Once again we’re packing up and moving out. My office is already losing its “at-home” feel. Book shelves are empty. Papers have disappeared. The fountain has been drained. And the old blue lava lamp burns no more. All that remains is the need to write.

Living in North Carolina has been wonderful. After all, I finally had the chance to set foot in the town where a lot of my memories live—Mt. Airy, the hometown of Andy Griffith. Mt. Airy is also the town that gave birth to the idea of Mayberry, N.C. And, of course, that’s where Gomer made his famous citizen’s arrest. It’s where Ernest T. Bass broke nearly every window in town. And it’s the place where cops did the right thing, treating people with dignity and respect. And that’s what they received in return. Yep, the world needs more officers like Sheriff Andy Taylor and his deputy, Barney Fife. But we also need more citizens like Floyd the Barber, Aunt Bee, Helen, and Thelma Lou. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if kids today were more like Opie. No pants hanging off the butt. No hats on backward. And no F-bombs in every sentence.

But, it’s time to move on. This is the weekend. This is it. We’re heading for…

Moving to a new location can be stressful. New jobs, new ways of life, and new people. However, I’ve already been in contact with several writers in the new location and they went to work lining up places to live, recommended Realtors, and clued us in on the local hot spots. So it almost feels like home already. Yep, there’s no denying it…writers are good people.

By the time you have your Sunday morning cup of coffee we’ll be following in the footsteps of these guys. I hope we make it there before midnight…

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

The Graveyard Shift extends our condolences to the families of each of these brave officers.

Officer Carlos Ledesma, 34

Chandler Arizona Police Department

July 28, 2010 – Officer Carlos Ledesma, a full-time undercover police officer, was shot and killed during a drug operation.  When attempting to exchange $100,000 in cash for a large quantity of marijuana, the suspects opened fire. Two other undercover Chandler officers were wounded during the gun battle. Two of the six suspects were killed.

Chandler officers receive the news about their fellow officers during a press conference – East Valley Tribune photo.

Officer Ledesma leaves behind a wife and two children.

Inspector Timothy Charles Barnes, 38

North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles License and Theft Bureau

July 28, 2010 – Inspector Barnes had been with the NC Division of Motor Vehicles just nine weeks when he suffered a fatal heart attack during the physical training portion of department’s basic training program. He’d served as a deputy with local sheriff’s office for ten years prior to moving over to NCDMV.

Deputy Sheriff John Willis, 31

Greene County North Carolina Sheriff’s Office

July 28, 2010 – Deputy John Willis was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance. Deputy Willis entered the home and was immediately met by gunfire. The suspect, a man with an extensive and violent criminal history, then turned the gun on himself. He too died at the scene. Deputy Willis was not wearing his vest at the time. He leaves behind his son and daughter.

Deputy Sheriff Samuel A. Smith, 23

Franklin County Kansas Sheriff’s Office

July 23, 2010 – Deputy Samuel Smith was responding to assist another deputy at a domestic dispute when he lost control of his car and struck a tree. He was wearing his seat belt, but died at the scene.

Deputy Smith had only been with the department for nine months.

Chief of Police Daniel K. Duncan, 55

Lake Oswego Oregon Police Department

May 20, 2010 – Chief Daniel Duncan was in a meeting when he heard a call for assistance. He responded, running down several flights of stairs and across the building, to help his officers with apprehending the suspect when he suddenly felt ill. He went home to rest and was found dead the next morning from an apparent heart attack.

Chief Duncan died just six days prior to retiring after serving 34 years as a police officer.

Detective Lieutenant Liusila Brown, 44

American Samoa Department of Public Safety

July 22, 2010 – Lt. Liusila Brown was working court security when he was shot and killed by a criminal suspect. The man, a gang member and member of the defendant’s family, shot Lt. Brown several times and was then heard screaming obscenities at the officer as he lay dying on the ground.

Officers in American Samoa are not permitted to carry firearms.

Audio of the horrific shooting can be heard here.

*Thanks to ODMP

There’s a new crime fighting tool available and it’ll soon have bad guys “seeing the light.” Laser Energetics, Inc., a Charlotte, N.C. company, has introduced Dazer Laser. The DL projects a laser so powerful that it can tame even the toughest of crooks without harming a single hair on their wanted heads. And officers can safely use this non-lethal weapon from as far away as 2400 meters.

The device is a no-brainer for police officers. To Daze a suspect all the officer needs to do is aim the blinking green laser light at the suspect’s face. Instantly, the offender’s vision, equilibrium, and awareness are impaired. The effects last until officers turn off the device. Unlike other police weapons, the use of Dazer Laser prevents the suspect from seeing the officer’s approach and that certainly makes for safer handcuffing and searching.

The  Dazer Laser seems to be an excellent device that, at first look, appears to be a much safer alternative—safer for both the officer and the suspect— to the Taser and other weapons, such as batons and pepper spray.

I imagine this is what a suspect hears the moment he’s blasted by the Dazer Laser.

And for hours after…

* This post is not an endorsement of the Dazer Laser. I’ve not seen the product in action, and as of this posting Laser Energetics officials have not responded to any of my messages.

Crime Scenes: Where Do I Start And When Am I Done?

Crime solving is as easy as collecting a piece of DNA and running it through a magic computer, right? Well, that’s what TV would like to have us believe, but it simply isn’t so. Not by any means. There’s one step in the process that TV often overlooks and it’s called manual labor.

Manual labor – physical work performed for a wage.

Yes, believe it or not, police work can be very demanding, no matter what the assignment.

Seriously, cops and crime scene investigators really do work for their money, especially when it comes to painstakingly processing a crime scene. There’s a lot to do and very little time to accomplish the task. And, it’s easy for crucial evidence to become lost, degraded, or even destroyed.

The process of evidence collection begins with effective preparation. Investigators absolutely must gather as much information about the crime and the scene before they ever set foot within the perimeter. Is it a large crime scene? Do I have enough manpower and equipment to handle the scene?

Those are two very important questions the crime scene investigator must ask himself. Is he/she getting ready to wade into a stadium-size murder scene with only a flashlight and pair of tweezers? The correct amount of help is just as important as a fancy genetic analyzer. And, too many folks at a crime scene could trample or disturb crucial trace evidence. We see this all the time on TV shows—a two dozen cops plowing through an apartment kitchen, stepping over and around the victim. No!

– Your CSI team should be on the lookout for things that aren’t where they should be. For example, the victim’s home is exceptionally neat and organized, yet her purse is lying in the tub…well, that’s a clue.

– Photograph, photograph, photograph! And then take some more pictures. You cannot take enough of them, and from every angle imaginable. If possible, use an HD Laser Scanner for 3-D images.

– After you’re positive that you’ve photographed every detail then it’s time to move on to collecting…EVERYTHING! And I mean anything and everything that could possibly point to the bad guy. This is no time to be a know-it-all. That’s right, some officers do get that thing called tunnel vision and think they have the case solved before ducking under the crime scene tape for the first time. As they say, “Been there, done that.” And it’s a huge mistake.

So collect everything, including hairs (humans shed tons of hair each day), blood, and fibers. If you’re not sure if the reddish-brown stuff is blood, use a presumptive field test. There are several out there, such as Heme Stix. There are even field tests available to determine if the blood is human or animal.

 

– Where can investigators locate fingerprints and DNA? Simple answer, anywhere! Dishes, glasses, garbage, toilets, sinks, mirrors, car steering wheels, car seats, carpet, hardwood floors, brushes, combs, the wall behind the toilet, bed sheets, pillows, doorknobs, light switches, computer keyboards, ink pens, pencils, On-Off knobs and buttons, silverware, refrigerator and stove handles (backside)…the list is endless, and investigators should be creative when searching.

– Find a pair of latex gloves at the scene? Sure, we all know to print the inside, right? But did you think about checking your suspect’s hands for powder residue that matches that on the inside of the gloves?

– Get the real dirt on your suspect. How? Check their shoe soles. Some soil embedded in the treads? Collect it and see if it matches the soil found at the crime scene. I once solved a murder this way. Soil found on the killer’s shoe matched a sort of unique clay-like soil at the scene of the crime. Result? Prison time for the murderer based on the lab comparison of a thimble-full of dirt.

So, to sum up this little topic, I’d say the answer to our questions—Where Do I Start And When Am I Done—is simple. You start with your thoughts and ideas and don’t stop until there’s nothing left but answers. Sounds a lot like writing a book, huh?

* I guess Snoopy and Elmore Leonard have something in common. Neither uses a computer to write a book, and both are highly successful.

AMBER ALERT KIOSK SYSTEMS and INSTANTAMBER.COM JOIN FORCES TO FIND LOST CHILDREN WITH CYBER-TECHNOLOGY

Press Release!

This great strategic alliance with Amber Alert Kiosk Systems will now give parents the opportunity to sign up at kiosks located in malls as well as public areas across the country with InstantAmber.com. InstantAmber.com is a child safety service that allows you to be prepared for an emergency if your child goes missing.

Your child’s current information and photos are securely stored and can be posted on our kiosks in the lost area and then be available in the correct format for law enforcement agencies. This is a proactive service that just may save your child’s life!

“One of the main needs that we saw in our mall testing was the opportunity for parents to sign up for a service like this. Therefore, partnering with InstantAmber.com makes this service fast, easy, and it gives the lost person a greater opportunity to be found,” says Wayne Merry Founder and CEO of Amber Alert Kiosk Systems.

Both companies and statistics show that every minute counts in saving a life when a child goes missing. Therefore, both companies are excited and prepared to find lost children faster!

About Amber Alert Kiosk Systems: Our patent pending kiosks are located in public areas, mainly shopping malls, where a large percentage of children are kidnapped or become lost. Our kiosks offer texting, couponing, and video advertising, but when a child is reported lost IN THAT SPECIFIC area (mall), we interrupt our advertising and post their pictures (a picture is worth a thousand words) with details! IT IS SO IMPORTANT to find lost children as soon as possible and not wait the required 24-48 hours as required by state Amber Alerting! Statistics show that a child is most likely to be harmed within the first 3 hours of an abduction! So, we post the pictures, details, and we also send out a text message to signed-on subscribers to the system within this geographic area.

We also alert all signed-on subscribers to ANY alert (like weather) and direct them to safety with our text mapping. Our systems have received great support from local police authorities and PBS in assisting in these important issues.

In addition,The Pepsi corporation is offering grants to companies with great ideas for communities and Amber Alert Kiosk Systems has been selected. We know it is needed in every community in every country and we can bring it to them. If you are interested in voting and putting our program out there, please consider going to Pepsi’s site and clicking on our proposed program. The voting starts Aug 1-31 and you can vote once a day.

JUST THINK YOUR VOTE COULD GO TO SAVING AND FINDING A LOST CHILD. AMAZING! We will up-date you and the link when shortly or visit our Facebook page and click on the link.
Wayne M. Merry, Founder
Because We Care!
Amber Alert Systems

Follow us on FACEBOOK – http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Amber-Alert-Kiosk-Systems/216932051753?ref=ts
www.amberalertsystems.com

*I’m on Hook ‘Em and Book “Em today as a guest blogger. Please stop by!

Ohio Caverns

Heavy rains opened a large sinkhole in the woods on a farm near Dayton, Ohio. A curious farmhand, Robert Noffsinger, peered into the dark hole and immediately felt unusually cool air brushing against his face. He had to know what was inside. So, armed with an oil lantern, an old rope, and the imagination of a seventeen-year-old, Noffsinger lowered himself into the earth. The year was 1897.

Noffsinger’s find, now called Ohio Caverns, was an amazing cave which is actually an aquifer where melting glacier water flowed freely beneath the Ohio soil. The photo above is of The Crystal King, the largest free-hanging crystal in the cavern. At 400 lbs. and nearly 5 feet long, the stalactite is at the deepest point of the cave – 103 feet. (Stalactites hang from the ceiling. Stalagmites build from the floor up).

The guided tour through the caverns reveals many breathtaking sights.

Much of the cave’s natural beauty near the original entrance was by marred by early sightseers. Not realizing the harm they were causing, the tourists removed handfuls of crystals and wrote or carved their names into the cave walls. The damage stopped in 1922 when brothers Allen and Ira Smith bought the land. They excavated by hand for three years, expanding the caves. The Smith brothers re-opened the caverns for business in 1925.

You can visit the caverns by taking a short trip from Dayton to Salem Township, Ohio. Watch your step. It’s a long ways to the bottom…

*Photos by Ellen Proffitt.



Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

The Graveyard Shift extends our condolences to the families of each of these brave officers.

Officer Michael R. Bailey, 62

Chicago Police Department

July 18, 2010 – Officer Michael Bailey completed his shift, and has he’d done every day for the past three weeks, was at home wiping down his retirement gift to himself—a brand new Buick. Officer Bailey was mere weeks from ending a 20+ year career with his beloved department when three men approached him outside his home and attempted to steal his car at gunpoint. Bailey was in uniform at the time and announced that he was a police officer. A gun battle ensued and Officer Bailey was killed.

An officer salutes the ambulance carrying the body of slain officer Michael Bailey – Chicago Breaking News Center images.

Officer Bailey leaves behind his wife, a son, two daughters, and grandchildren.

Deputy Sheriff David Lambert, 38

Warren County Mississippi Sheriff’s Department

June 24, 2010 – Deputy Sheriff David Lambert was responding to a fellow deputy’s call for help when he lost control of his patrol car. The vehicle overturned causing the deputy to suffer several serious injuries. Deputy Lambert succumbed to those injuries on July 20, 2010. He leaves behind his wife and three children.

Sheriff Garry Welford

George County Mississippi Sheriff’s Office

July 21, 2010 – Sheriff Garry Welford was struck and killed by a vehicle pursued by his deputies.

At approximately 2:45 p.m., George County deputies were in pursuit of a maroon pickup truck driven by Christopher Lee Baxter. Baxter, wanted for failing to appear in court for sentencing on narcotics violations, had refused to stop for police lights and sirens. Sheriff Welford was laying down spike strips on Bexely Road South to end the chase when the suspect’s vehicle struck him. He was airlifted to University of South Alabama Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

The driver of the truck fled the scene, but was later found hiding in a trailer. Christopher Baxter and his girlfriend, Brandy Williams, a passenger in the truck, were taken into custody and charged with capital murder.

Mississippi officials announce the death of Sheriff Garry Welford. A sheriff of George County will be appointed until a special election is held.

Cop killer Christopher Baxter, 24

Brandy Williams, 19

gulflive images

Thanks to ODMP

Stance – A person’s body position while shooting.

How police officers stand when firing their weapons is important. And most academies teach a couple of positions, the isosceles stance and the Weaver stance.

In the isosceles stance the shooter stands square to his target with both feet planted firmly on the ground. The stance in the left photo is great for accuracy, but in the right photo the shooter has assumed a better position, a combat-type stance used by police officers. Bending the knees helps to absorb recoil, which allows the shooter to quickly “get back on target.” And getting that barrel back on target is important, especially during a rapid-fire shootout scenario.

To really take advantage of this stance the shooter should position both feet shoulder width apart with the gun side leg slightly to the rear. The arms should be straight out in front with the elbows locked. This accomplishes two things. One: the outstretched arms serve as a counterbalance to offset the weight of the gun that’s so far away from the body. Two: positioning one foot slightly to the rear helps to increase recoil absorption.

The isosceles stance is also the best stance for providing the maximize coverage provided by body armor.

The Weaver stance (above) is achieved by standing at about a 45 degree angle to the target with the elbows bent slightly. The trick to this popular stance is to achieve a proper grip on the weapon. There absolutely must be a push-pull effect going on. The gun hand should be pushing away from the body and the support hand should be pulling toward the shooter. And the pushing and pulling actions must be of equal force!

The support side elbow should be held close to the body and pointed down, not stuck out to the side like a bird ready to take flight. These actions stabilize the weapon for maximum accuracy. Pushing more than pulling (or opposite force) can cause shots to go wild).

There is a drawback to this stance and that’s the possibility of taking fire in the exposed areas that body armor doesn’t cover (under the arm). However, most new armor provides excellent protection.

Neither of these stances is the right stance. Shooters should simply choose which is most comfortable to them and practice it. Because one thing’s for sure, the stance you practice is the stance you’ll go to automatically when the bullets start flying.

Shooting times photos

Sexing Skeletal Remains

In the past, experts have traditionally determined the sex of skeletal remains by examining characteristics of the pelvis—the pubis is larger in females; the ischium is larger in males. Simple as that. Or, is it?

Suppose the forensics team has mere fragments to study? What if only a portion of the pelvis is available? How about if they only have as little as fifteen percent of the pelvis?

Well, scientists at North Carolina State University have come up with a better, more accurate method of separating the boys from the girls. They’ve learned that there are 20 distinct areas (landmarks) on a pelvis that can be used for sex determination. This was a huge discovery because it meant that even a small section of a pelvis would contain at least some of those distinguishable trademarks. And, to add to this icing on the cake, the new method touts a 98% accuracy rate as compared to a 90% success rate using the standard method of visually examining the bone(s).

Now to be a little more specific about how the process works (easy as 1-2-3). First, a 3-D image is fed into a digitizer, which measures the landmarks on the bone fragment. Then those measurements are compared to a standard. Next…the results. It’s a girl! Pass the cigars.

This new development is terrific news for prosecution and defense teams. Not only do each of them have more accurate results to present to judges and juries, they no longer have to rely on opinion. Defense attorneys won’t need to try and make the forensic anthropologist look like a babbling idiot, and the prosecutor won’t have to make them out as gods. It’ll all boil down to the reliability of a computer and the research of two North Carolina State scientists—Dr. Ann Ross and Dr. Joan Blytheway.

Dr. Ann Ross, on right, with students at NC State

But, this may have all been a huge waste of time. All anyone had to do was ask any teenage boy to identify the bones. After all, they’re pros at determining sex by examining hips.

The job of a police officer is a tough one. And officers have to deal with lots of pretty unpleasant things. Things like long unforgiving hours, swing shifts, double shifts, low pay in some areas, uncomfortable clothing, puking drunks, drug dealers, prostitutes, gang members, murder, suicide, sudden death, fights, knives, death of partners, flying bullets, and more. It’s not a normal life. Not by any means.

But the life of a cop that’s seen by the general public is the public side of law enforcement. Private citizens see officers patrolling the streets or directing traffic, and they see detectives on the news as they investigate crimes. They see the blue lights, the uniform, the handcuffs, and the guns. What the everyday citizen doesn’t see is the cop who’s doing his best to maintain a normal family life. A life outside the world of cops and robbers.

Sure, other careers make it tough on a family, but how many people have to answer to a child who looks into their eyes and says, “Mommy, I saw you on TV last night. Daddy said a bad man shot at you. Then you had to shoot at him. Did he die?” I’ll bet not many people on the outside of law enforcement hear those words from their kids. And that’s just one thing that’s a bit different in a cop’s world. There are many, and they are challenging.

A cop’s job is performed as if they’re on a stage with everyone from the community looking on. And that creates it’s own special set of troubles for a police officer. People are quick to judge officers for the actions of their kids. Yep, when a cop’s child does something goofy it’s an automatic reflection on the officer’s policing skills.

For example: “Look at that kid over there. See how he’s misbehaving. If his father can’t make his own child behave then how in the world can he be effective as a police officer? We’d better keep a close eye on that cop. In fact, let’s talk to the mayor about this guy.” This is the type of thing that’s seen and heard nearly every day, and it’s something officers must deal with on more than one level. First, they should recognize that they’re parents just like everyone else. And that they’re parents with normal kids that do normal kid stuff. Things happen.

Therefore, officers should never force their kids to think they should adhere to a special set of rules simply because mommy and daddy wear a uniform. Sure, everyone has to live by rules and abide by the law, but a cop’s kid is still a kid. They shouldn’t be made to walk on eggshells because the parent is a police officer. I know I was guilty of this a few times. I can remember telling my daughter to stop doing trivial things because it could make me look bad to the public, or to my peers.

Cops also have a tendency to put their families second to their jobs. It’s really easy to become so wrapped up in a case that you forget about the ball game, or the piano recital. Officers really should remember that they’re not irreplaceable. The city will survive if they take a little time to attend Jr.’s science fair. It’s okay.

Cops should never “use their badge” to get little Lulu out of trouble. Instead of calling on fellow boys in blue to let your kid off the hook for trouble they’ve somehow managed to find, a cop parent should be supportive and help the child work through the problem. Learning how not to make the same mistake twice is important. So is learning the consequences of a bad decision.

I was a single cop father raising a teenage daughter who absolutely lived to play softball, and she was good at it (most stolen bases, a consistent batter with tons of HR’s, etc). I made a point to attend every single home game and most away games, even if that meant me showing up in full SWAT gear, a class A uniform, or T-shirt and jeans with holes in the knees during my undercover days. Sure, there were many times when I left the stands running to my police car because someone had been shot, or something similar. But I made the effort, and I think my daughter knew I was trying to be a good dad. I wasn’t perfect by any means. In fact, there was a whole lot of room for improvement, but…

Fortunately for me, my daughter was a great kid and understood my cop-wackiness. She even put up with my cop-type interrogation tactics. However, she voiced her disdain several times when I’d raked her over the goals attempting to get a confession about a party she’d attended, or if the guy she’d been seeing was a pot smoker.

She knew I was nut with a badge. Sometimes I’d rant and rave and she’d just stand there, and when I was done she’d smile and walk away, leaving me wondering which of us was the adult.