Nissan maintenance technician killed in plant accident www.privateofficer.com

 

SMYRNA, Tenn. –    June 17 2013 A Nissan maintenance technician was involved in a fatal accident in the body assembly area the Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant.
The incident occurred at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
In a statement released by Nissan, the company said “We are heartbroken by the loss of our colleague and friend, Michael Hooper, age 43, who had been with the company for 21 years. Our deepest sympathies go out to Mr. Hooper’s family during this difficult time,” according to Justin Saia, manager of Corporate Communications at Nissan North America.
The statement also said that “The safety and well-being of our team members is Nissan’s top priority.” “The company is working with authorities to investigate today’s incident and is doing everything possible to support those affected in the aftermath of this devastating event,” said Saia. Source- WKRN

Baltimore rental property employee stabbed to death www.privateofficer.com

 

Baltimore MD June 17 2013 County police have identified the woman found dead in the rental office of a Reisterstown development as 29-year-old Melinda Schaefer.
It appeared as though she had stab wounds, department spokesman Ofc. Shawn Vinson said Saturday. A full autopsy was still being carried out, he added.
Officers responded to the office of the Townes at Harvest View on Augusta Ridge Road on Friday morning, after Schaefer was found by a cleaner on the first floor of the building.
The development is made up of tidy two- and three-bedroom townhomes laid out around a central square; the homes rent for between $1,500 and $1,900, according to the management company’s website.
Police have made no arrests in the case.

source-www.baltimoresun.com

California security officer shot to death www.privateofficer.com

SUNNYVALE CA June 10 2013– In a sleepy strip mall, Sunnyvale’s first homicide of the year unfolded early Sunday morning in the parking lot outside a bar hosting a night of hip-hop music.

Sunnyvale police on Sunday were still investigating the fatal shooting outside The Peacock Lounge, where a security officer was shot and killed by a suspect who has yet to be identified.

Police Capt. Dave Pitts said the shooting took place around 1:05 a.m. in the front parking lot of the East Fremont Avenue bar, but there were no suspects in custody, and police were not releasing information on the victim.

When law enforcement arrived, the security officer was suffering from gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Police also said a second person was wounded in the incident but was treated and released from a local hospital.

There were few other details about the deadly incident at the Peacock, which was apparently hosting a hip-hop music event on Saturday night, police said. The bar’s website shows that the venue often has live music, as well as being a spot for sports events.

This is the seventh security officer killed nationally in the past five days.

Walter Energy’s miner dies in Alabama mine accident www.privateofficer.com

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, Alabama June 9 2013– The mining company employee who died at a mine in Tuscaloosa County on Thursday evening has been identified as 36-year-old Christopher G. Brown, of Pleasant Grove, according to a statement from Walter Energy.
Brown was a supervisor at Walter Energy’s No. 7 Mine West in Tuscaloosa County, where he had worked for five years.
Preliminary reports indicate Brown was working underground on or near a conveyor belt when he died about 6:15 p.m. Thursday, the statement says.
Brown died on the scene after he fell from a walkway onto equipment that was in operation, police said Friday morning.
Federal and state mining agencies, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department, safety officials with Walter Eneregy and the United Mine Workers of America are investigating the incident.
According to the statement, employees at Walter Energy’s No. 7 Mine West and No. 7 Mine East were sent home after the incident, and the owl shift and day shift did not report to work to honor a 24-hour mourning period. At the same mine in November 2009, an inspector died and others were taken to a hospital after being overcome by extreme heat in the coal mine.
Source- AL.com

Florida nightclub guard killed three co-workers after being pranked www.privateofficer.com

OCALA FLA June 4 2013

A bouncer at a Florida nightclub shot and killed three other bouncers early Sunday morning after being humiliated by a video prank, according to police.

Andrew Joseph Lobban, 31, was held without bond on three felony counts of first-degree murder after he admitted having shot the three men shortly after midnight at AJ’s Bar, part of the Ocala Entertainment Complex in Ocala, about 50 miles south of Gainesville, authorities said. He was arrested about noon at his girlfriend’s residence.

All of the victims worked with Lobban as bouncers at the complex. One died at the scene; the two others died at the hospital.

According to an Ocala police statement, Lobban said he shot the men — identified as Benjamin Larz Howard, 23; Jerry Lamar Bynes Jr., 20; and Josue Santiago, 25 — because they were laughing and teasing him over an embarrassing video of Lobban that one of the victims had recorded and shared with the others.

The police statement didn’t say what was on the video, but Ocala police Sgt. Angy Scroble said it showed Lobban misfiring his gun at a shooting range.

“He just kept harping on that” while being questioned, Scroble said. “It really bothered him.”

“They put it on Facebook, and that’s why he got mad,” Santiago’s mother, Maria, told NBC station WESH of Orlando.

Two Brothers Stabbed To Death In Huntsville Church www.privateofficer.com

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. May 24 2013 – Church members are hurting and a community is in shock. Huntsville Police are looking for the person who killed two brothers inside West Huntsville United Methodist Church on Tuesday morning.
Police released the mens’ names Wednesday. Anthony Jackson was 76 and Terry Jackson was 69. Both lived in Huntsville.
Police are asking for the community’s help to find the suspect in the crime. They don’t have a good description of him, only saying witnesses saw a black male, possibly in his 40s, run from the church. Police haven’t said what led to the incident.
If you have any information about the person, or saw something that might help the investigation, please call (256) 722-7100.
Investigators talked with several witnesses on Tuesday.
“We are not going to comment on exactly how we feel,” said Harry Hobbs, Huntsville Police spokesperson. “It could have happened anywhere. We are going to stick with trying to get it solved right now.”
Both men were reportedly involved in a fight with a knife. One man died in the church and the other was rushed to Huntsville Hospital, but didn’t make it.
“It is sad, just very sad. They were out helping people. They were there to help people and they got hurt,” said Schella Jones.
Police found a knife on a street across from the church, and say the suspect may have been hurt in the fight.
None of the church members talked with us on camera. One did say Tuesday is the day church members meet in the mornings to pack up food and give to the needy.

Source- WHNT

Sylacauga Utility Board employee drowns www.privateofficer.com

SYLACAUGA, AL May 17 2013    A somber light was shed on preparations for an annual children’s  event with the accidental drowning of a Sylacauga Utilities Board employee  Tuesday evening.
Steven Heath Lowery, 36, of Sylacauga, drowned Tuesday  as he was checking netting that had been placed in Lake Howard for this  Saturday’s Fishing Derby, which has since been canceled by the Chamber of  Commerce.
Sylacauga police, fire and ambulance services responded to the  scene at approximately 5:30 p.m. Lowery was transported to Coosa Valley Medical  Center where he was pronounced dead by Talladega County Coroner Shaddix Murphy  at 5:59 p.m. The cause of death was drowning, Murphy said, and there will be no  autopsy.
“There is no question the cause of death was accidental  drowning,” he said.
Lake Howard caretaker Raymond Black said Lowery, a  journeyman lineman for the Utilities Board since 2006, had gotten off work for  the afternoon and went to get an air tank filled before arriving at the lake  just before 5 p.m.
A certified scuba diver and member of the Coosa  Valley Rescue Squad, Lowery was in full scuba gear as he entered Lake Howard at  the southeast corner off Boat Dock Lane, where a net had been placed in a slough  to block off the area where children were to fish during the derby. The diver  worked to secure the net to the bottom of the lake and was about midway across  the slough when he rose to the top, removed his mouthpiece and began to yell,  “Pull me out! Pull me out!”
Black and another man promptly got in a boat  parked at the nearby dock and reached Lowery within a few minutes, but his head  was already submerged by that time. The lake is roughly 14 feet deep in the area  he was located.
The other man in the boat and a woman who was on the  bank pulled Lowery out of the water, Black said, and waited on an ambulance.  What exactly went wrong is still unclear.
“I think something happened to  him or his equipment, one,” Black said. “They’ve been doing this for 15 years,  and they’ve never had a problem. The diver gets in the water and he goes down  and up all the way across to make sure the net is on the bottom, then he takes  hold of the net and pulls himself back across. Ain’t nothing ever happened like  this.”
Several different divers have performed this task for the  Chamber’s Fishing Derby without incident, but this was Lowery’s first year to  help, Black said.
Police Chief Chris Carden said the police investigation  into the drowning is closed and Lowery’s scuba equipment was released to his  family.
“This is a tragic occurrence,” Carden said. “The police  department is deeply saddened for Heath and for his family. The outpouring of  community support has been noticed, and it will take some time for people who  knew Heath to pick up the pieces. He had a lot of friends between the Utilities  Board, the Rescue Squad, and I even had a call from Washington D.C. from  somebody affected by tragedy. He was well-known and had a lot of friends from  all around.”
Mayor Doug Murphree and Chamber of Commerce President Scott  Hamlet echoed those sentiments. The Utilities Board declined to  comment.
“He was volunteering to help a community event, and it’s a  tragic, tragic thing that happened,” Murphree said. “He was well-qualified for  what he was doing and was training to become a rescue diver. I would hope we  could find out exactly what happened at some point, but I know we lost a good  citizen and a fine young man.”
Hamlet, speaking on behalf of the Chamber  Board of Directors, said they felt it was in the best interests of everyone  involved to cancel the Fishing Derby.
“Our hearts are heavy and our  thoughts are with the Lowery family at this time of need and loss,” Hamlet said.  “We will continue to lift up his family daily.”
Funeral arrangements for  Lowery will be announced by Radney-Smith Funeral Home.
The last known  drowning at Lake Howard occurred in July 1994 when then-mayor James Payton died  as he was attempting to recover a remote-controlled boat for his stepson. Carden  said there have been no other drownings at the lake, which doubles as the city’s  water reservoir, to his knowledge since then; however, Black said several people  have drowned in the area around the water plant over the years. That area is  secured with a locked gate, while the recreational area is open from dawn until  dusk every day except Monday. No swimming is allowed.
source- dailyhome.com.

One killed in Smyrna Nissan plant accident www.privateofficer.com

 Smyrna TN April 26 2013 Nissan has confirmed one person died in the accident reported at the company’s vehicle assembly plant in Smyrna this morning.

“Emergency response authorities are on-site and working to confirm details of the incident,” Nissan spokesman Justin P. Saia said in a statement. “Our deepest sympathies are with those affected by this tragedy, as well as the family of the deceased.”

Saia didn’t identify the victim, but did say it was “an employee of a Nissan supplier.”

“The safety and well-being of our team members is Nissan’s top priority,” he said. “The company is fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate today’s tragedy, and is doing everything possible to support those affected in the aftermath of this heartbreaking event.”

Source : Tennessean

Worker killed in accident at Russellville, Arkansas nuclear plant www.privateofficer.com

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark April 2 2013. (AP) – Entergy Arkansas says a worker was killed and three others injured when a heavy piece of equipment fell at a nuclear plant.

The utility says the public is not a risk after the industrial accident Sunday morning at its Arkansas Nuclear One plant in Russellville, about 70 miles northwest of Little Rock.

Entergy says the workers were moving the equipment from the plant’s turbine building.

Entergy and the Arkansas Department of Health say the accident did not affect the plant’s reactors. They also say radiation wasn’t involved.

The reactors have been shut down, and the company says they are stable.

The company stress that there is no danger to the public. Chief nuclear officer Jeff Forbes says Entergy is “deeply saddened” by the accident.

Cleveland Suspect Attacked Security Guard During Bank Robbery www.privateofficer.com

CLEVELAND OH March 14 2013– The FBI reported that a bank robbery suspect struck again at the PNC Bank on S. Moreland Blvd. Wednesday afternoon around 4:30.

The FBI said the suspect assaulted the security officer by striking him in the face with a silver handgun that the suspect was carrying. The suspect is described as a black male, approximately in his early 20s, 5’5″ – 5’6″, wearing green pants, a white hooded sweatshirt and carrying a red backpack. The suspect stole an undisclosed amount of money and took off on foot. The FBI did not state if the security officer was armed or if he had confronted the robbery suspect. Reward money is available. PNC Bank has also offered an additional $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect. Call the FBI at 216-522-1400, if you have any information.

Teen arrested in club shooting that left bouncer dead www.privateofficer.com

Houston TX March 1 2013 A 19-year-old man has been arrested in a shooting that left one man dead and three others wounded outside an after-hours club in northwest Harris County last month.

Henry Demond Dorsey is charged with murder in the shooting, which happened about 4:40 a.m. Dec. 9 at Club Le Cave at 4714 W. FM 1960, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Dorsey is being in the Harris County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Deputies said a fight broke out in the club between two groups of men. Bouncers threw five of them out of the club.
One of the ejected patrons, later identified as Dorsey, opened fire on the bouncers who were standing near the door.

Deputies said 21-year-old Timothy Powell died in the gunfire. Three other men were wounded and were rushed to nearby hospitals. Their conditions were not released.

Dorsey left after the shooting, which was captured on surveillance tape.
However, a witness later identified Dorsey as the gunman, according to court documents in the case. The documents state investigators saw a man fitting Dorsey’s description on the surveillance video pull out a gun and open fire.
The club, which operates from about 2 a.m. to 7 a.m, has been the scene of at last one other shooting in the past, officials said.
In July 2011, two people were killed and another injured in a shooting at the club after patrons who had been kicked out returned with an AK-47.

“Apparently this club has a long history of shootings,” said Sgt. Ben Beall of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit said at the time of the December shooting. County officials have been working to close down the club. Beall said it’s been difficult because they cannot target a liquor license since the business doesn’t serve alcohol.

Source:chron

One person dead- another in critical condition from an explosion at TX industrial gas facility www.privateofficer.com

LA PORTE, Texas Feb 10 2013 – One person was killed and another is in critical condition from an explosion at an industrial gas facility Saturday morning in La Porte.
Investigators are trying to determine what caused the explosion, which sent a plume of black smoke into the sky, causing a shelter-in-place in Pasadena. The shelter-in-place was lifted at about 9:40 a.m., nearly two hours after it was first issued.
One person was sent to the UTMB hospital in Galveston by helicopter, PHI Air Medical confirmed to KHOU 11 News. One employee was reported missing, but his body was found by search and rescue crews Saturday evening, according to an official with Air Liquide.
Air Liquide is the company that owns and operates the facility where the explosion took place.
Company officials said that 15 to 20 people were around the area when the explosion occurred.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said it was shortly before 8 a.m. when residents starting calling 911 about the sound of “booms.” Witnesses told KHOU 11 News they heard several explosions.
According to the city of La Porte, the explosion and fire occurred at the Air Liquide cylinder plant in the 11400 block of West Fairmont Parkway near Driftwood Drive. Easterly winds pushed smoke from the fire into Pasadena.
A later update from the city indicated the situation was under control, but there are still some hot spots at the plant.
“Emergency responders are still on scene and the fire is under control. Air monitoring is taking place throughout the city. At this time, nothing has been found that should warrant a shelter in place for the citizens of La Porte.”
The Office of Emergency Management in La Porte said while residents there were never asked to shelter-in-place, some nearby facilities may have had their workers take shelter.
During the Pasadena shelter-in-place, residents south of Spencer Highway and east of Beltway 8 were encouraged to stay inside with their doors and windows closed and their A/C off.
As investigators try to determine the cause of the incident, Fairmont Parkway may remain closed for an extended period of time and residents are urged to stay out of the general area. City officials said that they will not test the outdoor warning sirens at noon Saturday in light of the situation.
Statement released by Air Liquide: “Air Liquide is monitoring a fire at its facility in La Porte. We understand from emergency personnel that the fire is now contained. We are working to determine the cause of the incident and remain in contact with authorities at the scene.
The safety of our employees and the communities in which Air Liquide operates remains the company’s top priority.
The facility in La Porte houses a mix of industrial gases such as nitrogen and hydrogen that are used in the processing of such things as food and beverages and electronics.”

source-khou

Tempe man remains sole suspect in bouncer’s death www.privateofficer.com

TEMPE, AZ Feb 7 2013
A 26-year-old Tempe man remains the sole suspect in the stabbing death of a bouncer at a Scottsdale nightclub.
Ian MacDonald admitted that he was involved in the fight but denied stabbing 27-year-old Tyrice Thompson on Jan. 27, police said.
Thompson was a father and former football player at Arizona State University.
Police said he was stabbed five times in the hip, back and arm outside the Martini Ranch in Scottsdale where he worked as a security guard.
Richard Thompson and his family made the decision to take his son off of life support on Saturday.
MacDonald was released pending further investigation and results of lab analysis of evidence collected from him and evidence at the scene.
Detectives continue to work to process all the information and evidence pertinent to the case, Tempe police said on Tuesday.
Police said they are actively working with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to file the proper charges against him in the near future.
Authorities said it has not yet been determined if MacDonald will be re-arrested on new charges.
Source: CBS5

NC nightclub security guard killed in attack www.privateofficer.com

SMITHVILLE NC Feb 6 2013

POI Dispatch has just confirmed that a nightclub security guard attacked during a week-end fight involving more than 60 people has died.

Luther “Jerry” Burton Jr. was removed from life support at the request of his family.

Burton, who was knocked down in the parking lot and suffered a major blow to the head when he hit the cement had been on life support since the attack.
They said that his tongue went into the back of his throat and cut off oxygen, leading to brain damage.
Police have not made an arrest but said that the investigation into what happened continues.

Security officer killed in Fort Worth head on collision www.privateofficer.com

FORT WORTH TX Feb 5 2013 — Two men were killed early Monday when a car traveling the wrong way in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 30 crashed into another vehicle headed east on the freeway near the Beach Street overpass.
The accident occurred about 2:30 a.m. when a black BMW 740i struck a Toyota Prius, police said. The drivers of both cars were pronounced dead at the scene.
They were the only occupants of the vehicles.
The driver of the Prius security car was identified as Billy Gonzalez, 30, of Fort Worth an on duty security officer working for Securitas Security. The other driver’s name had not been released.
Shortly before the accident, a witness called 911 and said a black car was headed the wrong way on I-30 at high speed near the Oakland Bouleveard exit.
Several minutes later, police received the report of the accident.
Traffic investigators determined that the BMW swerved into the Prius, striking it head-on.
The accident forced the closure of I-30 overnight but the lanes were reopened by rush hour Monday morning.

Scottsdale bouncer dies from stabbing www.privateofficer.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz Feb 3 2013. (AP) — Police say a bouncer who was stabbed a week ago at a Scottsdale nightclub has died.

Scottsdale police said Tyrice Thompson, a former football player at Arizona State, died Saturday morning from the stab wounds.

According to investigators, the 27-year-old Thompson of Laveen was stabbed five times in the back, hip, and arm after an altercation inside the club early morning on Jan. 27.

Police later arrested 26-year-old Ian MacDonald of Tempe in connection with the stabbing. Investigators say he admitted that he was involved in the fight but denied stabbing Thompson.

It was unclear if MacDonald had an attorney.

Thompson played tight end and receiver for the Sun Devils from 2003-07. He played all 13 games as senior, catching 15 passes for 272 yards, and was a key special teams player his final two seasons at Arizona State.

Thompson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts, but did not play an NFL game.

South Alabama school bus driver shot to death-6 yr old kidnapped www.privateofficer.com

Midland City AL Jan 30 2013
Authorities in southeastern Alabama say a man boarded a school bus, fatally shot the driver, then removed a 6-year-old passenger and ran.
The Dale County Sheriff told WBMA-TV that the suspect shot the driver in Midland City several times after he refused to let the child off the bus Tuesday afternoon. The driver later died of his wounds.
It is unclear how many other students were aboard the bus at the time, though WSFA.com reports that several children on the bus witnessed the man shoot the driver take the young boy away.
The man took the child to an area behind a nearby church, and police were negotiating with him Tuesday night. Details on the relationship between the man and child were not immediately available.
Police said the suspect was not in custody as of Tuesday evening. The bus driver’s identity has not been released.
Michael Senn, a local minister, tells MyFoxAl.com that numerous children ran to a church near the scene of the incident after the suspect reportedly ordered them off the bus.
“All the kids are at a safe place,” Senn said, adding that all of the children appeared to be in shock.
The Dale County Sheriff said in a statement late Saturday that residents in the immediate area of the incident were evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Police in Midland City were not immediately available to comment, and a call to the Dale City Sheriff’s office was not answered.
Schools in Dale County will be closed Wednesday because of the shooting, Dale County Board of Education secretary Lisa Harden said.
Midland City is about 10 miles northwest of Dothan.

source-www.foxnews.com

California doctor shot and killed in his office www.privateofficer.com

Newport Beach CA Jan 30 2013 – A suspect was in custody Monday after a doctor was shot and killed at his Newport Beach, Calif., office, police said.
Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Kathy Lowe said the shooting took place about 2:45 p.m. in a second-floor patient room at 520 Superior Ave., KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, reported.
Police responded to a call of as many as seven shots fired in the medical building and found both the victim and the gunman in the office, the TV station said.
Witnesses said the victim was a urologist. Police did not release the name of the victim or the gunman, who was arrested without incident, or provide details about his relationship to the doctor.
The Los Angeles Times reported several people said the victim was a doctor at Orange Coast Urology and workers in the building said the shooting occurred in the doctor’s exam room.
“I sit right at the front desk; I would have caught the first bullet,” Becky Calderwood, who works two doors down from the office where the shooting occurred, told the Times. “This is nuts; people are just shooting everyone all the time.”
Calderwood said the gunman was a 70-year-old patient, and the Times said police led a handcuffed older man wearing a baseball cap out of the building

Source-://www.upi.com

1 killed, 1 hurt in accident at York Co. paper plant www.privateofficer.com

CATAWBA NC Jan 23 2013 One man was killed and another suffered “minor irritation” Tuesday morning in an accident at the former AbitibiBowater plant, now called Resolute Forest Products, in Catawba.
Investigators believe that two workers climbed into a decommissioned tank outside the plant’s main production area to perform maintenance at about 1:30 a.m., said Cotton Howell, director of York County Emergency Management. Officials speculate that while the workers were in the tank, some type of chemical might have leaked in, Howell said.
Samir Storey, 39, of Monroe, N.C., was pronounced dead at the scene, said York County Coroner Sabrina Gast. An autopsy is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
The other worker suffered “minor irritation” and was taken by EMS to Piedmont Medical Center, said Debbie Johnston, spokeswoman for Resolute Forest Products. A third contractor who was on the scene was examined by medical personnel but released soon after.
The plant, which has downsized its personnel and now employs more than 600 people, was fully operational Tuesday, and no evacuations were ordered after the accident, Howell said. No other injuries were reported.
York County Emergency Management, as well as the plant’s own accident investigation team, will probe the incident, a process that Howell warned might slowly unfold.
“The investigation is still in its infancy,” he said.
The three people working in the 10-feet wide, 40-feet tall tank in the plant’s power generating area were contractors with Tradesmen International, a construction labor support company with offices in Charlotte. They were performing routine maintenance on the tank during a scheduled maintenance outage, Johnston said.
All three workers wore protective equipment and were properly trained on how to clean the tank, which Johnston said collects odorless chemical fumes from the mill’s power generating area instead of releasing them into the atmosphere, she said. Those fumes are then burned in the mill’s power boilers.
The tank is cleaned every nine months, Johnston said. She said officials were still trying to determine what kind of chemical might have been involved.
Storey’s length of employment with Tradesmen International wasn’t immediately available.
“We were working with a client on that job site,” said Pete Barger, Tradesmen International’s area manager. “It’s a tragic situation; we’re doing our best first and foremost to support his family from this point as we go through the investigation.”
Barger said company officials will spend the next couple of days gathering more details. He wasn’t able to give information on the injured worker, but he did say that “multiple” employees were working at the site in “that sector of the plant.”
“The details at this point are very limited,” he said. “This kind of situation again is tragic and incredibly uncommon for our company.”
In May, a ruptured pipe sprayed sodium hydroxide, a cooking chemical dubbed “white liquor,” on four employees in the plant’s pulping area. The workers, all of whom suffered serious burns, were flown to hospitals and burn centers in North Carolina and Georgia for treatment.
The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated the May chemical spill and determined that the plant didn’t violate OSHA policies, said Lesia Kudelka, company communications director. No citations were issued.
OSHA officials, who have been notified on the incident, are considering if they will probe Tuesday’s fatal accident, she said.
In June, a third-party contractor was injured when he was splashed in the face with white liquor while transferring the chemical from a tanker truck to a holding area. He was taken to an on-site shower and washed down before he was taken by ambulance to an area hospital.
In 2000, an explosion at the plant killed two contract welders who were connecting pipes to an outdoor tank when it exploded. Several other workers were also injured. That blast was reported as the worst accident in the plant’s then-40-year history. Source-charlotteobserver.com

Flowers Bakery worker dies after crushing accident www.privateofficer.com

BARDSTOWN, KY Jan 18 2013 – The Flowers Bakery of Bardstown is dealing with its first tragedy since opening its large plant in 2009.
Officials said late Friday night, a female worker was involved in a bizarre accident that pinned her between a heavy lift elevator and a vat.
“We’ve not had to experience a situation like this before,” said Donna Hardesty of Flowers Bakery of Bardstown.
Management is still in shock by the accident.
“We did have an employee who was pinned between two pieces of equipment,” Hardesty said.
Officials say Leslie Elder, 39, was rushed to the hospital suffering injuries to her torso. She fought for her life for two days; Monday morning, she passed away.
Management says she hadn’t worked at the bakery long, but left a lasting legacy.
“She did make an impact. She had a wonderful personality and was very positive. We’re definitely going to miss her,” Hardesty said.
As the investigation continues into the accident, Elder’s family is planning her funeral.
“First time I heard about it was today,” said neighbor John Reed.
Neighbors were just as surprised.
“She was a very nice lady. I talked to her at the mailbox. She seemed very nice,” Reed said.
She leaves behind a teenage daughter who’s still coping with the loss.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time. Our deepest condolences go out to them,” Hardesty said.
The plant makes bread and buns and employs about 200 people. The investigation continues.

Source: WAVE

Bartender killed during armed robbery www.privateofficer.com

PRESS RELEASE

Bartender killed during armed robbery
Boca Raton, FL – On Friday, January 4, 2013 at 11:43 p.m., Boca Raton Police officers responded to a report of a male screaming, possible gun shots and a disturbance behind Josephine’s Restaurant, 5751 North Federal Highway.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found one male shot. After speaking with witnesses and reviewing surveillance video, Boca Raton detectives were able to piece together the crime. Josephine’s Restaurant closed at about 10:00 p.m., however, the owner, several employees, and patrons remained. At approximately 11:43 p.m., a waiter was leaving and the bartender, Rafael Rodriguez, walked with him to the back door. As the waiter exited the back door, several suspects accosted them. The waiter and Rodriguez were knocked to the ground and the waiter was pistol whipped. One or two suspects stood guard while other suspects entered the restaurant. The suspects are black males; all were wearing some kind of mask or facial covering. The suspects were armed with either revolvers or semi-automatic handguns.
Once inside the restaurant, the suspects approached the rest of the victims, who were around the bar area. The suspects then took personal items, including wallets, jewelry, and cell phones from the victims. As the suspects were leaving, Rodriguez exchanged words with one of the suspects. At this point, the suspect shot at Rodriguez, striking him once.
The suspects fled out of the back door and were last seen running south behind the buildings. Rodriguez and the waiter were transported to Delray Medical Center, where Rodriguez later died. The waiter was released this morning.
Boca Raton detectives are following leads throughout the South Florida area. If anyone has information about this crime, they are asked to call the Boca Raton Police Department at (561) 368-6201 or Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.
Victim:
Rafael Rodriguez
DOB 06/25/1943
Boca Raton, FL

Suspects:

#1 Black male, tall, thin #2 Black male, thin
Long sleeved shirt, pants Below knee shorts
Baseball cap, backpack Backpack, handgun
Black revolver, mask Hood and mask

#3 Black male #4 Black male
Medium build, pants Long sleeve dark shirt
Short sleeve shirt Below knee shorts
Bandana, ball cap Light shirt or scarf
Hand gun Covering face

Police arrest man in robbery murder at Gainesville car dealership www.privateofficer.com

Gainesville GA Jan 1 2013 Police have arrested a man in connection with the slaying of a Gainesville car dealership employee.
Police said a tip from a resident led them to the Constitution Apartments off Constitution Road in southeast Atlanta, where they arrested 21-year-old Mark Taylor.
The resident who called police spotted the truck authorities said was stolen when someone fatally shot 42-year-old Charles Weaver at the Carriage Mitsubishi on Browns Mill Road.
A few hours before Atlanta police announced their arrest with Channel 2′s Ryan Young, Gainesville police confirmed on Sunday that they located the red 2011 Nissan Frontier.
A dealership worker who found Weaver dead at the business is among those struggling with the loss of of their colleague.
The manager did not want to talk on camera, but said the dealership is offering a $10,000 reward for leads in the case, which is under investigation.

Las Vegas residential care facility resident charged with 2 homicides www.privateofficer.com

LAS VEGAS NV Jan 1 2013– A man is in custody after two people were found dead Sunday morning at a residential care facility in the 3700 block of West Washington Avenue.

Metro’s Dispatch Center received a call at 4:40 a.m. from medical personnel advising they had responded to an injured person call at the residential care facility.
Upon their arrival, they discovered two people inside deceased from apparent blunt force trauma.

Police say they discovered a 59-year-old female caregiver and an 82-year-old resident dead.

Detectives say they found resident David Settle on his bed wearing only a diaper. Settle told authorities he had killed the two with a hammer before going to the store and buying wine, cigars and coffee.

Police say Settle didn’t explain why he had killed the two. He told officials he later tried to cut and beat himself to commit suicide.

Settle was booked on suspicion of murder.

This incident remains under investigation. Anyone with any information is urged to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section at (702) 828-3521 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555 or at http://www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

Source:KSNC/AP

Are there any answers to the violence? www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta Ga Dec 30 2012 — The Newtown, Conn., carnage, the latest and most horrifying among a recent rash of mass shootings in America, is raising pointed questions about why this country is experiencing such lethal mayhem.
While the answers are complex, experts point to a number of mental health and societal reasons that could be underpinning the tragic events.
But they are also quick to point out the legal availability of assault weapons.
In the past two years alone, killing sprees have claimed dozens of lives and left many injured and disabled:

Six people died and 13 were injured in front of a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store in January 2011 when a lone gunman, wielding a legally obtained handgun, sprayed the crowd with bullets and, in an assassination attempt, shot former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head, nearly taking her life.
Five students at Chardon High School in Ohio sustained gunshot wounds this February and three of them died at the hands of the accused 17-year-old gunman who allegedly chose his victims at random. The murder weapon was a handgun reportedly stolen from the suspect’s uncle.
A gunman opened fire in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater in July, killing 12 and injuring dozens more. The alleged 24-year-old shooter had legally obtained four weapons, including a semi-automatic assault rifle used during the attack.
A gunman killed six and wounded four in August at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., before a police officer shot and killed the 40-year-old suspect at the scene. The shooter legally purchased the semi-automatic handgun and ammunition used in the attack.
The latest tragedy, the Dec. 14 massacre of 20 young schoolchildren and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut by a young man who then killed himself, has stunned the nation, inciting a call to action.
Policymakers have been quick to muster support for new initiatives to prevent future tragedies.
President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced plans to revisit the nation’s gun and mental health laws, tapping Vice President Joseph Biden to lead an effort to bring “concrete proposals” to the table for quick action in January. In part, the president supports reinstating the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition cartridges. These prohibitions expired in 2004 with the sunset of the 10-year-old Federal Assault Weapons Ban.
As policymakers grapple for answers, experts point to personal and societal problems that could be underpinning these deadly events.
“It’s not one factor,” explained Jeffrey Swanson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C. “I think it’s almost impossible to predict who would do a thing like this, in advance,” he added.
The Newtown shootings now rank as the second deadliest school shooting in the United States, after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, which claimed 32 lives. Sandy Hook’s death toll eclipses the carnage that shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold inflicted upon 13 classmates in the infamous 1999 Columbine High School rampage.
People who study violent behavior point to the widespread availability of guns in America — particularly assault weapons like the ones used in Newtown, which are designed to discharge multiple rounds of ammunition — as a factor in crimes involving multiple casualties.
“There just happens to be very lethal methods available out there,” said Thomas Bowers, associate professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg.
Gun enthusiasts, however, argue that even the best gun control laws can’t stop a person from committing a heinous act. Connecticut laws restricting the sale, ownership and use of guns are considered among the most stringent in the nation.
“None of these bans was efficacious in keeping Adam Lanza [the Newtown school shooter] from killing 20 children,” said Michael Hammond, legislative counsel to the Gun Owners of America in Springfield, Va.
Police said Lanza used guns — a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns — that belonged to his mother, who was found shot to death in their home.
The National Rifle Association, the nation’s leading gun lobby, broke its silence on the Newtown tragedy on Friday, calling for armed guards to protect schools as the best way to shield children from gun violence.
The problem isn’t just guns, experts say
Guns are only part of the equation, said Christopher Ferguson, chair of the department of psychology and communication at Texas A&M University in Laredo. There’s also a need to improve the nation’s mental health system so that individuals at risk get the help they need, he said.
While no firm profile of school shooters has emerged, Ferguson pointed to some common characteristics, including a long history of anti-social traits, mental health problems such as depression or psychosis, and the perception that others are to blame for their problems, that “society didn’t give me a chance.”
A 2007 report commissioned by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found many gaps in the mental health system, “including a critical shortage of all child and adolescent providers,” Dr. Howard Liu, medical director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, told HealthDay.
In the report, the federal government projected a need for 12,624 child and adolescent psychiatrists by 2020, vastly exceeding the projected supply of 8,312. The shortage of trained mental health providers is particularly acute in rural and low-income areas.
Could the way Americans live and raise children today also play a role in triggering violent behavior?
Many people speculate that violent video games predispose kids to aggressive and dangerous behavior. Ferguson’s research indicates that that’s not true. In a laboratory setting, short-term exposure to violent videos neither increased nor decreased aggression, while long-term exposure was associated with reduced hostile feelings and depression following a stressful task, one study found.
What’s more, Ferguson said, “video games are not a commonality among school shooters.”
Dale Yeager, a criminal behavioral analyst and CEO of SERAPH, a Berwyn, Pa.-based legal, liability and security consulting firm, believes that dysfunction in families — from broken marriages to a “pop psychology” culture that coddles kids instead of teaching right from wrong — is at the root of the problem.
“What happens is mommy or daddy, or both, are not taking care of their issues and that filters down to the children,” he said.
‘We are still a relatively safe country’
Yet, despite the public outcry spurred by the Newtown killings, the United States is not becoming an increasingly homicidal nation. The reality is the U.S. murder rate, at least through last year, has been on a downward slope. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports a steady decline in total homicides, from 14,990 in 2006 to 12,664 in 2011.
“We are still a relatively safe country and certainly by historical standards, even with these mass killings, our homicide rates are lower now than they were in the ’80s. So we do need to keep this in perspective,” said James Hawdon, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
Still, guns figure prominently in the nation’s murder rate: Sixty eight percent of homicides involve some type of firearm, a percentage that has held steady from 2006 to 2011, according to FBI data.
And the firearm death rate in the United States is nearly 6.5 times higher than Canada’s rate of just 0.5 per 100,000 people, the United Nations reports.
“Our peer countries regulate the guns . . . and they tend to have far lower homicide rates than we do,” said Duke’s Swanson.
Australia in 1996 enacted a gun buyback program in response to a massacre in Tasmania that left 35 dead. The result: Gun-related homicides declined from 0.57 per 100,000 people in 1996 to 0.1 per 100,000 people in 2009, according to GunPolicy.org.
In Japan, known for its restrictive gun-control laws, the total number of guns held by civilians is estimated to be 710,000, or 0.6 firearms per 100 people, according to data compiled by GunPolicy.org. In the United States, it’s 270 million total guns, or 88.8 firearms per 100 people.
But school-based shootings are not a uniquely American phenomenon.
Even with Europe’s tougher gun laws, Finland, France, Germany and Norway have all experienced atrocities in the past decade. Mass school-based shootings at two German schools in 2002 and 2009 claimed a total of 31 victims.
As people try to make sense of the latest tragic events, Virginia Tech’s Hawdon offers this advice: “Really the way that we can best control crime and best reduce violence is by looking out for each other, by having a community where people know each other, people are involved in each other’s lives to the point where they can say, ‘You seem to be having difficulties right now’ and ‘Can I help?’ “
More information
There’s more on mental health at the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Source-HealthDay News

Husband of slain Wauwatosa police officer Jennifer Sebena arrested www.privateofficer.com

Wauwatosa WI Dec 27 2012 The husband of slain Wauwatosa police officer Jennifer Sebena has been taken into custody following his wife’s death and was transported to the West Allis Police Department, according to a Wauwatosa police report.
Reports do not indicate if Benjamin Sebena has been arrested for the slaying and police are not commenting further.
Two Wauwatosa police officers and a state Department of Criminal Investigation agent transported Sebena from the Wauwatosa Police Department to the West Allis Police Department on Christmas Day. They turned Sebena over to a West Allis police sergeant at 8:01 p.m., according to a Wauwatosa police report. The sergeant locked Sebena in a cell without incident.
A West Allis police officer said just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday that the department did not have anyone in lockup at this time.
A news release shortly after noon said the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Wauwatosa Police Department continue to investigate the crime, with the DCI as the lead investigative agency.
The release said only that DCI “is working with a person of interest,” and that at this time, no charges have been filed.
The law enforcement agencies are continuing to pursue multiple investigative leads, they said. “We continue to believe that there is no immediate threat to the general welfare of the public,” they said.
WISN TV reported Wednesday afternoon that Wauwatosa officers and DCI agents executed a search warrant on the Sebenas’ Menomonee Falls home.
Jennifer Sebena, 30, died after she was struck by multiple gunshots early Christmas Eve morning. According to a police report, the last contact the department had with her was at 3:29 a.m.
Some time after that, dispatchers attempted to contact her and she did not respond. She was found at 4:38 a.m. on the north side of the Wauwatosa Fire Station No. 1, 1601 Underwood Ave. The station was taken out of service at 6:30 a.m.
According to the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial website, Sebena is the first Wauwatosa officer to be killed in the line of duty in the 96-year history of the department. Officer Abby Pavlik was shot and seriously wounded during a robbery investigation on Dec. 13, 2009. Pavlik recovered from her injuries.
Benjamin and Jennifer Sebena lived in Menomonee Falls. According to a report in JSOnline, Benjamin is a disabled Iraq war veteran.
Wednesday’s press release also said that funeral services for Jennifer Sebena are tentatively planned for Saturday, with further details to come.
The Wauwatosa Peace Officers Association has set up a memorial fund for funeral costs and a cause to be determined. Donations should be made out to the “Officer Jen Sebena Memorial Fund,” and can be dropped off at any Focus Credit Union branch:

3180 N. 124th Street, Suite A, Wauwatosa
1530 N. 68th Street, Wauwatosa
N88 W14930 Main Street, Menomonee Falls

TSA officer shot to death at Cleveland airport www.privateofficer.com

CLEVELAND OH Dec 10 2012 (AP) — A Transportation Security Administration officer was fatally shot by her husband Sunday before he killed himself on an off-site parking lot at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, authorities said.

Before turning the gun on himself, the husband fired at a second TSA employee but missed, police spokesman Sgt. Sammy Morris said.

The late morning shooting at an airport employee parking lot was an apparent homicide and suicide, Morris said. No names were immediately released.

Morris said the husband and wife were estranged, but investigators weren’t sure of a motive for the shooting.

The wife and the second TSA employee were commuting to work; the husband apparently followed his wife to the lot, blocked her in her car by his vehicle, and then began firing, Morris said.

The other TSA worker wasn’t hurt, police said. Morris said the wife and the other TSA employee, a man, were not romantically involved. The shooting occurred at a lot north of the airport in an industrial area along Interstate 480

South Carolina DOT worker struck-killed by DUI driver www.privateofficer.com

Columbia SC Dec 5 2012 The South Carolina Department of Public Safety says 39-year-old Thomas Stafford of West Columbia has been charged with felony DUI and leaving the scene of an accident involving death.

This is not the first time Stafford has been charged with DUI. He was arrested on November 19 in Pine Ridge for driving under the influence.

DPS says Stafford was traveling west on I-20 around 1:35 p.m. Monday afternoon when he swerved to the right into the emergency lane and hit 21-year-old Nicholas Johnson of Columbia. Stafford continued on I-20 until eventually stopping on the side of the road.

Wendy Williams worked with Johnson. She says he was new to the department — only a year and a half into it. She can’t believe he’s dead because they were together earlier in the day.

“He took me and another young lady to the Flying J for lunch,” said Williams. “We just had soda pop and a pizza.”

Williams says the newcomer asked her for advice about career longevity. What she told him now makes her think.

“Be patient,” said Williams. “It gets better.”

SCDOT says Johnson worked primarily at the Richland County facility. Grief counselors will be there Tuesday. As for Stafford, investigators say it is unclear at this time what caused him to swerve into the emergency lane and hit Johnson.

Two people killed at Wichita Dollar General store www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Wichita KS Dec 2 2012  Police have few details about the death of two people inside a northeast Wichita store. It happened shortly after 8 p.m. Friday at the Dollar General near East 13th Street North and Oliver.

Deputy Police Chief Nelson Mosley said officers responded to the business on the report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found two dead inside.

Mosley said he could not release any details about the victims until their families had been notified.

Several witnesses were taken to city hall to be interviewed by detectives. Police are also reviewing security video that may have captured what happened.

Son kills father in grisly murder-suicide at a Wyoming community college www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Casper WY Dec 2 2012 Police released more details Saturday of a grisly murder-suicide at a Wyoming community college, saying a man shot his father in the head with a bow and arrow in front of a computer science class not long after fatally stabbing his father’s live-in girlfriend at their home a couple of miles away.

Computer science instructor James Krumm, 56, may have saved some of his students’ lives Friday by giving them time to flee while trying to fend off his son, Christopher Krumm, 25, ofVernon, Conn., Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh said.

“I can tell you the courage that was demonstrated by Mr. Krumm was absolutely without equal,” he said, adding that his actions could offer some measure of comfort to those affected by the killings.

Walsh said police still were trying to figure out what motivated Christopher Krumm to attack his father and girlfriend, 42-year-old Heidi Arnold, a math instructor at the college. Arnold was found stabbed to death in front of the home she shared with James Krumm.

After shooting his father with the arrow, Christopher Krumm stabbed himself, then fatally stabbed his father in the chest in a struggle in the classroom, Walsh said.

Police arrived to find James Krumm dead and Christopher Krumm barely living; the younger Krumm died soon after students fled in a panic. Authorities locked down the campus for two hours.

“Bow and arrow” type attack leaves three dead at Wyoming college, police say

Casper College Attack Update: Suspect, victims in Wyo. slayings had relationship, say police

Police began getting reports about the attack on Arnold soon after they responded by the dozen to the campus attack.

Christopher Krumm had smuggled the compound bow — a type much more powerful and effective for hunting than a simple, wooden bow — onto campus beneath a blanket, Walsh said.

He said Christopher Krumm also had two knives with him, and the knife used was “very large.”

“It’s one of those situations you don’t think is going to come home. It’s not going to happen here,” Walsh said.

Arnold died of multiple stab wounds. Her body was found in the gutter of her street, and evidence suggested much of the attack occurred outside the home, Walsh said.

Heather Meier, who lives across the street, said she came home from work Friday afternoon after picking up her 7-year-old daughter from school, and the two saw Arnold’s body still lying in the street.

“As soon as we got home, we just shut the curtains,” she said. “You know, tried to just watch some TV, have some snacks, mind our own business.”

Meier, who has lived in the neighborhood for two years, said she met Arnold and James Krumm only once a few months ago and described the couple as very private.

“They were kind of different. Really quiet. Nothing really to say to anybody,” she said Saturday. Outside her home, crime tape cordoned off Krumm and Arnold’s faded blue and yellow home and part of the street.

Christopher Krumm, who had no significant history of encounters with police, had recently driven to Casper from Connecticut and had been staying at a local hotel.

Police were uncertain what went awry in Christopher Krumm’s relationship with his father.

“It’s difficult to say. I don’t think it was very close,” Walsh said.

Meanwhile in Vernon, Conn., police Sgt. Timothy O’Connor said officers executed a search warrant at Christopher Krumm’s last known address Friday to help investigators in Casper. He didn’t know what investigators were looking for or may have found at the residence.

“Whatever was recovered will be turned over to Wyoming because it is an active investigation,” O’Connor said.

Christopher Krumm’s previous addresses include one in the western Massachusetts city ofSpringfield and others in the Colorado cities of Golden, Fort Collins and Lakewood.

Casper, population 56,000, is about 250 miles northwest of Denver and Wyoming’s second-largest city after the state capital, Cheyenne. Wyomingites refer to Casper as the “Oil City” because it is a hub of the state’s oil industry.

Casper College is one of seven colleges in Wyoming’s community college system. The campus was mostly quiet Saturday morning. Fathers and sons shot hoops in the school gym. A small group of drama students rehearsed a play in the school theater just across the street from the attack.

The building where the attack happened remained cordoned off by police tape that whipped in a brisk wind. A security guard let students back in, one at a time, to retrieve belongings they’d left behind.

Andra Charter, a 20-year-old sophomore, emerged with a coffee mug. She recalled hearing screams outside her biology class before getting word about what had happened.

“As we were walking out, there was a girl screaming, `There’s somebody stabbing Mr. Krumm!”‘ Charter said.

No students were hurt in the attack.

James Krumm was head of the college’s computer science department. He was born north ofLondon and also spent part of his childhood in Germany, according to the college website.

He held degrees from Casper College, a bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University ofWyoming and a master’s in computer science from Colorado State University.

Arnold held a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Oregon and a bachelor’s degree in math from University of California Davis.

The college planned a candlelight vigil and memorial service Tuesday.

Two killed in Indianapolis ConAgra shooting www.privateofficer.com

 

INDIANAPOLIS IN Nov 18 2012

A man fatally shot a co-worker, then turned the gun on himself at a workplace in northwestIndianapolis.

A witness told police a male employee entered a break room at ConAgra Foods at 4300 W. 62nd Street around 6:30 p.m. Friday. The man made eye contact with another male employee, but there were no words exchanged.

The man then left the room, then returned a short time later with a gun. He fired several shots, striking the man an unknown number of times, then shot himself. Police say the victim had his back turned to the shooter.

The shooter was pronounced dead at the scene of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His victim was taken to St. Vincent Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“It’s unknown at this time were he got the gun from. There are surveillance cameras around. Homicide is looking into that. That’s one of the things that we are investigating as well as talking to witnesses at this time,” said IMPD Ofc. Mike Hewitt.

A motive for the shooting remains under investigation. Police are not releasing the names of the victims until their families can be notified.

According to MacRae’s Blue Book, the ConAgra facility “manufactures edible fats & oils, cheese, eggs and egg substitutes, milk and butter products, dairy products and eggs, engineering and research and technology-based services.”

Trucks continued to pull in to the plant. Even after the shooting, the parking lot was still full of vehicles.

Eyewitness News called to ask the plant if they were in fact still open, but the human resources department had no comment.

source-WTHR