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Starting March 1 2013, a number of changes to our forums, news services and training offerings will take effect.
Job Openings-our job postings-openings will increase with top notch positions and top rated companies in the high end markets. Colleges, hospitals, in-house departments, law enforcement, training and management positions.
We will not accept non-management job listings from contract services who are not POI members any longer.
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News Services-Our news blogs will remain free to all however premium content, area specific news and business news will be restricted to POI members or premium members only.
Training As with any business, we must balance free offerings with our paid services and we will continue to offer some free training content and on-line courses however certifications, diploma programs and premium training will be available to non members at a reasonable price and to members at a discounted fee.
Private Officer International will be announcing a new Premium Service which will allow for any user to subscribe to news, training, services and products about specific areas of security, public safety, loss prevention or private police which will be tailored to the specific needs of the user.
Private Officer International continues to be on the cutting edge of the security-public safety industry and is a leader in an array of related services, products and training.
For comments, questions or to inquire about the Premium Services please contact me at
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JOIN AN EXCITING SECURITY ASSOCIATION!
ATLANTA GA OCT 31 2011
Private Officer International is a cutting edge security-law enforcement association offering more than 40 member benefits including training discounts, hotel-auto discounts, death benefits, legal assistance and more!
Network with security professionals across the nation and around the world!
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Georgia susbstitute teacher pregnant with student’s twin babies www.privateofficer.com
Police said the teacher, Rene Frank, 27, also told them she is pregnant with twins and the 17-year-old student is the father.
Channel 2′s Tom Jones was in the courtroom for Frank’s first court appearance.
Jones said Frank walked in and immediately began crying.
A judge denied bond for Frank, at which point Jones said she began to cry again. Frank is charged with sexual assault against a person under supervision in a school.
According to police documents and an arrest warrant, Frank taught math at Charles Drew High School in Riverdale. Officers said the 17-year-old student told a teacher he was involved in a sexual relationship with Frank. That teacher told the principal and police were called.
Officers said they questioned Frank and she admitted the allegations were true. Police said she told officers that the student’s father asked her to give his son a ride to school and that’s when the relationship progressed. The sex took place in Frank’s car off campus, police said.
Students at the school said they heard about the relationship, but not the pregnancy.
“It’s crazy. Nasty,” said Drew High School student David Grier.
A parent of another Drew High School student was disgusted after hearing about the allegations.
“Well, it’s kind of sickening, you know. You send the kids up here for education and then this type of thing going on in the schools,” parent Carlotta Thornton said. “It’s crazy. If I was the parent, I’d be upset. I would be totally upset.”
According to police records, another Drew High School student told police he also had a sexual relationship with Frank, but Frank denied that. Police said their investigation continues.
Frank’s attorney, Meg Strickler, said her client is innocent until proven guilty, and people should let the court process work.
A Clayton County School System spokesman said he couldn’t comment because it is a personnel issue. Frank told police she is now unemployed.
The 17-year-old student’s mother said the relationship with the teacher has had an adverse affect on him and that he is trying to get his life together.
Source:WSBTV
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Our special guests on Wednesday’s radio program are two seasoned law enforcement officers, security trainers and use of force experts.
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Jacksonville Walmart employee faces felony theft charges www.privateofficer.com
According to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police report, on Friday, Jeanae Paige, 22, of Jacksonville was working as a cashier when she was approached by a black male who handed her a Walmart money card.
Police said Paige put $818 on the card, but video surveillance showed the man did not hand over any cash in exchange for the credit. Then she requested cash from her supervisor and gave the man $818 cash for a total of $1,636 in cash and credit.
According to the report, Paige told police she did not remember the transaction and could not explain why she did not receive money from the man but put money onto his card. She also had no explanation for why she gave the man cash.
Police have identified a man who matches the man with the gift card on the surveillance video.
She is is charged with employee theft between $300 and 4,999.
Alabama parent arrested after bringing shotgun to school www.privateofficer.com
Thomas Brian Smoak was arrested Tuesday and charged with having a weapon on school grounds and making a terrorist threat.
Athens Police Capt. Floyd Johnson says dispatchers were told the school had received a call informing them a father of one of the students was on his way with a shotgun. Officers arrived and learned that a student had been involved in an incident and that his father was upset over the way it was handled.
Johnson says Smoak’s vehicle entered and exited the campus and was stopped by officers, who discovered the weapon and ammunition.
Man convicted in Texas security officer slaying www.privateofficer.com
source:star-telegram — A 25-year-old Dallas man was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison Thursday in the 2008 shooting death of a security guard at a game room in east Arlington.
Jurors deliberated less than two hours before finding Kerry Michael Dronso guilty of killing Ali Ahmed Aziz, 42, a father of four who had immigrated from Iraq in early 2000.
Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, so the life sentence was automatically imposed by state District Judge Scott Wisch.
The robbery and slaying occurred just before 6 a.m. Sept. 14, 2008, at the Bida L.A. game room on East Arkansas Lane. Aziz was shot as he and robbers struggled as he went for his weapon to protect himself and patrons, prosecutors Robert Huseman and Arthur Clayton said.
Arlington police arrested Dronso and Chris Lewis Money, 20, also of Dallas, a few days after publicizing surveillance video of two men robbing another game room.
Dronso was implicated in the shooting by fingerprints and multiple witnesses. His defense attorneys, Fred Cummings and Larry Moore, argued that Dronso did not kill Aziz intentionally. Prosecutors must prove intent to win a murder conviction.
The shooting occurred during a struggle, Moore said.
“The problem with robbery is that you can’t control the situation,” Moore said after the verdict. “There are going to be times when someone doesn’t do what you ask, but rarely does someone go into a robbery with the intent to shoot someone.”
Huseman disagreed. “He went into the location and committed a robbery and shot Mr. Aziz in the torso,” Huseman said after the trial. “He didn’t shoot up in the air, and as a result the bullet ricocheted and struck the victim.”
Prosecutors said that after Dronso shot Aziz, he went into the business’s office and took a filing cabinet that was being used as a safe.
Money was also charged with capital murder. His trial date has not been set but could be this summer, authorities said.
Legendary golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez victim of home invasion www.privateofficer.com
Puerto Rico May 20 2010 Legendary golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez and his wife were robbed at gunpoint early today by four men who broke into his Puerto Rico home, bound the couple and fled with cash, jewelry and other items, according to a report on TMZ.com
Rodriguez, 74, told TMZ that the men were in his home for about 45 minutes after the robbers tied up a security guard and broke in at around 1:30 a.m. while he and his wife were sleeping.
Rodriguez, however, described the robbers as gentle with his wife, though they even stole the wedding ring from her finger while ransacking the home, the TMZ report said. Several reports estimated the amount stolen during the robbery at $500,000
Security guard sent to prison for sexual assault of hospital patient www.privateofficer.com
Source:WISN
Milwaukee County’s privatization efforts have raised questions about what the county knows about those doing its work.
WISN 12 News learned a security guard paid to transport patients is serving prison time for sexually assaulting one of them.
The private security guard was paid by a county contractor.
Two years ago, Sherri Lorimer thought she was as low as she could go when she ended up here at the Milwaukee county mental health complex.
“I lost my job my whole world fell apart. I got extremely drunk,” Lorimer said. “The police came, they actually kicked down the door, took me to mental health. They said I’d get help there.”
When she got to the Milwaukee County mental health complex, the staff decided Lorimer needed to go to detox. So, a private security guard loaded her into a squad car and headed to the Genesis Detox Center on Milwaukee’s north side. But blocks from detox, the guard took a turn down an alley.
“I remember thinking, what am I going to do, the man’s got a gun, where am I going to go,” Lorimer said. “I thought I was going to die that day.”
Lorimer said she believes people should know what happened to her at the hands of a guard paid to protect her.
“He knew right where he was going, there’s no way anyone can tell me that he has not done this before, that he’s not been here before,” she said.
Police arrested 25-year-old Alex Gonzalez that night, but released him. Prosecutors charged him 8 months later after DNA test results corroborated Lorimer’s story.
Lorimer said she felt victimized again when she learned her attacker’s history. Gonzalez had no valid state license to work security and worse yet, he was an ex-con with a lengthy rap sheet Gonzalez was out on bail when he raped her.
“Heck I can’t even get some jobs because of my background, how is this man carrying a gun, working for a security company, transporting vulnerable people,” Lorimer said.
Alex Gonzalez worked for Wisconsin Security Police Services, which contracted with the county’s detox provider, and eventually the county itself, to transport patients from the mental health complex.
In a written statement, Wisconsin Security Police “denied allegations of wrongdoing (and) specifically denied contentions regarding the absence of background checks performed in the context of its hiring practices.”
Genesis Behavioral Services said it expects its contractors to conduct “a criminal background check, a review of applicable licensing, a detailed check of references.” So does Milwaukee County.
“This individual never came up as someone who was going to be dealing with our patients,” said Lisa Marks who runs Milwaukee County’s health and human services.
Marks said county contracts require private firms to check the backgrounds of those they employ. She said privatization makes it easier to get rid of problem employees.
“Had that been a Milwaukee County employee there would have been a union process to go through and a civil service process to go through to maybe say this is not the employee we want here,” Marks said.
Nonetheless, two years after Gonzalez sexually assaulted Sherri Lorimer the company that hired him still transports patients from Milwaukee County Mental Health.
“That they’re still transporting blows my mind that they’re still transporting people,” Lorimer said.
Lorimer thinks that puts the county’s most vulnerable citizens at risk.
“I’m scared to death for those people. I’m scared to death for anybody who goes to mental health. I’m scared to death for them, I’ll never be back there, ever,” Lorimer said.
Gonzalez is currently serving a five year prison sentence. As for the county, it tells 12 News it audits its contractors’ employee records to ensure the proper background checks have been completed.
Milwaukee County also said it has terminated its relationship with the security company for reasons unrelated to Lorimer’s sexual assault. The county said another company simply outbid Wisconsin Security Police for that contract.
PRIVATE OFFICER MEMORIAL WEEK
2010 PRIVATE OFFICER MEMORIAL WEEK
Immediate Release
ATLANTA GA
MAY 17 2010
The 2nd Annual INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE OFFICER MEMORIAL WEEK has been scheduled for SEPTEMBER 19-25 2010.
This week has been designated for security officers along with law enforcement and others in the security community, families, friends and the general public to pay their respects and gratitude to more than 450 Private Security Officers who have been killed in the line of duty during the past six years and the many others who died before that in service to those that they were hired to protect, serve, and guard, preventing harm that would otherwise come against their employer’s property, employees, visitors and the general public.
This year’s Memorial Week will include numerous events scheduled in Atlanta Georgia Nashville TN. and in Charlotte North Carolina.
On September 20th the event will begin with a live event and by reading the names of all security personnel killed on duty in the past five years.
In addition to this, a special remarks wall on the Private Officer website will be available for family members, friends and other visitors to leave notes, poems, songs, pictures and other mementos for these fallen hero’s.
A candlelight vigil and prayer by the association Chaplain will also take place on Wednesday evening in downtown Atlanta and in Nashville and Charlotte. Other events are also planned in numerous other states and in the U.K., Brazil, Canada, and Australia and a number of other countries.
Each year, more than eighty security officers are killed in the U.S. while in the performance of their duties. Internationally, more than one
thousand security officers are killed yearly while in the performance of their duties as they protect and serve.
PRIVATE OFFICER INTERNATIONAL
PRIVATE OFFICER MEMORIAL WEEK 2010
SEPTEMBER 19-25 2010
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
There are a number of ways for you to be involved in the 2nd Annual Private Officer Memorial week.
First, you can help to get the word out to your co-workers and other security personnel in your area. Make them aware of this very
important and special week.
Second, you can send a letter of announcement to your media, and local officials including your mayor and state governor and ask that
a Proclamation for Private Officer Memorial week be issued.
(We will provide you with the letter and all materials.)
Third, you can hold a small memorial at your office or place of business or a local park during that week. It does not have to be a large
production. A few minutes reading the names of security officers killed from your states, a minute of silence or a prayer is all that is
necessary.
(We will supply the names of deceased officers from your state)
Forth, if you are a uniformed officer, you may also wear a black band over your badge.
We also welcome any further suggestions that you might have for this event.
Alabama Troopers nab truck driver loaded with cocaine www.privateofficer.com
Jose Antonio Herrera was charged with unlawful possession with the intent to distribute cocaine in a complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He is in custody and is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Birmingham before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul W. Greene.
“This is a huge seizure of cocaine made by Alabama State Troopers, working in conjunction with the DEA,” said Peggy Sanford, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Birmingham. “This seizure takes about $2.8 million worth of cocaine out of the drug pipeline that runs through Birmingham and other southeastern cities between Mexico and Atlanta.”
Details of Herrera’s arrest were outlined in an affidavit filed by a state trooper who is assigned as a drug investigator to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and also works with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration task force.
According to the affidavit, here is what happened:
Alabama State Trooper Corporal Darrell Seymour, a certified commercial vehicle inspector, pulled over a tractor trailer for an inspection along Interstate 20/59 on May 13. The driver was nervous and Seymour noticed what he believed to be an aftermarket compartment below the bottom bunk in the sleeper berth.
During the inspection the trooper got Herrera’s consent to search both the tractor and trailer. .
Seymour, with the help of another trooper, found 99 kilogram-sized bundles under a bunk in the berth of the truck’s cab and then under a trap door. A field test confirmed that the substance was cocaine
“Mr. Herrera’s arrest and the seizure of nearly 100 kilograms of cocaine from a tractor-trailer after it was stopped on Interstate 20/59 shows what can be accomplished through good police work,” Sanford said.
Arrested security guard smuggles gun into jail www.privateofficer.com
He was arrested by Laredo police and somehow the gun went undetected.
Authorities are now looking into how officers could have missed the weapon.
An off duty security officer caught speeding in south Laredo lands in jail, but not before trying to bring his gun with him.
Now Laredo police are explaining how it all happened and sheriff’s officials say they’re sure it could happen again.
“Police officers are human beings. By nature human beings are fallible.”
Human error.
It’s how police say 20-year-old Alfonso Ruiz junior managed to sneak a gun past officers and into the Webb County jail.
Authorities say the off duty security officer was arrested for speeding in south Laredo, clocking in at over 100 miles an hour in a 45 zone.
He was in full uniform but his gun was missing.
“They directly asked him where the weapon was. He denied anything, and as per procedure officers gave him a pat down,” says Joe Baeza.
He was taken to jail, where sheriff’s deputies later realized officers had missed something.
Ruiz was hiding the gun in his underwear.
The sheriff’s department did not fault anyone for the error, but do say officers were put in a serious situation.
“Once a weapon gets into a correctional facility that we don’t know about anything could happen. The safety of the officers surely is in peril,” says Chief Federico Garza.
A sheriff’s department official says it’s not the first time an inmate has smuggled in a weapon into this jail. In the past 25 years, three guns have been found inside.
“There’s no doubt that this happens. Iit won’t be the first or the last like I said, but it’s up to us as administrators to prepare or implement security plans to prevent this from happening.”
Laredo police say the department is not downplaying the potentially deadly incident and will fully investigate officer procedures.
“We’re grateful that nothing did happen but we’re not going to take any chances with the security of our officers out on the field or within our department or any other division.”
Officials with the Webb County Sheriff’s department say a more intensive intake procedure at the jail was implemented last year.
They say without it, it’s possible the weapon could have made it even further into the jail.
As for Ruiz, he will face charges of reckless driving, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of an illegal item in a correctional facility.
He told police he worked for Tenorio security.
Police say he was not licensed to carry a gun.
We tried contacting Tenorio security and their phone lines were busy all afternoon.
And according to the Texas Department of Public Safety website, the company’s insurance is suspended.
Ruiz is also not listed as a current or previous employee with the company.
Law firm partner accused of putting camera under female employee’s desk
Cobb County police said a female employee of Merritt and Tenney Law Firm told them that she found a video camera hidden under her desk.
The law firm is located in the 200 block of Galleria Parkway.
Cobb police said James Frederick Tenney, 57, of Marietta, surrendered at the Cobb County Jail Friday afternoon.
Tenney is charged with three counts of unlawful surveillance and will be held on a $10,000 bond.
Home Depot shoplifters threatened to shoot security www.privateofficer.com
After being approached, the two men took off in different directions.
One of them ended up at Bret Bradshaw’s East Valley home.
“He ended up walking into our house and we told him to get out,” said Bradshaw.
Bradshaw said the suspect, Christopher Gomez, didn’t want to go easy.
But it turned out Bradshaw wasn’t the only one home. So was his roommate, Scotty Cash, and Cash’s brother.
“He fought all the way out of the house, he fought all the way out of the house and my brother got him out some way or another,” said Cash.
But not even three men inside the home could stop Gomez from breaking in a second time.
Cash said after getting kicked out the first time, Gomez snuck back into the house through the back door.
“He was in my bed with a cover over him. And I would have never noticed it,” said Cash.
Tucked away and hidden in the back bedroom, Gomez may have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for the family dog, Ashes, who alerted everyone the man had returned.
“The dog let us know that he was back in the house,” said Cash.
After being spotted, Cash’s brother hand delivered Gomez to police who were waiting outside after a neighbor called 911 when seeing all the commotion.
“My brother had him around the waist, had him up in the air and picked him up and put him right there on the sidewalk and said ‘There’s your man,’” said Cash.
Police are still searching for the second suspect.
SC store clerk killed during robbery www.privateofficer.com
Multiple media outlets reported that the clerk died Monday afternoon after being shot at the store in Bennettsville. Marlboro County Coroner Tim Brown says 44-year-old Samer Hussein died at a local hospital.
Bennettsville Police Chief Larry McNeil says a suspect tried to rob the store late Monday morning and shot the clerk.
Investigators are working on a sketch of a suspect. No arrests have been reported.
Murder-Suicide at Winter Haven Hospital
WINTER HAVEN FLA May 11 2010 – An elderly husband and wife are dead in an apparent murder-suicide that took place early Monday afternoon at Winter Haven Hospital, police reported.
The victims were identified as Patricia Duckworth, 76, a patient at the hospital, and her husband, Raymon J. Duckworth, 77, said Sgt. Brad Coleman, a spokesman for the Winter Haven Police Department.
Coleman said the victims’ last known address is 189 Egret Drive, Haines City.
The emergency call about shootings at the hospital came in at 1:23 p.m., Coleman said. He said there were no eyewitnesses to the shootings, which took place in the main hospital building on the fifth floor. Someone on the hospital staff heard gunshots, found the victims and then called police.
The hospital is at 200 Ave. F, N.E., and First Street North. The shootings were in a private room, Room 561, on the medical-surgical floor, Coleman said.
Coleman said detectives have the weapon used in the shootings, but information about it wasn’t immediately available.
Winter Haven Hospital spokesman Joel Thomas said that as far as he knows, the hospital had never been the site of a shooting prior to Monday’s incident, which police called “isolated.”
In interviews with WTSP-TV Channel 10, the CBS affiliate in Tampa, neighbors of the Duckworths said the couple were well known in their manufactured housing community and did everything together. They told Channel 10 that Patricia Duckworth had a stroke about a month ago and that her husband drove every day from Haines City to Winter Haven to visit his wife in the hospital.
Target security agent run over by fleeing crossdressing shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
Authorities said Tony Lamar Wilson, 28, was charged with first-degree attempted assault and third-degree robbery after he turned himself in to Dothan Police Lt. Keith Gray.
Dothan Police Investigator Chris Barbaree said Wilson dressed as a woman and attempted to shoplift around 1 p.m. on Saturday when a Target security employee attempted to detain him.
Wilson fought the employee, entered a vehicle and then hit the security agent with the vehicle before fleeing, causing moderate injuries, Barbaree said.
Multiple Dothan police units, a Houston County Sheriff’s Canine Unit and the Dale County Sheriff’s Air Unit spent time tracking Wilson throughout Saturday afternoon.
Gray said Wilson decided to turn himself in after the search.
It was the Dale County air unit that flew over Gray as he met Wilson in an undisclosed location, Gray said.
“It doesn’t happen often that a suspect wants to meet with you, but the air unit followed me all the way to the station. We’re certainly appreciative for that assistance,” Gray said.
“We’ve been working jointly to integrate the unit to work with us on the apprehension of serious crimes such as this, especially in tracking.”
A bond was not set for Wilson as of 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The name of the Target employee who was injured was not released.
Little Rock school security supervisor arrested www.privateofficer.com
The Little Rock school district just placed 48 year old Robert Moore on leave as it conducts its own internal investigation. This as Little Rock police are moving forward with a case they say is all caught on camera.
Little Rock schools hire security guards to make sure your children are safe. This week, a security supervisor found himself on the other side of the law.
Police say it happened when Moore hired a new female security guard at the district’s security office.
“He interviewed her, told her she needed to try on some uniforms, she went into a room where the uniforms were,” Lt. Terry Hastings said.
That’s when police say she saw a camera recording her every move.
“She took the tape out of it, finished her interview with Mr. Moore and then left,” Hastings said.
Now the DVD with the evidence is in the hands of investigators.
“It’s unfortunate that sometimes people make bad choices often that result in consequences,” Tiffany Hoffman of Little Rock Schools said.
School officials placed Moore on leave. They don’t believe he’s ever done this.
“The good part is the aspect of his job does not take him into the schools so we don’t believe that any students were in harm’s way,” Hoffman said.
FOX16 went to the home listed as Moore’s address. No one answered the door.
“It kind of causes a bad image when you have this happen to whatever agency is involved in it,” Lt. Hastings said.
Police arrested Moore Wednesday and he got out of jail on a $2500 bond. He’s charged with Video Voyeurism, a Class D felony.
Police would not comment on what was caught on camera. Officers say they have to present it as evidence in court.
Nye County DA charged with embezzlement www.privateofficer.com
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office says 49-year-old Beckett is facing 20 counts of fraudulent appropriation of funds, 20 counts of misconduct, as well one count of embezzlement and one count of malfeasance. His bail is set at more than $200,000.
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office alleges that Beckett operated a bad check program through the District Attorney’s Office that collected funds and dispersed them at the sole direction of Beckett. Investigators say a review of the funds showed numerous donations to community organizations and payments to individuals.
Guard charged with falsely reporting robbery www.privateofficer.com
WhiteWhite, a contracted security guard, reported shortly after 9 Sunday that he had interrupted a burglary in progress. He told police he chased a suspect, whom he identified, into a wooded area nearby.
During their investigation, police discovered several inconsistencies in White’s story, which led to his confession that he had staged the burglary.
False reporting of a crime is punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Avondale Arizona teacher charged with rape of student www.privateofficer.com
Brian Willner, 35, was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on one count each of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor. He was arrested at his Litchfield Park home at 1:15 p.m., Avondale police spokesman Rueben Gonzales said.
The girl, a special education student, told her mom on April 16 that Willner raped her at the Avondale school a few weeks earlier, according to an Avondale police report. The report gives the following account:
Willner excused the girl from class and brought her into his office. He grabbed her by the arms and took her to the ground. She told officers “she was unable to defend herself because she was not strong enough” and “she felt a lot of pain.”
The girl confronted Willner about the alleged rape. He threatened to “kill” her mother if she told anyone what happened.
Once her mom found out, she brought her daughter to Banner Boswell Medical Center in Sun City and called police. A nurse examined the girl and found evidence of rape through internal bruising and cuts. She also tested positive for Chlamydia.
Interviewed at the police station, Willner denied raping the girl. He volunteered to a “computer voice stress analysis test,” which showed “deception with answers pertaining to” the rape accusations, the report states.
Investigators obtained a court order to test Willner for Chlamydia, which came back positive Monday.
The girl “suffers” from bipolar disorder, psychosis and ADHD, according to the police report. Police believe the alleged rape was a one-time occurrence, but are looking into the possibility of additional victims.
Dennis Runyan, superintendent of the Agua Fria Union High School District, told The Arizona Republic on Monday afternoon that Willner had been on paid leave from the school, 530 E. Riley Drive, since police “requested an opportunity to speak with him” Friday.
District and school officials said they’ll cooperate fully with police during the investigation. Runyan said a letter will be sent home to parents Tuesday.
“The school has made appropriate arrangements to cover the teacher’s classes and other professional responsibilities,” Runyan wrote in a statement Monday. “Our Number One priority is always the safety of all of our students.”
Willner started his career in the Litchfield Elementary School District in 2002 and worked in special education programs at Verrado Elementary School in Buckeye and White Tanks Learning Center near Buckeye.
“I thought he always made decisions in the best interests of our kids. He was a good employee,” said Heather Cruz, Litchfield’s assistant superintendent, who was Verrado Elementary School’s principal while Willner worked there.
Willner left Litchfield in 2008 because of “other opportunities,” according to his resignation letter obtained by The Republic.
Agua Fria High School Principal Matt Smith hired Willner in 2008.
Waffle House patron killed during robbery www.privateofficer.com
BATON ROUGE, La. May 4 2010
BY: BRETT DAVIS/STAFF
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS – Baton Rouge police are investigating the shooting of a restaurant patron who would not cooperate with an armed robber.
Police said the 54-year-old Georgia man was killed during an early morning holdup at a Waffle House restaurant when he apparently tried to disarm the suspect.
Sgt. Don Kelly said David George DeMersseman of Valdosta was the only customer when a masked gunman who appeared to have socks on his hands entered about 1:20 a.m. Monday.
Kelly said DeMersseman was shot when he tried to grab the gun as the man was taking his wallet.
Police said the gunman then took cash from the till and ran.
Police have no suspects yet in this robbery homicide.
National Guard ready to respond to oil spill www.privateofficer.com
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal sent letters to federal officials asking them to approve funding to activate up to 6,000 Guardmembers to assist in the response to the oil spill.
In letters to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and to Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Governor Jindal said the Guard “will provide security, medical capabilities, engineers and communication support in response to this threat.”
“Currently, our Soldiers and Airmen are staging for and are engaged in the planning of the effort to evacuate and provide security and clean up for the coastal communities expected to be impacted by the oil spill,” he wrote. “They are engaged in the protection of vital infrastructure to include medical facilities, fuel distribution, interstate highways, water-ice distribution and power facilities, which are all vital to the recovery of coastal Louisiana.”
Governor Jindal went on to say that he “believe(s) these National Guard operations are necessary and appropriate to protect this region of our nation from a significant national event with potential catastrophic loss of natural resources.”
Officials in other Gulf Coast states, including Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, reported they are in close contact with state and federal officials and are ready to respond with Guard personnel and equipment if called out to assist in their communities.
“Right now, we are taking a look at the assets that are available and the possible missions that our Guard forces could receive, as far as dealing with an oil spill,” said Army Maj. Christian Patterson, Mississippi Guard spokesman. “We are looking at everything and waiting to see what happens, to be ready to do whatever we are called on to do.”
Major Patterson said the Mississippi Guard has a number of assets that can be used in such an emergency, including security forces to support police at checkpoints, aviation assets for aerial reconnaissance missions and civil engineers.
Army Maj. Cynthia Bachus, the state public affairs officer for the Alabama Guard, said her state is also monitoring the situation. “We have drill this weekend … so if something does occur we will be here,” she said.
Air Force Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, the Florida state public affairs officer, said the Florida Guard is prepared to support the state’s Division of Emergency Management.
Although it is hard to speculate on missions they might perform, if called out, Colonel Tittle said they typically look at how they respond to natural disasters, like hurricanes, with engineering assets and serving at points of distribution for those affected in their communities.
“It just depends,” he said. “We just look at all the different possibilities and pull out our plans that we use to respond to other types of disasters and adapt a plan accordingly.”
Jacksonville will hire own school police
The move is expected to save the school district $1 million.
“It’s not enough to save schools’ money to pay the school resource officer bill to (the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office),” said Paul Soares, chief of operations of Duval County Schools.
Since 1995, JSO has put SROs in Duval middle and high schools. In 2006, it cost the district $3 million, and in 2009, it jumped to $4.2 million due to growing pension costs.
“When we get a JSO officer, he’s got at least 10 years. Most of them have 15, 20 years,” Soares said. “So they’re making a $60,000, $70,000 a year salary. With benefits, they’re making over $100,000.”
Jacksonville Schools To Hire Own Officers
The Duval County School Police Department is hiring qualified Florida Certified Law Enforcement Officers to serve as full-time patrol officers, school resource officers and investigative personnel, according to the release.
Duval County Public Schools currently partners with the JSO to provide SROs at schools, with the exception of two K-8 schools and three of the five Alternative to Out of School Suspension Centers.
The officers the school board is hiring will be certified law enforcement officers in the state of Florida, and the district is planning to recruit individuals who have previously served with sheriff’s offices or school police departments throughout the state, according to the release.
“JSO has like 150 officers retiring the next three years alone,” Soares said. “We’re probably going to pick off 10 or 20 of these guys that have school resource officer experience.”
Having its own school police will give the district full authority of SROs, meaning that officers will be on their assigned school campus full time, available for school personnel during regular working hours, according to the release. The officers will also patrol school campuses during winter, spring and summer breaks.
The district said it plans to hire nine SROs by July 1 and 15 additional officers by Oct. 1. A full transition of all JSO school police to the Duval County School Police Department, which will consist of 60 officers, will occur by October 2011, according to the release.
Sheriff John Rutherford released the following statement Wednesday afternoon: “This conversion of SROs from JSO officers to DCPS police is a cost savings opportunity for the JSO and the school district. Although the timeline is not as quick as I would like, this is being done by mutual agreement and we’re working closely to have a smooth transition.”
To be considered for the DCSPD, a qualified candidate must be a certified law enforcement officer in Florida and successfully complete a polygraph, background check, oral board and medical and psychological examinations. Interested and qualified applicants can apply online.
US Army Colonel arrested for child porn www.prvateofficer.com
Edgar Pagan-Torres, 41, of Peachtree City, made his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate judge on April 15, 2009, and was indicted Tuesday afternoon.
“This defendant allegedly sexually abused his own daughter and niece and then produced videos of his crimes, mementos that he carefully organized into home-video-style DVDs,” said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “This shocking and tragic conduct has no place in our nation’s military, nor anywhere else. I appreciate all the hard work the U.S. Army investigators did to bring this case to the FBI and to ensure that the defendant now faces these very serious charges.”
According to Yates, the indictment and evidence in public record and in court, Pagan-Torres was assigned to a military installation in Puerto Rico from 2004 to 2007. At that time, he and his family lived near Pagan-Torres’ sister, who has a daughter the same age as Pagan-Torres’ daughter.
In 2008, a year after Pagan-Torres and his family relocated to Peachtree City, Pagan-Torres’ niece alleged that Pagan-Torres had molested her and his daughter. In 2009, family members passed this information to law enforcement in Puerto Rico, resulting in Pagan-Torres’ guilty plea last month in Puerto Rico to criminal charges related to his niece’s molestation allegations.
At the same time the Puerto Rican authorities were investigating, agents from the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigations Division based at Fort McPherson seized various computers and digital media from Pagan-Torres’ home in Peachtree City. Searches of these items allegedly revealed sexually explicit videos Pagan-Torres had made involving his daughter and his niece. Some of the videos were allegedly made in Pagan-Torres’ home in Puerto Rico and others were made in his Peachtree City residence. Many of the alleged videos had been transferred from the original recording media to home video-style DVDs organized into chapters. Additional forensic work uncovered a large collection of child pornography Pagan-Torres had downloaded from the Internet.
The indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being investigated by special agents of the FBI, U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division, and the Peachtree City Police Department.
Assistant U.S. attorneys Robert McBurney and Jill Steinberg are prosecuting the case.
Armed fake cop arrested near Air Force One www.privateofficer.com
Joseph Sean McVey, 23, of Coshocton, Ohio, is charged with going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor, said Asheville Regional Airport Police Capt. Kevan Smith.
Security was heightened at the airport because President Barack Obama was leaving after spending the weekend vacationing in Asheville. He was headed to a memorial service for 29 West Virginia coal miners killed in an explosion.
At about 2 p.m., airport police saw McVey get out of a maroon car with Ohio plates and that he had a sidearm, Smith said. Both airport police and the Secret Service questioned him and he was taken into custody. The suspect was nowhere near the president’s plane, which had just departed, and was in a rental car return lot that is open to the public, Smith said.
His car was equipped with clear LED law enforcement-style strobe lights in the front and rear dash, Smith said. The car also had a mounted digital camera in the front window, four large antennas on the trunk lid, and under the steering wheel was a working siren box. Smith said McVey was not in law enforcement.
When McVey got out of the car, he was listening to a handheld scanner and radio that had a remote earpiece, Smith said. Police said he was monitoring local agencies and had formulas for rifle scopes on a note in his cup holder. Police did not immediately elaborate on what the formulas might mean and Smith was not available to comment late Sunday.
McVey gave authorities an Ohio driver’s license, but a computer check failed to show the number was valid, police said. His hometown of Coshocton is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio.
When Officer Kaleb Rice asked him what he was doing, McVey told him he heard the president was in town and wanted to see him.
Rice removed the firearm and took McVey into custody. He was being held at the Buncombe County jail on $100,000 bond.
The investigation into what McVey was doing with a gun, with formulas for rifle scopes and why his car was equipped with police gear was continuing, Smith said. The Secret Service had no comment on the arrest, deferring to airport police.
A jail officer said it didn’t appear McVey had an attorney. A person who answered a phone listing for Joseph McVey in Coshocton said he had no idea about an arrest.
Las Vegas security officer shot-killed www.privateofficer.com
Las Vegas NV.April 19 2010 A community center security guard is dead and Las Vegas police are seeking three assailants.
Police say the security officer was shot and killed late Sunday at the Pearson Community Center near Comstock Drive and Carey Avenue in North Las Vegas.
Las Vegas police Lt. Lewis Roberts says the guard was shot several times and police are looking for as many as three assailants.
The name of the security officer has not been released.
