Archive for the ‘Cops’ Category

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Random notes: February 1, 2013.

Friday, February 1st, 2013

Nobody needs a high-capacity assault snowmobile. Actually, I’m not even sure the general public should be allowed snowmobiles; perhaps we need to limit those to the police and military, people who have had special snowmobile training.

This is intended to enrage you:

At the 11th hour of its deadline to do so, Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration on Thursday asked a judge to allow it to withdraw from a federal consent decree aimed at implementing sweeping reforms in the New Orleans Police Department.

The request is based on three factors:

  1. The consent decree “failed to disclose costs to fix Orleans Parish Prison until after the NOPD consent decree was executed”.
  2. Former prosecutor Sal Perricone and the NOLA.com comments scandal.
  3. There are questions about whether the consent decree’s provisions regulating secondary employment for police officers are compliant with federal labor law.

Previously. I am still unable to find an execution date for Antoinette Frank.

Over the past several weeks, dozens of other sheriffs from across the country have reacted with similar public opposition to Mr. Obama’s call for stiffer gun laws, releasing a deluge of letters, position papers and statements laying out their arguments in stark terms. Their jurisdictions largely include rural areas, and stand in sharp contrast to those of urban police chiefs, who have historically supported tougher gun regulations.

“C’est un Nagra. C’est suisse, et tres, tres precis.” (I’m surprised that quote, or the English translation, isn’t on the IMDB page for “Diva”.)

Heh. Heh. Heh.

Nine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges were charged with conspiracy and fraud Thursday, capping a three-year FBI probe into what authorities said was rampant ticket-fixing and pervasive corruption on the bench.

The judges are being accused of pretty much what you’d expect: taking bribes to fix tickets.

According to the indictment, [Fortunato] Perri [one of the indicted judges – DB] got free landscaping and a patio for assisting one unnamed contractor with “dozens of Traffic Court citations.” He also is accused of accepting free auto services, towing, and a load of shrimp and crab cakes from Alfano, whose company, Century Motors, ran a towing service.

You know, I like shrimp. I like crab cakes. I wouldn’t go to prison for them, though.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Guns, Law, Obits, Rage, Sarcasm, Schadenfreude, Sports | Comments Closed

Patricia Cook update.

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

Back in May, I wrote about the case of Patricia Cook, the unarmed woman in Culpeper, Virginia who was killed by a police officer under suspicious circumstances; the officer, Daniel Harmon–Wright, was later charged with murder.

Things have moved faster than I expected: Harmon-Wright was convicted, but only of “voluntary manslaughter”, “shooting into an occupied vehicle”, and “shooting into an occupied vehicle resulting in death”.

And it is possible a mistrial will be declared: “a court’s clerk reported that she found two dictionaries and a thesaurus in the jury room”, which were brought in by the jury forewoman (according to another report) and were allegedly used by the jury to look up the definition of “malice”.

(Hattip: Balko.)

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | 1 Comment »

Random notes: January 30, 2013.

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

Gun control works! Just ask Chicago!

And yet Chicago, a city with no civilian gun ranges and bans on both assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, finds itself laboring to stem a flood of gun violence that contributed to more than 500 homicides last year and at least 40 killings already in 2013, including a fatal shooting of a 15-year-old girl on Tuesday.

More:

Chicago officials say Illinois has no requirement, comparable to Chicago’s, that gun owners immediately report their lost or stolen weapons to deter straw buyers.

Uh, that’s not what a “straw buyer” is, Monica Davey. (Nor does Davey mention that “straw purchases” are also a violation of Federal law, though rarely prosecuted according to the WP. One wonders how much of a deterrent Chicago’s law is to people who are already violating federal law.)

(Likewise, purchasing guns in other states, bringing them across state lines, and selling them on the Chicago streets violates multiple existing federal laws. Davey ignores that fact as well.)

Edited to add: Just saw this, and found it appropriate.

 

And I said, “What about ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’?”
He said, “I can’t afford a million dollars,
and as I recall, you’ve got plenty of money.”
And I said, “Well, that’s one thing we have not.”

The Bell trial picked up again yesterday. Rebecca Valdez, the former city clerk who wasn’t actually the city clerk at first, is still on the stand.

Rebecca Valdez said that when she began working for the city, she learned the key to survival: Do whatever City Manager Robert Rizzo asked.
Valdez testified Tuesday that she was directed to sign unfamiliar documents, hand out incorrect salary information in response to a public records request from a resident and obtain signatures for doctored salary contracts.

The defense is attacking her credibility, “seeking to show that record-keeping in Bell was in disarray. Valdez testified that she signed minutes for meetings she didn’t attend, was appointed to the job in name only and sometimes made mistakes marking the times that meetings began and ended.”

And what’s this about her being the city clerk but not being the city clerk?

In 2004, then-City Clerk Theresa Diaz moved out of town, making her ineligible to hold the elected office. Valdez was given her title, but continued her job as an account clerk. Diaz continued to act as the record-keeper for the city, but Valdez testified that she was told to sign documents as the city clerk.

Also interesting:

The city clerk also testified that Victor Bello, one of the defendants, was banned from City Hall toward the end of his tenure, except to attend council meetings.
If Bello showed up, she was to tell the police chief and her supervisor. Twice a week, Valdez took Bello’s mail to his home, accompanied by code enforcement officers, she testified. Bello resigned from the council in 2008 but retained his six-figure salary after Rizzo named him assistant to the food bank coordinator.

Not “food bank coordinator”, but “assistant to the food bank coordinator”, and pulling in at least $100,000 a year. How do I get this job?

Ah, the Texas Highway Patrol Museum. You do remember the Texas Highway Patrol Museum, don’t you? Shut down by the Attorney General last year? Assets, including the building, being sold off?

Well, about that…

Lawyers for the Texas attorney general’s office said Monday that a “cloud of procedural impropriety” is casting a shadow over the pending sale of the former Texas Highway Patrol Museum, and they recommended that the building be put back on the market.

The “procedural impropriety” seems to be that the high bidder says her bid was ignored. Also, the real estate broker would make a larger commission if the other bidder got the property. There’s some technical aspects that make it unclear which bid is best; that’s why the AG recommended that the building be listed again.

(Hattip on this to Grits for Breakfast. If Ms. Wong winds up getting the building, and we’re all still here, I want to do a road trip to Rosario’s Café y Cantina.)

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Cops, Food, Guns, Law, Museums, Sarcasm, Theatre | 1 Comment »

Random notes: January 29, 2013.

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

There’s a follow-up to last week’s story about the felon trying to sell guns at the gun show: he’s now been charged with theft.

At the time of seizure, neither firearms were listed as stolen, according to the arrest affidavit, but by Jan. 10, police determined the rifle matched the make, model and serial number of the rifle reported stolen from the truck Dec. 9, according to the affidavit.

Interesting. Very interesting indeed.

Setting aside for the moment the subject of this story, there’s a kind of interesting legal aspect to it. In Nevada, if you own a casino (or are a “key man” in a casino) you can still gamble anywhere execpt your own casino (for obvious reasons). In Atlantic City, though, you’re not allowed to gamble period; at your own casino or someone else’s, it doesn’t matter. I find it curious that there’s such a difference in the law. I’m sure Mr. Fertitta does, too.

Real ninjas have their own mobile devices.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Guns, Law | Comments Closed

If I had a (non-functional) rocket launcher…

Sunday, January 27th, 2013

I’d make the Seattle Police Department pay. $100 for it. At the next gun buyback.

I’m amused at how often the “someone turned in a non-functional rocket launcher at a gun buyback” trope has been showing up in the mass media. At least this story mentions the non-functional aspect in the first sentence.

In the six months after Seattle’s 1992 gun buyback — the city’s only other such effort — the average number of firearms-related homicides increased. The mean number of firearms-related assaults in Seattle also increased, as did the mean number of robberies with guns. Even the mean number of accidental shooting deaths more than doubled, according to data in a government journal.

Because paying $100 for an empty fiberglass tube makes the public safer. Way to go, guys.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Guns, Law, Media | Comments Closed

Art (Acevedo), damn it! watch. (#P of a series)

Friday, January 25th, 2013

Today’s Austin Police Department suspension is brought to you by former Sergeant William Lefebvre.

Sgt. William Lefebvre, called to assist in an incident at a shopping center on Aug. 8, used the bottom of his foot to move a suspect further into a patrol car, striking him in the chest, [Police Chief Art] Acevedo said.

Chief Acevedo says “That tactic was not justified or objectively reasonable and (he) failed to report it in a timely manner”.

Okay. What does “failed to report in a timely manner” mean?

Acevedo said that Lefebvre reported the incident the same day, but upon review, it was determined that he could have been more accurate and timely.

Former sergeant Lefebvre will be suspended for 60 days (“The memo didn’t say whether Lefebvre will be paid during the suspension.”) and has agreed to a demotion to corporal detective. Post suspension, he will be “on probation” for a year. “If he commits a similar act of misconduct, he would be indefinitely suspended without the right to appeal.”

It sounds like this was a negotiated deal with the city, and that Lefebvre will not be appealing his discipline. However, the Statesman does not explicitly state this.

Posted in Austin, Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

When seconds count…

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

,,,the police are 25 minutes away.

Even if you’re a police sergeant whose car has been egged.

(Previously.)

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

Important safety tip. (#13 in a series)

Friday, January 4th, 2013

For God’s sake, people, you’re adults. Act like it.

“Egging” someone’s house as a “prank” is just dumb.

Especially if that someone is your boss.

And especially if you’re a cop.

He says is handling the matter internally.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law, Safety | 1 Comment »

Two quick items.

Monday, December 31st, 2012

This is an actual headline on the Dallas Morning News website, as of 9:48 AM today:

Dallas police officer on leave over rap video has car burglarized while visiting husband’s grave

And I said, “Whaaaaaaaaht?” (Short item, but worth clicking through to read. The headline, while odd, is an accurate summary.)

Today’s NYT has a follow-up story about Ryan Freel, whose death was previously noted here. Of interest:

  • His stepfather ups the concussion estimate to 15, “10 as a professional ballplayer”.
  • “His former wife witnessed a winter league game in Venezuela in which he smashed through an outfield wall and had to be hospitalized with a concussion.”
  • “Freel’s former wife said she found no fault with his teams or their medical staffs, concluding that they diagnosed his condition properly and insisted that he abide by the stipulated recovery period.”
  • It looks like he will be tested for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law, Neuroscience, Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

There was a rumor, about a tumor…

Thursday, December 27th, 2012

The Statesman is reporting the death of Houston McCoy.

Mr. McCoy never got the fame he probably deserved, because that’s the way the media works. He was an officer with the Austin Police Department on August 1, 1966. Mr. McCoy and his fellow officer Ramiro Martinez fired the shots that killed Charles Whitman.

There’s always been some controversy over who actually killed Whitman, and that’s touched on briefly in Mr. McCoy’s obit. I expect to see this rehashed some more in the coming days. Gary Lavergne’s A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders is considered by pretty much every person I know of to be the definitive account of events before, during, and after; he discusses this issue at some length, and I think comes to a wise and fair conclusion, echoed by Mr. McCoy himself:

From his bed in Menard Manor in 2011, McCoy recounted what he remembered: “I got him but it really doesn’t matter whether I got him or Martinez did. Martinez is a good man, and he was the first police officer on the deck to confront the sniper. There were many heroes that day, police officers and civilians.”

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Guns, Law, Obits | Comments Closed

Merry freaking Christmas.

Friday, November 30th, 2012

Austin, like many other cities, has a program that gets the police department involved in collecting toys and getting them to poor kids. Here, we call this “Blue Santa“.

The “Blue Santa” program started in 1972. Before that, we had an organization called the Christmas Bureau of Austin and Travis County. For as long as I’ve lived in Austin, these two organizations have collaborated closely.

Not this year. The Christmas Bureau, as you may have guessed if you clicked on the link above, seems to have packed up their manager and slunk off into the night, leaving the Blue Santa people holding Santa’s bag.

What happened? That’s still not clear, but the police are investigating. Part of the issue may have to do with new leadership at the Christmas Bureau: the previous leader passed away last year, and the new guy has what we like to describe as a “colorful” history. This includes an arrest for meth possession after an encounter with police in the parking lot of one of our finer local strip clubs this past August (which, of course, does not imply his guilt in this affair, but does make one think).

In the meantime, the Blue Santa folks are trying to fill the gap, if you feel like helping.

Edited to add: It looks like the Christmas Bureau website is working again (it was giving a “500 Internal Server Error”) but hasn’t been updated since last December.

Posted in Christmas, Clippings, Cops, Law | 1 Comment »

Four years.

Saturday, November 17th, 2012

Almost a year after he was convicted, former Spokane PD officer Karl Thompson has been sentenced for beating Otto Zehm to death. (Previously.)

U.S. Attorney Mike Ormbsy, who credited the work of assistant Timothy Durkin and Justice Department trial attorney Victor Boutros, said the prosecutors started the day thinking they would be arguing to preserve a court pre-sentencing report recommending about two years in federal prison.
But by the end of the afternoon, Durkin and Boutros had convinced U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle that the circumstances of the case called for an actual sentencing range of nine to 11 years for the 65-year-old Thompson.

Nine to eleven years. That doesn’t sound too bad.

The judge then cited Thompson’s lifelong service as a law enforcement officer and gave him a downward “variance” in imposing a sentence of 51 months in federal prison, which is 19 months longer than the two officers convicted in the 1991 beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles.

So he gets a “downward variance” for being a cop, even thought the crime he committed was in the line of duty and under the color of his authority as a cop, and even though he and his fellow cops tried to cover up his actions? That’s…special.

(Hattip to Balko on this. I missed it earlier in the week.)

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

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