Police News

Oklahoma City – 87-year-old grandmother sues police for using a TASER on her while she was in bed hooked to oxygen. The elderly woman’s grandson had called the police because he feared his grandmother was trying to end her life. So, when officers approached the woman she pulled a knife from under her pillow and refused to cooperate. Responding to her actions, one of the officers blasted granny with his stun gun.

Chicago – Former police lieutenant Jon Burge has been convicted of lying about the torture of 100’s of suspects by officers under his command. Several victims of the brutal torture came forward to tell of their experiences that occurred from the 1970’s through the 1990’s. They accused officers of suffocating, shocking (with electrical current) and beating people until they said what the officers wanted to hear. The statute of limitations had run out on most of the crimes committed by the officers involved in the torture.

New York – Jan Fedarcyk has become the first female assistant director of one of the FBI’s three largest operational field offices. The New York field division is the largest (Los Angles and Washington D.C. are the other two) in the country, with 2,000 agents and other employees.

Washington D.C. – The FBI has arrested 10 deep cover Russian spies who are accused of attempting to penetrate government policy-making circles and then relaying information to Russia.

Cedar Rapids – The city had trouble with drivers running red lights. To improve safety at intersections the city installed traffic cameras. Well, the cameras worked just fine. It seems they captured images of 26 patrol cars speeding and running red lights. Disciplinary actions have been taken.


Alexandria – A former priest and anger-management counselor has been sentenced to a year in prison for pulling a handgun on two U.S. Marshals. The man said he brandished the weapon because he thought one of the officers had made an obscene hand gesture toward him. In addition to the prison sentence the anger management counselor has been ordered to attend anger management classes.


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Police News: Cops, Crooks, and Crazies

An El Paso medical examiner was fired after officials learned that he’d lied about his degree and was not eligible for board certification. Fortunately, a death penalty case in which he had testified, has now been recommended to be overturned. The prisoner was scheduled for execution on July 1.

UK – A taxi driver went on a shooting rampage killing 12 people and wounding 11 others before eventually killing himself.

Baltimore – Eight murders over the three day Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Colorado Springs – Remodeling contractors found the body of a young girl in the crawl space of house. Police took DNA samples and are now searching for the last occupants of the home.

On The Border – Border patrol agents used a stun gun during the arrest of a man entering the country illegally. The man died and the medical examiner has ruled the death as a homicide. An autopsy revealed the presence of illegal drugs in the man’s system.

Secret Service officers struggle with two men who refused to get out of the street to allow President Obama’s motorcade pass. The president was returning to The White House from a school event for one of his daughters.

Laredo, Texas – Police stopped a truck containing a very large supply of assault weapons, bayonets, and ammunition. The driver of truck had been transporting the illegal weapons to Mexico.

Pennsylvania – A Kennett Square police officer is in jail awaiting trial for sexual assault. His bond was set at $2 million.

Seminole County, Fl. – An apartment complex security guard flagged down a patrol officer to report a suspicious person. The officer spoke with the suspect who then drew a gun and shot the officer. The officer is doing well and is expected to recover. The suspect remains at large.

Border Patrol photo

South Texas – Border Patrol agents seized a truck disguised as a sheriff’s office vehicle. The driver, who was dressed as a deputy sheriff, had been attempting to smuggle a load of marijuana across the border from Mexico.

* This has been a great week. We have no reports of fallen officers.

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Cop Killers and a MySpace Murder Plot

A few days ago we learned the horrific news that father and son had shot and killed two police officers. The two cop killers, Jerry Kane and son Joseph, were later killed by police in a second shootout where the pair of murders had wounded a local sheriff and his chief deputy.

Joseph and Jerry Kane

Sheriff Gene Kelly of Clarke County, Ohio (I spent a few days with Sheriff Kelly and members of his department while researching a book) says he’d warned his deputies to use caution if they ever had to deal with the elder Kane.

Sheriff Kelly also said, “I had my first confrontation with him (Jerry Kane) when he tried to come to a foreclosure sale and write me a check on a piece of paper indicating that he was a free man and he only believed in silver and gold and that he didn’t believe in banks,”

Sheriff Kelly continued with, “He (Kane) believed that would enslave him and he was demanding $100,000 in silver and gold,” Kelly said. “This man has been having confrontations with authorities for years. And finally, the ultimate result is, law enforcement officers paid the ultimate price for that.” (source TV10News)

It’s now believed that Kane’s son, Joseph, may have fired the first shots.

Sadly, according to one of Jerry Kane’s closest friends, William Ligiu Ionescu, this cop-killing incident is only the beginning. Ionescu told reporters from myEyewitnessNews.com that more cop killings are on the way, but not in that department. He went on to say that carrying a gun is a right for Americans, but not for police officers. For them it’s a privilege, and they’re not properly trained to deal with law-abiding citizens like Jerry Kane. Ionescu also stated that Jerry Kane knew more about being a police officer than police officers do.

Well, if that portion of the story isn’t weird enough, there’s more.

Jerry Kane’s daughter, Heather Michelle Kane, has just been sentenced to 13 years in prison for attempted murder and first degree kidnapping. In 2007, Heather Kane hired someone to kill her former boyfriend’s female roommate. As it turns out, the person she hired was an undercover detective. Kane had offered $1,000—$500 up front with the balance to paid after the victim was shot in the head. She’d asked the potential “killer” to bring a photograph of the dead woman as proof of the murder.

Heather Kane learned of her boyfriend’s roommate from his MySpace page.

Source – www.springfieldnewssun.com

You know, I’ve always heard that apples really don’t fall far from the tree…

Apples don’t fall far from the tree
Hey, honey come sit on my knee
Apples don’t fall far from the tree
And I remember Mama’s tears
When they said in a few years
I’d be something to see – Cher

Thanks to Lt. Dave Swords for today’s topic idea and information. Remember, he’d once arrested Jerry Kane.

* Don’t forget to check out our new Facebook page!

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Police News: Not A Good Month

Plymouth, Ind. – A new state law of evidence requires electronic video and audio recording of all statements by criminal suspects charged with a felony. Written statements alone will no longer be admissible in court. The law states that the recording must include the image and voice of the suspect, and the voices of the officers conducting the interview. The cost of the new equipment that’s required to satisfy the law…around $7,000.

Adams Mass. – A police sergeant, Alan C. Vigiard, faces child pornography charges after being caught in a rather embarrassing position in the department evidence room. He was discovered viewing pornographic images of children while…let’s just say he was alone doing what it normally takes two to do. Vigiard has since received two new child pornography charges for posing children in a state of nudity. These images were discovered as part of the original investigation. Vigiard is listed on the Adams Police Department’s website as a member of their Sexual Assault Unit. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in June.

DeKalb County, Ga. – A 5′-3″, 350lb woman ran through her apartment complex frantically screaming that someone was trying to kill her. She attempted to steal a car and was apprehended by police during the act. The officers attempted to calm the struggling woman but were unsuccessful, so they shot her with a Taser, twice. She died a short time later.

This was the second death in the area within a week involving a Taser. On May 9th, officers tased Audreacus Davis five times during a struggle. Paramedics had been attempting to treat the man for a possible drug overdose when he became violent. That’s when police arrived and found the 6′-4″, 375lb man foaming from the nose and mouth and defecating all over the room.

Three Taser-involved deaths in the county jail have also occurred since officers began using Tasers as part of their non-lethal toolbox.

Seven-Year-Old Aiyana Jones Killed By Police Gunfire

Detroit – Police raided a home searching for a murder suspect. They gained entry to the residence after deploying a distraction device (a flash-bang grenade).

Window broken by flash-bang device during raid of Jones home

During the raid a 7-year-old girl was accidentally shot and killed by a police officer. Officers say a member of the raid team collided with a family member during the entry, causing his gun to accidentally discharge. The family’s attorney tells a different story. He says a video of the raid clearly shows the grenade being deployed, and the officer firing a shot into the home while standing on the front porch.

The attorney also says the child’s body was severely burned as a result of the flash bang either landing on, or near the child when it came through the window.

The truth will surely come out since a camera crew from the TV show The First 48 videotaped the event.

Source – Associated Press report

Charles Jones, father of 7-year-old Aiyana

Aiyana’s mother

The murder suspect was later located in an upstairs apartment.

*Attendees of the Writers’ Police Academy will have a first hand look at the use of flash bangs. We will be deploying the devices during the academy.

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Police News Of The Week

Dallas, Texas – Jose Corona is accused of decapitating his wife with a chainsaw. Police discovered two chainsaws at the scene. Both power tools were covered in blood and human tissue, and one was still running. So is Jose Corona.

Accused murderer Jose Corona

Lexington, N.C. – Arthur Mims led S.C. police on a 100 mile chase on Interstate 85 from South Carolina to Davidson County, N.C., where he held police in a 3-hour stand off. That section of highway (north and southbound lanes) was closed while police negotiators attempted to talk Mims into surrendering.  Instead of giving up, the man who’d shot his wife to death, fired a bullet into his stepdaughter’s face, and then set their house on fire, drank a gallon of bleach while police stood nearby. Finally, after vomiting copious amounts of blood, Mims asked for a bottle of water in exchange for his surrender. Officials say Mims was arrested without incident. I guess they didn’t consider the chase, the bleach, the twenty-two police cars from two states that were involved in the pursuit, and shutting down a major highway for three hours during commute time, worth mentioning. Mims remains in the hospital.

Mims is seen in red shirt with hands cuffed behind his back.

Wilkinsburg, Pa. – Police say a 3rd grader is accused of passing out bags of heroin to fellow grade-schoolers. The child was in possession of between 50 and 60 bags of the suspected drug. Each package was labeled “Trust Me.”

Detroit, Mi. – Remember the case involving militia members who wanted to kill police officers? Well, apparently the FBI is having trouble remembering them. When lead agent Leslie Larsen took the stand during the bond hearing she often stated that she couldn’t remember many of the specific details of the case, she hadn’t listened to the undercover recordings, she wasn’t sure if any of the weapons seized during the raid were illegal, and that she hadn’t reviewed all the case files. She said these things AFTER the federal judge told the agent she had a week to prepare. Agent Larsen was asked if the head of the militia had ever instructed anyone to make a bomb. Her answer was, “I can’t fully answer that question.”

Accused militia members

Lake George, N.Y. – Seventeen years ago, Patrick Penders engaged in a shootout with police officers from the state police and sheriff’s office. He served 6 years in prison for that incident. This week Penders decided to fire shots into the home of a female friend and then lead police on a brief pursuit that again ended in a shootout with officers from the state police and county sheriff’s office. One of Pender’s .357 rounds grazed a sheriff’s sergeant, a wound that required 18 stitches. Another sergeant was shot, but his vest stopped the bullet. Police then terminated the threat. The incident will not replay in another 17 years.

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Police News: It’s Tough Out There

Rhinebeck, N.Y. – Police responded to a possible overdose and domestic violence call where they found a man behaving irrationally. Officers say the man became combative when they attempted to remove him from the residence, so they used a TASER to bring him under control. Shortly after receiving the blast from the TASER the suspect began to experience trouble breathing and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Phoenix, Az. – A police officer was searching a building for an armed suspect when the man suddenly rounded a corner, coming face-to-face with the officer. Both men were startled by the sudden encounter. In fact, the officer was so startled he accidentally fired his pistol, critically wounding the suspect.

Port Monmouth, N.J. – An officer on routine patrol smelled burning marijuana in the still night air. He observed a plume of smoke rising from the chimney of a million dollar home and determined that to be the source of the odor. After calling for back up, the officer knocked on the door of the home and arrested the “gardener” who’d been burning excess plant material from the 1,064 marijuana growing in a specially constructed grow room in the home. This discovery and arrest led to the discovery of $10 million dollars worth of marijuana from grow rooms in five other million dollar homes in the neighborhood.

Gardenia, Ca. – A man shot his wife several times while chasing the fleeing woman down the street. A police officer saw the chase and fired at the man, killing him.

Providence, R.I. – Three officers were arrested in a cocaine sting. The officers involved were a patrol officer, a sergeant who served as driver for the mayor, and a narcotics detective. The department is already dealing with other black eyes – an officer charged with beating a suspect with a flashlight. Another is facing trial for allegedly raping a woman in a police substation.

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Writers’ Police Academy

* Please, please, please register for your hotel rooms! They’re going fast, and I’ve only managed to secure a limited number. There are several other large events in the area the same weekend as our event. The hotel will not bill you for the room until check in. Remember, the hotel is providing free shuttle service to and from the airport, and to and from the academy. They’re also providing free breakfast for registered guests who’re attending the Writers’ Police Academy. All that for a mere $79 per night. I’ve never, ever seen a deal like that at any other writer event.

If you’ve already registered for your room, but neglected to ask for the WPA deal, please call the hotel to make the change. It’s very important that you do so.

* Important Notice – We are very, very close to reaching capacity for the FATS training. So close, I can actually see the last seat in the class. Actually, we can only squeeze in two or three more people at the most. Please register now to reserve your spot! We just added some pretty cool real-life scenarios to this training. I can’t wait to see you guys in these shoot/don’t shoot situations. I was in the FATS room yesterday and learned that you’ll be firing real Sig Sauers and Glocks at your human targets.

I met with the police academy officials and we’ve added even more to the program. We’ve included a wonderful EMS segment where you’ll have the opportunity to treat gunshot and stabbing victims alongside real EMS workers. You’ll use actual equipment and supplies, and you’ll load your patients into a real working ambulance.

Even I’m excited about the Writers’ Police Academy. There’s never been anything like this anywhere. This is not like a citizens police academy. This is the real deal!!

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Police News

Naples, Fla. – The Collier County Sheriff’s Office settles two TASER cases in Federal court. In the latest case, where officers used their TASERS on a handcuffed man, the department agreed to settle for a sum of $95,000. One day earlier, the same department agreed to pay a settlement of $50,000 to the family of a teen who died after being shot with a TASER.

Milwaukee, Wi. – Deputy Scott Krause has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for punching a handcuffed man in the face. The suspect/victim was seated in the back of Krause’s patrol when the assault took place. The officer claimed he has post traumatic stress disorder and didn’t remember punching the man.

Muncie, Indiana – Rocker Ozzy Osborne and his son, Jack, each donated $4,500 to the police department’s K-9 program. The department used the money to purchase “Ozzy,” their new K-9. Ozzy will take the place of an older dog that is set to retire. Jack Osborne had worked at the department as a reserve officer during the filming of a reality TV show.

Pasdena, Ca. – Attorney John Burton says he has proof that TASERS can cause cardiac arrest when fired directly onto the chest area. His source? A 2006 report from TASER stating, “being hit by a TASER is unlikely to cause cardiac arrest, but nevertheless recommended TASER darts not be fired near the heart to “greatly reduce any concern for induction of ventricular arrhythmias.”

Some medical experts have said a direct shot over the heart area can increase the subject’s heart rate from a normal 60-80 beats per minute to as many as 220 beats per minute, for a short period of time.

Many police officers who’ve been shot with TASERS as part of their training claim the device does not cause any heart trouble. However, these exercises are conducted in a controlled environment. A more accurate test of the TASER would be on police officers who’ve been drinking alcohol and/or using illegal drugs, such as crack cocaine. After all, those are the people, the substance abusers and addicts, who seem to be experiencing the trouble, not strong, healthy, sober police officers.

But…

Chicago – A woman who was chatting away on her cell phone struck and badly injured a state trooper working a traffic stop. The driver also ignored pleas from her passenger to move over for the trooper. The driver was charged with aggravated reckless conduct, a felony. Her bond was set at $50,000. The trooper, a mother of a young child, was placed in intensive care with a shattered pelvis and two broken legs.

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Writers’ Police Academy

* Please, please, please register for your hotel rooms! They’re going fast, and I’ve only managed to secure a limited number. There are several other large events in the area the same weekend as our event. The hotel will not bill you for the room until check in. Remember, the hotel is providing free shuttle service to and from the airport, and to and from the academy. They’re also providing free breakfast for registered guests who’re attending the Writers’ Police Academy. All that for a mere $79 per night. I’ve never, ever seen a deal like that at any other writer event.

If you’ve already registered for your room, but neglected to ask for the WPA deal, please call the hotel to make the change. It’s very important that you do so.

* Important Notice – We are very, very close to reaching capacity for the FATS training. So close, I can actually see the last seat in the class. Please register now to reserve your spot!

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