Latest casualty in War on Cops

BleedingHeadKen · Dec 28, 2017

2017 was the 2nd safest year for cops in the LAST 50
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...illed-2017-hits-nearly-50-year-low/984477001/

The number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty dropped sharply in 2017, marking the second-lowest toll in more than 50 years.

As of Thursday, 128 officers have died in the line of duty this year, with 44 shot and killed. That's down 10% from 2016, when 143 officers died, with 66 gunned down, according to data released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit aimed at honoring officers and improving safety.

The only other year with fewer deaths in the past five decades was 2013, when 116 officers were killed.
Click to expand...

Strictly speaking, fewer cops were shot and killed last year than any year in the last 50. But hey, keep repeating that "War on Cops" propaganda. You all have a lot in common with leftists when it comes to fearmongering.

waltky · Dec 31, 2017

Deputy killed in Colorado, others injured, responding to domestic disturbance near Denver...

One sheriff's deputy killed in Colorado, others injured, responding to domestic disturbance near Denver; suspect believed killed

December 31,`17 - The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office tweeted that five deputies had been shot after being called to the scene of a domestic disturbance early Sunday in Highlands Ranch, south of Denver. Two civilians were also shot, the sheriff’s office said.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ar&tidr=a_breakingnews&utm_term=.dff47b0cf9ef
Click to expand...

See also:

5 Deputies Shot, One Fatally, by Colorado Gunman, Officials Say
Dec. 31, 2017 - Five deputies were shot, one fatally, after they responded to a report of a domestic disturbance on Sunday morning in a suburb of Denver, officials said.

The gunman was shot by deputies and was “believed to be deceased,” the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook. Two civilians were also shot by the suspect, the Sheriff’s Office said. The office had reported “multiple deputies down” after the shooting, which happened in Highlands Ranch, Colo., about 15 miles south of Denver. Three of the injured were taken to Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colo., with injuries that were not critical, Linda Watson, a hospital spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview. She declined to say if the injured were civilians or members of law enforcement.

Another four were taken to Littleton Adventist Hospital in Littleton, Colo., Alyssa Parker, a hospital spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview. She could not say how serious the injuries were. Deputies had responded to a call of a domestic disturbance around 5:15 a.m. at the Copper Canyon Apartments on County Line Road in Highlands Ranch, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Facebook. In updating its Facebook page with the news of the deputy’s death, the Sheriff’s Office changed it profile image to a badge with a black band across it.

Lauren Lekander, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office, said a SWAT team had responded. The Sheriff’s Office issued a “code red” alerting civilians in the area to shelter in place, avoid windows and stay away from exterior walls. The Sheriff’s Office said an emergency shelter for people displaced from their homes was opening at the East Ridge Recreation Center, which features meeting rooms and two gymnasiums, among other amenities. The Denver office of the F.B.I. said on Twitter that it was monitoring the situation.

The Copper Canyon Apartments website describes its homes as some of the “friendliest apartments in Highlands Ranch,” minutes away from shopping, dining and entertainment in Denver.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/31/...ick&contentCollection=Trending&pgtype=article
Click to expand...

waltky · Jan 3, 2018

Road rage claims officer's life...

California Sheriff's Deputy Killed in Road Rage Attack
January 3, 2018 - San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Lawrence "Larry" Falce died Tuesday evening after being violently attacked by a driver following a minor off-duty crash on New Year's Eve.

A 36-year veteran of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department died Tuesday evening after a violent attack following a minor off-duty crash on New Year's Eve, authorities said. Lawrence "Larry" Falce, 70, was hospitalized after he was attacked following a traffic accident about 11 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of Kendall Drive and University Parkway, according to a statement released by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Employees' Benefit Assn., of which Falce was a member. According to the association, Falce "contacted the party in the other car and was brutally attacked." Officials have declined to identify the suspect, pending further investigation.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Lawrence "Larry" Falce died Tuesday evening after a violent attack following a minor off-duty crash on New Year's Eve.

Falce, an Army veteran, worked patrol at the department's Central Station for 32 years, according to the sheriff's department. Falce also worked corrections at the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center and the Central Detention Center, both in San Bernardino. "I think that in itself describes his commitment to the department and to the community," Cindy Bachman, a public information officer for the department, said Tuesday night. The department described Falce as a man who was "loved by his peers and the community members he served." Falce is survived by his sister, Marjorie, and his longtime companion, Deborah.

The sheriff's employees' association said Falce was the oldest sworn member of the department. "Larry was a hard-working, dedicated professional, who loved his job as a deputy sheriff," Sgt. Grant Ward, president of the association, said in a statement. "I worked with him, and I can tell you his commitment to this profession was second to none. He was generous to all those he cared about and gave willingly from the bottom of his heart." Officials said there would be a procession beginning at 10 p.m. Tuesday from the Loma Linda University Medical Center to the San Bernardino coroner's office.

https://www.officer.com/command-hq/...wrence-larry-falce-killed-in-road-rage-attack
Click to expand...

waltky · Jan 9, 2018

Washington Deputy Slain...

Manhunt on in Killing of Washington State Deputy, Navy Vet
8 Jan 2018 — Authorities in Washington state appealed to the public for help Monday in tracking down a man believed to have been involved in the fatal shooting of a sheriff's deputy overnight.

Pierce County deputy Daniel McCartney, a 34-year-old Navy veteran and married father to three young boys, was shot during a foot chase late Sunday as he responded to a home invasion near the small community of Frederickson, 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Tacoma, said sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. One suspect was found dead at the scene, but another got away, authorities said. They said they were looking for a mixed race or white man who is tall and thin, with curly dark hair in a ponytail; a large, pointy nose; and pock marks on right side of his face.

Officers and medical staff take part in a procession for officer Daniel McCartney, of Yelm, at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash.

Police closed off roads in the area and conducted a manhunt in an area that includes industrial sites as well as wooded areas, asking local residents to stay indoors, but did not find the man. It was unclear whether he had access to a vehicle. The sheriff's office asked anyone with information about the shooting to come forward, and a nearby school district canceled classes in what it described as an abundance of caution. "There's a sadness that will be felt and should be felt in the community," said Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor. "He is a young deputy who signed up to watch over other people. He had an ethic in his heart for doing something for other people."

McCartney was hired at the sheriff's department in 2014 after stints with police departments in the small Washington state cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam. After the shooting he was taken to a Tacoma hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His family members and dozens of law enforcement officers gathered at the hospital to say goodbye, The News Tribune newspaper reported . More than a dozen officers and deputies saluted as McCartney's body was carried from the hospital in a flag-draped coffin and loaded into a van. A memorial fund was set up to benefit his wife and children.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/01/08/manhunt-killing-washington-state-deputy-navy-vet.html
Click to expand...

See also:

Washington Sheriff's Deputy Fatally Shot During Foot Pursuit
January 8, 2018 - Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel McCartney was shot and killed late Sunday night while chasing two burglars in the Frederickson area.

It was about 11:25 p.m. when deputies were called to a home in the 5100 block of 200th Street East for a home invasion. During the 911 call, dispatchers said they could hear screaming and the sounds of a scuffle. Deputy Daniel A. McCartney arrived six minutes later and gave chase as the burglars ran, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. Three minutes later, shots rang out. McCartney suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. The 34-year-old Yelm man died just after 2 a.m. It’s unclear whether he was able to return fire. “There’s a sadness that will be felt and should be felt in the community,” Sheriff Paul Pastor said. “He is a young deputy who signed up to watch over other people. He had an ethic in his heart for doing something for other people.”

One suspected burglar was found dead near the home next to a handgun. The other suspect, who is also believed to be armed, is on the run. He was described as white or mixed race, tall and thin with dark curly hair in a ponytail, a large pointy nose and pock marks on the right side of his face. He was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and a black beanie. Deputies were doing a K-9 track in the area and closed 176th Street East to 200th Street East, and 38th Avenue East to Canyon Road East. By 6:30 a.m., they’d opened everything except 200th Street East from 42nd Avenue to 50th Avenue. Drivers were asked to avoid the area and residents were asked to stay inside their homes. “We have somebody who is very dangerous out there,” Troyer said.

Deputy Daniel McCartney

All schools in the Bethel School District were cancelled Monday due to the investigation. Neighbors woke up confused by the commotion and large presence of law enforcement officers in the area. Soobie Yoo, a 32-year-old who lives less than two blocks from the scene, woke up when she saw flashing lights outside her window. She never heard the shots and said she was surprised when she finally learned what happened on Monday morning. “It’s a pretty safe neighborhood,” Yoo said, pointing out that she left her garage door open while walking to the scene. “... There are a lot of kids in the area.” McCartney was hired in 2014, previously worked in Aberdeen and Hoquiam and was a U.S. Navy veteran. He leaves behind a wife and three young sons.

His family members gathered alongside dozens of law enforcement officers at the hospital to say goodbye to McCartney and join a procession to the Medical Examiner’s Office. More than a dozen officers and deputies saluted as McCartney was carried outside in a flag-draped coffin and loaded into a van. From here on out, McCartney’s body will never be alone. The Honor Guard and fellow deputies will stand watch until he is buried. Planning for his funeral will begin at 10 a.m., officials said. A donation site is also expected to be created later Monday. The Sheriff’s Department has set up a tip line and is asking anyone with information on the shooting or the suspect at large to call 855-798-8477.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...riffs-deputy-fatally-shot-during-foot-pursuit
Click to expand...

waltky · Jan 9, 2018

Cop-killer suspect captured...

Suspect in Slaying of Washington Sheriff's Deputy Captured
January 9, 2018 - A man suspected in the fatal shooting of Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel McCartney was sitting in jail as officers were mounting a massive manhunt Monday in the Frederickson area.

The 32-year-old suspect was taken into custody not far from where McCartney was killed in a shootout shortly after responding to a 911 call late Sunday night. A suspect was killed in the shootout, but deputies believed a second person was involved. An “alert” Washington State Patrol trooper working near the scene of the shooting stopped a person just after 8 a.m. Monday, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. But the man did not match the initial description of the suspect and gave the trooper a false name. The man was initially detained for obstruction, but was later booked into the Pierce County Jail for felony warrants out of Shelton, Troyer said. Meanwhile, detectives at the scene of McCartney’s shooting received updated witness reports on the second suspect’s description and found that it matched the 32-year-old man already in custody, Troyer said. “Our detectives spent the whole day tying evidence to him to identify him as the second suspect,” Troyer told reporters Monday afternoon.

The suspect was booked on a first-degree-murder charge and is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday, he said. The Seattle Times is not naming the man because he has not been charged or appeared before a judge. No further details on the suspect were released Monday. McCartney, 34, of Yelm, died at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma just after 2 a.m. The married Navy veteran and father of three boys ages 4, 6 and 9 had been a Pierce County deputy for three years. He was a “good, solid, stalwart man,” Sheriff Paul Pastor said. “During the 911 call, dispatchers could hear screaming and a scuffle taking place,” the Sheriff’s Office reported. McCartney arrived on the scene and chased a suspect on foot. During the chase, shots were fired. Troyer said that detectives believe McCartney fired shots during the fatal encounter. “We believe our deputy did fire shots and that there was a gunbattle,” Troyer said, adding that investigators won’t know for sure until ballistics tests are done.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel McCartney

A handgun was recovered at the scene, and Troyer said investigators believe preliminarily that it may have been the gun used to “shoot our deputy.” He said a second weapon was recovered after the arrest of the second suspect. The wounded deputy was found near the dead suspect’s body, about a block from the home on 200th Street East. McCartney was rushed into surgery at St. Joseph Medical Center, but his wounds were “too catastrophic” to survive, Troyer said. Troyer said the dead suspect and the man in jail have felony criminal records and would have been prohibited from possessing firearms. Pierce County detectives were working with agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine where the guns came from. No further details on the deceased suspect were available, Troyer said, as the Pierce County medical examiner has yet to identify him.

Before joining the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, McCartney served as a Hoquiam police officer for four years and as a detention officer at the Grays Harbor Juvenile Facility. He was deployed to Afghanistan while in the Navy. “Daniel was the kind of person that if you called 911, you would want him to show up at your house,” friend Shon Malone told The (Tacoma) News Tribune. “If you had a problem, if you were in a crisis, you would want him there to handle that.” Donation to McCartney’s family can be made through tpcrimestoppers.com by using PayPal, or visiting any TAPCO Credit Union location, the Sheriff’s Department said. A procession bearing the slain officer’s body from the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office in Tacoma to Mountain View Memorial in Lakewood is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Office said. Officials will confirm the schedule Tuesday morning. McCartney is the first Seattle-area law-enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty since Tacoma police Officer Reginald “Jake” Gutierrez, 45, was fatally shot on Nov. 30, 2016, while responding to a domestic-violence call. The gunman was killed the next day, after an 11-hour standoff.

MORE
Click to expand...

waltky · Jan 26, 2018

Colorado Sheriff's Deputy Fatally Shot...

Colorado Sheriff's Deputy Fatally Shot
January 25, 2018 - Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm was shot and killed Wednesday night after responding to a call, with a search for suspects sending a suburb north of Denver into lockdown.

A Colorado sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed after responding to a call, with a search for suspects sending a suburb north of Denver into lockdown. The unidentified officer for Adams County was called to an alleged assault in Thornton Wednesday night before the killing, according to the sheriff's office.

Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Heath Gumm, who was chasing a suspect in an assault case, was shot and killed Wednesday night.

Officers chased one suspect behind a house, where one, identified by the Colorado Police Officers Foundation as 32-year-old Heath Gumm, was fatally shot in the chest. “We are deeply saddened to learn that the deputy has died from injuries sustained in the shooting,” Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a statement. The suspected shooter was later taken into custody after fleeing on foot, according the sheriff's officials.

The search for two additional suspects set the area on alert, including a lockdown at nearby Regis University that was later lifted. Police searched a local Walmart as customers fled the store, KMGH reported. Gumm had served as a sheriff's deputy in Adams County since 2013 and leaves behind a wife and family, according to the Officers Foundation. This is a developing story and will be updated

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...orado-sheriffs-deputy-heath-gumm-fatally-shot
Click to expand...

See also:

FBI Closely Tracking Attacks on Law Enforcement Officers by Extremists
January 25, 2018 | WASHINGTON — Far-right and black identity extremists have killed 62 law enforcement officers since 1990.

White supremacist and other far-right extremist groups have killed 51 police officers since 1990, according to a report published by the Anti-Defamation League last week. Left-wing extremist groups, including black nationalists, killed 11 during the same period. In 2017 alone, black nationalists and other leftists killed no police, while white supremacists and anti-government extremists fatally attacked a police officer and two corrections officers, the report said. But while the FBI tracks so-called “black identity extremists” as domestic terror threats — as a report from the bureau completed in August and leaked in October revealed — it doesn’t have an equivalent designation for white extremists. Experts worry that the broad labeling of black groups, and not white ones, is an indication that federal law enforcement’s targeting of certain groups is based less on evidence than on politics.

That targeting can significantly affect how law enforcement chooses to police protests or events organized by specific groups. Many worry the report on black identity extremists specifically could be used to home in on members of Black Lives Matter — possibly infringing on their right to speak freely and protest peacefully. The Congressional Black Caucus asked FBI Director Christopher Wray in a private meeting in November, as well as during public testimony in December, to rescind the report. Wray did not commit to doing so, and FBI spokesman Andrew Ames said Tuesday there was “no update” since then.

FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks before laying a wreath at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C., the United States, Jan. 15, 2018.

The FBI counterterrrorism report, titled “Black Identity Extremists Likely Motivated to Target Law Enforcement Officers,” defines black identity extremists as people who seek to commit acts of violence motivated by “perceived racism and injustice in American society.” The report said the increase in violence against law enforcement “likely” began after the August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and subsequent grand jury decision not to indict the police officers involved. It lists six attacks since 2014, including Micah Johnson, the Dallas shooter who killed five police officers in July 2016, and Gavin Eugene Long, the Baton Rouge, La., shooter who killed three officers 10 days later, as examples of black identity extremists. “This document essentially says we don’t care about your ideology, we care about your black identity,” said Michael German, a former FBI agent who worked in the counterterrorism division. “It’s an enormous classification that could encompass any violence by a black person.”

Nusrat Choudhury, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Racial Justice Program, referred to the term black identity extremist as a “manufactured threat.” The six attacks named in the report span 2014 to 2016 and resulted in eight deaths to police officers and several injuries. The last time black nationalist groups fatally assaulted police officers before 2016 was in the 1970s, according to German. Between 2011 and 2017, there were 11 officers killed by right-wing extremist groups compared to those eight officers killed by left-wing groups, according to ADL. That’s a much narrower gap than in the previous two decades: From 2001-2010, right-wing extremists killed 24 officers while those on the left killed two, and from 1991-2000 the figures were 16 and one, respectively.

Joshua Freilich, co-creator of the Department of Homeland Security-funded U.S. Extremist Crime Database, had similar findings on far-right extremists: 45 police officers have been killed by far-right extremists since 1990, with four additional killings still under review. Far-right extremists have killed one officer in 2017, according to his research, while far-left extremists have killed two, with another death still under review. (Freilich’s numbers don’t include the killings of the two corrections officers that were part of the ADL’s tally; while the two Georgia inmates were members of a white supremacist gang, their attacks on the corrections officers came during an escape attempt and were not seen as ideologically motivated, a requirement in Freilich’s calculations.)

MORE
Click to expand...

waltky · Jan 31, 2018

Detroit Officer Shot in the Head Dies...

Detroit Officer Shot in the Head Dies
January 29, 2018 - Officer Glenn Doss died days after being shot in the head during a domestic violence call.

Doss had been in critical condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital. "As you now know, our officer just passed 45 minutes ago," Detroit Police Chief James Craig said outside the hospital Sunday afternoon. "He fought a good fight. He is truly what we call one of Detroit's finest. He is what we call an American hero. He did what we expect each and every officer to do: Go out and serve this community with distinction and honor." Craig introduced Doss's father, who is also a Detroit police officer. Also named Glenn, he could be heard in the flurry of scanner traffic Wednesday night after Doss was shot. His request over the airwaves was resounding: "Please pray for my son."

And those sentiments were echoed Sunday as he reflected on his family's loss. "First of all we want to thank everyone for their prayers and their support that they sent up to God for my son," the father said. "I want to thank God for the 25 years that have allowed me the honor and the pleasure to raise such a great young man, who was so positive and who was so humble. "He never gave me any problem at all." Mayor Mike Duggan and Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones stood with Craig and Doss’s father “The whole Doss family is a family the city should be proud of, and in our thoughts and prayers today,” Duggan said.

Glenn Doss, the 25-year--old Detroit police officer who was shot in the head responding to a domestic violence call last week, has died.

Duggan said 46-year-old officer Waldis Johnson, should also not be forgotten – he is still fighting for his recovery after he was shot in the head while responding to a domestic call in April. “There has never been a time, it has been more dangerous to be a Detroit police officer than the last year and a half," the mayor said. "There have been more shootings of police officers than I can ever remember, and yet the 2,500 men and women of the department go out there every day. And I would say to the folks of this city: When you see a police officer, thank them for their courage and their service.” Doss’s partner, officer Samuel Anderson also spoke at the news conference. He thanked God and recognized the people who have trained him throughout the years, because this allowed him to react quickly the night his partner was shot. “To this day I still remain ambitious, I still remain courageous, I still get out there and do the job,” Anderson said.

Doss, who joined the force nearly two years ago, was answering a call on the 5500 block of McDougall Street near East Kirby when a man with a long gun shot him in the head before he could get out of his patrol car. Around 10:40 p.m. Wednesday a man called police and said he assaulted his wife, then a woman called and said her father might have fired shots. When officers arrived, they saw a 43-year-old man standing outside a home with a weapon. He then took a stance and fired shots at the police squad car, hitting Doss. Doss’ partner transported him to Detroit Receiving Hospital. The gunman barricaded himself inside the home until officers threw tear gas into the house and he was eventually captured. Decharlos O. Brooks, 43, was arraigned Saturday on eight counts of assault with intent to murder, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Brooks' family has said he has a history of mental illness.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...ad-while-responding-to-domestic-violence-call
Click to expand...

See also:

Execution Called Off for Alabama Cop-Killer
January 29, 2018 - Vernon Madison, one of the longest serving inmates on Alabama's Death Row, was scheduled to be executed for the April 1985 killing Mobile Police Cpl. Julius Schulte.

Vernon Madison, one of the longest serving inmates on Alabama's Death Row, was scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. last Thursday, but 30 minutes before the scheduled execution the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary stay. The stay was later granted, and Madison was not executed. Madison, 67, has been on death row for over 30 years after being convicted in April 1985 of killing Mobile police Cpl. Julius Schulte. He was set to die by lethal injection at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore Thursday night, but escaped execution for the second time via a court order. Madison was 34 when he was charged Schulte's death, who was responding to a domestic disturbance call. Madison also was charged with shooting the woman he lived with at the time, 37-year-old Cheryl Ann Greene. She survived her injuries.

According to court records filed by the Alabama Attorney General, here's a police account of what happened that night: Madison's neighbor's had called police, and Schulte was assigned to protect Greene and her 11-year-old daughter as Madison moved out of their house. After pretending to leave the property, Madison retrieved a pistol, crept behind the police car Schulte was sitting in, and fired two shots into the back of the officer's head. After shooting Schulte, Madison then shot Greene as she tried to flee. There were three eye witnesses. Madison's first trial took place in September 1985. He was convicted, but a state appellate court sent the case back for a violation involving race-based jury selection. His second trial took place in 1990. Prosecutors presented a similar case, and defense attorneys again argued that Madison suffered from a mental illness. They did not dispute the fact that Madison shot Schulte, but said he did not know that Schulte - dressed in plain clothes and driving an unmarked police cruiser - was a police officer.

Vernon Madison, left, and Cpl. Julius Schulte

He was again convicted, and a jury recommended a death sentence by a 10-2 vote. An appellate court again sent the case back to Mobile County for a retrial, this time based on improper testimony from an expert witness for the prosecution. His third and final trial took place in April 1994. He was convicted, and the jury recommended a life sentence after both Madison and his mother, Aldonia McMillan, asked for mercy. Mobile County Circuit Judge Ferrill McRae sentenced Madison to death-- this time overriding the jury's recommendation. In April 2017, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill that says juries, not judges, have the final say on whether to impose the death penalty. That law officially ended Alabama's judicial override policy, as Alabama was the last state to allow it.

Late Wednesday, Madison's attorneys filed two more petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court-- an application for a stay of execution, and a petition for a writ of certiorari focused on the issue of judicial override. Madison's attorneys argued that since he was sent to death under the judicial override statue, he is entitled to a stay and a review of his case. Attorneys filed similar motions to the Alabama Supreme Court, but they denied the request earlier Wednesday. "Because a death sentence is no longer permissible in cases where the jury has returned a sentence of life, Mr. Madison filed a challenge to his death sentence and scheduled execution in the Alabama Supreme Court. He contended that this execution would be arbitrary and capricious and constitute a violation of the Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment," the petition states. "The judicial override in this case resulted in a death sentence that is arbitrary, disproportionate, and unconstitutional..."

MORE
Click to expand...

BillRM · Jan 31, 2018

The problem due to violence between citizens and our police departments are not completely one sided and need to be address from both sides.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/us/boy-12-dies-after-being-shot-by-cleveland-police-officer.html

Officials in Cleveland were investigating the police shooting of a 12-year-old boy who died on Sunday, a day after an officer shot him outside a recreation center when he reached for a weapon that turned out to be a fake pistol.

The boy, Tamir E. Rice, died on Sunday at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County medical examiner’s office said. He was shot in the torso at a park on Saturday after witnesses reported that he was waving a gun around and pointing it at people, the police said.

Two police officers responded to the scene and ordered the boy to raise his hands, the police said, but he refused and reached for a gun in his waistband. An officer fired two shots, striking the boy once, the police said.

In a 911 call released by the police, a man said that “a guy” who appeared to be a juvenile was pointing a pistol at people and scaring them. The caller said twice that the gun was “probably fake.”
Click to expand...

https://nypost.com/2017/12/29/prank-stemming-from-call-of-duty-bet-leads-to-deadly-police-shooting/

A “swatting” incident in Kansas turned deadly when cops responded to the faux 911 call and shot an innocent 28-year-old man, it was revealed on Friday.

The tragedy unfolded when a “Call of Duty” player made a phony call to Wichita police after fighting over a bet at about 6 p.m. on Thursday, police said.

The prankster claimed he had just shot his dad and was holding his mom and brother hostage, Wichita deputy police chief Troy Livingston told reporters.

He then gave police the address of his nemesis.

allegedly phoning in phony bomb threats to a local TV studio.
Click to expand...

https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/08/us/california-police-beating/index.html

A graphic video played at a hearing Monday to determine whether two California police officers should stand trial in the beating death of a homeless man showed them kicking and punching the mentally ill man as he lay on the ground -- screaming in pain and begging for help.
The victim, Kelly Thomas, died five days after the beating on July 5.
Manuel Ramos, a 10-year veteran of the Fullerton, California, police department, is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, while Cpl. Jay Patrick Cicinelli faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and felony use of excessive force in the same case.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
The black-and-white video was played during a preliminary hearing for the two officers.
It begins with Thomas -- a 37-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia -- sitting and being told by Ramos to put his feet out and hands on his knees.

Head trauma caused Thomas' death 01:20

The officers were responding to a call about a homeless man looking into car windows and pulling on handles of parked cars.
In the video, Thomas is slow to cooperate.
Ramos then tells him: "You see my fists? They're getting ready to f--- you up."
Thomas, who is unarmed and shirtless, stands and another officer walks over. They hit him with their batons and hold him on the ground as he begs for help.
"Ok, I'm sorry, dude. I'm sorry!" he screams. At one point, Thomas says he can't breathe. The officers tell him to lie on his stomach, put his hands behind his back and relax.
"Ok, here, here, dude, please!" he says.
Other officers arrive.
At times, trees block the view of the camera and it's not always clear who is doing what as officers pile on top of Thomas.
One uses a Taser stun gun.
Thomas cries out for help and. toward the end of the beating, for his father: "Dad! Help me. Help me. Help me, dad."
His voice gets softer and trails off.
By the end of the video, he is lying in a pool of blood as the officers wonder out loud what to do next.
One can be heard saying: "We ran out of options so I got to the end of my Taser and I ... smashed his face to hell."
Thomas suffered brain injuries, facial fractures, rib fractures, and extensive bruising and abrasions, according to prosecutors.
The Orange County coroner listed his manner of death as a homicide and said he died after having his chest compressed, leaving him unable to breathe.
The FBI is investigating possible civil rights violations in his case.
Six Fullerton officers, including Ramos and Cicinelli, were put on paid leave after his death. The case drew widespread attention to the police department of Fullerton, located about 25 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

/QUOTE]

Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 9, 2018

Missouri Police Officer Fatally Shot...

Missouri Police Officer Fatally Shot, Two Others Wounded
March 7, 2018 - Clinton Police Officer Christopher Ryan Morton was killed and two other police officers were shot and wounded while responding to a 911 call Tuesday night.

A Clinton, Mo., police officer was killed and two others were shot Tuesday night while responding to a 911 call. Officer Christopher Ryan Morton, 30, was identified as the officer shot and killed, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. A suspect in the shooting also died. The incident occurred seven months after Clinton officer Gary Michael was shot to death during a traffic stop.

Investigators inspect the outside of a house where Clinton Police Officer Christopher Ryan Morton was killed and two were injured on Tuesday night, March 6, 2018, after they responded to a 911 call.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe said the 911 call came about 9:20 p.m. Tuesday from a home near downtown Clinton. During the call, two women were heard screaming in the background, and police officers were dispatched. Officers arrived at the home at 9:25 p.m. and were fired on, Lowe said. Officers entered the residence as a suspect retreated inside. The three officers were shot, including one officer who died inside the home.

The injured officers were taken away from the scene and the Missouri Highway Patrol arrived to help. A highway patrol SWAT team made a plan to enter the residence. It entered about 12:10 a.m. The suspect was found dead inside the home. Lowe said it was unclear whether officers killed the suspect or whether he killed himself. Lowe said he didn’t know what happened to the women on the 911 call. Hours later, investigators with the highway patrol continued to work at the scene.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...o-others-wounded-while-responding-to-911-call
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 9, 2018

Ind. Deputy Fatally Wounded...

Indiana Sheriff's Deputy Fatally Wounded
March 5, 2018 - Boone County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Pickett was fatally wounded Friday morning while assisting Lebanon police officers in catching a wanted suspect.

Boone County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Pickett, 30, will not survive a gunshot wound sustained Friday morning, Sheriff Mike Nielsen said. Pickett was with with the Tipton County Sheriff's Department for two years and with Boone County for three years. He was a K-9 officer. He and wife Jen Pickett have two young sons, Nielsen said. Pickett's family has chosen to donate his organs. “Jake was a good man and he was a warrior,” said Nielsen, who had given Pickett cardiopulmonary resuscitation before his hospitalization. Pickett was at a school showing his K-9 partner Brick to children just before he left to help Lebanon Police, Nielsen said. “We are a family,” Nielsen said of law enforcement. "We are grieving. We are desperate for God’s mercy and grace … The next several days will be some of the hardest we have ever been through.”

Pickett was shot and transported to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis after a shooting exchange with a person wanted on a warrant this morning, Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine said. Lebanon Police were serving an arrest warrant on a woman on Yates Street at about 9:30 a.m. While there, police saw John D. Baldwin Jr., 28, of Lebanon, who was also wanted on a warrant. Baldwin and two other men — John D. Baldwin Sr., 55, and Anthony Baumgardt, 21, both of Lebanon — proceeded to flee in a car shortly after police first made contact with them. The men, driving a silver Ford focus, led police through the streets of Lebanon before two exited the vehicle to flee on foot. While pursuing the suspects, police say Pickett was shot by Baumgardt.

Deputy Jacob Pickett

Meanwhile, Baldwin Jr. led police on a chase heading northbound in the southbound lane on Interstate 65 after driving through the main streets of Lebanon, Perrine said. Armed officers were seen on foot outside of schools and on the streets throughout the city. Businesses locked down, and the Lebanon Public Library let patrons in one at a time to get them off the streets and to safety. There were reports of children visiting the Boone County Courthouse who could not leave during the lock-down. John Baldwin Sr. turned himself into police shortly before 11:30 a.m. All three suspects are in custody, police said. Baumgardt was shot by an officer and is listed in stable condition at St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis. He will be jailed as soon as he is released, police said.

Another officer was involved in the initial shooting, but police have not yet released his name. Police have not yet said who shot Baumgardt. “It’s gut-wrenching ... our thoughts and prayers are with the family," Perrine said. "The police community is hurting today.” Community prayer service planned A multi-denominational prayer service for the community is planned and open to all at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Lebanon Christian Church, 610 W. 250 N., Lebanon. "We want to come together and pray for comfort, healing and peace for the community," the Rev. Tom Evans of Pleasant View Church said.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/ta...cob-pickett-fatally-wounded-by-wanted-suspect
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 12, 2018

Fallen Rookie Officer 'Left His Family at Home to Protect Yours'

California Police Chief: Fallen Officer 'Left His Family at Home to Protect Yours'
March 12, 2018 - Rookie Pomona Officer Greggory Casillas was killed in a shooting Friday night that led to a standoff that ended about 15 hours later when Isaias De Jesus Valencia taken into custody.

The officers ran into a Pomona apartment building after a pursuit, chasing a suspect who had just crashed nearby and was barricaded in one of the units. As they approached, gunfire blasted through a door. Officer Greggory Casillas, a 30-year-old Upland father just six months on the job, was struck and killed. A second officer was shot in the face trying to save him. The shooting Friday night led to a standoff that ended about 15 hours later when the suspect, identified by authorities as Isaias De Jesus Valencia, 39, was handcuffed and taken into custody by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. "It's a sad day for our community and a sad day for law enforcement in general," Pomona Police Chief Michael Olivieri told reporters, calling the fallen officer a hero. "He left his family at home to protect yours and his ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten." Casillas joined the Pomona Police Department in 2014. He took on different positions — he was a records specialist and jailer before becoming a police recruit — to "better prepare himself to achieve his goal" of becoming an officer.

He was sworn in as a police officer in September. Casillas was nearly finished with his field training when he was killed. Raised in Los Angeles County, Casillas attended "local colleges and universities," Olivieri said. He is survived by his wife and two children, as well as his parents and two brothers. At the end of the news conference, sheriff's deputies surrounded Olivieri as he walked away from the crowd. Some patted him on the back. "It has been a long night," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell. According to an acquaintance, the suspected shooter suffers from depression and drug addiction. Valencia served in the U.S. Army and has two children, said Amos Young, who knew the suspect through his father's Pomona church, Kingdom of God Revelation Ministries. Despite having a home, Valencia often slept on the streets and rejected help from his family, Young said.

A woman leaves flowersl for fallen Pomona Police Officer Greggory Casillas at the Pomona Police Department Sunday evening in Pomona on March 11, 2018.

Police said the incident began Friday night after they received a call about a reckless driver. The suspect refused to stop, leading police on a pursuit that ended when he crashed into a parked car. The driver then ran into an apartment building. About 9:10 p.m., dispatchers relayed reports of an officer down in the 1400 block of South Palomares Street near Fernleaf Avenue. A law enforcement source said about 75 officers from several agencies swarmed the scene but were unable at first to move the wounded officers to safety because of gunfire. A mother and daughter who gave only their first names said they ran out of their apartment after hearing the crash. Marlene, 12, said she saw the suspect exit a truck with a gun tucked under his arm and run into the nearby apartment. When the gunfire began, Marlene began recording on her cellphone. The video shows Marlene and her mother, Jessica, 29, running for safety as the gunfire continued. "He's inside," a woman says in the video. "Let's go!"

Marlene said she saw police bring a wounded officer outside and rip off his vest. In the video, an officer is seen giving chest compressions to an officer on the ground. Several officers huddle around them. Marlene and other neighbors said they spotted a woman they said was the suspect's mother crying and vomiting outside the apartment building before she got into a police SUV. Ninfa Martínez, who lives in a neighboring complex, said she saw residents running out of the building where the shooting occurred. "Then I heard some shots and went back running," said Martínez, 24. "It was crazy." After dawn, Casillas' body was escorted by a police procession from Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center to the coroner's office. More than a dozen law enforcement vehicles blocked the street in front of the apartment building where the suspect was still barricaded. A handful of SWAT officers gathered outside the entrance. Every so often, their muffled megaphone calls to the man to come out echoed through the street.

MORE
Click to expand...

See also:

Four-Time Felon Charged With the Killing of Chicago Police Commander Pleads Not Guilty
March 12, 2018 | Four-time felon Shomari Legghette pleaded not guilty Monday to a 56-count indictment charging him in the killing of Chicago Police Cmdr. Paul Bauer last month.

Shomari Legghette, 44, clad in an orange jail jumpsuit with his hands shackled, made his initial appearance before Cook County Judge Erica Reddick, who was randomly assigned Monday to handle the case. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson attended the arraignment along with about a dozen other uniformed police officers in the Leighton Criminal Court Building. Reddick told Legghette of the 56 counts he faces — a number that drew murmurs from the crowded courtroom gallery. Over the objections of Legghette’s lawyers, Reddick granted prosecutors’ request to sign an order prohibiting the public release of audio, video, reports or anything else that may be considered potential evidence in the case.

Reddick has been on the bench since 2010 after an extensive career as a Cook County assistant public defender. Last year, she presided over the trial of Edgardo Colon, who was convicted of murder in the 2011 shooting of off-duty Chicago police Officer Clifton Lewis during a botched armed robbery of a West Side convenience store where Lewis was working security. Reddick sentenced Colon, the alleged getaway driver, to 84 years in prison in October. A co-defendant is awaiting trial. Legghette’s 56 felony charges include 24 first-degree murder counts as well as additional armed violence, weapons and drug charges. Prosecutors intend to seek a life sentence if he is convicted of Bauer’s killing.

A resident shows support with a sign outside the funeral of slain Chicago police Cmdr. Paul Bauer at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018.

Bauer’s midday slaying last month outside the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago shocked the city and provoked criticism from police that Legghette shouldn’t have been walking the streets with his extensive criminal record. Legghette was scheduled to go on trial in 2009 on felony gun and drug charges after serving about eight years in prison for armed robbery when prosecutors suddenly agreed to a deal in which he pleaded guilty to the least serious charge in return for a 3-year prison sentence. Since he had already spent 15 months in custody on those charges, Legghette was released from custody a few weeks later. On Feb. 13, officers patrolling Lower Wacker Drive because of a recent shooting and drug sales in the area approached Legghette, but he took off running, authorities said.

Bauer, downtown for a meeting with aldermen after attending training for mass shootings earlier in the day, heard a radio call of a fleeing suspect and spotted Legghette running nearby moments later, authorities said. Bauer chased down Legghette at the top of a stairwell outside the Thompson Center and attempted to detain him, authorities said. The two struggled, ending up on a landing below. Legghette, who was wearing body armor, drew a handgun and fired seven shots, fatally wounding Bauer, prosecutors said. Bauer’s weapon was still holstered. His police radio and handcuffs were found next to his body. Officers found a loaded 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine in Legghette’s possession as well as heroin, marijuana and cocaine, prosecutors said. Legghette, ordered held without bail last month, is being held in Kankakee County Jail, records show.

MORE
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 14, 2018

Kentucky Police Officer Shot and Killed...

Kentucky Police Officer Shot and Killed
March 14, 2018 - Pikeville Police Officer Scotty Hamilton was shot and killed in the line of duty Tuesday night.

A Pikeville police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty Tuesday night, according to the city of Pikeville. Scotty Hamilton had been a member of the police department since 2006 and was killed after responding to a call with Kentucky State Police in the Hurricane community around 11:30 p.m., the city said. Hamilton leaves behind a wife and a child.

Pikeville Police Officer Scotty Hamilton was shot and killed in the line of duty Tuesday night.

Pikeville Mayor Jimmy Carter said KSP is in charge of what they are calling an ongoing murder investigation. No other details have been announced. One person is in custody and Kentucky State Police is using drones in its search for a second person involved in the shooting, WYMT reported. The flag outside the Pikeville Police Department was placed at half-staff in honor of Hamilton, according to WYMT.

If you have any information regarding the incident on Tuesday night, contact the Pikeville Police Department at (606) 437-5111 or the Kentucky State Police Post 9 at (606) 433-7711. Several law enforcement agencies, including the Frankfort Police Department, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and Carrollton Police Department took to Facebook to send their condolences.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...olice-officer-scotty-hamilton-shot-and-killed
Click to expand...

See also:

Boy Raises $7,000 for Fallen Indiana Deputy's Family
March 14, 2018 - Malachi Fronczak brought in more than $7,000 in two days of operating his stand at Solidarity Federal Credit Union and Kokomo-Howard County Public Library.

A lot of people wouldn’t pay $100 for a cup of lemonade. But people were dropping $100s, $50s and all sorts of bills at Malachi’s Magnificent Lemonade stand last weekend. “It was crazy. It was definitely a crazy weekend,” said Jason Fronczak, Malachi’s father. Overall, 6-year-old Malachi Fronczak brought in more than $7,000 in two days of operating his stand at Solidarity Federal Credit Union and Kokomo-Howard County Public Library. All of that money will be donated to the family of Boone County Deputy Jacob Pickett, who was killed in the line of duty on March 2 after he was shot during a foot pursuit.

This was not the first time that Malachi — who salutes police cars as they drive by his house — has jumped into action after hearing about the devastating loss of a member of law enforcement. At the end of July, Malachi raised about $2,000 for the family of Southport Police Department Lt. Aaron Allan, who died after responding to a car crash. Jason said he and his wife Trisha asked their son if he wanted to raise money again and he excitedly agreed. They set up the lemonade and hot chocolate stand in Solidarity Federal Credit Union on Friday and raised more than $5,000 in just four hours. “Our jaw kind of dropped — we did not expect that kind of a fundraising effort to happen,” Jason said. “It really says a lot about the community of Kokomo as a whole and the greater part of Indiana that showed up from all over the state to filter their money through this little guy to get to the family.”

Malachi Fronczak brought in more than $7,000 in two days of operating his stand at Solidarity Federal Credit Union and Kokomo-Howard County Public Library.

On Sunday, the Fronczak family traveled to Boone County to visit Deputy Pickett’s memorial. Jason said it was a very somber experience for his family. “It’s very humbling — when we sit here and raise money from afar and you see stuff on TV, you feel sad for the family and you are proud of this hero that stepped forward," he said. "But when you go to the funeral like we did for officer Aaron Allan and then you go down to a memorial and you pray with your family for that family and those little boys, it’s hard not to get emotional and not to think about the changes that this family has coming for them. “The reality sets in, when you are able to see the real impact that one individual was able to have on their community by serving in law enforcement, it does hit you.”

Even when Malachi isn’t selling lemonade, he is still running around and trying to thank every first responder and military member he sees, Jason said. “Thank you for saving our world,” he tells them. Malachi will be bringing his Magnificent Lemonade to the south branch of the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Jason said they plan to open the stand on Friday as well, but a location has not been set yet. For more information and updates, follow Malachi’s Magnificent Lemonade on Facebook. Haley Church can be reached at 765-454-8580, haley.church@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter @HaleyDrewChurch.

https://www.officer.com/command-hq/...r-fallen-indiana-deputy-jacob-picketts-family
Click to expand...

Related:

Woman Charged With Stealing Donations for Slain Officers
March 14, 2018 - A closed-circuit television camera, police say, caught a woman taking $300 from a donation jar set up for two slain Westerville police officers on the counter of a Northwest Side bar.

Donna Lee Ater, 62, of the 3500 block of Rocky Way Lane on the West Side, was charged Tuesday with theft in connection with the incident this past Saturday at the Average Joe's Bar, 1126 W. Henderson Road. If she is convicted, the first-degree misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Donna Lee Ater

Court records say that Ater used the stolen money to then play Keno at Average Joe's. More than $300 in cash was stuffed into the jar on behalf of Officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering, who died after they were shot when they responded to a 911 call in connection with a domestic-violence incident Feb. 10. Quentin L. Smith, 31, has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder in their slayings.

Only a few dollars was left in the jar after the money was taken, police said. A break in the theft came Monday when an anonymous caller contacted Average Joe's management and provided Ater's name. Two people who were in the bar at the time were able to identify Ater out of a photo array, court records show.

https://www.officer.com/investigati...-slain-westerville-ohio-officers-to-play-keno
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 15, 2018

Woman Charged in Missouri Officer's Slaying...

Woman Charged in Missouri Officer's Slaying
March 15, 2018 - Tammy Dee Widger was charged on Wednesday with felony murder in the shooting death of Ryan Morton, a Clinton police officer killed in the line of duty last week.

Widger, whose rental home was the site of the fatal shooting, had previously been charged with possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and with keeping or maintaining a public nuisance. The second-degree murder charge was added by Henry County prosecutors on Wednesday in an amended complaint, according to court records. Widger allegedly committed felony murder because Morton was shot and killed "as a result of the perpetration of the class C felony of delivery of a controlled substance," according to court records. John Picerno, a Kansas City defense attorney, said that during the commission of a felony, a person can be charged with murder even without directly killing someone.

Widger, 37, said she has not been provided with a public defender as she sits in jail facing charges. Widger has been in the Henry County jail since the night of March 6, when police arrived at her home at 306 W. Grandriver St. after a 911 call made 20 miles away mistakenly sent officers there. Henry County emergency communications officials later said that a database error sent police to the wrong address. An investigation into that error is ongoing. According to court documents, Widger answered the door and said there was no disturbance. She had not made a 911 call, she said. Five officers went into the house anyway, to ensure no one was being harmed, authorities said.

Tammy Dee Widger

An armed man, later identified as James Waters, was at the house. Soon after the officers entered, gunfire erupted. Morton was mortally wounded. Four officers escaped, two of them wounded. Morton lay dying in the home and officers were unable to reach him for hours because of the gunfire. About midnight that night, a Missouri Highway Patrol SWAT team entered the house and Waters was found dead. Widger was arrested at the scene. She was charged that day with keeping or maintaining a public nuisance by using her home to sell methamphetamine, according to Henry County prosecutors. She allegedly told investigators that in exchange for helping Waters distribute methamphetamine, he agreed to pay her bills, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say that investigators serving a search warrant found a purse with Widger's identification inside and a bag containing what appeared to be marijuana, meth and pills, each packaged separately. A day after the shooting, she was charged with delivery of a controlled substance. Widger made her first court appearance via video March 8 and remains in custody. Her bond has been raised to $100,000. She asked to be represented by a public defender, but according to court records no attorney has been appointed to her case more than a week after her arrest. Widger is scheduled to appear in court April 6. Thousands of law enforcement officers and members of the military attended Morton's funeral in Clinton on Monday.

https://www.officer.com/investigati...-missouri-police-officer-ryan-mortons-slaying
Click to expand...

See also:

Manhunt Continues for Gunman in Fatal Shooting of Kentucky Police Officer
March 15, 2018 - Kentucky State Police searched Wednesday for a person suspected of shooting and killing Pikeville Police Officer Scotty Hamilton Tuesday night as the Eastern Kentucky community mourned the fallen officer.

Scotty Hamilton was killed after responding to a call with Kentucky State Police in the Hurricane community around 11:30 p.m., the city said. He had been a member of the police department since 2006. According to state police, Hamilton and Trooper Matt Martin were patrolling the area when they saw a suspicious vehicle. The officers spoke with people in the vehicle and then separated as they searched around a nearby residence for someone on foot. After hearing gunshots, Martin found Hamilton close to the residence with a fatal gunshot wound, police said. The shooter escaped. Hamilton was pronounced dead at the scene. KSP spokesman William Petry said police arrested four people who were at the scene on charges unrelated to the shooting, and that police are searching for the suspected shooter.

Hamilton is survived by a wife and one child. “Wherever I’ve seen Officer Hamilton, whoever he was with, whatever he was doing, he always took the time to shake my hand and ask me how I was doing,” said James Maynard, who worked with Hamilton at the City of Pikeville 911 Public Safety Center. “He was more than a stand-up class act. He was a man’s man. A true American hero.” Maynard said Hamilton loved to spend his free time riding ATVs on trails with his friends and family. Flags outside the Pikeville Police Department and the Pikeville Fire Department were placed at half-staff Wednesday in honor of Hamilton. Dozens of people gathered along Hambley Boulevard in downtown Pikeville to watch and pay their respects Wednesday afternoon as Hamilton’s body was transported to the J.W. Call Funeral Home.

Kentucky State Police searched Wednesday for a person suspected of shooting and killing Pikeville Police Officer Scotty Hamilton Tuesday night.

A fire truck hoisted an American flag as police cars filed underneath during the procession. Police officers, firefighters and others stood saluting as Hamilton’s flag-draped casket was carried into the funeral home. “Scotty got along with everybody,” said Jason Akers, a friend of Hamilton’s who also worked in law enforcement. “We spent the majority of our time laughing together.” Akers recalled going to ball games with Hamilton and being “literally sore from laughing the next day.” “Scotty’s the type of guy, if he runs across somebody who’s homeless on the street, he would buy them a hotel room and get them something hot to eat,” Akers said. “He was just a terrific guy.”

Hamilton loved his wife and child “more than life itself,” Akers said. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Pikeville Police Department at (606) 437-5111 or the Kentucky State Police Post 9 at (606) 433-7711. Hamilton’s funeral will be at the East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville at 1 p.m. Sunday. Two visitations are also scheduled, one for 5 p.m. Friday and another for noon Saturday, both at the East Kentucky Expo Center. A candlelight vigil will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday, also at the East Kentucky Expo Center.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...ville-kentucky-police-officer-scotty-hamilton
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 16, 2018

Cop killer suspect captured...

Suspect Captured, Charged in Slaying of Kentucky Police Officer
March 16, 2018 - A man who was wanted in connection to the murder of a 35-year-old veteran Pikeville police officer was captured Thursday.

John Russell Hall, 55, of Pikeville, was charged with one count of murder of a police officer and one count of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon in connection with the slaying of Pikeville police officer Scotty Hamilton. Hall was captured near the Floyd County and Pike County border, according to Kentucky State Police. Gov. Matt Bevin said Hall was captured without incident. Hamilton was shot after responding to a call with Kentucky State Police in the Hurricane community around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, the city said. Hall lives in the Hurricane area, according to recent court records.

John Russell Hall, left and Pikeville Police Officer Scott Hamilton

According to state police, Hamilton and Trooper Matt Martin were patrolling the area when they saw a suspicious vehicle. The officers spoke with people in the vehicle and then separated as they searched around a nearby residence for someone on foot. After hearing gunshots, Martin found Hamilton close to the residence with a fatal gunshot wound, police said. The shooter escaped. KSP spokesman William Petry said police arrested four people who were at the scene on charges unrelated to the shooting.

Hamilton was with the Pikeville department for 12 years. He is survived by his wife, Chelsie Hamilton, and his infant daughter, Brynlee. Visitation will be at 5 p.m. Friday and 12 p.m. Saturday at the East Kentucky Expo Center, 126 Main Street in Pikeville. The funeral is at 1 p.m. Sunday, also at the East Kentucky Expo Center. He will be buried in the Pikeville City Cemetery. Memorial contributions can be made to the Brynlee Hamilton Scholarship Fund, c/o Community Trust Bank, P.O. Box 2947, Pikeville, KY 41502.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...ville-kentucky-police-officer-scotty-hamilton
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 23, 2018

Granny says, "Dat's right - let God figger out what to do with him...

Suspected Cop-Killer Set to Face the Death Penalty
March 23, 2018 | A Franklin County grand jury has returned a death-penalty indictment against Quentin L. Smith in the Feb. 10 shooting deaths of Westerville Police Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli.

A Franklin County grand jury has returned a death-penalty indictment against Quentin L. Smith in the Feb. 10 shooting deaths of two Westerville police officers. The indictment was announced by county Prosecutor Ron O’Brien at a news conference this morning.

Officers Eric Joering, left, and Anthony Morelli

Smith, 31, is accused of killing Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli in an exchange of gunfire after they entered his townhouse in the 300 block of Cross Wind Drive to investigate a 911 hang-up call. Investigators said Smith’s wife told the officers that he had assaulted her and had a gun. Joering died at the scene; Morelli died of his injuries at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. Smith was hospitalized with gunshot wounds for a week before being transported to the Franklin County jail, where he is being held without bail.

The charges against Smith include two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, one count of domestic violence, one count of possessing a gun despite a previous felony conviction, nine gun specifications and four repeat-violent-offender specifications. In Ohio, the purposeful killing of an on-duty police officer and the purposeful killing of two or more people are among the crimes that qualify for the death penalty.

https://www.officer.com/command-hq/..._content=69a26ec8-cefe-46ef-a189-4a65ba8f3ce9
Click to expand...

See also:

Slain Officer Laid to Rest
March 23, 2018 - Hundreds of law enforcement officers, civic leaders and other mourners gathered Thursday to honor the short life of Pomona Police Officer Greggory Casillas.

As the rain fell outside Pomona’s Purpose Church on a dreary Thursday morning, hundreds of law enforcement officers, civic leaders and other mourners gathered solemnly inside to honor the short life of Pomona police Officer Greggory Casillas, who was killed in the line of duty just days away from finishing his field training. During an emotional hour-and-a-half ceremony, mourners recalled in tearful detail a young man inspired to help others and to be a devoted husband and doting father — and whose legacy in the community will persist. Casillas, 30, was shot to death March 9 as he and his partner approached an apartment where a reckless-driving suspect had taken refuge. His partner was injured but survived. “Lord, we have lost a champion of the community,” Glenn Gunderson, Purpose Church’s lead pastor, said in his opening prayer. “Greg Casillas has done the ultimate act of sacrifice for us.”

Hundreds of law enforcement officers, civic leaders and other mourners gathered Thursday to honor the short life of Pomona Police Officer Greggory Casillas.

Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval addressed a crowd estimated at more than 2,000, mostly police officers from around the country, during a ceremony that moved many speakers to tears. Among those paying tribute was California Gov. Jerry Brown. “Officer Casillas’ selflessness and dedication to Pomona will never be forgotten, and his loss will forever be mourned in the city. Today we mourn the loss of a real-life superhero, the end of a promising story, ending long before many of its greatest chapters were to be written,” Sandoval said. Casillas’ brother-in-law, Arturo Fematt Jr., recalled a day when Casillas gave his son a police sticker in the shape of a police badge. The boy then excitedly ran up to Fematt and exclaimed, “Now I”m a superhero like Tio Greg.” “‘He’s out there fighting crime, arresting bad guys … for that, he’s a superhero,’” Fematt told mourners including those in a tent set up outside to accommodate the overflow crowd. Some comic book heroes can’t ever be killed off, and in some ways Casillas’ legacy of service and friendship will always be there, mourners said.

Rather than speak of despair, a former classmate in the sheriff’s academy, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Christian Guevara, wanted to talk about hope and honor and to celebrate Casillas’ life. He said Casillas helped him through the academy in everything from learning to shoot to shining his boots. “I know he’ll be with me on the streets, he’ll be with me in my time of need, when I need to make a decision. He’ll be my guardian angel the rest of my career,” Guevara said.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR OFFICER
Click to expand...

Related:

New Details Revealed in Investigation of Baltimore Police Detective’s Death
March 23, 2018 - There are contradictory theories within the Baltimore Police Department about Detective Sean Suiter still-unsolved killing.

When Baltimore Police Detective Sean Suiter was shot in West Baltimore last fall, responding officers found their dying colleague lying face down in a vacant lot. He’d been shot once in the head — and his freshly fired service weapon was beneath his body. Moments before his death, surveillance cameras showed, Suiter had paced back and forth on the street. Then he darted out of view and into the lot where three shots rang out. This and other previously undisclosed evidence, described by sources to The Baltimore Sun, lies behind contradictory theories within the Police Department about Suiter’s still-unsolved killing.

Some say the evidence — including the location of the gun, the pacing as though preparing himself — suggests Suiter could have committed suicide staged to look like a murder. But others see that interpretation as an easy out for the department in a stalled case. They point to other evidence as bolstering their view that Suiter likely scuffled with an assailant before his death. Sources say the bullet that ultimately killed Suiter entered behind his right ear and traveled forward, exiting from his left temple. The path of the bullet is not typical of a suicide, some note.

A Baltimore City Police officer salutes as the processional moves under the Seminary Avenue overpass during the funeral for Baltimore Police Detective Sean Suiter on November 29, 2017.

In this view, dirt found on Suiter’s clothing, an unintelligible transmission over his radio, and the two other shots from his gun all support the theory that he struggled with an assailant who has eluded detection. Police have said Suiter was killed with his own gun, though the shooting could have happened during such a struggle. “The realistic version of this is that there are two things that are possible: suicide and murder,” one source said. “I could convince anybody why it’s a murder, and I could convince anybody why it’s a suicide.” Suiter’s death is one of the only unsolved killings of a police officer in the Baltimore department’s history. New Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa has said he is preparing to open the case to outside investigators for an independent review. He has declined to share his opinion.

The detective was shot the day before he was to give testimony before a federal grand jury investigating Baltimore’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force. Suiter was not a target of that investigation, police have said. The Sun has not viewed the surveillance footage or other evidence in Suiter’s killing — which includes body-camera footage from the first officers who reached his side — but spoke with five law enforcement sources knowledgeable about it. These sources had different interpretations. The new details help to explain public comments made by police that previously lacked context.

MORE
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 24, 2018

Cop killer gets parole...

Nearly 5 Decades Later, Man Who Killed New York Officers Wins Parole
March 14, 2018 - After the New York City police officers Joseph A. Piagentini and Waverly M. Jones were fatally shot outside a housing project in Harlem in 1971, the Black Liberation Army, an offshoot of the Black Panther Party, took credit for the killings.

Within months, arrests were made. The suspects claimed at their trial that the violence was part of their war against the United States. A jury convicted three men — Herman Bell, Anthony Bottom and Albert Washington — and each received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Now, nearly five decades later, and after seven unsuccessful attempts, Mr. Bell has been granted parole. Currently an inmate at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in the Hudson Valley town of Wallkill, Mr. Bell could be freed as early as April 17, according to the State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s website.

Herman Bell was captured in 1973 in New Orleans, more than two years after he and two other men killed two New York City police officers. Now 70 years old, he has been granted parole.

The decision, by a three-member panel of the State Parole Board, immediately opened old wounds about a crime many view as unforgivable, even amid a debate over incarceration policies that keep people behind bars into very old age. Mr. Bell is now 70. Indeed, among the survivors of the two officers, opinion has been split: Officer Piagentini’s widow, Diane, has repeatedly argued against parole for Mr. Bell, once gaining former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as an ally in that cause, while Officer Jones’s children have said in the past that Mr. Bell should be released. On Wednesday, as the news trickled out, Patrick J. Lynch, the head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said in a statement that the state’s parole board had failed. “His release on parole is a painful affront to the families of every police officer who has sacrificed his or her life in the line of duty,” Mr. Lynch said.

The officers, Joseph A. Piagentini, left, Waverly M. Jones, were killed on May 21, 1971. The Black Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the killings.

Affixed to Mr. Lynch’s statement was one from Ms. Piagentini in which she too assailed the parole board, which she said had “betrayed the trust” of police families. “The message being sent devalues the life of my brave husband who was taken from his two daughters and for whom there is no parole,” she said. It was a May night when Officers Jones and Piagentini, of the 32nd Precinct, were ambushed and shot in the back multiple times as they returned to their car after answering a call near Macombs Dam Bridge. Those killings were followed by the murders in, January 1972, of another pair of on-duty officers, Gregory Foster and Rocco Laurie, who were gunned down from behind as they patrolled the Lower East Side.

Officer Piagentini’s widow, Diane, has opposed parole for Mr. Bell. In a statement on Wednesday, she said the parole board’s decision “devalues the life of my brave husband.”

The city was on edge, rife with racial tension and awash in conspiracies. Many patrol officers saw themselves as targets in a plot by black residents to kill them. Some New Yorkers who embraced the Black Panther Party’s identity as a political and self-defense group saw the police as an instrument of governmental oppression. For a long time, Mr. Bell asserted his innocence and, with his co-defendants, sought a new trial on the basis of uncovered evidence showing the first trial was unfair. Mr. Washington died in prison in April 2000. Mr. Bottom, also known as Jalil Abdul Muntaqim, is at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, N.Y., officials said.

Mr. Bell, in a 2017 prison photo.

In a statement condemning the decision, Commissioner James P. O’Neill recalled how Mr. Bell and his co-conspirators “shot Officer Piagentini 22 times, including with his own service revolver — as the dying officer pleaded for his own life.” “Over the past 47 years, he has never expressed genuine remorse,” Mr. O’Neill said. In a letter the parole board sent to Mr. Bell this week, however, they credited him with finally taking responsibility “for your actions” and expressing “regret and remorse for your crimes.” Noting this maturation, the board quoted back to Mr. Bell what he told panelists during their interview of him on March 3: “There was nothing political about the act, as much as I thought at the time,” Mr. Bell told them. “It was murder and horribly wrong.

Police officers and onlookers gathered to watch the coffin of Officer Jones as it arrived for his funeral in 1971. Officer Jones’s children have said in the past that Mr. Bell should be released.

The board undertook a deep review of several factors, including Mr. Bell’s age, scant disciplinary history in prison and his success in compiling a “sturdy network of supporters,” including the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In the end, a majority of panelists found that the state had prepared Mr. Bell well for release. Though his crime “represents one of the most supreme assaults against society,” Mr. Bell is capable of living a “law-abiding life,” it wrote. “On some basic level this is what parole is for,” said Michael Jacobsen, the executive director of the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance and a former commissioner of the city’s Department of Correction.

Officer Piagentini’s funeral in Deer Park, Long Island in 1971.

The board also cited a letter it called “noteworthy” from a person it did not name — presumably Officer Jones’s son — who expressed continued forgiveness for Mr. Bell “killing his father.” “The simple answer is it would bring joy and peace as we have already forgiven Herman Bell publicly,” the letter, cited by the board, said. “On the other hand, to deny him parole again would cause us pain as we are reminded of the painful episode each time he appears before the board.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/nyregion/herman-bell-nypd-parole.html
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 27, 2018

Were at court on a separate matter...

Mother, Sister of Slain Indiana Sheriff's Deputy Assaulted at Courthouse
March 27, 2018 - Alice Koontz and Jackie Koontz, the sister and mother of fallen Howard County Deputy Carl Koontz, were on the courthouse’s third floor for a paternity hearing when approached by Bryson Smalls.

A Kokomo man faces multiple felony charges after police say he battered and caused the hospitalizing of two women inside the Howard County Courthouse Monday morning. Bryson Small, 36, faces preliminary charges of attempted involuntary manslaughter, neglect of a dependent, battery against a public safety officer, battery resulting in bodily injury, domestic battery, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct. He’s currently being held at the Howard County Criminal Justice Center without bond.

Alice Koontz and Jackie Koontz, the sister and mother of fallen Howard County Deputy Carl Koontz, were on the courthouse’s third floor for a paternity hearing when approached by Bryson Smalls.

According to a press release from the Howard County Sheriff’s Department, Alice Koontz, 26, and Jackie Koontz, 54, the sister and mother of fallen Howard County Deputy Carl Koontz, were on the courthouse’s third floor for a paternity hearing when approached by Smalls, the respondent in the hearing. Witnesses say Small approached the women and began to attack them, knocking them both to the floor, according to the press release. Both were struck several times by Small. Several bystanders and attorneys in the area responded to help the women, and assisted in subduing Small, the press release states. Infant Amelia Koontz was present in a baby carrier but not injured.

Alice Koontz and Jackie Koontz suffered facial and head injuries, and Alice Koontz was unconscious prior to being transported via ambulance to St. Vincent Hospital. She was later transported to an Indianapolis hospital for further treatment for facial and head injuries. Howard County Sheriff Steve Rogers confirmed Alice Koontz and Jackie Koontz are the sister and mother, respectively, of fallen Howard County Deputy Carl Koontz. Jackie Koontz was also transported to St. Vincent Hospital where she was treated and later released. Rogers commended the actions of individuals who rushed to protect the victims.

https://www.officer.com/command-hq/...riffs-deputy-assaulted-at-courthouse[/center]
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 29, 2018

Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Calif. Cop Killer...

Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Calif. Cop Killer
March 28, 2018 - A jury on Tuesday recommended the death penalty for Luis Bracamontes in the 2014 slayings of Sacramento Sheriff's Deputy Danny Oliver and Placer County Detective Michael Davis Jr.

The verdicts, announced after four hours of deliberation by a Sacramento Superior Court jury, came in a brief hearing before Judge Steve White during which Bracamontes spent the entire time smiling broadly, sometimes at the families of the dead deputies. Whatever effect he was hoping for didn't work. Elated family members of the deputies said afterward that they wanted Bracamontes in the courtroom, and they wanted him to see them smiling back at him as he heard the verdict. "I was smiling back at him purposely," Jeri Oliver, Danny Oliver's mother, said after court. She said she Davis' mother, Debbie McMahon, had agreed that was how they would handle the delivery of the verdict. "We decided we were going to smile at him for a change."

Bracamontes has acted out throughout the trial, cursing at the families and jurors and threatening to kill more officers. At times, he has insisted he wanted to skip trial and move directly to execution. Family members of the deputies said Tuesday they believe it was all an act. "He's a coward," said Oliver's sister, Phyllis Sylvia. Bracamontes grinned and silently clapped his hands after the verdict was delivered, while public defenders Norm Dawson and Jeffrey Barbour sat grim faced on either side of him in the courtroom. Later he shook hands with his lawyers as deputies prepared to lead him out of the room.

A jury on Tuesday recommended the death penalty for Luis Bracamontes in the 2014 slayings of Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Danny Oliver and Placer County Sheriff's Detective Michael Davis Jr.

Until Tuesday's verdict, family members and law enforcement officials were hesitant to speak out on the record about the case, but with the verdict in place they appeared relieved and unrestrained. "I feel free to say it now, he's a despicable and evil human being and the death penalty is totally appropriate," said Placer Sheriff Devon Bell, who hugged Davis' mother in court before the jury came in. Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones said the verdict won't erase the loss of Oliver or Davis, but that it "is a step along the road toward justice." Others praised the prosecutors – Rod Norgaard from Sacramento and Dave Tellman from Placer County – for helping shepherd the case to its conclusion. "I was ecstatic," Oliver's sister said. "We couldn't have asked for a better team of DAs or a better jury."

Juror Sam Wood, 56, of Sacramento, spent five and a half months on the case and said that in the end the facts against Bracamontes "were just so powerful." "There were just so many facts," he said. "It was not something that you could go one way of the other on." Wood added that jurors took their responsibility seriously, and did not allow Bracamontes' outbursts – which included threats against them – to influence their decision. "It wasn't like everybody got in there and agreed to one outcome or another right away," Wood said. "We did work at it." Bracamontes is due to return to court April 25 for a formal sentencing by White at a hearing during which family members of the slain deputies are expected to address the court and Bracamontes.

MORE
Click to expand...

waltky · Mar 30, 2018

Fake cop kills real cop, then is killed himself...

Off-Duty Kentucky Police Officer Killed by Man Impersonating Law Enforcement Officer
March 30, 2018 - A manhunt is on for a suspect after Hopkinsville Police Officer Phillip Meacham was fatally shot by a man impersonating a law enforcement officer who pulled him over Thursday evening.

A manhunt is on for a suspect after a Hopkinsville, Kentucky police officer was fatally shot by a man impersonating a law enforcement officer Thursday evening. Officer Phillip Meacham was off-duty driving his personal vehicle when officials say a man pretending to be a police officer pulled over his car around 5:10 p.m., according to The Leaf Chronicle. Sometime during the interaction, the suspect, identified as 35-year-old James Kennith Decoursey, shot Meacham.

James Kennith Decoursey, left, and Officer Phillip Meacham

The 38-year-old officer who worked for the Hopkinsville Police Department since May 2017 was transported to Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville where he was pronounced dead. Officials said that Decoursey fled on foot after the shooting before stealing a 1997 white Chevrolet pickup truck with license plate number 2070GH. He is described as a white male, 6 feet, 1 inch tall with brown eyes and black hair. Authorities say Decoursey should be considered armed and dangerous and anyone who spots his vehicle is advised not to approach him and to call 911.

Hopkinsville Police Chief Clayton Sumner said he wasn't sure if the men two men knew each other personally, but that since both are from the small town it's likely. "Officers are never off duty," Sumner told reporters after the shooting. "This is new to me. I don't know how to do this. I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I just ask for everybody's support." Kentucky State Police has taken over the investigation of the fatal shooting. Meacham, who worked for more than a decade at the Christian County Sheriff's Office before joining the Hopkinsville police force leaves behind a wife and two children.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...p-meacham-killed-by-man-impersonating-officer
Click to expand...

See also:

Accused Cop-Killer Claimed He Was 'Just Trying to Scare' Trooper
March 29, 2018 | New York State Police Trooper Chris Wyant testified Wednesday that Justin D. Walters told him he “was just trying to scare him” when he allegedly shot and killed Trooper Joel Davis last July.

The Fort Drum staff sergeant accused of killing Trooper Joel R. Davis last summer during a domestic incident is headed to trial in the fall. On Wednesday, Justin D. Walters appeared in court for an evidence suppression hearing in which a trooper testified that Walters told him he “was just trying to scare him” when he allegedly shot Trooper Davis in the driveway of the defendant’s County Route 46 home last July. Walters also is accused of shooting and killing his wife, Nichole V., 27, multiple times at their Theresa home on July 9 and injuring her friend, Rebecca Finkle. Trooper Davis was responding to a domestic incident. Ms. Finkle has since recovered from her injuries.

Trooper Chris Wyant was the first officer to arrive on the scene and heard gunshots as soon as he got there. The exchange occurred when Walters was walking down the driveway with his hands out to his side, saying “I’m done. I’m done,” according to Trooper Wyant. Walters asked if the trooper was okay. Trooper Wyant responded that his friend was dead. Gesturing to another trooper near the deceased Trooper Davis, Walters told Trooper Wyant “No, he’s not. He’s right there.” “No, there’s another trooper dead in the ditch,” Trooper Wyant told Walters, referring to Trooper Davis. “I was just trying to scare him,” Walters said.

Trooper Joel Davis, left, and Justin Walters

A number of state troopers and investigators testified during Wednesday’s hearing about what happened the night Walters was interviewed. Walters gave several statements, both at the scene and then later when interviewed at the troopers’ station. While the interview occurred over several hours, Walters asked for a lawyer about 54 minutes into the session, Jefferson County District Attorney Kristyna S. Mills said. Anything after that request will not be used during the trial. Walters is accused of three counts of first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty to all 55 counts lodged against him in a grand jury indictment. Walters’ attorney, Edward F. Narrow, said he would file a notice to use “mental disease or defect” as a defense for his client.

In the weeks leading to the shooting, Walters posted to Facebook about death, getting treatment at Fort Drum’s Warriors in Transition Unit and frustrations with the Army. He had been in the Army for 10 years and was deployed to Afghanistan twice. Walters will continue to be held in the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building without bail. Jefferson County Court Judge Kim H. Martusewicz told the district attorney and Mr. Narrow to submit a written “memorandum on the law” by April 13. The judge will decide whether any of Walters’s statements should be suppressed. He will also determine whether evidence collected by investigators from the house, the yard, some electronic items and the T-shirt containing blood that Walters was wearing should be suppressed.

https://www.officer.com/investigati...g-of-new-york-state-police-trooper-joel-davis
Click to expand...

Related:

Man Convicted in Slaying of New Orleans Police Officer
March 26, 2018 - A jury on Saturday unanimously found Travis Boys guilty in the 2015 murder of veteran New Orleans Police Officer Daryle Holloway.

The family of a slain New Orleans police officer says that justice has been served after the suspected gunman was convicted over the weekend. A jury on Saturday unanimously found Travis Boys guilty in the 2015 murder of veteran Officer Daryle Holloway, according to NOLA.com.

Fallen New Orleans Police Officer Daryle Holloway’s family speaks after the jury finds Travis Boys guilty of first-degree murder.

A group of about a dozen New Orleans officers and commanders stood after the verdict was read in a salute to Holloway as family members embraced in and outside the courtroom. "Daryle did not deserve what was handed to him that day, but today we were able to see justice handed out of Daryle Stephen Holloway," Olander Holloway, the officer's mother, said outside the courthouse.

Holloway was taking Boys to jail on the morning of June 20, 2015, when the man crawled through the small window opening between the front and back seats in the officer's patrol car and fatally shot him. Judge Karen Herman set a May 3 sentencing date for Boys, who faces an automatic life sentence. Holloway's family is expected to give victim impact statements at the hearing.

https://www.officer.com/investigati...of-new-orleans-police-officer-daryle-holloway
Click to expand...

waltky · May 6, 2018

Indiana Police Officer Fatally Gunned Down...

Indiana Police Officer Fatally Shot
May 5, 2018 - Terre Haute Police Officer Rob Pitts was fatally wounded after officers were fired upon from a second-story window at an apartment complex Friday evening.

Terre Haute Police Officer Rob Pitts has been identified as the law enforcement officer killed Friday evening in Terre Haute. Pitts was a 16-year veteran of the department, according to THPD Public Information Officer Ryan Adamson. "Rob is deeply missed, but we are grateful for the time we had with him. Thank you for your continued prayers," Adamson said in a news release. For those wanting to pay their respects, police will be moving Officer Pitts from Regional Hospital to DeBaun Funeral home at 1 p.m. The route will be southbound on Seventh Street to westbound Springhill road.

Local churches have also arranged a prayer vigil at 6 p.m. today at the Vigo County Courthouse. Officer Pitts and three others were working on a homicide investigation that began earlier in the day on South 18th Street in Terre Haute. They had developed information on a suspect in that killing and were approaching an apartment in The Garden Quarter, an apartment complex along Jessica Drive south of Terre Haute.

Officer Rob Pitts

As they approached the apartment on Linwood Street just after 6:30 p.m., the officers were fired upon from a second-story window almost immediately and they returned fire, police said. Pitts, though rushed from the site, succumbed to his wounds at Terre Haute Regional Hospital. After the shooting, police engaged in a standoff with the barricaded suspect, who has not been named, that lasted until just before 9:20 p.m.

The standoff came to an end when Terre Haute police special response team officers made entry into the apartment through a second-floor window by way of a ladder. Upon finding the man, police did call for a medic. Radio traffic at first seemed to indicate the suspect might be alive, but police later announced he had died. Police said he succumbed to wounds suffered in the initial exchange of gunfire.

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...indiana-police-officer-rob-pitts-fatally-shot
Click to expand...

waltky · May 9, 2018

40 years on, parole denied cop killer...

Parole Denied for Massachusetts Cop-Killer
May 9, 2018 - Forty years after he shot and killed Shrewsbury Police Officer James Lonchiadis, Edgar Bowser III has been denied his latest bid for freedom.

Parole board members, in a ruling late last month, said Mr. Bowser lacks empathy, a sense of responsibility and maturity, and that he carried on a "secret life" during the three years after he was paroled in 2007. He was sent back to prison in 2010 after he used cocaine in violation of the terms of his parole.

The earliest he could next appear before the parole board is April 25, 2022.

Shrewsbury Police Officer James Lonchiadis

Mr. Bowser was 16 on March 5, 1975, when he shot and killed the 28-year-old rookie police officer. Mr. Bowser, a ninth-grade dropout, shot the officer through the heart during a bungled car theft on Route 9 near the Worcester City Motel.

Return to telegram.com for more on this story. Parole Board written decision, Edgar Bowser by Don Landgren on Scribd

https://www.officer.com/command-hq/...setts-police-officer-james-lonchiadis-in-1975
Click to expand...

waltky · May 14, 2018

Two Ohio Police Officers Killed by Shots to Head, Torso...

Autopsies: Ohio Police Officers Killed by Shots to Head, Torso
May 14, 2018 - Westerville Officer Eric Joering was killed Feb. 10 when he was shot three times, once in the forehead, while fellow Officer Anthony Morelli died after being shot in the chest as they responded to a possible domestic violence call.

Those are the findings of autopsies performed by the Franklin County Coroner's office on both officers. Quentin Lamar Smith, 30, has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder in the case for shooting both officers to death as they responded to Smith's townhouse just before noon on the 300 block of Cross Wind Drive. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said Thursday the autopsies support his office's theory about what took place that day. O'Brien is seeking the death penalty against Smith, who was wounded but recovered. "Officer Joering was the first one to the door, and the shot to his head indicates what happened," O'Brien said shortly after the official autopsies were released Thursday. "He was shot at point-blank range. We believe it instantly caused his death," the prosecutor said.

Officer Anthony Morelli, left, and Officer Eric Joering

The fatal shot to Joering was in the forehead and exited from the back of the left side of his neck. The autopsy showed Joering, 39, also was shot in the left arm and shoulder and the right forearm. He died at the scene. Morelli, 54, who was right behind Joering as the officers responded, was shot in the left chest, with the bullet traveling from left to right. The bullet penetrated the heart and both lungs. Morelli was transported but later died at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. Westerville police earlier reported both officers were wearing body armor. Both autopsies determined the deaths were caused by homicide. Smith was shot "four or five times" by Morelli before the officer went down, O'Brien said.

The officers went to the home after a 911 hangup at the residence where police previously responded to domestic disturbance calls. When they arrived, police said, Smith's wife told them Smith assaulted her and had a gun. In Ohio, conviction for purposefully killing one or more police officers is a crime punishable by death.

https://www.officer.com/investigati...police-officers-killed-by-shots-to-head-torso
Click to expand...

waltky · May 15, 2018

The Donald speaks out against cop killin's...

Trump: ‘We Must End the Attacks on Our Police’
May 15, 2018 - In a speech to the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, President Donald Trump called for an end to attacks on police, adding that ambush attacks are “one of the most alarming crimes” against police.

“In 2016, an officer was assaulted in America on an average of every 10 minutes. Can you believe that? It’s outrageous, and it’s unacceptable. We must end the attacks on our police, and we must end them right now. We believe criminals who kill our police should get the death penalty. Bring it forth,” Trump said. “One of the most alarming crimes taking place against our police are ambush attacks. Think of that - ambush attacks. I have directed the Justice Department to do everything in its power to defend the lives of American law enforcement,” Trump said.

Trump said he was honored to attend the memorial service for the second time, “and I’ll see you I guess about another six times, and then after that, perhaps you’ll have had enough.” “We stand with our police, and we stand with you 100 percent, and I think we’ve shown that,” he said. Trump called the memorial service “one of the most important solemn occasions of the year - the day we pay tribute to law enforcement heroes - and that’s what they are, heroes - who gave their lives in the line of duty.” “They made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in safety and in peace. To the families and survivors with us this morning, I know today is filled with sadness and pain, but today is also filled with love - the love of an entire nation wrapped its arms, and they have wrapped their arms right around you. They love you. They’re praying for you. They’re grieving with you and pledging to you that we will never forget our heroes, ever,” he said.

Trump said the first duty of government is to protect its citizens. The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security “are on the front lines of this incredible, heroic fight,” he said. “That is why we are calling on Congress to secure our borders, support our border agents, stop sanctuary cities, and shut down policies that release violent criminals back into our communities. We don’t want it any longer. We’ve had it. Enough is enough,” Trump said. “Recently, MS-13 gang members called for the assassination of New York City police officers, so the gang could ‘take back the streets.’ They got it wrong. We are the ones who are taking back the streets. We are getting them out of our country by the thousands,” he said. “Every week, we’re setting new records on-- we have a catch and release program too. It’s called we catch them, and we release them in the country they came back from. We’re getting them out or we’re putting them in prison,” the president added.

“The Trump administration has a policy, and it’s very clear: we will protect those who protect us and who do such a great job in protecting us. That is why as I promised all along that we are allowing local police to access the surplus military equipment they need to protect our officers and law enforcement agents and save their lives, and they are taking equipment at a record clip. Millions and millions of dollars of surplus equipment is going to our police departments,” he said. “If we want to bring down violent crime, then we must stand up for our police. We must confront and condemn dangerous anti-police prejudice. Can you believe this prejudice with respect to our police? We’re not going to let bad things happen to our police. So we must show appreciation, gratitude and respect for those who police our streets and patrol our communities,” Trump said.

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/melanie-arter/trump-we-must-end-attacks-our-police
Click to expand...

waltky · Jul 15, 2018

It's like open season on cops...

Mass. police officer shot and killed; 3 cops hurt in Mo.
July 15, 2018 -- A police officer and a bystander were shot and killed in Massachusetts as authorities pursued a vandalism and erratic driving suspect Sunday

Authorities said Michael Chesna, 42, was fatally shot while attempting to arrest a suspect, identified as 20-year-old Emanuel Lopes around 7:30 a.m. Chesna was pursing Lopes with his gun drawn when Lopes struck him with a rock, took the officer's gun and shot him multiple times, according to authorities. Chesna was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Additional officers continued to pursue Lopes through the neighborhood as he fired Chesna's gun again and killed an elderly woman in her home.

Officers eventually shot Lopes in the leg and he is expected to survive. He will be arraigned Monday on two counts of murder. Also Sunday, police in Missouri shot and killed a man suspected of shooting three police officers and was a person of interest in the death of a University of Missouri-Kansas City student. Two of the officers were shot while working undercover to search for the murder suspect at the Sky-Vu Motel at 12:15 p.m., Kansas City police spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina said.

Both officers were rushed to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The shooting suspect fled the area with another person, who was found with the vehicle shortly afterward and arrested. Officers were then called to the area of 30th and Topping Avenue where they exchanged gunfire with the suspect. The suspect was killed and a third officer was injured by gunfire and taken to a hospital after the exchange. The officer's condition wasn't immediately known.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/201.../?utm_source=upi&utm_campaign=mp&utm_medium=3
Click to expand...

Seth Bullock · Jul 15, 2018

waltky said: ↑

It's like open season on cops...

Mass. police officer shot and killed; 3 cops hurt in Mo.
July 15, 2018 -- A police officer and a bystander were shot and killed in Massachusetts as authorities pursued a vandalism and erratic driving suspect Sunday
Click to expand...

It's a dangerous profession, Waltky.

I teach recruits. Sometimes I'll ask a class if they think their first priority should be to go home safe. A lot of hands raise. And then I tell them this ...

Your first priority is to do your duty. If going home safe is your first priority, you're in the wrong business.

That's just the way it is.

Respect to our Fallen ...

Seth

Log in or Sign up

Latest casualty in War on Cops

BleedingHeadKen Well-Known Member Past Donor

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

BillRM Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Latest casualty in War on Cops

BleedingHeadKen Well-Known Member Past Donor

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

BillRM Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

Share This Page

Useful Searches