Violence Isn't Down
for the Cops
(#468, 5/30/25)

More officers are being
murdered. And mostly,
with guns.

A Lethal Distraction
(#467, 5/12/25)

A foot pursuit of hit-and-run
suspects turns into
an exchange of fire with
an armed resident

Putting Things Off
(#466, 4/27/25)

Pursuits hurt and kill
innocents. What are
the options?

Gun Control?
What's That?
(#465, 4/1/25)

Ideological quarrels
beset gun laws.
And gun law-making.
And gun law-enforcing.

Forewarned is
Forearmed
(#464, 3/19/25)

Killings of police officers
seem inevitable.
What might help?

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

Keep going...

6/19/25 On May 22, 2025, two weeks after a hopelessly deadlocked jury derailed the trial of former Grand Rapids, MI police officer Christopher Schurr for murdering Patrick Lyoya, Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker announced that the highly controversial case would not be retried. Both the NAACP and the Urban League have implored Attorney General Dana Nessel to step in. A.G. Nessel once told reporters that she would prosecute if asked. But her present intentions are unknown. Related post

Texas legislators have sent on a number of bills that would loosen up the State’s already-permissive gun laws. Orders to strip defendants of their guns (i.e., Red Flag Laws) would be barred in civil cases. Short-barreled firearms, including those illegal under Federal law, would become legal under State law. Law enforcement agencies would be barred from participating in gun buyback programs. And while handgun carry is generally legal in Texas, permits that allow guns to be carried in restricted areas would be easier to get. Related posts 1   2

Fellow protesters at a “No Kings” rally in Philadelphia called the cops on Kevin Krebs, a 31-year old local man who was carrying a pistol under his raincoat. Police detained him, and a search of his person turned up the handgun along with “nine fully loaded magazines, a bayonet, pepper spray and a ski mask.” Krebs was arrested for unlicensed carry. An AR-15 style firearm was found in his vehicle, and a search of his home uncovered armored vests, drawings of grenades, and an assortment of pipe bombs, some containing nails and pellets. Krebs has been denied bail. Related posts 1   2

6/18/25 Texas legislators are moving to increase criminal punishments and otherwise tighten up the criminal justice system. One measure would prohibit judges from releasing persons charged with certain violent felonies. Another bill, which was prompted by a surge in organized retail theft, would tie penalties to the total value of the stolen goods. Should that exceed $300,000, the punishment would be up to life in prison. A third measure, which presently awaits the Governor’s signature, requires that sheriffs who run jails participate in a Federal program that allows local officers to enforce certain immigration laws. Related post

Birmingham, AL man Damien McDaniel, 22, faces capital murder charges for allegedly gunning down eighteen persons in 2023 and 2024. He allegedly murdered eleven patrons and wounded twenty-nine during a three-month span last year. That includes mass shootings at two nightclubs: one in July, which killed four patrons and wounded ten, and another in September, which killed four and wounded seventeen. He is also charged with committing single fatal shootings on each of three days last August and September. McDaniel apparently had seven other victims in 2023. His trials will begin next year. But with all the publicity, finding “fair juries” won’t be simple. Related post

6/17/25 Vance Luther Boelter, the Minnesota man who murdered a State legislator and her husband and wounded another State legislator and his wife, has been charged with stalking and murder in Federal court. According to the FBI, Bolter actually went to the homes of four legislators that morning. His second trip was to a residence in Maple Grove. Video depicts him impersonating a police officer, banging on the door and saying he had a warrant. But no one was home. He was then spotted in New Hope, near another legislator’s home. But police had been sent there to check on the occupant’s safety, and he drove off. Click here for AP’s detailed timeline. Related post

Residents of Colorado, Delaware, Utah, Virginia and Washington who fear they might harm themselves can petition to have their rights to buy and possess guns suspended. Known as “Donna’s Law,” these statutes have been praised for preventing impulsive suicides. Their provisions cannot be invoked by the Government or third parties: only the potential victim can apply. But opposition from the NRA and the gun industry is frustrating efforts to expand the law’s geographical reach. Related post

Lawsuits challenging NYPD’s aggressive “stop, question and frisk” policies and practices led to the imposition of a court-ordered monitor over a decade ago. And the most recent imbroglio concerns the agency’s “community response teams.” Instituted in 2022 after Mayor Eric Adams took office, they were supposedly intended to address neighborhood quality of life issues. But the monitor has found that CRT’s have been energetically stopping and searching residents, virtually all non-White. That’s the behavior that got NYPD into trouble in the first place. Related post

6/16/25 Early Saturday, June 14, reports of gunfire led police to the Champlin, MN home of State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Both had been seriously wounded. Officers from nearby Brooklyn Park promptly went to the home of State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. They found Vance Boelter, 57, as he was shooting through the home's front door. They exchanged fire and Boelter fled on foot; the bodies of the couple were found inside. “AK-47” style firearms were in Boelter’s police-like vehicle. It also contained a notebook with the names of lawmakers, community leaders, abortion rights advocates and healthcare facilities. Both legislators that Boelter targeted are Democrats. After an intensive search, Bolter was arrested, without incident, on Sunday afternoon. Related post

“Burglary tourists” continue to beset Southern California. In Simi Valley, a prosperous Ventura County suburb an hour’s drive from L.A., police arrested Chilean citizens Manuel Ibarra, Camilo Lara, Sergio Mejia-Machuca and Heidy Trujillo for making off with over $3 million dollars’ worth of goods from a jewelry store. In an elaborately carried-out scheme that involved the use of ropes and ladders, they got in by busting into an adjoining business and boring a hole through the wall. Their arrest, which was made possible by security camera footage, came three weeks after the burglary. Police recovered about $600,000 worth of goods and $20,000 cash. According to the store’s owner, it was a “bittersweet” ending. Immigration updates
Related post

Truancy besets D.C.’s school system. One-third of its K-12 students - 16,000 - missed at least two weeks during the 2024 school year. Truancy has markedly increased during the last decade. It’s far worse in D.C.’s economically-deprived areas, where youth crime is also off the charts. An in-depth piece in the Washington Post blames schools and public officials for failing to implement (or properly implement) special programs that provide floundering students with academic supports. And for not acting when the programs that are in place don’t work out. But many readers point to lousy parenting and a poor home environment as the underlying causes, and truancy and crime as their effects. Related post

6/13/25 An in-depth investigation by The Trace revealed that Chicago’s homicide clearance rates are significantly lower when victims are Black. That finding comes on the heels of a major revamp of Chicago P.D.’s homicide investigation process, which implemented recommendations made by reviewers from the Police Executive Research Forum. Changes included increasing the number of specialized homicide detectives and adjusting their caseload to enable them to pursue long-term investigations. Technology was also upgraded. But reformers point out that residents of the city’s poorer areas continue to be deeply distrustful of the police. They are less likely to cooperate with detectives, which inevitably affects what crimes get solved. Related post

LAPD reported that its officers made 461 arrests in the downtown area between Saturday, June 7, when the immigration protests began, through Thursday morning, June 12. Overall, most arrests were for failure to disperse. But during the first two evenings, when officers had to use horses and discharge hundreds of rounds of less-lethal munitions to gain control over a “hostile crowd,” there were many arrests for vandalism, looting and assault on a police officer. An 8:00 pm curfew declared by Mayor Karen Bass on June 10 proved effective. While there were 203 failure to disperse arrests that evening, the number fell to 71 on the following night. Arrests for serious crimes also sharply declined. Immigration updates   Related post

6/12/25 An academic study examined a national sample of 288,250 firearm homicides and 450,956 firearm suicides between 1998-2020 to determine whether States with Extreme Risk Protection Orders had better outcomes. Its findings, just published in Journal of Preventive Medicine, revealed that suicides were significantly reduced in States where health professionals could request orders, and particularly for White persons. Homicides were significantly reduced in States where family members could request ERPO’s, and this effect was most pronounced when victims were Black. Related post

Oklahoma’s Richard Glossip had been locked up for nearly three decades when the Supreme Court threw out his murder conviction last February. During that time he endured nine proposed execution dates and ate three “last meals.” But something always came up. Such as a mix-up over the correct lethal injection drugs. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond concedes that prosecutors knowingly used false testimony at Glossip’s trial. Indeed, he asked the Justices to overturn the conviction. But he insists that Glossip is guilty, and will be retried. It’s no longer a death penalty case, though. Related post

According to a former DHS official, pressures to make immigration arrests have produced defacto “quotas.” Some are obvious. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has ordered ICE to make at least 3,000 arrests each day. “Border Czar” Tom Homan promises “more worksite enforcement than you’ve ever seen...” Criminal investigators have been diverted to those ends. Consider Ambiance Apparel, a fashion warehouse in downtown L.A.  Ambiance has long been on the Fed radar for tax fraud and money laundering, and in 2021 its owner served a brief prison term for those crimes. But last week’s raid at Ambiance was all about bodies. More than forty undocumented workers were arrested. Many were long-time U.S. residents and had raised families. And their children weep. Related posts 1   2

6/11/25 A Washington Post investigation reveals that D.C. youths arrested for even the most serious crimes are routinely released on ankle monitors, which they are responsible for keeping charged. Some kids told reporters that they don’t bother to keep the devices working; one admitted that he committed robberies while supposedly being “tracked.” And even when teens get hauled in for failing to comply, judges simply release them again. Experts criticize the devices, as there is no evidence that they deter misbehavior or help young persons heal. “A monitor is just a black box. It doesn’t educate young people, it doesn’t rehabilitate them, it’s not a substitute for going to school or getting counseling...” Related posts 1   2

In Graz, Austria’s second-largest city, a 21-year old man opened fire at a high school he once attended, but from which he didn’t graduate. Ten were killed, including a number of youths ages 14-18, and a dozen persons were wounded, many seriously. Among them was an adult who has since reportedly passed away. According to police, the gunman had legally acquired the pistol and shotgun that he used in the massacre. After he stopped shooting he apparently called one of his parents, then committed suicide. Austria has relatively high gun ownership for the EU, with 30 guns per 100 citizens. But its 2021 gun murder rate/100,000 pop. was a low 0.1 (it was 4.5 in the U.S.). Related post

In 2010 the Supreme Court’s landmark McDonald v. City of Chicago decision, which held that the 2nd. Amendment applies to States and localities, overruled the city’s ban on handguns. A new study just published in JAMA Pediatrics analyzed firearms deaths in children and adolescents post-McDonald. Its findings indicate that States which adopted more permissive laws went on to suffer an excess of “thousands” of child deaths from gunfire. Meanwhile California, Maryland, New York, and Rhode Island, which retained strict gun laws, actually enjoyed a decreased rate of children killed by gunfire. Related post

6/10/25 Despite the Supreme Court’s rejection of its lawsuit against U.S. gun makers, Mexico has been assured that the U.S. will take steps “to stop southbound arms trafficking and dismantle networks fueling cartel violence.” Although Mexico’s gun laws are highly restrictive - the country has only two gun stores - homicides are at a historic high. Problem is, an “iron pipeline” sneaks in hundreds of thousands of guns from the U.S. each year. Most come from border states, where they are bought from dealers and at gun shows by “straw” buyers who then smuggle them across. Click here for a court decision about one of the blogger’s guns-to-Mexico cases while he served as an ATF agent in Arizona. Related post

Fifteen States and D.C. have sued to reinstate the ATF regulation that bans devices, known as “forced-reset triggers”, which allow pistols to mimic full-auto machinegun fire. That rule was contested by the manufacturer, Rare Breed Triggers, and the new Administration recently allowed them to resume producing the devices and selling them to the public. But the plaintiff States (all are “Blue”) called the Government’s decision reckless. According to New Jersey A.G. Matt Platkin, “it is one of the most insane things I’ve seen in my more than two decades involved in the gun violence prevention movement.” Related post

Last October a 15-year old D.C. youth and a 17-year old companion violently robbed a 39-year old man, beating him so violently that he lapsed into a coma and passed away after two weeks. At the time the 15-year old had five open robbery and assault cases, to which he had pled guilty. But he was nonetheless released. He’s since turned sixteen, and just pled guilty to murder. As mandated by D.C. law, that was done in juvenile court. His maximum sentence is detention until he turns 21. Bryan Smith’s friends were dismayed. And the judge conceded that their criticism “was not unreasonable.” Related posts 1   2

As largescale protests over immigration policy continued, burglaries and vandalism beset L.A.’s downtown area. Hooligans torched Waymo driverless vehicles, damaged parked police cars, and festooned buildings with graffiti. Although National Guard troops had arrived, they were mostly deployed to protect Federal offices. Hands-on law enforcement was left to LAPD, whose officers made “at least” forty arrests. Marine corps units have also been mobilized and are on the way. Union leader David Huerta and eight others face Federal charges for impeding the Feds. Huerta was arrested and released. Immigration updates
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6/9/25 Chicago police officer Krystal Rivera and her partner chased a man they thought was armed into an apartment. Inside they encountered a second man, Adrian Rucker, 25. As officer Rivera kept chasing after the first man, Rucker reportedly pointed an AR-15 style pistol at her partner. He responded with a gunshot. Tragically, the partner officer’s bullet struck officer Rivera in the back, inflicting a fatal wound. A four-year CPD veteran, officer Rivera had already seized two guns during that shift. She is the only Chicago police officer killed in the line of duty so far this year. More guns and ammunition were found in the apartment. Rucker, who had six active warrants, faces a host of charges. Related post

It’s now official. U.S. will pay the family of slain Capitol rioter Ashli Babbit $4,975,000 to settle a lawsuit that claimed her shooting by a Capitol police officer was, in effect, an act of murder. Ms. Babbitt, who was unarmed, was shot by then-Capitol police Lt. Michael Byrd as she clambered into the lobby through a broken window. Officers had in effect ceded the area to the rioters, and Byrd was a distance away and in plainclothes. He was investigated and cleared. But not everyone’s on board. Retiring Capitol police chief Thomas Manger (he took over after the assault) “blasted” the settlement as a needless gesture that “sends a chilling message to law enforcement nationwide. Agreement   Capitol updates   Related post

“The Plaintiffs themselves did not obstruct the proceedings at the Capitol, destroy government property, resist arrest, conspire to impede the police, or participate in civil disorder....” Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio and underlings Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola were convicted and locked up. But Presidential pardons and commutations freed them and nearly 1,500 other alleged rioters. And now they’re the “plaintiffs.” Their suit for false prosecution seeks compensation “and $100 million plus interest in punitive damages.” Meanwhile former D.C. police Lt. Shane Lamond, who was convicted by a judge of obstructing justice by secretly sharing sensitive police information with Tarrio, just drew eighteen months. Will he be pardoned? Capitol updates
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“Operation Justice Trail,” an initiative of Dallas police chief Daniel Comeaux, draws on the resources of his agency and the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest the city’s “most wanted criminals.” In its first month the project has arrested 98 persons wanted for violent crimes. These offenders had amassed a startling 700 convictions. Problem is, criminals often go on the lam after bonding out. Keeping that from happening may not be easy. According to the D.A., “...the way the system is set up in Dallas County, we’re not even present when the initial bonds are set.” Information that leads to the arrest of a wanted violent felon can earn a tipster up to $5,000. Related post

Federal raids of Los Angeles-area workplaces that allegedly employ illegal aliens led to violent confrontations between immigration protesters, ICE and sheriff’s deputies. That, in turn, led the Trump administration to call up “at least 2,000” national Guard troops to help authorities quell the disorder. Three-hundred troops have arrived in L.A. and deployed to several locations. Smoke and pepper spray was used to clear a path for their vehicles, and clashes with protesters have begun. Immigration updates  Related post

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the El Salvadoran man who was was wrongfully deported, is back. He’s in custody, facing Federal charges of participating, over nearly a decade, in a smuggling ring that allegedly trafficked women and children from South and Central America throughout the U.S. Immigration updates  Related post

6/6/25 Enacted in 2005, the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Firearms Act ” shields the gun industry from lawsuits over gun misuse that it did not aid or abet through risky sales or marketing practices. That, according to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Smith & Wesson et al. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, absolves it from civil liability over the actions of corrupt dealers who sold guns to arms suppliers for the Mexican cartels. Bottom line: Mexico’s “$10 billion dollar lawsuit” is out. Related posts 1   2

A Memorial Day mass shooting in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park killed two and wounded nine. Police say that one of the shooters used a gun fitted with a small device that enables pistols to mimic full-auto fire. Fifty-seven guns so equipped have been seized by Philly cops this year. These so- called “Glock switches” are readily available online for $25, and ATF reported a near eight-fold jump in the number seized in the U.S. between 2019-2023. Related post

Nearly half of California counties lack full-time investigators in their public defender offices. That includes eight of the ten counties with the highest rates of imprisonment. According to CalMatters, even where full-time investigators are on staff, their numbers are grossly inadequate. Poor people who are charged with crimes are thus far more likely to be wrongfully convicted. And that’s not just a problem in California. Most counties in Mississippi pay private lawyers flat fees to defend the indigent. And excepting in murder cases, investigators are never hired. Related post