US Census Counts Imprisoned Illegal Aliens Awaiting Deportation

TACOMA, WASHINGTON – Paulo Sergio Alfaro-Sanchez, an illegal immigrant being held at a detention center in Washington state, had no idea that the federal government would count him in the census.

No one gave him a census form. No one told him his information would be culled from the center’s records.

But counted he was, along with other illegal immigrants facing deportation in detention centers across the country – about 30,000 people on any given day, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement.

By the time the census delivers the total tallies to the state and federal government, most of the immigrants will be long gone. But because the population snapshot determines the allocation of federal dollars, those in custody could help bring money to the towns, cities and counties in Texas, Arizona, Washington and Georgia where the country’s biggest and newest facilities are located.

“I think the irony, if there’s any irony, is that the locality is what’s going to benefit, because you have a detention center in a particular city where people have been brought from different parts of the region, and that community will benefit,” said Arturo Vargas, executive director of National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, an organization that has pushed Latinos to participate in the census.

This census brings a twist, though. For the first time, states have the option of counting people in detention centers and prisons as residents of their last address before they’re detained, worrying some local lawmakers who say cities and counties that host detention centers could lose money.

“Detention centers and prisons should probably count where they are located, that’s where resources would be required,” Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, D-Georgia wrote in a May letter to the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the census. Bishop represents Stewart County, Georgia, population 4,600, where the nation’s largest detention center housed a total of 14,000 people between April 2007 and March 2008.

ICE operates 22 immigrant detention centers and also houses people in hundreds of other jails or prisons. Most of the largest centers are in small towns in Texas, Arizona and Georgia. Texas is home to six detention centers, and Arizona has three.

The payout can be hefty for small towns. Federal money being distributed from the census averaged about $1,469 per person in fiscal year 2008, according to the Brookings Institution, and other grants are also available to small towns depending on their population.

In Raymondville, Texas, a town of nearly 10,000 people, the Willacy Detention Center holds an average daily population of about 1,000. The center opened in 2006 and was a boon to the community as ICE and the private company that runs the center rushed to hire personnel.

Now, the detention center’s population may push Raymondville over the town’s goal of surpassing 10,000, a number that will allow them to qualify for more federal help, Mayor Orlando Correa said.

“As long it’s humane, as long as the facility respects the rights of these people and they’re not treated like animals, I’m OK with it,” Correa said.

For safety reasons, most detainees are counted through administrative records, rather than forms being passed out, U.S Census Bureau spokesman Stephen Buckner said. The census will cull data from records kept on April 1.

Alfaro-Sanchez, for his part, is glad he’s being counted. He entered the country when he was about 15 through Tijuana, and worked as a handyman in Goldendale, a small town in eastern Washington.

He arrived in at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma on March 30 after being arrested in a fight. The charges were dropped, he said, but immigration officers had already flagged him for arrest.

“I think that even though we may be sent back, there’s a lot of people who may need that money, the Hispanic people that are here,” the 32-year-old said in Spanish.

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Gainesville Florida Police Entrap Motorists In Crosswalks

GAINESVILLE, FLORIA – When Kelly Stauff saw the man in the crosswalk, it was too late to stop. She didn’t hit the man, who turned out to be a Gainesville police officer in street clothes, but Stauff was nailed with a $154 ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian.

Stauff and others have complained about GPD’s tactics in its new initiative to improve pedestrian safety, saying they are sneaky and create a violation that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.

GPD counters that such sting details are endorsed by pedestrian and bicycle organizations, and are an effective way to get across a message that traffic laws will be enforced.

And it’s likely that GPD may do more of them when schools reopen after the summer break, said Cpl. Tscharna Senn.

“We’ve had more pedestrian-related accidents than we are comfortable with, and even one is too much,” Senn said. “Agencies all over have used decoys for details like this one.”

Senn added that an early morning accident downtown on May 22 in which three pedestrians were hit is a prime example of why both pedestrians and drivers need to be more alert when crossing streets.

Senn added that officers won’t determine who was at fault in that accident until an analysis of evidence is done.

“This is why it is so critical that we do an education program on pedestrian safety because we do have a lot of areas in town that are very heavily congested with pedestrian and vehicular traffic,” she said. “Late at night, when you don’t have the best lighting conditions, it is incumbent on all drivers and pedestrians to know the law.”

GPD has already issued far more tickets for failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks this year than in past years: 9,174 so far compared with 9,043 last year and 10,026 in 2008.

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Crazed Oregon Department Of Human Services And Lane County Circuit Court Judge Kip Leonard Keep Canadian Child In State Custody For 2 Years For No Reason

OREGON – Almost two years after a 12-year-old Calgary boy was whisked into foster care in the United States in a bizarre custody dispute, an Oregon court judge has decided he’s coming home.

Noah Kirkman will be back home in Canada in a few weeks, but there was no suggestion that anything was amiss that caused the youngster to be kept from his family for almost two years.

“Noah was happy,” said Tony Merchant, the Regina-based lawyer for the family of the boy, who will finish his school year in Oregon.

Mr. Merchant, who has been involved in the case for the last few months, said that something was truly “bizarre” in the handling of this case. But he didn’t blame the judge who led it.

“I don’t know how things went wrong before I was involved,” Mr. Merchant said. “I don’t think Judge Leonard is at fault.”

Noah also met with his grandparents Thursday night, looked at his Calgary home on Google Earth and is excited to be reunited with his parents and sister, Mr. Merchant said.

The court acknowledged that there are still transition issues, but Oregon officials have been told to work them out.

The boy, who had been caught in bureaucratic limbo since the summer of 2008, will be returning to his Canadian family in a few weeks, the judge ruled.

The legal nightmare began when Noah was vacationing with his stepfather in small-town Oregon, while his mother and younger sister remained at home in Canada.

The boy was riding his bike without a helmet when he was stopped by police, but had trouble answering questions. He has severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but maintains an A average in school. Officials checked out his background and found an open social services file in Canada, which was the result of his special needs assistance, and that he was in the U.S. without his mother, his legal guardian and deemed her note permitting care by his stepfather wasn’t enough.

Noah was taken into custody to protect his welfare, although Oregon’s Department of Human Services won’t talk about the case citing privacy rules.

Noah’s mother, Lisa, and stepfather, John, who now resides with the family in Calgary and is the father of Noah’s sister Mia, (he and his wife for a time lived in different cities) have been fighting to be reunited with Noah ever since.

Last month, Oregon’s Lane County Circuit Court Judge Kip Leonard ruled that he might be open to sending the boy back to Canada when the school year ends, but there was no guarantee.

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San Bernardino California Police Can’t Find “Kidnapped” Girl For 14 Years, Mom Finds Her On Facebook

SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA – A father is behind bars, arrested for allegedly kidnapped his own children from California 14 years ago, and bringing them to Central Florida to live.

For years, investigators have been searching for him, but it was the social networking website Facebook that delivered the break it took more than a decade to get, MyFoxOrlando reports.

Faustino Utrera is now charged with two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of violating child custody orders.

According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Utrera was at a bus stop on Wednesday at about 2:30 in the afternoon, waiting to pick up his 16-year-old son from school, when he was taken into custody.

Faustino’s 16-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter had been attending celebration high school. Investigators said the family of three had actually been living in the palm key mobile home park in Polk County.

Investigators said that in 1995, Utrera took his two kids from the family’s San Bernardino, California home and disappeared.

Then just last march, investigators said the mother of the children was on Facebook and found her daughter. When she began conversing online, her very own daughter, who hadn’t seen her since she was 3 years old, told her mom she wanted nothing to do with her and deleted her Facebook page.

San Bernardino authorities issued an out-of-state arrest warrant, and this past Wednesday, Osceola County deputies caught up with Utrera.

We know Faustino’s daughter is about to turn 18, and she officially graduated from celebration high school on Thursday night. For now, both children are in the custody of the State of Florida.

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New Jersey Division Of Criminal Justice Charges Man With Commiting Crimes In Costa Rica Where Effort Isn’t Illegal

NEW JERSEY – A Buffalo man accused of running a multibillion-dollar online gambling site for a New York City crime family posted $100,000 bail this week following a court appearance on money-laundering and illegal gambling charges.

Investigators with New Jersey’s Division of Criminal Justice accuse Brian R. Cohen, 62, of operating a “wire room” in Costa Rica, where the Lucchese crime family took in $2.2 billion in illegal bets on sporting events.

Cohen has residences in Buffalo and Costa Rica.

He was arrested May 16 on a return trip from Costa Rica at Buffalo Niagara International Airport by detectives from the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.

Cohen allegedly ran the Lucchese family’s offshore gambling operations, including a Web site called http://www.bigactionsports.com. The wire room in San Jose, Costa Rica, had up to 20 people at a time taking bets by phone and processing wagers, according to Stephen J. Taylor, director of the Division of Criminal Justice.

Cohen appeared Thursday in New Jersey Superior Court in Morristown, where Judge Thomas V. Manahan ordered him to surrender his U. S. passport.

His arrest was “another significant milestone” in the prosecution of the Lucchese crime family, Taylor said.

“We have indicted the top echelon of this criminal organization in both New York and New Jersey, and we continue to charge key players in their multibillion- dollar gambling operation,” he said.

A New Jersey grand jury earlier returned indictments against 34 alleged Lucchese members and associates, including two of the family’s “ruling members,” on multiple counts including racketeering, conspiracy and money laundering.

The allegations against Cohen also will be presented to a grand jury.

If convicted, Cohen could face up to 10 years in state prison on the money-laundering charge and five years on the gambling charge.

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Nutcase West Yorkshire UK Police Tow Car Because A Window Was Open

WEST YORKSHIRE, UK – Marcus Morris was told that police they had taken his VW Polo because the open window – which he had accidentally left down – meant the vehicle was at risk of theft.

Mr Morris, 25, had parked the car near to Leeds city centre as he went for a job interview but returned an hour-and-a-half later to find it had gone.

He contacted West Yorkshire Police believing it had been stolen but was told they had removed it to protect it from thieves.

Mr Morris, said: “I couldn’t believe it. It seems outrageous.

“So what if I had left my window open? If anything had been taken then it’d have been my own fault.”

Police told him a window had been left open and a CD wallet was in the back of the car. The vehicle had been taken to a storage facility.

When Mr Morris collected his car the next morning he was handed a bill for £150. “I’m not working at the moment and that’s a lot of money for me. It’s money I don’t think I should have had to pay,” he said.

West Yorkshire Police said it made no apology for taking action. Chief Insp Elizabeth Belton said: “Officers regularly patrol our communities looking for opportunities to prevent crime, which is exactly what has happened on this occasion.

“The vehicle was left insecure with valuables on show in an area with significant levels of car crime and we were unable to locate the owner.

“We make absolutely no apology whatsoever for the officer’s actions, which have prevented this vehicle becoming a target for thieves. Had a thief got there first it would have been a very different story.

“We need people to take responsibility for their own property and take any valuables with them when they park up. We hope Mr Morris’s story will serve as a reminder.”

The charges made for the recovery and storage of vehicles are set nationally by the Government. Mr Morris confirmed he is taking legal advice in an attempt to recover the cost.

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Nutcase Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Refuses To Produce Documents Detailing Taxpayer Dollars Spent By Department

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Maricopa County sheriff’s officials said Tuesday that financial sanctions imposed by the Board of Supervisors will affect public safety, and the office likely will challenge the moves in court.

Sheriff’s Office attorneys have an 8:30 a.m. telephone conference today with a Superior Court judge on the proposed actions.

The conflict between the two entities hit a fever pitch Monday when the board froze the Sheriff’s Office’s access to racketeering and jail-enhancement funds starting July 1 because of what it suspects may be misspending. The funds totaled about $3 million this year. The move came after Sheriff Joe Arpaio refused to hand over financial documents the board subpoenaed. The board is trying to investigate the spending and set Arpaio’s budget for next fiscal year.

The board is scheduled to consider a range of additional financial actions against the sheriff at 11:30 a.m. today. The potential sanctions include canceling Sheriff’s Office credit cards, closing its outside bank accounts, restricting non-emergency travel or putting the office’s $269 million budget on line-item. The board had promised the actions would not impact public safety.

Still, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lisa Allen said any actions would have serious ramifications and could affect everything from street patrols to drug investigations and disaster response. For example, she said, the Sheriff’s Office will have to park about 100 patrol cars funded exclusively through the racketeering funds if the money cannot be spent.

And if the board canceled staff credit cards, Allen said, deputies would be unable to quickly gas up patrol cars, purchase airline tickets for 20 to 30 monthly extraditions or purchase supplies to keep the office running.

“If we don’t have the flexibility to react as law enforcement is made to react – which is quickly – because they’re a little ticked off at us with how we’re reacting to their request, that will hinder our ability to keep the public safe,” Allen said.

Sheriff’s Office attorneys and staff also said the board could only put the office on a line-item budget if it was over budget. Sheriff’s spokesman Brian Lee said the office was within its $269 million budget and had spent about $215 million through April.

Allen said attorneys almost certainly would request a temporary restraining order to block any sanctions.

County spokeswoman Cari Gerchick said the county has an obligation to the public to take action.

“If they would just give us the documents, this could all be avoided,” Gerchick said. “With a $300 million budget, there are probably some non-mandated activities that occur, and reasonably limiting those activities will not harm public safety.”

The board since March has asked the sheriff to turn over financial documents including detailed credit-card transactions, work assignments, a list of all detainees or defendants extradited, and a list of all bank accounts dating to 2005.

The board subpoenaed the information and gave Arpaio until May 7 to turn over the documents. When he missed the deadline, the board tried to convene a contempt hearing. Attorneys for the Sheriff’s Office appealed to the court.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Gordon ruled the board could not force Arpaio to attend the hearing and scheduled a hearing for June 4.

Sheriff’s attorney Kerry Martin said today’s proposed actions by the board could violate the temporary restraining order.

He said the action is “direct retaliation” for not turning over the documents. Martin requested a telephone hearing with Gordon to ask the judge to consider another temporary restraining order against the board if it imposes sanctions.

The board wants the records to help set Arpaio’s budget but also believes he may be misspending or misusing public funds, though to what extent is uncertain.

For years, county government was conducted without much fanfare.

Budgets were negotiated, misspending dealt with quietly. Audits were low key. The supervisors tussled with a few department heads and elected officials over money and power, but those cases didn’t match today’s outright war with Arpaio.

Betsey Bayless was a supervisor in the 1990s, when the board and sheriff first fought over authority and money.

“We had numerous problems, but not like today,” she said. “You have all of these individual office holders elected by the people, and that sets up a conflict which maybe on a day-to-day basis isn’t a problem, but it is very difficult to govern an organization that is very diffused.”

The supervisors and their attorneys maintain that if there is misspending, it must be rooted out. They also point out the new fiscal year begins soon.

Critics have said the county’s executive branch has used its budget authority to go after enemies.

“The board and county management use their powers of the purse to amass other powers and to settle grudges with other elected county officials,” said former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who resigned to run for attorney general.

Last summer, seven countywide elected officials met to talk about a perceived power grab and lack of respect by the board and top county administrators.

But today’s relationships with the board are strong, said three elected officials, because supervisors Max Wilson and Don Stapley have reached out to meet regularly.

County Recorder Helen Purcell, Assessor Keith Russell and Schools Superintendent Don Covey all said they have positive relationships with the board and the Office of Management and Budget.

“On the sheriff, let me put it this way: I’ve been here 22 years and the last 18 months have not been pleasant,” Purcell said. “In almost anything that’s gone on, there’s right and wrong on both sides. It has made for not only an unstable situation, but it’s just the way most people don’t want to conduct business.”

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Lawtey Florida Police Officer Kenyatta Sheffield Arrested Shaking Down Motorists In Town Well Know For Speed Traps

LAWTEY, FLORIDA – The Bradford County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a member of the Lawtey Police Department.

Kenyatta Sheffield, a part-time officer, is accused of offering to let speeders pay fines in cash while he had them pulled over.

Deputies with the BCSO arrested Sheffield on Thursday on charges of bribery and unlawful compensation for official behavior. He is being held in protective custody at the Bradford County jail in lieu of $60,000 bond.

While this little town has a reputation for being a speed trap, it is now getting another bad rap.

“Speed traps are one thing. Taking money, bribing is another thing altogether,” said Lt. Gail Russell of the BCSO.

Lawtey Police Capt. Shane Bennett suspended Sheffield and the sheriff’s office will now handle the investigation into the bribery allegations.

Police said they got the tip on the alleged scam when he pulled a woman over three weeks ago. “She was told she could pay a roadside fee of $191. In doing so it would eliminate the point on her driver’s license,” Russell said.

Police said the girl didn’t have the cash, so she called a friend for help. That friend knew something didn’t sound right and called police.

So far, police have found out that Sheffield scammed three others, including a woman he followed to get cash for her ticket.

“She went to an ATM, escorted by the officer to the ATM, and withdrew a couple hundred dollars to pay that,” Russell said.

Sheffield did not turn in the actual tickets, she said. “What it appears the officer was doing was voiding tickets and obliterating all identifying information, such as tag numbers, everything.”

Police said Sheffield wrote about 350 tickets over the last couple of months. Detectives are going through the stack trying to find other victims.

Since starting their investigation, Bradford detectives have located two victims in addition to the one who originally contacted the sheriff.

“We are extremely disappointed that one of our police officers…chose to abuse the powers of his position,” said Lawtey Police Chief Butch Jordan. “Mr. Sheffield was vested with a great amount of authority and even a greater amount of trust. He violated both and now must answer to our justice system.”

Sheffield also worked for the Department of Corrections as a correctional officer in the Union Corrections facility. The DOC said it is terminating him as well.

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Lawsuit Dismissed After Santa Monica California Police Targeted The Homeless For Harassment And False Arrests

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – A federal judge in Los Angeles has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Santa Monica over the city’s treatment of homeless people.

U.S. District Court Judge George H. Wu dismissed the suit with prejudice, meaning the ACLU would be prohibited from bringing any future actions on the same claim.

Santa Monica City Manager Rod Gould said a “resolution agreement” would soon be considered by the City Council, but he declined to discuss details.

“The resolution agreement … will be available on the evening of June 8,” Gould said. Under the Brown Act, he said, the City Council must approve the resolution and report it publicly before city officials are free to discuss it.

Santa Monica Mayor Bobby Shriver said it was “shocking and hypocritical” for the ACLU and its partner in the suit, the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson, to waste their resources on such an effort. He urged them to turn their attention to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, which he said has exacerbated the homeless problem by not adequately caring for the many veterans living on the streets.

In July 2009, the ACLU of Southern California filed a civil rights suit against Santa Monica, saying police routinely violated homeless people’s constitutional rights and the Americans With Disabilities Act by harassing and arresting them even as the city failed to provide sufficient shelter beds.

Mark Rosenbaum, the organization’s legal director, said he could not comment because the parties had agreed to keep details confidential until June 8.

When the suit was filed, however, he said: “Santa Monica is effectively running a deportation program for the homeless.” The suit was similar to previous legal challenges against Laguna Beach and Santa Barbara that Rosenbaum said had resulted in policy changes that have helped the homeless.

The city of Santa Monica immediately fired back, defending its efforts to get homeless people off the streets and into housing with social services.

A city count of homeless people in January showed that the number had declined for the second consecutive year. There were 742 homeless people counted from 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Jan. 29. Those included 264 on the streets; 423 in institutions such as shelters, hospitals, jails and hotels; and 53 living in cars, vans, RVs or encampments.

The number marked a 19% reduction from the previous year, when 915 were counted.

In its 20-page complaint, filed jointly with the law firm on behalf of six individuals, the ACLU alleged that “Santa Monica should be a kind of oasis for those forced to live and sleep outdoors — a place where the climate and open spaces make homelessness somewhat less horrible than it would be most other places.” Rather, it said, the city “has made it a crime to be homeless.”

The complaint said police routinely prodded chronically homeless people to move on to other places, such as Venice, Culver City or downtown L.A.’s skid row.

A high percentage of those sleeping on the streets have mental illnesses or addictions.

The complaint mentions a 56-year-old woman with paranoid schizophrenia who said she fears that spaceships are trying to kill her. After being jailed three times, and hearing her fears scoffed at by police, she relocated to Venice.

Appeared HereLAWTEY, Fla. — The Bradford County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a member of the Lawtey Police Department.

Kenyatta Sheffield, a part-time officer, is accused of offering to let speeders pay fines in cash while he had them pulled over.

Deputies with the BCSO arrested Sheffield on Thursday on charges of bribery and unlawful compensation for official behavior. He is being held in protective custody at the Bradford County jail in lieu of $60,000 bond.

While this little town has a reputation for being a speed trap, it is now getting another bad rap.

“Speed traps are one thing. Taking money, bribing is another thing altogether,” said Lt. Gail Russell of the BCSO.

Lawtey Police Capt. Shane Bennett suspended Sheffield and the sheriff’s office will now handle the investigation into the bribery allegations.

Police said they got the tip on the alleged scam when he pulled a woman over three weeks ago. “She was told she could pay a roadside fee of $191. In doing so it would eliminate the point on her driver’s license,” Russell said.

Police said the girl didn’t have the cash, so she called a friend for help. That friend knew something didn’t sound right and called police.

So far, police have found out that Sheffield scammed three others, including a woman he followed to get cash for her ticket.

“She went to an ATM, escorted by the officer to the ATM, and withdrew a couple hundred dollars to pay that,” Russell said.

Sheffield did not turn in the actual tickets, she said. “What it appears the officer was doing was voiding tickets and obliterating all identifying information, such as tag numbers, everything.”

Police said Sheffield wrote about 350 tickets over the last couple of months. Detectives are going through the stack trying to find other victims.

Since starting their investigation, Bradford detectives have located two victims in addition to the one who originally contacted the sheriff.

“We are extremely disappointed that one of our police officers…chose to abuse the powers of his position,” said Lawtey Police Chief Butch Jordan. “Mr. Sheffield was vested with a great amount of authority and even a greater amount of trust. He violated both and now must answer to our justice system.”

Sheffield also worked for the Department of Corrections as a correctional officer in the Union Corrections facility. The DOC said it is terminating him as well.

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Universal City Texas Police Can’t Tell The Difference Between Black And White, Male And Female

UNIVERSAL CITY, TEXAS – Universal City police call it an unfortunate coincidence.

Police had been searching for Cody Ring, 20, on suspicion of aggravated robbery and home invasion. He was deemed dangerous by police.

Police were told Ring would be showing up at the Villages of Kitty Hawk apartment complex on Sunday afternoon and parking at Building 15.

Police were given a 10-minute window that Ring in which expected to arrive. He was expected to be driving a silver colored Chevy HHR.

At that time, Tiffaney Wilson drove up in her silver Chevy HHR, and parked in her spot at Building 18. Police officers immediately surrounded the car with their guns drawn and started screaming at Wilson to put her hands up.

Wilson says she was panicking because she didn’t know what was going on and she had her three children in the car with her.

Police got Wilson’s door open and saw the children in the back seat. They realized they had the wrong car, put their guns away and left the area.

But Wilson says police should have known immediately she was not the suspect. The suspect is a white male. Wilson is a black female.

Minutes later, police say, Ring showed up in a darker silver Chevy HHR. Police arrested him without incident.

Police apologized to Wilson for the mix-up, but she says it doesn’t feel like enough. She wants police to be retrained on approaching suspects.

“I think they could have done a lot better. It could have been me or my kids’ lives,” Wilson said.

Universal City Assistant Police Chief Bill Gabbard explained what happened.

“We were doing our job. We were relying on the information we had to get this violent criminal off the streets,” he said. “What a coincidence with these two vehicles going to the same location within the same timeframe. I don’t know how to apologize for that or to make it better. We would not change what we did.”

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Los Angeles County California Judge Mitchell Beckloff Prevents Two Kids From Attending Their Dead Mother’s Memorial Service

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – The children of a Los Angeles woman found dead at a Mexican resort last month will not be allowed to attend a memorial service for their mother Sunday, a judge ruled Friday.

A therapist hired by their father, a former “Survivor” producer named a “person of interest” in the investigation of his wife’s death, said the service could be emotionally harmful to the young children.

Mexican authorities detained the father, Bruce Beresford-Redman, as a suspect the day his wife’s body’s was found. He was released a day later.

Sunday’s memorial service is planned by Monica Beresford-Redman’s sisters, who are also fighting for custody of the children.

“We respect the decision of the court, but we are very disappointed the fact that the children were denied to participate in the celebration of their mother’s life,” Jeane Burgos said.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff delayed any decision on changing the current custody arrangement. Beresford-Redman’s parents were given temporary custody last month after he was told by Mexican police to remain in the country while they investigated. He recently returned to Los Angeles and filed papers for custody to be returned to him.

The maternal sisters have also petitioned for permanent custody of the children, ages 3 and 5.

Beresford-Redman was not in court Friday because of the swarm of reporters at the Los Angeles County courthouse, his criminal defense lawyer said.

Defense Attorney Richard Hirsch used the gathering of journalists to ask that there not be “a rush to judgment” about Beresford-Redman. He said there have been other unsolved deaths and an attack at the Moon Palace resort, where Monica Beresford-Redman’s body was found in a sewer.

Hirsch cited the death of an elderly Scottish woman, who was found in a swamp weeks after leaving a pool for a walk, and a Canadian man who allegedly fell from a hotel balcony.

Jeff Toews, a Canadian, was found dead in May 2007. Investigators decided he died from a drunken fall from a balcony, but his family did not accept that explanation.

Julia Howard, a 77-year-old woman from Scotland, was found dead in a dense swamp six weeks after disappearing from a pool area last summer. Her family also rejected the police conclusion that her death was an accident.

A woman reported an attempted rape in her hotel room “several days after Mrs. Beresford-Redman’s body was discovered,” Hirsch said.

“We have brought this to the attention of the authorities and, in particular, to the attorney general in Cancun and asked them to pursue all leads before making a decision whether of not to charge our client,” Hirsch said. “We feel that this case should not be a rush to judgment.”

“There are strange things going on, I think, that need to be pursued,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the resort has not responded to a CNN request for comment.

The initial investigation suggested Monica Beresford-Redman “died of strangulation because of the bruising,” Mexican regional police spokesman Adrian Cardena said.

A source close to the wife has told CNN that she cleaned out the family bank account and took her two children to Hawaii because she was upset about her husband’s extramarital affair. The couple later traveled to Cancun in an effort to repair their marriage, the source said.

Bruce Beresford-Redman built his career as a Hollywood reality television show producer. He worked for several seasons on the popular CBS show “Survivor,” in which contestants compete against each other in a variety of extreme outdoor scenarios. He was nominated for three Emmy Awards as a producer on the show and was last credited as a producer in 2004.

He also worked on NBC’s “The Contender” and “The Restaurant,” as well as MTV’s “Pimp My Ride,” according to entertainment media company IMG.

Monica Beresford-Redman, a native of Brazil, owned a restaurant in Los Angeles.

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Hundreds Of New England Police Officers, Firefighters, And EMTs Used Bogus Certificates For Licenses

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – More than 200 emergency medical technicians, firefighters and police officers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire may have to surrender their licenses after an investigation into falsified EMT course completion certificates, state officials say.

First responders must complete recertification courses every two years, but the investigation found that although some of them had been awarded certificates, they had not attended all the required classes, said Jen Manley, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

All of those under suspicion had been trained correctly before, she said, and the Public Health Department has not found any incidents in which they provided inadequate care.

However, the department considers this a matter of falsifying training records and those under investigation are voluntarily suspended from providing medical treatment, Manley said.

The investigation, which is ongoing, began a month ago, she said.

Sue Prentiss, chief of emergency medical services for the New Hampshire Department of Safety, told CNN that up to 39 New Hampshire EMTs who received training at Massachusetts facilities also allegedly obtained false certifications.

All individuals under suspicion in the two states have confessed, and some are in the process of obtaining correct recertification, Manley and Prentiss said.

The certifications under investigation were issued in 2008 and 2009, according to Manley, and the state is currently reviewing records from the past two years.

The Boston Fire Department was notified about the investigation, which concerns 18 of their firefighters, on Wednesday, said spokesman Steve MacDonald. He said the fire department is not yet aware of what the 18 firefighters would be charged with, just that their names are on the list.

Although firefighters are not required to receive EMT certification, the fire department issues stipends to individuals who complete the courses as an incentive for them to be trained as first responders, MacDonald said. Recertification courses cost $100 to $200 and stipends can go up to $2,000.

Prentiss told CNN that the New Hampshire Department of Safety became aware of the allegations on May 13 when one of the training institutions came to the department with the results of an internal investigation. All of the training institutions being investigated are cooperating with the state and have provided lists of individuals who attended their classes, Manley and Prentiss said.

Both told CNN that although private employers can discipline workers as they see fit, the states will not pursue punishment until the investigation is complete. However, “we take this very seriously” said Manley, and the state might consider suspending or revoking the licenses of EMTs with falsified certificates.

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Dumbass Veteran Long Beach New York Police Officer Paul DeMarco Runs Over Sunbather On Beach With Police SUV

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA – A sunbather catching rays on a Long Island beach was mowed down yesterday by a cop racing to an emergency, in a horrific accident that left tire marks along the victim’s back, officials said.

Only the soft sand and good fortune kept the unsuspecting sunbather from being crushed to death, according to witnesses.

Beachgoers watched in horror as Officer Paul DeMarco, a 10-year veteran, stepped on the gas in his Long Beach Police Department SUV — with Marshall Starkman, 43, under his wheels.

According to officials, DeMarco was responding to a call for a water rescue shortly after noon and made a sharp right turn, rolling over Starkman, who was lying face down in a lounge chair.

Witnesses said DeMarco did not know he struck the man until bystanders screamed for him to stop.

“When he first hit him, he stopped,” said Scott Cali, 47. “Then he accelerated and went over him while people were yelling. I guess he didn’t see him and went right over him. It was just a horrible accident.”

The victim’s chair was low on the sand and might have been obstructed from the officer’s view.

“He didn’t see [the victim],” Long Beach City Manager Charles Theofan said of DeMarco.

Starkman was rushed by helicopter to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow and was in the intensive-care unit last night, but was expected to survive, officials said.

“He’s in a tremendous amount of pain. I’ve never seen him in such pain,” said his shaken wife, Allison, adding that he suffered a fractured spine and broken rib.

“I just can’t believe what happened. “He was sitting on the beach minding his own business,” she said.

“It’s very unfortunate, but thank God he’s alive.”

Starkman’s mother, Joan, said she nearly passed out when she saw the tire marks on her son’s back.

DeMarco was responding to a call of a surfer in distress. The surfer eventually got out of the water without being hurt.

Starkman, a manager at a cellphone store in the Green Acres Malls in Valley Stream, LI, had been lounging near a cooler listening to music when the SUV crushed him, witnesses said.

The weight of the vehicle smashed him so far down into the sand that the lounge chair nearly disappeared.

Despite being in obvious pain, the victim managed to grab his cellphone.

“He wanted someone to contact his mom,” Cali said. “He said, ‘Can somebody please call my mom.’ “

Nassau County police responded to the accident and launched an investigation to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Theofan said.

But DeMarco is not expected to face any charges.

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Innocent Man Freed After Bogus Houston Texas Rape Conviction And 23 Years In Prison Still Not “Innocent” After Being Cleared By DNA Tests And Release From Prison

HOUSTON, TEXAS – A Houston man freed last year after spending 23 years in prison for a rape he did not commit cleared another hurdle Tuesday in his quest to be declared “actually innocent.”

DNA test results released in court Tuesday show that Ernest Sonnier, 47, was not involved in a second rape, which ended in a murder for which he was a suspect in 1985, said Alba Morales, the Innocence Project staff attorney handling the case. She said the test excluded Sonnier from being involved.

In the rape for which he was convicted, DNA testing over the past two years implicated two convicted felons as the perpetrators of the 1985 crime, Morales said.

Sonnier was released last Aug. 6 on a personal recognizance bond that included travel restrictions, including wearing an ankle monitor. State District Judge Michael McSpadden ruled Tuesday that Sonnier can travel freely and no longer must wear the monitor.

He continues to wait for a final ruling on his innocence, as prosecutors continue to investigate the case. He is scheduled to return to court for a hearing in September.

The rape for which he was convicted occurred Christmas Eve 1985, when two men approached a woman at an Alief gas station, forced her into her car by threatening to kill her and drove toward San Antonio. During a seven-hour drive, the men took turns raping the woman. The victim escaped the next morning after the men stopped the car.

Although two men committed the crime, Sonnier was the only person charged. He was convicted a year later and sentenced to life in prison and a $10,000 fine.

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Crazed Tybee Georgia Police Officers Assault Innocent Autistic Teen With Heart Condition

TYBEE, GEORGIA – An 18-year-old autistic Georgia youth with a heart condition says police turned a Taser on him, according to The Associated Press. Officers arrested Clifford Grevemberg Friday night, says the AP and told his brother, Dario Mariani, that the teen was drunk and disorderly. But Mariani said Grevemberg is a special-needs teen who’s never consumed alcohol.

The 170-pound teenager, who’s from Tybee Island, said the police used a Taser on him twice and threw him to the ground, breaking a front tooth.

“I just wanted to go to sleep,” the teenager told the Savannah Morning News, as reported by the Examiner.com. “I sat down on the curb and put my head in my arms, and they stopped me.”

Mariani said he had gone into a restaurant briefly and when he stepped back out, his handcuffed brother was bleeding and two Taser barbs dangled from his back.

When he told the police about his brother’s health, “Their eyeballs got about that big when I told them he has a heart condition,” Mariani said. The autistic teen’s heart must be monitored regularly, according to his family.

After being taken to the Tybee police station, Grevemberg was released. Yesterday a police dispatcher said that no one was available to comment, according to The Associated Press.

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Horse Mint: Dumbass Corpus Christi Texas Police Officers Piss Away Tax Dollars Cataloging And Pulling Weeds In A City Park – “one of the largest marijuana plant seizures in the police department’s history”

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – Like the old song goes, one of these things is not like the other…

However, remind a police officer in Corpus Christi, Texas of those famed Cookie Monster lyrics and they’re likely to give you an annoyed look.

That’s because a recently discovered cache of plants, initially pegged by officials speaking to local news as “one of the largest marijuana plant seizures in the police department’s history,” turned out to be a relatively common prairie flower of little significance.

Texas officers ultimately spent hours laboring to tag and remove up to 400 plants from a city park, discovering only after a battery of tests that they had been sweating over mere Horse Mint, a member of the mint family — effectively turning their ambitious drug bust into mere yard work.

The plants, which bear very few aesthetic similarities to cannabis, were reported by an unnamed youth who came across them while riding a bike in the park around 8 p.m. on Thursday. Upon visual inspection, police apparently agreed that the inoffensive plants had to go.
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Ultimately, officers were reduced to conducting chemical tests to learn their “weed” was really just that: an actual weed.

marijuana Texas cops mistake actual weed for marijuana, spend hours doing yard work”That shows exactly the caliber of police work that is done in Corpus christi, Tx,” commenter Derick Sillers opined in a local NBC affiliate’s comments section.

“The resident of corpus and nueces county should seriously be concerned with how their tax dollars are spent,” he continued. “[This] is the same police department that serves, protects and investigates you…. does it really take that long to find out you don’t have marijuana.”

“Officers did not explain how their big ‘drug haul’ will be disposed of, now that they’ve spent untold hours and plenty of taxpayer money clearing weeds of the the city park,” writer Steve Elliott summarized for News Junkie Post.

The tale is, at very least, a compelling argument for accurate, non-fear-based drug education in public schools, which advocacy groups say is sorely lacking.

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TSA Has Another Secret Watch List Of U.S. Air Travelers – Innocent People That They Don’t Like – Which They Are Sharing With Other Agencies And Private Businesses

WASHINGTON, DC – Airline passengers who get frustrated and kick a wall, throw a suitcase or make a pithy comment to a screener could find themselves in a little-known Homeland Security database.

The Transportation Security Administration says it is keeping records of people who make its screeners feel threatened as part of an effort to prevent workplace violence.

Privacy advocates fear the database could feed government watch lists and subject innocent people to extra airport screening.

“Is this going to be the baby watch list? There’s a potential for the misuse of information or the mischaracterization of harmless events as potential threats,” American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Michael German said.

A TSA report says the database can include names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, home addresses and phone numbers of people involved in airport incidents, including aggressors, victims and witnesses.

Incidents in the database include threats, bullying or verbal abuse, remarks about death or violence, brandishing a real or fake weapon, intentionally scaring workers or excessive displays of anger such as punching a wall or kicking equipment, the report says.

The database was created in late 2007 as the TSA launched a program to prevent the nation’s 50,000 airport screeners from being attacked or threatened, agency spokeswoman Kristin Lee said. At the time, TSA officials voiced concern about passengers disrespecting screeners, and they began issuing new uniforms with police-style badges pinned to shirts.

Lee said attacks and threats against screeners are “rare” and the database has records from about 240 incidents. Most are screeners in conflict with other screeners. About 30 incidents involve people such as passengers or airport workers attacking or threatening screeners, Lee said.

Information about passengers is taken from incident reports that the TSA writes when a traveler threatens or attacks a screener, Lee said.

“The program’s focus is on prevention,” Lee said. The database helps the TSA spot trends in incidents that can shape workplace-safety programs, Lee said.

A TSA document published in February says database information can be given to government agencies and to airports, airlines and rail and bus systems in cases involving their workers or job applicants. “They may be contacted by the TSA if an incident involves their employee,” Lee said.

A.J. Castilla, a screener at Boston’s Logan International Airport and an official with a TSA union, said he has seen passengers throw shoes at and push screeners, but incidents have subsided more recently.

The ACLU’s German said he worries that the incidents in the database are broad. “I’ve been very angry at an airport because flying can be a very frustrating experience,” he said.

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Innocent Man Jailed In Solitary Confinement 14 Months By Crazed Los Angeles County California Judge David Yaffe

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – Once a dapper Beverly Hills attorney known for his bow tie, Richard Fine has been held in solitary confinement at Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail for 14 months, even though he’s never been charged with a crime.

Fine, a 70-year- old taxpayer’s advocate who once worked for the Department of Justice, is being held for contempt of court.

Superior Court Judge David Yaffe found Fine in contempt after he refused to turn over financial documents and answer questions when ordered to pay an opposing party’s attorney’s fees, according to court documents.

Fine says his contempt order masks the real reason why he’s in jail. He claims he’s a political prisoner.

“I ended up here because I did the one thing no other lawyer in California is willing to do. I took on the corruption of the courts,” Fine said in a jailhouse interview with CNN.

More details on the Special Investigations Unit’s blog

For the last decade, Fine has filed appeal after appeal against Los Angeles County’s Superior Court judges. He says the judges each accept what he calls yearly “bribes” from the county worth $57,000. That’s on top of a $178,789 annual salary, paid by the state. The county calls the extra payments “supplemental benefits” — a way to attract and retain quality judges in a high-cost city.

While the practice of paying supplemental benefits is common in California, most high-cost cities elsewhere don’t hand out these kinds of benefits. Judges in Miami, Chicago and Boston receive no extra county dollars.

Judges in Los Angeles County not only have the highest state salaries in the nation, they also get tens of thousands of dollars in county benefits. These payments, Fine says, mean judges are unlikely to rule against the county when it is involved in a lawsuit.

In the last two fiscal years, Los Angeles County won all but one of the nine trials that went before a judge, according to Steven Estabrook, the county’s litigation cost manager.

“The reason I’m here is the retaliation of the judges,” Fine says. “They figured they’re going to throw me in jail and that way they feel that they can stop me.”

Fine’s decade-long crusade against the judges eventually led to his disbarment last year. Joe Carlucci was the lead prosecutor for the California State Bar. Carlucci says whenever Fine lost a case, he would appeal and argue the judges were corrupt.

“What he ultimately did was to delay proceedings, to level false accusations against judges,” Carlucci says. “All of those lawsuits were found to have been frivolous and meritless.”

Judge Yaffe and county officials refused to comment on Fine’s case while it’s still pending.

“Fine holds the key to his jail cell,” Kevin McCormick, one of the court’s attorneys, pointed out in a court filing. In other words, Fine will go free once he hands over the documents the court seeks and answers the judge’s questions.

The technical term is “coercive confinement” — jail-time until a person follows a judge’s order.

“He’s probably done more time than most burglars, robbers and dope dealers,” says Sterling Norris of the public-interest group Judicial Watch.

Norris says Fine’s confinement has gone on too long.

Norris won a case in 2008 that found county payments to judges unconstitutional. The California Legislature swiftly passed a bill that enabled counties to continue paying the extra benefits.

“I think it’s a lack of judicial integrity to say enough is enough,” Norris says. “We’ve got a man, 70-year-old attorney, in jail for over a year on coercive confinement and that is way beyond the pale. No matter what else he may have done, that is improper.”

Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, calls the length of Fine’s contempt confinement an “anomaly.”

Fine’s jail cell could be used for a more violent offender, Whitmore added. In fact, Los Angeles County’s jails have in recent months released hundreds of inmates before their terms were up due to budget constraints.

Fine has taken his pencil-and-paper fight from solitary confinement to the U.S Supreme Court. The court could announce whether or not it will hear the case as early as today.

Meanwhile, Fine’s family stands behind him — even in the face of home foreclosure.

“My husband has always been the straightest arrow, hardworking, very successful attorney, and for this to happen to him is unbelievable,” says Maryellen Fine, his wife of 27 years.

“I’ll look back with tears with all the time I might have missed with the family,” Fine says tearfully just before he is handcuffed and walked back to his cell.

“We don’t know what is going to be next,” says Fine’s daughter, Victoria. “Every day is just one more day where I think maybe I’m going to get a phone call that says dad’s coming home.”

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Out Of Control Oakland California Police Officers Baned From Boxing Matches

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — The Oakland Police have been banned from all officially-sanctioned boxing matches after several off-duty officers were videotaped pushing other spectators at a “Badge Versus Badge” police fight Friday night in Sacramento.

International Association of Boxing president Steve Fosum said Sunday that Oakland police officers were banned from all boxing matches sanctioned by his organization until videotape of the shoving match at the Sacramento Radisson has been reviewed.

The fracas began after an Oakland police boxer named Casey Johnson beat Larry “Psycho” Ward, a state corrections officer in the final fight of the night. Witnesses said that dozens of Oakland officers had shown up to support Johnson and were taunting Ward during the fight.

After the fight, Ward went to his corner, and according to fight promoter Tom Gaffney, that’s when three Oakland officers stood up and began yelling at Ward. Other spectators stood up and confronted the three officers, and the situation quickly escalated.

Video of the incident shows dozens of spectators with their tempers flaring, arguing and pushing each other.

Oakland Police officials acknowledged Sunday that in the middle of that scrum were several off-duty Oakland officers.

Witnesses said that no one threw any punches and no one was hurt, but there was a lot of shoving and someone even tossed a chair.

Police union officials and city officials are reserving judgment.

“I’m not really sure of the details of what happened. I’m sure there’s two sides to every story. There’s reasons for everything,” said Dominic Arotzarena, the Oakland Police Officers’ Association president.

Jeff Thomason, Oakland Police Department spokesman, told KTVU, “Anytime we are in the public eye, we need to conduct ourselves in a professional manner. At this time, there is not enough information to comment on what may or may not have happened (Friday) night. But we will conduct our own internal investigation.”

The shoving match came as the department faced the real possibility of having to lay off about 190 officers, and just three weeks after officers shot and killed a baby deer in an incident that sparked public outrage.

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TSA “Security” Officers At Norfolk Virginia Airport Steal Woman’s $25,000 Rolex Watch

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA – Imagine being ordered by airport security workers to put your very expensive watch on a scanning belt, over your objections. Then imagine going to retrieve it and it’s gone.

A Baker County woman says that experience at Norfolk International Airport in Virginia last year cost her a $24,000 Rolex her husband saved up to buy her on her 50th birthday.

Now she’s suing the U.S. Transportation Security Administration after the agency rejected her claim letter and her congressman unsuccessfully attempted to intervene.

The lawsuit, filed in Jacksonville federal court this month, accuses TSA of negligence and bailment, a legal term that makes someone holding another’s property responsible if it is lost.

“Basically they called me a liar. They treated me like crap,” said Paulene Showalter, 63, of Glen St. Mary. Showalter is secretary to Duval County Public Defender Matthew Shirk.

TSA spokeswoman Lauren Gaches said Friday the agency couldn’t comment on a specific case in litigation. She said about 2.5 million pieces of luggage pass through screening daily at U.S. airports, and missing property reports total about 45 a day, less than a hundredth of 1 percent.

In a November letter denying Showalter, TSA’s claims office in Virginia said there were “no legally sustainable grounds” for a finding of liability against the agency.

Showalter’s attorney, Howard Coker, said TSA contends Showalter never had a Rolex on her wrist that day, something she vehemently denies. Security cameras apparently weren’t working, according to Showalter and TSA’s response to inquiries by U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla.

“We have eyewitnesses who say she did have this type of watch, including one who saw it on the day in question,” Coker said.

Showalter said she was preparing to board a return flight to Jacksonville last February when she was ordered by security officers to put her watch in a bin and place it on a conveyor belt. She said she objected several times but was told she had no choice if she wanted to board her flight, so eventually she complied.

“I said, ‘If I take it off, will you hold it?’ ‘No.’ ” she recalled.

When she was put through an additional security check, she again asked to be allowed to retrieve her watch first. Again, the answer was no, she said.

When she finally returned to the conveyor belt, the Rolex was gone.

“She did everything that they asked her to do. She wasn’t belligerent in any way,” Coker said. “All she wanted to do was get her property before they took her through the scanner.”

In its response to Crenshaw, TSA said passengers can choose to wear jewelry through the walk-through metal detector or can retrieve it immediately after exiting the X-ray. If it requires additional screening, it is inspected in view of the owner, the agency said.

If the passenger receives secondary screening, as Showalter did, TSA policy doesn’t require property be brought to them if they can see it, the agency told Crenshaw.

Showalter said she became hysterical after realizing the watch was gone. She called Shirk for advice. She asked for police to be called, but security officers told her she was disrupting the area and had to leave.

Eventually police were called after she ran into a lawyer co-worker at the airport, she said.

Coker said Showalter did everything she could to resolve the matter through non-legal channels. He said the lawsuit was filed before the statute of limitations ran out last week to preserve her claim.

He said if the statements made to Crenshaw are true, then TSA violated its own policies.

“They have a duty to be certain that all items are to be returned to the traveler,” Coker said. “They can’t abdicate that duty.”

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St. Petersburg Florida Police Charge Retard After He Was Raped By Underaged Girl

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – It looks like a retirement oasis: American Cove in St. Petersburg is a resident-owned adult community.

But Mary Bickhart says her life in the park has been a living hell since her grandson Chris, 24, was arrested for having sex with his 14-year-old girlfriend.

Bickhart says it is crazy and there is hysteria in the park like nothing she has ever seen. After Bickhart’s grandson was arrested, his mug shot and several signs were posted in the community saying there is a convicted felon living in the park. In addition, the board said he had to go.

According to Bickhart, the board also started terrorizing people in the park, telling them dead women were going to be found in the canal and elderly women were going to be attacked.

However, Bickhart says her grandson is the victim because he has mild mental retardation with a 60 I.Q. A psychiatrist says his common sense is abysmal, and he is not a predator. Chris says the 14-year-old forced him to have sex.

He says one time she came out of the bathroom completely nude and wanted to have sex. He says he said no, but she kept on doing things like that.

In an interview with police, the girl admits that is true, saying, “Sometimes he wasn’t a willing participant, like, he’d try to stop me. But I’d just do it anyways.”

Chris says he kept refusing until one day it happened.

Bickhart says something like that shouldn’t happen to mentally disabled people. She knows firsthand, because she was a special education teacher for 30 years.

And she says for 30 years, her life was dedicated to helping people like her grandson and she can’t believe the park would expect her to roll over on this case.

That is why she is suing to force the park to allow her grandson to stay, and asking for damages for emotional stress and defamation. The attorney for the community says he can’t comment on the case, because of pending litigation.

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Texas State Correctional Officers Kill Blind Inmate In His Prison Cell

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS — The death of a blind inmate after a confrontation with correctional officers at the Estelle Prison Unit is being investigated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Inspector General’s Office.

Thord Dockray, known as “Catfish,” a 42-year-old inmate from Lubbock County serving a five-year sentence for assault on a public servant, died May 13, the day after correctional officers used force against him when he became combative in his prison cell.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy, but the cause of death has not yet been released.

Dockray’s actions and the confrontation were captured on videotape.

Dockray, housed alone in a cell in the prison’s medical wing, began assaulting prison staff around 9:20 p.m. May 12 by throwing urine on them, said TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark. Dockray, who had a history of psychiatric illness, refused orders to stop and exit his prison cell, authorities said.

Guards released chemicals in Dockray’s cell in the hopes of getting him under control, but he still refused to comply with officers, Clark said.

As a five-man team of correctional officers prepared to enter Dockray’s cell to remove him, Dockray climbed on the top bunk bed and jumped to the ground, then stood up. The team of officers entered Dockray’s cell and restrained him, Clark said. A nurse came to the cell and examined Dockray, who was placed on a backboard and taken to the infirmary.

Dockray was combative and uncooperative with medical staff and refused treatment several times. After he returned to his cell, security checked on him every half-hour, Clark said.

The next morning, prison staff tried to escort Dockray outside his prison cell, but he refused. Just after noon, Dockray was found lying face down in the cell. Staff rushed him to the infirmary before he was moved to Huntsville Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:20 p.m., TDCJ reports show.

No TDCJ employees have been disciplined or placed on leave for the incident so far.

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TSA Officer Arrested, Charged After Stealing Money From Airline Traveler In A Wheelchair

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – A Transportation Security Administration agent surrendered to authorities on Tuesday and was charged with stealing almost $500 from a wheelchair-bound woman passing through a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The TSA has suspended agent Leroy Ray, 44 of Newark, adding yet another incident to a growing list of troubling cases involving agency workers. Officials said 23 TSA agents have been removed or fired since 2007 for stealing items at security checkpoints or from checked baggage.

TSA surveillance cameras caught Ray taking money from a woman’s purse after the bag passed through an X-ray machine Feb. 3, according to court documents. Ray allegedly took the bag to another table to search it and removed an envelope containing $300 and then $195 in cash from inside a zipper pocket.

The woman return minutes later to tell agents that she was missing the money. Ray walked into a nearby office when the woman returned to the checkpoint and placed what appeared to be the envelope in a lost and found tray, court documents said.

Ray then returned to the check point and told colleagues that he recognized the victim, knew what she had lost and that he had recovered her envelope, which he said had fallen on the floor. Another official retrieved the white envelope from the lost and found tray and the woman identified it as hers.

Ray was released on $1,000 bail following a court appearance in federal court in Newark on Tuesday. He faces two counts of embezzlement and making false statements and could serve a maximum of six years in prison and pay a combined $500,000 in fines.

TSA’s office of inspections worked with police to investigate the allegations, according to spokesman Greg Soule.

“TSA will continue to move swiftly and decisively to end the federal career of any employee who engages in illegal activity on the job,” Soule said in a statement.

President Obama nominated his third pick to lead the agency on Monday after the first two nominees withdrew. TSA employs more than 50,000 people, whose reputations have been called into question in recent months by at least eight unrelated incidents involving practical jokes played on air passengers, drug use, leaving a security post and falling asleep on the job.

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Okaloosa County Florida Pisses Away Taxpayer Dollars After 16 Year Old Girl Wouldn’t Give Up Her Cellphone

LAUREL HILL, FLORIDA – When a father told his 16-year-old daughter to give up her cell phone, she scratched his face and was later arrested, according to her Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

About 10 p.m. May 4, the two argued because the girl wouldn’t give up her cell phone as punishment for breaking house rules, the report reads. The argument escalated and the girl scratched her father on the right side of the face.

When a deputy attempted to interview the girl, she started crying and couldn’t provide her account of the incident, according to the report. The deputy determined she was the primary aggressor.

The girl was charged with domestic battery and is due in juvenile court June 23.

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Veteran Lee County Florida Deputy Sheriff Teams Up With Nutcase Mother To Falsely Arrest And Confine 5 Year Old Boy

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – A Fort Myers mother is under fire for the way she disciplined her 5-year-old son in public. She is calling it tough love but some people who witnessed it were moved to tears, calling it way too harsh for a child that young.

The woman had her son arrested outside a 7-11 store in LeHigh Acres to teach him a lesson about the dangers of playing with matches and lighters.

Her friend, a 15-year veteran Lee county sheriff’s deputy, played along in the mock arrest and handcuffed the child and put him in the back of a cruiser. Horrified witnesses couldn’t believe their eyes. One woman said, “That’s not a way to treat a child, that’s not a way to teach a lesson to a little boy.”

The mother, who is only identified as “Michelle” stands by her decision saying, “I’d do it again. If more parents did what I did we wouldn’t have the crime that we have now”.

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New York City Port Authority Police Officer Assaults and Arrests Innocent Train Passenger

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – You can’t take an open bottle of booze on a subway or train but what if it is sealed? An NYU student says he was cuffed over a sealed bottle of wine.

Pavan Trivedi says he was slammed down to the ground by a Port Authority cop and held in a room against his will.
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He says it was all over two bottles of sealed wine he tried to take home on the PATH train.

Trivedi says, “I keep asking them ‘what did I do wrong?’ He keeps saying ‘shut up’.”

It happened early New Year’s Day. Pavan was trying to get back to New Jersey after a night out with his friends.

He went into the PATH station in Greenly Square. But he says as soon as he went through the turnstile a Port Authority officer came out of nowhere and demanded to know what was in his see-through bag.

Trivedi says, it only got worse when another cop got involved.

That’s when he walked up to the street and called 9-1-1 from his phone. He says the operator told him to go and get the officers’ information.

He says the one officer was at the top of the stairs and he handed over his phone so the cop could talk to 9-1-1, but she refused.

He says the officer said he was being aggressive when he tried to take his phone back and ended up being slammed to the ground. He ended up in cuffs.

He claims that he was taken into a room in the station and berated for at least an hour.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority claims that a few days prior to New Years Eve station announcements warned riders that sealed bottles of alcohol were forbidden on the holiday but the same spokesperson admits he could not show Fox 5 any law or rule to support it.

The ticket was issued not because he had bottles because they didnt charge him with that…it was issued because he got them angry and they felt like they could do it and they did.

Trivedi says, “This kind of situation can’t transpire again ….. Not just for me but for other innocent citizens who are just attempting to go home.”

He is scheduled to meet with a judge Wednesday to fight his ticket. He’s also filing a lawsuit against the city and the Port Authority.

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Iowa State Trooper Targets Family In Car That He Claims Cut Him Off While Driving Governor Home To Mansion

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA – State authorities are investigating a traffic stop in West Des Moines involving a state trooper driving Iowa Gov. Chet Culver and another car that allegedly cut off the governor’s SUV.

Three police squad cars responded to aid the state trooper on Sunday afternoon when the driver of a Chrysler Pacifica declined to stop for the trooper’s unmarked GMC Yukon that carried the governor and Culver’s 7-year-old son, John, records show.

Police identified the Pacifica’s driver as Edwin Allen, 32. Allen was traveling with his wife and two children, police said.

“I wasn’t sure what do,” Allen told KCCI-TV. “My wife got scared, my kids were in the back seat crying, saying this crazy guy might have a gun.”

Jessica Lown, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said today: “The trooper believed he was being cut off by another driver and he attempted to make a traffic stop. It’s not a typical law enforcement vehicle so the trooper had some trouble getting the driver pulled over.”

The trooper driving the governor’s SUV, Michael Clyde, turned on flashing lights, Lown said.

Allen told KCCI that the trooper tried to pull in front of the Pacifica and stop in the middle of the Interstate Highway 235.

“I drove around him. He rode the bumper as much as he could,” Allen said.

Allen stopped voluntarily when the first of three West Des Moines squad cars arrived at the scene, at 22nd Street near Interstate Highway 235, said West Des Moines Police Lt. Jeff Miller.

The Pacifica’s driver filed a formal complaint against the trooper on Monday.

Public safety officials said they are now investigating the formal complaint and will interview all parties involved, including Culver.

“We’re investigating whether it was a legitimate stop,” said Lown, the public safety spokeswoman. The complaint is not a public record because it’s a personnel matter, she said.

Both Culver and his son exited the SUV during the incident, which was reported about 1:30 p.m.

“I wouldn’t say there was any immediate danger, that’s not been my impression,” Lown said. “The trooper made a split-second decision. As troopers do, they must make their best decision in a split second.”

Any certified police officer has the authority under Iowa law to make a traffic stop, authorities said.

The Pacifica’s driver did not lead the trooper in a pursuit, but simply continued to drive.

“(Allen) said it was an unmarked vehicle and the driver was in plain clothes and I had my family with me and I wasn’t going to stop,” said Miller, the West Des Moines police spokeman.

Lown said troopers occasionally encounter similar situations when they’re driving unmarked vehicles. It’s reasonable for Iowans to be concerned about their safety, she said.

Miller said if Iowans question whether a vehicle is a legitimate law enforcement vehicle, they can slow down, turn on the flashers and call 911 to report what’s happening.

West Des Moines police responded to provide mutual aid, Miller said.

“We had this incident involving the governor,” he said. “As soon as the incident was under control and nobody was at risk or in harms way we took off.”

Neither West Des Moines police nor the state trooper cited the Pacifica driver for any violation.

It’s not clear whether Culver asked the trooper to pull over the Pacifica driver, or asked the trooper to keep going, or said nothing at all during this incident.

“The governor is out on the campaign trail and so we haven’t spoken this week,” said spokesman James Flansburg. ” Everything is being handled by DPS.”

The governor’s SUV was headed back to Terrace Hill, the governor’s mansion, public safety officials said.

Where the governor was coming from is unclear.

“The supervisor doesn’t know and the trooper involved is on a regularly scheduled day off,” Lown said.

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Trial Clears Teen Of Bogus Disorderly Conduct Charge By American Fork Utah Police

AMERICAN FORK, UTAH – Yo yo yo! Not guilty, dawg.

The trial of the century it was not. But Tuesday, 4th District Judge Thomas Low found Spenser Dauwalder, 18, not guilty of disorderly conduct for rapping his order at a McDonald’s drive-through in American Fork last fall.

The Lone Peak High School student and his friends rapped their order over an iPod recording in imitation of a video they had seen on YouTube. They then repeated the rap at a slower pace, ignoring a request to order normally or leave.

The judge found that Dauwalder did not engage in any threatening behavior or create any unreasonable noise as required for a disorderly conduct conviction in the Oct. 27 incident. He faced a fine of up to $750.

During the ponderous two-hour trial Tuesday, attorneys presented evidence that included surveillance footage at the restaurant, cell phone recordings of the rap, testimony from the officer who cited them and from McDonald’s employees.

The restaurant manager told police that as the teens drove away that night, Dauwalder yelled at her, “I hate this (expletive) McDonald’s anyway.” Prosecutors said he “acted in an angry, threatening, tumultuous manner” and sped recklessly out of the parking lot.
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“The song on the cell phone itself was actually kind of creative,” American Fork police officer Keith Southard testified. “It was what happened afterward that created an issue.”

The video footage played several times at the trial showed the youths pulling into the drive-through. Eventually, manager Eileen Timoko is seen approaching the car for a brief conversation. The car pulls out of the lane and exits a few seconds after she walks out of view toward the restaurant.

Timoko testified that she felt threatened and was initially afraid the teens were following her in the car.

“That’s why I called the cops. I don’t care that they were rapping,” she said.

Dauwalder denied following her or using profanity, although he said one of his friends yelled a curse word when they were told to order normally.

The other three teens face juvenile court proceedings that were put on hold until Dauwalder’s case was resolved.

Defense attorney Ann Boyle argued that singing an order, whether profanity was used or not, is speech that is protected by both the federal and Utah constitutions. She said she took the case for free because she believed his free speech rights were violated, adding that she believes police throughout Utah County have been inappropriately handing out disorderly conduct citations for speech instead of behavior.

“Anytime anyone infringes someone’s First Amendment rights, it’s not a small matter,” Boyle said.

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Chicago Police Chief Jody Weis’ Answer To Rising Number Of Murders Is To Create “Indoor Homicide” Category

CHICAGO, IL – Chicago’s rising homicide rate spiked on Tuesday with a murder-suicide that left three people dead and three more bodies found in a car.

Police Supt. Jody Weis knows that he will ultimately find himself on the hotseat for the surge. But, he’s got a new defense.

He’s creating a new category of “indoor” homicides — and downplaying what police can do about them..

“Those homicides that are outdoors — the ones that I do believe we have a good possibility of preventing — we’re around 98 homicides for Chicago outdoors. That’s as low as it’s ever been, except for 2007, when I believe we had 97 homicides outdoors as of this date,” he said.

“The ones that are outdoors we really should be able to have an impact on. … Today’s tragedy … is sad. Three people are dead. But, when it’s inside a house, it’s hard for police to have an impact on that. I wish we could. I just don’t see where we can.”

Not only is Weis making the distinction between indoor and outdoor homicides. He has asked the Chicago Police Department to keep those statistics in separate categories.

Through Monday, there were 40 indoor homicides in Chicago and 98 murders outdoors for a total of 138.

During the same period last year, there were 31 indoor homicides and 105 murders outdoors for a total of 136.

Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) has her hands full combating a surge of homicides in the South Side’s Gresham District.

She was also forced to lock or take down the basketball rims at Chatham’s Cole Park after two shootings at the courts in one month left several young people wounded.

Not surprisingly, Lyle draws no such distinction between indoor and outdoor homicides.

“I understand the logic — that police would have no way to know about what goes on inside peoples’ homes. But, I don’t necessarily believe that becomes a separate category when you’re talking about the number of people murdered in a city. The average citizen doesn’t make that distinction,” she said.

“I understand that what would go on inside my house this evening the superintendent would have no way of knowing and no way to intervene if there was an incident. But, it doesn’t diminish the numbers.”

Lyle said she’s grown “immune to the numbers game” being played with Chicago’s crime statistics.

“It doesn’t bother me. They do press conferences releasing reports that say homicides have gone down citywide. What I have to deal with is a community that knows that, maybe they’ve gone down citywide, but they’re up in my community,” she said.

“Crime is up tremendously in the 6th District. … That’s because crime has moved as housing patterns have moved. [But], there’s been no real acknowledgement that crime has moved with the migration of people” tied to the so-called “Plan for Transformation” that demolished CHA high-rises.

Rev. Marshall Hatch, chairman of the Leaders Network, said it’s “not helpful” for Weis to “make those kinds of distinctions” between indoor and outdoor homicides.

“Whether the murders happen inside or outside, we expect the police to take responsibility for solving and preventing crime,” Hatch said, pastor of the New Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church in West Garfield Park.

“I don’t think that’s a useful distinction for the superintendent to make. I don’t think it sends the right kind of signal about the sense of responsibility we want the police to have.”

But Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), chairman of the City Council’s Police Committee, said has no problem with the superintendent’s new category of homicides.

“Outside, you have witnesses. People are more apt to call the police. Inside the house, it’s almost impossible to prevent,” Beale said.

“We want to prevent any kind of crime. We want to prevent all of ’em. But, if a person wants to do something inside a residence, it’s almost like a suicide bomber. It’s impossible to prevent somebody from blowing themselves up.”

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Lawsuit Charging Detroit Michigan Police With Killing 7 Year Old Girl In Violent SWAT Raid On Home Highlights Lies By Police Officers

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Calling law enforcement accounts “absurd,” a Michigan attorney sued
police Tuesday in the death of 7-year-old girl killed during a raid in
Detroit.

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger said members of the Detroit
Police Special Response Team acted out of line when they conducted a
raid on the family home of Aiyana Jones, who was severely burned and
then killed by an officer’s bullet. She died Sunday.

“This type
of activity by a police force is unacceptable in America,” Fieger said
at a news conference in his office. “What is equally unacceptable is the
cover-up that has occurred.”

Fieger filed both state and federal
lawsuits alleging gross negligence, a violation of civil rights and a
conspiracy to cover up the violation of civil rights.

Detroit
Assistant Police Chief Ralph Godbee has said that preliminary
information indicated that officers approached the house with a search
warrant for the girl’s uncle in connection with the shooting of a high
school student Friday.

Godbee said the officer’s gun discharged
accidentally inside the home after an altercation and physical contact
with the girl’s grandmother, Mertilla Jones.

Jones denied such an
altercation Tuesday. Fieger said he plans to file another lawsuit for
false arrest and accused the police of covering up their own mistakes by
blaming the family.

Fieger said videotape of the incident shows
that the shooting was not accidental. In an interview Monday, he told
CNN affiliate WDIV that a crew was filming the raid for the A&E
network’s show, “The First 48.” The program documents police
investigations in the first 48 hours after a homicide.

Tuesday,
Fieger recounted the events shown on the video that he said led to the
girl’s death. At times, he had to pause, his voice drowned out by
sobbing family members.

Fieger said officers tossed a smoke bomb
— described by police as a “flash bang device” to distract occupants —
into the house, severely burning Aiyana, who was on the couch in the
front room with her grandmother. She was then struck in the neck by a
bullet fired from outside the house, he said.

Godbee has said he
doesn’t know how Fieger saw the video, according to WDIV.

“If Mr.
Fieger has access to anything that would be evidence in this case, he
should, as an officer of the court, get it immediately to the Michigan
State Police, which will be investigating,” he said in a statement.

Fieger
said the police and the city owe apologies to the family, especially to
Mertilla Jones for trying to blame her for her granddaughter’s death.
He said officers need to be held to account just as anyone else would.

“The people of the city of Detroit have got to believe the police
will protect them, and not kill them,” Fieger said.

“This is an opportunity to come together, not to tear
us apart,” he said. “Apologize now and we can start the road to
healing.”

Family of Michigan child killed in raid sues police – CNN.com

Video Surfaces That Proves Detroit Michigan Police Lied About Their Violent Attack On A Home Where They Killed An Innocent 7 Year Old Girl

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – An attorney for the family of a 7-year-old girl slain during a weekend raid at their Detroit home says video footage contradicts the police department’s version of events.

Geoffrey Fieger (FI-ger) said Monday that footage shot by the A&E crime-reality show “The First 48” shows that police fired into the home at least once after lobbing a flash grenade through a window.

He says that contradicts the police department’s explanation that an officer’s gun fired during a confrontation with a resident inside the home.

Seven-year-old Aiyana Jones was shot in the neck and died.

Fieger says he viewed three to four minutes of footage but declined to say who showed it to him.

The police department says it is trying to acquire the video.

An A&E spokesman declined to comment.

Atty: Video
Shows Police Fired Into Detroit Home – ABC News

Dumbass Detroit Michigan Police Officer Shoots And Kills Innocent 7 Year Old Girl During Home Search

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – A 7-year-old girl was shot and killed when an officer’s gun went off
during contact with a woman in a house where Detroit police were
searching for a suspect in the slaying of a teenager, a police official
said.

Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee said at a news
conference Sunday that Aiyana Jones was hit in the neck by a single
bullet and died at a hospital.

“This is any parent’s worst nightmare. It also is any
police officer‘s
worst nightmare,” Godbee said.

Godbee said officers with the department’s Special
Response Team set off a flash grenade as they entered the home about
12:40 a.m. Sunday with a warrant to look for a suspect in the Friday
slaying of a 17-year-old boy.

The lead officer encountered a 46-year-old woman
immediately inside the front room of the house and “some level of
physical contact” ensued during which the officer’s gun went off, Godbee
said. The officers had identified themselves as police, he said.

Godbee said the shooting was being investigated and
all information was preliminary.

“We cannot undo what occurred this morning,” he said.
“All we can do is to pledge an open and full investigation and to
support Aiyana’s family in whatever way they may be willing to accept
from us at this time.”

The officers had a search
warrant and were looking for a 34-year-old man suspected in the
shooting death of 17-year-old Jarean Blake.

Blake, a student at Southeastern High School, was gunned down
Friday by a store in front of his girlfriend. Blake stumbled across the
street, collapsed and died, police said.

Officers arrested the suspect inside the home where
Aiyana was shot, Godbee said.

“This is a tragedy of unspeakable magnitude to
Aiyana’s parents, family and all those who loved her,” Godbee said. “It
is a tragedy we also feel very deeply throughout the ranks of the Detroit Police Department.”

Detroit police say 7-year-old shot in home search – Yahoo! News

London England Police Continue Using Terror Act To Harass Innocent Photographers

LONDON, UK – Just when you thought it was safe to go snapping… City of London Police prove they still haven’t got the memo.

Yesterday, it was the turn of Grant Smith to feel the heavy hand of the law [1]. Smith is a professional photographer. On Monday he was looking for a location on London Wall appropriate to a portrait of one of the architects responsible for the City’s changing skyline. He went to One Aldermanbury Square, where an altercation with a security guard followed.

The security guard asserted that Smith could not take photos of the building. Smith pointed out that the security guard was wrong. The police were called.

Initially, Smith was relieved: on a previous occasion, the intervention of the local police had led to support for Smith and he had been allowed to carry on with his job.

Not this time. According to Smith, four officers arrived, followed by a police van with flashing lights. He was detained, he claims, under Section 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000 [2].

This controversial law permits police to stop any individual for the purpose of preventing terrorism. While police officers acting under this section do not require reasonable grounds for a search, they may do so where there are grounds for suspecting the photography is linked to terrorist activity. That said, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has in recent months made it clear that photographers are not fair game for random stop and search.

In a strongly worded statement, Chief Constable Andy Trotter, chairman of ACPO’s media advisory group stated: “Everyone … has a right to take photographs and film in public places. Taking photographs … is not normally cause for suspicion and there are no powers prohibiting the taking of photographs, film or digital images in a public place.”

This message appears not to have been passed on to City of London Police [3], who continue to use s44 in gung ho fashion to hunt down evil photographers, long after other forces have started to adopt a gentler approach to the subject.

Despite Smith explaining to PC374, who took the lead in what followed, that he was taking photos as part of his job, the police were not satisfied. According to Smith, PC374 said: “The very fact you were here at all is the reason we’ve stopped you.”

He says he was then restrained forcibly by another officer, PC29, while the first officer went through his pockets, removing his camera and mobile phone. Smith’s description of events suggest the police action was intrusive and intimidatory, with officers cheered by his discomfiture, both mental and physical.

He claims: “PC [374] went through my pannier, flipping through personal notebooks, gingerly peeking in a plastic bag that contained a towel and swimmers, still wet from my earlier swim. He located my wallet, and pulled out my drivers licence with obvious glee. Each time I attempted to move PC29’s grip on my arms became firmer.”

Smith attempted to obtain further explanation from the police in respect of their actions. He claims: “The answer they gave was because of my obstructive and non-compliant attitude.”

At the end of the search, the police departed, having failed to return Smith’s mobile phone to him. This, in ordinary circumstances, might be considered theft – although s.45(2) of the Terrorism Act does entitle a PC to seize any item which “he reasonably suspects is intended to be used in connection with terrorism”.

The difficulty in this case is that if the PC genuinely believed Smith to be carrying the tools of terror on him, it was clearly perverse to leave him free to carry out the rest of his mission, photographing buildings around the City of London.

We asked the City of London Police to comment on this incident – specifically asking them for their views on the removal of the phone and whether it constituted theft. An official spokeswoman told us: “A man was spoken to by officers yesterday after police were called by security personnel. He was later searched under terrorism powers.”

What about the phone? No comment.

What about suggestions that the City of London continues to abuse s44 powers long after other forces have learned their lesson? She added: “We continue to work to make sure the city remains a safe place to work and visit.”

Unless, presumably, your work includes taking photographs, in which case the safety of neither yourself nor your property can be guaranteed.

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Seminole County Florida Sheriff’s Department And Bomb Squad Blows Up Box Of Cash

LAKE MARY, FLORIDA – Authorities in Florida said a suspicious package found outside a church and detonated by a bomb squad turned out to contain more than $2,500 in cash.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad said a member of Master’s Touch International Church, near Lake Mary, found a 40-pound cardboard box outside of the facility at 11 a.m. Saturday and brought it to a nearby fire station, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported.

The bomb squad was called in and was unable to determine the contents of the box, labeled “For Pastor Nick,” with the use of an X-ray.

“It didn’t look normal,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Kim Cannaday said. “That’s all we knew.”

The box was detonated by the bomb squad and they then discovered it had contained $2,500 to $2,700 in paper money and several rolls of silver dollars.

Cannaday said the U.S. Treasury will replace the damaged money.

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