to the International Association of Forensic Nurses, a professional group dedicated to promoting forensic collection training in U.S. hospitals.
“We want to get physicians, nurses and law enforcement to work together in preserving evidence and interpreting wounds,” said Dr. Bill Smock, a police surgeon from Louisville, Ky., who taught CMC’s first forensic training class in April. “Carolinas HealthCare Systems is leading the country in evidence collection. In hospitals across the country, evidence gets lost every day.”
ER forensic steps
Before nurses began consistently collecting evidence, the police department dispatched crime scene technicians to the hospital. They’d come if they were available and sometimes after being delayed by forensic collection at the crime scene, which could take hours, Batts said.
She helped establish the Clinical Forensic Nurse Examiner course. For the past 10 years, the course has been offered twice a year to ensure that every victim of a violent crime in Mecklenburg County received the same standard of care.
Carolinas Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital, Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville and NorthEast Medical Center in Concord are among area hospitals with nurses trained in forensic medicine. Certification takes 40 hours over five days, CMC officials said.
Batts said her desire to see this kind of training become widespread stemmed from a mistake CMC made in 1999.
“We lost the victim’s clothing,” Batts remembered. “And I went to the police department and asked what we needed to do.”
At least one forensic nurse works each shift at CMC now – a goal of Batts’ when she was first developing the training and forensic collection protocols.
“When a patient is transferred from the crime scene to the hospital, the ER becomes the secondary crime scene,” Batts said.
Enhancing investigations
CMPD Homicide Sgt. J.D. Furr said detectives undergo quarterly training with Batts to brush up on their own forensic collection skills.
Police say they rely on the skills of forensic nurses in about 90 percent of their assault cases.
The Mecklenburg County DA’s Office couldn’t say specifically what role the forensic evidence has played in securing cases. But in general, it’s better to have evidence that has been properly documented by people who know what they’re doing, prosecutors said.
“The hospital staff treat and give us their qualified opinion and we use that as a tool in our investigation and in our case at trial,” Furr said. “It’s invaluable.”
The forensic nurses also help police determine when patients are lying.
For example: One recent victim came to the hospital and told police he had been randomly shot in the calf by a passing car while walking down University City Boulevard.
But forensic nurses analyzed the wound, noting its size, the prominent tattooing and powder burns. They quickly determined the man had been shot at close range – probably from someone who had been standing no more than 15 inches away.
As it turns out, this wound wasn’t the result of a random violent act, Furr said.
What really happened? The man had accidentally shot himself and had been embarrassed to admit it.
“Through forensics we could see that what the man said was absolutely false,” Furr said.
Source- Charlotte Observer
In Ga., a push to change civil forfeiture laws www.privateofficer.com
ATLANTA GA June 17 2013 AP— Alda Gentile was not arrested. She was not charged with a crime. Yet police in Georgia seized $11,530 in cash that Gentile said she had in a car for a house-hunting trip in Florida.
Police confiscated the money after stopping the car, driven by her son, for speeding. They searched for drugs but found nothing.
Her case has become a rallying cry for libertarian, conservative and other groups seeking to change laws in Georgia that allow law enforcement to seize property and cash from people who have not been convicted of crimes, a process known as civil forfeiture.
Lawmakers in at least four states have proposed changing similar laws, with varying levels of intensity and success.
Those seeking to change the system say the process allows police to skirt the higher standards of proof needed in criminal trials and puts those who lose property in the position of having to prove their innocence.
“I never even thought it was anything illegal about bringing cash,” said Gentile, who got the money back after days of frantic phone calls. “They made me feel like a criminal.”
The leader of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association says the success of forfeiture laws cannot be judged based on isolated cases. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, whose agency was not involved in the seizure from Gentile, said the system is supposed to make sure that someone sent to prison for drug dealing cannot enjoy cars and cash obtained through illegal means once they are released. He noted that Gentile got her money back, and he accused his opponents of coddling criminals while fighting against legislation to set stricter rules in Georgia.
“That bill would have only benefited, in my personal and professional opinion, criminals and the lawyers who represent them,” he said.
Gentile’s case is championed by one of the largest groups seeking change. The Virginia-based Institute For Justice, a libertarian law firm, brought her to testify in support of the bill. Lawmakers are making similar efforts or at least pushing for transparency in Michigan, Minnesota and Texas. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Tennessee voted to give people more rights in forfeiture proceedings.
No single agency in Georgia tracks exactly how much property is seized and how the proceeds are spent. Police agencies are supposed to file annual reports on their seizures and spending, but many ignore the requirement. In 2011, the Institute For Justice successfully sued to force metro Atlanta police agencies to follow the reporting requirements.
Some agencies use the money to buy police weapons, fund education programs or buy office furniture. Other spending is more controversial. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, for example, spent thousands of dollars on security doors to his house and football tickets, according to records reviewed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After that disclosure, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced this month that he will direct the state’s Criminal Justice Reform Council to study changes to the system. The council is supposed to report back to Deal before the start of the next legislative session in January.
“While it’s too early to speculate on possible changes, the governor said it’s obvious that the system requires more transparency,” Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said in a statement.
This year’s legislative effort sparked a backlash from sheriffs. They visited the Statehouse, testified against the proposal and met one-on-one with lawmakers. It worked. Facing a likely defeat, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, decided to put off a vote until next year.
“They basically staged an invasion in uniform of the Capitol building and took up most of the space,” said Virginia Galloway of Americans For Prosperity, which supported the legislation. “They were down there in force. We kind of joked at the Capitol what a great day to commit a crime in Georgia because every one of them seemed to be here.”
For Gentile, her troubles began when a Georgia State Patrol trooper accused her son of speeding on Interstate 95 and pulled over their rental car, according to a police report. Under questioning, Gentile’s son, 19, said his mother had cash tucked in a green-and-white wipes container in the trunk.
Gentile said she had talked to a real estate agent about buying or renting a winter home in Florida and brought the money on a road trip during which they looked at homes. Gentile, a limousine driver in New York, said she is paid mostly in cash.
Gentile said she was repeatedly asked whether she or her son had drugs — none were found.
Officers used a dog to search her car, but they did not report finding anything or file criminal charges. Records show that a trooper said he seized the cash on the advice of an agent from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
State Patrol Maj. Eddie Grier said officers took the cash because they were suspicious that Gentile could be trafficking drugs. Grier said troopers told him that a police dog indicated it smelled narcotics on the cash, though this was not mentioned in the initial police report. Gentile denies any involvement in drug trade and said she believes police tried coaxing the dog into responding.
Grier ultimately returned the money to Gentile. State and federal prosecutors were not interested in seizing it. Grier said most people involved in drug trafficking would abandon illicit money than risk additional scrutiny trying to get it back.
“I’ll be honest with you — I just sort of believed her,” Grier said.
No agency in Georgia tracks how often people file legal action or take steps to get their property back, but it does happen. For example, a deputy sheriff in Georgia’s Greene County stopped David Bowman for a traffic violation in March 2012 and found what was suspected to be marijuana, according to a police report. Searching the vehicle, police found roughly $15,000 in cash bundled in Bank of America wrappers. Bowman was arrested on a child support warrant in South Carolina, and the cash was seized.
Bowman’s cousin, Chicago Bears defensive back Tim Jennings, went to the police station and explained that he had taken out the money from his own bank account to assist his cousin and had bank documents to prove it, Greene County Capt. Scott Smith said. The money was returned to Jennings.
In Texas, Democratic state Rep. Naomi Gonzalez in March introduced legislation that would have forced law enforcement agencies to make detailed filings about their property seizures and spending to the state auditor’s office. Later that month, Gonzalez crashed her BMW into another car, injured a bicyclist and was charged with driving while intoxicated. She kept a relatively low profile afterward, and the bill failed.
And a measure in Minnesota would end a system that allows police to seize property in drug cases when a defendant has not been convicted of a crime. In Michigan, Republican state Rep. Tom McMillin said he planned to introduce legislation requiring greater disclosure when police take property.
“I’m interested in incentives,” McMillin said. “What are the incentives built into civil asset forfeiture? Where does the money go?”
In Georgia, Willard introduced a bill that would have made it harder to seize property. He found support from the Institute for Justice, Americans For Prosperity, the American Civil Liberties Union and criminal defense lawyers. After the setback in the Legislature, supporters are pressuring the state Republican Party to adopt a resolution calling for better controls.
The bill would have raised the level of proof required before the government can take property. Right now, law enforcement officials need only show probable cause that something was obtained through illicit means before taking it — essentially, circumstantial evidence. Willard wants to require that prosecutors show clear and convincing proof, a notch below the standard used to convict in criminal cases.
The measure would also have forced law enforcement officials to make greater efforts to notify owners when property is seized. Police agencies that fail to submit required annual financial reports showing how much they seize and spend could lose the ability to spend confiscated funds for two years.
“We’re not picking on law enforcement,” Willard said. “I just think they need to be open to public scrutiny like everyone else is.”
Veteran NC Police Officer Dies During Motorcycle Ride for Charity www.privateofficer.com
Southern Pines NC June 17 2013 A charity motorcycle ride for Special Olympics turned tragic today when a veteran police officer participating died in a one-vehicle accident.
Stanley Klingenschmidt, a 27-year veteran of the Southern Pines police department and avid motorcycle rider, was involved in a single vehicle wreck while leading a group of motorcycle riders through Montgomery County.
Klingenschmidt, 58, worked as a part-time patrol officer and conducted special investigations for the office of the chief of police. The State Highway Patrol is investigating. He had previously reached the rank of lieutenant within the department before retiring a few years ago.
The ride began in Pinehurst around 10 a.m. The accident occurred around 11 a.m., according to a news release from the Southern Pines Police.
“Each of us at the Southern Pines Police Department not only grieves at the passing of a tremendous individual but also for the loss his family suffers,” the release said.
Funeral arrangements have not been made.
To honor Klingenschmidt, the flags in front of the Southern Pines Police department were lowered, and a police car with a black ribbon draped over the length of the vehicle was parked in front of the department near the street.
Flowers and other mementos to honor Klingenschmidt have been place around the vehicle.
Source- pilot
Line of Duty Death Police Officer William Jason Sprague
Police Officer William Jason Sprague
Texarkana Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Saturday, June 15, 2013
Bio & Incident Details
Age: 30
Tour: 2 years
Badge # Not available
Cause: Vehicular assault
Incident Date: 6/14/2013
Weapon: Automobile
Suspect: Apprehended
Police Officer William Sprague succumbed to injuries sustained the previous night when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while investigating a disturbance at Grady T. Wallace Park at approximately 12:30 am.
Officer Sprague had responded to reports of the disturbance, involving approximately 100 people, and was attempting to make contact with the driver of an SUV. The vehicle suddenly accelerated, struck Officer Sprague, and then fled the area. Officer Sprague was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the following morning.
The subject who struck Officer Sprague was arrested the following day after being interviewed by detectives.
Officer Sprague had served with the Texarkana Police Department for two years and had previously served with several agencies in Arkansas. He is survived by his wife and son.
Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Chief of Police Daniel Shiner
Texarkana Police Department
100 N State Line Avenue #16
Texarkana, TX 75501
Phone: (903) 798-3116
Homemade bombs found after NY blast www.privateofficer.com
Bus driver hauling cruise ship passengers arrested for DUI www.privateofficer.com
Anchorage AK June 16 2013 The driver of a bus transferring cruise ship passengers between Seward and Anchorage was arrested Friday after numerous passengers called to report he was highly intoxicated and driving erratically, state troopers said.
Steven McKinley, a seasonal worker staying in Anchorage, was arrested on a count of driving under the influence and 46 counts of reckless endangerment, one for each passenger.Troopers said passengers called shortly before 9 a.m. Friday to say that the intoxicated driver wouldn’t pull over.
“They complained that he was driving erratically, that he was weaving all over the road,” troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said.
About 20 minutes later, passengers called again and said the driver had pulled over and was walking north at milepost 12 of the Seward Highway.
Ipsen said there was bad cell coverage after the first call and troopers didn’t even know what color the bus was. They ended up pulling over two other buses that were not involved before zeroing in on the correct bus, whose passengers ranged in age from 2 years old to retirement age.
McKinley’s blood alcohol level registered at .341, many times beyond the legal limit of .04, Ipsen said. She said its transport drivers are normally very safe, that their livelihoods depend on being careful.
McKinley was a new driver for Anchorage-based Alaska Cruise Transfer and Tours, which sent out another driver to transport the passengers, Ipsen said.
When he was hired earlier this month, he passed a drug and alcohol test, Anna Lewis, a spokeswoman for the transport company, said.
She said McKinley was no longer employed by the company.
McKinley was fine when he arrived for work at 4 a.m. Friday to begin heading to the town of Seward, 110 miles to the south, to pick up cruise ship passengers, Lewis said. The driver of another bus drove behind McKinley’s bus and said he drove correctly on the way to Seward.
Lewis said the news of the arrest was completely unexpected, according to Lewis. During his brief employment with the company, he was very nice to passengers and was always on time, she said.
Lewis agreed that the alleged behavior is an anomaly in the industry.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Lewis said. “This is out of this world.”
McKinley was in custody in Seward. It’s unclear if he has an attorney. Source-and.com
Woman sends text to police, asking for Xanax www.privateofficer.com
BARTLETT, Tenn. June 16 2013 — A woman who included a Bartlett police lieutenant in a text for Xanax, waived her preliminary hearing Friday morning and was held for the action of the Shelby County grand jury.
Karly Bradley, 24, was ordered held under a $5,000 bond after an appearance before Special Judge Tracey Malone in Bartlett Municipal Court.
Bradley faces three drug-related charges in connection with the ill-directed text sent earlier this week. Among those included in the message “U got stix” was Lt. Chris Golden, a Bartlett police officer, who had come in contact with Bradley in March.
Golden was among a group of officers serving a search warrant on a person in the Cordova area and Golden gave his phone number to Bradley who was there at the time.
According to police reports, the officer received a text about 8 p.m. Tuesday asking, “U got stix”? Golden recognized the term as a reference to Xanax.
Responding to the text, Golden, who did not identify himself, texted the woman back and said he had 10 Xanax bars for $60. The pair then negotiated a trade because the woman wanted only three but offered to trade some Suboxone for the Xanax, according to the police offense report. He was able to cross-reference the phone number from which the text came as belonging to Karly Bradley.
Golden set up the meeting for Wednesday at a shopping center in the 7600 block of U.S. 70 to complete the transaction. The shopping center is located directly behind Bartlett police headquarters.
Further research showed Bradley owned a white Ford Explorer, the same model the text-sender said she would be driving to the sale. When an Explorer pulled onto the lot about 3 p.m., the department’s Crime Suppression Unit was in place, stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Bradley.
A prescription box of Suboxone was on the seat. That, and the intended transaction, led to her arrest.
According to the offense report, Bradley said she thought Golden’s number was “an old dope boy named G.” She also told police she recently has been taking care of a relative’s infant child and needed the Xanax to calm her nerves.
Source-Commercial Appeal
Alabama police chief suspended for visiting murderer www.privateofficer.com
GADSDEN, Ala. June 15 2013 (AP) — The Gadsden Civil Service Board has suspended Police Chief John Crane for visiting a convicted murderer in jail over the course of three years.
The board voted Wednesday to suspend Crane for 15 days. Officials say he visited Justin Denson monthly in the Etowah County jail. Denson was sentenced to 119 years for killing his mother, Nita Denson, in 2009. He was also charged with fraudulent use of a credit card.
Officials say Crane and Denson knew each other personally, and Crane visited Denson for religious reasons. Authorities say Crane also bought Denson a suit to wear to court, and put money in his commissary account.
The Gadsden Times reports Michael Rasmussen, who represents Nita Denson’s niece, asked the board to remove crane from his position as police chief.
Cleveland police fire 1 supervisor, demote 2, discipline 9 in connection with deadly chase www.privateofficer.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio June 13 2013 — One Cleveland police sergeant was fired, two other supervisors were demoted, and nine were disciplined for their roles in a police chase and shooting on Nov. 29, authorities said today.
Sgt. Michael Donegan was fired because of “the gravity of your failure to execute your responsibilities as a sergeant of police for the city of Cleveland,” said City Safety Director Martin Flask.
Flask, Mayor Frank G. Jackson and Police Chief Michael McGrath revealed the results of the administrative review for the 12 supervisors involved in the pursuit during a news conference this morning. The review did not address the use of deadly force. That review is currently being conducted by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty.
Jackson said it was “not a pleasant duty” to issue the report on the shooting, and McGrath said the incident had an impact on the police department and community.
Officials have identified 104 police officers involved in the chase. McGrath will determine which should face administrative charges related to the incident.
Officials said Donegan “disengaged himself” from the pursuit even though he knew there was a massive chase under way.
In April, McGrath said his office and the department’s Integrity Control Section reviewed the supervisors’ actions of Nov. 29 and determined that they appeared to have violated the department’s mission statement, standards of conduct, several rules on vehicle pursuits and generally failed to keep the chase under control.
The supervisors are Donegan, Capt. Ulrich Zouhar, Lt. Paul Wilson, Sgt. Mathew Putnam, Sgt. Patricia Coleman, Sgt. Randolph Daley, Sgt. Jason Edens, Sgt. Brian Chetnick, Sgt. Brian Lockwood, Sgt. Mark Bickerstaff, Sgt. Matthew Gallagher and Sgt. Richard Martinez.
All have been with the department since at least 1998; Zouhar is a 28-year veteran of the force.
In April, the results of an internal review showed more than 30 percent of patrol officers violated at least one policy during November’s high-speed chase, either failing to follow a supervisor order to terminate the chase or by driving unsafely. About 13 percent of supervisors violated a policy.
The review, which included interviews with as many as 115 patrol officers, supervisors and dispatchers, sought to determine whether police followed the department’s policies and procedures governing the pursuit of suspects, when more than a third of Cleveland police personnel on duty the night of Nov. 29 played a role in chasing Timothy Russell and his passenger, Malissa Williams.
The chase, which began downtown after officers believed someone had fired a gun from Russell’s 1979 Chevrolet Malibu SS, zigzagged through Cleveland for about a half hour and ended in a middle-school parking lot in East Cleveland. During the pursuit, officers believed the gunfire had continued and, at one point, they reported that the car had rammed a police cruiser.
Thirteen Cleveland officers fired 137 bullets at the suspects. One officer fired so many rounds, he had to reload his weapon at least once, according to a lawyer representing the officers.
However, when the bodies were removed from the car, police found no gun or shell casings in the vehicle.
The findings of the administrative review in April also did not address the use of deadly force, because that issue is at the heart of an open criminal investigation.
McGinty is expected to present a grand jury with evidence collected during a state criminal probe headed up by Attorney General Mike DeWine.
Source-Cleveland.com
Former Sardis Ga. police officer shot to death brreaking into police evidence room www.privateofficer.com
Sardis GA June 12 2013 Dwayne Burke, 34, a former Sardis, Ga., policeman, was fatally shot early Monday by an officer investigating a break in of the evidence room of the police station where he once worked.
An unnamed Sardis police officer who was on duty said he found evidence the police station had been broken into about 2 a.m., said Agent Pat Morgan, of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The officer and a Burke County sheriff’s deputy who answered his call for assistance investigated and found Burke, who was armed with an ax, Morgan said. A struggle followed, and the Sardis officer fatally shot Burke, said Morgan, the GBI special agent in charge.
According to past news stories in The True Citizen newspaper of Waynesboro and the Sylvania Telephone, Burke has a history of legal trouble dating to 2009.
Burke, whom some locals called “Robocop,” resigned from the Sardis police force in December 2009. The GBI investigated after photos of him unclothed taken in the Sardis police restroom were transmitted via text message.
In a resignation letter, Burke said he was leaving for a higher paying job.
GBI agents later confirmed he took the photos at the police headquarters but cleared him of allegations.
Five months later, the GBI arrested Burke in Sylvania, Ga., on charges of terroristic threats and acts.
The GBI told The True Citizen the charges stemmed from a May 2009 incident in which Burke was accused of dressing in a mask and breaking out windows at two Sardis homes. He fled when a homeowner fired a shotgun in the air. Burke had made numerous attempts to serve warrants at the home the previous day and had complained the residents were uncooperative.
In July 2010, he was arrested after a traffic stop in McIntosh County. Burke told the officer he was a military police officer. He quickly recanted and produced a Screven County Sheriff’s Office badge and claimed to be an officer there. Burke had previously worked in Screven County as a jailer.
An officer found two handguns, a number of prescription drugs and 76 ecstasy pills in his possession.
In July 2012, Burke surrendered to Sylvania authorities after warrants were issued for his arrest in the burglary of Sylvania residence from which $16,000 worth of jewelry was taken.
Morgan said the investigation into the Sardis Police Department shooting is still in the early stages and agents have not been able to determine what was taken from the evidence room. Agents will continue to do a thorough investigation of the crime scene and a inventory of the evidence room, he said.
Morgan also said Sardis has only one officer on duty at night and it is not unusual for the police station to be left unmanned.
source- jacksonville.com
University of Houston-Clear Lake police officer killed in wrong-way crash www.privateofficer.com
Houston TX June 11 2013 Authorities have identified a University of Houston-Clear Lake police officer who was one of two men killed in a wrong-way crash early Monday on Interstate 45 in southeast Houston.
The two-vehicle crash happened about 2:30 a.m. on the outbound Gulf Freeway near Almeda Genoa, according to the Houston Police Department.
University officials said Joe Segovia of the UH-CL Police Department was one of the men who died. The name of the other man has not been released. Both died at the scene.
Police said the driver of a Chrysler 300 was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of the freeway when he slammed into a Scion xB, which was traveling southbound and driven by Segovia. The officer was on his way to work.
The drivers were each alone in their cars. They died on impact.
Police did not release details about how long the wrong-way driver had been on the freeway or where he entered the freeway.
The crash forced officials to temporarily shut down the southbound lanes while crews worked to clear the scene. The lanes were later reopened.
University officials said Segovia, a U.S. Army veteran, had been with the department since January 9. Assigned to the patrol division, Segovia was an exemplary officer, officials said, and will be greatly missed.
Segovia formerly worked as a lead police officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Tomah, Wisc.
University officials said a fund has been established to assist Segovia’s family with expenses. Anyone interested in contributing can send checks to University of Houston-Clear Lake Police Department, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., MC 323, Houston, TX 77058. In the memo section, note “Joe Segovia Fund.” All donations will be given directly to his family.
The crash is being investigated.
Source-chron.com
Myrtle Beach woman calls 911, wanted ride to park from police www.privateofficer.com
MYRTLE BEACH, SC June 7 2013- A Myrtle Beach woman was arrested Wednesday after police said she called 911 wanting a ride.
According to a Myrtle Beach police report, Sandra Walker Sanford, 56, called 911 and ask for a ride to Plyler Park in Myrtle Beach. She was hoping to catch a ride from Myrtle Beach police or EMS, the report stated.
When officers arrived at her location, Brentwood Drive and 79th Avenue North, she was seen approaching cars and people in their driveway, police said.
Sanford was arrested and charged with unauthorized soliciting for a ride.
Source-WBTW
New Baltimore reserve police officer killed in crash www.privateofficer.com
NEW BALTIMORE MI June 5 2013 – The New Baltimore Police Department is mourning the loss of a reserve officer who was killed in a motorcycle accident.
Police Chief Tim Wiley said 33-year-old Patrick Wisniewski , a married father of five, died Sunday night after his motorcycle collided with a car along Jefferson Avenue in Chesterfield Township.
Officer Wisniewski’s been with us over the past two years in the capacity of a reserve police officer, Wiley told WWJ Newsradio 950. “We were in the process of bringing him on as a full-time police officer in just a few months.”
Wiley said Wisniewski, who is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, will be sorely missed.
Chesterfield Police said a 64-year-old man was driving with a suspended license when turned his Chevy Impala in front of the Wisniewski’s motorcycle at the 21 Mile Road intersection.
Wisniewski was rushed to McLaren Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The other driver, who has not been named by police, was treated for minor injuries and released.
It was not immediately known if alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident. Police said Wisniewski was wearing a helmet.
It’s expected that criminal charges will be filed as investigation is ongoing.
Donations can be made to the Wisniewski family in an account set up through Michigan’s Thin Blue Line at PNC Bank or at the New Baltimore Police Department.
source-wwj
Hagerstown police to pursue landlords who rent to drug dealers www.privateofficer.com
HAGERSTOWN, Md. June 5 2013 AP — Police in Hagerstown plan to step up efforts to pursue landlords who rent to drug users and dealers.
Washington County Assistant State’s Attorney Brett Wilson tells the Herald-Mail of Hagerstown (http://bit.ly/11z0OsM ) that in one year, the police department served about 50 drug-related search warrants “to make it uncomfortable for the dealers.”
With the nuisance abatement (ordinance), you take it one step further and you make it uncomfortable for the land owners who don’t oversee their building … and, with a wink and a nod, allow them to become drug-infested ratholes,” he said.
It can be difficult to prove a landlord has failed to stop known drug activity, but if it is proven, courts can make landlords take remedial actions, such as installing security cameras.
Most landlords who receive notices are responsive and the problem is often solved by evicting the tenant, said Police Chief Mark Holtzman.
“We have had a good response from almost every landlord that we’ve sent a letter to (notifying them) that illegal drug activity is taking place,” he said.
Landlords can reduce the risk of legal troubles by being proactive, including performing background checks and visiting properties, Holtzman said.
“You can’t be an absentee landlord and expect the property to manage itself,” Holtzman said.
Councilwoman Penny Nigh, a longtime proponent of holding landlords accountable for renting to drug users and dealers, said she supports the idea.
“That’s what needs to be done,” she said. “I have no problem with the police going after landlords.”
Police dog bids farewell to slain cop www.privateofficer.com
Louisville KY June 4 2013
More than 1,000 people—including hundreds of fellow police officers from surrounding states—turned out at a funeral in rural Kentucky late last week to pay their respects to Jason Ellis, a 33-year-old K-9 officer gunned down last month in what authorities believe was an ambush.
Fido, Ellis’ police dog, was there, too, placing his paw on the closed casket—a moment captured in a heartbreaking image by photographer Jonathan Palmer.
Fido was not with Ellis on May 25 when he was shot multiple times while collecting debris on a highway off-ramp in Bardstown, Ky., a close-knit community of about 12,000 located 40 miles southeast of Louisville. Ellis’ slaying remains unsolved.
Dozens of fellow K-9 officers attended the funeral and, according to the Herald Leader, their dogs could be heard barking from their cruisers:
Ellis, a six-year veteran of the police force, was remembered by Bardstown Police Chief Rick McCubbin, who pledged to hunt down the killer.
“I am your chief, Jason, but you’re our hero and you need to know this chief will not stand down,” McCubbin said. “Jason, my friend, rest easy. We’ve got it from here.”
Ellis is survived by his wife, Amy, and two sons: Hunter, 7, and Parker, 6.
“He paid the ultimate sacrifice doing what he loved, being a police officer,” McCubbin added.
source-11news
Albuquerque DWI driver crashes while having sex www.privateofficer.com
A 25-year-old man is facing multiple charges after police said he was drunkenly having sex with a woman while driving, crashed his car and then ran from police. Luis Briones was found with one shoe on and his shorts on inside-out Monday night, hiding in a cactus, after he crashed his Ford Explorer in the 2600 block of Pennsylvania NE on Monday night.
Police said Briones was heading north on Pennsylvania when he ran a red light and struck a car heading westbound on Menaul NE. “Mr. Briones was observed to be having sexual intercourse with the passenger and sped off… at a high rate of speed,” the Albuquerque police officer wrote in a criminal complaint.
Source- abqjournal
Line of Duty Death Wildlife Officer Joel Campora
Wildlife Officer Joel Campora
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas
End of Watch: Friday, May 31, 2013
Bio & Incident Details
Age: 32
Tour: Not available
Badge # Not available
Cause: Drowned
Incident Date: 5/31/2013
Weapon: Not available
Suspect: Not available
Wildlife Officer Joel Campora and Sheriff Cody Carpenter, of the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, drowned while assisting victims of an overnight flash flood along the Fourche Lefave River near Y City, Arkansas.
They had responded by boat to a 911 call at a home in the flooded area along the river. They both exited the boat and entered the home to assist two female victims who were trapped inside. At some point the officers, victims, and boat were swept away by the rising water. Sheriff Carpenter’s body was located the following morning while Officer Campora’s body was recovered three days later one mile downstream.
Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
2 Natural Resources Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 223-6300
Las Vegas Officer Faces Firing in Gulf War Vet’s Shooting Death www.privateofficer.com
LAS VEGAS NV June 2 2013 — The Critical Incident Review Board is recommending that the officer involved in the shooting death of disabled veteran Stanley Gibson be terminated from his position with Metro Police.
Sheriff Douglas Gillespie held a news conference Friday afternoon to say he agrees with that recommendation. This follows a internal review of the shooting.
Officer Jesus Arevalo can plead his case to keep his job before a pre-termination board; however, Gillespie has the final say.
The Gulf War veteran was shot Dec. 12, 2011 by Arevalo.
Gibson, 43, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, was on his way home the day of his shooting when he became lost. Metro Police officers found him in an apartment complex where he didn’t live after residents called to report suspicious activity.
Arevalo and others tried to speak with Gibson, but he refused to obey their orders. The officers had intended to shoot Gibson with beanbags, but Arevalo fired live rounds at Gibson, killing him. Gibson was shot seven times.
Gibson’s mother and wife had filed separate federal lawsuits against Metro Police, but on Thursday combined their lawsuits.
source-8newsnow.com
Line of Duty Death Trooper Sean O’Connell
Trooper Sean O’Connell
Washington State Patrol, Washington
End of Watch: Friday, May 31, 2013
Bio & Incident Details
Age: Not available
Tour: 16 years
Badge # Not available
Military veteran
Cause: Motorcycle accident
Incident Date: 5/31/2013
Weapon: Not available
Suspect: Not available
Trooper Sean O’Connell was killed when his motorcycle was struck by another vehicle as he controlled traffic in Conway, Washington.
He was struck near the intersection of Fir Island Road and Main Street and knocked to the ground at approximately 5:45 pm. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Trooper O’Connell was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Washington State Patrol for 16 years. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Chief John R. Batiste
Washington State Patrol
General Administration Bldg.
PO Box 42600
Olympia, WA 98504
Phone: (360) 596-4000
Walton County deputy runs over woman sleeping on the beach www.privateofficer.com
MIRAMAR BEACH FLA June 1 2013 — A Walton County sheriff’s deputy ran over a 21-year-old woman who was asleep on the beach Tuesday evening.
The Sheriff’s Office reported that Florida Highway Patrol investigators have found Deputy Chad Biernacki at fault in the accident.
The woman, Jessica Nystrom of Destin, was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast with serious injuries, according to the FHP.
She still was in the hospital Wednesday afternoon, but her condition had improved and she was expected to be released later that day, said Maj. A.J. Smith with the Sheriff’s Office.
Biernacki, 30, was patrolling the beach west of Pompano Joe’s in his Ford pickup truck shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday when he came across a group of underage drinkers and issued them notices to appear in court.
After clearing the scene, he got back into his truck.
Nystrom was lying on the beach west of the truck, according to the FHP.
Biernacki did not see her. He drove forward, turned right to make a U-turn and his right front tire rolled over the right side of Nystrom’s body.
Biernacki told sheriff’s investigators he felt “a slight bump” and heard a woman curse.
He said at no time did anyone yell at him to stop or try to flag him down to let him know he was going to hit someone.
When Biernacki got out of the truck he saw two women. Nystrom had a tire mark on her right shoulder.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, she had been asleep on the beach for more than 20 minutes and did not wake up until the truck hit her.
The FHP reported that the crash was still under investigation Wednesday afternoon. It had not released any information on charges.
That information will likely not be available until Friday, Smith said
When the Sheriff’s Office receives a copy of FHP’s final report, it will be sent to an internal accident review board to determine whether any disciplinary action is warranted, he said.
In the meantime, Biernacki will remain on active duty.
The initial news release from the FHP said alcohol was not a factor for Biernacki or Nystrom.
Smith said Biernacki submitted to a standard breathalyzer test immediately after the accident, which showed no signs of alcohol. A urine sample also was taken, but test results were not available Wednesday.
Smith said beach patrol deputies who have been with the Sheriff’s Office for 15 years said they could not remember a similar incident. Even so, he said he has asked deputies to develop additional advanced training for specific skills needed for beach driving.
“You can never train too much when you are dealing with high-liability areas like operating a vehicle, especially when it is in crowded and congested areas like the beach,” he said.
He said deputies must be on the beach to ensure the public’s safety and reduce crime.
“It’s necessary to be there but we certainly don’t want to put anybody at risk, so we are going to do everything we can to make sure that this does not happen again.”
source-nwfdailynews.com
Line of Duty Death Sheriff Cody Carpenter
Sheriff Cody Carpenter
Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas
End of Watch: Friday, May 31, 2013
Bio & Incident Details
Age: Not available
Tour: Not available
Badge # Not available
Cause: Drowned
Incident Date: 5/31/2013
Weapon: Not available
Suspect: Not available
Sheriff Cody Carpenter drowned while he and a state wildlife officer were checking for victims of an overnight flash food along the Fourche Lefave River near Y City, Arkansas.
He and the wildlife officer were in a boat when it was suddenly swept away by rising water. Sheriff Carpenter’s body was located the following morning. The wildlife officer remains missing.
Sheriff Carpenter had served as sheriff for 11 years.
Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Scott County Sheriff’s Office
190 West 1st Street
Waldron, AR 72958
Man Charged with Delivering Hand Grenade Concealed in Coffee Cup to Bridgeport Police www.privateofficer.com
U.S. Attorney’s Office
FBI
PRESS RELEASE
Bridgeport CT May 31 2013 Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI; and Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett, Jr. announced that Morris A. Roberts, 42, of Bridgeport, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with delivering a modified hand grenade concealed in a coffee cup to the Bridgeport Police Department in February.
Roberts was arrested this morning at his residence. He appeared before United Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel and has been ordered detained.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, in the morning of February 27, 2013, outside of the Bridgeport City Hall annex located at 999 Broad Street, Roberts handed a paper coffee cup to a witness and asked the witness to deliver the coffee cup to Bridgeport Police Department’s Office of Internal Affairs (OIA). The witness subsequently delivered the cup. When a police officer assigned to OIA looked in the cup, the officer discovered a modified hand grenade and notified the Emergency Operations Center. Law enforcement officers, including the Connecticut State Police Emergency Service Unit, responded to the scene, the building was evacuated, and the grenade was safely removed.
Subsequent examination of the grenade determined that it would not have detonated due to its poor construction. However, explosive black powder, which is not normally present in the type of device found, had been added to the grenade.
The investigation has included analysis of several videos recorded on the morning of February 27 in the area of 999 Broad Street.
The criminal complaint charges Roberts with possession of an explosive by a previously convicted felon and with making a threat or conveying false information concerning an attempt to kill, injure. or intimidate a person or unlawfully damage any building by means of an explosive. Each charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Acting U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the Connecticut State Police. The FBI’s JTTF includes participants from the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Connecticut State Police, Bridgeport Police Department, Norwich Police Department, and the New York Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anastasia E. King.
Myrtle Beach Police capture 2 fugitives www.privateofficer.com
MYRTLE BEACH, SC May 28 2013 - Two wanted suspects are back behind bars thanks to Myrtle Beach Police, and are now awaiting extradition back to the states where they committed the crimes. On Saturday, May 25, Myrtle Beach Police reports state officers found wanted suspect, 40-year-old Brandi Jean Closson, at the Captain Quarters Hotel on South Ocean Boulevard. Running her information through the National Crime Information Center confirmed that Closson was wanted in Uniontown, Pennsylvania for larceny, and they would extradite her back into their jurisdiction. 
On the following day, police found 39-year-old William Alexander Yancey at a convenience store on South Kings Highway. He willfully admitted to being a fugitive from Lake County, Florida, saying “he was tired of using drugs and needed to go back to jail.” The sheriff’s office in Lake County confirmed he was wanted for grand larceny and would extradite him. Both Yancey and Closson were booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center to await transfer back to agencies that hold charges against them.source-wmbf
KY police manhunt for officer’s killer www.privateofficer.com
ELIZABETHTOWN, KY. May 28 2013— Bardstown Police Officer Jason Ellis was fatally shot early Saturday morning as he removed debris that had been intentionally placed on an exit ramp of the Blue Grass Parkway as part of a murder plot, the Kentucky State Police said Sunday.
“Someone planned this, and someone planned to shoot someone at that spot and at that time,” Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Norman Chaffins said at a news conference.
Ellis, 33 — a K-9 officer and seven-year veteran of the department — stopped on the Exit 34 ramp from the parkway sometime before 2 a.m. to remove the debris, Chaffins said.
The officer was shot multiple times with a shotgun, Chaffins said. The shotgun had originally been identified as a 12-gauge, but Chaffins would not verify that information Sunday, citing an ongoing investigation.
State police have not determined if Ellis was the target of the shooting, or just happened to stop at the wrong place at the wrong time, Chaffins said. The target could have been another police officer or simply anyone who stopped, he said.
Investigators have determined with some certainty where the shooter was standing at the time of the shooting, Chaffins said, but he would not elaborate.
Police did not release any details about what kind of debris caused Ellis to stop.
Ellis, who was attacked so quickly that he never had the chance to pull his gun, was found dead at the scene. His vehicle’s emergency lights were still flashing.
Passing motorists stopped and called police using the radio in his cruiser — a pool vehicle not equipped to capture video or audio — when they found him on the ground outside the cruiser, Chaffins said. They called it in as a traffic accident, but when a trooper arrived at the scene he “quickly noticed that this was no traffic accident,” Chaffins said.
The shooting took place about 10 miles from the closest ramp onto the Blue Grass Parkway from Bardstown, where Ellis would likely have been coming from after ending his shift early Saturday morning.
The exit, Springfield Road, would have taken Ellis to Bloomfield and ultimately his home in Chaplin.
Chaffins said no suspects have been identified, adding that investigators are not ruling out the possibility of multiple suspects. “We’re looking at the possibility of one, possibly two or three persons involved with this.”
Little information has been uncovered on the events leading up to and immediately after the shooting, Chaffins said.
Bardstown Police Chief Rick McCubbin said at the news conference that he knew of no current on-the-job incidents or threats made against Ellis. He said investigators will comb through Ellis’ work during the past year to see if there were any situations or persons that could lead to a suspect.
McCubbin said it is standard procedure to call dispatch for a stop like the one Ellis made Saturday morning, even if it is something small such as moving debris out of the road. But he said it’s not uncommon for an officer not to call in that kind of situation.
“Something that quick, you think, ‘I’ll stop, get this out of the road and go on,’ ” McCubbin said.
Investigators are looking for anyone who might have information about Ellis’ death, Chaffins said. It doesn’t have to be something from the night of the shooting — it could be a suspicious car parked on the ramp days before, someone walking along the ramp, anything out of the ordinary, he said.
Even the smallest amount of information could turn the case around, Chaffins said. “Something minor can often lead to something very big, and that’s the tip we’re looking for.”
Ellis is survived by his wife and two sons.
His funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Parkway Baptist Church of Bardstown, with burial in Highview Cemetery in Chaplin. Visitation will be held Wednesday from 2 to 8 p.m. at the church.
Source-courier-journal
Line of Duty Death Police Officer Jason Ellis
Police Officer Jason Ellis
Bardstown Police Department, Kentucky
End of Watch: Saturday, May 25, 2013
Bio & Incident Details
Age: 33
Tour: 7 years
Badge # Not available
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 5/25/2013
Weapon: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect: At large
Police Officer Jason Ellis was shot and killed on an exit ramp from the Bluegrass Parkway shortly before 2:50 am.
A citizen called 911 at 2:53 am to report that an officer and had been fatally struck by a vehicle. A Kentucky State Police trooper responded to the scene and discovered that Officer Ellis had been shot. Officer Ellis was en route home at the time following his shift and was in uniform driving a marked vehicle. It is believed that he may have stopped behind another vehicle on the ramp, but did not radio dispatchers of the stop.
The subject who shot him remains at large.
Officer Ellis had served with the Bardstown Police Department for seven years. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Chief Rick McCubbin
Bardstown Police Department
212 Nelson County Plaza
Bardstown, KY 40004
Phone: (502) 348-6811
Rookie Chicago cops walking tough beats www.privateofficer.com
Chicago IL May 22 2013 Flashlights in hand, the five rookie Chicago cops were walking along a darkened stretch of the gang-infested South Side neighborhood on a recent night when their radios crackled with a call of a battery in progress.
One behind the other, the five jogged the next block over, joining up with four other young officers already huddled around a man who said the two mothers of his children had just duked it out.
Can you pull someone over if you’re walking?” asked the man, surprised to see all the officers had arrived on foot.
“We’re still the police, right?” one officer replied. “Absolutely, we can pull someone over. If they don’t stop, we’ll call (for a squad car).”
Fresh from the police academy and three months of street training, up to 16 rookie cops a night patrol some of the city’s most dangerous blocks on foot as part of a new initiative that is a throwback to the department’s days of old.
Superintendent Garry McCarthy calls it a return to community policing, but it also is designed to beef up the police presence in tough neighborhoods and give the new cops a taste of life on the street.
The effort started off modestly less than two months ago with only a couple of dozen officers, but McCarthy has hopes of significantly increasing the numbers by adding newly minted cops to the foot patrols as they complete the academy and field training.
Department officials wouldn’t allow a Tribune reporter to shadow the rookie cops, citing safety issues. But after learning where the foot patrols operate, the newspaper spent several nights observing the officers at work at 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue as they walked a 16-square-block area that took them into the East Chatham, Chatham and Grand Crossing neighborhoods. The foot patrols also operate in the area around 63rd Street and King Drive in the Woodlawn community.
The officers walk in pairs or sometimes in packs of four or more, chatting up passersby and employees in liquor stores, barber shops and other businesses. Working nine-hour shifts from evening into early morning, they write parking tickets, check for squatters in vacant buildings and occasionally pop out of dark gangways or dimly lit side streets. The foot officers also write up a lot of “contact cards” to keep a record of the names, addresses and phone numbers of those they routinely stop.
Arthur Lurigio, a criminologist at Loyola University Chicago, believes that cops walking the beat make citizens feel safer — and lead to improved cooperation from residents.
“By changing the perceptions of residents about safety in the neighborhood, they become more willing to cooperate with the police in solving crimes, leading to lower crime rates,” he said.
The Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, has voiced concerns about the safety of the rookie cops on foot patrol in some of the most violent neighborhoods. Yet those are the same areas where an influx of veteran officers working overtime on their days off have been added — in squad cars and usually just a few blocks away.
Lurigio said there’s no research to suggest that foot patrols are any more dangerous than working in squad cars.
The reaction of residents to the patrols has been mixed. Some feel safer, others have already grown weary of their presence, particularly those who feel hassled by the officers’ actions.
Several said they often see the foot officers ordering people up against walls to search for narcotics or weapons. At least one individual was seen using his cellphone to record a video of his confrontation with officers.
Andre Perkins, 43, who runs a weekly outdoor cookout for the poor along 79th Street, complained that the area was already heavily patrolled by police and that the arrival of the foot officers has brought only more problems for even law-abiding residents.
“How can we feel safe in our community when people are telling us to get off the corner?” he said. “They’re just a modern form of martial law.”
Aaron Givens, 34, a barber at Image 79 Salon on Cottage Grove near 79th, believes those opposed to the foot patrols just don’t like the police. He welcomed the added patrols given the number of shootings and robberies in the area.
“I really feel their presence,” he said while cutting a customer’s hair. “It’s been a lot safer. You can really tell the difference. … You don’t know when the police are coming around alleys and corners on foot.”
Ron Albert, 59, who manages Lil’s Something Kool Kocktail Lounge, a retro 1970s-style bar on Cottage Grove, said the nightly visits by officers give his largely female clientele comfort as they walk to and from their cars.
“When you’re out there (on foot), you hear things, you smell things,” he said. “You see things you’d never see (in a squad car).”
Source-Chicago Tribune
NC woman arrested for poisoning five family members www.privateofficer.com
BATTLEBORO, N.C. May 21 2013 – The Nash County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Battleboro woman with trying to poison five family members.
Investigators said 24-year-old Tiara Drake got angry when one of her family members wouldn’t share cheese with her, so she poisoned it with Ajax, window cleaner, and detergent before the family woke up for the day May 18.The cheese was later used to prepare breakfast and four family members ate it before they noticed there was something wrong with it.
Poison Control was called, and the family was advised to drink milk to counteract the effects of the chemicals. All the family members are okay.
Drake, of the 5500- block of Hubbard Dr. is charged with five counts of attempted murder. Bond was set at $50,000.
Source- WTVD
Five law enforcement officers loose their lives in 48 hours www.privateofficer.com
Washington DC
By-Rick McCann
CEO-Founder
Private Officer International
Five law enforcement officers have died in the past forty eight hours including two FBI special agents killed in a training accident.
That accident off the coast of Virginia Beach VA, involved a hostage rescue training scenario which a helicopter but federal authorities are not releasing any further information.
Special Agent Christopher Lorek and Special Agent Stephen Shaw were members of the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, part of the Critical Incident Response Group based at Quantico, Virginia.
In a statement, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller said, “We mourn the loss of two brave and courageous men, who like all who serve on the Hostage Rescue Team—whether training or on an operational mission—accept the highest risk, each and every day, in their commitment to keep our nation safe. Our hearts are with their wives, children, and other loved ones who feel their loss most deeply. And they will always be part of the FBI Family.”
Special Agent Lorek, age 41, joined the FBI in 1996. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, ages 11 and 8. Special Agent Shaw, 40, joined the FBI in 2005 and is survived by his wife; a daughter, age 3; and a son, age 1.
At approximately 3:30 am Sunday morning, Phoenix AZ. police officer Daryl Raetz was struck and killed by an SUV while making an arrest for DUI.
Raetz, along with several other officers, was processing a DUI suspect on the side of road when a passing SUV struck Officer Raetz. He was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he died.
The driver of the SUV fled the scene and remains at large.
Officer Raetz was a veteran of the Iraq war and had served with the Phoenix Police Department for six years. He is survived by his wife and child.
At almost the same time, a sergeant with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office was killed after a two-vehicle accident at an intersection in north Houston.
The deputy who has yet to be identified was wearing his deputy’s uniform, was driving his personal vehicle, a Chevy Silverado, west on Little York.
As the deputy crossed the intersection with North Shepherd, he was struck on the driver’s side and T-boned by a white GMC truck, police said.
The suspect was traveling at a high rate of speed and ran a red light when he hit the deputy’s truck, police said. There were no skid marks to indicate the suspect driver even attempted to stop.
The deputy was pronounced dead at the scene inside his truck, police said.
The driver of the GMC truck was suspected of being drunk and taken to Ben Taub Hospital where a mandatory blood draw was done, police said.
Officials said that the deputy was a 16-year-old veteran with the sheriff’s office.
And in Horry County SC, Deputy Sheriff Tim Causey died as the result of smoke inhalation he suffered on March 16th, 2013, after responding to a massive fire in the Windsor Green area.
The fire destroyed 26 different condominium buildings. Deputy Causey responded to assist with securing the scene the night of the fire and for several days following the fire. After becoming ill in the following days, he was diagnosed with smoke inhalation and acute respiratory failure. He was subsequently flown to the Medical University of South Carolina where he remained until passing away on May 19th, 2013.
Deputy Causey had served with the Horry County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years. He is survived by his wife and two daughters
