Newest Threat From Iran Is Imagined To Be… (Author Pulls Random Encyclopedia Page From His Butt) …Electromagnetic Pulses

ISRAEL – Just what might happen if the Iranians got their hands on a nuclear weapon? Would they fire it at an Israeli city, causing tens or hundreds of thousands of casualties? Or would they use it as a geopolitical weapon, seeking to dominate the Middle East and forcing the hand of Western powers, either subtly or by overtly threatening death and destruction to those who fail to heed their dictates?

While political scientists and world leaders have debated the likelihood of those two possibilities, there is a third plausible scenario: The use of a nuclear weapon by Iran to carry out an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack against Israel, the US, or Europe. Such an attack could cause severe damage to the electrical grid in the targeted nations, to the extent that the routines of daily life — centered around the use of electrical power — could be halted, for a short or even long period of time.

Suspended Dumbass Houston Texas Police Officer Sgt. Stacey Suro May Now Be Thinking That Posting A Bunch On Nude Photos Of Herself In The Internet Wasn’t The Best Career Move

HOUSTON, TEXAS – A sergeant with the Houston Police Department has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of an investigation into some risqué photos she plastered on Model-Mayhem.com.

The investigation into Sgt. Stacey Suro’s online activity started last Wednesday. Sources said that’s when the higher ups at HPD learned Suro had posted nearly 100 pictures — some of them nude — on the modeling site.

KSAT’s sister station, KPRC in Houston, obtained some photos that depict Suro in fetish, bondage and other compromising positions.

Suro has since taken the link down. But before she did, KPRC found her bio where she called herself “Tessoro.” She clearly stated she was a model and was charging photographers for work. Sources told KPRC that many of her subordinates have seen these photos.

The department’s policy on conduct states: “Employees shall exhibit professional conduct at all times and shall not engage in any activity, including unlawful activity that would degrade or bring disrespect upon the employee or the department.”

Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland released a statement saying that the department is aware of the allegations but he could not comment until the investigation is completed.

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New Jersey Lawmakers, Lead By Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer, Introduce Bill To Require Pet Seatbelts – Targets Motorists With $1,000 Fine – Still No Fix For State’s Budget Deficit Or High Unemployment Rate

NEW JERSEY – New Jersey Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer, who owns a Pomeranian, five cats and a rabbit, has introduced a state bill that would require drivers to secure pets in seat belts, or pay up to $1,000 in tickets or fines. The $1,000 fine would be imposed only in extreme cases of animal cruelty, such as keeping a pet unsecured in the bed of a pickup truck, Bloomberg reported.

The fines would not apply to pets kept in crates.

Endorsed by New Jersey’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, legislation to require seat belts for pets has been in discussion in the state at least since the summer, not that such a bill doesn’t have its critics, who argue that more attention should be paid to the state’s budget deficit and 9.9 unemployment rate.

But Spencer defended the bill saying, lawmakers are “taught to multi-task.”

“This doesn’t limit my ability to address other issues for the people of New Jersey,” she said.

Other states, such as Hawaii, Connecticut, Illinois and Maine have banned motorists from driving with pets in their laps, but New Jersey is apparently the first state to require that pets be strapped in.

Whether New Jersey’s and similar bills become the law, Melissa Ramirez, founder of Chicago-based Zerimax, which makes seat belts for pets, is already filling a new market niche. Launched in May, Zerimax was named in part after Ramirez’s dog Max, a miniature Pinscher, that became paralyzed in a car accident in 2008. While airbags protected the driver, Ramirez’s husband, Max was thrown across the car. Determined to protect other pets, Ramirez sells a variety of harnesses that range in price from $20 to $30.

“There was a void in the market with devices that were easy to use,” she said. “There are a lot but they were cumbersome and difficult.” Ramirez, apparently, is filling this void.

Zerimax’s sales have quadrupled every month since the company’s launch in May, according to Ramirez, who has a marketing background. With a Groupon deal that starts Sept. 22, Ramirez expects to sell around 70,000 harnesses by the end of the year, even without pet seat belt legislation requiring them.

But she cautions that if a bill such as New Jersey’s becomes law and other states adopt similar measures, cheap products could flood the market. Ramirez urges customers to look for quality when it comes to securing their pets.

“Check that items are sewn and not glued,” she said, and choose metal over plastic, she said. Make sure the safety device fits your pet properly. “Thirty pounds of dog can be distributed differently in a Greyhound,” she said. “Not all devices out there will fit your dog.” Ramirez suggests owners measure their pets and understand their girth.

“It would help to create standards so if the category grows,” said Ramirex, “ it grows properly.”

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9/11 Hysteria: Feds And Kansas City Missouri Police Go All Out When Clown Walks Into Federal Building And Asks If He’s On Terrorist Watch List – Streets Closed, Daycare Evacuated, Flights Restricted, Bomb And Arson Squads Called In

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – Authorities spent Friday afternoon looking for explosives inside the vehicle of a man who walked into the Kansas City federal building and asked if he was on a terrorist watch list.

The man entered the Richard Bolling Federal Building on 600 E. 12th Street around noon, according to the FBI.

While the suspect never made any threats, authorities detained him and searched his vehicle. He was released early Friday evening.

Read more: Man at center of scare speaks out http://bit.ly/RSWa3L

The Kansas City Police Department’s bomb and arson squads were dispatched to his vehicle, located in the Fletcher Daniels State Office Building parking lot on 615 E. 13th Street. A bomb-sniffing dog then detected the presence of explosives, prompting evacuations at the state office building.

Just before 5 p.m., authorities confirmed that no explosives were found in the vehicle. A temporary flight restriction issued for downtown Kansas City was lifted shortly after. Police reopened the streets, which were closed for most of the day, just after 5 p.m.

State office employees were cleared to leave for the day. The federal building was also closed for the day for precautionary reasons, according to authorities. Earlier, children in the day care center at the federal building were evacuated to a pre-approved, off-site location.

Employees said Friday’s evacuation was unlike any they’d been through previously.

“This one may be real…I’ve been through routine, but nothing like this,” said George Kelley.

The incident in Kansas City came shortly after the all-clear was given at the University of Texas-Austin and North Dakota State University after bomb scares that evacuated their campuses.

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Clueless White House Press Secretary Jay Carney: Attacks On US Interests Abroad And Protests Not Directed At US

WASHINGTON, DC – White House press secretary Jay Carney said Friday the violent protests throughout the Middle East are not directed at the United States or U.S. policy but are a response to a YouTube video:

CARNEY: We also need to understand that this is a fairly volatile situation and it is in response not to United States policy, and not to, obviously, the administration, or the American people, but it is in response to a video, a film that we have judged to be be reprehensible and disgusting. That in no way justifies any violent reaction to it, but this is not a case of protests directed at the United States writ large or at U.S. policy, this is in response to a video that is offensive to Muslims.

Again, this is not in any way justifying violence, and we have spoken very clearly out against that and condemned it. And the president is making sure in his conversations with leaders around the region that they are committed as hosts to diplomatic facilities to protect both personnel and buildings and other facilities that are part of the U.S. representation in those countries.

The protests which began earlier this week have expanded rapidly across the Middle East on Friday.

Protesters attacked the U.S. Embassies in Tunis and Sudan; Tunisian protesters smashed windows and lit fires inside the embassy compound, while gunfire could be heard. Images of a dark column of smoke over the Tunisian site have circulated on the Internet Friday.

According to a page on the State Department’s website describing what an embassy is, an attack on an embassy is considered an attack on that country.

“Because an embassy represents a sovereign state, any attack on an embassy is considered an attack on the country it represents,” the page reads.

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$15 Million Texas Highway Project Delayed Indefinitely Due To Eyeless Spider The Size Of A Dime

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — An endangered eyeless spider is holding up a $15 million Texas highway project.

Construction of the highway underpass project on Texas 151 was indefinitely delayed after a biologist consultant with the Texas Department of Transportation discovered the Braken Bat Cave meshweaver, according to San Antonio Express-News.

The Express-News reports the spider, which is about the size of a dime, was added to the endangered species list 12 years ago.

Dr Jean Krejca of Zara Environmental told the paper the finding of this spider is like ”stumbling on a new Galapagos Island.”

Department spokesperson Josh Donat says it’s just now a wait-and-see plan on what to do.

“We have to wait until the Fish and Wildlife Service gives us the thumbs up for plan B or plan C or whatever plan we end up going with,” he told KSAT-TV.

Donat added that the finding was a “huge surprise.”

“It’s phenomenal. Those who are really into spiders geek out about it,” Donat told KSAT. “This is really cool.”

Construction for the $15 million highway project started in April.

This is the second time this type of spider has been found in the world, both times being in Bexar County, Texas.

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Aberdeen Maryland Police Officer Charles N. Armetta Gets Out Of Limousine On The INTERSTATE, Falls Off Road And Dies

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – An Aberdeen police officer fell to his death from I-95 early Saturday morning.

According to officials, Officer First Class Charles N. Armetta, 29, was traveling in a limousine when he got out of the vehicle near Exit 52. He fell off the road and into a wooded area below.

Officials say that’s a fall of approximately 47 feet. Police say it can be hard to see the distance to the ground from the road.

Armetta was pronoucned dead at the scene.

This is the second Harford County police officer death this week.

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Louisiana Federal Prosecutor Sal Perricone Loses Job, Faces Lawsuit Over Years Of Obnoxious Online Comments

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Not content to go after suspected wrongdoers in court, a Louisiana federal prosecutor apparently spent years attacking them in the comments section of the local newspaper’s website as well. His online barbs, posted under pseudonyms such as “Henry L. Mencken1951,” “legacyusa,” and “dramatis personae,” were meant to be anonymous. Instead, they have cost him his job and made him the target of at least one defamation lawsuit.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the owner of a landfill that is the target of a federal probe got so fed up with Mencken1951’s comments on NOLA.com articles about him that he hired the famous forensic linguist James Fitzgerald to unmask the troll. Fitzgerald compared the comments to a legal brief by then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Sal Perricone, and found striking similarities, including the use of obscure words such as “dubiety” and “redoubt.” Perricone eventually fessed up and stepped down from his position, and he now faces a defamation lawsuit from the landfill owner, Fred Heebe.

A sample comment about Heebe from Mencken1951: “If Heebe had one firing synapse, he would go speak to Letten’s posse and purge himself of this sordid episode and let them go after the council and public officials. Why prolong this pain… .” Letten refers to Perricone’s boss, U.S. Attorney James Letten.

Now the saga has apparently inspired another embattled local figure to lash out against his online tormentors. Yesterday the Times-Picayune reported that an indicted parish president has filed a defamation lawsuit against a NOLA.com commenter who goes by the name “campstblue.” The suspected culprit? None other than Perricone, who, if the allegations are correct, also took potshots at a deputy U.S. attorney general who might end up having a say in deciding whether Perricone gets censured for his conduct.

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Miami Florida Police Officer Prabhainjana Dwivedi Arrested By Feds And Charged With Pulling Over Female Motorists To Initiate “Sexually Suggestive Conversations”

MIAMI, FLORIDA – An officer with the Miami-Dade police department was arrested by federal authorities for stopping female drivers for no other reason than to initiate “sexually suggestive conversations.”

According to the Miami Herald, 33-year-old officer Prabhainjana Dwivedi was arrested by FBI agents inside police headquarters on Wednesday.

Dwivedi had worked overnight patrolling the streets between Jackson Memorial Hospital and Key Biscayne before being assigned to desk duty in the summer of 2011 following the suspicious traffic stops, the paper noted.

The criminal complaint filed by the FBI against Dwivedi, obtained by the Herald and written by special agent Susan Funk, said he made numerous stops that lasted well beyond the necessary length of time for a routine stop. He also reportedly made these stops “without probable cause, reasonable [suspicion] or other lawful authority to conduct a stop.”

During one stop on May 27, 2011, he allegedly instructed a woman identified only as A.R. to “lower the zipper on the front of her dress down past her breasts to her mid-stomach,” an action which, according to the woman, “somewhat exposed her breasts.”

Dwivedi claimed A.R., age 19, was intoxicated at the time, and that she had not turned on her headlights, the Herald reported. A.R. allegedly disputed the claim of driving under the influence.

She was held for a reported one hour and 20 minutes before being released without a citation.

In another stop, the rogue officer reportedly pulled over a 24-year-old bartender and accused her of driving while intoxicated. When he noticed a child safety seat in the car, he told the woman, identified as M.F., that she would lose custody of her child if arrested.

The woman asked Dwivedi to administer a roadside sobriety test, but he reportedly refused to do so.

The paper learned that Dwivedi then discussed the woman’s breast enhancement surgery, and asked “if she had any photographs of her breasts.” When he saw the photographs, he asked to see the scars from the surgery.

“M.F. then lifted her shirt and showed Dwivedi the scar,” the complaint stated.

Dwivedi then allowed the woman to drive home, but insisted on following her, allegedly to ensure her safety.

A third complainant accused Dwivedi of pulling down his pants zipper during a stop.

He is being charged with depriving people of their civil rights, and was released on a $150,000 personal bond. He will be seen in court on Friday to address the matter of his defense, the paper learned.

Dwivedi will reportedly be arraigned Sept. 19.

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Fired Lafayette Louisiana Police Officer Kencil Joseph Arrested And Charged With Bogus Crash Report – Left Out Facts Pertaining To Unlicensed Driver

LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA — A former Lafayette police officer was booked this week on criminal charges for allegedly falsifying a crash report so there was no mention of the unlicensed driver, allowing the man to avoid possible arrest.

Kencil Joseph, 28, of Opelousas, was booked Tuesday on charges of malfeasance in office and injuring public records and released after posting $1,000 bond.

Joseph was fired from the Police Department in May, Lafayette City-Parish Chief Administrative Officer Dee Stanley said.

The former officer has denied wrongdoing and has appealed to the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board for reinstatement.

The investigation focused on a crash report from a February traffic accident in Lafayette, according to an outline of the internal affairs investigation in the civil service appeal file.

The driver of one the vehicles complained to police that the crash report listed the female passenger of the other vehicle as the driver and made no mention of the man who was actually behind the wheel, even though Joseph had allegedly been told the two had switched seats before he arrived, according to the civil service records.

The man and woman later acknowledged to police that Joseph was allegedly aware of the switch and had allowed the female to be listed as the driver because the male had no driver’s license and would have been subject to arrest, according to the civil service records.

Joseph denied knowing about the switch or even speaking to any male at the scene of the accident, according to the civil service appeal records.

Joseph’s defense attorney, William Goode, maintained his client’s innocence but declined to discuss the details of the case.

“Kencil (Joseph) was a wonderful police officer and did not commit this crime,” Goode said.

Stanley declined comment on the internal investigation of Joseph but said that he had worked at the department from April 2008 and was terminated on May 18.

If convicted, Joseph faces up to five years in prison on the malfeasance charge and up to one year on the charge of injuring public records.

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Illegal: Immigrants Gather In Woodbury New York To Protest Use Of The Word “Illegal” To Describe The Illegal And Criminal Method Of Illegal Entry Into The United States

WOODBURY, NEW YORK – A small group of immigrants gathered in Woodbury Monday to protest the use of the word “illegal” to describe those who have entered the United States without documentation.

“By saying illegal, they’re assuming that we broke a criminal law,” said Jackeline Saavedra, 27, of Bay Shore, a Touro Law Center student who identified herself as undocumented. “Not everybody enters illegally.”

Coordinators said they prefer the phrase “undocumented immigrant.”

Osman Canales, 23, an immigrant rights advocate in Huntington who organized the protest, said using the word “illegal” criminalizes a whole community. “It’s a racist word against our community, so we’re just here to raise awareness,” he said.

The protest mirrored a larger effort nationwide to push media outlets and people in general to stop using the word “illegal” when referring to immigrants.

The “Drop The I-Word” campaign was organized by The Applied Research Center, a New York City-based racial justice think tank. Its goal, according to its news website, Colorlines.com, is to “eradicate the slur ‘illegals’ from everyday use and public discourse.”

Campaign coordinator Monica Novoa said that in two years, 14,000 people have signed the group’s pledge.

“Using a phrase like ‘illegal aliens’ or ‘illegals’ . . . reinforces the notion that you could treat another individual as less than a human being,” said Alina Das, assistant professor of clinical law at New York University. “One action — whether it’s a crime — shouldn’t be used to define a whole group of people or one individual.”

But Gallya Lahav, associate professor of political science at Stony Brook University, said the term “undocumented” has flaws.

“It’s a politically correct way of saying illegal,” she said. “What you’re also talking about in proper form are the real undocumented — asylum seekers — people who are fleeing for threats of their life or freedom.”

Still, the word “illegal” makes Elias Llivicura, 18, who described himself as undocumented, feel “uncomfortable.”

“We also have feelings too,” said Llivicura, of Bellport, who came to Long Island from Ecuador at age 8. “It makes me feel like I’m different from everybody else,” he said. “It makes me feel like really bad inside.”

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Stevenson Alabama City Attorney Parker Edmiston Pisses Away Tax Dollars And Court Time To Make Man Dig Up And Move His Wife’s Grave

STEVENSON, ALABAMA – An Alabama man is fighting city officials to keep his wife buried in his front yard.

James Davis told The Associated Press he only buried his wife in front of their log home in Stevenson, Ala., because she asked him to when she died in 2009.

The city sued to move the body elsewhere, citing a need to avoid setting a precedent, and a county judge has ordered Davis to disinter his wife.

However, that order is on hold as the Alabama Civil Court of Appeals considers his challenge to the ruling.

Davis, 73, told the AP he’s shocked by the fight.

“Good Lord, they’ve raised pigs in their yard, there’s horses out the road here in a corral in the city limits, they’ve got other gravesites here all over the place,” he said. “And there shouldn’t have been a problem.”

City Attorney Parker Edmiston reminded critics that Davis lives in downtown Stevenson, not out in the country.

“We’re not in the 1800s any longer,” he told the AP. “We’re not talking about a homestead, we’re not talking about someone who is out in the country on 40 acres of land.

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Nutcase Prague Oklahoma High School Principal David Smith Withholds Valedictorian Student’s Diploma For Saying “Hell” In Speech

PRAGUE, OKLAHOMA – There’s a bit of diploma drama going on between a local high school and that school’s valedictorian.

David Nootbaar is furious his daughter’s school is keeping her diploma.

He said, “She has worked so hard to stay at the top of her class and this is not right.”

Kaitlin Nootbaar graduated from Prague High School, the Red Devils, in May and was named valedictorian.

When tasked with writing the graduation speech, her dad said she got her inspiration from the movie “Eclipse: The Twilight Saga.”

Nootbaar said, “Her quote was, ‘When she first started school she wanted to be a nurse, then a veterinarian and now that she was getting closer to graduation, people would ask her, what do you want to do and she said how the hell do I know? I’ve changed my mind so many times.’”

He said in the written script she gave to the school she wrote “heck,” but in the moment she said “hell” instead.

Nootbaar said the audience laughed, she finished her speech to warm applause and didn’t know there was a problem.

That was until she went to pick up the real certificate this week.

“We went to the office and asked for the diploma and the principal said, ‘Your diploma is right here but you’re not getting it. Close the door; we have a problem,’” Nootbaar said.

He said the principal told Kaitlin she would have to write an apology letter before he would release the diploma.

A move her dad believes is illegal.

“She earned that diploma. She completed all the state curriculum. In four years she has never made a B. She got straight A’s and had a 4.0 the whole way through.”

Kaitlin starts college in a few days on a full scholarship, making the administrators’ decision even more appalling to her family.

We tried to get the school’s side of the story.

Superintendent Dr. Rick Martin said in a statement, “This matter is confidential and we cannot publicly say anything about it.”

Kaitlin doesn’t plan on writing an apology letter because she doesn’t feel she did anything wrong.

Her family supports that choice.

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Queer Awarded $4.3 Million After Being Stalked, Harassed, And Defamed By Now-Fired And Unemployed Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell – Lawyer’s Obsession, Bogus First Amendment Claims, And Use Of State Computers Didn’t Do Much For His Career…

MICHIGAN – A federal court jury Thursday awarded $4.5million to an openly gay former University of Michigan student body president who accused a former state attorney of stalking and defaming him.

The civil case involved Andrew Shirvell, the former assistant attorney general fired in 2010 after he stirred a national controversy with his campaign against Christopher Armstrong, at the time U-M’s student body president.

Shirvell, a U-M alumnus, created the Chris Armstrong Watch blog, calling him “a radical homosexual activist, racist, elitist and liar.” He had cast the blog as speech protected by the First Amendment.

Standing outside federal courtin downtown Detroit shortly after the verdict, Armstrong said he was “elated.”

“This is not just a victory for myself — it’s a victory for a lot of other people,” Armstrong said. “It sends a message to bullies.”

Armstrong, who graduated in 2011, had said Shirvell contacted his friends, showed up at his public appearances and insulted his family and friends on the blog.

Shirvell, who represented himself, said the jury award was “grossly excessive” and vowed to appeal with help from the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based nonprofit national public interest law firm.

“It’s just shocking that a jury would trample on my First Amendment rights the way they did,” he told The News. “That’s why the case should’ve been thrown out months ago by the judge. … Juries give First Amendment rights short shrift.”

Shirvell also said he’s unemployed and “there’s no possible way” he could pay the verdict, but he is prepared to fight the case even to the Supreme Court.

Armstrong, who filed the lawsuit in April 2011, had offered to drop the suit if Shirvell apologized and retract his statements.

Attorney Deborah Gordon said the jury’s decision came down to holding someone accountable for unacceptable behavior. “It means the community is not going to stand by and watch this happen to another person,” she said.

The impact also appeared to have swayed jurors, said Larry Dubin, a law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy.

“The First Amendment does not protect language that defames someone’s reputation or conduct that constitutes stalking or intentionally causes significant emotional damage to an intended victim,” he said. “It seems that the jury in this case was highly offended by the conduct … and expressed that outrage by awarding a very large verdict.”

The award caps a scandal that gained national attention.

The suit claimed Shirvell “developed a bizarre personal obsession” with Armstrong in early 2010 after claiming he was a radical homosexual activist.

Shirvell had created a Facebook group under the name of “U of M Alumni and Others Against Chris Armstrong and his Radical MSA (Michigan Student Assembly) Agenda.” Facebook shut down the page, but a blog was created spreading false and defamatory information, the suit said.

Earlier this year, a federal judge declined to dismiss the lawsuit against him. And in March, a Michigan hearing officer upheld Shirvell’s 2010 firing by then-Attorney General Mike Cox for using state computers to wage a campaign against Armstrong.

Shirvell had appealed, saying his conduct was protected by the First Amendment. But William Hutchens of the Michigan Civil Service Commission said the dismissal was just and the attorney engaged in “hate speech” on a blog and “physical and mental harassment.”

Last year, Armstrong announced he and his family were establishing a scholarship for bullied students. Gordon said money from the verdict would go to the fund.

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Port St. Lucie Florida Police Officer Sgt. Martin Curran Fighting 45 Day Suspension After Failing Alcohol Breath Test When He Showed Up For Work “Physically Unfit For Duty”

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – A Port St. Lucie Police Sergeant continues to fight a 45-day suspension after a breath test found alcohol in his system when he was on the job.

According to internal affairs records, Sergeant Martin Curran showed up to work in May smelling like alcohol. The reports also claim he was quote, “physically unfit for duty”.

Curran denies the allegations. He continues to work pending an appeal.

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Police Officer Shot Himself In The Hand At Chesapeake Virginia Police Academy Firing Range

VIRGINIA – On Wednesday at around 7:45 p.m. at the Chesapeake Police Academy Firing Range, an officer was shot in the hand after firing his weapon.

Before clearing the weapon, a round from the gun hit the officer in the hand officials say.

The officer sustained a minor non-life threatening injury.

No further information has been released.

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Lake County Florida Deputy Sheriff Garrett Merting Suspended After Baltimore Maryland Arrest For Indecent Exposure

LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA – A Lake County deputy sheriff has been suspended after he was arrested for indecent exposure in Maryland, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Garrett Merting was arrested on the misdemeanor charge during the weekend while on vacation in Baltimore, said Lt. John Herrell, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

“He has since been suspended without pay, pending our internal affairs investigation,” Herrell said today.

Merting joined the Sheriff’s Office in March 2011. The agency is still working on getting more details from the Baltimore Police Department, Herrell said.

While he attended Lake Technical Center, Merting was a member of the National Technical Honor Society.

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Macon County Illinois Deputy Sheriff Brian Duff Arrested For Reckless Driving After Hitting Man And Truck With Patrol Car – His Victim Lost Both Legs

DECATUR, ILLINOIS — A Macon County Sheriff’s deputy who allegedly struck a Decatur man with his squad car has been arrested.

Decatur police arrested deputy Brian Duff, 41, Tuesday afternoon on a charge of aggravated reckless driving for allegedly hitting Tom Lennox, 55, as well as the S-10 pickup truck Lennox had been riding in. Lennox was hit around 10:39 p.m. June 29 as he was placing a mattress and box springs back in the bed of the pickup truck.

Lennox was pinned between both Duff’s squad car and the pickup and suffered a head injury and injuries to both legs. He was treated at Decatur Memorial Hospital before being transferred to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where he underwent amputation of both lower legs.

Lennox, who is still in the hospital, was listed in fair condition Tuesday afternoon.

Duff and two other occupants of the pickup truck Lennox was riding in were transported to local hospitals, where they were treated and released after the accident, Decatur Deputy Police Chief James Chervinko said earlier this month.

Decatur Police Chief Todd Walker said his department has been investigating the accident since it occurred late last month. He noted that the extensive investigation, conducted by the Decatur police traffic investigators and members of the department’s Fatal Accident Investigation Team, included several interviews and an accident reconstruction to ascertain the events leading up to the accident.

Walker said the two-week investigation indicated that Duff, who was on duty June 29, was operating his squad car recklessly at the time of the accident.

“The facts of the investigation demonstrated to us that deputy Duff’s driving actions, or a lack of actions, were clearly reckless and unsafe,” Walker said. “In addition, Mr. Lennox suffered great bodily harm and permanent disfigurement, which elevates the reckless driving charge to a preliminary charge of aggravated reckless driving.”

Walker said preliminary tests conducted at the Illinois State Police Crime Lab did not indicate Duff was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident.

He noted that due to the ongoing investigation, he could not comment on whether Duff was distracted at the time of the accident.

Decatur police responded to the accident, which occurred in the 2700 block of North Jasper Street, at 10:39 p.m.

According to Walker, a Chevy S-10 pickup truck, driven by Lloyd Dial, was hauling a mattress and other items when the mattress and box springs fell out of the truck bed.

Dial pulled over to the east curb of the street, activated his emergency hazard lights and put the car in park, while Lennox exited the vehicle to retrieve the mattress and box springs.

As Lennox was placing and adjusting the items in the truck bed, both he and the rear end of the truck were suddenly struck by Duff, Walker said.

“The impact between the sheriff’s (deputy’s) vehicle and the S-10 was significant enough that the squad car lifted the rear of the pickup off the pavement, advancing it forward for a distance and pinning Mr. Lennox between the two vehicles,” Walker said.

Macon County Sheriff Thomas Schneider said his thoughts are with Lennox and his family.

“My heart goes out to those who were injured in the accident,” he said, adding that his thoughts are also with Duff and his family. “This outcome is something we never like to see, but the Decatur Police Department did a very thorough and professional job with this investigation, and now it’s up to us to make sure our internal investigation is conducted professionally and with integrity.”

Walker echoed Schneider’s sentiments.

“Our thoughts go out to Mr. Lennox and his family during this difficult and challenging recovery period, and to be frank, to all parties involved,” Walker said. “We understand this incident has altered the lives of all involved. We do not take any arrest situation lightly and recognize that this may potentially impact Mr. Duff’s career in law enforcement.”

Walker said the findings of his department’s investigation were handed over to the Macon County State’s Attorney’s Office, which concurred with the investigation and probable cause findings toward Duff.

Schneider said disciplinary action toward Duff will hinge on what is discovered through both the Decatur Police Department’s accident investigation and his office’s internal investigation.

Walker said police will not be taking any action with regard Dial or Lennox.

Duff, a seven-year veteran of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, is currently being held in the Macon County Jail.

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Kidnap Victim Found Imprisoned In Veteran New York City Police Officer Ondre Johnson’s Garage After $75,000 Ranson Demand Was Traced To Call Made From His Home

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – A veteran NYPD detective has been suspended without pay after a tied-up kidnap victim was found in his Queens garage, sources told The Post.

Ondre Johnson, a 17-year veteran of the Brooklyn north gang unit, was being questioned along with his cousin and another man suspected of being involved in the incident, and was forced to surrender his gun and badge pending the outcome of the investigation.

The 25-year-old victim was snatched off the street early yesterday morning, taken to the detective’s home and held for $75,000 ransom, sources said.

Cops busted four in the scheme.

Hakeem Clark, 30, who lives in the same building as Johnson, was slapped with kidnapping and weapons charges along with Jason Hutson, 27, and James Gayle, 27.

Alfredo Haughton, 24, was charged with kidnapping.

The sources said the kidnappers called a friend of the victim and demanded the huge cash sum. After several calls were made, the victim’s pal went to cops who were able to trace the location of the phone to the detective’s home.

Cops reached the detective’s home at about 3 p.m. yesterday. The detective answered the door with two handguns visible on his person, and identified himself as NYPD, sources said.

Officers found the victim bound in the garage, law-enforcement sources said.

The detective and his sidekicks were questioned last night at the 113th Precinct in Jamaica by Internal Affairs and Queens detectives, the sources said. No charges had been filed.

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Maricopa Arizona Police Officer Victor Valenzuela Fired After On Duty Sex With Another Man’s Wife

MARICOPA, ARIZONA – A city of Maricopa police officer is out of a job for something he did on the job in December.

“I don’t think any officer should be able to stay on the force if they’ve been caught having an affair with somebody else’s wife while they’re on duty,” Perry Edwards said.

Back in March, Edwards showed 3TV sex texts between his wife and a city of Maricopa police officer.

Edwards suspected his wife was having sex with an officer while the cop was on duty.

Edwards’ sister, Roberta Schneider, was so disgusted she asked the police department to investigate.

“He is supposed to be serving our community, not making booty calls in the back of his car,” Schneider said.

3TV got a hold of the department’s investigative report.

Edwards got his wish.

Officer Victor Valenzuela was fired from the department in March.

“He showed remorse, he was embarrassed and he wishes to go on with life and hopes that this goes away,” said police Chief Steve Stahl.

Stahl said Valenzuela admitted to having sex with a married woman while he was working.

“It’s sad. There’s no doubt about it,” Stahl said. “I want to ensure the residents as soon as we found out about the conduct it was investigated very quickly and it was handled very quickly.”

According to the report, Valenzuela also admitted to wearing his uniform and driving his patrol car to the Edwards’ home.

Valenzuela also told the investigator the sexual encounter happened just once, for a half-hour, and afterward he signed up for a 12-step sex addiction program.

The officer didn’t have to repay the department for the half-hour spent at the Edwards’ home.

“He risked his career in this behavior and the behavior in and of itself and the penalty in and of itself of losing your career as a law enforcement officer is a pretty heavy penalty to pay,” Stahl said.

According to the state, Valenzuela’s certification is suspended until September.

As for the Edwards, they’re in the middle of divorce proceedings.

3TV tried getting in contact with Valenzuela but was unable to locate the former police officer.

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Melbourne Florida Police Officer Jose Otero, Charged After On-Duty Sex With Whores In His Patrol Car Will Soon Learn If He Loses His Law Enforcement Job

MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – A Melbourne police officer charged with having on-duty sexual trysts with at least three suspected prostitutes in his patrol car could soon learn whether he can keep his law enforcement job, officials report.

Officer Jose Otero, 42, was charged last month with five misdemeanor counts of purchasing the services of a person engaged in prostitution, and one count each of setting up and maintaining a place for lewdness or prostitution and solicitation of prostitution, court records show.

A pre-termination hearing on Otero’s employment with the Melbourne Police was held late Monday. No decisions have been made.

“He still is suspended with pay and the chief has not yet made a decision,” said Sgt. Sheridan Shelly, spokesman for the Melbourne Police Department, whose agency has taken on a high-profile, proactive role in recent years to try to rid city streets of prostitution.

Melbourne police administrators ordered the officer to turn in his badge, gun and police radio May 26 following findings from their initial investigation.

The case — including possible surveillance video and investigative notes on the reported encounters — was turned over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The state agency issued Otera, who was never physically arrested or jailed, a notice to appear citation in early July.

Michael Bross, Otero’s attorney, said his client is innocent and adds that he did not have any sexual contact with the suspected prostitutes.

“There are no photos, no videos. It is an allegation. I’ve had the chance to talk to all three prostitutes and these allegations are spurious,” said Bross. “My client knows a lot of suspects and people on the road.” Bross said he believes the women may have crafted the stories to get a better outcome on their own cases.

Otero, hired in March 2008, did not attend the pre-termination hearing. His attorney did. Melbourne police would not comment on the specifics of the case.

“The chief had his meeting and is now taking everything into consideration,” Shelly said.

Melbourne police were tipped off to the allegations of wrongdoing involving Otero earlier this year and carried out surveillance of the officer.

Melbourne officers allege Otero used his patrol car for at least a year to pick up suspected prostitutes and then drive them to a secluded area in the 1000 block of South Harbor City Boulevard near the House of Lights and Home Accents store, which is not far from the police department’s substation on Apollo Boulevard, according to records.

Officers said that Otero, whose salary is $37,000 a year, repeatedly paid the suspected prostitutes for sexual acts while sitting in the marked Melbourne police cruiser, according to police records.

Police reported that Otero would then drive the suspected prostitutes to an unknown destination.

Otero could not be reached for comment.

“He’s doing fine,” Bross said. “My client has a right to resign, but he hasn’t. He chose not to because he’s not guilty.”

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Flat Rock New Jersey Police Officer Charles Richard Sanders Jr. Pleads Guilty To His Part In Illegal Gambling Operation – Trenton City Employee Pleads Guilty For A Slap On The Wrist After Agreeing To Testify Against Officer

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY – An employee of the City of Trenton and a former Flat Rock police sergeant pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal gambling operation.

Kevin James Sargent, 35, of Grosse Ile and Charles Richard Sanders Jr., 46, of Gibraltar were arrested in January for conducting an illegal gambling operation involving wagers on professional and college football games conducted on city time with taxpayer resources, according to a release from the Michigan Department of Attorney General.

Sargent currently works for the Trenton Department of Public Works. Trenton City Administrator Jim Wagner said Sargent will remain an employee as long as he has not violated employment agreements. Wagner declined further comment.

Sargent pleaded guilty to 14 counts of illegal sports betting, a misdemeanor offense, before Judge James Chylinskion of Wayne County Circuit Court on March 28, 2012, and agreed to testify against Sanders. Sargent will be sentenced to two years probation.

Sanders, no longer a Flat Rock police officer, is set to face sentencing before Judge Vera Massey Jones on Aug. 10, 2012, at Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit.

Sanders pleaded guilty to two counts of felony misconduct in office before Jones on July 11. Each count carries with it a possible sentence of five years in prison. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette noted his office will seek incarceration for Sanders, according to the release.

New York City Police Officer Salisha Alirasul Arrested After Drunken Wreck – Third NYPD Officer Arrested In 4 Days

QUEENS, NEW YORK – An off-duty police officer was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated after striking a parked car early Wednesday, the NYPD reported.

She was the third NYPD officer to be arrested in four days.

Police Officer Salisha Alirasul, 34, refused to take a breath test and was taken into custody about 2:15 a.m., a police spokesman said.

The collision took place within the 103rd Precinct, which includes Jamaica, Hollis and Lakewood, but the spokesman did not provide an exact location.

Alirasul sustained minor injuries and was treated at Jamaica Hospital.

Alirasul’s arrest occurred one day after Police Officer Kofi Nsafoah, 36, was arrested in Brooklyn for allegedly choking his wife during a dispute.

On Sunday, Police Officer Brayan Terrazas, 26, was arrested in Queens for allegedly driving while intoxicated.

Both were off-duty when the incidents reportedly occurred.

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Cadillac Michigan Police Officer Jordan Gross After Turning Up Drunk In Resident’s Backyard After Party

CADILLAC, MICHIGAN – A Cadillac bike patrol officer has been fired after he was arrested for disorderly conduct.

According to a press release from Cadillac Police, State Police were called to a home in Cherry Grove township after the resident said there was a person believed to be drunk and in the lake and backyard of their home.

He was identified as Jordan Goss, a seasonal foot and bicycle patrol officer. He was drunk and uncooperative and was arrested, according to Cadillac Police.

The Cadillac Police Department said there was an internal affairs investigation that determined Goss was at a gathering at another home in the area and walked away after being offered a ride home. Although other Cadillac Police officers were at the gathering, it was concluded that there was no wrongdoing on their part, according to CPD.

Cadillac Police determined that Goss violated the department’s code of conduct and he was terminated.

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Knott County Kentucky Police Officer Nelson Reynolds “Family Emergency” Required Unauthorized Trip In Patrol Vehicle To Tennessee Hobby Lobby – Bonus: Photographed Parked In A Handicapped Space

KNOTT COUNTY, KENTUCKY – Knott County Police Department vehicle is spotted in another state parked in a handicapped spot.

Someone snapped a picture of the county-owned Tahoe that is now posted on Facebook.

It’s causing some controversy, but Knott County officials are not making any excuses.

“We’re not condoning what he done. He was wrong, he did not have authorization to drive the vehicle, and he knows he done wrong. And it was just a poor decision,” said Greg Mullins, Director of Knott County Homeland Security.

He says it was a family emergency that caused Officer Nelson Reynolds to make the decision to drive a county vehicle to Kingsport, Tennessee.

He also says Officer Reynolds had a handicapped person in the car with him.

Mullins says county vehicles can not be taken across county lines without supervisor authorization, but Officer Reynolds did not do that.

“I think it’s a waste. A lot of the other things they have complained about, they complained about the cost of a wet dry election, and yet they are still wasting money on other stuff,” said Knott County resident Ezalee Pigman.

Mullins says Officer Reynolds did turn in a personal gas receipt from the trip, but he will still be required to pay the county back for the mileage and he will also be suspended three days without pay.

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Victims With Obama-Mentality Think President Is Going To Pay Their Utilities, Phone Service, And Loans – Just Another Identity Theft Scam/Hoax Targeting Those With Tiny IQ’s

WASHINGTON, DC – A myth that President Obama is giving people money to pay their bills has prompted thousands of people across the country to try to pay for utilities, phone service and loans using bogus bank routing numbers.

United Way of Cleveland’s 2-1-1 changed its answering machine Monday to say rumors of the Obama program were false after fielding dozens of calls.

Later that day, a United Way employee was on an RTA bus when a rider stood up and announced to fellow passengers that Obama was paying people’s bills. The rider told people they could use the red numbers on the backs of their Social Security cards to tap into the government money. Steve Wertheim of United Way said the woman claimed she had successfully paid her electric bill using the technique.

Such unprompted testimonials are spreading the hoax through entire communities, putting consumers, at minimum, at risk of late payment penalties and service disruptions.

In some iterations, the bogus “Obama program” appears to be an identity theft scam. According to news reports, uniformed con men with clipboards went door to door in a handful of states, signing people up by collecting Social Security numbers and then giving them phony bank routing numbers to use to pay their bills.

But here, it seems less scam than hoax.

People aren’t asking for anyone’s Social Security numbers. They’re passing along bogus routing numbers, apparently in the belief they’re real.
What victims should do

The bill-paying myth poses several distinct dangers for consumers:

• If they’re using bogus routing numbers, their payments will eventually bounce, leaving them with late payment or other penalty fees.

• People who were already behind on payments could face serious consequences, including insurance lapses, repossessions or service terminations.

• If they gave their Social Security number to someone purporting to sign them up either in person or by phone, they run the risk of identity theft.

Consumers who fell for the hoax should contact the companies they paid with bogus numbers to arrange for genuine payments as soon as possible.

Those who need utilities or other assistance should contact United Way at 2-1-1 or 216-436-2100 to be connected to legitimate nonprofits who can help.

Anyone who gave a scammer a Social Security number should contact the Federal Trade Commission for ID theft information at 1-877-438-4338.

Jeanette Lee, who works in billing for a Cleveland hospital, said she heard about the program over the weekend from friends and relatives who swore it worked. “They were calling me to tell me to do it,” she said.

An aunt, Lee said, insisted that she paid her insurance and cell phone bills with one of the routing numbers she received through the grapevine.

A nephew used the system to make a car payment.

“The president didn’t announce that when he was in town,” Lee told them, but family members would not be dissuaded that citizens could tap into government funds to pay up to $1,000 in household bills.

“I guess because everybody needs some type of help,” Lee said. “It’s really bad out there.”

One version of the hoax involves using the series of red numbers on the back of a Social Security cards as a bank routing number.

The red numbers actually are a security feature added to cards in 1996 to prevent counterfeiting, a Social Security spokesman said.

FirstEnergy spokesman Todd Meyers said the utility, which operates across 12 states, spotted the trend in May when its payment systems began jettisoning large numbers of phony routing numbers. The company issued a warning that the government program wasn’t real, and the Better Business Bureau followed suit.

But tall tales have spread.

A Florida electric company posted an alert to its customers last week after as many as 2,000 customers tried to use bogus routing numbers to pay bills in a 24-hour-period.

Feeding the hoax — and the testimonials — is that some bill payment systems may give consumers may confirmation numbers when they pay by phone. The confirmation doesn’t always mean the payment was successful – it may only confirm the bank information was logged into the call center, said Lou Tekavcic, a trade specialist for the Better Business Bureau.

“Anybody can call and give you a bogus routing number,” Tekavcic said. “It doesn’t mean it will go through.”

When the bogus numbers weren’t immediately rejected, some victims apparently believed the program was real and spread the word.

One caller told the BBB her friends were trying to make mortgage payments through the bogus program, Tekavcic said.

As Meyers of FirstEnergy points out, consumers struggling to pay bills are particularly at risk. They may believe the government covered their payment; but when that payment is ultimately rejected, their utilities could be shut off or they could be dropped from heating assistance programs that require them to keep up with payments.

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Another Not-So-Smart Move By Obama Administration – Closing Border Patrol Stations In 4 States – Triggered Backlash From Law Enforcement, Members Of Congress, And Border Patrol Agents

WASHINGTON, DC – The Obama administration is moving to shut down nine Border Patrol stations across four states, triggering a backlash from local law enforcement, members of Congress and Border Patrol agents themselves.

Critics of the move warn the closures will undercut efforts to intercept drug and human traffickers in well-traveled corridors north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Though the affected stations are scattered throughout northern and central Texas, and three other states, the coverage areas still see plenty of illegal immigrant activity — one soon-to-be-shuttered station in Amarillo, Texas, is right in the middle of the I-40 corridor; another in Riverside, Calif., is outside Los Angeles.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it’s closing the stations in order to reassign agents to high-priority areas closer to the border.

“These deactivations are consistent with the strategic goal of securing America’s borders, and our objective of increasing and sustaining the certainty of arrest of those trying to enter our country illegally,” CBP spokesman Bill Brooks said in a statement. “By redeploying and reallocating resources at or near the border, CBP will maximize the effectiveness of its enforcement mandate and align our investments with our mission.”

But at least one Border Patrol supervisor in Texas has called on local officers to “voice your concerns” to elected officials, warning that the “deactivation” will remove agents from the Texas Panhandle, among other places. Several members of Congress have asked Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher to reconsider the plan. And local officials are getting worried about what will happen once the Border Patrol leaves town, since they rely on those federal officials to assist in making immigration arrests.

Miami Florida Police Didn’t Consider House Might Have A Back Door – Neighborhood Evacuated As SWAT Team Spends 5 Hours Forcing An Empty Home Into Submission

MIAMI, FLORIDA – A suspect remained on the loose Saturday when a SWAT team responding to a what they thought was a barricade situation found the man had left the home.

Miami-Dade officers went in the home on the 10000 block of Southwest 69th Terrace Friday afternoon after learning there might be an armed man inside refusing to leave his home.

Police said the incident began as a domestic dispute between the man, Carlos Guerrero, 36, and his brother. When the rescue squad arrived, they saw Guerrero run toward the house. When police couldn’t make contact with Guerrero, they were concerned he might be barricaded inside and a danger to himself or the community.

“We learned that he is a veteran and there were firearms inside the house,” said Miami-Dade Police Det. Alvaro Zabaleta. “So now, of course, when you add to the formula an individual who has firearms inside the house, refuses to come out, who’s already had a physical confrontation with somebody, then of course that escalates things a little bit.”

Police taped off several blocks surrounding the home and kept dozens of neighbors out of their homes for more than five hours. Other neighbors who were inside before the SWAT team arrived were told to remain inside.

Melissa Morejon was outside the police tape while her mother and son were inside.

“He tried going out earlier but they wouldn’t let her out of her house. They told her to go right back in,” she said.

Morejon spent much of the evening on the phone with her mom who kept her updated on the situation.

“She heard the police trying to negotiate,” Morejon said.

Police are searching for Guerrero to find out what happened. Although neighbors were displaced for hours, police said they had to take every precaution to keep people safe.

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Escambia County Florida Deputy Sheriff Lavada Michelle Rivkin Arrested, Suspended, And Charged With Illegally Recording Telephone Conversation

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA – The school resource officer at Tate High School was arrested Friday on a third degree felony charge.

Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputy Lavada Michelle Rivkin, 31, was arrested for eavesdropping – illegal interception of communication.

The State Attorney’s Office began an investigation into Rivkin after being contacted by the Sheriff’s Office, according to Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille. He said Rivkin is accused of secretly recording another deputy during a telephone discussion about a complaint. The call was allegedly recorded without Rivkin asking permission.

Marcille would not comment on whether or not the incident involved Rivkin’s official duties as a school resource officer.

Rivkin turned herself in about 2:35 Friday afternoon on a State Attorney’s Office warrant and was released on her own recognizance.

According to the Sheriffs’ Office, Rivkin is on paid administrative leave pending review by the department.

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Holyoke Massachusetts Deputy Fire Chief Timothy J. Moran Suddenly Retires After Photos Of Models With City’s Firetrucks Surface – Also Investigation Into His Involvement In Incident That Resulted In Criminal Charges Against His Brother And Former Acting Chief William P. Moran

HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS – This week’s abrupt retirement of Deputy Fire Chief Timothy J. Moran was related to his unauthorized permission for sportswear-clad models to pose for photographs with fire trucks and other equipment on city property, Mayor Alex B. Morse said Thursday.

Another issue that prompted the retirement was an investigation into Moran’s involvement in an incident a year ago that resulted in criminal charges brought against his brother and former acting chief, William P. Moran, Morse said.

It is unclear how the models wound up at Fire Department headquarters at 600 High St. on June 11. A report that the models were posing for photographs for use in a sports fitness publication could not be confirmed by The Republican.

Timothy Moran was suspended five days without pay by Fire Chief John A. Pond after the chief learned of the photo shoot, the mayor said. Moran appealed the suspension to the Fire Commission, which was already investigating Moran’s part in a June 15, 2011, incident with his brother, Morse said.

“It showed poor judgment on behalf of Deputy Chief Moran, and I stand behind chief Pond’s disciplinary action. I wish Mr. Moran the best of luck in his retirement and thank him for his many years of service,” said Morse.

The mayor defended the department’s professionalism and issued a warning.

“This incident should not taint the hardworking men and women of the Holyoke Fire Department. Such behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable, and such actions will be met with consequences, no matter who you are,” Morse said.

Timothy Moran had served 20 years and one month with the Fire Department before his retirement took effect on Wednesday. His gross earnings in 2011 were $90,324, according to the city’s municipal payroll database available online at MassLive.com.
Timothy Moran 2007.jpgTimothy Moran

To a reporter who knocked on the door of his Westfield home seeking comment Thursday, Timothy Moran said, “Get away from me and stay away from me.”

Pond refused to comment when asked what kind of discipline would result if a department employee gave unauthorized approval for models to pose with department equipment, beyond saying such photographs would be unacceptable.

Fire Commission chairman Christopher J. Hopewell said the models posing with department equipment and gear is “unauthorized,” but declined to discuss Moran’s role, citing confidentiality of personnel matters.

“I believe the fire chief took the appropriate actions,” Hopewell said.

On June 15, 2011, William and Timothy Moran were eating lunch at Mrs. Mitchell’s Kitchen, 514 Westfield Road, when William Moran saw firefighters from the station around the corner on Homestead Avenue, entering Strum’s Deli and Meats next door. He called the Fire Department dispatch to report a truck was needed at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, knowing that would require that the firefighters scramble to answer the call, officials have said.

During the response, one civilian driver failed to pull over for the fire truck and a four-car accident occurred at Homestead Avenue and Pynchon Road. The driver was treated at Holyoke Medical Center and released.

In a ruling released on Nov. 22, Springfield District Court assistant clerk-magistrate Barbara Y. Burton said William Moran would have to answer criminal charges because sending the truck on a false call put the public in danger. William Moran admitted on April 5 there were sufficient facts to warrant a guilty finding on a charge of making a false fire call, and he agreed to pay $500 in restitution.

Attorney Jorge L. Neves, who was representing Timothy Moran regarding last year’s incident, said on July 14, 2011, that his client acted appropriately that day, telling the two firefighers who were seen at Strum’s Deli to disregard the call his brother had made. That detail is included in a June 27, 2011, statement that Hampden district attorney Mark G. Mastroianni released on the matter.

The fire truck proceeded to the call anyway, stopping in the parking lot of the deli to pick up the two firefighters, who boarded the truck thinking it was headed to a different call, Mastroianni has said.

City Solicitor Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross said the three-member Fire Commission, which Morse appointed in February shortly after taking office, is investigating last year’s incident.

The reason the previous Fire Commission, which was appointed by Morse’s predecessor, didn’t investigate the incident was because the district attorney requested the commission refrain from such a probe until the resolution of the criminal case against William Moran, Rodriguez-Ross said.

The commission is investigating to determine if any Fire Department rules were violated and all persons involved disciplined, Rodriguez-Ross said.

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Veteran Alton Missouri Police Officer Disarmed By Petite Mentally Ill Woman – Who Then Used Officer’s Gun To Commit Suicide In His Patrol Car

ALTON, MISSOURI – A mentally ill Missouri woman committed suicide by shooting herself in the head with a police officer’s gun while getting a ride to a local hospital in a squad car on Wednesday.

The St. Louis County Police Department said Stephanie Hicks, 20, got into a struggle with an Alton police officer over his weapon.

Hicks’ former boyfriend Eric Perry said she had been dealing with a bi-polar disorder and decided to seek professional help, according to the TV station KSDK.

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Stephanie Hicks, 20, fatally shot herself in the head on Wednesday after wrestling a gun away from a police officer

Untimely death: Stephanie Hicks, 20, fatally shot herself in the head on Wednesday after wrestling a gun away from a police officer

Loved ones said Hicks had been struggling with a bi-polar disorder and other mental issues

Troubled: Loved ones said Hicks had been struggling with a bi-polar disorder and other mental issues

On Wednesday morning, she set out on foot in the sweltering heat from her home in Alton toward Christian Northeast Hospital about nine-and-a-half miles away.

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An officer found Hicks walking across the Clark Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River at Alton, and called for an EMS crew to examine her, St. Louis Today reported.

Alton Police Chief David Hayes said on Thursday that Hicks was not suicidal on the bridge, but simply trying to reach the hospital. She was medically cleared by the paramedics.
An officer found Hicks walking across the Clark Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River at Alton

Chance encounter: An officer found Hicks walking across the Clark Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River at Alton

Hicks was walking in the heat to Christian Northeast Hospital located more than nine miles from her home

Seeking help: Hicks was walking in the heat to Christian Northeast Hospital located more than nine miles from her home

Hicks got into the passenger seat of the patrol car because police said she was not in custody, and it was too hot in the back

Courtesy ride: Hicks got into the passenger seat of the patrol car because police said she was not in custody, and it was too hot in the back

At around 9am, the officer pulled over and asked Hicks if she needed a ride. The 20-year-old got into the front seat because the back of the car is for prisoners, and Hicks was not in custody.

‘In the back seat of those police cars, whatever the temperature is outside it’s usually 15 to 20 degrees hotter inside,’ Hayes said.

While it is not customary for Alton police officers to offer citizens courtesy rides, the officer called his commanding officer and received permission to drive Hicks, who was apparently known to the department.

When the vehicle reached Dunn Road and Highway 367, officials said the woman unexpectedly grabbed the pistol carried in a holster on the policeman’s right hip.
Officials said the woman did not say a word in the moments before she grabbed the officer’s gun at Dunn Road and Highway 367

Chaotic scene: Officials said the woman did not say a word in the moments before she grabbed the officer’s gun at Dunn Road and Highway 367

Police said the officer told them Hicks didn’t say anything in the car before unsnapping his holster and shooting herself.

She was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, where she died from her injury.

The patrol car was equipped with a video camera, Hayes said, but it is wired to the emergency lights and was not running. The officer turned on the lights after the shooting, and the camera captured the tragic aftermath.

The officer driving Hicks is a 13-year veteran on the Alton police force. He’s been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Hicks’ mother, Robin, said her daughter should have never been allowed to be in a position to take the pistol

Devastated: Hicks’ mother, Robin, said her daughter should have never been allowed to be in a position to take the pistol

Hayes emphasized that the unnamed officer did not violate department procedures.

However, the victim’s relatives have expressed anger at the police, questioning how a 5-foot-1-inch woman who weighed only about 80 pounds managed to wrestle a gun away from the officer.

‘She got that gun and there’s no way she should have got that gun,’ the victim’s mother, Robin Hicks, told Fox 2 Now. ‘And I’m angry, and I’m pissed, and this is not right!’

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Electronic Cigarette In A Bag Interrupts UK Bus Schedule, Triggers Massive Response That Included Police, Fire, Ambulances, Bomb Squads, And Shuts Down Section Of A Major Highway

LONDON (AP) — False alarm: British police said Thursday that reports of suspicious activity on a bus, which set off a massive emergency response and forced the closure of a section of a major highway in central England, were unfounded.

The “culprit”? An electronic cigarette.

Armed police evacuated passengers from the bus and bomb disposal units, ambulances and fire engines descended on the Weeford toll plaza of the M6 highway in the West Midlands, 116 miles (187 kilometers) north of London, after the initial reports Thursday.

The sweeping emergency response came just weeks before the July 27-Aug. 12 Olympics are due to be held in the British capital.

But several hours later, Staffordshire police said that the scene was safe and no suspects were in custody.

The force said it had received a “genuine report” from a member of the public about vapor escaping from a bag on the bus, which upon investigation turned out to be a an electronic cigarette – a device that aims to help smokers quit.

“We can now confirm that, whilst this was a genuine security alert, the significant concerns reported to us were unfounded,” the force said.

It apologized for any inconvenience caused by the security response, saying it hopes people understand its duty to ensure public safety.

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Cedar Park Texas Police Officer Timothy Wood Arrested After Three Drunken Wrecks

CEDAR PARK, TEXAS – A Cedar Park police officer was arrested for driving while intoxicated.

According to an arrest affidavit, on June 27 just before midnight police were called to The Ridge Apartments located at 6805 Wood Hollow Drive. Witnesses told police a driver had collided with three vehicles in the parking lot.

According to a spokesperson for the Cedar Park Police Department, the driver was Officer Timothy Wood, a patrol officer for the department.

“He hit one vehicle then backed up into another vehicle and as he attempted to leave, he struck another vehicle,” witnesses say.

Police spoke with Officer Wood at the scene. They say he had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath, his speech was slurred and his balance unsteady.

He was arrested at the scene and charged with driving while intoxicated.

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Dumbass Evansville Indiana Police Bring News Crew Along On Violent SWAT Attack On Wrong House That Catches Innocent 18 Year Old Woman Watching TV

EVANSVILLE, INDIANA – The long-standing, heavily documented militarization of even small-town American police forces was always going to create problems when it met anonymous Internet threats. And so it has, again—this time in Evansville, Indiana, where officers acted on some Topix postings threatening violence against local police. They then sent an entire SWAT unit to execute a search warrant on a local house, one in which the front door was open and an 18-year old woman sat inside watching TV.

The cops brought along TV cameras, inviting a local reporter to film the glorious operation. In the resulting video, you can watch the SWAT team, decked out in black bulletproof vests and helmets and carrying window and door smashers, creep slowly up to the house. At some point, they apparently “knock” and announce their presence—though not with the goal of getting anyone to come to the door. As the local police chief admitted later to the Evansville Courier & Press, the process is really just “designed to distract.” (SWAT does not need to wait for a response.)

Officers break the screen door and a window, tossing a flashbang into the house—which you can see explode in the video. A second flashbang gets tossed in for good measure a moment later. SWAT enters the house.

On the news that night, the reporter ends his piece by talking about how this is “an investigation that hits home for many of these brave officers.”

But the family in the home was released without any charges as police realized their mistake. Turns out the home had an open WiFi router, and the threats had been made by someone outside the house. Whoops.

So the cops did some more investigation and decided that the threats had come from a house on the same street. This time, apparently recognizing they had gone a little nuts on the first raid, the police department didn’t send a SWAT team at all. Despite believing that they now had the right location and that a threat-making bomber lurked within, they just sent officers up to the door.

“We did surveillance on the house, we knew that there were little kids there, so we decided we weren’t going to use the SWAT team,” the police chief told the paper after the second raid. “We did have one officer with a ram to hit the door in case they refused to open the door. That didn’t happen, so we didn’t need to use it.”

Their target appears to be a teenager who admits to the paper that he has a “smart mouth,” dislikes the cops, and owns a smartphone—but who denies using it to make the threats.

While the open WiFi issue has caused many problems over the last five years—especially in child porn cases—the FBI is becoming more savvy about how it executes search warrants. As we noted last December, a well-run FBI child porn investigation (also in Indiana) took rather obvious precautions before executing a warrant:

On April 30, two FBI special agents drove past the Carmel home and noted the existence of two WiFi networks reachable from the property. One used WEP encryption, the other had the more robust WPA2, but the key point from the FBI’s perspective was that neither network was unsecured. A search thus seemed much more likely to find its proper target.

Because most people aren’t stupid enough to make obvious threats from their own home Internet connection, the corollary principle also holds: if a home does have an open WiFi connection, investigators might want to ease away from the flashbangs-and-SWAT-team approach; the threat of getting it wrong is a real one.

But Evansville police aren’t backing down from their initial SWAT raid (read more about their later justification for using such force). And the targets of that raid aren’t pleased. As the owner of the first house told the paper, “The front door was open. It’s not like anyone was in there hiding. To bring a whole SWAT team seems a little excessive.”

The city will be paying to repair the damage it caused.

Not that all Evansville residents think the SWAT raid was in any way improper. Writing on the same Topix message boards where the initial threats emanated, one resident responded to critics: “They had a warrant. Sometimes warrants turn up nothing. Her home was repaired. On with your life now crusader!!! Lol”

“Noodle heads come on here thinking they are just big bad asses, threatening cops and their families,” wrote another, “then the cops come back and bitch slap them with SWAT teams and flash bang grenades. Awesome. Teach these fools a lesson and make examples out of them.”

But when all you have is an IP address, some non-trivial percentage of the time you teach a lesson to the wrong fools.

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Dumbass Davenport Iowa Officals Send Notice To Wrong Address, Sends City Workers To Remove Couple’s Religious Items From Private Property, And Now City Has To Pay To Replace Items

DAVENPORT, IOWA – Mack Covey and his wife Merla were surprised one morning to find strangers in their backyard, taking things without notice, with not even a knock on the front door.

“Bottom line my freedom of religion was violated big time,” Covey says, “The door to the teepee was taken and the buffalo robe.”

“That was my teepee, which was an actual church,” he says of the items’ importance, “We’ve had ceremony here in it.”

Other non-religious items like umbrellas and cleaning poles were also taken, in total about $2300 worth of things Covey wants back.

“I just want what’s fair,” Covey says, “The monetary means to replace the items they blatantly stole. We weren’t notified, bottom line.”

TV6 spoke with Alderman Bill Boom today who says a notice was sent, but to the wrong address. He tell us the city was notified when a neighbor complained, citing items in the backyard, both religious and non-religious, as an environmental hazard. The city sent workers in to clean up what they call ‘debris,’ but Covey disagrees.

“It’d be like me going into one of the churches here in town and taking a cross,” he says, “That’s how much significance it has to me.”

The couple and their supporters have contacted public works and city aldermen, who have come to sort out the issue at the couple’s home. Officials say they’re working on a resolution.

“The workers I’m sure did not know what they took,” Covey says, “This is as important as life and death itself.”

An attorney for the city tells us the yard is in violation of an environmental ordinance that says residents have to keep your lawns clean and clear of debris. City officials say they’ve apologized to the couple and they’re in the process of paying them back so they can replace the items gone.

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New York Police Flood Rapid Transit Buses And Trains With Cops To Catch Fare-Beaters – Most Of Which Turn Out To Be Children That Grew Over 44 Inch Limit But Still Ride For Free – Police Want Riders To Waste Their Time Reporting Fare-Dogers, Even Though They’ll Be Long Gone Before They Arrive

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – The NYPD has begun flooding city buses with undercover and uniformed cops to nab serial fare-beaters, a problem that’s costing the agency $100 million a year, officials said yesterday.

The operation has led to 1,228 fare-beating arrests from Jan. 1 through June 24 — a 102 percent increase from the 609 arrests in the same period last year, according to NYPD statistics released yesterday.

Much of the crackdown took place in The Bronx, where 992 people were caught ripping off the system. Last year, 412 people were arrested in The Bronx for fare-beating on buses.

Staten Island, which officials say is regularly among the worst locations in the city for bus fare-beating, came in second place, with 60 arrests this year — up from three last year.

The NYPD has also ramped up random inspections, sending uniformed cops on board buses more than 900 times in the past month.

Obama Does The Most Logical Thing He Could Think Of At Boston Massachusetts Fundraiser – Piss Off Red Socks Fans

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – Were they boos or cheers for “Youk?”

Being booed was probably the last thing President Barack Obama expected from the crowd at a Symphony Hall fundraiser Monday night, but that happened when the president “thanked” Boston for Kevin Youkilis, who was just traded to the Chicago White Sox.

“I’m just saying, he’s going to have to change the color of his socks,” the president said laughing.

Youkilis was traded from the Red Sox, to Obama’s favorite team on Sunday for infielder Brent Lillibridge and pitcher Zach Stewart.

“I didn’t think I was going to get any boos out of here,” he said. “I should not have brought up baseball, I understand, my mistake, you got to know your crowd.”

Tickets for President Obama’s fundraiser at Symphony Hall cost between $250 and $2,500.

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Former Asbury Park New Jersey Councilwoman Call For Enforcing Bathing Suit Ban On Beach Boardwalk – Worried “Skimpy Attire” Threatens Imaginary “Classy” Image She Has Of Asbury

ASBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY – It’s against the law to wear a swim suit on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.

Former Councilwoman Louise Murray is pressing the city council to enforce the ordinance, which was adopted more than 40 years ago.

The ordinance says: “No person clad in bathing attire shall be on the boardwalk or the public walks adjacent thereto.”

Murray tells The Star-Ledger of Newark she’s worried allowing boardwalk bar and restaurant patrons to wear skimpy attire threatens Asbury’s “classy” image.

Deputy Mayor John Loffredo tells the newspaper it’s up to businesses to set dress codes and the city doesn’t have the resources to enforce the ban.

Changing rooms that once were connected to the beach by tunnels and catwalks disappeared years ago.

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Richfield Ohio Police Officer Robert Gilbert And Anthony Riviotta Fired For Stealing Fence – Both Plead Guilty And Get Diversion Program That Makes Charges Go Away

RICHFIELD, OHIO — Two Richfield police officers were fired Friday after Akron Municipal Court dismissed charges of stealing fencing that had fallen off a truck on Interstate 271.

Robert Gilbert and Anthony Riviotta were suspended Nov. 28. The officers pleaded guilty in court and were ordered to complete a diversion program for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

In return for completing the program, the criminal charges against the two were dismissed last week, but Gilbert and Riviotta still faced disciplinary action from the police department.

After a hearing, police Chief Keith Morgan decided to fire the men.

“There were department charges filed against both officers,” said Morgan. “After reviewing the case and the internal investigation we found that the charges had merit.”

Morgan said that Riviotta was found guilty of six charges of theft and Gilbert was found guilty of nine out of 10 charges.

Prior to being terminated, Gilbert, was placed on paid leave, as required because he is a full-time officer. Riviotta, a part-time officer, was placed on unpaid leave.

The two men were off duty Oct. 11 when a strap broke off of a tractor-trailer, causing a roll of fencing to tumble onto the highway. Gilbert, who ticketed the driver for not properly securing the fencing, and Riviotta arrived on the scene in their personal cars.

Days after the incident, the truck driver questioned authorities about what happened to the fencing. It eventually was returned.

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Edinburgh Indiana Police Officer Christopher McAllister Suspended After Arrest For Drunken Attack On Officers At Indanapolis Motor Speedway The Day Before Indy 500 Race

EDINBURGH, INDIANA – An Edinburgh police officer accused of attacking officers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month has been put on unpaid leave as a criminal investigation continues.

24-Hour News 8 news partner the Daily Journal reports the Edinburgh Town Council, which serves as town’s police merit commission, voted to place Officer Christopher McAllister, 44, on unpaid leave until the case is resolved in Marion County.

Because the town does not have a policy regarding what to do when an officer is charged with a crime, the newspaper said, Police Chief Pat Pankey allowed him to continue working and deferred the decision on what should be done to the Town Council.

Police said McAllister and his wife were creating a disturbance May 26 at IMS the day before the Indianapolis 500. When officers confronted them, McAllister attacked officers. He faces charges of battery, resisting law enforcement and public intoxication.

His wife, Shawntel, also resisted officers and even tried to jump on one of them. She was charged with resisting law enforcement and public intoxication.

Dustin Huddleston, the town’s attorney, told the newspaper the council would reconsider McAllister’s status once the criminal case was resolved.

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Cherokee County Georgia Sheriff Roger Garrison Tries To Explain Away His Appearance In Photos Of Him In Ku Klux Klan Hood And Robe By Invoking “Blazing Saddles” Movie – Just Happens To Be Running For Re-Election

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GEORGIA – Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison said he has no affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, despite old photos that surfaced showing him wearing a robe and hood.

He wore the costume to a Halloween party around 25 years ago, long before he took office.

“I don’t deny it wasn’t stupid, looking back now, but there again I say what 21- or 22-year-old in this world hasn’t made some stupid mistakes?” Garrison told Channel 2 investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer, who obtained the photos from a source who wished to remain anonymous.

Garrison is up for re-election this year, and is facing primary opposition next month.

“It’s purely political,” he said, “This is just the lowest of the low to infer whatever they’re attempting to infer there.”

Garrison said he and a friend were dressed as characters from a scene in the movie “Blazing Saddles” and that he has never espoused any of the KKK’s beliefs.

“I don’t think anyone who knows me is going to think anything of this, but it’s just sickening and it hurts my family,” said Garrison.

Garrison’s opponent, David Waters, said someone showed him the photos a year ago, but he chose to ignore them and focus on his own campaign.

“It is a bad judgment call, and (that) type of clothing represents hate, and I certainly don’t want any part of that,” said Waters.

Waters was not the source who provided the photos to Channel 2 Action News.

By phone, Fleischer reached one person who attended the party back in the 1980s, and said many of the guests were surprised to see Garrison dressed in that costume.

“I think the suit represents harm regardless of how it’s displayed. It’s a statement that the suit makes and to call that a joke, I don’t think a lot of people would laugh,” said Waters.

Garrison told Fleischer he’s hoping voters will pay more attention to his record as sheriff during the last two decades than a photo that’s even older than that.

“Everybody knows everything about my life. I would just ask that they look at my honor and my integrity and the things we’ve done for this sheriff’s office,” said Garrison.

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Obama Desperate – Wants Money For Gifts To Your Friends And Loved Ones Diverted To Fund His Doomed Re-Election Campaign – His Wife Says Send Money, Because He Once Shoveled Snow Around Her Car

WASHINGTON, DC – Just when you thought the Obama campaign couldn’t get any more desperate, they come up with this: the Obama Event Registry, asking supporters who are getting married, having a birthday, or celebrating an anniversary to direct gift-givers to Obama’s re-election website:

Got a birthday, anniversary, or wedding coming up?

Let your friends know how important this election is to you—register with Obama 2012, and ask for a donation in lieu of a gift. It’s a great way to support the President on your big day. Plus, it’s a gift that we can all appreciate—and goes a lot further than a gravy bowl.

Setting up and sharing your registry page is easy—so get started today.

Yesterday, Michelle Obama suggested that Americans give her husband money because he once shoveled snow around her car. He was apparently a husband to us all. Now, the Obama campaign is telling us that if we get remarried, we ought to send the gifts to our presidential ex. (Clearly, the Obama campaign also does not like gravy bowls. Perhaps they should try gravy boats. Those are far more popular.)

This is truly insulting. Young couples have been the folks hardest hit by the Obama economy; unemployment rate among the young is at all-time highs. Yet Obama suggests that we should send money not to those couples, but to the campaign of the man who has put them on the bread lines.

When you click through to the Obama Event Registry, the Obama campaign informs you just why you should send Obama money rather than having grandma buy you that crockpot:

Got a special milestone or event coming up?

Instead of another gift card you’ll forget to use, ask your friends and family for something that will go a little further: a donation to Obama for America. Register your next celebration—whether it’s a birthday, bar or bat mitzvah, wedding, or anniversary—with the Obama campaign. It’s a great way to show your support for a cause that’s important to you on your big day.

Because Obama and his potential $1 billion campaign can use the money better than you ever could. Your special day should be his special day.

But wait – it gets even more fun. You actually get to build and customize a registry page! You can suggest a fundraising goal (I suggested negative $16 trillion – I’d like the Obama campaign to pay back the country for what their man has taken out of our pocket). Then, you type in a message to your friends. The Obama website suggests: “For my big day, I’d like to show my support for a cause I believe in — re-electing President Obama. That’s why I’m asking my friends and family to donate to the Obama campaign. Thanks for chipping in!” Finally, you input a picture – and voila! You’re ready to shill for Obama on your wedding day.

No wonder Democrats support divorce-on-demand. A wedding that starts like this certainly won’t end well.

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Veteran Harris County Texas Deputy Constable Henry Ervin Williams Arrested, Suspended, And Charged With Drunk Driving With 4 Year Old Child In Car – Found Unconscious Behind Wheel On Roadside With Motor Still Running

HOUSTON, TEXAS – A Harris County deputy constable was suspended from duty after being charged with driving drunk with his 4-year-old son in the car with him, Local 2 Investigates reported on Friday.

Precinct 3 deputy Henry Ervin Williams, 34, who has patrolled northeast Harris County neighborhoods for the past three years, was booked on a felony charge of driving while intoxicated with a child passenger.

Harris County sheriff’s deputies said they got a call around 4:30 pm. Thursday that a man was passed out behind the wheel on the roadside off Stonefield Manor and C. E. King Parkway.
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Deputies said they arrived to find the engine running, but they were unable to get a response from the driver.

After knocking on the glass with their flashlights, deputies finally got the attention of Williams, who was in his personal car and off duty.

The 4-year-old child was in the passenger seat, according to the police report.

Disgraced US Attorney General May Face Contempt Vote Today – Still Refusing To Turn Documents Over To House Oversight Committee Investigating His Department’s Botched Operation That Armed Criminals And Mexican Drug Cartel

WASHINGTON, DC – The House Oversight Committee could proceed Wednesday in considering a contempt measure against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder unless he provides at least some of the documents the committee has sought in relation to Operation Fast and Furious, a botched federal firearms sting operation that allowed weapons to reach Mexican drug gangs.

A showdown meeting Tuesday between Eric Holder and committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, failed to resolve their dispute.

“We are disappointed,” Issa told reporters after the meeting. “We never expected to get all the documents. Our hope was and still is that later this evening we’ll get the documents.”

Holder said he offered to provide the documents to Issa on the condition that Issa provided his assurance that doing so would satisfy two committee subpoenas and resolve the dispute.

“I think the ball’s in their court,” Holder told reporters. “They rejected what I thought was an extraordinary offer on our part.”

Asked about whether Issa was open to resolving the issue before the committee meets Wednesday, Holder said: “I think we actually are involved more in political gamesmanship” instead of a sincere effort to get the requested documents.

A Justice Department spokesman reiterated Holder’s position that the documents would show Holder had nothing to hide about his role in Fast and Furious.

After the meeting, Deputy Attorney General James Cole sent a letter to Issa, expressing disappointment.

“Our offer would have provided the committee with unprecedented access to these documents, many of which are not covered by the committee’s subpoenas in this matter,” he wrote. “We had hoped that you shared our interest in bringing this matter to an amicable resolution and we regret that you rejected our extraordinary proposal to do so.”

The meeting in the Capitol building amounted to both sides reiterating positions already staked out through an exchange of letters over the past week.

A committee statement issued before Tuesday’s meeting said it was a chance for Holder to meet the panel’s demands for additional documents, which would allow for a postponement.

“Currently, (the Department of Justice) has not delivered or shown the committee any of the documents it has said it is prepared to produce,” the statement continued. “It is not clear if they will actually produce these documents to the committee before the Wednesday vote to facilitate a postponement.”

Holder, however, said he made an unprecedented offer of documents and a briefing to the committee, which so far has turned him down.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the committee who also attended the meeting, said Holder was trying to end a protracted standoff with the Republican-led panel.

“He sees this as a never-ending process,” Cummings said in describing Holder’s concerns about the continuing requests for more documentation.

Another person in the room, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vermont, said afterward that he supported Holder and appreciated “that he is going the extra mile to resolve this.”

Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also participated in the meeting with Holder and Issa.

“The attorney general wants to trade a briefing and the promise of delivering some small, unspecified set of documents tomorrow for a free pass today,” Grassley said after the meeting. “He wants to turn over only what he wants to turn over and not give us any information about what he’s not turning over. That’s unacceptable. I’m not going to buy a pig in a poke.”

Issa has accused the attorney general of stonewalling an investigation into Fast and Furious and how the Justice Department provided Congress with erroneous information about it. The department says it already has handed over more than 7,000 pages of records to House investigators, and that the remaining material Issa wants could jeopardize criminal prosecutions.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives launched Operation Fast and Furious out of Arizona to track weapon purchases by Mexican drug cartels. However, it lost track of more than 1,000 firearms that the agency had allowed straw buyers to carry across the border, and two of the lost weapons turned up at the scene of the killing of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

Asked by a reporter about why he was pushing so hard, Issa said it was because the nation and Terry’s family deserved to know as much information as possible about the program linked to Terry’s death.

In particular, Issa’s committee wants documents that show why the Department of Justice decided to withdraw as inaccurate a February 2011 letter sent to Congress that said top officials had only recently learned about Fast and Furious.

The back-and-forth letters exchanged between Holder and Issa before Tuesday’s meeting revealed an incremental negotiation over what the committee wanted and what the Department of Justice was offering to provide.

In a late Monday letter, Issa made clear he wanted the documents ahead of time and also wanted Grassley, a leading Holder critic, to take part.

Holder agreed to a meeting but told Issa he wanted to include Cummings and Leahy. His letter Monday said the purpose of the meeting would be to reach an agreement that would avoid a “constitutional confrontation,” a reference to the committee’s planned vote on the contempt measure.

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Veteran Broward County Deputy Sheriff James Ottinger Arrested, Suspended, And Charged After Drunken Wreck, Leaving Scene, And Short Chase – Bonus: Deputy Sheriff Sgt. George Anthony III Signed Arrest Report And Was Latter Suspended In Connection With Prostitution Sting

COCONUT CREEK, FLORIDA — A Broward sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on suspicion of leaving a crash site while driving drunk, according to an arrest report.

After being pulled over, James Ottinger, 31, allegedly told a Coconut Creek police officer he drank four whiskeys, the arrest report said. A bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey later was found inside the pickup Ottinger was driving, the report said.

Ottinger, an eight-year sheriff’s deputy who was off duty during the incident, was taken into custody early Wednesday on charges of driving under the influence, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage and careless driving, the report said.

Wednesday, he was suspended with pay, the Sheriff’s Office said. On Monday, the Sheriff’s Office placed him on desk duty, the agency said.

Ottinger, freed from jail on $500 bond last week, couldn’t be reached for comment Monday despite a message left at a listed number. It was unclear whether he had hired an attorney.

The events began about 2 a.m. Wednesday, when a Coconut Creek man called authorities to report that his red Toyota Corolla was struck by a gray Nissan Titan at Coconut Creek Parkway and Lyons Road, police said. The crash had left some damage on the Toyota’s rear bumper, police said.

The Toyota’s driver followed the Nissan after the collision, the report said.

An officer tried to pull over the Nissan by activating his cruiser’s lights and sirens, but the Nissan didn’t immediately stop, the report said. The Nissan then stopped in the 4200 block of Wiles Road, roughly 3 miles north of the crash site, police said.

Ottinger acknowledged he was involved in the collision, saying he had rear-ended a taxi, police said. Ottinger said he waited at the crash site a few minutes, thought the driver of the other vehicle didn’t want to file a report and drove away, police said.

“When I asked how much he drank, Ottinger replied that he had four whiskeys,” a police officer wrote in his report on Ottinger’s arrest.

Ottinger, who smelled of alcohol, was lethargic, had difficulty talking and performed poorly on sobriety tests, police said. Ottinger declined to undergo a breath test, police said.

“Initially Ottinger stated that he had consumed Jack Daniel’s,” the report said. “He later stated that he had consumed Wild Turkey.”

Ottinger’s arrest occurred the same day another sheriff’s deputy was taken into custody in an unrelated incident. Deputy Christian Benenati, 40, was suspended after his arrest last week on the charge he solicited a prostitute in Pompano Beach while off duty, the Sheriff’s Office said.

A sheriff’s arrest report stated Benenati solicited a woman who happened to be a female colleague working undercover.

The deputy who signed Benenati’s arrest report, Sgt. George Anthony III, also was suspended in connection with the prostitution sting, the Sheriff’s Office said. The agency, citing an internal affairs investigation, declined to say why Anthony was suspended.

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Atlanta Georgia Police Officer Jarvis Farley Arrested For Drunk Driving – Said “Oh, For Real?” When Told He Was Clocked At 128 MPH On 55 MPH Roadway – Was Mumbling And Couldn’t Walk A Straight Line

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – An Atlanta police officer was arrested for drunk driving last month after reaching speeds over 120 mph, according to a DeKalb County police report obtained Monday.

A DeKalb police officer clocked Jarvis Farley at 128 mph in a 55 mph zone on I-285, near Lavista Road, just before 3 a.m. May 25, police said. The officer pursued Farley, who was driving southbound in a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, until he exited onto Ga. 78 and pulled over.

The officer approached the car, and Farley immediately showed his police identification and apologized for speeding. The officer noted on the report that Farley’s eyes were “very bloodshot and glassy, and he had a strong unknown type alcohol on his breath with his speech being mumbled.”

When told how fast he was driving, Farley replied, “Oh, for real?” according to the report.

Farley told the officer he consumed a “few” beers that night and had been drinking throughout the day.

When the officer asked him to perform a walking test, Farley stumbled and failed to maintain a straight line, police said. The officer administered a field alcohol breath test, which indicated a positive result for alcohol.

Farley was then placed under arrest. As the officer searched him, he found an unopened miniature bottle of Tequila in the motorist’s left cargo shorts pocket. Farley was taken to jail and submitted an official alcohol breath test, which showed a .142 blood alcohol content.

Farley was charged with DUI, speeding and reckless driving, according to the report. A spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department said he has been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation.

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Dumbass Lake County Florida Deputy Sheriff And Accomplice Arrested In Sanford While Stealing $1,400 Of Merchandise From Walmart

SANFORD, FLORIDA – A Lake County deputy sheriff has been arrested by Sanford police on charges he and an accomplice tried to steal more than $1,400 worth of merchandise from a Walmart, police said.

Robert Mosley, 35, is accused of shoplifting children’s computer-learning games, ink cartridges, Accu-Check test strips for diabetics and shaving kits on Tuesday from the Walmart at 1601 Rinehart Road, according to a Sanford police report.

Mosley has been with the Lake Sheriff’s Office since February 2007. A patrol deputy, he has been suspended with pay, pending the outcome of an administrative disciplinary review, a sheriff’s spokesman said.

He was arrested Tuesday afternoon with a co-defendant, Jason James Pelleteri, 37, who doesn’t work for the Sheriff’s Office.

Store officials became suspicious of the men, who were seen pushing shopping carts in the store, pacing the aisles and acting nervously before hiding the merchandise and leaving without paying, a police report said.

About 1:35 p.m., Pelleteri was seen pushing a cart through the electronics department, where he picked up several ink cartridges. He then walked to the toy department and picked out several cartridges for the children’s computerized game systems, Vtech and LeapFrog, a report said.

Mosley then met him and began sorting through the merchandise and added several shaving kits to the cart, a report said.

The two men continued to pace the aisles, with Mosley looking up for security cameras, as the merchandise was placed inside a tan shopping bag. Then they went outside into the garden center, where Mosley helped Pelleteri hide the bag on his person, before they both left the store without paying, the report said.

All the merchandise, with a total retail value of $1,408, was recovered, the report said.

While being questioned by Sanford police, Mosley identified himself as a deputy sheriff and asked for the handcuffs to be removed and told officers, “We were not shopping together.”

Pelleteri faces an additional charge of removing an anti-theft device, which was found on him at the time of his arrest, the police report said.

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Dumbass East Baton Rouge Parish Louisiana Deputy Sheriff Shanequa Lovely Arrested And Fired After Forging Excuse From Doctor’s Office

EAST BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – An East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputy accused of forgery was arrested Tuesday, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.

Shanequa Lovely, 22, had called in sick to work on Friday, Casey Rayborn Hicks said in a news release.

Lovely had excessive absences, so her supervisor asked her to provide a doctor’s excuse when returning to work, Hicks said.

Lovely turned in an old excuse with altered dates, Hicks said. The supervisor contacted the doctor’s office, which confirmed the forgery, Hicks said.

Lovely admitted to forging the note so she could have a paid absence instead of an unpaid absence, Hicks said.

Lovely was fired and booked into Parish Prison on one count of forgery, Hicks said.

Lovely had worked for the Sheriff’s Office since 2010 at Parish Prison, Hicks said.

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Broward County Florida Deputy Sheriff James Ottinger Arrested After Drunken Wreck And Leaving The Scene

COCONUT CREEK, FLORIDA – A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy has been arrested on driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident with damages, and careless driving charges.

Coconut Creek Police arrested Deputy James Ottinger on Wednesday, June 13, at 3 a.m. in the morning.

The police report has yet to be released, but according to sources, Ottinger had an accident and then fled the scene.

His employment status is not immediately known.

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Broward County Florida Deputy Sheriff Christian Benenati Arrested, Suspended, And Charged In Prostitution Sting

POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA – What are the chances that a Broward County sheriff’s deputy would be charged with propositioning an undercover colleague for sex during a prostitution sting?

That’s what officials say happened during a countywide crime sweep Wednesday to Christian Benenati, 40, a deputy with a decade’s experience with the agency.

Benenati was off-duty that afternoon, Broward sheriff’s spokesman Jim Leljedal said.

The deputy, who works in BSO’s department of law enforcement, was charged with soliciting another person for lewdness, a misdemeanor offense.

Broward sheriff’s deputies have been busted on similar charges before.

“In the history of the Broward Sheriff’s Office? Unfortunately, this is not the first,” Leljedal said. “But it is exceedingly rare.”

Benenati offered the female undercover officer — one of 1,541 BSO deputies sworn to uphold the law who was posing as a prostitute — $20 in exchange for oral sex, according to an arrest report.

The report describes the 4:38 p.m. incident at 1201 NW 31st Ave. in Pompano Beach, and says Benenati declined to accompany the deputy to a motel, proposing that their transaction happen in his gray Nissan Altima.

Internal Affairs is investigating the arrest and Benenati is suspended with pay, pending any charges filed against him by the State Attorney’s Office, Leljedal said.

The spokesman said he could not discuss specifics about the case, including why Benenati was detained in Pompano Beach and arrested four hours later in Coral Springs at 1000 N. University Drive, which is the address of a sports bar.

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