Sure, you break a law and you’ll soon find out what it is that cops do best. But, the men and women who patrol your streets do more than arrest bad guys. For starters (and this list is FAR from being complete):
1. Cops Helping Kids – police officers host an annual fishing tournament to raise money for the Garth House, a children’s advocacy center that provides a safe have for children who’ve been subjected to severe physical or mental abuse.
2. Cops For Kids With Cancer – officers from several departments don ice skates for a tournament and raffle to help kids suffering from cancer.
3. Shop With a Cop – Local cops raise money to buy Christmas presents for kids who otherwise wouldn’t receive gifts. The officers actually take the kids shopping to pick out the items they’d most enjoy.
4. Cops Helping Unique Kids (C.H.U.K.) – Officers host a day of fun and games followed by a 5K run. Proceeds benefit children with cerebral palsy.
5. Philadelphia Police Athletic League Cop Helping Kids – The PPAL supervises 26 kid centers across the city. Each of the centers is directly supervised by an officer (on their own time). Programs feature sports, cultural, and educational opportunities. 100’s of volunteers make this a unique and wonderful experience for the youth of Philadelphia.
6. Cops Helping Kids Succeed – The National Police Athletic League is recognized as the largest juvenile crime prevention program in the nation. PAL provides safe, healthy alternatives for children from high risk neighborhoods.
7. Vouchers – Cops in Kitsap, Washington pass out vouchers to families with kids in need. The vouchers are redeemable at local businesses for items such as clothes, food and school supplies.
8. PAL NYC – is New York City’s largest independent youth development not-for-profit organization that operates head start/day care, after-school, evening teen, summer day camp, youth employment, truancy prevention, juvenile justice and re-entry, city-wide sports, play streets and part-time centers, food service, and adventure learning programs for pre-school kids, children and adolescents ages 3 to 19. It’s in its 95th year of service (excerpt from the PAL NYC site).
9. Badges For Baseball – Cal Ripkin, Sr. and the Justice Department partnered to form this organization that pairs police and kids together by playing softball and baseball, building a bond between the youth and the officers.
10. Cops Helping Kids Block Party – Sponsored by police, this all day block party features food, music, and fun. Proceeds benefit children in need.
11. California Police Youth Charities – Focusing on “at risk” kids between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age, the CPYU offers fun activities run by positive role models (uniformed police officers and professional athletes from various California pro teams). The CPYU stresses education and respect for others.
12. Law Enforcement Torch Run – the Torch Run is a running event in which officers and athletes carry the Flame of Hope to the Opening Ceremony of local Special Olympics competitions. In 2011, the Torch Run raised more than $42 million for the Special Olympics.
More than 85,000 police officers participate in the Torch Run.
* These twelve causes I’ve listed are a mere drop in the bucket to the multitude of good deeds performed by law enforcement officers all across the country, on their own time, without pay. And I haven’t mentioned all the instances where officers performed CPR on strangers, risked their lives to pull victims from burning buildings and cars, step in the way of danger to save others, rush into gunfire while others are running away, and listen to verbal abuse from people who simply just don’t get it.
* Top photo is of Capt. Ted Carter, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), handing off the Special Olympics Torch to Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Cotton.
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is visible from almost anywhere in historic Savannah. And it’s downright breathtaking when you first catch a glimpse of the church spires reaching upward, piercing the sky through the gnarled live oaks.
There are many things I could say say and write about the church, but stepping inside seems to strip away one’s ability to describe. Indeed, it leaves you speechless, and to view these photos, well, this doesn’t come close to the awe and wonder of experiencing the church in person.
The church was built in the late 1800’s, and is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Georgia.
The Graveyard Shift extends our condolences to the families of these brave officers.
Deputy Sheriff Michael Smith, 44
Upton County Texas Sheriff’s Department
June 8, 2012 – Deputy Michael Smith was killed in a head-on collision with a truck that had crossed over the center line. Deputy Smith was responding to a fire when the crash occurred. He is survived by his wife, daughter, and three sons.
Deputy Sheriff Dwayne Charles Hester, 39
Bladen County North Carolina Sheriff’s Office
June 8, 2012 – While answering an assault call, Deputy Dwayne Hester was killed when his patrol car left the roadway and struck a tree. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Reserve Deputy Sheriff William Charles “Charley” Coen, 57
Harper County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office
June 10, 2012 – Reserve Deputy Charley Coen was killed in a vehicle crash when his car left the roadway while responding to backup another officer. Deputy Coen was trapped inside his patrol car and died of smoke inhalation before rescue units could arrive. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Deputy Sheriff Robert “Bobby” Crapse, Sr.
Bryan County Georgia Sheriff’s Office
June 15, 2012 – Deputy Bobby Crapse was killed in a head-on collision with a Toyota Corolla that was traveling in the wrong direction with the headlights off on I95 in Chatham County, near Savannah. The deputy’s canine partner suffered minor injuries. The driver of the Toyota, Patricia Ann Collins, 23, was airlifted to a local hospital. Deputy Crapse is survived by his wife and three children.
Fort Pulaski, named after Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski, was one in a series of forts built as part of the United States’ coastal defense system. Fresh out of West Point, Robert E. Lee was assigned to oversee the construction of Fort Pulaski until his transfer in 1831.
Inside the fort’s “impenetrable” 7-11 feet thick and 32-foot-tall walls (25,000,000 bricks), was home to several soldiers, supplies, ammunition, and a series of cannons. When Georgia seceded from the Union on January 19, 1861, the fort was immediately seized by approximately 134 men from the State militia, commanded by Confederate Colonel Charles H. Olmstead. On April 10-11, 1862, Union Brigadier General Quincy Adams Gillmore’s troops began a fierce bombardment of the Confederate force within Fort Pulaski. After 30 hours and 5,275 shots (the first “rifled” barrels), a breech was made in the fort’s southeast wall forcing the Confederate soldiers to surrender.
The Union army then used Fort Pulaski as a storage area for weapons, ammunition, and prisoners.
The fort is now a national monument that’s open to the public. As luck would have it, we live a mere five minutes away from this fascinating piece of American history. Please join me now for a brief walk back in time.
The fort is surrounded by a moat, complete with large fish and alligators.
The only access to the interior of the fort is via a thick plank drawbridge
Inside the fort walls
Brooke Rifle
View from the top of the fort. That’s Hilton Head Island, S.C. in the distance.
Large container ships pass by the fort on their way to Savannah
The Graveyard Shift extends our condolences to the family of this brave officer.
Officer Kevin Ambrose
Springfield Massachusetts Police Department
June 4, 2012 – Officer Kevin Ambrose, a 36-year veteran, was shot and killed while answering a domestic disturbance call. The male suspect also shot and wounded his girlfriend and then committed suicide. Officer Ambrose leaves behind his wife, two children, and one granddaughter.
Gunshot residue tests, the tests used by law enforcement to determine if a suspect has recently fired a weapon, detect three elements—barium, antimony, and lead. If those three elements are present on the hands of a suspect, then it’s fair to say he’d recently fired a gun, or he’s been very near a gun when it was discharged. However, many manufacturers are no longer using lead in their products, and the omission of one of the three elements could render the current GSR tests nearly useless, especially if the weapon used in the crime has not been located (for comparison).
So, forensic researchers at Florida International University have developed a new method that can connect a shooter to lead-free ammunition. Instead of detecting the three standard elements, the new method of testing analyzes the entire “recipe” for the specific smokeless powder (NOT CORDITE) used in today’s ammunition. And, since each manufacturer has their own blend, well, it would be quite simple to match the power found at the scene to that found on a suspect’s hands.
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Alcatraz
The California island fortress prison is infamously known for its legendary inmates and escapes, but it’s also a prime point for practitioners of the paranormal. Several ghost stories originate from these walls, including the tale of 14D, where an inmate once reported that a creature with glowing eyes would kill him during the night. His screams were unanswered, and by morning, he was strangled to death. No one ever took credit for the man’s death. The prison also boasts the ghost of Al Capone, playing his banjo from inside the thick stone walls.
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Mansfield Reformatory
Opened in Ohio in 1896, the Mansfield Reformatory (closed in 1990) boasts many haunted sites inside its prison walls — the administration wing, the chapel, the infirmary, several cell blocks, and the basement are all said to be haunted. The spirit of a 14-year-old who was beaten to death is said to haunt the basement, and many visitors complain of overwhelming nausea after a visit to “The Hole,” the solitary chamber where many prisoners died during Mansfield’s years as a functioning prison. The site was the subject of Haunted Investigators‘ first show. You can’t get more spooky than that!
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Eastern State Penitentiary
Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary is said to be one of the most haunted places in North America. Quakers originally ran the facility, and wanted the inmates to have few distractions in an attempt to bring them to God. The truth is more like inhumane punishments and crazy-making solitude. Famously, a locksmith working to break a 140-year-old lock in Cell Block #4 was so overtaken by negative spirits that he spoke passionately of the experience for the rest of his life.
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Tower of London
The Tower of London is perhaps Britain’s most famously haunted structure, and the site boasts an extremely bloody past. The tower, which was a prison for ne’er-do-wells and nobles alike (as well as home, for a time, to the Royal Menagerie of zoo animals), played host to years of torture, grisly beheadings, and many murders. Anne Boleyn was famously beheaded there by Henry VIII, and her ghost is said to haunt the tower still. Thomas A. Becket, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the feisty Countess of Salisbury have all been reported as paranormal figures in the tower, and the spooky reputation has made the structure one of London’s top tourist traps.
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Moundsville
The Moundsville Penitentiary of West Virginia opened in 1876, and in its 110-year history came to be known as one of the bloodiest sites in American history. Violence, harsh punishment, and suicides occurred on its grounds, but poor recordkeeping makes it impossible to know the exact number of souls stamped out at Moundsville. The prison housed several Gothic-style torture devices, and its dismal past makes this prison a favorite destination of ghost hunters. The chapel, the showers, and death row are particularly known for being hotbeds of paranormal activity.
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Stateville
Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Ill., is one of the many places executions were carried out by electrocution in the 20th century. John Wayne Gacy, one of the country’s most extreme serial killers, was executed within Stateville’s walls. The prison uses a panopticon concept, a circular building with an observation post at the center reminiscent of utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Proximity to Joliet and scary stories from locals (who call the place “hell on earth”) have prompted many ghost stories and much speculation about the prison, which is currently still in use. A prison-themed haunted house is a major attraction of the area.
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Joliet
This Illinois prison is near Stateville, and it looks more like a Gothic castle than a penitentiary. Joliet was home to Civil War POWs and criminals alike, and was closed in 2002. The famous prison was featured in Blues Brothers, but that’s not what makes people curious about what went on inside Joliet’s walls. Executions were performed there, and stories of a hitchhiker named Mary and singing ghosts have long captured the imagination of both locals and worldwide ghost seekers.
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The Clink
Home to more than just the nickname, the Clink Prison in London is now a museum. Dating back to 1144, the penitentiary is perhaps the oldest organized jail in England’s history, leaving it ripe for many a haunting. One corner of the museum has had upwards of 50 reports of a woman prisoner seated, playing with chains. The historic institution and museum sit on the site of the old prison, and no mere mortal or ghost hunter is safe from paranormal activity within its walls.
*Today’s article by www.thebestdegrees.org
Google+ still has yet to firmly seize the social media sector, but the digital overlords have obviously started experimenting in ways to keep its offerings as fresh and unique as possible to set themselves apart from Facebook and Twitter. The relatively new Hangouts feature serves as a group video chat where friends, family, professionals, classrooms, cam fetishists, and hobbyists across the globe can meet and discuss anything they desire. Even the early adopters still fiddle with the feature in order to use it to its fullest potential, but many past, present, and future events already started building up in the bibliophile community. They aren’t easy to find, and they’re sometimes rather sporadic, but the following Hangouts showcase how many Google+ users choose to harness the available technology. Watch the archives, join in regular meetings, and get inspired about ways to promote and share literary love.
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Books & Beer:
ePublish Unum — Digital Author Education often hosts Books & Beer live hangouts with Lynette Young and J.G. Hutchins, where they talk about issues relating to self-publishing. Check with the organization’s profile for information about when the latest event will take place.
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Christopher Moore:
Nook hosted a hangout promoting author Christopher Moore’s new novel Sacre Bleu, allowing some lucky fans to ask him questions via video chat and learn about his writing process and the ins and outs of the book. And, of course, his plans for any future reads joining such established comedic classics as Fool and Lamb.
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Vaginal Fantasies:
Actress Felicia Day heads up a digital book club catering to women who enjoy discussing the fantasy genre in a fun, light, and sassy setting. It meets every month, so stop by her Google+ profile for information about the next scheduled hangout.
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Brandon Sanderson:
This author has taken over the beloved Wheel of Time series following the passing of Robert Jordan, and Google Australia allowed fans and fellow writers to meet with him and talk shop. Eager comments and questions about where he plans to pick up abound in both the discussion itself and the comments section following it.
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All About Book Promotion with Aggie Villanueva:
Perfect for authors wanting to learn more about getting readers interested in what they have to say, the pilot to this possibly ongoing hangout series covers promotional strategies both digital and traditional. Google+ video chats seems to be gaining some semblance of popularity among writers looking for a way to get up close with potential and established fans.
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Nicholas Sparks:
An adaptation of novelist Nicholas Sparks’ The Lucky One recently hit movie theaters, and he agreed to a Hangout session to dish on watching another one of his books on screen. The story involves a young soldier in Iraq whose fateful find of a lovely young lady’s photo keeps him going through three tours of duty.
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The Oxford Book Club:
Because this online literary organization does not post its recorded meetings online, hopeful participants should circle its profile to find out about the month’s selections and scheduled times. Past picks include novels The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and The Sense of an Ending.
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SciLingual:
Lovers of all things scientific and literary — particularly their intersections! — should give this union of the two disciplines a circle. They post frequently about upcoming hangouts with the authors in question and cover a wide range of different scientific areas of study.
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Google Hangout with Jason and AC:
Every week, these two writers get indie with it and discuss books and publishing subjects relevant to authors and readers alike — particularly those into small presses and self-printed-and-promoted reads. Guests pop in and offer their own insight and advice on marketing, going digital, and plenty more.
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Hangout Conversations:
Host Michael Rappaport brings on “sit-down comedian” Glenn Rogers to chit-chat about two different writing formats, blogging and e-books, which new media buffs will obviously find worth delving into. Even those without any sort of literary leanings might enjoy the pop culture riffs and opines regarding video games.
*Today’s article by the staff writers at www.onlinecollegecourses.com
Thanks to video games, movies, TV, and some books, I’ve had to spend a fair amount of time over the past few years convincing my grandson that zombies aren’t real. My words, although not always totally satisfying, seemed to at least put the issue at bay…until the next TV show or video game featuring the living dead. Finally, as he got older, zombie fear died away (no pun intended).
Well, my grandson’s zombie alert system sounded the alarm again on May 26, 2012. It came without warning, too. No advance notice. And no chance to prepare. Besides, the little fellow is too young to possess explosives and machetes (for head-lopping). He doesn’t drive (everyone knows that running over a zombie will “kill” it). His mother won’t allow him to play with matches. And, at 10, he’s not quite strong enough to bludgeon the walking dead to its second death.
So, desperate to implement the ultimate protection against the latest wave of zombie attacks, my grandson’s first choice was to call me. Sure, good ‘ol grandpa would know what to do. And to show you just how smooth and all-knowing I am, here’s how the call went.
“I thought you said zombies aren’t real.”
“They’re not.”
“Yes they are.”
“No they’re not.”
“Uh, huh.”
“No, they’re not.”
“Well, the man on the news just said there’s a naked man eating another man’s face.”
“He was probably kidding.”
“He wasn’t kidding. They showed it on the news. A man is eating the guy’s face. And he growled at the cop who tried to stop him, and the cop shot him, but he kept eating, and the cop shot him again, and he still kept eating, and the cop kept shooting.” The excited boy took a deep breath… “And you know why the guy kept eating after the cop shot him?”
Having not seen the daily news and expecting a punch line, I asked, “No, why?”
“CAUSE HE”S A ZOMBIE!”
So, it was time to start the “no-such-thing-as-zombies” speech all over again. This time, however, I had a few major hurdles to overcome. Yes, a totally nude man (Rudy Eugene) had indeed chowed-down on another man’s face. And he’d growled like a starving beast when the officer approached. Hmm…
You know, it did take six shots to stop the feeding frenzy. Suddenly, I was beginning to wonder…had my grandson been right all along? Were zombies real after all?
Then, more zombie-esque stories began to pop up.
– Alexander Kinyua, a 21-year-old Morgan State University student, killed his roommate and then ate his heart and part of his brains.
– A Swedish medical university employee became suspicious that his wife was having an affair so he cut off her lips and ate them.
– Luka Rocco Magnotta packaged dismembered body parts and then mailed them to various people.
And then, to top it all off, Mao Sugiyama, a self-described “asexual” chef from Tokyo, had surgery to remove his genitals, and then cooked and served them to five PAYING dinner guests (refined zombies who prefer a piping hot meal that includes button mushrooms?).
Oh, we mustn’t forget the New Jersey man who, just last week, stabbed himself 50 times and threw bits of his own intestines and flesh at police.
Well, until the internet and cellphone cameras, the general public rarely saw the side of society that’s now and always has been fairly commonplace—murder and real-life macabre. Police officers, though, see those things as part of their everyday, run-of-the-mill, work day. People kill. They dismember. They bite of ears, fingers, toes, and even penises. And cops see it all, including cannibalism. That’s right, cannibalism is nothing new to humans (have you forgotten about Dahmer and Albert Fish?).
But growling at police officers while consuming the face of a still-living human being? Or restaurant patrons settling down to a plate of fresh chef parts?
Me? Well, I’ll pass on the lip linguine and the genital stir-fry. But you can bet your last dollar that I’m stocking up on matches and machetes. And my car is full of gas in case I need to make speed bumps out of a couple of brain-hungry, mindless “gotta’ eat flesh” zombies.
I think my grandson may have been right after all. So I’m now on high “Zombie Alert.” I’m watching everyone closely for that “telltale look.” Who knows, they could be anywhere…the bank teller, the guy in the hardware store, or the grocery store clerk.
I think I’ll make a nice sturdy hat to protect my brain.
Now where did I put that aluminum foil?
Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers
