Our Not-So
"Golden" State
(10/3/26 #488)

"Proposition fever" turns
Calif.'s crime numbers into
an even more confusing bag

Climate Change
(8/16/26 #487)

As the planet warms,
arson's consequences
get even grimmer

Try, Then Try Again
(8/3/26 #486)

Should prosecutions be
abandoned when juries lean
strongly to "not guilty"?

"More" Isn't
Always "Better"
(7/17/26 #485)

Chicago-area Federal
prosecutors resign en masse

Jameson
Was a Doodle
(6/26/26 #484)

Were bullets the correct
"solution" to a 106-pound
dog's bounding approach?

The Fewer the Better
(5/29/26 #483)

Flack over D.C.'s 2023 crime
surge led police managers
to adopt an "easy" fix

Who's Minding
the Door?
(5/4/26 #482)

Protective assignments
aren't done until
the protectee's gone

Another
"Straw Purchase,"
Another Massacre
(4/29/26 #481)

A gun changes hands.
Eight children die.

Should Cops
Ever Chase?
(4/15/26 #480)

Risks to innocents
may be unmanageable

Justifiable? Excusable?
Criminal?
(3/16/26 #479)

A father guns down
his child's molester.
He then runs for Sheriff.

Must Impulse Rule?
(2/19/26 #478)

Hasty policing
yields tragic outcomes

What's Up in L.A.?
(1/30/26 #477)

Crime is reportedly down.
But police shootings
are (way) up.

Place Still Matters.
A Lot.
(12/11/25 #476)

A dispute between gangsters
devolves into the massacre
of children

L.A.P.D. Blues
(11/12/25 #475)

Is ideology driving
an ex-cop's prosecution?

Take Over? Take Care!
(Part II)
(10/23/25 #474)

San Francisco lands - for
a time - on the Prez's "hit list"

Take Over? Take Care!
(10/4/25 #473)

Invasions can't fix
what's really broken

Does "Why" Matter?
(8/21/25)

The causes of criminal
violence remain in dispute

A Money Pit
(7/28/25)

Feeding cops and lawyers
is very expensive

Post-Pandemic Blues
(7/7/25)

Thievery, some of it violent, besets our nation's recovery

More Poverty,
Less Trust
(6/23/25)

Citizens who most need the
cops trust them the least

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

More officers are being murdered. Mostly, with guns.

All in the Family
(5/12/25)

A foot pursuit of hit-and-run
suspects turns into a firefight
with an armed resident

Putting Things Off
(5/30/25)

Pursuits Kill Innocents.
What are the Options?

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

Ideological quarrels beset
gun laws, gun law-making,
and gun law-enforcing

Forewarned is Forearmed
(3/19/25)

Killings of police officers
seem inevitable.
What might help?

Who's Under the Gun?
The ATF
(3/6/25)

Going after gun controllers,
for the usual reasons

Point of View
(1/30/25)

Do scholars really "get"
The Craft of Policing?

All In the Family (II)
(1/6/25)

A decade after Part I,
domestic killings remain commonplace

10/23/26  A flying patrol car. Florida Polytechnic University is making ready to deploy a one-seat aircraft that can swiftly deliver a cop should an emergency strike. The $150,000 vehicle has taken many test flights, and students are working to improve its capabilities. It is expected to go on regular duty once the FAA issues a permit, which should come shortly. Related post

Guns took the lives of 8,226 persons ages 65-85 in 2024. Nearly 90 percent were suicides. A seven-state study found that about one-third of persons age 65 and older who are in "cognitive decline" keep a gun at home. Asking them to give up their guns conflicts with their desire for self-protection. A recent study recommends a "harm-reduction" approach: discuss the risks, keep the guns locked and unloaded, and provide free trigger locks and lockboxes. Problem is, caregivers may be reluctant to bring up such things. ERPO laws that allow caregivers to petition for gun seizures from risky persons are in effect in only 22 states. Related post

In compliance with DOJ's new guidelines, ATF announced that it will no longer enforce the Federal law that requires special approval and payment of a special tax to make or transfer short-barrel rifles, shotguns, silencers, and certain other weapons. Regular practices that apply to all gun transactions must still be followed. This new Federal posture does not supersede State laws relating to such matters. All Federal laws and regulations pertaining to machineguns and destructive devices (i.e., bombs and such) remain in full effect. Related post

10/22/26  Texas' Vernon College is deploying "ZeroEyes" at its Vernon and Wichita Falls campuses. An AI tool, ZeroEyes continuously analyzes video feeds from surveillance cameras to detect guns, knives and possible intrusions. Hits will be instantly relayed to a central security center that operates 24/7. Related post

The skies of Philadelphia are abuzz with police drones. In place of a dangerous pursuit, Upper Darby police used a drone to track a stolen car, then pounced on the thief when he least expected it. Bensalem Township, which sends drones as first responders on a variety of calls, has found them useful for tracking down the retail thieves who beset their community. As for the City of Philadelphia, it reportedly placed "a fleet" of 21 drones online two years ago. Dispatched on "emergency calls" in certain Districts, they've been used thousands of times, and their video footage has been "the primary source of evidence in at least 15 arrests." Related post

Three days after a Tribune editorial blasted his 2024 decision to cancel the contract with ShotSpotter, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced that "a new gunshot detection system", which would be part of a program "piloting new public safety technologies," would soon be in place in the city's most violence-beset areas. When he nixed the contract, Mayor Johnson blasted ShotSpotter for a profusion of false alerts, while activists complained that it led to over-policing. But Black Aldermen from the hard-hit Districts countered that it was a "life-saving tool" and helped guide medics to the wounded. Emma Mitts, Alderwoman for the Austin District, recently said that her constituents are besieging her to get ShotSpotter back. Chicago Tribune editorial  Related post

10/21/26  Only state troopers can use radar guns in Pennsylvania. It's the only state that bars "ordinary" cops from using radar to check vehicle speeds, and that's been so for sixty-five years. But the Legislature has proposed to allow local police to use radar for speed enforcement, with a few conditions. Tickets could not be issued unless a vehicle exceeds the speed limit by 10mph on ordinary streets, or 6mph on highways. Issuing tickets to generate revenue (i.e., "ticket quotas") would be banned. And only marked police cars could be involved. Related post

Three years ago Maine reservist Robert Card used a rifle he had recently bought in a store to commit a mass shooting that killed eighteen. Maine soon enacted a law setting a three-day waiting period before gun buyers can pick up their guns. Gun shop owners have since sued to repeal the law. While the initial decision favored their position, the First Circuit deemed the law to be constitutional. And in Case#26-258, the Supreme Court just declined to consider an appeal. So the waiting period still stands in Maine. But not in New Mexico, where the 10th. Circuit enjoined its application to two plaintiffs last year. Their argument, that waiting periods unlawfully burden law-abiding gun buyers, remains in litigation. Related post

Sixty-six million dollars. That's what Rajesh "Raj" Patel, 52, who co-owned an Illinois-based clinical lab, charged the Government for conducting 380,000 COVID-19 tests during the pandemic. Problem is, these tests were bogus - they were never performed. Patel's laboratory got $44.1 million, and he personally collected $28 million. And yes, he's being prosecuted. Related post

"Crime Known to Law Enforcement, 2025" reports that national rates for each of the four major violent crime categories - homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault - declined in 2025. Decreases from 2024 ranged from 8% for rape to 20% for robbery. Homicide rates fell by 18%; aggravated assault rates by 9%. Overall, violent crime improved by 11%, going from a 2024 rate of 376.1 per 100,000 persons to a 2025 rate of 335.2. Property crime also fell. Overall, it declined 13%, going from a 2024 national rate of 1,851.7 per 100,000 to a 2025 rate of 1,616.1. Each category (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft) enjoyed a reduction. Motor vehicle theft improved the most (24%). Related post

A lead story in The Trace laments that mass shootings, such as the recent gunning down of three children at an Oregon school, are taking place in states (such as Oregon) with ostensibly strict gun laws. One key reason may be that, regardless of what laws say, people aren't locking guns away in their home, thus making them readily available for misuse. On the one hand, stiffly punishing those who don't lock up their guns would likely fall hardest on residents of the "marginalized communities" that have disproportionate contact with the police. But prosecutions such as that of the father of the Apalachee High School shooter might have significant benefits in getting folks to comply before disaster strikes. Related post

10/20/26  Gun violence besets Chicago. During the evening hours of October 16, its Little Village neighborhood was rocked by the drive-by shooting of four adults as they exited a building. Three are members of a faith-based anti-violence group. Three days later, in the Austin neighborhood, a drive-by shooting left a 45-year old man in critical condition and seriously wounded three companions. And one day after that, in the suburb of Mundelein, three men and two women were shot dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Four were members of the same family. Two handguns were found in the home. Related post

DOJ announced it is prosecuting twenty-eight lawful permanent residents, all living in California, for Federal election law crimes. Twenty-six are charged with fraudulently registering to vote, and twenty-two with actually casting one or more ballots. Each is assertedly a member of the group "of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants" whose identities DOJ recently furnished to state authorities. Related post

10/19/26  Griffin J. John II, the Bend, OR youth who shot and killed three students and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary school, had burst into a classroom for "special needs" students. John was a former student at the school, where he participated in a program for children with "intensive behavioral and social skill challenges." Related post

On Sunday, October 11, a Chicago-area Taco Bell employee informed police that a co-worker sent him a "manifesto" announcing his plan to murder "Indian, Jewish and African American people." Worse still, Alexandros Paporakis had just called and said that he tried to carry out his plot earlier that morning at a local Hindu temple, but his gun jammed. Police quickly converged on the suspect's residence and detained Paporakis. A search turned up an unserialized AR-15 style rifle, ammunition and magazines, "a gas canister labeled with a slur aimed at South Asians," and objects decorated with Nazi symbols. Related post

Making as many petty busts as possible to generate income and focusing on Black persons were two of the issues that put the Lexington, Mississippi police in DOJ's crosshairs. Thanks to a "quota" system, officers arrested about a quarter of the town's population during 2022-2024. And in 2024, warrants for unpaid fines were issued to more than 650 persons - about half the town's population. A citizen revolt led DOJ to step in three years ago. And in a comprehensive, just-signed agreement, Lexington has agreed to reform. Related post

A wave of Arizona cities, most recently Tempe, have banned the use of Flock license-plate readers (ALPR's). Concerns have arisen from Flock's data-sharing arrangement, which makes vehicle location information available to all participants, and to documented instances of officer misuse. In one case, an Apache Junction officer used the system "to locate his wife during a dispute." He has since resigned. Related post

Did prosecutors ignore crucial evidence against O.J.? An in-depth inquiry by the New York Times reveals that as O.J. Simpson's trial neared its end, Mafia associate Joey Ippolito informed authorities that O.J. gave him a bag containing the murder weapon, and that he discarded its contents. But the case was winding to a close, and prosecutors didn't follow up. Ippolito never took the stand, and O.J. was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her boyfriend. Ippolito has since died. One of his brothers now says that Joey gave him a heavy bag a few hours after the murders, and that he dumped its contents. Related post

10/16/26  Three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher were killed, and a 7-year-old and a teacher were critically wounded by a 16-year-old who opened fire with a shotgun inside Silver Rail Elementary school in Bend, Oregon. Police arrived on scene only "moments" after the shooter, who had blasted his way in through locked doors, was shot dead by an armed parent who chased the gunman inside. 9-1-1 was first alerted by a person in a vehicle outside the school who said they had been fired on. According to the AP, the shooter used a shotgun that was bought by his mother. Related post

In 2023 David Xu, a middle-aged Berkeley, CA engineer, pled guilty to one count of poisoning and got two years probation. That sweetheart deal by then-Alameda D.A. Pamela Price dismayed Xu's victim, a former co-worker who videotaped the accused secretly pouring Cadmium-laced water into her bottle four years earlier. Although Xu was promptly arrested for attempted murder, he quickly posted $2 million and remained free. That "freedom" will soon be complete. According to the sentencing terms, his conviction will soon be dismissed and the records sealed. Meanwhile his victim's physical travails from consuming the laced water continue. Related post

California's "No Secret Police" and "No Vigilantes" Acts intended to constrain immigration agents. Both are on a likely permanent hold. "No Secret Police," which prohibits Federal agents (but not local and State officers) from wearing a mask, didn't even make it through a Federal District judge. As for "No Vigilantes," which requires that Federal agents, whether or not in uniform, wear I.D., the Ninth Circuit just ruled that it violates the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. But California's firing back. In what its A.G. calls the State's 100th. lawsuit against the Trump administration, it's challenging the ICE practice of staking out courthouses to make civil immigration arrests. Related post

In separate cases, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal prohibition against gun possession by a felon only applies if the factual circumstances of the accused party's disabling conviction involved "a risk of physical violence from misusing guns." A carjack-related felony conviction brings its bearer within the scope of the law. But if the circumstances that led to a prior felony conviction presented no such risk, such as the man who got 90 days to two years for multiple DUI's, the gun prohibition does not apply. Related post

Nine former FBI employees, including several agents, who were fired in connection with past criminal cases against President Trump, are suing for reinstatement and back wages. They claim that their only faux-pas was to participate in the investigation of then-candidate Trump for taking classified Government documents to his Mar-a-Lago estate during his first term, showing them to unauthorized persons, and trying to keep the Government from getting them back. They claim that their firings earlier this year were provoked by the President's "vendetta," and by the new FBI Director's desire to distract the media from his own unseemly behavior. Related post

10/15/26  Five days ago Eric Lewis, 35, shot and killed Philadelphia PD officer Shane Seiber and wounded his partner. It's now reported that this isn't the first time that Lewis reportedly killed a man. Seven years ago he allegedly murdered 32-year-old Christopher Williams during a traffic squabble. Lewis was charged with murder and went to trial a year later. But lapses by police and prosecutors led a frustrated judge to declare Williams - who seemed likely to be guilty - innocent. Related post

Who just landed in DOJ's crosshairs? Pennsauken Township. Sitting just across the river from urban Philly, the New Jersey city of about 37,000 supposedly denies ordinary citizens the "right to public carry" by imposing "egregious and unjust delays in issuing firearm licenses." So the Feds have opened an official investigation! Meanwhile, Denver's City Council had the temerity to enact a law that forbids all law enforcement officers (Feds included) from wearing a mask. So here DOJ is...suing! Related posts 1   2

10/14/26  A badly shrunk pool of police applicants has led to a "subtle change." Although applicants should be rigorously vetted, agencies have been giving some borderline candidates a pass. "A borderline psychological evaluation becomes 'minimally suitable, so let's try.' A background blip becomes 'we can coach that out later'." Police Chief magazine offers a four-step problem- solving strategy. An in-depth assessment of why candidates are being lost, what can change, and what must not is Step #1. Related post

Yet another family murder, and this time the alleged shooter is a retired police officer. So was his wife, whom he also killed. Both had been San Francisco cops: Ann Manix rose to Deputy Chief; her husband, Kevin, ended his career as a Sergeant. Their 24-year-old daughter was also slain. According to reports, the tragedy was called in by a fourth person, who wasn't shot. Related post

In Sept. 2022 Jackson, MS man Jaylen Lewis was shot dead by two Capitol police officers on anti- drug patrol after he allegedly backed his vehicle into their cruiser during a traffic stop. Both cops were charged with manslaughter. Lewis, though, had four loaded guns in his car. On Sept. 28 jurors deadlocked as to officer Michael Rhinewalt and found officer Steven Frederick Jr. not guilty. Rhinewalt won't be retried. But he still faces trial for aggravated assault over a shooting that he and officer Jeffery Walker Jr. committed one month earlier, in August 2022. In that episode one of their bullets struck a woman occupant of a vehicle in the head and left her permanently disabled. Related post

10/13/26  L.A. continues to be beset by family murder. On October 11, an occupant of a passing bus observed as a man - he was the father - shot two children, ages 4 and 10, then turn the gun on himself. Both kids were killed, but he's reportedly still alive. Last June 7th. another dad fatally shot his 10-year old twins, then committed suicide. And that incident followed on a May 27 familial murder-suicide that took the lives of a two-year-old boy, a newly-born girl, and their mom and dad. That time the shooter was the mother. Related post

"Unfortunately, e-bikes and scooters are increasingly being used to commit crimes in our city." These words, from D.C.'s deputy mayor for public safety, follow on an episode where a half-dozen teens fled on "Lime bikes and scooters" after allegedly committing a robbery. E-bike rentals are supposedly restricted to persons 18 and older, but confirming a rider's age remains a work in progress. Meanwhile the number of e-scooter and e-bike trips has vastly increased. Related post

10/12/26  Two Philadelphia police officers were shot by a 35-year-old man whom a 9-1-1 caller reported was flaunting a gun outside his home. Officer Shane Seiber, 40, and his partner found Eric Lewis, 35, on his porch, armed with a shotgun. Lewis instantly opened fire, fatally wounding officer Seiber and severely wounding his partner. Lewis was soon arrested. A maintenance worker with the city water department, Lewis had a string of arrests during 2012-2018 for crimes including assault, theft and carrying a firearm. But according to the D.A. he lacked the felony conviction that would bar gun ownership. Related post

"I don't care about going to jail." "If you want a piece of me... come get it..." That's what a six-year old Virginia elementary school student told officers who responded to a call that the child had just pulled a gun from his backpack and shot his teacher. A video of that interaction has just been released. His teacher was gravely wounded but survived. Deja Taylor, the child's mother, got prison terms for neglect and lying about her marijuana use when she bought the gun. Related posts 1   2

Domestic gun massacres beset the land. In Erie, Pennsylvania, a 45-year-old man opened fire in a residence, gunning down seven relatives and a family friend with a .40 caliber handgun "registered in his name." His victims included two children, ages one and five, and six adults, ages 19 to 51. Police were alerted to the shooting via Shot-Spotter, but by the time they arrived and sent in a robot the shooter had already committed suicide. Meanwhile in Douglas, a south Georgia city of about 12,000, police found five adults with gunshot wounds as they responded to reports that shots were fired at a home. Four were dead, and one soon died at a hospital. Hours earlier, a resident of the home had called to complain that she was being "killed" by her husband's smoking. According to the city manager, another murder-suicide incident took place three months earlier. Related post

Federal law set special registration and transfer requirements for machineguns, short-barreled rifles, shotguns and silencers. President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Act" recently slashed the accompanying $200 tax levy to zero. According to a Texas Federal judge, that move made the law's other provisions moot. Excepting machineguns and "destructive devices" (i.e., bombs), DOJ has now extended a no-registration-required "benefit" to residents of all states whose own laws don't require that folks register short-barreled long guns and silencers with the Feds. Related post

Elderly residents of high-end country clubs in West Palm Beach signed up for ordinary COVID testing by Phoenix Health. But along the way its owner, Joseph Rodriguez, induced them to take numerous unrelated blood tests, which he billed to Medicare "as if they were medically necessary and ordered by a treating physician." A Federal jury just convicted Rodriguez of pocketing more than $15 million from the scheme. He faces ten years for each of six counts of health care fraud. Related post

10/9/26  June 5, 2028. That's the trial date set for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and three of his key helpers: Walid bin Attash, Ammar al-Baluchi, and Mustafa al Hawsawi. Another, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, has been declared mentally unfit for trial. According to the defense, his condition stems from the same torture and coercion that the C.I.A. bestowed on each of his colleagues. That, in turn, has led military judges to exclude all of the confessions, most recently al-Baluchi's. Government lawyers are appealing. Related post

"Livestreamed." That's the promise Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth just made about the forthcoming December 3rd. firing-squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan. In 2009 then-Major Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, yelled "Allahu akbar" as he unleashed repeated salvos from a handgun in a medical building at Ft. Hood, Texas. His reputed "purpose" was to keep soldiers from going to Afghanistan to fight the "war on terror," which was kicked off eight years earlier by 9/11. Hasan killed 13 and wounded 32; he was paralyzed by return fire. Secretary Hegseth said that his demise will be streamed to the world in real time. Related post

An L.A.-area public bus driver refused to suddenly stop the bus and let a passenger out. So Jose Antonio Zayas, 55, pulled a gun and shot him dead. He then took his bicycle from the rack in front of the bus and pedaled away. Zayas was arrested and faces murder and ex-con with a gun charges. According to the L.A. Superior Court portal, his criminal record includes a 2015 felony conviction for "carrying a dirk or dagger." He also has convictions for unlicensed driving. Related post

10/8/26  Two years ago an American-born Somali teen exchanged messages about committing acts of terror with a person who turned out to be an FBI informant. He soon expressed his desire to perpetrate a massacre of non-Muslims at a forthcoming event at Minnesota's Mall of America. And to accomplish that he met with an undercover FBI agent at a park near the mall and paid him $600 for an AK-47 rifle and 200 rounds of ammo. Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, was immediately arrested. DOJ news release   Related post