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BAGHDAD — 1,698 officers, the largest class ever, graduated from the Ministry of Interior’s Baghdad Police College here July 20 and took the loyalty oath to uphold the rule of law and protect the citizens of Iraq. The new course is known as the 1st Qualification Course. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki spoke of this initiative during Basrah operations as a means to promote both reconciliation and new jobs for former government employees and other recruits who met the qualifications. To become lieutenants in the police force, the graduates must complete the retraining and certification in the four-month course. Most were...

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.

Officer Brian Ragan, who has been with the Inglewood Police Department about five years, was placed on administrative leave after the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Kevin Wicks early Monday, Capt. Eve Irvine said. Irvine said such leave is standard. Ragan is still under investigation for his role in the May 11 shooting of Michael Byoune, who died when Ragan and his patrol partner shot him as he was riding in a car. Ragan had been placed on leave after that shooting, which occurred when he and his partner responded to the sound of gunfire in the area. Irvine did not...

Iraqi Policemen assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police Division, lay out weapons they confiscated during a search with their National Police Transition Team partners in the Al Amin area of eastern Baghdad, July 13. By Spc. Grant Okubo. FORWARD OPERATING BASE RUSTAMIYAH — National Policeman and their U.S. National Police Transition Team partners took to the streets of eastern Baghdad to enforce a weapons-free zone in and around Al Amin, July 13. Policemen from 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police Division, led a clearing operation of the Al Amin power station and the surrounding area. Capt....

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- An armed man was shot to death early Monday by an Inglewood police officer, authorities said. The shooting occurred at Hillcrest Boulevard near Regent Street at about 12:30 a.m., an Inglewood police officer said. Authorities withheld the name of the dead man, pending notification of relatives. Police said officers went to the apartment building in response to a report of a family dispute. "The door was opened by an individual," Inglewood police Lt. Mike McBride said. "He was armed with a handgun, and he immediately raised the handgun toward the officers, and at that point, the officers...

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...

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Police continue to make positive steps toward becoming self-sufficient through the vigorus training of the ‘Police Train-the-Trainer Academy Program’ in the Karkh District of Baghdad. Currently being ran by the 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, the training program focuses on training Karkh Security District policemen on rifle marksmanship, dismounted patrolling, tactical checkpoint operations, first aid, Iraqi law, crime scene management, improvised explosive device identification and reaction, and building clearing and searching procedures. A few months ago, the field artillery troops trained five policemen to become...

Officer Suspended For 5 DaysCHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A teenager died after being hit with a police Taser gun for 37 seconds, and the whole thing was caught on tape by surveillance cameras. Authorities said that Darryl Turner had been in a confrontation with a supervisor at work at a North Carolina grocery store. When Officer Jerry Dawson arrived, he fired his Taser gun at the 17-year-old and struck him in the sternum. "The initial use of the (Taser gun) is not in question," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Ken Miller. However, for 37 seconds, Dawson continued to use the Taser gun...

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Family members are angry and speaking out after Dayton police used a stun gun on a woman who is blind and suffering from cancer. Police said they were looking for a suspect when they knocked on Denise Harris's door Thursday morning. But according to both police and witnesses, things quickly got out of hand and Harris was tased. "She was able to force herself down on to the floor and not be cooperative, grabbing on to the detective. A taser was dry stunned onto her arm to control her hand movement, then she was cuffed," said...

‘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...

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...

<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>

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2008 – Coalition trainers and mentors are making progress turning around corrupt police forces in southern Afghanistan, a military official said. Afghan National Police forces have an “awful reputation” in many communities for practices such as shaking people down and selling weapons to criminals, Army Col. John Cuddy, commander of Regional Police Advisory Command South, told online journalists and bloggers in a teleconference July 9. “We’re trying to teach them [and] show them what’s best for their country and the people of Afghanistan,” Cuddy said. “What’s best for them doesn’t involve corruption on a daily basis,” he...

Five open carry activists in Pennsylvania have filed two separate federal civil rights lawsuits against Dickson City police Officers Anthony Mariano and Karen Gallagher, and Chief William Stadnitski in the aftermath of a May 9 incident in which the plaintiffs were confronted and detained even though they had broken no laws. Gun Week first reported the incident in the June 15 edition. The first complaint, filed in US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleges that Gallagher and Mariano "illegally threatened, harassed, detained and/or accosted" plaintiffs Richard and Judy Banks, Roger McCarren and Larry Meyer while they were...

"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...

A man carjacked two vehicles Wednesday afternoon and crashed the second into a light pole in Moreno Valley, injuring himself and one other person, a Riverside police spokesman said.

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,...

Houston - This year's annual meeting of the Texas Gang Investigator's Association (TGAI) was held at the Omni Hotel in Houston in June. In addition to three days of training on recognizing and fighting gang violence in our communities, prisons, and schools, the 800 members present took time to recognize law enforcement officers, correction officers, and probation officers throughout Texas who have shown diligence and excellent work in fighting gang violence. The association recognized Judge Lonnie Cox of the 56th District Court as the Ted Poe "Damn Good Judge" of the year. In presenting the award to Judge Cox, Director...

Sniffer dogs may have to start wearing bootees when they are used by police to search Muslim homes so that they do not cause offence, it has emerged. A recommendation initially drawn up to cover police searches of mosques where dogs are fitted with leather bootees is now said to have been extended to Muslim homes. Under proposals from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the bootees would be used when the occupants objected to the search on religious grounds. Dogs' saliva is considered to be unclean or impure in Islamic teaching and it is forbidden to keep the...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY — The No. 1 man glances back, ensuring his comrades are in tow. They’re about to search a building known to house insurgents. But where are they, exactly? The team leader signals. They rush in to clear a room. Gunfire! The “up” signal is given. An Iraqi man calmly walks through the door. He says, “Good, now do it again.” Leaders of the 3rd battalion, 8th brigade, 2nd national police division conducted their fourth non-commissioned officer training academy at Forward Operating Base Volunteer in Baghdad last month. Leaders trained shurta - Iraqi policemen - from 3rd...

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...

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....

A look at the development of the Iraqi security forces. Two provinces have transfered to Iraqi control.

BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 2, 2008 – Absenteeism, corruption, low pay, lack of equipment and weapons, and a high casualty rate are just some reasons policemen show up at the Jalalabad Regional Training Center in Afghanistan. The goal for them is to avoid these situations. An Afghan police instructor shows a police trainee how to properly turn and arm himself at the Jalabad Regional Training Center, one of seven RTCs located throughout Afghanistan. The eight-week training gives the police the basics of police operations to include proper arrest procedures, human rights, Afghan laws, and corruption issues. More than 52,000 police...

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2008 – Lasting security in Iraq is one of the top challenges facing those in the country and one of the benchmarks for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region, a senior military officer said today. One way to attain lasting security is through a well-trained and professional police force, Army Maj. Gen. Jerry Cannon of the Michigan National Guard’s 46th Military Police Command, said in a teleconference with online journalists and bloggers today. Deployed to Iraq and assigned as the director general for the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, Cannon oversees all aspects of training...

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 1, 2008 – The first class of the Afghan National Police’s “Jump Start” program graduated at the Central Training Center here June 26. A graduate of Jump Start raises his graduation certificate as he is applauded by his classmates. Jump Start is an eight-week course that qualifies Afghan recruits as police officers. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Graham  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The 229 men and four women in the class were trained by instructors from DynCorp International, a private military contracting company. Jump Start is a police training program...

Five policemen were stabbed to death in Shanghai today after a man set fire to their station before charging in with a knife in a frenzied attack. Government officials said the man, a 28-year-old from Beijing named only as Yang, was "quickly overpowered" and arrested. Police said the attacker confessed he had wanted revenge after police arrested him last year on suspicion of stealing bicycles. "He was unhappy ... In order to take revenge, he decided to commit criminal actions," a statement said. "He broke into the building, attacking policemen who were at work."According to the statement, the man set...

“Javier Francisco Ovando, who was awarded a $15-million settlement in the wake of the LAPD Rampart scandal in the 1990s, is arrested after leading police on a chase from Glendale to South San Gabriel.”

You may have heard about the Triple-killing on the Streets of San Francisco by a gang member(s) purported to belong to the infamous Salvadorian gang, known as MS-13. “A suspected gang member accused of killing a father and two sons escaped prosecution in a weapons case earlier this year when the San Francisco district attorney's office concluded it didn't have enough evidence to connect him to a gun that a passenger in his car was carrying…” Read report by Jaxon Van Derbeken of the San Francisco Chronicle, at link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/26/BAV711FM4F.DTL This same MS-13 gang member, Edwin Ramos, had been picked...

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, June 30, 2008 – A Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team program here trains Afghan men to become part of the Afghan National Auxiliary Police force. (Left to right) Navy Petty Officers 2nd Class Jovener R. Mironchik and Elizabeth M. Luna, along with Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos A. Ramirez and Seaman Brian L. Boyd Jr., gather with Afghan National Auxiliary Police officers before a graduation ceremony at the Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team’s training facility near Asadabad, Afghanistan. U.S. Navy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The three-week Police Training and Advisory Team program was conducted...

Some of the newest police officers in East St. Louis, Ill., have criminal records, and one of them took his oath having an outstanding warrant, officials said.

YONKERS (WABC) -

Jerry Lee Williams Jr. was, authorities say, the most sinister kind of rapist: He would rape and choke, rape and choke, and sometimes he would rape and kill. All told, there were six victims... Two are dead. And the state couldn't stop him, even after the Florida Department of Corrections forced him to wear an ankle monitor so it could keep tabs on him by satellite, the agency says. While wearing the ankle band after his release from prison, Williams attacked two women -- killing one... Both times, the satellite worked. It tracked his every move. But there was no...

The couple's quarrels reached a crisis in 1994, when the wife pried open a bedroom door with a kitchen knife, slashed the sheets and lunged with the blade toward her husband . . . The marriage did not improve. In the 2003 affidavit, the husband testified he was afraid of his wife and had only stayed in the relationship “for the sake of the kids,” their two teenage sons. . . . But about 4:45 a.m. Monday, police said, Glen Denson ambushed his wife, Sharon Denson, at the North Side home of her boyfriend, shot them both and set them...

Troy Molde awoke at 3 a.m. Thursday to police flashlights shining in his face. Two uniformed Lakeville officers were in his bedroom, knocking on the wall to wake him up. They were there, they said, to warn him to keep his doors closed and locked. Their surprise visit was part of a public service campaign. Officers had fanned out across the city, leaving notices on doors to remind residents how to prevent thefts by keeping garage doors closed, not leaving valuables in cars and locking windows or doors. But at Molde's house, they went further. His two sons, ages 5...

A police force spent £100,000 on a failed attempt to find protective headgear that fits over Sikh officers' turbans. West Midlands Police started its search after one Sikh constable decided he wanted to join the counter-terrorist Operational Support Unit. The man, thought to be in his mid-20s, was refused a place because he was unable to fit the necessary helmet and respirator over his turban and beard, both of which are requirements for strict adherents to his faith. According to a police source, the unnamed constable claimed he was being discriminated against and was then assigned the task - while...

On Father's Day last Sunday afternoon, a Chilmark police officer pumped several bullets into a wild male turkey he feared was a threat to public safety. Chilmark patrolman Jeff Day and Special Police Officer Matthew Gebo responded to a call at 12:26 pm from two people who said the bird attacked them as they tried to deliver rental baby equipment. The turkey, however, happened to be "Tom," a bird familiar to next-door neighbors Jonathan Haar and his wife, Linda, who had been feeding him since he was an orphaned chick. According to a police report, Mr. Haar's protest over the...

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - Exclusive video obtained by Action News 5 shows a Memphis police officer beating a suspect at 201 Poplar in an apparent case of police brutality. The video, recorded February 12th, shows Duanna Johnson in the booking area at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center after an arrest for prostitution. The tape clearly shows a Memphis police officer walk over to Johnson - a transsexual - and hit her in the face several times. "Actually he was trying to get me to come over to where he was, and I responded by telling him that wasn't my...

ROCHESTER, MN (KTTC-TV) -- A local business that is clashing with Police could lead to a liquor license lost. They have a long list of police calls and a self-admitted problem with gang violence. Now, the future of Westfire Grille, is very close to burning out. For the second time in the last month the Rochester City Council is finding the future of a bar in their hands, but this time around it's not about neighbors. The problem is with the police. Rochester Police Lt. Dan Pulford says, "1 o'clock in the morning, 2 o'clock in the morning, I will...

When the emergency room staff at Northfield City Hospital thought an obviously disturbed patient was about to turn violent, they did what many hospitals do in that situation: They called the police...

Awakened before dawn by police officers who battered down the door to his home, Basil Parasiris said he acted in self-defence when he shot at a stranger at his bedroom door. A jury agreed yesterday, acquitting the Montreal-area businessman of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Constable Daniel Tessier, a father of two. The verdict was the latest slap in this case for the Laval police. The trial had revealed that the force's search warrant relied on dubious evidence and didn't allow a night-time raid; that officers didn't properly check whether Mr. Parasiris owned guns; and that they fired...

A police project that involved spending £100,000 helping a Sikh officer find a chemical and biological attack suit to fit over his turban and beard has been described as "ridiculous". The junior officer, who has not been named, encountered problems trying to join West Midlands Police's counter-terrorist operation support unit because he could not fit protective gear over his religious headwear and beard. Police chiefs decided to let him spend 18 months trying to find new respirators and helmets suitable for Sikhs. But after failing to come up with an alternative he was restored to his regular role – only...

SNIP . . on June 8, 2008 at approximately 0003 hours the Ketchikan Police Department received multiple 911 calls of a patrol vehicle, which had crashed by the Stedman Street Bridge and was now in the water in Thomas Basin. SNIP. . . .Sgt. Townsend regained consciousness after the vehicle came to a stop and started sinking. He was unable to open the door or window of his patrol vehicle and fired one round of his service weapon to break out the glass in the driver's door.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 13, 2008 – Surrounded by Afghan National Police, the U.S. Army staff sergeant moved the water-bottle caps around in the dirt, as if on a checkerboard. But, there was no board, and this was no game. It was training. Army Staff Sgt. James Parks, Afghan National Police mentor, uses water bottle caps to demonstrate a wedge formation, a type of patrolling technique, at the Regional Training Center in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Parks is one of six coalition mentors at the RTC who train the police on basic combat skills. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Beth...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 12, 2008 – Police mentor team “Patriot” visits its assigned Afghan National Police stations daily. The mentors tend to ask the same questions about pay, personnel, weapons and equipment. They coach the police to solve any problems on the spot, paving the way to an Afghan solution. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Judson (right) and Army Sgt. 1st Class Sean Sanders, both Afghan National Police mentors, stand near improvised explosive devices discovered by ANP officers in a district of Kandahar City, Afghanistan. The police discovered the IEDs and turned them over to the mentor team for...

Easton, MD--For only the third time in five years, Easton police have ticketed someone for going topless in public. Sean Cephus, 18, was cited June 4 when police say he was spotted without a shirt on South Street near Hanson Street. He was also cited for failing to obey a lawful order to stop for police. A town ordinance adopted in 1974 forbids anyone from going topless in public buildings or on public streets and sidewalks. Possible penalties are a fine of up to $100 and up to 10 days in jail Easton Police Lt. Gregory Wright said people without...

While Seattle worries about concealed weapons, a new fad in the West is to pack and carry you pistol for all to see...

A life-size replica of a Vancouver traffic cop pointing a radar gun at oncoming traffic was unveiled Thursday on city streets. The police force has up to eight replica cops that initially will be deployed on Knight Street to try to reduce speeding and traffic fatalities. "There may or may not be a police officer behind one of these cut-outs," Vancouver police traffic Staff Sgt. Ralph Pauw said at a news conference. GUESS WHICH OFFICER IS REAL: It's the one on the left, shown with his replica partner Thursday on Knight Street. Police can deploy eight replica cops on the...

Three months after the local police inspected more than a dozen businesses searching for illegal immigrants using stolen Social Security numbers, this community in the Florida Panhandle has become more law-abiding, emptier and whiter. Many of the Hispanic immigrants who came in 2004 to help rebuild after Hurricane Ivan have either fled or gone into hiding. Churches with services in Spanish are half-empty. Businesses are struggling to find workers. And for Hispanic citizens with roots here — the foremen and entrepreneurs who received visits from the police — the losses are especially profound. “It was very hard because the community...

BAGHDAD — Baghdad Police College broke ground for a new campus to be known as Baghdad Police College East June 5. When completed next year, the new facility will have 19 buildings for training and housing Iraqi Police. The new $35 million facility will accommodate 2,000 recruits and 200 instructor staff. There will be nine student barracks, four instructor barracks, one laundry and one dining facility, two large classroom buildings, one multi-purpose facility and one administration building. The facility will be constructed on the former polo field of Baghdad Police College, adjacent to the present campus. The new BPC East...