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Want Brotherly Love? Don't be Poor! (#456, 10/12/24)
Violence is down in Philly, L.A. and D.C. Have their poor noticed?
Prevention Through Preemption (#455, 9/16/24)
Expanding the scope of policing beyond making arrests
Switching Sides (#454, 8/30/24)
St. Louis’ D.A. argues that a condemned man is in fact innocent
"Distraction Strike"? Angry Punch? Both? (#453, 8/11/24)
When cops get rattled, the distinction may ring hollow
Bringing a Gun To a Knife Fight (#452, 7/30/24)
Cops carry guns. Some citizens flaunt knives. Are poor outcomes inevitable?
"Numbers" Rule – Everywhere (#451, 7/2/24)
Production pressures degrade what's "produced" – and not just in policing
Is Crime Really Down? It Depends... (#450, 6/20/24)
Even when citywide numbers improve, place really, really matters
Kids With Guns (#449, 6/3/24)
Ready access and permissive laws create a daunting problem
De-Prosecution? What's That? (#448, 4/27/24)
Philadelphia's D.A. eased up on lawbreakers. Did it increase crime?
Ideology (Still) Trumps Reason (#447, 4/9/24)
When it comes to gun laws, “Red” and “Blue” remain in the driver’s seat
Shutting the Barn Door (#446, 3/19/24)
Oregon moves to re-criminalize hard drugs
Houston, We Have (Another) Problem (#445, 2/28/24)
Fueled by assault rifles, murders plague the land
Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Cop (#444, 2/8/24)
Recent exonerees set "records" for wrongful imprisonment
America's Violence- Beset Capital City (#443, 1/20/24)
Our Nation's capital is plagued by murder
Are Civilians Too Easy on the Police? (II) (#442, 12/18/23)
Exonerated of murder, but not yet done
Warning: (Frail) Humans at Work (#441, 11/29/23)
The presence of a gun can prove lethal
See No Evil - Hear No Evil - Speak No Evil (#440, 11/14/23)
Is the violent crime problem really all in our heads?
Policing Can't Fix What Really Ails (#439, 10/18/23)
California's posturing overlooks a chronic issue
Confirmation Bias Can be Lethal (#438, 9/21/23)
Why did a "routine" stop cost a man's life?
When (Very) Hard Heads Collide (II) (#437, 9/5/23)
What should cops do when miscreants refuse to comply? Refuse to comply?
Keep going...
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10/29/24 According to a recent Department of Homeland Security report obtained by Politico,
online forums are replete with anonymous discussants promoting the notion of staging a civil war should their preferred
candidate lose. They’re encouraging individuals to prepare for using violence against Government agents
by joining military-themed groups and gaining tactical skills. As for communicating, they recommend using
encrypted channels for all messaging. Meanwhile, incendiary devices were set off at ballot boxes in
Portland and Vancouver, Washington. Internal fire suppression devices and a security guard saved all but three
ballots in Portland, but “hundreds” were destroyed in Vancouver.
Related post
10/28/24 In 1992 the body of a 29-year old woman was found on a North Carolina highway. She had been
strangled to death. Three decades later forensic genealogy identified Warren Luther Alexander, a long-haul
trucker now in his seventies, as her assailant. He was arrested in 2022 and his DNA profile was entered on FBI’s
national CODIS system. That, in turn, enabled California authorities to connect Alexander to the murders of three L.A.-
area women who were strangled to death in 1977. He’s now awaiting trial on these killings as well.
Related post
Do “pro-reform” prosecutors increase crime? According to the notably progressive
Brennan Center, homicide, aggravated assault and larceny trends during 2018-2024 for cities with
“progressive” prosecutors (L.A.’s George Gascon drew special mention) were much the same as
those of their peers. But a look at the larceny graph seems to show that during Gascon’s term
L.A.’s rates have been comparatively higher. Changes in crime rates within cities is not
addressed.
Related post
As concerns mount about how supporters of the losing Presidential candidate might react, DOJ
announced developments in four cases preferred by its Elections Threat Task Force, which brought the FBI and
US Attorney offices to bear on that issue in 2021. Colorado man Teak Brockbank, 45, pled guilty to threatening
State election officials. Alabama resident Brian Ogstad, 60, drew 20 months for threatening Arizona election
workers. And a 61-year old Tampa man and a 62-year old Philadelphia resident were just charged with making
threats.
Memo launching the ETTF
Related post
“More than $30 million in benefits.” That’s the record-setting amount
that Georgia resident Tyshion Hicks and her pals swindled from COVID-19 relief funds by using the stolen
identities of real persons to submit over 5,000 unemployment insurance claims on behalf of fictitious
employers. Ms. Hicks, who pled guilty to mail fraud and ID theft, just drew twelve years in prison. Seven of
her helpers have already pled guilty.
Related post
10/25/24 In 1989 Erik Menendez, 18,
and his 21-year old brother Lyle used a pair of 12-gauge shotguns that they had just bought to murder
their wealthy L.A. parents. The killing was originally thought to be a mob hit, and the brothers weren’t
arrested for a year. While their lawyer insisted that the brothers acted to protect themselves from their
fathers’ sexual abuse, prosecutors said they did it for the money. After two hung juries they were
convicted of 1st. degree murder and drew life without parole. Current D.A. George Gascón, who is convinced that
the brothers were indeed driven by abuse, is moving to have them be resentenced to straight life terms. That would likely
free them.
Related post
In 2018 New York State’s “Raise the Age” law forbid treating criminal defendants under
18 years of age as adults. Instead, even those charged with serious crimes were redirected to youth and Family
courts and housed in youth facilities. Between 2018-2023 the number of murder defendants ages 16 and older who
were confined in youth centers jumped from seven to 134. According to New York City investigators, changes in
the nature of their clientele has badly upset the applecart at youth facilities and led to a surge of
“assaults, threats and the discovery of weapons.”
Related post
A study of traffic enforcement in Chicago reports that regardless of an area’s proportion of Black
and White motorists, Black drivers are slightly more likely to be ticketed by speed cameras, but substantially
more likely to be stopped for traffic violations. While traditional “stop and frisk” is supposedly
no longer practiced, Chicago police have vastly increased the number of traffic stops, going from
“less than 200,000 in 2016 to over 570,000 in 2023.” Academic study Impact for Equity Report
Related post
10/24/24
At President Biden’s urging, in June 2021 ATF embarked on a campaign to revoke the licenses of gun
dealers who flout the law. Five revocations took place that year, followed by 88 in 2022, 157 in 2023, and 81
thru June 2024. Revocations require proof that a dealer willfully broke the rules by, among other things,
knowingly selling guns to a prohibited buyer, falsifying records, and failing to do a background check.
According to The Smoking Gun, the problem
goes beyond sales. Gun stores are notoriously “soft targets,” and numerous guns used in crimes are
stolen each year from dealer premises.
Related post
It’s not only New York City anymore. Beset by armed subway riders, Los Angeles has placed
A.I.-powered weapons detection scanners at the entrances to underground platforms of its main, downtown station.
Six-feet in height and emblazoned with logos, the devices by Evolv Technology
can supposedly pinpoint just where on a body a weapon is hidden. For now, though, it’s just an experiment.
Related post
Is the Federal law that bars felons from possessing guns unconstitutional? One appeal
from a conviction under that law, in which the accused relied on the Bruen decision, was rejected by the 11th. Circuit. But other Circuits have
split. So the Supreme Court just ordered that the 11th. Circuit revisit their case in light of the high
court’s recent Rahimi decision.
It held that persons who “pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another...may be temporarily
disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment.” Only problem is, the felon gun prohibition isn’t
“temporary.”
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10/23/24 A 15-year old Washington State teen was charged with five counts of first-
degree murder and one count of attempted murder after the bodies of two adults and three youths were discovered
in a home they apparently shared. An 11-year old girl was also hurt but survived. It happened in the prosperous
lakeside community of Fall City, 25 miles E. of Seattle. Authorities confirmed that “firearms were
involved” and that “it appears” all were family. Census
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Walter Johnson,
aka “King Tut,” was a New York City crime legend in 1997 when Federal judge Frederic Block
sentenced him on yet another string of violent crimes. Calling him “a classic example of a person who has
to be incapacitated,” Judge Block gave Johnson five life sentences. But during the ensuing 27 years,
Johnson’s “stellar” prison behavior and mentorship of others impressed Judge Block. So much
so, that he just turned away prosecutors’ objections and resentenced Johnson, under the First Step Act, to time served. “King Tut” is now a free man.
Related post
10/22/24
In 1989 Yusef Salaam, now a New York City councilman, and four teen friends admitted to police that they
assaulted and raped a female jogger during a raucous episode in Central Park. But they soon denied it, and
attributed their admission to relentless questioning. Still, they were tried, convicted and imprisoned. But in
2002 a man in prison for an unrelated rape/murder said he alone was responsible, and DNA confirmed his
involvement. The five youths were released; each was later awarded between $7 and $12 million by the city.
Candidate Trump, who originally called for their execution, recently bemoaned their release, announcing during a
debate that they “killed a person” and “pled guilty, then they pled not guilty.” And
yes, the “Exonerated Five” are suing him for defamation.
Related post
In an October 2023 lawsuit, California DOJ accused the Vallejo Police Dept. of a
“pattern and practice of excessive and unreasonable force, using enforcement strategies that
disproportionately impact people of color, and performing unconstitutional stops, searches, and seizures.”
A settlement agreement has since supposedly put correctives in place. Some relatives of persons killed by
Vallejo officers have also received cash settlements. But the ACLU now demands that nine Vallejo cops who
misbehaved but escaped sanctions be investigated by the State for potential decertification.
Related post
10/21/24 “I have observed a culture that prioritizes speed of production over safety and
quality and incentivizes management to overlook significant defects in Boeing’s airplanes.”
That’s but a small slice of the testimony of Sam Salehpour, a veteran Boeing quality engineer, about
issues that may have affected the safety of Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft. His account,
delivered to a Senate committee, parallels earlier concerns that a production emphasis led to life-threatening
defects in the 737 Max. Testimony
Related post
A new study published by the Delaware
Academy of Public Health examined the views of 374 African American men ages 15-24 who have guns and live in
four crime & violence beset cities: Baltimore, Jackson, Houston TX, and Wilmington DE. More than two-thirds
felt that their cities were dangerous places with few opportunities, and that survival required having a gun.
They blamed their community’s problems to negative influences from music, social media and peers, and to
poor socialization, with absentee parents and no suitable role models. “Mothers aren't raising kids;
fathers aren't around. Not enough money for food. Children aren't being taken care of.”
Related post
A fight between young men at the mass celebration of a high school homecoming football victory devolved into
a shooting, killing two 19-year olds and a 25-year old and wounding eight others. It happened on a rural trail
near Lexington, Mississippi, in poverty-stricken Holmes County (poverty 35%.) Sheriff Willie March confirmed that gunplay has been a
problem. “These are young men walking around with weapons. I wish I had an answer.”
Related post
Ninety-three million bucks. That’s
what California’s paid a vendor since 2003 to have it house and monitor 56 “sexually violent
predators” after their conditional release from prison. Good news is that only two of the 56 recidivated.
In contrast, of the 125 “predators” whom courts unconditionally released, twenty-four were
reconvicted of 42 felonies and 13 misdemeanors within 10 years. But the program’s excellent outcome was
likely facilitated by the recommitment of releasees who evidenced dodgy behavior.
Related post
According to NYPD, the
number of persons under 18 committing major crimes has risen a steep 37 percent since 2017. Some blame it on a
2017 New York State law that diverted 16 and 17-year olds from adult to juvenile courts. As for country-wide
numbers, the Council on
Criminal Justice reports that overall crime by juveniles fell during 2016-2022. Murders committed by
youths, though, increased a stunning 65%, while their use of guns to commit crimes went up by 21%.
Related posts
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10/18/24 Two counts of 2nd. degree murder and two counts of manslaughter. Those are among the twenty
-nine counts returned by a grand jury against Colin Gray, the father of the Apalachee High School shooter. His
fourteen-year old son, Colt Gray, who was charged as an adult, faces fifty-five counts, including four counts of
murder and twenty-five counts of aggravated assault. Both are being held without bond. And it’s likely
they will remain locked up for a very, very long time.
Related post
Several hours before Texas inmate Robert Roberson’s scheduled execution, the Texas Supreme Court
granted a stay so that a State House committee could take his testimony at a special hearing next week.
Political figures, innocence project lawyers and the former police detective who oversaw his case are convinced
that Roberson’s conviction for murdering his two-year old daughter in 2002 was deeply flawed by misleading
testimony about “shaken baby syndrome,” and that he is in fact innocent.
Related post
10/17/24 In June DOJ issued a
“patterns and practices” report that accused Phoenix police officers of using excessive force and
discriminating against minority residents. And while DOJ and Phoenix continue negotiating the terms of a
settlement, the lawyer for a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy just released officer bodycam
footage of a violent tangle in August, where two Phoenix officers repeatedly punched his client and jolted
him with a Taser. Tyron McAlpin committed no known crime. He is charged with resisting and assault.
Related post
A preliminary
hearing in the case against Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, is in
progress. Testimony revealed that Colt Gray had posted a photo of Parkland High School mass murderer Nikolas
Cruz in his room, and that his father had seen it and was told who it was. According to a State agent, Colt Gray
prepared highly detailed written plans for the assault, including “a step-by-step checklist” and
estimates of “casualty counts” by location.
Related post
In a case brought by four weary San Francisco residents, a Federal judge ruled that they can
indeed sue the city for “actively contributing” to problems in the beset Tenderloin area by, among
other things, distributing supplies that ostensibly help street people “safely” use drugs. Thus,
encouraging their presence. And in nearby Oakland, crime and homelessness have led to a forthcoming recall vote
of the Mayor and D.A., whose go-easy law-enforcement approach has supposedly encouraged misbehavior.
Related posts
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10/16/24 According
to a noted gun-law analyst, the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen decision fundamentally reshaped the gun-law
landscape. Still, the Court just reinstated, at least for the time being, a
Pennsylvania law that bars persons under 21 from carrying guns during declared emergencies. But consequential
decisions about “ghost guns,” gun possession by felons and “Red Flag” laws are still in
the offing. Related posts
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According to Hamline University’s Violence Prevention Project, about 27 percent of American adults report owning a gun. Of these,
about 67 percent have more than one. Sixty-four percent of guns are intended for protection; about eleven
percent are for hunting. And about half of gun owners store their guns unloaded and under lock and key.
Related posts
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Justice Sonia Sotomayor earned $3.7 million in royalties from her
children’s books between 2009, when she was appointed to the Supreme Court, and last year. Sales were
supposedly stimulated by personal appearances and prodding from her staff. And now fellow Justice Neil Gorsuch
is under watch over his “cozy relationship” with oil mogul Philip F. Anschultz, who would be well
served if the Court decides in his favor on a pending environmental case. Alas, the Court lacks external
oversight. No one is watching the watchers.
Related post
10/15/24 An in-depth assessment of the consequences of officer
exposure to the “cumulative stress of policing” reveals that an accumulation of stressful and
traumatic events, and the frequent use of force, can lead to depression and PTSD. Officers involved in an
episode that leads to a death seem particularly apt to “quietly deal with trauma in ways that cause their
performance or judgment to slip on the streets.” Related posts
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A Missouri apartment management firm has been sued by DOJ for violating the Fair Housing
Act by categorically banning prospective tenants “with any past felony conviction and certain other
criminal histories,” no matter the nature of the crime nor when it occurred. Doing so, according to DOJ,
unlawfully discriminates against persons of color. Although criminal histories “are known to have
significant racial disparities”, they’re not considered to accurately depict current conduct or
predict future behavior.
Related post
Perceptions that transit crime has skyrocketed are keeping riders away, and particularly from trains.
Big city systems including New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and San Francisco, are now
requiring payment up-front. They’ve also been “fortifying” entrances to keep fare-jumpers at
bay. Chicago’s Metro Link is installing eight-foot metal gates for that purpose. No fare card: no entry.
Related post
10/14/24 An in-depth assessment
of LAPD’s field training program for new officers criticized the agency’s inattention to
recruit feedback about their experiences. Trainees reported that some training officers display negative
attitudes. Recruits are frequently told to “forget everything you learned in the Academy”.
Degrading “hazing rituals” and “rites of passage” (e.g., requiring that new officers
shave their heads, wear long-sleeved attire in hot weather, and keep quiet unless spoken to) are also
commonplace.
Related post
South Bend, Indiana’s police officer entrance examinations are under fire.
According to DOJ’s just-filed lawsuit, the physical fitness test is biased against females, and the
written exam discriminates against Black applicants. What’s more, neither can “meaningfully
distinguish between applicants who can and cannot perform the position of entry-level police officer.”
The fitness test includes “a vertical jump, sit-ups, 300-meter run, push-ups, 1.5-mile run, and a pistol
trigger pull.” The written test has 120-130 multiple choice questions in seven sections. Lawsuit
Related post
And the
carnage in D.C. continues. Last week our nation’s capital suffered five dead in five shootings over
four days. Two persons were also wounded in the gunfire, which reportedly took place in five different
neighborhoods. D.C. also had three homicides from a fire, and one by a stabbing. Nine murders in four days.
And that’s how the story in the Washington Post ends. Related posts
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In a message to PoliceIssues, the mother of Marcellis Stinnette, who was shot and killed by a then-
Waukegan, Ill. police officer four years ago, states that “after investigations , it was founded that
there was no active warrant for my son. My family had been harassed by the same officer for years prior to him
murdering my son.” Ex-Waukegan officer Dante Salinas is pending trial for Mr. Stinnette's murder.
Related post
Soon after former L.A. Sheriff’s Lt. Alex Villanueva was elected to his
agency’s top job in 2018, he created a unit to investigate county officials. A current inquiry reveals
that it focused on digging up dirt on Villanueva’s critics, including Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Inspector
General Max Huntsman, and an L.A. Times reporter. But prosecutors rejected what cases the unit sent
forward. In 2022 Villanueva lost his bid for re-election. And his former henchmen are now being grilled about
their true intentions.
Related post
10/11/24 Having pled guilty to Federal civil rights violations, ex-Crawford Co.,
Arkansas deputy Levi White drew 63 months in Federal prison, and his former partner Zackary King got twelve,
for brutally assaulting a man who shoplifted a water bottle. Although “R.W.” (Randal Ray Worcester,
26) wound up lying helplessly on the ground, White delivered repeated blows to his head, then violently
slammed it to the ground. And, yes, a bystander captured it all on video. Video
Related post
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