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...

9/12/24 Dolphins player Tyreek Hill wishes he could have a do-over. “I will say I could have been better.” He admits he could have been more cooperative. But not letting down the window when ordered, he insists, was no reason for a Miami-Dade cop and his colleagues “to literally beat the dog out of me.” And he demands that the officer be fired. Hill, though, has reportedly been on the giving end of assaults. Click here and here for two examples. Related post

According to the New York Times, Illinois man John Elik is “Ivan the Troll,” the world-famous personna whose 3-D printed FGC-9 shoulder-fired assault pistol has become de rigueur for “terrorists, drug dealers and freedom fighters in at least 15 countries.” Under the umbrage of “Deterrence Dispensed,” “Ivan” and his lethal toy have been featured in a plethora of videos and podcasts. But Mr. Elik is a licensed gun manufacturer, so his activities in the U.S. seem perfectly legal. Related posts 1   2

Between 2020-2023 Orange County, Calif. funneled millions in COVID relief funds to a local nonprofit, which said it would use it to feed seniors and disabled persons. But the money was diverted by the nonprofit’s officers, including the daughter of  Supervisor Andrew Do, who allegedly pocketed the cash for their own use. Orange County is suing Do for $10 million and has suspended him from the Board. Federal agents have also executed search warrants at the homes of Do and his daughter. COVID updates

9/11/24 Fifty-million bucks. After a two-week civil trial that’s what a Federal jury unanimously decided that Chicago and its cops must pay Marcel Brown, a 34-year old man who was imprisoned for a decade after being wrongfully convicted of a 2008 murder. Evidence demonstrated that police and prosecutors kept him from speaking with a lawyer, and that his false confession was extracted through a grueling (and unlawful) day-plus of interrogation. Brown was released from prison in 2018 and awarded a certificate of innocence a year later. Related post

There’s no doubt that star Dolphins player Tyreek Hill was speeding when Miami-Dade County police pulled him over outside Hard Rock stadium. But the cops didn’t recognize him, and his persistent refusal to roll down the window and quietly cooperate quickly progressed to his extraction from the car, pinning to the ground and handcuffing. While Florida laws require that occupants exit a vehicle if required, Hill’s treatment, which was captured on video, led to one officer’s suspension from street duties while the agency investigates. Hill was soon let go and went on to do a great job that day. Related post

9/10/24 On Sept. 7, only “hours” before opening fire on a Kentucky Interstate, Joseph A. Couch purchased the AR-15 he used and 1,000 rounds of ammunition from a local gun dealer. He then texted his ex- wife. “I’m going to kill a lot of people. Will try at least.” Couch was an Army reservist from 2013 to 2019. When he left the service he was still a private. His AR-15 was later found near the scene. Couch remains at large. Related post

In December 2018 former Torrance, Calif. police officers Matthew Concannon and Anthony Chavez opened fire when Christopher Mitchell, who was in the driver’s seat of a reportedly stolen vehicle, supposedly reached for a gun on his lap. It turned out to be an air rifle with a cut-down stock. Then-D.A. Jackie Lacey cleared them. But last year, her replacement, progressively-minded George Gascon, had them indicted for manslaughter. And while defense lawyers call the prosecution “outrageous,” a judge just refused to dismiss the case. Both ex-cops face up to eleven years in prison if convicted. Related post

In August 2023 Border Patrol agents caught Amanda Mancera with “nearly four kilograms of fentanyl and 216 kilograms of cocaine” in her vehicle. She had passed through a border checkpoint that Border Patrol officer Jesse Garcia had asked to work. An indictment now alleges that a major drug trafficking ring had paid Garcia and fellow officer Diego Bonillo “thousands” for each drug courier they let through. And they profited handsomely, buying expensive cars, taking expensive trips and shopping at exclusive retailers despite their conventional salaries. Both are being held without bail. Related post

9/9/24 Killings by gun-toting kids remain in the headlines. On Sept. 1, an 11-year old shot and killed Keisha Miles, 31, and her father, Joe Cornelius, Sr., 81, at the latter’s residence in Minden, Louisiana. The child used two handguns from the home. He is related to Mr. Cornelius, who once served as Minden’s Mayor. Five days later, a dispute between students led a 16-year old to open fire in a Maryland high school restroom, killing a 15-year old. It was the shooter’s first day at school. He was “known” to police. Related post

A Kentucky Interstate descended into chaos Saturday afternoon as a shooter, who was not in a vehicle, opened fire on cars driving through a rural stretch. Nine vehicles were struck by gunfire, seriously wounding five occupants and injuring two others in an accompanying wreck. Police are seeking the alleged perpetrator, Joseph A. Couch, a 32-year-old local resident. They have shared a photo from his February 8 arrest in Knox County. Related post

Machinegun conversion devices (MCD’s), aka “auto sears”, are simple, drop-in devices that enable handguns and long guns to discharge “hundreds of bullets in mere minutes” with just one pull of the trigger. While they’ve long been illegal under Federal law, they’re readily available from shady overseas sources, and 3-D printers can easily churn them out. Their proliferation has become a major public safety threat, leading DOJ to establish a special program that combines the resources of “industry, academia, and government” to address the issue on a national basis. Related post

An in-depth probe by The Intercept reveals that former Sangamon County, Illinois sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, who faces 1st. degree murder charges for shooting Sonya Massey, had frequently switched law enforcement jobs because of agency concerns about his honesty, truthfulness and competence. But these issues failed to be addressed during the background investigation by Sangamon County. One reason may be that none of his former employers had ever submitted any red flags about Grayson to the statewide database that tracks officer misconduct. Related post

Twenty-five residences, two luxury cars, gambling, investing. All paid for with “more than $11.2 million” in COVID-19 funds that 30-year old Nevada man Meelad Dezfooli fraudulently obtained by pretending that it would be used to pay the salaries of his many (non-existent) employees at his (non-existent) companies. Just convicted at trial on multiple counts of bank fraud, money laundering and so on, Mr. Dezfooli faces decades in prison. (A single bank fraud charge can draw thirty years.) COVID updates

9/6/24 Colin Gray, the father of Georgia school shoooter Colt Gray, has been arrested on multiple charges of involuntary manslaughter, murder, and child cruelty for supplying the weapon used in the massacre. It turns out that he purchased the AR-15 style rifle that Colt Gray used as a Christmas present for his son. This happened “months after” both denied to authorities that they had any connection to online threats to commit a school shooting that had been posted on an online account linked to Colt Gray. A bodycam video of their conversation with a deputy was just released. Related post

On Sept. 4th., the day of the Georgia high school massacre, staff members at a high school in In Elgin, Illinois, a city of 115,000 35 miles NW of Chicago, learned that a 15-year old student “might be armed.” They alerted the school resource officer, who arrested the youth for bringing an unloaded handgun and ten rounds of ammo. to campus. The teen has been charged with “three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon” and one count of “unlawful use of a weapon” and is being detained. Related post

A 39-year-old man who lived on a Northern California ranch opened fire on the many animals whom the owner kept on the property. During a three-hour period Vicente Joseph Arroyo slaughtered eighty- one creatures, including “miniature horses, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks and other birds.” Alerted to the gunfire, deputies responded with a SWAT team. They arrested Arroyo for numerous felonies, including being a felon with a gun. An illegal assault weapon, two “ghost guns”, four other firearms and 2,000 rounds of ammunition were seized. Related post

FDA inspectors are tasked with overseeing drug makers to insure that their products are safe and effective. But relatively low pay and the demands of frequent travel, including overseas, has led to severe staffing shortfalls. According to a retired inspector, his managers shunned the “extra time and attention to detail” that documenting serious infractions required. “They just wanted people who are like bean counters: walk in, walk out and find nothing so that they can get this report through the system and make their numbers.” Related post

9/5/24 On Sept. 4 a phone call warned a school that it was targeted. And later that morning, a student armed with an “AR-style” rifle opened fire at Apalachee High School, in Barrow County, 40 miles from Atlanta. Two students and two teachers were killed; nine others were hospitalized. Colt Gray, the 14-year old shooter, surrendered. He will be tried as an adult. A classmate said that Gray left at the start of algebra class and returned with a gun. But the door had locked and he wasn’t let in. So he went into another room and began shooting. Deputies investigated Gray last year over online threats to commit a school shooting. He denied them. His father said they had “hunting guns” but Gray “did not have unsupervised access to them.” It’s 2024’s 45th. school shooting. (See 9/6/24 update) Barrow County census data
Related post

Will marijuana be downgraded from Federal Schedule I, which places it alongside heroin and cocaine, to Schedule III, which permits medical (but not recreational) use? DEA just announced that a hearing on the change, which was proposed in May, will begin on December 2, 2024. According to the Dept. of Health & Human Svcs. (it favors reclassification) marijuana has “a currently accepted medical use, has a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II, and...its abuse may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.” Drug legalization updates   Related post

In an official White House statement, President Joe Biden cited the Georgia school shooting as providing “even more” reason for “Reds” to partner with “Blues” in enacting  “common-sense gun safety legislation.” He proposed re-instituting the Federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, mandating safe gun storage, enacting universal background checks (to also cover private sales), and stripping gun manufacturers’ immunity to lawsuits. Related post

9/4/24 In 2021 Maryland man Demetrius Minor bought 34 handguns from three Montgomery County gun retailers during a 6-month period. Many wound up in the hands of a relative with a violent criminal history, including a plea to accessory to murder. Nine were seized at crime scenes and from criminals. In 2023 Minor was convicted of dealing in guns without a license; he drew 18 months. D.C. and Maryland’s A.G.’s have now sued the dealers, whom they allege should have known better than to sell Minor the guns. But they “made a choice: a choice to put their profits over our public safety.” Related post

According to USA Today, twenty-one States impose the death penalty. Twenty-three do not, and six have placed it on hold. Texas has been the most prolific executioner, with 589 convicts put to death since 1982. It executed eight in 2023 and three so far in 2024, most recently on August 7, when it put to death the man who murdered a mother of three. But there are substantial concerns that innocent persons, particularly non-Whites, are unjustly executed. One study placed it at 4.1 percent. Death Penalty Info. Center    Related post

9/3/24 Police in Euclid, a Cleveland suburb, arrested a 15-year old boy whom they say shot and killed a 17-year old boy and wounded four other juveniles, ages 16 and 17, near a local high school. It happened on Saturday evening, August 30, about an hour after a football game. Where the 15-year old’s gun came from hasn’t been revealed. Just released, the IACP’s gun security “fact sheet” implores that “if you lawfully own and carry a firearm you have a duty to secure it.” It recommends storage in a locked safe. Related post

Elected in 2020 on a platform of correcting “the sins of the past,” Jason Williams, New Orleans’ progressive D.A., has had “more than 140” convictions thrown out and obtained sentence reductions for “at least 180” accused. His civil rights division focuses on past convictions that were supposedly marred by constitutional issues or unjust legal practices. But an advocacy group, “Bayou Mama Bears”, warns that his actions have endangered public safety and benefited violent criminals. Related posts 1   2

Labor Day was marred by at least two major episodes of gun violence. In New York City, a gunman opened fire on a group of spectators lining the route of the West Indian American Day Parade. Five persons were wounded, one critically. The shooter, described as “a man in his 20’s,” had supposedly  selected his targets. He remains at large. And in the Chicago suburb of Forest Park, a shooting on a Blue Line train left four dead. Police later arrested an armed man on a “Pink Line” train in Chicago. Neither shooters’ motives have yet been reported. Related post

9/2/24 Dallas man Corey Cobb-Bey walked up to a patrol car that was parked by a community center. He drew a pistol and fired, killing the sole occupant, officer Darron Burks. Cobb-Bey shot and wounded two other officers who came on scene and fled. He was soon confronted by more officers, at whom he fired a shotgun. Their return fire killed him. Cobb-Bey’s guns were reportedly legally bought. His Texas criminal history shows one arrest and conviction, in 2017, for misdemeanor giving false/fictitious I.D.
Related posts 1   2

Two years ago, acting on a request by Baltimore prosecutors who found evidentiary problems with a case that was tried in 2000, a lower court overturned Adnan Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of his high school girlfriend. He was freed after serving 22 years. But last year an appellate court reversed his acquittal and ordered another evidentiary hearing. That decision was just affirmed by the Maryland Supreme Court. Syed, who’s once again a convicted killer, will remain free pending re- adjudication of his case by a trial court judge. Related post

A 2020 Oregon ballot initiative decriminalized the possession for personal use of small quantities of hard drugs, including cocaine and heroin, making it an infraction punishable by a $100 fine. But the promised expansion of drug rehabilitation services didn’t materialize, and drug overdose deaths increased. In April Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill that returns hard-drug possession to a misdemeanor. But localities are encouraged to set up treatment programs to which users can be diverted. Related post

“You’re allowed to rob a store as long as it’s not more than $950.” That’s how candidate Trump recently characterized California Prop. 47, which reduced the punishment of all thefts from businesses, including planned thefts, to misdemeanors if losses don’t exceed $950. Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, the State’s A.G. when Prop. 47 was introduced, had reportedly said that she was “neutral” about the measure. Mayors, police and prosecutors have blamed the law for a surge in retail theft. Related post

Los Angeles settled its lawsuit with the family of Melyda Corrado, who was accidentally shot and killed by LAPD officers as they exchanged fire with a suspect they chased into the Trader Joe’s where she worked. Her survivors will receive $9.5 million. L.A.’s City Council also approved $17.7 million for the family of a mentally disabled man who was shot and killed by an off-duty cop, and $11.8 million for the family of a man who was killed in a traffic accident caused by a detective who blew a red light. Related post

An in-depth analysis of ATF data about gun sources reveals a “surge” in interstate gun trafficking. Gun traffickers get “straw buyers” who reside in States with permissive gun laws to buy firearms, often in quantity. These guns are then smuggled into States with more restrictive gun laws and resold on the street. ATF data shows that 63% of guns traced in 2015 by police in Massachusetts, a strong-law State, came from another State. Five years later, that proportion increased to 79%. Related post

8/30/24 Thirty-four years. That’s how long Texas man Benjamin Spencer (he’s now 59) served on his 1987 conviction for murder and carjacking. There were evidence problems from the start, and the murder conviction was tossed. But he was retried and convicted of aggravated robbery and got life. In time Dallas D.A.’s conviction integrity unit assembled a damning picture of the case, including false testimony by the “star witness” and an informant and the suppression of exculpatory evidence. Spencer was released in 2021, and his conviction was recently overturned. Related post

Nathaniel Radimak flaunted a lead pipe during his 2022-23 L.A.-area “reign of terror”, repeatedly bashing vehicles and threatening their drivers. Once arrested, he pled no contest, and a “lengthy criminal history” helped earn him a five year prison term for stalking and threatening. But after serving less than a year, he’s been freed. According to lawyer Gloria Allred, many of his victims are “terrified”. One who spoke out doubted that such a brief term led to any positive change. “I highly doubt Radimak has learned from his mistakes,” she said. Related post

8/29/24 Communities hosting “noncitizen migrant arrivals” are receiving large increases in financial assistance from the Feds. Last fiscal year $363.8 million was provided to State and local agencies and charitable organizations to help pay for the cost of shelters and other services. For FY 2024 the total will be $640.9 million, with about half going to previously allocated recipients and half being awarded competitively. Immigration updates   Related post

A Los Angeles-area man and six associates have been Federally indicted for arranging “crime tourism” groups comprised of visitors from South America. Leading the conspiracy was Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 57, who furnished vehicles from his car rental business for the “tourists” to use as they committed burglaries and shoplifts throughout the U.S. and stole credit and debit cards that they quickly maxed out. During the six years that the scheme was in operation, the resale of stolen and illicitly acquired goods earned the plotters more than $5 million. Immigration updates   Related post

He wasn’t the most unruly or aggressive. But he was a pioneer. Capitol rioter Michael Sparks holds the distinction of being the first to physically enter the Capitol. Hoisted in by his mates, the factory worker repeatedly screamed “This is our America!” as a police officer who confronted the initial set of intruders nervously fingered his gun. Found guilty of two felonies earlier this year, the 47-year old Kentucky resident just drew four and one-third years in prison. Capitol updates   Related post

8/28/24 In San Diego, Calif., a police car began chasing a vehicle that was observed traveling “at a high rate of speed”. But the pursuit was quickly called off by a supervisor, who feared a poor outcome. That nonetheless happened. Another police car that was responding to the scene was violently broadsided by the fleeing car. One officer was killed, and another was seriously injured. The driver of the fleeing car was also killed. Two other vehicles were involved in the collision, but their occupants are reportedly O.K. Related post

He was once the cop’s union rep. And now he’s a Federal prisoner. John Baca, a then-Inglewood, Calif. police officer, thought that he was meeting with just another customer for the cocaine, heroin and fentanyl he had been stealing from the evidence locker and taking from suspects during traffic stops. But it turned out to be an undercover agent. And the profitable, years-long sideline that got him that Ferrari and a flush bank account morphed into a guilty plea and a 30-month sentence. A helper in his business, Gerardo Ekonomo, has also been charged. Related post