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?

What Cops Face
(#436, 8/24/23)

America’s violent atmosphere
can distort officer decisions

Punishment Isn't
a Cop's Job (III)
(#435, 8/1/23)

Some citizens misbehave;
some cops answer in kind

San Antonio
Blues
(#434, 7/20/23)

What poverty brings can
impair the quality of policing

Keep going...

5/7/24 During the late evening hours of May 4 two suspected gang members opened fire on a group gathered in a parking lot near a Long Beach, California nightclub. Witnesses say that as many as twenty shots were fired. Seven male adults were wounded, four critically. Both shooters fled; no arrests have yet been made. According to the Census, the location of the incident, ZIP 90805, has a poverty rate of 18.9 percent. LBPD news release   Related post

Information that a student had a weapon led University of California at Riverside campus police to execute a search warrant on his dorm room. According to an official news release, officers seized “an assault rifle registered to [the] student, ammunition, five high-capacity magazines, and hand-drawn images in a journal depicting a violent act.”  The student was ordered off campus and suspended. The student’s age was not revealed. California law allows persons 18 and older to have and acquire rifles. Related post

Gun violence continues to beset D.C. On Friday, May 3rd. one of the many bullets fired during an exchange of gunfire between a vehicle and persons on the street flew into a classroom at Dunbar High School. A 17-year old student was grazed in the head and wound up in the hospital. Two teens, one 17, the other 18, were arrested. Later that day, Ty’ah Settles was shot and killed when the SUV in which she was riding unexpectedly wound up in the middle of #8220;a gun battle” near her home. Ty’ah was three. Related post

5/6/24 A meta-analysis of 56 studies concludes that crime can be significantly reduced in beset areas by addressing problems of physical disorder (e.g., trash, graffiti) and of “social incivilities” including public urination, prostitution, panhandling, open drug dealing, loitering and drunkenness. While police can help, their benefit comes not from their application of “aggressive order-maintenance strategies” but rather through their participation in joint efforts with service providers and community groups.
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According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the State’s police staffing levels are at their  lowest since the early 1990’s. The largest decline occurred during the 2007-2009 Great Recession; a lesser drop, which is still ongoing, began in 2020. That’s troubling, as research suggests that each additional officer leads to 1.3 fewer violent crimes and 4.2 fewer property crimes each year. Assessments of the quality of police protection are also less favorable. In 2011 78% of respondents rated it “good” or “excellent”. That’s now 50%: 55% for Whites, 49% for Asians, 44% for Latinos, and 36% for Blacks. Related post

In 2019 Kansas City PD implemented a 1-year “place-based crime” policing initiative that sought to tamp down violence in problem areas. Police used data to inform patrol officers “where to go and what environmental features to focus on” when they got there. Police tactics were designed for both short and oloong-term benefits. An evaluation revealed that crime was comparatively reduced in intervention areas by 22.6 percent. Related post

In its struggle against unserialized “ghost guns”, California enacted Penal Code sec. 29185, which prohibits anyone other than a licensed gun manufacturer from having or acquiring a CNC milling machine whose primary purpose is to make firearms. One such machine, the “Ghost Gunner,” was being sold online by Defense Distributed. San Diego County is now suing the firm for returning the same machine to the market. Renamed the “Coast Runner”, it’s on sale to all comers, licensed or not. Related post

According to the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice, the student shot and killed by Mt. Horeb police (he’s been identified by media sources as 14-year old Damian Haglund, an eight-grader) was encountered near the entrance to the village middle school armed with a Ruger .177 caliber pellet rifle. He pointed it at responding officers and did not drop it when ordered to do so. A review of Haglund’s X account (link supplied by Heavy.com) reveals many disturbing, threatening posts (most recently, “my last morning” on May 1st.) and a fascination with guns. Related post

Lots of Los Angeles bus riders went without on May 3rd. as “dozens” of drivers struck to protest a string of assaults on operators, including a recent stabbing “while passengers watched.” Metro logged 168 assaults in 2023, and there was an assault “every other day” in February. Work will soon begin to install hard partitions between drivers and passengers. There’s also a move to create a special Metro police force that would take the place of present contract guards. But that seems a long way off. Related post

Last year Virginia prosecutors dropped charges against two of the three hospital workers accused in the “piling on” death of Irvo Otieno. Prosecutors are now recommending that charges also be dropped against five of the seven deputies originally charged in Mr. Otieno’s death. If carried through, that would leave two deputies and a hospital worker still facing second-degree murder charges for allegedly asphyxiating the shackled but combative man in the reception area of a mental hospital. Related post

5/3/24 Protests over Israel’s response to the Hamas attack beset college campuses across the U.S. Some, such as U of Minn., have compromised and allowed non-disruptive encampments to remain. But many universities have called in police. According to the AP, arrests now exceed 2,000. At UCLA a storming by anti-protesters led to many arrests and a forced clearing of the encampment. That episode has led to criticism of administrators for failing to protect students, and of police for responding in inadequate numbers and with insufficient zeal. NY Times college map and compilation of arrests Related post

Can police officers detain someone for simply trying to avoid them? Not according to the California Supreme Court. Reversing an appellate court opinion, the Justices agreed that such behavior can be considered as “relevant context”. Police are free to engage with citizens. But “before an officer can compel compliance with a show of authority, articulable facts must support a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.” The case stemmed from LAPD’s detention of a man in a gang-infested area and the search of his vehicle, which turned up a gun and drugs. People v. Flores   Related post

5/2/24 Gary Washington was 25 when a Maryland jury convicted him of murdering a man during a drug dispute. A 12-year old boy who was present when Fareem Ali was killed ID’d Washington as the shooter, and neither his denials nor the testimony of others who said the killer was Lawrence Thomas held sway. The child later admitted that he was pressured to ID Washington, and Thomas eventually told a third party that he was the real killer. Washington had served 31 years when prosecutors, now convinced of his innocence, dismissed the case in 2019. Maryland just awarded him $3 million. Related post

In Mt. Horeb, a small Wisconsin city of about 7,000 pop. approx. 23 miles West of Madison, local police shot and killed a student outside a local middle school. Officers were responding to a call about an armed person and fired multiple times. Authorities have so far declined to provide any further details, including the kind of weapon the student carried or whether it had been fired. Classes were in session, and the campus was locked down after students and faculty heard several gunshots. A nonprofit Madison newssite reported that the student, who was 14, had been observed by a fellow-eight grader as he tried to break into the school through a cafeteria window, first using the butt of a rifle, then firing shots at the glass. He had also posted threatening comments in foreign languages on a Snapchat account. Related post

5/1/24 A Deputy U.S. Marshal, two State corrections officers and a local police officer were killed, and four local police officers were wounded, when they sought to arrest a felon wanted for gun violations at a residence in Charlotte, North Carolina. Terry Clark Hughes, 39, inflicted the casualties by firing on the officers with an AR-15 rifle from the home’s second story as they approached. Clark was later shot and killed when he exited the residence. Two female occupants of the home are being questioned. Chief’s briefing  Related posts   1   2   3

DOJ announced that the Administration is moving forward on a proposal to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I, which makes it illegal for any use, to Schedule III, which allows medical use and lowers the penalties for illicit transactions. But observers who see marijuana as a “gateway” to hard drugs worry about encouraging its use. International treaties would also be affected, and DEA could be badly stressed, as it would have to oversee marijuana dispensaries that wish to take on a pharmaceutical role. Drug legalization updates   Related post

4/30/24 Armed with assault-style rifles, senior members of violent Los Angeles street gangs, including the West Boulevard Crips and Black P Stones, have formed “crews” that stake out businesses and financial firms and prey on armored trucks that bring and pick up bundles of cash. Most are ex-cons; one, who seems typical of the genre, is thirty and served twelve years for assault. Hauls of as much as several hundred thousand dollars have become unnervingly frequent. Related post

4/29/24 Military reservists told a commission investigating the October 2023 mass shooting at a Lewiston, Maine bowling alley that they were “surprised” when the shooter, reservist Robert Card, was released after spending only two weeks in a psychiatric ward. A close chum, Sean Hodgson, said that he warned leaders to change the code for entering the military base “and arm themselves if Robert Card showed up.” But his accounts of Card’s delusions, propensity for violence and access to guns were ignored. Hodgson, though, suffers from PTSD and alcohol problems, and his commander cautioned that his warnings “should be taken with a grain of salt.” Related post

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill, drafted in response to the 2023 Covenant school massacre, that allows teachers whose schools have entered into special agreements with local police to carry concealed handguns. Teachers who want to be armed must pass a background check and psychological evaluation and undergo 40 hours of special training. But it’s really up to the schools. Nashville’s system, which has school resource officers on each campus, declined to participate. Related post

Inspired by the George Floyd protests, in 2020 progressively-minded Chicago D.A. Kim Foxx announced a policy to not prosecute protesters for disorderly conduct or trespassing as long as they remained peaceful and non-violent. But last November she made clear that this policy will not be in effect during the Democratic National Convention, set for August. The Chicago Tribune’s editorial board recently questioned whether such decisions should be made public. Still, it agreed with the flip-flop. Related post

Eight rural Colorado law enforcement officers were criminally charged over the June, 2022 shooting death of Christian Glass, a drug-impaired driver who called for assistance after getting stuck but flashed a knife when approached. Andrew Buen, the former deputy who fired the lethal rounds, was just convicted of reckless endangerment, but jurors hung up on second-degree murder and official misconduct. Seven other officers were charged with misdemeanor failure to intervene; a supervisor pled guilty and got two years probation; the other officers are yet to be tried. Related post

Following on the heels of Texas, five other “Red” States have jumped into the immigration ring. Iowa recently enacted a measure that makes it illegal for previously excluded aliens to be in the State. Louisiana is considering a similar law. Propelled by a murder recently committed by an illegal alien on a college campus, Georgia now requires that jailers check inmates’ immigration status. A new law in Florida increases penalties for illegal aliens convicted of felonies. A similar measure is being considered in Tennessee, where a new law mandates that State officers assist Federal immigration agents. Immigration updates   Related post

4/26/24 George Gascon, L.A.’s progressive D.A., has vowed to go after bad cops. But his top assistant for that purpose, Asst. D.A. Diana Teran, has just been charged by the California A.G. with eleven felonies. Her alleged misdeed? Sneaking out personnel records about eleven troubled deputies during a stint as a “constitutional policing advisor” for the L.A. Sheriff’s Dept. It’s thought that her purpose was to include them in the D.A.’s “Brady” list, which is used to inform defense lawyers about supposedly bad cops. Related post

“Health care fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.” Those are the crimes allegedly committed by three laboratory owners who submitted $36 million dollars worth of claims for medically unnecessary Covid tests during a four-year period. Authorities claim that Enrique Perez-Paris, Diego Sanudo Sanchez Chocron and Gregory Charles “Milo” Caskey paid off collaborators for getting health care providers to submit the requests, which the accused passed on. COVID-19 updates

An in-depth, multi-year review by the AP of violent interactions between police and emotionally disturbed persons blames many of the fatal outcomes on the excessive use of force and the needless or excessive administration by EMT’s of dangerous sedatives such as ketamine. Police and EMT’s are also criticized for relying on supposedly discredited notions such as “excited delirium” (since supplanted by “hyperactive delirium”) to justify their actions. But not all medical authorities agree. Related post

4/25/24 In 2019 Elliot Nowden drew three years probation for a 2019 attack on an L.A. Metro train passenger. Once released, he promptly returned to his old ways. Within a few weeks he pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and drew a four-year prison term. He was paroled in 2022 and discharged in 2023. Last January, police arrested him for trespassing. And three days ago he was booked on murder charges for fatally stabbing the elderly transit rider whom he had robbed. Related post

One-billion dollars. That’s how much different organizations have paid out to compensate hundreds of victims of former sports medicine doc Larry Nassar, who is serving a decades-long term for sexually assaulting dozens of female athletes who came under his care. Payees include USA Gymnastics, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committees, and, most recently, the U.S. Justice Department. They’re paying out $138.7 million for the FBI’s failure to follow up on allegations against Nassar that agents received in 2016. Related post

4/24/24 After a late-evening argument with his wife, Jonathan Candy, an Oklahoma City father of four, shot her dead. He then gunned down three of their boys, ages 12, 14 and 18, and committed suicide. A fourth boy, 10, discovered the carnage when he awakened in the morning. His bedroom door had been closed and a fan was running, so he slept through the massacre. He discovered the bodies and called 9-1-1. The child is now with relatives. Related post

Acting on a condemned defendant’s long-standing petition, Alameda County, Calif. D.A. Pamela Price reported that prosecutors underlined the word “Jewish” while his jury was being selected. After a thorough review, D.A. Price announced that prosecutors had engaged in a widespread practice of excluding Black and Jewish jurors. Her findings, she said, “suggests plainly that many people did not receive a fair trial.” A Federal judge has now ordered that dozens of convictions be reviewed. Related post

4/23/24 Last October the Supreme Court temporarily set aside a ruling by a Fifth Circuit panel which  invalidated a 2022 Federal rule that defined gun parts kits as firearms, thus requiring they bear serial numbers and be subject to the same controls as functioning guns. ATF had intended that the rule stop the proliferation of so-called “ghost guns”, which are readily acquired by criminals and cannot be traced when recovered. The Supreme Court has now agreed to take up arguments and make the final decision. Related post

Marijuana use is legal in Maine, but growers must be licensed. Many aren’t. According to Federal authorities, an estimated one-hundred illegal growths dot the state’s countryside. Most are supposedly funded by “international criminal organizations,” including China and Mexico. Dozens of search warrants have been executed on such operations during the past year, and agents recently seized “nearly 40 pounds” of processed marijuana at one rural home. Drug legalization updates   Related post

4/22/24 Former Crawford County, Arkansas deputies Levi White and Zackary King pled guilty to Federal civil rights violations for beating a man who shoplifted a bottle of water in August 2022. Initial reports indicate that Randal Ray Worcester punched one of three officers who approached him in the head. But his subsequent takedown, which included the delivery of numerous violent blows, was merciless. A bystander captured it on video. Video   Related post

Hundreds of young persons had gathered for a “senior skip day” at a county park 15 miles NE of Washinton D.C. when gunfire rang out. Five teens, ages 16 to 18, were wounded, one critically. The shooter, also young, fled. While overall crime in Prince George’s County is down, violent crime is up 9 percent, and youth violence has become chronic. Ninety-two juveniles were arrested on gun charges in 2023. This shooting came only two hours after a shooting in D.C. wounded three men and a 16-year old. Related post

Overruling her predecessor, who found the officers acted reasonably, Alameda, Calif. D.A. Pamela Price charged two current police officers and a sheriff’s deputy (he was then a cop) with negligent manslaughter in the 2121 death of Mario Gonzalez. In response to a 9-1-1 call, they encountered Gonzalez, who seemed drunk, and “pinned him to the ground.” Gonzalez’s death was attributed to meth intoxication, with contributing factors of “altercation and restraint”, obesity and alcoholism.  Video   Related post

LAPD officer Alan Carrillo is being held on $100,000 bond on charges that he stole items, “including brass knuckles and knives,” from persons he stopped last year while assigned to the Mission Division’s scandal-beset gang unit. It’s expected that other officers will also be arrested. Alleged misconduct by Carrillo and another officer could imperil as many as 350 cases in which they had been involved. Related posts 1   2

D.C. legalized recreational pot in 2014 but restricted its commercial sale to a handful of medical dispensaries. An exception, though, allowed retailers to “gift” an ounce or less. That bred a horde of “gifting” shops, where buying a t-shirt or knickknack earned an ostensibly “free” helping of pot. D.C has now opened up medical marijuana licensing, and over 200 “gifting” shops have applied. And no, a prescription isn’t needed. All that customers must do is affirm they have a bona fide medical need. Drug legalization updates   Related post

4/19/24 Feds are bringing in special tools to help violence-besieged cities. To help trace the path of firearms used in crimes, Chicago is getting its very own Crime Gun Intelligence Center. And the surge in carjackings will be addressed by Federal- local task forces in Alabama, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas and Washington. Related post

Former St. Louis police officer Luther Hall, a Black man, was viciously beaten by four White uniformed officers as he worked undercover monitoring a protest over a St. Louis cop’s acquittal for the 2011 killing of a Black man. Hall, a 22-year veteran, was disabled and retired. His four assailants were convicted of civil rights charges. Mr. Hall settled with the City for $5 million. And a judge just awarded him $23 million in a default judgment against one of the convicted cops, who is now in home confinement. Related post

An L.A. County Deputy Sheriff faces felony charges for keeping a coin purse containing money that she found while searching a vehicle during a traffic stop. Deputy Jessica Lynn later discarded the purse, which was apparently recovered. Months earlier another deputy was investigated for stealing poker chips from a professional gambler whose vehicle he searched outside a casino. Prosecutors declined to follow through on that case, though, since the victim, citing fears of deputy gangs, refused to cooperate. Related post