Free Republic

NEWPORT NEWS - When owner Jeffrey Thompson found signs Sunday of a break-in at his military surplus store in Newport News, he decided to sleep at work with his gun nearby and catch the thieves red-handed. Early Thursday morning his long nights at the office paid off when Thompson confronted three burglars. He was surprised to find out later that the men were members of Security Forces at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton.

An HIV-positive man with a history of spitting at police officers and biting fellow jail inmates was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday. Willie Campbell's sentence came one day after the same Dallas County jury convicted the 42-year-old of harassment of a public servant for spitting into the eye and open mouth of Dallas Officer Dan Waller in May 2006. As Mr. Campbell was being arrested for public intoxication, he began to resist and kicked at the computer screen in the police vehicle, Officer Waller testified during the two-day trial. "He turns and spits," Officer Waller said. "He hits...

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A Nashville, Tennessee, 911 operator has been fired after he was recorded saying that he didn't "give a s---" about what happened to a woman who had just called to report her ex-boyfriend was threatening her. Emergency Communications Center spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said Wednesday that Frank Roth was in training during the February incident and was fired a month later. Roth made the comments after promising police would arrive soon for a woman who called saying her ex-boyfriend held her at knifepoint and later was threatening her. After hanging up with her but while still being...

TAMPA - Deputies have arrested 35-year-old Edward Allen Covington in connection with a gruesome triple murder in Lutz. He is charged with three counts of first degree murder, three counts of abuse of dead human bodies, one count of cruelty to animals, and one count of violating probation. He is charged in connection with the murders of Lisa Freiberg and her two children, 7-year-old Zachary and 2-year-old Heather Savannah. Their bodies were discovered inside their mobile home on Mobile Villa Drive in Lutz on Monday.  Hillsborough Chief Deputy Jose Docobo said there was a substantial amount of physical evidence linking...

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS TV) - Gov. Mark Sanford is signing legislation that lets people shampoo hair in salons without having taken the mandated 1,500 hours of training for a cosmetology license. The measure exempts from licensing requirements salon employees whose sole duty is to wash hair. Sanford says the current law for shampooing is an example of the wacky South Carolina laws that shouldn't be in place. A 'top 10 list' of such laws and proposals provided by the Governor's office follows: 1. State law requires an individual to complete 1,500 hours of instruction to become a cosmetologist. It takes...

Apparently it is more egregious to oversleep in Hemet, California than it is to commit armed robbery. After delivering a pizza Jeremy Queen was robbed at gunpoint then hit on the head with the weapon. The police were called, the report was made and the police drove Mr. Queen around in their squad car to see if they could find who had attacked him. They couldn't and have said they probably never will. Back at work Mr. Queen was chastised for taking so long to make the delivery and told that since the delivery was made, he was no longer...

NAGOYA -- A man died after turning into a fireball after police supplied him with cigarettes and a lighter and his kerosene-soaked clothes exploded into flames while in a police interrogation room here, police said. The 45-year-old unemployed Nagoya man, whose name was not disclosed, died late Sunday night, about 21 hours after he burst into flames inside an investigation room at the Atsuta Police Station. A 54-year-old police sergeant who tried to extinguish the fire that claimed the man's life sustained minor burns to his right hand. Investigators said they are unsure whether the man set himself alight or...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) ― In a flash, a police officer draws a handgun from its holster. Less than two seconds later, a red laser and bright light shine at whatever is in the gun barrel's path while a mini-camera records it all. That's how mini-cams on police handguns would work under a proposal gaining support in New York, which would be the first state in the nation to require the technology. State police were briefed on the technology and are reviewing it for a possible pilot program, said Michael Balboni, the state's deputy secretary for public safety. The device could...

After listening carefully to the two policemen, the judge had a problem: He did not believe them. The officers, who had stopped a man in the Bronx and found a .22-caliber pistol in his fanny pack, testified that they had several reasons to search him: He was loitering, sweating nervously and had a bulge under his jacket. But the judge, John E. Sprizzo of United States District Court in Manhattan, concluded that the police had simply reached into the pack without cause, found the gun, then “tailored” testimony to justify the illegal search. “You can’t have open season on searches,”...

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Inglewood police killed one man and wounded another when they opened fire on a vehicle, saying they believed the occupants had shot at them -- although it turned out that the men were unarmed and their car was never struck with bullets. Two officers were in the area of Crenshaw Boulevard and 85th Street at 1:40 a.m. Sunday when they said they heard gunshots coming from the parking lot of a Rally's Restaurant, said Inglewood police Sgt. Jeff Steinhoff. "As they looked over, their attention was drawn to a male running away eastbound from the parking lot,"...

HARTFORD, Conn.: A man alleges that police entered his home illegally and ripped a catheter from his body during a child pornography investigation that led to the arrest of two neighbors. Andrew Glover, 60, of New Britain filed a notice with the city Thursday that he intends to pursue a federal civil rights lawsuit. He accused the officers of inflicting severe injuries as he was recovering from intestinal surgery in February. Glover's lawyer, Paul Spinella, said police entered Glover's apartment Jan. 30 and Feb. 28. Glover wasn't involved in child pornography, has not been charged and has no criminal record,...

Scotland's first Muslim Police Association is being created in an attempt to encourage more Muslims to join and stay in the force. Strathclyde Police hopes the group will also help tackle Islamophobia and improve understanding of Islam. Pc Amar Shakoor, who was Scotland's first Muslim officer, said negativity had recently been directed towards the Muslim community. He said the association hoped to put Islam in a more positive light. "We want to highlight some of the positive things Islam can provide to the communities and not just the police services," he said. According to Pc Shakoor, since the 9/11 World...

MELISSA, Tx -- Mark Robinson was driving through downtown Melissa last week when he was pulled over for failing the use his turn signal. But instead of getting a ticket, the officer took the 24-year-old to jail. He was booked, strip searched, and sat for 3 hours with criminals. “People talking about using drugs and shooting heroine. They asked me what I was in there for and I said a turn signal violation,” said Robinson. There aren't any warrants out for Robinson. In fact he says he's never been in jail. But he does admit to challenging the officer's questions...

Philadelphia police, in shock over Saturday's murder of one of their own, are facing a probe over the violent beating of three shooting suspects by up to 15 officers - an arrest captured on video by a news helicopter hovering overhead. The beating, Monday night in North Philadelphia, is seen on roughly one minute of an 11-minute video that Fox29 broadcast early yesterday and streamed over its Web site. The three men beaten were suspects in a shooting unrelated to Saturday's murder of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski. Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey yesterday promised a full investigation of...

RED LIGHT CAMERA SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND PLACEMENT FOR INTERSECTION SAFETY WEB SEMINAR Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 Time: 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Eastern Credit: 1.5 PDH/.15 IACET CEU Background: Red light running is a serious safety issue at many intersections in the US and other countries. Cameras that automatically record red light violators and provide the means for issuing citations by mail have been shown to reduce the collision toll under some circumstances over the past few years. However, the success of a camera program depends upon many good decisions being made by the responsible jurisdiction and engineers. This course will...

About a month ago I got a call from a reporter for the Arkansas Times inquiring about my research into paramilitary drug raids. He'd been reporting on a raid in North Little Rock involving a 40-year-old man named Tracy Ingle. When he told me the story over the phone, I was floored, even given all the abuses and mistakes I've reported and read about over the last few years. What makes the case especially egregious is not that the police may have gotten the wrong home, that they shot a man, or that they were covering it up or going...

A Knoxville man shot and killed a Pittsburgh police dog Tuesday before the canine's handler returned fire, killing the man in what city police Chief Nate Harper called "an unfortunate" but justifiable action. The shooting outraged and angered the family of the 19-year-old man, Justin Jackson. He was pronounced dead by a passing paramedic almost immediately after the shooting that occurred at 6:53 p.m. in front of the UPMC facility on Arlington Avenue on the border of Knoxville and Mt. Oliver. Harper said the dog's handler ordered the canine -- a 6-year-old German shepherd named Aulf -- to attack after...

RIVERDALE, Utah - The police chief who shot himself in the ankle was waving a loaded pistol and being careless, according to two students who were attending his class to qualify for a concealed-weapons permit. "We were told the gun is the chief's personal sidearm, but it looked to me like he didn't know anything about the gun," Lewis Walker said. Bart Ulm, another student seeking certification to carry a concealed weapon, said he was surprised Chief Dave Hansen was using a loaded gun to show how it worked. "Right then, I was very leery, because there's no need to...

LOS ANGELES — Rana Parker tells pudgy police they have the right to remain chubby, but it can and will be used against them on the streets of Los Angeles. The dietitian lays down the law for recruits, veterans and top brass, letting them know that eating right can help them do a better job and could even save their lives.

Listen up drivers! If you're planning routes that include highways in Illinois, be especially alert through construction areas. That's because a state program there has assembled a squadron of white photo speed enforcement vans that are loaded up with the latest in photo radar technology that are to be used in those locations. The vans are set up to record the speed of vehicles and "capture clear images of the driver and the license plate." The result, state officials say, is like other photo radar programs in that citations for speeders are sent by certified mail requiring a court appearance,...

Police: Motorcyclist flipped bird, popped wheelie, crashed May 5 03:13 PM US/Eastern Write a Comment COPIAGUE, N.Y. (AP) - A Long Island man who flipped his finger at a police cruiser and then popped a wheelie on his motorcycle is recovering from injuries after crashing. Suffolk County Police said Frank Patti, 26, of West Islip, rode by the police car at a service station in Copiague at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Police say Patti made an obscene gesture to two officers in the car, popped a wheelie and then sped away. Police gave chase. When the motorcycle turned into a parking...

<p>RIVERDALE, Utah — The police chief in Riverdale accidentally shot himself in an ankle while demonstrating how to dislodge a jammed handgun.</p> <p>Chief Dave Hansen was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden for surgery.</p> <p>The 54-year-old chief accidentally fired a gun during a training exercise inside a conference room at Riverdale police headquarters.</p>

OPA-LOCKA, Fla. -- Federal agents on the hunt for criminals on Thursday raided the wrong house while searching for drugs. Police and federal agents raided 50 marijuana grow houses around Florida on Thursday, calling it "Operation D-Day." They seized $7 million worth of pot plants, but they also kicked in the door of Noel Llorente's Opa-locka home and found nothing but bewildered homeowners. "I was frightened for my husband because they threw him on the ground," Llorente's wife said. "I was scared. Llorente said he was just leaving for work when unmarked cars pulled up, Drug Enforcement Administration agents jumped...

SCHENECTADY — Police raced to St. Mary’s Convent early this year, believing that a man was locked inside, hiding from a thief. They had gotten a call from a whispering man who said robbers had broken into the building. He begged for help. But when police got there on the night of Jan. 27 and broke down the glass door, they found only a group of startled nuns. The call was a prank. The Schenectady City Council agreed Monday to pay $1,250 for the broken door at 828 Eastern Ave. and the Police Department is now tightening its procedures to...

ADMITTED TO AFFAIRS BEFORE PROBE Associated Press May 2, 2008 -- Gov. David Paterson said Friday that he admitted past marital affairs in part because he feared an "out-of-control" element in the state police that he says was investigating politicians. The Democrat, who took office in March after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer amid a prostitution scandal, had already called for an investigation into lawmakers' claims that a state police unit was keeping tabs on elected officials. At that time, though, he wouldn't say if he believed there was such a unit and the state police union said it doubted...

-snip On Thursday, April 17, a drive-thru carryout owner and Concealed Handgun License (CHL)-holder was investigating why his security alarm went off after just having closed up for the night when he was surprised by an intruder who had been hiding in his store. The entire confrontation that followed was caught on tape. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IeVxeg4mgI As can be seen in the security video the intruder surprised the store owner, who was forced to draw his gun when the intruder advanced toward him. He ordered the intruder onto his knees, and held him at gunpoint while attempting to dial 911. At that...

Video played of trooper kicking dog Apr 30, 2008 by Dan Kane A hearing into the firing of a state trooper accused of mistreating his police dog opened today with a video of the officer kicking the dog as it was suspended from the railing of a loading dock. The 15-second video, taken by another trooper using his cell phone, shows Sgt. Charles L. Jones kicking the dog, Ricoh, five times. The dog was tied to the railing by its leash at the time, with its front paws in the air and its rear paws touching the ground. With each...

WILSON — Luke, the mixed-breed dog, was supposed to attend his owner's funeral. That's what three Wilson residents wanted to ensure over the weekend when they attempted to bust the dog out of the city pound. But the plan went awry, and now two men could face second-degree burglary charges in connection with the attempted dog break, said Wilson Police Chief Felix Hernandez. A juvenile was cited and released to his parents. SNIP Luke was picked up April 22 by local dogcatcher after he was caught once too often running the streets of Wilson. His owner, Saundra Vickers, 53, died...

Brooklyn Park police were looking for a meth lab, but they found a fish tank and the chemicals needed to maintain it. And a few hours later, when the city sent a contractor to fix the door the police had smashed open Monday afternoon, it was obvious the city was trying to fix a mistake. It happened while Kathy Adams was sleeping. "And the next thing I know, a police officer is trying to get me out bed," she said. Adams, a 54-year-old former nurse who said she suffers from a bad back caused by a patient who attacked her...

Three detectives were found not guilty Friday morning on all charges in the November 2006 shooting death of Sean Bell, who died in a hail of 50 police bullets outside a club in Jamaica, Queens. The verdict prompted several supporters of Mr. Bell to storm out of the courtroom, and screams could be heard in the hallway moments later.The verdict comes 17 months to the day since the Nov. 25, 2006, shooting of Mr. Bell, 23, and his friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, outside the Club Kalua in Jamaica, Queens, hours before Mr. Bell was to be married. It...

Three undercover detectives involved with unleashing a 50-shot barrage that killed Sean Bell outside a strip club hours before he was to be married were found not guilty this morning on all charges by a Queens judge. Detectives Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora were tried for manslaughter, felony assault and reckless endangerment in Bell's death near Club Kalua in Jamaica. Detective Marc Cooper was tried for reckless endangerment.

Oliver, 36, and Isnora, 29, faced charges of manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment. Cooper, 40, faced charges of reckless endangerment. Justice Arthur Cooperman delivered the verdict in a Queens courtroom packed with spectators, including victim Sean Bell's fiancee and parents, as at least 200 people gathered outside the building. Scores of police officers surrounded the courthouse to guard against potential chaos, and as news of the verdict spread, many in the crowd began weeping. Others were enraged, swearing and screaming "Murderers! Murderers!" or "KKK!" Inside the courtroom, spectators gasped. Sean Bell's fiancee immediately walked out of the room; his mother...

MUSKOGEE — A Muskogee County sheriff's deputy was fired for using a county fuel card to purchase gasoline for his lawnmower, Sheriff Charles Pearson said Friday. Today This Week Sports Today 1. Police discover remains in missing... 2. How sex, obsession fueled city murder... 3. Oklahoma City actor, radio host dies... 4. Ex-wife charged in 28-year-old slaying 5. Oklahoma City murder-for-hire plot... 6. Missing woman's car found; a body inside 7. Police searching for missing woman 8. In Oklahoma: Henry backs Obama 9. Winning Powerball ticket about to expire 10. NBA says Seattle is harassing... 1. OU's mascot makeover 2....

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled today that two random searches conducted by sniffer dogs were unlawful. The Court ruled 6-3 that the searches were a violation of section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects Canadians from unlawful search and seizure of their property. In both cases, police did not have reasonable grounds to conduct the searches, the Court said. The implications of the findings will be far-reaching. It is now unlikely that schools can invite police in to conduct random searches of lockers and backpacks, unless there is a strong suspicion that students are carrying...

Cops Acquitted In Sean Bell Shooting Death Judge Clears Three NYPD Detectives Of All Charges In Nov. 2006 Incident NEW YORK (CBS) ― A judge has acquitted three NYPD detectives of all charges in the shooting death of 23-year-old Sean Bell on Friday. Bell was gunned down in a hail of 50 bullets outside a Queens strip club on what would have been his wedding day in November 2006. The highly anticipated verdict, which many see as holding far-reaching social ramifications for New York City and its police force, comes after seven weeks worth of testimony without a jury. Detectives...

A Tualatin man, a former U.S. Marine and an aspiring sheriff's deputy, was cleared Friday of all charges related to the fatal shooting of his wife Dec. 16, 2007. Ryan Michael Osbrink, 24, was practicing drawing an H & K model USP, .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol from a holster, and it discharged as his wife entered the room. Kimberly Osbrink, 23, was hit by a single bullet to the abdomen. According to the Washington County District Attorney's report on the incident, police found Kimberly conscious but in great pain. Officers reported her stating, "It was an accident. He didn't mean to...

A court document says one phone number used to report alleged abuse at a polygamist retreat in Texas had been used previously by a 33-year-old Colorado woman. It's not yet clear whether authorities suspect Rozita Swinton of Colorado Springs made any of the calls that triggered this month's raid of the compound. An arrest warrant affidavit made public Wednesday says a phone number she had used previously was used for a call to a Texas crisis center before authorities conducted the raid and removed more than 400 children. Swinton's whereabouts are unknown. Authorities have said a 16-year-old girl called a...

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that border control agents who found child porn on a traveler's laptop didn't violate the man's right to be free from unreasonable searches. "We are satisfied that reasonable suspicion is not needed for customs officials to search a laptop or other personal electronic storage devices at the border," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote. O'Scannlain went on to say that the defendant "has failed to distinguish how the search of his laptop and its electronic contents is logically any different from the suspicionless border searches of travelers' luggage that the Supreme Court and...

More legal trouble for Burlington County policeman charged with sexually assaulting three girls. Authorities have charged Moorestown Officer Robert Melia Jr. with cruelty to animals. Authorities say Melia engaged in sex acts involving cows in 2006. (snip)

COLUMBUS (AP) — Gov. Ted Strickland has asked the state Highway Patrol to fire two troopers who engaged in a prank involving a costume that resembled a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Strickland said today that the behavior by the troopers from the Sandusky post could not be tolerated. A patrol report says trooper Craig Franklin is pictured in a Jan. 20 cell phone photo wearing a white cone on his head, a white paper mask and a white cloth. Trooper Eric Wlodarsky forwarded the cell phone photo. The state's public safety director had recommended firing. However, a union contract provision...

PORTLAND, Ore. — A lawyer who watched a police officer park illegally in front of a restaurant, then wait around while his meal was prepared, issued the officer a series of citizen-initiated violations. Eric Bryant said he was sitting at the restaurant March 7 when Officer Chad Stensgaard parked his patrol car next to a no-parking sign and walked inside to wait for his food, the Portland Mercury reported Thursday. Bryant told the weekly paper that when he asked Stensgaard about his car, the officer asked Bryant: "If someone broke into your house, would you rather have the police be...

WEST LINCOLN, Ont. -- The Niagara Regional Police chief has personally apologized to the family of a 16-year-old girl for mistakenly telling them the teenager died in a serious crash when she is, in fact, still alive. "[We] gave ... our regrets and apologized to the family and, as well, told them our hearts are with them and hoping for the very best for the future of their daughter," Niagara police chief Wendy Southall said Monday. The apology comes at the end of two days of communications mix-ups. Early Sunday, the police force issued a public statement saying that Ashley...

Bryant returned to his seat, and says shortly afterward he watched a restaurant employee hand the officer a plastic bag before he left. Unfortunately for Officer Stensgaard, Bryant had recently passed the Oregon bar exam, and decided to pursue the matter further. "If he had acknowledged and corrected his error, we could have avoided this whole thing," says Bryant. "But instead, he kept watching basketball and told me he wasn't doing anything wrong." Now, using ORS 153.058, Bryant—as a private citizen—has initiated violation proceedings against Officer Stensgaard. Bryant alleges Stensgaard was in violation of state statutes on illegal parking, illegal...

On the 1 year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre that left 32 innocent students and teachers dead - word comes of a shots fired on the campus at Fresno's Roosevelt High.

MERRITT, B.C. - The prime suspect in the murder of three young British Columbia children has been captured alive in Merritt, authorities say. "He's alive," confirmed RCMP Assistant Commissioner Al Macintyre, the commander of criminal operations in B.C. He said Schoenborn was found near Merritt. Police in Canada and the U.S. had been searching for Allan Dwayne Schoenborn, 40, since April 7 - the day after his three children were found dead in their mobile home. Allan Dwayne Schoenborn, the prime suspect in theslayings of his three children in Merritt, B.C., has been found. Schoenborn had been watching the children,...

Last month, police in Kentucky went on a 24-hour drug raid blitz. According to local media accounts, the raids uncovered 23 methamphetamine labs, seized more than 2,400 pounds of marijuana, identified 16 drug-endangered children and arrested 565 people for illegal drug use. That's quite a day's work.What inspired the blitz? Complaints from the citizenry? A vicious string of drug-related murders? An outbreak of overdoses?No, none of that.It seems that they were concerned that the federal government is about to turn off the funding spigot."During 'Operation Byrne Blitz,'" a local television station reported, "state police and highway patrol agencies, local police...

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The scandal-plagued Orange County Sheriff's Department is investigating whether jail staff used a Taser stun gun on a cat that was found dead on facility grounds. The investigation comes after a scathing criminal grand jury report last week that found deputies at Theo Lacy Jail sent personal text messages and watched TV while inmates beat a fellow inmate to death. Sheriff's spokesman John McDonald says a tipster told the department Monday that jail personnel used a Taser on the cat. The animal was later found dead on the jail grounds, between two fences. It had...

This is a most unusual story and should make any lover of liberty's blood boil. Apparently a group of about 20 self-identified libertarians went to the Jefferson Memorial last night to mark the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. They did it in an unusual way. Using their I-Pods and headphones, they began to dance on the steps of the memorial. Nothng kinky or wild according to the several accounts that have appeared on the internet. They were going to dance for about 10 minutes and then leave. What happened next is astonishing: Courtney and I were about 10 minutes late, but...

17-Year-Old's Parents Signed Consent Form for Their Daughter to Marry Her 27-Year-Old Teacher A 27-year-old teacher in Texas has been arrested after he applied for a marriage license with his underage student, even though her parents gave consent. Cases of teachers trying to marry their students are on the rise. Randy Arias taught Spanish and coached track at the Austin high school where 17-year-old Brenda Guerra was enrolled. Police say that the pair secretly started dating one month ago and that they learned of the relationship from an anonymous caller. "Whoever did call made a good judgment call," said Lt....

Here's the first segment of video from the Baby Napalm incident. I'm reposting the description from this thread where I posted links to the transcript. In Rockford, Illinois, an abortion clinic known as the Northern Illinois Women's Center performs abortions twice a week. On March 29, the clinic was open for business. Two dedicated pro-life activists were there for sidewalk counseling and prayer. A neighborhood resident, Keith, arrived to accost them, making illegal physical contact with one of the men in the first moments of his criminal freakout, issuing forth a stream of vile racial and sexual epithets, threatening the...