Larry Celona reports: As mortally wounded NYPD cop Wenjian Liu lay in a Brooklyn hospital in 2014, doctors asked his stricken wife if she wanted his semen preserved so that she might someday have his child.
“Of course she said yes,’’ a friend told The Post — and Tuesday, two-and-a-half years after Liu’s murder, his widow gave birth to their daughter.
Liu’s widow, Pei “Sanny’’ Xia Chen, named the baby “Angel’’ as a tribute to her slain hero husband — whose police hat is now next to her bed at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on the Upper East Side, said the pal, fellow cop widow Maria Dziergowski.
The day Chen was artificially inseminated, “she had a dream that Wenjian was there in a white gown looking like an angel and that he handed her a baby, and he said, ‘It’s a girl, a little angel,’ ’’ Dziergowski said.
“So [Chen] knew before everyone that it was a girl.
“The baby’s adorable, smiling, laughing,’’ added Dziergowski, who was with Chen at the hospital Tuesday. “She has a lot of hair, a lot of black hair.’’
PORTLAND, Ore. — What began as a peaceful march for labor rights on May Day in Portland turned violent as a group of self-described anarchists threw objects at officers and officers fired non-lethal weapons back. Police canceled the permitted march and deemed it a riot as tensions escalated.
“Various fires were set in the street and in garbage cans, a police car was spray-painted and vandalized, and there were attempts to set at least one business on fire.”
Portland police arrested 25 protesters, on charges ranging from arson to assault, criminal mischief and theft. All 25 suspects were cited for failing to obey a peace officer, and police said the arrests will be reviewed for additional charges.
Three minors, ages 17, 14, and 17, were among those arrested (full list of names and charges below). All three were charged with riot and released to their parents.
Rallies began at noon and a march started at about 3 p.m. Portland police reported members of an anarchist group threw rocks, smoke bombs, a full Pepsi can and other objects at police officers at about 4:10 p.m.
The Pepsi can struck a Portland Fire and Rescue paramedic, police said.
Police first said protesters with children should leave the march, then told everyone to disperse.
At 4:30 p.m. police said the permitted march was canceled as it was an “unlawful march” based on the violence. Police said anyone in the roadway was subject to arrest.
“Various fires were set in the street and in garbage cans, a police car was spray-painted and vandalized, and there were attempts to set at least one business on fire,” said a news release from Portland police late Monday night. Read the rest of this entry »
A gunman has shot two police officers dead before being killed himself in an attack in the Champs-Elysees shopping district, Paris police say.
Paris police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert told reporters the attacker targeted police guarding the area near the Franklin D Roosevelt metro stop on Thursday night (local time) at the centre of the avenue, which is popular with tourists.
One police officer was killed on the scene and one died later from his wounds, police sources said.
The person who fired on police was also killed and a police source said the attacker was known to security services.
French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said police officers were targeted in the shooting, but it is too early to say what the motive was.
A police union on Twitter said the first officer killed had been shot by an attacker driving past as the officer’s car was stopped at a red light.
Witnesses reported a helicopter flying low over central Paris, apparently part of a follow-up police operation.
Authorities called on the public to avoid the area.
Photo: A police officer stands guard after the fatal shooting fellow officers. (AP: Thibault Camus)
New shots were fired near Champs Elysees avenue, more than an hour after the original shooting a police source said.
The counter-terrorism office has opened an investigation into the shooting, the prosecutor’s office said. Read the rest of this entry »
Police were forced Monday evening to fire warning shots after having been subjected to stone throwing in connection with the arrest of a wanted person. Later in the evening were several cars on fire and an unknown number of shops looted.
[Translated from Swedish]
Police were forced Monday evening to fire warning shots after having been subjected to stone throwing in connection with the arrest of a wanted person. Later in the evening were several cars on fire and an unknown number of shops looted. After midnight it should be have been quiet in the area.
It was in connection with the police to arrest a wanted person at the metro station in Rinkeby at 20 o’clock on Monday evening that they had stones thrown against it.
– A police officer was injured in the arm associated with it and they were forced to fire warning shots, said Lars Bystrom at Stockholm police.
– After police managed to get away with the arrested.
Cars have been set on fire
After the event at the Metro launched a new riots in the area shortly after 22 pm, when several car fires started nearby.
According to the emergency services should it move about a dozen cars. The police are talking about fewer cars, seven or eight. Some shops in the area should also have been subjected to looting, but it is according to the police during the night is not clear to what extent.
40 involved in riots
It is unclear exactly how many people were involved in the riot
– A 30, 40, 50, some may have disappeared, others have been added, it is difficult to get a handle on exactly how many, said police spokesperson Lars Bystrom to SVT News.
“Should get peace and quiet”
The police then regrouped to assist the emergency services in fire fighting.
– Now we have added proper resources to ensure the peace and quiet of the area, says Lars Bystrom. Read the rest of this entry »
Is it Time to Make Our Fridges and Washing Machines Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements?
Sarah Knapton reports: High-tech washing machines and fridges will soon be used by detectives gathering evidence from crime scenes, experts have forecast.
“Doorbells that connect directly to apps on a user’s phone can show who has rung the door and the owner or others may then remotely, if they choose, to give controlled access to the premises while away from the property. All these leave a log and a trace of activity. The crime scene of tomorrow is going to be the internet of things.”
The advent of ‘the internet of things’ in which more devices are connected together in a world of ‘smart working’ could in future provide important clues for the police.
Detectives are currently being trained to look for gadgets and white goods which could provide a ‘digital footprint’ of victims or criminals.
Mark Stokes, the head of the digital, cyber and communications forensics unit at the Metropolitan Police told The Times: “Wireless cameras within a device, such as fridge, may record the movement of owners and suspects.
“Doorbells that connect directly to apps on a user’s phone can show who has rung the door and the owner or others may then remotely,m if they choose, to give controlled access to the premises while away from the property.
“All these leave a log and a trace of activity. The crime scene of tomorrow is going to be the internet of things.”
The new Samsung Family Hub Fridge has cameras that carry a live feed of its contents, so shoppers can tell what they need when they are out at the shop. The dates and times that people logon to the fridge, therefore could provide alibis or prove people were not were they said they were.
Mr Stokes said detectives of the future would carry a ‘digital forensics toolkit’ which would allow them to analyse microchips and download data at the scene, rather than removing devices for testing. Read the rest of this entry »
The suspect, identified in court documents as Ernesto Lee Rivas, 44, appeared in Skagit County Superior Court the day after the cold-blooded shooting.
Rivas, who has a lengthy criminal history, was arrested earlier Friday morning after a seven-hour standoff in Mount Vernon that began after a police officer was shot and critically wounded, the Washington State Patrol said.
The online roster for the Skagit County Jail shows Rivas was booked at 1:55 a.m. Friday following his arrest.
Court and State Patrol records show that Rivas has eight felonies on his record, including unlawful possession of a firearm in 2011 and unlawful imprisonment in 1998. He was subject to a domestic violence protection order last year after the mother of his child accused him of stalking her at work.
At Friday’s court hearing, prosecutors said the suspect is being held for investigation of attempted first-degree murder. It was not immediately clear if Rivas has obtained an attorney. Read the rest of this entry »
…Kristi Croskey owns the Tacoma, Washington, home where a domestic disturbance call resulted in a deadly police stand-off Wednesday. Tacoma police officer Reginald J. “Jake” Gutierrez was killed after being shot by a 38-year-old man — who was fatally shot by police hours later.
“I don’t want to hear about Black Lives Matter, because all lives matter” Creskey said. “I do not want to hear about the police officers being inhumane and shooting people unnecessarily or any of those things. I want to say that the Tacoma Police Department handled this matter with such professionalism despite their own being shot. I want to say that this did not have to occur. I want to say that when you make poor choices, and the response is someone being killed, if that may be the situation — I want you to know that the Tacoma Police Department did any and everything that they could to protect and serve. Read the rest of this entry »
Robby Soave reports: Before he was shot dead while attempting to murder a bunch of people with a car and a butcher’s knife, Ohio State University student Abdul Artan—a Pakistani immigrant who reportedly became radicalized after learning about injustices committed against fellow Muslims—was enrolled in a class called “Crossing Identity Boundaries.”
In fact, he had a group project on “microaggressions” due later this week. The assignment, worth 15 percent of his grade, required students to find a dozen examples of microaggressions on social media and explain which identity groups were the victims, according to the syllabus.
The purpose of the class is to promote “intercultural leadership” and transform students into “actively engaged, socially just global citizen/leaders.” It seems to go well beyond merely educating students, though—it actually requires them to become social justice activists. Read the rest of this entry »
Katie Mettler reports: After a nearly 12-hour standoff with multiple law enforcement agencies in Tacoma, Wash., a 38-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer Wednesday was killed by a single bullet from a SWAT team member early Thursday morning.
“We’ve suffered a great loss and I think the community has suffered a great loss. And I don’t know how to put that into words other than to say that everyone here appreciates the kind thoughts and the prayers that are going out to us.”
— police spokeswoman, Loretta Cool
The man, whose name has not been released, had barricaded himself inside a three-story home on the city’s east side late Wednesday afternoon after unleashing bullets on two Tacoma officers who had responded to the residence after reports of a verbal domestic dispute between two people.
“They showed great patience and restraint to make sure those kids were out safe. The whole situation is horrible. We have a deceased officer, but we have a whole lot of heroic ones that went in and got those kids.”
The man’s wife and another woman were able to escape the gunfire Wednesday, reported the News Tribune, but local authorities did not say until after the suspect was killed that two young children remained inside the home throughout the extensive standoff.
The boy and the girl, believed to be aged 8 and 11, respectively, were rescued from the home by a SWAT team around 3:20 a.m. local time Thursday, and were taken to the hospital for an evaluation, authorities said.
Police knew all along that the two children were trapped inside with the gunman, but didn’t share that information with the public for “tactical reasons,” Pierce County sheriff’s detective Ed Troyer told The Washington Post.
“Our priority was to make sure those kids were safe,” Troyer said. “We weren’t going to let those children get hurt.”
Troyer couldn’t say exactly how authorities managed to pull the children to safety, but he told The Post that there were negotiators outside the home and law enforcement officers inside the home who “never left” for the duration of the standoff. The man, who was armed with multiple weapons, had barricaded himself and the two children in an upstairs bedroom and refused to let them go, Troyer said.
The sheriff’s department SWAT team was able to rescue one of the children, Troyer said, then separate him from the second. Before he could reach his weapons, a SWAT officer fired a single, fatal round, and authorities were able to safely remove the children from the home. Read the rest of this entry »
A U.S. Justice Department investigation into practices of the Baltimore Police Department found disparities in the rates African-Americans were stopped, searched and arrested. The WSJ’s Lee Hawkins explains.
People celebrate after State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced criminal charges against all six officers suspended after Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody in Baltimore. Photo: David Goldman/Associated Press
This July 30, 2015 picture shows a blighted home in west Baltimore. Murders are spiking again in Baltimore, three months after Freddie Gray’s death in police custody sparked riots. This year’s monthly bloodshed has twice reached levels unseen in a quarter-century. In May, Baltimore set a 25-year high of 42 recorded killings. After a brief dip in June, the homicide is soaring again. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Indeed, in the name of the War on Terror and the War on Drugs, the federal government has provided thousands of pieces of military-grade body armor, mine-resistant armored personnel carriers, assault rifles, grenade launchers, helicopters, and night-vision goggles to local police and sheriffs. Almost every county in Americahas received equipment from these programs.
But has policing really become so dangerous that we need to arm peace officers like an invading army? The answer is no. It’s never been safer to be a cop.
To start with, few police officers die in the line of duty. Since 1900, only 18,781 police officers have died from any work-related injury. That’s an average of 164 a year. In absolute terms, officer fatalities peaked in 1930 (during alcohol prohibition) at 297, spiking again in the 1970s before steadily declining since.
If you look at police fatalities adjusted for the US population, the decline is even starker. 2013 was the safest year for American policing since 1875.
“No one can deny, with the things that have happened over the last few weeks, we’re being murdered by law enforcement — and in our own community — at alarming rates,” said Maj Toure.
There was one shooting every six hours on average last year in Philadelphia. In the past 10 years, more than 14,500 shootings occurred, with at least 2,600 killed by guns — many of whom were black residents.
“What I can say to the American people from whatever background you are, is exercise your Second Amendment rights. Be open-minded, be objective and learn.”
— Maj Toure
While some see the numbers as a reason to increase gun control, others see things differently.
Yuri Zalzman of North Philadelphia’s The Gun Range and Maj Toure of the activist group Black Guns Matter have come together to try to find solutions.
Both teach inner-city residents how to properly handle firearms and believe the effort to reduce the number of guns in the city would mean residents would be less safe.
Here & Now’s Robin Young visited The Gun Range and spoke with Zalzman and Toure about their efforts.
The Constitution and Bill of Rights hang on the wall of The Gun Range in North Philadelphia. (Dean Russell/Here & Now)
Interview Highlights: Maj Toure & Yuri Zalzman
On individuals and gun ownership
Maj Toure: “For one they should choose to exercise anything that will defend themselves. If someone has a firearm and you don’t, you lose. That’s it. No different than if someone has a knife and you don’t have the means to defend yourself, you lose.
So I think that the community that I’m from, I think that information is deliberately kept away. It’s made to seem that if you have a firearm you’re either law enforcement or you must be the bad guy. No one can deny, with the things that have happened over the last few weeks, we’re being murdered by law enforcement — and in our own community — at alarming rates.”
On police in Dallas being suspicious of black men who were carrying rifles
Toure: “That’s the police officers’ and law enforcement’s responsibility to balance that out. Because there’s one or two or a few bad apples, I wouldn’t say throw the whole bunch out. You cannot group and have a monolithic statement or blanket solution for everyone when people don’t fall in alignment with that particular… I don’t even think it’s even a level of confusion. That’s law enforcement’s responsibility to be better trained and execute their duties in a much more productive way.”
On how Dallas police had to control the situation with the shooterYuri Zalzman: “What we’re talking about is one additional, very unfortunate tragic event. We don’t normally have these situations I think that the discussion should not take place on the fringes, no more than it is pleasant to have a conversation with somebody whose thoughts are at the extremes one way or the other. Read the rest of this entry »
The lawsuits allege false arrest, false imprisonment, defamation or false light, and other assertions. They were filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland in 2015 in late April and early May around the time the officers were arrested.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is going from prosecutor to civil defendant in connection with the case of the death of Freddie Gray.
“Marilyn Mosby’s comments in her press conference today confirm that the charges brought against my clients, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter, as well as the other four officers, were politically motivated and not supported by evidence to establish probable cause.”
On Wednesday, Mosby announced that charges against three officers still facing trial were being dropped. Mosby gave only a statement, but had to leave without taking questions because five of the officers in the case have filed lawsuits against her.
People celebrate after State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced criminal charges against all six officers suspended after Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody in Baltimore. Photo: David Goldman/Associated Press
Officers Garrett Miller, Edward Nero and William Porter as well as Sgt. Alicia White and Lt. Brian Rice are suing Mosby and Maj. Samuel Cogen of the Baltimore Sheriff’s Office. Cogen was the law enforcement officer who filed charging documents against the officers.
The lawsuits allege false arrest, false imprisonment, defamation or false light, and other assertions. They were filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland in 2015 in late April and early May around the time the officers were arrested.
Gray died in a hospital on April 19, 2015, a week after police stopped him on a Baltimore street. After his arrest, officers placed Gray in the back of a police van, which made several stops.
When the van arrived at the police station, Gray was unresponsive. His neck was broken and compressed, prosecutors said in court, comparing the spinal injury to those suffered after a dive into a shallow pool.
Demonstrators destroy the windshield of a Baltimore Police car as they protest the death Freddie Gray, an African American man who died of spinal cord injuries in police custody, in Baltimore, Maryland, April 25, 2015. Protesters returned to Baltimore’s streets Saturday to vent outrage over the death of Gray. JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
Rice and Nero had already been acquitted in separate bench trials. So had Officer Caesar Goodson, who apparently has not filed suit. Porter was the first to be tried but his case ended with the jury unable to reach a unanimous decision.
An attorney for two of the officers said Wednesday that there were ulterior motives in charging the officers.
“Marilyn Mosby’s comments in her press conference today confirm that the charges brought against my clients, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter, as well as the other four officers, were politically motivated and not supported by evidence to establish probable cause,” Michael E. Glass said.
He said his client suffered “extensive pain and suffering.” Porter and White had been suspended without pay until Wednesday. They are now on desk duty after more than a year on leave.
Rice, the highest-ranking officer charged in the case, paints himself as minimally involved, according to court documents. Read the rest of this entry »
Kansas City, Kan., Police Chief Terry Zeigler tweeted at 2:02 p.m., “We have an officer shot at 22nd & Haskell. Start prayers, unknown condition.”
The officer was in critical condition.
The incident began about 1:33 p.m. when police received a call about an armed disturbance at Second Street and Edgerton Drive. The caller told police that several people in a car were firing shots at them, according to a statement from KCK police.
Officers arrived within minutes. At that time, three or four people bailed from the car.
An officer took one person into custody near there.
Shortly before 2 p.m., an officer attempted to stop another person. Multiple shots were fired and an officer was hit. Police were advised that an officer was down at 1:58 p.m.
The officer was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Police are searching the area for others who were involved. One person is in custody.
Police have blocked off 18th Street north of Parallel until 24th Street in their search for suspects.
Police swarmed the area with dozens of officers, some with rifles. Several police were taking cover behind cars at 16th and Quindaro. A woman at a house there came out of a home with her hands up. Several officers were kneeling down in the street with their guns drawn. Read the rest of this entry »
DEVELOPING: Two court bailiffs were killed and a police officer shot Monday inside a southwestern Michigan courthouse when an inmate broke loose and got his hands on a deputy’s gun, officials said.
“What occurred today in my hometown breaks my heart. My thoughts are with our entire community – our friends and neighbors. This tragic event reminds us all too well that our law enforcement officers have their lives on the line every day not knowing what that day will bring. We have lost two very able public servants and we all grieve for them and their families.”
Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey told local media at a press conference the gunman, whose identity was not immediately available, was killed by responding police.
“Brave officers” took down the shooter, Bailey said.
Berrien County Undersheriff Chuck Heit told Fox News a civilian was also shot, and is in stable condition.
The incident occurred just days after five Dallas police officers were killed by a sniper, and amid a wave of violence and threats against law eforcement officers around the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Dallas police chief, David Brown told reporters that too many of society’s problems are left to police officers to deal with alone. He called for those protesting against police misconduct to become cops themselves…
“We’ll put you in your neighborhood and we’ll help you resolve some of the problems you are protesting about.”
When asked what advice he had for young black men, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said, “we’re hiring.”
He then called on young men to “get off the protest line and put in an application.” Adding that they should “become a part of the solution, and serve their communities.”
“We’ll put you in your neighborhood and we’ll help you resolve some of the problems you are protesting about,” concluded Brown….(read more)
Dallas police chief David Brown says a gunman that was holed up downtown expressed anger for Black Lives Matter and only wanted to shoot white police officers. He was killed after police sent in a bomb robot.
“That’s certainly a concern for us. It’s troubling and it’s something that we watch. It’s really an assassination. You’re taking advantage of an officer and you’re ensuring that you’re able to kill them through them either being vulnerable or through a complete surprise attack.”
— Nick Breul, director of research for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
The number of police officers shot and killed in the USA is 44% higher than at this time last year following the Dallas ambush Thursday night that left five officers dead, according to data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
The deaths of four Dallas police officers and one Dallas transit officer from sniper fire during a protest in the city Thursday raised the national total of firearm deaths among police to 26. This compares with 18 at this point in time in 2015, said Nick Breul, director of research for the fund in Washington, D.C.
Breul said it was also the latest of 11 ambushes of police officers so far this year across the country, already outpacing the eight ambushes of law enforcement that occurred last year.
“That’s certainly a concern for us. It’s troubling and it’s something that we watch,” Breul, a former Washington, D.C., police officer, said about the shootings. Read the rest of this entry »
Erik Ortiz reports: Police in Dallas used a robot with an explosive device to kill a suspect involved in a coordinated ambush against officers.
“We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was. Other options would have exposed our officers in grave danger.”
— Mayor Mike Rawlings
The suspect was holed up inside the El Centro College parking garage for several hours overnight Thursday before police moved to “blast him out,” Mayor Mike Rawlings said Friday. The negotiations with the unidentified suspect had stalled.
“We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was,” Rawlings told reporters. “Other options would have exposed our officers in grave danger.”
The mayor said the suspect was killed by the device, and disputed earlier reports that he might have shot himself.
At least three other suspects were involved in the attack on officers during a protest Thursday night about police-involved shootings elsewhere in the country. Five officers were killed and seven others were injured, as well as two civilians.
Typically, police forces have bomb squads that employ remote-controlled robots for dismantling explosive devices.
But using robots with explosives or munitions to root out or even kill suspects appears far less routine…(more)
The first suspect in the Dallas police shooting was identified as Micah X. Johnson, 25, the Los Angeles Times reported. Johnson was a resident of the Dallas area who had no ties to terror groups or a criminal history. Law enforcement said he has relatives in Mesquite, Texas.
Five police officers were killed late Thursday by shooters during a peaceful protest over the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile earlier this week. Dallas Police Chief David Brown said negotiations with one suspect broke down early Friday and a bomb robot was used to kill the suspect. Read the rest of this entry »
The police chief said that shootings appeared to be coordinated and planned, as the moves displayed a knowledge of the rally’s intended path through the city and an attempt to ‘triangulate’ police.
One of the suspected Dallas shooters has been “neutralized, NBC affiliate KXAS reports, after the suspect threatened the “end is coming” for police officers.
Meanwhile, a fifth police officer has died of their injuries, the Dallas Police Department said.
“The suspect we’re negotiating with … has told our negotiators that the end is coming and he’s going to hurt and kill more of us, meaning law enforcement, and that there are bombs all over the place and downtown, so we’re being very careful with our tactics, so we don’t put our officers in harm’s way, or the citizens.”
— Dallas Police Chief David Brown
Eleven officers were shot by two snipers, who opened fire from elevated positions in a coordinated attack after a rally in Dallas, Texas. The rally was being held to protest the deaths of two black men this week at the hands of police.
At the press conference held close to 2 a.m. ET, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said a suspect, who was holed up in a second-floor garage in the city’s downtown area, was exchanging gunfire with police and “not being very cooperative.”
“The suspect we’re negotiating with … has told our negotiators that the end is coming and he’s going to hurt and kill more of us, meaning law enforcement, and that there are bombs all over the place and downtown, so we’re being very careful with our tactics, so we don’t put our officers in harm’s way, or the citizens,” Brown said. KXAS reported later that the threat had been “neutralized”.
He said a woman had been taken into custody after she was observed by police carrying a camouflaged bag, which she put into a car that then sped off. The vehicle was stopped by police and they were currently questioning two occupants, Brown said.
KXAS | NBC News – A view of the downtown Dallas area from the KXAS/NBC news helicopter, as police swarm the area.
Earlier, police said that a suspect had been taken into custody after a shootout, and the bomb squad was examining a suspicious package found near the location of that suspect.
Brown told the press conference, however that he did not have a “complete comfort level that we have all the suspects,” and that a rigorous search of the downtown area was continuing.
The police chief said that shootings appeared to be coordinated and planned, as the moves displayed a knowledge of the rally’s intended path through the city and an attempt to “triangulate” police. Read the rest of this entry »
The US Capitol is on lockdown after a visitor opened fire, shooting and wounding a police officer – just hours after an active shooter drill in the government building.
Staffers in the visitor center were ordered to shelter in place just before 3pm (Eastern Time) on Monday as police secured the area.
One officer was hospitalized with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The suspect was taken in to custody within minutes of the first shot being fired, the Associated Press reported.
There was confusion as the shooting came soon after a scheduled active shooter drill, which staff had been notified about via email. Read the rest of this entry »
A former Bridgeport police officer who claimed someone left a racist memo on police letterhead in his mailbox at headquarters in February admitted to writing the letter himself and has been charged with filing a false report, according to police.
Former Officer Clive Higgins reported that he found a racist hate letter in his police mailbox the morning of Monday, Feb. 9 and feared for his life because of it.
The letter, printed on paper marked with the department’s official letterhead, started off with “WHITE POWER” and went on to say “Officer Clive Higgins doesn’t belong here in this Police Department” and “These Black Officers belong in the toilet.”
Authorities Investigate Racist Letter at Bridgeport PD
A month earlier, Higgins was acquitted in connection with a 2011 police brutality case in which officers were caught on camera beating a suspect at Beardsley Park and shooting him with a stun gun. Two other officers were convicted, but a federal jury found Higgins not guilty.
“He’s not getting his gun or his badge back. He didn’t even support his fellow Officers in Court,” the letter stated. “Where were you Higgins ?? You better watch your back.. We know where you live.” Read the rest of this entry »
Officials: 3 deaths confirmed in Colorado shooting
Two civilians and one police officer were killed Friday after a five-hour standoff at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood building that ended with the gunman’s surrender.
The University of Colorado in Colorado springs police department identified the officer killed as 44-year-old Garrett Swasey, a six-year veteran of the force.
Nine other people, including five police officers, were shot and are in good condition, police said.
Lt. Catherine Buckley of the Colorado Springs Police Department said the gunman, described as wearing a long coat and armed with a rifle, gave up after officers inside the building shouted at him. He previously had been firing at police who entered the facility.
Buckley also said the unidentified man had brought “items” with him inside the building and left some outside, meaning officers had to make sure they were not “any kind of devices.”
Police were still trying to determine if there were any more injured or fatalities, she said.
The gunman apparently began his deadly spree at the Planned Parenthood building, although it was not clear if his motive was related to the organization.
“We don’t have any information on this individual’s mentality, or his ideas or ideology,” Buckley said. Read the rest of this entry »
“Current information suggests that ISIL (aka Da’esh), al-Qa’ida, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics, using conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests.”
— Statement from the State Department
“Authorities believe the likelihood of terror attacks will continue as members of ISIL/Da’esh return from Syria and Iraq. Additionally, there is a continuing threat from unaffiliated persons planning attacks inspired by major terrorist organizations but conducted on an individual basis.”
— State Department warning
“…Extremists have targeted large sporting events, theatres, open markets, and aviation services. In the past year, there have been multiple attacks in France, Nigeria, Denmark, Turkey, and Mali. ISIL/Da’esh has claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Russian airliner in Egypt.”
Alyssa Zauderer reports: The department says all U.S. citizens should remain vigilant when in public places or using transportation.
Last week, ISIS released a video making threats against New York City. The video showed Times Square, Herald Square and images of terrorists wearing suicide belts. Read the rest of this entry »
This shield was used by French Police when they entered the Bataclan Theater to rescue the victims and stop the carnage. Despite taking withering fire, the police continued charging the threats until they were shot dead or detonated their suicide belts.
Craig Andrew Ledbetter is seen in a booking photo released by the Irvine Police Department
A man who was naked when he allegedly assaulted a 75-year-old woman and forcibly took her dog has been arrested, the Irvine Police Department announced on Wednesday.
“Officers responded to a report of a man acting strangely on Rockwood Street at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and found the suspect, 51-year-old Craig Andrew Ledbetter, naked and aggressively swinging a stick.”
Officers responded to a report of a man acting strangely on Rockwood Street at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and found the suspect, 51-year-old Craig Andrew Ledbetter, naked and aggressively swinging a stick, Irvine police officials said in a news release.
“Officers used a Taser to take the suspect into custody after he allegedly ignored their commands. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of aggravated assault, elder abuse, animal cruelty and resisting a police officer.”
They later discovered that he had allegedly assaulted a woman who had been out walking her dog, the release stated. Read the rest of this entry »
Carmine Sabia reports: President Obama gave a Labor Day speech in Boston about the importance of unions on Monday, but one of the area’s top police union’s didn’t want to hear any of it.
The New England Police Benevolent Association boycotted the event to protest Obama’s lack of support for law enforcement in an era of anti-cop violence.
The Obama White House has overseen a “horror show” of lawlessness, the union charged, with cops as the intended victims.
The association’s president Jerry Flynn gave a statement to the Boston Herald about its reasoning for the boycott.
Our members are enraged at his lack of support of law enforcement. It’s clear that he has an agenda, and unfortunately the police are not part of his agenda.
Let’s face it, (there have been) eight people killed in a nine-day period, eight police officers, and his silence up until recently has been deafening. And the real sad part of this — and when I went to the White House in the first term with (Vice President) Joe Biden — he said to me that he would be the voice of law enforcement. Well, as much as I love and adore Joe, his voice has been silent as well. So it’s not an Obama problem, it’s an administration problem.
This is a horror show, this is an epidemic of lawless people trying to kill police officers for no apparent reasons. Case in point is the lieutenant who was pumping gas in Houston. Over 7,000 people were at that church, and where was he (Obama)? Why wasn’t he there instead of a unity breakfast?Read the rest of this entry »
A Las Vegas police officer reportedly received non-life-threatening injuries after a gunman approached his squad car on Sunday and began firing in an ‘ambush-style’ shooting.
A suspect is in custody in the incident, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department tweeted.
Ref the #OIS, the officer received non life threatening injuries and is being treated at @umc. Suspect involved is in custody. #LVMPDnews
Two officers were leaving the scene of a disturbance call at a .99 Cents Only store when an individual walked up to their patrol car while it was stopped at a traffic light and fired three shots, striking one of the officers in the hand, KTNV reported.
Police did not return fire during the encounter, which occurred shortly after noon, local time. The officer who was shot has not yet been named.
The gunman used a semi-automatic handgun, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Police pursued the alleged shooter on foot until he dropped his weapon and surrendered, according to Metro Sgt. John Sheahan.
A witness at the scene of Sunday’s shooting told the Review-Journal that the alleged gunman….(read more)
UPDATE 6:54 p.m. PDT: More details emerge in the ambush-style shooting of the Las Vegas police officer. The suspect has been identified by police as a Hispanic male. News3LV reports both officers exited the vehicle when they determined they were taking fire. The passenger officer was struck in the right hand while exiting the vehicle. One of the officers was able to pull a citizen out of the line of fire and move them to a position of safety. Read the rest of this entry »
…By the standards of Democratic demagoguery after Gabby Giffords was shot, the left owns every drop of blood spilled by cop-killers since BLM got going. Remember, the argument at the time wasn’t that Jared Loughner had read or heard some particular bit of right-wing invective that had inspired him to shoot Giffords.
“Why were so many on the left so quick to tie a few comments made by alleged tea party members to the entire tea party?!”
The argument was that the sheer accumulation of lefty-bashing by the right, from talk radio to Sarah Palin’s “crosshairs” map to signs carried at tea-party rallies, had somehow created an “atmosphere” of rage that Loughner had tapped into as permission to murder a member of Congress.
“Even here, with Kelly demanding accountability from the left for its double standard on incendiary rhetoric, the lie that the tea party somehow bears responsibility for Giffords’s near-murder slides easily into the conversation.”
It’s the same argument the left uses when it tries to shift blame for JFK’s assassination from fellow traveler Lee Harvey Oswald to the anti-Kennedy Birchers in Dallas. Rage towards the left and its agenda is the true criminal offense. Pinning it to an actual crime, regardless of who committed it, to make accomplices of all conservatives is a formality.
That’s why, to answer Kelly’s question, the “atmosphere” of rage towards cops promoted by BLM can’t similarly be said to have influenced the degenerates who have been murdering officers: Rules of civility that are designed to criminalize opposition to liberalism can’t be applied to a left-wing movement, no matter how overtly violent their rhetoric (“pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon”) gets.
“It’s the same argument the left uses when it tries to shift blame for JFK’s assassination from fellow traveler Lee Harvey Oswald to the anti-Kennedy Birchers in Dallas.”
In fact, incredible as it may seem, at about two-thirds of the way in here the guy debating Katie Pavlich (and Kelly) actually repeats the lefty smear that Loughner was a tea partier. Pavlich tries to call him on it but he doesn’t miss a beat. Read the rest of this entry »
Officer died at scene, found without his gun, equipment
AWR Hawkins reports: According to CBS Chicago, “Lake County Sheriff’s Det. Chris Covelli said, around 7:50 a.m., the officer radioed he was pursuing three suspects, after looking into their ‘suspicious activity.’ Police lost radio contact with the officer, who was later found with a gunshot wound.”
Police indicate that the trio consists of two white males and one black male. CBS Chicago points to “unconfirmed reports” that the trio may have taken the fallen “officer’s gun and pepper spray.”
The manhunt appears to be centered “on a marshy area off Rainier Way and Rollins Road.” Read the rest of this entry »
July 29, 2015 – ( Fox News – The Five ) – Greg Gutfeld was excellent on The Five today as he destroyed the arguments that liberals like Julie Roginsky make in favor of harvesting aborted baby parts. His main point was that they argue on one hand that it’s not a baby, that it’s just a clump of cells and it’s garbage. But when it comes to harvesting these baby parts for medical research, all of sudden it’s not garbage, but rather something valuable and necessary. Julie Roginsky tries to counter him, but ends up making his point at the end. And while she wouldn’t cede defeat to Gutfeld, Kimberly Guilfoyle chimes in, rendering judgment. But you’ll have to watch to see what she says.
For Marxists like Ted Rall, Lying is as natural as breathing.
Matthew Balan Breitbart’s John Nolte reported on Tuesday that the LA Times discontinued its relationship with far-left cartoonist/writer Ted Rall, after he claimed in an May 2015 item that he was “thrown up against a wall, handcuffed and roughed up by an LAPD motorcycle policeman who also threw his driver’s license into the sewer.” The LAPD subsequently released records about the 2001 police encounter (where Rall was stopped for jaywalking), which included an audiotape that “does not back up Rall’s assertions.”
You’ll be shocked, shocked to find out that Rall is a lying liar who lies. In fact as far back as 2003 Ted Rall was known as a long-time scumbag. The fact that he was ever employed by reputable publications after this cartoon is reason enough for the MSM to be destroyed in a cleansing fire of incandescent righteousness…(read more)
The liberal newspaper’s editorial page editor, Nicholas Goldberg, wrote a note to readers on Tuesday about Rall’s firing. Goldberg first summarized the cartoonist’s claims against the police officer, where he also contended that “dozens of onlookers shouted in protest at the officer’s conduct.” The editor continued that the newly-released audiotape “gives no indication that there was physical violence of any sort by the policeman or that Rall’s license was thrown into the sewer or that he was handcuffed. Nor is there any evidence on the recording of a crowd of shouting onlookers.”
Goldberg also pointed out that Rall filed a complaint with the LAPD which made no mention of the allegation of excessive force:
In Rall’s initial complaint to the LAPD, he describes the incident without mentioning any physical violence or handcuffing but says that the police officer was “belligerent and hostile” and that he threw Rall’s license into the “gutter.” The tape depicts a polite interaction.
In addition, Rall wrote in his blog post that the LAPD dismissed his complaint without ever contacting him. Department records show that internal affairs investigators made repeated attempts to contact Rall, without success.Read the rest of this entry »
PARIS — Police in Paris opened fire Sunday morning on a car that drove toward a group of police officers near the Tour de France perimeter, a spokesman for the French National Police told CNN.
“The police shot at the car in self-defense, but it was able to drive away, the official said. No one was hurt, and police are searching for the car.”
The incident is not believed to be related to terrorism, he said.
The official, who did not give his name as a matter of standard policy, said the car initially hit another vehicle. When stopped by the police, the driver refused to obey orders and proceeded instead to drive toward police officers in the Place de la Concorde who were placing a safety barricade for the Tour de France bicycle race. Read the rest of this entry »
UPDATE: Active shooter situation is over, per Chattanooga Police. TEMA confirms 5 people are dead, including 4 Marines and gunman, and 2 wounded in shooting at Military Recruitment Center. CBS reports that law enforcement have identified the suspect as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez…
The U.S. Navy tweeted Thursday that there has been a shooting at a Navy reserve center on Amnicola Highway in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Navy also said it was investigating a shooting at another Navy building in the city.
One officer is “down” in connection with the shooting, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke told reporters.
He was not specific about the officer’s condition.
“This is a very, very terrible situation and we need to go figure out how we can handle it,” he said.
Meanwhile, a witness in Chattanooga told CNN that she saw a gunman fire shots at a building that houses military recruiting offices Thursday morning. Read the rest of this entry »
• Charleston church shooting suspect Dylann Roof has been taken into custody in North Carolina, a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN’s Deborah Feyerick.
• Witnesses say the suspect stood up and said he was there “to shoot black people,” a law enforcement official said. The shooter is also thought to have used a handgun, according to the official.
The white man who killed nine people at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, told his victims he was there “to shoot black people,” a law enforcement official said Thursday, citing witnesses to the shooting.
The suspect, identified as Dylann Roof, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, was still at large on Thursday as law enforcement officers searched the region.
The man spent an hour in a prayer meeting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Wednesday night before he opened fire, Charleston police Chief Greg Mullen said Thursday morning.
A law enforcement official says witnesses told them the suspect stood up and said he was there “to shoot black people.” The shooter is also believed to have used a handgun, according to the official.
Images on a flier provided to media, Thursday, June 18, 2015, by the Charleston Police Department show surveillance footage of a suspect wanted in connection with a shooting Wednesday at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. (Charleston Police Department via AP)
Police were searching for information about Roof. A picture of him on social media showed him wearing a jacket with what appear to be the flags of apartheid-era South Africa and nearby Rhodesia, a former British colony that was ruled by a white minority until it became independent in 1980 and changed its name to Zimbabwe.
Six females and three males were killed, Mullen said. Three people survived, including a woman who received a chilling message from the shooter. Read the rest of this entry »
(AP) — A white former North Charleston police officer was indicted on a murder charge Monday in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man who was running away from the officer after a traffic stop.
The shooting April 4 was captured on video by a bystander and showed officer Michael Slager firing eight times as 50-year-old Walter Scott ran away. The shooting rekindled an ongoing national…(read more)
“Everyone is afraid to make stops. No one wants to get jammed up. They’re telling us the stops have to be quality stops. But if you make a stop, and you think it’s a good one, and the guy has nothing on him, is that a good stop?”
“What you’re seeing now are the perps carrying their guns because they’re not afraid to carry them. We’ve created an atmosphere where we’ve handcuffed the police. We are sitting back, taking a less proactive approach.”
— Ed Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association
There were 11,652 stops across the city through June 3 — projecting to roughly 28,000 for the year, records obtained by the Daily News show. As the number of stops fell, the number of murders spiked 19.5% during the first five months of the year, the number of people shot is up 9.2% and the number of shooting incidents jumped 9%.
“Based on this year’s drop…absent any other factor, you have to ask the question: Are the cops now reluctant to engage?”
“What you’re seeing now are the perps carrying their guns because they’re not afraid to carry them,” said Ed Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association. “We’ve created an atmosphere where we’ve handcuffed the police. We are sitting back, taking a less proactive approach.”
Joe Marino for New York Daily News
“Stop-and-frisk activists say criminals are no longer afraid to carry guns because cops are afraid to make stops.”
Mullins said the city’s criminal element has been operating without fear while cops have been somewhat neutered in the last two years — and he wasn’t the only one to raise the issue.
“Based on this year’s drop . . . absent any other factor, you have to ask the question: Are the cops now reluctant to engage?” wondered one high-ranking police source.
Seth Wenig/AP
Critics of the NYPD told The News there was no correlation between the two sets of numbers — while stop-and-frisk supporters said the lower frisk numbers led to the higher crime figures.
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from 
indication that there was physical violence of any sort by the policeman or that Rall’s license was thrown into the sewer or that he was handcuffed. Nor is there any evidence on the recording of a crowd of shouting onlookers.”
(AP) — A white former 
pundit from another planet 