For Some Reason Philadelphia Pennsylvania Police Officer William Thrasher Has A Problem With The Blacks Who Have Ruined The City

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA  A college class assignment may have gotten a Philadelphia police officer into some hot water.

William Thrasher, a white cop in the 22nd District, at 17th and Montgomery, has been put on desk duty after an article written by a Temple University student quoted him describing his disgust for black people in the district where he works, likening them to animals and calling their problems “typical n—- s—,” or “TNS,” during a ride-along with the student Jan. 30.

The article enraged The Guardian Civic League, an organization of black Philadelphia police officers, which is calling for his dismissal.

“[Thrasher] took an oath to protect all people,” said Rochelle Bilal, who heads the group. “If that’s the way he feels about black people, then he needs to be off our streets.”

The police Internal Affairs department is investigating. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said that that kind of inflammatory rhetoric will not be tolerated within the department.

“I’m not happy with this at all,” he said. “I take this very, very seriously. It’s not supposed to happen. You can’t serve people you don’t respect.”

Thrasher, 24, of Tacony, joined the force in February 2007, and was assigned to the 22nd District, a mostly black area of North Philadelphia.

The rookie cop made the incendiary remarks as he escorted Shannon McDonald, a senior journalism student, around the district, said Chris Harper, an associate journalism professor who edited the article.

The district is bordered by Montgomery and Lehigh avenues, 10th and 33rd streets.

At one point during the three-hour ride, Thrasher was quoted as saying that people in the neighborhood “don’t care about each other. . . . They’ll shoot each other for drugs, for money, for bull—-. All they care about is their reputation. They want to look tough.”

Thrasher was quoted recounting a homicide that occurred in the area: “These people are f—— disgusting,” he told McDonald. “It’s like they’re animals.”

Later in the article he defended his statements by claiming he isn’t racist.

“I’m not racist,” McDonald quoted him as saying in the article, which appeared on a Web site for Temple’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab. “I work with black people every day. They have jobs, they support their families, they’re good people. Most of the people who live in this area are bad people. And they happen to be black.”

Numerous calls to Thrasher’s home went unanswered.

Bilal, a 23-year veteran with the force, said that Thrasher’s comments suggest that he resents the people he is supposed to serve, and Bilal regrets that some officers bring that prejudice to the job.

“It’s the mindset of some of us [police officers] who haven’t been brought up in the city, or around people of color,” she said, referring to her dual identity of being a cop and an African-American.

Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore cautioned not to immediately judge the officer.

“We don’t know the validity of this article,” he said. “This is a student journalist. We don’t know how much of what she wrote is true, or who was there. There are a lot of variables.”

Harper said that he reviewed McDonald’s notes and stands by her story.

“I think Shannon and I were both amazed by the statements that were made by the police officer,” Harper said. “They’re clearly racist, they’re disturbing.

“The language [Thrasher used] is disturbing if it comes from anyone, in particular, a police officer,” he added.

Bilal, who grew up in North Philadelphia, near Marshall Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, said: “I was sick when I read that. I’ve lived in the city for 52 years and they’ve never disgusted me. My family is in North Philadelphia. Not everybody is a criminal.”

Race relations in the city have long been strained, and an incident like the one in which Thrasher is accused doesn’t help, said Chad Lassiter, an adjunct lecturer at the Graduate School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

“We want our police officers to have a moral imperative,” he said. “We don’t want them to display bigotry, discrimination and other forms of prejudice.”

Lassiter said that racism would impede an officer from objectively serving in the community.

“He can arrest and brutalize someone given he’s in the position of authority,” he said. “It’s not true justice.”

He said that if the allegations are true, Thrasher should undergo sensitivity and diversity training.

Meanwhile, Bilal and the civic league will meet tomorrow to decide how to proceed, she said.

“As a police officer, I was ashamed that I have a colleague who describes a group of people the way he did. Disciplinary action is a slap on the hand,” she said.

“They need to tell him to find a new career.” *

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Nutcase Denver County Colorado Deputy Sheriff Alvin Perez Reinstated After Brutal Attack On A Rabbit During A Work Break

DENVER, COLORADO  A Denver sheriff’s deputy who pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty for using Mace on a rabbit continues to oversee inmates at the Denver County Jail.

Alvin Perez, 41, was suspended for two months without pay and then was reinstated, said people familiar with the case. The date of his reinstatement was not available Monday.

A criminal complaint says that on May 28, Perez saw a rabbit near where he was standing outside the Denver County Jail during his break.

He got a can of Mace and sprayed the rabbit for no apparent reason.

Perez pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty and was sentenced in December to one year of supervised probation, a one-year suspended jail sentence and a $500 fine.

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Boston Massachusetts Police Trigger Bomb Scare Over Mannequin On Kenmore Square

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – The mannequin was found locked to the front door of the Bank of America at at 540 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston.

Kenmore Square is back open to traffic on Tuesday after a mannequin found locked to the front door of a Bank of America sparked a bomb scare.

The incident happened at 540 Commonwealth Ave. Crews were not sure if the mannequin was a bomb, or just a type of protest, so bomb squad members, along with a bomb-diffusing robot, suited up to investigate.

According to reports from the scene, officials did an x-ray on the mannequin, and determined it was not an explosive.

No injuries were reported, and customers were let back into the bank after a brief investigation.

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With Nothing Else To Do, West Allis Wisconsin Police Decide To Advertise Underaged Drinking Parties With Taxpayer Funded Yard Signs

WEST ALLIS, WISCONSIN – How do you prevent underage drinking parties? By telling everyone where the parties are taking place.

The West Allis Police Department plans to fight off underage drinking parties by putting up a yard sign where the party is taking place.

Basically, if police hear about a possible party, they’ll call the parents.

If that doesn’t work, then they’ll put up a yard-sign.

Those signs will also go up outside homes where a party is already in progress.

Police tell WestAllisnow.com they expect the program to be a proactive way to prevent tragedies, like car crashes.

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UK Metermaid Does A Lamp Post Pole-Dance While A Co-Worker Ticketed Illegally Parked Car

UK – They’re not exactly known for their gaiety whilst on patrol.

But there is one simple pleasure traffic wardens enjoy above everything else.

And for this enforcement officer the writing of yet another fine just had to be celebrated.

Whilst her colleague filled out the necessary paperwork she raised her arms in the air – and danced.

Not content with her mini workout though, the traffic warden then chose to ditch the rumba – for a little pole work.

Overjoyed that her colleague has booked a motorist, this parking officer breaks into a dance

Unaware she was being filmed the woman wrapped herself around the nearest lamp post and continued with her victory dance.

The mobile phone footage was captured by an anonymous bystander who watched the bizarre dance from a high-rise building opposite the car park in Hull, East Yorkshire, last week.

The two-minute film begins with the two traffic wardens approaching a white van parked illegally.

Leaving her colleague to write out the ticket the woman – dressed in full uniform – begins her routine by waving her hands in the air before bobbing up and down.

As if mimicking the hokey-cokey she then skips back towards her colleague before turning once more, this time kicking her legs up and down in the air alternately.

Finally she bobs up and down before the climax of her dance – around the car park lamp post.
The traffic warden dances and gyrates against a lamp post

The traffic warden dances and gyrates against a lamp post

She and her colleague then casually slip away and move on in their hunt to find illegally parked motorists.

Speaking from his home in Hull, the amateur cameraman, who was quick to draw his mobile phone camera as the one-woman street dance broke out, said it looked
as if she was doing a victory dance as her partner wrote out a ticket.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: ‘It was absolutely unbelievable. I was just staring out of the window at work and I spotted the two wardens checking out the white van.

‘Then, as one of them was checking out the van, the other just burst into this ludicrous dance. From where I was standing it definitely looked like she was dancing for
joy.

‘I might be wrong but to me it looked like a victory dance.’

A spokesperson for Hull City Council said: ‘Whilst the video footage does not show a civil enforcement officer placing a penalty charge notice on a vehicle, it does show unacceptable behaviour by another enforcement officer in the vicinity.

‘Our enforcement contractor is undertaking an investigation.

‘Parking enforcement is used as a means to encourage sensible parking and civil enforcement officers do not have any targets to achieve with regard to the issue of penalty charge notices.’

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Dumbass Chicago Illinois Police And Cook County Deputies Let Arrested Man Pass Through Justice System With Loaded Pistol In His Pants

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – In an embarrassing security breach, a man arrested on a drug charge was able to bring a loaded gun into the Cook County Jail complex — and into his bond hearing — before dumping it in a jail laundry room, prosecutors said Monday.

Police officers missed the palm-sized, .380 semiautomatic handgun when Bennie Ellison, 39, was arrested March 18 at 78th and Euclid, authorities said.

Bennie Ellison had a gun tied to the inside of the front of his pants and brought the weapon inside his Cook County Court bond hearing, according to prosecutors.

Ellison, of the 8200 block of South Chappel, had used the drawstring of his shorts to tie the gun so it dangled between his legs, Cook County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Patterson said.

The arresting officers patted him down and missed it. He was patted down again at the 4th District police station — where he spent the night — and again at Central Booking, but no one found the gun, authorities said.

The next day, he was taken to Central Bound Court at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California, where a sheriff’s deputy patted him down.

He then appeared in court — uncuffed — and had his bond set by a judge. He was then taken to the county jail, Patterson said.

Ellison managed to avoid a body scanner and a metal detector en route by slipping out of line and into a different line, Patterson said.

But when he was assigned to a jail division and realized he would have to change his clothes, he ditched the gun in a laundry room, Patterson said.

The gun, which had a bullet loaded in the chamber, was found two days later — March 21 — by a jail inmate who showed it to other inmates, although none of them touched it, prosecutors said.

Investigators traced the gun back to a Texas resident who had sold it another person who, in turn, sold it to Ellison, prosecutors said.

When questioned, Ellison gave a handwritten confession admitting he had the gun when he was arrested and brought before the judge. He also admitted dumping it in the laundry room, prosecutors said.

He told authorities he only kept it because he thought he might receive a low bond and be released soon, Patterson said.

Strip searches in the jail were recently ended after questions were raised in court about their legality. But the incident has led the sheriff’s office to re-examine the new procedures for searching detainees, Patterson said.

“Clearly, there were officers at the jail not doing their job and we’re in the process of taking statements from each one of them about how this could have happened,” Patterson said. “We’re taking this seriously and plan to enact discipline up to and including termination, if necessary.”

Ellison had initially been charged with possession of a controlled substance. He is now also charged with possession of contraband in a penal institution and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. He had a previous weapons violation on his record, officials said.

He was ordered held in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond.

Chicago Police officials said the incident is under investigation.

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With Nothing Else To Do, West Allis Wisconsin Police Decide To Advertise Underaged Drinking Parties With Taxpayer Funded Yard Signs

WEST ALLIS, WISCONSIN – How do you prevent underage drinking parties? By telling everyone where the parties are taking place.

The West Allis Police Department plans to fight off underage drinking parties by putting up a yard sign where the party is taking place.

Basically, if police hear about a possible party, they’ll call the parents.

If that doesn’t work, then they’ll put up a yard-sign.

Those signs will also go up outside homes where a party is already in progress.

Police tell WestAllisnow.com they expect the program to be a proactive way to prevent tragedies, like car crashes.

Appeared Here

UK Metermaid Does A Lamp Post Pole-Dance While A Co-Worker Ticketed Illegally Parked Car

UK – They’re not exactly known for their gaiety whilst on patrol.

But there is one simple pleasure traffic wardens enjoy above everything else.

And for this enforcement officer the writing of yet another fine just had to be celebrated.

Whilst her colleague filled out the necessary paperwork she raised her arms in the air – and danced.

Not content with her mini workout though, the traffic warden then chose to ditch the rumba – for a little pole work.

Overjoyed that her colleague has booked a motorist, this parking officer breaks into a dance

Unaware she was being filmed the woman wrapped herself around the nearest lamp post and continued with her victory dance.

The mobile phone footage was captured by an anonymous bystander who watched the bizarre dance from a high-rise building opposite the car park in Hull, East Yorkshire, last week.

The two-minute film begins with the two traffic wardens approaching a white van parked illegally.

Leaving her colleague to write out the ticket the woman – dressed in full uniform – begins her routine by waving her hands in the air before bobbing up and down.

As if mimicking the hokey-cokey she then skips back towards her colleague before turning once more, this time kicking her legs up and down in the air alternately.

Finally she bobs up and down before the climax of her dance – around the car park lamp post.
The traffic warden dances and gyrates against a lamp post

The traffic warden dances and gyrates against a lamp post

She and her colleague then casually slip away and move on in their hunt to find illegally parked motorists.

Speaking from his home in Hull, the amateur cameraman, who was quick to draw his mobile phone camera as the one-woman street dance broke out, said it looked
as if she was doing a victory dance as her partner wrote out a ticket.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: ‘It was absolutely unbelievable. I was just staring out of the window at work and I spotted the two wardens checking out the white van.

‘Then, as one of them was checking out the van, the other just burst into this ludicrous dance. From where I was standing it definitely looked like she was dancing for
joy.

‘I might be wrong but to me it looked like a victory dance.’

A spokesperson for Hull City Council said: ‘Whilst the video footage does not show a civil enforcement officer placing a penalty charge notice on a vehicle, it does show unacceptable behaviour by another enforcement officer in the vicinity.

‘Our enforcement contractor is undertaking an investigation.

‘Parking enforcement is used as a means to encourage sensible parking and civil enforcement officers do not have any targets to achieve with regard to the issue of penalty charge notices.’

Appeared Here

Dumbass Chicago Illinois Police And Cook County Deputies Let Arrested Man Pass Through Justice System With Loaded Pistol In His Pants

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – In an embarrassing security breach, a man arrested on a drug charge was able to bring a loaded gun into the Cook County Jail complex — and into his bond hearing — before dumping it in a jail laundry room, prosecutors said Monday.

Police officers missed the palm-sized, .380 semiautomatic handgun when Bennie Ellison, 39, was arrested March 18 at 78th and Euclid, authorities said.

Bennie Ellison had a gun tied to the inside of the front of his pants and brought the weapon inside his Cook County Court bond hearing, according to prosecutors.

Ellison, of the 8200 block of South Chappel, had used the drawstring of his shorts to tie the gun so it dangled between his legs, Cook County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Patterson said.

The arresting officers patted him down and missed it. He was patted down again at the 4th District police station — where he spent the night — and again at Central Booking, but no one found the gun, authorities said.

The next day, he was taken to Central Bound Court at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California, where a sheriff’s deputy patted him down.

He then appeared in court — uncuffed — and had his bond set by a judge. He was then taken to the county jail, Patterson said.

Ellison managed to avoid a body scanner and a metal detector en route by slipping out of line and into a different line, Patterson said.

But when he was assigned to a jail division and realized he would have to change his clothes, he ditched the gun in a laundry room, Patterson said.

The gun, which had a bullet loaded in the chamber, was found two days later — March 21 — by a jail inmate who showed it to other inmates, although none of them touched it, prosecutors said.

Investigators traced the gun back to a Texas resident who had sold it another person who, in turn, sold it to Ellison, prosecutors said.

When questioned, Ellison gave a handwritten confession admitting he had the gun when he was arrested and brought before the judge. He also admitted dumping it in the laundry room, prosecutors said.

He told authorities he only kept it because he thought he might receive a low bond and be released soon, Patterson said.

Strip searches in the jail were recently ended after questions were raised in court about their legality. But the incident has led the sheriff’s office to re-examine the new procedures for searching detainees, Patterson said.

“Clearly, there were officers at the jail not doing their job and we’re in the process of taking statements from each one of them about how this could have happened,” Patterson said. “We’re taking this seriously and plan to enact discipline up to and including termination, if necessary.”

Ellison had initially been charged with possession of a controlled substance. He is now also charged with possession of contraband in a penal institution and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. He had a previous weapons violation on his record, officials said.

He was ordered held in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond.

Chicago Police officials said the incident is under investigation.

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Franklin County Ohio Deputy Sheriff Joseph Cantwell Charged In Dick Touched Food Case

FRANKLIN COUNTY, OHIO – A Franklin County sheriff deputy accused of tampering with an inmate’s food at the Downtown jail faces criminal charges.

Joseph Cantwell, 37, is charged with misdemeanor counts of dereliction of duty, disorderly conduct and health code violations, according to a press released issued by Franklin County Chief Deputy Steve Martin.

The inmate alleges that Cantwell and another deputy, Phillip Barnett, brought a bologna sandwich to his cell to eat on March 13.

“As soon as he had finished eating the sandwich Deputy Cantwell taunted him, and took out his cell phone on which he displayed a photo of another inmate in the jail with his penis on the bologna sandwhich,” the statement said.

Cantwell was served a court summons Friday. Barnett was not charged. Both deputies will face an internal affairs investigation.

The deputies have been assigned to duties in which they have no contact with inmates.

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Franklin County Ohio Deputy Sheriff Joseph Cantwell Charged In Dick Touched Food Case

FRANKLIN COUNTY, OHIO – A Franklin County sheriff deputy accused of tampering with an inmate’s food at the Downtown jail faces criminal charges.

Joseph Cantwell, 37, is charged with misdemeanor counts of dereliction of duty, disorderly conduct and health code violations, according to a press released issued by Franklin County Chief Deputy Steve Martin.

The inmate alleges that Cantwell and another deputy, Phillip Barnett, brought a bologna sandwich to his cell to eat on March 13.

“As soon as he had finished eating the sandwich Deputy Cantwell taunted him, and took out his cell phone on which he displayed a photo of another inmate in the jail with his penis on the bologna sandwhich,” the statement said.

Cantwell was served a court summons Friday. Barnett was not charged. Both deputies will face an internal affairs investigation.

The deputies have been assigned to duties in which they have no contact with inmates.

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Eagle County Colorado Sheriff Joe Hoy Advertises For Snitches In Classified Ad

EAGLE COUNTY, COLORADO – An Eagle County employer not only promises to overlook a prospective employee’s crime connections, it prefers you have them.

“Wanted: people who hang out with crooks,” the Vail Daily classified ad says. “Drug use and criminal record OK. Must be willing to work odd hours.”

The classified ad, paid for by Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy, is apparently designed to appeal to the sophisticated confidential informant-newspaper subscriber in the posh ski resort town.

“Make some extra cash . . . ,” the classified ad says. “Give us a call and we will work out the details — confidentiality is guaranteed.”

More than a dozen people already have called in hopes of earning between $100 and $1,000 for turning in burglar pals not intimidated by elaborate security systems guarding Vail’s multi million dollar homes.

Eagle County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike McWilliam acknowledges that Sheriff Hoy stole the idea from some cops in Albuquerque who have had success enticing snitches to come forward with identical ads.

The “CIs” will have to earn their pay in Eagle County.

“Just saying ‘Joe Blow’ is a drug dealer is not enough,” McWilliam said.

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Eagle County Colorado Sheriff Joe Hoy Advertises For Snitches In Classified Ad

EAGLE COUNTY, COLORADO – An Eagle County employer not only promises to overlook a prospective employee’s crime connections, it prefers you have them.

“Wanted: people who hang out with crooks,” the Vail Daily classified ad says. “Drug use and criminal record OK. Must be willing to work odd hours.”

The classified ad, paid for by Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy, is apparently designed to appeal to the sophisticated confidential informant-newspaper subscriber in the posh ski resort town.

“Make some extra cash . . . ,” the classified ad says. “Give us a call and we will work out the details — confidentiality is guaranteed.”

More than a dozen people already have called in hopes of earning between $100 and $1,000 for turning in burglar pals not intimidated by elaborate security systems guarding Vail’s multi million dollar homes.

Eagle County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike McWilliam acknowledges that Sheriff Hoy stole the idea from some cops in Albuquerque who have had success enticing snitches to come forward with identical ads.

The “CIs” will have to earn their pay in Eagle County.

“Just saying ‘Joe Blow’ is a drug dealer is not enough,” McWilliam said.

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33 Year Veteran Montgomery County Maryland Police Officer Fernando Martinez Arrested, Suspended, Charged After Drunken Wreck In His Patrol Car

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND – A Montgomery County police officer was arrested for drunk driving in a marked police car Friday night.

Police say Corporal Fernando Martinez crashed his police cruiser into a concrete barrier northbound on Route 270 just south of the Montrose Road exit in Rockville.

The accident happened just after 11p.m.

The police cruiser had minor damage to the front and driver’s side.

When police arrived they smelled alcohol on the officer’s breath and arrested him for drunk driving after he failed a sobriety test.

Martinez who is assigned to the Wheaton district did not suffer any injuries in the accident. He is a 33-year veteran of the Montgomery County police department and his arresting powers have been suspended.

Montgomery County police say the accident is still under investigation.

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33 Year Veteran Montgomery County Maryland Police Officer Fernando Martinez Arrested, Suspended, Charged After Drunken Wreck In His Patrol Car

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND – A Montgomery County police officer was arrested for drunk driving in a marked police car Friday night.

Police say Corporal Fernando Martinez crashed his police cruiser into a concrete barrier northbound on Route 270 just south of the Montrose Road exit in Rockville.

The accident happened just after 11p.m.

The police cruiser had minor damage to the front and driver’s side.

When police arrived they smelled alcohol on the officer’s breath and arrested him for drunk driving after he failed a sobriety test.

Martinez who is assigned to the Wheaton district did not suffer any injuries in the accident. He is a 33-year veteran of the Montgomery County police department and his arresting powers have been suspended.

Montgomery County police say the accident is still under investigation.

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Nutcase Police Charge New Jersey Child With Child Pornography After She Posted Photos Of Herself On Myspace

NEW JERSEY – A 14-year-old girl has been accused of child pornography for posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.

Teens are being charged for sending racy text messages or posting illicit photos

The charges could force the teenager from New Jersey, US, to register as a sex offender, if convicted.

Her arrest came as prosecutors across America pursue child pornography cases over kids sending naked photographs to one another by mobile phone and emails.

Social networking website MySpace would not comment on the New Jersey investigation, but the company has a team that reviews its network for inappropriate images.

(The 14-year-old) should have an intervention and counselling, because the only person she exploited was herself.

Police arrested the girl after a tip-off from America’s National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

Passaic County sheriff’s spokesman Bill Maer said: “We consider this case a wake-up call to parents.”

The girl posted the photos because “she wanted her boyfriend to see them,” he said.

The teen was charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography.

She was released to her mother’s custody.

If convicted of the distribution charge, she would be forced to register with the state as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, said state Attorney-General Anne Milgram.

She also could face up to 17 years in jail, though such a stiff sentence is unlikely.

Some – including the New Jersey mother behind the creation of Megan’s Law – criticised the trend of prosecuting teens who send racy text messages or post illicit photos of themselves.

Maureen Kanka’s daughter Megan became the law’s namesake after the seven-year-old was raped and killed in 1994 by a twice-convicted sex offender.

She said: “(The 14-year-old) should have an intervention and counselling, because the only person she exploited was herself.”

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Nutcase Police Charge New Jersey Child With Child Pornography After She Posted Photos Of Herself On Myspace

NEW JERSEY – A 14-year-old girl has been accused of child pornography for posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.

Teens are being charged for sending racy text messages or posting illicit photos

The charges could force the teenager from New Jersey, US, to register as a sex offender, if convicted.

Her arrest came as prosecutors across America pursue child pornography cases over kids sending naked photographs to one another by mobile phone and emails.

Social networking website MySpace would not comment on the New Jersey investigation, but the company has a team that reviews its network for inappropriate images.

(The 14-year-old) should have an intervention and counselling, because the only person she exploited was herself.

Police arrested the girl after a tip-off from America’s National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

Passaic County sheriff’s spokesman Bill Maer said: “We consider this case a wake-up call to parents.”

The girl posted the photos because “she wanted her boyfriend to see them,” he said.

The teen was charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography.

She was released to her mother’s custody.

If convicted of the distribution charge, she would be forced to register with the state as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, said state Attorney-General Anne Milgram.

She also could face up to 17 years in jail, though such a stiff sentence is unlikely.

Some – including the New Jersey mother behind the creation of Megan’s Law – criticised the trend of prosecuting teens who send racy text messages or post illicit photos of themselves.

Maureen Kanka’s daughter Megan became the law’s namesake after the seven-year-old was raped and killed in 1994 by a twice-convicted sex offender.

She said: “(The 14-year-old) should have an intervention and counselling, because the only person she exploited was herself.”

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Houston Texas Police Raid Innocent Family’s Home

HOUSTON, TEXAS – The pounding of Maria Markina’s heart mimicked the pounding on her front door. And even though the pistol-wielding men on her doorstep at dawn claimed to be police, the Russian opera singer was fearful she was about to be robbed — or worse.

As she heard her sculptor husband, Alexey Markin, talking with the men downstairs, she hid her 5-year-old daughter in bed and shut the door. Alexey, handcuffed and surrounded by officers, struggled as best he could with his imperfect grasp of English to figure out what was going on,

Police on Friday said the Wednesday morning incident at the couple’s Houston Heights garage apartment was an honest mistake. Arrest documents for the man they sought, 40-year-old David Glandon, listed the couple’s address.

Glandon is accused of violating a protective order by making threats against his ex-wife — a misdemeanor offense. Police spokesman John Cannon said four Central Division officers made the call because Glandon has a lengthy and violent criminal record.

Court records show Glandon had convictions for multiple drug offenses and assaults.

Markin, 29, said officers asked him to identify a man in a photograph. When he could not, they asked who besides himself lived in the apartment. When he began to turn, they slapped him in cuffs.

“They asked me the names of my neighbors,” Markin said. “I, I couldn’t tell them.” The officers, he said, implied that his tongue-tied state warranted suspicion.

Cannon said Markin gave officers permission to search the house.

Upstairs, Markina, 28, pondered her options. Should she jump out of the window or scream?

Then police knocked on her bedroom door. “They said, ‘Maria, Maria, we know you’re in there,’ ” Markina said. “They said, ‘Maria, come out, please.’ ”

Reassured by the courteous language, the singer opened the door.

The episode ended when police examined the couple’s passports.

Markina, who is enrolled in a Houston Grand Opera program for young artists, and her husband have lived in Houston about three years. The have resided in the apartment since September.

Glandon remained at large Friday. Cannon said police will suspend their search for the man until they can obtain a reliable address.

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Bogus Charge Dropped After Nutcase La Marque Texas Assistant Fire Marshal Handcuffed And Cited Woman For Saying The F-Word At Walmart

LA MARQUE, TEXAS — Authorities have dropped a disorderly conduct charge filed against a woman who was handcuffed while being cited for using the F-word in a casual conversation at a Wal-Mart, the La Marque interim city manager said today.

City prosecutor Jay Brown dropped the charge recently after finding that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Kathryn Fridge, 29, of La Marque, City Manager Eric Gage said.

“Of course, we would have hoped to prevail in the case, but not if there’s not significant evidence,” Gage said.

Fridge was not immediately available for comment.

She was cited on Aug. 4 for using the F-word in a conversation with her mother while shopping for batteries at the Wal-Mart at FM 1764 and Interstate 45 as a tropical storm menaced the Gulf Coast. La Marque is in Galveston County.

The shelf where she expected to find batteries was bare and Fridge expressed her frustration to her mother.

Her remarks were overheard by Capt. Alfred Decker, La Marque assistant fire marshal, who handcuffed her after she protested his decision to cite her for disorderly conduct.

Decker released her after issuing the citation.

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Veteran Buffalo New York Police Officer Mitchell J. Thomas Receives A Tiny Slap On The Wrist After Drunken Incident Involving A Handgun At Bar

BUFFALO, NEW YORK – Buffalo Police Officer Mitchell J. Thomas today admitted displaying a loaded handgun and swearing at bar security personnel at a Main Street bar last year.

He was granted a conditional discharge and ordered to stay away from the bar where the incident occurred last year.

Thomas, 38, a Northeast District officer pleaded guilty to a non-criminal harassment charge for the February 2008 incident at the Town Ballroom. He had been charged with menacing.

After prosecutor Susan H. Sadinsky told City Judge Patrick M. Carney that the non-criminal plea was acceptable, Thomas pleaded guilty.

The judge reminded the 10-year police veteran that being a police officer “is a career, not a job.”

Thomas also has been suspended without pay for 22 days on a departmental plea.

Thomas and his attorney could not be reached to comment following the Friday morning court session.

At the request of the prosecutor, Carney also issued a one-year order of protection to three Town Ballroom employees, instructing Thomas to stay away from them during that period.

Appeared Here

Houston Texas Police Raid Innocent Family’s Home

HOUSTON, TEXAS – The pounding of Maria Markina’s heart mimicked the pounding on her front door. And even though the pistol-wielding men on her doorstep at dawn claimed to be police, the Russian opera singer was fearful she was about to be robbed — or worse.

As she heard her sculptor husband, Alexey Markin, talking with the men downstairs, she hid her 5-year-old daughter in bed and shut the door. Alexey, handcuffed and surrounded by officers, struggled as best he could with his imperfect grasp of English to figure out what was going on,

Police on Friday said the Wednesday morning incident at the couple’s Houston Heights garage apartment was an honest mistake. Arrest documents for the man they sought, 40-year-old David Glandon, listed the couple’s address.

Glandon is accused of violating a protective order by making threats against his ex-wife — a misdemeanor offense. Police spokesman John Cannon said four Central Division officers made the call because Glandon has a lengthy and violent criminal record.

Court records show Glandon had convictions for multiple drug offenses and assaults.

Markin, 29, said officers asked him to identify a man in a photograph. When he could not, they asked who besides himself lived in the apartment. When he began to turn, they slapped him in cuffs.

“They asked me the names of my neighbors,” Markin said. “I, I couldn’t tell them.” The officers, he said, implied that his tongue-tied state warranted suspicion.

Cannon said Markin gave officers permission to search the house.

Upstairs, Markina, 28, pondered her options. Should she jump out of the window or scream?

Then police knocked on her bedroom door. “They said, ‘Maria, Maria, we know you’re in there,’ ” Markina said. “They said, ‘Maria, come out, please.’ ”

Reassured by the courteous language, the singer opened the door.

The episode ended when police examined the couple’s passports.

Markina, who is enrolled in a Houston Grand Opera program for young artists, and her husband have lived in Houston about three years. The have resided in the apartment since September.

Glandon remained at large Friday. Cannon said police will suspend their search for the man until they can obtain a reliable address.

Appeared Here

Bogus Charge Dropped After Nutcase La Marque Texas Assistant Fire Marshal Handcuffed And Cited Woman For Saying The F-Word At Walmart

LA MARQUE, TEXAS — Authorities have dropped a disorderly conduct charge filed against a woman who was handcuffed while being cited for using the F-word in a casual conversation at a Wal-Mart, the La Marque interim city manager said today.

City prosecutor Jay Brown dropped the charge recently after finding that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Kathryn Fridge, 29, of La Marque, City Manager Eric Gage said.

“Of course, we would have hoped to prevail in the case, but not if there’s not significant evidence,” Gage said.

Fridge was not immediately available for comment.

She was cited on Aug. 4 for using the F-word in a conversation with her mother while shopping for batteries at the Wal-Mart at FM 1764 and Interstate 45 as a tropical storm menaced the Gulf Coast. La Marque is in Galveston County.

The shelf where she expected to find batteries was bare and Fridge expressed her frustration to her mother.

Her remarks were overheard by Capt. Alfred Decker, La Marque assistant fire marshal, who handcuffed her after she protested his decision to cite her for disorderly conduct.

Decker released her after issuing the citation.

Appeared Here

Veteran Buffalo New York Police Officer Mitchell J. Thomas Receives A Tiny Slap On The Wrist After Drunken Incident Involving A Handgun At Bar

BUFFALO, NEW YORK – Buffalo Police Officer Mitchell J. Thomas today admitted displaying a loaded handgun and swearing at bar security personnel at a Main Street bar last year.

He was granted a conditional discharge and ordered to stay away from the bar where the incident occurred last year.

Thomas, 38, a Northeast District officer pleaded guilty to a non-criminal harassment charge for the February 2008 incident at the Town Ballroom. He had been charged with menacing.

After prosecutor Susan H. Sadinsky told City Judge Patrick M. Carney that the non-criminal plea was acceptable, Thomas pleaded guilty.

The judge reminded the 10-year police veteran that being a police officer “is a career, not a job.”

Thomas also has been suspended without pay for 22 days on a departmental plea.

Thomas and his attorney could not be reached to comment following the Friday morning court session.

At the request of the prosecutor, Carney also issued a one-year order of protection to three Town Ballroom employees, instructing Thomas to stay away from them during that period.

Appeared Here

Money Seized As Evidence By New York City Police Ends Up Being Dispensed From Chase Bank ATM Machines

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Chase bank is probing how a batch of twenty dollar bills that had been seized by police and stamped as evidence in criminal trials wound up in a pair of New York cash machines.

Some of the bills were still bearing stamps reading NYPD Evidence when they turned up at ATMs in the Bronx and on Long Island in the past few weeks.

The police department had turned the currency over to the bank to be destroyed.

A Chase spokesman says the bank is investigating.

Appeared Here

Egg Harbor Township New Jersey Police Officer Richard Cavanaugh Pleads Guilty After On-Duty In-Uniform Sex With A Whore

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY – An Egg Harbor Township police officer has admitted having sex with a prostitute in a motel room while on duty and in uniform.

Patrolman Richard Cavanaugh pleaded guilty Friday to official misconduct and resigned from the force.

Cavanaugh admitted driving to a motel just outside Atlantic City in December 2007 in his marked patrol car. He said he had a prostitute perform a sex act on him.

Prosecutors will recommend probation when he is sentenced in May.

Cavanaugh must forfeit the pension he accrued in his 23-year career. He’s also barred from ever holding public employment in New Jersey.

Appeared Here

New York Rolls Back Mandatory Sentences For First Time Nonviolent Drug Offenders, Which Have Been Wasting Taxpayer Dollars For 36 Years In Failed War On Drugs

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Gov. David A. Paterson (D) and legislative leaders on Friday announced an agreement to roll back the state’s strict, 36-year-old drug laws, including eliminating tough mandatory minimum sentences for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders.

The “Rockefeller Drug Laws,” named after former governor Nelson Rockefeller (R), are among the strictest in the country and for critics have become a symbol of the failure of the “war on drugs,” which locked up large numbers of nonviolent drug offenders while having little apparent effect on drug use.

The agreement, announced in the state capitol, follows a national shift away from criminal penalties to public health and treatment in America’s decades-old fight against illegal drug use.

“There’s a broader trend picking up steam around the country to roll back the drug war,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group for alternative drug laws. Mandatory sentences, that led to burgeoning prison populations and a spurt of building of new prisons, he said, “happened as a result of the drug war hysteria.”

The shift began in the late 1990s as more than a dozen states legalized marijuana for medical purposes, and California voters in 2000 passed a ballot initiative that allowed people convicted of simple drug possession to be sent to treatment instead of jail.

Last year, Massachusetts became the first state in which voters chose to make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil infraction, the equivalent of a parking ticket.

The changes in New York, which must be finalized by votes in the State Assembly and Senate, would repeal most mandatory minimum sentences for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders and give judges broader discretion over sentencing.

The state plans to use money from the recently enacted federal stimulus package to expand treatment programs. And the changes would allow some among a group of 1,500 prisoners to apply for release, if they are nonviolent and have not been convicted of other crimes.

The changes were strongly opposed by state prosecutors and district attorneys, who argued that they needed mandatory sentences as a tool to get offenders to plead guilty to lesser crimes.

The move in New York has been driven by new political as well as economic dynamics.

On the political side, the shift came last year, first when Paterson was elevated to the governorship after Eliot L. Spitzer (D) resigned amid scandal. Paterson had been a longtime advocate of repealing the laws. In 2002, when he was a state senator, he was arrested at a demonstration against the laws outside the office of then-Gov. George E. Pataki (R).

Then in November, Democrats captured the state senate for the first time in years. The state assembly in the past had proposed repealing the drug laws, but the effort was always blocked by senate Republicans, many of whom represent largely rural, Upstate districts where most of the state’s prisons are located.

On the economic side, New York, like most states, is grappling with a huge budget deficit and a deteriorating financial picture, and years of research and experience has shown that it costs far less to give a nonviolent drug offender treatment than to keep him locked in prison.

As a cost-saving move, Paterson has proposed closing four minimum-security prisons as the prison population has declined, and repealing the Rockefeller drug laws is likely to lead to even fewer inmates.

Advocates for changes in drug law called Friday’s announcement the culmination of years of work, including lobbying and public demonstrations. “We’ve been waiting 36 years for this,” said Gabriel Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance, who was in Albany for the announcement.

For some, the change comes late.

Anthony Papa was 26 years old in 1985 when he tried to make $500 by carrying an envelope with 4 1/2 ounces of cocaine. He was caught in a sting operation and recalls the judge at his trial telling him that he should get probation because it was his first offense. But the judge was bound by the Rockefeller drug laws and sentenced Papa to 15 years in prison.

“The judge said he was handcuffed because of the law,” Papa said in a telephone interview. Papa, who became an artist and advocate for changes in drug laws, was released early in 1997 by Pataki after 12 years in Sing-Sing prison.

“I never saw a kingpin in prison — mostly nonviolent first-time offenders,” Papa said. “This is why this legislation today is a good bill — it leans more on treatment than incarceration.”

He added: “It’s amazing to think about all those years I fought for change, and we have meaningful reform today.”

Appeared Here

Crazed UK Police Identity 200 Children As Potential "Terrorist"

UK – Two hundred schoolchildren in Britain, some as young as 13, have been identified as potential terrorists by a police scheme that aims to spot youngsters who are “vulnerable” to Islamic radicalisation.

The number was revealed to The Independent by Sir Norman Bettison, the chief constable of West Yorkshire Police and Britain’s most senior officer in charge of terror prevention.

He said the “Channel project” had intervened in the cases of at least 200 children who were thought to be at risk of extremism, since it began 18 months ago. The number has leapt from 10 children identified by June 2008.

The programme, run by the Association of Chief Police Officers, asks teachers, parents and other community figures to be vigilant for signs that may indicate an attraction to extreme views or susceptibility to being “groomed” by radicalisers. Sir Norman, whose force covers the area in which all four 7 July 2005 bombers grew up, said: “What will often manifest itself is what might be regarded as racism and the adoption of bad attitudes towards ‘the West’.

“One of the four bombers of 7 July was, on the face of it, a model student. He had never been in trouble with the police, was the son of a well-established family and was employed and integrated into society.

“But when we went back to his teachers they remarked on the things he used to write. In his exercise books he had written comments praising al-Qa’ida. That was not seen at the time as being substantive. Now we would hope that teachers might intervene, speak to the child’s family or perhaps the local imam who could then speak to the young man.”

The Channel project was originally piloted in Lancashire and the Metropolitan Police borough of Lambeth in 2007, but in February last year it was extended to West Yorkshire, the Midlands, Bedfordshire and South Wales. Due to its success there are now plans to roll it out to the rest of London, Thames Valley, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and West Sussex.

The scheme, funded by the Home Office, involves officers working alongside Muslim communities to identify impressionable children who are at risk of radicalisation or who have shown an interest in extremist material – on the internet or in books.

Once identified the children are subject to a “programme of intervention tailored to the needs of the individual”. Sir Norman said this could involve discussions with family, outreach workers or the local imam, but he added that “a handful have had intervention directly by the police”.

He stressed that the system was not being used to target the Muslim community. “The whole ethos is to build a relationship, on the basis of trust and confidence, with those communities,” said Sir Norman.

“With the help of these communities we can identify the kids who are vulnerable to the message and influenced by the message. The challenge is to intervene and offer guidance, not necessarily to prosecute them, but to address their grievance, their growing sense of hate and potential to do something violent in the name of some misinterpretation of a faith.

“We are targeting criminals and would-be terrorists who happen to be cloaking themselves in Islamic rhetoric. That is not the same as targeting the Muslim community.”

Nor was it criminalising children, he added. “The analogy I use is that it is similar to our well-established drugs intervention programmes. Teachers in schools are trained to identify pupils who might be experimenting with drugs, take them to one side and talk to them. That does not automatically mean that these kids are going to become crack cocaine or heroin addicts. The same is true around this issue.”

But Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain said the police ran the risk of infringing on children’s privacy. He warned: “There is a difference between the police being concerned or believing a person may be at risk of recruitment and a person actually engaging in unlawful, terrorist activity.

“That said, clearly in recent years some people have been lured by terrorist propaganda emanating from al-Qa’ida-inspired groups. It would seem that a number of Muslim youngsters have been seduced by that narrative and all of us, including the Government, have a role to play in making sure that narrative is seen for what it is: a nihilistic one which offers no hope, only death and destruction.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are committed to stopping people becoming or supporting terrorists or violent extremists. The aim of the Channel project is to directly support vulnerable people by providing supportive interventions when families, communities and networks raise concerns about their behaviour.”

Appeared Here

Abortion Doctor Targeted By Kansas Authorities With Bogus Charges Found Not Guilty

WICHITA, KANSAS – One of the nation’s few late-term abortion providers was acquitted Friday of misdemeanor charges stemming from procedures he performed, but moments after the verdict was announced the state’s medical board announced it was investigating similar allegations against him.

Prosecutors had alleged that Dr. George Tiller had in 2003 gotten second opinions from a doctor who was essentially an employee of his, not independent as state law requires, but a jury took only about an hour to find him not guilty of all 19 counts.

Tiller, who could have faced a year in jail for even one conviction, stared straight ahead as the verdicts were read, with one of his attorneys patting his shoulder after the decision on the final count was declared. His wife, seated across the courtroom, fought back tears and nodded. The couple declined to speak to reporters afterward.

Tiller, 67, has claimed that the prosecution was politically motivated. An attorney general who opposed abortion rights began the investigation into Tiller’s clinic more than four years ago, but both his successor, who filed the criminal charges, and the current attorney general support abortion rights.

Soon after the verdict was announced, the state’s Board of Healing Arts made public a complaint against Tiller on allegations similar to those at issue in the criminal case. The complaint was filed in December but not released until Friday.

The board, which regulates doctors, could revoke, suspend or limit Tiller’s medical license, or fine him.

Tiller has been a favored target of anti-abortion protesters, and he testified that he and his family have suffered years of harassment and threats. His clinic was the site of the 1991 “Summer of Mercy” protests marked by mass demonstrations and arrests. His clinic was bombed in 1985, and an abortion opponent shot him in both arms in 1993.

Kansas law allows abortions after a fetus can survive outside the womb only if two independent doctors agree that it is necessary to save a women’s life or prevent “substantial and irreversible” harm to “a major bodily function,” a phrase that has been interpreted to include mental health.

Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus provided second opinions on late-term abortions before Tiller performed them.

According to trial testimony, Tiller’s patients paid Neuhaus $250 to $300 in cash for providing the consultation and the only way patients could see her was to make an appointment with Tiller’s office.

Tiller testified that he used Neuhaus based on advice from his lawyers and from Larry Buening, who was then executive director of the Board of Healing Arts.

Prosecutors tried to show that Tiller ultimately relied on his lawyers’ advice – an important distinction because the judge told attorneys before their opening statements that relying on the advice of an attorney cannot be used as a legal defense to criminal charges. They also questioned Tiller about the conversation with Buening, noting that Tiller had testified that Buening said he couldn’t quote him.

Tiller also testified that in about five cases each year, Neuhaus would disagree with him about the necessity of a late-term abortion. When she declined to concur, the abortion was not done, he said.

Tiller estimated that he performed 250 to 300 late-term abortions in 2003, each costing an average of $6,000.

Tiller said he is one of three doctors in the U.S. who currently perform late-term abortions. The others are in Boulder, Colo., and Los Angeles, he said.

Appeared Here

Money Seized As Evidence By New York City Police Ends Up Being Dispensed From Chase Bank ATM Machines

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Chase bank is probing how a batch of twenty dollar bills that had been seized by police and stamped as evidence in criminal trials wound up in a pair of New York cash machines.

Some of the bills were still bearing stamps reading NYPD Evidence when they turned up at ATMs in the Bronx and on Long Island in the past few weeks.

The police department had turned the currency over to the bank to be destroyed.

A Chase spokesman says the bank is investigating.

Appeared Here

Egg Harbor Township New Jersey Police Officer Richard Cavanaugh Pleads Guilty After On-Duty In-Uniform Sex With A Whore

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY – An Egg Harbor Township police officer has admitted having sex with a prostitute in a motel room while on duty and in uniform.

Patrolman Richard Cavanaugh pleaded guilty Friday to official misconduct and resigned from the force.

Cavanaugh admitted driving to a motel just outside Atlantic City in December 2007 in his marked patrol car. He said he had a prostitute perform a sex act on him.

Prosecutors will recommend probation when he is sentenced in May.

Cavanaugh must forfeit the pension he accrued in his 23-year career. He’s also barred from ever holding public employment in New Jersey.

Appeared Here

New York Rolls Back Mandatory Sentences For First Time Nonviolent Drug Offenders, Which Have Been Wasting Taxpayer Dollars For 36 Years In Failed War On Drugs

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Gov. David A. Paterson (D) and legislative leaders on Friday announced an agreement to roll back the state’s strict, 36-year-old drug laws, including eliminating tough mandatory minimum sentences for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders.

The “Rockefeller Drug Laws,” named after former governor Nelson Rockefeller (R), are among the strictest in the country and for critics have become a symbol of the failure of the “war on drugs,” which locked up large numbers of nonviolent drug offenders while having little apparent effect on drug use.

The agreement, announced in the state capitol, follows a national shift away from criminal penalties to public health and treatment in America’s decades-old fight against illegal drug use.

“There’s a broader trend picking up steam around the country to roll back the drug war,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group for alternative drug laws. Mandatory sentences, that led to burgeoning prison populations and a spurt of building of new prisons, he said, “happened as a result of the drug war hysteria.”

The shift began in the late 1990s as more than a dozen states legalized marijuana for medical purposes, and California voters in 2000 passed a ballot initiative that allowed people convicted of simple drug possession to be sent to treatment instead of jail.

Last year, Massachusetts became the first state in which voters chose to make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil infraction, the equivalent of a parking ticket.

The changes in New York, which must be finalized by votes in the State Assembly and Senate, would repeal most mandatory minimum sentences for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders and give judges broader discretion over sentencing.

The state plans to use money from the recently enacted federal stimulus package to expand treatment programs. And the changes would allow some among a group of 1,500 prisoners to apply for release, if they are nonviolent and have not been convicted of other crimes.

The changes were strongly opposed by state prosecutors and district attorneys, who argued that they needed mandatory sentences as a tool to get offenders to plead guilty to lesser crimes.

The move in New York has been driven by new political as well as economic dynamics.

On the political side, the shift came last year, first when Paterson was elevated to the governorship after Eliot L. Spitzer (D) resigned amid scandal. Paterson had been a longtime advocate of repealing the laws. In 2002, when he was a state senator, he was arrested at a demonstration against the laws outside the office of then-Gov. George E. Pataki (R).

Then in November, Democrats captured the state senate for the first time in years. The state assembly in the past had proposed repealing the drug laws, but the effort was always blocked by senate Republicans, many of whom represent largely rural, Upstate districts where most of the state’s prisons are located.

On the economic side, New York, like most states, is grappling with a huge budget deficit and a deteriorating financial picture, and years of research and experience has shown that it costs far less to give a nonviolent drug offender treatment than to keep him locked in prison.

As a cost-saving move, Paterson has proposed closing four minimum-security prisons as the prison population has declined, and repealing the Rockefeller drug laws is likely to lead to even fewer inmates.

Advocates for changes in drug law called Friday’s announcement the culmination of years of work, including lobbying and public demonstrations. “We’ve been waiting 36 years for this,” said Gabriel Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance, who was in Albany for the announcement.

For some, the change comes late.

Anthony Papa was 26 years old in 1985 when he tried to make $500 by carrying an envelope with 4 1/2 ounces of cocaine. He was caught in a sting operation and recalls the judge at his trial telling him that he should get probation because it was his first offense. But the judge was bound by the Rockefeller drug laws and sentenced Papa to 15 years in prison.

“The judge said he was handcuffed because of the law,” Papa said in a telephone interview. Papa, who became an artist and advocate for changes in drug laws, was released early in 1997 by Pataki after 12 years in Sing-Sing prison.

“I never saw a kingpin in prison — mostly nonviolent first-time offenders,” Papa said. “This is why this legislation today is a good bill — it leans more on treatment than incarceration.”

He added: “It’s amazing to think about all those years I fought for change, and we have meaningful reform today.”

Appeared Here

Crazed UK Police Identity 200 Children As Potential "Terrorist"

UK – Two hundred schoolchildren in Britain, some as young as 13, have been identified as potential terrorists by a police scheme that aims to spot youngsters who are “vulnerable” to Islamic radicalisation.

The number was revealed to The Independent by Sir Norman Bettison, the chief constable of West Yorkshire Police and Britain’s most senior officer in charge of terror prevention.

He said the “Channel project” had intervened in the cases of at least 200 children who were thought to be at risk of extremism, since it began 18 months ago. The number has leapt from 10 children identified by June 2008.

The programme, run by the Association of Chief Police Officers, asks teachers, parents and other community figures to be vigilant for signs that may indicate an attraction to extreme views or susceptibility to being “groomed” by radicalisers. Sir Norman, whose force covers the area in which all four 7 July 2005 bombers grew up, said: “What will often manifest itself is what might be regarded as racism and the adoption of bad attitudes towards ‘the West’.

“One of the four bombers of 7 July was, on the face of it, a model student. He had never been in trouble with the police, was the son of a well-established family and was employed and integrated into society.

“But when we went back to his teachers they remarked on the things he used to write. In his exercise books he had written comments praising al-Qa’ida. That was not seen at the time as being substantive. Now we would hope that teachers might intervene, speak to the child’s family or perhaps the local imam who could then speak to the young man.”

The Channel project was originally piloted in Lancashire and the Metropolitan Police borough of Lambeth in 2007, but in February last year it was extended to West Yorkshire, the Midlands, Bedfordshire and South Wales. Due to its success there are now plans to roll it out to the rest of London, Thames Valley, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and West Sussex.

The scheme, funded by the Home Office, involves officers working alongside Muslim communities to identify impressionable children who are at risk of radicalisation or who have shown an interest in extremist material – on the internet or in books.

Once identified the children are subject to a “programme of intervention tailored to the needs of the individual”. Sir Norman said this could involve discussions with family, outreach workers or the local imam, but he added that “a handful have had intervention directly by the police”.

He stressed that the system was not being used to target the Muslim community. “The whole ethos is to build a relationship, on the basis of trust and confidence, with those communities,” said Sir Norman.

“With the help of these communities we can identify the kids who are vulnerable to the message and influenced by the message. The challenge is to intervene and offer guidance, not necessarily to prosecute them, but to address their grievance, their growing sense of hate and potential to do something violent in the name of some misinterpretation of a faith.

“We are targeting criminals and would-be terrorists who happen to be cloaking themselves in Islamic rhetoric. That is not the same as targeting the Muslim community.”

Nor was it criminalising children, he added. “The analogy I use is that it is similar to our well-established drugs intervention programmes. Teachers in schools are trained to identify pupils who might be experimenting with drugs, take them to one side and talk to them. That does not automatically mean that these kids are going to become crack cocaine or heroin addicts. The same is true around this issue.”

But Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain said the police ran the risk of infringing on children’s privacy. He warned: “There is a difference between the police being concerned or believing a person may be at risk of recruitment and a person actually engaging in unlawful, terrorist activity.

“That said, clearly in recent years some people have been lured by terrorist propaganda emanating from al-Qa’ida-inspired groups. It would seem that a number of Muslim youngsters have been seduced by that narrative and all of us, including the Government, have a role to play in making sure that narrative is seen for what it is: a nihilistic one which offers no hope, only death and destruction.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are committed to stopping people becoming or supporting terrorists or violent extremists. The aim of the Channel project is to directly support vulnerable people by providing supportive interventions when families, communities and networks raise concerns about their behaviour.”

Appeared Here

Abortion Doctor Targeted By Kansas Authorities With Bogus Charges Found Not Guilty

WICHITA, KANSAS – One of the nation’s few late-term abortion providers was acquitted Friday of misdemeanor charges stemming from procedures he performed, but moments after the verdict was announced the state’s medical board announced it was investigating similar allegations against him.

Prosecutors had alleged that Dr. George Tiller had in 2003 gotten second opinions from a doctor who was essentially an employee of his, not independent as state law requires, but a jury took only about an hour to find him not guilty of all 19 counts.

Tiller, who could have faced a year in jail for even one conviction, stared straight ahead as the verdicts were read, with one of his attorneys patting his shoulder after the decision on the final count was declared. His wife, seated across the courtroom, fought back tears and nodded. The couple declined to speak to reporters afterward.

Tiller, 67, has claimed that the prosecution was politically motivated. An attorney general who opposed abortion rights began the investigation into Tiller’s clinic more than four years ago, but both his successor, who filed the criminal charges, and the current attorney general support abortion rights.

Soon after the verdict was announced, the state’s Board of Healing Arts made public a complaint against Tiller on allegations similar to those at issue in the criminal case. The complaint was filed in December but not released until Friday.

The board, which regulates doctors, could revoke, suspend or limit Tiller’s medical license, or fine him.

Tiller has been a favored target of anti-abortion protesters, and he testified that he and his family have suffered years of harassment and threats. His clinic was the site of the 1991 “Summer of Mercy” protests marked by mass demonstrations and arrests. His clinic was bombed in 1985, and an abortion opponent shot him in both arms in 1993.

Kansas law allows abortions after a fetus can survive outside the womb only if two independent doctors agree that it is necessary to save a women’s life or prevent “substantial and irreversible” harm to “a major bodily function,” a phrase that has been interpreted to include mental health.

Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus provided second opinions on late-term abortions before Tiller performed them.

According to trial testimony, Tiller’s patients paid Neuhaus $250 to $300 in cash for providing the consultation and the only way patients could see her was to make an appointment with Tiller’s office.

Tiller testified that he used Neuhaus based on advice from his lawyers and from Larry Buening, who was then executive director of the Board of Healing Arts.

Prosecutors tried to show that Tiller ultimately relied on his lawyers’ advice – an important distinction because the judge told attorneys before their opening statements that relying on the advice of an attorney cannot be used as a legal defense to criminal charges. They also questioned Tiller about the conversation with Buening, noting that Tiller had testified that Buening said he couldn’t quote him.

Tiller also testified that in about five cases each year, Neuhaus would disagree with him about the necessity of a late-term abortion. When she declined to concur, the abortion was not done, he said.

Tiller estimated that he performed 250 to 300 late-term abortions in 2003, each costing an average of $6,000.

Tiller said he is one of three doctors in the U.S. who currently perform late-term abortions. The others are in Boulder, Colo., and Los Angeles, he said.

Appeared Here

Man Pays $200 Multnomah County Oregon Traffic Ticket With Piss-Soaked Coins

PORTLAND, OREGON – A Washington man tried to pay a more than $200 traffic ticket by sending a plastic bag filled with coins and urine to a county billing office, deputies said.

“That’s something I can’t wrap my mind around,” said Sgt. Phil Anderchuk, of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. “The thought process of acting consciously — consummating the act of urinating in a box full of coins that someone is going to receive.”

The man didn’t break any postal laws by mailing the combination of urine and change to the Multnomah County court, reported television station KPTV in Portland. Postal officials said it is legal to mail urine or other bodily fluids as long as they are packaged properly in a way that doesn’t leak or smell. County employees said the package was wrapped tightly until it reached the courthouse mailroom and didn’t smell until it was opened.

Because of a policy of only accepting up to $20 in change, court workers returned his money — postage due.
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“It would be better if the gentlemen had done something that defused the situation and maybe mitigated it, rather than adding fuel to the fire,” said Jason Posner, who was visiting the courthouse Wednesday.

The county doesn’t intend to pursue the matter, as long as the man pays the $271 in charges that now include late fees.

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Dumbass Indiana State Police Trooper Chris Pestow’s Facebook Page Included Cruiser Crash Photos, Photo Of Indianapolis Police Officer Andrew Deddish Holding A Gun To His Head, Wanting To Kill The Homeless, Etc.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – An Indiana State Trooper is under investigation for what some call compromising photos and statements he posted on the Internet.

Police say what 13 Investigates found on Trooper Chris Pestow’s personal Facebook page is embarrassing and might even be against the law. Some of the entries showed Pestow with a .357 Magnum pointed at his head, drinking what he described as lots of beer with his buddies and lewd horseplay.

Over the past several months, Pestow has used his Facebook page to brag of heavy drinking. He also posted pictures of a crash involving his ISP cruiser.

“Oops! Where did my front end go?” he wrote when he posted the picture. Later, while discussing the accident with his friends on Facebook, Pestow added, “kiss my butt, Not my fault.:)”

And he isn’t shy about sharing his views of police work, referring to himself as not a state trooper, but as a “garbage man.” His Facebook page said, “I pick up trash for a living.”

Pestow also weighed in on the issue of people who resist arrest and threaten police officers. Referring to an incident in California in which Fresno Police officers punched a homeless man during his arrest, Pestow wrote: “Let someone, homeless or not, try and stab me with a pen, knife, spoon, etc, not only will he fail, he’ll probably end up shot. These people should have died when they were young anyway, i’m just doing them a favor.” [sic]

Eyewitness News interviewed Pestow in December 2008 while he was responding to traffic accidents on an icy stretch of I-465. He wasn’t happy about the icy conditions, and we know that because after the interview, at 5:42 a.m., his Facebook page has this entry: “Chris Pestow is very mad @ whoever is responsible for this awful weather.”

Now, the Indiana State Police may be very mad at him.

“There has been an internal investigation started,” said ISP Major Carlos Pettiford, adding that investigators are trying to determine if the photos and information posted on Pestow’s Facebook page violate department rules.

Pettiford says the state’s biggest concern is that Trooper Pestow may have been Facebook-ing while you were paying for it.

ISP records show Pestow was on duty during the early morning hours of February 11. That day at 2 a.m., an entry on his Facebook page reads “Chris Pestow is NOT working in the rain.”

On February 19, while state records indicate Pestow was working his overnight shift, the Trooper’s Facebook site shows this entry at 3:22 a.m.: “It’s cold AND snowing?!?! I can’t possibly work in these conditions.”

And on November 28 at 1:20 a.m., ISP says Pestow was supposed to be on duty at the same time he apparently wrote, “Chris Pestow is keeping the mean streets of Fishers safe and free of trash.”

A friend quickly responded to that post.

“Hmmmm. how are u keeping the streets safe … if u r on facebook? :),” the friend wrote.

ISP is wondering the same thing.

“That’s a clear violation. We know that right off the bat,” said Major Pettiford. “When they’re working, that’s exactly what they’re supposed to be doing is working, not playing or writing on the internet unless it’s for department business.”

Pestow isn’t the only one who is now facing possible punishment.

The man holding the gun to his head in one of the photos is also a police officer. Andrew Deddish works for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and officials there are not happy with the picture.

“We’re trained [that] we don’t point firearms at anything we don’t plan to shoot,” said IMPD Sgt. Paul Thompson.

Thompson said Deddish is now facing an internal investigation, because pointing a gun at someone is against state law and because he says a police officer should know better.

“It’s embarrassing. We’re always under public scrutiny. We hold a position that’s a trust to the public. You’re expected to act accordingly,” Thompson said.

So what were the officers thinking by posing for the picture and later posting it on the internet?
“They weren’t thinking,” said Thompson. “It was an error in judgment … so now there has to be accountability and that’s what we’re going to do.”

13 Investigates tried to reach Chris Pestow through his family and friends, but the state Trooper has not responded to WTHR’s request for an interview.

Pettiford said ISP contacted Pestow Monday – the same day WTHR contacted ISP to ask about the photos and information posted on the Facebook page — to inform the state officer he was the focus of an internal investigation. Pestow did remove his Facebook page from the Internet that same afternoon, but not before 13 Investigates, State Police and IMPD had a very good look at it.

ISP is currently in the process of drafting a Standard Operating Procedure for all department staff regarding posting information on personal web pages such as Facebook.

“These are new times,” Pettiford said. “We didn’t have Facebook when I got into law enforcement, but nowadays it’s out there so we’re putting together a policy.”

Officials told Eyewitness News both Pestow and Deddish will remain on paid duty while their departments conduct the internal investigations, which will probably take several weeks.

Police say this situation should provide a powerful reminder to all of us: don’t post anything on the Internet that you would not want to see on the news.

Appeared Here

German Police Hunt Serial Killer For 2 Years, Offer Reward, Question 800 Women, Test DNA From Thousands, Only To Find Their Cotton Balls Used To Collect DNA Were Contaminated

GERMANY – Police in Germany hunted a sinister phantom killer for two years after finding the same DNA at 39 different crime scenes – only to discover that the source was a woman who made the cotton buds used to collect the sample!

The case was one of the most puzzling in recent times. Hundreds of detectives in six specialist committees were set to work hunting the ominous female serial killer.

But there was no progress, despite investigators finding her DNA at so many crime scenes.

The police were stumped. They eventually offered a 300,000 euro reward to find the killer.

It’s no surprise the money was never claimed, however, because the so-called ‘phantom killer’ was a complete myth!

Detectives had apparently been tracking the DNA of a factory worker who packaged cotton buds used by the police to collect samples, according to ‘Stern.de’.

Police linked the ‘killer’ to seven murders.

The most notorious case was in April 2007 in Heilbronn where a 22-year-old policewoman was shot dead and her colleague (25) seriously injured. On the back seat of the police car, detectives found what they thought was DNA from the mysterious killer.

As part of the investigation, 800 previously convicted women were questioned – but there was no match to the sample.

Her DNA was found over and over again: in bottles, tank lids, on bullets – and once even on a biscuit!

Traces were found in southern Germany, Austria and France. Thousands of saliva tests were taken but there was still no answer.

In April 2008, detectives ran out of ideas, so an internal inquiry was launched.

And yesterday Bernd Meiners, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office in Saarbrucken, revealed: “There are considerable doubts about the existence of the ‘phantom killer’. The DNA has instead been linked to investigation materials.”

An employee at the cotton bud manufacturer has apparently been pretty careless!

According to reports, the maker of the buds is a company in Hamburg, with branches in Baden-Wurttemberg and the Saarland as well as Austria and France.

The company has been supplying the police investigators with cotton buds since 2001.

Appeared Here

Washington Prison Unit Evacuated Due To Smoke From Toilet BBQ

WCLALLAM BAY, WASHINGTON — An inmate’s attempt to heat up sausages in his toilet went up in smoke when the cooking fire forced a unit evacuation at a Washington prison. Clallam Bay Corrections Center spokeswoman Denise Larson says 130 inmates were evacuated to a dining hall when smoke was spotted coming from a sewer vent pipe Wednesday evening.

She says the smoke was traced to the inmate’s cell and he admitted to trying to heat up snack sausage bought from a prison store in the stainless steel toilet. The inmate’s identity has not been released.

The toilet chef has been placed in segregation pending discipline at the prison on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

Appeared Here

Dumbass Federal Way Washington Police Chief Brian Wilson Crashes While Reading Newspaper Headlines On His Blackberry

FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON – Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson had never been the cause of a crash in his 28 years as an officer.

But then he got a Blackberry.

On March 18. Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson was stopped at a red light in an unmarked police car. While waiting, he scrolled through newspaper headlines and e-mail on his Blackberry.

Thinking the traffic began to move, he took his foot off the brake, and crashed into the car in front of him.

“I’ve had the Blackberry for three months, so now I know what I need to change,” Wilson said.

After an internal review, City Manager Neal Beets found the collision to have been preventable and verbally reprimanded Wilson.
Now Wilson is using his mistake as an example to all drivers. Be careful.

“It shows how important it is to keep concentration while driving,” he said. “Accidents can happen, even to me as the chief of police.”

Emergency vehicles are exempt from state laws that prohibits reading messages while behind the wheel. But that’s no excuse, Wilson said.

“Was this an essential communication for me to be on at the time? No,” Wilson said.

Federal Way officers are reprimanded or receive counseling for collisions resulting in less than $700 in damage.

The crash happened at about noon at the intersection of south 324th Street and Pacific Highway South.

Wilson’s crash didn’t damage either vehicle, and there were no injuries. After the crash, Wilson flipped on his lights, pulled over and talked with the driver, who was very understanding, he said. He radioed for help, and another officer came by and filed the report.

“The important thing is to drive safely, and this was certainly a lesson driven home for me,” he said.

Appeared Here

Man Pays $200 Multnomah County Oregon Traffic Ticket With Piss-Soaked Coins

PORTLAND, OREGON – A Washington man tried to pay a more than $200 traffic ticket by sending a plastic bag filled with coins and urine to a county billing office, deputies said.

“That’s something I can’t wrap my mind around,” said Sgt. Phil Anderchuk, of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. “The thought process of acting consciously — consummating the act of urinating in a box full of coins that someone is going to receive.”

The man didn’t break any postal laws by mailing the combination of urine and change to the Multnomah County court, reported television station KPTV in Portland. Postal officials said it is legal to mail urine or other bodily fluids as long as they are packaged properly in a way that doesn’t leak or smell. County employees said the package was wrapped tightly until it reached the courthouse mailroom and didn’t smell until it was opened.

Because of a policy of only accepting up to $20 in change, court workers returned his money — postage due.
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“It would be better if the gentlemen had done something that defused the situation and maybe mitigated it, rather than adding fuel to the fire,” said Jason Posner, who was visiting the courthouse Wednesday.

The county doesn’t intend to pursue the matter, as long as the man pays the $271 in charges that now include late fees.

Appeared Here

Dumbass Indiana State Police Trooper Chris Pestow’s Facebook Page Included Cruiser Crash Photos, Photo Of Indianapolis Police Officer Andrew Deddish Holding A Gun To His Head, Wanting To Kill The Homeless, Etc.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – An Indiana State Trooper is under investigation for what some call compromising photos and statements he posted on the Internet.

Police say what 13 Investigates found on Trooper Chris Pestow’s personal Facebook page is embarrassing and might even be against the law. Some of the entries showed Pestow with a .357 Magnum pointed at his head, drinking what he described as lots of beer with his buddies and lewd horseplay.

Over the past several months, Pestow has used his Facebook page to brag of heavy drinking. He also posted pictures of a crash involving his ISP cruiser.

“Oops! Where did my front end go?” he wrote when he posted the picture. Later, while discussing the accident with his friends on Facebook, Pestow added, “kiss my butt, Not my fault.:)”

And he isn’t shy about sharing his views of police work, referring to himself as not a state trooper, but as a “garbage man.” His Facebook page said, “I pick up trash for a living.”

Pestow also weighed in on the issue of people who resist arrest and threaten police officers. Referring to an incident in California in which Fresno Police officers punched a homeless man during his arrest, Pestow wrote: “Let someone, homeless or not, try and stab me with a pen, knife, spoon, etc, not only will he fail, he’ll probably end up shot. These people should have died when they were young anyway, i’m just doing them a favor.” [sic]

Eyewitness News interviewed Pestow in December 2008 while he was responding to traffic accidents on an icy stretch of I-465. He wasn’t happy about the icy conditions, and we know that because after the interview, at 5:42 a.m., his Facebook page has this entry: “Chris Pestow is very mad @ whoever is responsible for this awful weather.”

Now, the Indiana State Police may be very mad at him.

“There has been an internal investigation started,” said ISP Major Carlos Pettiford, adding that investigators are trying to determine if the photos and information posted on Pestow’s Facebook page violate department rules.

Pettiford says the state’s biggest concern is that Trooper Pestow may have been Facebook-ing while you were paying for it.

ISP records show Pestow was on duty during the early morning hours of February 11. That day at 2 a.m., an entry on his Facebook page reads “Chris Pestow is NOT working in the rain.”

On February 19, while state records indicate Pestow was working his overnight shift, the Trooper’s Facebook site shows this entry at 3:22 a.m.: “It’s cold AND snowing?!?! I can’t possibly work in these conditions.”

And on November 28 at 1:20 a.m., ISP says Pestow was supposed to be on duty at the same time he apparently wrote, “Chris Pestow is keeping the mean streets of Fishers safe and free of trash.”

A friend quickly responded to that post.

“Hmmmm. how are u keeping the streets safe … if u r on facebook? :),” the friend wrote.

ISP is wondering the same thing.

“That’s a clear violation. We know that right off the bat,” said Major Pettiford. “When they’re working, that’s exactly what they’re supposed to be doing is working, not playing or writing on the internet unless it’s for department business.”

Pestow isn’t the only one who is now facing possible punishment.

The man holding the gun to his head in one of the photos is also a police officer. Andrew Deddish works for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and officials there are not happy with the picture.

“We’re trained [that] we don’t point firearms at anything we don’t plan to shoot,” said IMPD Sgt. Paul Thompson.

Thompson said Deddish is now facing an internal investigation, because pointing a gun at someone is against state law and because he says a police officer should know better.

“It’s embarrassing. We’re always under public scrutiny. We hold a position that’s a trust to the public. You’re expected to act accordingly,” Thompson said.

So what were the officers thinking by posing for the picture and later posting it on the internet?
“They weren’t thinking,” said Thompson. “It was an error in judgment … so now there has to be accountability and that’s what we’re going to do.”

13 Investigates tried to reach Chris Pestow through his family and friends, but the state Trooper has not responded to WTHR’s request for an interview.

Pettiford said ISP contacted Pestow Monday – the same day WTHR contacted ISP to ask about the photos and information posted on the Facebook page — to inform the state officer he was the focus of an internal investigation. Pestow did remove his Facebook page from the Internet that same afternoon, but not before 13 Investigates, State Police and IMPD had a very good look at it.

ISP is currently in the process of drafting a Standard Operating Procedure for all department staff regarding posting information on personal web pages such as Facebook.

“These are new times,” Pettiford said. “We didn’t have Facebook when I got into law enforcement, but nowadays it’s out there so we’re putting together a policy.”

Officials told Eyewitness News both Pestow and Deddish will remain on paid duty while their departments conduct the internal investigations, which will probably take several weeks.

Police say this situation should provide a powerful reminder to all of us: don’t post anything on the Internet that you would not want to see on the news.

Appeared Here

German Police Hunt Serial Killer For 2 Years, Offer Reward, Question 800 Women, Test DNA From Thousands, Only To Find Their Cotton Balls Used To Collect DNA Were Contaminated

GERMANY – Police in Germany hunted a sinister phantom killer for two years after finding the same DNA at 39 different crime scenes – only to discover that the source was a woman who made the cotton buds used to collect the sample!

The case was one of the most puzzling in recent times. Hundreds of detectives in six specialist committees were set to work hunting the ominous female serial killer.

But there was no progress, despite investigators finding her DNA at so many crime scenes.

The police were stumped. They eventually offered a 300,000 euro reward to find the killer.

It’s no surprise the money was never claimed, however, because the so-called ‘phantom killer’ was a complete myth!

Detectives had apparently been tracking the DNA of a factory worker who packaged cotton buds used by the police to collect samples, according to ‘Stern.de’.

Police linked the ‘killer’ to seven murders.

The most notorious case was in April 2007 in Heilbronn where a 22-year-old policewoman was shot dead and her colleague (25) seriously injured. On the back seat of the police car, detectives found what they thought was DNA from the mysterious killer.

As part of the investigation, 800 previously convicted women were questioned – but there was no match to the sample.

Her DNA was found over and over again: in bottles, tank lids, on bullets – and once even on a biscuit!

Traces were found in southern Germany, Austria and France. Thousands of saliva tests were taken but there was still no answer.

In April 2008, detectives ran out of ideas, so an internal inquiry was launched.

And yesterday Bernd Meiners, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office in Saarbrucken, revealed: “There are considerable doubts about the existence of the ‘phantom killer’. The DNA has instead been linked to investigation materials.”

An employee at the cotton bud manufacturer has apparently been pretty careless!

According to reports, the maker of the buds is a company in Hamburg, with branches in Baden-Wurttemberg and the Saarland as well as Austria and France.

The company has been supplying the police investigators with cotton buds since 2001.

Appeared Here

Washington Prison Unit Evacuated Due To Smoke From Toilet BBQ

WCLALLAM BAY, WASHINGTON — An inmate’s attempt to heat up sausages in his toilet went up in smoke when the cooking fire forced a unit evacuation at a Washington prison. Clallam Bay Corrections Center spokeswoman Denise Larson says 130 inmates were evacuated to a dining hall when smoke was spotted coming from a sewer vent pipe Wednesday evening.

She says the smoke was traced to the inmate’s cell and he admitted to trying to heat up snack sausage bought from a prison store in the stainless steel toilet. The inmate’s identity has not been released.

The toilet chef has been placed in segregation pending discipline at the prison on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

Appeared Here

Dumbass Federal Way Washington Police Chief Brian Wilson Crashes While Reading Newspaper Headlines On His Blackberry

FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON – Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson had never been the cause of a crash in his 28 years as an officer.

But then he got a Blackberry.

On March 18. Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson was stopped at a red light in an unmarked police car. While waiting, he scrolled through newspaper headlines and e-mail on his Blackberry.

Thinking the traffic began to move, he took his foot off the brake, and crashed into the car in front of him.

“I’ve had the Blackberry for three months, so now I know what I need to change,” Wilson said.

After an internal review, City Manager Neal Beets found the collision to have been preventable and verbally reprimanded Wilson.
Now Wilson is using his mistake as an example to all drivers. Be careful.

“It shows how important it is to keep concentration while driving,” he said. “Accidents can happen, even to me as the chief of police.”

Emergency vehicles are exempt from state laws that prohibits reading messages while behind the wheel. But that’s no excuse, Wilson said.

“Was this an essential communication for me to be on at the time? No,” Wilson said.

Federal Way officers are reprimanded or receive counseling for collisions resulting in less than $700 in damage.

The crash happened at about noon at the intersection of south 324th Street and Pacific Highway South.

Wilson’s crash didn’t damage either vehicle, and there were no injuries. After the crash, Wilson flipped on his lights, pulled over and talked with the driver, who was very understanding, he said. He radioed for help, and another officer came by and filed the report.

“The important thing is to drive safely, and this was certainly a lesson driven home for me,” he said.

Appeared Here

Vigil Held For Man Gunned Down By Oakland California Police – Previously Took Out Four Officers During Traffic Stop And SWAT Operation

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – With the Oakland Police Department mourning the violent deaths of four of its own, a group Wednesday staged a vigil for the man authorities say gunned down the fallen officers.

Dozens of loved ones and supporters gathered for the evening march, organized by International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, that took participants near a police substation within sight of the two locations where Lovelle Mixon allegedly shot the veteran officers. Mixon, 26, also was killed in the confrontation.

“I don’t condone what he did, but it’s bringing to light the frustrations between the community and the police,” said Uhuru Movement member Kihad Deen. “This gives people a chance to speak their minds.”

As mourners walked through the streets, they chanted, “OPD you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” There were no officers patrolling the march route.

Mixon’s cousin, Dolores Darnell, 26, addressed the small crowd, calling him “a true hero, a soldier.”

“This is the real Lovelle,” she said, holding a picture of a smiling Mixon with his wife. “We do apologize for what he did to the officers’ families. But he’s not a monster.”

The event took place a day after a city-sponsored gathering drew about 1,000 people to the crime scene to honor the slain officers: Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40; John Hege, 41; Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43; and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35.

Pleasant Hill Police Chief Peter Dunbar, who spent almost 25 years working as an officer in Oakland, said that while the Mixon vigil was bound to chafe emotions already rubbed raw from the officers’ slaying, the police would handle it with professional detachment and “shrug things off.”

“You can’t let that get to you,” Dunbar said, adding that in its hiring the department looks for individuals who exercise restraint in volatile situations. “People are waiting for someone to go off, ready with cameras and everything else. But that department is much more professional than these activist agitators think.”

Police said Hege and Dunakin were gunned down Saturday when the two motorcycle officers pulled over Mixon. In a manhunt that followed, Romans and Sakai died when the city’s SWAT team stormed an apartment where Mixon was hiding.

Speaking at the event honoring the officers Tuesday night, Acting Police Chief Howard Jordan said the department was being sustained by an outpouring of public sympathy that included flowers, food, donations for the officers’ families and more than 3,000 e-mails, cards and calls.

“It speaks volumes for us. To see so many people here today, in the very same community we lost four officers, means so much to us,” Jordan said, noting that the condolences have far exceeded any hints of criticism. “We’re going to get through this, with the support of our families and with the support of you, the community.”

Meanwhile, the state inspector general said Wednesday that Mixon was properly monitored by corrections officials after he was released from prison in November. Mixon was wanted on a parole violation when the shootings happened, although it is not yet known whether that was the reason Hege and Dunakin pulled him over on Saturday afternoon.

The Inspector General’s office did an independent review of Mixon’s parole for the state Corrections Department. The office said in a preliminary report that Mixon’s parole officers “followed all appropriate supervision, drug testing, and even job assistance.” It says officials also properly notified authorities after Mixon failed to check in with his parole officer Feb. 19.

“I’m proud of the work our parole agent fugitive apprehension team did in Oakland,” Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate told the state Senate Rules Committee during a hearing Wednesday. He did not elaborate, other than to acknowledge that there always can be improvements.

Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, said Wednesday that the rank-and-file is trying to cope with the tragedy while preparing for a public funeral Friday that is expected to fill the arena where the Golden State Warriors play.

“Everyone is devastated,” Arotzarena said. “Everyone is trying to seek answers to it all, including, ‘Why did this happen?’

“Our reaction is no different than anyone else.”

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 133 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2008, a 27 percent decrease from year before and the lowest annual total since 1960. Of those, 39 officers were killed in firearms-related incidents, a decrease of 43 percent from 2007 and the lowest number since 1956.

The fund manages a national memorial in Washington, D.C. that already carries more than 18,000 names. Romans, Sakai, Dunakin and Hege will be added to the roster in May 2010 during National Police Week, said Craig W. Floyd, the nonprofit’s chairman.

Appeared Here

Dumbass Dallas Texas Police Officer Robert Powell Delays Family Rushing To See Dying Mother, Writes Bogus Ticket In Hospital Parking Lot That Was Latter Dropped

DALLAS, TEXAS – Rushing to see his dying mother-in-law at a Plano hospital, a NFL player found himself delayed by a Dallas officer after he was stopped in the hospital’s ER parking lot.

With his wife and another woman in the car, Ryan Moats – a running back for the Houston Texans – sped his car towards the hospital on March 17. However, when he made it to the ER parking lot, they were stopped by Officer Robert Powell.

Dashcam video from the Dallas officer’s patrol car captured the incident.

“Get in there,” Officer Powell yelled out to Tamishia Moats, Ryan’s wife, as she exited the car. “Let me see your hands. Get in there. Put your hands on the car.”

“Excuse me, my mom is dying,” Moats said.

Moats and the other woman ignored Officer Powell’s commands and rushed inside the hospital to see her mother.

“I’ve got seconds before she’s gone, man,” Moats said to the officer.

Motes couldn’t find his insurance paperwork and was desperate to leave.

“Listen, if I can’t verify you have insurance…,” Officer Powell said.

“My mother-in-law is dying,” Moats interrupted.

“Listen to me,” Officer Powell said.

“Right now,” Moats said. “You’re wasting my time.”

“If you can’t verify you have insurance, I’m going to tow your car,” the officer said. “So, you either find it or I am going to tow the car.”

As they argued, the officer got irritated.

“Shut your mouth,” the officer said. “Shut your mouth. You can either settle down and cooperate or I can just take you to jail for running a red light.”

The clash shocked Moats.

“For him to not even be sympathetic at all, and basically we’re dogs or something and we don’t matter, it basically shocked me,” Moats said.

“I can screw you over,” Officer Powell said. “I would rather not do that. You obviously will dictate everything that happens; and right now, your attitude sucks.”

Twice, the hospital sent nurses to try and get the officer to let Moats go.

“We’re blue coding her for the third time,” the nurse said.

Even a Plano police officer stopped to make a plea for the officer to let Moats go.

“Hey, that’s the nurse,” the Plano officer said. “She says the mom is dying right now and she wants to know if I can get him up there.”

After 20 minutes, the officer ticketed Moats for running a red light.

However, by the time Moats made it up to the ER, she had already passed.

“I went up after she passed and held her hand, but she was already gone,” Moats said.

Dallas police have apologized, dropped the ticket and launched an investigation.

“When it came to our attention, we immediately called for an internal investigation to be done,” said Lt. Andy Havey, Dallas Police Department.

Appeared Here

Vigil Held For Man Gunned Down By Oakland California Police – Previously Took Out Four Officers During Traffic Stop And SWAT Operation

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – With the Oakland Police Department mourning the violent deaths of four of its own, a group Wednesday staged a vigil for the man authorities say gunned down the fallen officers.

Dozens of loved ones and supporters gathered for the evening march, organized by International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, that took participants near a police substation within sight of the two locations where Lovelle Mixon allegedly shot the veteran officers. Mixon, 26, also was killed in the confrontation.

“I don’t condone what he did, but it’s bringing to light the frustrations between the community and the police,” said Uhuru Movement member Kihad Deen. “This gives people a chance to speak their minds.”

As mourners walked through the streets, they chanted, “OPD you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” There were no officers patrolling the march route.

Mixon’s cousin, Dolores Darnell, 26, addressed the small crowd, calling him “a true hero, a soldier.”

“This is the real Lovelle,” she said, holding a picture of a smiling Mixon with his wife. “We do apologize for what he did to the officers’ families. But he’s not a monster.”

The event took place a day after a city-sponsored gathering drew about 1,000 people to the crime scene to honor the slain officers: Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40; John Hege, 41; Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43; and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35.

Pleasant Hill Police Chief Peter Dunbar, who spent almost 25 years working as an officer in Oakland, said that while the Mixon vigil was bound to chafe emotions already rubbed raw from the officers’ slaying, the police would handle it with professional detachment and “shrug things off.”

“You can’t let that get to you,” Dunbar said, adding that in its hiring the department looks for individuals who exercise restraint in volatile situations. “People are waiting for someone to go off, ready with cameras and everything else. But that department is much more professional than these activist agitators think.”

Police said Hege and Dunakin were gunned down Saturday when the two motorcycle officers pulled over Mixon. In a manhunt that followed, Romans and Sakai died when the city’s SWAT team stormed an apartment where Mixon was hiding.

Speaking at the event honoring the officers Tuesday night, Acting Police Chief Howard Jordan said the department was being sustained by an outpouring of public sympathy that included flowers, food, donations for the officers’ families and more than 3,000 e-mails, cards and calls.

“It speaks volumes for us. To see so many people here today, in the very same community we lost four officers, means so much to us,” Jordan said, noting that the condolences have far exceeded any hints of criticism. “We’re going to get through this, with the support of our families and with the support of you, the community.”

Meanwhile, the state inspector general said Wednesday that Mixon was properly monitored by corrections officials after he was released from prison in November. Mixon was wanted on a parole violation when the shootings happened, although it is not yet known whether that was the reason Hege and Dunakin pulled him over on Saturday afternoon.

The Inspector General’s office did an independent review of Mixon’s parole for the state Corrections Department. The office said in a preliminary report that Mixon’s parole officers “followed all appropriate supervision, drug testing, and even job assistance.” It says officials also properly notified authorities after Mixon failed to check in with his parole officer Feb. 19.

“I’m proud of the work our parole agent fugitive apprehension team did in Oakland,” Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate told the state Senate Rules Committee during a hearing Wednesday. He did not elaborate, other than to acknowledge that there always can be improvements.

Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, said Wednesday that the rank-and-file is trying to cope with the tragedy while preparing for a public funeral Friday that is expected to fill the arena where the Golden State Warriors play.

“Everyone is devastated,” Arotzarena said. “Everyone is trying to seek answers to it all, including, ‘Why did this happen?’

“Our reaction is no different than anyone else.”

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 133 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2008, a 27 percent decrease from year before and the lowest annual total since 1960. Of those, 39 officers were killed in firearms-related incidents, a decrease of 43 percent from 2007 and the lowest number since 1956.

The fund manages a national memorial in Washington, D.C. that already carries more than 18,000 names. Romans, Sakai, Dunakin and Hege will be added to the roster in May 2010 during National Police Week, said Craig W. Floyd, the nonprofit’s chairman.

Appeared Here

Dumbass Dallas Texas Police Officer Robert Powell Delays Family Rushing To See Dying Mother, Writes Bogus Ticket In Hospital Parking Lot That Was Latter Dropped

DALLAS, TEXAS – Rushing to see his dying mother-in-law at a Plano hospital, a NFL player found himself delayed by a Dallas officer after he was stopped in the hospital’s ER parking lot.

With his wife and another woman in the car, Ryan Moats – a running back for the Houston Texans – sped his car towards the hospital on March 17. However, when he made it to the ER parking lot, they were stopped by Officer Robert Powell.

Dashcam video from the Dallas officer’s patrol car captured the incident.

“Get in there,” Officer Powell yelled out to Tamishia Moats, Ryan’s wife, as she exited the car. “Let me see your hands. Get in there. Put your hands on the car.”

“Excuse me, my mom is dying,” Moats said.

Moats and the other woman ignored Officer Powell’s commands and rushed inside the hospital to see her mother.

“I’ve got seconds before she’s gone, man,” Moats said to the officer.

Motes couldn’t find his insurance paperwork and was desperate to leave.

“Listen, if I can’t verify you have insurance…,” Officer Powell said.

“My mother-in-law is dying,” Moats interrupted.

“Listen to me,” Officer Powell said.

“Right now,” Moats said. “You’re wasting my time.”

“If you can’t verify you have insurance, I’m going to tow your car,” the officer said. “So, you either find it or I am going to tow the car.”

As they argued, the officer got irritated.

“Shut your mouth,” the officer said. “Shut your mouth. You can either settle down and cooperate or I can just take you to jail for running a red light.”

The clash shocked Moats.

“For him to not even be sympathetic at all, and basically we’re dogs or something and we don’t matter, it basically shocked me,” Moats said.

“I can screw you over,” Officer Powell said. “I would rather not do that. You obviously will dictate everything that happens; and right now, your attitude sucks.”

Twice, the hospital sent nurses to try and get the officer to let Moats go.

“We’re blue coding her for the third time,” the nurse said.

Even a Plano police officer stopped to make a plea for the officer to let Moats go.

“Hey, that’s the nurse,” the Plano officer said. “She says the mom is dying right now and she wants to know if I can get him up there.”

After 20 minutes, the officer ticketed Moats for running a red light.

However, by the time Moats made it up to the ER, she had already passed.

“I went up after she passed and held her hand, but she was already gone,” Moats said.

Dallas police have apologized, dropped the ticket and launched an investigation.

“When it came to our attention, we immediately called for an internal investigation to be done,” said Lt. Andy Havey, Dallas Police Department.

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US Border Patrol Plans To Use Agent Orange Like Poison Along Mexican Border

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Border Patrol plans to poison the plant life along a 1.1-mile stretch of the Rio Grande riverbank as soon as Wednesday to get rid of the hiding places used by smugglers, robbers and illegal immigrants.

If successful, the $2.1 million pilot project could later be duplicated along as many as 130 miles of river in the patrol’s Laredo Sector, as well as other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Although Border Patrol and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials say the chemical is safe for animals, detractors say the experiment is reminiscent of the Vietnam War-era Agent Orange chemical program and raises questions about long-term effects.

“We don’t believe that is even moral,” said Jay Johnson-Castro Sr., executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Center, located at Laredo Community College, adjacent to the planned test area.

“It is unprecedented that they’d do it in a populated area,” he said of spraying the edge of the Rio Grande as it weaves between the cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Border Patrol agent Roque Sarinana said the pilot project aims to find the most efficient way to keep agents safer and better protect the nation’s border. “We are trying to improve our mobility and visibility up and down the river,” Sarinana said.

Criminals have grown adept at using the dense foliage to elude capture, he said.

“They can come over almost undetected,” he said.

Should the Border Patrol project prove efficient, cane removal could become part of its arsenal of tools that have been used along various parts of the U.S.-Mexico border, including walls, fencing and look-out towers.

Members of the Laredo City Council have raised concerns about the spraying program and called on Mexico President Felipe Calderon to intervene.

Mexican officials are raising concerns the herbicide could threaten the water supply for Nuevo Laredo.

A U.S. government outline of the project indicates the Border Patrol is going to test three methods to rid the 1.1-mile bank of river of carrizo cane, which has thick stalks that form tight, isolated trails that can be dark and all but invisible from higher up on the bank.

One method calls for the cane to be cut by hand and the stumps painted with the herbicide, Imazapyr.

Another involves using mechanical equipment to dig the cane out by the roots. It is unclear if herbicides would be necessary in this scenario.

The third and most controversial removal method calls for helicopters spraying Imazapyr directly on the cane — repeatedly — until all plant life in the area is poisoned.

The Border Patrol said that after using the herbicide, it plans to make the river’s edges green again by planting native plants.

Johnson-Castro said he has no issue with removing the cane, a non-native plant brought by the Spaniards centuries ago. The challenge, he said, is how it is done.

“We are saying it is one hell of a big deal,” he said.

Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas said he believes federal officials when they say testing shows the chemical is not dangerous, but that he also realizes opponents of the project have concerns to evaluate.

“It is a complicated situation because we have to think about protecting our border,” said Salinas, a retired FBI agent. “But let’s do it in a sensible, reasonable way to make sure humans won’t be harmed, nor the vegetation, nor the animals, nor the environment.”

Appeared Here

Nutcase Richmond UK Police Ticket Woman Who Stopped To Resuscitate Her Dying 4 Year Old Son

RICHMOND, UK – A MUM told last night how callous traffic wardens gave her a parking ticket after she stopped her car to resuscitate her severely disabled son.

Penny Batkin, 40, saw Freddie, four, gasping for breath as she drove to his hospice. She stopped on a pavement in Hampton, South West London.

But wardens in a CCTV car ignored her plight as Freddie recovered and they issued a ticket.

Then Richmond Council refused her appeal.

Mum-of-three Penny said: “I was so furious. I’d stopped to deal with an emergency.” Last night the council apologised and cancelled the ticket.

Appeared Here

US Border Patrol Plans To Use Agent Orange Like Poison Along Mexican Border

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Border Patrol plans to poison the plant life along a 1.1-mile stretch of the Rio Grande riverbank as soon as Wednesday to get rid of the hiding places used by smugglers, robbers and illegal immigrants.

If successful, the $2.1 million pilot project could later be duplicated along as many as 130 miles of river in the patrol’s Laredo Sector, as well as other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Although Border Patrol and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials say the chemical is safe for animals, detractors say the experiment is reminiscent of the Vietnam War-era Agent Orange chemical program and raises questions about long-term effects.

“We don’t believe that is even moral,” said Jay Johnson-Castro Sr., executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Center, located at Laredo Community College, adjacent to the planned test area.

“It is unprecedented that they’d do it in a populated area,” he said of spraying the edge of the Rio Grande as it weaves between the cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Border Patrol agent Roque Sarinana said the pilot project aims to find the most efficient way to keep agents safer and better protect the nation’s border. “We are trying to improve our mobility and visibility up and down the river,” Sarinana said.

Criminals have grown adept at using the dense foliage to elude capture, he said.

“They can come over almost undetected,” he said.

Should the Border Patrol project prove efficient, cane removal could become part of its arsenal of tools that have been used along various parts of the U.S.-Mexico border, including walls, fencing and look-out towers.

Members of the Laredo City Council have raised concerns about the spraying program and called on Mexico President Felipe Calderon to intervene.

Mexican officials are raising concerns the herbicide could threaten the water supply for Nuevo Laredo.

A U.S. government outline of the project indicates the Border Patrol is going to test three methods to rid the 1.1-mile bank of river of carrizo cane, which has thick stalks that form tight, isolated trails that can be dark and all but invisible from higher up on the bank.

One method calls for the cane to be cut by hand and the stumps painted with the herbicide, Imazapyr.

Another involves using mechanical equipment to dig the cane out by the roots. It is unclear if herbicides would be necessary in this scenario.

The third and most controversial removal method calls for helicopters spraying Imazapyr directly on the cane — repeatedly — until all plant life in the area is poisoned.

The Border Patrol said that after using the herbicide, it plans to make the river’s edges green again by planting native plants.

Johnson-Castro said he has no issue with removing the cane, a non-native plant brought by the Spaniards centuries ago. The challenge, he said, is how it is done.

“We are saying it is one hell of a big deal,” he said.

Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas said he believes federal officials when they say testing shows the chemical is not dangerous, but that he also realizes opponents of the project have concerns to evaluate.

“It is a complicated situation because we have to think about protecting our border,” said Salinas, a retired FBI agent. “But let’s do it in a sensible, reasonable way to make sure humans won’t be harmed, nor the vegetation, nor the animals, nor the environment.”

Appeared Here