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Post by Critique on Jan 1, 2007 2:51:38 GMT -5
2006-12-25 CALIFORNIA – ABOUT 6,000 California corrections officers earned more than $100,000 in the last fiscal year thanks to overtime work in the strained prison system, and one brought in more than a quarter of a million. Overtime added $220 million to the $453 million base pay for those prison workers, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday. More than 900 of them earned $50,000 or more in overtime alone. Overtime costs have soared since the officers' current labor contract took effect five years ago, rising 24 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to the same point last year, the newspaper reported. "This business of overtime is just out of control," said Lew Uhler, president of the Sacramento-based National Tax Limitation Committee. "If you had a comparable situation in the private sector, the management would have been fired long ago." Chuck Alexander, executive vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said a shortage of officers makes the overtime necessary. "I can't have a control booth vacant," Alexander said. "We have to fill our positions." The biggest payout to a corrections officer for the fiscal year that ended in June was $252,570, which went to a lieutenant. That's more than the salaries of the corrections chief, who makes $225,000, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declined what would be a $206,500 paycheck this year. Schwarzenegger has vowed to reform the nation's largest prison system, which incarcerates almost 174,000 people in 33 prisons that were designed to hold 100,000. He has announced a plan to ease crowding by building prisons, rehabilitating prisoners to cut down on repeat offenders and reviewing sentencing laws. www.discerntruth.com/aggregator/sources/4
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Post by Critique on Jan 1, 2007 2:51:38 GMT -5
2006-12-25 CALIFORNIA – ABOUT 6,000 California corrections officers earned more than $100,000 in the last fiscal year thanks to overtime work in the strained prison system, and one brought in more than a quarter of a million. Overtime added $220 million to the $453 million base pay for those prison workers, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday. More than 900 of them earned $50,000 or more in overtime alone. Overtime costs have soared since the officers' current labor contract took effect five years ago, rising 24 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to the same point last year, the newspaper reported. "This business of overtime is just out of control," said Lew Uhler, president of the Sacramento-based National Tax Limitation Committee. "If you had a comparable situation in the private sector, the management would have been fired long ago." Chuck Alexander, executive vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said a shortage of officers makes the overtime necessary. "I can't have a control booth vacant," Alexander said. "We have to fill our positions." The biggest payout to a corrections officer for the fiscal year that ended in June was $252,570, which went to a lieutenant. That's more than the salaries of the corrections chief, who makes $225,000, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declined what would be a $206,500 paycheck this year. Schwarzenegger has vowed to reform the nation's largest prison system, which incarcerates almost 174,000 people in 33 prisons that were designed to hold 100,000. He has announced a plan to ease crowding by building prisons, rehabilitating prisoners to cut down on repeat offenders and reviewing sentencing laws. www.discerntruth.com/aggregator/sources/4
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Post by Critique on Feb 12, 2007 5:12:32 GMT -5
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA ¨C Lopaka Bounds troubles began when he tried to use a credit card to pay for an $11 meal at a cash-only restaurant.
There was an ATM across the street. But the police officer guarding the Waffle House at 5041 Market St. demanded he first leave an ID. Bounds, then a member of Marines special forces, refused, offering his Visa credit card instead.
The rising tensions peaked after another officer arrived. Bounds, who had cursed at the men, was pulled off his stool, pushed against a window and handcuffed. Outside he was pepper-sprayed and forced to the ground when one of the officers snagged his wrist between Bounds and the chain of the cuffs.
Whether Bounds was drunk and resisting or the sober victim of excessive force lies at the crux of his ongoing federal lawsuit. But the most noteworthy aspect of the arrest may be who the officers were.
They didn't work for the city, the county or any other public agency. They worked for Pinnacle Special Police, a private company that was practically the sheriff of the Waffle House that night in November 2004.
Under a unique North Carolina law - which supporters in Raleigh are now pushing to expand - licensed firms have full police powers on properties they are hired to protect, including the power to write citations, to investigate and to arrest.
North Carolina, according to security professionals, is the only state that allows for-hire police, although some cities like Boston have similar programs.
For some, the arrangement is an economical way to fill in gaps traditional law enforcement can't.
For others, policing-for-hire raises serious concerns about accountability underscored by the legal problems now facing the two private special police companies based in Wilmington.
In addition to Pinnacle's lawsuit, Joseph Guarascio, the head of Inter-Pol Special Police, goes to trial next week on criminal charges that include misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
We've had some problems,¡said John J. Carroll, chief district court judge for New Hanover County. I don't have a problem with them being security guards. However, getting in a role of police officer or detective is a little different. We ought to leave it up to the professionals.
Despite his upcoming trial, Guarascio, a former New York City cop, is confident about the future of private policing as demands on public police grow faster than resources. Inter-Pol officers work at nightclubs, apartment complexes and motels. They even check on tenants at rental homes.
This is the wave of the future because municipal agencies can't keep up with the calls for service, he said. There's nothing we don't do.
Guarascio said he's a by-the book professional suffering because of bias against private police, and predicted a triumph in court next week as he did two years ago against charges of stalking an ex-girlfriend and allegations of assault by two Marines arrested at a local club.
Peggy Pavell, for one, is a fan. She and some neighbors contracted Inter-Pol in 2004 to patrol their properties near a downtown corner favored by drug dealers. Inter-Pol's jurisdiction ended with their property lines, she said, but the officers weren't shy about letting everybody know they were there.
I would hire them again in a minute, she said.
Mike Prevatte, whose family runs the El-Berta Motor Inn on Market Street, has similar praise for Pinnacle, whose officers come quickly and work efficiently, he said.
I don't want any gunslingers out here, he said. We want someone who can project a presence and then, if necessary, take care of the situation. I think that's what we have.
A North Carolina tradition
Both Pinnacle and Inter-Pol were formed earlier this decade and are recent additions to a North Carolina tradition that goes back more than 100 years to railroad and mill police.
As of Jan. 31, Pinnacle has two officers, while Inter-Pol has four, according to the N.C. Department of Justice. Both operate under laws that authorize 76 non-municipal departments, including New Hanover Regional Medical Center's special police, numerous campus forces and more than 20 private for-hire companies, some of whom take a highly public role.
In Durham County, private police officers working for Wackenhut Corp. patrol the county administration building, the library, Durham Technical Community College and the Durham bus terminal.
A Florida-based international security company, Wackenhut runs its North Carolina police force like a public department with immediate investigations of alleged misconduct, said Sam Moore, director of about 60 Raleigh-area police officers for Wackenhut. The only difference might be how much faster any discipline comes, he said.
If it calls for termination, they are terminated, said Moore, whose officers average about 15 years experience on public departments before joining.
Ron Hodge, deputy chief of police for the city of Durham, said he's had no major problems with Wackenhut officers.
Indeed, private police departments like Wackenhut have a much greater incentive to play by the rules, said Bruce Benson, an economics professor at Florida State University and author of To Serve and Protect: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice.
If a private agency does something illegal, they face significant criminal as well as civil penalties, Benson said. It's very difficult to sue a public agency.
Questions of jurisdiction
But others worry that financial incentives make private cops more beholden to employers interests than the public's. Woody White, Bounds attorney, said he hasn't seen marketplace pressures bring Pinnacle's work to a higher standard than other departments.
Its officers have come to court with questionable police work and, much more often than other departments, they don't come at all, he said, recalling cases like that of James E. Long.
Last March, Pinnacle officers followed Long's car from Wilmington to his mother's driveway in Leland, where he was pepper-sprayed and arrested on several charges including drunken driving and fleeing arrest. Long registered well above the legal limited for alcohol, but claimed a friend was driving.
The crucial legal question, though, was why Pinnacle officers arrested someone in Leland, eight miles from the Wilmington gas station they were guarding.
For them to follow him across the bridge was ridiculous, said Steve Porter, Long's attorney.
But Long's car twice hopped a curb at the gas station before heading the wrong way down Dawson Street, entitling the officers to give chase, said Maj. Brian Sheppard, the Pinnacle second-in-command, who was involved in both Bounds and Long's arrests.
Special police can go to as far as the state line if they are in immediate pursuit of a crime committed on the property they patrol, he said.
It's rookie 101
A judge could have clarified whether Pinnacle had jurisdiction or not. But as in the Bounds case, Sheppard and another Pinnacle officer did not show up for their court date last October, resulting in dismissal of charges.
Showing up for court is sort of the Holy Grail of police work, said David Conklin, deputy police chief for the Wilmington Police Department, where officers face punishment if they don't attend. It's rookie 101.
Sheppard said he shows up to court every time he can, blaming scheduling errors for the cases he has missed. But White said he has had numerous cases where Pinnacle didn't show up, including two for simple marijuana possession last Tuesday.
In the Bounds case, White said the absence was clearly an attempt to duck hard questions at a trial.
A note written on the Bounds case file by an assistant district attorney states that Pinnacle officers were in court until 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2005, the day of Bounds trial, then left.
Officers knew about trial, the note states. Officers failed to return.
White, who was Bounds attorney for the criminal charges, said the officers failure to appear motivated him to take on the civil case. White's expert witness is strongly critical of Bounds arrest in deposition testimony.
When a subject is restrained by handcuffs and has his hands behind his back, he should not ever be sprayed, said Marshall Williamson, the expert witness and a captain with the Wilmington Police Department.
That is not taught anywhere, he said.
Trained and ready
Eddie Reynolds, the chief of Pinnacle, declined to comment on the Bounds case other than to say the officers are being sued for doing the right thing. Sheppard's testimony in the deposition indicates he sprayed Bounds after the other officer's wrists got painfully caught between the cuffs and Bounds.
Pinnacle officers are trained to exact standards and any complaints are investigated, said Reynolds, whose 19-year law enforcement career prior to Pinnacle includes time with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office and the police departments of Carolina Beach, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Shallotte, Holden Beach, Wilmington, Boiling Springs Lake, Sandy Creek and Belhaven. He also took time off for Bible college and singing gospel music professionally.
Sheppard was a convenience store manager in Arkansas when he met Reynolds on a gospel music Web site in 2003 and moved to Wilmington to work in Pinnacle's office. He took Basic Law Enforcement Training the next year becoming a captain at age 21.
He has not served on public force, but Sheppard has learned more in four years with him than in 20 years with a small-town department, Reynolds said. The two sing in a Gospel quartet with two other Pinnacle employees.
He is exactly like me and does everything I do, Reynolds said.
The Attorney General's Office, which investigates complaints against private police, has received several complaints about Pinnacle, but none have been substantiated. There are several pending investigations of Inter-Pol that relate to Guarascio's misdemeanor charges.
More oversight, more power
Some in the private police industry are among the first to say they want an increase in standards so that rogue outfits don't make well-run firms look bad.
Jeff Gray, general counsel for the N.C. Company Police Association, said private police face more rigorous requirements that many of the municipal peers. Both groups have to take more than 600 hours of Basic Law Enforcement Training, but private police also must pass polygraph, drug, psychological and two written tests, not true of some municipal agencies, he said.
Still the association is gathering sponsors for a bill that would allow the N.C. Department of Justice to implement higher standards for company police chiefs, he said. Currently anyone qualified to be an officer can start a company, he said.
A lot of the problems come about when you have agencies that do not have experience with law enforcement leadership, said Gray, who expects the bill to be submitted in the coming weeks.
At the same time, the bill would also add power, allowing firms to apply to the sheriff for jurisdiction on private roads adjacent to the property being patrolled. The extension would make it easier for private police to help at nearby accidents, to patrol areas divided by state-owned roads, and to police places like dance clubs where people may spill out onto the street and sidewalks, Gray said.
Local concerns
The bill comes as concerns are registering with some of the major courthouse players in New Hanover County. District Attorney Ben David, whose staff prosecutes cases brought by private police, said he has questions of accountability. Last fall, he requested that the Executive Committee of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys bring up the topic for discussion with the Attorney General's Office. The committee meets again next in March.
If your mission is to serve and protect, then the people you serve and protect should have a right see that you're scrutinized as well, David said in an interview. The power to arrest and investigate is an awesome power, and safeguards should be in place and that includes an internal affairs division and a head of an agency who answers to an elected official or body.
Bounds, now a college student in California, said he doesn't expect to win much money in the suit. Pinnacle¡¯s required insurance was lapsed when the arrest occurred.
For him, the case is a cause, especially for fellow Marines who face a kind of double jeopardy. He was nearly dishonorably discharged after spending five days in New Hanover County jail, he said.
Regardless of who you are, there's no reason you should be Maced after you're already handcuffed, he said.
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Post by Critique on Feb 12, 2007 5:12:32 GMT -5
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA ¨C Lopaka Bounds troubles began when he tried to use a credit card to pay for an $11 meal at a cash-only restaurant.
There was an ATM across the street. But the police officer guarding the Waffle House at 5041 Market St. demanded he first leave an ID. Bounds, then a member of Marines special forces, refused, offering his Visa credit card instead.
The rising tensions peaked after another officer arrived. Bounds, who had cursed at the men, was pulled off his stool, pushed against a window and handcuffed. Outside he was pepper-sprayed and forced to the ground when one of the officers snagged his wrist between Bounds and the chain of the cuffs.
Whether Bounds was drunk and resisting or the sober victim of excessive force lies at the crux of his ongoing federal lawsuit. But the most noteworthy aspect of the arrest may be who the officers were.
They didn't work for the city, the county or any other public agency. They worked for Pinnacle Special Police, a private company that was practically the sheriff of the Waffle House that night in November 2004.
Under a unique North Carolina law - which supporters in Raleigh are now pushing to expand - licensed firms have full police powers on properties they are hired to protect, including the power to write citations, to investigate and to arrest.
North Carolina, according to security professionals, is the only state that allows for-hire police, although some cities like Boston have similar programs.
For some, the arrangement is an economical way to fill in gaps traditional law enforcement can't.
For others, policing-for-hire raises serious concerns about accountability underscored by the legal problems now facing the two private special police companies based in Wilmington.
In addition to Pinnacle's lawsuit, Joseph Guarascio, the head of Inter-Pol Special Police, goes to trial next week on criminal charges that include misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
We've had some problems,¡said John J. Carroll, chief district court judge for New Hanover County. I don't have a problem with them being security guards. However, getting in a role of police officer or detective is a little different. We ought to leave it up to the professionals.
Despite his upcoming trial, Guarascio, a former New York City cop, is confident about the future of private policing as demands on public police grow faster than resources. Inter-Pol officers work at nightclubs, apartment complexes and motels. They even check on tenants at rental homes.
This is the wave of the future because municipal agencies can't keep up with the calls for service, he said. There's nothing we don't do.
Guarascio said he's a by-the book professional suffering because of bias against private police, and predicted a triumph in court next week as he did two years ago against charges of stalking an ex-girlfriend and allegations of assault by two Marines arrested at a local club.
Peggy Pavell, for one, is a fan. She and some neighbors contracted Inter-Pol in 2004 to patrol their properties near a downtown corner favored by drug dealers. Inter-Pol's jurisdiction ended with their property lines, she said, but the officers weren't shy about letting everybody know they were there.
I would hire them again in a minute, she said.
Mike Prevatte, whose family runs the El-Berta Motor Inn on Market Street, has similar praise for Pinnacle, whose officers come quickly and work efficiently, he said.
I don't want any gunslingers out here, he said. We want someone who can project a presence and then, if necessary, take care of the situation. I think that's what we have.
A North Carolina tradition
Both Pinnacle and Inter-Pol were formed earlier this decade and are recent additions to a North Carolina tradition that goes back more than 100 years to railroad and mill police.
As of Jan. 31, Pinnacle has two officers, while Inter-Pol has four, according to the N.C. Department of Justice. Both operate under laws that authorize 76 non-municipal departments, including New Hanover Regional Medical Center's special police, numerous campus forces and more than 20 private for-hire companies, some of whom take a highly public role.
In Durham County, private police officers working for Wackenhut Corp. patrol the county administration building, the library, Durham Technical Community College and the Durham bus terminal.
A Florida-based international security company, Wackenhut runs its North Carolina police force like a public department with immediate investigations of alleged misconduct, said Sam Moore, director of about 60 Raleigh-area police officers for Wackenhut. The only difference might be how much faster any discipline comes, he said.
If it calls for termination, they are terminated, said Moore, whose officers average about 15 years experience on public departments before joining.
Ron Hodge, deputy chief of police for the city of Durham, said he's had no major problems with Wackenhut officers.
Indeed, private police departments like Wackenhut have a much greater incentive to play by the rules, said Bruce Benson, an economics professor at Florida State University and author of To Serve and Protect: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice.
If a private agency does something illegal, they face significant criminal as well as civil penalties, Benson said. It's very difficult to sue a public agency.
Questions of jurisdiction
But others worry that financial incentives make private cops more beholden to employers interests than the public's. Woody White, Bounds attorney, said he hasn't seen marketplace pressures bring Pinnacle's work to a higher standard than other departments.
Its officers have come to court with questionable police work and, much more often than other departments, they don't come at all, he said, recalling cases like that of James E. Long.
Last March, Pinnacle officers followed Long's car from Wilmington to his mother's driveway in Leland, where he was pepper-sprayed and arrested on several charges including drunken driving and fleeing arrest. Long registered well above the legal limited for alcohol, but claimed a friend was driving.
The crucial legal question, though, was why Pinnacle officers arrested someone in Leland, eight miles from the Wilmington gas station they were guarding.
For them to follow him across the bridge was ridiculous, said Steve Porter, Long's attorney.
But Long's car twice hopped a curb at the gas station before heading the wrong way down Dawson Street, entitling the officers to give chase, said Maj. Brian Sheppard, the Pinnacle second-in-command, who was involved in both Bounds and Long's arrests.
Special police can go to as far as the state line if they are in immediate pursuit of a crime committed on the property they patrol, he said.
It's rookie 101
A judge could have clarified whether Pinnacle had jurisdiction or not. But as in the Bounds case, Sheppard and another Pinnacle officer did not show up for their court date last October, resulting in dismissal of charges.
Showing up for court is sort of the Holy Grail of police work, said David Conklin, deputy police chief for the Wilmington Police Department, where officers face punishment if they don't attend. It's rookie 101.
Sheppard said he shows up to court every time he can, blaming scheduling errors for the cases he has missed. But White said he has had numerous cases where Pinnacle didn't show up, including two for simple marijuana possession last Tuesday.
In the Bounds case, White said the absence was clearly an attempt to duck hard questions at a trial.
A note written on the Bounds case file by an assistant district attorney states that Pinnacle officers were in court until 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2005, the day of Bounds trial, then left.
Officers knew about trial, the note states. Officers failed to return.
White, who was Bounds attorney for the criminal charges, said the officers failure to appear motivated him to take on the civil case. White's expert witness is strongly critical of Bounds arrest in deposition testimony.
When a subject is restrained by handcuffs and has his hands behind his back, he should not ever be sprayed, said Marshall Williamson, the expert witness and a captain with the Wilmington Police Department.
That is not taught anywhere, he said.
Trained and ready
Eddie Reynolds, the chief of Pinnacle, declined to comment on the Bounds case other than to say the officers are being sued for doing the right thing. Sheppard's testimony in the deposition indicates he sprayed Bounds after the other officer's wrists got painfully caught between the cuffs and Bounds.
Pinnacle officers are trained to exact standards and any complaints are investigated, said Reynolds, whose 19-year law enforcement career prior to Pinnacle includes time with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office and the police departments of Carolina Beach, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Shallotte, Holden Beach, Wilmington, Boiling Springs Lake, Sandy Creek and Belhaven. He also took time off for Bible college and singing gospel music professionally.
Sheppard was a convenience store manager in Arkansas when he met Reynolds on a gospel music Web site in 2003 and moved to Wilmington to work in Pinnacle's office. He took Basic Law Enforcement Training the next year becoming a captain at age 21.
He has not served on public force, but Sheppard has learned more in four years with him than in 20 years with a small-town department, Reynolds said. The two sing in a Gospel quartet with two other Pinnacle employees.
He is exactly like me and does everything I do, Reynolds said.
The Attorney General's Office, which investigates complaints against private police, has received several complaints about Pinnacle, but none have been substantiated. There are several pending investigations of Inter-Pol that relate to Guarascio's misdemeanor charges.
More oversight, more power
Some in the private police industry are among the first to say they want an increase in standards so that rogue outfits don't make well-run firms look bad.
Jeff Gray, general counsel for the N.C. Company Police Association, said private police face more rigorous requirements that many of the municipal peers. Both groups have to take more than 600 hours of Basic Law Enforcement Training, but private police also must pass polygraph, drug, psychological and two written tests, not true of some municipal agencies, he said.
Still the association is gathering sponsors for a bill that would allow the N.C. Department of Justice to implement higher standards for company police chiefs, he said. Currently anyone qualified to be an officer can start a company, he said.
A lot of the problems come about when you have agencies that do not have experience with law enforcement leadership, said Gray, who expects the bill to be submitted in the coming weeks.
At the same time, the bill would also add power, allowing firms to apply to the sheriff for jurisdiction on private roads adjacent to the property being patrolled. The extension would make it easier for private police to help at nearby accidents, to patrol areas divided by state-owned roads, and to police places like dance clubs where people may spill out onto the street and sidewalks, Gray said.
Local concerns
The bill comes as concerns are registering with some of the major courthouse players in New Hanover County. District Attorney Ben David, whose staff prosecutes cases brought by private police, said he has questions of accountability. Last fall, he requested that the Executive Committee of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys bring up the topic for discussion with the Attorney General's Office. The committee meets again next in March.
If your mission is to serve and protect, then the people you serve and protect should have a right see that you're scrutinized as well, David said in an interview. The power to arrest and investigate is an awesome power, and safeguards should be in place and that includes an internal affairs division and a head of an agency who answers to an elected official or body.
Bounds, now a college student in California, said he doesn't expect to win much money in the suit. Pinnacle¡¯s required insurance was lapsed when the arrest occurred.
For him, the case is a cause, especially for fellow Marines who face a kind of double jeopardy. He was nearly dishonorably discharged after spending five days in New Hanover County jail, he said.
Regardless of who you are, there's no reason you should be Maced after you're already handcuffed, he said.
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Post by Critique on Feb 27, 2007 1:28:13 GMT -5
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Post by Critique on Feb 27, 2007 1:28:13 GMT -5
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Post by Critique on Feb 12, 2007 4:52:00 GMT -5
February 10, 2007 SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – New Mexico has taken its fight against drunken driving to men’s restrooms around the state. The state has ordered 500 talking urinal cakes that will deliver a recorded anti-DWI message to bar and restaurant patrons who make one last pit stop before getting behind the wheel. The top of the devices feature the state DWI slogan — “You drink, you drive, you lose.” Some Albuquerque bars installed the devices this week. And the state Transportation Department plans to distribute them to Santa Fe bars and restaurants as well as establishments in Farmington, Gallup and Las Cruces. The state spent $21 for each talking urinal cake for the pilot program but will ask bars and restaurants to pay for future orders if the idea catches on. The cakes have enough battery power to last about three months www.koat.com/news/10980789/detail.html
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Post by Critique on Feb 12, 2007 4:52:00 GMT -5
February 10, 2007 SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – New Mexico has taken its fight against drunken driving to men’s restrooms around the state. The state has ordered 500 talking urinal cakes that will deliver a recorded anti-DWI message to bar and restaurant patrons who make one last pit stop before getting behind the wheel. The top of the devices feature the state DWI slogan — “You drink, you drive, you lose.” Some Albuquerque bars installed the devices this week. And the state Transportation Department plans to distribute them to Santa Fe bars and restaurants as well as establishments in Farmington, Gallup and Las Cruces. The state spent $21 for each talking urinal cake for the pilot program but will ask bars and restaurants to pay for future orders if the idea catches on. The cakes have enough battery power to last about three months www.koat.com/news/10980789/detail.html
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Post by Critique on Jan 11, 2007 16:23:23 GMT -5
Police Crimes
My Remains When Unearthed 600 Years From Now.
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Post by Critique on Jan 11, 2007 16:23:23 GMT -5
Police Crimes
My Remains When Unearthed 600 Years From Now.
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Post by Critique on Jan 11, 2007 14:01:51 GMT -5
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Post by Critique on Jan 11, 2007 14:01:51 GMT -5
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Post by Critique on Jan 21, 2007 3:34:54 GMT -5
January 18, 2007 By BYRON HARRIS Just about every day, there's a story in the local news about big city law enforcement. But what about small town cops? Overwhelmingly, they're honest, hard-working people who are generally underpaid. Then there are those who work in small towns because they cannot get a job anywhere else. Michael Meissner is the police chief of Caney City, Texas. He is the only paid officer for the small town. Despite that, he goes to work when he chooses. Records show over his 14 years in law enforcement, he has worked for 15 different police departments. Many consider Meissner a "gypsy cop". What is a "gypsy cop"? Catherine Smit, the chief of police in Cockrell Hill, says they are "officers who've been terminated from one agency and they're able to move to another agency and get another job without that agency ever checking on their background." Smit knows Meissner. Her department arrested him last summer on a warrant from Dallas County. Meissner had applied for a police job using a phony college degree in criminal justice management. That “university” -- LaSalle University in Mandeville, Louisiana -- is not accredited. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement found out and revoked Meissner's Master Peace Officer's certificate in 2003, but he kept using it to apply for jobs. A man who worked with Meissner at one Texas police department talked to News 8, but asked not to be identified. He said Meissner destroys files and evidence and then tries to cover it up. "In East Texas, you can do anything if you're a police officer and you're in a position of power," he said. To preserve their power, bad cops need their Peace Officer's certificate from the state. Without it, they cannot work in law enforcement. They cannot work in security jobs, either. Most small town police officers in North Texas supplement their income by working security jobs in their off-duty hours. That's why they have to keep their records clean. News 8 asked Meissner how many times he had been arrested, but Meissner had no comment. News 8 obtained documents that showed Meissner was arrested twice in 2005. One was on a warrant for tampering with a witness and operating a security company without a license. The other arrest was for impersonating a police officer. When News 8 requested the records from Smith County, they had disappeared. Last fall, News 8 visited Joe Barron, the mayor of Caney City. He said he did not know his police chief had been arrested or that he had been reprimanded by the state for not reporting his arrests as the law requires. Also, the mayor did not know Meissner lost his top-level Master Peace Officer's certificate for lying about his degree. In theory, the mayor could have discovered Meissner's record if he had checked with the state. But a police officer's employment record can often be inaccurate because cities cover for cops who make mistakes. When Mayor Barron looked up Meissner's personnel records, they had disappeared. News 8 spent four months tracking down Meissner to talk with him about this in person. His only known address is a post office box in Mesquite. Despite our questions, he remains the Chief of Police in Caney City. He also told News 8 by phone that there are a lot of officers who are just like him. www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/news8/stories/wfaa070118_kd_gypsycop.50cba3ac.html
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Post by Critique on Jan 21, 2007 3:34:54 GMT -5
January 18, 2007 By BYRON HARRIS Just about every day, there's a story in the local news about big city law enforcement. But what about small town cops? Overwhelmingly, they're honest, hard-working people who are generally underpaid. Then there are those who work in small towns because they cannot get a job anywhere else. Michael Meissner is the police chief of Caney City, Texas. He is the only paid officer for the small town. Despite that, he goes to work when he chooses. Records show over his 14 years in law enforcement, he has worked for 15 different police departments. Many consider Meissner a "gypsy cop". What is a "gypsy cop"? Catherine Smit, the chief of police in Cockrell Hill, says they are "officers who've been terminated from one agency and they're able to move to another agency and get another job without that agency ever checking on their background." Smit knows Meissner. Her department arrested him last summer on a warrant from Dallas County. Meissner had applied for a police job using a phony college degree in criminal justice management. That “university” -- LaSalle University in Mandeville, Louisiana -- is not accredited. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement found out and revoked Meissner's Master Peace Officer's certificate in 2003, but he kept using it to apply for jobs. A man who worked with Meissner at one Texas police department talked to News 8, but asked not to be identified. He said Meissner destroys files and evidence and then tries to cover it up. "In East Texas, you can do anything if you're a police officer and you're in a position of power," he said. To preserve their power, bad cops need their Peace Officer's certificate from the state. Without it, they cannot work in law enforcement. They cannot work in security jobs, either. Most small town police officers in North Texas supplement their income by working security jobs in their off-duty hours. That's why they have to keep their records clean. News 8 asked Meissner how many times he had been arrested, but Meissner had no comment. News 8 obtained documents that showed Meissner was arrested twice in 2005. One was on a warrant for tampering with a witness and operating a security company without a license. The other arrest was for impersonating a police officer. When News 8 requested the records from Smith County, they had disappeared. Last fall, News 8 visited Joe Barron, the mayor of Caney City. He said he did not know his police chief had been arrested or that he had been reprimanded by the state for not reporting his arrests as the law requires. Also, the mayor did not know Meissner lost his top-level Master Peace Officer's certificate for lying about his degree. In theory, the mayor could have discovered Meissner's record if he had checked with the state. But a police officer's employment record can often be inaccurate because cities cover for cops who make mistakes. When Mayor Barron looked up Meissner's personnel records, they had disappeared. News 8 spent four months tracking down Meissner to talk with him about this in person. His only known address is a post office box in Mesquite. Despite our questions, he remains the Chief of Police in Caney City. He also told News 8 by phone that there are a lot of officers who are just like him. www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/news8/stories/wfaa070118_kd_gypsycop.50cba3ac.html
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Post by Critique on Mar 2, 2007 2:36:53 GMT -5
10 Feb 2007 ROUND ROCK -- A Travis County jail guard faces more charges after a man he is accused of assaulting died while in the hospital Tuesday night. Round Rock Police say 39-year-old Julius Conley attacked estranged wife Dana Conley and her companion, Quincy Johnson, in Round Rock on February 9th. Police say both victims suffered severe blunt-force head trauma. Investigators believe they were beaten with a heavy metal object. Quincy Johnson died of his injuries late Tuesday night at Brackenridge Hospital. Police say 38-year-old Dana Conley is still in a coma at Brackenridge. Round Rock Police and the Williamson County District Attorney's office are currently evaluating the charges against Conley. He had already been charged with Aggravated Assault. Conley is still in the Williamson County jail. His bond has been set at $600,000. www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2342921&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
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Post by Critique on Mar 2, 2007 2:36:53 GMT -5
10 Feb 2007 ROUND ROCK -- A Travis County jail guard faces more charges after a man he is accused of assaulting died while in the hospital Tuesday night. Round Rock Police say 39-year-old Julius Conley attacked estranged wife Dana Conley and her companion, Quincy Johnson, in Round Rock on February 9th. Police say both victims suffered severe blunt-force head trauma. Investigators believe they were beaten with a heavy metal object. Quincy Johnson died of his injuries late Tuesday night at Brackenridge Hospital. Police say 38-year-old Dana Conley is still in a coma at Brackenridge. Round Rock Police and the Williamson County District Attorney's office are currently evaluating the charges against Conley. He had already been charged with Aggravated Assault. Conley is still in the Williamson County jail. His bond has been set at $600,000. www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2342921&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
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Post by Critique on Feb 12, 2007 5:56:04 GMT -5
February 5, 2007 By KELLY MOORE NEW LLANO, LOUISIANA - A former New Llano police officer is without a job, but is questioning why he was fired after coming to the aid of a citizen while on duty recently. Alex Castaneda, a former member of the New Llano Police Department, was relieved of duty after assisting Cady Sunsdahl and her child after a harrowing event in December. Sunsdahl explained that on Dec. 15 she, along with her two children, were at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Leesville picking up a birthday cake for her 4-year-old when her 8-week-old daughter fell from the shopping cart landing face down in the parking lot. “On the way back to our car after picking up the birthday cake, the cake slipped from the bottom of the basket and broke,” Sunsdahl explained. “My daughter was upset, so I picked up the cake and was carrying it in one hand while pushing the cart with the other to go back into the store to either get the cake fixed or to buy a new one. Rebekah was buckled into her car seat and was secured in the buggy, when all of a sudden the car seat was falling from the cart.” “It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to react,” she continued. “The next thing I new she was lying face down in the parking lot.” Sunsdahl then explained that several people came to her assistance and one began calling for an ambulance, all the while telling her not to move her daughter for fear more injuries would be caused. According to Sunsdahl Castaneda, who was on duty, walked up and introduced himself and asked if he could assist her. “He called the Acadian Ambulance and while we were waiting a nurse walked up and told us that we needed to take my daughter to the hospital, but I was in no condition to drive,” Sunsdahl said. After waiting for more than 10 minutes Castaneda called Acadian again and was told that it would be at least 10 more minutes before they would arrive. “We didn’t know if it was life or death,” Castaneda said. “This was an 10-week-old baby, she was crying, and that was good, but we didn’t know how hurt she was.” Castaneda then drove Sunsdahl along with her children to Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital where they were met by her husband. “Alex radioed ahead and let the hospital know we were coming and then carried my daughter into the emergency room,” Sunsdahl said. Sunsdahl explained that Castaneda then stayed with her 4-year-old until a babysitter could arrive so that she and her husband could be with Rebekah while she was examined. After the Sunsdahls arrived at the hospital, a cat scan was ordered for Rebekah and she was diagnosed with a severely bruised skull. “They told us that she was going to have a complete recovery and that her skull had done it’s job, but we had to be very careful with her,” Sunsdahl said. Castaneda explained that when he arrived on the scene he called the New Llano Police Department and explained where he was and what he was doing. He also explained that as he left the hospital he was ordered back to the office where he was reprimanded by New Llano Chief of Police Danny Hunt. Castaneda then had the next two days off of work and went to Alexandria to attend the wedding of a friend. “On Sunday morning I got a text message from the Chief (Hunt) and it said that I needed to be at the Police Department at 5 p.m. (Sunday, Dec. 17) for a meeting with him, Mayor Freddie Boswell and the town’s attorney, Jack Simms,” Castaneda said. Castaneda explained that when he arrived at the meeting Hunt and another officer were the only ones there and that he was asked to either resign or be fired. Castaneda explained that he refused to resign because he had done the right thing. “We are sworn to protect and serve, and that is what I was doing,” Castaneda said. Castaneda was then fired by Hunt for, “acting outside his scope of employment and training,” according to the separation notice. Castaneda also explained that Hunt had never received a report of the incident because he was fired before he could file the report. According to the Larwason Act, which the Town of New Llano is governed by, the Chief of Police cannot fire an employee but has to make a termination recommendation that is then either approved or disapproved by council members. John Gallagher, an attorney with the Louisiana Municipal’s Association, explained that normally a recommendation should be made to the council before an employee is terminated, but that retroactive action to approve the dismissal is valid. The New Llano Town Council held a special meeting on Jan. 25, 2007, where Hunt addressed the council recommending that Castaneda’s employment be terminated. Councilwoman Carolyn Todd made a motion to terminate Castaneda’s employment, but to include pay retroactive through Dec. 17 and the motion was seconded by Councilman Charles Balthrop. Councilman Ervin Wilson then asked if they could discuss why Castaneda was being terminated and Boswell said that under the privacy act they could not discuss why he was being terminated. The board then voted unanimously to terminate his employment. Castaneda explained that he had spoken with several members of the town council and was under the impression that he was going to be fired, but that he would receive retroactive pay, his record would be cleared and that he would receive an apology. Castaneda said that situations like this is what often gives cops a bad name. ”What would have happened if the baby had been hurt worse or possibly died? Then I would have been the cop who didn’t do anything. What would have happened if I had just walked away after calling the ambulance?” he questioned. “The one good thing that came out of this is that Rebekah is doing well and that her family is appreciative for what I did.” The New Llano Chief, Mayor and council members refused to comment about the incident. “What happened to Rebekah gives me nightmares. I can’t believe they fired him. He was just doing his job,” Sunsdahl said. “If the ambulance had just shown up, none of this would have happened. I feel terrible that he has been fired and I can’t believe that they are doing this to him,” Sunsdahl said. Terry Arceneaux, Vice President of Operations for Acadian Ambulance, would not comment about the incident due to patient confidentiality. Castaneda has not been able to find work since. “I am looking at a couple of jobs in Texas and will probably have to move my family out of the area,” he said. www.leesvilledailyleader.com/articles/2007/02/05/news/news2.txt
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Post by Critique on Feb 12, 2007 5:56:04 GMT -5
February 5, 2007 By KELLY MOORE NEW LLANO, LOUISIANA - A former New Llano police officer is without a job, but is questioning why he was fired after coming to the aid of a citizen while on duty recently. Alex Castaneda, a former member of the New Llano Police Department, was relieved of duty after assisting Cady Sunsdahl and her child after a harrowing event in December. Sunsdahl explained that on Dec. 15 she, along with her two children, were at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Leesville picking up a birthday cake for her 4-year-old when her 8-week-old daughter fell from the shopping cart landing face down in the parking lot. “On the way back to our car after picking up the birthday cake, the cake slipped from the bottom of the basket and broke,” Sunsdahl explained. “My daughter was upset, so I picked up the cake and was carrying it in one hand while pushing the cart with the other to go back into the store to either get the cake fixed or to buy a new one. Rebekah was buckled into her car seat and was secured in the buggy, when all of a sudden the car seat was falling from the cart.” “It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to react,” she continued. “The next thing I new she was lying face down in the parking lot.” Sunsdahl then explained that several people came to her assistance and one began calling for an ambulance, all the while telling her not to move her daughter for fear more injuries would be caused. According to Sunsdahl Castaneda, who was on duty, walked up and introduced himself and asked if he could assist her. “He called the Acadian Ambulance and while we were waiting a nurse walked up and told us that we needed to take my daughter to the hospital, but I was in no condition to drive,” Sunsdahl said. After waiting for more than 10 minutes Castaneda called Acadian again and was told that it would be at least 10 more minutes before they would arrive. “We didn’t know if it was life or death,” Castaneda said. “This was an 10-week-old baby, she was crying, and that was good, but we didn’t know how hurt she was.” Castaneda then drove Sunsdahl along with her children to Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital where they were met by her husband. “Alex radioed ahead and let the hospital know we were coming and then carried my daughter into the emergency room,” Sunsdahl said. Sunsdahl explained that Castaneda then stayed with her 4-year-old until a babysitter could arrive so that she and her husband could be with Rebekah while she was examined. After the Sunsdahls arrived at the hospital, a cat scan was ordered for Rebekah and she was diagnosed with a severely bruised skull. “They told us that she was going to have a complete recovery and that her skull had done it’s job, but we had to be very careful with her,” Sunsdahl said. Castaneda explained that when he arrived on the scene he called the New Llano Police Department and explained where he was and what he was doing. He also explained that as he left the hospital he was ordered back to the office where he was reprimanded by New Llano Chief of Police Danny Hunt. Castaneda then had the next two days off of work and went to Alexandria to attend the wedding of a friend. “On Sunday morning I got a text message from the Chief (Hunt) and it said that I needed to be at the Police Department at 5 p.m. (Sunday, Dec. 17) for a meeting with him, Mayor Freddie Boswell and the town’s attorney, Jack Simms,” Castaneda said. Castaneda explained that when he arrived at the meeting Hunt and another officer were the only ones there and that he was asked to either resign or be fired. Castaneda explained that he refused to resign because he had done the right thing. “We are sworn to protect and serve, and that is what I was doing,” Castaneda said. Castaneda was then fired by Hunt for, “acting outside his scope of employment and training,” according to the separation notice. Castaneda also explained that Hunt had never received a report of the incident because he was fired before he could file the report. According to the Larwason Act, which the Town of New Llano is governed by, the Chief of Police cannot fire an employee but has to make a termination recommendation that is then either approved or disapproved by council members. John Gallagher, an attorney with the Louisiana Municipal’s Association, explained that normally a recommendation should be made to the council before an employee is terminated, but that retroactive action to approve the dismissal is valid. The New Llano Town Council held a special meeting on Jan. 25, 2007, where Hunt addressed the council recommending that Castaneda’s employment be terminated. Councilwoman Carolyn Todd made a motion to terminate Castaneda’s employment, but to include pay retroactive through Dec. 17 and the motion was seconded by Councilman Charles Balthrop. Councilman Ervin Wilson then asked if they could discuss why Castaneda was being terminated and Boswell said that under the privacy act they could not discuss why he was being terminated. The board then voted unanimously to terminate his employment. Castaneda explained that he had spoken with several members of the town council and was under the impression that he was going to be fired, but that he would receive retroactive pay, his record would be cleared and that he would receive an apology. Castaneda said that situations like this is what often gives cops a bad name. ”What would have happened if the baby had been hurt worse or possibly died? Then I would have been the cop who didn’t do anything. What would have happened if I had just walked away after calling the ambulance?” he questioned. “The one good thing that came out of this is that Rebekah is doing well and that her family is appreciative for what I did.” The New Llano Chief, Mayor and council members refused to comment about the incident. “What happened to Rebekah gives me nightmares. I can’t believe they fired him. He was just doing his job,” Sunsdahl said. “If the ambulance had just shown up, none of this would have happened. I feel terrible that he has been fired and I can’t believe that they are doing this to him,” Sunsdahl said. Terry Arceneaux, Vice President of Operations for Acadian Ambulance, would not comment about the incident due to patient confidentiality. Castaneda has not been able to find work since. “I am looking at a couple of jobs in Texas and will probably have to move my family out of the area,” he said. www.leesvilledailyleader.com/articles/2007/02/05/news/news2.txt
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Post by Critique on Feb 12, 2007 6:25:08 GMT -5
02/05/2007 By GENEVIEVE REILLY TRUMBULL, CONNECTICUT — A settlement has been reached between the town and a local family who claimed in a lawsuit the Police Department violated their rights by erroneously executing a search warrant at their home while searching for evidence of a sex crime. Grove Street resident Veronica Larsson and her daughter, Erin, filed the federal lawsuit last September after an incorrect e-mail address prompted an investigation into suspected child sexual abuse. Also named in the suit were Internet giant AOL, the state Department of Children and Families and the Pennsylvania State Police. The settlement applies to all the defendants. “I’m very pleased that this matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties,” said Patrick Tomasiewicz, the Hartford lawyer representing the Larssons. The Town Council will be asked to approve the settlement when it meets at 8 p.m. today in Town Hall. Neither Tomasiewicz nor town officials would disclose the terms of the settlement. In its lawsuit, the family states Trumbull police detectives had no reason to seek the warrant, and as a result Veronica Larsson’s constitutional rights and civil liberties were violated. The suit further contends that AOL breached its contract with the Larssons by releasing their subscriber information. The legal action asked for compensatory damages, court costs and attorney fees. “The family obviously suffered a traumatic incident and we certainly sympathize with them,” First Selectman Raymond G. Baldwin Jr. said. He said in the future, the Police Department will “be looking more closely at information provided to them by other agencies.” In 2004, Pennsylvania State Trooper Alan Carmichael sought and received a court order requiring AOL to release subscriber information for the e-mail address ronni575@aol.com while investigating a complaint about an individual claiming online to be having sex with two young children. The information provided by AOL erroneously indicated the subscriber was Veronica Larsson’s husband, Eric, and provided the Grove Street address. Carmichael then notified the Trumbull police, who secured a search-and-seizure warrant that was executed on Jan. 10, 2005. Accompanying the officers were two employees of DCF, who removed Erin Larsson, then 13, from her family’s custody. After police left, Veronica Larsson read the search warrant and saw the AOL e-mail address listed was not hers and contacted police. After police confirmed that AOL had supplied incorrect information, they contacted DCF and Erin Larsson was returned home the same afternoon. Computers taken from the Larsson home were returned three days later and no charges were filed. www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_5160192
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Post by Critique on Feb 12, 2007 6:25:08 GMT -5
02/05/2007 By GENEVIEVE REILLY TRUMBULL, CONNECTICUT — A settlement has been reached between the town and a local family who claimed in a lawsuit the Police Department violated their rights by erroneously executing a search warrant at their home while searching for evidence of a sex crime. Grove Street resident Veronica Larsson and her daughter, Erin, filed the federal lawsuit last September after an incorrect e-mail address prompted an investigation into suspected child sexual abuse. Also named in the suit were Internet giant AOL, the state Department of Children and Families and the Pennsylvania State Police. The settlement applies to all the defendants. “I’m very pleased that this matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties,” said Patrick Tomasiewicz, the Hartford lawyer representing the Larssons. The Town Council will be asked to approve the settlement when it meets at 8 p.m. today in Town Hall. Neither Tomasiewicz nor town officials would disclose the terms of the settlement. In its lawsuit, the family states Trumbull police detectives had no reason to seek the warrant, and as a result Veronica Larsson’s constitutional rights and civil liberties were violated. The suit further contends that AOL breached its contract with the Larssons by releasing their subscriber information. The legal action asked for compensatory damages, court costs and attorney fees. “The family obviously suffered a traumatic incident and we certainly sympathize with them,” First Selectman Raymond G. Baldwin Jr. said. He said in the future, the Police Department will “be looking more closely at information provided to them by other agencies.” In 2004, Pennsylvania State Trooper Alan Carmichael sought and received a court order requiring AOL to release subscriber information for the e-mail address ronni575@aol.com while investigating a complaint about an individual claiming online to be having sex with two young children. The information provided by AOL erroneously indicated the subscriber was Veronica Larsson’s husband, Eric, and provided the Grove Street address. Carmichael then notified the Trumbull police, who secured a search-and-seizure warrant that was executed on Jan. 10, 2005. Accompanying the officers were two employees of DCF, who removed Erin Larsson, then 13, from her family’s custody. After police left, Veronica Larsson read the search warrant and saw the AOL e-mail address listed was not hers and contacted police. After police confirmed that AOL had supplied incorrect information, they contacted DCF and Erin Larsson was returned home the same afternoon. Computers taken from the Larsson home were returned three days later and no charges were filed. www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_5160192
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