Who's Under the Gun?
The ATF, That's Whom
(#463, 3/6/25)

Going after gun controllers,
for the usual reasons

Who's Under the Gun?
The FBI, That's Whom
(#462, 2/14/25)

Going after the FBI
for going after
the Capitol rioters

Point of View
(#461, 1/30/25)

Do scholars really “get”
the craft of policing?

All in the Family
(Part II)
(#460, 1/6/25)

A decade after Part I,
domestic killings
remain commomplace

Acting...or Re-acting?
(#459, 12/8/24)

An urgent response
proves tragically imprecise

Citizen Misbehavior
Breeds Voter
Discontent
(#458, 11/20/24)

Progressive agendas
face rebuke in even
the "Bluest" of places

A Matter of Facts
(#457, 11/3/24)

Did flawed science place
an innocent man
on death row?

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...

3/17/25 An investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times reveals that only six percent of the city’s 2,300 non-fatal shootings in 2024 have (so far) led to an arrest. Its analysis suggests that assigning more detectives to investigate shootings would help. But although the mayor has promised to hire more cops, the number of detectives has grown fewer; those assigned to handle shootings plunged twenty percent between 2023 and 2024. It’s thought that the slim risk of getting caught - only one out of four Chicago murders is cleared by an arrest - has emboldened criminals and made violence worse. Related post

Last November a 34-year old woman wielding a kife reportedly cornered an Independence, Missouri police officer who was in her residence on a domestic disturbance call. He opened fire, killing Maria Pike and, accidentally, her three-month old infant. Police had been summoned by the child’s grandmother, who reported that Ms. Pike “attacked” her when she went to see the child. Ms. Pike was visited by police before; she was also the subject of a Child Services inquiry. Prosecutors just announced that they will not file charges against the officer, whose reaction they consider “reasonable.” Related posts 1   2

On the one hand, the 11th. Circuit ruled 8-4 that Florida law that bars persons under 21 from buying long guns - it was enacted after the Marjorie Stoneman High School massacre - is Constitutional. On the other, Florida’s Attorney General announced that his office would not defend the statute should it be appealed to the Supreme Court. AG James Uthmeiert agrees with the NRA and other pro-gun groups that the law violates the Second Amendment. “Men and women old enough to fight and die for our country should be able to purchase firearms to defend themselves and their families,” he said. Related posts 1   2

Last September a jury convicted D.C. police officer Terence D. Sutton Jr. and Lt. Andrew Zabavsky of covering up their roles in the death of Karon Hylton-Brown, 20, a reckless moped rider who was killed in a crash while fleeing. Both drew prison terms: Sutton, who was also convicted of 2nd. degree murder, got 5 1/2 years; Zabavsky got four years. But they were recently pardoned by President Trump. What’s more, D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith just announced that an internal affairs inquiry has cleared both of the cover-up. So they’ve been reinstated. Related post

“Over 250” alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang stepped off a plane in El Salvador. They were sent by the U.S., which is paying to have them housed in a Salvadoran prison. Accompanying them were 23 members of El Salvador’s own MS-13 gang, “to face justice in El Salvador.” A Federal judge had blocked the Administration from using the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 to summarily deport members of groups, including Tren de Aragua, whom the U.S. considers particularly dangerous. Venezuela also condemned the forced relocation of its citizens. But the plane to El Salvador was supposedly already in the air. Immigration updates Related post

3/14/25 In 1996 Brittany Holberg was a 23-year old sex worker when she visited an elderly customer at his Amarillo, TX residence. Holberg later claimed that he started beating her, and she killed him in self-defense. She was arrested, and at her trial a cellmate testified that she admitted killing him for his money. Holberg was convicted and got the death penalty. But her lawyers weren’t told that the cellmate was a paid police informant. That just led a Federal appeals court to toss the conviction and send the matter back to a lower court. Holberg has served more than a quarter century. For now, she remains in custody. Related post

Trumpeting its accomplishments, ICE announced that it made nearly as many “enforcement” arrests (32,809) during its first 50 days under the new Administration as during the whole of FY 2024 (33,242). Of the new batch, 14,111 were “convicted criminals,” 9,980 had pending criminal charges, and 1,155 were “criminal gang members.” Immigration updates Related post

3/13/25 L.A. Times reporters who pored over 350 instances where LAPD officers fired their weapons during the past decade found that innocent citizens or fellow cops were often in the line of fire. In over 100 cases instances shots were fired “in crowded areas, or struck occupied buildings or vehicles.” And in 21 episodes, an innocent person was shot. Three died. LAPD’s civilian overseers, though, give LAPD officers “great leeway” in deciding when to shoot. Most shootings are adjudged “in policy,” and discipline over missteps is rare. Related posts 1   2

Inmate-on-inmate killings beset California prisons. A recent “surge” - there were seven such episodes during the first nine weeks of 2025 - has led to severe restrictions on prisoner movement and visitations. Some “lifers” seemingly feel immune to sanctions. A prisoner was murdered in January by two “lifers,” each of whom had previously killed a fellow inmate. One had told a prison psychologist that given his existing life term, that attack, in which he “strangled, beat and slashed his cellmate,” was in effect a “freebie.” Related post

3/12/25 One-hundred twenty million dollars. That’s what a Chicago Federal jury just awarded to John Fulton and Anthony Mitchell, who were respectively 18 and 17 when they were convicted of murder for   brutally beating and setting fire to an 18-year old. After protracted, intense interrogations over week-long periods, both ultimately confessed and implicated each other. But there were no witnesses nor any physical evidence. In 2019, after they had served 15 years, a judge reviewed compelling evidence of their presence elsewhere and granted them a new trial. And the D.A. dismissed the case. Innocence Project   Related post

As part of a move by the new Administration to restore gun rights to persons whose prior convictions needlessly prohibited them from possessing firearms, DOJ lawyer and pardons specialist Elizabeth G. Oyer helped draft a list of nine deserving candidates for a Presidential pardon. Her superiors then asked that she add in well-known Trump acolyte Mel Gibson, who was barred from having guns over a 2011 misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. Her probe of Mr. Gibson, though, left her unsure that he was worth the risk, and that’s what she reported. And soon after that she was fired. Related post

Two D.C. teens, now ages 16 and 17, face murder charges for the brutal robbery and beating of a 39-year old man last October. At the time, the 16-year old had six “active” robbery/assault cases pending, while the 17-year old was on probation for an undisclosed offense. Police said the pair had been involved in three other assaults and robberies on that day as well. They will now remain in custody. Related post

3/11/25 Dismayed by the racist and sexist chatter of his colleagues in the recruitment unit, an LAPD officer secretly recorded hours of it on tape. Then filed a complaint with superiors. These recordings captured slurs directed at virtually every gender and ethnicity, made by officers of virtually every gender and ethnicity. And while the abysmal jabber has spurred the reassignment of the unit’s boss and several subordinates, the complainant is also under investigation, for violating his coworkers’ privacy. Related post

Shortly after leaving the Chicago courthouse where he was pending trial on gun charges, Eric Vaughn, 28, was ambushed and slain. His alleged killer, Marquez Robinson, 25, is on Federal parole for a drug conviction. However, his parole has been in question because of a recent arrest for burglary. And while he’s yet to be charged with murder, Robinson is back in Federal custody facing ex-con with a gun charges in connection with Vaughn’s killing. Related posts 1   2

3/10/25 On Friday evening, March 9, Newark PD Detective Joseph Azcona, 26, was shot and killed and his partner was wounded by a 14-year old boy who was wielding “an automatic weapon.” The officers were part of a joint local-Federal team that drove up to a group of youths who reportedly had illegal firearms. Return fire wounded the shooter. He was arrested and charged with murder and gun violations, and five companions were detained. Related posts 1   2

In February a distraught Los Angeles woman called 911 and said that she was being held in a motel room and forced to perform sex work. Multiple LAPD officers arrived and interacted with Linda Moran, 30. She claimed to have been beaten; they examined her but found no sign of injuries. Moran soon became angry and ordered the officers to leave. They backed away and clustered at the door. Moran then slowly advanced on them with a large knife in hand. An officer opened fire, inflicting an ultimately fatal wound. LAPD released graphic, highly detailed clips from the officer bodycams. Video   Related post

In Police Chief magazine, two German academics propose the KODIAK model of de-escalating officer-citizen encounters. It’s comprised of five sequential stages - Safety, Relationship, Calmness, Situation Clarification, and Solution Search - and the essentials of each should be largely accomplished before advancing to the next. Assuring the safety of officers and citizens is critical throughout. That may require the use of force. But its application should be proportional. Patience is important, and if necessary a temporary withdrawal can be considered. Related post

In January 2024 three academicians administered a survey to a representative sample of 10,000 U.S. adults. Seven percent of respondents reported having been present at the scene of a mass shooting, defined as four or more persons being shot. Two percent said they sustained an injury, by gunfire or other means. Mass shootings were most common in neighborhoods, and those present were more often younger, male and Black. No racial differences were found as to the injuries sustained. Related post

In 1995 a Virginia woman was viciously stabbed to death in her home. Her assailant’s identity remained a mystery until 2023, when a private lab used DNA to build the killer’s family tree. And shortly after police paid him a visit to ask for a cheek swab, software engineer Stephan Smerk, 53, soulfully confessed. A recovered alcoholic, he had became well educated, married, had children, and enjoyed a seemingly ideal life. Smerk recently pled guilty and just drew seventy years. As for his motive: he had none. Smerk said that he had felt compelled to kill, and was “a serial killer who’s only killed once.” Related post

“For the past four years, our brave men and women of ICE were barred from doing their jobs—ICE needs a culture of accountability that it has been starved of under the Biden Administration.”  DHS Secretary Kristi Noem thus announced the appointment of veteran ICE agent and manager Todd Lyons as Acting ICE Director, and Madison Sheahan, head of the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife (and a reportedly strong backer of law enforcement) as Deputy Director. Lyons replaces Caleb Vitello, who held the position for only one month. “Lagging immigrant arrest numbers” apparently did him in. Immigration updates   Related post

Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a leading pro-Palestinian voice, once drew the school’s sharp rebuke for leading an unauthorized march that “glorified” Hamas’ incursion into Israel. And Khalil, who holds a student visa and a green card, is now in ICE custody and pending an appearance at an immigration court. If a judge rules that Khalil actively supported Hamas, which was designated a terror group in 1997, his green card could be revoked and he would be deported. Immigration updates   Related post

3/7/25 In Glendale, AZ, patrol officers need not wait for dispatch to send them on a call. New technology allows them to set their patrol car’s GPS so they can listen in, live, to all 911 calls that originate within one-half to three miles away. That enables catching evildoers literally “in the act.” In one example, a nearby cop’s near- instant response to a 911 call about a man trying to burglarize vehicles led to his arrest well before the officers actually dispatched on the call arrived. Related post

In 2018, a California Appellate decision required that San Francisco judges set bail based on the accused’s ability to pay. A 2021 California Supreme Court decision later extended this rule to the whole State. Just published in Criminology & Public Policy, a study of the rule’s effects found that defendants who benefited from these decisions and gained pre-trial release became less likely to plead guilty and suffer a conviction. But the liberalization did not significantly affect the likelihood that they would be arrested or convicted in the future. Related post

Adnan Syed’s infamous conviction for the 1999 murder of his high school girlfriend - it became a hit in the “Serial” podcast - was overturned by a lower court in 2022. He was released after serving 22 years. But one year later an appellate court reversed the reversal, again making him a murderer, and the Maryland Supreme Court affirmed that decision. But instead of another trial, a judge just applied a special provision of State law and reduced Syed’s sentence to time served. He remains a convicted killer and will be on five years probation. And, yes, Syed continues to maintain his innocence. Related post

3/6/25 Typically crime-beset Minneapolis (of George Floyd infamy) is bragging about its drop in serious and violent crimes, including robberies, carjackings and aggravated assaults. According to the mayor and police chief, the improvement is due to “police initiatives, task forces and programs focused on these specific crimes.” Summing up robberies, agg. assaults and murders during the first two months of the year, our quick tally from the city data portal showed 502 in 2023, 610 in 2024 and 450 this year. Related post

A recent journal article in Preventive Medicine, “Perceptions of neighborhood disorder and gun carrying during adolescence: The indirect effect of exposure to violence,” examines the reasons why adolescents bring guns to school. It concludes that while neighborhood disorder is an important factor, the exposure of violence is the most proximate cause. According to the authors, providing “mental health resources” would benefit youths who live in disorderly, violence-stricken neighborhoods. Related post

Two illegal immigrants from Guatemala are under arrest for running a criminal group that smuggled twenty-thousand persons from Guatemala to the U.S. over five years. They charged $15,000 to $18,000 dollars per person, and those who couldn’t pay up got “held hostage in a stash house” in the Los Angeles area until they did. In 2023 one of their immigrant convoys crashed in Oklahoma, killing seven immigrants. Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul and Cristobal Mejia-Chaj are being held without bond. They face up to life in prison. Immigration updates

3/5/25 Darrell Moore was sixteen when he participated in a 2020 murder that an accomplice committed during a group robbery. Moore didn’t have a gun then but aggressively wielded a knife. He drew 66 years but thanks to D.C.’s 2016 Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act only served twenty-six. And he’s again been convicted of murder, for a killing he committed with a gun six months after his release. Related posts 1   2

Vowing to “make D.C. safe again,” Ed Martin, President Trump’s interim U.S. Attorney, announced he would prosecute gun-toting felons in U.S. District Court on Federal charges instead of letting them be dealt with in Superior Court. A dozen extra ATF agents are enroute to help out. His strategy is a re-do of the approach taken during President Trump’s first term. USA Martin castigated the Capitol riot cases as distractions from the fight against violence and recently demoted seven lawyers who worked on those cases. But two, according to the Post, also specialized in gun cases. Related posts 1   2

3/4/25 Calling it “unjust” and disproportionate, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin commuted the three-year prison term just handed down to former Fairfax County (Va.) police sergeant Wesley Shifflett for shooting and killing Timothy McCree Johnson in 2023. Shifflet will, however, remain convicted of felony reckless handling of a firearm. Johnson’s mother disparaged the commutation as “validating” the killing. Related post

Robert E. Crimo III pled guilty to committing the massacre at the July 4th., 2022 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, where he used an assault rifle to murder seven spectators and wound over two dozen. He will draw multiple consecutive life terms; it seems certain that he will never be released. Related post

In a message he just delivered to coworkers, James Dennehy, the head of the FBI’s New York City office, said that he had been ordered to retire but not told why. So he would. “I will never stop defending this joint. I’ll just do it willingly and proudly from outside the wire.” Dennehy, an agent since 2002, had openly “resisted” the directive to identify agents who participated in the Capitol investigation. He had then written colleagues that he would “dig in. Capitol updates   Related post

3/3/25 Mexico transferred twenty-nine wanted members of drug trafficking cartels to U.S. cutody. They’re charged with participating in vast criminal enterprises that trafficked large amounts of drugs into the U.S. and committed numerous murders and kidnappings to accomplish their ends. Among the accused are Rafael Caro Quintero, who allegedly murdered DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena forty years ago while he was stationed in Guadalajara. Among the others are Vicente Fuentes, 62, a leader of the Juarez Cartel, and Miguel Angel and Oscar Morales, two reputed Zetas. All drug cartels have been officially declared “terrorist organizations” by the new Administration. DOJ news release   Related post

According to persons “close to the office,” seven seasoned D.C. prosecutors with “senior roles” in the office have been involuntarily reassigned to perform duties handled by newcomers. They were reportedly demoted because of concerns about their loyalty. Each had played a significant role in prosecuting an associate of President Trump (i.e., Stephen K. Bannon and Peter Navarro) or a leading figure in the Capitol riot (i.e. Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes and Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio.) Capitol updates   Related post

“For years” the IRS has encouraged illegal immigrants to file tax returns and assured them that their information would be kept confidential. According to a document reviewed by the Washington Post, DHS recently asked the IRS to supply residence addresses for 700,000 illegal immigrants who are being targeted for expulsion. Citing privacy rules, the IRS turned them down. For the same reason it’s also turned down a request to help probe businesses across the U.S. that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. Immigration updates   Related post

To combat illegal immigration 3,000 active-duty troops are being sent to the Southern border. They will join the 4,200 active -duty soldiers and 5,000 State-dispatched National Guard troops already there. But the New Administration’s vigorous response to illegal immigration is drawing pushback. “Operation Return to Sender, ” a Border Patrol initiative that targets farm workers illegally in the U.S., is being sued by the United Farm Workers for sending agents on “fishing expeditions” that dispense with legal niceties such as “reasonable suspicion” and selects targets based on their race and occupation. Immigration updates   Related post

Two years ago former Fairfax County (Va.) police sergeant Wesley Shifflett shot and killed a shoplifter who “reached for his waist” during a foot chase. Timothy McCree Johnson, 37, turned out to be unarmed. At trial, then-Sgt. Shifflett was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of felony reckless handling of a firearm. He was just sentenced to three years imprisonment. Bodycam video   Related post

2/28/25 DOJ filed lawsuits during the previous Administration accusing four agencies, including the Maryland State Police, of discriminatory hiring because they selected proportionately fewer female and Black applicants. But the new Administration contends that police and fire departments had become targets of a “DEI Agenda” for using “standard aptitude tests” to screen candidates for critical public-safety provisions. So the lawsuits have been dropped. DOJ Press Release   Related post