Free Republic

NEW ORLEANS, LA – A 35-year veteran police officer with the New Orleans Police Department was suspended, with only 15 minutes left on his last shift, for wearing the wrong uniform shirt. Sergeant Bobby Guidry was moving his personal belongings from his office to his car when he was informed by a supervisor that the older, powder-blue uniform shirt he was wearing was out of regulation. The department had recently changed from the powder-blue shirts to an unpopular all-black uniform following Hurricane Katrina. Superintendent Warren Riley, who has defended Sergeant Guidry’s suspension, says there are plans to switch back to...

Investigators are hoping you might be able to point them in the right direction as they search for who is responsible for a shooting that left the Houston Police Department's first Hispanic female officer wounded. 78-year-old Velia Ortega was visiting family members at the Plum Creek Apartments at 6969 South Loop East Monday afternoon, when she was wounded by the gunfire. Investigators say they want to question 17-year-old Bruno Aviles and 20-year-old Andrew Garcia in connection with the shooting. Authorities believe the pair may have been involved in a dispute over a vehicle with members of Ortega's family.

LAPD Police Chief William J. Bratton has come out -- in favor of gay marriage. As a wedding gift to friend and celebrity publicist Howard Bragman and his longtime partner, Chuck O'Donnell, Bratton made it official: He and his wife, former Court TV diva Rikki Kleiman, strongly believe that gays have a right to marry. And in honor of Bragman and O'Donnell, who wed this past week in Norwalk, the chief and Kleiman have made a donation to Equality California, a group seeking to stop a state ballot measure this November that would ban same-sex marriages. "The Constitution guarantees life,...

Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin and the city of Memphis have filed a lawsuit to learn who operates a blog harshly critical of Godwin and his department. The lawsuit asks AOL to produce all information related to the identity of an e-mail address linked to MPD Enforcer 2.0, a blog popular with police officers that has been extremely critical of police leadership at 201 Poplar. "In what could be a landmark case of privacy and the 1st Amendment," the anonymous bloggers write on the site, "Godwin has illegally used his position and the City of Memphis as a ram to...

A federal appeals court yesterday refused to reconsider the decision denying a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal in the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. In a two-page decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied Abu-Jamal's request for a rehearing of his appeal in the controversial case, which has helped fuel an international debate about the death penalty. Abu-Jamal's lawyer, Robert R. Bryan of San Francisco, said he planned to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case. In March, a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit left intact Abu-Jamal's conviction but said...

Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak was cited by police after he hit a pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning.

WINNFIELD, LA. -- At 1:28 p.m. on Jan. 17, Baron "Scooter" Pikes was a healthy 21-year-old. By 2:07 p.m., he was dead. What happened in the 39 minutes in between -- during which Pikes was handcuffed by police and shocked nine times with a Taser while reportedly pleading for mercy -- is spawning suspicions of a political cover-up in this lumber town infamous for backroom dealings.

A gun that fires variable speed bullets and which can be set to kill, wound or just inflict a bruise is being built by a US toy manufacturer. The weapon is based on technology used to propel toy rockets. Lund and Company Invention, a toy design studio based near Chicago, makes toy rockets that are powered by burning hydrogen obtained by electrolysing water. Now the company is being funded by the US army to adapt the technology to fire bullets instead. The US Army are interested in arming soldiers with weapons that can be switched between lethal and non-lethal modes....

Cesar Torres was having a good time at a late-night party at a Hartford apartment in 2002 when suddenly things turned horribly wrong. Before he knew what was happening, his friend Julio Caesar Unocc lay on the floor mortally wounded with seven stab wounds. Torres immediately called 911, setting in motion a series of events that changed his life. "I kept thinking, 'They have to get those guys,'" Torres said. "Instead, they got me.'" Torres, 33, said Monday he didn't hesitate to tell the police everything he knew. When they learned he was in the country illegally, they called immigration...

Guidelines being drawn up by senior officers will tell dog handlers they should "avoid offending" people with phobias of animals when dogs are used in drug raids and other investigations. The rules have been produced amid fears that suspects with medical conditions triggered by the presence of dogs, such as asthma, may file costly compensation claims against the police if they suffer an allergy or panic attack during a police raid. Dog handlers have also been told to take "cultural sensitivities" into account, though reports that dogs would be required to wear specially-designed boots on their paws during searches of...

MAPLEWOOD -- A rookie firefighter was killed and two police officers were wounded when a gunman opened fire in Maplewood early today. The ambush led to a standoff that lasted several hours. It was unclear Monday afternoon what happened to the gunman, as the house he was holed up in was burned to the ground. At 2:40 p.m., police sharpshooters continued to swarm the neighborhood near South Big Bend Boulevard and Zephyr Place. Closed all day, Big Bend Boulevard was reopened at 4:30 p.m. today. The slain firefighter has been identified as Ryan Hummert, 22, the son of a former...

While an 11-year old, Louisville, Kentucky boy is using a toy radar gun to get drivers to slow down through his neighborhood, the police are finding that real radar guns might not be a match for GPS--at least not when contested in court. According to a press release issued by Rocky Mountain Tracking, an 18-year old man, Shaun Malone, was able to successfully contest a speeding ticket in court using the data from a GPS device installed in his car. This wasn't just any old make-a-left-turn-100-feet-ahead-onto-Maple-Street GPS; this was a vehicle tracking GPS device--the kind used by trucking fleets--or in...

Police in St. Louis seized cars, then freely drove them for months at a time. Perk extended to troubled daughter of police chief. Cars seized from motorists are being used as the personal rides of police officers and their relatives in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Post-Dispatch investigative reporters uncovered the scandal while tracking down how Aimie Mokwa, 33, daughter of Police Chief Joe Mokwa, ended up driving vehicles registered to St. Louis Metropolitan Towing and its subsidiaries. Like many cities across the nation, St. Louis has adopted an ordinance giving police officers the ability to grab automobiles from people...

‘Harassed for being a Christian’- the policeman who objected to gay ribbons and is turning to a tribunal Last updated at 01:08am on 20.07.08    A policeman is taking his force to an employment tribunal, claiming that he has been harassed because of his Christian beliefs.Constable Graham Cogman says he has been persecuted since he objected to wearing ribbons to mark a gay event.The controversy echoes the case of Lillian Ladele, the Christian registrar who successfully took on Islington Council in London over her refusal to conduct civil-partnership ceremonies for gay couples.  Making a stand: PC Graham Cogman says...

FOR city cops - dedicated men and women on duty 24/7, 365 days a year - it was too little. And far too late. Yesterday, Detective Ivan Davison, who may have saved lives by shooting a violent perp, was handed back his gun. If the NYPD expected thanks after treating this brave officer like a common criminal, think again. One of Davison's brethren in Brooklyn, a sergeant with 15 years on the job, spoke for the entire department when he told me it makes little difference that the brass had a change of heart. "The damage is done," said the...

Click here for the video... [WARNING: Cussing involved]

Former Department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan on Friday said that since Gov. Sarah Palin took office, members of her administration and family pressured him to fire a Palmer Alaska State Trooper to whom her sister was involved in a bitter child custody battle. Monegan said phone calls and questions from the Palin administration and the governor's husband, Todd Palin, about trooper Mike Wooten started shortly after Monegan was hired and continued up to one or two months ago. The governor herself also had a brief conversation with him about Wooten in February, Monegan said. The new assertions from...

Two police officers are on sick leave after being attacked by a mob in south London after they asked a 15-year-old girl to pick up her litter. One officer was dragged to the ground and kicked while the other was bitten by a girl who jumped on his back. Up to 30 people took part in the attack, which happened in North End, Croydon, on Wednesday afternoon. Trouble flared when the 15-year-old threw her food wrapper back on to the ground and became aggressive. Hospital treatment A girl who was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault has been...

Former Fresno County sheriff's detective Ron Vaughn Jr. was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison on child pornography charges.

Standards aren’t about generating revenue. Motorcycle officers in Colorado Springs should each be writing a minimum of 11 tickets a day, and their counterparts in patrol cars should issue at least one... But these aren't quotas, Police Chief Richard Myers said. During an impromptu media briefing Friday, Myers described them as guidelines that help supervisors keep track of their officers' job performance ... Ticket quotas - feared and despised by drivers everywhere - demand that officers meet goals or face mandatory discipline, Myers told reporters. That's not the case here, he said. "Police officers are paid for by taxpayers, and...

Nearly everyone carries a cell phone and it’s hard to find one without that camera feature.  It’s convenient when you want to take that impromptu photo, but a Tri-Cities area man ended up behind bars after snapping a shot of a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop. The cell phone photographer says the arrest was intimidation, but the deputy says he feared for his life. “Here’s a guy who takes me out of the car and arrests me in front of my kids.  For what?  To take a picture of a police officer?” said Scott Conover. A Johnson...

I can't help but notice that the NYS Police, the Sheriff's, and the local town and city cops no longer walk the beat or do much "protecting" They are trained now to make their primary priority issuing minor tickets that have big fines. Offense: Cell phone use = $150 bucks They also are trained to scan your auto inspection sticker, one day out of inspection and you may pay $200. Speed traps, you name it, Police are now a profit center first and foremost, more reason for people who want to prtect themselves to purchase the guns of their choice.

At least 900 officers are being brought into Denver to help at next month's Democratic National Convention. Suburban Aurora will send the largest contingent, 300 police officers, or half the force. The Wyoming National Guard will send 22 members who are trained to detect nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. At least 582 officers have been committed from Lakewood, Littleton, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Englewood, Jefferson County, Arapahoe County and Adams County. More are expected from Douglas County, Brighton, Broomfield and Arvada. Some will go on routine patrols with Denver police to free up the city's officers for convention work. Denver police...

Police ordered angry customers lined up outside an IndyMac Bank branch to remain calm or face arrest Tuesday as they tried to pull their money on the second day of the failed institution's federal takeover. At least three police squad cars showed up early Tuesday as tensions rose outside the San Fernando Valley branch of Pasadena-based IndyMac. Federal regulators seized Pasadena-based IndyMac on Friday and reopened the bank Monday under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Deposits to $100,000 are fully insured by the FDIC. Worried customers with deposits in excess of insured limits flooded IndyMac Bank branches...

Link only w/pix of a dozen or so standing outside a bank

The prospect of protesters linking themselves with devices that bolt cutters can't sever or throwing buckets of feces on police has Denver considering putting a new law on the books before the Democratic National Convention. Demonstrators would be banned from having items such as chains, quick-setting cement, homemade locking devices that are resistant to bolt cutters and "any noxious substance," City Council members said Monday. "Protesters are getting pretty sophisticated," said Councilman Doug Linkhart, chairman of the council's safety committee.

<p>SALINAS, Calif. — A disoriented woman holed up in a minivan and repeatedly stabbing herself in the neck was shot to death by local police officers who thought the distraught woman was lunging at them with a knife or pick ax.</p>

Twinsburg, OH - A Twinsburg Police Officer gunned down in the line of duty early Sunday morning. Now - in a stunning development - the alleged triggerman is claiming self-defense as a reason behind the violence. The fatal shooting of Officer Joshua Miktarian happened around 2AM on Route 91 at Glenwood during a traffic stop. Miktarian and his canine partner were called out to search an area when they made a traffic stop along the way.

The Chicago Police Board made the correct decision in suspending — and not firing — an officer who was videotaped beating a 60-year-old man handcuffed and shackled to a wheelchair, a Cook County judge has ruled.

Here are a couple nice interviews with Marine Major John Cowarts regarding his experiences in Iraq Interview, part 1 Interview, part 2

Since the late 1990s, more than 18 police commanders have left the New York City police department to run their own agencies elsewhere. This unprecedented migration has spread the Compstat revolution - the data-driven transformation of policing begun under New York police commissioner William Bratton in 1994 - across the nation. Some of the transplants are well-known: Bratton now heads the Los Angeles Police Department; and his former first deputy, John Timoney, has led both the Miami and the Philadelphia forces. But the diaspora also includes lesser-known young Turks who rose quickly through the NYPD's ranks during the paradigm-shattering 1990s....

On Thursday a protest against Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was held in front of a Tucson Barnes and Noble where he was holding a book signing. Arpaio is working with Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) to enforce immigration laws in his area, and, needless to say, those who support illegal immigration don't like that one bit. In front of the store, protesters savagely beat an effigy of Arpaio, severing it's head (video link). Then, Isabel Garcia of Derechos Humanos carried the severed head around (video link). Then, the protesters carried the body around (video link). See the writeup...

"INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An Indianapolis Metro Police Department officer is currently fighting for his life after being shot while trying to serve a warrant on a possible homicide suspect Thursday night. Officer Jason A. Fishburn, 29, is in critical condition at Wishard Hospital in a medically induced coma. He was shot twice, one bullet hit his torso and was stopped by his bulletproof vest. The second bullet hit Fishburn in the head. Surgeon press conference Doctor Ben Rodgers at Wishard Hospital told reporters that they are very "guarded" about Fishburn's prognosis. Rodgers said, "At this point anything can happen at...

One day after killing his fifth crime suspect, Cleveland police officer Jim Simone said he is neither a trigger-happy rogue cop nor a hero. He says he is only a police officer who, by God's will and duty's call, keeps landing in situations that require him to use deadly force. During his 35-year-career, Simone had shot at 11 other suspects, and killed four, before Wednesday. That's when he chased down and shot fleeing bank-robbery suspect Robert Hackworth, 35.

All of us were educated in the Israel Defense Forces to adhere to the code of the purity of arms, part of which means using our weapons in a moral way. The moment a decision is taken and a bullet is shot, the goal is to hit and neutralize enemy actions. The moment we fired, and the enemy or terrorist was hit, and we are under the impression that he was neutralized, there is no room to shoot again – even if this is the most terrible and despicable terrorist. We shall never shoot him in cold blood. Only if...

The mother of a young Irishman who was shot and killed by police last week in the US is travelling to Oregon to meet with Marion County District Attorney Walt Beglau. The meeting is expected to be on Friday, The Oregonian newspaper said today. The death of Andrew “A.J.” Hanlon has sparked a public outcry in Ireland, and Dorothea Carroll is travelling to Oregon alongside some members of the Irish media. Doug Hansen, a deputy district attorney, said earlier his office expects to convene a grand jury on the June 30 shooting death once an investigation is completed. Mr Hanlon,...

With [15] minutes left in the last shift of his 35-year New Orleans police career, Sgt. Bobby Guidry received a call from a supervisor telling him he had been suspended for wearing the wrong uniform shirt, the veteran officer said. Instead of the standard-issue all-black uniform, Guidry, a veteran officer in the city's Uptown 2nd District, chose the powder-blue uniform shirt that he wore to work for more than three decades. He viewed it as a simple statement, not an affront to rules or department leadership. "Eighteen people died in the line of duty in that powder-blue shirt while I...

For most people, making a mistake on the job is tough enough. But imagine the whole world finding out about it and then judging you on the Internet. That's happening to many police officers across the country. Efforts are under way to give people a chance to voice opinions about neighborhood officers. A new Web site will allow a person to judge the officers on their job and post about their personalities. But there's concern as to whether it's free speech or just an opportunity for some to take cheap shots at police, which could get somebody hurt. From the...

A group of mothers and kindergarten students at a South Austin park found the loaded gun of an Austin police officer who did not know for hours that his weapon was missing, officials said today. Austin police Lt. Donald Baker said supervisors are reviewing how Officer Daniel Eveleth's Glock handgun might have fallen from his holster while he was at Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park training a police dog at about 5 a.m. Monday. Officials said they did not immediately know whether one of the children or a parent discovered the gun. Officers responded to the park after one of the...

Pennsylvania death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider the decision that denied him a new trial in the 1981 slaying of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. ***snip*** Abu-Jamal, 54, has been on death row since his 1982 conviction in the killing of Faulkner, who was shot to death near 13th and Locust Streets early in the morning of Dec. 9, 1981

SANTA ANA A 22-year-old man is in custody after police said he and another man unwittingly tried to carjack an unmarked police car with two uniformed officers inside. At 9:30 p.m. Thursday, the officers were investigating illegal fireworks activity in the 2200 block of Eastwood Avenue when a sports utility vehicle pulled up in front of their unmarked police sedan, said Santa Ana Police Department Comm. Steve Colon. The two men got out of the SUV and took "an aggressive approach toward the officers," Colon said. The driver acted as if he had a weapon in his waistband, police said....

ERMA — Lower Township Police Chief Edward Donohue announced that the Department of Homeland Security will provide the Lower Township police with a Real Time Video Surveillance System through the U.S. Army’s Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program, or CEDAP. Donohue stated that the police department applied to the Army’s CEDAP Program last year for the system. The system consists of several cameras that can feedback live video to police headquarters or vehicles from several miles away. Donohue states the system will be utilized for police surveillance operations, tactical operations, and to monitor critical infrastructure as needed. For security reasons, Donohue...

[CHICAGO, IL] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today honored a fallen hero by presenting the family of Chicago Police Officer Michael Gordon with the 15 Army decorations Officer Gordon earned as a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.  Officer Gordon was killed in the line of duty on August 8, 2004 when a drunk driver ran a red light and sideswiped his squad car.After nearly four years of dealing with bureaucratic red tape to acquire the honors, Officer Gordon’s family turned to Senator Durbin’s office for help.  Officer Gordon’s father, Robert, contacted the Department of Defense shortly after...

Here is video of police seizing guns from citizens of New Orleans after Katrina. While looters ran wild, cops were seizing guns from law abiding citizens. This video is unbelievable and really must be seen.

BELLEVUE, WA – Anti-gun New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg should “mind his own store before telling others how to operate theirs,” said the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, after an audit found that the New York Police Department lost track of dozens of guns in its own storage lockers. “While this guy has been bullying gun dealers around the country about so-called ‘slip-shod’ operations,” chuckled CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “his own police department seems to be slipping quite a bit on its own. Bloomberg needs to back off, shut up and get his own house...

Former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona used racist and sexist language during secretly recorded conversations disclosed in court records this week, and also boasted that the benefits of public office included rubbing elbows with billionaires, drinking fine wine and getting "phenomenal" sex. ... Carona uses the "n" word several times and discusses various sexual escapades as he talks to former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, who was wired and cooperating with federal authorities in a corruption investigation of Carona. ... "You're right, I've had a life that's been absolutely blessed," he says. "I've met millionaires, billionaires, I've traveled on personal...

MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. - A Midstate man said a police officer nearly choked him to death during a traffic stop. The incident was caught on tape. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating how Mount Juliet Cpl. Bill Cosby interacted with James Anders, Jr. Cosby stopped the 26-year-old Wilson County man in April. Cosby suspected Anders hid marijuana in his mouth. The officer used a vascular restraint technique to keep Anders from swallowing. On the video recorded inside Cosby's patrol car, Cosby said he smelled marijuana and handcuffed Anders and his passenger. The video also showed the officer putting his...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The director of the FBI is not happy with the Supreme Court's recent handgun ruling. Robert Mueller said he tends to believe that "weapons harm people, and more often than not they harm the people carrying them." Mueller said the high court's decision, which threw out a handgun ban in Washington, D.C., "does throw a lot of things up in the air." Last week, the Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns by a 5-4 vote. It was the first major pronouncement on gun rights in history. Mueller said communities now will...

Neighbors say officer was dedicated father and good neighbor A Chicago police officer responding to a disturbance outside a CTA bus was killed early today when he struggled with a woman who grabbed his gun and shot him in the head across the street from a North Side police station. Officers responding to Officer Richard Francis’ call for assistance with the disturbance near Belmont and Western opened fire on the woman, critically wounding her, police said. Both were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Francis, 60, a 27-year veteran of the force, was pronounced dead at 2:57 a.m.,...

GPD struggles with response time By Lex Alexander News & Record (Greensboro, NC) GREENSBORO, N.C. — As the Greensboro Police Department awaits a consultant's report that will have a big impact on its future, it continues to struggle with a major problem. For at least the past four years, the department's response times to its most urgent 911 calls have been far below its goal. And those times have gotten worse since 2000. The department tries to respond to 80 percent of Priority 1 calls within six minutes. But from January 2004 through January 2008, the department responded to only...